OUT OF THE EASY (RUTA SEPETYS)

 

 

Story Description: 

 

Philomel|February 12, 2013|Hardcover|ISBN: 978-0-399-25692-9 

 

It’s 1950, and as the French Quarter of New Orleans simmers with secrets, seventeen-year-old, Josie Moraine is silently stirring a pot of her own.  Known among locals as the daughter of a brothel prostitute, Josie wants more out of life than the Big Easy has to offer.  She devises a plan to get out, but a mysterious death in the Quarter leaves Josie tangled in an investigation that will challenge her allegiance to her mother, her conscience, and Willie Woodley, the brusque madam on Conti Street. 

 

Jose is caught between the dream of an elite college and a clandestine underworld.  New Orleans lures her in her quest for truth, dangling temptation at every turn, and escalating to the ultimate test.  

 

With characters as captivating as those in her internationally acclaimed bestselling novel Between Shades of Gray, Ruta Sepetys skillfully creates a rich story of secrets, lies, and the haunting reminder that decisions can shape our destiny. 

 

My Review: 

 

Josie Moraine’s mother, Louise, began working as a prostitute in 1940 when Josie was just seven-years-old – the same year they moved from Detroit to New Orleans.  Josie says her mother isn’t the “filthy, streetwalking kind” of prostitute and sleeps with men for “money and gifts” but according to the “dictionary, that makes her a prostitute.”  She is actually quite pretty, fairly well-spoken and has lovely clothes according to Josie. 

 

Their second day in New Orleans, Louise received an invitation to visit someone and a cabbie named, Cokie, showed up to escort Louise and Josie.  They pulled up to a house on Conti Street that was painted a pale yellow with black lattice balconies.  Josie was quite taken aback with the place and asked her mother whose house it was.  “It’s her house.  Willie Woodley’s” said, Louise.  “HER house?  But Willie’s a man’s name”, Jose said.  “Stop it, Josie.  Willie is a woman’s name.  Now keep quiet!” replied her mother. 

 

The inside of the house was opulent, gaudy, with deep green brocades and lamps and black crystals dangling from dimly lit shades.  Paintings of nude women hung from the foyer walls and cigarette smoke mingled with stale Eau de Rose.  Louise and Josie walked through a group of girls who patted Josie on the head and called her sugar and doll. 

 

Stepping into the next room, the first thing Josie saw was a veiny, pale, hand draped over the arm of an upholstered wingback chair.  Her nails were glossy red like pomegranate seeds that could pop a balloon with a quick flick.  Gold and diamonds clustered every finger.  Her voice was thick, her plantinum blond hair was pulled tight in a clasp engraved with the initials W.W.  Her eyes were lined with charcoal and she had wrinkles fringing out from the corners, and her lips were scarlet red.  Willie made it quite clear that she didn’t like children which therefore meant Louise and Josie could not reside in Willie’s house with the other girls.  Willie told Louise about a small apartment on Dauphine that one of her bookies had been renting but he’d just recently gotten himself shot and killed so wouldn’t be needing the apartment anymore.  Willie told Louise to settle in and they’d talk again at the end of the month. 

 

By 1950 when Josie was seventeen-years-old, she was living alone above the bookstore where she worked.  Her mother was prostituting for Willie and had no interest in Josie whatsoever.  Josie’s big dream was to escape the Big Easy and head for Smith college but the tuition was two-thousand dollars a year and where would she come up with that kind of money? 

 

In the meantime, her mother, Louise has gotten herself involved with a man named Cincinnati who was one bad dude.  Someone you certainly wouldn’t want to cross.  Although he beat Louise, she could look over that due to his generosity with his big money, fancy restaurants and the best hotels New Orleans has to offer. 

 

One day a tourist stops into the bookstore where Louise works and purchases two books but winds up dead on New Year’s Eve. At first his death is ruled as a heart attack until police get word that something else is up.  His body is exhumed, an autopsy done and it’s concluded that he was murdered.  Everyone in the Big Easy is on edge and being questioned by the police.  Willie, wanting to protect Josie sends her away to her summer home until the heat dies down.  She didn’t want Louise dragging Josie into something she wasn’t responsible for.  What Willie doesn’t know is that Josie is already involved.  She took something that belonged to the tourist that the police and dead man’s wife are now looking for and Josie doesn’t know what to do with the evidence.  What transpires in this story will knock your socks off.  I read this book in one sitting as I just couldn’t put it down.  It was the best 4.5 hours I’ve spent in a long time. 

