Half-Blown Rose by Leesa Cross-Smith

A special thank you to Grand Central Publishing and Hachette Book Group Canada for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Vincent, having grown up as the privileged daughter of artists, has a lovely life in many ways. At forty-four, she enjoys strolling the streets of Paris and teaching at the modern art museum; she has a vibrant group of friends; and she’s even caught the eye of a young, charismatic man named Loup. But Vincent is also in Paris to escape a painful betrayal: her husband, Cillian, has published a bestselling book divulging secrets about their marriage and his own past, hinting that when he was a teenager, he may have had a child with a young woman back in Dublin—before he moved to California and never returned.

 

Now estranged from her husband, Vincent has agreed to see Cillian again at their son’s wedding the following summer, but Loup introduces new complications. Soon they begin an intense affair, and somewhere between dinners made together, cigarettes smoked in the moonlight, hazy evenings in nightclubs, and long, starry walks along the Seine, Vincent feels herself loosening and blossoming.

 

In a journey that is both transportive and intimate, Half-Blown Rose traverses Paris, art, travel, liminal spaces, and the messy complexities of relationships and romance, with excerpts from Cillian’s novel, playlists, and journal entries woven throughout. As Cillian does all he can to win her back, Vincent must decide what she wants...and who she will be.

Cross-Smith's strength is in her immersive prose. She doesn't shy away from creating a strong female lead who (gasp!) puts her own passion above everything, even her family. Reeling from betrayal, Vincent—as in van Gogh—embraces her desires and sexual needs and what it means to be a woman, even while bleeding and emotional. (There's lots of period talk.)

But here's what doesn't work. Every character is not only attractive, but intelligent and interesting, which makes it feel like it's a script for a Hollywood movie. There are also no consequences for anyone's actions, least of all our heroine's (cue the ending). Meandering at times and manic at others, readers will be left feeling a little empty.

Half-Blown Rose is compelling, passionate, and beautifully written.  

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LEESA CROSS-SMITH is a homemaker and the author of Every Kiss A War, Whiskey & Ribbons, So We Can Glow, and This Close to Okay. 

Cross-Smith lives in Kentucky with her husband and their two teenagers.

Brat: An '80s Story by Andrew McCarthy

A special thank you to HBG Canada and Grand Central Publishing for an ARC in exchange for an honest review. 

The 1980s is known for being a decade of excess and it was almost too much for Andrew McCarthy. He is known for being a standout in Pretty in Pink, St. Elmo's Fire, Weekend at Bernie's, and Less than Zero, and also as a member of Hollywood's Brat Pack.

This beautifully written memoir is a painfully honest and emotional recollection by an adored actor, director, and author. McCarthy's look back to the 80s is, a coming of age story, a reckoning with with addiction, and a story about the complicated relationship with his father. Brat is an intimate story of an outsider who was almost swallowed up by the very movies that made him famous.

McCarthy's memoir is an almost-tell-all. Like his gaze, this piercing and unflinching account is sincere, raw, and captivating. If you are looking for a soapy kiss and tell, you'll have to look elsewhere. This is an enthralling, well-written account of someone who always was agonizing with his fame—McCarthy is just as aloof, shy, and uncomfortable with it today as he was then. He is candid, and at times self-deprecating, and distant. In fact, his aloofness cost him roles and challenged people's perception of him. 

He is honest—almost to a fault—with with his dysfunctions, personality quirks, and how he often felt exposed. McCarthy opens up about his issues with alcohol, how his insecurities and head would clear with each drink. He also writes about the challenging relationship he had with his father who would relentlessly ask him for money. 

Brat doesn't name drop and embellish in the perks associated with stardom. Instead it glosses over the fame, focusing more on the feelings McCarthy had about his personal struggles as well as the trajectory of his acting career. He is a gifted and thoughtful writer. Brat is elusive, candid, and enthralling.

In a decade that proved to be more angsty for him that for his characters, McCarthy's memoir is a must-read for any Gen Xer.

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ANDREW McCARTHY is an actor, director, an award-winning travel writer, and a bestselling author. He has directed more than eighty hours of television, including Orange in the New Black, The Blacklist, Gossip Girl, and many others. For a dozen years he served as editor at large at National Geographic Traveler, and his award-winning travel writing has appeared in The New York Times, The Atlantic, TIME, and elsewhere. He is the author a travel memoir, The Longest Way Home, and a young-adult novel, Just Fly Away—both New York Times bestsellers.

McCarthy lives in New York with his family.

Summer Longing by Jamie Brenner

A special thank you to Hachette Book Group Canada for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Newly retired Ruth Cooperman longs for a simpler life in a sleepy seaside locale. She rents the perfect waterfront cottage for the summer while waiting for a property to become available. But little does she know that her new life will be full of drama, starting with a baby being left on her doorstep. Right away, Ruth calls Elsie Douglas, the owner of the house. But Elsie—who has been trying to have a baby for years—doesn't turn the infant over to social services.

