Holiday Reads

dear readers,

I was given two novels from an independent publisher, Publerati....

DANCING IN THE KITCHEN
written by Susan Sterling
genre: literature, fiction

4 STARS 

After Rob and Annie's father died their mother is trying to cope with being alone.  Rob stays with his mother for a bit and then returns to England where he is researching his book.  His live-in girlfriend, Jess is trying to find a job as a dancer but is not making great headway.  Rob meets a stranger and starts to wonder if his life as it is is what he wants in the end. 

Annie thinks her mother is not grieving as much as she should be, and then finds out her father may not have loved her mother as much as he should have.  She discovers secrets from the past that are haunting her future. Her husband is rarely home so she looks to their mutual friend for comfort.  Soon she is whirling in secrets, passion and love.

This is not a novel about a family but secrets of a family.  These three characters have a completely different lives apart from one another and do not look to each other for any answers. This novel had be start to finish even when I was shaking my head at their decisions. Set in the Eastern part of the States the novel reminds me of Shreve, Irving and Russo.

Dancing in the Kitchen was published May 2012.


THANKSGIVING
written by Ellen Cooney
genre: literature, fiction

3 STARS 

In Thanksgiving we see the Morely family celebrating the holiday from the Colonial times to present day.

This novel has a great premise of seeing a family evolve through vignettes of Thanksgiving.  Yet, there seems to be something lacking in the cohesion of the stories.  These are not stories you could read on their own as even on a whole you are left wondering more than you should.  Not a bad novel just feels like you are only getting part of the picture.

Thanksgiving was published September 2013.

For more information on Publerati please visit  http://www.publerati.com/

Publerati is a novel concept, quite literally. We only publish excellent new fiction. When you read any of our ebooks, available from leading e-sellers at the links below each book, we donate no less than 15% of our net proceeds to help the Worldreader Organization spread literacy using technology.  It's a good thing. Please help us change lives simply by reading one of our books.

love, 
kris  

*I was given an advance copy of Thanksgiving (from NetGalley)and Dancing in the Kitchen (Publerati) in exchange for an honest review.