Fifty Words For Rain by Asha Lemmie

Fifty Words For Rain

It’s not often I find a novel  that actually takes my  breath  away. FIFTY WORDS FOR RAIN did just that. And then some.

The novel is set in Japan and begins in 1948 in Kyoto.  Nori is eight years old when her mother drops her off in front of an estate, then takes off down the street at breakneck speed.  Nori is left standing in front of a gate with a letter in her hand. The letter is supposed to introduce her to her grandparents. She’s officially been abandoned. And so this remarkable debut novel begins.

Nori is a half black child born illegitimately to a mother who was Japanese royalty.  Nori’s mother left her husband and young son to be with her American born black GI father. They never married. And now Nori is in the clutches of her evil grandmother who is determined to keep her hidden away in the attic and away from public eyes. Nori is subjected to excruciatingly painful bleach baths in hopes of lightening her dark skin. She’s routinely beaten by a grandmother who is only interested in saving “face.” Saving her royal family name from disgrace. It is utterly unnerving to read.

When Akira, Nori’s half brother, comes to live with the family, Nori finds a kindred soul and finally begins to come alive. Akira is going to be the heir to all the family owns. He is so beautifully talented and his skills with the violin are becoming legendary.  Nori begins to learn about music . And grandmother becomes incensed to watch this closeness. It must end.

I knew next to nothing of this remarkable story when I began this novel. I’m so glad that is how I read it. I feel it will take away too much to go into any detail about the story. So my review will be short.

The gorgeousness of the story and the beauty of the prose only enhance the experience. You will find yourself turning the pages at the speed of light only to slow yourself to prolong the story.

Nori will live in my mind forever. What she endures is beyond the limits of reality.  Living with the knowledge that everything bad that happens to you and your loved ones is your fault was her fate.

I love novels that truly move me. FIFTY WORDS FOR RAIN by Asha Lemmie

Asha Lemmie

is one of those novels. You simply must add it to your must-read list. Right now.

FIFTY WORDS FOR RAIN is now available in a trade paperback version. Perfect for your upcoming summertime reading enjoyment.

The Star-Crossed Sisters of Tuscany by Lori Nelson Spielman

The Star-Crossed Sisters of Tuscany

Okay, right away the cover gets an A plus from me. Brings back memories of trips to Tuscany and beyond. But, is the story as good as the cover? You betcha!! In fact, it’s better.

This from Goodreads: A trio of second-born daughters set out to break the family curse that says they’ll never find love on a whirlwind journey through the lush Italian countryside by New York Times bestseller Lori Nelson Spielman, author of The Life List.

Since the day Filomena Fontana cast a curse upon her sister more than two hundred years ago, not one second-born Fontana daughter has found lasting love. Some, like second-born Emilia, the happily-single baker at her grandfather’s Brooklyn deli, claim it’s an odd coincidence. Others, like her sexy, desperate-for-love cousin Lucy, insist it’s a true hex. But both are bewildered when their great-aunt calls with an astounding proposition: If they accompany her to her homeland of Italy, Aunt Poppy vows she’ll meet the love of her life on the steps of the Ravello Cathedral on her eightieth birthday, and break the Fontana Second-Daughter Curse once and for all.

I decided to copy the review listed on Goodreads because it sums up the novel without giving away too much. This novel begins rather softly: light reading. It then moves to a place I could not resist. Lori Nelson Spielman is a delightful author. She created a world filled with characters I kept rooting on. And the Italian vistas, Venetian canals, Amalfi coastline, and hills of Tuscany come blazingly to life beneath her pen. 

This beautiful story became so compelling that I put aside everything until I was finished. I did not want it to end but I was DYING to know the climax. I know you will be too. 

THE STAR-CROSSED SISTERS OF TUSCANY by Lori Nelson Spielman was due to come out in the spring. Alas, we know what came along. I think the publisher made a brilliant decision to postpone the pub date. This book is going to be on every single reader’s list! I know several people who have already pre-ordered it. I was one of the very lucky people who received an early copy. I am grateful to the publishing people at Berkley. This is a real winner!! Knocked it right out of the book park!! Loved, loved, loved it. 

THE STAR-CROSSED SISTERS OF TUSCANY will be available for purchase tomorrow. Copperfish Books will have copies in stock. I can’t wait to hand sell it. We are really fortunate that it will be in trade paperback making it the perfect choice for book clubs everywhere!

