#contemporarywomen’sfiction – Rosepoint Publishing

After You: A Novel by Jojo Moyes #BookReview #TuesdayBookBlog #contemporarywomensfiction

Me Before You Trilogy Book 2

Award nominee

Book Blurb:

“You’re going to feel uncomfortable in your new world for a bit. But I hope you feel a bit exhilarated too. Live boldly. Push yourself. Don’t settle. Just live well. Just live. Love, Will.”

How do you move on after losing the person you loved? How do you build a life worth living?

Louisa Clark is no longer just an ordinary girl living an ordinary life. After the transformative six months spent with Will Traynor, she is struggling without him. When an extraordinary accident forces Lou to return home to her family, she can’t help but feel she’s right back where she started.

Her body heals, but Lou herself knows that she needs to be kick-started back to life. Which is how she ends up in a church basement with the members of the Moving On support group, who share insights, laughter, frustrations, and terrible cookies. They will also lead her to the strong, capable Sam Fielding—the paramedic, whose business is life and death, and the one man who might be able to understand her. Then a figure from Will’s past appears and hijacks all her plans, propelling her into a very different future. . . .

For Lou Clark, life after Will Traynor means learning to fall in love again, with all the risks that brings. But here Jojo Moyes gives us two families, as real as our own, whose joys and sorrows will touch you deeply, and where both changes and surprises await.

My Review:

Okay, I’ll say it: I’m grudgingly become a Moyes fan, though I have to say I wasn’t thrilled when she immediately followed The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek with her own version she called The Giver of Stars.

After You by Jojo Moyes — After You-UK cover

Louisa manages to fall off a multi-story building and survive with the help of hunky, single Sam. (I don’t think that’s a spoiler here as this is an aging trilogy and I’m obviously the last to read it.) She’s survived the death of Will, barely, but now lives a mundane life in a sad job with a crappie boss and stupid dress code.

“Surprise, surprise. It’s only us girls who have to work looking like porno Munchkins.”

Her family feels she didn’t do enough to rally against Will’s suicide. She can’t stop mourning and is trying to move on by going to a support group of others who’ve experienced a catastrophic loss.

“…recalling the words of the Moving On Circle. Allow yourself moments of happiness.”

Then Lily appears at her door. She presents as the daughter of Will of whom he was unaware. Estranged from her mother and the family she created after the college affair that resulted in a baby, Lily is sixteen and the epitome of a teenager. (Gees, don’t those descriptions cause flashbacks!!)

The problem is: Lou is a mess. She’s not really handling her own situation, much less caring for a petulant, difficult teenager, alienated from her mother and most everyone else in her circle. (Reminds me of another book I just read with somewhat the same plot, except it’s a boy, not a girl teenager.)

Throw in a lip-licking offer of a job in New York, something to truly salivate over, and she definitely wrestled with a few sleepless nights. How would she take care of Lily and go to NY? She couldn’t. What about Sam—where was their relationship going? Can she truly chill the mourning over Will and be ready to proceed into the next chapter of her life?

So, anyway…given the circumstances, she does the best she can—which isn’t bad really having no experience with a child of her own and in the meantime, gets a little closer to Sam. Sam is an additional problem for her as her feelings have grown stronger for him and her fears multipled with conflict regarding Will and a possible new loss.

I enjoyed the dialogue, frequently including odd bits of humor dropped in to lighten the mood: “Oh, my God,” I said. “You’re like the ultimate female fantasy. “
“Shelves,” he said, deadpan. “You need shelves.”
”Oh, baby. Keep talking.”
”And home-cooked food.”
“That’s it. I just came.”

I was beginning to love how I perceived Book 2 would close. But no, wrong again. Seems like that also happened in Book 3 for me. Not into the whole rooftop scene, trying to imagine all ages climbing those fire stairs. And then the ending? I loved the Lily thing—nice compromise, but the job and Sam thing. Kind of a let-down for me.

Was it also for you?