 

Out of the Easy is one story I won’t soon forget.  The characters are endearing each in their own way and one in particular is an absolute doll.  You’ll love this book and will want to pass it on to friends and family, I know that’s what I’m going to do. 

 

Ruta Sepetys’ first novel was titled “Between Shades of Gray” and if you haven’t read it, you might want to pick it up at the same time as ‘’Out of the Easy”.  Ms. Sepetys is well on her way to becoming a well-known bestselling author and I can’t wait to read her next book.

 

THE GOOD HOUSE (ANN LEARY)

Story Description: 

St. Martin’s Press|January 15, 2013|Hardcover|ISBN: 978-1-250-10554-9 

How can you prove you’re not an alcoholic?  It’s like trying to prove you’re not a witch.  Hildy Good is a townie.  A lifelong resident of an historic community on the rocky coast of Boston’s North Shore, she knows pretty much everything about everyone.  Hildy is a descendant of one of the witches hung in nearby Salem and is believed, by some, to have inherited psychic gifts.  Not true, of course; she’s just good at reading people.  Hildy is good at lots of things.  A successful real-estate broker, mother and grandmother, her days are full.  But her nights have become lonely ever since her daughters, convinced their mother was drinking too much, staged an intervention and sent her off to rehab.  Now she’s in recovery – more or less. 

Alone and feeling unjustly persecuted, Hildy needs a friend.  She finds one in Rebecca McCallister, a beautiful young mother and one of the town’s wealthy newcomers.  Rebecca feels out-of-step in her new surroundings and is grateful for the friendship.  And Hildy feels like a person of the world again, as she and Rebecca escape their worries with some harmless gossip, and a bottle of wine by the fire – just one of their secrets.  

But not everyone takes to Rebecca, who is herself the subject of town gossip.  When Frank Getchell, an eccentric local who shares a complicated history with Hildy, tries to warn her away from Rebecca, Hildy attempts to protect her friend from potential scandal.  Soon, however, Hildy, is busy trying to cover her own tracks and protect her reputation.  When a cluster of secrets become dangerously entwined, the reckless behavior of one threatens to expose the other, and this darkly comic novel takes a chilling turn. 

THE GOOD HOUSE is by turns funny, poignant, and terrifying.  A classic New England tale that lays bare the secrets of one little town, this spirited novel will stay with you long after the story has ended.  

My Review: 

I think I’ll leave the above “story description” as my review.  However, I will just say that I thoroughly enjoyed this story and read it in one day.  It was both serious yet very comical in places as I watched Hildy convince and unconvince herself that she was or was not an alcoholic.  Most of the time she doesn’t realize she is just fooling herself.  I’ll definitely be recommending The Good House to family and friends. 

 

THE PROMISE OF STARDUST (PRISCILLE SIBLEY)

 

 

Story Description: 

 

HarperCollins|January 28, 2013|Trade Paperback|ISBN: 978-0-06-219417-6 

 

Matt Beaulieu was two years old the first time he held Elle McClure in his arms, seventeen when he first kissed her under a sky filled with shooting stars, and thirty-three when they wed.  Now in their late thirties, the deeply devoted couple has everything – except the baby they’ve always wanted. 

 

When a tragic accident leaves Elle brain-dead, Matt is devastated.  Though he cannot bear losing her, he knows his wife, a thoughtful adventurous scientist, feared only one thing – a slow death.  Just before Matt agrees to remove Elle from life support, the doctors discover that she is pregnant.  Now what was once a clear-cut decision becomes an impossible choice.  Matt knows how much this child would have meant to Elle.  While there is no certainty her body can sustain the pregnancy, he is sure Elle would want the baby to have a chance.  Linney, Matt’s mother, believes her son is blind with denial.  She loves Elle, too, and insists that Elle would never want to be kept alive by artificial means, no matter what the situation. 

 

Divided by the love they share, driven by principle, Matt and Linney fight for what each believes is right, and the result is a disagreement that escalates into a controversial legal battle, ultimately going beyond one family and one single life. 

 

Told with sensitivity and compassion, The Promise of Stardust is an emotionally resonant and thought-provoking tale that raises profound questions about life and death, faith and medicine – and illuminates, with beauty and grace, the power of love to wound…and to heal. 

