Review: The Marriage Sabbatical

If you see the title of this cute novel and think “sabbatical, like a work sabbatical, but with marriage?” then you would be correct. That’s the unique and spicy little twist to this love story between a middle-aged couple that’s already been together about 20 years. The Marriage Sabbatical is a fun look at marriage, the story after the “will-they-won’t-they” of all the chick lit about young adults in their twenties and early thirties. Here, Jason and Nicole hear about the idea from their doomed swinging neighbors, who they admittedly can’t stand. It’s called the 500 Mile Rule, which states that if the two partners in a couple are more than 500 miles away from each other, they’re allowed to participate in whatever kind of sexual, frivolous escapade intrigues them. Jason is about to take a year-long work sabbatical, which he planned to spend traveling with Nicole. But shortly after hearing about the 500 Mile Rule, Nicole admits she doesn’t want to venture to any of the wildly outdoorsy places Jason planned to visit. So they argue, and then compromise on spending (about a year) apart: Jason will do his wild bro trip (a trip that he had originally planned to do with his best friend, who sadly died during COVID, and who Jason is still grieving) and Nicole will go to Santa Fe and take silversmith classes in an effort to learn to make jewelry. At the onset, I wondered whether either of the characters would actually do the dirty and sleep with other people. I doubted it. That’s just not how these books go. They have to find their way back to each other, after all! But as the book continues, the reader quickly learns Jason and Nicole’s relationship was a lot more complex than it seemed. Maybe they really needed this sabbatical. And maybe they really needed to see other people. It’s an interesting exploration of long-term love and the lengths some are willing to go to to reconnect. Sometimes it works out. Sometimes it doesn’t. But author Lian Dolan (whose previous book, The Sweeney Sisters, I also really enjoyed) manages to make everyone come out on top at the end, especially true love.

Review: Ugly Love

Recap: When Tate Collins moves in with her brother, Corbin, she anticipates she’ll have to share space with him and his friends, focus on school and work and make friends with classmates. All that is true. What she doesn’t anticipate is coming home to find a drunk friend of her brother’s outside their apartment, who she then has to drag to a couch. He’s a messy drunk and upset, sad about an ex. Tate is annoyed. This isn’t exactly what she signed up for. When she learns this drunk friend is a guy named Miles who not only works with her brother, but also lives down the hall, she realizes she’s going to be spending a lot of time with him.

And suddenly that’s not so bad. Every time they’re together, she feels an electric pull toward him and his eyes always starting deeply at her, almost through her. It’s not long before it becomes clear she must have Miles. So when he makes a move, another move, a smile, Tate starts to lose it. Before she knows it, the two of them can’t keep their hands off each other. All of this is kept secret from their mutual connection, Corbin, of course. And it’s not officials because Miles refuses to be in a relationship. In fact, he refuses to allow himself to fall in love. Tate thinks she can “handle” this, but of course she can’t.

As this “A” plotline is happening, a separate “B” plotline is underway too, as the book switches narrators. Tate narrates her relationship with Miles, while Miles narrates the story of his relationship with his ex from six years ago, eventually leading up to the reason he is the way he is; aka: completely blocked off from love and any kind of meaningful relationship.

Analysis: Ugly Love is one of the first books I read in a while that feels like a through and through “romance” novel. In fact, the only thing I can compare it to is Fifty Shades of Grey, which…would we really classify that as a romance novel anyway? Regardless, I stand by Colleen Hoover, despite all the flack she gets. Her writing: not the best. Her tropes: many are pretty obvious and have been done time and time again. But the sex scenes are sexy! And the woman can write a good twist. I thought I figured out why Miles was so closed off to love with Tate, and I was 95% of the way there, but I still didn’t figure out that last five percent. I still found myself destroyed when I learned what happened to him. And ultimately, I was so compelled by the story, I couldn’t put the book down. For me, plot trumps everything, even mediocre writing and weak female protagonists. Which is exactly what I found Tate to be. I wanted her to be stronger. I wanted her to speak up against Miles and his assholery even more. But if Hoover is going for realism in that respect, she pretty much hit the nail on the head because I think most women would want to hold onto a guy like Miles even if the situation was messed up. Particularly women in their early 20’s like this character is portrayed. Verity was the book that made me understand why people liked Colleen Hoover, but Ugly Love is the book that made me realize why people stick with her.

