This entry in the Little People, Big Dreams series offers a sensitive and honest biography of Van Gogh for young children. Vincent’s close ties to his brother are noted as are his struggles to settle into adult life and fit in.
Readers watch as Vincent begins to paint and develops his own style. They also learn in a simple way about his on going mental health issues.
This title shows how children can learn about many different kinds of people including those whose lives are not easy. I recommend this book and also believe that it could lead to good discussions between children and adults.
Many thanks to NetGalley and Quarto Publishing Group for this title. All opinions are my own.
For fans of Mary Kay Andrews, Jenny Bayliss, and Julie Murphy, #1 New York Times bestselling author Susan Mallery’s witty and heartfelt story of a mother who couldn’t love her kids more but hopes that, just this once, they please don’t come home for Christmas.
Don’t come home for Christmas. . .
Julie Parker’s kids are her greatest gift. Still, she’s low-key joyful that they want to skip a big Christmas this year. Her son Nick is romancing his bride Blair with a belated honeymoon, while her daughter Dana plans to purge every reminder of the guy who dumped her. Again. Julie’s excited to hole up for the holiday with Heath, the (much) younger man she’s secretly dating.
Her plans go from cozy to chaotic when her kids change their minds and plead for Christmas at the family cabin in memory of their beloved father. Julie can’t refuse, despite being nervous about the over-the-top traditions her grown children still enjoy—and anxious about how they’ll feel when they meet Heath and realize she’s been lying to them for months. She has justified her deception by insisting to herself that they’re not serious, despite the spark she feels whenever he’s near.
As the guest list grows in surprising ways, from Blair’s estranged mom to Heath’s beautiful young ex, Julie’s secret is one of many to be unwrapped. Over this complicated and very funny Christmas, she’ll discover that more really is merrier, and that a big, happy family can become bigger and happier, if they all let go of old hurts and open their hearts to love.
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“But you’re a woman.”
“Does that matter?”
“I don’t know. Do you know how to tow cars?”
Julie Parker did her best not to roll her eyes. At her age, it was a much less charming look. But still.
“Your car is fine,” she said, trying for patience, but failing to hit the mark and landing on snark instead. “You ran out of gas on the 405 freeway. If we should be questioning someone’s ability to exist in the world, we should probably start with you.”
“Hey!” The young twentysomething finally looked up from her phone and frowned. “You have attitude.”
“I do, and a busy schedule. Do you want help or not? It’s twenty bucks for the gas and seventy-five for the service visit.”
“Ninety-five dollars for a few gallons of gas? That’s robbery.”
“It’s also the price you were quoted when you called the company.”
Cars and trucks sped by on the busy freeway. It was a cold, rainy December afternoon, and Julie had a date with her very handsome boyfriend in a few hours. The last thing she wanted to do was waste time arguing with someone younger than either of her adult children.
The young woman shook her head. “I’m not paying that.”
“Fine by me.”
Julie started back to her tow truck, gas can in hand. The woman hurried after her.
“Wait. I’ll do it. So ninety-five dollars?”
“Yes. Tax is included in the price.” She fished her credit card reader from her overalls. “You pay, I pour.”
The woman gave her the stink eye, then reluctantly pushed a credit card into the machine. Less than five minutes later Julie had her money and the unhappy motorist had enough gas to get her on her way.
“Is this your car?” Julie asked, telling herself to walk away but unable to do so.
“It’s my boyfriend’s. He said I could drive it.”
Julie pointed to the instrument panel. “You probably always know how much gas is in your own car. It’s something we keep track of without thinking. But when you get into someone else’s car, check the gauge. When the weather’s like this, you can wait a long time for a tow truck, and the side of the freeway is a dangerous place.”
“Oh.” The other woman looked at the rushing traffic, then slid into the driver’s seat. “Thanks. I’ll keep that in mind.”
“Have a nice day,” Julie called as the twentysomething pulled away, sending gravel up in a spray.
