Annette's Book Spot: Seattle

Showing posts with label Seattle. Show all posts

Tuesday, November 25, 2014

Book Review: The Look of Love, by Sarah Jio

The Look of Love is a heartwarming story containing a hefty dose of romance that will keep you satisfied.

Jane gets a strange letter on her birthday asking her to meet the writer at her apartment. Jane takes her friend, Lo, with her to meet the woman. Jane discovers that she has been gifted at birth with a special ability to see love. She's always been under the care of a doctor for problems she has with her vision temporarily going blurry or even worse. Now, she understands why this happens. Before her next birthday, Jane needs to find the six different kinds of love and write them in an old book the woman gives her. If she doesn't complete this task, she will never find true love for herself.

I know. Just go with it...

There are several different love stories explored. All the people are somehow associated with Jane. There is some heartbreak. Everything doesn't work out perfectly, which adds to the drama. It's interesting to read along and wonder how things are going to turn out for each of these couples.

The Seattle setting, the flowers, art, and baking that are woven into the story give it the Jio richness that pulls the reader in.

I'm a huge fan of Sarah Jio. She writes feel-good stories that really touch your heart. But, The Look of Love bordered on sappy. I found parts to be overly dramatic. In particular, I could have done without the drama of Jane needing surgery because she was losing brain function. I didn't see any evidence to support all the urgency of this diagnosis, which seemed to happen out of the blue after a lifetime of living with this condition. I didn't buy it.

While I would recommend The Look of Love if you enjoy a feel-good romance, this isn't my favorite Jio book. So if you are unfamiliar with this author try The Violets of March, Goodnight June, Morning Glory, Blackberry Winter, or The Bungalow (my favorite) first.

Published by Plume, November 25, 2014
Copy obtained from NetGalley
320 pages

Rating: 4/5

Wednesday, May 14, 2014

Book Review: Goodnight June, by Sarah Jio @sarahjio

I'm a huge Sarah Jio fan, and Goodnight June just added to my fandom!

Everyone has heard of the children's book Goodnight Moon, by Margaret Wise Brown. If you haven't, go fix that right now. Jio has imagined the background for this book in her story, Goodnight June.

June has a great job in New York working for a bank. She's in charge of collecting all the overdue mortgages on small businesses, and doesn't hesitate to shut these businesses down if they can't pay. Her health is suffering, since she works long hours and takes little time for herself. She has pretty much lost contact with her family.

When she finds out her aunt has died and left her Seattle book store to June, her world gets turned upside down. June pretty much grew up in this store, called Bluebird Books. June's mother was less than attentive when she and her sister were growing up, so they spent a lot of time at her Aunt Ruby's store and in her apartment above the store. June feels terribly guilty that she hasn't seen her aunt, and didn't even know that the store has been closed for months because Ruby has been in a convalescent home.

June takes off to Seattle, with every intention of getting the store ready to sell. OK, well the story is NOT unpredictable. But, it's charming and warm, and very well written. The ending did contain an element of surprise at least for me. June meets the restaurateur from next door, Gavin. He's perfect, of course, and a romance quickly ensues. She struggles to forgive her sister for some past discretion that isn't revealed right away. And, not only is the store about to be foreclosed on, the bank doing the foreclosure is June's employer in New York. Talk about the tables being turned!

Ruby sends June on a scavenger hunt thought the store where she finds old letters of Ruby's hidden in children's books. These letters are about a friendship between Ruby and Margaret Wise Brown, the author of Goodnight Moon. It turns out Ruby was quite influential in Brown's life, and had much to do with the inspiration for her book.

In reading these letters, June also finds out about big secrets from Ruby's past, which she begins to investigate. In the process, she realizes that saving the store is her life's calling and sets out to do just that.

Jio has a gift for weaving a story through ups and downs, and even though we might know what's going to happen, the path to get there is mesmerizing. While some may call these stories "sappy," I just don't get that with Jio's writing. I simply melt into the characters and the world she's created.

If you like heartwarming romance that comes with a compelling plot, then you should try Goodnight June. And I highly recommend The Violets of March, Morning Glory, Blackberry Winter, and The Bungalow also by Jio. Yes. I love this author. I do recommend her books to my high school girls, and they enjoy them also.

Published by Plume, May 27, 2014
eARC obtained from NetGalley
320 pages

Rating: 4/5

Thursday, November 21, 2013

Book Review: Morning Glory, by Sarah Jio @sarahjio

My love for Sarah Jio's books continues with Morning Glory. I always know that her books will immerse me in a place and a time that I will be sad to leave.

Ada lost everything, her husband and her daughter, in an accident two years ago. She's tried to immerse herself in her work as an editor of a popular magazine, but she decides she needs to leave New York to get away from the memories. She quits her job and rents a houseboat in Seattle for the summer.

