The Assistants by Camille Perri

What They Say.....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?” 


What I Say.....I think I'm in the middle of these two generations.  But both of them seem to think the world owes them something.  I can definitely say over the last few years, my mind is a little more open to the how the game is rigged in favor of people who have more money than they could ever need or use.
But I also have open eyes to the fact that the millennial generation feels like they have been robbed if they don't have everything they want as soon as they want it - thanks, helicopter parents.

Tina innocently gets reimbursed for a plane ticket that she bought her boss, after it's already been refunded (because a multibillionaire doesn't think he should have to pay to fly first class - and block the seats around him).  Tina struggles for weeks trying to decide what to do - be honest, and turn it back in or cash it and pay off her student loans.  A simple snap and click deposit sets a whole chain of events that she could have never imagined.

Soon the people who are employed to stop this kind of thing from happening are blackmailing Tina to make sure it keeps happening, to their benefit.  It's designed to look like a modern day Robin Hood, but is it less stealing when it goes to student loans than a new car or better apartment?  Let's be honest, it's the same thing - freeing up income that would be spent on student loans to buy other things.

in the meantime, Tina has a budding romance with the office hunk, although she is terrified he will find out what she's up to, as he is a young idealist, who believes her to be as honest as he is.

I don't want to give any spoilers, but the ending was pretty neat and tidy for such a large, criminal mess on both sides.

Current Goodreads Rating 3.58

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The House of Bradbury by Nicole Meier

What They Say.....Mia Gladwell s life is going nowhere. The media has skewered her debut novel, her fiance 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.

What I Say.... This was an interesting book to me.  I kept waiting for the big twist - but that maybe because I just came off of a Mary Kubica book, but it never came.

Mia is an unemployed writer, whose ex-husband helps her buy Ray Bradbury's old house.  Since I"m not a Ray Bradbury fan, the frequent references to him and his stories were lost on me.  Her ex asks her to take in a young actress who is fresh out of rehab and she doesn't think she can say no.  

As Mia becomes a surrogate mother to the young actress, she finds herself inspired to write again, what she writes we never really find out.  In the meantime, someone is leaving little drawings in her door, which doesn't seem to be frightening or even that interesting to Mia (I would be scared witless).

In the meantime, her sister is having marital problems but still finds the time and interest to be a mini Martha Stewart - lots of detail on how fancy her dinner parties are, which didn't make a lot of sense for a stay at home mom and and a history professor living in California, where did the money come from?  I always wonder where the money comes from.

I read another review of this book that called it "chick lit".  I am an unapologetic lover of chick lit, and I wouldn't put this book in that category - I always feel like chick lit has a more "fun" element.  

This story just felt very level to me, but the dialogue was really good and it felt real - it just felt a lot like reading a daily description of someone's real life.  I prefer a little escape.

Current Goodreads Rating 4.24

Weekly Book Haul......May 30, 2016

The Sunday Post is a weekly meme hosted by The Caffeinated Book Reviewer, Showcase Sunday is hosted by Books, Biscuits and Tea, Stacking the Shelves is hosted by Tynga's Reviews, The Sunday Salon is a new facebook group I've joined and Monday Mailbox is hosted by Marcia to be Continued.

Well, this post is a day late - maybe with the holiday, no one would notice, but as usual, I'm ratting myself out.  My honesty is a blessing and a curse.  

One of my best friends from Illinois came to see me in Arizona for the first time since I've moved, so I was busy catching up and reminiscing and eating too much and drinking too much and finding out that that a child who will always be 5 years old in my mind is now in college studying horticulture (although I got some valuable advice - if I really want my lemon tree to grow, I need to pee on it.  I'm not sure how badly I want it to grow after all.).

So here I am on Memorial Day, writing my Sunday blog.  I had a great reading week.  I love being part of the Booksparks Summer Reading Challenge, they always have such great picks and this year is no exception.

I have discovered that I have a special hate for the word "smirked".  I don't know what made me start noticing that word in every book I've read lately.  The definition of smirk is "smile in an irritatingly smug, conceited, or silly way.".  And I guess the definition of irritatingly smug is what resonates with me so much.  So lately, I've actually been doing a word count on the word "smirk" on my Kindle at the end of every book.  Just so I can annoy myself, I guess.  But authors, please don't overuse this word - a smirk shouldn't happen 30 times in one book.

