Family Drama

Checkmate (#6 in the Lymond Chronicles)

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By Dorothy Dunnett

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At the moment, I am tired of journeys. It is time I arrived somewhere.

He wondered why his lordship had claimed to be unable to identify the boy on the bridge. Then he recalled something he had heard rumoured. Once, Lymond had questioned a child and lived to regret it.

“You may give me a brooch. A sapphire one.”
“Ah,” he said. “But will you take care of it?”

It’s been about 3 weeks since I finished this last book in The Lymond Chronicles. And this review has been hanging over my head. Between finishing the book and seriously tackling this review I have had a ball reading other peoples thoughts and insights into the series which I was unable to do while I was reading it because of fear of running into spoilers. More on that later. In short, I have been, off and on, just immersing myself even further in the series.. I have a lot more exploring yet to do down the Lymond/Dorothy Dunnett rabbit hole.

As I look back on this book, Checkmate, I am amazed at how much happened action-wise, the character arcs, and the seamless involvement of our fictional characters with the military actions, politics, and religion of the time. In the course of the series, Dorothy Dunnett has shown herself to be ready, willing, and able to kill off important characters as well as animals. So while I was happy at the return of those whom we kind of left by the wayside during Pawn in Frankincense and/or The Ringed Castle, I feared for them. These included Kate, Philippa’s mother, Jerrott “I don’t understand” Blythe, Marthe, his difficult and troubled wife, and Archie Abernathy, the rock. Of course Lymond’s mother, Sybilla, so beloved and admired by me in previous books was certainly under threat of ye old chopping block given her advanced age (at least for those times) alone. And what of his estranged brother Richard? It would be just like DD to kill him off before he and Lymond could be reconciled. Though frankly, Richard was such a dumbass throughout most of this one, I can’t say I cared much about his ultimate fate.

What we went through in this book, along with Lymond and Philippa, our daring duo! We begin the book, right where The Ringed Castle left off, picking up with Lymond shortly after he has landed back in France after being kidnapped by Philippa and his friends, for his own good. They successfully conspired to prevent him from returning to what he saw as his mission in Russia where he would face certain death. Which was OK with him, but not with anyone else. I know I sure didn’t want him to go back there. Although at the end of TRC, he loves Philippa “in every way known to man” he is determined to divorce her for her own protection and because of his own self-loathing. Philippa is as yet unaware of the nature of her attachment to “Mr. Crawford.” He enters into an agreement to serve embattled France in his capacity as a military leader without peer. In return, the powers that be will see that the divorce is granted. Along with placing Lymond in the middle of real historical military battles and political machinations, we experience all manner of…stuff. High spirited swashbuckling adventure, a love story for the ages (which for me, had its earliest beginnings in The Disorderly Knights), deep dark mystery, family drama, mental and physical anguish of all sorts, sacrifice, evil, goodness, triumph and…well, just name it. And that’s just Philippa. Kidding. But Philippa and Lymond are equal or almost equal partners in all that transpires in this book.

Before I bought the books many moons ago, I vetted the series enough to know it ended in a rewarding and satisfying way. But as the books went on, I didn’t see how the ending could possibly be completely happy due to Lymond’s physical and mental health challenges. But Dorothy accomplished it. At least I chose to buy it. As much as I loved the book, it wasn’t perfect. I struggled with getting my head around the motivations, mindsets, and decisions of Philippa, Lymond, and Sybilla. So much harm and suffering for, what I felt, were weak and not very well supported reasons. I asked the DD in my head, at too many points, “Because why now?” “Huh? But.…” Also, I feel like the title of the book is a little misleading and I felt a bit cheated by part of the conclusion. Because the book is called “Checkmate” I expected a battle of the titans between Lymond and his nemesis throughout most of the series, Margaret Lennox. With, of course, Lymond outmaneuvering, tricking, and finally conquering the wily Margaret in an exciting showdown for the ages. Of course it would exceed in guile and excitement the climaxes we were treated to in 4 of the 5 preceding volumes. The word “Checkmate” comes with certain expectations. The confrontation between the two had its rewards, but in the end that part was anticlimactic. But, thanks to the gorgeous and fulfilling conclusion to Francis’ and Philippa’s love story, It is a fairly minor quibble. In the end there is peace and joy at long last, and that is enough. But still so many questions! I learned from reading this series that sometimes that’s not a bad thing.

