friendship

Hot Desk

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Hot Desk by Laura Dickerman

This engaging dual timeline novel is set in the publishing world in New York City. Two young editors, Rebecca and Ben, work for rival publishers and reluctantly share a desk. They are both trying to meet with a literary legend’s widow for rights to publish a short story collection and one last novel. There are flashbacks to 1982. How is 1982 a historical time period already? Back then, Rebecca’s mom and her best friend Rose are interns at The East River Review, a journal published from the townhouse of the same literary legend, Edward David Adams, known as the Lion.

The book sections set in 1982 are chaotic, exhilarating, and full of secrets. Also, not very friendly for young women aspiring to be writers or editors. AIDS is not yet named, but definitely scary. 2022 is messy, but with situations such as hot desking, working remotely part-time, Zoom meetings where someone always needs prompting to unmute and large publishers buying smaller publishers. Rebecca helps her friend Stella run a dinner club with Rebecca’s charming grandmother, which is getting online buzz. Rebecca and Ben exchange cryptic heated texts, especially about a cactus on their shared desk that neither claims. An immersive read, this is an accomplished first novel.

Brenda

Dear Miss Lake

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Dear Miss Lake by AJ Pearce

Another Emmy and Bunty book! This is the fourth novel set in wartime London, where journalist Emmy Lake is trying her hardest to help the readers of Woman’s Friend magazine cope until peace arrives. Starting in July 1944, the war in Europe is being won by the Allies, but times are still tough for the soldiers, nurses, and everyone on the homefront.

Emmy and her brother-in-law move the staff of the magazine, along with their spouses and three children to a country estate owned by Bunty’s grandmother. Emmy gets her dream work assignment, as an official war correspondent, and travels to Belgium. Bunty’s sweetheart proposes, a wedding is planned, but Emmy’s husband has to leave England on a secret assignment. Emmy connects with other women who are waiting and waiting for their husbands, sweethearts, or sons to come home. Will the war ever end? And when one of the magazine’s younger staff is overwhelmed by events and leaves without giving a forwarding address, there is plenty to worry about.

This doesn’t sound like a very cheerful read. And yet, this is heartwarming, sad, joyous, and funny in turns. The characters are the stars of this series, from best friends Emmy and Bunty, to their partners, coworkers, and the children in their lives. If you’re up to a few tears, this is an absolutely lovely and charming read for fans of historical fiction set in England. The first book is Dear Mrs. Bird, and the others are Yours Cheerfully and Mrs. Porter Calling.

I look forward to seeing what the author writes next.

Brenda

The Eights

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The Eights by Joanna Miller

I thoroughly enjoyed this historical novel set at Oxford University in 1920 and 1921. The Eights are four women entering St. Hugh’s College at Oxford. They are in the first group of women to matriculate at Oxford. Before 1920, women could study at Oxford but weren’t awarded degrees. World War I has been over for almost two years and women over 30 now get to vote in Great Britain.

Eight is the group’s corridor number. Beatrice is very tall, and her mother is a famous suffragist. Beautiful Dora is still mourning her brother and fiancé and struggles a bit with math. Otto (Ottoline) is brilliant at math, wealthy, the youngest of four sisters and doesn’t get on with her mother at all. Otto smokes, drinks, and likes to bend the rules. Marianne is devoted to her father, a rector, and goes home every other weekend to help out with his church work. She needs to do well on her exams to get a scholarship in English, and hopes to become a teacher.

The male Oxford students are not a very welcoming bunch. They tease and play pranks, though some are charmed by Dora and Otto. The reader is immersed into college life along with the Eights, and Oxford is lovingly described along with the many rules the women must follow and the mediocre food. There are a few flashbacks to their lives during the war. This memorable first novel makes me want to reread Gaudy Night by Dorothy Sayers, set at Oxford a decade later, or Maisie Dobbs by Jacqueline Winspear. More, please!

Brenda

Eddie Winston is Looking for Love

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Eddie Winston is Looking for Love by Marianne Cronin

A truly sweet novel, this was a pleasure to read. In flashbacks to the past, Eddie meets Bridie when he is a Ph.D. student at the University of Birmingham and she works as an administrative assistant. Her husband, Alistair, not a nice man, is a professor there. Eddie and Birdie, as he calls her, become friends and are attracted to each other.

In the present, Eddie is 90 and works in a charity shop in Birmingham with Marjie. He takes extra care with the belongings of people who have recently passed away, donated by friends or family. He also adopts a guinea pig that is brought to the shop. Young Bella brings in Jake’s concert t-shirts, notebook, and painted Converse shoes. Eddie saves them, certain she’ll want them back someday. They become friends, often eating lunch on a park bench. She writes her way through grief by writing letters to Jake. When Bella learns that Eddie has never been kissed, she sets up an account for him on a dating app.

