Can you believe summer is coming to an end? It really flew by this year. I am taking a blog break to enjoy Labor Day Weekend and soak up the last few days of summer with my kids. I hope you have a relaxing long weekend and enjoy it with a good book!
When I return, I'll be sharing my favorite books of the summer and I look forward to hearing what your picks are, too!
I absolutely loved The Matzah Ball by Jean Meltzer when I read it this past holiday season. It was such a delightful and funny novel, so when I heard that Jean Meltzer has another novel coming out, I knew I had to get my hands on a copy.
Thanks to Mira Books, I am part of the blog tour today to celebrating Jean Meltzer's latest novel, Kissing Kosher, which just came out today. I'll be sharing an official excerpt from the novel, too!
Kissing Kosher by Jean Meltzer
Pub. Date: August 29, 2023
Goodreads says, "From the author of THE MATZAH BALL and MR. PERFECT ON PAPER comes this hilarious and emotional rivals-to-lovers romance. Step 1: Get the secret recipe. Step 2: Don't fall in love... Avital Cohen isn't wearing underpants--woefully, for unsexy reasons. Chronic pelvic pain has forced her to sideline her photography dreams and her love life. It's all she can do to manage her family's kosher bakery, Best Babka in Brooklyn, without collapsing. She needs hired help. And distractingly handsome Ethan Lippmann seems the perfect fit. Except Ethan isn't there to work--he's undercover, at the behest of his ironfisted grandfather. Though Lippmann's is a household name when it comes to mass-produced kosher baked goods, they don't have the charm of Avital's bakery. Or her grandfather's world-famous pumpkin spice babka recipe. As they bake side by side, Ethan soon finds himself more interested in Avital than in stealing family secrets, especially as he helps her find the chronic pain relief--and pleasure--she's been missing. But perfecting the recipe for romance calls for leaving out the lies...even if coming clean means risking everything."
You can learn more about Jean Meltzer by visiting her website and connecting with her on Facebook and Instagram. You can purchase your own copy of Kissing Kosher at Bookshop, Barnes & Noble, Amazon and Books-A-Million.
Avital Cohen wasn’t wearing underwear.
Standing behind the front counter of Best Babka in Brooklyn, holding their signature pink box in one hand and a pair of tongs in the other, she tried to ignore the pain radiating through her lower abdomen. Despite the fact there was a line spreading around the block, and Shabbat was less than four hours away, the middle-aged woman with streaks of purple in her hair was taking her sweet time.
“I’ve got three black-and-white biscotti,” Mrs. Purpleman said, speaking into her cell phone. “Four confetti rugelach, one challah… I know, I know, but Elissa is on one of her health kicks, again.”
Her name wasn’t Mrs. Purpleman. It was just one of many nicknames that Avital had created in order to remember customers. Mrs. Purpleman was, in fact, Mrs. Perlman, and Avital had come up with the name because she wore her hair styled into a bob and dyed a deep maroon. The effect of which always managed to look purple.
Mrs. Purpleman had been a longtime customer of Best Babka in Brooklyn, arriving like clockwork every Friday morning to stock up on Shabbat goodies for her family.
“But if I buy two challahs,” Mrs. Purpleman sighed heavily into her cell, “she’ll say I’m not validating her feelings…”
Avital glanced down the long line and wondered when Mrs. Purpleman—a professional go-getter when it came to lengthy and irrational amounts of indecision at the counter—would finally notice the eye rolls behind her and make a choice.
“Well, how do you think she’ll feel about some apple cake macaroons?” Mrs. Purpleman asked into her phone.
Avital interrupted. “Those are really good.”
She looked up. “Really?”
Avital began loading three cookies into the box. “They’re always a huge seller on Fridays,” she said, putting a fourth into the box that was angling in the direction of Mrs. Purpleman.
“Can I help you with anything else today?”
“Oh.” Mrs. Purpleman placed one finger on her chin. “Well, I guess not…”
All at once, she felt bad for losing her patience.
