ARC Review: The Boardwalk Bookshop by Susan Mallery

The Boardwalk Bookshop
Author: Susan Mallery
Publication: MIRA; Original edition (May 31, 2022)

Description: When fate brings three strangers to a charming space for lease on the California coast, the Boardwalk Bookshop is born. Part bookstore, part gift shop, part bakery, it's a dream come true for Bree, Mikki and Ashley. But while their business is thriving, their personal lives are…not.

Bree, wounded by brilliant but cold parents and her late husband's ultimate betrayal, has sworn to protect her heart at all costs. Even from Ashley's brother, a writer and adventurer who has inspired millions. He's the first man to see past Bree's barricades to her true self, which terrifies her. Mikki has this divorce thing all figured out—somehow, she's stayed friends with her ex and her in-laws…until a new man changes how everyone looks at her, and how she sees herself. Meanwhile, Ashley discovers that the love of her life never intends to marry. Can she live without being a wife if it means she can have everything else she's ever wanted?

At sunset every Friday on the beach in front of the Boardwalk Bookshop, the three friends share a champagne toast. As their bond grows closer, they challenge one another to become the best versions of themselves in this heartachingly beautiful story of friendship, sisterhood and the transformative power of love.

My Thoughts: This book is packed with relationships. Bree, Mikki, and Ashley met when they all looked at a building on the beach for their businesses. It was too big for any one of them, but they decide to lease it together. Bree will run the Boardwalk Bookshop. Micki will have her gift shop. And Ashley will run her muffin and cupcake bakery. 

Meanwhile, Mikki who has been divorced for three years is getting into the dating game again by joining a dating app. She has a great relationship with her ex and likes him much better now that they are divorced, but she's looking for a man who matches her own current interests.

Ashley is in a relationship and is very happy until she realizes that her boyfriend never wants to get married. He wants a long-term committed relationship with a house and children but doesn't want a wedding or a marriage. While Ashley isn't the sort of woman who began planning her future wedding as a teen, she can't get over the fact that her boyfriend never wants to make the final commitment of marriage.

Bree is widowed and lives her life with a series of one-night stands. She doesn't want any sort of emotional commitment. She was neglected and emotionally abused by her distant parents who are also famous literary authors. And her marriage was also emotionally a failure since she was the only one who loved and he was just using her. She knows she's damaged and afraid to take a chance again.

When Ashley's brother Harding, who suffered a very severe accident as a teen and who is now an author, is scheduled for a book signing at Bree's store, Ashley asks her not to start a relationship with her brother. Even though she is younger, Ashley feels very protective of her brother and his heart. 

Harding isn't in agreement. He wants a relationship with Bree and has the love and patience to wait her out. 

It was nice that all three women managed to find happy relationships, but the journey for each of them was traumatic and heart-wrenching. I enjoyed getting to know all three of the women and rejoiced when things finally worked out for all of them.

Fans of women's fiction will enjoy this emotional story. 

Favorite Quote:

Because love didn't transform a person into someone else, she thought as she parked in her spot. Love wasn't a cure or a solution. Love might make a person want to be their best self but it didn't fundamentally alter beliefs.

I received this one in exchange for an honest review from NetGalley. You can buy your copy here.

ARC Review: The Summer Getaway by Susan Mallery

The Summer Getaway
Author: Susan Mallery
Publication: HQN; Original edition (March 15, 2022)

Description: One woman discovers the beauty in chaos in this poignant and heartwarming story about the threads that hold family together from #1 New York Times bestselling author Susan Mallery.

With her divorce settlement about to run out and a mortgage she can’t afford, Robyn Caldwell needs a plan for her future. She nurtured her family and neglected herself. But how’s she supposed to think when her daughter has become the most demanding bride ever, her son won’t even consider college, her best friend is on the brink of marital disaster and her ex is making a monumentally bad decision that could bring everything crashing down on Robyn’s head? So when her great-aunt Lillian invites her to Santa Barbara for the summer, Robyn hops on the first plane.

