Stacy Alesi

FAKING CHRISTMAS by Kerry Winfrey

October 6, 2023

A Christmas Novel

From the publisher:

Laurel Grant is playing house for the holidays—complete with a fake husband and kids—in this delightful, charming rom-com by Kerry Winfrey.

Laurel Grant works as the social media manager for Buckeye State of Mind, an Ohio tourism magazine and website. She most definitely does not run a farm . . . but one tiny misunderstanding leads her boss, Gilbert, to think she owns her twin sister Holly’s farm just outside of Columbus. Laurel only handles the social media for the farm, but she’s happy to keep her little white lie going if it means not getting fired—she cannot be jobless again.

And keep it going she must when Gilbert, recently dumped by his wife, invites himself over for the farm’s big Christmas Eve Eve dinner (as advertised on Meadow Rise Farm’s Instagram, thanks to Laurel herself). Laurel immediately goes into panic mode to figure out how she can trick Gilbert into thinking she’s basically the Martha Stewart of rural Ohio and keep her job in the process.

Laurel and Holly come up with the perfect plan—all Laurel has to do is pretend to own the farm for one dinner. But Laurel shows up at the farm to find an unwelcome guest is waiting: Max Beckett, her nemesis since Holly’s wedding. The annoyingly attractive man she hates will be posing as Laurel’s husband just for the evening, but when a snowstorm traps them all for the entire weekend, Laurel is going to have to figure out how to survive with her job and dignity intact. Whatever the case, this promises to be the most eventful Christmas in ages. . . .

“With a keen eye for both the wacky and the wonderful, Winfrey (Just Another Love Song) rings in the holidays with a clever comedy of errors…The sweet romance blooms organically amid the chaos and Winfrey uses it as a vehicle to touch on deeper themes of loneliness and self-esteem. The results are utterly adorable.”—Publishers Weekly, starred review

“In Winfrey’s latest rom-com, opposites attract amid festive holiday fun. Winfrey mixes up a tale of tenderness, mischief, and friendship as inviting as your favorite Hallmark movie. Holiday hijinks and fake dating make Winfrey’s romantic comedy a cozy classic.”—Kirkus Reviews

“Anyone who’s ever enjoyed a quirky heroine, a Hallmark Channel movie, or the classic Christmas in Connecticut should rush to pick this one up.”—Library Journal
https://amzn.to/46jZgvB

Winfrey delivers another fun romcom, this time for the holidays! Some of my favorite tropes are included here; enemies to lovers, and fake dating. Plus twins!

Holly and Laurel are identical-ish twins; their differences are slight, but the truly observant can tell them apart. But their lives, and their personalities, are completely different. Holly lives on a picture perfect farm, has a doting husband, twin sons, crafts like Martha Stewart, uses power tools like a pro, and cooks like Ina Garten. Laurel, on the other hand, is perpetually single, one slip away from unemployment, burns toast, and has some serious self esteem issues, especially when comparing herself to her twin.

Their family always celebrates Christmas Eve Eve with a big dinner at the farm. In her job as social media maven for an Ohio magazine, Laurel has posted many, many pictures of her sister’s farm, meals, crafts, etc. There is only one tiny, little problem – her boss has the mistaken impression that it is Laurel’s farm and family, and fearing for her job, Laurel is afraid to tell him. The bigger problem is that Gilbert is the best boss she’s ever had.

It all comes to a head when Gilbert’s wife leaves him for their accountant. He is devastated, and invites himself to the farm for the famous Christmas Eve Eve dinner. The twins parents have decided to go on vacation to somewhere warm this Christmas, so it’s just the girls and their brother, if he shows up. And Laurel’s brother-in-law’s best friend, Max.

Laurel has hated Max since Holly’s wedding, when she overheard him say something horrible about her sister. No one knows she heard it, and she never told Holly – she didn’t want to hurt her. But it turns out Max has become part of the family, and has graciously agreed to play Laurel’s husband for this farce for Gilbert.

It takes a while for Laurel and Max to realize their attraction to one another, and to get past their history, but it’s such a fun ride to get there. This was a fast paced story with laugh out loud moments sprinkled throughout, and a terrific, unputdownable holiday story. Don’t miss it!

10/2023 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch

FAKING CHRISTMAS by Kerry Winfrey. Berkley (September 26, 2023). ISBN: 978-0593638361. 288p.