Normally, Avital was good with the clientele. She could typically deal with indecisive customers and long lines and the total lack of smiles or gratitude that came with the Shabbat rush hour…but today, she was once again dealing with a flare up of her chronic-pain condition.
Since being diagnosed with interstitial cystitis two years ago at the age of twenty-two, her life could be boiled down to one phrase. She came, she saw…she realized she needed to pee and quickly stopped whatever she was doing in order to find a bathroom.
“Tell you what,” Avital said, grabbing two pink boxes tied up in white twine from a shelf behind her. “Why don’t I throw in two pumpkin-spiced babkas for free?”
“For free?” Mrs. Purpleman asked, confused.
“I know I’m rushing you here,” Avital said, bouncing up and down in her spot. “It’s just…it’s an emergency, Mrs. Perlman.”
Mrs. Purpleman finally twisted in her spot and noticed the line. “Oh, Avital—” she said, touching her heart, embarrassed “—I’m so sorry, I didn’t even realize!”
“It’s okay.”
“No, no…” She shook her head, apologizing profusely. “My husband always says, ‘Goldie—you take too much time with everything. Just make a decision!’ I don’t know why it’s always so hard for me. I just get nervous, you know, and Elissa is going through this whole phase, where everything I do is wrong…”
“I know, Mrs. Perlman,” Avital said, gently, before angling to move her along. “You have a good Shabbat, okay? I’ll see you next week.”
Handing the box to Tootles at the front counter, Avital began calling out the order. “One pound marzipan,” she shouted over the hum of the crowds, “Three black-and-white biscotti, four confetti rugelachs, one challah, four apple cake macaroons.”
“What about the babkas?” Tootles called back.
“On the house!” Avital said, and swiftly began taking off her apron. Her break came just in time. Her twin brother, Josh, had just returned from his lunch break. “Baruch Hashem,” she said, taking off her apron and handing it to him.
“That good today, huh?” Josh asked, sympathetically.
“You have no idea.”
Avital escaped through the back door, sprinting down the hall toward her office, where she could enjoy the privileges of an attached private bathroom.
As she closed the door behind her, the vent fan and light turned on, buzzing into a familiar hum. Considering how much time she spent there, her mother had tried to spruce up the place—make it feel more homey and comfortable—with the addition of fancy pink soap and a small dish full of potpourri. Instead, all the floral scents really managed to do was seep into her frizzy hair and make her smell like cherry cough syrup.
Sitting down on the toilet, Avital shut her eyes and tried to breathe though her pain. The burning, aching pressure increased. Her stomach cramped. Really what she needed to do was to take the day off. Lie in bed, with ice between her legs and a heating pad on top of her belly, drowning in rescues, the colloquial term for the over-the-counter medications and nontraditional remedies used when the pain was at its worse.
Unfortunately, going home was not an option. Even though she had specifically returned to work at Best Babka in Brooklyn for the familial benefit of taking off as needed—a luxury not afforded to most anyone living with chronic pain and chronic illness—they were desperate. With its lines out the door and rapidly expanding social-media presence, the bakery needed support staff as much as it needed flour.
A small whine of pain escaped her lips as she finished her business. She waited for relief, for the feeling of better to return to her body…but her pain was relentless. That was the hardest part of it, really. The fact that it never stopped. The fact that it just went on, and on, sometimes shifting form but never being eradicated completely.
Returning to the front counter, she found both Tootles and Josh sweating bullets, working hard to fill orders. As general manager, Avital didn’t often work the front counter, but Sara, one of their bakers, had a custody hearing in Manhattan to attend that day.
Avital threw on an apron and scanned the line. Though it seemed impossible, the crowd cramming the front entrance had doubled in size during the three minutes she was stuck in the bathroom. Avital grabbed a pink box.
“Next!” she called out.
A young woman, with a baby angled on the edge of her hip, stepped forward.
“What can I get you?” Avital asked.
