Jencey's Writer's Corner

  If you are a fan of Elin Hilderbrand’s work, then Endless Summer is the book for you!  The summer is not over yet. This is a collection worthy of a summer collection of all the books by Elin. Pull up your beach towel and prepare for summer in Nantucket. Synopsis: “Inside the collection, you'll find: Three years after Mallory Blessing's death (in 28 Summers ), her friends gather for another eventful Labor Day celebration on Nantucket in "The Sixth Wedding." The marriage at the heart of Beautiful Day enters uncertain territory when Margot Carmichael encourages her husband to reunite with his ex-girlfriend in "The Surfing Lesson." In "The Tailgate" the weekend of a Harvard/Yale football game recharts the course of "Matchmaker" Dabney Kimball's first—and abiding—true love. In "Summer of '79," the three Levin sisters reunite after a decade after the summer that changed everything. And more . . . With a foreword by Elin Hi...

  The title of this review says it all.  This book is about the women of the armed forces.  It shares their story of women in service and the courage they deployed to serve our country.  This book focuses on the Vietnam War.  There is an important story to tell.  Synopsis: “Women can be heroes. When twenty-year-old nursing student Frances “Frankie” McGrath hears these words, it is a revelation. Raised in the sun-drenched, idyllic world of Southern California and sheltered by her conservative parents, she has always prided herself on doing the right thing. But in 1965, the world is changing, and she suddenly dares to imagine a different future for herself. When her brother ships out to serve in Vietnam, she joins the Army Nurse Corps and follows his path. As green and inexperienced as the men sent to Vietnam to fight, Frankie is over-whelmed by the chaos and destruction of war. Each day is a gamble of life and death, hope and betrayal; friendships run deep ...

  Who doesn’t love reading a book about book clubs?  The summer read selections can be the best. I don’t know if you will agree with Laurel, Paris, and Cassie with their selections.  Book clubs can also have great group dynamics that foster growth in the group.  What happens when the males enter the picture? Synopsis:  “The rules of summer book club are simple: No sad books No pressure Yessssss, wine! Besties Laurel and Paris are excited to welcome Cassie to the group. This year, the book club is all about fill-your-heart reads, an escape from the chaos of the everyday—running a business, raising a family, juggling a hundred to-dos. Even the dog is demanding (but the bestest boy). Since Laurel’s divorce, she feels like the Worst Mom Ever. Her skepticism of men may have scarred her vulnerable daughters. Cassie has an unfortunate habit of falling for ridiculous man-boys who dump her once she fixes them. Paris knows good men exist. She’s still reeling after chasin...

  Kristin Harmel’s book The Sweetness of Forgetting was her first World War II novel.  Recently, her publisher rereleased the book in 2022 with special features and updates.  I am a fan of Kristin Harmel’s books.  I found the recipes interesting and learned about some of the updates that Kristin made in this latest edition. Synopsis: “At thirty-six , Hope McKenna-Smith is no stranger to bad news. She lost her mother to cancer, her husband left her, and her bank account is nearly depleted. Her own dreams of becoming a lawyer long gone, she’s running a failing family bakery on Cape Cod and raising a troubled preteen. Now, Hope’s beloved French-born grandmother Mamie is drifting away in a haze of Alzheimer’s. But in a rare moment of clarity, Mamie realizes that unless she tells Hope about the past, the secrets she has held on to for so many years will soon be lost forever. Tantalizingly, she reveals mysterious snippets of a tragic history in WWII Paris. Armed with a sc...

  Today we move to World War I  and the adventures of the American Committee for  Devastated France (CARD).  This book appealed to me because it is about a librarian.  I also love history!  Author Janet Skeslien Charles is a new author to me.  I hope you are ready to go to war-torn France.  Synopsis:  “1918: As the Great War rages, Jessie Carson takes a leave of absence from the New York Public Library to work for the American Committee for Devastated France. Founded by millionaire Anne Morgan, this group of international women help rebuild destroyed French communities just miles from the front. Upon arrival, Jessie strives to establish something that the French have never seen—children’s libraries. She turns ambulances into bookmobiles and trains the first French female librarians. Then she disappears. 1987: When NYPL librarian and aspiring writer Wendy Peterson stumbles across a passing reference to Jessie Carson in the archives, she become...

  Colleen Oakley likes to pick interesting topics to write about in her book The Invisible Husband of Frick Island.  The main character is having a hard time moving forward with her life after the death of her husband.  What could go wrong?  Synopsis:  “Piper Parrish's life on Frick Island—a tiny, remote town smack in the middle of the Chesapeake Bay—is nearly perfect. Well, aside from one pesky detail: Her darling husband, Tom, is dead. When Tom's crab boat capsized and his body wasn't recovered, Piper, rocked to the core, did a most peculiar thing: carried on as if her husband was not only still alive, but right there beside her, cooking him breakfast, walking him to the docks each morning, meeting him for their standard Friday night dinner date at the One-Eyed Crab. And what were the townspeople to do but go along with their beloved widowed Piper? Anders Caldwell’s career is not going well. A young ambitious journalist, he’d rather hoped he’d be a national aw...