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THE WAKE-UP CALL by Beth O’Leary

October 6, 2023

From the publisher:

Two hotel receptionists—and arch-rivals—find a collection of old wedding rings and compete to return them to their owners, discovering their own love story along the way.

It’s the busiest season of the year, and Forest Manor Hotel is quite literally falling apart. So when Izzy and Lucas are given the same shift on the hotel’s front desk, they have no choice but to put their differences aside and see it through.

The hotel won’t stay afloat beyond Christmas without some sort of miracle. But when Izzy returns a guest’s lost wedding ring, the reward convinces management that this might be the way to fix everything. With four rings still sitting in the lost & found, the race is on for Izzy and Lucas to save their beloved hotel—and their jobs.

As their bitter rivalry turns into something much more complicated, Izzy and Lucas begin to wonder if there’s more at stake here than the hotel’s future. Can the two of them make it through the season with their hearts intact?

“O’Leary returns with a humorous and poignant rom-com set at a boutique hotel in southern England…Add in some charming supporting characters and stakes that feel high but believable, and the result is exactly the cute contemporary romp that O’Leary’s fans have come to expect.”―Publishers Weekly

“O’Leary’s is full of heart, humor, and a sprinkle of holiday magic. While this will easily find a spot on holiday displays, it will also appeal to readers who love enemies-to-lovers storylines with supporting characters who shine.”―Library Journal
https://amzn.to/3rBfjpR

I’ve read all of O’Leary’s book, and I love them. That said, when I looked at my previous reviews, a pattern has emerged. All of her books start out slowly, and this one does as well. But I stuck with it, and enjoyed the reward.

Izzy and Lucas work the front desk – and wherever else they are needed – at a small hotel in England. The owners are terrible at the business end of things, but have turned their staff into a family. Except a year earlier, at the hotel Christmas party, Izzy gave Lucas a card, telling him how much she liked him. It was a very brave thing to do, so when he opened the card and laughed, and then kissed Izzy’s roommate under the mistletoe, Izzy lost it. Lucas became her arch nemesis, and that’s where this story starts.

Over the course of a year, they work together and torture each other as only competitive co-workers can. But then something starts to change. Izzy’s feelings for Lucas have never gone away, she only buried them as best as she could. And Lucas is developing feelings for Izzy, but both of them know to avoid one another as much as possible, despite their attraction.

Best laid plans and all that – of course they end up sleeping together, again and again. They are at crossed points. Izzy wants a not-friends-with-benefits situation, and Lucas wants Izzy to really see him as the good person he truly is. It’s complicated, to say the least, but no worries, a happy ending is reached.

There are a lot of laughs – the things they do to one up each other are often hilarious, but I think the poignancy of this story was the real hook for me. A lovely Christmas read – I hope you’ll give it a try!

10/2023 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch

THE WAKE-UP CALL by Beth O’Leary. Berkley (September 26, 2023). ISBN: 978-0593640128. 368p.

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Spotlight Review: BRIGHT LIGHTS, BIG CHRISTMAS by Mary Kay Andrews

October 3, 2023

From the publisher:

From Mary Kay Andrews, New York Times bestselling author of The Homewreckers and The Santa Suit, comes a novella celebrating love and the warm, glittering charm of the holiday season.

“Nobody does Christmas like Mary Kay Andrews.” ―Debbie Macomber

“Cozy up with Santa’s favorite novelist!” ―Adriana Trigiani

When fall rolls around, it’s time for Kerry Tolliver to leave her family’s Christmas tree farm in the mountains of North Carolina for the wilds of New York City to help her gruff older brother & his dog, Queenie, sell the trees at the family stand on a corner in Greenwich Village. Sharing a tiny vintage camper and experiencing Manhattan for the first time, Kerry’s ready to try to carve out a new corner for herself.

In the weeks leading into Christmas, Kerry quickly becomes close with the charming neighbors who live near their stand. When an elderly neighbor goes missing, Kerry will need to combine her country know-how with her newly acquired New York knowledge to protect the new friends she’s come to think of as family,

And complicating everything is Patrick, a single dad raising his adorable, dragon-loving son Austin on this quirky block. Kerry and Patrick’s chemistry is undeniable, but what chance does this holiday romance really have?

Filled with family ties, both rekindled and new, and sparkling with Christmas magic, BRIGHT LIGHTS, BIG CHRISTMAS delivers everything Mary Kay Andrews fans adore, all tied up in a hilarious, romantic gem of a novel.