She made her way to her truck, telling herself she’d gotten her good deed for the day out of the way early, so that was something. Thirty minutes after that, she pulled into the tow yard, driving under the big Parker Towing sign her grandfather had installed nearly fifty years ago. She parked the small tow truck she’d used for the call, then ran through the pelting rain to the safety of the main office where Mariah Carey’s version of “Santa Baby” played over the speakers. She hung the keys on the pegboard in the locking cabinet and put the credit card reader on the docking station where it would automatically download and tally the transaction.
Huxley, the office manager slash driver whisperer slash mother hen, looked at her over his reading glasses.
“Why do you do that? Why do you take a call like that? I go to lunch and when I come back, you’ve taken one of the trucks and gone out to face God knows what in this kind of weather. I don’t like to worry. When I worry, I get hives, and then I have to go see the doctor and that costs our insurance company money. Do you want the premiums to go up? I don’t think so. But you do this. Every six months or so you think it’s twenty-five years ago and you’re still driving a damned tow truck. You’re the boss. You’ve been the boss for a long time. It’d be really nice if you remembered it.”
“I was delivering gas, not doing a repo. I was fine. Besides, it’s fun to take one of the trucks out every now and then. I want to keep my hand in. The men need to respect me, and for that I need to prove my skills.”
“A chicken could drag gas out to some fool who forgot to fill up his car. What skills are you going on about?”
She laughed. “I had a good time. I’m allowed. Leave me alone.”
“I can feel those hives popping out all over my body,” he said as she started for her office. “And Axel’s waiting to talk to you. He has today’s list.”
Julie’s good mood instantly faded. She walked purposefully toward her office, not breaking stride as she crossed the threshold and headed for her desk. She ignored the tall, fit man standing by the window, a folder in his hands. As she took her seat, she allowed her gaze to linger on the baseball bat leaning casually against the corner.
From the time she was eight until she was thirteen, her father had insisted on weekly batting practice at the cages up by the park. After all those sessions, she had a hell of a swing, and she wasn’t afraid to connect with a ball or anything else that needed hitting.
Not that she went around beating people with a baseball bat, but it had been a deterrence on more than one call and keeping it nearby in certain situations gave her a sense of security. The world was a better place, at least from her perspective, when she knew she could handle whatever came at her. She never asked for help—instead she took care of the problem herself.
She drew in a breath, then raised her head and looked at the man watching her. “Axel.”
He moved toward her desk and set down the folder. “I have five for tonight.”
“Five’s a lot.”
She glanced at the papers. Sure enough, there were five cars the bank wanted back. They were all high end, late models with appropriately high repo fees.
After taking 25 percent off the top to cover expenses, including the lookout car, the company and repo guy split the fee fifty-fifty. It was dangerous work for not much reward and a part of the business she’d never understood. But repo guys lived on adrenaline, and she supposed someone had to go out and take back that which had not been paid for.
She closed the folder and pushed it toward him. “Try not to get shot.”
Axel flashed her a smile. “Me getting shot would solve a lot of your problems.” “Why would you say that? You’re my repo guy. I have no interest in finding another one.”
“You’re still mad at me. Any chance you could see your way past that?”
Mad didn’t come close to describing what she was feeling, she thought grimly, taking in his handsome face and dark eyes. He was the kind of man women noticed. A little dangerous, a little sexy, a lot of trouble.
“How long did you go out with my daughter?” His smile faded and he took a step back. “About two years.”
“How many times did she foolishly let you back in her life so you could break her heart yet again?”
His eyes became unreadable. “Three.”
“My count is four, but I’m not sure that matters. I’ll see my way past what you did to her when I’m good and ready. I’m thinking about thirty years, give or take.”
He hung his head. “I’m sorry.”
“Don’t,” she snapped. “Don’t apologize to me. I only hate you by association. And if you really care about her, then stop screwing with her life. Leave her alone.”
“I’m trying.”
“Try harder.”
“The heart wants what the heart wants.”
“I’m pretty sure your heart isn’t the body part creating all the trouble.”
He looked at her. “You want me to quit?”
Some days she did, mostly when she was holding Dana as her daughter cried because Axel had once again dumped her. Because he’d been right—when it came to him, Dana’s heart did want what it wanted and, unfortunately, that was him. But on the rest of the days, she liked having Axel around. He was dependable, he understood the business and he had a habit of taking new hires under his wing, so to speak, and teaching them the tricks of the trade.
