Pieces of Happiness by Anne Ostby FIC Ost

From out of the blue, four high school friends receive a letter from Kat, another friend, who has invited them all to join her in Figi and live with her on her cocoa farm.  Maybe they'll just sit and talk and relive old times.  Maybe they'll actually do something with all the cocoa on her farm.  And maybe none of them will want to come.  But the invitation is there.

One by one, they all arrive at Kat's farm.  Sina, a single mother who is disappointed in her middle-aged son.  Ingrid, solid and dependable but who nurses an inner adventurer who longs to be free.  Lisbeth, who has always relied on her beauty and good marriage.  And Maya who is facing the beginnings of Alzheimer's.

Now in their mid-sixties, all five women find themselves changed over time yet some of what they were in high school remains.  As they get to know one another again, they also adjust to island life.  And come to love it and the people who live there.  And then one day, Ingrid asks why they can't make chocolate from the cocoa beans - and sell little "pieces of happiness" that are also good for you.

Gradually what made these women who they are is revealed.  And as it was, I found myself caring for each of them and hoping they would be able to break free and live new lives.

What a delight to read a book about older women with problems I could relate to!

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The Salt House by Lisa Duffy FIC Duf

A family can have a perfect life - just the usual financial challenges and some stress from renovating the dream house they hope to move into soon.  It takes one event to make that all crumble.  When the novel opens Hope and Jack Kelly have a marriage that is coming apart.  Their daughters, Jess and Kat, have lost the happy family and are having their own private pain.  All of this misery began one year before when the family was thrown into a grief so dark than no one can get out of it.  Hope had put her youngest daughter, Maddie, into her crib for a nap while she tried to get her column written.  Not wanting Maddie to nap too long Hope went to wake her up - but she didn't.  They found a small necklace in her throat.

Hope keeps the ashes in her closet because she can't deal with her grief.  Jack is working himself to death at his fishing business because he can't deal with his grief.  When it seems that things can't get any worse Jack's fishing territory is being threatened by a guy named Ryland who had moved back to town and seems intent on carrying on a feud that started years ago.

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Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng FIC Ng

In a suburb of Cleveland called Shaker Heights lives Elena and Bill Richardson with their four teenagers.  They are pillars of the community and their lives seem to be perfect.  When the novel begins their house is burning.  The firemen say it was definitely arson because there were “little fires everywhere”.  Their daughter Izzy has disappeared.

Things for the Richardsons began to change 11 months before when Mia Warren and her daughter Pearl moved to town.  Mia is a free spirit to say the least.  She and Pearl are always moving from place to place.  Mia will take any job that she can find to support them while she does photography, which is her passion.   They rent an apartment from the Richardson's and Pearl goes to school with the Richardson kids. For the first time Pearl actually has friends that she cares about and doesn’t want to disrupt her life again - and Mia promises that they will stay.

But Mia has a lot of secrets in her past and when Elena (at the request of one of her daughters) begins to research Mia’s past, things will become uncomfortable.  I thought it was a great book!

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The Stolen Marriage by Diane Chamberlain FIC Cha

This novel takes place in the South during the end of WWII. Tess DeMello is 23 years old, finishing her nursing degree and engaged to the love of her life, Vincent.  He is finishing up his medical degree and they have plans to work together in the world of medicine.  However, when the book begins she is pressured into doing a favor for her sister-in-law and her husband, Henry.  A terrible tragedy takes place and Tess has to shoulder the blame. Quickly the book goes back in time to tell us how it all came to be.

Tess makes a huge mistake and is destined to pay for it for the rest of her life.  She breaks the hearts of both her mother and her fiancé.  I liked the story line and the background of the era.  Part of the story involves a polio hospital that really existed.  It was in Hickory, North Carolina.  The people of that town built this hospital in 54 hours!  (that would never happen today!).  It began receiving patients immediately.  That was probably my favorite part of the book!

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How to Find Love in a Book Shop by Veronica Henry FIC Hen

When Emilia's father passes away after a short illness, she inherits his bookstore.  Julius was wonderful at selling books but not so great at keeping them.  Translation: The bookstore isn't in the greatest financial position.

With help from her best friend Andrea who also happens to be an accountant, Emilia sets about trying to turn things around.  Along the way she receives help from a variety of long-time customers, each of whom have their own story to tell.

Given the title of the book, it's probably not giving anything away that love is found in a bookshop.  But each couple's journey to love is different and fun to read.  There's Jackson who was thrown out of the house by his girlfriend after the birth of their baby.  Solid and steady June with an unknown fling in her distant past.  The woman long-single Julius fell in love with later in his life.  And, of course, Emilia who misses her father desperately but finds herself drawn to a member of his old string quartet.  To name only a few.

A warm, cozy book set in the Cotswolds in England, this was a fun book to read.

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The Marriage Pact by Michelle Richmond FIC Ric

This book is not a typical book about a couple’s marriage.  It was very intriguing and I couldn’t wait to see where it was going!   Alice is in love with Jake but not very excited about making a commitment.  Jake is afraid that Alice will be lost to him if they don’t get married.  She used to be a singer with a rock band but is now having a successful career as a lawyer. Jake is a psychologist in a practice.  When he proposes and Alice says “okay” he is ecstatic.  They get married in a pasture with a large group of friends and family - and Liam and Fiona Finnegan.  Alice had worked on a case for Finnegan and when he heard she was getting married he mentioned he loved weddings.  She said he was welcome to come not thinking they would really come.  The Finnegan's showed up and brought a gift.  It contains a “pact” which will make their marriage last forever.

Finnegan explains that someone will come and explain it to them. They thought some rules made sense and others seemed a bit over the top.  But they “signed” it.  And before long their lives are out of control.

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The Identicals by Erin Hilderbrand FIC Hil

 

Identical twins are not always exactly alike.  Harper is an easygoing woman with a devil-may-care attitude toward life.  Clothes are of no importance to her.  She has had several jobs and is presently having an affair with a married man.  When her dad, Billy dies, she inherits his house (which is not in very good shape).

Tabitha is the total opposite.  Fashion is her passion and her career since she works for their mother who is a designer.  She is also trying to raise her teenage daughter, Ainsley.  That is not going well.

As twins they were naturally close when they were young.  That changed with the divorce of their parents which led to the twins being divided between the two households.  The real breakdown in their relationship came when Tabitha lost her baby boy and blamed Harper.  It has been a decade but fate is going to intertwine their lives again.

I am sure this would be a great beach reach but don’t wait until next summer!

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