But it’s hard to run away when you’re the heart of the family. One by one, everyone she left behind follows her across the country. Somehow, their baggage doesn’t feel as heavy in the sun-drenched, mishmash mansion. The more time Robyn spends with free-spirited Lillian, the more she sees the appeal in taking chances—on dreams, on love, on family. Life is meant to be lived on purpose. All she has to do is muster the courage to take a chance on herself.

My Thoughts: This is a novel filled with decisions, changes, and growth. 

Robyn Caldwell has decisions to make. Her youngest Austin has graduated from high school which means she has to sell her house or buy out her ex. She wants to sell but her oldest is throwing a fit because she wants to be married in the gorgeous backyard. Robyn has mainly been drifting since her divorce but comes to the realization that her divorce settlement is nearing its end and she doesn't have any future plans. Her cheating ex is dating her daughter's fiancé's twin sister and Robyn's own boyfriend turns out to be a toad who is ashamed of her.

When her great-aunt Lillian invites her to Santa Barbara to spend time with her, Robyn is on the first plane. Her aunt has always been a source of support who is filled with good sense. But Lillian is ninety-four and seeing her death. She wants things settled. The house will be inherited by her husband Leo's distant relation Mason Bishop. Robyn will be inheriting the contents of the house and Lillian's fifteen cats. 

Mason and Robyn hit it off and become close as they spend time with Lillian and get used to the changes coming in their lives. But before their relationship can ger on a firm footing, Robyn's troubles come to join her. First her son Austin, who has quit his job with Robyn's ex, comes. Then her daughter Harlow comes running when her relationships with her fiancé and her father both reveal feet of clay, Then her friend Mindy arrives when an affair Robyn had counseled her against blows up in her face.

That would be enough of an invasion, but the numbers quickly grow when Harlow's fiancé, Robyn's ex and his pregnant girlfriend, Mindy's husband, and Robyn's toad of an ex-boyfriend all also show up.

One by one, those problems are dealt with leading to growth for all. But, when the unthinkable happens, can everyone find their way to a happy ending?

The story was filled with interesting and well-rounded characters with both strengths and flaws. I enjoyed the setting. The relationships were engaging and complex. The romance between Mason and Robyn did almost get lost among all the various problems Robyn was dealing with, but the epilogue did tie up all the loose ends. 

Favorite Quote:

"You did what you thought was right. You had the best of intentions."

"The road to hell and all that?"

He shrugged. "When you knew better, you did better."

"You're quoting Maya Angelou to me?"

"I'm a man of many depths."

She laughed. "You are and I like that."

I received this one in exchange for an honest review from NetGalley. You can buy your copy here.

Friday Memes: If You Ask Me by Libby Hubscher

 Happy Friday everybody!

Book Beginnings on Friday is hosted by Rose City Reader. The Friday 56 is hosted at Freda's Voice. Check out the links above for the rules and for the posts of the participants each week. Don’t dig for your favorite book, the coolest, the most intellectual. Use the CLOSEST.

Beginning:

My mother always said people who work in helping professions are the ones in greatest need of professional help themselves. She's usually right about most things. After all, I became an advice columnist -- imagine the irony...Who needs more help than that?

Friday 56:

What was it Dez had said the other day about pain -- you had to give it voice and let it out? I'd jumped and screamed and yelled at Sam on the porch, but it wasn't sufficient. He hadn't broken my heart alone.

This week I am spotlighting If You Ask Me by Libby Hubscher from my review stack. Here is the description from Amazon:

When an advice columnist’s picture-perfect life implodes, she opts to go rogue in this hilarious, heartwarming romance from the author of Meet Me in Paradise.

Violet Covington pens Dear Sweetie, the most popular advice column in the state of North Carolina. She has an answer for how to politely handle any difficult situation…until she discovers her husband, Sam, has been cheating on her. Furious and out of sensible solutions, Violet leaves her filter at the door and turns to her column to air her own frustrations. The new, brutally honest Dear Sweetie goes viral, sending more shock waves through Violet’s life. When she burns Sam’s belongings in a front-yard, late-night bonfire, a smoking-hot firefighter named Dez shows up to douse the flames, and an unexpected fling quickly shows potential to become something longer lasting.