In typical fashion around here, I read Still Me, the third in the trilogy, before I read either the first or second. I’m thinking I still preferred Someone Else’s Shoes, released in 2023, but this book, and the two parts I read of the trilogy is sadly, oddly compelling.

Many thanks to my local library for providing me with the opportunity to read and review this book. The thoughts expressed here are my own.

Rosepoint Rating: Four Stars

Book Details:

Genre: Contemporary Women Fiction, Contemporary Women’s Fiction, Women’s Domestic Life Fiction
Publisher: Penguin Books
ISBN: 978-0698152045
ASIN: B00TY3ZKG8
Print Length: 353 pages
Publication Date: September 29, 2015
Source: Local Library

Title Link(s):

Amazon-US | Amazon-UK | Barnes & Noble | Kobo

The Author: Jojo Moyes is a novelist and journalist. Her books include the bestsellers Me Before You, After You and Still Me, The Girl You Left Behind, The One Plus One and her short story collection Paris for One and Other Stories. The Giver of Stars is her most recent bestseller and Reese Witherspoon Book Club Pick. Her novels have been translated into forty-six languages, have hit the number one spot in twelve countries and have sold over thirty-eight million copies worldwide.

Me Before You has now sold over fourteen million copies worldwide and was adapted into a major film starring Sam Claflin and Emilia Clarke. Jojo lives in Essex with her family.

#TuesdayBookBlog

Great Big Beautiful Life: Reese’s Book Club by Emily Henry #BookReview #TuesdayBookBlog

Amazon Charts #9 this week

Book Blurb:

A REESE’S BOOK CLUB PICK ∙ AN INSTANT #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER ∙ Two writers compete for the chance to tell the larger-than-life story of a woman with more than a couple of plot twists up her sleeve in this dazzling and sweeping novel from Emily Henry.

As featured in The New York Times ∙ Rolling Stone ∙ People ∙ Good Morning America ∙ NPR ∙ Vogue ∙ The Cut ∙ USA Today ∙ Cosmopolitan ∙ Harper’s Bazaar ∙ Marie Claire ∙ Glamour ∙ ELLE ∙ E! Online ∙ The New York Post ∙ Bustle ∙ Reader’s Digest ∙ BBC ∙ PopSugar ∙ SheReads ∙ Paste ∙ and more!

Alice Scott is an eternal optimist still dreaming of her big writing break. Hayden Anderson is a Pulitzer-prize winning human thundercloud. And they’re both on balmy Little Crescent Island for the same reason: to write the biography of a woman no one has seen in years—or at least to meet with the octogenarian who claims to be the Margaret Ives. Tragic heiress, former tabloid princess, and daughter of one of the most storied (and scandalous) families of the twentieth century.

When Margaret invites them both for a one-month trial period, after which she’ll choose the person who’ll tell her story, there are three things keeping Alice’s head in the game.

One: Alice genuinely likes people, which means people usually like Alice—and she has a whole month to win the legendary woman over.

Two: She’s ready for this job and the chance to impress her perennially unimpressed family with a Serious Publication.

Three: Hayden Anderson, who should have no reason to be concerned about losing this book, is glowering at her in a shaken-to-the core way that suggests he sees her as competition.

But the problem is, Margaret is only giving each of them pieces of her story. Pieces they can’t swap to put together because of an ironclad NDA and an inconvenient yearning pulsing between them every time they’re in the same room.

And it’s becoming abundantly clear that their story—just like the tale Margaret’s spinning—could be a mystery, tragedy, or love ballad . . . depending on who’s telling it.

My Review:

Why, oh why, do I get sucked in on what looks promising and a Reese’s Book Club pick to boot? I really need to research more before borrowing a book on a waiting list from the library.

So, did I learn nothing from Funny Story? Or in a hurry, remembered the author’s name and hopped on the list. And what happened with Funny Story? A Goodreads Choice Award winner for Readers’ Favorite Romance (2024). Yeah, I don’t do RomComs, but didn’t consider Great Big Beautiful Life one either. Surely, this one won’t follow the Funny Story path…please.

