Category Archives: Literary Fiction

March 7, 2016 · 11:58 pm

Review: Perfectly Broken by Robert Burke Warren

Title: Perfectly Broken by Robert Burke Warren
Publisher: Story Plant
Genre: Contemporary, Literary, Fiction
Length: 270 pages
Book Rating: B+

Complimentary Review Copy Provided by Publisher

Summary:

A novel of sex, dads, and rock & roll.

His rock star days may be behind him, but stay-at-home dad Grant Kelly’s life is getting more interesting by the day. It’s the beginning of the post 9/11 era, and he and his wife and four-year-old son have traded a New York City apartment for a Catskills farmhouse, where ghosts from the past, worries for the future, and temptations in the present converge to bring about drastic changes in their marriage, their friendships, and their family.

A gorgeously nuanced novel with unforgettable characters, PERFECTLY BROKEN is a story of human frailty, the endurance of the heart, and the power and possibility of forgiveness.

Review:

Perfectly Broken by Robert Burke Warren is a riveting novel of family, friendship, loss and ultimately, healing.

Years after quitting his band over creative differences, Grant’s life has not exactly turned out as he expected. He’s a mildly depressed (and slightly neurotic) stay at home dad whose friendship with fellow rocker Paul Fairchild reminds him of everything he never achieved. Forced to rely on the goodwill of longtime friends Trip and Christa Lamont after wife Beth loses her job, the couple, along with four year old son Evan, relocate from New York City to the Catskills. Soon after their move, the cracks in their marriage rise to the surface and after a terrible tragedy, Grant makes a impetuous decision that might destroy his family.

Dating back to childhood, Grant has a history of avoiding his problems instead of facing them. Suffering PTSD after a traumatic event, he has relied on anti-depressants to cope with the world but tapering off the medication after losing their health insurance, everything he has repressed begins resurface. After a shocking discovery, Grant continues to bottle up his emotions until they spill over into an act of betrayal that can never be undone. Everything comes to a head during a raging storm when a tension filled evening with friends leads to drunken revelations and a tragic decision that ends in heartache.

Gritty, raw and filled with deep emotions, Perfectly Broken is a realistic portrayal of life after marriage and the disappointment of unfulfilled dreams. The storyline is engaging and full of unexpected twists and turns. The characters are vibrantly developed, wonderfully flawed and surprisingly likable. Robert Burke Warren brings the novel to a brilliant conclusion that is heartwarming and immensely gratifying. An engrossing debut that readers will remember long after the last page is turned.

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Filed under Contemporary, Literary Fiction, Perfectly Broken, Rated B+, Review, Robert Burke Warren, The Story Plant

February 21, 2016 · 11:57 pm

Review: Where I Lost Her by T. Greenwood

Title: Where I Lost Her by T. Greenwood
Publisher: Kensington
Genre: Contemporary, Mystery, Literary Fiction
Length: 384 pages
Book Rating: B

Complimentary Review Copy Provided by Publisher Through NetGalley

Summary:

In her page-turning new novel, T. Greenwood follows one woman’s journey through heartbreak and loss to courage and resolve, as she searches for the truth about a missing child.

Eight years ago, Tess and Jake were considered a power couple of the New York publishing world–happy, in love, planning a family. Failed fertility treatments and a heartbreaking attempt at adoption have fractured their marriage and left Tess edgy and adrift. A visit to friends in rural Vermont throws Tess’s world into further chaos when she sees a young, half-dressed child in the middle of the road, who then runs into the woods like a frightened deer.

The entire town begins searching for the little girl. But there are no sightings, no other witnesses, no reports of missing children. As local police and Jake point out, Tess’s imagination has played her false before. And yet Tess is compelled to keep looking, not only to save the little girl she can’t forget but to salvage her broken heart as well.

Blending her trademark lyrical prose with a superbly crafted and suspenseful narrative, Where I Lost Her is a gripping, haunting novel from a remarkable storyteller.

