#TheMessyLifeofJaneTanner #NetGalley
Before Covid I had never read a book by Brenda Novak. I then read One Perfect Summer and found that I could finally sit down and enjoy a book. Since then, I have read a number of Ms. Novak’s novels. Each has good characters, enough plot to keep the pages turning and generally nice resolutions of the story. All of that is again true here.
In this novel readers meet the Jane of the title. Life has not been going exactly according to plan for her. She is not living where she wants to, she has responsibilities, she wants to be a mom but it hasn’t happened and so on. What will happen when she interacts with her sister’s ex? Will her life become less messy by the end of this story? Find out in this book.
Note that this is a title in a trilogy. So, if you enjoy spending time with Jane look for the other titles. They are Talulah’s Back in Town and The Talk of Coyote Canyon.
Many thanks to NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for this title. All opinons are my own.
Pub date: 20 February 2024
My thoughts on One Perfect Summer
Do you enjoy women’s fiction? Are you ready to be immersed in a long (464 page) book? If you might answer yes to these questions, this title could provide you with an escapist read.
The setting is Lake Tahoe, a beautiful and peaceful place with lots of water, places to walk and sports to enjoy. There are three protagonists; Serenity, Reagan and Lorelei.
Serenity writes books about true crimes. There is a true crime in her personal life that has changed everything for her. Next is Reagan; she is an ambitious, successful advertising executive until one decision and one moment changes everything. She will be faced with some big decisions. Then there are Lorelei and her four year old daughter Lucy. Lorelei grew up in foster care and knows nothing about her family. She was happy in her marriage until…
What do these women have in common? No spoiler as this comes out early in the novel; the three share a blood relationship discovered after they did testing with a DNA site. How are they connected? Who is their common biological relative? Why has no-one ever discussed any of this with any of them> You will need to get very close to the end of the book to find the answer.
Around this central plot there are many others involving the sisters’ families, their evolving relationship and their next door neighbors, all of whom have their own stories. The strands intertwine and four narrators voice the story; these are the three sisters and Finn, one of the neighbors.
Overall, this was a book where the pages turned. The characters are well established and each is very much their own person. That said, I think that the novel might have been (even) better had it been shorter. Sometimes sections replayed things that were already known to the reader.
Joyce's mystery and fiction book reviews with some non-fiction too! 