Review - Slightly South of Simple by Kristy Woodson Harvey

From the next “major voice in Southern fiction” (New York Times bestselling author Elin Hilderbrand) comes the first in an all-new series chronicling the journeys of three sisters and their mother—and a secret from their past that has the potential to tear them apart and reshape their very definition of what it means to be a family.

Caroline Murphy swore she’d never set foot back in the small Southern town of Peachtree Bluff; she was a New York girl born and bred and the worst day of her life was when, in the wake of her father’s death, her mother selfishly forced her to move—during her senior year of high school, no less—back to that hick-infested rat trap where she'd spent her childhood summers. But now that her marriage to a New York high society heir has fallen apart in a very public, very embarrassing fashion, a pregnant Caroline decides to escape the gossipmongers with her nine-year-old daughter and head home to her mother, Ansley.

Ansley has always put her three daughters first, especially when she found out that her late husband, despite what he had always promised, left her with next to nothing. Now the proud owner of a charming waterfront design business and finally standing on her own two feet, Ansley welcomes Caroline and her brood back with open arms. But when her second daughter Sloane, whose military husband is overseas, and youngest daughter and successful actress Emerson join the fray, Ansley begins to feel like the piece of herself she had finally found might be slipping from her grasp. Even more discomfiting, when someone from her past reappears in Ansley's life, the secret she’s harbored from her daughters their entire lives might finally be forced into the open.

My Thoughts 
I think that I have always been a southern girl at heart who just happens to live in the north.  I LOVE all things southern.  The laid back living, the strong sense of family, the lifestyle, the food  - don't get me started!  I could go on for DAYS!  I have plans to retire in the south once I get all these crazy kids of mine graduated in the next few years.
Kristy is truly the best southern writer I have read to date.  No matter the topic she draws you in - you want more and when the story ends you hope and pray that she has the next story written and you can get your hands on a copy!
Slightly South of Simple does not disappoint!  It tugs at your heart strings, it makes you fall in love with each and every character, even grumpy ole Mr. Solomon.  The trials and struggles each sister goes through will feel like your own and have you question yourself - "What would I do in their shoes?".
Ansley thought she would live her years alone in this quaint town till she gets the call that all of her daughters are on their way for an extended visit - along with all of their children!  Terror first enters her mind and then she realizes that she wouldn't want them to be any place else then with her to take care of them.
I won't ruin all of the intricacies (love, honor, past loves, heartbreak) of the story but I will tell you that by the end you will want nothing more than to begin the next book in the series!

Drink Selection
We are going to go with the deliciousness of the south, the Southern Pomegranate Sparkler! Yum!  (I don't think you will be able to have just one!)

Rating 
This book is truly one of a kind, 5 wine glasses all the way!

 

Review: Talking As Fast As I Can by Lauren Graham

In Talking as Fast as I Can, Lauren Graham hits pause for a moment and looks back on her life, sharing laugh-out-loud stories about growing up, starting out as an actress, and, years later, sitting in her trailer on the Parenthood set and asking herself, “Did you, um, make it?” She opens up about the challenges of being single in Hollywood (“Strangers were worried about me; that’s how long I was single!”), the time she was asked to audition her butt for a role, and her experience being a judge on Project Runway (“It’s like I had a fashion-induced blackout”).

In “What It Was Like, Part One,” Graham sits down for an epic Gilmore Girls marathon and reflects on being cast as the fast-talking Lorelai Gilmore. The essay “What It Was Like, Part Two” reveals how it felt to pick up the role again nine years later, and what doing so has meant to her.

Some more things you will learn about Lauren: She once tried to go vegan just to bond with Ellen DeGeneres, she’s aware that meeting guys at awards shows has its pitfalls (“If you’re meeting someone for the first time after three hours of hair, makeup, and styling, you’ve already set the bar too high”), and she’s a card-carrying REI shopper (“My bungee cords now earn points!”).

Including photos and excerpts from the diary Graham kept during the filming of the recent Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life, this book is like a cozy night in, catching up with your best friend, laughing and swapping stories, and—of course—talking as fast as you can.

My Thoughts

Can I just say...I want Lauren Graham to be my best friend!  She is amazing!  I couldn't get enough of Gilmore Girls and I have been buying the whole to collection of episodes to have forever and ever!  LOL.

From the very first page you feel as if Lauren is actually speaking to you!  Her writing voice as I call it is amazing!  It's like I am back in Stars Hollow all over again, and boy do I hope there are more and more episodes! 

Lauren talks about everything from her early days of acting when she wasn't sure if she was destined for Broadway or destined to be on the big screen!  She refers to exes that she has dated (and the act of being single in Hollywood, which is rare!) and her bright future as an author and screenwriter (she is really going places!)