Review:

With a possibly unreliable narrator, Where I Lost Her by T. Greenwood is an intriguing mystery that keeps readers on the edge of their seats as Tess Waters tries to locate a missing young girl.

Tess and her husband Jake are visiting friends in rural Vermont when, returning from a late night run to the store, she sees a young girl in the middle of the road. Although the police are little slow to respond to her emergency call, they put together an extensive search that slowly tapers off within a few days. Convinced Tess is either mistaken or outright lying, the local police remain unreceptive to her pleas to continue looking for the missing girl. When the cops threaten to charge her for filing a false report, she hires attorney Ryan Hughes, who pleads with her to stay out of the case. Unable to stop worrying about the little girl, she continues her search and although she does not locate her, Tess stumbles onto evidence that supports her claim but will the police reopen their investigation?

Tess’s marriage never quite recovered from the couple’s infertility treatments and a botched adoption attempt eight years earlier. Their relationship is quite strained during their visit with their friends and Tess’s excessive drinking exacerbates the tension between them. At first supportive of Tess, Jake’s doubts continue to grow especially considering what happened after their adoption attempt went horribly wrong. The fact that she had been drinking the evening she spotted the young girl is another strike against her and Jake eventually returns to New York without her.

Tess’s main priority is continuing her efforts to find the missing girl but she is also quite reflective as she tries to decide what to do about her troubled marriage. Her longtime friend Effie not only believes Tess saw the little girl, but after Tess confides recently discovered information about Jake, she is outraged on Tess’s behalf. Despite Effie’s fears for her safety, Tess continues taking unnecessary risks as she makes impulsive decisions that are dangerous and oftentimes, foolhardy.

The events from eight years earlier are slowly revealed through a series of flashbacks. What begins as a happy occasion becomes emotionally charged after Jake joins Tess in Guatemala where she has been spending time with the little girl they are planning to adopt. These flashbacks slowly reveal the cracks in their marriage as Tess begins to realize that she was much more invested in having children than Jake and she starts wondering what other important information she might have overlooked about her husband. She remains ambivalent about their marriage for a good portion of the novel, but a family emergency puts things in perspective for her and Tess finally arrives at a decision about her future.

With a unique twist on the unreliable narrator plot device, Where I Lost Her is a well-written and engaging novel that is initially a little slow paced. The characters are three-dimensional with true to life flaws and imperfections. The storyline is wonderfully developed and the suspense builds as Tess continues trying to piece together the puzzling clues she uncovers. Overall, it is a very clever mystery/psychological thriller that old and new fans of T. Greenwood are sure to enjoy.

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Filed under Contemporary, Kensington, Literary Fiction, Mystery, Rated B, Review, T Greenwood, Where I Lost Her

February 17, 2016 · 11:57 pm

Review: The Ramblers by Aidan Donnelley Rowley

Title: The Ramblers by Aidan Donnelley Rowley
Publisher: William Morrow
Genre: Contemporary, Literary Fiction
Length: 400 pages
Book Rating: B+

Complimentary Review Copy Provided by Publicist

Summary:

For fans of J. Courtney Sullivan, Meg Wolitzer, Claire Messud, and Emma Straub, a gorgeous and absorbing novel of a trio of confused souls struggling to find themselves and the way forward in their lives, set against the spectacular backdrop of contemporary New York City.

Set in the most magical parts of Manhattan—the Upper West Side, Central Park, Greenwich Village—The Ramblers explores the lives of three lost souls, bound together by friendship and family. During the course of one fateful Thanksgiving week, a time when emotions run high and being with family can be a mixed blessing, Rowley’s sharply defined characters explore the moments when decisions are deliberately made, choices accepted, and pasts reconciled.