“You’re good at what you do,” Julie said reluctantly, staring out the window. “Stay away from her and we’ll be fine.”
“You’re a good mom.”
Words that should have pleased her but instead sent a quiver of guilt trickling through her. While she usually fell firmly in the “good mother” category, lately she’d been keeping secrets. Well, one secret. One big, tall, boyfriend-size secret.
At some point she was going to have to come clean about him, just not today, she thought. It was three weeks until Christmas. Her kids had plans that didn’t include her, Heath— the boyfriend, though she didn’t say that word aloud—didn’t have his kids for the holidays, so the two of them were going to hole up at her place and enjoy a little one-on-one time with nowhere else to be. She honestly couldn’t wait.
She carefully put the happy image out of her head, then returned her attention to Axel.
“Go get the cars,” she told him. “The weather’s going to get worse. Remember that and don’t try any fancy moves. Those big trucks you’re driving belong to me.”
The smile returned. “Yes, ma’am.”
He took the paperwork and left. When Julie was sure he was out of earshot, she murmured, “And don’t get dead.” Because while she was pissed as hell at Axel, she wasn’t heartless. Besides, except for when he crapped on her daughter, he was a good guy and secretly she liked him. Well, at least when it came to Parker Towing.
As for Dana and her devotion to the man, well, her daughter was thirty-one years old. At some point she was going to have to figure out how to move on. Because that was how life worked. You tried something and if it didn’t go well, you moved on. Julie’s father had taught her that, along with how to swing a bat, and she’d learned both lessons very, very well.
SUSAN MALLERY is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of novels about the relationships that define women’s lives—family, friendship and romance. Library Journal says, “Mallery is the master of blending emotionally believable characters in realistic situations,” and readers seem to agree—forty million copies of her books have been sold worldwide. Her warm, humorous stories make the world a happier place to live.
Susan grew up in California and now lives in Seattle with her husband. She’s passionate about animal welfare, especially that of the Ragdoll cat and adorable poodle who think of her as Mom.
Readers cannot go wrong when they pick up a title by Susan Mallery. She writes the sorts of stories that her readers (and those who enjoy women’s fiction) consistently look forward to reading.
In this holiday themed novel, readers get to spend time with the family and extended family of Julie Parker. There will be the unexpected, lots of folks gathered together, relationships and celebration. What could be better than spending time with this One Big Happy Family!
Many thanks to NetGalley and HTP for this title. All opinions are my own. Additionally, thanks to HTP for the opportunity to be part of this blog tour.
This entry in the popular series tells the story of the world renowned gymnast. Her successes in competition are certainly given attention but so are some struggles and her willingness to stand up for what is right. All of these facts of Biles make her an inspiration.
Simone Biles is a role model. Here kids will get to know more about her.
Many thanks to NetGalley and Quarto Publishing Group for this title. All opinions are my own.
Susie Hodge has written a number of books about museums and art. I have found all of the ones that I have read to be interesting and informative. That is again the case here with Ms. Hodge here sharing her insights and ways of looking at things.
This title is well organized. There are ten elements of art explored in these pages. These include scale, colour, light, movement, medium, technique, content, location, time and, the artist. After explaining each of these in a clear way, Hodge moves on to explore a number of paintings. Just some of these works are The Arnolfini Portrait (van Eyck), The Serenade (Judith Lester), The Monk by the Sea (Caspar David Fridrich), Under the Wave off Kanagawa (Katushika Hokusai), The Starry Night (Vincent Van Gogh), and Guernica (Pablo Picasso). There are too many to list but all are engaging and worth a look.
There are works here that readers will recognize and look at anew and those that will be getting a first glance. In each case, it is terrific to read what Hodge has to say.
Highly recommended to art lover experienced and un. Note the many gorgeous reproductions as the pages turn.
Many thanks to NetGalley and Quarto Publishing Group for this title. All opinions are my own.
