REVIEW: When Life Gives You Lululemons by Lauren Weisberger

Title: When Life Gives You Lululemons (The Devil Wears Prada #3)
Author: Lauren Weisberger
Narrator: Laura Benanti
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Publication Date: June 2018
Genre: Women’s Fiction
Buy the Book: Amazon | BN | Audible

Description: New York Times bestselling author Lauren Weisberger returns with a novel starring one of her favorite characters from The Devil Wears Prada—Emily Charlton, first assistant to Miranda Priestly, now a highly successful image consultant who’s just landed the client of a lifetime.

Welcome to Greenwich, CT, where the lawns and the women are perfectly manicured, the Tito’s and sodas are extra strong, and everyone has something to say about the infamous new neighbor.

Let’s be clear: Emily Charlton, Miranda Priestly’s ex-assistant, does not do the suburbs. She’s working in Hollywood as an image consultant to the stars, but recently, Emily’s lost a few clients. She’s hopeless with social media. The new guard is nipping at her heels. She needs a big opportunity, and she needs it now.

Karolina Hartwell is as A-list as they come. She’s the former face of L’Oreal. A mega-supermodel recognized the world over. And now, the gorgeous wife of the newly elected senator from New York, Graham, who also has his eye on the presidency. It’s all very Kennedy-esque, right down to the public philandering and Karolina’s arrest for a DUI—with a Suburban full of other people’s children.

Miriam is the link between them. Until recently she was a partner at one of Manhattan’s most prestigious law firms. But when Miriam moves to Greenwich and takes time off to spend with her children, she never could have predicted that being stay-at-home mom in an uber-wealthy town could have more pitfalls than a stressful legal career.

Emily, Karolina, and Miriam make an unlikely trio, but they desperately need each other. Together, they’ll navigate the social landmines of life in America’s favorite suburb on steroids, revealing the truths—and the lies—that simmer just below the glittering surface. With her signature biting style, Lauren Weisberger offers a dazzling look into another sexy, over-the-top world, where nothing is as it appears.

My Thoughts: This was a fantastic wrap up to a series that has been one wild ride. No Andrea in this story and Miranda makes an appearance but not in the way I have come to expect of her, so it was quite interesting and surprising. After the events of the second book, Emily has moved to Los Angeles to become an image consultant for the celebrity class. She has had moderate success until she starts losing clients for more prestigious opportunities. Emily finds herself visiting her friend Miriam in the wilds of Greenwich, Connecticut, which is a big step for Emily as she does not do the suburbs…ever.

Miriam used to be a big shot lawyer in New York until she realized that her career was removing her from every aspect of her young children’s lives, so she and her husband, Paul, pack it in and move to Greenwich where she has to learn to navigate a whole new class of women who bide their time until school pickups with Pilates, lunch and in depth conversations about the latest, greatest and controversial plastic surgery techniques and procedures. Miriam feels way out of her depth and begins to wonder if her former eighty hour a week job is less of a stressor.

Karolina is a former Victoria’s Secret model and the face of L’Oreal and has been married to New York Senator Graham for ten years and loving stepmother to twelve year old Harry. It appears she is living the dream until she is pulled over and arrested for DUI with Harry and his friends in the car. On the heels of her arrest, her husband informs her she is unstable, has a drinking problem and he no longer trusts her with his son. Cue the divorce lawyer music…

These women join forces to prove Karolina’s arrest was a set up by her husband to obtain a quick divorce so he can marry his mistress, the daughter of a former President. Emily and Miriam will pull out all the stops to remake Karolina’s public image, expose the dark secrets Graham is hiding and somehow survive the Greenwich wives and mothers looking down their noses.

This book was so much fun. Emily is in top form and that is saying a lot because I had a major grievance with her after book two. I’m so glad that Emily has come full circle, as it were, to be present for her friends while rebuilding her career and facing off with Miranda. I won’t spoil anything, but Miranda’s appearance in this story, though small, carries a punch and reminded me all over again that Miranda didn’t get to where she is by sitting back and letting life happen to her. She is an action taker and when Emily receives assistance from this unexpected quarter, I couldn’t help but wonder if Emily has enough of her soul left to sell this time around.