Clio Marsh, whose bird-watching walks through Central Park are mentioned in New York Magazine, is taking her first tentative steps towards a relationship while also looking back to the secrets of her broken childhood. Her best friend, Smith Anderson, the seemingly-perfect daughter of one of New York’s wealthiest families, organizes the lives of others as her own has fallen apart. And Tate Pennington has returned to the city, heartbroken but determined to move ahead with his artistic dreams.

Rambling through the emotional chaos of their lives, this trio learns to let go of the past, to make room for the future and the uncertainty and promise that it holds. The Ramblers is a love letter to New York City—an accomplished, sumptuous novel about fate, loss, hope, birds, friendship, love, the wonders of the natural world and the mysteries of the human spirit.

Review:

Thanksgiving week proves to be eventful and life altering for the main characters in Aidan Donnelley Rowley’s delightfully engaging novel, The Ramblers.

Clio Marsh is stunned when her boyfriend of six months, hotelier Henry Kildare, surprises her with an invitation to move in with him. Never having been in a serious relationship, her feelings for Henry run deep, but the realization their romance is more than just a fling highlights her inability to tell him about her dysfunctional past. Having let him intentionally misunderstand the cause of her mother’s death, Clio panics at the thought of revealing her family’s history with mental illness to him. She is also trying to navigate her troubled relationship with her father and when she learns he has sold the family home, Clio spends one last Thanksgiving with him and at the same time, makes peace with the ghosts of her past.

Clio’s roommate and long time friend Smith Anderson has also had a difficult year after her fiancé inexplicably ended their engagement the previous Thanksgiving. Without warning or explanation, he broke things off and much to her dismay, married another woman not long after breaking her heart. Her heartache was further exacerbated by her younger sister’s engagement and while Smith is happy for the couple, she cannot help feeling envious as she helps plan for the upcoming wedding. At the same time, she is still trying to prove to her wealthy father that her personal organization business is not a waste of her talents or education and that she is completely happy with her career path.

Smith’s path unexpectedly crosses with one of her and Clio’s former college classmates, Tate Pennington, who has newly returned to New York following the collapse of his marriage. At loose ends as he waits for his divorce to become final, Tate has recently sold his wildly successful PhotoPoet app to Twitter and now wealthy beyond his wildest dreams, he is pursuing his dream of becoming a photographer. Drinking a little too much as he tries to get over his soon to ex-wife and figure out what comes next for him, Tate is surprised by his attraction to Smith but are either of them emotionally ready for a new relationship?

Told through alternating chapters from each of the characters’ perspectives, their individual stories spring vividly to life as they try to find their way through the unexpected changes in their lives. Smith and Clio’s friendship has flourished over the years and they provide one another with unwavering support and offer valuable insight as they work through their individual issues. While Tate has his own group of acquaintances he interacts with socially, his new friendship with Smith helps him begin to truly move forward with the new life he is building in New York.

The Ramblers is an engrossing novel of family, friendship and love. Each of the characters are vibrantly developed with easy to relate to problems to overcome. Aidan Donnelley Rowley does an outstanding job weaving together the various storylines into a breathtaking journey of healing for Clio, Smith and Tate. An outstanding novel that I absolutely loved and highly recommend to readers of literary fiction.

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Filed under Aidan Donnelley Rowley, Contemporary, Literary Fiction, Rated B+, Review, The Ramblers, William Morrow

January 3, 2016 · 11:58 pm

Review: Only Love Can Break Your Heart by Ed Tarkington

only loveTitle: Only Love Can Break Your Heart by Ed Tarkington
Publisher: Algonquin Books
Genre: Historical (70s & 80s), Literary Fiction, Mystery/Suspense
Length: 320 pages
Book Rating: B+

Complimentary Review Copy Provided by Publisher Through NetGalley

Summary:

“Love can make people do terrible things.”

Welcome to Spencerville, Virginia, 1977. Eight-year-old Rocky worships his older brother, Paul. Sixteen and full of rebel cool, Paul spends his days cruising in his Chevy Nova blasting Neil Young, cigarette dangling from his lips, arm slung around his beautiful, troubled girlfriend. Paul is happy to have his younger brother as his sidekick. Then one day, in an act of vengeance against their father, Paul picks up Rocky from school and nearly abandons him in the woods. Afterward, Paul disappears.

