The Art of Saying Goodbye by Ellyn Bache

The day before I left for Ohio, Ellyn Bache's The Art of Saying Goodbye arrived in the mail. I loved the cover. And, even though I knew it was another novel about a group of women and a friend who died of cancer, I brought it with me. I enjoy novels that feature groups of women.

It's obvious from the opening pages that Paisley Lamm is going to die. The entire neighborhood in Brightwood Trace has tied white ribbons to their trees so Paisley can see them coming or going. But, it's four of the women whose feelings are uncovered in the course of the story. Ten years earlier, those four women, Andrea, Ione, Ginger, and Julianne, accepted an invitation for an evening in Paisley's hot tub. Although the women never really developed a closeness, that evening changed lives, and changed their feelings about Paisley, the bright star of the neighborhood who everyone admired and envied at the same time.

Bache's novel covers just a brief period of time, a couple months, with flashbacks to earlier episodes. In a departure from other women's novels, the five women in this book are not close. But, each woman reflects on her relationship with Paisley. Andrea thought of Paisley as her best friend, the woman who helped her through her daughter's own bout with cancer. Ione, a widow, held herself aloof from the group. Paisley pushed Ginger and her husband into better lives, suggesting career changes. And, Julianne, who crashed ten years later, became a nurse practitioner, the one who discovered Paisley's cancer. Then, there's Paisley herself. It's not until page 77 that the author allows Paisley's voice to be heard, and then only in flashbacks. Until then, and in most of the book, the reader sees Paisley only through the eyes of the others.

Paisley Lamm's life, her brief bout with cancer, and her death, changed many in the neighborhood. Bache focuses on the women, but, it's also interesting to watch the reactions of teenage daughters, Paisley's and other girls. The Art of Saying Goodbye does not always show people in flattering ways, but it's more realistic than many novels.

On a personal note, this was fascinating. Paisley Lamm suffered from the same cancer my husband died from, pancreatic cancer with metastis to the liver. It's a cancer that moves quickly, particularly once it progresses to the liver. And, Paisley went through many of the stages that Jim went through, ones that I did not know were typical of this type of cancer. In both cases, it was a fast-moving disease.

Everyone has secrets in their lives. And, every life impacts people in differing ways. Ellen Bache's The Art of Saying Goodbye is unusual in showing that in a novel that doesn't bring friends closer, but allows women to be different, and unique.

Ellyn Bache's website is www.ellynbache.com

The Art of Saying Goodbye by Ellyn Bache. William Morrow. ©2011. ISBN 9780062033680 (paperback). 344p.

*****
FTC Full Disclosure - The publisher sent me a copy of the book, hoping I would review it.

Already Home by Susan Mallery

I had never read one of Susan Mallery's books, but after reading Already Home, I won't hesitate to pick up another. I don't know how many times I've mentioned that I read for character. Mallery's characters sparkle. That's the best word I can use for characters that attract attention the first time you meet them. Mallery gives depth and life to all of her characters, not just Jenna Stevens, the protagonist. Jenna's family members and friends are just as well-developed. I will admit, the two villains of this piece are one-dimensional, but the other characters shine.

At thirty-two, Jenna Stevens moved home to Georgetown, Texas after her marriage failed. Once a successful, creative chef, her marriage to a chef had eroded her confidence and destroyed her self-esteem. In a rash moment, she signed the lease on an empty building, planning to open a kitchen shop. She was just lucky and smart enough to hire Violet Green to work with her. At least Violet had retail experience, something Jenna woefully lacked. Together, they would ultimately be unstoppable. "Jenna had class and money and something to prove, while Violet knew how to make it, no matter the odds."

Actually, the odds were stacked against both of them. Jenna's confidence was so low, she was afraid to cook or experiment, the one thing that could attract people to her shop, Grate Expectations. She knew nothing about operating a store. She did have supportive parents, Marshall and Beth Stevens. Violet, on the other hand, had known little kindness in life. She was the daughter of the town whore, a woman who sold her daughter at the age of fourteen, and regularly abused her. Violet escaped, only to support herself on the streets until she could get a GED and move on. But, she was still haunted by her past. And, neither woman had faith in their abilities to pick good men, based on their past experiences.

So, picture a small kitchen shop where the two women are just starting to get the hang of working together, two insecure women. There's a great conversation when Violet suggests that Jenna has everything, a perfect life. It's a matter of perspective.  Jenna's response? "Excuse me? I'm getting a divorce, my husband cheated on me, I've just turned thirty-two, I have no kids, I own nothing, and if not for you, my business would have failed." It's a moment that brings the two of them closer when Violet admits, "When you put it like that."

