Welcome to Summer Reads, Week 5! The dog days of summer are here- time to read! Week 1 of our Summer Reads can be found here. Week 2 here , Week 3 here and Week 4 here.
Finding Colin Firth by Mia March
Mia March has done it again! I LOVED her first book, The Meryl Streep Movie Club– review here. Her new book, Finding Colin Firth, is equally fabulous! She weaves in the famous actor/actress in such a fabulous way. I dare you to not want to watch a Colin Firth movie, while eating pie, after reading this book.
photo courtesy of miamarch.com
From the publisher, “After losing her job and leaving her beloved husband, journalist Gemma Hendricks is sure that scoring an interview with Colin Firth will save her career and marriage. Yet a heart-tugging local story about women, family ties, love, and loss captures her heart— and changes everything. The story concerns Bea Crane, a floundering twenty-two-year-old who learns in a deathbed confession letter that she was adopted at birth. Bea is in Boothbay Harbor to surreptitiously observe her biological mother, Veronica Russo—something of a legend in town—who Bea might not be ready to meet after all. Veronica, a thirty-eight-year-old diner waitress famous for her “healing” pies, has come home to Maine to face her.”
My favorite quote of the book- “Only an idiot would attempt to make a pie- and a special-ordered chocolate caramel cream Amore Pie- while watching Pride and Prejudice.”
Gallery Books provided a digital review copy of this book. All opinions and pie cravings are my own.
City of Hope by Kate Kerrigan
I love a good sequel and I love a good immigrant story- this book is both! City of Hope by Kate Kerrigan is the sequel to Ellis Island. My review of Ellis Island is here. The story in Ellis Island was unique in that the immigrant moved back to Ireland. In City of Hope, Ellie moves back to the U.S. This is also a fabulous portrayal of old New York and a beautiful story of Ellie’s helping others.
photo courtesy of HarperCollins.com
From the publisher, “The heartrending and inspiring sequel to Ellis Island, Kate Kerrigan’s City of Hope is an uplifting story of a woman truly ahead of her time
When her beloved husband suddenly dies, young Ellie Hogan decides to leave Ireland and return to New York, where she worked in the 1920s. She hopes that the city will distract her from her anguish. But the Great Depression has rendered the city unrecognizable. Gone are the magic and ambiance that once captured Ellie’s imagination.
Plunging headfirst into a new life, Ellie pours her passion and energy into running a refuge for the homeless. Her calling provides the love, support, and friendship she needs in order to overcome her grief—until, one day, someone Ellie never thought she’d see again steps through her door. It seems that even the vast Atlantic Ocean isn’t enough to keep the tragedies of the past from catching up with her.”
The Kindle version of Ellis Island is on sale for only $1.99 right now so you can easily read the first of the series.
William Morrow provided a digital review copy of this book. All opinions are my own.
I would have loved to have lived in New York back in the 20’s and 30’s so I have a soft spot for any type of book that is set in that era. Will have to check out that book.
Both books sound terrific! Thanks for the suggestions. I’m off to the bookstore!