The friendship dynamic between the three women was very enjoyable to watch and getting the separate points of view of all three women throughout the book helped me connect to them each on a more meaningful level. The writing is woven tightly with each moment drawing the reader further into the lives of these interesting women. The audio narration performed by Lauran Benanti was superb, bringing the personalities of these characters to life.

My Final Verdict: Though it’s a little bittersweet to see the series come to an end, there are still many surprises tucked into this story that will delight the reader. I highly recommend this story to fans of women’s fiction as well as strong characters who speak their mind and take no prisoners and could care less whether they impress you or not.

Thank you to the publisher, Simon and Schuster, who provided an advance reader copy of this book via NetGalley.

REVIEW: The Bayou Never Tells by Chelley St. Clair

Title: The Bayou Never Tells
Author: Chelley St. Clair
Publisher: Chelley St. Clair
Publication Date: October 2022
Genre: Dark Romance
Buy the Book: Amazon | BN

Description: The only thing darker than the waters of the Louisiana bayou are the secrets it holds. I’d know—I’ve buried more than a few myself.

She was supposed to be one of them.

I was the boy who never had a chance, an orphan recruited by the devil himself, until the family I never knew gave me something to live for.

Then my brother brought her home—the rich politician’s daughter, a real-life fairytale princess who had no place in our world. We were oil and water, and making her leave became my mission, ’til the little tag-along ended up in my passenger’s seat driving cross-country. That’s when we discovered a common thread… something that ran soul deep. Something hard to resist.

But no one I cared about was safe, and when she left, I made her promise never to come back.

Turns out, she lied.

Now the devil who claimed my future wants her, as well, and when I’m faced with a choice, who will come out alive?

The demons who own me?

The family who loves me?

Or the girl I wasn’t supposed to fall for?

Only the bayou knows…

And its secrets die here.

My Thoughts: Before reading this book, if someone had asked me if I knew what the dark romance genre entailed, I would not have had a clue. This genre typically involves morally corrupt characters with a focus on violence and danger. In a dark romance story, you will get characters who are broken, anti-social, lost and sometimes appear to be beyond redemption. They are strong willed and have learned to survive, usually by keeping to themselves and relying only on their own instincts. Trust is not easily given by these characters and everyone who comes into their world has to work hard to earn it. Silas Montgomery is such a character. He has had to rely on his own wits to survive, trying to stay one step ahead of the people he works for to protect the family he loves. He has had to perform the most heinous and unspeakable acts and he struck me as someone who has lost his soul.

Where Silas is all darkness, Ivy is Summer is light. She is best friends with Silas’s little brother and before meeting Silas, she thought of Grady as her soul mate. Growing up in a powerful political family, she has never been allowed to forget she is expected to perform her duty to her family. Like Silas, she is surrounded by people who would use her as a pawn for their own gain.

Silas and Ivy are like oil and water. Their obvious differences in their backgrounds is just the beginning. Silas makes it very clear he doesn’t like Ivy and doesn’t want her around and she feels the same way. Watching them interact with one another over the course of a road trip was wonderful as without realizing it, Silas begins to slowly drop his guard around Ivy and she can begin to see him behind the mask he wears for everyone else.

The darkness surrounding this story and these characters was so thick, you could cut it with a knife. This story is filled with numerous triggers, so be prepared. Even knowing about the triggers in advance, this story still gutted me and left me bleeding on the floor. This story also had me laughing out loud and blushing furiously like a virgin on her wedding night, so yes, I am now a fan of this author’s writing and of this genre.

My Final Verdict: This story was intricately carved and twisted with complex characters that drew me in and took me completely by surprise. Mixed in with the darkness and outside of the violence surrounding these characters, there’s love, healing, friendship and forgiveness. I highly recommend this book to readers of all romance genres, especially those who love the intensity and moral ambiguity that dark romances bring.

REVIEW: Crazy Busy Guilty by Lauren Sams

Title: Crazy Busy Guilty
Author: Lauren Sams
Narrator: Lucy Goleby
Publisher: Legend Press
Publication Date: April 2019
Genre: Women’s Fiction
Buy the Book: Amazon | BN | Audible

Description: There’s life Before Baby and life After Baby. Any idiot knows that. I knew that. Except I didn’t know what life After Baby would really be like…

Georgie Henderson is discovering that in the twenty-first century being a Good Working Mum means answering emails at midnight while you purée vegetables, line up play dates and French lessons for your four-month-old daughter.

