Book Review: The Matchmaker

Yesterday I finished The Matchmaker by Elin Hildebrand. The book is a light read about a woman who is determined to find love for those she loves before it is too late.

Elin Hildebrand weaves an intricate story of love - first love, companionship love, dangerous love and family love. Dabney Kimball Beech is the unofficial matchmaker of Nantucket Island. She has spent her life finding love for others yet regretting the love she lost many years ago when the man who holds her heart left the island. Fear keeps her on Nantucket. Married with a wonderful job and a grown daughter, Dabney must come to terms with the return of her first love, a stagnant marriage, a pending engagement for her daughter and life-threatening discovery.

Who doesn't want to read a book set on Nantucket in the summer during some of the coldest days of winter here in Pittsburgh? I love Elin Hildebrand's books, as predictable as some of them maybe they offer an escape to summer in a beautiful location. The books always have a story line that makes it hard to put the book down, always wanting to find out what happens next. I love her books because although the books are not a series, there are always characters that appear in more than one. The more you read, the more you realize these connections.

Obviously, I love Elin Hildebrand's books and not just because they are set on Nantucket. She's a great writer as well. I read more fiction now than I used to but there are really only three authors I highly recommend for beach reading - J. Courtney Sullivan, Jennifer Weiner and Elin Hildebrand. If you haven't read one of hers or their books, do! I normally only read them in the summer but let me tell you that reading it in the winter might have even been better! Bundle up, go to the library and check the book out and return home for a nice little escape to the beach!

Happy Reading!

Weekend Reads: Me Before You and We Were Liars

Me Before You
Jojo Moyes

The only reason I read Me Before You was because I thought I might want to see the movie. I typically don't read books that are extremely popular, although I am starting to more. After reading the book, I really have no desire to see the movie and although I rated the book four stars on Good Reads, I'm just not sure the book plot warrants a movie.

For those of you who have seen the movie preview, you probably have a basic idea a summary of the book. Louisa Clark is an ordinary girl living with her parents in a small town in England who has been with her boyfriend for more than five years and works at the local coffee shop. When the coffee shop closes unexpectedly, Louisa finds herself without an income and lacking the skills for the majority of the jobs available. She accepts a position as an informal caretaker to young quadriplegic after much encouragement from her family and boyfriend. After getting off to a rocky start, Louisa finds she actually enjoys working with Will Traynor and eventually their employer-employee relationship becomes more like friends and then possibly might even be considered boyfriend-girlfriend. However, Louisa is caught off guard by a decision Will is about to make and the terms of her employment. She attempts to quit before her feelings and beliefs become too involved in the situation but it doesn't work and she is forced to make some difficult decisions along with Will.

(If I say anything more, it would give away too many spoilers to the plot.)

I almost feel that everything worthwhile, if you can call it that happened in the last 100 pages of the book. Now that I'm done and after reading the next book I reviewed, this book felt like it was a bit slow going. It took me longer to read than expected as well. The characters all drove me a little nuts at some point as well but I think their faults just added to how they helped others in the story discover their strengths and ambitions. I almost feel like this book had so much hype around it and it really wasn't all it was cracked up to be. There was so much more potential here to do more with the story line. Again, there is so much about this book that I don't want to give away that I won't say much more about it.

If you plan to see the movie or you need a book for the beach, read it. I'm too critical and I'm finding lately that I rate a book on Good Reads and by the time I write the review my entire opinion has changed about the book after thinking into it more.

We Were Liars
E. Lockhart

I hadn't intended on finishing two books this weekend but when I started this one I couldn't put it down. I did though because I had so much to do around the apartment but I of course treated myself with reading a few chapters for every item I crossed off my to-do list. When I went to bed I had less than 100 pages left and I needed to know what happened, so of course I stayed up and finished it. I'm suffering that decision now as I'm struggling to stay awake.

The Sinclair family has been summering on their own private island, Beechwood, for generations. The patriarch has a house and his three daughters also all have houses across the island. As one might imagine, you would have to be quite wealthy to own an island with four large homes on it and money is not a problem for the Sinclair family. However, there is much turmoil regarding trust funds, inheritances, the island houses and the patriarch's will as he becomes older and more demented. While the three sisters, spend the majority of one summer bickering over these items, the older grandchildren, affectionately known as the Liars, realize steps must be taken to ensure that the family does not dissolve over money. How far are they willing to go though to save their family from demise?

The book has many flashbacks to the summer when these events happened, the summer Cady missed on the island due to the aftermath of that previous summer and then the following when she struggles to remember what actually happened the summer she and the rest of the Liars were 15. It's not really what you think this book might be. It starts out as a summer read about a wealthy family but becomes so much more as the suspense builds around Cady's recovered memories. Again, I really can't say much more because there is a major plot twist that I do not want to give away. 