Her experience on Project Runaway will have you dying of laughter and her bonding experience with Ellen to too funny for word!

I won't give away every little detail, even though I could go on and on...LOL I will say that she talks about the reboot of Gilmore Girls and you will want to buy a copy and read it for yourself!  Run and get a copy TODAY!

Drink Selection

I am going to go with a fun and flirty glass (or 3!) of Prosecco!  Can we say yum?!?!?

Rating
It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out how much I LOVED this book!  Five wine glasses all the way!



Review: The Shack by Wm. Paul Young

Mackenzie Allen Philips' youngest daughter, Missy, has been abducted during a family vacation and evidence that she may have been brutally murdered is found in an abandoned shack deep in the Oregon wilderness. Four years later in the midst of his Great Sadness, Mack receives a suspicious note, apparently from God, inviting him back to that shack for a weekend. Against his better judgment he arrives at the shack on a wintry afternoon and walks back into his darkest nightmare. What he finds there will change Mack's world forever. 

My Thoughts 
Such an enlightening story.  I'm still not sure what to think and am trying to process this story and all aspects that it threw at me.  From an amazing family unit that laughed together, live life to the fullest and enjoy each others time to the worst fears come to life.

A nightmare takes over their lives and will they overcome it?  Will they survive or will they parish as well from the depression and horror of death.

There are so many questions that need to be answered - can one move on after tragedy?  Is forgiveness an option?  Can you learn to love again?  Is god really there to protect and stop evil from happening? 

This story has so many twists and turns and will really have you thinking about everything from your belief in a higher being to learning to forgive. 

Drink Selection
I would recommend a delicious glass (or two) of Three Brothers Winery 2015 Second Degree of Riesling.  You will fall in love!

Rating
This book had me thinking from beginning to end.  I will admit that there were a few parts that had me slightly lost and confused instead of thinking deeply.  I would recommend this book to everyone, you will fall in LOVE with the cast!  The Shack would rate 4 wine glasses in my eyes. (I can't wait to see the movie!)

Review - The Silent Sister by Diane Chamberlain

In The Silent Sister, Riley MacPherson has spent her entire life believing that her older sister Lisa committed suicide as a teenager. Now, over twenty years later, her father has passed away and she's in New Bern, North Carolina cleaning out his house when she finds evidence to the contrary. Lisa is alive. Alive and living under a new identity. But why exactly was she on the run all those years ago, and what secrets are being kept now? As Riley works to uncover the truth, her discoveries will put into question everything she thought she knew about her family. 

My Thoughts 

What a thought provoking story of tragedy, family, love, heartbreak, deception and so much more. The story begins by Riley coming home after many years to settle her deceased fathers estate. It was very difficult walking back into the home knowing how much her father and the rest of the family has suffered after her older sister Lisa had committed suicide. Riley was just two when it happened, and still didn't know much about what had took place  except that her sister had passed away many years prior. 

An interesting cast of characters pop in and out - what is a girl to do with all this craziness. She just wants to sell the property and belongings and move on with her life. 

Then things begin to happen - people begin to talk - is there truth in what they are saying? Could it be? Or is Riley losing her mind? 

So many twists and turns in this dual story line of the past and present - you will be surprised and shocked by what you learn. 

Drink Selection 

I will be going with my favorite wine selection as of late - a delicious Roscato red wine! 

I rate this page turner a 4 wine glasses! Pick up your copy today! You will not be disappointed! 

Review - After You by Jojo Moyes

“You’re going to feel uncomfortable in your new world for a bit. But I hope you feel a bit exhilarated too. Live boldly. Push yourself. Don’t settle. Just live well. Just live. Love, Will.”
 
How do you move on after losing the person you loved? How do you build a life worth living?

Louisa Clark is no longer just an ordinary girl living an ordinary life. After the transformative six months spent with Will Traynor, she is struggling without him. When an extraordinary accident forces Lou to return home to her family, she can’t help but feel she’s right back where she started.

Her body heals, but Lou herself knows that she needs to be kick-started back to life. Which is how she ends up in a church basement with the members of the Moving On support group, who share insights, laughter, frustrations, and terrible cookies. They will also lead her to the strong, capable Sam Fielding—the paramedic, whose business is life and death, and the one man who might be able to understand her. Then a figure from Will’s past appears and hijacks all her plans, propelling her into a very different future. . . .

For Lou Clark, life after Will Traynor means learning to fall in love again, with all the risks that brings. But here Jojo Moyes gives us two families, as real as our own, whose joys and sorrows will touch you deeply, and where both changes and surprises await.