“Andrews serves up a Christmas treat in this sparkling tale.” ―Publishers Weekly
https://amzn.to/46c7LJe

The Queen of Christmas is back with another heartwarming romance, this time set in NYC!

When I started reading, my first thought was is this a reissue of an older book? But nope, just my confusion between MKA’s latest and a couple of Hallmark Christmas movies in a similar setting. But as always, the book is so much better!

Kerry and Murphy are brother and sister, except after their parents’ divorce, Murphy went to live with their father on the Christmas tree farm, and Kerry stayed in town with their mother. They rarely saw one another and basically grew up estranged. But when their dad has some health issues, Kerry is drafted into going with Murphy to New York City to the block where their family has sold Christmas trees for decades.

Kerry gets stuck driving Spammy up from North Carolina to New York – Spammy is the name given to their old camper because it looks like a canned ham. Sadly, it hasn’t been maintained, so the bathroom and kitchen are useless. Luckily for the siblings, their neighbors on the street take care of them, sharing their facilities and even food. Murphy drives up their old pickup truck, and they meet in New York.

As Kerry meets the neighbors, she finds herself attracted to Patrick, the divorced dad who shares the apartment with his ex-wife. Instead of making their son move back and forth between apartments, the parents do. Austin is quite precocious and lends some of the humor to this story. There is another neighbor, an elderly man, who frequents the block as well. No one knows where he lives, but he is very kind to Kerry and Austin, especially when he sees Kerry drawing. Turns out the old guy is an artist himself, and the three of them work together on a story for Austin.

But when the old man goes missing, Kerry and Austin are worried and determined to find him. Patrick puts the moves on Kerry, but she is hesitant about getting involved in NY, even though she lost her job a few months earlier.

I loved how all the neighbors pulled together for Kerry, Murphy, and the old man. There is a lot of kindness in this neighborhood, and it was touching to see it all play out. NYC often gets a bum rap about disinterested, non-caring people, but it’s like anywhere else: some good, some bad. If you want a feel-good holiday story, you can never go wrong with Mary Kay Andrews. This is another gem from one of my favorite authors.

10/2023 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch

BRIGHT LIGHTS, BIG CHRISTMAS by Mary Kay Andrews. St. Martin’s Press (September 26, 2023). ISBN: 978-1250285812. 288p.

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BookBitch Diary: October 1, 2023

October 1, 2023

Fall! Pumpkins! Pumpkin spice lattes! Halloween! Cooler weather?

I grew up on Long Island, New York. This is what fall looked like. It was often too cold, but always beautiful. Autumn in South Florida may be a few degrees cooler than summer – 88 instead of 95. The leaves don’t change. The palm trees keep their palm fronds and coconuts.

For most of the country, fall promises cooler weather. For us in South Florida, fall promises the worst of hurricane season, followed by slightly cooler, more temperate weather. But it’s the hurricanes that have always been the problem.

When you are sitting smack dab in the middle of most hurricane routes, you tend to spend quite a bit of time keeping an eye on things. The past few years, the storms seem to be hitting the Gulf coast rather than the Atlantic coast. Or if they are hitting the Atlantic coast, they have been problems for the states north of Florida. Maine was in the eye of Hurricane Lee just a few weeks ago! One of my good friends moved to Maine from Florida almost 20 years ago. Trust me, she never once thought about a hurricane following her there. But that is the weather we live with now. Everything we once knew? Not so much anymore.

Even more disturbing are the water shortages worldwide. There are countries shooting at each other over water rights. Iran and Afghanistan. Haiti and Santo Domingo. And then there is America, and the fight over the Colorado River. There may not have been shots fired here, but there is fighting.

Then there was this:

Book News

‘There won’t be libraries left’: how a Florida county became the book ban heartland of the US

Food News

I love the New York Times Cooking App. They have great recipes, lots of videos, people like you and me post comments, most of which are incredibly helpful, and best of all, you can ask questions of the staff and they will get back to you pretty quickly.

Freebie P.S.A. coming your way! New York Times Cooking is offering a free trial right now. Previously, the Cooking app was available to subscribers only, but for a limited time, you can access any recipe via the app at no cost. (I cannot emphasize enough how big a deal this is!) Just download the NYT Cooking app to start your free trial: iOS users can download the app here, while Android users can use this link.