So many lovers of this series have read it many times. They comment how much they missed the first time. I had a different experience, thanks to helpful websites and Youtube chapter by chapter discussions posted years ago which leant valuable insights, and conscientiously avoided spoilers. They added historical political and religious context, explained obscure literary allusions, translated foreign language passages, and a whole lot more. Many personal opinions and speculations over countless plot and character points were offered and explored. Not to mention, “What did Dorothy Dunnett really mean by that?” Some hearty souls read this massive work while it was still being written and had to wait years between books. I can’t pretend to imagine what that experience was like. Many forged ahead while up in the air as to whether all would end tragically with Lymond’s death (or worse!). Given his death wish, it seemed more than likely. I had the advantage of knowing the end would be a happy one, though I took great care to avoid any other spoilers. But a funny thing happened. I went through Checkmate and part of The Ringed Castle, under a misapprehension. In looking up an innocuous factoid, I ran across what I thought was a huge spoiler. I caught a glimpse of the answer to one of the big running mysteries we had been teased with throughout the series: Lymond’s true parentage. But since I shut down what I was reading immediately, I got it wrong. It would have been quite juicy, had it been true, so I was a little disappointed when I finally realized that all of the clues that pointed in another direction were not, as I thought, red herrings. Also I read that one very important character died, and he/she didn’t. Where that came from I’ll probably never know. But I was sure happy about it.

So there you have it: A small part of my experience with this scholarly, flamboyant, and, yes, sometimes preposterous series which is influencing writers to this day. But I am certainly not done with Dunnett. I now have the audio books in my library and another series to look forward to: Niccolo Rising. Which from what I gather should be almost as profound a reading experience as was The Lymond Chronicles. We’ll see.

Rating: 5 out of 5.

Sarah’s Cottage

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By D. E. Stevenson

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This was a perfectly enjoyable DES which pretty much picks up where Sarah Morris Remembers leaves off. Sarah and Charles are married and have built a cottage near Sarah’s grandparents on some land that they gifted to them.  I listened to this on Audible and the new narrator made the choice of losing Charles’ Austrian accent which was so much a part of his personality in “Remembers.” Sarah’s father who was so important in the preceding book stays in London and is very much on the back burner which was A-OK with me. At the end of Sarah Morris Remembers, the good vicar made me very angry by discounting Sarah’s frantic and confused insistence that she had seen her beloved Charles whom she feared dead. No matter how passionately she tried to convince him, he refused to believe her, which added to her pain and confusion. After Charles and Sarah are reunited at her grandparents house in Scotland (where she was sent to basically recover her sanity), I thought it was pretty significant that her father was not included in the joy of their reunion, nor even told, at least on the page, of Charles’ miraculous return.

A lot happens in this book, which spans, as near as I can make out, around 13 years. But there are two main plot threads. Sarah and Charles take Lottie and Clive’s neglected child, Freddy, under their wing. Lottie never wanted her (in SMR she wanted an abortion!) and treats her accordingly–only concerned with her own pleasure-seeking. Her father is not a bad man but  a non-entity in his daughters’ life whose only concern is running his business. Sarah and Charles only see Freddy  on some holiday breaks from her boarding school (Saint Elizabeth’s of Charlotte Fairlie!), but it is enough to guide her, give her safety, security, and what she most needs, love. A lot happens with Freddy, including her transformation from an ugly duckling to a swan and her almost falling victim to a cad and a fortune hunter.

The second is Charles becoming obsessed with writing a fictionalized account of his life. It totally takes over his life for about 6 months  and frankly he behaves like an asshole, neglecting and ignoring Sarah. To my relief, although she is vexed and frustrated, Sarah makes the best of it by developing friendships and having an adventure or two on her own. One of the friendships that she develops is with Deb and Mark of Celia’s House. And Celia herself to a lesser extent. Their children becomes Freddy’s playmates when she can come to them at Craignethan. (Although the title of this book is Sarah’s Cottage, The final almost half of the book is set at her grandparents’ large home, the cottage largely forgotten). Once his manuscript is finished, Charles gets back to normal (the book was basically therapy for his difficult life in Austria). But once he got everything out on the page, he refuses to have anything to do with it, giving it to Sarah. “ Do what you like with the wretched thing—burn it if you like!” What she does with it forms another satisfying story line.

Sarah didn’t always do or act the way I wanted her to. At times she came across as a little, as the British say, “wet.” She often excuses Lottie’s destructive and manipulative behavior and the harm she is doing to Freddy. There was a lack of insight and urgency to act. After 18 year old Freddy finally lays all of Lottie’s cruelties over the years on the line, and explains to Sarah why she wants nothing more to do with her mother, it’s “Oh Freddie, she does love you! I know she seems neglectful but that’s just her way. She cares for you, darling.” Uh No, Sarah, she does not. Honestly, I wanted to throttle her.  Freddy recounts even more horror stories, and finally Sarah gets it. I wanted a more dramatic and cathartic resolution, but in the end Sarah and Charles acted with wisdom and restraint in regards to Freddy. 

All in all this was almost equal to Sarah Morris Remembers. Sarah and Charles rarely disappointed me. I often feared how they would react to certain challenges, but if they let me down, it was only briefly and they always did the right thing in the end. It was quite episodic and I was often confused as far as the timeline. Sarah’s never having any dearly wanted children was never addressed sufficiently.

Rating: 4 out of 5.

