The Golden Hour by Beatriz Williams

A special thank you to Edelweiss, William Morrow, and HarperCollins Canada for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Budding journalist Lulu travels to the Bahamas in 1941 to investigate the Duke of Windsor—the former King Edward VIII—and his wife, whose love affair caused the Duke to abdicate the British throne. Her assignment becomes complicated when the Duke's shady politics become apparent and when she falls in love with Thorpe, a scientist, who disappears without a trace.

From the opening chapter, Beatriz Williams captivates her reader. This sweeping novel is beautifully written with elements of mystery and intrigue. She effortlessly weaves together dual plot lines each richly crafted with meticulous details. With her elegant and awe-inspiring prose, Williams is one of those authors whose writing completely transcends.

The difference between four and five stars was simply because I wanted more scenes with the Duke and Duchess of Windsor and more from the other historical cast. Is that even a criticism, wanting more? Give this slow burn a read, you will not be disappointed.

BEATRIZ WILLIAMS is the New York Times, USA Today, and internationally bestselling author of The Summer Wives, The Secret Life of Violet Grant, A Hundred Summers, and several other works of historical fiction, as well as the screenwriter for the television adaptation of The Summer Wives, currently in development.

She is a graduate of Stanford University with an MBA in Finance from Columbia University, and her books have won numerous awards, have been translated into more than a dozen languages, and appear regularly in bestseller lists around the world.

Williams was born in Seattle, Washington, and now lives near the Connecticut shore with her husband and four children.

Breathe In, Cash Out by Madeleine Henry

A special thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Allegra Cobb is a straight-A Princeton grad, a former national yoga champion, and is a second-year analyst at a top bank. Working on Wall Street fresh out of college would seem to be a dream come true, but the reality is that Allegra spends long days with charts and graphs, pretending to drink the corporate Kool-Aid, and dreaming about quitting to pursue her passion of being a full-time yogi just as soon as her year-end bonus is secure in her bank account. But doing so is easier said than done—she is constantly being pressured from her father and has unknowingly slept with the man who is now leading her department on their biggest deal to date.

When Allegra forms a fast and intense friendship with the Insta-celebrity yogi guru that she looks up to, she thinks that the life she's always wanted is a double-tap away, only she's not sure she can hold it together until bonus day. Allegra needs her chakras aligned ASAP!

This was sharp, original, and savvy. What Henry accomplishes in her debut is nothing short of amazing. I loved what appears to be the juxtaposition of the ruthless and competitive world of investment banking against the rejuvenating and peaceful realm of yoga when in fact, it turns out to be just as cutthroat.

Allegra is an interesting character with incredible persistence and quick wit. She is determined and fearless with a resolve to strengthen her connection to yoga and her body as well as to make connections with those who also share her passion. The supporting cast is just as strong and developed as the main characters with the right amount of humour and sass.

Henry will surprise and delight her readers. This is a smart and cheeky read with complex and interesting characters. A must read this summer!

MADELEINE HENRY worked at Goldman Sachs and in investment management in New York City. She graduated from Yale in 2014 where she wrote comedy for The Yale Record, America’s oldest college humor magazine.

Breathe In, Cash Out is her debut.

Chicken Girl by Heather Smith

A special thank you to LibraryThing Early Reviewers and Penguin Teen for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Poppy has always been close to her twin brother, Cam, and the two share a fondness for blending words (clever writing on Smith's part). But lately they haven't been as close because they are each dealing with their own struggles. Cam has recently come out and is trying to adjust to life as an openly gay teen. Poppy used to be happy with her vintage style and curves until a photo of her dressed as Rosie the Riveter with a hamburger photoshopped in her hand surfaces online and she is mocked for her size. Now she is unsure of herself and is struggling to see the good in things.

Deciding to be as invisible as possible, Poppy accepts a job at Chen Chicken restaurant where she dresses up as a chicken and waves a sign to attract customers. It is here where she meets a six-year-old girl, Miracle, who introduces her to a group of misfits living under a bridge: Buck, a cute British photographer who isn't very cute when he is drinking; Thumper, an elderly homeless man; and Lewis, a teen who is caring for his only living parent while struggling to reach the final stages of his gender transition.

But just as she comes to terms with the fact that there is good and bad in everyone, she is tested by a deep betrayal.

