Home » Women’s Fiction (Page 7)
Category Archives: Women’s Fiction
The Ballerinas–a milieu of striving
The Ballerinas
by Rachel Kapelke-Dale
There is something to be said for a book that takes a reader through a whole gamut of emotions and reactions. The Ballerinas was that book for me. I have loved ballet since I was in second grade and started taking dance lessons. I grew up reading dancer biographies and as an adult watching the TV show Fame and various dance movies. I thought I knew how difficult being truly dedicated to becoming a dancer is. The Ballerinas reinforced my beliefs about dancer education but also took my understanding to a whole new level.
I didn’t really like the way the author told the story going back and forth between the younger versions of Delfine, Lindsay, and Margaux, the main characters, and the same dancers as adults. Although the month and year are spelled out for each part of the narration, the storyline jumps back and forth. I imagine this was partly done because of some secrets the author was holding back to create tension and chose to gradually reveal them. Nevertheless, I found this style somewhat distracting and confusing.
I did not like the characters in the first part of the book. I came to like them more as their motivations were gradually revealed, but I never really empathized with any of them. Delphine is the narrator. The story is told from her point of view, and the reader learns most about her. She does grow and change, but it is a difficult and uncomfortable journey for Delphine and for the reader.
As the story is told, it is obvious that something happened that changed the dynamic between the friends. The hints become stronger as the book progresses. Other areas of conflict rise to the surface towards the end of the book and burst through in tense scenes of dramatic confrontation.
The themes of the book also ebb and flow. Some are strictly focused on ballet. Others examine the power struggle between men and women and how people use each other with their focus on themselves. Trust, reliability, friendship, and striving to reach goals are among the themes. I ponder the handling of forgiveness in this novel. There are some major events and issues that should have been addressed. They were not explored by the characters as much as would have been necessary for actual forgiveness to occur; that glossing over and moving on did not seem realistic to me. I wanted to like this book more than I did; I admit I was fascinated by the storyline towards the end of the book and the resolution was surprising.
I received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
Rating: 3/5
Category: General Fiction, Women’s Fiction
Notes: The text is replete with “f… bombs.”
Publication: December 7, 2021—St. Martin’s Press
Memorable Lines:
I’d thought that I’d escaped our shared history by moving to Russia. I thought that I’d separated myself from the ghosts of my past. And yet here we were, pulling apart and coming back together in infinite variations, like a kaleidoscope, a courtly dance that never ended.
“I love you,” I whispered to him on the banks of the sparkling Neva, as we stared up at the gold domes of the city. And he kissed me fiercely, hungrily, until I could almost forget he didn’t say it too.
“Everything good is risky,” she said. “The thing that you have to remember is that if you don’t risk anything, you risk everything.”
Three Sisters–survival in the midst of death
Three Sisters
by Heather Morris
I present to you a review for a book that will transport you unwillingly from Slovakia into the death camps of Auschwitz and Birkenau. The horrors are especially difficult to read about because this novel was so well researched including interviews with primary sources, two of the three sisters who are protagonists in Heather Morris’ Three Sisters. The third sister had passed away before the author began this project. Unlike some survivors of the concentration camps, these sisters talked about their experiences to people who wanted to hear, especially their family members. These relatives were a treasure trove of information about the camps, the Nazi selections of individuals, hiding from the SS, and the kindness and treachery of nonJews.
Family, of course, is very important to Cibi, Magda, and Livi, the three sisters. Their father makes them promise to always stay together and support each other. Their grandfather gives them the mantra of “hope and strength” which they carry with them through the worst of times. Later they can joke about bad conditions by comparing them to the deprivation they experienced in the camps.
Three Sisters is a hard book to read, but another worthwhile reminder to not allow this history to repeat itself. Ironically, the last part of the book which was about happier times brought the strongest emotional response from me. This reaction is a tribute to Heather Morris as a storyteller who, despite the tragic subject matter, brings her characters to life in such a way that you feel like you really know them and you understand them as much as is possible as an outside observer.
I recommend this book. I know these characters will stay with me for a long time.
I received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
Rating: 5/5
Category: Historical Fiction, Literary Fiction, Women’s Fiction
Notes: by the author of The Tattooist of Auschwitz
Publication: October 5, 2021—St. Martin’s Press
Memorable Lines:
As the plaintive cries of their families fade, new voices—angry, hate-filled voices—greet them as they make their passage through the town. Their former friends and neighbors are hurling rotten fruit and stale bread at their heads, yelling their joy that the Jews are finally leaving. Cibi and Livi are stunned by the taunts, the full-throated bile being dispensed from snarling mouths.
