Nantucket Sisters by Nancy Thayer

Just finished Nantucket Sisters by Nancy Thayer last night - it's a good beach read!  No surprises, pretty predictable plot but just good summer reading.  I enjoyed it!  I don't see this book as a good book club choice as there would not be much discussion about the book. 4 stars!

Book Description from Amazon:

Friendship takes center stage in New York Times bestselling author Nancy Thayer’s captivating, emotionally charged novel featuring all the tenderness and wit, drama and romance that readers have come to expect from this insightful, much-loved writer.
 
When they meet as girls on a beach in Nantucket, Maggie Drew and Emma Hudson become fast friends—though Emma’s well-heeled mother would prefer that she associate with the upscale daughters of bankers and statesmen rather than the child of a local seamstress. But the two lively, imaginative girls nevertheless spend many golden summers together building castles in the sand, creating magical worlds of their own, and forging grand plans for their future.
 
Even as Emma falls for Maggie’s brother, Ben, and the young women’s paths diverge, the duo remain close friends. Then the unthinkable happens: a lifelong friendship is pushed to its breaking point with the appearance of the handsome, charismatic, charming, and incredibly sexy Wall Street trader Cameron Chadwick—upending both of their lives.
 
Struggling with the difficult choices they have made and the secrets they have kept, Maggie and Emma find the road to love and fulfillment is full of bumps and twists, as well as entirely unexpected and quite wonderful turns of the heart. They also learn that while true love may be rare, a true friendship is rarer still.

Inside Man by Jeff Abbott

I just finished Inside Man by Jeff Abbott - what a great thriller which I absolutely loved!  Inside Man continues the adventures of former CIA agent Sam Capra who now owns bars across the world which were given to him by the Round Table- a secret organization.  (This secret organization is still really "secret" as we don't learn more about it in this novel!).

This time the action takes place in Miami where Sam goes to check out his bar in Miami - his friend Steve is murdered and Sam is drawn into a maze of a powerful Miami family.  There is a little romance, lots of action, and twists and turns that I did not see coming.  The middle dragged a little for me - but stick with it - the last third of the book was a wild roller coaster ride!  Loved it - 5 stars!


Book Description from Amazon:

Following Adrenaline, The Last Minute, and Downfall, Jeff Abbott returns with the next riveting novel in the award-winning New York Timesbestselling Sam Capra series.

INSIDE MAN

Sam Capra's friend Steve has been murdered, shot dead in the rain outside of his Miami bar. The only lead: a mysterious, beautiful stranger Steve tried to protect. To avenge his friend, Sam goes undercover into the Varelas, one of Miami's most prominent and dangerous families.

Now on the inside, playing a part where one wrong move means death, Sam faces a powerful, unstable tycoon intent on dividing his business empire between his three very different children, who each may hold murderous secrets of their own.

Sam is relentlessly drawn into this family's intense drama, amplifying painful echoes of his own shattered relationships as a son, brother, father, and husband. And just when he thinks he understands why the family is self-destructing, he discovers a lethal secret so shocking that the Varelas cannot let him walk away alive . . . 

The House on Mermaid Point by Wendy Wax

Just finished The House on Mermaid Point by Wendy Wax - a fun 4th of July read for me - ok - I wasn't at the beach but enjoyed my light summertime fun read!  I've enjoyed all of Wendy Wax's books with Maddie, Avery, Nikki, Deirdre and Kyra and their reality decorating show "Do Over". I've enjoyed seeing how these women have become strong as they've faced many obstacles and personal challenges.  Lots of fun between the ladies!  

This book highlights Maddie and her potential romance with a rock legend William Hightower - the owner of the house on a private island in the keys that the show is renovating.  I like seeing how romance may not be dead in the older generation!  

What I'm not enjoying is the different stories and romances are left in limbo for the next book in the series - don't need to drag them out so long.  My favorite book in this series was probably the first one - Ten Beach Road.  Anyway - will look forward to the next one!  4 stars!

Book Description on Amazon

In this new novel from the author of Ten Beach Road and Ocean Beach, three unlikely friends who were thrown together by disaster get a do-over on life, love, and happiness . . . 

Maddie, Avery, and Nikki first got to know one another—perhaps all too well—while desperately restoring a beachfront mansion to its former grandeur. Now they’re putting that experience to professional use. But their latest project has presented some challenges they couldn’t have dreamed up in their wildest fantasies—although the house does belong to a man who actually was Maddie’s wildest fantasy once . . .