“Two challahs,” Mother Russia said, the thick accent that had earned her the nickname from Avital, evident in her voice. “Six honey cookies, one black-and-white cheesecake, and a mandel brownie.”
Upside: Mother Russia was always decisive. She came in, ordered quickly, and left. She also never smiled or said thank you, which, weirdly enough, actually felt like a gift. Avital didn’t have to fake wellness. She didn’t have to smile through her pain. She could be just like Mother Russia, totally unconcerned about American social norms.
“Anything else?” Avital said.
“No,” Mother Russia said, catching the teething giraffe just before it fell to the floor.
“Great.”
Avital handed off the box to Josh. She was just about to call out the order, when the sight of a young man—pushing his way through the crowd—caught her attention.
Holy pumpkin-spiced babka.
Avital faltered. The tongs dangled unused in her hands. Her lower lip parted from the top, jaw dropping. The long line dissipated into silence. There were twenty-five people waiting at the counter, but her eyes were transfixed on the stranger.
He was exactly her type. Square shoulders. Tangled dark curls that lifted like swirls of icing off a perfectly molded face. The most gloriously prominent nose. He was a recipe of charm, all plated together by a navy-blue peacoat and gray fitted trousers. He made his way through the crowd, tapping old ladies on the shoulders to offer apologies as he squeezed past.
She couldn’t help but be curious. Avital knew most everyone who came into the shop on Friday. They were locals and diehards. People who—like her own family—never skipped a Shabbat.
And then, Prince Charming cut the line.
Her ire began to rise. There was nothing she hated more, on a busy Shabbat afternoon, than a person who cheated the system. Prince Charming suddenly morphed into Sir Cheat-a-Lot.
“Excuse me,” Avital said, pointing her tongs at his head, “there’s a line.”
Sir Cheat-a-Lot smiled nervously. “Uh, no, I… I don’t think…”
“Yeah,” Avital said, rolling her eyes. “I know. Your Shabbat dinner is very important. Far more important than the other three hundred people waiting before you.” She turned to Mrs. Grossman, waiting patiently with her pocketbook, directly behind him. “Can I help you today, Mrs. Grossman?”
“Oh yes,” the old woman said, leaning over the counter. “I’ll take four black-and-white cookies…”
Avital grabbed a pink box. Sir Cheat-a-Lot decided to tempt fate, and her patience, on a high-pain day.
“I’m sorry,” he said, his perfectly adorable cheeks turning red in the process. “I think you’re misunderstanding my intention here.”
Avital didn’t have time for this. She glanced over to Rafi, a plump middle-aged Israeli they had hired for security, and waved him forward.
“Rafi!” Avital shouted. “Can you please show our guest where the line begins?”
“Not a problem, Avi!” Rafi said and moved to escort the young trespasser outside.
Avital returned her attention to dear, sweet Mrs. Grossman. Rafi grabbed the young man by his arm. But Sir Cheat-a-Lot shrugged out of his grasp and reached into the backpack he was wearing, pulling out a piece of paper.
“I’m here for the job interview!” he said, speaking quickly, waving it in her direction.
Avital stopped serving Mrs. Grossman. “What?”
“My name is Ethan Rosenberg,” he explained, nervously glancing towards Rafi. “I have an interview scheduled with the general manager here at two thirty. I believe her name is—” he glanced down at his sheet to double-check “—Avital Cohen. We confirmed via email on Monday.”
Avital squeezed her eyes shut, wanting to die of embarrassment.
She had completely forgotten.
Then again, she had been up all night—every hour, on the hour—using the bathroom, only to return to bed, exhausted and miserable, with pelvic spasms that didn’t let her sleep. Was it any wonder she was forgetting job interviews with desperately needed help? Or that the hours were painfully and purposefully slipping by focused on other things?
Avital waved Rafi off. Then, handing Mrs. Grossman off to Josh, she directed her attention back to the handsome interloper. “Come with me,” she said, raising the entrance to the front counter.
