I Can See You by Karen Rose

Flap copy from hardcover:
"Eve Wilson's face was once scarred by a vicious assault. Terrified and ashamed, she escaped to the online realm, where she could choose the face she allowed people to see. Years later, her outer scars faded and inner scars buried, Eve has fought her way back to the real world and is determined to help others do the same. Now a graduate student moonlighting as a bartender, Eve researches the addictive powers of online communities. When her test subjects begin turning up dead as a result of apparent suicides, she doesn't know where to turn.

Homicide detective Noah Webster is one of the few people who believe the victims are connected murders. Eve becomes Noah's online guide and realizes that the handsome detective may have secret scars as painful as her own. As Eve and Noah chase a killer who is always one step ahead of them, together they try to overcome the tragedies of their pasts and learn to trust again, but they soon discover that danger is much closer than they think."

Wow- this latest offering from Karen Rose was an excellent romantic thriller, one that kept me involved and guessing until the very end. Reading this book, I was reminded of vintage Iris Johansen- fully drawn characters, exciting romance coupled with great action, and suspense that builds throughout the story. Eve and Noah were enjoyable and relatable characters surrounded by a supporting cast of inter-related friends and family that should provide for a nice ongoing series of connected books. Highly recommended- 5 stars.

The Chocolate Lover's Club by Carole Matthews

Flap copy from paperback:
"Some women are addicted to shopping; others can't get enough of champagne. But there's one thing that Lucy Lombard can't live without, and that's chocolate - rich, creamy, delicious chocolate. Sharing her passion are three other addicts: Autumn, Nadia and Chantal. Together they form a select group known as the Chocolate Lovers' Club. Whenever there's a crisis, they meet in their sanctuary, a cafe called Chocolate Heaven, and with a cheating boyfriend, a flirtatious boss, a gambling husband, and a loveless marriage, there's always plenty to discuss ... The Chocolate Lovers' Club brings together four unforgettable women from totally different worlds united in their passion for chocolate."

This book sounded like the perfect light read for my vacation- a tight group of friends bonding over exotic chocolates and tales of woe should be an automatic chick-lit home run. Unfortunately, this book was more a swing and a miss to me because the main protagonist Lucy was clearly more caricature than character.

I would like to believe that no self-respecting young woman would truly be so proud of her ability to stick with a serial cheater of a boyfriend. I would like to believe no self-respecting young woman would be so proud of her absolute inability to perform any of the basic functions of her employment. I would like to believe no self-respecting young woman wants to read and sympathize with so vapid and annoying a main character.

It was a real shame to me that Lucy was so stereotypical and idiotic a character, because the problems faced by the other women in the book rang true and could have elevated this book above the fray if they hadn't been constantly undermined by clumsy babbling irritating Lucy.

A disappointing 2.5 stars.

The Castaways by Elin Hilderbrand

Flap description from hardcover:
"On the timy island of Nantucket, everybody's business is everyone's business. When the charming, talented music teacher Greg MacAvoy shares a rainy Sunday night with the beautiful high school senior April Peck, rumors swarm the island like tourists on Memorial Day. The stories strain Greg's marriage, and his wife Tess is torn between her love for her husband and a secret of her own. With their anniversary approaching, the MacAvoys head out on their sailboat to celebrate, hoping the roughest waters are behind them.

But instead comes heartbreaking news: Greg and Tess have mysteriously drowned, leaving behind two small children. Their closest friends- the Kapenashes, Drakes, and Wheelers- are devastated. For as long as anyone can remember, the four couples have vacationed and celebrated together, confided in and depended on one another. But tragedy brings long simmering conflicts and emotions to the surface. The six friends, upended by grief and denial, set out to answer the question: What happened to Greg and Tess MacAvoy?

This was an excellent offering by a talented author, one that explored the tough issues of love and loss and redemption through the eyes of a disparate cast of characters. Though we never meet Greg and Tess MacAvoy, they loom large over the narrative as their characters are revealed in snippets of memories. Each of the six main characters in The Castaways have a different vision of Tess and Greg, and only by combining all those different versions do their true personalities unfold.

Well-written and deftly rendered, this story of adult relationships between friends, families, spouses and exes reflects the complicated reality of today's world. I was most impressed by the pacing of the various revelations and quality of the ending. I found the novel engaging and difficult to put down once I started. This is a must-read for the summer season. Highly recommended- 5 strong stars!