Fifty Words For Rain by Asha Lemmie

Fifty Words For Rain

It’s not often I find a novel  that actually takes my  breath  away. FIFTY WORDS FOR RAIN did just that. And then some.

The novel is set in Japan and begins in 1948 in Kyoto.  Nori is eight years old when her mother drops her off in front of an estate, then takes off down the street at breakneck speed.  Nori is left standing in front of a gate with a letter in her hand. The letter is supposed to introduce her to her grandparents. She’s officially been abandoned. And so this remarkable debut novel begins.

Nori is a half black child born illegitimately to a mother who was Japanese royalty.  Nori’s mother left her husband and young son to be with her American born black GI father. They never married. And now Nori is in the clutches of her evil grandmother who is determined to keep her hidden away in the attic and away from public eyes. Nori is subjected to excruciatingly painful bleach baths in hopes of lightening her dark skin. She’s routinely beaten by a grandmother who is only interested in saving “face.” Saving her royal family name from disgrace. It is utterly unnerving to read.

When Akira, Nori’s half brother, comes to live with the family, Nori finds a kindred soul and finally begins to come alive. Akira is going to be the heir to all the family owns. He is so beautifully talented and his skills with the violin are becoming legendary.  Nori begins to learn about music . And grandmother becomes incensed to watch this closeness. It must end.

I knew next to nothing of this remarkable story when I began this novel. I’m so glad that is how I read it. I feel it will take away too much to go into any detail about the story. So my review will be short.

The gorgeousness of the story and the beauty of the prose only enhance the experience. You will find yourself turning the pages at the speed of light only to slow yourself to prolong the story.

Nori will live in my mind forever. What she endures is beyond the limits of reality.  Living with the knowledge that everything bad that happens to you and your loved ones is your fault was her fate.

I love novels that truly move me. FIFTY WORDS FOR RAIN by Asha Lemmie

Asha Lemmie

is one of those novels. You simply must add it to your must-read list. Right now.

I’m going to suggest to Copperfish that they need to copies, but, as yet, it is not on their shelves. Soon, though.

I borrowed my copy of FIFTY WORDS FOR RAIN from the .  I loved it!

Monogamy by Sue Miller

Monogamy

A new novel from Sue Miller is always a cause for celebration!

MONOGAMY is a sophisticated story of marriage and grief and betrayal and beyond. It’s haunting and  might even make you feel a tad uncomfortable.

Annie meets Graham  one spring evening at his  bookshop  in Cambridge, Massachusetts  when she wanders in to attend an event with another man, someone she sometimes has sex with.  There is an immediate attraction that quickly becomes more.

Graham is a larger than life man who fills every room he enters with his vibrant personality.  He attracts friends like the pied piper and he and Annie often have exuberant  parties after bookstore  events. Everyone loves Graham.  Annie is a quieter soul. She’s a photographer and so her private life is more subdued. They do say opposites attract….

Both Annie and Graham have previously been married. Graham to a woman who, even though she is his ex, is still a good friend and they share a son. Annie’s first marriage was brief with no children.  Graham and Annie have a daughter who lives in San Francisco .  Each character is grappling with an inner dilemma.

Kirkus Review says: A thoughtful and realistic portrait of those golden people who seem to have such enviable lives.  You know who they are talking about. We all do. The grass looks greener on the other side.  From afar Annie and Graham do seem to have an idealistic life together.  But we get to visit the innards and stir it around and see what’s really there. 

Marriage is complicated. Death even more so.  And, when, in the midst of grief an infidelity is discovered posthumously, you can expect to feel undisguised and unmitigated rage and the feeling of never-ending disaster.

Miller takes us behind the scenes in this thirty -year marriage and shows us who these two people really are. So we know what makes them .  They are both really just human beings. I have to say this: if only Graham could have kept “it” in his pants . He was never true to anyone, ever. Even though Annie was the love of his life, this “other” got in the way.  And so Annie has to deal with this betrayal after the fact and figure out if she ever really knew her husband. We, the reader, are shown his feelings. So we know. But Annie, the betrayed, does not know. It’s devastating. Was painful to read. But beautifully told.

Sue Miller writes with such deep empathy and  sharp insight.  MONOGAMY is sure to be on the top of every book club list this season and far into the future.

You can purchase your autographed copy of MONOGAMY at Copperfish Books where it will be discounted 20%.

Copperfish Books

I have Harper Collins to thank for sending my review copy in exchange for an honest opinion. MONOGAMY  is honestly one of the finest novels I’ve read this year. I can easily see it climb the NYT bestseller’s list quickly. Very impressive.

