Friends to Lovers by Sally Blakely

 

Friends to Lovers is the story of Joni and Ren.  Their mothers are best friends - have been forever.  Joni and Ren grew up together.  The two have always been best friends.  When Joni moves to the East coast leaving Ren in Portland their friendship is at risk but they make a point to always be the others plus one at weddings ensuring they see each other once a year at least.  

Here begins the slow transition from friendship to lovers. Told in alternating chapters between present day and weddings past the story of their friendship unravels.  There is two and a half years when they don't even talk to each other.  But now at Joni's sister's wedding it's time to talk things through and face tough subjects.  Say the things that have been unsaid.

At times I found this story a little too dragged out but ultimately I did enjoy the novel.  I enjoyed all the characters.  There's a musical theme to the story as well and at the end I found a playlist that I will give a listen to.  All in all I would say this is a great romance novel and recommend it to anyone who enjoys reading the friends to lovers trope.  Friends to Lovers would make a great beach read as most of the story line takes place at a cabin in Portland on the water.

The Retirement Plan by Sue Hincenbergs

 

The Retirement Plan is hilarious!  I'm pretty stingy with my five stars and this one got ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐.  It fits with my cozy mystery vibe that I've been on and it made me laugh out loud.  I absolutely loved it!  

There are four couple friends that have all been best friends for over 30 years.  A few years ago one of the guys led the others to invest all their retirement money and lost it all and life hasn't been the same since.  This isn't what any of them envisioned retirement to be.  They all had pretty good marriages before they lost the retirement money but now the guys feel bad and the girls can barely look at their husbands.

But the husbands have a plan that will more than make up for the missing retirement money and win their wives back.  The wives also have a plan to make some money that definitely doesn't include their husbands.

This whole week I haven't stopped talking to people about The Retirement Plan.  This is the first novel for Sue Hincenbergs but after listening to her chat at a local library there are more books in the works.  This is definitely my favourite read so far this year - and I've read some great books.  Indigo has it on sale right now for 30% off because it's one of their best sellers.  I highly recommend you pick it up and read it this summer.

Beach Reads and Deadly Deads by Allison Brennan

I recently learned the term cozy mysteries and I think it might be my new favourite genre for the next little bit.  Beach Reads and Deadly Deads certainly fits into that cozy mystery.  I'm not sure the true definition but for me it means murder and mystery without the blood and guts and maybe a love story on the side.

Beach Deads and Deadly Deads follows the story of Mia.  She's just arrived on the island of St Clair for a much needed vacation - mandated by her boss.  Just shy of her 30th birthday and she doesn't remember the last time she took time off.  She's also about to commit to becoming an owner of the accounting firm she works for and once she does that there will be no vacations ever.  So with a promise to relax and enjoy she steps on to the island of St Clair with the news a previous resort guest has gone missing.

Mia has read enough mystery novels that she figures herself part sleuth.  Also, it's hard to relax until she knows what happened to the woman who went missing - maybe she was murdered.  Intent to solve the mystery and also have a one night stand, Mia engages in conversation with everyone she crosses and there sure are a lot of mysterious people staying at the resort.

I really enjoyed this novel.  My first read by Allison Brennan even though she already has many titles.  I gave it 4 stars but I think I could move that to 4.5 if Goodreads would only allow half stars.  I would recommend this to anyone who thinks they only like romance novels and are ready for a change.  I will also note that I saw someone's comment on Goodreads that they didn't finish the book because of profanity and I would say that I barely noticed any profanity.  

What Kind of Paradise by Janelle Brown

 

WOW!!  Where to start with this book.  I gave it 4 stars but I'm rethinking that maybe it should be 5 stars.  What Kind of Paradise is truly a great novel.  At the beginning it felt predictable and familiar - like the Great Alone by Kristin Hannah (which I also love), but then the twists started coming and really it's not comparable.

Jane has lived in remote Montana as long as she can remember.  Her mom passed away when she was four and since then it's just been her and her dad.  Jane is home schooled.  Her dad went to Harvard - he can teach her everything she needs to know.  Her father also teaches how to survive the wilderness and most importantly keep your eye out for the FBI.  Jane's only connection to the outside world is an occasional trip into town to a book store.

As Jane gets older she starts to question some of her dad's ideas and ways of living.  It's the mid 1990's and one day dad brings home a computer.  He wants Jane to learn to program so he can share his message with the world.  He needs them to know the dangers of these new computers.  He's been telling anyone who will listen for ages and the people who need to hear this are online already.

