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Jami:
In the weirdest year that most of us can remember, it’s wonderful that we still had the escape of reading…
Rodham, Curtis Sittenfeld’s reimagination of Hillary Rodham Clinton’s life if she’d never married Bill. Written in first person, the voice sounds so amazingly like Hillary, it will make her fans ache all over again for what might have been.
In Five Years, Rebecca Serle. The day after accepting her boyfriend’s proposal, Dannie wakes up five years in the future with a different man and a different ring. An hour later, she’s back in the present. Just a dream? Then why does Dannie’s BFF Bella show up with this same man on her arm? The plot sounds familiar, but the book goes in a completely different direction. It’s moving and heartbreaking and stayed with me for a long time after I put it down.
Pretending, Holly Bourne. The opening chapter of Pretending had me laughing out loud, bringing back happy memories of the first Bridget Jones book. But April is not Bridget, and Pretending is a much harder read than Bridget.
Lainey Cameron’s debut novel, The Exit Strategy. In a genre that often hints that the most important thing a woman can do in her life is choose the right man, it’s a relief to read a book where the women put themselves first.
Lian Dolan’s The Sweeney Sisters. If you miss those great Nancy Meyers rich people rom-coms, with the beach settings and the clothes and the houses with amazing kitchens, this book may be right up your alley.
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| Photo by Brenda Mallory |
Sophie Sullivan is a Canadian author as well as a cookie-eating, Diet Pepsi-drinking, Disney enthusiast who loves reading and writing romance in almost equal measure. She writes around her day job as a teacher and spends her spare time with her sweet family watching reruns of Friends. Ten Rules for Faking It is her romcom debut novel, but she's had plenty of practice writing happily ever after as her alter ego, Jody Holford.
As a realtor who recently divorced and remarried, I was keen to pick up Back on the Market (A Realtor’s Guide to Love and Life) by Holly Parker, an extremely successful New York City broker who had words of wisdom on both subjects. Published by Forefront books, a Simon & Schuster company that marries self and traditional publishing for high-profile businesspeople, Back on the Market notes the similarities between marketing a house for sale and marketing a person for a relationship, based on Parker’s personal and professional life.
Parker seems like a go-getter right from the start. Reconnecting with and quickly marrying a childhood acquaintance, she moves from Boston to New York City and starts her real estate career all over again. Since success in real estate seems directly correlated with how many people you know, I was really interested to learn how she rebuilt her connections to become as successful as she is. Unfortunately, there’s only a brief allusion to getting early to the office every morning. Whatever else she did to generate her $500 million in sales a year goes undescribed.
The marriage falls apart about eight years later, and much of the book is spent with Parker rebuilding her own self-image from the blow that delivered. She sees herself as a house no one wants, using real estate terms such as “out of contract” and “as is” to make the comparisons. Clearly, she was absolutely crushed by the death of her marriage, and it took a lot of time and hard work to dig herself out of that emotional hole. At the same time, she was able to stay in her expensive NYC apartment and go on glamourous international vacations. With nearly eighty percent of divorced women experiencing a significant drop in income and lifestyle after divorce, Parker’s rebuilding techniques may be hard for other divorced women to identify with.
The book is at its best when Parker couples general ideas about real estate and emotional rebuilding with anecdotes about her clients. Buying and selling in New York City has unique requirements and language—coop boards, the “classic six”—that make the real estate game there more challenging than anywhere else in the country. When she finally meets the man she eventually marries, she doesn’t offer too many details, leaving her happily ever after mostly to the readers’ imagination.
Parker is a charming writer, a hard worker and seems like a terrific friend. Reading the book is a bit like watching an HGTV show and wondering about the private lives of the realtor and featured buyers and sellers. The book’s biggest drawback is that Parker chronicles events that happened to her about fifteen years ago. Back on the Market, a guide to love and real estate, never mentions the two biggest dot coms in those games—Match and Zillow. When you can find love and a new condo without ever leaving your computer chair, new rules are created and the old no longer apply.
Thanks to Elise Silvestri Productions for the book in exchange for an honest review.
"Sometimes a cute random can turn into the love of your life."
Leia and Tarquin are both inside a London big box store when the lights go out. In Jacquelyn Middleton's new novel SAY HELLO, KISS GOODBYE (KirkwallBooks) they have a meet cute once the lights are back on. They're both smitten but very standoffish. Trust me, that won't be for long. They get to know every inch of each other very well. Tarquin wants to give Leia his number, but gives her his friend Simon's number instead.
Leia is a Canadian visiting her sister from her home base, Brooklyn, New York. She's a dressmaker and her company, "Frill-Seekers" is on the verge of success. Tarquin is part of one of Britain's richest families, but he doesn't behave with any attitude. He goes over to Simon's workshop and invites Leia out. They are both fresh off very hurtful relationships and don't want anything serious. The date turns into the best sex either one has ever had. Tarquin opens up to Leia about his depression and she can relate but doesn't tell him. She extends her trip, but eventually has to go home. They agree that neither one can do long distance, so they call it quits, or do they?
SAY HELLO, KISS GOODBYE is about sharing secrets, trusting your instincts and ultimately embracing the courage to be yourself. I liked both of the main characters, Leia and Tarquin. They are compelling, relatable and their love is true. We've all had our own first dates and know what a disaster that can be or surprise magic. SAY HELLO, KISS GOODBYE is filled with diverse side characters that all have their own distinct humor. But in addition to being a sexy rom-com, SAY HELLO, KISS GOODBYE includes a serious message.
We've been running a column series to get more personal with our readers. This month we're talking about holiday traditions.
We're always open to topic suggestions, so please don't hesitate to share those in the comments. We'd also love to know if you can relate to anything we've said or hear your own thoughts on the topic. So don't be shy. :) We look forward to getting to know you as much as we're letting you get to know us. You can find our previous columns here, in case you missed them.
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| My daughter took this picture |
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| New Year's Eve two years ago |
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| Christmas pic from when my teenager was little |
