The main character is Pandora Carmichael who is the daughter of a tennis pro living on an estate in the Hudson Valley. She is "rich adjacent" not coming from wealth herself. She grows up among the uber-wealthy in the area and it is her life story that we uncover.
REVIEW: 3.5 stars
Writing: 3.0 stars
The writing was just okay for me. The writing just wasn't beautiful enough for me. It may partly be due to the recent book hangovers I have from some exceptional novels recently!
Character development: 3.0 stars
The character development was the weakest part of this novel. The only real character was Pandora Carmichael. Her character got weaker as the book progressed and I really disliked her by the end. There was a whole cast of characters but nothing was really learned about any of them in any great detail. There was a big plot twist that bothered me as it just didn't seem to belong in this story.
Storyline: 3.0 stars
It started out interestingly as a rags-to-riches storyline, but it went all over the place. The ending did not do it for me.
Book cover: 5.0 stars
Gorgeous!
Book title: 5.0 stars
The title was perfect!
Gut feeling: 4.0 stars
I was disappointed as the book wasn't as strong as I expected.
Suggestions:
A name index as there were so many characters and places mentioned.
RECOMMEND
INFORMATION/LINKS
The Life She Wanted by Anita Abriel
287 pages
3 days to read it (very easy read)
Read as an Amazon Prime First Reads
Release date of 07/01/2023
Happy reading,
Dorothea 💜
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This is probably about my 11th or 12th book by Beatriz Williams. She writes very unique historical fiction about periods of time that are "orphaned" or not written about much. The hot time period, WWII, has been the big time period in historical fiction lately.
This novel takes a different tack and writes about post-WWII which was a very scary time for the world. There was so much going on between the West and the Soviet Union including McCarthyism, nuclear bomb proliferation, and the rise of intense spying. Most of us here in the United States don't know much about it and I include myself in that uninformed group.
The plot of this novel is mainly about two families on an island in Long Island Sound. The rich, mainlander Peabody family and the local Winthrop family with a symbiotic relationship between the two families. The main character, Emilia AKA Cricket, is lifelong friends with the Peabody boys who live in the large manor house. Cricket's father works as a caretaker for the manor house and the Winthrop family lives in the caretaker house.
Of course, there is mystery, intrigue, and drama, OH MY!! Yes, there are many secrets including former military members, as well as the KGB, CIA, and the FBI!! Oh, and don't forget about the secrets about the mainlander "Families" as well as the local families along with the secrets between them all. Who doesn't like drama???
Again, I don't do spoilers so I don't want to give too many hints at all!!
REVIEW: 4.5 stars
Writing: 4.5 stars
The Beach at Summerly was a typical Beatriz Williams historical fiction novel. She writes so descriptively and beautifully yet her books are so easy to read. Perfect to read at the beach or by the pool!
The novel takes place in two post-WWII time periods 1946 and 1954.
There is so much mystery and some lovely plot twists which I really loved!! I did not figure out some of the spoilers which is a sign of a good book to me!
Character development: 4.5 stars
The main characters are Cricket and Olive, a relation, to the mainlander Peabody family. Olive spends the summer in the manor guest house with her three children while Cricket works for Olive taking care of the three children.
Then all of the twists and turns start after the main characters are introduced. But, we get to know the main characters Cricket and Olive very well especially with the two time periods. There are supporting characters of the Peabody and Winthrop families. All of these secondary characters are fully revealed and in some cases additional reveals in very unique ways.
Also, the island plays a tertiary role in the novel. Without the dichotomy of the mainlander and local families, there would not be drama!
Storyline: 4.5 stars
This was an obviously well-researched novel as Beatriz Williams does a great job in that area. Since it was fiction, I definitely want to learn more about this post-WWII era as I can see that there is so much that I obviously don't know!
Book cover: 4.0 stars
It was okay and conveyed the topic of the novel.
Book title: 4.0 stars
Yes, the beach at Summerly was what it was REALLY about!!
Gut feeling: 4.0 stars
I always like Beatriz Williams's novels so I wasn't disappointed.
Suggestions:
A map of the island would have been fun!
Highly RECOMMEND
INFORMATION/LINKS
The Beach at Summerly by Beatriz Williams
368 pages
5 days to read it (I couldn't put it down this afternoon)
Read it as a LAPL ebook
Release date of 06/27/2023
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5451625156
https://www.harpercollins.com/collections/william-morrow
Happy reading,
Dorothea 💜
Happy reading,
Dorothea 💜
OVERVIEW
This book is a very personal memoir by Michael J. Fox. It is his third book and his most recent. I cannot compare it to his first two books as I have not read them yet. This memoir was completed right as the pandemic was casting its ugliness across the world.
Since I recently was approved to do a "smell test" for Parkinson's Disease funded by the Michael J. Fox Foundation, I was curious about Michael J. Fox - the person. This book really takes off in his later years and has some flashbacks, but it was the more current events in his life that he was discussing.
As I said in my Goodreads review, it was a lovely book about a lovely man. He is brutally honest about his two major surgeries that happen in the book timeline including the long, long rehabilitation that he went through. But, he is grateful for it all and has a very positive attitude for someone who is living life during this Covid time, but even more so for someone who has Parkinson's Disease (PD). Michael is a person who HAS Parkinson's Disease - he is not defined by it. Yes, it does impact his life, but his attitude is wonderful. He is living his best life with gratefulness, positivity, and optimism.
I truly think that Michael and I would have a lot of fun together - he is MY kind of people.
PLEASE note that reviewing memoirs and autobiographies is difficult in my current blog format. I may need to consider something different for these types of reviews in the future.
REVIEW: 4.5 stars
Writing: 4.5 stars
No Time Like the Future was a nicely written book. I am not sure if Michael J. Fox had a ghostwriter, but his personality totally came through in the audiobook. Also, he narrated the audiobook which is so much more powerful than a professional narrator in a memoir.
Character development: 4.5 stars
With a memoir, there really is no character development, per se. But, Michael really gets into the nitty gritty of his disease, surgeries, and rehabilitation including his support team.
Storyline: 4.5 stars
As this was a memoir, it IS based on a true story - HIS. It was well done and followed a nice arc.
Book cover: 4.0 stars
I liked it very much - clean and simple.
Book title: 5.0 stars
Such a great play on words. I loved it.
Gut feeling: 4.0 stars
For some reason, I felt that I would like this memoir and Michael J. Fox. I was right!
Highly RECOMMEND
INFORMATION/LINKS
No Time Like the Future by Michael J. Fox
5 hours, 59 minutes
9 days to read it (I listened to a few chapters a night)
Read it as a LAPL (Los Angeles Public Library) ebook
Release date of 11/17/2020
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_J._Fox
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5672208971
Happy reading,
Dorothea 💜
Also, since I now use NetGalley and the LAPL for most of my books, it has to be a BIG favorite author to purchase a book. Since I read so many books each year, it used to cost me a small fortune to read my annual book reads.
Additionally, I felt so obligated to finish books that weren't working for me. I had PAID for the book and I was going to FINISH it!! So I ended up finishing a lot of books that were not a good fit for me.
Now, if I am NOT really into a specific book, there is no problem to return it. There WILL always be someone else who will enjoy the particular book!!
Life is too short to read books that are not a perfect fit for you!!
Happy reading,
Dorothea 💜
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