Belinda’s Book Nook Review: Rainy Day Sisters by Kate Hewitt

rainydaysisters

Title: Rainy Day Sisters
Author: Kate Hewitt
Copyright: August 4, 2015
Genre: fiction, series
Format: ebook  ARC Pages: 368

Synopsis (from Goodreads):

Welcome to Hartley-by-the-Sea in England’s beautiful Lake District, where two sisters who meet as strangers find small miracles tucked into the corners of every day….

When Lucy Bagshaw’s life in Boston falls apart, thanks to a scathing editorial written by her famous artist mother, she accepts her half sister Juliet’s invitation to stay with her in a charming seaside village in northern England. Lucy is expecting quaint cottages and cream teas, but instead finds that her sister is an aloof host, the weather is wet, windy, and cold, and her new boss, Alex Kincaid, is a disapproving widower who only hired her as a favor to Juliet.

Despite the invitation she offered, Juliet is startled by the way Lucy catapults into her orderly life. As Juliet faces her own struggles with both her distant mother and her desire for a child, her sister’s irrepressible optimism begins to take hold. With the help of quirky villagers, these hesitant rainy day sisters begin to forge a new understanding…and find in each other the love of family that makes all the difference.

My thoughts:

This is another ARC that I read for review for the publisher. I read the description and knew this would make a great summer read. From the beginning, I was pulled into the story and wanted to know what had happened to Lucy to make her flee Boston.

The setting: I felt drawn to the rich details of this quaint town and landscape. I could almost smell the dampness in the air from the mist and seawater. It added brilliantly to the story build.

The characters: I enjoyed all of the characters in this book from the two main characters, Lucy and Juliet right on to the postmaster. The author created such a great community. It reminded me of Debbie Macomber Blossom Street books. The story is nothing like each other but I feel that Kate Hewitt created and developed a great cast of characters. Each having their own interesting quirks. I found Lucy, a very lovable character and found myself routing for her and her sister Juliette throughout the book. Now when I picked this book I didn’t realize it was the first book in a series. I only actually realized this when I began writing this review and when to pull the summary for this book. So I am actually pleased that it will not be a farewell to the characters I have come to like.

The story:  I found the story interesting. I love stories set in little villages or small towns and I like the idea of the close-knit community. I grew up with 4 sisters and also found I was drawn to a book about sisters. Although I would consider this a light read, the family dynamics explored in this book provided more depth to the story while pushing forward the mystery of the cause for the broken relationship the girls have with their mother.

I also really enjoyed the pacing of the story. Right from the start I wanted to know exactly what caused Lucy to flee Boston. The pacing always allowed for nice story development prior to the reveal of both her and her sister’s complete story. My only criticism is that the pacing towards the end might have been a bit rushed. Not to say that I wasn’t anxious to see how things turned out, but I think when she returned to Boston, the story got a bit rushed in terms of the pacing throughout the story. I quite enjoyed how the author switched back and forth between the main characters to give you a more complete picture of what was going on in the story.

Overall, I truly enjoyed this book and look forward to visiting Hartley-by-the-Sea in the near future once she releases book 2!

For all of my reasons above I gave this book 4 butterflies.

4rating

Happy reading!

Belinda

Belinda’s Book Nook: Happy Mail – Sujata Massey’s New Book

happymailHello Everyone!

Ok, who doesn’t love getting packages in the mail? I am pretty sure I did one of those really girly squeals when I saw the package sitting on my front steps yesterday. I knew what it was before I opened it. I set it on the counter unopened and grabbed my new favorite tea mug my sister gave me this Christmas and began making some tea.  Then I rushed to the table, tore it open and proceeded to do a happy dance that almost spilled the tea!

Next, I took a picture to share my excitement on my Instagram and of course to use to share with my blogging friends. The book is called The Kizuna Coast: A Rei Shimura Mystery by the amazing Sujata Massey. Oh I am pretty sure I have told you on a past post how much I love this author’s works.

salarymanswifeI read her first book in this series while working at a news paper back in 1997. I loved the cover and my strong interest in Japanese culture since I was a child, compelled me to pick up the book. I went home and couldn’t stop reading. I remember reading into the night. I loved that Rei, was a strong character that allowed me to peek into the Japanese culture and learn while going on her mysterious adventure. I was hooked. I bought every book in this series since then. Each one providing me with not only a great story with strong characters (many who continue on in the series) but with new aspects of the Japanese culture.

So when found out a new book in the series, Kizuna Coast was coming out soon. I pre-ordered the e-book online since it was going to arrive earlier and then pre-ordered the book to keep with the rest of the books in the series.

Anyway, when I finally sat down to look at the book, I acted like such a book nerd. I held it in my hand and marveled at the feel of it in my hands. The cover is so gorgeous in person and the pages feel so good when you turn them. Now only a true book lover will appreciate these last comments so what I am trying to say is that I am so happy and look forward to reading the book.

Kizuna Coast Book Description

When an earthquake triggers a tsunami that floods Japan’s northeast coast, amateur sleuth Rei Shimura is pushed into her most rugged adventure yet.

