People We Meet on Vacation by Emily Henry

Amy   Lynnie

romance, contemporary fiction

Poppy and Alex became best friends in college and made a habit of traveling together every summer. But two years ago, they had a falling out. Poppy is now at the point where she really misses Alex and decides to extend the olive branch.

Amy's Review

This was a really cute romance along the lines of When Harry Met Sally. I liked it even though the two people in the couple are the first people to whom the reader is introduced. (This usually doesn’t bode well for my enjoyment of a romance.) There’s no mystery about how it will turn out. But I really liked the banter and the structure of the novel. Each chapter would jump around Poppy and Alex’s timeline (5 years ago, 11 years ago, current summer, etc.) It made things interesting and kept the reader guessing what sort of disagreement had caused a two-year silence between them. The time-jumping was also the perfect mechanism for the reader to learn the full picture, with a little something new revealed in each chapter.

People We Meet on Vacation won the 2021 Goodreads Best Romance Award which is why I decided to read it. This is, by far, the best of the three Emily Henry novels I’ve read. I really enjoyed the story and the storytelling. I also had fun reading about all the travel destinations the characters visited. However, I did not like the book's title.  While there is significance to the people met on their trips, that is not the focus of this novel and I find the title to be unmemorable.

I’ve decided I don’t like Julia Whelan’s “narrator” voice when she is not actually voicing character dialogue.  Her default voice just sounds bitchy to me.  Perhaps this is Julia’s actual voice and, similar to resting bitch face, she has resting bitch voice?  I’d not noticed this annoyance until the last few books I’ve heard her narrate, though.  While reading actual dialogue, she’s amazing! She has a fantastic vocal repertoire and is a great voice actor when speaking in an actual character’s voice. It’s just the voice she uses when not speaking dialogue that bugs me.  Since this voice is often used to describe the protagonist’s internal thoughts, it ends up making the character seem bratty. But I don’t feel the character is all that bratty, based on the author’s writing. It’s just Whelan’s tone that forces me to make an effort to ward off disliking the character (and takes me out of the story). Because of this, I’m only giving Whelan a B for this novel.

Lynnie's Review

I would have to look to be certain but I think I have read more "chick lit" books this year than any previous year. At least, it feels that way.

I wanted to like People We Meet on Vacation much more than I actually did and in the final analysis, I think it comes down to the fact that I just didn't like the main character, Poppy. Sure, she was funny and adventurous, but I could never get over the fact that she spent the entire book lying to her best friend about basically everything. Dude, have a conversation, best friends are supposed to be the most understanding of all of your people! Oh sure, they eventually have the conversation they need to have, and yes, if they had it sooner there would not have been a book, but I spent most of the book furious on Alex's behalf that Poppy would snap her fingers and Alex would jump. The entire book was Poppy turning Alex's world upside down for her own benefit.

Amy said she thought it was the narrator that made Poppy seem like a brat. Nope, I didn't listen to the audiobook- Poppy was written to be a brat. She tripped over that chip on her shoulder in every single scene. Did you see disapproving Sarah over in the corner with her arms folded, all judgy? I feel you Sarah. The travel was lovely, I enjoyed the nonlinear storytelling, I just didn't like Poppy. That makes this a tough book to love.

 

   

The Unknown Beloved by Amy Harmon

Amy  

magical realism, historical fiction, romance

At ten years old in 1923, Dani’s parents meet violent deaths and Dani is sent to live with her elderly great aunts in Cleveland, OH.  The police officer who accompanies her to Cleveland is Mike Malone of the Chicago PD. Since she was an unusual child and impacted his life, Malone always remembers her.  Fifteen years later, he ends up coincidentally living as a boarder in Dani’s residence in Cleveland while working on a special serial killer case with Elliot Ness. Dani and Malone remember each other and Dani uses her unusual ability to help Malone work the case. But will Dani’s involvement bring danger to her safety?

I’m a huge fan of Amy Harmon’s and try to read all of her novels.  This is one of my favorites of the most recent ones she’s written.  The magical realism was perfectly done. The story of The Unknown Beloved grabbed me. The characters were lovable and well drawn. I was completely enchanted from beginning to end.  The slow and careful romance that built between these characters felt genuine.

There is no doubt that this novel had its share of coincidences and conveniences, but I rather enjoyed the ride so it didn’t bother me too much. I also have to praise the humor that the aunts brought to the story at times. I even laughed out loud once.

The narrator, Rob Shapiro, is always terrific. He injects the characters with heart and really brings them to life. He has a wonderful vocal repertoire and is not bad on accents.  I’ll give him an A on this one. I enjoy listening to him.

   

The Guncle by Steven Rowley

Amy   Lynnie

contemporary fiction

Patrick is a 43-year-old single, childless, gay man who has retired from a mildly successful acting career early. After his best friend (and sister-in-law) dies, Patrick agrees to be responsible for his young niece and nephew while their dad (Patrick’s brother) is in a 90-day drug rehab program.