The Disorderly Knights (#3 of The Lymond Chronicles)

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By Dorothy Dunnett

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A hunter went killing sparrows one cold day, and his eyes gave forth tears as he went. Said one bird to another, “Behold, this man weeps.” Said the other, “Turn thine eyes from his tears. Watch his hands.”

–Dragut Rais–

I am currently not quite a third of the way through the 4th book in the series as I write this review of its predecessor, The Disorderly Knights. Instead of continuing to struggle to do justice to it, I am just going to keep it short. There is a lot of this review left on the cutting room floor. First of all, what they say is true. For a first time reader, Dunnett’s writing does get easier and easier to understand though no less complex in plot and character. There were less sentences that I had to try to decode and wring the meaning out of. Everything flows so much better: Less like she’s looking to punish readers with her scholarship and more like she herself is caught up in the story and having a wonderful time just telling it. Even though divided into 3 parts, it is really a tale of two countries: first Malta and then Scotland. It’s also a study of two extraordinary men engaged in a high stakes struggle of wills and cunning. And I guess to a lesser extent, for me, it was a comparison of the disparate nature of two teenage girls. And it is also a tale of two armies. And two religions.
There is tragedy and yes, there is comedy. Spanning two continents, Lymond goes through many tribulations in trying to expose and take down a powerful villain as evil as evil can be. A villain whom the world, even the good and the wise, believe to be a saint. Meanwhile, not even a handful, his family included, have total faith and trust in Francis Crawford. Not that he always deserves it. There are shocks in this book. And Terror and Horror. And then there is Philippa Somerville, who is quickly becoming my favorite fictional female character of all time. And Nicolas de Nicolay one of my favorite real historical figures that figure in this book.

Some things that happen still don’t bear a lot of scrutiny as to what one man can accomplish or bear. She really puts Lymond through the wringer. Some scenarios beggar belief and draw one up short, and some you just have to go with, revel in, and just keep reading. One such of the latter is a flashback to an event that takes place after The Game of Kings, and before the second book, Queen’s Play, begins. It could have just been a fun, cheer worthy example of Lymond’s military acumen, however implausible, meant to show Lymond’s trickiness and out of the box thinking. But I feel like it’s fair game to scrutinize because Dunnett makes it so important. Briefly, it relates how Lymond routs a small army of attacking English soldiers by fooling them into thinking, in the fog and distance, that Lymond’s small number of 20 Clansmen actually number a force approaching 1000 troops. He does this by slapping shining metal helmets on 800 sheep and driving them forward into the valley where the soldiers are set to advance. It is brought up in the series time and again (even in the 4th book I am currently reading) as an example of why Lymond’s services as a military leader are so much in demand. Unfortunately for my peace of mind, I got all caught up in where he got the 800 helmets. Were they friendly helmets or enemy helmets? Where were the helmetless soldiers? Did he store them up one by one in preparation for a scenario just like this, or did he steal them in one fell swoop and where did he store them? I’m sure Dunnett knows the answers, but didn’t choose to share. It wouldn’t have bothered me so much but it is a favorite set piece in the series. People have gotten tattoos of sheep and helmets and coffee mugs are available on line for £16.50.

Anyway, it’s all part of the experience, I guess. Dunnett is so brilliant one fears to question, but it’s part of the fun. These books are absolutely spellbinding. This one ends on a cliffhanger. I fear for the fates of many characters. I was so glad I could get right to the next one and didn’t have to wait. How did her readers bear it back in the day?

Rating: 4.5 out of 5.

Great Big Beautiful Life

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by Emily Henry

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“I’m fine. Everything’s fine.”

I have had mixed feelings about the very ballyhooed Women’s Fiction/Romcom/Chick Lit author, Emily Henry. She is good, don’t get me wrong, but I do not understand all of the hype considering there are much better and more consistently great authors out there in the same genre. At least in my (not very shared) opinion. Case in point. I believe there are five of her books being adapted for the screen, the last I counted. I approached this one hopefully but not too confidently. I also did not have a great mindset when I started it as I was anxious to get it over with (it was a library book) so I could get back to the very involving historical fiction series I am in the middle of. But I thought it was excellent and right up there with her best. It would have even been 5 stars except for a lame temporary break up of the couple near the end caused by a totally unnecessary and silly inability to communicate what was going on. It could have been done without compromising anyone. I get enough of that irritating and overused plot device with Hallmark. It was out of place here, considering everything which had gone before. That brought it down ½ of a star.

It was a dual time line plot, which we all know can be tricky since almost inevitably the reader is lots more interested in one story than the other. But in this case, both stories were engaging and interesting. (I was surprised and prepared to kind of speed read through the back story one, but to my irritation I had to read every word. Haha.) Two journalists are given the chance to write the authorized biography of a famous former media star and tragic poor little rich girl heiress of yesteryear who has, until journalist #1, Alice, tracks her down, and journalist #2, Hayden, is summoned to her small coastal town, where she has been hiding in plain sight for 20 years. Margaret will allow herself to be interviewed by the competing writers for the right to tell her story in full. But it isn’t long before Alice and Hayden agree that there is something weird going on. Margaret is not telling the whole truth to one or both of them. Alice is a cheerful, gregarious, and likable writer for a light-weight People Magazine type publication. And Haydon is a Pulitzer prize winning serious biographer who is hard, reserved, and moody. You know the drill.