While there were some great passages, overall I was completely overwhelmed, and not in a good way. Poppy is not a character that readers will warm up to easily. There are parts of her personality that were completely cringeworthy (why does she watch those videos on YouTube?). She's also selfish and judgemental. And while this is a coming-of-age story and part of her trajectory, there are just too many obstacles to make this plausible. I can't help but feel that Smith was trying to check too many boxes and the reader is left trying to unpack it all.

Heather Smith, I applaud you for writing marginalized characters and shining a light on some very real issues, but there's too much going on with not enough detail.

HEATHER SMITH is originally from Newfoundland and her east coast roots inspire much of her writing.

Smith now lives in Waterloo, Ontario, with her husband and three children.

The Love Solution by Ashley Croft

A special thank you to NetGalley and Avon Books UK/Avon Publishing for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

chem·is·try
/ˈkeməstrē/

noun
noun: chemistry

the complex emotional or psychological interaction between two people.

Although sisters Molly and Sarah share a close bond, they couldn't be more different. Molly wears a lab coat and is a scientist, while Sarah runs her own craft business making tiaras.

Molly has been assigned to a top secret project and is totally thrilled. Some of her excitement may also be because of her attractive new boss.

When Sarah suffers a humiliating and painful breakup, she turns to Molly—and science—for help. After all, what are sisters for?

Will Sarah find love where she least expects it, or is it really all in the chemistry?

First things first, the cover is adorable and totally sucked me in. However, this was a mixed bag for me. At times I found the story delightful and getting me right in the feels and other times, I was rolling my eyes.

The 'love bug' premise was cute and definitely had potential, but too far fetched that Molly would share this top secret project with her sister, no matter how close they are. Molly and Ewan were adorable as colleagues and their back-and-forth banter/relationship will have readers rooting for them to hook up. But Croft dismantles some of this with the bicycle race filler which was campy and unnecessary. I also struggled with the lack of depth that the love interests had, they were flat characters that could basically be interchangeable. They were without personality and dare I say, rather forgettable.    

I had high-hopes for this story, but it really was lacking the chemistry (no pun intended) that a romance novel should have. Ultimately I struggled with the plot—the conflict that is the driver of the narrative is incredibly frustrating, as is Sarah. Why would she want to be with such an absolute tosser? This book simply wasn't for me and I'm confident that it will find its audience.

ASHLEY CROFT is the pen name for bestselling women’s fiction author Phillipa Ashley. After studying English at Oxford, Ashley worked as a copywriter and journalist. Under her various guises, she has published over twenty novels, including the bestselling Cornish Café series.

She now lives in a Staffordshire village and has an engineer husband and scientist daughter who indulge her arty whims.

Jennifer Weiner: Mrs. Everything Tour

Photo credit: Girl Well Read and Simon & Schuster Canada.  Do not use without written permission.

Blue Heron Books and Simon & Schuster Canada celebrated the release of Jennifer Weiner's newest novel, Mrs. Everything. Jennifer was interviewed by Marissa Stapley—whose own new novel, The Last Resort, has just landed on all the hot summer reading lists for 2019. Marissa asked Jennifer about her writing process, inspiration, and themes of her newest work.  A question and answer period, as well as a book signing followed.

Jennifer Weiner’s most personal novel yet, Mrs. Everything, is a book that has been percolating for ten years, and is one that she's always wanted to write. Inspired by her mother and grandmother, it is a universal female story—being a woman, you don't come out unscathed.

It is a version of Weiner's own mother's story, and she modelled Jo after her. Jennifer's mother, Fran, came out as a lesbian in her 50s after raising her four children. Jennifer had a lot of questions for her mother about her marriage to her father that Fran wouldn't answer so she imagined it, “because that's what writers do.” Mrs. Everything was also born from the ashes of the 2016 election—where we are as women, where we have been, and where we could go back to.

Mrs. Everything has a good girl and a bad girl who both end up in pain. "Do you know women who live without pain, that everything works out?" Jennifer asked.

On the term "women's fiction"

We don't accord it to the same respect when we call it "women's fiction." When Jonathan Franzen’s Freedom earned him glowing praise as well as the cover of Time, Weiner coined the term "Franzenfreude," the divide between how white male authors are treated with such regard while successful female authors are dismissed.

Inspired by Little Women, her Jo's ambitions are more acceptable (except sexuality), and her Bethie not only lives, but Weiner writes about what happens to good girls, what the world does to good girls.

What did her mom say?

"My daughter has a very active imagination."  Her mother also thought that Bethie was her.

Weiner said that writers are cannibals, nobody is safe—family members are material. "Well-intentioned cannibals...kindables."

