Book Review: Slow Dance

On July 22, 2024July 21, 2024 By whitreadslitIn Book Reviews1 Comment

Slow Dance by Rainbow Rowell ~ 400 pages ~ to be published on July 30, 2024 by William Morrow

Goodreads Synopsis:

Back in high school, everybody thought Shiloh and Cary would end up together . . . everybody but Shiloh and Cary.

They were just friends. Best friends. Allies. They spent entire summers sitting on Shiloh’s porch steps, dreaming about the future. They were both going to get out of north Omaha—Shiloh would go to college and become an actress, and Cary would join the Navy. They promised each other that their friendship would never change.

Well, Shiloh did go to college, and Cary did join the Navy. And yet, somehow, everything changed.

Now Shiloh’s thirty-three, and it’s been fourteen years since she talked to Cary. She’s been married and divorced. She has two kids. And she’s back living in the same house she grew up in. Her life is nothing like she planned.

When she’s invited to an old friend’s wedding, all Shiloh can think about is whether Cary will be there—and whether she hopes he will be. Would Cary even want to talk to her? After everything?

The answer is yes. And yes. And yes.

Slow Dance is the story of two kids who fell in love before they knew enough about love to recognize it. Two friends who lost everything. Two adults who just feel lost.

It’s the story of Shiloh and Cary, who everyone thought would end up together, trying to find their way back to the start.

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Book Review: Dashed

On July 15, 2024July 2, 2024 By whitreadslitIn Book Reviews2 Comments

Dashed by Amanda Quain ~ 320 pages ~ to be published on July 16, 2024 by Wednesday Books

Goodreads Synopsis:

Margaret Dashwood lives her life according to plan, and it involves absolutely zero heartbreak, thank you very much. Five years ago, love tore her family apart, and since then, she’s kept her own heart as safe as possible. It hasn’t been easy, especially since her sister Marianne—the world’s biggest romantic—has conveniently forgotten that love burned her so badly she literally almost died. So when their oldest sister Elinor invites Margaret along for a Marianne-free summer cruise, she can’t wait to soak up every scheduled moment with sensible Elinor before heading off to college.

But just before they set sail, a newly-single Marianne announces that she’s crashing their vacation. Suddenly, Margaret’s itineraries are thrown overboard, and the ship’s cabin feels even tinier with her sister wailing about her breakup from the bottom bunk. The only solution? Find Marianne a dose of love to tide her over until they reach land.

With help from Elinor, her husband Edward, and Gabe—a distractingly handsome new friend on the crew—Margaret sets out to create a series of elaborate fake dates that will give Marianne the spontaneously curated summer romance of a lifetime. But between a chaotic sister, the growing storm of feelings between Margaret and Gabe, and an actual storm on the horizon, this summer is destined to go off course. Margaret will have to decide what’s more important—following the plan, or following her heart.

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Book Review: The Calculation of You and Me

On June 17, 2024June 13, 2024 By whitreadslitIn Book ReviewsLeave a comment

The Calculation of You and Me by Serena Kaylor ~ 304 pages ~ published on June 18, 2024 by Wednesday Books

Goodreads Synopsis:

A calculus nerd enlists her surly classmate’s help to win back her ex-boyfriend, but when sparks start to fly, she realizes there’s no algorithm for falling in love.

Marlowe Thompson understands a lot of things. She understands that calculus isn’t overwhelmingly beautiful to everyone, and that it typically kills the mood when you try to talk Python coding over beer pong. She understands people were surprised when golden boy Josh asked her out and she went from weird, math-obsessed Marlowe to half of their school’s couple goals. Unfortunately, Marlowe was surprised when Josh dumped her because he’d prefer a girlfriend who was more romantic. One with emotional depth.

But Marlowe has never failed anything in her life, and she isn’t about to start now. When she’s paired with Ashton Hayes for an English project, his black clothing and moody eyeliner cause a bit of a systems overload, and the dissonant sounds of his rock band make her brain itch. But when she discovers Ash’s hidden stash of love songs, Marlowe makes a desperate deal to unleash her inner romantic heroine: if Ash will agree to help her write some love letters, she’ll calculate the perfect data analytics formula to make Ash’s band go viral.

As the semester heats up with yearning love notes and late nights spent with a boy who escapes any box her brain tries to put him in, Marlowe starts to question if there’s really a set solution to love. Could a girl who has never met a problem she couldn’t solve have gotten the math so massively wrong?