Last month, I wrote about the beautiful tinned fish stores in Portugal. Now, the New York Times is writing about the beautiful tinned fish store in Times Square in New York City!

For jet lag, a hearty breakfast in the new time zone may help

Eating an early meal in the new time zone and avoiding a meal late the night before could mean two fewer days of jet lag, a mathematical model showed

Other News

A few weeks ago, we had a pretty bad scare with my cat, Loki. We’ve noticed over the past several months that he occasionally gets tremors. They only last a few seconds, and he is pretty old – he’ll be 15 on Nov. 1 (that’s 76 in human years!) But then, a few weeks ago, it got more serious. He let out this really loud, low-pitched meow, one that we rarely hear from him, but when we do, he’s usually in pain. My husband and I ran and found him lying on the floor near the litter box. He was lying in a pool of urine and couldn’t move. We crouched there with him, he looked into my eyes, and I petted his head. It felt like hours, but probably just a few minutes later, he stood up. I cleaned him up as best as I could – I didn’t want to give him additional trauma by bathing him, and he spent the next little while cleaning himself. He seemed perfectly fine after that, but it scared me badly.

Our vet was out of town (this happened over the Labor Day weekend,) but I was able to bring him in that Tuesday. He did a pretty thorough examination and didn’t find anything wrong. Heart and lungs were clear, no protrusions or growths anywhere. No weight loss. He wanted to know if he was able to see me, to focus, or if his eyes were shifting around or closed while it was happening. He said to keep an eye on him for the next month, and if it happened again to try and video it, especially his eyes, and to get a urine sample. It’s been a month, and I’ve seen a few seconds of tremors one time, and that’s it.

The vet thinks it may be a brain tumor. He said he could x-ray him, but an MRI is the best. There are two machines in South Florida, and it would cost $2000. So I asked what would happen if he did have a brain tumor – could it be surgically removed? How would that affect his quality of life? He said if it was him, he wouldn’t do it. He wouldn’t do the x-ray, and he wouldn’t do the MRI. He wouldn’t put an old cat through the trauma of it all, especially surgery that may or may not extend his life or even help in any way. It was discouraging, but I appreciated his candor.

I love my vet; he has been practicing medicine for decades, and he really cares about his patients. He caused quite an uproar around here about twenty years ago or so. The local newspaper, The Sun-Sentinel, did a feature story on him. He said that animals, especially those that stay indoors like our cat, do not need annual exams. Then he really poured fuel on the fire; he said they don’t need annual rabies vaccines, either. He started giving his patients rabies vaccines in their tails instead of their thighs. Why? There were way too many incidents of cancer at the injection site. He didn’t want to amputate another animal’s leg. It wouldn’t be as big a loss if they got cancer in their tail.

Around that same time, the pharmaceutical companies had come out with two, three, and five-year rabies vaccines at two, three, and five times the price. Except each of those vials contained the exact same dose of the vaccine. He was furious, and he called them out. He called out every vet in town that was selling them. He said that vets insist on annual visits and vaccines for one reason only: to make money. As you can imagine, he was none too popular among his peers. He had that article blown up, and it hangs on the wall in his waiting room.

Loki is the first purebred cat we’ve ever had. I wrote the breeder and asked for his medical history. I was delighted to find out that he has real longevity in his gene pool. His dad lived to be 21, and died of pancreatitis. His mom had recently passed at 18, of old age. The breeder said she got slower and slower, slept more, and ate less. Never seemed to be in any pain, though. She also said there was no history of brain tumors in any of her cats. She shared a lot about his family, and it was all reassuring, so we are hoping for the best.

Loki is a very special cat. He is just as beautiful on the inside as on the outside. He has brought me and my family so much joy in his years with us. Most days, when I get home from work, he is sitting in the sidelight window, waiting for me. He sleeps between my husband and me during most of the night. He naps on my bed all day, hiding under it if we make too much noise and disturb him. Sometimes he lies under there with his head in my husband’s sneaker. When he’s had enough napping, he hangs out with us. He lays on the hassock with his head on my ankle, or on the arm of the oversized chair my husband prefers, cuddled up with him.

He is the world’s pickiest eater – he turns his nose up some days at the food he previously devoured. When I make a turkey, he becomes my shadow, not leaving my side until he gets his. The only times he ever seems inclined to jump on the counter is when I make a turkey or sponge cake. Yep, something about that cake just makes his nose quiver.