Georgie’s ex, Jase, gets 100 per cent of the credit for 5 per cent of the work, and her best friend, Nina, is on a ‘self-discovery’ journey that involves a young bartender and a plan to become an artisanal florist. And all her mum wants is for her to find a man. Preferably the one who is the father of her child. And Georgie? She just wants a nap, which she's quickly discovering is harder to come by than nuts at a preschool.

My Thoughts: Readers first meet Georgie Henderson in She’s Having Her Baby when, after agreeing to be a surrogate for her best friend, Nina, Georgie finds herself pregnant with her ex-boyfriend’s baby. This book is the follow-up after Georgie has Pippa and her journey of now figuring out how she can have the uber successful career as a magazine editor and be a good mother. She’s faced with unsympathetic bosses, women who project the perfect mother image, problems with breast feeding and wondering when Pippa will finally sleep through the night so she can get a decent night of sleep herself.

This story was wickedly hilarious, deeply heartfelt and completely relatable. Georgie isn’t the first woman to walk this path and she certainly won’t be the last but her observations were highly intuitive and perfectly applicable to the times we are living in. I loved the interpersonal relationships George has and the changes having a baby brings to her life and felt a lot of empathy for her.

The story is highly character and relationship driven and the author does a wonderful job of creating characters the reader will absolutely adore. Additionally, the audiobook format narrated by Lucy Goleby was stellar. Her performance and delivery of the numerous character’s dialogue really illustrates the various personalities in this story and made the reading experience of this book even better. I really hope this author writes more because the experience of meeting Georgie and tagging along on this unexpected adventure is well worth the price of admission.

My Final Verdict: I highly recommend this book to readers who love women’s fiction mixed with humor and filled with characters and situations that we all can relate to.

Thank you to the publisher, Legend Press, who provided an advance reader copy of this book via NetGalley.

REVIEW: Meet Me at Beachcomber Bay by Jill Mansell

Title: Meet Me at Beachcomber Bay
Author: Jill Mansell
Publisher: Sourcebooks Landmark
Publication Date: May 2017
Genre: Women’s Fiction
Buy the Book: Amazon | BN | Audible

Description: Love is in the air in St Carys, but you'd never know it - the people of this seaside town are very good at keeping secrets...

The man Clemency loves belongs to someone else. She has to hide her true feelings - but when she ropes in an unsuspecting friend to help, wires start to get crossed.

For the first time in Ronan's life his charm has failed him in winning over the woman he wants. Loving her from afar appears to be his only option.

Belle seems to have the perfect boyfriend, but something isn't quite right. And now a long-buried secret is slowly rising to the surface.

The truth has a funny way of revealing itself, and when it does St Carys will be a very different place indeed...

My Thoughts: If you enjoy stories that are rich in characters with interwoven and entertaining stories, a book by Jill Mansell is what you need and Meet Me at Beachcomber Bay is an excellent choice.

I love how Jill Mansell creates stories that are full of many characters with vibrant personalities, giving them their own voices and storylines without confusing the reader or bogging them down in unnecessary detail. The story flows smoothly, allowing the reader a wonderful opportunity to get to know everyone in the story and the role they play. When I read a Jill Mansell novel, I know I am going to love the characters and will be drawn in their lives so fully, it feels like I know these people personally.

I loved how Clemency and Sam meet and at first she seems to be someone who is all over the place with her energy and enthusiasm. Like Sam, I was quickly drawn into her personality and enjoyed getting to know her. Their chemistry was wonderful and I felt just as morose upon learning that he is married. Fast forward three years later, Clemency and Sam meet again, this time he is dating Clemency’s stepsister, Belle, and they have a pact that they will not go after each other’s boyfriends. So now Sam is off-limits.

Belle is a little less likable, very spoiled and appears to have a very competitive streak where Clemency is concerned (long history there) and appears to take great pleasure in rubbing Clemency’s nose in the fact that she has this most amazing boyfriend and Clemency is still single. Of course, Belle has no idea that Clemency and Sam have already met. Clemency asks her work colleague and friend, Ronan, to pretend to be her boyfriend to shut Belle up. Belle also had a thing for Ronan back in the day but it never went anywhere.

