Month: September 2020

romance

Book Review: Lighting the Flames by Sarah Wendell

Stephanie1 Comment

I’ve mentioned about a zillion times that I’m a big fan of Smart Podcast, Trashy Books from Smart Bitches, Trashy Books, even though it balloons my TBR up like nobody’s business (what, like that’s a bad thing???). I’ve read the two other books by its creators and current host- Beyond Heaving Bosoms: The Smart Bitches’ Guide to Romance Novels by Sarah Wendell and Candy Tan (read in the days before this blog; Goodreads link here) and Everything I Know About Love I Learned From Romance Novels by Sarah Wendell. So you know I had to read the romance novel Sarah Wendell penned herself, titled Lighting the Flames (Smart Bitches Trashy Books, LLC, 2014). Winter! Camp! Hanukkah! Romance! So many cozy good things going on here.  

Genevieve and Jeremy have been camp friends forever, but last year, he left early, with little explanation, and only after kissing her. Now they’re back together for a special winter camp, hoping to pull together a last-ditch effort to save Camp Meira from financial ruin and figure out what’s going on between them.

Color wars and snowfall, chilly temperatures and arts and crafts- not exactly the typical camp experience, but as Gen, Jeremy, and the campers light the Hanukkah candles each night, it’s obvious how special of a place this is. And little by little, Gen and Jeremy open up to one another, growing closer and closer until they can no longer deny what’s between them. Can they make it last outside the confines of Camp Meira, into their adult lives in the real world?

This is a sweet romance novella. There were times when I thought the writing could be stronger, but where Sarah Wendell really succeeds is in setting the scene. Camp Meira in the wintertime leaps off the page. It’s snowy, it’s cold, it’s icy, and the heaters are constantly breaking, but it’s gorgeous and cozy as hell. I’m *not* a fan of cold or being outdoors in the winter (shivering hurts my back and exacerbates my chronic pain), but she makes winter camp sound fun.

Gen is hurting from the recent deaths of her parents; Jeremy is settling into life working with his dad at the family business, a Jewish funeral home. He’s the one who sat with her parents after they passed (there are a few places in this story where some knowledge of Jewish traditions might be helpful, but it’s not necessary). They have some painful discussions on this topic, so if you’re grieving, this may be a good book to wait on until you’re further along in the healing process. Ms. Wendell handles this delicate situation with grace and ease, and it’s sweet to see Gen and Jer forge a new, more mature connection as they bond over Gen’s loss and Jeremy’s adult handling of their deaths.

Lighting the Flames is sweet and will put you smack-dab in the freezing winter cold and snow of Camp Meira. I’m not sure I love the cold and snow any more than I did before, but I enjoyed the coziness of reading about two people falling in love amidst the freezing temperatures.

Visit Sarah Wendell at Smart Bitches, Trashy Books.

Follow her on Twitter: Smart Bitches, Trashy Books.

fiction · YA

Book Review: Our Year of Maybe by Rachel Lynn Solomon

Stephanie8 Comments

Another reading list treasure! And my library had it. Seriously a great thing, what with interlibrary loan still not being entirely functional. (I’ve gotten one book via interlibrary loan since it kind-of-sort-of went back to normal, but I’ve heard the librarians say that not all libraries are participating in it yet, plus book quarantine recently extended to seven days due to the fact that they’re learning that items like board books and graphic novels carry the virus longer, according to a librarian friend, and if they stack the books, apparently the virus lives on the surface longer, so I’m not going nuts with my requests.) Our Year of Maybe by Rachel Lynn Solomon (Simon Pulse, 2019) popped up on a list and sounded amazing to me, and onto the TBR it went. Fortunately, it didn’t have to spend too much time there. 😉

The story begins just before Sophie donates a kidney to her lifelong best friend Peter. Peter’s been sick all his life; Sophie, who’s been in love with him for years, knows that this sacrifice she’s making will mean a more normal life for him, and will bind the two of them together forever. It’s harder than she thought; the pain is intense and lingers long after her incision heals, but Peter’s able to return to public school for the first time in years and Sophie is thrilled that he’s actually able to live.

