REVIEW: The Secret Life of Sunflowers by Marta Molnar

OUR REVIEW:

Admittedly I'm a huge van Gogh fan, so when I heard about The Secret Life of Sunflowers a friend I knew I had to read it. The novel follows the meeting and eventual love story of Johanna Bonger and Theo van Gogh paired with the modern story of Emsley Wilson- a woman who ends up with the diary of Bonger. As we flip between chapters and their alternating narratives, we watch as they encounter huge challenges and deep grief, with moments of joy and hope. 

Johanna finds love and marriage and talent, all wrapped up in Theo. They fall in love and have a son all while trying to support Vincent. We are flies on the wall as Theo and Vincent descend into madness and Johanna has to figure out to financially support her family and stay true to Theo's mission: to make Vincent into a world famous artist. She believes deeply in the mission and refuses to give up, despite the impossible obstacles...and as we know that she was successful because who doesn't know about Vincent van Gogh?

Meanwhile, Emsley is grappling with a change in her business and the death of one of the most important people in her life. She had to somehow deal with the aftermath of the loss of her person and the betrayal that happened in her business. Thankfully she had assistance with a small cadre of people and we see her at the end of the novel on the cusp of many triumphs.

This novel was a surprise--interesting and easy to read and a tragic but triumphant take on the van Gogh family.

BUY IT: https://amzn.to/46Flvh7

SYNOPSIS:

When Hollywood auctioneer Emsley Wilson finds her famous grandmother's diary while cleaning out her New York brownstone, the pages are full of surprises. The first surprise is, the diary isn't her grandmother's. It belongs to Johanna Bonger, Vincent van Gogh's sister-in-law.

Johanna inherited Vincent van Gogh's paintings. They were all she had, and they weren't worth anything. She was a 28 year old widow with a baby in the 1800s, without any means of supporting herself, living in Paris where she barely spoke the language. Yet she managed to introduce Vincent's legacy to the world.

The inspiration couldn't come at a better time for Emsley. With her business failing, an unexpected love turning up in her life, and family secrets unraveling, can she find answers in the past?

 

REVIEW: Problematic Summer Romance by Ali Hazelwood

OUR REVIEW:

Listen, I get it. Some people couldn't get over the issue Conor had with the age gap between him and Maya. I didn't have a problem with it, per se....I mean it was annoying that he was so weird about it and yet, it wasn't a deal breaker for me. I suppose that's because Ali Hazelwood has a way of drawing me and holding my interest. She writes smart (but sometimes stupid) characters who seem relatable. I enjoy the tension she creates between her characters, the conundrums they find themselves in, and the humor she often employs to take the edge off any of the high emotion that you feel. For me it works. In this novel, I appreciated the history Maya and Conor had. The way he clearly cared for her. The way she persisted, despite all of the road blocks he put in her way. The way that they were drawn to each other, no matter what. So yeah, maybe for some this would be a problematic summer romance, but for me, it was a great escape from all that the end of summer brought. 

BUY IT: https://amzn.to/4mSb8gc

SYNOPSIS:

Maya Killgore is twenty-three and still in the process of figuring out her life.

Conor Harkness is thirty-eight, and Maya cannot stop thinking about him.

It’s such a cliché, it almost makes her heart implode: older man and younger woman; successful biotech guy and struggling grad student; brother’s best friend and the girl he never even knew existed. As Conor loves to remind her, the power dynamic is too imbalanced. Any relationship between them would be problematic in too many ways to count, and Maya should just get over him. After all, he has made it clear that he wants her gone from his life.

But not everything is as it seems—and clichés sometimes become plot twists.

When Maya’s brother decides to get married in Taormina, she and Conor end up stuck together in a romantic Sicilian villa for over a week. There, on the beautiful Ionian coast, between ancient ruins, delicious foods, and natural caves, Maya realizes that Conor might be hiding something from her. And as the destination wedding begins to erupt out of control, she decides that a summer fling might be just what she needs—even if it’s a problematic one.