Great Big Beautiful Life by Emily Henry — Great Big Beautiful Life-US cover

It’s an old trope, predictable. And slow burn? Oh, honey, the first part almost had me giving up waiting for something to spark. The second part went swiftly from hate to love and between the sheets before I could even check for bed bugs. As each got more graphic, I was forced to skip read.

The FMC is all sunshine, optimism, and a chronically happy girl while hiding an unhappy childhood and a critical mother. She’s a journalist. She coulda been a contender—or something–somewhere else.

The MMC is a grump (sound familiar?). I don’t care how gorgeous he is; I wouldn’t have gotten past the first crotchety word. If he’s a world-famous author, what is she doing there anyway?

The plot with the reclusive Margaret pitting them against each other is okay, except it starts back when her ancestors emerged from a communal cave. I guess you have to have something to throw in some interest, and I can’t fault the author for her prose, sense of humor, or clichés that run rampant.

“Because even the doorknobs here are buttered,”…

The description of the locale is interesting, always gives me pangs I no longer have access to a coast, left or right. The mansion, castle, grounds where Margaret lives are amazing and I wonder if her residuals really paid for all of that. Also I learned a new word:

Unicursal. One beginning, one end. Used in this context as a meandering pathway.

It doesn’t make sense that Hayden and Alice could have any chemistry between them. Is she really that desperate? As they continue their interviews, they manage an ah ha moment or two but still swear Margaret is hiding something. Does anyone care?

Lots of pillow talk heart-to-hearts with both divulging big secrets. There’s a kind of anti-climax that eventually turns into the last twist. (Thank heaven.) But still doesn’t make sense to me. It leaves me wanting to knock their heads together.

I did enjoy some of the writing style, but nix on the biographer study or romcom. Many thanks to my library for providing me with the opportunity to read and review this book. The thoughts expressed here are my own.

Rosepoint Rating: Three Stars

Book Details:

Genre: Contemporary Women’s Fiction, Romantic Comedy
Publisher: Berkley
ISBN: 978-0593441244
ASIN: B0DGCLB3X3
Print Length: 427 pages
Publication Date: April 22, 2025
Source: Local Library

Title Link(s):

Amazon-US | Amazon-UK | Barnes & Noble | Kobo

The Author: Emily Henry is the #1 New York Times and #1 Sunday Times bestselling author of Happy Place, Book Lovers, People We Meet on Vacation, and Beach Read. She studied creative writing at Hope College, and now spends most of her time in Cincinnati, Ohio, and the part of Kentucky just beneath it. Find her on Instagram @EmilyHenryWrites.

4 Bestseller Pubs — *Wall Street Journal stopped publishing bestseller lists in Nov 2023.

Still Me: A Novel by Jojo Moyes #BookReview

Me Before You Trilogy Book 3

Best Literature & Fiction

Winner for Readers’ Favorite Fiction 2018

Book Blurb:

From the New York Times bestselling author of The Giver of Stars, discover the love story that captured over 20 million hearts in Me Before You, After You, and Still Me.

Louisa Clark arrives in New York ready to start a new life, confident that she can embrace this new adventure and keep her relationship with Ambulance Sam alive across several thousand miles. She steps into the world of the superrich, working for Leonard Gopnik and his much younger second wife, Agnes. Lou is determined to get the most out of the experience and throws herself into her new job and New York life.

As she begins to mix in New York high society, Lou meets Joshua Ryan, a man who brings with him a whisper of her past. Before long, Lou finds herself torn between Fifth Avenue where she works and the treasure-filled vintage clothing store where she actually feels at home. And when matters come to a head, she has to ask herself: Who is Louisa Clark? And how do you find the courage to follow your heart—wherever that may lead?

Funny, romantic, and poignant, Still Me follows Lou as she discovers who she is and who she was always meant to be—and learns to live boldly in her brave new world.