Moonlight in Odessa by Janet Skeslien Charles

Flap copy from ARC:
"Odessa, Ukraine, is the humor capital of the former Soviet Union, but in an upside-down world where waiters earn more than doctors and Odessans depend on the Mafia for basics like phone service and medical supplies, no one is laughing. After months of job hunting, Daria, a young engineer, finds a plum position at a foreign firm as a secretary. But every plum has a pit. In this case, it’s Mr. Harmon, who makes it clear that sleeping with him is job one. Daria evades Harmon’s advances by recruiting her neighbor, the slippery Olga, to be his mistress. But soon Olga sets her sights on Daria’s job.

Daria begins to moonlight as an interpreter at Soviet Unions(TM), a matchmaking agency that organizes “socials” where lonely American men can meet desperate Odessan women. Her grandmother wants Daria to leave Ukraine for good and pushes her to marry one of the men she meets, but Daria already has feelings for a local. She must choose between her world and America, between Vlad, a sexy, irresponsible mobster, and Tristan, a teacher nearly twice her age. Daria chooses security and America. Only it’s not exactly what she thought it would be..."

I really wanted to like this book which has such an interesting premise and started out strong. Daria is a great character, and I felt truly invested in her struggles and her life in Odessa. The descriptions of trying to work in the post-Soviet era Ukraine are hysterical. The entire mail-order bride business is both amusing and tragic, and is very well depicted in this novel.

Unfortunately, once Daria makes a choice about how she wants to live her life, my interest in the book rapidly waned. Daria immediately lost all of the vivacity and humor that made her such an interesting character, and without a strong character interestd to drive it, the narrative petered out. I feel like this was two different novels- one a lighthearted chick-lit offering with set in Odessa, the other a darker look at the questionable world of international mail order brides. Either book as a stand-alone tale would have been an enjoyable read, but the combination here weakened the impact of story.

Lucky Girl by Mei-Ling Hopgood

Flap Copy from hardcover:
"Mei-Ling Hopgood was an all-American girl. She grew up in the midwest, was a high school pom-pom girl, studies journalism at the University of Missouri, and become a reporter for a Michigan newspaper. She wasn't really curous about her Asian roots, though she new she was adopted. Then one day, when she was in her twenties, her birth family from Taiwan came calling- on the phone, on the computer, by fax- in a language she didn't understand. The Wangs wanted to meet her; they wanted her to return home.

As her sisters and parents pulled her into their lives, claiming her as one of their own, Mei-Ling fell in love with them. But this unexpected reunion has a price. She uncovers the devastating secrets that haunt them to this day as she attempts to understand the hard choices of her birth mother."

This well-written and sometimes painfully honest memoir was an excellent read that I highly recommend. I was touched by Mei-Ling's situation growing up as part of a blended family, trying to create an identity independent of her ehtnicity. When she is confronted with the opportunity to learn more about her birth family, I was impressed by her original attitude and yet concerned that it might all go terribly wrong. The story of that meeting and the relationship Mei-Ling eventually forges with her sisters is extraordinary given the language barriers and the sad tale of her actual adoption.

I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who has adopted or been adopted from overseas, or anyone who is thinking about an international adoption. Though I have no personal experience with adoption, I thoroughly enjoyed this memoir and believe it has a wide appeal.

Knight of Desire by Margaret Mallory

Flap description from ARC:
"His surcoat still bloody from battle, William FitzAlan comes to claim the strategic borderlands granted to him by the king. One last prize awaits him at the castle gates: the lovely Lady Catherine Rayburn.

Catherine risked everything to spy for the crown. Her reward? Her lands are declared forfeit and she is given this choice: marry FitzAlan or be taken to the Tower. Catherine agrees to give her handsome new husband her body, but she's keeping secrets and dares not give him her heart.

As passion ignites and danger closes in, Catherine and William must learn to trust in each other to save their marriage, their land, and their very lives."

This well-written debut novel was a joy to read, and introduces a wonderful new voice to the historical genre. William and Catherine share an interesting, though convoluted, connection and their interactions are the solid base that carries the rest of the plot. I enjoyed the pacing and the love story, though felt some of the more interesting elements of William and Catherine's backstories called for greater exposition, as did the important betrayal the served as such a central plot device.

All in all, a great read especially for a debut novel. I definitely look forward to future offerings from this new author. Highly recommended!

Gifts of War by Mackenzie Ford

Flap copy from ARC:
"During the Christmas Truce of 1914, a German gives a British soldier a photo, and they make a pact. Hal, the British soldier, promises to find his enemy's English girlfriendm Sam, and let her know her fiance is alive and thinking of her. Several weeks later, Hal- now injured- is discharged from the amry and goes to Stratford-upon-Avon to fulfill his promise. But things take an unexpected turn when he meets the woman in the photo and falls in love with her himself. As their romance blossoms, Sam shares with Hal her most private confidence: her newborn son is of German lineage, information at threatens her reputation and her job as a schoolteacher. Fearful that he will lose Sam, Hal holds tight to the secret- and the photograph- that brought them together."