Want one more thing to disrupt life? One day, Jenna's birth parents, aging hippies named Serenity and Tom, walk into the store, hoping to get to know the daughter they gave up at birth. It's a meeting that will change everyone's lives, Jenna, Beth and Marshall, even Violet's. And, so much changes in a novel filled with laughter, tears, and love.

I loved the characters in Susan Mallery's Already Home. I cheered for success for Jenna and Violet. I enjoyed Jenna's mother, Beth, and her relationship with her husband. And, I admired the two men who appeared to be part of long-term relationships for Jenna and Violet.  If the only weakness in this book were two male characters, that's fine. The two villains were eventually pushed out of the the women's lives. I couldn't resist Susan Mallery's Already Home, with its sparkle and joy, despite the past. Read this one when you want to see good women triumph.

Susan Mallery's website is http://www.susanmallery.com/

Already Home by Susan Mallery. MIRA. ©2011. ISBN 9780778329510 (paperback), 336p.

*****
FTC Full Disclosure - The publicist sent me an ARC, hoping I would review it.

Night Road by Kristin Hannah

If you think Kristin Hannah played with your emotions with Winter Garden or Firefly Lane, or any of her other novels, wait until you read Night Road. Her latest novel will totally wreak havoc with your emotions.

Lexi Baill breaks your heart when you first meet her. She's only fourteen, but she's been "in the system" her entire life, with a drug addict mother who would flit in and out, and then Lexi would be left to go back to another foster home. She had been in seven foster homes in five years, six different schools. But, she was a child who always had hope and faith in the future. It was only when her mother died that Lexi finally found family. Her Great-aunt Eva lived in a small trailer in Washington, but she took her in, and made sure she was sent to a good high school. That's where Lexi met Mia Farraday. Mia was the shy twin sister of Zach, the most popular boy in school, although she had no friends. Lexi's friendship with Mia brought Lexi a family she never knew, while Mia found a best friend who would always be there for her.

Jude Farraday was a  helicopter mom. Since her husband, Miles, was a surgeon, she could spend time at school with her twins, carpooling, chaperoning trips, acting as class mother. Mia needed a friend so much that Jude took Lexi under her wing. By their senior year in high school, the girls were inseparable. However, their class differences were obvious in their future plans. Lexi worked at the ice cream shop, struggling to get together money to go to the local college while Jude pushed Zach to accompany Mia to USC, following Jude's plans for their future. But, Jude Farraday can't control every second of her children's lives, and she's unprepared for the place Lexi occupies in the lives of both her children. One bad decision will destroy plans, lives, and the hopes of Lexi and the Farradays.

How do you recover from tragedy? Hannah shows the burden it places on survivors, the guilt, and the pain. Six years later, the repercussions of a loss on Night Road still haunt the people who can't move past that event. It's a story that will tear at your heart. You can only admire Lexi Baill and her courage. It will take a lonely little girl, and a young woman who remembers what it was like to be lost and alone, without a mother, to find hope, and glimpses of the future, after the loss on Kristin Hannah's Night Road.

Kristin Hannah's website is www.kristinhannah.com

Night Road by Kristin Hannah. St. Martin's Press. ©2011. ISBN 9780312364427 (hardcover), 400p.

*****
FTC Full Disclosure - The publicist sent me a copy of the book in hopes I would review it.

Recap - The Secret of Everything by Barbara O'Neal

Follow-up - The first part of January was a very good time for books since I read Brande's Fat Cat and Barbara O'Neal's The Secret of Everything then.  Both books made my mid-year list of favorites, and they ended up on this list as well.  I was lucky enough to hear and meet Barbara Samuel O'Neal at the Tucson Festival of Books in March.  And, I can't wait to read her new book, How to Bake a Perfect Life.  It's due out next week, as a trade paperback.  I already have it ordered.  Here's a sneak peek at the cover of that one, before the review of The Secret of Everything.

Barbara O'Neal, who gave us one of my favorite books of last year, The Lost Recipe for Happiness, has written another beautiful story, a gift of loneliness, love, family, reparation, and forgiveness. The Secret of Everything is filled with that beauty, plus food, with a little of the magic O'Neal shares with Sarah Addison Allen and Alice Hoffman. O'Neal's latest book is a treat for the senses, and the heart.