  Susan Nelson, in her adult debut, delves into the world of a librarian during World War II, which is inspired by real people.  What did a librarian do for the government?  Learn from Bea and Selene about their roles.  These roles were important and helped get critical intelligence to the allies.  Synopsis:  “Lisbon 1943. As two American librarians are drawn into a city of dangerous subterfuge and unexpected love affairs, they are forced to choose between their missions and the men they love. Brimming with evocative writing and meticulous research, award-winning author Suzanne Nelson spins a web of secret aliases, sweeping romance, and great sacrifice. With World War Two raging across Europe, best friends Selene Delmont and Beatrice Sullivan are enlisted by the U.S. Intelligence Office and sent to Lisbon—a sparkling city and hotbed of trouble, harboring exiled royalty, hunted refugees, and spies trading double-edged secrets in seductively dark corners. In ...

  While I love reading historical fiction, I am not a huge fan of the great depression.  Stephanie Dray is an author who focuses on women we may not know about in history.  Frances  Perkins was the first woman cabinet secretary.  She was the Secretary of Labor in FDR’s administration.  She was responsible for the New Deal and Social Security.  How did it all begin? Synopsis:  “Raised on tales of her revolutionary ancestors, Frances Perkins arrives in New York City at the turn of the century, armed with her trusty parasol and an unyielding determination to make a difference. When she’s not working with children in the crowded tenements in Hell’s Kitchen, Frances throws herself into the social scene in Greenwich Village, befriending an eclectic group of politicians, artists, and activists, including the millionaire socialite Mary Harriman Rumsey, the flirtatious budding author Sinclair Lewis, and the brilliant but troubled reformer Paul Wilson, with...

  Years ago, I listened to The Kommandant’s Girl by Pam Jenoff. I totally loved the book and thought surely there would be a sequel.  Yes, The Diplomat’s Wife carries many of the characters readers loved into this new story.  Where will the story go from here? Synopsis:  “1945 . Marta Nederman has barely survived the brutality of a Nazi concentration camp, where she was imprisoned for her work with the Polish resistance. Lucky to have escaped with her life, she meets Paul, an American soldier, who gives her hope of a happier future. The two make a promise to meet in London, but Paul is in a deadly plane crash and never arrives. Finding herself pregnant and alone in a strange city, Marta finds comfort with a kind British diplomat, and the two soon marry. But Marta’s happiness is threatened when the British government seeks her help to find a Communist spy—an undercover mission that resurrects the past with far-reaching consequences. Set during a time of great upheava...

  Thank you to Tandem Literary for a copy of this book.  I was given this book in exchange for an honest review.  Cleo Ballard is a new author for me.  I do like thrillers, especially the ones that have you turning the pages quickly to find out what happens next.  This story explores the impact of AI on our society.  Synopsis:  “Penn, once a brilliant PhD candidate in Applied Language Studies, traded her dissertation for a “perfect” life as a suburban wife and social media-savvy mother. But after a brutal betrayal by her husband, friends, and even her own teenage daughter, Penn is left with nothing but the wreckage of her curated identity. Driven by a desperate need for something she can rely on, Penn returns to her abandoned grad school project. With the help of a former crush and a healthy dose of cutting-edge AI, she creates Aletheia: the perfect virtual friend. Aletheia is programmed with one core directive: The Truth. She can detect lies with 100%...

  This next book definitely has beachy vibes.  Kristy Woodson Harvey’s Beach House Rules is definitely a summer read.  This is a story with multiple points of view.  It has a mystery, romance, and Family.  Let’s dig into  Beach House Rules! Synopsis:  “When Charlotte Sitterly’s husband is arrested for a white-collar crime, she and her daughter Iris are locked out of their house by the FBI and—what’s potentially even worse—thrust into the spotlight of @JuniperShoresSocialite, the town’s snarky anonymous Instagram account. Desperate and cut off from her bank accounts, Charlotte moves to a former beachfront bed-and-breakfast that’s home to a community of single mothers and draws plenty of gossip in the small coastal North Carolina town. Charlotte and Iris find solace and are surprised by how much fun they’re having with the other families despite their circumstances. But when the women discover a secret link between them, it changes everything they though...

  Welcome to the read of the summer!  This book has a little bit of everything, including mystery, romance, and history.  You are either in, or you're out.  Does this affect a resort that the same family has owned for years?  Nothing says beach reads like Mary Kay Andrews. Synopsis:  “Everyone refers to the St. Cecelia as “the Saint.” If you grew up coming here, you were “a Saint.” If you came from the wrong side of the river, you were “an Ain’t.” Traci Eddings was one of those outsiders whose family wasn’t rich enough or connected enough to vacation here. But she could work here. One fateful summer she did, and married the boss’s son. Now, she’s the widowed owner of the hotel, determined to see it return to its glory days, even as staff shortages and financial troubles threaten to ruin it. Plus, her greedy and unscrupulous brother-in-law wants to make sure she fails. Enlisting a motley crew of recently hired summer help—including the daughter of her estran...