The Opposite of Maybe by Maddie Dawson

The Opposite of Maybe is an ARC that arrived in the mail.  I wasn't sure if I'd like it, but I knew part of it focused on a male caregiver to a curmudgeonly woman of 88, and in today's world with people living longer, care giving is something most people have to face at some point.

Rosie's grandmother Soapie has hired a young man to live in, fix drinks, and when necessary, pick her up when she falls.  Works fine for Soapie, but Rosie is not so pleased.

Then Jonathan, Rosie's partner, decides that after living with Rosie for 15 years, it is time to get married.  Right before they move to California so Jonathan and his new business partner can open their tea cup museum.  Yep.  Jonathan is obsessed with tea cups.

Rosie, worried about leaving Soapie and uncertain about the tea cup museum, tries to plan a wedding and a move across country in a matter of weeks.  But then....

The Opposite of Maybe falls into that genre referred to as chic lit.  There is some fun and yet, there are several serious issues at stake; there is a little romance; there are some interesting characters.  All in all, I ended up enjoying this little novel.  Yes, it is predictable, but there is also humor,  compassion, and soul-searching about what the characters want out of life.  A light, but entertaining read, and you can't help but love Tony Cavaletti.


Fiction.  April.  2014.  402 pages.

The Rose Garden by Susanna Kearsley

The Rose Garden  is both a time travel novel and chic lit.  As much as I love the idea of time travel, I find a lot of fantastical things --magic, fairies, and colonies in outer space-- much easier to accept.  For some reason, I always quibble with time travel.  Not when I read about the possibilities that quantum mechanics hypothesizes; I'm ready to entertain the real possibility, but I find fictional accounts impossible to reconcile.

I liked the setting and liked the characters (almost too many characters were very likable).  If the Cornish smugglers felt a little gentlemanly for their trade, that was OK, too.  And if so many romances worked out well, I can enjoy a few happy endings once in a while.

However, likable as some of the characters are, they felt like placeholders, and the romances were a bit conveniently coincidental. The time travel simply had too many discrepancies--or too few "logical" explanations.

Go ahead and make up a "logical" explanation for what causes the slippage, for the differences in the amount of time spent in past and present, for the arrival in a particular period or location--something more than the house being built on ley lines--and maybe I could suspend my disbelief.

I had no problem reading it, no place that I wanted to walk away without finishing, but neither was it a particularly memorable experience.

Fiction.  Chic Lit.  2011.  430 pages.

Ten Beach Road by Wendy Wax

Ten Beach Road is an ARC sent to me by Joan Schulhafer and a great little beach read.  It is definitely chic lit, but one that I enjoyed.

When Malcolm Dwyer's Ponzi scheme falls apart, the victims include three women from different backgrounds who find themselves left with nothing but shared ownership in an old mansion in desperate need of repair.  The setting is a beautiful Florida beach, but the magnificent house is in no condition to bring the deserved asking price.

The new co-owners meet to view the house and discuss what they can do to re-coup a little of their lost savings.  Strangers to each other, they finally take advice that includes them camping out in the mansion and doing much of the repairs themselves.  As the three throw themselves into the hard, sweaty work of restoring Bella Flora to its original beauty, they develop skills and endurance that they didn't know they had.  And their growing friendship surprises them all as they become a strong support system for each other.

Madeline Singer's husband has lost everything in the Ponzi scheme and his job as well.  His depression leads him to the couch and avoidance of any effort to recover, so Madeline is the one who must make the attempt.

Avery Lawford, part of a husband/wife team with a television show focusing on home remodeling, finds herself forced out of the show.  Having already opted out of the marriage, she has depended on the inheritance from her father to see her through, but her father was also a victim of the scheme, and Avery has no back-up finances.

Nicole Grant, owner of a successful match-making company, also finds that she has lost everything, and while she has no experience with the kind of mundane world that will be hers as she toils through the heat, humidity, and grime of house restoration, she, too, does her best.

There are some secrets that will eventually come to light, but the story isn't a mystery, it is about the relationships, successes, and failures that all three encounter during their months at Bella Flora.

If you are headed on vacation or just want a book to help combat the heat, Ten Beach Road will fill the bill, taking you away to a lovely location where others do all the hard work.

Fiction.  Chic Lit.  2011.  404 pages.

Balancing Acts

Fishman, Zoe.  Balancing Acts.

I actually read this in March, but the book tour schedule is for April 5.  The story covers a 6 week span in the lives of 4 friends who attended college together and unexpectedly reunite at a college get together.

Charlie has recently opened a yoga studio and recruits the other three for a 6 week beginner class on Saturdays.  Each of the young women undergoes substantial changes as a result of their renewed friendships.

Fiction.  Chic Lit.  2010. 365 pages.

Light of the Moon

Rice, Luanne. Light of the Moon. I wasn't familiar with the author and was interested because the novel deals with the white horses of the Carmarque. Susannah Connolly, the main character, is also an anthropologist...another point of interest. Turned out to be more Chic Lit. Sappy.

However, watch this video if you want to see why the white horses and their riders fascinate me.



Fiction. Chic Lit. 2008. 386 pages.

The Pajama Girls of Lambert Square

Lippi, Rosina. The Pajama Girls of Lambert Square.

6 words: Chic Lit. Predictable. A beach read?

O.K. So I liked the title, the idea of a small Southern town with quirky characters, the idea of a shop named Cocoon that sells antique and luxury linens and where the owner and her employees wore pajamas to work, and the idea of a Scrivener's, "an odd little shop that specializes in collectible pens."

A light little time-waster that has you making many critical remarks in your head while you continue to read.

Fiction. Chic Lit. 2008. 351 pages.

Late Night Talking

Schnur, Leslie. Late Night Talking.

6 word synopsis: Sterling Behavior? Radio host seeks love.

I found this little novel annoying. Jeannie Sterling hosts a late night radio talk show where she, her co-host, and listeners vent about poor behavior. Two love interests, self-involvement, bad behavior (she keys his car- huh? a grown woman who professes to be the arbiter of good behavior?).

Ooops. Another one for which I am the lone dissenting voice. After checking the Amazon reviews, it appears I would be the only one to give the book less than 4 or 5 stars. I might have given it 2.

Fiction. ARC. Chic Lit. 2007. 308 pages.