Bella works at Sainsbury’s grocery store, where she meets a man she calls Ham & Cheese, for the sandwich he buys every day. Bella and Ham & Cheese, aka Chris, go on a date. In an exciting turn of events, Eddie and Bella are invited to visit a Greek island to return a packet of letters to a woman’s sister. At long last, Bridie comes back into the picture. I really enjoyed Bella and Eddie’s unlikely friendship, the main theme of the book for me. I won’t say anything more about the plot, except that I finished the novel with a big smile on my face.

Brenda

The City Beyond the Sea

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Greenwild: The City Beyond the Sea by Pari Thomson

Iffenwild is a wondrous city, part of the Marin Deep, with blue water magic. It’s only a legend to those in the Greenwild, first introduced in Greenwild: The World Behind the Door. Botanists in Amazeria are in danger, and want the Greenwilders to come with help from Iffenwild.

Daisy, the Prof, and Indigo travel to the Moonmarket and sneak onto the Nautilus, one of four theater ships headed to Iffenwild to perform for the city residents and their duchess. Also on board is Max, who’s been ill most of his life and was recently kidnapped by the Grim Reapers. Max and Daisy clash; they have similar personalities. Daisy’s cat, Napoleon, is a help and a comfort, as is Indigo’s parakeet. Daisy struggles to control her green magic, while Max is recovering his strength and secretly learning how to swim. Max, in disguise, gets a walk on role in the Nautilus company’s play, and spends time in a storeroom with a magical memory tree.

The theater, ships, water horses and the land/sea combination of Iffenwild enchant. While dark in parts, this page turning middle grade fantasy novel is a very satisfying read. The depiction and use of magic here is delightful. Some people have power with plants or water, there are magical animals, and there are magical fruits, seeds, leaves, and vines. Excellent! A sequel, The Forest in the Sky, is expected next summer.

Brenda

The Husbands

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The Husbands by Holly Gramazio

Londoner Lauren is a little drunk after Elena’s hen party, and is very startled to find a strange man on the stair landing of her duplex. The man turns out to be her husband, Michael. Her flat looks a bit different than she remembers and the fridge is stocked with grapefruit water. Neighbor Toby knows Michael, but Lauren is single. She fakes a cold and Michael sleeps in the spare room. When he goes up to the attic to replace a light bulb, a different husband comes down. Lauren’s attic seems to have a supply of husbands! This is a completely ridiculous plot, but makes for a fun, compelling summer read.

Lauren is sure of a few things. She is friends with Toby and Elena. Her sister Natalie is married with two little kids. But when a new husband comes downstairs to the flat, there are changes, like the paint color, art work, or furniture in their flat. And sometimes other things are different. One husband is very cross; she has trouble getting him back in the attic. Jason is very nice, but her job has completely changed. Lauren learns to look at photos and messages on her phone to see if she likes her life, her job, and her relationships. Sometimes Lauren doesn’t like herself at all, and neither does the reader. Often, she calls off sick from work or buys things not in her budget, because everything will reset the next time. Then a couple of exes come back. Is Lauren the only one with an attic like that? I wondered why she doesn’t move away. Will she ever find what she’s looking for?

After a while, Lauren gets desperate and makes some very bad choices. But finally, she learns from her experiences and the ending is unexpected and dramatic. This book is hard to put down and would make a great movie, with lots of cameo parts for men. Try reading this novel and not talking about it; I certainly couldn’t. The author is from Australia and lives in London. A game designer, this is her first novel. I’m fascinated to see what she writes next.

Brenda

How to Age Disgracefully

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How to Age Disgracefully by Clare Pooley

I liked Pooley’s book The Authenticity Project and enjoyed a recent book discussion of Iona Iverson’s Rules for Commuting, so I was eager to read this British novel with an ensemble cast.

Daphne is turning 70 and rarely leaves her apartment. A dog named Maggie Thatcher needs a new home, or homes. Ziggy is a teen dad to toddler Kylie. Lydia, struggling with hot flashes at 54, starts a part-time job at a London community center, leading a new social club for seniors. Art, a bit actor is bored, and brings his photographer friend William along. Ruby knits and knits. When the community center needs expensive repairs, the local council considers selling the building to developers. The senior club and the daycare, along with a group of pregnant women and people in recovery all band together to try and save the building. There is an unusual joint nativity play, some clever yarn bombing, and Maggie Thatcher is entered into a competition on a TV show. The seniors also trail Lydia’s husband, deal with Ziggy’s local bully, and find lost family members, as well as uncover Daphne’s very big secret. This is a funny, moving, and entertaining read with bighearted and realistic middle-aged and older characters.