 

Hamnet by Maggie O’Farrell

Hamnet

Maggie O’Farrell has magnificently  tackled a little-known story. William Shakespeare’s eleven-year-old son Hamnet died of the plague in 1596 in Stratford, England.  He was survived by his mother, twin sister Judith, older sister, and his father, as well as various other members of his family. But nothing was ever spoken of this. Was kept  silent.  Until now, when O’Farrell brings forth with this marvelous new novel that shows the depth of grief and the strength of the human spirit.

The story begins with Hamnet finding his twin sister Judith has suddenly become very ill. He goes for help but his entire family seem to have vanished just when he needs them most. Judith lies on a pallet in an upstairs bedroom falling deeper into the throes of the bubonic plague. But they don’t know this at the time.

O’Farrell manages to introduce us to Hamnet’s mother Agnes ( pronounced Ann-yis ) as she tends to her bees in a field a mile away not knowing her child is desperately ill and needing her attention. She’s well-known as a healer and can even see into a person’s  future ……all the while you, the reader, find yourself tensing up and wishing to God she would hurry even as you know the outcome.

Although William Shakespeare is never named as such in this story, we know it is he who is Hamnet’s father.  And why the name Hamnet? It’s a variation of Hamlet. We are shown the life of the most famous play-right who was first a Latin tutor who married a free spirit and mostly lived in London.

Judith and Hamnet loved playing tricks on their family by swapping identities. This is a pretty common way for twins to have fun with people who think they know them so very well.  So when Judith is lying dying, Hamnet decides to trick the Gods by pretending to be his twin. It’s tragic. It’s heartbreaking.

As Agnes prepares her son’s body for burial any mother can not help but be brought to her knees with grief. And the thoughts that are careening through her head are brought to the page in a way that is so real it hurts. The grief, the guilt, the death.

I try to avoid books that deal with the death of a child. Too painful. And there are those of you who will avoid this book for that reason. But this story is one to wrap yourself up in. It’s important.  I believe this book is one of those that is bound for glory. It’s an OMG book.

About halfway through the book several pages are dedicated to the events that carry the pestilence to England and to the home of Judith and Hamnet.  These colorful pages, a dozen or so, will change the way you think about how disease is passed from person to person and from animal to animal.  Here we are going through a global pandemic of monumental proportions and I’m actually reading about the bubonic plague that took place four hundred years ago. Utterly up front and way too personal. I have read and reread these passages over and over. Amazing.

This is a book that will be widely read and should be on every bookclub list for discussion in the coming months.  I can almost smell a nod for Pulitzer or Man Booker or both.  Be sure to put it on your list.

You can purchase a copy of HAMNET from Copperfish Books. They are on the shelves right now and discounted 20%.  Just a heads’ up. Elaine Newton has read HAMNET and loved it!

Maggie O’Farrell

Maggie O’Farrell is an Irish born writer who has many a great novel under her , however, this is her best!

The Exiles by Christina Baker Kline

The Exiles

Love the cover! Love the story! Kline has once again knocked it out of the book park . She did it with THE ORPHAN TRAIN years ago. Now she’s back with this wonderful novel of colonial  Australia and the convicts who made it what it is today.

The prologue introduces us to Mathinna  the 8-year-old orphaned daughter of an Aborigine chief.  Living quite wildly on the island of Flinders in Australia in 1840, she’s been hiding in the bushes for almost two days hoping to avoid the clutches of a visiting governor and his wife who have taken a fancy to her. You see, they plan on taking her back to civilization where she will be treated as a trinket.

Chapter one and we are in London where we meet Evangeline who has also been recently orphaned and is working as a governess in a big where her employer’s son has given her much  more than the “ring” that belongs to his family. When she is wrongly accused of stealing it, she’s  sent off to Newgate Prison and from there on to Van Dieman’s Land ( now known as Tasmania ) in Australia.

Evangeline meets Hazel on the ship. Hazel’s sixteen with plenty of hard-living under her young . Her crime was stealing a silver . And the worst part of it is that her own mother had set her to it. But Hazel has learned midwifery from her mother and even how to use herbs in healing.  The ship is filled with woman convicts and sets sail in a former slave ship. Months and months of horror. Kline’s attention to detail captures every single harrowing moment. I can not even imagine surviving a trip such as this in my wildest dreams.

