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The Finders Keepers Library–caring and helping
The Finders Keepers Library
by Annie Rains
I was immediately enchanted by the format of The Finders Keepers Library. Each chapter begins with a quote, usually bookish, always by a famous author (from Lamott to Tolkien and many in between), and always pertinent to the content of the chapter. I am quite familiar with starting chapters with quotes, but sometimes they are obscure, obtuse, or irrelevant. Not in this book where they are charming and relatable! Each chapter also begins with a pencil sketch of flowers emerging from a book. This illustration has a special meaning because one of the main characters, Eleanor, owns the free library created by her deceased husband along with an extensive garden. They combined their hobbies in a way that engages the community.
Savannah is in between jobs and has just had a troubling medical diagnosis, lupus, that she is learning to live with. Rather than go to her parents’ home, she has a long overdue visit with her beloved Aunt Eleanor who could really use her skills with plants to get the garden in shape for the wedding of a friend of Savannah. Eleanor’s next door neighbor is Evan who was Savannah’s close friend every summer when she came to visit. When they parted ways after high school graduation, they lost touch with each other although neither forgot the “what could have been” of their relationship. Now they are at a different place in their lives. Evan is divorced and has newly become the custodial parent for his grieving daughter. Savannah’s partner of two years walked away when she got her lupus diagnosis. Eleanor has not left her house in a year since she was hospitalized from a bad fall. All of these really nice characters, plus several more, have issues to work through and obstacles in the way. Annie Rains weaves several sweet romances into this story of people helping each other. I highly 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: Fiction, Romance, Women’s Fiction
Notes: 1. #1 in the Love in Bloom series
2. Clean
Publication: April 16, 2024—Forever (Grand Central Publishing)
Memorable Lines:
“If you ask me, a cup of tea and a good book is the best kind of medicine.”
“I think sometimes, when we’ve been wounded, we humans like to push people away, to prove our greatest fears.” She looked at him again. “What fear?” She shrugged. “That we’re unlovable.”
Knowing that someone loved you enough to bother you when you wanted to be alone was always better than leaving that person alone and letting them believe that no one cared.
Finlay Donovan is Killing It–dark, comedic mystery
Finlay Donovan is Killing It
by Elle Cosimano
Normally a cozy mystery/Agatha Christie reader, I decided to see what all the buzz is about with Finlay Donovan is Killing It and the other books Elle Cosimano has written in this series. The author has created a protagonist that many women can related to. Finlay finds herself in a morally shaky and sticky situation. Her happily ever after has disintegrated under her feet. She is divorced from her ex-husband who is a philanderer and a manipulator. She is deeply in debt to so many people including her ex who has become her landlord.
When a private conversation at Panera is overheard and misunderstood, Finlay becomes entangled in a scheme to murder a serial date-rapist who drugs and then blackmails his victims. He also works for the mob.
I don’t want to give away more of the plot. I can share that despite the dark nature of the predicaments, the author includes many humorous situations and twists and turns that are truly unpredictable. Characters are a big part of this book. Finlay is motivated to keep her two preschool age children safe and retain custody of them. To do that she needs reliable childcare and financial independence from her ex-husband. She is a writer and her profession plays a large role as fiction and non-fiction intertwine. There are two romantic interests, a detective and a law student. She is supported in many ways by her sister Georgia, a cop, and by Vero, her babysitter and partner in crime.
I did enjoy this book. It has lots of women-focused themes and ethical issues. It addresses practical concerns—nosy neighbors, malfunctioning alternators, and inoperative garage doors—and issues that we hope we will never encounter like hitmen, affairs, and date rape drugs.
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: Mystery
Notes: 1. very insightful discussion questions
2. a fair amount of swearing
Publication: February 2, 2021—St. Martin’s Press (Minotaur Books)
Memorable Lines:
If you’ve never had to wrestle a two-year-old slathered in maple syrup into a diaper while your four-year-old decides to give herself a haircut in time for preschool, all while trying to track down the whereabouts of your missing nanny as you sop up coffee grounds from an overflowing pot because in your sleep-deprived fog you forgot to put in the filter, let me spell it out for you.
Patricia withered, clearly mistaking my mom face for something else…some callous expression worn by contract killers and hit men. Maybe they’re similar. I wouldn’t know.
Theresa was all about social cachet and prestige. If there was a chance to flaunt a high-profile client like Feliks by sticking her head out of the roof of his slick black limousine and shouting it to the moon, she wouldn’t miss a chance to do it.
The Whittiers–family ties
The Whittiers
by Danielle Steel
If you want to relax with a good story, nothing too heavy, and one that doesn’t try to change the world, you might enjoy The Whittiers. The theme is family. A devastating accident occurs that changes the Whittier family forever. Although they share the same basic values, the three bothers and three sisters seek out individual paths to happiness Rather than rendering them bitter, the accident results in strong familial bonds.
The reader of The Whittiers meets each of the family members at the beginning of the book, and then romantic interests are gradually added to the mix. Amanda is the wife of Lyle, the oldest of the siblings. It becomes clear early in the book that she loves only herself and her initial attraction was not to Lyle but to his money. As much as you will dislike Amanda, you will love Benjie, the young sibling who will always have special needs and require an adult’s supervision. Everyone else piles in to make a crazy, lovable family.
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: contains mild swearing
Publication: November 22, 2022—Delacorte Press
Memorable Lines:
Their father had worked hard too, though maybe not as hard as they did, in a less crazy publishing world, at a more gentlemanly time. The modern world moved at a much faster pace. Computers and the Internet had changed everything for all of them. Their father often said he was glad he wasn’t working now.
Annabelle watched the screen intently and then looked away. She wasn’t sure how she felt about the image, except she was shocked to see that it looked like a baby, not a blob. It suddenly made it all so real.
Her life was a filled to the brim with people who loved her. It shone in her eyes, and she had unlimited love to give as a result.
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