Beautiful Day by Elin Hilderbrand

Who doesn't like a wedding?  Well, weddings are a bit unpredictable and the one spoken about in this book is no exception.

Jenna, the youngest child of Douglas and Beth, is getting married.  Everything has been laid out for Jenna by her mother Beth, who died several years before and left detailed instructions in "the notebook" for Jenna to follow.  What Beth didn't plan on is all the things that might go wrong on a wedding day.

It begins with the wedding planner not being able to raise the tent because the 200 year-old tree is in the way.  It goes downhill from there with trysts between friends and siblings, the threat of rain and divorce and a general unsettling between the bride and groom.

Ms. Hilderbrand is one of my very favorite authors.  Her attention to detail and getting it "just right" makes it a joy to read her novels.  My favorite before reading this latest entry was Blue Bistro but Beautiful Day gives Blue Bistro a run for the money.

A wonderful escape into the behind-the-scenes of a wedding.

Ladybookbug!

Sweet Salt Air by Barbara Delinsky

Having read many of Ms. Delinsky's previous books, I looked forward to reading her latest entry.

Nicole and Charlotte are best friends.  Many of their summers were spent at Nicole's family homestead on the island of Quinnipeague off the coast of Maine.   However,  Nicole and Charlotte lost touch with each other for about ten years.  Nicole is in the process of writing a cookbook while maintaining a popular foodie blog.  She invites Charlotte to visit her at the island and hope that she will collaborate by taking pictures of the island, its' herbal plants and interviewing the locals.

Unknown to Nicole, there is a reason Charlotte has kept her distance for the past ten years.  Charlotte harbors a huge secret which she would like to refrain from sharing but circumstances force her to. Fearful that the truth will tear the friends apart, Charlotte retreats to the harboring arms of her new lover.

I enjoy this author's writing.  My main criticism of this book was that the stories of these two women could have each had their own book.  The last few chapters of this book were far too intense for me.  While I appreciated the author's attention to medical details, I just couldn't deal with it.  However, I plodded on to the end.

Definitely a must-read for Delinsky fans.

Ladybookbug!

Island Girls by Nancy Thayer

Rory Randall dies and leaves his home on Nantucket to his three daughters.  The only caveat is that all three have to live in the house for several months.  The problem is that the three daughters do not get along.  A long-ago feud has kept them apart for many years.

Arden (a high powered t.v. star), Meg (a college professor) and Jenny ( computer geek) come together for an interesting summer.  Justine, mother of Jenny, suggested in the past that Meg and Arden stole a valuable necklace from her.  As a result, she banned the two from the island.  Amid this allegation, the sisters learn to value what makes them different and to appreciate how they are bound together.

Nancy Thayer never gets too serious about her topics and I like that.  This is a gentle look at what sisterhood means to three very different sisters, and how they learn to come together.

A good summer read!

Ladybookbug!

Her Last Breath by Linda Castillo

Kate Burkholder is back as the Chief of Police in Amish Country.

The story opens with a horrendous hit-and-run accident.  Kate is drawn into it by virtue of her job but also because she knows the family personally.  The lone survivor of the accident is placed in the hospital.   Kate is very determined to find out who did it and make them suffer the consequences.

In addition, an old situation that happened when Kate was a teen has cropped up again.  Kate's friend and lover Tomasetti joins Kate in trying to disentangle her from what happened.

If you're new to this author, you might want to go back and read all of the books in this series.  It will give you a broad overview of the character of Kate and the cases she has dealt with in the past.

Ladybookbug!

Time Flies by Claire Cook

A new novel by the author who brought us Must Love Dogs.  Again we have a light-hearted romp into the class reunion phenomena.

Melanie has been invited to her class reunion.  She is being hounded by her best friend B.J. to attend but is not sure she wants to go.  Eventually she caves and decides to attend.  She receives emails from an old admirer and looks forward to seeing him again.  She and B.J. reconnect with another old pal and together they reminisce about days gone by.

Amid all of this, Melanie is newly separated from her husband.  In the course of her work as a metal sculptor, she meets T. Brody, the owner of a restaurant who has purchased one of her pieces.  He peppers her life with phone calls and they keep up a congenial banter.

If you're over a certain age, you'll have fun bringing back memories as you read Time Flies.  A great book for a day at the beach.

Ladybookbug!

The Last Original Wife by Dorothea Benton Frank

Hooray for women!  This latest entry by Frank does all it can to explore the negative attributes of a pompous man.  You will probably find yourself rooting for Les from the get-go.

Told from the opposing perspectives of Les and Wes, this story goes a long way toward making us realize that we only have one life to get it right.  The author takes us again to the setting of Sullivans Island--a place that I surely would like to visit.

I really liked this book and I'm sure you will too!

Ladybookbug!

Sisters by Patricia MacDonald

Another new author to me, Patricia MacDonald's new book is very interesting.  She hooks the reader in by presenting a plausible circumstance where a young woman discovers she has a half-sister out in the world that she was unaware of.

The author goes on to develop the character of Dory as one who is in prison for murder.  Her half-sister Alex is intent upon clearing her name and will go to great lengths to do so.

While this story does not have the solid content of a John Grisham novel, it is a good, short read for those readers interested in legal entanglements.

Ladybookbug!

Ladies' Night by Mary Kay Andrews

A light romp into an area all too common in everyday life--divorce.  Grace Stanton, in a fit of anger, drives her husbands expensive car into the family pool.  Later she appears in divorce court and the judge sentences her to group therapy sessions to control her anger.

She joins a small group of three women and a man and together they engage in conversation about their respective outbursts against their former spouses.  Bonds form among the group and Grace finds herself looking forward to meeting  with them each week.

Along the way, Grace makes her own self-discovery and reinvents herself.  She becomes stronger and more hopeful about the future and what it holds for her.

Never too serious, Mary Kay Andrews' stories capture the essence of everyday people.  It is easy for the reader to be drawn into the story.  This will make a great beach or by-the-pool read for the summer.

A glass of iced tea, a large floppy hat and a beach chair and you will be all set to read- Ladies' Night.

Ladybookbug!

Silken Prey by John Sandford

I'm not a regular reader of books in this series but a patron recommended it so I thought I'd try it.  After a few slow starts, I gave up reading it altogether upon finishing Chapter 12.  That's not to say I won't be trying it again sometime in the future but it was just not my cup of tea.

The story has an interesting premise and is certainly believable in this day and age.  Lucas Davenport, is involved in a political caper.  Unsavory photos have been discovered on the computer of a conservative republican politician.  In addition, a well-known political has gone missing.  That's just the tip of the iceberg.  This story has everything that we know about politics and many things that are not public knowledge.

If Lucas Davenport is an old friend, you'll not want to miss his latest escapade.

Ladybookbug!