She had to press her body all the way back to allow him to pass. The wool of the merino sweater he was wearing beneath his coat—his broad and apparently extremely fit chest—swiped against her own.
“Sorry,” she said, straightening her back. “It’s…tight.”
“No problem.” He grinned.
She blanked. She knew there were words in her vocabulary, and that she was supposed to be using them, but all she could focus on was his scent. He smelled incredible. Like the leaves of a freshly cut eucalyptus plant, woodsy and delectable.
It was not like her to get so flustered around a man. She considered herself far too practical to be the type of woman who gave in to romantic whims. But he had this bold sort of confidence in the way he walked, and his sense of fashion was impeccable…and all that masculine energy, brushing up against her, reminded her that she hadn’t had sex in years.
It made her feel vulnerable. Exposed.
Avital thought back to his résumé. “I’m sure you’re used to working in much bigger places.”
“Bigger isn’t necessarily better,” he said, as if anticipating her own misgivings. His voice was deep and dreamy. “There’s a lot that can be learned from working in more challenging spaces.”
He was saying all the right things.
He was stoking her imagination, too.
Avital needed to get a grip. Especially since her twin brother was side-eyeing them curiously from the counter.
She waved Ethan to follow, leading him down the hallway and back to her main office in order to begin his interview. Even though she knew—as sure as the burning pain radiating through her lower abdomen—that there was no way in olam haba she would ever hire him.So, what do you think? Is Kissing Kosher on your end-of-summer TBR list? I think it would be the perfect novel to get you ready for the upcoming fall season. Let me know what you think in the comments below.
Excerpted from Kissing Kosher by Jean Meltzer © 2023 by Jean Meltzer, used with permission from MIRA Books/HarperCollins.
Goodreads says, "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."
The Nelson family lives on an idyllic cherry farm in Michigan. The pandemic has just begun and Joe and Lara Nelson are sheltering in place along with their adult daughters who will help the family pick all the fruit. Peter Duke, a celebrity just died, and this sparks much discussion as their mother once had a summer romance with him during summer theater in Michigan. Before their mother became "their mother" and a cherry farmer, she was once an actor who brushed elbows with some greats. To pass the time, the girls ask their mother to share the stories of her summer at Tom Lake, the theater group, and her blossoming romance with Peter Duke. Patchett weaves the story well by sharing the past and the present as the girls start to learn more about their mother (at least what she is willing to share) as well more about themselves, the seasons of a person's life and the compromises we make. Ann Patchett's Tom Lake is an audio book with a slow burn that is enhanced by the masterful narration of Meryl Streep.
I'm not going to lie, at first I didn't understand what all the fuss was about Tom Lake. The first 20% of the audio book was a very slow start, but before I realized it, I was sucked into the story of Lara, her experience in theater, her time at the production of Our Town, and how she ended up on the cherry farm. Patchett told the story slowly, thoughtfully, and luxuriously. It unfolded like a hot summer day and was very reflective. As Lara shared her story with her daughters, I enjoyed their commentary, witty banter, and observations. Patchett truly captures the art of storytelling and at times it felt a bit magical, especially with the setting of an idyllic farm surrounded by cherry trees. There were so many layers and threads to Tom Lake that by the time I got to the end of the novel, I felt like I knew Lara and her family.
The absolute best part of Tom Lake is the narration of Meryl Streep; in fact, I am not sure I would have liked the novel as much without listening to it. She brought it to life just as I would have hoped and made the listen blissful. I hope she continues to narrate more novels because the audio version of Tom Lake is one of my favorites of the year.
Tom Lake is a beautifully written novel with a slow burn that stayed with me. Here's one of my favorite lines that I wanted to marinate in:
"There is no explaining this simple truth about life: you will forget much of it. The painful things you were certain you’d never be able to let go? Now you’re not entirely sure when they happened, while the thrilling parts, the heart-stopping joys, splintered and scattered and became something else. Memories are then replaced by different joys and larger sorrows, and unbelievably, those things get knocked aside as well."