Now, of course we expect her to find a guy that she's attracted to and fall in love. And Jio writes this romance with her usual style. But, there's also a mystery on Boat Street. Many years ago the woman that lived in Ada's houseboat, Penny, disappeared. It's very clear that some of the people on Boat Street know more about this than they are letting on.

Ada can't stand not knowing what happened, especially after she finds a trunk of Penny's things, and she vows to figure it out. We get a dual perspective in Morning Glory. Penny's perspective reveals more than Ada knows, so the reader is always rooting for Ada to find out what we already know. It makes for quite a page turner.

We also eventually find out about the accident that killed Ada's family. What a surprise. The whole time I was just assuming car accident, but no. How horrible!

I'm not a big crier, but I did find myself tearing up a bit at the end of Morning Glory. The only thing I didn't like was the epilogue. I would have preferred that Jio just left that off. I think it tied things up a bit too nicely, and in doing so, the story lost a bit of credibility.

Jio fans should definitely pick this one up. If you haven't read anything by Sarah Jio, Morning Glory is a great place to start! Her books are sweet and clean and totally appropriate for teens too.

Published by Plume, November 26, 2013
eARC obtained from Edelweiss
304 pages

Rating: 3.5/5

Monday, August 12, 2013

Audio Book Review: Blackberry Winter, by Sarah Jio @sarahjio

Sarah Jio is a great storyteller. Blackberry Winter is the third book by her that I've read, and I just always sink right into the story easily, and am left with such a warm, wonderful feeling when I'm finished.

Blackberry Winter follows two main characters, and two different time periods. But the Seattle setting is the same for both stories -- and that's where they meld together.

Vera has a 3-year-old son, Daniel she is raising alone. It's 1933 and Vera is poor. She must leave her son home alone, while she works the night shift as a hotel maid. She still doesn't make enough money -- and is behind on her rent. They live in an apartment above a saloon. When a freak May snowstorm hits, Vera has trouble getting home from work and when she gets there, Daniel is gone. With no help from the authorities, Vera's desperation to find her son causes her to make some mistakes, but the reader can only keep hoping for the best for her.

Claire is a reporter for the Seattle Herald newspaper, and when a freak snowstorm hits in May of 2010, her editor wants her to do a feature article comparing this storm to the one that hit on the very same day in 1933. Claire finds an article about a little boy who went missing during the 1933 snowstorm, and decides this will be her angle. As Claire investigates, she feels a connection to these people from 1933. But, we also find out that Claire, herself, has suffered a huge loss, and she and her husband are drifting farther and farther apart.

There are a lot of coincidences that bring these two stories together. And, yes, some are a bit much. But it's a STORY, so just enjoy it. If you don't like contrived situations and happy endings that you may figure out early, then you should avoid Blackberry Winter. But if you enjoy a feel-good story with characters that you can root for and care about, then you shouldn't miss Blackberry Winter.

The narrator for the audio version is Tara Sands, and she did a good job. I would recommend the audio version if you like audio books.

Published by Plume, 2013. Audio by Brilliance Audio
Copy obtained from the library
320 pages

Rating: 3.5/5

Thursday, May 9, 2013

Book Review: He's Gone by Deb Caletti

He’s Gone is a mystery buried under a character study – or a relationship study. For me, it was too much analysis and not enough mystery.

Dani wakes up one morning on their Seattle houseboat to find her husband is gone. He’s Gone takes place over the next several weeks as Dani, her family and friends, and the police try to figure out what happened to Ian.

Dani had taken pills and was drunk that night, so she doesn’t remember parts. She does begin to remember things – but she’s also having recurring dreams – so are they real? Dani is desperate and begins to imagine the worst.

They make very little progress in the investigation. There’s no “step by step, the pieces come together.” No one knows anything about his disappearance. So what fills up the pages are Dani’s thoughts on her relationship, her husband’s strengths and faults, her ex-husband and the problems with their marriage. Also, Ian’s first wife, their break up, and the fact that his kids still hate Dani.

I’m sorry, but I can only read about what a perfectionist Ian is so many times. Caletti has a beautiful way with words, and each description of Ian’s need for perfection was so lyrical – but still – it’s not new information and I want to know what happened to the guy! I got so tired of reading the back story and the past episodes in their lives that I started skimming those parts.

The mystery is solved quickly and easily in the last few pages. I kind of expected it would be this way –because after reading, I realized He’s Gone isn’t really a mystery. It’s the story of Dani’s life, through her eyes.

I would not recommend reading He’s Gone if you are in the mood for a great mystery story. If you enjoy deep characters and getting inside someone’s head – He’s Gone would be your book. This is Caletti’s first adult novel. I’ve read a few of her YA books, and I think I’ll stick to those.

Published by Bantam, May 14, 2013
eARC obtained from Edelweiss
352 pages

Rating: 2.5/5