My Review:

I had to eat some crow in February when I read Someone Else’s Shoes having formed an opinion of the author when she immediately followed The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek by Kim Michele Richardson with her own version of the same story she called The Giver of Stars. (Someone Else’s Shoes is just plain fun and if you missed it, I’d definitely recommend.)

This book, the third in the Me Before You trilogy, is an interesting final installment. I can’t comment regarding the episode I preferred as I neither read Book 1 nor Book 2 and it might have worked better if I had.

This novel finds the MC, Louisa Clark, in New York following Nathan, her line into the home of ridiculously wealthy Leonard Gopnik. She is to be Gopnik’s wife’s assistant. His much younger wife Agnes, an immigrant, is finding it very hard to settle into the role of supportive eye candy on the arm of a rich and powerful man where she is expected to accompany him to an endless schedule of society gimmies. The ladies have tuned her out and not accepted her into their hierarchy.

She does manage to find some locals who are happy to accept her at face value, which is good when she suddenly finds herself out of a job and shelter. Where I groaned just a bit was with the local society-climbing boyfriend thing balancing act with the London-based hot paramedic guy.

While some (most?) may find the conclusion satisfying, I was less than impressed. Didn’t we all see that coming? (Including being busted for something she didn’t do?) Predictable.

What I did enjoy was the description of Manhattan, her first person view of New York, her short but unhappy reunions with Sam both here and abroad. Dialogue (including self-talk) is so believable, relationships so palpable, support characters well developed, and enjoyed the writing style. I sputtered a few times with the caustic old woman, but it certainly added spicy interest to the storyline.

Not a new one, but a favorite author of many and I’m sure fans of Jojo enjoyed this one. Yes, and I’ll continue to look for another by her as well.

I received a digital copy of this book from my local library that in no way influenced this review. These are my honest thoughts.

Rosepoint Rating: Four Stars

Book Details:

Genre: Mothers & Children Fiction, Contemporary Women’s Fiction, Women’s Domestic Life Fiction
Publisher: Penguin Books
ASIN: B073YTMMQS
Print Length: 400 pages
Publication Date: January 30, 2018
Source: Local Library

Title Link(s):

Amazon-US | Amazon-UK | Barnes & Noble | Kobo

Me Before You has now sold over fourteen million copies worldwide and was adapted into a major film starring Sam Claflin and Emilia Clarke. Jojo lives in Essex with her family.

Happy Holidays--Have a great Sunday!

Welcome Aboard by Jessie Newton, Tammy L. Grace, and six more – #BookReview – #TuesdayBookBlog

(Sail Away Series Book 1)

Book Blurb:

Set sail to new adventures and escapes with eight best-selling authors in the exciting new Sail Away series!

Pack your bags and get ready to set sail on a variety of cruise ships…all without leaving home! Experience the waves, the wind, and the call of the birds in the Sail Away series with a sneak peek of the Sail Away Series in this prologue novella. Each bestselling author will take you on a sea adventure filled with friendship, healing, some romance, and all the heartfelt storytelling you crave.

★ Don’t miss a Sail Away book! ★
Book 1: Welcome Aboard – prologue book
Book 2: The Sound of the Sea by Jessie Newton
Book 3: Uncharted Waters by Tammy L. Grace
Book 4: A Not So Distant Shore by Ev Bishop
Book 5: Caroline, Adrift by Kay Bratt
Book 6: Moonlight On the Lido Deck by Violet Howe
Book 7: The Winning Tickets by Judith Keim
Book 8: Lost At Sea by Patricia Sands
Book 9: The Last Port of Call by Elizabeth Bromke

My Review:

Yes, I thought I was finally getting in on the first book of a new series. Well, sorta, but not.

The Sail Away Series is actually made up of nine books by eight different authors and Book 1 provides the prologues to each of the books. While they are part of a series, a consistent theme, each is a stand-alone book that includes different characters, locations, and plots. The common thread, of course, is that each will result in a cruise.

Getting into the first prologue and realizing what the book consisted of, I was initially disappointed. Having read the first one, however, I was hooked, regained enthusiasm, and dove into the second prologue.