My Thoughts
This touching story will have you loving learning more about Louisa Clark and Will Traynor.  Me Before You (Book 1) was amazing and terribly sad all in one.  The movie solidified my love for Louisa and Will and I wanted nothing more for him to decide to live at then end, that Louisa was enough.  We know that did not happen, but a girl could hope right?
Now, we move on to life after Will, and Louisa seems to be just going through the emotions, getting from one day to the next, one hour at a time.
She hasn't quite figured out how to move on.  She is using the money that Will left for her in the ways in which he requested, but is it time to move on?  Create a life of her own without Will and his influence?
Throughout this journey Louisa meets many interesting characters and has many life experiences.  She goes from being a shut in to living her life and creating new adventures for herself.
One very important person comes into her life and turns it around for the better, I will not say much more than that.  (I don't want to ruin the story for those who haven't read it yet, go get it today!).
Louisa learns more about herself post will then she ever thought possible but she can't thank him enough for getting her to where she is today.
It all begins when she attends a support group called Moving On, who assist members in life after the loved one that passed.  There are many ups and downs but the journey was worth it in the end.

Drink Selection
To remain in touch with this amazing tale of growing up and moving on, I would suggest a cup or two of Earl Grey Tea.


Rating
My love for Louisa and Will runs deep, 5 wine glasses all the way!

Review: The Way We Were by Sinead Moriarty

She thought he had died.  She made a new life.  Then he came back...
     Alice and Ben. A couple like any other.  Bound together by love, work, children, familiarity, a shared sense of purpose.
     Arguing about the usual things too - in-laws, whose career is more important, which of them is a soft touch with the children, who hates change and who craves it.
     But when Ben takes a step into the unknown, and brings devastation on the family, it forces them to look at everything in a whole new way.  Because, as far as they know, this is the end of the line for their family.
     So what will happen if they get a second chance? Can they - should they - go back to the way they were?

My thoughts 
What a story...It will tug at your heartstrings all the way till the end!
Alice and Ben are your picture perfect couple.  They have everything that anyone could ask for - amazing jobs as doctors, great friends, the house they have always wanted and worked for and last but not least they have each other and their two amazing daughters.  At least that's what Alice thought...Ben had been getting very sidetracked lately.  He's edgy, away from home a lot and looking for the next best opportunity.

Is it a midlife crisis? Has he met someone else?  Alice is really starting to feel like a single mom.  She works a full time job as a general practitioner in her own practice, takes care of all the kids needs and takes care of the home.  Ben works long hours and takes even longer bike rides when not at work.

Then Ben gets a call to go abroad and assist in an important surgery.  This is what he has been looking for.  Adventure - traveling, meeting new people and getting away.  He wants more.

And then devastation strikes...their worlds will never be the same.  What will happen to Alice, Ben, Jools, and Holly?  Will their family survive?  Grab this book and dive in today!

Drink Selection
The perfect wine selection would be a African wine - Golden Kaan - I am going with a Merlot.  Delish!

Rating
You will not be able to put down The Way We Were, it will suck you in and tug at your emotions!  5 wine glasses all the way!

Review: All the Breaking Waves by Kerry Lonsdale

After a harrowing accident tore her family apart, Molly Brennan fled from the man she loved and the tragic mistake she made.

Twelve years later, Molly has created a new life for herself and her eight-year-old daughter, Cassie. The art history professor crafts jewelry as unique and weathered as the surf-tumbled sea glass she collects, while raising her daughter in a safe and loving environment—something Molly never had. But when Cassie is plagued by horrific visions and debilitating nightmares, Molly is forced to return to the one place she swore she’d never move back to—home to Pacific Grove.

A riveting exploration of love, secrets, and motherhood, All the Breaking Waves is the poignant story of a woman who discovers she must confront her past, let go of her guilt, and summon everything in her power to save her daughter.

 

My Thoughts

Such an amazing story of love, family and a bond between a mother and daughter that can never be broken, or can it?  This story will capture you from page one and you will fall in love with this waterside tale.

Molly Brennan had run away from her past, and never looked back until now.  Her daughter Cassie is more like her than she would ever have imagine and she needs her help.  Molly has a successful teaching career but realizes that she has no choice but to return to her little shore town of Pacific Grove and her grandmother whom she hasn't seen in years.

Molly knows that by returning she is going to have to revisit her past fears - her parents tragic ending, the love of her life that she pushed away and the feel of her powers that she has tried to ignore for quite some time.

But Cassie's happiness and well-being surpass Molly's fears and she heads home but only for a few weeks. 

What will she find when she arrives?  Will her fears drown her and take her last breathe?  Will Cassie's fears and images of her mother's pending death be her end?

This book is amazing from page 1 and you will not be able to put it down. 



Drink Selection

The perfect beach drink to go with this amazing tale - The Beach House - yum!  Grab a bottle today!  You will LOVE it!

 

Rating

I can't say enough amazing things about this book, 5 wine glasses all the way!