Tag: summer read

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The Homewreckers by Mary Kay Andrews

Robin’s Rave Reviews – 2022

What would summer be without another hit by Mary Kay Andrews? The Homewreckers is perfect for you to read at the beach, by a pool or in your own backyard.

When Mary Kay writes a book, it’s a no brainer for me. I’m going to read it. They are always enjoyable and filled with her characteristic wit. Her novels, romance mixed with a mystery, are always light and entertaining.

If, like me, you enjoy watching home renovations shows, you’ll enjoy this novel. The Homewreckers is a fun story with MKA’s take on a home remodeling show facing countless problems, and that’s before a body is found!

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 isn’t thrilled with the idea of being on camera. And, used to making all the decisions herself, working with her co-host designer Trae and his big, on-camera personality will be a challenge.

As if constant problems with the rehab and a tightening timeline from the network aren’t enough, a mystery surfaces that involves the police. The wallet of a woman who has been missing for seventeen years is found in the wall of the house. Now they’re shooting the show on  a potential crime scene as well. Leave it to Mary Kay Andrews to make a murder mystery delightful through the ups and downs of home renovations and a love triangle.

Fun side note:

This may be a case of life being stranger than fiction. Mary Kay and her husband have rehabbed several houses on Tybee Island which are now vacation rental properties. Last year, as they were working on their latest house, Coquina Cottage, a woman’s wallet was found in the wall. Somehow, years before, the wallet had been pushed through the razor blade slot, common in old medicine cabinets.

The documents inside the billfold identified its owner as Melba Lanier. The wallet held photos, an American Legion ID card, her commissary card, and other documents. Mary Kay reached out to the public through social media and found Melba’s children. Unfortunately Melba had since passed away. Mary Kay learned that she had lived in Coquina Cottage for a year in 1954 with her husband, Jack, when they were newlyweds.  Mary Kay gave the wallet to Melba’s children and has put a tribute to her on a wall in the rental cottage.

The real mystery still is – how and why did Melba Lanier’s wallet get pushed through that slot in the wall? Mary Kay used this mystery to fuel her imagination, and it became part of her storyline in The Homewreckers.  She used Melba’s last name, Lanier, as the first name of a woman missing for seventeen years in the story. If the real-life mystery intrigues you, click here to see a video of a TV news story on the found wallet.

I’ve reviewed several books by Mary Kay Andrews in my blog. If Mary Kay is a new author to you, check my reviews on these books as well:  The Newcomer, Sunset Beach, and The Santa Suit.

 

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@author.robin.shelley

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Malibu Rising by Taylor Jenkins Reid

Robin’s Rave Reviews

If you’ve been putting off reading Malibu Rising by Taylor Jenkins Reid, now is the perfect time to pick it up. The surfing scene in Malibu makes for a perfect backdrop for a great summer read. It’s a nostalgic, fictional story of rich and famous people behaving badly.

The Riva children, offspring of a famous father, are introduced as young adults in the novel: Nina, a surf model married to a tennis phenom; Jay, a world-renowned surfer; Hud, a surfer photographer; and Kit, the youngest, just finding her way into adulthood.

It’s 1983, and Nina is preparing to host an annual party in her Malibu home. Each year the party attracts movie stars, producers and directors, sports figures, tv anchors and other famous people. By page two, we already know this notorious party will lead to a fire that engulfs the Malibu coastline.

As we work toward that party in the story, we get glimpses into the current problems and secrets in the lives of the Riva children. We also dip into their past to see their parents’ rocky relationship, including their father’s abandonment of the family and their mother’s alcoholism. These kids had an all-around tough childhood, often leaving Nina, the oldest, to take adult responsibilities for her siblings while still a child herself. Hobnobbing with the rich and famous, having a famous dad, and living in Malibu doesn’t necessarily make for a happy, or easy, life. Readers will want to see these flawed, lovable characters find success and happiness.

Not only was I interested in the characters, but I was caught up in the increasing tension. Since the author dropped hints of all the drama that would find its way to the party, I couldn’t wait to get to that part. I was a bit overwhelmed by all the characters introduced at the party, but they also added to understanding this Hollywood culture. It was fun to see some names dropped of real people showing up for this fictional party.

Just as “sex, drugs, and rock ‘n’ roll” is the environment of Reid’s book Daisy Jones and the Six (see my blog review here), it is in full force in this novel as well. Many of the characters are having (mildly described) sex, drinking heavily and doing lines of coke. (Giving you a heads up on that just in case that isn’t something you want to read.)

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.

Fun side note: If you’re a fan of Taylor Jenkins Reid books, you may have noticed that Mick Riva, the famous father in Malibu Rising, also appears in two of Reid’s other books, Daisy Jones and the Six and The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo.

 

Happy reading this summer!

Netgalley Professional Reader

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 @author.robin.shelley