This epic historical novel brings us a powerful and painful rendering that shows  us what it took to build a new world.  These three women each orphaned in their own way, find opportunity where none existed, and freedom of a challenging sort.

I read and loved THE ORPHAN TRAIN several years ago.

Christina Kline

I’ve been waiting for Kline to show us more of this brilliant I know she is capable of. And here it is. You will not be disappointed. You’ll be deeply moved and find yourself anxious to learn more about the building of Australia. Don’t miss this novel. It will be on every reader’s lips this season.

Copperfish Books

Copperfish Books has copies of THE EXILES on sale right now and they’re discounted 20%. You need this book.

My digital review copy of THE EXILES was provided by Edelweiss through Harper Collins.  I am grateful to them both for this opportunity. And what an amazing story. Thanks guys.

 

The Lions of Fifth Avenue by Fiona Davis

The Lions of Fifth Avenue

Good Morning America has already chosen THE LIONS OF FIFTH AVENUE by Fiona Davis as their book of the month for August. How smart is that! I loved this novel and just know it’s going to be on every book lovers list for reading this year. And rightly so. After all, it takes place mostly in The New York Public Library.

Fiona Davis

Fiona Davis has done her homework. She’s managed to bring us a marvelous novel that’s rife with great behind the scenes information about one of the most iconic buildings in our country. She also ties in big women’s issues and adds a complicated plot.  And along with this she’s filled the story with strong women and a mystery that promises to keep you up at night.

The story begins in 1913 with the superintendent of The New York Public Library and his wife and their two children moving into an apartment within the stacks of the actual library. My thoughts upon first reading this were that surely this was not true. After all, this is a novel. However, there really was an apartment deep within the library and the superintendent lived there. Boom! Laura, Lyons, the wife, seems to have a perfect life. But, she’s discontent and as her husband spends all his spare time writing his novel, Laura wants to also pursue her career. And so she returns to school: Columbia School of Journalism, no less. There she realizes that she is meant for far more than being a wife and mother. And you begin to see where this is going. When Laura hooks up with a radical group of women in Greenwich Village, she asks herself who she really is. And then the books begin mysteriously disappearing from the library…..

Eighty years later, we meet Sadie Donovan, who is Laura’s grandmother.  We find that Laura became an award winning essayist but her life was filled with drama and complications. Sadie is working at the same library and is a curator. And then, once again, books and manuscripts begin disappearing.

NIC Public Library Lions Masked

I couldn’t help myself. I had to post this photo of one of the actual lions outside the New York Public Library with his mask on.

So, this novel is perfect for book lovers. Perfect for readers who love great historical fiction. It’s brilliant.

I loved reading more about the apartments within the libraries. You will too. Just google them and up will pop lots of info.

About ten years ago my daughter and I went to NYC for a week to a conference for bloggers. One of the things on our to-see list was a visit to The New York Public Library, the very one this book is about. It’s quite daunting. Silly me, I kept looking for the fiction stacks. But discovered that this library is a research library and not a library like we have here at home. It’s huge and quiet and wonderful. And very, very beautiful.

If you belong to a book club you have to know this amazing book should be on your list for this season. I know I’ll be talking about it for a long time to come. My review copy was provided digitally through Netgalley by Penguin Random House. It was a joy to be able to be a first reader. Loved it!

Fiona Davis is the internationally best selling author of several books  set in famous buildings in NYC. You’re also going to want to read CHELSEA GIRLS and THE DOLLHOUSE.  And there’s even more….

Copperfish Books

We have copies of THE LIONS OF FIFTH AVENUE at Copperfish Books right now. They are discounted 20%. Run, do not walk, to get your copy now. Or, order online from us. Still discounted. If you’re a big reader you are going to want this book. Just get it! Tell them Maurice made you do it 😺

 

The Second Home by Christina Clancy

Christina Clancy

Look at this cover. It screams “beach.” I’ve been waiting months for this novel to be available to you readers. I read it way back then in the middle of the winter when covid-19 was not even a thought yet.

We may not all be able to go to the beach this summer so we really need reading material that will take  us there… Literally. THE SECOND HOME already does that by just looking at the cover.

Just when you find yourself looking for the next great summer read along comes THE SECOND HOME and you’ve got your book. But what have you got? Is it a light summer read? Well, yeah, but it’s not light and fluffy like you might expect. Filled with beach aroma, beach activities, beach food, and lots of crazy summertime stuff, but this writer brings so much more to the feast. She’s got a page-turning adventure that is unlike any other. Perfect for this summer.