This book is a hard one to review because it is hard to capture exactly what makes it so very good. No question the book is well-written and historically accurate- not a surprise given that the writer is an historian by profession. More importantly, the characters really breathe and live through the pages of the book; once I started reading, I had a hard time putting this book down. Hal and Sam are both sympathetic characters with realistic flaws, working hard to carve out a life in a time of personal and global turmoil.

I've never read much fiction centered around WWI, and was impressed by Ford's ability to convey the horror of that war with spare prose that highlighted the futility of trench warfare. The secondary characters of Hal and Sam's family added depth and pathos to the narrative; it is difficult to see imagine the story working as well if any were eliminated. There were no wasted words or scenes; every element advanced the plot in some essential way. No spoilers here, but the denouement was simultaneously satisfying and yet disappointing- truly a fitting end to this tale of romance, deceit, war and loss. Highly recommended!

Hollywood is Like High School with Money by Zoey Dean

Flap copy from ARC:
"Twenty-four-year-old Taylor Henning has just landed her dream job as an assistant at a major movie studio. But when her catty co-workers trick her into almost getting fired, she realizes that the old saying "Hollywood is like high school with money" may just be true. The thing is, Taylor wasn't exactly a social butterfly in high school- how is she supposed to do any better the second time around?

That's when she meets her boss's popular sixteen-year-old daughter, Quinn, and has an epiphany: maybe this teenager can teach her how to use her queen bee tactics to succeed in the Hollywood popularity contest. Quinn comes up with a plan to teach Taylor one lesson a week - everything from "fake it 'til you make it" to "it's never your fault" - and soon Taylor finds herself winning the war against rival assistant Kylie. Until that is, she's directed to steal Kylie's boyfriend, and something happens that's not in the game plan: Taylor falls for the guy. Now she must do the impossible- harness her inner mean girl while staying true to herself."

I have to say that I originally thought this book would be another knock-off of The Devil Wears Prada- I was delighted to find that in fact Taylor's boss was a wonderful employer, not a psycho. Of course, her assistant is a psycho, but I can much more readily understand accepting that dynamic of hostility than I can working for someone insane.

The book was funny and the scenarios rang true for assistants. Taylor was not the most sympathetic of characters, but I was invested in her story and thought it unfolded well. Though this book did rely on some fairly improbable coincidences, and I certainly think the roommate was way quirkier than necessary, overall the book rose above others in the genre because of quality writing and an interesting premise. Definitely a good summer read.

The Lost Chalice by Vernon Silver

Flap description from ARC:
"Spanning 2,500 years and moving from a Trojan War battlefield to an Athens pottery workshop to an Italian crypt, and involving tomb robbers, smuggles, a Hollywood producer, and a Texas billionaire, The Lost Chalice is a real life adventure story involving the search for an ancient masterpiece missing for more than a decade. Created by Euphronios, an artist renowned as the Leonardo da Vinci of ancient Greece, the chalice disappeared in 1990 after an anonymous European dealer outbid the Metropolitan Museum of Art in an auction at Sotheby's.

The Lost Chalice uses a high-profile crime to open a window onto Italian history, culture, and life. THe cup's tale mirrors the life story of a mysterious contemporary dealer who made a fortune trading in antiquities- including the chalice- supplying the world's greatest museums and rich collectors with artifacts from archaeological sites. The Maserati-driving art dealer holds the key to finding and saving the lost cup, but the discovery of the chalice's fate reveals another riddle- and an even greater missing treasure."

This book tracking the discovery, purchase, loss and rediscovery of ancient Greece vases through the murky world of tomb robbers and black-market art dealers paints a facinating picture of the modern world of museum acquisition. This book is a wonderful and engaging detective story, one that traces the journey of the famous Euphronios krater from its theft from an underground tomb in the Italian countryside to a permanent display at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in NY.

For anyone interested in archaeology, antiquities, or the underground world of museum acquisition, this book is a must read. The writing is crisp and the author's curiosity about the subject matter shines through and helps to draw in readers unfamiliar with the case. The book is non-fiction, but is as easy to read and understand as any novel- the uninitiated will find nothing to scare them off in this narrative. Highly recommended!

Escape Under the Forever Sky by Eve Yohalem

Flap copy from hardcover:
"You'd think that being the daughter of the American ambassador would be one adventure after another, right? Wrong.