Having read the prologue though you want to continue with each and every book. They are all written by seasoned authors offering their own contemporary fiction stories with empathetic characters that quickly gains engagement.

Each story is different; the ladies are made up of different ages and circumstances. Some would prefer taking an enema rather than joining a cruise—absolutely NOT in their wheelhouse. Yet someone, or multiple love ones, see that they will go—whether or not kicking and screaming.

Some expect to find solace or peace, while others look forward to a new challenge or adventure. Something to reset their lives. The prologue provides the excitement and anticipation.

If you are feeling hesitant about signing up for nine different books, I’d urge you to take a good look at this one and then be prepared to set sail. Each of the backstories grip, set the stage, and provide the impetus for participating in the series. It’s going to be a delightful series to share on your lunch hour, on a vacation, or on your back porch enjoying the sun. It’s a fun, fast, and surprisingly entertaining Book 1. Then pack your bags.

I received a complimentary review copy of this book from one of the authors that in no way influenced this review. These are my honest thoughts.

Rosepoint Rating: Four point Five Stars

Book Details:

Genre: Family Life Fiction, Contemporary Women’s Fiction, Women’s Romance Fiction
ASIN: B09VJVBCCJ
Print Length: 126 pages
Publication Date: January 1, 2023
Source: Author contact

Title Link(s):

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo

The Authors: Jessie Newton, Tammy L. Grace, Ev Bishop, Kay Bratt, Violet Howe, Judith Keim, Patricia Sands, Elizabeth Bromke

Someone Else’s Bucket List by Amy T Matthews – #BookReview – #siblingfiction

Book Blurb:

A bingeworthy, bittersweet, sisterly P.S. I Love You for the digital age, Someone Else’s Bucket List follows shy Jodie Boyd after the untimely death of her outgoing, hugely successful Instagram influencer sister, Bree—and Bree’s last wish: that Jodie complete her bucket list. Instructed by a series of videos left by Bree, Jodie takes on the terrifying challenge as the world watches. The venture will not only change Jodie’s life, but save the family—and possibly others—from staggering medical debt. Perfect for fans of Josie Silver and Rebecca Serle.

My dying wish is for you to finish my bucket list. I refuse to die without knowing this list will be completed. And I refuse to die without knowing my family will be okay . . .

Jodie Boyd is a shy and anxious twenty-something, completely unsure what to do with her life. Her older sister, Bree, is an adventurous, globe-trotting, hugely successful Instagram influencer with more than a million followers. She’s the most alive person Jodie knows—up until Bree’s unfathomable, untimely death from Leukemia. The Boyds are devastated, not to mention overwhelmed with medical debt. But Bree thought of everything—and soon, Jodie is shocked by a new post on her sister’s Instagram feed.

The first of many Bree recorded in secret, the post foretells a jaw-dropping challenge for Jodie: to complete Bree’s very public bucket list. From “Fly over Antarctica,” to “Perform a walk-on cameo in a Broadway musical,” if Jodie does it—and keeps all Bree’s followers—a corporate sponsor will pay off the staggering medical debt. If she gains followers, the Boyds won’t be the only ones to benefit. It’s crazy. It’s terrifying. It’s impossible, immoral even, to refuse. So, despite the whole world watching, Jodie plunges in, never imagining that in death, her sister will teach her how to live, and that the last item on the list—“Fall in love”—may just prove to be the easiest.

His Review:

Bree had her life all figured out. She had prepared a bucket list of 100 things she wanted to do before she died. Climb Mount Everest, run with the bulls, learn martial arts in Brazil; yes, it was all planned out. Then, she went into the hospital with a mild case of pneumonia! What did the doctor mean, she had leukemia?! She still had too much to do on her list!

Jodie is living a predictable life until her sister’s diagnosis. She and both of her parents are working two or three jobs each to pay off the medical bills. Ryan Air steps in and offers to not only pay off the bills but help Jodie complete her sister’s bucket list. Jodie agrees to complete the list and embarks on a planned promotional trip to help rid the family of the massive debt. Jodie is less than thrilled with her commitment.