But in the meantime, Netgalley blessed me with.....

The Girl Who Came Back by Susan Lewis....For readers of Diane

Chamberlain and Heather Gudenkauf comes a gripping novel of suspense about a mother determined to avenge her daughter's murder—no matter the cost to her husband, to her family, and to herself.
 
When Jules Bright hears a knock on the door, the last person she expects to find is a detective bringing her the news she's feared for the last three years.
 
Amelia Quentin is being released from prison.
 
Jules's life now is very different from the one she knew before Amelia shattered it completely. Knowing the girl is coming back, Jules must decide what to do. Friends and family gather around, fearing for Jules's safety. They know that justice was never served; each of them wants to make the Quentin girl pay.
 
The question is: What will Jules do?
 
And which of them—she or Amelia—has the most to fear?

The Memory of Lemon by Judith Fertig......The author of The Cake Therapist 

returns with another sweet and emotional tale featuring Neely, the baker with a knack for finding exactly the right flavor for any occasion...
 
A crisp tang of citrus that is at once poignant and familiar, sharpening the senses and opening the mind to possibilities once known and long forgotten...
 
Claire “Neely” Davis is no ordinary pastry chef. Her flavor combinations aren't just a product of a well-honed palate: she can “taste” people's emotions, sensing the ingredients that will touch her customers' souls. Her gift has never failed her—until she meets a free-spirited bride-to-be and her overbearing society mother. The two are unable to agree on a single wedding detail, and their bickering leaves Neely's intuition frustratingly silent—right when she needs it most.
 
Between trying to navigate a divorce, explore a new relationship, and handle the reappearance of her long-absent father, Neely is struggling to make sense of her own conflicting emotions, much less those of her hard-to-please bride. But as she embarks on a flavorful quest to craft the perfect wedding celebration, she'll uncover a family history that sheds light on both the missing ingredients and her own problems—and illustrates how the sweet and sour in life often combine to make the most delicious memories...

One True Loves by Taylor Jenkins Reid

• Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: Washington Square Press (June 7, 2016)
• 
  

What They Say.....From the author of Maybe in Another Life—named a PeopleMagazine pick and a "Best Book of the Summer" by Glamour and USA TODAY—comes a breathtaking new love story about a woman unexpectedly forced to choose between the husband she has long thought dead and the fiancé who has finally brought her back to life.

In her twenties, Emma Blair marries her high school sweetheart, Jesse. They build a life for themselves, far away from the expectations of their parents and the people of their hometown in Massachusetts. They travel the world together, living life to the fullest and seizing every opportunity for adventure.

On their first wedding anniversary, Jesse is on a helicopter over the Pacific when it goes missing. Just like that, Jesse is gone forever.

Emma quits her job and moves home in an effort to put her life back together. Years later, now in her thirties, Emma runs into an old friend, Sam, and finds herself falling in love again. When Emma and Sam get engaged, it feels like Emma’s second chance at happiness.

That is, until Jesse is found. He’s alive, and he’s been trying all these years to come home to her. With a husband and a fiancé, Emma has to now figure out who she is and what she wants, while trying to protect the ones she loves.

Who is her one true love? What does it mean to love truly?

Emma knows she has to listen to her heart. She’s just not sure what it’s saying.

What I Say.....I've loved every Taylor Jenkins Reid book that's I've read.  Starting with Maybe In Another Life, I became a fan.  So when a copy of this came in my Summer Reading Challenge box, it was the first took I grabbed.  

I spent yesterday with my nose buried in it, while I vacuumed with one hand, propped up while I did dishes, and then floating in the pool - which was convenient because as I cried, I could just pretend it was pool water not tears.  And since I was doing a full on ugly cry, I was happy for the cover.

Emma has carved her life out to be exactly what she wanted, complete with her high school crush now turned husband.  But when he is missing, presumed dead, her entire life changes.

That is really the message of the whole book, that as life happens, we change.  And as you change, your ability to love changes.

The story is really about Emma and since we get to follow her from around age 14 to mid 30's, we really got to see her character development and her journey and it's written with a lot of authenticity.  It rings true.  I think that's what made me cry the most.

I don't want to give any spoilers because I want everyone to read this book so we can discuss it endlessly and you can tell me if you think she makes the right choice.  I'm still torn.