 

My Review: 

 

Matt and Elle had been sweethearts since they were very young children and are very much in love.  Matt is a neurosurgeon and works at the local hospital.  One afternoon he receives a phone call in his office located four blocks from the hospital.  The call is from one of his colleagues, Carl Archer.  He told Matt he needed to come to the hospital immediately as Elle had been in an accident.  His first thought was: “Oh please, don’t let her be dead.”  Matt asked: “Is it serious?”  Carl cleared his throat and responded: “It’s serious.  Come now.  I’ll see you in a few minutes.”  Matt sprinted the four blocks to the hospital and heads straight to the trauma room.  Matt took in the horrible scene before him.  His precious Elle was decked out with a dozen IV bags, pumps, lines of all sorts sprang from her extremities and a ventilator hissed its accordion wheeze as it pumped oxygen.  Elle’s face was white as the bed sheets and dried blood was caked in her beautiful blond hair.  The only indication she was still alive was the tracing across the cardiac monitor.  Her body was rigid and arched, toes were pointed, and her hands were curled under and all this was an indication of severe brain damage.  Matt dropped to his knees knowing whatever happened had devastated her brain.  Elle was only thirty-five-years-old. 

 

Elle has always feared a slow death and just before doctors are removing life support they discover Elle is pregnant.  There is no certainty that her body could sustain a pregnancy on life support but Matt is a hundred percent positive that Elle would want the baby to have the best chance at survival. 

 

Linney, Matt’s own mother who loves Elle to pieces and treats her as a daughter believes Matt is blind with denial.  She is positive that Elle would NOT want to be kept alive by artificial means no matter the situation and it’s glaringly clear that Elle is brain dead. 

 

Matt and Linney each fight for what each believes is right, pitting son against mother.  The result is a disagreement that escalates into a controversial legal battle, ultimately going beyond one family and one single life. 

 

When I first decided to read this novel I was worried that the story would get bogged down in lengthy, drawn-out, and boring court trials and details.  However, just the opposite was true.  Ms. Sibley tells the story through flashbacks of their past and it works very well.  I couldn’t put the book down until I was done.  The Promise of Stardust would be a perfect selection for a book clubs, so much controversy and so many different aspects and viewpoints would make for hours and hours of great discussion.  This is the kind of book you won’t soon forget.  Very well-done!



WAVE: A MEMOIR BY (SONALI DERANIYAGALA)

 

Story Description: 

 

McClelland & Stewart|March 5, 2013|Hardcover|ISBN: 978-0-7710-2536-5 

 

A brave, intimate, beautifully crafted memoir by a survivor of the tsunami that struck the Sri Lankan coast in 2004 and took her entire family. 

 

On December 26, Boxing Day, Sonali Deraniyagala, her English husband, her parents, her two  young sons, and a close friend were ending Christmas vacation at the seaside resort of Yala on the south coast of Sri Lanka when a wave suddenly overtook them.  She was only to learn later that this a tsunami that devastated coastlines through Southeast Asia.  When the water began to encroach closer to their hotel, they began t run, but in an instant water engulfed them.  sonali was separated from her family, and all was lost.  Sonali Deraniyagala has written an extraordinarily honest, utterly engrossing account of the surreal tragedy of a devastating event that all at once ended her life as she it and her journey since in search of understanding and redemption.  It is also a remarkable portrait of a young family’s life and what came before, with all the small moments and larger dreams that suddenly and irrevocably ended.  

 

My Review: 

 

I’m finding it a bit difficult to write this review as on the one hand the story itself was a huge letdown and not at all what I expected for all the hype I’d heard.  On the other hand, it was an amazing novel of the telling of immense grief Sonali went through in coping to learn to live without her entire family.   

 

I expected the story to be more of a telling of not only her own family and the tragedy she faced in losing everyone but also I expected some other stories of other people she met along with way and what their stories entailed in this unbelievably sad day in the life of so, so many people.  I found the book to be quite repetitive in a lot of places and kept waiting for something “new” which never really materialized. 

 

It is said that some 226,000 people lost their lives that day and that is a staggering number for sure.  I couldn’t even begin to imagine what it would be like to lose my husband, my children, my parents, and my friends all within the blink of an eye and how finding your way back from that would feel like.  Survivor’s guilt for sure enters into this tragedy and one wonders how anyone could have survived what Sonali did that particular day. 