MVP: Miles. He’s mysterious. He’s an asshole. But in the world of mysterious assholes who women date and try to fix, he’s one that actually is fixed! And it stems from his own willingness to step outside his comfort zone and grow. Respect.

You can get Ugly Love in paperback for $10.34.

Or on your Kindle for $11.99.

Review: The Hurricane Sisters

Recap: It’s hurricane season ins South Carolina, and while a big storm hasn’t happened yet this season, Ashley and her mother, Liz, have their own personal hurricanes brewing. Ashley is a young, beautiful artist who’s working a pretty easy job and has a crush on a local lawmaker. So when he notices her at a party, she starts to think her life about it be right on track to be the artistic wife of a politician. But when they start dating, she pushes all red flags aside: his temper, his territorial and controlling nature and his ego. Some of her friends and family see it, but she refuses to accept that he’s not the “one” for her. Meanwhile, her mother is losing sight of her priorities as she hits middle age. While her work in the nonprofit world is going well, her mother, Maisie, is driving her nuts with her quirky elderly boyfriend, and she thinks her husband may have a sidepiece up in New York, where he often travels for business.

As Liz uncovers more family secrets and Ashley and her roommate come up with schemes to make some fast cash (they are poor twenty-somethings, after all), the truths are revealed about the men in their lives and suddenly things aren’t so perfect after all. Everything peaks as a massive hurricane is set to hit the coast where Ashley lives. Amid the internal and external storms, three generations of women must determine their next steps and whether they want to stay with the men who have done them dirty.

Analysis: This book came recommended to me, so I expected it to be a fairy high quality piece of literature. So I was surprised to find it was fairly reductive, predictable and lazily written. Upon more research, I learned these kinds of books are author Dorothea Benton Frank’s M.O. She is known for her chick lit beach read fare which often takes places in the South Carolina Low Country, where she’s from. She’s the author of many bestsellers. Knowing that, I kept with it and better appreciated it for what it was.

While the writing didn’t impress me much and I found myself mentally yelling at Ashley as her boyfriend started to abuse her, I did actually like the way Frank brought everything together in the end. The storylines started to feel as serious as they were, and the characters ultimately made the right choices. Liz even made some decisions I didn’t see coming, as did Ashley. Both of them proved to be much stronger characters, ultimately, than they seemed to be in the onset or even throughout the journey

The women stood together in the end in a way that was very hokey. A bit too saccharine for me. I don’t know that I would read another Dorothea Benton Frank book again unless I was in the mood for particularly light, brainless summer fun.

MVP: Maisie. The grandmother in this novel is a lively, elderly wackadoo and I loved it. She offers some lightness and playfulness that helped offset the melodrama of the women surrounding her in the novel. We could all use someone like Maisie.

Get The Hurricane Sisters in paperback now for $14.99.

Or on your Kindle for $11.99.

Movie vs. Book: To All the Boys: P.S.: I Still Love You

The second book in this cute rom com chick lit YA series picks up right where the first left off. Lara Jean and Peter Kavinsky have broken up, after a ski trip make-out session spreads rumors about them having done more sexually and Peter doesn’t deny it. It’s been a sad, lonely winter break for Lara Jean. But it’s not long before she and Peter decide to move forward. Peter stands up for Lara Jean regarding the video of them in the hot tub that’s now spreading on social media, making Lara Jean fall even harder for Peter.