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Book Review: The Perils of Lady Catherine de Bourgh

On June 10, 2024June 4, 2024 By whitreadslitIn Book Reviews1 Comment

The Perils of Lady Catherine de Bourgh by Claudia Gray ~ 352 pages ~ to be published on June 18, 2024 by Vintage

Goodreads Synopsis:

The third book in the Mr. Darcy & Miss Tilney Mystery series, which finds the amateur sleuths facing their most daunting challenge preventing the murder of the imperious Lady Catherine de Bourgh.

Someone is trying to kill Lady Catherine de Bourgh. Esteemed aunt of Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy, generous patroness of Mr. William Collins, a woman of rank who rules over the estate of Rosings Park with an unimpeachable sense of propriety—who would dare ? Lady Catherine summons her grand-nephew, Mr. Jonathan Darcy, and his investigative companion, Miss Juliet Tilney, to find out.

After a year apart, Jonathan and Juliet are thrilled to be reunited, even if the circumstances—finding whoever has thus far sabotaged Lady Catherine’s carriage, shot at her, and nearly pushed her down the stairs—are less than ideal. Also less than their respective fathers, Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy and Mr. Henry Tilney, have accompanied the young detectives to Rosings, and the two men do not interact with the same felicity enjoyed by their children.

With attempts against Lady Catherine escalating, and no one among the list of prime suspects seemingly capable of committing all of the attacks, the pressure on Jonathan and Juliet mounts—even as more gentle feelings between the two of them begin to bloom. The race is now on to provoke two one from the attempted murderer before it is too late—and one, perhaps, of love.

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Book Review: Attached at the Hip

On May 20, 2024May 16, 2024 By whitreadslitIn Book ReviewsLeave a comment

Attached at the Hip by Christine Riccio ~ 400 pages ~ published on May 21, 2024 by Wednesday Books

Goodreads Synopsis:

Orie Lennox has spent her entire life prepping for her happily ever after — and now that she’s graduated, she’s low-key wondering, when the heck is it gonna hit. Her love life, her new job, her relationship with her sister: none of it is quite what she envisioned it to be.

One evening, on a whim, she applies for a reality show where she’ll be stranded on an island, with a bunch of strangers, to play a game of human chess for a shot at a million dollars. What better way to force herself to break up with the things that aren’t bringing her joy, than to abandon them all on short notice to live off the grid on a beach in the South Pacific!

Orie’s shocked when she ends up cast in an experimental romantic edition of the show: and even more surprised to find that her old high school crush, Remy, has been cast as well. Orie’s one of ten contestants, set to compete in formidable challenges, while speed dating, in the wilderness: without deodorant, toilets, shaving cream, or showers. (How!?)

She finds herself tied up — literally — in a game of risky alliances as she navigates ever-growing feelings for her one that got away, alongside an exciting array of budding new relationships.

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Book Review: Golden Dreams Nashville Years

On May 16, 2024May 15, 2024 By whitreadslitIn Book Reviews2 Comments

Golden Dreams Nashville Years by Kaye Golden Wright ~ 145 pages ~ self published on April 22, 2024

Amazon Synopsis:

Kaye Golden Wright, known professionally as Kaye Golden, was born at the right time and in the right place, Nashville. Music was in the air, and she grew up singing and playing from the age of three in a very musical family. Kaye’s a straight shooter and pulls no punches in telling her story. Her music career included background singing on sessions, recording her own singles, the Grand Ole Opry, a rock and roll tour with Jerry Lee Lewis, singing with big bands, live radio and television shows and entertaining in numerous venues and clubs in the Nashville area. She performed alongside and was friends with a who’s who of performers: Jerry Lee Lewis, Roger Miller, Patsy Cline, Kris Kristofferson, Joan Baez, Brenda Lee, Chet Atkins, Dolly Parton, Boots Randolph, Floyd Cramer, Doc Severinsen, Loretta Lynn, the Bee Gees, Dinah Shore, Larry Gatlin, Jim Reeves, Conway Twitty, Jimmy Dean, Dottie West, Tommy Overstreet, Minnie Pearl, Grandpa Jones, the Anita Kerr Singers, the Jordanaires, Jerry Byrd and others. After performing for 30 years, she changed course and used her musical talent and experience to become a well-respected and in demand vocal and performance coach in the Dallas, Texas, area. In this autobiography, Kaye traces the path she took through the early Nashville music world and her journey to Texas to continue her life in music and improve the lives of countless students.

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