When my grandson comes to visit, Loki hides. Not because Jonah is rough with him; he’s actually been incredibly gentle. But as Loki has gotten older, he doesn’t want to be bothered by anyone; he just wants to get his 18-20 hours of sleep in and be left alone. That said, he occasionally would wander by, and Jonah would be so happy! When we Facetime with him, he always asks for Loki. If he’s not around, we say Jonah, where’s Loki? And he says, he’s hiding. That little boy understands.

As always, thanks for reading, and stay safe.

Thanks to The New York Times and The Washington Post for allowing me to “gift” my readers with free access to these articles, a lovely perk for subscribers.

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GHOSTED by Sarah Ready

September 29, 2023

Ghosted, Book 1

From the publisher:

Jillian Nejat is the only dating and relationship expert on the planet who is incapable of speaking to men. If they’re living, if they’re breathing, it’s game over.

With her bank account at zero, her career a dumpster fire, and her dating life in a ten-year slump, she moves into a tiny, dirt-cheap NYC apartment.

Unfortunately, the apartment is already occupied.

Daniel (no-last-name) is a sexy, shirtless, six-pack wielding heartthrob who is also…dead.

He isn’t living. He isn’t breathing. He’s a ghost. He’s also the only man on the planet that Jillian can talk to.

Soon, Daniel’s convinced that it’s his afterlife mission to resurrect Jillian’s love life. He knows, if he helps her fall in love then he can move on. Jillian agrees. The last thing she needs is a Lothario ghost haunting her living room.

But then, one practice date leads to another, one confession leads to more, and suddenly Jillian fears she’s falling for the one man she can never love.
https://amzn.to/467032L

I rarely read a romance that can be called paranormal, but when a good friend recommends it, I’m going to give it a try. I was so glad I did – I loved this book!

Jillian has a serious issue with talking to men – she gets completely tongue-tied and super quiet. She can barely order a coffee from a male barista. She has a close family, as well as Fran, their next-door-neighbor who loves Jillian and is determined to see her happily married. To that end, she is constantly setting her up on blind dates, well over a hundred of them, all to no avail. Jillian is waiting for someone to see through her awkwardness to the real person inside. In fact, she writes a dating and relationship advice column for an only news magazine. The small staff are her only friends, and they’ve worked together for almost ten years. Jillian started as an intern while in college and turned that internship into a writing job. Unfortunately, her advice sucks and her editor is getting tired of all the cancellations and nasty comments.

Jillian finds an apartment online, a studio with a loft bedroom and she grabs it, sight unseen. The neighborhood is good and fairly close to her job. Her family helps her move in, but when they get there, they are shocked by the decor. Every surface is mirrored, including the kitchen cabinets, but it does have beautiful wood floors. Jillian insists she will be fine, her parents and Fran take off, her dad leaving her an aluminum baseball bat by the door for security.

When she is alone, Jillian is shocked to hear a man’s voice. She turns around and finds this gorgeous, half-dressed man standing in her apartment. She tries hitting him with the bat but it goes right through him. He disappears and reappears at will. Turns out Jillian is sharing her new apartment with a ghost.

The ghost’s name is Daniel, and he doesn’t have much memory of his life. He doesn’t know how he died, other than he was on top of a woman and felt a lot of pain. He tells her she must save him, and he is going to save her. A relationship is formed.

Daniel comes and goes from her life, and is able to show up for her where he is needed. He gets her to talk to him while pretending to talk to other men, the barista, her blind dates. The only problem is that he is the only man that she has ever felt this comfortable with, and they fall in love. Until he ghosts her. Yep, he disappears.

A few weeks later, Jillian is meeting Fran at a museum, but she sees Daniel at the top of the stairs. She goes flying to him, jumps into his arms, and kisses him. Then she realizes she can actually feel him. And that he has no idea who she is.

This other-worldly romance has everything I love in a romance; it’s unputdownable with great characters, lots of hurdles, an interesting setting, and a happy ending. In fact, the author offers an additional epilogue if you sign up for her newsletter, which I immediately did. I can’t wait for the sequel!

9/2023 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch

GHOSTED by Sarah Ready. W. W. Crown (September 26, 2023). ISBN: 978-1954007611. 490p.

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THE BOOK CLUB HOTEL by Sarah Morgan

September 29, 2023

A Christmas Novel

From the publisher:

This Christmas, USA Today bestselling author Sarah Morgan returns with another heartfelt exploration of change, the power of books to heal, and the enduring strength of female friendship. Perfect for fans of Emily Henry and Jennifer Weiner.