But Genevieve. There’s always a Genevieve factor when it comes to Lara Jean and Peter. Lara Jean is convinced Gen is the one who took the video and spread it on social media. Then she and Chris start to see Gen and Peter continuing to spend time together, his arms always wrapped around her. When Lara Jean confronts Peter, he denies anything is going on and simply tells her Gen is dealing with family stuff.

As this is all happening, Lara Jean receives a letter…from John Ambrose McClaren! He was the only other person who received one of Lara Jean’s love letters who she never heard back from, until now. The strike up a pen pal relationship. Then as Lara Jean starts to volunteer at a senior living community and befriends an elderly woman named Stormy, she learns that John Ambrose is Stormy’s grandson. That does nothing but lead to Lara Jean and John Ambrose spending more time together and further confusing Lara Jean about her feelings.

The Netflix movie adaptation of the book automatically starts very differently. After all, the first movie took some of the content from the second book so it could wrap up the hot tub video fiasco in a neat little bow at the end. So all of that drama from the beginning of P.S. I Still Love You, the novel, is eliminated from the movie. It works because the movie is then able to spend much more time on the Lara Jean/John Ambrose/Peter/Genevieve situation.

And yet somehow the slow burn buildup of Lara Jean and John Ambrose’s relationship is more richly explored in the book, so the impact and payoff at the end are much more satisfying. The movie makes it feel like John Ambrose was never really a consideration for Lara Jean, while in the book he very much was.

The movie also took out the tidbit of John Ambrose being Stormy’s grandson. Instead he was a fellow volunteer at the home, and I like this better because a) it allowed for Lara Jean and John Ambrose to spend time together in a way that made sense and b) it also allowed for further diversity casting.

Ultimately the biggest difference may have come at the end. The way Lara Jean learns what Genevieve is going through with her family is completely different from the book, and it’s also handled differently. Both the book and movie have the two girls talking about the situation, ultimately leading to Lara Jean feeling confident in her decision about which boy she wants to date. But in the book, Gen’s family crisis a lot darker, and the conversation between the girls is far more confrontational. The movie cut out some of the risque factor of Gen’s home life, and portrayed a much more emotionally healthy conversation between her and Lara Jean. But I would argue that 16-year-old girls are not that emotionally healthy, and can be very hormonal and angsty. So the book seems to have a more realistic take on this. The book’s version of this conversation also speaks to another very sad, but common teenage rite of passage: breaking up with friends.

When it comes to this one, I loved both the book and movie. The book was better plotted, paced and explored.. But no matter the changes, you can’t help but fall in love with Lana Condor, Noel Centineo and Jordan Fisher on screen.

Review: The Sweeney Sisters

Recap: The Sweeney sisters are known around Southport, not solely for their seemingly sweet sisterly bond or their beautiful red hair. But as is too often the case in towns based on tradition, they are known for their relation to a man: their father, the great author William Sweeney.

So when William Sweeney dies, and the country, celebrities, literary enthusiasts and the entirely of Southport mourn his loss, the women must come together with a force similar to that of their father’s prose to a) organize his funeral and celebration of life b) go through his things, sell his house and divide the earnings he left behind and c) find the memoir he wrote that he only wanted published after he died.

What they didn’t anticipate adding to that To Do List was d) forming a relationship with the sister they never knew they had, the lovechild their father had with the next door neighbor while he was still married to their mother.

The Sweeney Sisters follows put-together Liza, mad Maggie, tackle-it-all Tricia as they spend the summer coming to terms with their father’s loss by befriending Serena, their next-door-neighbor turned sister. Serena is a journalist, and they worry she may be seeking out salacious details to write a scandalous, bestselling memoir and tarnish their father’s name. It’s unclear if they can trust this new sister and if they ever really knew their father.

Analysis: Summer setting, check. Romantic sex scenes near water, check. Catty women, check. The Sweeney Sisters has all the trappings of a fun summer beach read (which frankly the world could use right now). And yet, it’s fair to say this fun novel goes a little beyond that. Sure, the ending is wrapped up with a perfect, beautiful bow, maybe a little too perfect. And sure, some of the plots were tropes I’ve read in other books.

