Three Books I Recommend
August! The “last chance month”! Summer (or winter!) is turning away from us, so if this is your favorite season, make sure you get all your summer fun in! And an important part of summer is the joy of relaxing with a good book. Whether you’re still traveling, lounging by a stunning body…of water(!) puttering in the garden or getting in to the swing of a new school year, a book can make you happy no matter where you are! Here are three books I’ve read this summer- books about women and life. These readable books feature some light-hearted moments, some introspection and plenty of heart-warming good stories about women doing their best!
No Sweat Pants Allowed-Wine Club by Jan Romes
Reviewers are saying…
“Sassy, sarcastic, sometimes crass, but also warm and funny!”
“Every page had something funny, crazy or touching!”
No Sweat Pants Allowed – Wine Club by Jan Romes
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
No Sweat Pants Allowed – Wine Club (Wine and Sweat Pants Series Book 1) had languished too long in the depths of my kindle and I’m delighted I finally decided to read it. Author Jan Romes has written a witty and snappy tale of 4 ladies, 1 dog, 1 cat, and various gentlemen. As Elaina the instigator of the Wine Club is fond of saying, “Not my circus, not my monkeys.” Welcome to the big top!
Elaina, Steph, Tawny and Grace meet each other for the first time at a cash for gold event because they each have some rings to sell. All in their 40’s, they learn that they are all coping -with divorce, being dumped, and sadly a death. They regroup at a nearby bar and console themselves with wine. The author gives us some fun reading as the ladies get to know each other while they share spicy banter and a few tears. They realize that starting over at 40 makes them feel like they are teenagers again. “They were still dealing with body image, jobs, eating disorders and guys.” They decide to join forces and they vow to deal with their lives by ditching their sweat pants as they focus on being their best selves.
Soon Elaina, who is living along in a large and opulent house invites her new friends to move in. “Four women living together. What could go wrong?” Send in the clowns! Through sharing and caring by the pool with wine, or in the hot tub with wine, or eating out with wine they begin to move forward. Or do they?
This book feature entertaining escapades and I’m sure many women will laugh and cry along with the wine club gals. Each of the four has a vibrant and colorful personality. Turns out there are now five books in the series! I no longer drink alcohol, but I raise my glass of sparkling water to these brave women and their wine club.
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The Runaway Wife by Dee MacDonald
What readers are saying about The Runaway Wife:
‘A warm, funny, brilliant read! I love the warmth and humour that jumps from the page. Connie is proof that you’re never too old to have an adventure! I LOVED the ending!!!!’ Sue Watson
‘I was laughing out loud… totally did not see the ending coming! WOWSERS! 5 stars for me!’ Goodreads Reviewer, 5 stars
‘Hilarious! I loved every page… ‘ Dawn at Crooks on Books
‘Made me laugh and cry and laugh again, especially at the end. That was a little bit of genius!… beautifully written and the characters are lovingly drawn to make them come alive. I absolutely loved the ending, that really had me chuckling…’ Goodreads Reviewer, 5 stars
‘A funny romantic comedy… a book about love, friends, family and self-discovery. There were moments where you would laugh out loud, and then it would have you crying into a tissue… really emotional and tugged at the heart strings! A fun, life-affirming read!’ Stardust Book Reviews
‘A breath of fresh air! Wry and sharply observed, I was rooting for Connie the moment I met her. Fabulous!’ Kat French
‘Once you start reading you can’t stop…’ Goodreads Reviewer
The Runaway Wife: A laugh out loud feel good novel about second chances by Dee MacDonald
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Was she bored? Was she being silly? Was she tired of being dutiful? Perhaps all three-so Connie crawls out of her domestic rut and hops in her little green car. She leaves her safe and staid Sussex life and head towards freedom and the “thrill of being naughty.”
Goodbye to boring golfer husband Roger, three fine adult children and an uninspiring retirement bungalow. Connie leaves a note for Roger by the kettle, emails her kids and heads off on the This is Your Life Tour. And it is so much fun for us to travel along with Connie, as she explores where her parents lived when they were young, reunites with friends from her past, and meets some interesting folks along the way. As she wends her way to Scotland, she beings to sort herself out. What does she want the rest of her life to look like? And how does dull but responsible Roger fit in? Will she go home? Will she leave Roger?
Serious questions for sure, but this is not a serious book. It’s a loving and light-hearted look at life, as viewed by a pleasant and caring 66 year-old woman. Connie has a change of attitude-life is for the living and for Connie, living means being more “determined, less guilty, and less dithery”. It’s a good thing Connie becomes more open to living in the moment, because quite a moment awaits her at the end of this creative and witty “laugh out-loud feel good novel about second chances”.
The Truth is a Theory by Karyn Bristol
The Truth is a Theory by Karyn Bristol
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
The Truth is a Theory…
…Life is a theory. That’s what I kept thinking, in the moments after this compelling book ended and I tried to leave its haunting pages and get back to my real life. Author Karyn Bristol has written a provocative, and evocative book. Other reviewers have also used the word “introspective” to describe the story. This book makes you think, ponder and look at life from the inside-out.
“It’s a rare thing to truly understand another person’s experience.”
And even our own stories are hard to understand and process, aren’t they? “We alone decide their significance. Is it a paragraph or the whole story?”
This book tells us the stories of four young women who meet their first week of college and become friends. Their stories begin September 1986: Erikson College, Freshman Year.
The book actually begins fifteen years after that first week, with Allie’s Journal Entry #1 Saturday Night, June 10, 2000. Allie’s husband Dana has left her and their two children.
Allie looks at her life through periodic journal entries, and we are told her current life in the third-person. We also follow her and her friends through third-person flashbacks that progress from the 1970’s and ‘80’s to 2001. I had no problem following all the storylines.
The four friends are like the friends we all had in college or when we first married, there’s sincere Meghan, shy Tess, and the exotic and larger-than life Zoe. Allie seems straight-forward until we learn about her childhood. Do you remember the ups and downs of college and dating, the early years of marriage and young children? Did you feel awkward at frat parties, or did you hit the bars every night after work? What about your family? Were you from an All-American family or a family that struggled with issues? Did you and your spouse change after marriage? Was life challenging , did you have to face serious problems such as illness? And if you can relate to these scenarios, did you also need your friends to discuss life with, long conversations to help you anchor yourself? That’s what this book is about.
“She was a failure: a wretched daughter, a witch of a mother.”
“He had been so careless with her, with the one person in his life who didn’t expect him to be anything other than who he was.
Journal Entry #13, July 11, 2001 is Allie’s last entry of the book. The friends have gathered for a vacation. Fifteen years have passed and there have been enough stories now to form a foundation for their lives. I wonder if the author ended the book so close to September 11, 2001, to show us that sometimes are own stories are swept away by a life-changing story.
I highly recommend this book. If you can’t wait to call your friends and talk, if you lay awake at night and think about your life- that’s what this book is about.
Thanks to Net Galley and AuthorBuzz for a digital review copy. This is my honest review.
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