…they will never forget their desperation to put something, anything, in their stomachs. These days they savor every mouthful, but, more than that, they cherish the freedom to move around the city as they choose, no longer under the watchful and penetrating gaze of a kapo or worse, an SS officer.
Cibi thinks about the space in her heart where God used to live and wonders, for a second, if the peace she feels in her sisters’ arms is a sign that maybe He never really left.
Christmas at the Sleigh Café–fun romance
Christmas at the Sleigh Café
by Melinda Curtis
I was delighted that Christmas at the Sleigh Café met my expectations for a Melinda Curtis clean and sweet romance with some serious themes. This was a quick read for me because I was enjoying it so much. The story takes place in Christmas Mountain, Montana. Allie Jameson has not made her fame or fortune in New York City as her family expected. She is passionate about dancing, but bad breaks, including one in her foot, have led to a bus ride back home to regroup. She is met by her long time best friend, Nick, a trained chef who has also returned to Christmas Mountain to help his family and decide on his future.
Allie quickly becomes involved in helping others as a barista at Nick’s family’s coffee shop, a substitute dance teacher, and a designer in setting up her mother’s new business. Nick is always there to support Allie as she works through various issues, but what is it that Nick wants out of life? Is friendship really enough for either of them or might a kiss destroy that friendship?
Christmas at the Sleigh Café is a wonderful story to read at Christmas time, but the themes and issues are relevant all year long. I recommend this book for characters, setting and plot. These elements merit at least four stars, but my enjoyment of the book, including Allie’s inner dialogue and the gentle humor, ramp it up to 5 stars for me.
I received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
Rating: 5/5
Category: Romance, Women’s Fiction
Notes: I realized when writing my review that this book is part of a multi-author series, the Christmas Mountain Romance Series. It seemed like a standalone to me so I recommend it even for readers who have not been following this series.
Publication: October 25, 2022—Franny Beth Books
Memorable Lines:
“And I suspect my time as a dancer is over.” The words cut me. They cut inside where I kept my dreams wrapped in gossamer wings.
“As for the meaning of life…” He shrugged. “I think it’s to be kind to one another, find something you’re passionate about, and love someone.”
I stumbled as I turned, probably tripping over pieces of my heart. I couldn’t see for the tears that suddenly filled my eyes.
The Christmas Spirit–sharing Christmas
The Christmas Spirit
by Debbie Macomber
What could the pastor of Light of Life church and the owner/bartender/waiter/janitor of the Last Call tavern possibly have in common? They were childhood friends and they maintain their connection by meeting at Mom’s Place monthly for lunch. Pete is clean-cut and Hank looks a little rough and shaggy, but they both love Jesus and people.
Debbie Macomber’s The Christmas Spirit is a humorous romance that is as Christmasy as Dickens’ A Christmas Carol. With only one week to go before Christmas, the two men decide to change places for a week because each thinks he has a harder job than the other. Walking in each other’s shoes teaches the men a lot of lessons about how to deal with all kinds of people with love and compassion and how to trust God. The pastor has to stand up to some tough characters including the Hell’s Outlaws, and Hank must confront the equally challenging Mrs. Millstone who dangles the large donation of a new roof for the church over the pastor’s head.
Both men are single so you can expect some romance. The women they are interested in have backgrounds that complicate their relationships. The waitress Millie might be unacceptable to Pete’s congregation, and the woman who has caught Hank’s attention happens to be Pete’s sister and the church secretary. Because of past pain, she has shut herself off to others with a superior attitude.
The story has a sweet format as Nana tells it to her two grandchildren who have come over to visit. Instead of a fairy tale, she tells them a real story. Eight year old Lance is good with that, but Nana has to promise to forewarn him if there is any kissing so he can cover his ears. Six year old Lily is delighted that there will be kissing. The plot progresses quickly with interludes in which Nana and the kids reflect on events in the story.
So many problems arise, some fun and some more serious. Characters must rise to the occasion to overcome biases, think outside the box, and trust God to work things out.
I received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
Rating: 5/5
Category: General Fiction, Romance, Women’s Fiction
Notes: This is a good book for anyone who feels “church people” are too stuffy or hypocritical.…or for any Christians still holding onto biases. After you read this, you may come away with a new understanding of how God’s love is meant to play out in our world today.
Publication: October 18, 2022—Random House (Ballantine)
Memorable Lines:
Never in all his days had he met anyone more self-righteous than Grace Ann Armstrong. The woman had her nose so far up in the air that she was in danger of drowning in a rainstorm.