 

However, I just felt the story was lacking ‘something’, I expected more substance and although I understand it is a “memoir”, I still expected to hear more details, figures, numbers, and stories of other people she encountered on her journey to redemption and acceptance.  I just felt the book didn’t live up to the hype and I’ve not totally convinced myself that I would bother recommending this to other people, at least not without a warning that it wasn’t what I had expected from this much talked about memoir.

 



SHADOWKILLER (WENDY CORSI STAUB)

 

 

Story Description: 

 

HarperCollins Publisher|January 14, 20132|Mass Market Paperbound|ISBN: 978-0-06-207032-6 

 

From the New York Times bestselling author comes a novel of suspense so terrifying it may make you afraid of the dark… 

 

Allison Taylor MacKenna feels as though she’s awakened at last from a ten-year-long nightmare.  But her darkest hour has yet to come. 

 

Nestled in the warm, domestic cocoon of loving husband and family, Allison finally feels safe – unaware that a stranger’s brutal murder on a Caribbean island is the first step in an intricate plan to destroy everything in her life. 

 

For seasoned NYPD Detective Rocky Manzillo, the signs are clear that something terrible has emerged from the shadows, a murder victim left without a face and a faded photograph that yields a startling connection. 

 

Now, as Allison’s murky memories of a troubled childhood creep back to light, a cunning predator who shares her history prepares to enact a horrifying retribution – and won’t stop killing until Allison face a shocking truth…and pays the ultimate price. 

 

My Review: 

 

I didn’t enjoy this novel nearly as much as I have other Staub novels.  It seems to me that Ms. Staub is almost trying to rush to see how many books she can pump out in a year or so and this, I personally feel, is affecting her writing immensely.  I used to be completely glued to the pages of her books but found this one to be a bit of a yawner to be quite honest and felt it went on and on a bit too long in places, almost as if she is adding words just to lengthen the novel.  I was a tad disappointed in this book and wouldn’t necessarily recommend it.  However, someone else might pick it up and think it’s the best book they’ve ever read, but after having read every single book Ms. Staub has ever written to date, this one was a complete let down for me.

 

 



THE LONG WAY HOME: The Chesapeake Diaries (MARIAH STEWART)

 

 

Story Description: 

 

Random House Publishing Group|January 29, 2013|Mass Market Paperbound|ISBN: 978-0-53841-3 

 

New York Times Bestseller Mariah Stewart presents a captivating contemporary romance novel in the tradition of Robyn Carr, Susan Mallery, and Barbara Freethy.

 

 As the only child of a wealthy investment manager, Ellie Chapman has never known anything besides a life of perfect privilege.  But her years of good fortune come to an abrupt end when her father is exposed for swindling billions of dollars from innocent investors in a massive Ponzi scheme.  And just like that, Ellie loses everything: money, job, home – even her fiancé, who’s jailed as her father’s partner in crime.  With no job prospects on the horizon, no cash, and her family name in tatters, Ellie has only one place to go. 

 

Sleepy St. Dennis, Maryland, is hardly where Ellie intends to stay, however.   Keeping her identity a secret, she plans to sell the house her late mother left her in the small town and use the proceeds to move on with her life.  Unfortunately, her ticket to a new beginning is in dire need of a laundry list of pricey improvements, many of which she’ll have to do herself.  And until the house on Bay View Road is fit to be sold, the sole place Ellie will be traveling is the hardware store.  But as the many charms of St. Dennis – not to mention Cameron O’Connor, the handsome local contractor who has secrets of his own – begin to work their magic, what begins as a lesson in do-it-yourself renovations might just end up as Ellie’s very own rejuvenation. 

 

Includes a preview of the next book in the Chesapeake Diaries series, At the River’s Edge. 

 

My Review: 

 

Ellie Chapman has always lived a life of privilege until her father is exposed for swindling billions of dollars from innocent investors in a massive Ponzi scheme.  With the snap of fingers, Ellie loses everything she ever worked for including her home, her job, her car, and her money.  She had nowhere left to go except to a home that her late mother left to her in her will. 

 

Ellie heads for the sleepy little town of St. Dennis, Maryland and when she arrives she discovers that the home is going to need tons of renovation to make it re-sellable.  Unfortunately, with no money left, Ellie is going to have to do these renovations herself and it’s something she’s never done before.  However, she rolls up her sleeves and begins to tackle the job as best she can until she one day meets a local contractor named Cameron O’Connor.  Soon there is a love connection and she has help with the renovations. 