I liked Ronan and loved his friendship with Clemency. Their attempts to appear like they were head over heels in love had me laughing myself silly as much it did them. Ronan has a reputation as a ladies man and a bit of a player so it was a lot of fun watching how this would all play out.

Supporting characters Marina, Ronan’s mom, Josephine, Kate the mail carrier and Verity added much depth and context to the story and the lives of Clemency, Ronan and Belle. This story also delivers several unexpected twists and surprises that I thoroughly enjoyed.

My Final Verdict: I picked up this book at the perfect time, looking for a story that would draw me in completely and give me the warm fuzzies I was looking for. I am committed to reading everything this author writes and I recommend you do too. Whether you are a fan of contemporary romance, women’s fiction or general fiction, this book will bring a smile to your face and a sense of contentment achieved by spending quality time with people you care about.

Thank you to the publisher, Sourcebooks Landmark, who provided an advance reader copy of this book via NetGalley.

REVIEW: I Have Never by Camilla Isley

Title: I Have Never (First Comes Love #2)
Author: Camilla Isley
Narrator: Audra Cook
Publisher: Kobo Writing Life
Publication Date: July 2017
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Buy the Book: Amazon | BN | Audible

Description: Twenty-nine-year-old Blair Walker is a girl with a plan, or more a girl with a list. A list of dos and don'ts to live the perfect life, land a dream career, and marry Mr. Right.

When Blair loses her job and gets dumped by her boyfriend all in one day, she starts to wonder if she's had it all wrong. And what better way to find out than experience everything the list forbade?

Never Lie
Never Pick a Fight
Never Make a Scene
Never Make the First Move
Never Make Impulse Decisions
Never Mix Business and Pleasure...

With hilarious consequences, Blair will discover some items are trickier to tick off than she'd thought...

My Thoughts: This book has everything I expect in the romance genre and had me laughing out loud and cheering for these two characters. In addition, I’m a big softie for stories where dogs and cats have a prominent role and this story offers that too. I thought Blair was an amazing character, fearless in some ways and vulnerable in others. She isn’t afraid to speak her mind but she has lived her life to a plan and never deviated. Denied her promotion and losing her job, she refuses to feel sorry for herself. When her creep boyfriend breaks up with her on the same day, she doesn’t show weakness there either. The restaurant scene with the spaghetti was priceless!

I liked Richard too. I don’t recommend pursuing a relationship with your boss, but the dynamic between Blair and Richard was quite unique in that they met under unusual circumstances before he becomes her boss. He has a lot of failed relationship trauma and doesn’t appear to want to go down that road again but the reader is given an insider’s view into his big old sappy heart when a stray dog enters the picture.

I love this author’s writing. The stories are witty and entertaining with characters that are easy to like and relate to. I paired the reading of this book with the audiobook and really enjoyed Audra Cook’s narration. This book is wonderful in any format.

My Final Verdict: Overall, this book will appeal to readers who enjoy the romance genre as well as stories that will make you laugh and feature feisty dogs who wiggle their way into the front row of the story.

Thank you to the publisher, Kobo Writing Life, who provided an advance reader copy of this book via NetGalley.

REVIEW: Killing Moon by Rebecca York

Title: Killing Moon (Moon #1)
Author: Rebecca York
Publisher: Berkley
Publication Date: January 2003
Genre: Romantic Suspense / Paranormal Romance
Buy the Book: Amazon | BN

Description: The national bestselling author delivers this suspenseful tale of paranormal romance for the new Berkley Sensation romance line. A private investigator on the trail of a serial killer has a secret of his own--an ancient secret that draws a beautiful genetic researcher closer to him.

My Thoughts: Twenty-three years ago, I read a lot more paranormal tropes than I do now. I still enjoy them, but you know how it is. Life’s responsibilities take over, other books beckon louder and before you know it, a book you intended to read over two decades ago gets buried in the gigantic to be read pile. As part of my alphabet challenge this year, I needed a book written by an author whose last name began with ‘Y’ and this one popped right up. Thank goodness for websites, such as Goodreads, that give me the opportunity to see all the books I own and see which ones I have been sitting on the longest.