This book goes from a quiet slow life in rural Montana to full speed in a moment.  This book is action packed.  I was on edge and flipping pages as fast as I could to see the ending.  What Kind of Paradise is unlike anything I've read in a while.  I recommend this book to everyone but especially those that worked in tech in the mid 90's.  It's an excellent book that I'm sure we will see on top 10 lists very soon.  I think it would make an excellent book club choice as well as there is a ton to discuss here.

Atmosphere by Taylor Jenkins Reid

I almost didn't read Atmosphere because I'm not interested in space but I love other Taylor Jenkins Reid books so I gave it a shot.  I'm glad I did.  This is going to be a very loved book by many.  Strong female characters based in the 80's.  I was surprised when I found myself crying at the end.  It's a fantastic book.  The characters are that good.

Joan has just been accepted by NASA.  It's 1980 and this is the first round of women to be accepted into NASA's programs.  Joan has been preparing for this moment her whole life.  She's been studying the stars and dreaming of this day.  Joan's been so focused on her career she's left little room for much else.  Her niece Frannie is the exception - Joan adores her niece Frannie.

As Joan, meets her fellow crew and gets entrenched in training she finds herself hanging out with the crew on evenings and weekends.  For the first time since college she's hanging out with people and forming bonds - even enjoying a beer or two here and there.

In the first chapter of the novel we learn that one of the missions isn't going as planned.  Joan's story is  being unravelled before the tragedy and after the tragedy.  Atmosphere is more than just a space story.  It's romance, women's rights, friendship and more.  If you love Taylor Jenkins Reid - like so many of us do - don't miss this one.  It's a great read.

Just Beachy by Wendy Wax

 

Just Beachy by Wendy Wax takes place in Treasure Island Florida - a place I have vacationed many times over the last 25 years.  It was very fun to read a story set in an area that I know so well.  I also learned about a restaurant that I've never been to but definitely will the next time I'm there.

Sydney has just been cancelled from the TV show she's been on for over 10 years.  She's played tough cop Cassie for so long that people that see her immediately recognize her but many don't realize it's just a role she plays.  She's hoping to lay low with her grandmother for a bit until she figures out her next move.

But laying low is pretty difficult when there's action all around.  She's not in town for 5 minutes when she stops a robbery at a bar.  Now her Grand's place has been broken into more than once.  Sydney quickly learns that the skills she learned pretending to be a cop are helping her in real life.

She's also reunited with an old crush Luke who is now a real life cop and still dreamy.  Grand also has a new love interest.  Life in Treasure Island is good.  If only she could figure out her next career move.

I really enjoyed Just Beachy especially the setting.  It's got action and romance (spicy!), mystery too.  I will say that I felt some parts of the story were confusing.  I even looked into seeing if this was a second book in a series to see if that's what I was missing.  Don't get hung up on who's who as some characters don't really seem crucial to the story line.  Definitely a book that will be great to read this summer no matter what beach you are on.

The Martha's Vineyard Beach and Book Club by Martha Hall Kelly

 

Cadence and Briar have been living with their Gran since their Mom passed away years ago.  Their brother Tom has gone to fight in the war and they are all missing him so much including his girlfriend, Bess who also lives with the girls. Briar is obsessed with the war and loves learning about it - she even thinks she's spotted some u-boats in the water near the farm.  Cadence just wants to read and get access to more books for herself and the troops.  She'd love to one day move to New York and be a fancy editor.

In other chapters we learn about Mari in 2016.  She's just come to Martha's Vineyard because she found a note in her deceased mom's things.  She doesn't know who Ms. Deveraux is but she might be able to tell her about her mom or at least give her a painting lesson.  Scrapping the last money she has she books a return ticket to Martha's Vineyard where she listens to a long drawn out story and tries to figure out how this story is important to her.

The Martha's Vineyard Beach and Book Club has many other twists and turns to this story but I don't want to spoil it.  If you love historical fiction this one is for you.  I really enjoyed the story.  At one point I thought it was over as all ends were nearly wrapped up when another twist begins.  I will say there were a few parts that dragged for me when they were a bit more detailed about the war than I was interested in but that's just me.  With the setting being Martha's Vineyard I feel it was quite a bit different than some of the other historical fiction books I had previously read.  There's also a touch of romance as with most historical fiction.