Blue Moon Mystery Saloon

Switching Gears

A Novel by Chantele Sedgwick, Sky Pony Press, February 2017.

* An e-galley was provided by Sky Pony Press and Edelweiss for an honest review.

 

Switching Gears by Chantele Sedgwick
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Sky Pony Press is starting to be my go-to publisher for young adult books. Their newest addition, SWITCHING GEARS, a follow up to LOVE, LUCAS by Chantele Sedgwick, is a wonderful example of what I think makes a great young adult romance. The writing is easy-flowing and never bogs down, the action is exciting and plentiful, and the lead characters have realistic flaws and grow throughout the story. And, of course, the heroine gets her HEA.

Seventeen-year-old Emmy Martin loves mountain biking. It's what makes her feel alive. As the story begins, she still mourns the death of her best friend, neighbor, and secret love Lucas, who died from cancer the month before. She strains to finish a race in first place but is passed by her nemesis, Whitney. Irritated at always coming in behind Whitney, she asks for a rematch. A cocky Cole offers to help her train, but Emmy chooses to do it by herself. She's afraid to get close to too many people, since she fears they might leave her. So she keeps only Kelsie as her friend and confidant.

Kelsie is Emmy's best friend and an exceptional one, too. She refuses to let Emmy wallow in her sadness, constantly pushing and prodding her to get out and enjoy life. She makes Emmy laugh, and she encourages her to give Cole a chance. She is perfect BFF material.

And then there's Cole. Hot, cocky and a mountain bike racing fiend. Emmy doesn't like him at first, especially after he's named captain of their school's mountain biking team, the one she started the previous summer. She's wary of him when he offers to train her for the rematch with Whitney. So Emmy turns him down. He continues to try and help her and eventually asks her out. He's supportive, treats her well and likes to tease her. But most of all, he cares enough to challenge Emmy to be her very best.

The story includes issues of abandonment, grief, self-doubt, guilt, and believing in yourself. It has funny parts mixed in with some sad passages, but it's a wonderful story overall. The only con is that it ended too soon. (I would have liked to see the last chapter expanded to include some of what happened through the year before the Epilogue occurs.) So I'm giving the book a strong 4.5 stars

SWITCHING GEARS is a sweet romance that should appeal to younger teenagers, but older teenagers and adults will enjoy the story too. And it's a book you'll want to keep on your shelf to revisit from time to time.

If You Like This, You May Like: LOVE, LUCAS and NOT YOUR AVERAGE FAIRY TALE by Chantele Sedgwick, LIFE BEFORE by Michele Bacon, THAT BURNING SUMMER by Lydia Syson, BY YOUR SIDE by Kasie West, FIRST YEAR by Sarah Hocut, STOLEN KISSES by Kerttu-Liis Kiili, SAINT ANYTHING and JUST LISTEN by Sarah Dessen 

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Sugar

A Novel by Kimberly Stuart, Skyhorse Publishing, February 2017.

* An e-galley was provided by Skyhorse Publishing and Edelweiss for an honest review.

 

Sugar by Kimberly Stuart
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I love books that make me laugh out loud. I also adore books filled with witty banter and cute but flawed characters. SUGAR, by Kimberly Stuart, has all those ingredients and more.

OCD-like Charlie Garrett is a masterful pastry chef in a swanky NYC restaurant. She's been promised the top pastry job there for years. So she's kept her mouth shut and put up with the jerk in charge of pastries waiting for her dream job to open.

Avery Malachowski, Charlie's ex from their culinary school days nine plus years ago, tricks her into accepting the head pastry chef position at his new restaurant in Seattle. At first she's reluctant to leave NYC, but he wears her down. She's excited to finally be in the same town as her best friend, Manda, who is married with three young kids.

Manda Hendrick shines as the best friend. She's funny, cute and open as a mom and friend. She's the ying to Charlie's yang, preferring relaxed, lighthearted interaction with her family and friends to a frantic tunnel vision on her main focus (like Charlie). I particularly enjoyed her silly conversations with her husband and children.

In Seattle Charlie meets Kai Malloy, a progressive diner owner who is as laid back as his name suggests. He is good for Charlie and keeps her from taking herself too seriously. He cares a lot for Charlie, even when she's being rude and too focused on her work. He's all about trust and enjoying life, while she's all about work, work and more work.