Regardless of whether or not you are a fan of paranormal tropes, Killing Moon proved to be quite interesting as well delivering an edge of the seat experience. I found Ross Marshall to be an intriguing character. As a private investigator, he has been hired by the parents of a missing girl to find out what happened to her. As a werewolf, he has the ability to hunt clues in a way no mere human can. Ross meets Dr. Megan Sheridan when his werewolf sleuthing brings him a little too close to a serial killer’s bullet.

Megan Sheridan is a genetics researcher. She goes to meet Ross after he calls her lab requesting genetic testing to see if something can be done about a genetic abnormality in his family that prevents female children surviving past birth and male children rarely surviving past age fifteen or sixteen. She doesn’t know about Ross’s lycanthropy but when she arrives at his home, she finds him with a leg wound that is infected.

I loved that this story is not your run of the mill werewolf story. Ross is able to transform at will by reciting a Gaelic verse and as wolf he looks like a standard wolf, not the horrifying monsters you see in films, slobbering and foaming at the mouth attacking and killing here, there and everywhere. As a wolf, Ross has full awareness of his mental, physical and emotional faculties and he has total recall of the events that transpire while in wolf form. Rather than the evil Romanian Gypsy curse, Ross’s lycanthropy is attributed to hereditary genetics.

This story had a lot of suspense for me with some very intense moments involving the serial killer Ross is hunting as well as an unknown person targeting Megan at the lab.

I thought the story was well written and the characters easy to like and relate to. There are currently ten books in the series and I recommend reading the series in order.

My Final Verdict: Overall, this was an enjoyable story with an interesting theory on lycanthropy that will feed a reader’s love of romance and suspense.

REVIEW: The Missing Ones by Patricia Gibney

Title: The Missing Ones (D.I. Lottie Parker #1)
Author: Patricia Gibney
Narrator: Michele Moran
Publisher: Bookouture
Publication Date: March 2017
Genre: Mystery / Thriller
Buy the Book: Amazon | BN | Audible

Description: The hole they dug was not deep. A white flour bag encased the little body. Three small faces watched from the window, eyes black with terror.

The child in the middle spoke without turning his head. I wonder which one of us will be next?

When a woman’s body is discovered in a cathedral and hours later a young man is found hanging from a tree outside his home, Detective Lottie Parker is called in to lead the investigation. Both bodies have the same distinctive tattoo clumsily inscribed on their legs. It’s clear the pair are connected, but how?

The trail leads Lottie to St. Angela’s, a former children’s home, with a dark connection to her own family history. Suddenly the case just got personal.

As Lottie begins to link the current victims to unsolved murders decades old, two teenage boys go missing. She must close in on the killer before they strike again, but in doing so is she putting her own children in terrifying danger?

Lottie is about to come face to face with a twisted soul who has a very warped idea of justice.

My Thoughts: First time reading this author and I feel like I’ve been tossed out of a window from a very tall building. There were so many twists and turns coming at me from every direction. The main character, Lottie Parker is a multi-layered character that even after reading this book and seeing what she has gone through in her life, it feels like we have barely scraped the surface, so this series should be read in order.

I really liked this character and empathized with the burden she is carrying and the challenges she is facing. I love that the author depicts this character carrying an immense amount of emotional baggage and struggles with guilt over her job taking her time and attention away from her kids. She also struggles with sobriety, and after witnessing what she is going through and the horrors of the job, who can blame her? I would be grabbing a bottle and joining her.

This story is very triggering, so prepare yourself as this book is filled with horrific episodes of murder, abuse and torture of children and the coverup by corrupt church officials. I paired the audiobook format with the book and it helped me maintain a bystander’s perspective of the events, though it was very dark and disturbing.

I enjoyed the interactions between Lottie and Boyd and hope the reader will be given more detail into their relationship. It’s obvious they care for one another but Lottie keeps him at arm’s reach, likely because of her status as a widow. I also enjoyed meeting Lottie’s children and her mother and hope they will continue to be present in future books.

My Final Verdict: The series is currently sitting at fifteen books so there is a lot to unpack. I highly recommend this book to readers who love thrillers and mysteries.

Thank you to the publisher, Bookouture, who provided an advance reader copy of this book via NetGalley.