Rock-and-roll legend “William the Wild” Hightower may be past his prime, estranged from his family, and creatively blocked, but he’s still worshiped by fans—which is why he guards his privacy on his own island in the Florida Keys. He’s not thrilled about letting this crew turn his piece of paradise into a bed-and-breakfast for a reality show . . . though he is intrigued by Maddie. Hard as that is for her to believe as a newly single woman who can barely manage a dog paddle in the dating pool.

But whether it’s an unexpected flirtation with a bona fide rock star, a strained mother-daughter relationship, or a sudden tragedy, these women are in it together. The only thing that might drive them apart is being trapped on a houseboat with one bathroom . . . 

In the Blood by Lisa Unger

This was my first time to read author Lisa Unger and I can't wait to catch up on her previous thrillers!  In the Blood is a great psychological  thriller - so many twists and turns that I absolutely did not see coming.  Very dark - very thought provoking as we learn about college student Lana Granger and all her problems.  She has led a very complicated life and her professor urges her to get her first job - babysitting troubled Luke (Of course the reader wants to say "No - don't take the job - run!").  Through flashbacks and a diary - we learn more about the past but we are not sure whose past we are learning about - again - lots of twists and turns!

Lots of thought provoking questions are still lingering after I finished and I would love to discuss - mental illness passed down from one generation to another - definition of psychopaths and what age can they be identified, how do you handle a difficult child, can a difficult birth cause problems in a child, how a troubled child affects a marriage, at what age can a child manipulate his/her parents, etc.
As I'm still thinking about this novel several days later, I'd give it 5 stars!  Dark good read!

Book Description from Amazon:

SOMEONE KNOWS LANA'S SECRET - AND HE'S DYING TO TELL.

LANA GRANGER LIVES A LIFE OF LIES. She has told so many lies about where she comes from and who she is that the truth is like a cloudy nightmare she can't quite recall. About to graduate from college and with her trust fund almost tapped out, she takes a job babysitting a troubled boy named Luke. Expelled from schools all over the country, the manipulative young Luke is accustomed to control­ling the people in his life. But, in Lana, he may have met his match. Or has Lana met hers? 

When Lana's closest friend, Beck, mysteriously disappears, Lana resumes her lying ways--to friends, to the police, to herself. The police have a lot of questions for Lana when the story about her where­abouts the night Beck disappeared doesn't jibe with eyewitness accounts. Lana will do anything to hide the truth, but it might not be enough to keep her ominous secrets buried: someone else knows about Lana's lies. And he's dying to tell. 

Lisa Unger's writing has been hailed as "stellar" (USA Today), "arresting and meaningful" (Washington Post) with "gripping narrative and evocative, muscular prose" (Associated Press). Masterfully suspenseful, finely crafted, and written with a no-holds-barred raw power, In the Blood is Unger at her best.

One plus One by Jojo Noyes

Just stayed up tip 2 am to finish One plus One by Jojo Noyes - (my Jawbone up24 sleep counter isn't liking the little number on the bottom of my Kindle telling me I have 23 minutes left to finish the book - hurting my sleep stats!) - absolutely loved this book and this author!  

Jojo Noyes does a great job of drawing you into characters you probably would ignore in everyday life - like the hardworking cleaning woman Jess and her goth stepson and math prodigy daughter.  Jess's problems seem insurmountable but her good heart and incredible work ethic make you cheer for her!  Along comes the software genius Ed who has major problems of his own to deal with but somehow he's pulled into Jess's complicated life and ends up driving them to a math competition.  As nothing comes easy for Jess, opening up her heart and asking for help is nearly impossible and Ed is also very resistant to any new relationships with all his problems.  

This sweet quirky story will make a great movie - haven't checked to see if it's been optioned - the story reminds me of  "Little Miss Sunshine"?  I think book clubs across both oceans will love this - I hope mine will love it!  5 stars!!!  Great read!


Book Description from Amazon:
Suppose your life sucks. A lot. Your husband has done a vanishing act, your teenage stepson is being bullied, and your math whiz daughter has a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that you can’t afford to pay for. That’s Jess’s life in a nutshell—until an unexpected knight in shining armor offers to rescue them. Only Jess’s knight turns out to be Geeky Ed, the obnoxious tech millionaire whose vacation home she happens to clean. But Ed has big problems of his own, and driving the dysfunctional family to the Math Olympiad feels like his first unselfish act in ages . . . maybe ever.
 
One Plus One is Jojo Moyes at her astounding best. You’ll laugh, you’ll weep, and when you flip the last page, you’ll want to start all over again.