The romance between the two writers was sweet, well paced and believable. I really liked how Hayden opened up and fell so hard for sweetie-pie Alice step by step. It’s told from Alice’s point of view so we know her inner feelings, but Emily Henry did a wonderful job of showing Hayden’s developing inner feelings towards Alice by his words and actions.

“I murmur, “Tell me something no one knows about you,” and he’s quiet and still for so long I start to wonder if I’ve crossed a line. Then he tips his chin down to his clavicle to meet my eyes and says simply, “I’m in love with you.”

For me, authors need to bring a lot more to the table than just a romance, and EH delivered in that department as well. Margaret’s tale of her life, starting with how her great grandfather made his fortune, Her grandfather’s, grandmother’s, father’s and mother’s ups and downs, and then her own romance with a rock idol and her relationship with her almost pathologically shy sister went from at least tolerably interesting to fascinating and gripping. Additionally, as the story developed, some mysteries emerged both in the past and the present. I was in anticipation of the answers and resolutions and hoped for happy outcomes. Alice had a difficult relationship with her mother and the exploration and resolution to that also added a lot of interest to the story. To top it off there was a twist that I didn’t see coming in how Margaret’s narrative of her family results in a reveal about a main character’s history.

There were parts of Margaret’s story that seemed a little weak, especially some decisions she made concerning her relationship with her sister. Didn’t make a whole lot of sense and seemed to be manufactured to create drama. I also wished for more closure to Alice’s relationship with her largely “off screen” boyfriend. Definitely expected him to show up at some point so Alice could give them the heave-ho he so richly deserved. But on the whole, I thought this was almost her best book. But then, I lean towards women’s fiction with the romance not being the be all and end all.

Rating: 4.5 out of 5.

The Game of Kings (#1 of The Lymond Chronicles)

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By Dorothy Dunnett

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To the men exposed to his rule Lymond never appeared ill: he was never tired; he was never worried, or pained, or disappointed, or passionately angry. If he rested, he did so alone; if he slept, he took good care to sleep apart. “—I sometimes doubt if he’s human,” said Will, speaking his thought aloud. “It’s probably all done with wheels.

This series first came to my attention probably over 30 years ago. I bought the beautiful Vintage Paperback editions around 25 years ago when a local book seller was having a sale. And there they sat. Looking very pretty and impressive, giving my library a certain intellectual credibility. The series would tap me on the shoulder every so often, but I never seriously considered starting them until recently. I read a recent review from one of my Goodreads friends https://www.goodreads.com/review/show… and I thought “people are still reading these?” Then I read some more reviews, and then I read a few scholarly type blog posts and essays. I started to get excited, but very very intimidated at the prospect of reading the first one, The Game of Kings. But then I thought, “Becky if you’re going to read these before you lose your faculties, you better get a move on. You can do hard things!” So I did.

And it was daunting. It is a deep dive into 16th century history, arts, culture, warfare, and politics that our formidable author assumes you are already familiar with. She also assumes you are fluent in multiple languages. There are no translations or footnotes-those are in a whole separate 400 page book. And a lot of the actual English isn’t that comprehensible either. Here’s an example:

“Johnnie Bullo! Man, I wish you’d take to wearing clappers on your breeches; you’re desperate sore on the arteries. And that last damned powder you gave me would have done Jimmie of Fynnart a twelve- month and pointed up the whole of Linlithgow if you laid it on with a trowel. Will ye bring to mind it’s my inner workings you’re repairing, not the Toll Brig o’ Dumfries.”

The book is peopled with real historical figures both obscure and famous. And Lymond of Crawford, our main character, mostly talks in poetry, double entendres, quotations from sources no modern reader has any business even hearing of, let alone being passing familiar with.
“ I wish to God,” said Gideon with mild exasperation, “that you’d talk–just once– in prose like other people.”
If Gideon Somerville was not a favorite character before, he certainly was one after that comment to our hero. I almost gave up several times. But I did some more research, trying to take good care to avoid spoilers (though didn’t always succeed), and found out that virtually everyone felt the same way I did at the beginning. But to a man and woman, I was assured that it would get easier and I would be rewarded.
I quote from a blog entry called “The Game of Kings in 15 minutes”. https://archiveofourown.org/chapters/… Highly recommend if you’ve already read the novel

RANDOM SCOTTISH PEOPLE: Lymond is back.
READERS: And we’ll have to wait hundreds of pages to find out why.
LYMOND: *is incomprehensible*
PIG: *is drunk*
READERS WHO ARE NEW TO THE SERIES: wtf?
READERS WHO HAVE READ THE WHOLE SERIES: You’ll learn.