Pros: The story contains lots of great zingers and laugh-out-loud banter. There are well-developed and enjoyable, flawed characters who grow throughout story. The author used humorous ways to address serious issues, such as trust, disappointment, and job satisfaction.

Cons: I would've liked to know more about how Charlie felt about moving to Seattle and back again to NYC. And I didn't always like Charlie. She seems a little too critical of people and events swirling around her. Thankfully she grows more likable as the story continues, and she learns to relax a bit. And though there is a satisfying ending, the story wraps up too quickly.

Overall Message: Relax and take time to enjoy life, don't be afraid to trust your friends, and don't discount your instincts.

If You Like This, You Might Like: OPERATION BONNET and ACT TWO by Kimberly Stuart, THE TOTAL PACKAGE by Stephanie Evanovich, MY (NOT SO) PERFECT LIFE by Sophie Kinsella, THE BOY IS BACK by Meg Cabot, ON SECOND THOUGHT by Kristan Higgins


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The Dressmaker's Dowry

^{A Novel by Meredith Jaeger, William Morrow/HarpersCollins, February 2017.}

** An e-galley was provided by William Morrow/HarperCollins and Edelweiss for an honest review.

 

The Dressmaker's Dowry by Meredith Jaeger
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

THE DRESSMAKER'S DOWRY, by Meredith Jaeger, is an appealing and unique story of love, survival, and secrets. Set in San Francisco, it alternates between modern times and 1876.

The story begins in the present day and is told in first person, past tense. Sarah Havensworth is a grad student trying to write a novel for her MFA thesis. She's stuck with her story about life in the late 19th century's Barbary Coast and hasn't written anything in several weeks. Not only does she feel like a fraud because she can't finish her book, she's reluctant to let her husband Hunter Havensworth know. He's from a wealthy San Francisco family and has been her greatest supporter, both monetarily and emotionally, while she's been writing. They've been drifting apart, and she's afraid he'll think she's a big disappointment.

While researching her novel, Sarah discovers an article in an 1876 local newspaper referring to the disappearance of two dressmakers. The story intrigues Sarah because a serial killer was in the area at the same time, and she wonders if there's any way to tell if the dressmakers were his victims. So she abandons her soulless novel to write the more compelling dressmakers' story. This portion is set in 1876 and told in the third person, past tense by Hannelore "Hanna" Schaeffer. She's an immigrant from Bavaria, speaks German and English fluently, and is the oldest of four children of a fat, alcoholic, and abusive father. He takes the money she makes from her dressmaking job to drink and eat at taverns, while she and the other children barely scrape by. She and her Irish immigrant friend, Margaret O'Brien, spend long hours sewing for an unpleasant woman and her wealthy customers. One night Margaret is supposed to watch Hanna's siblings but never arrives. Hanna vows to find Margaret and enlists her friend, real estate mogul Lucas Havensworth, to help her.

Both Sarah and Hanna are survivors. They've lived through horrible situations and experienced bullying, deprivation and self-doubt. Though they each find love, they feel they don't deserve it and try to distance themselves from their partners. Sarah and Hanna have secrets too. Deep ones, that if discovered, could make their lives miserable.

As a history and preservation professional, I'm drawn to the research Sarah conducts to gather information for her story. The author uses this info to capture the disparity in living conditions between the wealthy citizens of late 19th century San Francisco and the poor immigrant populations living in unsafe and squalid areas of the city. And her portrayal of how the upper classes treated the other levels of society is reflected in both Sara's time and in 1876.

Pros: The story is definitely unique and well thought out. The plot and subplots interweave fairly well, and the characters are multidimensional and extremely interesting.

Cons: The novel could have been shorter--some passages are a little too long without adding to the story. In many places, the length of the sentences are similar, resulting in a somewhat stilted reading rhythm.

Final Thoughts: THE DRESSMAKER'S DOWRY is a good book for readers who like mysteries and character-driven stories and for people who like a bit of history sprinkled through their fiction. Though it's in the contemporary women genre, it's something I would have wanted to read even in the fifth grade (when I read GONE WITH THE WIND), so it's suitable for teenagers too..

If You Like This, You Might Like: THE LIFE SHE WAS GIVEN and WHAT SHE LEFT BEHIND by Ellen Marie Wiseman, INTO THE WATER by Paula Hawkins, HER EVERY FEAR by Peter Swanson, THE ISLAND HOUSE by Nancy Thayer, INHERITING EDITH by Zoe Fishman

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