Thirteen-year-old Lucy Hoffman never gets to see anything beyond the walls of the embassy compound. All she can do is read about the exotic and exciting world outside and imagine what it would be like to be a part of it.

Until she gets kidnapped.

All alone in the Ethiopian wild, Lucy must use her knowledge of African animal life along with her inventiveness, will, and courage to escape and find her way to freedom."

This book was an enjoyable read that did paint a vibrant picture of Africa and gave some hint of the challenges that face that magnificent continent. Lucy is an engaging heroine who will certainly capture the hearts of young adult readers. She narrates with a clear voice that perfectly captures the trials and petulance of an average 13-year old; sometimes she is a mini-adult and sometimes a child crying for her parents. The other characters in the book are much less faceted than Lucy, perhaps not surprisingly given that most of the narrative focuses on Lucy and her solo journey.

The weakness for me lay in the details; I was originally drawn to this book because of my experiences at overseas embassies, so I was extremely disappointed by the glaring inaccuracies related to that part of the narrative. In my opinion, it wouldn't have taken much research to get details about the Marines and embassy security correct; having so many errors in that central part of the plot undermined the story for me. I also feel there was no real resolution to the kidnapping, no sufficient explanation for the reasons behind it. The book is short, so fleshing out those details wouldn't have added much heft and would have strenghtened the story.

Secrets to Happiness by Sarah Dunn

Flap copy from hardcover:
"Holly Frick has just endured the worst kind of breakup: the kind where you're still in love with the person leaving you. While her wounds are still dangerously close to the surface, her happily married best friend confesses over a bottle of wine that she is this close to having an affair. And another woman asks Holly for advice about her love life--with one of Holly's exes!

Holly decides that if everyone around her can take pleasure wherever they find it, so will she. As any self-respecting thirtyish New York woman would do, she brings two males into her life: a flawed but endearing dog, and a good-natured, much younger lover. She's soon entangled in a web of emails, chance meetings, and misguided good intentions and must forge an entirely new path to Nirvana."

Though I thought this book would be a fairly typical example of the chick-lit genre, I was pleased to discover it was much edgier and funnier than expected. Holly is not your typical heroine, and can in fact be quite annoying at times. Her interactions with the dog Chester unexpectedly make her much more a character than a characterization, and make this novel stronger. Best friend Amanda is easy to dislike, and though I thought her actions could have been more fully fleshed out while the story developed, at the end I was more satisfied with the outcome than I had anticipated.

This was a good book, well-written, funny, emotionally truthful, and if I had written this review the moment I finished the book, it probably would have received 4 stars. I'm giving it 3.5 now because although I finished the book just a few days ago, I have a hard time calling to mind any specifics about the plot without referring to the text. Since I generally have no problem remembering specifics of books I read months (or even years) ago, I was disappointed that this novel left so little impression despite its positive qualities. A enjoyable but ultimately forgetful read; 3.5 stars.

Mercury in Retrograde by Paula Froelich

Book description:
"Penelope Mercury, an intrepid reporter at the New York Telegraph, has pounded the pavement for five years from city borough to borough, carrying out her boss's eccentric orders to break stories that seem inconsequential to everyone but him. Finally, she is inches away from being promoted to her dream job -- covering courtroom drama for the paper -- but after one spectacularly disastrous day, she is fired instead.

Lena "Lipstick Carcrash" Lipp encrass has a pretty fabulous life, even by a socialite's standards, as a top editor at the high fashion magazine Y. Long lunches with her girlfriends and afternoons spent shopping at Bergdorf's are all in a day's work. But when Lena's always indulgent parents abruptly cut off her cash flow and kick her out of her beloved West Village duplex for refusing to work for the family business, she is forced to confront the reality of what it takes to pay the bills.

Dana Gluck, a workaholic lawyer, had been married for two years to a man who was perfect on paper but increasingly critical in reality. She hoped that her dreams of motherhood would be fulfilled soon, which surely would also fix their marriage problems. Instead, her husband leaves her for an exchange student/model who, to make matters worse, promptly gets pregnant.

When fate conspires to have these three very different women move into the same SoHo apartment building, they soon discover that having their carefully planned lives fall to pieces might be the best thing that could have ever happened to them. "

I admit I was surprised by how engaging I found this book; though it does center on the lives of three young women in NY, it was certainly not your standard chick-lit offering. All three main characters are complex and watching them work through their personal and professional crises made for an excellent read. Froelich herself seems to understand the possible limitations of the genre, and injects sufficient warmth and humor into the novel to help it rise above the pack. Though I admit everything does wrap up nicely in a bow at the end, I never felt the urge to roll my eyes as the various plotlines sorted themselves so neatly, a testament to Froelich's strong writing and ability to make the reader empathize with the characters. Highly enjoyable!

