Book Review- Fredrik Backman's The Winners

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for a copy of Fredrik Backman’s The Winners.

The Winners is the third installment in Backman’s Beartown trilogy, taking us back to the small, hockey obsessed, rival towns in Northern Sweden. This time, a severe snow storm has hit Beartown and Hed, destroying one of the hockey arenas. The rivalry between the two towns in alternatively suspended as they help save lives, but also restored when old wounds and biases resurface.

I absolutely love Backman. He is one of my favorite authors and I will read anything he writes, but that said, I’m not sure if I needed this to be a trilogy. The Winners was little long and slow-paced, yet I held on because of Backman’s wonderful characters. He also teased the death of a major character throughout the entire story, saving the reveal for near the end and writing as though any number of beloved characters could have been on the chopping block. This made me anxious, yet it kept me turning pages.

Without giving a spoiler, the death made me cry, but other aspects of the story made me cry even more. Backman excels at sentimental situations. He always manages to have his tough-as-nails characters be hit with a tender moment: cue the tears. I think this works so well, because Backman also infuses his stories with a fair bit of dark humor, allowing his readers to experience a range of emotions. It’s always complex.

The Winners is the weakest in the trilogy, but it is still excellent and absolutely a must-read if you are a Backman fan. Only Backman could make a non-sports fan like me, love a trilogy centered around hockey fanatics!

Book Review: Jennifer Weiner's The Summer Place

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for a copy of Jennifer Weiner’s latest novel, The Summer Place.

Veronica is a widow and retired novelist, living full-time in her Cape Cod summer home. She had hopes that her adult children, twins Sarah and Sam, would choose to spend their summers in Cape Cod with their own children, enjoying nature and lazy days. However, Veronica’s kids have their own problems.

Sarah has two young children of her own and a college-age adult stepdaughter, Ruby. Sarah’s sensing problems in her marriage and struggling to keep her life together. Sam has recently lost his wife and he is a single parent to his young stepson. Sam is having difficulty finding his place in the world, including dating again.

Veronica has made the decision to sell her beloved Cape Cod home and has not told her children. She will tell them after hosting one last big event: Ruby’s wedding. However, an incident involving a seemingly fun and frivolous home DNA kit, threatens to expose family secrets. Several characters panic, unsure how to handle the delicate situation without further damaging fragile relationships.

I’m a fan of Weiner’s books, but a few of her more recent ones have been lacking. The Summer Place gets Weiner back on track with her strong characters and a compelling plot. I felt most connected with Sarah’s story as it had shades of my first marriage and how I was feeling about fifteen years ago, the uncertainty and lack of emotional connection. It took me back to a difficult place, but that said, with distance and perspective, I can relate to Sarah’s troubles, without feeling overwhelmed. Weiner is a master at writing characters with strong emotional arcs.

This story is set during the pandemic. The pandemic plays a crucial role with the relationships, specifically Ruby’s engagement and Sarah feeling overwhelmed by not having her own space. Be sure to read Weiner’s afterward, as she explains the changes that were made while writing The Summer Place, due to both the pandemic and situations in her life. It sounds like The Summer Place ended up being a very different story from the original concept, and I suspect, a much better story.

The ending is perfect. It left me feeling hopeful and with a happy heart. The Summer Place definitely has a summer vibe and is a great pick for the upcoming season. It’s not a light “beach read” as it deals with very challenging relationship topics, but it will make you long for a vacation to Cape Cod.

Book Review: Lisa Jewell's The Night She Disappeared

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for providing me with an advanced copy of Lisa Jewell’s The Night She Disappeared, in exchange for an honest review.

On the outside, it appears that despite being a young mom, Tallulah has her life on the right track. She lives with her mom, Kim, who helps with childcare, allowing Tallulah to attend classes at a local college. Zach, the father of her baby is attentive to his child and wants to marry Tallulah. No one notices how possessive Zach can be and that Tallulah is not interested in pursuing a relationship with him.

At school, Tallulah meets Scarlet, a rich and troubled classmate who lives in a creepy mansion at the edge of the village. Tallulah and Scarlet begins a secretive and unlikely friendship. Tallulah and Zach attend a party at Scarlet’s mansion and go missing the following morning. A missing person’s case, turns into a cold case, leaving Kim bereft, yet holding out hope for any information about her daughter.

A few years later, Sophie, a crime writer moves into a cottage of a nearby boarding school with her fiancé, a professor at the school. On a walk of the grounds, she finds a mysterious note to dig in the ground, where she unearths an engagement ring. The ring and a series of other mysterious notes clearly intended for Sophie, lead her to begin to pice together the puzzle of Zach and Talulah’s disappearance.

I’m a huge fan of Lisa Jewell and i’ve read most of her novels, so I was very excited to have the opportunity to read her latest. I enjoyed The Night She Disappeared and it was a quick read, but from a mystery stand-point, it wasn’t as strong as some of her other novels. The character of Sophie and her solving of the mystery was almost too convenient and therefore, the less interesting aspect of the story.

The strongest and most dynamic aspect of the story was the relationship between mother and daughter, Kim and Tallulah. Tallulah’s relationship woes and path of self-discovery as a young twenty-something were very relatable and made me connect to her character. I’m forty-four, but it brought me back to that time in my own life. Initially the intrigue and mystery surrounding Scarlett and her gothic mansion were engaging, but as more of her was revealed, it was less interesting.

Although this wasn’t my favorite of her novels, I’m still a huge fan of Jewell and recommend her books to anyone looking for a good mystery.