Tag: family business

REVIEW: Pride and Premeditation by Tirzah Price

REVIEW: Pride and Premeditation by Tirzah Price

Posted on by Jaymie

[I received a free electronic review copy of this book from Netgalley and HarperTeen in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.]

Summary

Lizzie Bennet longs to become a barrister and study the law and argue cases. But as a young woman – with a mother who thinks only of seeing her daughters married – that is never going to happen. But she holds out hope that her father will hire her to be a solicitor and investigator. He’ll have to be convinced, though, so Lizzie decides she will solve (another) case to prove her ability.

There’s been a murder and an arrest. Mr. Bingley is accused of killing his brother-in-law. Lizzie hopes to convince him to hire her father’s firm to represent him. (They could use the business!) And Bingley is impressed by Lizzie. But he already has help from his good friend, Mr. Darcy. Darcy is arrogant, condescending, and dismissive of Lizzie from the start.

Darcy’s plan seems to be to present Bingley as “too good” of a person to be a murderer. But Lizzie knows the only way to truly protect Bingley is to find the real killer. And she feels she is just the person to do that.

Review

Delightful!!

I have to confess: I’ve never read – or watched – Pride and Prejudice. I’ve never been able to make myself care enough to push through the reading. I love the Sense and Sensibility movie, but I could not get into that book, either. Austen just doesn’t click for me. But I do enjoy retellings in general, as well as mysteries, so I decided to give this a try. And I thoroughly enjoyed it!

There are TONS of nods to the original plot (which I read online) with regard to the characters and relationships, but also lots of twists to keep fans engaged. But you don’t have to have read Pride and Prejudice to enjoy this. The author takes some liberties with the timeline (which she explains in an engaging author’s note), but it didn’t bother me in the least. I am not a purist about such things.

The mystery was fantastically twisty. I figured out part but not all of it before the end, which I enjoyed. I like both solving the puzzles and being surprised by them. And I can’t wait to read more mysteries in this series. Book 2 – Sense and Second-Degree Murder – will release in 2022 and book 3 – Manslaughter Park – will release in 2023. Mystery fans and Austen fans should be sure to pick this one up asap!

Rating: ♥♥♥♥½*

*♥♥♥♥½ = I loved it! Would re-read.

BLOG TOUR: Puppy Kisses by Lucy Gilmore

BLOG TOUR: Puppy Kisses by Lucy Gilmore

Posted on by Jaymie

Welcome to the Blog Tour for book 3 in the Forever Home series, Puppy Kisses. [I received an electronic review copy of this book from Netgalley and Sourcebooks Casablanca in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.] This book will release next Tuesday, June 30, 2020.

 

Summary

It started with a car chase and a lie.

Dawn and Zeke had stolen – rescued – the puppy from an abusive owner who chased them with a shotgun. Their high-speed getaway caught the attention of the sheriff. Zeke was about to lose his license, and Dawn’s flirting was doing no good. So she said the puppy was a service dog in training for Adam.

Zeke’s brother, Adam, went along with the story once he put most of the pieces together. He’d do almost anything for Dawn, not that he’d tell her that. But once the sheriff was gone and the local vet had checked out the puppy, Adam was attached and refused to let her go.

Dawn had been rescuing the puppy for herself. She had other animals at the kennel that would work as a service animal for Adam. Training the right puppy – and getting her rescued puppy back – would be a great excuse for spending more time with Adam. She didn’t know why he insisted on pushing her away. They were combustible when they were together. She would just have to keep pushing until he saw the potential they had together like she did.

Review

This was a great addition to a fun series! The characters – both human and canine (and bovine!) – are terrific. The dogs in this book are especially delightful. I adored Uncle from his first appearance. And I laughed every time Adam called the new puppy Methuselah.

There are lots of laughs in this book. I loved the snappy dialogue between the various characters. The animals added great humor to this too, especially the rogue cow.

Adam and Dawn are fascinating protagonists. Dawn is so in-your-face for most of the book, yet a lot goes unsaid between her and Adam. Both of them could have avoided some conflict with better trust and communication as well as fewer assumptions. Adam gets some benefit of the doubt on the communication pieces because his visual impairment means he misses any visual cues from Dawn’s facial expressions or body language that might have clued him into her true feelings. Dawn is also working through some identity things as the person she wants to be and the person people assume she is don’t always line up.

There was a moment at the end of the book that seemed to be headed one way and then absolutely didn’t go where I thought it would. Which was fine – it was a great shift. But it didn’t feel resolved by the end, which left me feeling off-kilter going into the great epilogue. This was the only blip in a thoroughly delightful story. I have enjoyed this whole series from the start. Be sure to check out book one, Puppy Love (♥♥♥♥) and book 2, Puppy Christmas. (You can read my review of Puppy Christmas here.) I would love to read more books with these characters if the series is going to continue or spin off in any way. Each of the three sisters have had a book, though, so I’m not sure if there will be more Forever Home stories in the future. (Language, sex)

Rating: ♥♥♥♥

 

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If you have enjoyed one of Lucy Gilmore’s books before, or if you want to know more about her, you can explore her website here.  While you are there, you can see the other names she writes under and check out those books as well. It looks like she has plans for some new stand-alone puppy-related romances coming in 2021! I even picked up a few books from her other pen names, thanks to the website. Be sure to check it out!