In Hank’s way of thinking, Gracie was so heavenly minded, she was no earthly good. Life was black and white for her, unlike Pete, whose real gift was understanding human nature and accepting others for exactly who they were. Pete was never one to cram faith down anyone’s throat. He loved people, and anyone who spent time with him, even a short while, recognized as much.
“Doesn’t the church belong to God?” he asked. “Technically…yes, but…” “It seems to me,” he said, “if God is who you say He is, then it makes sense to me that He knows that the roof needs to be replaced and He’ll see to it.”
The Post Box at the North Pole–falling in love with Christmas
The Post Box at the North Pole
by Jaimie Admans
With less than a month until Christmas, Sasha is replaced in her job as an assistant to a dog groomer and gets a phone call from her adventurer father Percy informing her that he is recuperating from a heart attack. When her mother died, her father became an absentee parent traveling the world and never able to make it home for Christmas.
Sasha jumps at the chance to be with her father, to be needed by him. He says he is running a reindeer sanctuary in Norway. When she arrives, she discovers Percy is “Santa” at the North Pole Forest two hundred miles north of the actual North Pole. He and the mysterious, tall, quite independent and capable Tav are trying to bring the decaying Christmas attraction back to life.
Sasha resists all things Christmas because of her many disappointments over the years. Percy and Tav (also a part of the North Pole Forest enterprise) want to engage her again in the magic of Christmas.
It would be impossible to imagine a tale with more of the Santa Christmas spirit. The setting is an incredibly cold land with lots of snow. The North Pole Forest is decorated with white lights, and Santa’s house is the perfect cozy refuge where you can always find a mug of hot chocolate. Santa greets children in a grotto, and the onsite post office is overwhelmed with 500,000 letters to Santa each year. There are Christmas themed cabins and glass igloos for viewing the Northern Lights.
Unfortunately, the center is in disrepair because tourists are not flocking in. Percy had to let go his workers which continued the downward spiral. Tav is a reindeer whisperer with skills at managing and healing reindeer, but he has emotional wounds of his own and physical scarring that is usually covered in layers of clothes.
We don’t get to know Percy as well as Sasha and Tav, but all three are important to the story and will speak to your heart as you learn their motivations. If you are looking for some Christmas magic, you will find it in The Post Box at the North Pole.
I received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
Rating: 5/5
Category: General Fiction, Romance, Women’s Fiction
Notes: I love Christmas decorations, music, and celebrations as much as anyone, and I do find the season magical, full of wonder. This book, which I highly recommend, emphasizes the “true meaning of Christmas” as the belief that anything is possible at Christmas. With all the focus on Santa, elves, and presents, the book skirts over the real “reason for the season:” to celebrate the birth of Jesus. Jesus was born as a human to be like one of us. One of His names, Emmanuel, means God with us. He taught love of God and others, died an unjust and painful death, and was resurrected—all to take on himself our sins so that we can live forever. All we have to do is believe in Him. (John 3:16). Regardless of your beliefs about the season, I wish you a very Merry Christmas!
Publication: October 18, 2021—HQ
Memorable Lines:
The excitement of sitting down to compose a letter, maybe drawing a picture with it, decorating the envelope, and then posting it…That’s magic to a child. The whole world has gone digital, but Santa is one person who should always uphold tradition.
Every star in the universe must be out tonight, twinkling down on us, the movement of the curtains of green gives the illusion that the stars are dancing in time with the lights. Shades of pink creep into each green splash and turn yellow before fading away completely, only to be replaced with more flowing streaks of light, and just watching them makes me emotional.
“If you can’t be a big kid at Christmas, when can you?” “I’m glad you’re coming round to my way of thinking.” He tilts his head to the side. “Too many people absorbed the lie that when you grow up you have to stop liking fun things and start liking adult things but the happiest people are those who embrace things they love without shame.”
The Party Crasher–a family breakup
The Party Crasher
by Sophie Kinsella
Check them off your list—the elements you anticipate in a Sophie Kinsella novel. You will find them in The Party Crasher.
- A wacky, but lovable protagonist: Effie (AKA Euphemia or Ephelant).
- Interesting setting: Greenoaks isn’t just any old house. It’s amazing. It has character. It has a turret! It has a stained-glass window. Visitors often call it “eccentric” or quirky” or just exclaim, “Wow!”
- Broken romantic relationship: What happened to Joe years ago that he would just drop Effie without an explanation?
- Dysfunctional family: Mimi, the beloved stepmother, and Dad have an announcement one Christmas that changes everyone’s life.
- Siblings: Bean, the always positive peacemaker, and Gus who is clearly unhappy in his relationship with the domineering Romilly.