It starts with an SOS from Rei’s beloved elderly friend, the antiques dealer Mr. Ishida, who’s trapped among thousands on the ravaged Tohoku coast. Rei rushes from Hawaii to blacked-out Tokyo, where she discovers Ishida Antiques may have been burglarized and its cuddly watchdog, Hachiko, needs a caregiver.

Rei and Hachiko board a bus full of disaster volunteers headed to the damaged town of Sugihama. Once there, they learn about the disappearance during the tsunami of Mr. Ishida’s antiques apprentice, Mayumi, a troubled young woman from a famous lacquer-making family.

Making use of her volunteer friends, as well as her knowledge of Japanese manners and antiques, Rei investigates Mayumi’s suspicious disappearance. Complicating the situation is a police force overwhelmed by counting the dead, and a stalker who’s set his or her own sights on Rei.

I will post a review on the book once I complete the book so stay tuned. I am currently reading a hunk of a book right now so it may be a little bit but definitely will review the book.

My day, was made yesterday with the delivery of this happy mail and today with the anticipation of reading it.

Have you had any happy mail lately?

Happy reading my friends!

Belinda

Belinda’s Book Nook Review: Three books of a quartet: Cinder, Scarlet, and Cress by Marisa Meyer

Cindertrilogy

Titles: Cinder, Scarlet, Cress
Author: Marissa Meyer
Genre: fiction, fantasy
Format: book

Synopsis (from publisher):

Cinder (Lunar Chronicles, Book 1)

Humans and androids crowd the raucous streets of New Beijing. A deadly plague ravages the population. From space, a ruthless lunar people watch, waiting to make their move. No one knows that Earth’s fate hinges on one girl. . . .

Cinder, a gifted mechanic, is a cyborg. She’s a second-class citizen with a mysterious past, reviled by her stepmother and blamed for her stepsister’s illness. But when her life becomes intertwined with the handsome Prince Kai’s, she suddenly finds herself at the center of an intergalactic struggle, and a forbidden attraction. Caught between duty and freedom, loyalty and betrayal, she must uncover secrets about her past in order to protect her world’s future.

Scarlet (Lunar Chronicles, Book 2)

Cinder is back and trying to break out of prison—even though she’ll be the Commonwealth’s most wanted fugitive if she does—in this second installment from Marissa Meyer.
Halfway around the world, Scarlet Benoit’s grandmother is missing. It turns out there are many things Scarlet doesn’t know about her grandmother, or the grave danger she has lived in her whole life. When Scarlet encounters Wolf, a street fighter who may have information as to her grandmother’s whereabouts, she is loath to trust this stranger, but is inexplicably drawn to him, and he to her. As Scarlet and Wolf unravel one mystery, they encounter another when they meet Cinder. Now, all of them must stay one step ahead of the vicious Lunar Queen Levana.

Cress (Lunar Chronicles, Book 3)

In this third book in Marissa Meyer’s bestselling Lunar Chronicles series, Cinder and Captain Thorne are fugitives on the run, now with Scarlet and Wolf in tow. Together, they’re plotting to overthrow Queen Levana and prevent her army from invading Earth.

My Review:

Wow… I came across Cinder while watching some book bloggers back in February. So many people were talking about it and let’s face it, the cover is really cool.  So I ordered it from BookOutlet for an amazing price.  I took it with me on my annual girl’s craft weekend in Jackson New Hampshire. I always bring a book to read before I go to bed.

I started reading Cinder (the first in the series) and found myself up hours later, totally engrossed. Now, this is a Young Adult fiction and I am past Young Adult in age but let me say that I thoroughly enjoy many books from this genre.  I don’t turn my nose up to a good story.

Ms. Meyer takes the story on a wild adventure while still keeping the basis of the story grounded in the traditional fairy tale, Cinderella.  I enjoyed the first book so much because it created the world with vivid descriptions.  I instantly liked the main character Cinder although a few times I don’t know why she didn’t make smarter choices.  I like that social issues (Like what defines being human.)  were intertwined with the story but weren’t being forced down your throat. I found myself going to my room while on my weekend away and reading a few chapters. I just wanted to know what would happen.

As in the Hunger Games, each book of this series end with a cliff hanger so you have to read the next book to find out what happens. What I also found fascinating is that Ms. Meyer took different fairy tales and found ways to link the books to each other. For example the first book is Cinderella, the second is Little Red Riding Hood and the third is Rapunzel and the next to be released is Snow White.

I really enjoyed this series and read them very fast. I think there was good character development in each book and just enough romance without ruining the story.  My favorite of the three would be Cinder because that is where Ms. Meyer created the world for us in such lovely detail.

I highly recommend this series. The only problem is that I have to wait for the final book, Winter which will be released in 2015.

I will be back with more reviews very soon.  I have been reading a lot lately and just need to sit down and write up some reviews.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. My rating was 5 butterflies!

5rating

Happy Reading!

Belinda

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