REVIEW: The Bloom Girls by Amy Pine

Title: The Bloom Girls
Author: Amy Pine
Narrator: Barrie Kreinik / Caitlin Davies / Fred Berman
Publisher: Hachette Audio
Publication Date: August 2021
Genre: Women’s Fiction
Buy The Book: Amazon | BN | Audible

Description: Gilmore Girls meets My Big Fat Greek Wedding in this humorous, multi-generational story about a mother and daughter who discover that life happens when you least expect it.

Gabi Bloom doesn't believe in signs. She believes in photographic evidence, the view through her camera lens, and the snap of the shutter. It's why she traveled to Europe—to satisfy her wanderlust and to kick off her photography career. But in Ireland, all of that changed when Gabi gazed into the impossibly blue eyes of an American bartender. She wasn’t prepared for their intense and immediate attraction, or the fact that she’d be bringing Ethan home with her . . . as her fiancé.

Gabi's upcoming marriage is the cherry on top of her mother's current predicament. Stumbling toward forty, Alissa is a pastry chef who raised her daughter single-handedly while Gabi’s father traveled the globe. Now her baby girl is getting married after a whirlwind romance and Alissa—well, Alissa is pregnant. Again. And not only is her ex the father, he wants her back. For good. Until she can figure out that part of the puzzle, Alissa is hiding her big little secret even as she helps Gabi plan a happily-ever-after wedding. But somewhere between disaster and hope, life might just bloom in a way that is breathtakingly unexpected . . .

My Thoughts: I really liked this story and will start by saying it was much better than I was expecting. Honestly, a story about a woman who after raising her daughter primarily on her own for 22 years finds herself pregnant again by her ex-husband seemed a little cliché to me and I was expecting it to be overwrought with emotions, tears and drama. Instead, I was pleasantly surprised that this story centers on family, friendship, forgiveness, second chances and missed opportunities that had a little bit of weepy emotion but weighed much more heavily on humor and heartwarming moments.

This story is told from the two perspectives of Gabi Bloom and her mother, Alissa Adler. I really liked this because it gave me more a sense of each character’s personality and nature and I empathized with them both. Gabi is fresh out of college and goes on a trip to Ireland when she meets fellow American, Ethan Harris. After a whirlwind romance, they return to Chicago engaged to be married, with neither family knowing anything about it.

After a very brief marriage to Gabi’s father, Matthew Bloom, Alissa has been single and on her own for most of her life. She owns a bakery and her world is completely centered on her daughter, the light of her life. Gabi’s father has been a world traveler working in the conservation field and comes and goes. After Gabi’s college graduation, Alissa and Matthew spend a night together and surprise, surprise, she discovers she’s pregnant.

I enjoyed watching how each woman faces their lives and the situations they find themselves in, while figuring out what they are going to do. Is Gabi rushing into marriage before she’s ever had a chance to see the world and figure out what wants? Is Alissa ready to take on the challenges of starting over with another baby at this stage in her life? Will Matthew stick around for good?

The only issue I had with this story was the abrupt cliffhanger ending that came out of the blue. I have never been a fan of this and I didn’t feel it was needed in this story either. I really enjoyed this author and look forward to reading more of her work. The audio format for this story was fantastic too. The narration performed by Barrie Kreinik, Caitlin Davies and Fred Berman was wonderful and gave me more insight into the characters, their thoughts, feelings and personalities.

My Final Verdict: I highly recommend this story to readers who enjoy women’s fiction but also stories that are rich in character and relationship driven. I think, like me, you will find yourself rooting for these characters to find their happily ever after.

Disclaimer: I received a complimentary copy of The Bloom Girls from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

REVIEW: She's Having Her Baby by Lauren Sams

Title: She’s Having Her Baby
Author: Lauren Sams
Publisher: Legend Press
Publication Date: July 2018
Genre: Women’s Fiction
Buy The Book: Amazon | BN

Description: Georgie Henderson doesn’t want to have kids, but her best friend, Nina, has wanted to have a baby for as long as she can remember. Sadly, Nina’s uterus refuses to cooperate. One drunken evening, Nina asks Georgie for the ultimate favor: would she carry a baby for her?
Georgie says yes and spends the next nine months wondering why. With intense bacon-and-egg roll cravings and distant memories of what her feet look like, Georgie tries to keep it all together in her dream job as the editor of Jolie magazine. Her love life’s a mess and sauvignon blanc’s off the menu, leaving Georgie to deal with twists in her life she never expected.