As part of the Blog Tour you can enter a giveaway for copies of the first two books in the series!  You already know I loved them. Check out the giveaway here.

REVIEW: The McAvoy Sisters Book of Secrets by Molly Fader

REVIEW: The McAvoy Sisters Book of Secrets by Molly Fader

Posted on by Jaymie

[I received an electronic review copy of this book from Netgalley and Graydon House in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.]

Summary

After all those years away, it only takes one phone call to pull Lindy back home.

It’s great timing. She’s temporarily homeless and jobless. And her mother needs her. Apparently she’s had a stroke – not that anyone told Lindy. And her mom’s also having memory issues – another surprise.

The cop who calls for her mom – and old high school… friend – tries to excuse Lindy’s sister, Delia, for not passing any of this news along. She’s been busy with the new baby – something else Lindy knows nothing about. Well, it has been 17 years since they last spoke.

But now Lindy is back. And Delia does have her hands full with the family business (that was supposed to go to Lindy), their mom, her rebellious teen and a newborn. So Lindy can step in, help out, carry some of the load. But her return to the family could dredge up a lot of old history the McAvoy women have swallowed and ignored for decades. Will their secrets survive Lindy’s return home?

Review

Wow, this was good. It took me awhile to warm up to Delia, but I clicked with Lindy and her mom and Delia’s teen daughter Brin quickly. Watching these four women dance around each other was fascinating. And while it was obvious the history and the secrets would be significant, the author held onto them for a good while, letting us get to know the women on their own. There are several excellent passages about secrets and dealing – or not dealing – with emotions. They felt therapeutic. If I was reading this for a book club, these would be the passages I would mark and want to talk about with a group.

Even before the secrets are told, the reader can see the role each person plays in the family – the buttons they push, the interpersonal patterns that have been at work for decades. But this isn’t a dry or navel-gazing sort of story. There’s activity and movement to keep you engaged while the emotional work is being done. It’s so well written – I really enjoyed this!

Discussion questions at the end make this great for book clubs. Don’t read the questions first in order to avoid spoilers. I will give a TRIGGER WARNING but won’t give details to avoid spoiling the story, but if you have sensitivities for what you read, go into this one with a pinch of caution. (Some language)

Rating: ♥♥♥♥

REVIEW: The Doughnut King by Jessie Janowitz

REVIEW: The Doughnut King by Jessie Janowitz

Posted on by Jaymie

[I received an electronic review copy of this book from Netgalley and Sourcebooks in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.]

Summary

Tristan and Josh achieved their goal of making the “life-changing” chocolate cream doughnuts (The Doughnut Fix). Their doughnut shop is in an old train station where they share space with The Station House, Tris’ mom’s restaurant. And for a couple of 7th graders, they have an amazing business. People LOVE their doughnuts. But not everyone is thrilled with The Doughnut Stop. Folks who drive a long way and find the shop closed (The boys still have to go to school!) or the doughnuts sold out aren’t very happy. Tris is desperate to come up with a way to make more doughnuts faster so he can keep his customers happy.

While Tris is struggling to keep up with doughnut demand, the town of Petersville is struggling, too. More people are moving away than are moving in. The school is so small I could be closed. And Petersville is losing its post office. How will The Doughnut Stop – or The Station House and Tris’ family – survive if the town can’t bring in more people?

When Tris discovers a machine that could help him with his doughnut issues, he knows it could save the day for both The Doughnut Stop AND Petersville. Now he just needs to find $50,000 to buy one. And a reality cooking show could be his solution.

Review

Excellent! I loved this even more than I did The Doughnut Fix! All of my favorite characters are back – Tris and Josh and Tris’ family. There are lots of laugh-out-loud moments I just had to read aloud to my family. And the heart of the story was everything I love about middle grade fiction.

At its core, this is a cooking book. It’s the struggles of a food-based business. It’s a cooking reality show. And it’s the struggle for food businesses in a dwindling community. But it’s also richer than “just” those things. Tristan is a business person now. He feels that pressure and responsibility. He’s maturing. He’s also all the more aware of the things his parents are trying to shield him from. And I loved watching that dynamic unfold.

The reality show was almost a second story in the book once we established the business and town struggles. The show introduced a new cast of characters with the show runners and the other contestants. Honestly, I expected Tris to be nervous but to shine. He’d be this beacon of purity as his love of cooking overcame some of the pettiness and reality show stuff. And there were moments of that. But there were other moments of REAL turmoil. Tris wrestles with his identity – “shark” or “krill?” He wrestles with the competition aspects. And while not “perfect” in his choices, he still shines!

I highly recommend this delightful series! It’s a treat from start to finish. Includes recipes.

Rating: ♥♥♥♥♥