Trying to run a business and look after a baby is proving to be too much, so Elsie and her wife, Fern, enlist the help of the community. Caring for baby Mira has Ruth feeling nostalgic and she reaches out to her estranged daughter, Olivia. She invites her to Provincetown for the summer in the hopes of reconciling. The summer home quickly fills up—Elsie and Fern move back in because they need more room for the baby, and Olivia shows up and extends an invitation to her dad, Ruth's ex-husband, Ben.

The summer grows new relationships while putting others to the test. Unlikely alliances form and secrets are revealed...including the biggest one of all: who Mira's mother is.

Summer Longing is more than a story with a great locale. It is about the bonds of women through friendships and motherhood. One of Brenner's favourite themes is of the families we choose. Although this is a mother-daughter story, it is also about those that we want to be part of our family. Mira brings the women of the town together: Amelia Cabral, the matriarch who lost her own child; Elise who longs for a baby; Fern, who is concerned that Elsie is going to suffer more heartbreak; and Jaci Barros, a teenager feeling smothered by her parents and the expectations that they've put on her.

If you love a good family drama, stick your toes in the sand and dive in. 

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JAMIE BRENNER studied literature at The George Washington University in Washington, D.C., Jamie moved to New York City where she started her career at HarperCollins Publishers, then later Barnes&Noble.com and Vogue.com before returning to books and becoming an author.

She is the nationally bestselling author of The Forever Summer. Her novels include Drawing Home, The Husband Hour, The Wedding Sisters, and The Gin Lovers.

Brenner lives in New York City with her husband and daughters.

The Regrets by Amy Bonnaffons

A special thank you to Hachette Book Group Canada, Little Brown and Company, and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Rachel Starr is the girl with the bright red lipstick and glasses. She's a reference librarian from Brooklyn. For weeks, she's been noticing the same melancholy guy sitting at her bus stop. Finally mustering up some courage, Rachel introduces herself and the two have unquestionable chemistry. Thomas Barrett is smart and funny and handsome. But there's one tiny problem: he's dead.

Thomas is stuck in a surreal limbo where he is unable to cross over to the afterlife. As per the bureaucracy, he has to complete a 90-day stint on earth under the condition that he is not to get involved with any member of the living—lest he incur "regrets." When Thomas and Rachel break this rule, they unleash a torrent of consequences.

The Regrets is a surreal love story and unlike anything I have read. It is quirky and weird, but it works. Bonnaffons comment on dying—with or without regrets—is dark, but light and playful.

The writing is beautiful and haunting, Bonnaffons is also surprisingly witty. Sex was paramount to the story, not just the act itself, but that it is fragile and intimate. It is also a form of connection.

There are some incredibly long passages with little to no dialogue, and sometimes this was difficult to slog through. I did feel that the first half was stronger and then my attention started to wane.

A love affair between the living and the dead, The Regrets is a novel about life, death, regrets, and the power of love.

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AMY BONNAFFONS' work has appeared in the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, and the Kenyon Review. She holds an MFA from NYU and is pursuing a PhD at the University of Georgia.

Bonnaffons currently lives in Athens, Georgia. 

The Happy Ever After Playlist by Abby Jimenez

A special thank you to Libro.fm, Hachette Audio, Hachette Book Group Canada, Forever (Grand Central Publishing), and NetGalley for an ARC/audiobook listening copy in exchange for an honest review.

On her way to visit the grave of her late fiancé, artist Sloan Monroe nearly hits a dog when he dashes out in front of her vehicle. When she stops to check on the dog, he jumps onto the hood of her car and then into the car through the sunroof. After getting a ticket for obstructing traffic, a visit to the vet, several unanswered calls to the number on his collar, and posting his picture everywhere with no response, Sloan decides to claim the dog. He turns out to be just what she needs to distract her from her grief.

Jason Larsen, dog owner, is off the grid in Australia and is shocked to receive Sloan’s many messages. After proving that Tucker is indeed his dog, and that he didn’t abandon him (his sort of girlfriend was supposed to be looking after him), he negotiates for Tucker to stay with Sloan while he finishes up his trip.

The two begin flirty texts that morph into long phone calls with the promise of a face-to-face meeting. When Sloan discovers that Jason is actually Jaxon Waters, the singer of "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald," she's completely blindsided. This is the song that Sloan couldn’t stop watching the animated video for after her fiancé, Brandon, died. Jaxon's music haunted her, it spoke to her soul, and it brought her so much comfort during the darkest period of her life. Could this be fate?