My Thoughts: This book was utterly amazing, funny, heartwarming and got me right in the feels numerous times. We all could use a friend in our lives like Georgie Henderson. She’s a career driven professional, though she is behind the eight-ball when it comes to staying on top of the technological advances in the world and especially digital publishing. The thing I loved about Georgie is she doesn’t make any apologies for who she is and that kind of person is who we all need in our lives. She is open, honest, blunt and would bend over backwards for her friends.

Georgie doesn’t want children, the jury is out whether she wants marriage as well, but when her best friend Nina suffers another failure with fertility, Nina asks Georgie to be a surrogate. Not having children, myself, it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to realize that asking someone to carry a baby for you is a BIG deal and the decision should not be taken lightly. Surprising herself, Nina, and everyone around her, me included, Georgie agrees. She doesn’t bother to tell her live-in boyfriend, however so you know there’s a huge can of worms just waiting to open here.

Life has a way of throwing curve balls at us, especially when we think we are in control of our collective fates and destiny and Georgie is no exception. When she goes in for the embryo implantation, the doctor tells her it cannot be done because she is already pregnant! Yes, the woman who has no interest in having children of her own has a bun in the oven and it’s a huge understatement to say neither Georgie nor Nina respond well to the news.

What I absolutely loved about this story is we get to join Georgie on this detour that life has thrown her. Without adding any personal beliefs or preferences, the author gives Georgie the freedom to explore all her options. Georgie is in a state of shock and is newly single since the above mentioned can of worms was opened and the live-in boyfriend doesn’t respond well to Georgie’s decision to carry someone’s baby without telling him. Georgie is struggling with whether or not she wants the baby and, more importantly, can she do this? Can she be who this baby will need her to be? Can she love this baby enough? Can she manage the responsibility of another person depending on her 24 / 7 / 365 for their very survival? I honestly was on pins and needles wondering what Georgie would do.

My Final Verdict: The story was hilarious and the author was amazing. I absolutely loved Lauren Sams’s voice and look forward to reading more from her. I highly recommend this book to readers who love stories that make them laugh and that feature characters that are easy to relate to and empathize with.

Disclaimer: I received a complimentary copy of She’s Having Her Baby from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

REVIEW: The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid

Title: The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo
Author: Taylor Jenkins Reid
Narrator: Alma Cuervo, Julia Whelan and Robin Miles
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio
Publication Date: June 2017
Genre: Historical Fiction / LGBT / Women’s Fiction
Buy The Book: Amazon | BN | Audible

Description: Aging and reclusive Hollywood movie icon Evelyn Hugo is finally ready to tell the truth about her glamorous and scandalous life. But when she chooses unknown magazine reporter Monique Grant for the job, no one is more astounded than Monique herself. Why her? Why now?

Monique is not exactly on top of the world. Her husband has left her, and her professional life is going nowhere. Regardless of why Evelyn has selected her to write her biography, Monique is determined to use this opportunity to jumpstart her career.

Summoned to Evelyn’s luxurious apartment, Monique listens in fascination as the actress tells her story. From making her way to Los Angeles in the 1950s to her decision to leave show business in the ‘80s, and, of course, the seven husbands along the way, Evelyn unspools a tale of ruthless ambition, unexpected friendship, and a great forbidden love. Monique begins to feel a very real connection to the legendary star, but as Evelyn’s story nears its conclusion, it becomes clear that her life intersects with Monique’s own in tragic and irreversible ways.

My Thoughts: "Heartbreak is loss. Divorce is a piece of paper.” ~ Evelyn Hugo.

With Evelyn Hugo, the reader is introduced to a woman who knows what she wants, will pull out all the stops to achieve her goals and makes no apologies. She’s brash, brazen, willful, secretive, interesting and painfully human. At seventy-nine years of age, Evelyn is still beautiful and breathtaking with the posture of a ballerina.