The author skillfully works through the minefield that is the endeavor to complete Bree’s bucket list. Jodie ruefully approaches each task with cameras and cell phones recording her every move. The entire task becomes morbid at times and the people tasked with recording the saga are relentless. I applaud Ms. Matthews and her rendering of this experience. It is a unique contemporary tale, gripping and entertaining, easy to become engaged. 4.5 stars – CE Williams

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with the opportunity to read and review this book. Currently on pre-order.

Rosepoint Publishing: Four point Five Stars

Book Details:

Genre: Sibling Fiction, Women’s Friendship Fiction, Contemporary Women’s Fiction
Publisher: Kensington Books
ASIN: B0BFC6RJFV
Print Length:
Publication Date: May 23, 2023
Source: Publisher and NetGalley
Title Link: Someone Else’s Bucket List [Amazon]

The Author: Amy T. Matthews is a novelist and an academic. Her new book Someone Else’s Bucket List will be out May 2023 – it’s a tear-jerking, heartwarming story of sisterly love. Amy’s first novel, End of the Night Girl, won the Adelaide Festival Unpublished Manuscript Award and was long-listed for The Australian/Vogel literary award, and short-listed for the Nita B Kibble Dobbie Award and the Colin Roderick Award. She has published short stories in collections including Best Australian Stories and co-edited three collections of short stories and poetry. Amy is Senior Lecturer and Discipline Lead in Creative Writing at Flinders University, Deputy Director of Assemblage Centre for Creative Arts, and a former Chair and long serving board member of Writers SA; she is also an Associate Member of the JM Coetzee Centre for Creative Practice.

Enjoy Your Sunday

The Gods of Sanibel by Brian Cook – #BookReview – #women’sliteraryfiction

Book Blurb:

When a woman enters the five stages of grief at the wrong end and traps herself in acceptance she must use any means, and everyone around her, to force herself backward through depression, bargaining and anger to reach denial in time to save her own life.

His Review:

Kak was running blindly toward the ocean water in front of her. Suicide was going to be the end of her depression and fruitless life. When making life-changing decisions her first impulse was to careen blindly into the great unknown. Keeping her eyes closed, she ran into a man standing near the beach. They both collapsed head over heels into the soft sand of the shore.

Ryan is wrestling with a monumental company puzzle. They had promised their employees faithfully that the company would protect them with health and life insurance for the rest of their lives. A man that had worked for the company over 43 years had asked Ryan not to discontinue the health insurance for the retirees. The move would save over a billion dollars and destroy the budgets and lives of over 67,000 former employees. They would be deprived of $2,000 dollars plus of their retirement dollars.

Kak has been betrothed to a man she could not see herself living with for the rest of her life. Yes, he was rich, well-heeled, and able to provide for her in the style most women would give their eye teeth for. What would possibly be wrong with having a loving husband who would protect and cherish her the rest of her life?

The author has developed a story that left me with more questions than answers. How could an attractive educated woman be determined to end a fairy tale life in favor of suicide? The doctors gave her anti-depressants to combat her dreary outlook, but she saw them as a way to quietly give up life. Mixed into this tale are entreaties to Greek gods and the contradictions they represented in mythology. This adds a real color commentary to the view of a tragic life! 4.5 stars – CE Williams

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with the opportunity to read and review this book.

Rosepoint Publishing: Four point Five Stars

Book Details:

Genre: Women’s Literary Fiction, Contemporary Literary Fiction, Contemporary Women’s Fiction
ASIN: B09LH7YCTT
Print Length: 349 pages
Publication Date: November 9, 2021
Source: Author request
Title Link: The Gods of Sanibel [Amazon]

Brian Cook - author — Brian Cook – author

The Author: The son of a government weapons tester and a pediatric nurse, Cook grew up thinking about the interweaving narrative of destruction and compassion that exists within us all. He lives with his two sons in Indiana. The Gods of Sanibel is his first novel.