So, with that said, Meryl Streep is brilliant and I recommend the audio version of Tom Lake. The ending was a bit sad and haunting in a sense, but it's a quiet summer novel that is absolutely worth it. Have you read Tom Lake? Are you a fan of Ann Patchett? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below.
I am soaking up the last of the summer weekends by enjoying every last beach read! I'm sharing two beach reads today that would be perfect for your long Labor Day Weekend, especially if you enjoy historical beach reads as much as me.
Goodreads says, "Southern California, 1960s: endless sunny days surfing in Malibu, followed by glittering neon nights at Whisky A-Go-Go. In an era when women are expected to be housewives, Carol Donelly is breaking the mold as a legendary female surfer struggling to compete in a male-dominated sport--and her daughters, Mindy and Ginger, bear the weight of her unconventional lifestyle. The Donnelly sisters grow up enduring their mother's absence--physically, when she's at the beach, and emotionally, the rare times she's at home. To escape questions about Carol's whereabouts--and chase their mom's elusive affection--they cut school to spend their days in the surf. From her first time on a board, Mindy shows a natural talent, but Ginger, two years younger, feels out of place in the water. As they grow up and their lives diverge, Mindy and Ginger's relationship ebbs and flows. Mindy finds herself swept up in celebrity, complete with beachside love affairs, parties at the Playboy Club, and USO tours to Vietnam. Meanwhile, Ginger--desperate for a community of her own--is tugged into the vibrant counterculture of drugs and cults. Through it all, their sense of duty to each other survives, as the girls are forever connected by the emotional damage they carry from their unorthodox childhood. A gripping, emotional story set at a time when mothers were expected to be Donna Reed, not Gidget, California Golden is an unforgettable novel about three women living in a society that was shifting as tempestuously as the breaking waves."
Carol Donnelly is an athlete in a world where people want her to be content with getting married, having kids, and raising her family. It's the very opposite of what she wants and when she does find herself married with children it doesn't go well. She doesn't take to it and often leaves her kids at school, wearing two-day-old clothes, and forgets all responsibility by going to the beach. Carol's real love is the ocean and she is good at many sports, but she stands out in surfing. Her eldest daughter, Mindy, as she grows up shows great promise with surfing, too, whereas Ginger, the youngest daughter, isn't a natural and everything is a bit harder for her. As the years go by, the girls suffer from fear of abandonment as their mother is never really there for them and things only get worse when Mindy outshines her mother at a surf content. Eventually, Mindy ends up in the beach movies of the 60s and becomes a minor celebrity, and Ginger takes a much darker path. The Donnelly girls go their separate ways, but as the years go by, they find they need each other, especially when things get tough. Melanie Benjamin brings to life the surf culture of the 60s very well in California Golden. Fans of Gidget will thoroughly enjoy this tale that also has some similarities to Daisy Jones and the Six as well as Malibu Rising.
Gidget makes surf culture seem pretty tame, but we know the 60s weren't like that. Benjamin portrays the dark side of the counterculture with drugs as well as domestic violence, the war in Vietnam, and more. It follows the stories of the Donnelly women and how each deal with their own issues as society pressures them to be something they aren't. Mindy and Carol especially faced a lot of sexism when dealing with athletic women or women in sports as that wasn't the norm for the time. Benjamin covers a lot in California Golden, but I think it works and makes the women's story worth it as it is based on many real-life female surfers. If you like the 60s time period, (both the good and bad) then California Golden is a good fit for you.