Monique Grant is the complete opposite. She’s a hard worker and talented writer. She’s the child of a mixed-race marriage, raised by her white mother after her black father died when she was a child. She is desperate to make a name for herself as a writer. She’s newly single after less than a year of marriage and nobody is more surprised than she is when the reclusive film star, Evelyn Hugo, requests her, specifically, to write her authorized biography. Right away, one can’t help but wonder what the connection is between the two women.

I absolutely loved this story and how it is told in flashbacks from Evelyn’s point of view as she is relaying it to Monique for the biography. Evelyn was born Evelyn Herrera of Cuban heritage and grew up in Hell’s Kitchen. Her mother died when Evelyn was young, leaving her with an abusive father. Evelyn will do anything to escape this life, even marrying Ernie Diaz at the age of fifteen. Together, they make their way to Hollywood where Ernie secures employment as a film grip. Evelyn knows she is not suited to life as a housewife and quickly learns how to use her looks and sexual prowess to her advantage.

This story follows Evelyn over sixty years, seven husbands, a daughter and navigating her way as a bisexual woman in a society where marriages are arranged and dismantled at the whim of the studio for publicity and where Evelyn and so many performers like her have to keep their sexual identity a closely guarded secret. Evelyn’s life, loves and losses are laid bare for the reader to see and I couldn’t help but admire this woman for her survival skills and mourn her losses and cheer her victories.

I also liked Monique and understood her fan girl awe meeting Evelyn for the first time. She obviously has so many questions for Evelyn and I felt her frustration at being stonewalled. When their connection is revealed at the end of the story, I understood the sense of betrayal and rage Monique feels and thought it was portrayed realistically and accurately.

I chose the audiobook format of this story and the narration performances of Alma Cuervo, Julia Whelan and Robin Miles was nothing short of brilliant. Their performances made the story and the characters come alive. It made the characters easy to connect to and empathize with.

Major kudos go out to Taylor Jenkins Reid. The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo was the first book I have read by this very talented author and I am most eager to read her entire backlist.

My Final Verdict: I suspect this story will stay with me for a very long time. Evelyn’s life and her seven husbands pulled me in and I couldn’t look away. I wasn’t sure what to make of her at first, but without even realizing it, she wormed her way into my heart and I was completely mesmerized by her, as most people around her were. I highly recommend this story to all readers who enjoy stories of real-world life and struggles involving people who are just like all of us, trying to find our place in the world and carve out a little slice of happiness that will last a lifetime.

REVIEW: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling

Title: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (Harry Potter #7)
Author: J.K. Rowling
Narrator: Jim Dale
Publisher: Pottermore Publishing
Publication Date: November 2015
Genre: Children’s / Fantasy / Young Adult
Buy The Book: Amazon | BN | Audible

Description: ‘Give me Harry Potter,' said Voldemort's voice, 'and none shall be harmed. Give me Harry Potter, and I shall leave the school untouched. Give me Harry Potter, and you will be rewarded.'

As he climbs into the sidecar of Hagrid's motorbike and takes to the skies, leaving Privet Drive for the last time, Harry Potter knows that Lord Voldemort and the Death Eaters are not far behind. The protective charm that has kept Harry safe until now is broken, but he cannot keep hiding. The Dark Lord is breathing fear into everything Harry loves and to stop him Harry will have to find and destroy the remaining Horcruxes. The final battle must begin - Harry must stand and face his enemy...

Having become classics of our time, the Harry Potter stories never fail to bring comfort and escapism. With their message of hope, belonging and the enduring power of truth and love, the story of the Boy Who Lived continues to delight generations of new listeners.

My Thoughts: My feelings while reading this book were very bittersweet. Even knowing how it would play out, I wanted to savor this last Harry Potter story. Knowing I would cry as some of the main characters are killed did not deter me. The same feeling of hopelessness I felt before came back, compassion for Harry to lose so many loved ones, anger on his behalf for the cruelties and evil committed against him for no good reason and lastly pride that in spite of it all, Harry continues to be a giver instead of a taker, a boy quickly becoming a man and putting the needs of others in front of his own. Even at the very end, knowing that one of them must die, he is willing to make that ultimate sacrifice.