I grew up on the Eastern shore. All winter long I dreamt of going back to the beach, the place I loved more than any other. My happiest times growing up were spent at the beach. So I know what it’s like to look forward to going to the beach.

Ann and Poppy have always thrived during summers spent at their beat up cottage on the back bay in Wellfleet on Cape Cod. Their parents would load up the car and head on out for the coast from their home in Milwaukee.  Their home was nothing expansive and not on the ocean. It was on the back bay and practically falling apart. Still, it had been in their family for generations and they loved it.  Then, they decided to adopt a teenage boy named Michael. And he came to the beach with them that fateful summer fifteen years ago. And nothing was ever the same.

• Second homes.
• Second families.
• Second chances. 

The story opens telling us that the parents have been killed in a tragic car accident. Ann is returning to the cottage to make arrangements to sell it. She thinks she wants no part of it anymore. After all, it’s where the secrets lie.  Now Ann and Poppy have to make some decisions.  All is going as planned until Michael resurfaces and lays claim to his share of the house and he does not want to sell it.

What actually happened that summer all those years ago hangs over your head throughout the novel. And it would keep you blowing through the pages on its own. But the writing and the characters are so compelling. Not to even mention the biggest character of all: the saltbox house.  Clancy beautifully evokes feelings of Cape Cod and the shore to the pages. The coolness of the sand filtering through your toes, the tangy aroma of the beach, and the laid back adventurous atmosphere that spells BEACH in capital letters.  It’s all here plus the drama of not knowing what caused the treacherous rift between the family members.

Christina Clancy

This might be Christina Clancy’s debut novel but, it’s not going to be her last. I know I’m already sitting on the edge of my reading seat waiting for her sophomore effort!

This novel is on the summer reading list for the Critic’s Choice Artis-Naples. You know you need it. We will have copies of THE SECOND HOME at Copperfish Books.  They will arrive this week. They will be discounted 20%.

My review copy was provided by St. Martin’s Publishing Group.  I can’t thank them enough. THE SECOND HOME is going to be one of the BIG summer reads this year! I loved this book.

Camino Winds by John Grisham

Camino Winds

I loved CAMINO ISLAND.  Discovering that a sequel was coming, well, it is here!! And it’s wonderful. Perfect. Entertaining but with a murder mystery to be solved,  during a hurricane at that.

The story begins with a  sumptuous party at Bruce Cable’s home on Camino Island. Celebrating the return of now best-selling literary ,  Mercer Mann. All the usual suspects are there. What a bunch of literary gossips. A delightful and very colorful group.

But the fun quickly dissipates as hurricane Leo changes course and makes a beeline straight for the island. Mandatory evacuations go out. Most residents heed the alarm. But  Bruce decides to stay behind and ride the storm out.  I knew this would not end well. It rarely does. The scenes during the storm are harrowing. Anyone who’s endured a storm such as this understands the aftermath. Sometime as you hunker down in the midst of the storm, your mind reminds you that this was not a good plan.

After the storm passes Bruce emerges from his mostly unscathed to   out the island and  on friends.  When he discovers the body of  Nelson Kerr who is a popular thriller writer, the question arrises: was this an accident from the storm, or was this murder? We get up front and personal with some of the local  who seem to be totally bungling the investigation…Small town stuff.

Grisham brings back more of what he is so well known for:  murder and mystery and even legal stuff. So as much as I loved the story, I missed, missed, missed, the . Of course the is a mess and has sustained lots of damage due to flooding. It could have been much worse if Bruce and some of his employees hadn’t taken the time to move books and valuables to the second floor. Still, wreckage to be repaired.

John Grisham is a master story-teller.  CAMINO WINDS brings what is actually a   read into the murder mystery genre.  So there is more story for everyone.

John Grisham

CAMINO WINDS is pure entertainment. But  it also brings to mind that hurricane season is almost upon us. Always mindful, I can’t even imagine the fear of a storm coming during this pandemic. I shudder at that thought and pray they all just go away.

I am including a link to a very enjoyable podcast with Mitchell Kaplan of Books & Books out of . His conversation with Grisham is just delightful. You will enjoy it and hearing the passion in their voices as they speak of books and stuff is just what you need right now.

Some really great news to end my review. There will be a third in the Camino Series. Yippee. Much dancing around and clapping. You see, I’ve totally  fallen for the quirky character of Bruce Cable. I can’t wait to meet him again.

