Pleasant Nights

Hello Beautiful

Title: Hello Beautiful

Author: Ann Napolitano

Genre: family drama

Thank you, NetGalley, for this book

I never read Dear Edward, even though I have a copy. You know how that TBR list can be. But when I got this one from NetGalley, I made a point to bump it to the top of the list. I’m not a big reader of family dramas, mostly because the families in the book are reprehensible people. But I loved (almost) every character in this book. The Padavano sisters are glorious. And William is the quiet hero.

From Goodreads: William Waters grew up in a house silenced by tragedy, where his parents could hardly bear to look at him, much less love him. So it’s a relief when his skill on the basketball court earns him a scholarship to college, far away from his childhood home. He soon meets Julia Padavano, a spirited and ambitious young woman who surprises William with her appreciation of his quiet steadiness. With Julia comes her family; she is inseparable from her three younger sisters: Sylvie, the dreamer, is happiest with her nose in a book and imagines a future different from the expected path of wife and mother; Cecelia, the family’s artist; and Emeline, who patiently takes care of all of them. Happily, the Padavanos fold Julia’s new boyfriend into their loving, chaotic household.

But then darkness from William’s past surfaces, jeopardizing not only Julia’s carefully orchestrated plans for their future but the sisters’ unshakeable loyalty to one another. The result is a catastrophic family rift that changes their lives for generations. Will the loyalty that once rooted them be strong enough to draw them back together when it matters most?

Vibrating with tenderness, Hello Beautiful is a gorgeous, profoundly moving portrait of what’s possible when we choose to love someone not in spite of who they are, but because of it.

This book is a perfect example of a character-driven novel. Nothing really happens… people are born, others die, some move away, hearts are broken. Just basic life stuff. But the characters are so rich with love and ambition and failure and heartache that it’s impossible not to root for them. As imperfect as they are, they are also real, and their imperfections are explained through their thoughts. We understand why the characters make the decisions they do, which is critical to this type of book. Because this book was so great, I’m going to make Dear Edward more of a priority this year!

Tags ann napolitano, books, hello beautiful, netgalley, reading

books and reading

Breathless

Title: Breathless

Author: Amy McCulloch

Genre: thriller

Thank you, NetGalley, for this book

I am terrified of mountains. I don’t ski, I don’t go to Colorado, and I have no desire to climb anything. But I’m a mountain-setting junkie. I cannot believe people pay money to climb. But I’m also in awe of those people because what they do pushes the limits of their entire existence. They are absolutely badass. I read Into Thin Air ages ago and couldn’t put it down. So, when a fiction book with a similar setting comes along, I’m in. And this book was excellent.

From Goodreads: Journalist Cecily Wong is in over her head. She’s come to Manaslu, the eighth-highest peak in the world, to interview internationally famous mountaineer Charles McVeigh on the last leg of a record-breaking series of summits. She’s given up everything for this story–her boyfriend, her life savings, the peace she’s made with her climbing failures in the past–but it’s a career-making opportunity. It could finally put her life back on track.

But when one climber dies in what everyone else assumes is a freak accident, she fears their expedition is in danger. And by the time a second climber dies, it’s too late to turn back. Stranded on a mountain in one of the most remote regions of the world, she’ll have to battle more than the elements in a harrowing fight for survival against a killer who is picking them off one by one.

What I loved most about this book is that the author is a climber herself, so the climbing aspect of the book is authentic. Not only does she nail that, the tension the mountain presents is matched by the horrifying deaths that occur along the way. Of course, climbing deaths occur, but the ones in the book seem suspicious. Cecily makes for a great amateur sleuth. Not only is she trying to uncover the mysteries of these deaths, but she’s also trying to scale Manaslu. This book was great. I listened to a good chunk of it and was hooked from the get-go.

Tags amy mcculloch, books, breathless, climbing, manaslu, mountains, netgalley, reading, thriller

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Happy Doomsday

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The Snowman

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Rock Paper Scissors

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Somebody’s Daughter

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Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing

Post author By pleasantnites
Post date November 28, 2022
No Comments on Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing

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The Boys From Biloxi

Title: The Boys From Biloxi

Author: John Grisham

Genre: legal thriller

Thank you, NetGalley, for this book.

John Grisham is hit or miss for me. His early stuff, like A Time to Kill, is great. The Innocent Man was excellent. The Last Juror was awful. So, when I saw this one on NetGalley, I had no idea what version of Grisham I was going to get. And although this one took me over two weeks to get through, it was only because I’ve been so busy at work. I was excited to read more, every time I picked up this book.

From Goodreads: For most of the last hundred years, Biloxi was known for its beaches, resorts, and seafood industry. But it had a darker side. It was also notorious for corruption and vice, everything from gambling, prostitution, bootleg liquor, and drugs to contract killings. The vice was controlled by a small cabal of mobsters, many of them rumored to be members of the Dixie Mafia.

Keith Rudy and Hugh Malco grew up in Biloxi in the sixties and were childhood friends, as well as Little League all-stars. But as teenagers, their lives took them in different directions. Keith’s father became a legendary prosecutor, determined to “clean up the Coast.” Hugh’s father became the “Boss” of Biloxi’s criminal underground. Keith went to law school and followed in his father’s footsteps. Hugh preferred the nightlife and worked in his father’s clubs. The two families were headed for a showdown, one that would happen in a courtroom.

Life itself hangs in the balance in The Boys from Biloxi, a sweeping saga rich with history and with a large cast of unforgettable characters.

I had to check a few times to make sure this book was actually a novel. It reads like non-fiction, very matter-of-fact. Maybe that’s how Grisham is writing these days, but I couldn’t believe it was fiction. That didn’t detract from my enjoyment, however. There’s not a lot of surprise here. The good guys are good. The bad guys are bad. And the Malco and Rudy families are pulled in several directions. Watching it all play out was the most interesting part. I really enjoyed this book and put it up there with his early works.