Tessa Harlow felt lost and guilty, after a hiking tour she led ended in tragedy. She suffered a broken arm and an infected foot, but recuperation at her father's oceanside home left her restless. So, despite her father's premonitions and warnings, she headed to Los Ladronas, New Mexico, a town reputed to be a new hot spot for foodies and celebrities. Tessa thought the town north of Santa Fe might offer a new site for tours. Instead, she ran into a past she never knew she had.

Her first night in town, she ran into Vince Grasso, a sexy man who did search-and-rescue. Vince, a widower with three young daughters, was focused on raising them, and trying to see his two oldest daughters, Natalie and Jade, through a rough period. At eight and six, they were suddenly at war with each other. Natalie, the oldest, felt lost and alone, trying to keep her mother's memory alive.

For thirty years, Vita Solano enjoyed sharing her passion for food at her restaurant, 100 Breakfasts. As a woman who was abused, and lived through it, she offered jobs, and hope, to women who ended up in jail. Her latest project was Annie, just released from prison. But, her restaurant was also a refuge for other lost souls, including Tessa, Vince, and Natalie.

Barbara O'Neal neatly intertwines the lives of her characters with the story of the town, Los Ladronas. As Tessa relives her recent tragedy, memories flash back from her childhood, memories that seem rooted in the history of the town, and its infamous commune. But, these are memories, and stories, that her father never told her. Now, his greatest fears are coming true.

It takes a commune, death, love, resurrection, and forgiveness, to reveal The Secret of Everything. Mix together a story of family, add some dogs, and enough recipes to make a foodie drool, along with a little magic. Here's a book of love, and loss, and tears. It's the type of story Hoffman and Allen have successfully created. Now, add Barbara O'Neal and The Secret of Everything to that special, must read list.

(Before giving the website, let me add that the copyright for Barbara O'Neal's books are under the name Barbara Samuel, the author of other books about strong women, family, and love.)

Barbara O'Neal's website is http://www.barbaraoneal.com/

The Secret of Everything by Barbara O'Neal. Bantam Books, ©2009. ISBN 9780553385526(paperback), 400p.

*****
FTC Full Disclosure - I bought this book.

The Love Goddess' Cooking School by Melissa Senate

I fell in love with the cover of Melissa Senate's novel, The Love Goddess' Cooking School. Then, I fell in love with the book.  Senate's latest book combines so many of my favorite elements, cooking, romance, and diary entries.  It's going on my list of favorite books of 2010.

Holly Maguire fled to her grandmother's house on Blue Crab Island, Maine, with a broken heart.  Holly seemed to spend most of her life searching for her next job, or following her latest relationship, since she didn't really know what she wanted to do or where she belonged.  But, when her beloved grandmother, Camilla Constantina, died two weeks after Holly returned, she inherited the house and business, Camilla's Cucinotta, a tiny takeout pasta shop and a popular Italian cooking class.  She didn't inherit her grandmother's fortune-telling ability, but, if she worked on it hard enough, maybe she could develop her own skills in cooking Italian food.  And, maybe she can find the man Camilla predicted would be Holly's "great love."

Holly is determined to save her grandmother's legacy.  Pouring over her grandmother's hand-written recipes, she practices until she can face her first class of four students.  Twelve-year-old Mia is desperate to learn to cook Italian food, to stop her father, Liam,  from marrying "That totally fake pink bubblehead."  Holly's childhood friend, Juliet, sought refuge on the island after a terrible loss.  There's Simon, a suddenly single father desperate to save his relationship with his young daughter, and Tamara, whose younger sister is getting married, leaving Tamara still searching for love.  This small group joins Holly in mixing ingredients with wishes and memories, the final ingredients in each recipe for food, and life.

Holly Maguire finds more than friends and her own future on Blue Crab Island.  Her grandmother's diaries provide stories of her past, stories that link the three generations of women in Holly's family, allowing her to discover so much about her mother, and why she hated the island that Holly and Camilla loved.

But, it's food, the recipes and stories of Camilla Constantina that link all of the people in the book, friends, enemies, and lovers.  Melissa Senate includes just enough recipes to lead us into temptation.  And, once readers fall into temptation, it's easy to fall in love with Holly Maguire and The Love Goddess' Cooking School.

Melissa Senate's website is http://www.melissasenate.com/.

The Love Goddess' Cooking School by Melissa Senate.  Gallery Books, ©2010. ISBN 9781439107232 (paperback), 352p.