- Mystery: Where are the missing Russian stacking dolls?
- A house-cooling party: Doesn’t everyone have one when they move?
- A gold-digger or two: Perhaps the flashy Krista and/or her flirty sister Lacey?
- Humor in both situations and characters: Maybe a protagonist dressed in black sneaking through her own house with a little Mission Impossible music thrown in for good measure?
I enjoyed The Party Crasher, and I recommend it for light-hearted fun with a background of serious themes and issues.
I received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
Rating: 4/5
Category: General Fiction, Women’s Fiction
Notes: Includes some casual swearing
Publication: October 12, 2021—Dial Press (Random House)
Memorable Lines:
For all that I loved him, I never got to the core of Joe. I never reached his innermost Russian doll. He always kept a part of himself locked well away.
I had no idea my brother and sister were so secretive and duplicitous. I’m shocked and I will tell them so, at some point, when I’m not hiding from them under the console table.
She sounds cynical. Her face is tight and jaded. She looks as if her expectations of life have sunk so low, she’s not going to bother having any anymore.
A Bookshop Christmas–recovering from grief
A Bookshop Christmas
by Rachel Burton
Although Christmas is an important part of the setting for A Bookshop Christmas, the story focuses on Megan, a young widow. When she loses her husband Joe to cancer, she retreats back to the bookshop where she grew up. She’s been hanging on emotionally for over three years with support from her mom and two friends, but the bookshop is floundering and her heart is just not in it. Is it time to reenter the world of publishing, to leave behind the security of York and her bookshop?
Xander, a swoon-worthy author, as emotionally damaged as Megan, is scheduled to introduce his newest book at her bookshop. He is rude and arrogant, but maybe those characteristics are just a coverup for his pain and shyness.
One of my favorite characters is Philomena Bloom, Xander’s agent. She is bigger than life and seems to have connections with everyone in the publishing world. My other favorite character is Gus, a dachshund, whose sweetness is woven all through the book.
Megan and Xander have deep, painful secrets that make it difficult for them to open up to others. All is not sweetness and light in this romance. Although you will want a happily ever after for these two, the road is rocky and there is sadness and misunderstanding as they struggle to get over the past and find a hopeful future.
I enjoyed A Bookshop Christmas for the way the characters support each other. They make mistakes but learn to recognize and admit their mistakes and apologize for them. There is humor sprinkled in the book that helps lighten the tough times Megan and Xander go through. It is a thought provoking book and I recommend it.
I received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
Rating: 5/5
Category: Romance, Women’s Fiction
Publication: September 2, 2021—Aria
Memorable Lines:
“Reading is completely subjective and most readers read all kinds of different books. Being a snob about genre is like pretending that reading on e-readers or listening to audiobooks is somehow not proper reading. It’s ridiculous.”
Philomena Bloom burst into the bookshop at exactly three o’clock the next afternoon, leaving a wave of expensive perfume in her wake. The handful of customers browsing the shelves all looked up at the same time like meerkats.
The five stages of grief aren’t linear either—they all seem to exist together in one fiery hell ball of emotion that feels as though it will last forever. People will tell you that time heals but, in my experience, time just takes away the intensity.
The Library–love of reading
The Library
by Bella Osborne
Cross-generational stories hold a certain appeal that is present in Bella Osborne’s The Library. Built around characters who probably would never have met but for a library, this novel involves the reader in their lives. Tom, a lonely young man whose mother died when he was eight, intervenes when a hoodlum snatches Maggie’s purse. Maggie, a widow, lives alone on a small farm and longs for human contact. Both have issues that have isolated them from others: Tom’s father is an alcoholic, and Maggie has lost her son and husband.
There are so many interesting themes and threads woven into the bare bones scenario I have described. As the book progresses you learn to love Maggie, an intelligent, spunky lady with surprising talents and Tom, the object of her generosity of spirit, money, and time. Tom is trying to find his way through adolescence and is dealing simultaneously with poverty, a neglectful and grieving father who is edging toward abuse, a bully, a crush on a girl in his class, and studying for exams that will place him in A levels, the key to going to college. In the midst of all this drama, Tom has to convince his father that his future does not lie in a dog food factory. He and Maggie also have to keep their local library from closing.
I recommend this book for the style of narration, the gradual way the author reveals the inner workings of the characters, and the way she creates empathy in the reader. The events in the plot are well-crafted and the ending is satisfactory without being saccharine.
I received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
Rating: 5/5
Category: General Fiction, Women’s Fiction
Notes: 1. There are a few uses of inappropriate language in American English and a lot of mild expletives in British English. Interestingly, Tom does try to catch himself and avoid swearing when talking to Maggie.