Two things in particular helped me. One, someone wrote that The Game of Kings could be read as a stand alone (I have commitment issues with series books and tv shows) and I discovered a wonderful website improbably named “Now You Have Dunnett” https://nowyouhavedunnett.blogspot.co… for which I am eternally grateful. It took me through each chapter and scene almost paragraph by paragraph, translating the more important foreign language quotes, explaining the context when it was important, giving historical background, and pointing out little things that I might have missed that would become important later on. I would read a chapter, sometimes two and then go back to the website on those chapters to check for understanding. Eventually, I could go for longer and longer periods with confidence before having to check back to make sure I understood what was going on. At about the 25% mark, I not only started to comprehend without help (forgetting the foreign language quotes and esoterica which I just skipped over) but started to see the appeal and actually enjoy what I was reading. I started to get The Scarlet Pimpernel, The Count of Monte Cristo, and unabridged Les Miserables vibes. The first two being youthful favorites re-read many times, and the last reminding me of the feeling of pride and accomplishment as I waded through it without skipping.

So what about the actual book, you may ask? Enough already about your personal relationship with it! Well, as I said, the first sentence of the book is “Lymond is Back”. Back Where? From Where? The setting is Scotland in 1547, a time of war with England and great unrest politically, religiously, and every other way. King Henry the VIII has just died and the English powers that be want his young son Edward, (A.K.A. The Prince of The Prince and The Pauper) to be betrothed to Mary, the 5-year-old Scottish Queen. Loyal Scots do not want that.

We first meet our hero robbing and pillaging a friend of the family’s castle, to insure ultimate chaos, introducing the victim’s pet pig to the joys of adult beverages. Then he moves to his own family’s castle where, drunk, he breaks in with his gang of mercenaries, flirts with his new sister-in-law, robs his mother’s guests, threatens their lives, exchanges barbs with the mother he hasn’t seen for over 5 years, and stabs her best friend. He finishes off his busy day by locking them inside the castle and setting it on fire. Lymond is indeed living down to his reputation as obnoxious, amoral, ruthless, and other synonyms too numerous to list including brilliant and funny. He is a notorious proven traitor to Scotland and an outlaw also wanted for a crime so horrible and shocking that I won’t say what it is. And if possible, the English hate him almost as much as the Scots. But all is not what it seems. No, indeed. Because Lymond is back to *spoiler alert* prove his innocence, restore his reputation as a loyal Scotsman, serve his country, and protect his family. Not an auspicious start, Lymond.

And that is the most detailed I am going to get about the plot. Because if I went on, it would take me a long long time and I wouldn’t know where to stop. There are whole books written about this novel alone, only the first book in the series, as well as on the whole series. But we have many adventures and meet many people both very very good, very very bad, and very in between. Also very clever, wise, and cunning, and very and very obnoxiously thick-headed (I’m looking at you, Richard.) There is espionage, betrayal, revenge, romance, secrets, alchemy, reconciliation, tragedy, comedy, a duel considered one of the best ever written for the page, and a courtroom trial/very welcome info dump to rule them all.

This was Dorothy Dunnett’s first novel. As she says in the forward, she grew in wisdom as she wrote. And I think she meant that she saw the need to make the subsequent books a little more accessible to the other  99% of the population of potential readers. Either that, or a wise editor firmly took her in hand. From all accounts the best are yet to come, so now that I have conquered, that is, managed to survive, this first in the series…Onward

Rating: 5 out of 5.

Lost Man’s Lane

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By Scott Carson

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“Hold fast, Marshmallow. The Weller is en route.”

Librarians change lives. They may even save some.

Very short review (for me, anyway). A quick take, if you will.

Fantastic Book. Poignant, Funny, Scary, A love story, Mysterious, Astonishing. Very very very satisfying ending. All loose ends tied up with a little happy twist during the wrap up. Loved all of the characters. The female ones in particular were strong and admirable. The stars of the show to my mind. This could be a homage to Stephen King (who loved it. Of course.) I was really drawn in to the fictional world, and I looked forward to coming back to it every time I put it down. That is rare for me.

To add to the personal connection I found in this book, it is set in 1999 when my oldest son was the same age as Marshall, the narrator and main character.

But if snakes freak you out, maybe give it a pass.

Rating: 5 out of 5.

May 27, 2025

Same Time, Next Week

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by Milly Johnson

Timewise, I can never be too far from a Milly Johnson book. I’ve been re-reading them sporadically on Audible while waiting for a new one by her. This time, I ended up reading this new title at the same time as I was listening to an old favorite, The Woman in the Middle. Unfortunately the main heroine of the older book bore a great similarity to one of the main characters in this one in personality as well as her challenges and journey. So every time I returned to this one after listening to the other, I had to get my thoughts together and reset, so to speak. It wasn’t too difficult as “Middle” had only one main story to Same Time, Next Week’s fairly equally distributed stories of five women’s paths to love and inner growth.