Seven years later, Rocky is a teenager himself. He hasn’t forgotten being abandoned by his boyhood hero, but he’s getting over it, with the help of the wealthy neighbors’ daughter, ten years his senior, who has taken him as her lover. Unbeknownst to both of them, their affair will set in motion a course of events that rains catastrophe on both their families. After a mysterious double murder brings terror and suspicion to their small town, Rocky and his family must reckon with the past and find out how much forgiveness their hearts can hold.

Review:

Utilizing an array of classic rock music as a backdrop, Only Love Can Break Your Heart by Ed Tarkington is a captivating coming of age novel set in the ’70s & ’80s.

Richard “Rocky” Askew adores and idolizes his much older half-brother Paul. Viewed as the small town’s resident bad boy, Paul has earned his reputation with his devil may care attitude and his penchant for smoking cigarettes and drinking beer. Despite the age gap between the brothers, they are close and many of their conversations and exploits take place while listening to Neil Young and other artists of the time period. The defining moment of Rocky’s young life occurs when Paul “kidnaps” him then briefly abandons him in the woods before taking him home then leaving town with his girlfriend, Leigh Bowman. Leigh eventually returns to town while Paul’s whereabouts remain a mystery for several years.

Rocky’s childhood is privileged and rather idyllic despite Paul’s disappearance. His father, aka “the Old Man”, is much older than Rocky’s mother and while a bit gruff, he is a good father. Paul’s rebellion is a source of contention between his parents and in an effort to ensure Rocky does not follow in his rebellious footsteps, Rocky’s ultra religious mom keeps him on a fairly tight leash. As a teenager, he manages to escape from her watchful eye after he convinces their neighbor’s older daughter, Patricia Culver, to hire him as a stable boy/groundskeeper. Patricia also introduces him to pleasures of a more earthly type when they begin an illicit affair.

Unbeknownst to Rocky, Paul’s ex-girlfriend Leigh also has an unexpected tie to the Culver family; she is engaged to their much older son, Charles. Despite her upcoming marriage, Leigh’s life has not gone smoothly since her return to town. Rumors swirl around the small town about her fragile mental state and her time “resting” in a local mental hospital. Their reunion is uneasy and fraught with tension and Rocky is somewhat taken aback when she decides to reveal what happened after she and Paul left together years earlier. Stunned by her revelations, Rocky is unsure if her account is true and he is left with even more doubts after the events that occur during her wedding.

After the Old Man suffers a debilitating stroke, the mystery of Paul’s disappearance is cleared up once and for all. This also marks the beginning of a downward spiral for the Askew family after they discover the Old Man’s business venture with the Culvers led to the loss of their fortune after the Black Monday stock market crash.  Although still neighbors, they ignore one another until a shocking double murder thrusts both families (and Leigh) back into the spotlight.

An absolutely stunning debut novel , Only Love Can Break Your Heart is an engrossing and nostalgic story set in rural Virginia. Brilliantly developed, multifaceted and intriguing characters bring this tale vibrantly to life while the riveting storyline completely ensnares readers from beginning to end. Ed Tarkington neatly wraps up all of the loose ends with a heartwarming and rather poignant conclusion. A phenomenal novel that I greatly enjoyed and highly recommend.

