A VICARAGE WEDDING
The Holley Sisters of Thornthwaite # 3
Kate Hewitt
Tule Publishing
July 16, 2018
Rachel Holley, one of four vicar's daughters in the village of Thornthwaite has always dreamed of the perfect wedding followed by the perfect life with lots of kids, a big home, and a dog. All that seems to be coming true until the night before the wedding, when her fiance, Dan, calls it off. Dan doesn't think that she really loves him. Rachel finds herself almost penniless after the wedding expenses, heartbroken, and soon to be homeless because her parents are moving to China to do mission work. Rachel is blindsided by it all, but somehow, her sisters and parents are not all that surprised. Rachel and her youngest sister, the footloose Miriam need to find a flat right away. Rachel finds one above the village's "rougher" pub, The Bell. The landlord, Sam West, is undeniably attractive, but more than a little taciturn and forbidding. As Rachel gets to know him better and sees him working hard at the pub and trying to raise his challenging nephew, Nathan, she sees him in a very different light. Rachel is Nathan's primary school teacher and becomes involved in his home care. Nathan has problems that need to be addressed clinically, but Sam is resistant for some reason.
I was not aware that A Vicarage Wedding is third in a projected four-book series but Kate Hewitt manages to paint a picture of the whole Holley family in a few words. I got to know them all without having to read the previous two books. I will be reading them, however, very soon. Rachel's journey to a better understanding of herself and what true love looks and feels like made for a most enjoyable afternoon and evening's read. Thanks to NetGalley and Tule Publishing for an advance digital copy. The opinions are my own.
RATING- 4 Stars
BY THE BOOK
Julia Sonneborn
Gallery Books
February 6, 2018
Anne Corey is a 30ish professor at a small liberal arts college in California. She has little to no time for a personal life, teaching a full schedule and trying to get tenure with the publication of an academic work on 19th-century women writers. Without a book contract, Anne is out of a job. If not for her friend, Larry, a colleague and best friend, she would have no life at all. It's the beginning of the year when she discovers that the new president of the college is Adam Martinez, a former classmate at Princeton and ex-fiance. The two dated throughout their university years and only broke up the day before graduation. Anne was feeling pressure from her judgemental father who wants her to be a lawyer, harpy of a sister, and college mentor to skip marriage in favor of a career. The argument was a silly one, but Anne used it to break up with Adam, and he, out of pride, let her do so. She is conflicted, having never really gotten over Adam. Adam is cooly friendly, but the two have little to say to each other. The writer-in-residence at the college for the year is a multi-award winning journalist and novelist who shows an interest in Anne. The two plunge into an affair quickly, but thoughts of Adam are never far from the surface.
By the Book is a thoroughly enjoyable read that gave me lots of laughs and even a few tears. The process of being published is represented by a series of rejection letters that range from hilarious to brutal. My favorite was one stating that her manuscript about 19th-century women writers would be significantly improved by the inclusion of....you guessed it...men. Based on Jane Austen's Persuasion, By the Book is a delightful updating of that classic. Anne's sister, Lauren, turns out to be not such a harpy, as the two sisters bond in shared grief. Larry, Anne's gay colleague, and friend is exceptionally supportive and often hilarious. Anne discovers that "all that glitters is not gold" but will she and Adam have their "happy ever after.?"
Thanks to Gallery and NetGalley for an advance digital copy. The opinions are my own.
RATING- 4 Stars
THE WOMAN ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS
Lindsay Jayne Ashford
Lake Union Publishing
September 20, 2016
Three women come into close association onboard The Orient Express bound for Baghdad in 1928. One woman is the legendary writer of crime fiction, Agatha Christie. Still reeling from her husband's infidelity and their subsequent divorce, as well as her much heralded 10-day disappearance, Agatha doesn't feel she can be in England when her ex-husband marries his mistress. The divorce process in England was torturous at the time and Agatha is exhausted. The press has not been kind to her and she is travelling under her maiden name, Miller. Her cabin mate is Katherine Keeley, travelling to Baghdad to marry Leonard Wooley, the renowned archaeologist. Her secret concerns the tragic death by suicide of her first husband just six months into their marriage. The third woman is Nancy Nelson, on the run from her abusive, titled husband. Nancy is carrying another man's child and is terrified. In the course of the journey the women grow close, but it is in Bagdad that all secrets are revealed. The descriptions of the journey and Middle Eastern locales are breathtaking. One can almost smell the air and hear the sounds of Istanbul, Damascus and Baghdad in the late 1920's.
The three women band together to protect each other, especially the vulnerable Nancy. In the beginning, Katherine appears to be an unsympathetic character, both controlling and manipulative of everyone around, especially the men. Those men include Agatha's future husband, Max Mallowan. Much has been written about Agatha Christie and her disappearance. There is nothing new here on the disappearance but as Christie never addressed it in later life, not even in her autobiography, I don't think we will ever know the why or how. Katherine Keeley Woolley, who became an experienced excavator in her own right, has been overshadowed by her famous husband and persistent rumours about her sexuality. Those rumours and the possible truth behind them are very sensitively handled in The Woman on the Orient Express.
It seems to me that the historical fiction can be measured by the interest it sparks in real historical events and people. I have read everything I can find on Katharine Keeley Woolley (admittedly not much) and am fascinated by her. She deserves a book all her own. Of course, Agatha Christie's books are a large part of my life-long love of reading. I thoroughly enjoyed The Woman on the Orient Express. Thanks to Lake Union and NetGalley.com for an advance digital copy in return for an honest review.
RATING-4 Stars
