Women’s Fiction

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Blog Tour Review: THE BEAUTIFUL AND THE WILD by Peggy Townsend

Synopsis from the Publisher:

The dangers of Alaska aren’t limited to storms, starvation, and grizzly bears. Sometimes the most dangerous thing is the person you love.

It’s summer in Alaska and the light surrounding the shipping-container-turned-storage shed where Liv Russo is being held prisoner is fuzzy and gray. Around her is thick forest and jagged mountains. In front of her, across a clearing, is a low-slung cabin with a single window that spills a wash of yellow light onto bare ground. Illuminated in that light is the father of her child, a man she once loved. A man who is now her jailor. Liv vows to do anything to escape.

Carrying her own secrets and a fierce need to protect her young son, Liv must navigate a new world where extreme weather, starvation, and dangerous wildlife are not the only threats she faces. With winter’s arrival imminent, she knows she must reckon with her past and the choices that brought her to the unforgiving Alaskan landscape if she is ever going to make it out alive.

A story of survival in the wilds of Alaska, The Beautiful and the Wild explores the question of whether we can ever truly know the person we love — or ourselves.

Publisher: Berkley
Publication Date: November 7, 2023
Source: Review copy from NetGalley
Rating: 4 Stars

My Thoughts:

THE BEAUTIFUL AND THE WILD is a compulsive domestic thriller set on a remote Alaskan homestead. The protagonist Liv is trapped there, held prisoner by her husband. As winter quickly approaches, she has to figure out a way to escape with her young son in tow.

I thought this would be a “chased through the wild” thriller, but it was quite different from what I was expecting, and I enjoyed it. Liv processes a lot of heavy secrets and emotional baggage as she struggles to survive on the homestead, learning much about herself and her husband. There aren’t a lot of big twists, and most of the action takes place at the very end, but I was still on pins and needles waiting to see how everything would play out.

I would recommend this introspective and engrossing survivalist tale to thriller readers looking for something a bit different.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me a copy of this book. Opinions are my own.

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THE BOOK OF SILVER LININGS by Nan Fischer #20booksofsummer23

Synopsis from the Publisher:

Within the margins of an antique book, a timeless love waits for a young woman on the precipice of a terrible mistake in this enthralling exploration of fate and independence from the acclaimed author of Some of It Was Real.

Constance Sparks always says yes…when her capricious best friend needs money; when her boss gives her more responsibility without a raise; and when her boyfriend, Hayden, who is very kind but also secretive, asks her to marry him.

While planning their wedding — and struggling with anxiety about the right course for her future — Constance researches the history of her antique engagement ring and unearths the name of a man who might be connected to it, plus his tragic love story. When she finds a book of letters in her library’s old manuscript section written by the long-dead man, Constance is deeply touched by his words and leaves a note for him confessing her uncertainty and doubts. She’s shocked days later to find a response tucked among the pages.

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?

Publisher: Berkley
Publication Date: Aug 15, 2023
Source: Review copy from NetGalley
Rating: 4.5 Stars

My Thoughts:

Though contemporary romance isn’t a genre I pick up often, something about the premise of this book compelled me to give it a read, and I’m so glad I did.

The main character Constance is a people pleaser, always willing to give up pieces of herself for others, and never feeling like she’s enough. When her fiancé gives her a stunning antique engagement ring, she sets out to discover its provenance through a very old book of letters from WWI. The answers she finds help to guide her down her own path of self-discovery.

I wasn’t expecting this to be such an emotional read, but I got teary eyed several times. My heart went out to Constance and her struggle with low self-esteem and her difficult relationships with others. She was such a sweet person.

There’s a bit of mystery that Constance finds within the book of letters, and a lovely slow-build romance that came with a couple of surprising twists. I highly recommend this uplifting story of finding self-worth, true love, and having the courage to accept the past and set a new course in life.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me a copy of this book. Opinions are my own.

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MY HUSBAND by Maud Ventura (Translated by Emma Ramadan) #20booksofsummer23

Synopsis from the Publisher:

In this suspenseful and darkly funny debut novel, a sophisticated French woman spends her life obsessing over her perfect husband — but can their marriage survive her passionate love?

At forty years old, she has an enviable life: a successful career, stunning looks, a beautiful house in the suburbs, two healthy children, and most importantly, an ideal husband, whose wealthy background allows her to transcend her own social class. After fifteen years together, she is still besotted with him. But she’s never quite sure that her passion is reciprocated.

Determined to keep their relationship perfect, she meticulously prepares for every encounter they have, always taking care to make her actions seem effortless. She watches him attentively, testing him to make sure that he still loves her just as much as he did when they first met.

Until one day she realizes she may have gone too far…

Publisher: HarperVia
Publication Date: July 11, 2023
Source: Borrowed from the Library
Rating: 3 Stars

My Thoughts:

This is a strange book about a 40-year old woman OBSESSED with her husband of 13 years and the lengths she goes through to keep him hers. It’s described as suspenseful and darkly funny, but I found neither to be really true. However, I didn’t dislike the book; it was just different than what I was expecting.

The protagonist is a maddening character and readers are trapped in her head with her troubling thoughts. I’m not sure the epilogue was a satisfying enough payoff after enduring this woman, but maybe you could take the whole thing as a cautionary tale.

