Summer Reading Challenge: Appetite by Sheila Grinell

This summer, members of the Vise Library are participating in a Summer Reading Challenge. We have received copies of several books from publishers for honest reviews. We hope that you enjoy these reviews (and books)!  This week's book is Appetite by Sheila Grinell!

About the book:

When Jenn Adler returns from a year in India, she has a surprise for her parents: a young guru from Bangalore whom she intends to marry. Her father, Paul, is wary of this “beggar” Jenn has brought home―who, he suspects, is conning his much-loved daughter―while her mother, Maggie, is frightened that this alien stranger will steal away her only child, her focus in life. 

In the months leading up to the backyard wedding, Maggie is forced to reevaluate her virtues as she casts about for support, and Paul faces an unexpected threat at work―one that Maggie could help him meet, if he would only ask. But even with these distractions, the two parents are focused on one primary question: Can they convince their daughter she is making a terrible mistake before the wedding takes place?

Jenn, the daughter of Paul and Maggie, has come home after a year in India.  Not only has she come back home, she has brought her fiance, Arun, to meet her parents.  To say that her parents are less than thrilled about her prospective husband would be the understatement of the year.  Paul thinks that Arun is trying to take advantage of his daughter and Maggie is afraid that Jenn will no longer be around for her to dote on.  The current dilemma with their daughter causes them to gain a little perspective about their own lives. Maggie and Paul have issues of their own to deal with: Maggie feeling second fiddle to Paul's work and Paul feeling the pressure when it comes to his research.  Throughout the book Maggie really struggles with the decision to interfere with her daughter's life when she believes Jenn is making a big mistake or just letting Jenn live out her own life by giving up that control.  Are Maggie and Paul able to show Jenn how they perceive Arun and prevent a marriage?  Or, are they able to put everything aside for the sake of their daughter's happiness?  Are they able to navigate through their own lives and issues?  How all of this plays out is very interesting and worth reading!  I think everyone can relate to the family dynamics of this story and its characters!

Find it: | Amazon | Barnes & Noble |

About the author:

Toward the end of her forty-year career as a creator of science museums, Sheila Grinell began to write fiction. Born in a taxi in Manhattan, she studied at the Bronx High School of Science, Harvard University, and the University of California, Berkeley. She lives in Phoenix with her husband and dog.

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Summer Reading Challenge: The Assistants by Camille Perri

This summer, members of the Vise Library are participating in a Summer Reading Challenge. We have received copies of several books from publishers for honest reviews. We hope that you enjoy these reviews (and books)!  This week's book is The Assistants by Camille Perri!

About the book:

A wry and astute debut about a young Manhattanite whose embezzlement scam turns her into an unlikely advocate for the leagues of overeducated and underpaid assistants across the city. 
 
Tina Fontana is the hapless but brazen thirty-year-old executive assistant to Robert Barlow, the all-powerful and commanding CEO of Titan Corp., a multinational media conglomerate. She’s excellent at her job and beloved by her famous boss—but after six years of making his reservations for restaurants she’d never get into on her own and pouring his drinks from bottles that cost more than her rent, she’s bored, broke, and just a bit over it all.
 
When a technical error with Robert’s travel-and-expenses report presents Tina with the opportunity to pay off the entire balance of her student loan debt with what would essentially be pocket change for her boss, she struggles with the decision: She’s always played by the rules. But it’s such a relatively small amount of money for the Titan Corporation—and for her it would be a life-changer . . .
 
The Assistants speaks directly to a new generation of women who feel stuck and unable to get ahead playing by the rules. It will appeal to all of those who have ever asked themselves, “How is it that after all these years, we are still assistants?”

Tina is low-man on the totem pole and stuck in her job.  She is the assistant to a media mogul who can't seem to function without Tina.  She's barely scraping by on her salary and is struggling to pay off her student loans (preach!).  However, one day a miscalculation happens that lands Tina with a check to pay off her entire student loan debt (Hallelujah!!!!).  No one will notice, right???  She eventually cashes in the check and feels like a weight has been lifted.  However, one lowly accountant, Emily, knows the truth and promises silence for her own student loans to be paid in full.  Of course, Tina promises to help Emily out and this sets in motion a Robin Hood type scheme against the one percenters.  But, we all know that things do not always go as we plan and this is true for Tina and her friends.  These events only bring a group of misfits together (and maybe a little love)!  There are plenty of laugh out loud moments from these characters and I enjoyed every minute of it.  We experience some great female friendships in this book and some emotional moments that make us really feel for the women.  Make sure you get your hands on this book by checking it out from our Popular Collection!

Find it: | Amazon | Barnes & Noble |

About the author:

Camille Perri is the author of The Assistants. She has worked as a books editor for Cosmopolitan and Esquire. She has also been a ghostwriter of young-adult novels and a reference librarian. She holds a bachelor of arts degree from New York University and a master of library science degree from Queens College. Perri wrote the first draft of The Assistants while working as the assistant to the editor-in-chief of Esquire.

