In a Nutshell Reviews - The Backlist Edition

 

In a Nutshell Reviews are my version of mini-reviews, because sometimes, you just want the highlights.

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The Optimist's Guide to Letting Go by Amy E. Reichert
Published by Gallery Books on May 15, 2018
Age/Genres: Contemporary, Fiction

Goodreads

Three generations. Seven days. One big secret. The author of The Coincidence of Coconut Cake unfolds a mother-daughter story told by three women whose time to reckon with a life-altering secret is running out.

Gina Zoberski wants to make it through one day without her fastidious mother, Lorraine, cataloguing all her faults, and her sullen teenage daughter, May, snubbing her. Too bad there’s no chance of that. Her relentlessly sunny disposition annoys them both, no matter how hard she tries. Instead, Gina finds order and comfort in obsessive list-making and her work at Grilled G’s, the gourmet grilled cheese food truck built by her late husband.

But when Lorraine suffers a sudden stroke, Gina stumbles upon a family secret Lorraine's kept hidden for forty years. In the face of her mother’s failing health and her daughter’s rebellion, this optimist might find that piecing together the truth is the push she needs to let go...

Will my love for Amy E. Reichert’s books ever end? The answer is no. I swear, she writes stories that are perfect for me. Once again, Reichert took me through a wide array of emotions as she explored mother-daughter relationships tinged by loss. Gina was still reeling from the death of her husband, as was her teen daughter, when Gina’s mother suffered a stroke. While her mother was recuperating, Gina uncovered a family secret which led to her learning more about her mother’s past.

As Gina learned more about her mother, she gained a better understanding of the woman who raised her and realized that they shared many of the same struggles. This clarity didn’t stop with her mother, it also gave her insight into what her daughter was experiencing, as when Gina lost her husband, May lost her father.

As expected, this story was told with warmth and humor. It was touching and heartfelt, and I love that I can depend on that from Reichert (and the Easter egg nods to Cider and Coconut Cake were a happy surprise). Here, three generations were dealing with the pain of loss and the difficulties of letting go and moving forward. It was beautiful getting to learn more about the loves they lost via memories, heartbreaking to relive that losses with them, but ultimately wonderful when they were able to start healing.

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Always by Sarah Jio
Published by Ballantine Books
Age/Genres: Contemporary, Romance

Goodreads

While enjoying a romantic candlelit dinner with her fiance, Ryan, at one of Seattle's chicest restaurants, Kailey Crane can't believe her good fortune: She has a great job as a writer for the Herald and is now engaged to a guy who is perfect in nearly every way. As they leave the restaurant, Kailey spies a thin, bearded homeless man on the sidewalk. She approaches him to offer up her bag of leftovers, and is stunned when their eyes meet, then stricken to her very core: The man is the love of her life, Cade McAllister.

When Kailey met Cade ten years ago, their attraction was immediate and intense everything connected and felt "right." But it all ended suddenly, leaving Kailey devastated. Now the poor soul on the street is a faded version of her former beloved: His weathered and weary face is as handsome as Kailey remembers, but his mind has suffered in the intervening years. Over the next few weeks, Kailey helps Cade begin to piece his life together, something she initially keeps from Ryan. As she revisits her long-ago relationship, Kailey realizes that she must decide exactly what and whom she wants.

Alternating between the past and the present, Always is a beautifully unfolding exploration of a woman faced with an impossible choice, a woman who discovers what she's willing to save and what she will sacrifice for true love.

Have you ever really enjoyed a book, but had complicated feelings about it? I am trash for second chance romances, and my goodness! The emotional build up here with Kailey locking eyes with a homeless man just to realize it was the love of her life who had disappeared a decade ago. How could I not want to know more about that. But, alas, I am sure you can tell there was a love triangle involved, and that’s where it got complicated for me.

I adored the flashback and learning about how Kailey and Cade fell in love. I waited for each trip back to the 90s to find out what happened. Why did he leave? And in-between, I saw their bond growing stronger and stronger, but then I would remember Ryan, the fiancee. So, like I said, complicated feelings.

I really appreciated the way Jio explored the complexities of both homelessness and matters of the heart. The story was emotional, as expected, but I was surprised by the bit of mystery thrown in there. Overall, it was a lovely story which tugged at my heart.

Do you make a special grilled cheese?
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