But life post-transplant is a little different than both of them expected. Life has always been Sophie-and-Peter; now that Peter’s healthier, the two of them have to figure out who they are on their own. Peter’s growing and changing and exploring his options, and Sophie…may have to push herself a little. Or a lot. And her feelings for Peter haven’t changed, but the fact that she gave him an entire organ has complicated things massively. Nothing ever stays the same, and this will be a year of extreme change for Sophie and Peter.

My goodness. This is a lovely, emotional, heartfelt book. Peter’s been suffering from kidney disease since he was young; an earlier transplant failed and dialysis keeps him alive. Sophie knows that donating a kidney to him will help him live a healthier life, but she also knows it’ll tie the two of them together forever, something that appeals to her deeply because of how in love with Peter she is. Peter, who once had a crush on Sophie in middle school, has figured out that he’s bisexual. The new kidney he received from Sophie is giving him a freedom he’s never known before, and he’s feeling a little guilty that he’s exploring so many new things and leaving Sophie behind. The kidney donation, while tying them together, has also complicated their friendship massively.

Ms. Solomon has masterfully woven an emotional account of a friendship that’s entangled by health problems, love, and codependency. Sophie and Peter both nearly leap off the page and you’ll be sighing with sadness and cringing as they make some painful decisions. Peter’s history of kidney disease affects every part of his life and Ms. Solomon affords him dignity while never shying away from the more difficult realities of what his life has been and may be in the future. Even with Sophie’s donor kidney, his future is far from certain, and the reality of this pervades the book (and was like a punch straight to the heart when I read it) and affects everything. Sophie has a little bit of maturing to do, but she’s spent her whole life giving in to what Peter wants, and it’s hard watching her struggle with Peter growing and not needing her as much.

Our Year of Maybe is a bit of a tearjerker for so many reasons. The intricacies of Peter and Sophie’s friendship will yank hard at your heartstrings, but it’s still an easy read that doesn’t necessarily make you work too hard (and I know focusing is an issue for a lot of people right now). It’s a story that will stick with you long after you turn the last page. I haven’t read Ms. Solomon’s other books, but I have You’ll Miss Me When I’m Gone on my TBR, and I’m entirely ready to sob buckets over that one.

Visit Rachel Lynn Solomon’s website here.

Follow her on Twitter here.

fiction · romance

Book Review: The Honey-Don’t List by Christina Lauren

Stephanie1 Comment

One of the things 2020 has taught me is to balance my reading better, that it’s better on both my mental health and my stamina and ability as a reader to inject plenty of lighter books among the heavier subjects. Although I’m still drowning in the all-my-books-came-in-at-once deluge, it was actually a pretty good thing that my library notified me that my copy of The Honey-Don’t List by Christina Lauren (Gallery Books, 2020) had come in about eight weeks ahead of schedule. I needed something on the lighter side after finishing Someday We Will Fly by Rachel DeWoskin, and this fit the bill perfectly.

Carey has worked for home decor and redesign power couple Melissa and Russell Trip since she was 16; at 26, she’s given a huge amount of her time and talent to them and it’s a bit like trying to keep an angry hippo on a leash at this point. They’re *not* getting along, and with a new show and, of all things, a new book about how to have a great marriage, things are in serious trouble, especially since she and Russ’s new assistant, James, just discovered Russ balls-deep in their last show’s host. OOPS.