Most of this story takes place away from Hogwarts, unfortunately. Though Rowling does an amazing job of drawing us into the world Harry is currently situated, I still found myself missing the days at Hogwarts, as I’m sure Harry did. Sadly, there was no Diagon Alley trip to buy school supplies, no boarding of the Hogwarts Express at Platform 9 ¾ , no sorting hat ceremony, no Quidditch, no pranks by Peeves to contend with, no excursions to Hogsmeade on the weekends and no Halloween feast, just to name a few. After seven years, I had become so enamored of life at Hogwarts that not being able to be there bothered me a great deal. Instead, Harry is living in hiding with Ron and Hermione as public enemy #1. He is being hunted by Death Eaters constantly, so they are not staying in one place for too long. After a very near miss when Harry is being moved from the Dursleys and again at Bill and Fleur’s wedding, Harry’s only choice is to hide while hunting the Horcruxes. Luckily for him and Ron, Hermione foresaw this eventuality and planned ahead with supplies. Unfortunately, none of them know where to find the Horcruxes or how to destroy them.

Their quest takes them to several places as they try to decipher the clues that Dumbledore left for them. Tempers are short as well. They are all frustrated and I felt frustrated for them. Ultimately, the war comes full circle as Harry and his friends return to Hogwarts for the final showdown with Voldemort and his followers. Harry learns many truths that were kept from him until now and I felt that finding them out now made his resolve stronger. I don’t think he could have or would have appreciated the significance of the Deathly Hallows in his first or second year.

So now I have finished the series for the fourth time, breaking my own rule of never re-reading a book. I have thoroughly enjoyed this adventure with Harry, Ron and Hermione once again and I must say that this time around was even better. I am sad to see it end, however. This is a story that could have stretched into another 3 books, in my opinion. The audio narration performance by Jim Dale was both riveting and brilliant and makes the enjoyment of this series more pronounced.

I will miss Harry, Ron and Hermione but I know they are just a short distance away from me anytime I want to visit them again. And as Sirius said to Harry at the end of Azkaban, “the ones who love us never really leave us, you can always find them in here.”

My Final Verdict: As with every reading of the books in this series, there are things that stand out and resonate much louder for me than in prior readings that I somehow overlooked or forgot. In this reading those moments, in no particular order, were as follows:
1. Tonks and Remus get married and are having a baby, but Remus seems to be a reluctant father and Harry is angry and chastises Remus for not doing all he can to be with his family.
2. When Harry and the lookalikes all leave the house on Privet Drive, Harry’s destination is the home of Tonks’s parents before going to the Burrow.
3. Harry provides the hair for the Polyjuice potion willingly instead of Hermione yanking it out of his head.
4. Hermione wipes her parents’s memory and they go to Australia with new names. I don’t remember anything being clarified before about where or how they ended up.
5. Their departure from the Burrow is planned ahead instead of being a spur of the moment decision.
6. Ron puts out the story that he is ill with spattergroit to explain his absence from Hogwarts. Honestly, it never occurred to me in prior readings that their absence from Hogwarts would ever be an issue, in light of the events occurring in the wizarding world.
7. Hermione makes the connection of the ability of basilisk venom to destroy horcruxes before they leave the Burrow.
8. Harry uses Polyjuice potion to disguise himself at Bill and Fleur’s wedding.
9. Hagrid and Viktor Krum are both guests at the wedding.
10. Arthur Weasley sends his Petronus to Harry, Hermione and Ron to let them know everyone escaped and are fine.
11. Kreacher and Regulus went to the cave to switch out the lockets and Kreacher was ordered to leave and return to Grimmauld Place. Regulus was dragged into the water by the infieri. It was heartbreaking to hear Kreacher relating this to Harry and explained so much about why Kreacher was behaving the way he was up to this point. Kreacher’s attitude towards Harry, Hermione and Ron begins to thaw after he is shown kindness and when he tells Harry that he will have supper waiting for them upon their return from the ministry got me right in the feels.
12. Harry and Hermione use Polyjuice potion to disguise themselves as an elderly couple for their trip to Godric’s Hollow.
13. Phineas Nigellus Black reveals to Harry that the sword of Gryffindor destroyed the ring horcrux.
14. Rita Skeeter used veritas serum on Bathilda Bagshot to write her novel on Dumbledore. Honestly, she could give Dolores Umbridge a run for her money on which one I would love to slap into next week.
15. Bathilda is Grindelwald’s great aunt.
16. Harry realizes the resurrection stone is inside the snitch that was left for him by Dumbledore.
17. Harry, Hermione and Ron don’t get grabbed by the Snatchers right after leaving Lovegood’s house.
18. Griphook tells Harry that Gryffindor stole the sword himself and the goblins are the rightful owners.
19. A Deatheater confronts Harry, Hermione and Ron when they go to Gringotts to get into Bellatrix’s vault. Of course, I already knew that the bank had been warned of imposters but forgot that a Deatheater would be present.
20. Voldemort kills Severus Snape in the shrieking shack. The location didn’t really matter to me but I was surprised that I had forgotten something from one of the most heartbreaking scenes of the book. I will always wish that Harry and Snape could have mended their fences, but finally knowing the truth of everything and the role Snape played was therapeutic for Harry.
21. The gem in the ring worn by Marvolo Gaunt, that later was turned into a horcrux that cursed Dumbledore, was the resurrection stone. Has this book been edited and content changed? Did I read the same book the last three times? I honestly don’t remember this at all.
22. Kreacher makes an appearance at Hogwarts fighting alongside the elves.