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Filed under Algonquin Books, Ed Tarkington, Historical, Historical (70s), Historical (80s), Literary Fiction, Mystery, Only Love Can Break Your Heart, Rated B+, Review

September 30, 2015 · 11:58 pm

Review: A Place We Knew Well by Susan Carol McCarthy

place wellTitle: A Place We Knew Well by Susan Carol McCarthy
Publisher: Bantam
Genre: Historical (60s), Literary Fiction
Length: 272 pages
Book Rating: B+

Complimentary Review Copy Provided by Publisher Through NetGalley

Summary:

Late October, 1962. Wes Avery, a one-time Air Force tail-gunner, is living his version of the American Dream as loving husband to Sarah, doting father to seventeen-year-old Charlotte, and owner of a successful Texaco station along central Florida’s busiest highway. But after President Kennedy announces that the Soviets have nuclear missiles in Cuba, Army convoys clog the highways and the sky fills with fighter planes. Within days, Wes’s carefully constructed life begins to unravel.

Sarah, nervous and watchful, spends more and more time in the family’s bomb shelter, slipping away into childhood memories and the dreams she once held for the future. Charlotte is wary but caught up in the excitement of high school—her nomination to homecoming court, the upcoming dance, and the thrill of first love. Wes, remembering his wartime experience, tries to keep his family’s days as normal as possible, hoping to restore a sense of calm. But as the panic over the Missile Crisis rises, a long-buried secret threatens to push the Averys over the edge.

With heartbreaking clarity and compassion, Susan Carol McCarthy captures the shock and innocence, anxiety and fear, in those thirteen historic days, and brings vividly to life one ordinary family trying to hold center while the world around them falls apart.

Review:

In A Place We Knew Well, Susan Carol McCarthy whisks readers back to a tense (and somewhat forgotten) time in American history. The Cuban missile crisis takes center stage in this drama featuring the Avery family and it is a fascinating blend of fact and fiction that is quite riveting.

Gas station owner Wes Avery has a comfortable life in south Florida but once he notices unusual activity at McCoy Air Force Base, he is struck with a feeling of foreboding. A trip out to the air base coupled with some pretty reliable rumors confirms his worst suspicious: something big is happening. That something turns out to be the Cuban Missile Crisis and this tense situation plays out during an equally anxious and difficult time for his family and their rather idyllic life comes to a stunning end when the crisis is over.

Wes settled in Orlanda, FL with his wife Sarah after World War II. Having seen the horrific aftermath of the nuclear bombing of Hiroshima firsthand, Wes knows better than anyone just how devastating the effects of nuclear war can be. He is understandably concerned about the increasingly frightening situation and he has surprising insight into how events might be playing out behind the scenes. Glued to the TV and the newspapers, Wes’s attention is soon divided between the national crisis and the events occurring at home with Sarah and their teenage daughter, Charlotte.

Sarah is already stressed before the crisis begins and over the next two weeks, she is stretched to the breaking point. Emotionally fragile and prone to bouts of depression, she is increasingly overwhelmed as a hurricane heads their way just as she is preparing for an upcoming Civil Defense presentation. Although thrilled with Charlotte’s nomination to the homecoming court, it also dredges up long ago memories of a dark period in her family’s life.  This downward spiral is further complicated by a commonly prescribed cocktail of drugs and ends in a shocking revelation.

The series of events leading up the homecoming dance is a bittersweet period in Charlotte’s life. At the same time she is falling in love for the first time, her childhood innocence is lost when faced with the looming threat of nuclear attack. Her trust is further shaken when a long held family secret is revealed and she is forced grow up fast when Sarah’s condition deteriorates. In the aftermath, Charlotte re-evaluates her plans for the future, and her life is forever altered and somewhat defined by the events of this two week period.

With A Place We Knew Well, Susan Carol McCarthy brilliantly weaves fact and fiction into an extraordinarily mesmerizing story that is thought-provoking, enlightening and emotionally compelling. The historical aspect of the storyline is well researched and presented in such a way that readers cannot help but experience the fear and emotions of the various characters during the Cuban Missile Crisis. The Avery family drama is equally gripping and it is impossible not become invested in the final outcome of the events that transpire alongside the national emergency.  An incredibly well-written novel that I highly recommend.