Goodreads says, "For decades, the Campbell women have reunited at the family’s rambling seaside cottage known as Beech House to celebrate life’s many occasions. But this year, they will be called back to Martha's Vineyard for a celebration of a different their beloved matriarch Cora is getting remarried. And all the town gossips are calling him the one who got away, years ago… For renowned chef Mickey Campbell, this wedding isn’t just a welcome excuse to return to the place she first learned to cook at her grandmother’s side. It’s also a chance to regroup while she figures out a way to tell her smoldering head chef boyfriend that she’s mismanaged their restaurant into the red. Mickey’s mother, Hedy, is still mourning the passing of her adored father three years earlier, and she isn’t sure she’s ready to welcome a new man into the fold―and she’s not certain her own thorny relationship with her mother will weather the storm of her upcoming marriage. But everyone knows a woman’s heart holds more than meets the eye. For Cora, drawing her daughter and granddaughter back to Beech House isn’t just about a ceremony, but a chance to reveal a history she has kept close to her heart for decades. As the days leading up to the wedding unfold, secrets of Cora’s past come to light-- a secret that will cause three generations of Campbell women to question marriage, motherhood, and ultimately learn to savor the delicious joy of following your own heart."
Cora Campbell is a fish out of water in 1948 as a newly married woman on Martha's Vineyard. She grew up in a blue-collar community, worked as a waitress, and has nothing in common with the people that live on the island. They are rude and judgy, and she isn't comfortable with their behavior. Her husband, while sweet, is often gone for business, and is, essentially, one of them. He desperately wants her to fit in and leave her past behind her. Cora worked at her uncle's restaurant and is an expert cook, so when her husband renovates their beach house, she is excited to revamp the kitchen. Enter contractor Max Dempsey, who attends to Cora's needs and understands her like no one else. They form a bond as he builds the kitchen of her dreams. Fast forward to 1999, and Cora's husband is dead and she is remarrying none other than Max Dempsey at their family home on Martha's Vineyard. Her daughter, Hedy, isn't quite sure how she feels about this, and her granddaughter, Mickey, is coming along for the wedding but is hiding secrets of her own. Erika Montgomery's Our Place on the Island captures the story of three generations of women, and family secrets; it's a sweet summer romance.
Our Place on the Island is a dual timeline story taking place in 1999 and 1948. I really enjoyed how Montgomery tied the story together slowly and readers could see what happened in the future with Cora and Max, but I enjoyed the journey to get there. I think Montgomery developed the 1948 timeline very well; in fact, I gravitated to that timeline a bit more than the other. Also, Montgomery brought to life Martha's Vineyard nicely - the beautiful beach, the expansive homes, the country club, the parties, etc. I felt like I was there! I think Our Place on the Island would be a perfect book to curl up with Labor Day Weekend, especially if you love a charming romance as well as a story about families.
Have you read California Golden or Our Place on the Island? Are these books on your TBR list? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below.
Goodreads says, "Ken and Abby Gardner lost their mother when they were small and they have been haunted by her absence ever since. Their father, Adam, a brilliant oceanographer, raised them mostly on his own in his remote home on Cape Cod, where the attachment between Ken and Abby deepened into something complicated—and as adults their relationship is strained. Now, years later, the siblings’ lives are still deeply entwined. Ken is a successful businessman with political ambitions and a picture-perfect family and Abby is a talented visual artist who depends on her brother’s goodwill, in part because he owns the studio where she lives and works. As the novel opens, Adam is approaching his seventieth birthday, staring down his mortality and fading relevance. He has always managed his bipolar disorder with medication, but he’s determined to make one last scientific breakthrough and so he has secretly stopped taking his pills, which he knows will infuriate his children. Meanwhile, Abby and Ken are both harboring secrets of their own, and there is a new person on the periphery of the family—Steph, who doesn’t make her connection known. As Adam grows more attuned to the frequencies of the deep sea and less so to the people around him, Ken and Abby each plan the elaborate gifts they will present to their father on his birthday, jostling for primacy in this small family unit. Set in the fraught summer of 2016, and drawing on the biblical tale of Cain and Abel, Little Monsters is an absorbing, sharply observed family story by a writer who knows Cape Cod inside and out—its Edenic lushness and its snakes."