But the relationships between the sisters feels real. These are women who are very clearly outlined, who are so different and yet so the same, who really know each other and understand why they are the way they are. Adding a fourth sister to the mix could have been done in a generic way (i.e. all the sisters hate her and then learn to love her or all the sisters love her and then realize she’s evil). Instead, it’s a slow burn and each sister has a unique, individual relationship with the new sister, making it less predictable as to how things would all wind up.

Each sister also has her own problems, aside from the death of their father and the entrance of Serena: Liza with her divorce, Maggie without a job or real inspiration for her path in life and Tricia with her difficultly in connecting with others. Between the three of them (four, if you include Serena!), there is some quality for any woman to relate to: loss, failure, fear. It’s book about women coming together to stand on their own without needing a man to help them, and that is something to be revered.

MVP: Maggie. Her ultimate ending is a little too picture perfect for me, but she is so messy and dramatic and fractured, so wild and free and fun. Her journey in the book, connecting with her late mother through art, is one of true awakening in a way that feels authentically sad and beautiful.

Movie vs. Book: Crazy Rich Asians

Rachel Chu is nervous. She’s about to go to Singapore for the first time with her boyfriend Nick, but this is not just some vacation. They’re visiting for his best friend’s wedding, and it will be the first time she’s meeting Nick’s family. Rachel takes some time to decide, but ultimately determines it would be a fun way to spend her summer off from teaching economics at NYU.

What she doesn’t realize is how nervous she really should be. As it turns out, Nick comes from one of the wealthiest families in Asia. He keeps this information on the down low so as not to be treated differently, but from the moment she hops the plane with him, she begins to understand his very rich reality and quickly comes to realize she may not be accepted by his family or friends.

Yes, Rachel is Chinese. But she is American-born Chinese (ABC), and to his traditional mother, ABC is essentially unacceptable. This pit-in-the-stomach, all-out sinking feeling is excellently portrayed in the movie version of Crazy Rich Asians based on the 2013 bestselling novel. The movie beautifully emphasizes all the best parts of the novel: the romance between Rachel and Nick, the drama between Rachel and Nick’s mother Eleanor, and the glitz and glamour of Singapore and the crazy rich Asians who live there.

The movie follows the book fairly closely except for the ending. The movie adds a scene in which Nick’s family and Rachel make dumplings together, offering an opportunity for Rachel and Eleanor to get to know each other better. The building of their relationship is effectively trashed when only minutes later, Eleanor tells Rachel she will “never be enough.” This scene adds a layer of indiscreet, purposeful anger between Rachel and Eleanor, which then gives Rachel a reason to show Eleanor who’s boss. This is a significant and positive change from the novel. Where Rachel remains mostly timid in the book, this scene in the movie pushes Rachel to fight for the alpha female role, positioning herself strongly against Eleanor so that she stands up for herself in a way we don’t get to witness in the book.

It then leads to a different and happier ending between Rachel and Nick and a more concretely positive relationship between Rachel and Eleanor.

As it aimed to be one of, if not the most successful rom-com in years, Crazy Rich Asians had no choice but to tidy up some of the open-endedness of the book. But the plot choices made at the end of the novel were made to set up the next book in the trilogy (China Rich Girlfriend), and that is lost in the movie. (That includes much of the storyline about Astrid, Nick’s beautiful cousin.) This matters now because the movie sequel has already been confirmed, thanks to the wild success of the first movie.

Crazy Rich Asians is everything a girl could possibly want in a romantic comedy: romance! scandal! makeover montages! a big, beautiful wedding! But it’s possible — nay, definite — that the novel has more depth to offer.

Get Crazy Rich Asians in paperback for $9.60.

Or get it on your Kindle for $9.99.