Same Time… follows the lives of women who start out at, or soon reach, very low points in their lives. How they find their ways to happiness, success, and their just deserts is the very familiar foundation to any reader of Milly Johnson. It didn’t break too much new ground, that’s for sure. And I am more than fine with that. With Milly, it’s not the plot, but the writing, humor, and the way she makes you care about her characters. And you can’t beat the way she always makes sure the good guys triumph and the bad guys get what they deserve. With Milly, due rewards and punishments are super-sized. And that’s a good thing, because she really puts her characters through the gauntlet at the hands of their tormentors. When the character you grow to care about suffers, you suffer along with them. The fact that you know revenge and justice are coming for all makes it all worth it.

In this one, I would say the two main characters are Amanda and Mel. Amanda is in her 50s and suffering mightily from the symptoms of menopause. Milly gives us a play by play on this stage of life, and it’s not pretty. For those who have yet to go through this, I hope your experience does not mirror Amanda’s. Take hope that her experience is not a universal one. Some sail through with just a few blips. She is faithfully and lovingly taking care of her elderly mother who does not appreciate her and has never really loved her. On the other hand, she worships her worthless and immoral son, Bradley, who only cares about what he can get out of her and is eagerly anticipating his inheritance. The elderly, those that care for them, and their struggles, is an issue that Milly has tackled before. This one is more harrowing and heartbreaking than usual.

Mel has been married, she thinks happily, to Steve for 30 years. He goes to a highschool reunion and starts having an affair with a woman he meets there. My first question was why Mel didn’t go with him, but it is never even mentioned as a consideration. Perhaps school reunions are different in the U.K. It’s not a good idea not to accompany your spouse to a high school reunion, in my view. If Mel had gone with Steve, none of her story would have happened, and that would have been a bad thing. Bad for the reader, and, as it turns out, bad for Mel. Because life without Steve teaches her that she was not so happy in her marriage after all.

Astrid, Sky, and Erin round out the quintet of women who, through the friendship group that Amanda starts, become friends and supporters of each other through their trials and tribulations. The group meets in the newly opened Ray’s Diner, a new business in Spring Hill Square, a little center that has made a number of appearances in previous books. Sky is in her late twenties and haunted by a false accusation that her father was a serial killer. It ruined his life and keeps raising its ugly head. Her sweet and gentle nature is also being taken advantage of by her landlord from hell who moved in on her and is a creepy pervert to boot. This part of the story was very disturbing and I didn’t understand how this could have been allowed to happen. She is in love with her boss who is 20 years older and the ex-husband of…Erin. The two exes were and are great friends but were unhappy in their marriage. Erin is struggling with guilt and the death of the woman she left her ex, Bon, for. Astrid, who is a trans woman, played a prominent role in Afternoon Tea at The Sunflower Cafe and was also in The Mother of all Christmases., and The Queen of Wishful Thinking. She is struggling with the death of her husband and a lack of purpose. Astrid is a great character, a real “cracker,” pun intended. “Cracker” as in the British slang version, I hasten to add.

Once again, Milly expertly weaves a lot of threads together to fashion very entertaining and satisfying journeys of all her protagonists. And of course that includes finding love as well as their paths forward through grief of all sorts to the promise of happiness and fulfillment.

Rating: 4 out of 5.

I Hope This Finds You Well

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by Natalie Sue

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Jolene recalls the time she brought juice and milk instead of coffee and soda to an office potluck and they think it’s funny:

After that, I decided that limiting my interactions was the best way to keep people from hating me. But over time, embarrassment became resentment. I was annoyed that Rhonda had me buy drinks if coffee and the watercooler would’ve done it. That was the first step down a road. The thing about annoyance is that once there’s a spark, you can find more things to stoke it. It grew and amplified between me and them. And eventually the abyss stared back.

This was an entertaining and funny read with serious overtones. The darkness mostly stems from having to do with a heroine who has social anxiety and other damage due to a childhood tragedy that she was wrongly blamed for. She suffers from guilt that her family had to move to another city to escape the gossip and blame. Her mental state is not helped by an overbearing mother whose ill-judged parenting skills create stress and expectations she can not hope to meet. Therefore she lies about her career success and her romantic life, creating more stress. She is a bitter and very unhappy person.

She works in an office and to say that Jolene does not fit in is an understatement. Her office mates try to ignore her weird ways but are also hostile and hateful. They speculate on the chances of her going postal with a deadly weapon at some point, and they are half serious. And I’m not sure that I wouldn’t feel the same way about her (though I hope I wouldn’t be hostile and mean).

Her personal life is not any better. Her apartment is filthy and she is a borderline alcoholic. But since we are privy to her interior life and funnily sarcastic and incisive if black takes on the world and the people around her, I couldn’t help but like her while shaking my head at her self-sabotage. And I knew from the get-go that the book would be about Jolene’s journey out of the depths to happiness and health. So I was willing to put up with quite a bit from her.