With its historic charm and picture-perfect library, the Maple Sugar Inn is considered the winter destination. As the holidays approach, the inn is fully booked with guests looking for their dream vacation. But widowed far too young, and exhausted from juggling the hotel with being a dedicated single mom, Hattie Coleman dreams only of making it through the festive season.

But when Erica, Claudia and Anna—lifelong friends who seem to have it all—check in for a girlfriends’ book club holiday, it changes everything. Their close friendship and shared love of books have carried them through life’s ups and downs. But Hattie can see they’re also packing some major emotional baggage, and nothing prepares her for how deeply her own story is about to become entwined in theirs.

In the span of a week over the most enchanting time of the year, can these four women come together to improve each other’s lives and make this the start of a whole new chapter?

Get lost in more holiday reads by Sarah Morgan:

Snowed In for Christmas

The Christmas Escape

One More for Christmas

A Wedding in December

The Christmas Sisters

https://amzn.to/3RE9O4b

Ericka, Anna, and Claudia met as college roommates, and now that they are pushing 40 – or just past it – and they are still the best of friends, even though they don’t see one another except for their annual hotel book club vacations. Claudia became a chef and lives in California, where her boyfriend of ten years has dumped her. While struggling through the breakup, she also loses her job. It’s just as well; the kitchen was a toxic environment, so bad that Claudia isn’t sure she even wants to cook anymore. Because of the breakup, the women postponed their summer book club meetup and pushed it to mid-December, right before the holidays.

Anna married her college sweetheart and they are still together, and very much in love. But Anna is in panic mode; her twins are graduating high school in the spring, and will be leaving for college. Empty nest syndrome has hit her hard, to the point where her husband asks if she wants another baby – it is possible, but is that what she really wants?

Erika is the uber-successful business woman in their group. She travels the world, and hasn’t had a serious relationship in, well, ever. She has a friend with benefits situation going on for many years, but is starting to wonder if he wants more…or if she does.

Instead of meeting up in a luxurious hotel in a city, Erika has booked them into a B&B in a picturesque small town in New England. The owner, Hattie, is a young widow with a precocious daughter. The B&B was her husband’s dream, and for the two years that he’s been gone, she has struggled to keep the place running. The head housekeeper is a terror, but she is mild in comparison to the award-winning chef running the kitchen. When the three friends check-in, everything changes – or soon will.

This is a story about friendship, family, and love. These characters came to life on the page and I loved how they fit into one another’s lives. Set in this beautiful inn in a small town that felt like a Hallmark Christmas movie come to life, only slightly more believable! This was my first Christmas book of the year, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Let the holiday reading begin!

9/2023 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch

THE BOOK CLUB HOTEL by Sarah Morgan. Canary Street Press; Original edition (September 19, 2023). ISBN: 978-1335005120. 368p.

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Spotlight Review: TOM LAKE by Ann Patchett

September 26, 2023

From the publisher:

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • A REESE’S BOOK CLUB PICK

In this beautiful and moving novel about family, love, and growing up, Ann Patchett once again proves herself one of America’s finest writers.

“Patchett leads us to a truth that feels like life rather than literature.” —The Guardian

In the spring of 2020, Lara’s three daughters return to the family’s orchard in Northern Michigan. While picking cherries, they beg their mother to tell them the story of Peter Duke, a famous actor with whom she shared both a stage and a romance years before at a theater company called Tom Lake. As Lara recalls the past, her daughters examine their own lives and relationship with their mother, and are forced to reconsider the world and everything they thought they knew.

Tom Lake is a meditation on youthful love, married love, and the lives parents have led before their children were born. Both hopeful and elegiac, it explores what it means to be happy even when the world is falling apart. As in all of her novels, Ann Patchett combines compelling narrative artistry with piercing insights into family dynamics. The result is a rich and luminous story, told with profound intelligence and emotional subtlety, that demonstrates once again why she is one of the most revered and acclaimed literary talents working today.