 

Things are moving along nicely for Ellie who is happy with the work on the house and immensely happy with Cameron and then she receives a phone call from her lawyer who wants to see her immediately and he won’t tell her over the phone what he wants to see her about.  Ellie knows it’s something very serious and is worried.  What is the lawyer going to tell her?  Is she losing the house on Bay View Road too, or is something else coming up the pipe? 

 

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and am looking forward to reading the next in this series.

 

 

UNRIVALED (SIRI MITCHELL)

Story Description: 

Baker Publishing Group|March 1, 2013|Trade Paperback|ISBN: 978-0-7642-0797-6 

Lucy Kendall always assumed she’d help her father in his candy-making business, creating recipes and aiding him in their shared passion.  But after a year traveling in Europe, Lucy returns to 1910 St. Louis to find her father unwell and her mother planning to sell the struggling candy company.  Determined to help, Lucy vows to create a candy that will reverse their fortunes. 

St. Louis newcomer, Charlie Clarke is determined to help his father dominate the nation’s candy industry.  Compromise is not an option when the prize is a father’s approval, and falling in love with a business rival is a recipe for disaster when only one company can win.  Will these two star-crossed lovers let a competition that turns less than friendly sour their dreams? 

My Review: 

Lucy Kendall has just returned home to St. Louis in 1910 after a world-wind year long trip to Europe with her Aunt Margaret and Uncle Fred.  She ate Linzer torte in Austria, drank coffee in cafes in Italy, and viewed glaciers in Switzerland.  She had been allowed to tour with her aunt and uncle with the hope that it would turn her into a lady.  While in Europe she had collected candy wrappers and even a few samples in the hope her father would add a European line in his candy manufacturing business.  Upon her arrival home, Lucy is informed that her father has had a heart attack, was resting and her mother didn’t want her to see him until the following day.  She was upset when she found out he’d had the attack three months ago in June but no one had told her then.  Lucy didn’t feel like talking about the exciting wonders of her trip with her mother now that she knew while she was off cavorting in Europe and have a good time, her poor father had been so ill.  Royal Taffy had been her father’s ultimate triumph and had been his whole life until the company and the right to produce it had been taken from him.  He created the candy but never had the success he’d had with his Royal Taffy.  Now his doctors were strongly advising that he sell the business because his heart couldn’t take the stress anymore. 

Lucy was angry that her mother thought this was a fabulous idea, she’d been raised by merchants and bankers and thought her husband should give up this silly candy business altogether and she was already taking it upon herself to make some changes much to  Lucy’s horror.  Lucy vowed to make a candy that would outshine everything else and save her father’s business.  She was determined and felt positive she could pull this off. 

Charlie Clarke had been through some very tough times.  His father left him, his mother and sisters when he was just seven-years-old and never returned.  The family strained and struggled to put food on the table and make enough money to keep a roof over their heads. Charlie was in jail when he was accidentally arrested for a murder he didn’t commit.  Now he has a new role at his father’s Standard Manufacturing plant.  He’s come home to see his father after a fifteen-year separation.  This new job at his father’s factory is a chance of a lifetime and will give him a chance to reconnect with the father (Warren) who walked out on him  so many years ago.   Warren and his new wife, Augusta have been married for ten years. 

When Charlie arrives at his father’s mansion he finds the house excessively large with many columns, lots of steps and an overabundance of windows.  It was a grand home.  Inside, the house stretched two stories above Charlie’s head.  He followed the butler up a long, curving flight of stairs to his bedroom and didn’t go back down until he was sure his father had left for the theater. 

The following day, Warren sent Charlie down to his tailor shop to have him outfitted for several suits, ties, shirts and shoes.  If he was going to be a businessman now he had to look the part.  While walking down Olive Street, he literally bumps into a woman who turns out to be none other than Lucy Kendall and it’s this first quick introduction that pair these two characters throughout the story. 

This was a beautifully written story and had some completely unexpected and shocking surprises that I certainly didn’t see coming.  I would highly recommend this book to ever one.  Well-done! 

 

"Book has been provided courtesy of Baker Publishing Group and Graf-Martin Communications, Inc.

Available at your favourite bookseller from Bethany House, a division of Baker Publishing Group".