Response to Mrs. Everything

The response to Weiner's work has been "great, but scary." Jennifer is interested to hear what young readers think. "Some things have changed quickly, some slowly, and with the #MeToo movement, not at all," she says.

There is a lot about privilege, hierarchy, colour, freedoms, etc. If you're on top of a mountain and someone is climbing that mountain, they are perceived as a threat when in actuality, they are trying to be equal—it's all a matter of perspective.

Jennifer's writing process

Weiner mused that writing a book is like packing a suitcase with all the things you love, and you leave the suitcase on a corner. The smart thing to do is pack another suitcase. Stapley asked if she was packing another suitcase, and readers will be happy to hear that the answer was YES! Jennifer's next novel will take place over a weekend in Cape Cod, a far cry from a 70 year span that was Mrs. Everything. The heroine is a bridesmaid that was estranged from the bride. When something bad happens, she needs to clear her name. (Eep! Can't wait!)

After getting her daughters off to school, Jennifer walks her dog with her husband and it is during this time that she works through plot and characters. After they get back, she goes to an exercise class, showers, does her social media, and then writes between the hours of 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. or 12 p.m. to 4 p.m., "that's the sweet spot!" Weiner's writing takes place in her "cloffice" which is her walk-in closet that also functions as her office. Jennifer's desk is a vanity with her dog, Moochie, at her feet.

How did she break into writing?

Weiner started her career in advertising and then as a journalist. She worked her way up from a small paper, to a medium paper, and then to a large paper. She got dumped and then wrote Good in Bed.

Can I just say how fantastic it was to be sitting in the audience and soaking it all in? Jennifer is HI-LAR-I-OUS, warm, and smart. She graciously posed for pictures and chatted while signing copies of her books. Thank you, Jennifer, for coming to Canada on your Mrs. Everything tour.

Marissa was a wonderful interviewer and it was lovely to chat with her about her exciting book and baseball.

Mrs. Everything

Growing up in 1950s Detroit, sisters Jo and Bethie Kaufman lived in a picture-perfect house. Jo was a passionate tomboy, with a love of books; Bethie was the pretty, good girl, with aspirations of being a star. She enjoys the privilege that comes with beauty.

Things rarely end up how you imagine them to be. The sisters survive unspeakable trauma and life's tragedies. Coming of age in the time of free love, Vietnam, and women's lib, Bethie embraces the more free, hippy lifestyle, balking traditional roles. Instead it is Jo that becomes a mother, stuck on the sidelines of her life. Neither sister has the future they envisioned, but is it too late for them to live an authentic and purposeful life?

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JENNIFER WEINER is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of sixteen books, including Good in Bed, In Her Shoes, and her memoir, Hungry Heart: Adventures in Life, Love, and Writing.

She is a graduate of Princeton University and a contributor to the New York Times Opinion section.

Jennifer lives with her family in Philadelphia.

Forbidden by Destiny by Negeen Papehn

A special thank you to the author, Negeen Papehn, for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review.

When Sara and Ben finally end things for good, she calls on Leyla to collect her things from Ben's apartment. Leyla reluctantly agrees. After all, that's what best friends are for, right? Wanting to cheer him up, Leyla invites Ben to lunch and the two end up spending an enjoyable afternoon together. Her loyalties are tested when she realizes that she's attracted to him. On one hand, Leyla has always liked Ben and she's bothered with how Sara ended things with him; on the other hand, even though she has moved on and is happy, Sara is still her best friend, and Ben is her ex.

To be with Ben could cost Leyla not only her best friend, but the support of her family because she would be going against what is expected of her. Ultimately she must decide if this love is worth the risk.

Although this is the second novel in the Forbidden series, it can read as a standalone book. Papehn provides enough information for those that didn't read Forbidden by Faith, yet isn't repetitive.

She has matured as an author with this sophomore effort. As a result the characters were more purposeful and the narrative was tight and well thought out. True to the series, this book is also a contemporary love story with a cultural twist. These types of stories are important to tell because they represent so many, yet are not widely read or written about.

This book does not shy away from some pretty sensitive subject matter. Papehn deftly handles the responsibility that comes with writing about sexual assault. She writes the victim with care and compassion all while giving them an authentic voice.

Thank you, Negeen, once again for trusting me with your book. You have really hit your stride and I'm anxious and excited to see how the trilogy ends.

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NAGEEN PAPEHN is a graduate of USC dental school and divides her time between her patients and writing.

She was born and raised in southern California, where she currently lives with her husband and two boys.