 

REVIEW: How to Sell a Romance by Alexa Martin

 

OUR REVIEW:

I first fell in love with Alexa Martin when she published her football series and I've followed her from book to book ever since. In How to Sell a Romance we get to know the hilarious and delightful Emerson-a kindergarten teacher, animal shelter volunteer, and all around good person. As most teachers know, teaching is a profession that doesn't pay, no matter how good you are. To stave off the poorhouse, Emerson finds herself in a MLM situation that makes her finances worse instead of better. She also finds herself involved with one of her students' fathers, inadvertently, because of one night stand prior to school starting. That one night ends in anger, but eventually Emerson and Lucas find themselves in kahoots...and then in love. Throughout her teaching and spying, we get ton know her and her hilarious inner monologue, her inability to ask for help, which actually ends up putting her in the path of Lucas time and again.

Fun and funny, How to Sell a Romance is a good time.

BUY IT: https://amzn.to/4fTTiXR

SYNOPSIS:

Emerson Pierce loves everything about being a kindergarten teacher except the painfully low salary. It isn’t until she hears about Petunia Lemon—an opportunity to sell makeup products, make some extra money, and meet a group of skin-care aficionados—that she begins to see the light at the end of the tunnel. Sure, it sounds a little too good to be true, but what’s the worst that could happen?

Investigative reporter Lucas Miller didn’t always have a chip on his shoulder…until his wife joined Petunia Lemon, drained their savings, and filed for divorce. Now he’s a little bitter, a lot single, and determined to expose the company. After infiltrating their largest convention yet, the last thing he expects is to lose sight of his mission for one night with the gorgeous woman at the bar.

When Emerson and Lucas learn that she’s his daughter’s teacher, they decide to ignore their scorching chemistry. Until things with Petunia Lemon turn downright diabolical and Emerson turns to Lucas for help. They work together to bring the company down but can the two come out on top in this pyramid scheme of love?

REVIEW: Deep End by Ali Hazelwood

 OUR REVIEW:

Without scrolling very far at all, I can see that Deep End has generated some FEELINGS of dislike or discontent and while that's a thing that happens, I can't imagine why. But then again, I didn't care to read the reviews for fear of spoiling, so I closed out as soon as I saw low stars and all caps. 

I've enjoyed Ali Hazelwood's novels and wanted to see if I'd enjoy this one. Turns out, I did. I don't know much about the world of diving, so living through the ups and downs of Scarlett's season was interesting. That plus the secret kinky relationship she starts with Lukas + both of them applying to medical school while also competing in various championships had me hooked. I haven't been the fasted reader lately and I found myself flying through this. I think it was the combination of being in a new world, the spicy nature of their romance, the wondering if they'd get caught, the delight of the inevitability of them falling in love, and that they were funny and fun to read had me flying through the pages. I suppose if you're into clean romcoms or not a fan of anything medical or smart you may not like this novel. But I liked the spice. I liked the diving. I liked the use of therapy, of Lukas's dad being super evolved, as were his brothers, that Lukas was really cool, and that Scarlett was a really good friend to someone who could've been a difficult friend to be with? Solid choices that made for a really happy reader. I wish I hadn't read all of Ali Hazelwood's novels because I can see how I'd immediately dive into her backlist if I could. 

Definitely a fun read.

BUY IT: https://amzn.to/40ZvlZ6

SYNOPSIS:

Scarlett Vandermeer is swimming upstream. A Junior at Stanford and a student-athlete who specializes in platform diving, Scarlett prefers to keep her head down, concentrating on getting into med school and on recovering from the injury that almost ended her career. She has no time for relationships—at least, that’s what she tells herself.

Swim captain, world champion, all-around aquatics golden boy, Lukas Blomqvist thrives on discipline. It’s how he wins gold medals and breaks records: complete focus, with every stroke. On the surface, Lukas and Scarlett have nothing in common. Until a well-guarded secret slips out, and everything changes.

So they start an arrangement. And as the pressure leading to the Olympics heats up, so does their relationship. It was supposed to be just a temporary, mutually satisfying fling. But when staying away from Lukas becomes impossible, Scarlett realizes that her heart might be treading into dangerous water...