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Filed under A Place We Knew Well, Bantam, Historical (60s), Literary Fiction, Rated B+, Review, Susan Carol McCarthy

September 7, 2015 · 11:58 pm

Review: The Sea Keeper’s Daughters by Lisa Wingate

sea keepersTitle: The Sea Keeper’s Daughters by Lisa Wingate
Carolina Chronicles Book Three
Publisher: Tyndale House Publishers
Genre: Contemporary, Historical (30s), Literary, Fiction
Length: 448 pages
Book Rating: B+

Complimentary Review Copy Provided by Publisher Through Edelweiss

Summary:

From modern-day Roanoke Island to the sweeping backdrop of North Carolina’s Blue Ridge Mountains and Roosevelt’s WPA folklore writers, past and present intertwine to create an unexpected destiny.

Restaurant owner Whitney Monroe is desperate to save her business from a hostile takeover. The inheritance of a decaying Gilded Age hotel on North Carolina’s Outer Banks may provide just the ray of hope she needs. But things at the Excelsior are more complicated than they seem. Whitney’s estranged stepfather is entrenched on the third floor, and the downstairs tenants are determined to save the historic building. Searching through years of stored family heirlooms may be Whitney’s only hope of quick cash, but will the discovery of an old necklace and a Depression-era love story change everything?

Review:

The Sea Keeper’s Daughters by Lisa Wingate is a beautiful journey of self-discovery and healing for lead protagonist Whitney Monroe. This third installment in the delightful Carolina Chronicles can be read as a standalone but I highly recommend all of the books in the series.

Desperately trying to save the restaurant she co-owns with her cousin, Whitney’s life is further complicated after her stepfather, Clyde Fransczyk, falls and she is forced to confront the complicated past she has ignored since her mother’s death. Traveling to the Outer Banks to take care of her stepfather and the Excelsior, her family’s historic waterfront hotel, Whitney uncovers startling information about her family’s history that provides surprising insight into herself, her grandmother and her strained relationship with her stepfather. She also learns new information about her mother and her late in life marriage to Clyde that makes it very difficult to for her to go through with her plans to convince him to move into assisted living so she can sell the family hotel to an overzealous developer. Before Whitney can decide what she is going to do, the situation with the restaurants takes a dark turn and she is torn between preserving her family’s legacy and her duty to her loyal employees.

For the first time in her life, Whitney is on the verge of failure and with so many people counting on her, she is stubbornly fighting to keep the second restaurant from closing down. Her tenacity is admirable but her reasons for refusing to concede defeat are wrapped up in her guilt over making an impetuous business decision that could destroy what she and her cousin have worked so hard to create. This stubbornness extends to her attitude towards Clyde and it is incredibly frustrating watching Whitney refuse to consider other options for his care. She also seems incredibly short-sighted about her decision to continue the battle to keep the second restaurant afloat. She is so certain that she knows what is right that she remains on her chosen path long after she should have explored other options. Overall, Whitney is a likable but exasperating character who lets her fears and inability to trust prevent her from moving forward until she is forced to by outside influences.

Through a series of newly discovered letters written by her grandmother’s twin sister, Alice, Whitney learns intriguing information about the 1930’s Federal Writer’s Project. As one of the Project writers, Alice traveled to distant areas throughout Appalachia where she interviewed and gathered oral histories from as many people as possible for the program. This peek into a long forgotten piece of American history is incredibly fascinating but it also provides Whitney with a different viewpoint of her grandmother and how those long ago events shaped her into the woman she came to know. She also sees how her mother’s past experiences influenced her decisions later in life and this new perspective helps Whitney make peace with her loss.

The Sea Keeper’s Daughters by Lisa Wingate is an incredibly well-written and compelling novel of redemption. It is a marvelous tale that weaves fact and fiction into an enthralling story of love and healing that I highly recommend to old and new fans of the Carolina Chronicles.

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Filed under Carolina Chronicles, Contemporary, Historical (30s), Lisa Wingate, Literary Fiction, Rated B+, Review, Romance, Tyndale House Publishers