2. Contains lots of Britishisms.
Publication: September 2, 2021—Aria
Memorable Lines:
She’d sought peace at the library, and it had given her exactly that along with multiple worlds to hide herself in. She could disappear into a book and be gone from the harsh reality of the real world for hours.
He was lost in the no man’s land between the child he was and the man he so longed to be.
Maybe nobody was who they seemed. Apart from the animals. Rusty was beautiful inside and out; she was caring and loyal. Colin was literally the devil in sheep’s clothing. But you knew where you were with animals—they weren’t suddenly going to surprise you and tip your world upside down. They didn’t pretend to be something they weren’t and because of that they didn’t let you down. Unlike people who did it all the time.
The Best is Yet to Come–hope for the hurting
The Best is Yet to Come
by Debbie Macomber
When a hurt is so deep, so intense, that it permeates your very soul; when it causes pain that is both physical and mental, is there any way out? Cade survived a firefight after watching his two best friends die. He has a leg injury, PTSD, and a lot of anger. He lost his parents’ support when he chose not to follow the family tradition of becoming a lawyer.
Shadow is a German Shepherd who was abused and neglected; but even in his malnourished state, he is aggressive toward all in the animal shelter until he meets Hope. Hope is a high school teacher and counselor who is determined to win Shadow over with patience and love. Can she do the same for Cade?
Hope has her own past to get over as her twin brother died in Afghanistan. He was her only remaining family member, and they were very close.
Along the journey Cade makes toward wellness, we meet Harry his VA counselor, the other members of his group counseling sessions, and a lot of supportive people.
The Best is Yet to Come is a book with relevant issues facing many who have served in the military and their loved ones. It is a clean romance with emotional impact. A quick read, it provides lots of opportunities to take breaks, but you won’t want to. The story line includes interactions with some of Hope’s students focusing on their struggles, and it climaxes with an action-packed scene.
The author provides satisfying resolution to all the plot threads, and the book leaves you wanting to read another Debbie Macomber novel. Fortunately, there are many you can choose from.
I received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
Rating: 5/5
Category: Women’s Fiction, Romance
Notes: This is #3 in the series Oceanside, but it read like a standalone to me. I was not aware it was part of a series until I began to write the review.
Publication: July 12, 2022—Balantine (Random House)
Memorable Lines:
The memories of that last battle engagement clawed at him like an eagle’s talons, his sleep peppered with nightmares that his mind insisted on tossing at him like a hundred-mile-an-hour hardball pitch. He drank to forget. To sleep. To escape.
“By being loners, we feel like we’re handling life; we’ve built this fortress around ourselves. Involving others, inviting them into our pain, is hard. We resist. We don’t like it. We feel we can handle it on our own. We’re islands unto ourselves, not needing anyone.”
“An attitude of gratitude,” Harry said. “That, young man, will take you far.”
Suspects–dangerous corruption
Suspects
by Danielle Steel
If you want an entertaining romance mixed with some mystery and spies, Suspects is a good choice. It reads quickly and has sympathetic main characters. Theo is a successful business woman in the fashion industry. She is married to an older, extremely wealthy man. They have a relatively happy marriage with one child. Everything changes instantly as Theo’s husband and son are kidnapped, probably by an angry Russian over a business deal that went sour.
Mike is a career CIA agent, promoted up the ladder but still very hands-on. He is married to his job. His path crosses with Theo’’s as he follows up on Pierre de Vaumont, a slimy character who makes his money by matching rich and shady individuals with corrupt individuals who can fulfill their needs. Mike knows about the kidnapping and is immediately drawn to Theo and wants to keep her safe.
Most of the book deals with efforts to find the kidnappers and keep Theo safe. In the process a mostly long distance romance, New York to Paris, develops between Theo and Mike.
I received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
Rating: 4/5
Category: Women’s Fiction
Notes: There is steam in this romance as the couple enjoys a “lovefest of tenderness and passion” whenever they are together. Their sexual encounters are closed door, but that part of the story becomes repetitive and does not move the plot forwards.
Publication: June 28, 2022—Delacorte Press (Penguin Random House)
Memorable Lines:
He could feel his good resolutions sliding away, like Jello-O down the drain.
The windows were all tightly closed so tear gas wouldn’t enter the apartment, and they heard the first cannons go off, shooting tear gas into the crowd. Mike was shocked at what was happening, it looked like a war zone in the most civilized city in the world.
“You’re not a normal person. You’re an exceptional, remarkable one that people are jealous of, which makes you a target. And there are dangerous people in the world.”
education pathways 