A lot of people want to see the old polished Violet return—including her boss, who finds her unpredictability hard to manage, and Sam, who’s begging for another chance. But Dez appreciates Violet just the way she is—in fact, he can’t get enough of her. The right answers don’t come easily when Violet finds herself at her own personal crossroads. But maybe, by getting real, Violet can write her own happy ending.

ARC Review: An Everyday Hero by Laura Trentham

An Everyday Hero
Author: Laura Trentham
Series: Heart of a Hero (Book 2)
Publication: St. Martin's Griffin (February 4, 2020)

Description: From award-winning author Laura Trentham comes An Everyday Hero, an emotionally layered novel about redemption, second chances and discovering that life is worth fighting for.

At thirty, Greer Hadley never expected to be forced home to Madison, Tennessee with her life and dreams of being a songwriter up in flames. To make matters worse, a series of bad decisions and even crappier luck lands her community service hours at a nonprofit organization that aids veterans and their families. Greer cannot fathom how she’s supposed to use music to help anyone deal with their trauma and loss when the one thing that brought her joy has failed her.

When Greer meets fifteen-year-old Ally Martinez, her plans to stay detached and do as little as possible get thrown away. New to town and dealing with the death of her father in action, she hides her emotions behind a mask of bitterness and sarcasm, but Greer is able to see past it and recognizes pieces of who she once was in Ally. The raw and obvious talent she possesses could take her to the top and Greer vows to make sure life’s negativities don’t derail Ally’s potential.

After Greer is assigned a veteran to help, she’s not surprised Emmett Lawson, the town’s golden boy, followed his family’s legacy. What leaves her shocked is the shell of a man who believes he doesn’t deserve anyone’s help. A breakthrough with Ally reminds Greer that no one is worth giving up on. So she shows up one day with his old guitar, and meets Emmett’s rage head on with her stubbornness. When a situation with Ally becomes dire, the two of them must become a team to save her―and along the way they might just save themselves too.

My Thoughts: Greer Hadley feels like she's hit rock bottom. Her career as a singer-songwriter in Nashville implodes when she suffers from a freeze up when performing for someone who could jump start her career. She comes back home to walk in on her fiance in bed with another woman. When she drinks too much and attacks a jukebox for playing the wrong song, she's arrested and has to go to court with her Uncle Bill presiding. He sentences her to community service at a music therapy charity. Greer would rather clean up ditches than face her fears about her music but she has no choice.

Greer's first client is a teen named Ally who has gone off the rails a bit when her father is killed in combat and her mother uproots her and brings her to Nashville. Her mother is not doing well in her grief and Ally is only fifteen and not ready to be her mother's emotional support. Greer's tough love and their shared love of music helps her forge a relationship with the young girl.

Greer's second client is not so easy. Emmett Lawson was in her class at school. He went to West Point and was serving in the Army until his unit ran into insurgents killing his sergeant and causing Emmett to lose his lower leg. Emmett has turned himself into a hermit in the guest house on his parents' horse farm. When Greer climbs a fence to confront him, he greets her with a shotgun shot over her head. But Greer's stubbornness, tough love, and the feeling that she owes him a favor for something he did for her in high school, keeps her coming back until she manages to help him out.

I really liked this story. The characters were all interesting people. I did think that the coincidence that Ally's dad was Emmett's sergeant was a little far-fetched but otherwise the plot was realistic and well designed. Fans of feel good romances with intriguing characters will enjoy this story.

Favorite Quote:

Disappointment was inevitable, but Greer was too far down the road to do a U-turn now. "I'm not a therapist or even a good example of a successful, functioning member of society. Keep your expectations low."

Mrs. Lawson's laugh was weak but natural. "Will you let me know how you make out?"

I received this one in exchange for an honest review from NetGalley. You can buy your copy here.