Now Carey and James have been thrown together in order to supervise Melly and Russ on their book tour. Carey’s not so sure about this; James isn’t exactly her cup of tea, but after being stuck with him in such a small space and with the common goal of keeping their bosses from destroying their own empire, they find themselves falling for each other. As Melly and Russ fall apart, Carey and James grow closer, but it’s a precarious kind of closeness when the stakes are *this* high…

Cute book. Carey has been with Melly and Russ since she was a teenager; they seem to have somewhat took over some parenting duties and given her opportunities she otherwise wouldn’t have. Between that and the fact that she suffers from dystonia, a neuro-muscular disease (for which she needs the insurance they provide), she feels a loyalty to them that won’t allow her to envision more for herself. She’s somewhat trapped in an uncomfortable, semi-abusive relationship with her employers from which she’s not safe enough to leave, and that sums up a lot about what it’s like to be young-ish and employed in the US today, unfortunately.

James is a bit stodgy and self-important at the beginning. He’s an engineer who got shafted by his last employer shutting down due to white-collar crime (I hate that term; it’s insulting. Rich upper-class crime, let’s call it), and he needs this job to improve his now-dismal resume. He was hired on to be an engineer for Russ and Melly, but he was almost immediately shoved into the role as Russ’s assistant and it’s obvious he feels he’s too good for the role. That might have been why I didn’t get immediate warm fuzzies over him like I do about the majority of Christina Lauren heroes. He does come around to value Carey for who she is and what she’s contributed to the brand, but the whole attitude of “I’m too good/educated/classy for this job” is an instant turn-off.

Melly and Russ are a hot, hot mess. They’re a Chip-and-Joanna Gaines-like couple and Russ is absolutely over Melly’s famewhoring, claw-her-way-to-the-top-and-drag-my-husband-behind drive. He just wants to build things and drink beer and watch sports, and this causes him to make some terrible decisions. There’s no excuse for infidelity like that, even if Melly is basically the Cruella de Villa of the design world. I felt bad for him for putting up with so much for so long, but he also let Melly steamroll Carey and let some bad stuff go down for years that he knew wasn’t right (trying not to spoil anything here!), so I had plenty of issues with him too. So while they were both kind of terrible people…they’re well-written. They’re both constantly screwing up and showing their worst selves, and then they let a bit of decency peek out so you can’t entirely loathe them, just mostly.

I didn’t love this the way I’ve loved some other Christina Lauren books- again, I think James’s initial snobbery ruined that for me a bit- but it was a nice read that helped break up some tougher books. I saw that Christina Lauren’s next book is a Christmas-themed one, and honestly, I’m kind of ehhhhhhhh about that. I’ll still end up reading it at some point, I’m sure, but Christmas books don’t really call to me that much. If you’ve read an ARC of it and loved it, though, I’d love to hear about it!

Visit Christina Lauren’s website here.

Follow them on Twitter here.

Follow Christina.

Follow Lauren.

fiction · YA

Book Review: Passenger by Alexandra Bracken

Stephanie4 Comments

Ooh, time travel. And YA. I like both of these, so that’s how Passenger by Alexandra Bracken (Disney-Hyperion, 2016) ended up on my TBR. It’s a series, and while I’m not normally much of a series reader, I figured I’d give it a try.

Passenger tells the dual-narrative story of Etta, an up-and-coming violinist who is thrown back in time to meet Nicholas, a sailor whose skin color has been at the mercy of the cruel, manipulative Ironwood family for far too long. The Ironwoods want nothing more than to control everything, and it’s through Etta that they’ll make this happen- or else her mother will die. Offered a taste of freedom but touched by the desire to keep Etta safe, Nicholas tears off after her through time, and together the two of them seek out the astrolabe hidden by Etta’s traveler mother.

It’s no easy task for a multitude of reasons, including the evil Thorns, the difficulties of time traveling without standing out, and the never-ending prejudice that crops up in every. single. society. Their journey will bring them closer together, but that only makes the danger that much scarier…

I liked but didn’t love this. The characters are fine (Nicholas is particularly enjoyable), the settings are fascinating (various countries at various points throughout history), the villains are utterly dastardly… I think the storyline was just too complicated for me to fully enjoy right now, combined with the fact that I tend to prefer first-person narratives rather than third-person. I realize this may put me in the minority of readers; my library book club has stated that they prefer third-person narration, which surprised me, because I’m so very much a first-person narration fan. (I blame my childhood obsession with The Baby-Sitters Club series. First person narration forever!) Third person keeps everything at such a distance, I feel, whereas first person feels more real and immediate.