The crux of the novel is how Jolene, due to some kind of computer foul up, is suddenly able to secretly read all of the private emails of her work mates and bosses. She finds out that massive layoffs are coming, and she will probably be first on the chopping block due to her, well, everything about her. She starts to play the social and political game to save her job. In the process, she finally gets to know the people she works with and everything that is going on beneath the surface. Needless to say, some people confirm her low opinion of them, and some do not. She gets to know Cliff, the new HR guy with whom she has to meet regularly for Sensitivity Training. He is a wonderful guy, and she starts to fall for him, and for some reason, he for her. With him, she is quick witted, funny, and nice with a refreshingly rebellious yet well-founded cynicism that he relates to.

There are many aspects of this book that are 5 star worthy. By itself, the premise of Jolene’s access to the secret thoughts and professional and personal lives of everyone in her office was a rich trove of humor and horror. There are revelations galore which made for quite the page turner. Eventually we know there will be hell to pay on many fronts when the truth comes out. We fear for Jolene while recognizing that justice is not on her side. But to me, Jolene’s growth came too late and then, too quickly in the book. I didn’t feel her journey was well managed. I was impatient with her constant negative attitude towards the good people in her life, especially Cliff. She always assumes the worst. I hoped that her relationship with Miley, a neglected little girl who lives in her apartment building would be the making of both her and Miley but the connection never really delivers on its promise.

The ending was satisfying and happy, just the way I like it. But I can’t give it 5 stars. Jolene disappointed me too often, until she didn’t.

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Ain’t She Sweet?

/ Rebekahrox / 2 Comments

Susan Elizabeth Phillips

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“Hold it right there. The only agreement we ever had was that you intended to make me as miserable as possible, and I intended to courageously make the best of an intolerable situation like valiant Southern women have always done.”-Sugar Beth Carey

“They’re all mad, everyone of ’em” Said Rupert with conviction.
Georgette Heyer-The Devil’s Cub.

I have read this 2004 book by the great Susan Elizabeth Phillips a few times, and listened to it once before. The book is great. One of her best. It’s a stand alone, but mention of the Daphne the Bunny books from her Chicago Stars series tie it to that universe. Ultimate Chick Lit, it has all the ingredients I look for in that lightly regarded genre and with a delicious southern twang: Funny dialog, plenty of drama, suspense and anticipation, quintessential enemies to lovers, slow burn, true love, redemption, and justice for all. You name it. In Sugar Beth Carey, SEP has created one of her strongest and funniest heroines. And Colin Byrne, apparently inspired by Georgette Heyer’s The Duke of Avon is more than a match for her. But Sugar Beth is no worshipful Leonie sitting at the feet of Heyer’s Justin Alistair.

Sugar Beth is a one of a kind heroine who was truly a pampered mean girl and bully in her youth. In truth, she deserved every bad thing that came (and will come) to her in this book, and she knows it. The reader, however, soon learns she has reaped the consequences of her past foolish and bad acts and come through the flames a changed and better person. But her former friends and the townspeople, when she returns to her small home town of Parrish Mississippi, only know her as the spoiled rich girl who cruelly bullied and humiliated her shy illegitimate step sister. She’s the girl who dumped the popular hometown high school hero for a big time college athlete and left her provincial small town in the dust. She is still the beautiful and flirtatious teen who falsely accused a young teacher of sexual harassment and got him fired and sent home in disgrace. And who didn’t even have the decency to come back for her father’s funeral. I told you she was bad. But while life has not been kind to Sugar Beth, the nerdy step-sister from the wrong side of the tracks is now the heir of all their late father’s wealth and married to Sugar Beth’s former boyfriend. They are the power-couple of the small town and its social leaders. And the young teacher Sugar Beth ruined? He is now a wealthy and famous author who has returned from England to live in Parrish and who has brought it a certain fame and prosperity. And now Sugar Beth is back in town to find a valuable legacy that will hopefully turn her life around and save the future of a vulnerable dependant. And then get back out of the town which holds so many painful memories as soon as possible. Not gonna happen. Let the games begin.

As backstories unfold, and and secrets are revealed, we love and cheer for the very entertaining Sugar Beth while cringing at the person she used to be. But we also sympathize with and admire her sister and nemesis, Winnie Davis. This is a book with no “bad guys.” A really good romance has great side characters and every character in this one is a finely honed gem, and it is funny as heck.