*****
FTC Full Disclosure - The publicist sent me a copy of this book for possible review.

Looking for a Love Story by Louise Shaffer

"Back then, when I was a success, and Jake was proud of me," is a phrase that sums up Francesca Sewell's realization that her marriage is over.  The bestselling author thought she had everything when she married Jake, but it took a divorce and a writing project to teach her what she'd missed in life.  Louise Shaffer's character, Francesca, is Looking for a Love Story.

Fun was a four-letter word to Francesca before she met Jake when she was in her thirties.  She had just finished her first book, Love, Max, a novel that told the story of a divorce from a dog's point of view.  Francesca's parents had divorced when she was a kid.  They both moved on with their lives.  Her mother was a brilliant women's rights lawyer.  Her father married a blond cheerleader that Francesca grew to love.  Francesca's brother was a genius architect.  And, Francesca was the one still stuck in the past, wondering why her parents' marriage didn't work.

But, when she met Jake, a successful photographer, he made her into a glamorous author for the talk show circuits, and they lived a fast-paced New York life.  But, when she tried to write the second novel, she had no ideas, and her life deteriorated.  It shouldn't have taken Jake's request for "a Talk" for her to realize their marriage was over.  Other people had seen it coming.  And, she had the apartment and the dog.  What she didn't see coming was the need for a job.

Since she still had writer's block, Francesca decided to become a writer-for-hire.  And, it was a job writing a biography for an eighty-year-old woman that took her into a world she loved.  Chicky gave her the story of her parents, Joe and Ellie Masters.  As Francesca told their story of a life in vaudeville in the early 20th century, she found answers to her own life.

Like Francesca, I found myself rooting for Joe and Ellie.  But, you'll find yourself rooting for Francesca even more.  The troubled woman showed signs she had an unknown strength in a brilliant revenge scene that leaves you laughing.  That one scene provides hope for Francesca's future.  And, that's what Louise Shaffer's Looking for a Love Story is about, hope.  Despite set-backs, there's hope for Francesca, Chicky, Joe and Ellie, and other characters you'll care about in this warm book.

Louise Shaffer's website is http://www.louiseshaffer.com/

Looking for a Love Story by Louise Shaffer.  Ballantine Books, ©2010. ISBN 9780345502100 (paperback), 320p.

*****
FTC Full Disclosure - Library Book

The Blind Contessa's New Machine by Carey Wallace

Like Beth Hoffman's Saving CeeCee Honeycutt, Carey Wallace's debut novel, The Blind Contessa's New Machine is a Pamela Dorman Book.  Penguin has this to say about the Pamela Dorman Books imprint.  "The imprint will focus on books of the kind Dorman has published throughout her career: fiction, especially debut fiction that is both well-written and accessible, novels of character that are propelled by strong storytelling and a rich emotional core. These are books that are aimed at an upmarket popular audience, both literate and commercial, the kinds of novels that reading groups adopt, that we hope readers treasure, and that will have long lives in trade paperback ahead of them."  Once again, Dorman has selected a lyrical first novel, one that will break your heart.  It's even sadder when you realize it is based on the true story of the woman who inspired the invention of the typewriter.

Around her eighteenth birthday, Contessa Carolina Fontini discovered she was going blind.  Her parents didn't believe her.  And her fiancé, Pietro, thought she was joking.  Only the local inventor, Turri, a man ten years older than her, understands, and knows that she's watching her world become more limited and disappear.  The  two have shared a love of nature, and spent time at the lake house Carolina's father built for her mother, so Turri understands Carolina's loss.  And, it truly is a loss as the young independent woman finds herself trapped in the house she marries into, followed by unknown footsteps, and locked in so she can't escape to the lake house.  Her charming, charismatic husband can't understand the blind dreamer he married.

In her dreams, though, Carolina can still escape and see the world.  The book vividly describes Carolina's imaginings, the colors and world she sees.  But, it's Turri her gives her a gift that allows her to communicate again, a writing machine that becomes a curiosity to the townspeople, but is so much more to Carolina.  It's a way to reach Turri and his love.

The Blind Contessa's New Machine is a tragedy of loss and yearning.  Anyone who reads it has to feel Carolina's terrible loss, so great for a young woman who enjoyed her senses and nature.  She's held captive by a man who loved the image of Contessa Carolina Fontini, but never understood her true nature.  Wallace's debut is a lush, beautiful story of loss, and hope, and dreams.

Carey Wallace's website is http://www.careywallace.com/.

The Blind Contessa's New Machine by Carey Wallace. Penguin Group (USA), ©2010.  ISBN
9780670021895 (hardcover), 224p.

*****
FTC Full Disclosure - Library book