humor

The Homewreckers

/ Book Girl / Leave a comment

The Homewreckers by Mary Kay Andrews

A very good summer read that includes romance, some humor, and a mystery. Readalikes include Maggie Moves on by Lucy Score, and books by Sarah Graves, Jennifer Crusie, and Tessa Bailey.

Hattie is a young widow in Savannah who works with her father-in-law Tug and best friend Cass rehabbing houses. When Hattie falls in love with the wrong dilapidated but promising house, she needs to recoup her losses quickly. Mo Lopez persuades her to film a pilot for a reality show he’ll call Saving Savannah. There’s not a lot of affordable housing inventory in the area, but Hattie hears about an auction for a condemned waterfront house on Tybee Island, in a historic district.

Trae is brought in a a designer for the tv show, and possible love interest, but Hattie isn’t sure she can trust him. A wallet is found in the wall belonging to Lanier Ragan, who’s been missing for 17 years. She was Cass and Hattie’s favorite English teacher, and they never thought she’d leave a young daughter behind.

The filming scheduled is incredibly tight, there’s a very picky inspector, and then some vandalism occurs on the property, including possible arson. The descriptions of the house remodeling sound charming, even without pictures, and I enjoyed the combination of themes in this charming page-turner. Even though this is a standalone novel, I wish Andrews would write more about Hattie and Cass.

Starter Villain

/ Book Girl / Leave a comment

Starter Villain by John Scalzi

Cats, not bacon. For cats and bacon, see Emily Jane’s On Earth as It Is On Television. If you enjoyed award-winning science fiction writer Scalzi’s latest adventure novel, The Kaiju Preservation Society, you might enjoy this. No, there are no kaiju, either. But there are cats, and later some sarcastic dolphins. Ordinary guy Charlie, currently a substitute teacher, helped care for his father before his recent death. Now his older half-siblings want their shares of dad’s house. It’s just a regular house, nothing special, so Charlie’s share probably won’t be enough to buy a local pub. Charlie has recently adopted a stray cat, and together they find a stray kitten.

Then Charlie, a former business reporter, gets word that his Uncle Jake has died. He hasn’t seen Jake since he was a kid, but is asked to host the viewing and funeral service. Jake owned parking garages, but that doesn’t explain the tough guys who show up at the funeral home, some packing heat. Later Charlie visits Jake’s company headquarters, with the cat and kitten in tow. It turns out to be on a volcanic island, where we meet the dolphins. Perhaps Uncle Jake had more in common with the bad guys at the funeral home than he thought, and they want Charlie to join their organization. Lots of adventure, plenty of humor, some tricky situations, and an appealing main character in Charlie. Plus, of course, cats. This book will be published on September 19, National Talk Like a Pirate Day. Enjoy!

Brenda

The Road to Roswell

/ Book Girl / Leave a comment

The Road to Roswell by Connie Willis

This is an engaging, witty romantic comedy with UFOs and an alien nicknamed Indy. Francie is on her way from the Albuquerque airport to Roswell, New Mexico, where her friend Serena is planning a wedding. This is Serena’s fourth fiancé, and Francie has talked her out of the other weddings. The wedding is delayed by a possible UFO sighting. Francie, in an unfortunate glow-in-the dark bridesmaid dress, has a close encounter with Indy, and is forced to drive an SUB out of town and into the desert. Fortunately for her, Indy collects other passengers, beginning with charming con man Wade. The others include a UFO chaser, elderly Eula Mae, who likes to gamble, and a retiree with a luxury RV. While Indy is looking for something, or perhaps someone, the group ends up in, of course, Las Vegas, then in the middle of a spectacular thunderstorm.

Francie, Wade and the others have the unexpected journey of a lifetime, full of heart and humor in this funny and heartwarming story. I’m so happy to read a new novel from the award-winning author of time-travel and screwball comedy novels such as The Winds of Marble Arch, Crosstalk, and The Doomsday Book. This is perfect for fans of Men in Black who want less violence and more humor and witty dialogue. Indy will win many hearts; I won’t attempt any description so as not to spoil the fun for readers. This will be published on June 27.

Brenda

On Earth As It Is on Television

/ Book Girl / 2 Comments

On Earth As It Is On Television by Emily Jane

This debut science fiction novel is a deeply weird yet engaging read. Blaine wonders about his wife Anne, who likes single use plastic more than a green lifestyle and is rather over the top about almost everything, especially bacon. Their kids, Jas and Avril, fight like young wild beasts until the TV catches their attention, or Mr. Meow Mitts, their cat.

In Malibu, Heather is taking a rather aimless gap year before college when alien spacecraft arrive, hovering over major cities, including Los Angeles. Her mother is on vacation with Heather’s stepfather, Jack, a television executive who gained fame on Jeopardy. Jack’s son Alex, a high school senior, is so perfect that Heather thinks her mom likes him better.

Then there’s Oliver, who has an extremely bland existence until the starships arrive. The ships leave, but it turns out there may already be aliens among us. And did I mention the cats?

The characters’ stories mesh together cleverly, and not very predictably. This book will be published in June, and may be a hit. Readalikes include forthcoming novel The Road to Roswell by Connie Willis and also this fall’s Starter Villain by John Scalzi because, cats. No, not because of bacon. I don’t even eat bacon (true). If you’re in the mood for something a bit different, enjoy!

Brenda