Robin’s Rave Reviews 2024
You may be thinking pumpkin spice, but Christmas isn’t as far off as you’d like to think, and I already have a recommendation for your holiday reading this year! Susan Mallery’s One Big Happy Family comes out October 1, 2024. You can preorder now!
Summary
Julie’s adult children made their own plans for Christmas this year. Heath, Julie’s boyfriend, has young children, but they’re spending the holiday on vacation with his ex and her boyfriend. That means Julie and Heath can have a quiet Christmas together. Until plans change.
Julie’s children, Dana and Nick, drop their plans because they want to do their traditional family Christmas at the cabin. They hope it will help them get through their first Christmas since their dad’s death. Although their parents have been divorced for many years, their father normally spent the holiday with the family at the cabin.
When Heath agrees to join them, Julie needs to figure out how to introduce her kids to her boyfriend, younger than her by 12 years, whom she’s been keeping a secret. Then, just before Heath’s ex takes the kids on the vacation, her boyfriend dumps her. Julie invites Heath’s kids and his ex to join them for the holidays. Isn’t that what most people would do? Oh, and they’re bringing their dog.
Nick’s mother-in-law has recently moved to the area. Even though his wife Blair and her mother have a strained relationship, she needs somewhere to be for the holidays. Why not include her? Meanwhile, Dana is getting over a breakup with her boyfriend Axel, again.
Suddenly Julie has a lot of planning to do to accommodate a house full of people. The “cabin” has plenty of room, but it’s the mixture of personalities, secrets, and past hurts that bring the conflict and tension. And Julie, a woman with a big heart, is forced to deal with her control issues. Does ANY big family gathering turn out exactly how you want it?
My Thoughts
If you like fun Christmas novels about dysfunctional families, this is a wonderful read. This family’s holiday is a lovely, chaotic mess full of wonderful traditions, fun, love, personal growth, and acceptance. I enjoyed getting to know each of the guests and watching them squirm through situations often out of their control. It’s a fun, easy read for your holiday season!
Pick up Susan Mallery’s new book, One Big Happy Family! Give yourself a gift for the holidays.
Thank you Netgalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing | Canary Street Press for the ARC of this book. This is my honest review of the book.
If You Like…
If you like One Big Happy Family, you may want to check out this past recommendation: Bright Lights, Big Christmas by Mary Kay Andrews.
Drop me a comment below! What are you reading that you’d recommend? Who are your favorite authors? Ask me a question about books and/or writing. I’d love to hear from you!
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Summary
This book is just fabulous! I love it so much that I did a thing. I wrote to the author directly! Although I write a lot of reviews, I seldom write to the author personally. Even after decades of writing, Mary Kay Andrews just keeps getting better and better! She makes something so difficult (writing a book that hooks the reader) look so easy.
At first I was concerned about the large cast of characters and keeping them straight. Silly me. 
Publishers usually label books with characters of this age as YA, but the sex and violence bump it into the adult category. I hope parents are aware of the sex, the violence, and the F-bombs before deciding on FOURTH WING’s appropriateness for their teens. For adults, if you can get past those issues, I highly recommend this book. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to ponder if I want to read it again before I start the sequel, IRON FLAME.
Yes. I admit it. I was one of those people that loved reading THE GREAT GATSBY, so I was excited to hear about 
Hulu has done a mini-series based on Little Fires Everywhere starring Reese Witherspoon and Kerry Washington. Unfortunately, I haven’s see it yet, so I can’t do a comparison. I look forward to watching it in the future. Have you read the book and watched the show? What’s your take on the two?
Taking place mainly over a weekend, This Close to Okay is told through alternating chapters from Tallie’s and Emmett’s perspectives. They spend the time helping each other heal — from what brought Emmett to the bridge that night, and for Tallie, from problems she hasn’t addressed surrounding her divorce and problems with infertility. Tallie believes she’s helping Emmett, but his presence is cathartic for her as well. Even therapists need help to work through trauma. Everyone needs someone willing to catch us when we stumble or get overwhelmed.
Are you one of those armchair archeologists, a wanna-be like me? Get your fix with What the River Knows by Isabel 
19th century Buenos Aires – Inez’s parents have left her behind six month out of every year for as long as she can remember. Since her parents are actively involved in the archeological digs they fund in Egypt, Inez has grown up living with her aunt and two cousins. Now nineteen-years-old, Inez receives news that her parents are missing and presumed dead. She devises a plan to go to Egypt to get answers from her uncle.
Camp Holly Springs has a special place in the hearts of these three women since they first met there at age six. They continued attending every year, even becoming camp counselors in their teens. Now in their thirties, they learn the camp is floundering after Covid. The girls kick into high gear to help save it. Otherwise, Daphne’s Aunt June will have no choice but to sell out to a developer. While the three friends devise and carry out plans to save the camp, the story is complicated by their personal lives.
Summary
T. I. Lowe is a best-selling Southern author and has written at least 18 novels. Check out the other books by her that I’ve reviewed: 
FAMOUS IN A SMALL TOWN is about love, friendship, family (by blood and by choice), destiny, and the choices we make. It’s a story with heart and soul. Be prepared. You’ll want to book a trip to Michigan after you read it!