Review: True Colors

Recap: Winona, Aurora and Vivi Ann Grey have been three peas in a pod since childhood, sisters brought especially close together after the death of their mother when they were young. But as they hit their 20s and they started to go their separate ways, tensions grew between them. Winona remained single but excelled in her career. Aurora started a family, acting as the peacekeeper in the family. Vivi Ann remained a beautiful free spirit, inheriting the talents of her mother: riding horses. Vivi Ann is her father’s favorite as he grows increasingly depressed and ornery over the years after the loss of his wife.

But then Vivi Ann meets Dallas, an Indian in their world of cowboys and ranches. Hired as a ranch hand on their farm, Dallas feels immediately connected to Vivi Ann, and she to him. But she’s already engaged to “the perfect man” Luke Connelly, who just so happens to be Winona’s high school crush. Vivi Ann’s decision followed by  a murder in the town that involves her family sends the story off into the stratosphere and the Grey family spiraling .

Analysis: Like other Kristin Hannah books, the story is told through the eyes of each of the sisters, each chapter revolving between points of view, helping to paint a brighter picture of each character. Aurora, the girls’ father and Dallas remain the most underdeveloped as the story really focuses more on the oldest (Winona) and youngest (Vivi Ann) sisters.

After the scene it set initially, the book seems to move in one direction but then makes a stark turn around a third of the way into the book with the murder plot. For a story about sisters who have lost their mom, have a disconnected father and have a stranger enter their lives, it felt a little unnecessary to throw in any more drama. That said, the book really moves initially and slows down in the middle to end. There’s a period in which a long time passes in the book and the story seems to drag because of it, then rushing into a neatly wrapped up ending.

I really enjoyed the book while reading it and loved the story. I enjoyed the development of the relationship between Winona and Vivi Ann too — a sister relationship that no one would understand but sisters. I just wish both the amount of time that passed in the lives of the characters and the literal number of pages it took me to get there were a bit more concise.

MVP: Winona. At times she was pathetic and extremely bitter, but of all the sisters, she still seemed to be the one who most had her life together. She may have been defiant at times, she’s a woman who knew what she wanted.

Get True Colors in paperback for $10.

Or get it on your Kindle for $9.99.

Review: All the Summer Girls

Recap: Nothing like a broken-off engagement and pregnancy, a cheating husband and being fired after your life’s become overrun with drugs and alcohol to start your summer. But that’s the way the summer begins for three high school best friends who grew up together and in recent years have mostly grown apart. Kate, Vanessa and Dani had already planned to go away for the weekend for Kate’s bachelorette party. Now that she’s no longer about to become a misses, the three decide to go away together anyway and keep it close to home: the Jersey Shore, the place where they spent all their summers together growing up.

But for the three of them, the Jersey Shore brings up bad memories of the last time they were here together, back during college when a tragic night lead to the death of Kate’s twin brother — a loss from which none of the girls ever truly recovered. Anxiety builds as the secrets of their lives — pregnancy, cheating, addiction — keep finding ways to creep into this home away from home that holds another big, aching secret. Eventually that anxiety must break, and break it does.

Analysis: All the Summer Girls has just the right ingredients for a great summer beach read — romance, friendship, scandal, secrets and of course the beach setting. Meg Donahue brings it all together, forcing the reader to wonder what she would do any of these characters’ positions. Female friendship is complicated, and this novels dives deep into those murky waters, especially as it details the relationship between Vanessa and Dani, which is so severed, one wonders if it can even be repaired at this point. Sometimes girlfriends truly do just drift. Other times, secrets keep them separated. And still other times, girlfriends remain friends despite all the secrets, all the time that’s passed, and all the little things that annoy each other. The bonds prove strong in this novel.