My copy of CAMINO WINDS was a gift. So I am not indebted to anyone for a review. However, I did love it! The great publishing people at Double Day, a division of Penguin Random ,  have a great gift in John Grisham.

Copperfish Book

Copperfish Books is selling CAMINO WINDS at a 20% in or online.  Free shipping to your home with $35 or more purchase. Might I suggest a paperback copy of CAMINO ISLAND….. to add to your pleasure. Cheers!

 

The Summer Guests by Mary Alice Monroe ( now in trade paper )

The Summer Guests

A new novel by Mary Alice Monroe is always a big deal. THE SUMMER GUESTS is just out in trade paper and available to purchase at Copperfish Books. As I scanned for information about the story, I expected to see it taking place along the coast of South Carolina where most of her other novels are set. Yes, this one actually begins on Isle of Palm on the coast of South Carolina, but it quickly moves away from the coast and up into the gorgeous mountains of North Carolina. Why? EVACUATION! A monster hurricane has just rolled off the coast of Africa and is headed that way.

When I began reading the prologue the hair actually stood up on the back of my neck. I kid you not. Those of you who have known the horrors of a hurricane coming straight for you know what I’m talking about.  Residents in Florida and along the Southern Eastern coast need to leave their home; evacuate, now. That’s where this story begins. A couple years ago we had hurricane Irma come so close to our home that it scared the bejesus out of all of us. I know what the day by day waiting is like. I know what it’s like to hear the hour by hour reporting as the storm gets ready to blow through your community.  My heart was already pounding.

Mary Alice

Mary Alice Monroe is now famous for bringing us the very best in environmental fiction.  I have learned so much about endangered species that live in my own backyard and nearby. I love her writing and I love how involved she is with protecting the animals and wildlife.  This time her main concern is the equestrian world of horses and handlers. I fell hard for this novel. I just think it’s super.  I completely lost myself in it.

Cara Rutledge just did not think the tropical wave the newscasters were talking about would come to amount to much. After all, she’d been through plenty of storms through the  years. You don’t live on Isle of Palm  and not feel scathed. But she was preparing to take her young daughter to visit friends in the mountains in North Carolina. Surely, it would just be fine.  So, she turned her back on the storm and went her way.

In Palm Beach, Florida, Hannah McLain was flitting between her boyfriend Angel’s creepy dog Max, and trying to shove all Angel’s Olympic medals in a suitcase per his instructions.  Hannah is a make-up artist and Angel is a famous equestrian.

In Kiawah, South Carolina, Moira Stevens is packed and ready to evacuate to her  parent’s horse farm Freehold Farm in the mountains of North Carolina.  Her husband Thom was away on business.  Their marriage could easily be in trouble.

In Wellington, Florida, Elise Klug and her mother are struggling to get their prize horses into their trailers and ready to begin the long drive to the mountains.  Elise’s mother is a no-nonsense German woman  who is determined that her daughter become an award-winning  equestrian whether she wants it or not.

Each chapter begins with a weather update that will keep you on the edge of your seat.  My neck is getting tight just contemplating it all.  It adds to the tension.

So, the question arises: what would you take with you if  you had to evacuate your home not knowing if you would ever return?

All these people are thrown together with a some very special  dogs and some very important horses. They are in close quarters for a week. They are forced to confront issues, come to terms with important life-changing events, and question love and devotion. Tempers bristle and even the animals question the many changes.

“Mary Alice Monroe is a passionate conservationist who uses novels to bring public awareness to the plight of the world’s endangered, undervalued, and sometimes obscure creatures. ”  This is why I love Mary Alice Monroe.

Let’s just say that these people will leave this mountain different than when they arrived. All good.

” But as the storm passes, they realize that what really matters isn’t what they brought with them to the mountains. Rather, it’s what they’ll take with them when they leave.”

My review copy arrived via Gallery Books, a division of Simon & Schuster publishers in exchange for an honest review. Well, folks, I absolutely LOVE it.

Copperfish Books

Copperfish Books loves Mary Alice Monroe. We have trade paperback copies of THE SUMMER GUESTS in stock and read to go.  Plus, our Cathy has chosen the paperback version as her bookclub pick for August. Perfect timing.  You’ll receive 10% off this book club pick.

If you purchase ON OCEAN BOULEVARD and THE SUMER GUESTS you’ll get free shipping to your home. Something to think about. And they’re both  discounted.