Thursday, May 30, 2019

Ellie and the Harpmaker by Hazel Prior

When Ellie happens upon Dan and his barn full of harps, she finds her life changed. Stuck in a marriage with her controlling husband, Clive, Dan's relaxed manner and his love of nature are what Ellie's been needing in her life. Of course, it doesn't hurt that Dan is gorgeous and gives her one of his harps for her to learn to play. However, Ellie is keeping secret from Clive the fact that she is spending time with Dan and taking harp lessons because she knows Clive will be upset. As Dan's and Ellie's lives become entwined, Ellie will have to make some important choices. Give to readers who enjoyed The Rosie Project. It will be published in August.

Thursday, May 9, 2019

The Bookshop of the Broken Hearted by Robert Hillman

In the early 1960's Tom is bereft when his wife, Trudy, leaves him. But she soon comes back to Hometown, the small outback town where Tom has a farm. However, she is pregnant with another man's child. Tom develops a real bond with Trudy's son Peter, but soon Trudy leaves for good with him, breaking Tom's heart. When Holocaust survivor Hannah moves to town to open up a bookshop, she and Tom fall in love. But Hannah is haunted by the death of her young son Michael in Auschwitz and the trauma of being the only one in her family to survive the war. Can Tom and Hannah's love for each other triumph over all the heartache they have been through? The Bookshop of the Broken Hearted is a novel with a great sense of place and characters whom the reader cares deeply for. A great choice for book clubs.

Sunday, May 5, 2019

The Mother-in-Law by Sally Hepworth

When Lucy's mother-in-law, Diana, dies, she is in shock because they haven't had the easiest relationship over the ten years they have known each other. Lucy is married to Diana's son, Ollie, and they have three young children. The police are treating Diana's death as suspicious because at first it seemed like suicide, but the evidence soon points to murder by a family member. Who could have possibly killed Diana? The Mother-in-Law recounts the lives of the Goodwins and the up and down family dynamics since Lucy joined the family. A great read-alike for Elin Hilderbrand's The Perfect Couple and Liane Moriarty's novels.

Wednesday, May 1, 2019

The Girl He Used to Know by Tracey Garvis Graves

Ten years after they first meet in college, Annika and Jonathan bump into each other at a grocery store in Chicago. Annika has her dream job working as a librarian, while Jonathan has a high-powered job in finance. It's obvious that they still have feelings for each other and that there are things from the past that were left unsaid. The Girl He Used to Know recounts both the development of their relationship in the early 1990's, when Annika was a shy, awkward, yet beautiful young woman with undiagnosed autism-spectrum disorder (whom Jonathan fell for because she was so unique and refreshing) and their reunion ten years hence. It's a moving portrayal of what everyday life is like for someone on the spectrum as they move into adulthood and become independent and find love.