I think that Maud Ventura is a talented writer, and Emma Ramadan did a beautiful job translating her words into English from the original French. Oddly enough, the protagonist in this book is also a French to English translator.

I would recommend this to fans of quiet psychological suspense novels, perhaps like Mrs. March. Borrowed from the library.

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THE GIRLS OF SUMMER by Katie Bishop #20booksofsummer2

Synopsis from the Publisher:

Rachel has been in love with Alistair for fifteen years. Even though she’s now married to someone else. Even though she was a teenager when they met. Even though he is twenty years older than her.

Rachel and Alistair’s summer love affair on a remote, sun-trapped Greek island has consumed her since she was seventeen, obliterating everything in its wake. But as Rachel becomes increasingly obsessed with reliving the events of so long ago, she reconnects with the other girls who were similarly drawn to life on the island, where the nights were long, the alcohol was free-flowing and everyone acted in ways they never would at home. And as she does so, dark and deeply suppressed secrets about her first love affair begin to rise to the surface, as well as the truth about her time working for an enigmatic and wealthy man, who controlled so much more than she could have ever realized.

Joining a post #MeToo discourse, The Girls of Summer grapples with themes of power, sex, and consent, as it explores the complicated nature of memory and trauma — and what it takes to reframe, and reclaim, your own story.

Publisher: St. Martin’s Press
Publication Date: June 6, 2023
Source: Review copy from the Publisher
Rating: 3.5 Stars

My Thoughts:

At 17 years old, Rachel takes a summer holiday to a Greek island, where she has an affair with Alistair, a man 20 years her senior. Seventeen is an impressionable age, and Rachel is easily seduced by the charm and attention of an older man. Unfortunately, the toxicity of that relationship stayed with her long after leaving the island. Fifteen years later and married to someone else, she still longs to relive those days with Alistair, unable to accept the truth of what really happened.

THE GIRLS OF SUMMER is part slow burn suspense and part character study of what can happen when girls are groomed and exploited. The story is told from Rachel’s POV in the present and past. I was very much invested in 17-year old Rachel’s timeline. The writing was gorgeous with an ominous undercurrent of what was to come. On the other hand, adult Rachel frustrated me. Despite what she went through, her decisions and behavior made her rather unlikeable.

Though the book cover evokes feelings of carefree summery days, the actual story underneath is dark, uncomfortable, and thought provoking. So quickly and easily can girls be manipulated by older men, especially powerful ones, with detrimental consequences. Even though a bit slow in parts, this book is a well written contribution to the #MeToo discussion.

I received an ARC of this book from the publisher through a Goodreads giveaway. Opinions are my own.

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ONE SUMMER IN SAVANNAH by Terah Shelton Harris #20booksofsummer23

Synopsis from Goodreads:

A compelling debut that glows with bittersweet heart and touching emotion, deeply interrogating questions of family, redemption, and unconditional love in the sweltering summer heat of Savannah, as two people discover what it means to truly forgive.

It’s been eight years since Sara Lancaster left her home in Savannah, Georgia. Eight years since her daughter, Alana, came into this world, following a terrifying sexual assault that left deep emotional wounds Sara would do anything to forget. But when Sara’s father falls ill, she’s forced to return home and face the ghosts of her past.

While caring for her father and running his bookstore, Sara is desperate to protect her curious, outgoing, genius daughter from the Wylers, the family of the man who assaulted her. Sara thinks she can succeed—her attacker is in prison, his identical twin brother, Jacob, left town years ago, and their mother are all unaware Alana exists. But she soon learns that Jacob has also just returned to Savannah to piece together the fragments of his once-great family. And when their two worlds collide—with the type of force Sara explores in her poetry and Jacob in his astrophysics—they are drawn together in unexpected ways.

Publisher: Sourcebooks Landmark
Publication Date: July 4, 2023
Source: Review copy from NetGalley
Rating: 3.75 Stars

My Thoughts:

Though beautifully written, this was a tough book to read, as it tackles some heavy subject matter. Given the circumstances, I think you need to suspend disbelief in order to appreciate the story’s message of forgiveness.

The main character Sara was sexually assaulted at 18, and she gives birth to a daughter as a result, whom she raises in secret, far away from her imprisoned assailant and his wealthy family. Eight years later, Sara and daughter Alana must return to Savannah when her father falls ill.

Being a mother is a lesson in impossible love.

Here’s where the tricky part comes in: Sara befriends her attacker’s identical twin brother Jacob, and she allows him to tutor her genius daughter, as long as he keeps her existence a secret from the rest of his family. Then Sara and Jacob’s relationship starts to develop into something more. Identical twin? Hmm.

This was a heartbreaking story that’s able to leave readers with a sense of hope. I was in awe of the strength of Sara’s character as she struggled with her trauma and her role as mother to Alana. My heart went out to Jacob as he tried to put the pieces of his broken family together.

One part of the writing I did not care for was how Sara’s father would only speak in poetry. When asked a question he would recite lines of his favorite poems, which unfortunately annoyed me after a while. It slowed down the pace trying to decipher what his answers meant, and there was a lot of poetry in this book.

Aside from the poetry, I found myself easily absorbed in this emotional story. I struggled a bit with the redemption parts, but I feel the author did a beautiful job with this uncomfortable and unique debut novel.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me a digital review copy of this book. Opinions are my own.