Brenda

Hudson Bay Bound

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Hudson Bay Bound: Two Women, One Dog, Two Thousand Miles to the Arctic by Natalie Warren

In 2011, two Minnesota college seniors made a bold plan for the summer after graduation. Ann Raiho and Natalie Warren decided to canoe 2,000 miles from St. Paul, Minnesota to Hudson Bay in Manitoba, which had never been done by women. Natalie grew up in Miami, but went on long canoe trips in the Boundary Waters area of northern Minnesota as a teen, where she met Minnesotan Ann. They found out they were both planning to attend St. Olaf College in southern Minnesota, as I did, though quite a few years earlier. They were very experienced at long canoe trips, though always with a larger group. Planning and funding such a big expedition was challenging. Natalie had no firm plans or job offers after graduation, while Ann was due in Colorado in early September for graduate school.

At the beginning of June, 2011, they headed out on the flooded Minnesota River, traveling past many fields of corn and soybeans, ready for adventure. Three resupplies were planned, one with the help of Ann’s parents. Traveling through Minnesota, North Dakota, and Manitoba, they met a wide variety of farmers, villagers, and First Nations people. Along the way they saw deer, moose, caribou, eagles, wolves, beaver dams, black bears, many mosquitos and flies, and near journey’s end, polar bears. Also, they adopted a stray dog, Myhan, recommended for polar bear country.

There was lots of cribbage, music from ukelele and a travel guitar, dancing, very few showers, at least one day of not speaking, and many granola bars and pancakes. Ann had the idea for the journey, and Natalie was happy to go along, up rivers, through the vast Lake Winnipeg, and amazing scenery. Natalie sang jazz standards (which ones?) when nervous, which irritated Ann, who thought Natalie wasn’t serious enough about safety. Natalie, in turn, thought Ann made too many decisions without asking for Natalie’s input. Many rapids and portages made for an occasional grueling adventure. They got physically stronger during their 100-day journey, and their friendship survived, and even thrived. For photos and videos, visit Natalie’s website here.

Brenda

The Renaissance of Gwen Hathaway

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The Renaissance of Gwen Hathaway by Ashley Schumacher

This is a charming novel about a teen girl dealing with grief, holding onto the past, very reluctantly allowing new friends into her life, and coping with body image issues. Going forward, the reader and Maddie can enjoy the fun of summer at a large renaissance faire in Oklahoma. Oklahoma? Apparently, there are a few ren faires there; this one seems to be based on the Oklahoma Renaissance Festival set at the Castle in Muskogee.  Maddie meets Arthur, a skinny teen bard who’s funny, friendly, and annoying. He calls her Gwen for her lovely golden hair, and asks her to fill in as princess of the faire, to be in processions and appear at events with his two dads. Maddie’s dad and her friend Fatima encourage her to try something new, and she becomes Princess Gwen. On weekdays, there are road trips to all sorts of tourist attractions with Arthur.

Maddie and her father travel from faire to faire, living in their RV. He crafts leather bound journals while Maddie makes jewelry from the designs her mother created, and attends high school online. Almost a year ago, Maddie’s mom died. She’s been dreading the upcoming anniversary and doesn’t want to let anyone new into her life. Arthur is very persistent, and she agrees to be a friendly acquaintance. Maddie is plus sized, and it’s a nice change to wear princess gowns instead of peasant garb. A later shopping trip for mundane clothes even turns out to be surprisingly fun.

This title has been on my list of books to read for several months, but I didn’t remember the ren faire setting. I have really enjoyed Jen DeLuca’s ren faire rom-coms for adults, beginning with Well Met, and was pleased to see her blurb on the back cover. Reading about a ren faire summer makes for a perfect winter read, and you can look for information on renaissance faires both large and small here. Ashley has two other teen novels I’ve not read, but plan to consider soon.

Brenda

Georgie, All Along

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Georgie, All Along by Kate Clayborn

Georgie, Levi, and Hank, his large dog, connect in their Virginia hometown after her parents ask Levi to house and plant sit for them. Georgie’s job as a personal assistant in Hollywood abruptly ends when her boss Nadia decides to retreat to the desert. Georgie comes home to help her friend Bel, who has just moved from Washington, D. C. to a large house nearby with her husband Harry and needs help organizing the house before their baby arrives. Georgie finds the notebook she and Bel made in 8th grade with their plans to take on high school and hopes it will help her reinvent herself. Bel has always been a high achiever, but Georgie has drifted along, skipping college to take the first job that interested her, then eventually becoming a successful PA. The notebook had a lot of fun plans that the teens somehow never completed, such as dancing at a local bar. Bel and Levi agree to help Georgie complete some of her teenage plans, which leads to some funny scenes. Levi’s dog Hank is also entertaining, as well as endearing.

Levi owns a small local business, but is estranged from his wealthy family, although he misses his brother Evan and sister Olivia. He was the family black sheep, and still has some issues to work through. Georgie’s parents are more easygoing free spirits, and love Georgie without giving her a lot of guidance, except after she has an argument with Levi. Of course, Levi and Georgie reconnect, leading to a charming ending. This tender romance is a compelling read, though this is definitely not a rom-com.

Readalike authors include Lucy Score, Emily Henry, Jen DeLuca, and Jennifer Crusie.

Brenda