Book Club

First up was Rosalind Noonan's most recent book, The Daughter She Used To Be

The daughter of a career cop, Bernadette Sullivan grew up with blue uniforms hanging in the laundry room and cops laughing around the dinner table. Her brothers joined New York's finest, her sister married a cop, and Bernie is an assistant District Attorney. Collaring criminals, putting them away - it's what they do. And though lately Bernie feels a growing desire for a family of her own, she's never questioned her choices. Then a shooter targets a local coffee shop, and tragedy strikes the Sullivan family. Anger follows grief - and Bernie realizes that her father's idea of retribution is very different from her own. All her life, she's inhabited a clear-cut world of right and wrong, of morality and corruption. As Bernie struggles to protect the people she loves, she must also decide what it means to see justice served. And in her darkest hour, she will find out just what it means to be her father's daughter.

(from amazon)

I loved Rosalind's first novel (One September Morning) so I was excited to read this one but I will admit that it wasn't as good. I felt that this novel was slow and took too long to get to the real meat of the plot. A decent ending though and I thought the characters were interesting (it reminded me of the tv show Blue Bloods) and you definitely felt for them during their struggles. I give this a C.

Next I read Beth Harbison's Thin,Rich, Pretty

Twenty years ago, when they were teenagers, Holly and Nicola were the outsiders at summer camp. Holly was the plump one, a dreamer who longed to be an artist. Nicola was the shy, plain one who wanted nothing more than to be beautiful. Their cabin nemesis was Lexi. Rich, spoiled, evil Lexi. One night, Holly and Nicola team up to pull one, daring act of vengeance. But they never dream that this one act will have repercussions that will reach into the future, even twenty years later. And they never realize the secret pain that Lexi holds very close, and how their need for revenge costs Lexi a great deal.

(from amazon)

I loved the fast pace and easy to relate to characters. A cute story that goes back to camp days of three girls...and how they grew up. A wonderful story to teach you to be happy/content with who you are, no matter what. I really enjoy Beth's writing and ease of her plots. Fun twist too. I give it an A.

Lastly I read Love Always by Harriet Evans

From a hot, tense Cornwall summer in 1963 to present day London, LOVE ALWAYS is the story of one girl’s life falling apart and what she finds out along the way as she tries to put it back together again. Things have gone badly wrong for Natasha Kapoor, somewhere - she should be a successful jeweller in East London with a gorgeous husband and everything should be perfect, but it’s not. And when her grandmother dies and she travels back to Summercove, the family home by the Cornish sea, she is given a some old, scribbled page by her grandfather. It’s the fragment of the diary of her aunt Cecily, who died in a tragic accident many years ago, leaving behind a broken family and a terrible secret. What happened that summer in 1963 and is Natasha’s family irrevocably poisoned by it? Will Natasha ever be able to make a fresh start and find love for herself and if so, how?
(from her website).

I thought it was a slow-ish start but definitely got better after the first one hundred pages or so. I felt so bad for Natasha a lot, just seemed as though she never caught a break. But I loved the dark family secrets, the love aspect and the strong bond between grandmother/granddaughter. I always enjoy Harriet;s novels and this one delivered as well. I give it a B.

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And as always, lots of thanks to Heather!
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Happy Weekend!