Utterly charmed by Tucker, and Jason’s patience and kindness, Sloan falls in love. Plus he's super hot! But Jason’s label has other plans as to who he should be dating now that he is on the cusp of superstardom and embarking on a major tour. Touring with Jason also means that Sloan will have to abandon her art that she has just started getting back into.

Is Jason worth the sacrifice? Can Sloan handle what could seemingly be another heartbreak?

Opening with an epic meet cute, Jimenez sets the tone for the perfect rom-com. However, after starting the book, I quickly abandoned it to read Jimenez’s debut The Friend Zone and I’m so glad I did because I was able to fully appreciate the back story. Fans of Kristen and Josh will be thrilled with this book—the  couple get lots of page time as Sloan’s support system while she navigates her grief and her new relationship.

What I loved was how Jimenez pens Sloan so carefully—she is a character that is completely broken by grief and is simply existing. I encourage you to read the incredibly touching inspiration for this book in the acknowledgments.

The only thing that didn't work for me was the whole crazy ex subplot. At times it felt a little clichéd and overly dramatic. I'm wondering if Lola will be the subject of a different book which is why she was given such a big part?  

This book has all the feels, it is emotional, raw, and just plain funny. I adored the witty banter and Jimenez has an impeccable ear for dialogue. The Happy Ever After Playlist is heartfelt, flirty, and fun.

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ABBY JIMENEZ is a Food Network champion, motivational speaker, and contemporary romance novelist.

Jimenez currently lives in Minnesota.

The Starter Wife by Nina Laurin

A special thank you to NetGalley, Grand Central Publishing, and Hachette Book Canada for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Claire Westcott tries to be the perfect wife to her husband, Byron, but fears she will never measure up to his first wife, Colleen. After all, it's hard to compete with the dead, especially when you are living in her house, surrounded by her artworks.

Colleen, the starter wife, went missing eight years ago. Even though her body was never found, the local authorities deemed it a suicide. So when Claire receives a phone call from a woman she believes is Colleen, it sparks a million terrifying questions.

Claire discovers the couple weren't as happy as they would have people believe. And now she's worried Byron has been lying to her. There are secrets in every marriage, but sometimes those secrets are deadly.

Laurin ratchets up the suspense in this incredible thriller by setting the table for her reader—it's all there in the well-placed clues and subtle nuances. Her writing is consuming, expressive, and filled with deception.

The difference between 3 and 4 stars was due to a gaping plot hole. Why didn't Claire investigate Byron before marrying him? A simple search would have uncovered that he was a suspect in his wife's death—the husband is always a suspect. Are we to credit this to her naiveté because she's young?  

Although the ending comes to a screeching halt, it is incredibly explosive and makes suffering with yet another unreliable female lead worth it.

NINA LAURIN is a bilingual (English/French) author of suspenseful stories for both adults and young adults. She has a BA in Creative Writing from Concordia University.

She lives in Montreal, Canada. 

Drawing Home by Jamie Brenner

A special thank you to NetGalley and Hachette Book Canada for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I absolutely devoured The Husband Hour and was thrilled to review Brenner's latest work.  Set in Sag Harbor, Drawing Home is a story about an unexpected inheritance, broken promises, and how family can made up of those we choose.

Emma Mapson is a single mother who works at The American Hotel.  Emma's teenage daughter, Penny, inherits the town's biggest and most beautiful waterfront home from famed artist Henry Wyatt.  The property is incredible an is an extension of Henry's art.

Back in Manhattan, legendary art patron Bea Winstead is grieving the loss of her lifelong friend and former business partner.  Her sadness soon turns to outrage when she learns that she was not the recipient of Henry's estate and artworks.  Bea, along with her devoted assistant Kyle, descend on Sag Harbor determined to reclaim what's hers and preserve Henry's legacy.

Bea discovers that Henry left a collection of sketches that are scattered around the town. With Penny's reluctant help, Bea begins to piece together their meaning and discovers and unexpected twist that will change all of their lives.

In a battle over the house, Emma and Bea are forced to confront the past while they are challenged in matters of the heart.

One of Brenner's favourite themes is of the families we choose, and although this is a mother-daughter story, it is also about those we pick to be our family.  I found this work a bit vanilla and by that I mean that everybody likes vanilla, but it is just...fine.  Drawing Home was a nice light read but I knew where it was headed pretty quickly after starting it.

JAMIE BRENNER studied literature at The George Washington University in Washington, D.C., Jamie moved to New York City where she started her career at HarperCollins Publishers, then later Barnes&Noble.com and Vogue.com before returning to books and becoming an author.

Her novel The Forever Summer is a national bestseller. She is also the author of The Husband Hour.

Jamie  lives in New York City with her husband and teenage daughters.