Adam Gardner is a famous scientist and oceanographer who has dedicated his life to studying whales. He has lived on Cape Cod for years and raised his two children, Ken and Abby, on his own after his wife's untimely death. Now that he is approaching 70, he is starting to feel the pressure to come up with one more great idea in his field of study. So, he impulsively stops taking his bipolar medicine with the hopes that the great idea will come to him more freely this way. Meanwhile, his son Ken, a businessman, is hoping to enter the world of politics. He and his wife decide to throw Adam a 70th birthday party this summer on Cape Cod. Then there's Abby, an artist, and the polar opposite of Ken. She has never married or had children, but is hiding some major secrets of her own this summer. Then comes a stranger to their circle who is going to shake things up for the Gardners this summer. Little Monsters is a twisty beach read filled to the brim with family drama and secrets. Fans of The Paper Palace will appreciate this novel the most.
Sometimes you like a good beach read that makes you feel all the feels, right? I'm sharing two beach reads today that were pretty emotional and definitely tugged on my heartstrings. They both had a Ben as a love interest, and both take place in beautiful coastal communities.
Goodreads says, "When a woman who'd rather do anything than read meets a swoon-worthy bookworm, sparks fly, making for one hot-summer fling in New York Times bestselling author Jenn McKinlay's new rom-com. For Samantha Gale, a summer on Martha's Vineyard at her family's tiny cottage was supposed to be about resurrecting her career as a chef, until she's tasked with chaperoning her half-brother, Tyler. The teenage brainiac is spending his summer at the local library in a robotics competition, and there's no place Sam, who's dyslexic, likes less than the library. And because the universe hates her, the library's interim director turns out to be the hot-reader guy whose book she accidentally destroyed on the ferry ride to the island. Bennett Reynolds is on a quest to find his father, whose identity he's never known. He's taken the temporary job on the island to research the summer his mother spent there when she got pregnant with him. Ben tells himself he isn't interested in a relationship right now. Yet as soon as Sam knocks his book into the ocean, he can't stop thinking about her. An irresistible attraction blossoms when Ben inspires Sam to create the cookbook she's always dreamed about and she jumps all in on helping him find his father, and soon they realize their summer fling may heat up into a happily ever after."
Goodreads says, "A book editor spends one last summer on Fire Island in this sparkling and surprising new novel from the author of A Shoe Story . As a book editor, Julia Morse lived and breathed stories. Whether with her pen to a manuscript or curled up with a book while at her beloved Fire Island cottage, her imagination alight with a good tale, she could anticipate practically any ending. The ending she’d never imagined was her own. To be fair, no one expects to die at thirty-seven. So when the unthinkable happens to Julia, rather than following the light at the end of the proverbial tunnel, she chooses to spend one last summer near those she loves most. As she follows her adoring, novelist husband Ben to their—unexpectedly full—home on Fire Island, she discovers the ripple affect her life has had on the trajectory of so her baseball loving, young-at-heart neighbor who believes it’s best not to go it alone, two bright-eyed teenagers eager to become adults, and her best friend who must shake off heartbreak for a new chance at love. With poignant comedy and insight, On Fire Island is an ode to the stories all around us and to the brightest types of loves…for the people closest to you and the places that shape you."
You had me at antique book, am I right? I love a good romance, especially when it has book stores, antique books, or old letters in the story line. So, when I heard about Nan Fischer's new novel, The Book of Silver Linings, I knew I had to read it and be a part of the blog tour showcasing this exciting new book, which comes out today.
It follows a "young woman who pens a note to a long-dead author and leaves it in a book - only to find that the author has written her back from beyond the grave." Is The Book of Silver Linings on your end-of-summer TBR list? I can't wait to read it! It seems the perfect book to end summer with.