REVIEW: Seven Dirty Secrets by Natalie D. Richards

Title: Seven Dirty Secrets
Author: Natalie D. Richards
Narrator: Natasha Soudek
Publisher: Dreamscape Media
Publication Date: November 2021
Genre: Teen / Young Adult / Mystery / Thriller

Description: I know seven dirty secrets:

One caused the fall. One did nothing. One saw it all.

One didn't care. One used their head. One played the hero.

One was left for dead.

On her eighteenth birthday, Cleo receives a mysterious invitation to a scavenger hunt. She's sure her best friend Hope or her brother Connor is behind it, but no one confesses. And as Cleo and Hope embark on the hunt, the seemingly random locations and clues begin to feel familiar.

In fact, all of the clues seem to be about Cleo's dead boyfriend, Declan, who drowned on a group rafting trip exactly a year ago. A bracelet she bought him. A song he loved. A photo of the rafting group, taken just before Declan drowned. And then the phone calls start, Declan's voice taunting Cleo with a cryptic question: You ready?

As the clock on the scavenger hunt ticks down, it becomes clear that someone knows what really happened to Declan. And that person will stop at nothing to make sure Cleo and her friends pay. Can they solve the hunt before someone else winds up dead?

My Thoughts: Told in first person point of view from Cleo, the reader is introduced to so many characters that I found it not only hard to keep it all straight, but started to get dizzy with all the who did what and to who merry-go-round.

In a nutshell, one year after her abusive boyfriend dies on a rafting trip, on her eighteenth birthday, Cleo finds a box in her home after she gets out of the shower. As she was the only person in the home, she has no idea who the sender is and the contents and clues are an invitation to a scavenger hunt. Sounds pretty interesting, right? Especially as the clues all point to her dead boyfriend, Declan, and the threat that if she doesn’t complete the scavenger hunt in time, this unknown person will ruin her life and tell everyone what really happened. Cleo ran track in high school and is looking to get into college to study forensics, so she has a lot to lose. Of course, I immediately assumed that Declan wasn’t dead, but has decided being the abusive jerk is fun and wants to torment Cleo, but that got old really quick and the only thing motivating me to continue was to just find out who was behind this and why.

There are several flashback scenes where the reader gets more than a passing introduction to Declan and the levels he would go to hurt Cleo, often without remorse. Major trigger warning for me and to be honest, pushed some hot buttons that nobody noticed what was happening to Cleo. It shouldn’t have surprised me as Cleo, her brother and all these so-called friends keep a lot of secrets, themselves. I didn’t rate this book higher than I am because I felt almost zero sympathy or compassion for any of them and when the identity of the person behind it is finally revealed, it wasn’t a surprise and really anti-climactic.

The narration performance by Natasha Soudek was well done. She demonstrated appropriate levels of emotion and tension to make the situation Cleo and her friends are going through realistic

My Final Verdict: This was my first book by this author and though overall, I found the book to be just OK, I would be willing to read more of her work. The premise of the story was amazing and is what drew me to the story in the first place, but the delivery left me disappointed.

Disclaimer: I received a complimentary copy of Seven Dirty Secrets from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.