While Donahue brings it all together, it does feel forced. Vanessa’s obsession with her ex-boyfriend is unwarranted since it seems to be nothing more than an eight-year-old summer fling. Not only that, but there’s a lot of build to a rather anticlimactic and uneventful plotline in the end. Dani discovering some of the things she learns on this trip also seems to make it a perfect time for her addiction to only get worse. Instead, she fights it off which is empowering and impressive, but in my opinion, unlikely under the circumstances. I’ve read several books about female friendship and all their secrets coming out over the course of a summer. It’s a common trope in “chick lit,” but I’ve seen it done better elsewhere.

MVP: Dani. Though her life is more of a mess than any of the other three girls, she’s the one that pulls through the best. She doesn’t freak out. She doesn’t cause a scene. She just deals with it. She decides ultimately that she needs to make some changes, and she does it, no questions asked, no hesitation, and that is impressive.

Get All the Summer Girls in paperback for $12.74. 

Or get it on your Kindle for $9.24.

‘Big Little Lies’ Coming to HBO

If you haven’t yet read Liane Moriarty’s huge bestseller, Big Little Lies — don’t worry, I haven’t yet either!– there’s now more incentive to do it. The bestselling novel is coming to HBO in the form of a limited series.

According to Collider, the series is set to debut in 2017, and it looks awesome. I only found out about this a few weeks ago when I was watching HBO and saw the trailer.

The series stars Reese Witherspoon, Nicole Kidman, Shailene Woodley, Adam Scott and Laura Dern. It’s interesting that it’s set to air in this way on HBO, but apparently the story is complex enough to warrant more than your standard 120-minute feature, and the cast is so good, well, does it really even matter how long it is?

Meanwhile, this isn’t the last we’ll see of Liane Moriarty adaptations. According to Variety, Witherspoon and Kidman have already teamed up to produce a movie version of Moriarty’s Truly, Madly, Guilty. 

Review: Sunsets of Tulum

Recap: A near-death experience at work encourages Reed Haflinger to live his life to the fullest, and that includes repairing his relationship with his wife. They head to Mexico for a spontaneous vacation, but after a few days of fighting, Reed’s wife flies back to their home in Boston, leaving Reed to enjoy the rest of his romantic getaway. The romance winds up sparking between Reed and someone else.

Clione is half Reed’s age, but observant and wise beyond her years. The two connect on a level deeper than Reed ever reached with his life. Not to mention their sexual chemistry is off the charts. Reed extends his trip, and the two of them spend their time away from the resort in Cancun where Reed had been staying with his wife and instead explore Tulum, Mexico together. Reed realizes this is the great love he’s always been searching for and decides to end his marriage. But when he receives devastating news from home, he must truly decide if he’s ready to make the change he’s been considering.

Analysis: Sunsets of Tulum is a romantic travel novel that explores living your life to the fullest and finding yourself, even if it happens a little later than planned. At the age of 38, Reed seems to experience what most men experience during a mid-life crisis, but he has bravery to actually take the plunge and make changes that many other men aren’t necessarily willing to make. I found it to be a bit unrealistic. It’s hard for me to imagine that someone would actually opt to end a ten-year marriage for a 21-year-old girl who he met a week ago. But I respect the character’s ballsiness in doing it anyway, despite how it looks to other people.

The book uses heavy-handed metaphors to tell the story. For example, Reed is afraid of water, and it’s his new girlfriend who gets him in the water and forces him to face his fears. With water symbolizing change and his obsessive fear of water established early on, there’s a good amount of foreshadowing happening in the water scenes, making it a bit overstated and predictable.

That said, Tulum is extremely sexy in detail I hadn’t expected but certainly can’t complain about, and I think the sex scenes helped to show the feeling of desire, excitement and ecstasy that so many people crave on vacations.

MVP: Reed. He was the most complicated character in the story, who had a very clear arc in growth and development. Though I initially found him unlikable for cheating on his wife, I understood why he did what he did. He later redeems himself, and comes away from it seeking and starting a new life most of us could only dream of.

Get Sunset of Tulum in paperback for $14.99. 

Or get it on your Kindle for $4.99.