For me, anyway. Your mileage may vary.

I did feel like Ms. Bracken handles the never-ending racism Nicholas experiences very well, and in a delicate way. She never shies away from it and she makes it a point to drive home how exhausting it is to live with this every day of one’s life. Etta, who is white and has been fairly sheltered throughout her life, occasionally forgets this is an issue and is brought back to the harsh realization in real-time. It’s a little annoying but unfortunately realistic, I think.

If you enjoy time travel and can handle more complicated plot lines right now, this might be the book for you. For me, it was a good story, but the intricacies were a little too much right now.

Visit Alexandra Bracken’s website here.

Follow her on Twitter here.

Monthly roundup

Monthly Roundup: August 2020

Stephanie7 Comments

Oh, August, we hardly knew ya!

It felt like this month went at warp speed. First, I was turning 40 at the beginning of this month; now, my daughter has started virtual learning! And somewhere in all that whirlwind, we did school at home, I started a new virtual class (more on that later), my back turned into hot summer garbage again, I walked around the neighborhood with my family a zillion times, and I read a few books. Not a terrible month as a whole, really, but still. Pandemic life isn’t exactly optimal.

We’re doing okay, though. Hanging in there as best as we can amidst all the chaos of the world. Lots of deep breathing, escaping into books to avoid everything out there, and making the best of everything we can. I hope you’re managing as well as you can, too.

Let’s get this recap on the road, shall we?

What I Read in August 2020

  1. The Chosen Wars: How Judaism Became an American Religion by Steven R. Weisman (no review)

2. Girl Gone Viral by Alisha Rai

3. Ellen Tebbits by Beverly Cleary (no review; read out loud to my daughter)

4. Chasing Echoes by Dan Goldman and George Schall

5. Otis Spofford by Beverly Cleary (no review; read out loud to my daughter)

6. Bingo Love by Jenn Franklin and Tee St-Onge

7. The Brothers: The Road to an American Tragedy by Masha Gessen

8. No One Ever Asked by Katie Ganshert

9. The Friend Zone by Abby Jimenez

10. Sideways Stories From Wayside School by Louis Sachar (no review; read out loud to my daughter)

11. Someday We Will Fly by Rachel DeWoskin

12. The Honey-Don’t List by Christina Lauren (review to come)

13. Wayside School Is Falling Down by Louis Sachar (no review; read out loud to my daughter)

14. The Happiness Prayer: Ancient Jewish Wisdom for the Best Way to Live Today by Evan Moffic (no review)

15. Passenger by Alexandra Bracken (review to come)

16. Our Year of Maybe by Rachel Lynn Solomon (review to come)

Phew! Not a bad month of reading. As you can tell, I spent a *lot* of time reading aloud to my daughter (and this isn’t even all of what we read aloud. I’m not marking down the shorter books we read for schoolwork. My mouth gets seriously dry some days with all the reading aloud!). Nine of these came off my TBR, so I’m happy about that- of course, I probably added eighty books to the TBR, so it doesn’t quite balance out, but that’s okay. 😊

Reading Challenge Updates

And there we go! I realized that The Brothers by Masha Gessen fit the prompt for a book by a journalist, so all I have left is to read a banned book for Banned Books Week, and I’ll start on that at the end of this month. GO ME!!!!!!!!!!!!

State of the Goodreads TBR

Last month, I was at 152 books; this month, it’s expanded to 158. I *was* in the 160’s, but I read it down a bit. It’ll be time for another trip to the library soon, so I’ll grab some more off my TBR and we’ll see where I am after that.