I loved this book and I told my coworker if I was a teen librarian still, I would have definitely book talked this for summer reading visits. I could definitely picture myself on the island with the Liars and enjoying the summer traditions they loved. It's funny because I found myself getting angry with some of the characters and then the plot twist happened and everything made sense then. The author weaves a very suspenseful tale of family, money, prejudice and love. 

Run to the library and check this one out! It's a young adult book and a quick read, perfect for a day at the pool or the lake! They should make this one into a movie!

Happy Reading!

Book Review: The Vacationers

The Vacationers
Emma Straub

I finished The Vacationers on Fourth of July. What a great summer read! There have been numerous reviews about this book and it seems to come up on on all those summer reading lists on Pinterest. I'm so glad I decided to read it. It is so well written and will make you want to take the next plane to Spain.

The Vacationers follows the Post family on a two week vacation in Mallorca, Spain. A dreaded vacation by some since some of the family members and two close friends harbor secrets that if shared may hurt or surprise others. Franny and Jim are commemorating their 35th anniversary with the trip; however, they can hardly speak to each other and a potential separation or divorce is imminent because of Jim's recent actions that forced an early retirement from a position his loved.
Sylvia, Franny and Jim's daughter is preparing to attend college in the fall and anticipating a new life away from some embarrassing mistakes made in high school. Bobby, the couple's grown son is struggling with financial troubles and commitment issues with his much-older girlfriend, Carmen. Family friends, Charles and Lawrence are about to embark on the parenthood journey and each has his trepidations. As tensions rise among all parties, will secrets be revealed and family ties, friendships and romances ruined?

This book should be on every one's summer reading lists. A review is hard to write because there is so much I don't want to give away about the book. When you read the inside cover you don't really get too much of an idea about the book either, so check it out at the library and read it at the pool or beach this weekend. It's definitely enjoyable!

Happy Reading!

Book Review: Pawley's Island

First, I'm so proud of myself that I have wrote 200 blog posts since I first started this blog three or four years ago. Granted I know they aren't the best posts! This is my own private celebration since I have all of four readers! Ha ha! 200 is a milestone for my boring little blog but I intend to hopefully freshen things up better design wise and plan posts in advance in the future. Happy 200th Post!

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A few weeks ago, my coworker took me to the book sale at her husband's library. It was fabulous and probably one of the best book sales I have ever been to recently. There was an excellent selection of trade paperbacks for popular authors, which I find myself reading so much more in the summer. I bought a bag of trade paperbacks that I could't wait to delve into. My summer reading list has pretty much gone by the wayside. Anyways, I picked up two Dorothea Benton Frank books since I had enjoyed Hurricane Sisters so much. I finished Pawley's Island yesterday and am reading Folly's Beach currently.

I wasn't quite sure what to expect with Pawley's Island but it was wonderful. It was such a distraction this weekend though and I struggled to work on my to-do list because all I wanted to do was read. My reward was that every time I crossed something off my to-do list I could read a chapter. I finished the book in two days. At the end I was disappointed, again I felt like I had lost some old friends because I felt so close to Abigail, Huey and Rebecca. Frank's books make me want to travel to Charleston and the Lowcountry now.

In the book, Abigail Thurmond retreats to her family house on Pawley's Island after the untimely deaths of her husband and son and following her departure from a successful law career. The story begins approximately three years later. Abigail spends her time playing golf and tennis, dwelling on the past and accompanying her best friend, Huey to all of the social events in the area. This lifestyle continues until the day that Huey hires a young artist named Rebecca to frame at his gallery. Through the inquisitive nature of Huey's mother, Miss Olivia, it is discovered that Rebecca has some troubles of her own. Her husband has filed custody of their two children, kicked her out of the house and is awaiting divorce proceedings for no apparent reason other than he states she is unfit mother.

Huey, Abigail and Miss Olivia will stop at nothing to find justice for their new friend and her children. The soon-to-be ex-husband, Nat, is part-owner in his family's successful car business, so he has money to make sure that he gets his way and that his wife is out of his and his children's lives forever. What Nat doesn't know is that Abigail is a former divorce lawyer with a number of tricks up her sleeve. What Abigail doesn't know is that this trial is exactly what she needs to realize that she is loved. Her ideal lifestyle tucked away on Pawley's might not have been as ideal when she believes and that she is capable of overcoming the death of her family with the help of her close friends and boyfriend and finding happiness again.

This book is an excellent summer read but unlike some this book has a well-thought out  plot and likable characters. I would recommend this book to anyone who has read the Hurricane Sisters. It's an older title, so I bet you could stop by your local library and pick it up today! 

Happy Reading!