Amy's Review

The Guncle was such a heartwarming story about dealing with extreme changes to life’s routines after a difficult time.  Patrick and the kids had a shock to their systems at the loss of their mother and friend, and then a second shock when they had to live together for three months.  Patrick began caring for them with absolutely no experience caring for children. Yet, despite their differences they all learned from each other and supported each other during a time of grief.  It became a time of growth and exploration which was a balm to their broken hearts.

The novel was infused with humor and I often had a smile on my face while listening to the audiobook. I really enjoyed the story and all the characters.

Steven Rowley himself narrates the novel and does a terrific job!  His pacing was perfect, he had a bit of a vocal repertoire, and was a good voice actor. I give him an A. I love when authors are good narrators.

Lynnie's Review

The Guncle is a fast, easy, and generally cute novel. I really really wanted to love it based on all of my friends who loved it, but really I just liked it. It was cute in a very saccharine, hit-you-over-the-head sort of way. The book was at its best when it focused on the relationships of its characters and allowed them to have moments to laugh and fight and make up and bond and be as messy as family can be sometimes. Those are the moments I enjoyed most.

As I read The Guncle, I kept thinking of Jonathan Tropper's This Is Where I Leave You (which I read before we had this blog). NOT because the two books had similar plots or anything like that, but because of the way the books were written and the way the characters made me feel. Both books felt like I was reading a book that wanted to be a movie- snappy dialogue, whiplash transitions, over-the-top characters that made me roll my eyes. In fact, when reviewing Tropper's book I wrote, "I suspect this would be a better movie than it was book, because self-centered arrogant jerks can come across as funny and entertaining (and even self-deprecating) on film. In books they just read as self-centered arrogant jerks..." which is pretty much what I thought about Patrick throughout the entire book- he was a jerk. (Side note, This is Where I Leave You WAS a lovely movie and I bet The Guncle will be too one day). I wonder if that's why my friends who listened to the audiobook enjoyed it so much? I suspect this is a story that truly shines when it's allowed to shine the way the Rowley heard it in his head while writing, rather than the way the voices in my head interpreted it.

The Lights of Sugarberry Cove by Heather Webber

Amy   

women's fiction

Sadie, after being saved from drowning, now has silver hair, the inability to feel pain, and heals extremely quickly from injuries. Shortly after the lake accident, she had fled her Alabama hometown to find her own way in life without small-town opinions and prejudices.  But she’s returned home eight years later to help her sister take care of their mother, who is recovering from a heart attack, and Sadie must now face her past.

I enjoyed the magical realism and Heather Webber’s characters. They each had their own issues they were dealing with like lack of taking responsibility, the loss of a parent, or a changing marital relationship. Would they all be able to heal from this point forward?  There was obviously love within Sadie’s family, everyone had friends or jobs they enjoyed, yet everyone also needed to improve their situations a bit.

After Sadie’s accident, her family members’ lives all seemed to run off the tracks a bit. But after returning home, there was healing, reconciliation, understanding, and re-orienting.  The necessity of love and following your heart were central themes. The story was a bit sappy at times but also heartwarming. I loved the way The Lights of Sugarberry Cove ended.

The audiobook was narrated by Hallie Ricardo and Stephanie Willis.  They both read so slowly that I increased the audio speed to 1.25 while listening. Other than that exaggerated southern affectation, they were good voice actors and both had terrific vocal repertoires.  The one voicing Sadie (I think that was Willis) even sang a little which is something I wish all narrators would do when their characters sing. I give them both an A.

   

The Diamond Eye by Kate Quinn

Amy   

historical fiction

Mila, a young, single mother in pre-WWII Russia decides to leave her research and her library to fight for her country against Hitler’s Germans.  She has taken lessons in riflery and joins the Red Army to use her sniper skills in the war. She ends up garnering over 300 kills and widespread respect. After her sacrifices and hardships, will she ever find happiness?

I’m really glad to have learned about, Lyudmila Pavlichenko, who actually was a Russian sharpshooter during WWII. She was inspirational and heroic. Perhaps because of her youth, she did not feel compelled to stay with her son when she left for war. Leaving her son behind with her parents, knowing she might not return, was a big decision which was not sufficiently explored/explained in the novel. Otherwise, Kate Quinn did an amazing job with her research, as usual.

Despite the fact that I admired Mila, I felt that this novel wasn’t as good as some of Quinn’s other novels. It’s about one woman’s drive for perfection in order to take control of her life. But the only real driving questions in her story were whether Mila would live to return to her son and whether she would ever be satisfied after she had upended her own life by joining the army. Mostly, I kept reading because I’ve enjoyed a few of Quinn’s other novels and was hoping it would get better.  Don’t get me wrong, it wasn’t ever boring. It was a good book. It just didn’t appeal to me as much as other novels she’s written. Plus, much of Mila’s story took place on the battlefield and I never love reading about battles.

Saskia Maarleveld narrated the audiobook and she was terrific, as usual.  Great voice acting, a fantastic vocal repertoire including male voices and multiple accents, not to mention what sounded like terrific Russian name and word pronunciations. A+!