Natalie Jenner’s previous novel, The Jane Austen Society, was a true favorite of mine. (See review on my blog). I was so excited when I learned that she had a new novel coming out. Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for the double thrill of receiving advanced copies of both the audio and print book editions. I enjoyed toggling back and forth between them, being able to listen on my walks and when doing chores.
The audio is read by one of my favorite actresses, Juliet Stevenson. She is brilliant and captures the voices of each of the characters, all of whom have different accents. This audio is a real treat!
Before picking up the novel, I thought that it was a standalone. It can function as that but there are some recurring characters from The JAS. Readers of that book will, undoubtedly, be happy to encounter Evie and some of the others again.
This novel has moved forward in time to the early 1950s. Much of the action (though action is not exactly the correct term for a leisurely read), takes place in a bookshop. This is a bookshop with rules; each chapter is headed by one of them. I loved imagining what the interior looked like based upon the descriptions. I adored the dropping of book title names and the famous real life literary people who came in, including Daphne DuMaurier and Ellen Doubleday.
The story focuses on a number of people who work in the shop. My one minor quibble is that I would call them women not girls, as in the book’s title. Evie is a character from The JAS. A Cambridge graduate, she is not able to easily find a job as the better jobs go to men. How does she get her job in the bookstore? There is some drama around this. Vivien has worked in the shop for a while; she has been thwarted by her inability to advance. She has also faced a tragedy. Change may come for her….Finally, there is Grace. She is presented as calm, practical and less than happy in her marriage. Will anything change for her?
There are a number of men in the story as well. There is the Indian gentleman employee who is interested in entomology. Readers also meet an employee who has a touchy relationship with Vivien. Another character is a Lord who owns the shop. Each of these men is well portrayed. They interact with the book’s female characters.
As was true for The JAS, this is a slower moving book and one to savor. I most highly recommend it. Note: All opinions are my own.
This title will be published on Pub Date 17 May 2022.
Becoming Mrs. Lewis by Patti Callhan tells the story of Joy Davidman and C.S. (Jack) Lewis. I absolutely adored that book so was thrilled when I received an early review copy of Once Upon a Wardrobe, another novel about C.S. Lewis.
The structure of the story is that George, a young boy with a heart defect, discovers The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe and wants to know more about it. George’s sister, who loves him deeply, shares that Lewis is at Oxford where she, Megs, is a student. Wanting to do what she can for George, Megs gets to know Jack and Warnie and brings the tales that Lewis shares home to her brother.
Jack’s life story is beautifully told. There were very hard times and yet a man emerged who is so beloved by many. I won’t detail the biography so that readers can discover it for themselves.
George is preternaturally wise about life while Megs is perhaps less so. Over the course of the novel, she learns that her beloved scientific point of view and way of solving problems is but one way to look at the world. She and George are both deeply human, seeking, loving people with whom readers will enjoy spending time.
Those who have read the Narnia stories will eagerly read this title looking for the same insights that young George is seeking…to understand where the characters in the books came from, who they may have been based on and more. Will those answers be in these pages? You will need to read the novel to find out.
Those who have not read the Narnia books can still love this title. Its insight into a person’s life with all of its tragedies and peaceful moments are for all readers.
I give this one my highest recommendation. Ms. Callahan your talent for understanding Lewis and life are so impressive.
Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher. All opinions are my own.
Wow! What an intriguing premise for a novel. With artist Salvador Dali as a presence in the book, readers know that some odd and interesting things will happen to Julia.
This story takes place in two time periods. In each of these, a woman faces challenges. Readers will know more about Julia, Persephone and Hades as well as a garden by its end.
This is a unique historical/fantasy novel with Gothic elements. It will keep readers turning the pages.
Anyone who enjoys Gorey’s unique, quirky, macabre way of looking at the world will, I think, adore this book. There is so much within these pages. Look at cats, Broadway poster designs, programs. photos, the iconic Mystery for PBS drawings and so, so much more. This is really a treasure chest of a book with terrific accompanying text by the author.
Many thanks to NetGalley and Chronicle Books for this title. All opinions are my own.
Joyce's mystery and fiction book reviews with some non-fiction too! 