With this listen on Audible, however, I regret to say that the narration by Kate Fleming got on my last nerve. It tainted large chunks of the book for me, including, unforgivably, the romance part. On paper, Colin Byrne is eccentric and affected but ultimately romantic and intriguing. An original in the 21st century, he is apparently based on an archetypal Regency or Georgian aristocratic romantic hero. In the hands of Ms. Fleming, he becomes a pompous and ridiculous ass. She does OK with Sugar Beth and the rest of characters most of the time, but she rarely lets up on the acid sardonic tone, even when it is not called for by the words or the story. Her southern accent is way over the top. I’m a southerner and when a southerner hears a southern accent that is way too southern, it is. Susan Elizabeth Phillips had the good taste and discernment to preface each of her chapters with an appropriate quote from a Georgette Heyer novel. What Kate Fleming did to those quotes was a train wreck of clown cars. She obviously has no knowledge of the characters that spoke the words of the iconic Georgette. Her reading added insult to the injury she inflicted to one of SEP’s best books. I have listened to other books by this author narrated by Kate Fleming aka Anna Fields and her interpretations have been spot on and wonderful. What the Heck happened, and why did no one stop her? The Book is 5 stars. The narration is unforgivable. But I’m not going to punish the book for that.

Rating: 5 out of 5.

The Wedding People

/ Rebekahrox / 2 Comments

By Alison Espach

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Having not read a novel I really really liked in forever unless by one of my core favorite authors, which are few and far between, I thought I’d branch out a little. This had won several awards, received a lot of hype, and going by the reviews and the description of the plot, it seemed like it would fit the bill. It’s described as heartwarming literary fiction with dark humor, wisdom, wit, hope, and maybe a bit of romance. And it was all of those things.

We meet our main character, Phoebe Stone, as she arrives alone at the grand Cornwall Inn in Newport RI. Curiously, after reading the reviews and the first pages of this book, I had the idea that Phoebe was in her 50s or 60s. But she is only maybe 42. We also learn she is an adjunct English professor at a small college in St. Louis, Missouri. She is still haunted by her divorce and we learn that she has also wrestled with fertility problems. She has been isolated and lonely, her only companion being her cat, Harry, who has just died of cancer. Fed up with herself and her life, and armed with a bottle of Harry’s pain pills, her plan is to commit suicide. But the hotel, which she has longed dream of visiting, has been taken over by a lively wedding party which has the whole place exclusively booked for 6 days. Phoebe, as usual, is an outsider. But what does she care? After a nice dinner in the best room in the place, she plans to do the deed that night anyway. She meets the Lila bride in the elevator, and, since Phoebe really has nothing left to lose, frankly tells her, when questioned, why she is there. Lila is upset about that, not out of compassion or empathy, but because she does not want a dead body to ruin her perfect wedding. She follows Phoebe to her room to try to get her to change her mind. Or at least wait until after her wedding is over. Phoebe has always led a controlled, careful, and small life, never wanting to rock any boats. But now that she just doesn’t care anymore, for the first time ever, she is honest and fearless in her interaction with the spoiled bride. And she likes it. We find out that Lila, brash and not afraid to show her true self to Phoebe, is an entirely different person with her friends and family. Lila’s confidences spark Phoebe’s curiosity. After Lila finally leaves Phoebe to join her party beneath Phoebe’s balcony, she finds she doesn’t want to die just yet.

The crowd laughs, and Phoebe wonders if Lila is laughing…. But Phoebe will never know what happens—by the time Lila’s mother is finished talking, Phoebe will be dead. Phoebe will not get to know how the speech ends—or how anything ends. And Phoebe does not like this. Phoebe always finishes a book or a movie, even a bad one.

Energized by the freedom of being herself with Lila, she decides to hang around a while. (The feline pain pills proving to be ineffective.) She is drawn into Lila’s world and gets to know many of the wedding party, eventually agreeing to be Lila’s maid of honor. She is liked and respected by all for her common sense and wit. Lila is not the only one who seems to want to seek her out and confide in her.

Phoebe has nothing to lose here. She is not part of this family. She is not part of anything anymore. She is free in a way none of them are, so she kneels down and looks directly at the girl, as if it’s her from many years ago.
“We do ask that you keep all your belongings inside the boat,” the captain says softly. Juice looks at Phoebe as if she is making a choice about who to be, and Phoebe makes a choice, too. “Go ahead,” Phoebe says, because fuck it. If she is going to live, she’s going to live differently this time. “Let’s have our funeral.”

I really (really) liked this. Phoebe and Lila’s backstories added to their portrayal, and there were some twists and surprises which are always welcome. I loved the gossip and the peaks behind the curtain of the rich and privileged. Although not a very admirable character, I learned to care for the outrageous and unpredictable Lila as well as Phoebe. We are introduced to the important characters and fraught relationships in Lila’s life through her eyes, and, no surprise, learn there is a lot more to them than we may have thought. Phoebe’s inner observations are smart and funny, and there is plenty of situational comedy as well. As the actual wedding day approached, I found myself fervently hoping for certain outcomes and I was not disappointed.

Unfortunately, the book did lag in the middle, largely due to Phoebe’s unending learning curve. Her constant introspection and little insights into her life and why she acted the way she did were repetitious. It seems like nothing would do, when the author made a point, but for her to make it another dozen times in another dozen ways. Some entertainingly, yes, but some just overkill.

But her excellent writing carried the way past these patches and even though a little tiresome, I was always entertained.

Rating: 4 out of 5.