“A tender, absorbing tale about becoming who we are.” — People

“A searching reflection on the relationships between theater and life, romance and realism, Tom Lake is perhaps Patchett’s finest novel yet.” — Boston Globe

“Tom Lake is about romantic love, marital love and maternal love, but also the love of animals, the love of stories, love of the land and trees and the tiny, red, cordiform object that is a cherry. . . . This generous writer hits the mark again with her ninth novel.” — Washington Post

“A quiet and reassuring book…highly conscious of…[the] human failure to appreciate the little things.” — New York Times
https://amzn.to/3ERVBcj

I thought there would be a lot of books set during the pandemic, but if there are, I haven’t run across them. This book is about a family isolating together on their cherry farm. The adult children come home to help out since there are no farm hands available to help harvest the fruit.

Lara and Joe are the parents, and they pass their time together by telling their daughters the story of how they met, but that story is intertwined with another more interesting story. Lara used to be an actor. She played the role of Emily in her high school production of Our Town, where she was discovered by a Hollywood producer. She made one movie, did some commercials, then auditioned for the same role on Broadway. She ended up doing summer stock in northern Michigan. Joe was the director of the play, and Peter Duke was the star. Lara fell in love with Duke that tumultuous summer, and her eldest daughter has become convinced that Duke is her real father.

The book moves back and forth between the early pandemic and that summer as Lara tells her daughters the story of her life. In anyone else’s hands this might not work, but Patchett draws us in and keeps us enraptured until all the secrets are revealed. If you haven’t read her, you are in for a treat. If you have, you will appreciate this beautiful tale from a gifted storyteller. Don’t miss it.

9/2023 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch

TOM LAKE by Ann Patchett. Harper; First Ed edition (August 1, 2023). ISBN: 978-0063327528. 320p.

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BURNING JUSTICE by Tee O’Fallon

September 22, 2023

K-9 Special Ops, Book 2

From the publisher:

Some cases are hot enough to kill.

After narrowly surviving a childhood fire that killed two of his friends, ATF Special Agent Brett Tanner knows what it’s like to get too close to the flame. The trauma only spurs him and his K-9 partner to track down the arsonists targeting a Colorado town. This latest warehouse blaze looks suspicious as hell…and there’s a body. Now it’s murder.

Fiercely independent insurance investigator Gemma Scott has been burned enough times to know she doesn’t need anyone—especially a handsome agent with an agenda. Teaming up with the hardened and determined ATF agent means not just trusting her instincts…it also means trusting him.

Now they’re racing against an arsonist with a lethal agenda—one who’s willing to burn and kill to hide the evidence. But the killer is only part of a larger mystery. And the searing attraction between Gemma and Brett adds fuel to an already dangerously lethal fire. One that will smoke out a killer…along with Brett’s darkest secret.

“great characterization, action, suspense, attraction, arson, and danger“ – Mystery & Suspense Magazine

“Tee O’Fallon heats the pages up in BURNING JUSTICE, giving us arson, murder, mystery, and a delicious slow-burn romance… Gemma and Brett’s chemistry absolutely sizzles on the pages.” – Fresh Fiction
https://amzn.to/3EL1jwM

I admit it; a dog on the cover always piques my interest. I have read several of O’Fallon’s books from different series, and they are all good. Even more importantly, they all stand alone and this book, the second book of a series, does as well. I didn’t realize this was book two while I was reading it – it wasn’t until I started this review that it came out. That is one of the things I really love about reading on a Kindle, especially e-galleys, pre-publication books. A lot of the time there is no cover art, so there is nothing to help form any preconceived notions, no judging a book by its cover, if you will. So I’m often surprised to learn that the book I just read was part of a series, as was the case here.

Gemma Scott has a unique skill set; she is a National Insurance Crime Bureau Investigator. She digs into suspicious fires, looking for evidence of arson. Unfortunately, the last guy she worked with basically stole her work and presented it as his own. In a job that is completely dominated by men, Gemma stands out, and Brett can’t help but notice that.

Brett is special agent with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, better known as the ATF. He has a working K-9, one of the few in the country that can sniff out accelerants, making him invaluable for arson investigative work. He also survived a fire as a child, but two of his friends died in that fire. Understandably, that has affected his whole life.

They are working together, and the chemistry between them is, well, combustible. And the dog! Can Gemma learn to trust another man? Can Brett get past his own past to help figure out who is setting these mysterious fires? Will Gemma and Brett learn to work together? And will Gemma and Brett give in the fire that is smoldering between them? Of course! This is romantic suspense, so the ending is a given, but it is a dark, twisty road to get there and I couldn’t turn the pages fast enough. Now I’m on the hunt for the first book in the series, Tough Justice.