Goodreads says, "Constance should be feeling overjoyed: following a whirlwind romance, she has just said yes to marrying the man of her dreams, and she now has a gorgeous, shiny antique ring on her finger. But it all seems a bit too good to be true—including her fiancé himself, who acts strangely whenever Constance asks about his family and his past. The combination of her relationship anxieties, a stressful job, family issues, a best friend who asks her for money, and the closing of the beloved animal shelter where she volunteers causes Constance to feel like she’s hitting a wall. So she goes to the library, her place of comfort.Books have always been there for Constance during hard times. While she’s at the library, Constance decides to research the origins of her beautiful new ring, and she’s led to a book of letters penned by a long-gone WWI soldier. With no one else to talk to about her problems, and finding solace in his words, Constance writes a letter and tucks it within the book’s pages. But she never expects that he’ll actually write back….
As the notes continue to arrive, Constance finds herself quickly falling in love with a ghost and putting her real-life relationship in jeopardy. Will a bond based on letters impossibly sent from the past derail her future? Or will Constance discover her voice and risk everything for the chance to somehow connect with her true soul mate?
Perfect for fans of Ashley Poston’s The Dead Romantics, and for readers of Jill Santopolo and Colleen Oakley, THE BOOK OF SILVER LININGS follows one woman in a gripping exploration of love and fate."
You can purchase your own copy of The Book of Silver Linings at Bookshop, Barnes & Noble, Books A Million, and Amazon. You can learn more about Nan Fischer by visiting her website and connecting with her on Instagram, and Twitter.
So, let me know if you are a fan of Nan Fischer and if The Book of Silver Linings is on your summer TBR list in the comments below.
So oftentimes beach reads are light, fun, and fluffy, but in a good way. Sometimes I just want to sit by the beach or outside and get lost in a lighthearted read....nothing too serious. On the other hand, sometimes I get sick of all the overly saccharine reads and want something with a little more weight and a little more oomph. Maybe there's a murder? Or an unreliable narrator?
Today I'm sharing beach reads that still have
many of the characteristics of a light novel, while featuring
enough suspense to keep me on the edge of my beach chair.
Cocoa Beach by
Beatriz Williams - Williams always does a good job of weaving history,
romance, and suspense into her historical beach reads. I found this one
to be a bit more suspenseful than her others.
The Night the Lights Went Out by
Karen White - There's a good combination of romance, summer fluff,
historical fiction through flashbacks, and also a serious murder
mystery.
The Weekenders by Mary Kay Andrews - A summer murder mystery set on a gorgeous North Carolina island.
A Single Breath - There's a ton of family secrets in this one and it kept me on my toes. Plus, look at that gorgeous setting!
The Blue by Lucy Clarke - This book features major drama and thrills aboard a yacht.
On the Island by Tracey Jarvis-Graves - The ultimate stranded on a tropical island survival story!
Under a Dark Summer Sky
by Vanessa LaFaye - A hurricane is en route to the Florida Keys and of
course it brings many dangers. Plus, it's based on the real-life
hurricane that pounded the Keys in 1935.
With Malice by
Eileen Cook - This is one of the best YA thrillers I've read in quite
awhile. It's about a deadly accident set abroad in Italy and it involves
amnesia, which definitely kept me guessing.
Something in the Water by Catherine Steadman - A psyschological thriller that takes place during a honeymoon.
The Perfect Couple by Elin Hilderbrand - This isn't Hilderbrand's usual beach read as it involves a murder!
The Last Train to Key West by Chanel Cleeton - What seems like it should be a good time turns really stressful as the Labor Day Hurricane of 1935 approaches.
Hello, Summer by Mary Kay Andrews - A major dose of a mystery with this beach read that follows a journalist's quest for the truth.
Summer Darlings by Brooke Lea Foster - The second half of this historical novel has some major film noir vibes to it, which kept me flipping the pages.
You're Invited by Amanda Jayatissa - A summer wedding in Sri Lanka goes badly... an engaging summer thriller.
The Siren by Katherine St. John - A juicy summertime escape with a lot of plot twists and mysteries that takes place on a film set in the Caribbean.
In the comments below, let me know what you think about the books that made my list. Have you read any of them? Let me know if you have any recommendations, too!