Interesting fact
The first book, 
The second installment, 
Emerson, the youngest daughter, gets center stage in 
The last installment in the series, 
You can read my reviews of some of Kristy’s other books: 
Edward Bloom, always wanting to be a big fish in a big pond, is largely absent in his son’s life. When he’s home, he is full of dad jokes and unbelievable stories, based in fact but embellished into legendary tales. Now an adult, his son William is frustrated. While his father is alive, William wants to understand him: fill in the blanks of his dad’s life and understand his goals and dreams, as well as his failures and successes. Edward never gives a straight answer to William’s questions. Each one is responded to with a fantastical story, some light, some dark. These hard-to-believe tales, used to evade the truth, end up telling William exactly who his father is.
You may have seen my excitement opening my book mail when The Secret Book of Flora Lea by Patti Callahan Henry arrived. If you missed it, check it out on 
Anne Frank.
Felicity “Fizzy” Chen is a popular romance writer who hasn’t found her true love yet. She’s also going through writer’s block. Connor Prince, a documentary filmmaker and divorced father, is told that the company is going in a different direction, and he is expected to create a new dating show. He isn’t thrilled with the idea, but he does want to keep his job and continue to live near his daughter. Connor convinces Fizzy, the queen of romance novels, to star in the show, partially because she has a built-in audience from her books. Reluctant at first, she decides to do the show if the men she dates represent typical romance hero archetypes – the Navy Seal, the vampire, the cinnamon roll (sweet and supportive),the cowboy, the one that got away, etc. The True Love Experiment TV show is right on track to air, except Fizzy may be falling in love with someone who isn’t a contestant. So much chemistry! So much flirting!
If you’re looking for a novel full of folklore and dark atmosphere, The White Hare by Jane Johnson might fill the order. The author of Sea Gate, The Court of Lions, and The Sultan’s Wife brings us a new novel set in 1954 but filled with that disquieting mood that only comes from a land filled with dark, archaic memories.
A selfish, overbearing mother, Madga causes family drama. She doesn’t show any love to her daughter or granddaughter. Mila does whatever her mother asks, trying to not irritate her. She came along to escape a scandal and make a better life for her young daughter Janey. When they first arrive in Cornwall, Magda drives the car off the road to avoid hitting a white hare that ran across their path. There seems to be something mystical about this hare, and after that, Janey’s stuffed rabbit seems to be more than a toy. As Mila forms relationships with some of the townsfolk, she hears their superstitious beliefs that a mystical white hare is connected with nature and the protection of the valley.
Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the ARC of this book. The review above states my honest opinion.
Hattie Kavanaugh is flipping houses on Tybee Island. After some professional setbacks, she is putting everything on the line with her next house. When Mo, a television producer, asks her to do a beach house renovation show, Hattie realizes this job could save her and get her back on her feet. Even so, she
Fun side note:
Al can’t get Lou off his mind after he bumps into her. She’s on her way to her fiancé’s apartment to deliver a coconut cake. Popping in on her fiancé is bad timing 
If you’ve been putting off reading 
I really liked Daisy Jones and the Six, but I have to say, I liked Malibu Rising even more. The story flowed easily and naturally, and the characters came alive. I wanted to know how they would deal with the family drama between siblings and with their distant father.
Come aboard a cruise to Alaska with indie rock star Greta James and her cantankerous father. 
In case you missed them, here are links to other Nicholas Sparks book reviews I’ve done: 
Check out this link to a synopsis of Debbie Macomber’s newest holiday novel, 
(We have a tradition of putting a shiny red present under the tree as soon as the tree is up. It’s really an empty box, but seeing it under the tree every year is a reminder that Jesus is the most precious gift.)
Traditions
The world knows Lewis as the author of the Narnia series (starting with The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe), The Screwtape Letters, Mere Christianity, and many others. Callahan’s interest in C. S. Lewis and his wife Joy Davidman led her to research and write her 2018 book, 
Callahan brilliantly weaves the fiction (of George and Megs) with the facts (of Jack and Warnie). She creates such a magical connection between Lewis, Megs, and George, readers will begin believing Megs really talked to Jack. Once Upon a Wardrobe challenges us to wonder at the spark of creativity, open our minds to both the logical and the fanciful, and see how the power of a story can transform us.
It may seem early, but The Santa Suit, a heart-warming Christmas novel, comes out September 28. It can be pre-ordered now. (Remember: buying a new book through pre-order or the first week of publication is the most helpful to an author.) The Santa Suit would make a great gift – even for yourself! Too busy to read during the holidays? No problem. The Santa Suit is a light, easy read with a Hallmark movie feel (but less predictable). You might just find the holiday stress slipping away while you read.
Big Ben, an icon known around the world, is a tourist must-see in London. During WWII Big Ben had an important job beyond telling the time. The nine o’clock chimes encouraged people to pray for peace during the Silent Minute that followed. It also rang in the BBC evening news listened to all over Nazi-occupied Europe. The author Daisy Wood stated, “The great bell represented freedom and better times to come; as long as it tolled, at least one country resisted oppression.” The Clockmaker’s Wife imagines what could have happened if Big Ben had been targeted by the enemy, but the fiction is surrounded by facts about London during WWII. Wood said, “…the loss of such a beacon of hope as the clock tower would have been a terrible blow to morale.”