9/2023 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch

BURNING JUSTICE by Tee O’Fallon. Entangled: Amara (August 22, 2023). ISBN: 978-1649373397. 400p.

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Posted by Stacy Alesi

Spotlight Review: LOVE ME DO by Lindsey Kelk

September 19, 2023

From the publisher:

She’s written the perfect romance . . . for someone else

Greetings card copywriter Phoebe Chapman knows a good romantic line or two – and it makes her a fantastic Cupid.

So when she lands in the Hollywood Hills – a place that proves film stars, golden beaches and secret waterfalls don’t just exist in the movies – she can’t resist playing matchmaker for her handsome neighbour, carpenter Ren.

But you can’t hide from love in La La Land.

And isn’t there something a little bit hot about Ren, her own leading man next door?
https://amzn.to/45QrnCm

This is a sort of modern-day Cyrano de Bergerac or more to the point, the updated film version, Roxanne.

If you’re not familiar, Phoebe is the wordsmith behind the scenes, in this case helping her friend, Bel, convince her oh-so-hot neighbor, Ren, that she is the one for him. The only problem is that Phoebe is strongly attracted to Ren as well, and Bel isn’t really her friend. It’s a bit complicated, but Phoebe is in Los Angeles on a two week vacation from her home in the UK, ostensibly visiting her super successful sister, but said sister leaves town almost immediately on a business trip. Bel is her personal trainer, who doesn’t know she is gone and shows up anyway. Bel proceeds to adopt Phoebe as her new best friend, and it is a terrific friendship for sure, despite Phoebe’s attraction to Ren. Still with me?

Phoebe writes Ren a love letter, an actual pen-to-paper letter, but signs it Bel. He immediately falls for the writer, not knowing that Phoebe actually did the writing. It’s much more understandable/believable reading the book! There are lots of outings around the L.A. area, and a lot of laughs along the way.

Kelk has a great sense of humor, and I have enjoyed all of her books. This one is a bit of a rush seeing that Phoebe is only in town for two weeks, but no worries, it is all believable in this writer’s hands. She invited me into her world, and I had a blast! Suspend your disbelief and go along for the ride, you won’t regret it. Highly recommend!

9/2023 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch

LOVE ME DO by Lindsey Kelk. HarperCollins (September 5, 2023). ISBN: 978-0008619329. 384p.

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THE LONG GAME by Elena Armas

September 15, 2023

From the publisher:

A disgraced soccer exec reluctantly enlists the help of a retired soccer star in coaching a children’s team in this small-town love story in the vein of Ted Lasso and It Happened One Summer —from the New York Times bestselling author of The Spanish Love Deception.

Adalyn Reyes has spent years perfecting her daily routine: wake up at dawn, drive to the Miami Flames FC offices, try her hardest to leave a mark, go home, and repeat.

But her routine is disrupted when a video of her in an altercation with the team’s mascot goes viral. Rather than fire her, the team’s owner—who happens to be her father—sends Adalyn to middle-of-nowhere North Carolina, where she’s tasked with turning around the struggling local soccer team, the Green Warriors, as a way to redeem herself. Her plans crumble upon discovering that the players wear tutus to practice (impractical), keep pet goats (messy), and are terrified of Adalyn (counterproductive), and are nine-year-old kids.

To make things worse, also in town is Cameron Caldani, goalkeeping prodigy whose presence is somewhat of a mystery. Cam is the perfect candidate to help Adalyn, but after one very unfortunate first encounter involving a rooster, Cam’s leg, and Adalyn’s bumper, he’s also set on running her out of town. But banishment is not an option for Adalyn. Not again. Helping this ragtag children’s team is her road to redemption, and she is playing the long game. With or without Cam’s help.
https://amzn.to/466pe54

This book was a….long read. It took me days to get through it. I liked it enough to stick with it, but it was definitely slow going. This was my first read from this author.

The characters were well-developed, but their chemistry was unexplored for most of the book. I just felt like I was waiting for something to happen.

The best parts of the book were the kids and the animals. The setting was a small town in North Carolina, and one of the running gags was that Adalyn insisted on wearing her Florida clothes and heels, despite the dropping temperatures of late fall.

Both main characters had interesting backstories, but again, it took too long to piece it all out. Maybe it was me? If you’ve read it, I’d love to hear from you!

9/2023 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch

THE LONG GAME by Elena Armas. Atria Books (September 5, 2023). ISBN: 978-1668011300. 384p.