Books I Acquired in August 2020

I grabbed a copy of All We Ever Wanted Was Everything by Janelle Brown from a Little Free Library on a walk with my son; I’ll read it (eventually!) and send it back out into the world. And I bought a copy of Jewish Literacy: The Most Important Things to Know About the Jewish Religion, Its People, and Its History by Rabbi Joseph Telushkin (something I’ve always wanted to read!) for a virtual class I’m taking.

Bookish Things I Did in August 2020

Some of my awesome parenting group friends gathered online to have a book chat- which of course dissolved into a general chat, but we talked about favorite books and favorite authors and lots of other random things, and it was fantastic.

Current Podcast Love

Catching up on some new episodes of What Should I Read Next? with Anne Bogel (I was sorry to read on Instagram that her father passed away; may his memory be a blessing), and then listening to all the back episodes of Jew Too? Tales of the Mixed Multitude with Rabbi Emily Cohen. Lots of interviews with a diverse group of people who speak about a lot of things I can relate to. She’s on a break but hopefully there will be new episodes in the future, because I really enjoy this one.

Stephanie’s Read Harder Challenge

Currently on hold until life goes back to normal and I have two seconds of quiet time to actually read tougher stuff!

Real Life Stuff

I turned 40 this month. Doesn’t feel much different than any other decade of my life, but, like my childhood best friend said when we were young, I was 40 before I turned 12. *grin* We celebrated by taking a several-hours-long hike around a local preserve, and by ordering Indian food (my favorite!) for dinner that night, and then consuming a key lime pie. All in all, an okay version of an at-home birthday.

My son started virtual college and is enjoying it. My daughter has done some prep-type stuff and has had one full day of virtual first grade so far. Too soon to say how it’ll go as a whole, but her school is virtual until further notice and, even when they go back, parents who wish (like me) will have the option to keep their students virtual. My daughter is pretty stressed out by the idea of physically going back to school (no matter how much we reassure her that we won’t be sending her back until it’s safe) and we’ve been dealing with a few meltdowns here and there, which breaks my heart. There’s going to be a lot of mass trauma on the part of children when all this is over and I pray that schools are making plans to step up their counseling departments in light of this.

Not much writing done at all this month, but that’s fine. My focus has been elsewhere.

I started another virtual Judaism class. I’m studying with a local rabbi here in town with the goal of of pursuing conversion- that’s where my new copy of Jewish Literacy by Joseph Telushkin comes in. It’ll be a slow process, especially with the pandemic and synagogues and mikvehs still being closed (although I’ve been attending virtual services most Friday nights since March!), and that’s okay. It’s definitely something wonderful and amazing and exciting to look forward to. 😊

So what’s coming up in September?

More of the same! School for my daughter, college for my son. My son is in his classes in his room, my daughter is using a previously unused end table from the basement as her desk in the living room (if this goes on past this school year, we’ll get her an actual tiny desk). She’ll be on her school-issued iPad during various live sessions throughout the day; thanks to our split-level house that is ridiculously open, I’ll be able to hear her from every corner of every room and will be available to help out if needed. I’m hoping to get her as independent as possible when it comes to things like logging in to various apps and meetings; that way I can get whatever parts of dinner started as early as possible so I can help her with her post-virtual session work. We’ll see how it goes! I already love her teacher this year and I’m deeply impressed with all the hard work her school has put into making virtual learning an exciting new prospect for the kids.

My apologies for any mistakes in this post; WordPress isn’t letting me save my work at certain points in each post, and I’ve had to go back and forth between a Microsoft Word document. It’s also not letting me preview before I publish- anyone else having these issues? It’s been going on all month and it’s been *seriously* annoying.

Hang in there, friends. I know we’re all feeling tense and anxious these days. Spend some time in nature if you can (WINTER IS COMING, FOLKS). Be there for your Black and brown friends. If you’re in the US and you’re not already registered to vote, get on that, and bring some friends with you to get registered as well. Be kind; you never know what others are going through, but always remember that bigots never, ever deserve peace if you’re trying to keep the peace with them. Stand up for justice, friends, and read on. ❤

Here’s to a peaceful, book-filled September!