REVIEW: The Marriage Portrait by Maggie O'Farrell

 

OUR REVIEW:

I very much let my mood determine what I'm reading and I've been psychotically jumping from lighthearted romcoms to heavy emotional reads to more literary fiction, with seemingly no rhyme or reason. So obviously, when I picked up The Marriage Portrait, I was in the mood to read something more character driven, which is how I remembered the other thing I've read by O'Farrell, Hamnet. And yes, this novel was character driven, but I also found it to be action-y too. Rather than feeling like I was slogging through a lit fic work, I was flying through it. I found the story of Lucre to be engaging and surprising, and while I didn't enjoy the stifling misogyny that Lucre faced, I did enjoy her observations and her strength. I can't imagine living in that era, but Maggie O'Farrell brought it to life and made a time period that I'd never really want to live in, not feel quite as bad as I imagine it might have been. She fills the page with color and sights and sounds and even though Lucre's life wasn't the most evolved feminist life by a long shot, and I felt for her plight, I was also entertained by it all. I'm really not explaining this well, so ultimately my take away is that literary fiction can sometimes feel like a slog that I don't want to take and Maggie O'Farrell's novels never feel that way to me. I always (wrongly) assume that I'm going to have to work harder for less pay off and in the two novels I've read of hers, I walk away feeling happy that I read her work. Definitely a literary fiction writer that I'll always read. 

BUY IT: https://amzn.to/4mhPNMN

SYNOPSIS:

Florence, the 1550s. Lucrezia, third daughter of the grand duke, is comfortable with her obscure place in the palazzo: free to wonder at its treasures, observe its clandestine workings, and devote herself to her own artistic pursuits. But when her older sister dies on the eve of her wedding to the ruler of Ferrara, Modena and Reggio, Lucrezia is thrust unwittingly into the limelight: the duke is quick to request her hand in marriage, and her father just as quick to accept on her behalf.

Having barely left girlhood behind, Lucrezia must now enter an unfamiliar court whose customs are opaque and where her arrival is not universally welcomed. Perhaps most mystifying of all is her new husband himself, Alfonso. Is he the playful sophisticate he appeared to be before their wedding, the aesthete happiest in the company of artists and musicians, or the ruthless politician before whom even his formidable sisters seem to tremble?

As Lucrezia sits in constricting finery for a painting intended to preserve her image for centuries to come, one thing becomes worryingly clear. In the court’s eyes, she has one duty: to provide the heir who will shore up the future of the Ferranese dynasty. Until then, for all of her rank and nobility, the new duchess’s future hangs entirely in the balance.

Full of the beauty and emotion with which she illuminated the Shakespearean canvas of Hamnet, Maggie O’Farrell turns her talents to Renaissance Italy in an extraordinary portrait of a resilient young woman’s battle for her very survival.

REVIEW: If It Makes You Happy by Julie Olivia

 

OUR REVIEW:

This book is a great fall read--it is filled with the perfect images of small town and fall and family and coziness. It takes all of the things we've romanticized about fall and immerses you while you follow the grumpy sunshine romance of Michelle and Cliff. I should also note that in addition to the fall setting, we're also in the 1990s--pre-cellphones and internet. 

These two are an unlikely pairing for a variety of reasons, some are expected: grumpy/sunshine, city girl/small town guy but the deeper you get in to their narratives, you see other things that make them hesitate to explore anything more. However, love prevails and despite a looming deadline for her to return to big city life, these two find themselves unable to stay away from each other.

Cliff was adorable. Michelle was annoying. The burn was slow. The setting: perfectly idealized. A solid 3.5 read for me. 

BUY IT: https://amzn.to/4m1d3yu

SYNOPSIS:

My new next-door neighbor seems to have everything figured out. Small town golden boy? Check. Single dad extraordinaire? Check. Hot baker forearms? I didn’t notice them, I swear.

I, on the other hand, don’t–at all–have anything figured out.

Trust me, I didn’t think taking over my mom’s dream bed and breakfast in Copper Run Vermont was going to be easy. It should be a good place to heal after my divorce. But apparently my scones belong in the garbage with my small talk skills. As pointed out by none other than Cliff.

Cliff is inescapable. He knows exactly what people need–always. His charm, the way he wears flannel, and even his pastries, make not wanting to be friends with Cliff and his daughters pretty hard.

Friends? I can make friends. That’s safe.

Except I’m leaving in three months to pass the inn off to my little sister and get the promotion in Seattle I’ve been working towards.

So ask me why I’m thinking about kissing my hot neighbor.