Brooklyn by Colm Toibin

Flap copy from ARC:
"Eilis Lacey has come of age in small-town Ireland in the years following WWII. Though skilled at bookkeeping, she cannot find a job in the miserable Irish economy. When an Irish priest from Brooklyn offers to sponsor Eilis in America- to live a work in a Brooklyn nighborhood "just like Ireland"- she decides she must go, leaving her fragile mother and her charismatic sister behind.

Eilis finds work in a department store on Fulton Stret, and when she least expects it, finds love. Tony, a blond Italian from a big family, slowly wins her over with patient charm. He takes Eilis to Coney Island and Ebbets Field, and home to dinner in the two-room apartment he shares with his brothers and parents. He talks of having children who are Dodgers fans. But just as Eilis begins to fall in love with Tony, devastating news from Ireland threatens the promise of her future."

As the daughter of an Irish immigrant, I picked up this book hoping for another perspective on the immigrant experience, a hope that was more than met by this extraordinary novel. As Eilis' story unfolds, the reader is able to see her grow and change as she learns some of the lessons that Brooklyn has to teach. I was delighted that the borough itself was so obviously a character in the story, exerting its own personality and influence both on Eilis and on the reader.

I heard Colm Toibin read from the book and talk about the experience of writing it- the starting point was a story he heard in his youth, a snippet of conversation that stuck in his head until this book was written. He perfectly captures the confusion and homesickness of a young girl uprooted from all she has ever known, and lovingly documents her gradual transformation into womanhood. This quiet tale will stick with you; though the novel itself was a quick read, the story and Eilis' final choice linger long after the book is completed. Definitely a must read!

East of the Sun by Julia Gregson

Flap copy from paperback:
"As the Kaisar-i-Hindi weighs anchor for Bombay in the autumn of 1928, its passengers ponder their fate in a distant land. They are part of the "Fishing Fleet"- the name given to the legions of Englishwomen who sail to India each year in search of husbands, heedless of the life that awaits them. The inexperiences chaperone Viva Halloway has been entrusted to watch over three unsettling charges. There's Rose, as beautiful as she is naive, who plans to marry a cavalry officer she has met a mere handful of times. Her bridesmaid, Victoria, is hell-bent on losing her virginity en route before finding a husband of her own. And shadowing them all is the malevolent prescence of a disturbed schoolboy named Guy Glover."

This powerful historical novel follows the lives of three British women travel to India in the late 1920: Rose, engaged to a handsome cavalry officer she barely knows; Tor, determined to find a husband of her own to escape a loveless home in England; and Viva, an impoverished orphan returning to the country of her birth in search of answers. As these women set out on their individual paths, they confront personal and political challenges that reshape the courses of their lives and forge unbreakable bonds between them.

This was a truly wonderful novel that painted a vivid portrait of India in the last years of the British Raj. Extremely well-written, this novel managed to track a complicated cast of characters through an even more complicated world. The three women start out as almost stereotypical figures, but as the story unfolds so too do the depths of their characters. By the end of the novel, these women truly live and breathe.

I highly recommend this excellent addition to the historical fiction genre.

Mating Rituals of the North American WASP by Lauren Lipton

Flap copy:
New Yorker Peggy Adams is upset when she wakes up next to a strange man after a night in Las Vegas she can't remember...but she's horrified when she discovers she has married him! Luke Sedgwick is WASP royalty, the last of the New Nineveh, Connecticut, Sedgwicks. He might also have been perfect, if Peggy weren't already "pre-engaged" to her live-in boyfriend (with a promise ring to prove it). Peggy and Luke agree to get an annulment ASAP—and then receive an offer they can't refuse.

Luke's eccentric Great-aunt Abigail offers the two the chance to make millions on the family estate: All they have to do is stay married for a year. Peggy is soon pretending to be one-half of the perfect couple among New England's WASPy set on the weekends, while keeping her marriage a secret in New York during the week. But she isn't prepared for what might be her worst mistake of all: Falling in love with her soon-to-be ex-husband.

OK, so the plot falls nicely into the realm of "only in a chick lit book", and most of the confusion and conflict in the book could have been eliminated if the Luke and Peggy simply had an open and honest conversation about anything at all- I enjoyed this book regardless. Great-Aunt Abigail was a wonderful character, one whose poignant characterization helped carry this book to a four star rating. Lipton's writing is wonderful and at times the book is laugh-out-loud funny. A great escapist fantasy about why what happens in Vegas doesn't always stay in Vegas, this book should be a must-read for your summer vacation.