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Summer Reading Challenge: The House of Bradbury by Nicole Meier

This summer, members of the Vise Library are participating in a Summer Reading Challenge. We have received copies of several books from publishers for honest reviews. We hope that you enjoy these reviews (and books)!  This week's book is The House of Bradbury by Nicole Meier!

About the book:

Mia Gladwell’s life is going nowhere. The media has skewered her debut novel, her fiancé Carson, a successful Hollywood producer, has jumped ship, and now she’s living in her sister’s carriage house―unattached, unemployed, and uninspired. Then she learns that the Los Angeles estate of iconic author Ray Bradbury is up for sale, and she feels an immediate urge to buy the wonky old house, convinced that moving into the late author’s home will inspire her to create her best work yet.

Life in the Bradbury house is not what Mia imagined, however. Soon after moving in, to fulfill a debt she owes to Carson, she agrees to take in a pill-popping young actress as a tenant, and suddenly she finds herself in a balancing act between her needy ex, an unpredictable starlet, and her disapproving sister, who’s keeping a close eye on her. Add to this a series of mysterious sketches left at her doorstep by a stranger, and Mia’s life is more complicated than ever. As she searches for clues, though, Mia discovers insights into her own life. Maybe moving into Bradbury’s house was a big mistake―but maybe not.

Mia Gladwell is in serious need of a fresh start.  Her professional (her novel) and personal (her fiance, Carson) aspirations have fizzled.  The house of the famous author Ray Bradbury has been put on the market and Mia purchasing the house is a sign to jumpstart her creative and personal future.  In order to get started on her new life she has to ask her (now) ex-fiance for the money to help purchase her new home.  Carson has a stipulation about loaning her the money: take in a young actress with a little bit of a drug problem.  Simple enough, right?  Well of course not!  With Zoe being famous (and fighting her own demons), a new house to take on, finding mysterious notes at her house (are they meant for her or Zoe?) and a sister with her own problems, Mia has her work cut out for her.  However, she soon discovers that she shares some of the blame in her break-up with Carson and starts to learn more about who she is and wants to be. This is a great story about self-discovery and overcoming obstacles (and not just from one character!)  This book was a very fun and quick read!  

Find it: | Amazon | Barnes & Noble |

About the author:

Nicole Meier is a native Southern Californian who pulled up roots and moved to the Pacific Northwest. She works as a freelance travel and lifestyle writer.

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Summer Reading Challenge: Don't You Cry by Mary Kubica

This summer, members of the Vise Library are participating in a Summer Reading Challenge. We have received copies of several books from publishers for honest reviews. We hope that you enjoy these reviews (and books)!  This week's book is Don't You Cry by Mary Kubica!

About the book:

In downtown Chicago, a young woman named Esther Vaughan disappears from her apartment without a trace. A haunting letter addressed to My Dearest is found among her possessions, leaving her friend and roommate Quinn Collins to wonder where Esther is and whether or not she's the person Quinn thought she knew.

Meanwhile, in a small Michigan harbor town an hour outside Chicago, a mysterious woman appears in the quiet coffee shop where eighteen-year-old Alex Gallo works as a dishwasher. He is immediately drawn to her charm and beauty, but what starts as an innocent crush quickly spirals into something far more dark and sinister than he ever expected.

As Quinn searches for answers about Esther, and Alex is drawn further under the stranger's spell, master of suspense Mary Kubica takes readers on a taut and twisted thrill ride that builds to a stunning conclusion and shows that no matter how fast and far we run, the past always catches up with us in the end.

Mary Kubica has somehow done it again!  In her newest psychological thriller, Don't You Cry, Kubica somehow continues to keep you guessing throughout the entire story.  I really enjoyed her first novel, The Good Girl, and was blown away by the twists and turns.  However, I think her latest book somehow takes it a step further.  Quinn's roommate, Esther, has gone missing.  She has no clue where Esther is and Quinn has very littler information to gather clues from: Esther made a major withdraw from her bank account, she had put an ad in the paper to find a new roommate, she planned to have the locks changed on their apartment and a letter addressed to "My Dearest".   Quinn suddenly realizes that she may not actually know who her roommate truly is!  A little bit down the road, a woman (named Pearl) finds her way into the coffee shop where Alex holds a job.  How does he fit in?  Well, you need to read the book to find out.  You will discover the events that unfold through the eyes of both Quinn and Alex and about some important side characters as well (and maybe murder, GASP!).  You will not find out who is crazy, good or bad or who has secrets until the very last page.  Just know that once you dive into the action, you won't want to put this book down until you find out how these stories connect.

Find it: | Amazon | Barnes & Noble |

About the author:

Mary Kubica is the New York Times bestselling author of THE GOOD GIRL and PRETTY BABY. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, in History and American Literature. She lives outside of Chicago with her husband and two children and enjoys photography, gardening and caring for the animals at a local shelter. Her third novel, DON'T YOU CRY, will be released in May of 2016.

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