Review: What Wild Women Do

I’ve been reading Karma Brown’s novels for a long time. I’ve met her on numerous occasions and have four of her novels on my signed books bookshelf. (With another that was supposed to be signed at an event in spring 2020 - ha!) What Wild Women Do is her latest and it was phenomenal. I was completely riveted in the novel and devoured it because I just had to know the answers. It’s a must read!

Here’s the book’s description:

A 1970s feminist facing the costs of loss and autonomy strives to create a better future for women at her Adirondack camp; meanwhile, an aspiring screenwriter makes a shocking discovery in the present that sets her on a course of rewriting her own story.
Rowan is stuck. Her dreams of becoming a screenwriter are stalled, along with her bank account, as she and her fiancé Seth try to make sense of what’s next for them after leaving LA. But when the couple takes a trip to a cabin in the Adirondacks, hoping the change will provide inspiration for Seth’s novel-in-progress, Rowan finds herself drawn into a story greater than her own—that of socialite-turned-feminist-crusader Eddie Calloway, who vanished one day in 1975 and was never found or heard from again. In a handbook left behind in the abandoned ruins of a once great camp, Rowan starts to discover clues to what happened to Eddie.
As Rowan delves deeper into the mystery, we meet Eddie herself, a fierce and loving woman whose greatest wish was to host women at her camp and unlock their “wildness.” However, Eddie’s wild ways aren’t welcomed by everyone, and rifts between camp owners threaten her mission. When Rowan gets closer to the truth of Eddie’s disappearance, she realizes that it may hold the key to unlocking her own ambition and future.

Because I’m such a fan of Brown’s books, I didn’t really read too much about this book before starting it. That meant I wasn’t really aware of how much of a mystery this story was going to be. Which I liked! The tension was high without being overwhelming or too “thrillery”, which is not my jam. Clues were dropped but nothing was obvious and it only really made sense at the end - when it was extremely satisfying to know why and how everything happened so many years prior.

Speaking of years prior, this is a dual timeline novel. We follow Rowan in present day (2021, technically) as she and her fiancé escape to the Adirondacks and stumble upon Eddie Calloway’s former camp which, in turn, leads them to learn more about the woman and her disappearance. But we also get chapters from Eddie in the 70s. The alternating was done well and I never felt like either story was being overshadowed. I liked getting to know Eddie and her friends and colleagues in the past and each time we hopped back in time, we learned a little more about her and what could have happened. Rowan and her story is the star but she’s able to shine so brightly thanks to the support provided by Eddie’s storyline.

Rowan’s hunt for answers had a strong journalistic approach to it, which makes sense as Brown used to be a journalist herself. Rowan was intrigued by the story of Eddie and how she disappeared, who wouldn’t be, but she was also deeply concerned with finding out what actually happened and trying to seek justice for Eddie, a woman she never met.

While the mystery in this story is what makes it such a compelling novel, it wouldn’t be as amazing if it weren’t for Brown’s impressive skills in writing emotional stories. I felt everything deeply, right alongside the characters. I was invested and concerned and hoped for the best for everyone, even when I knew that might be difficult. And I had those feelings because Brown is such a damn good author.

What Wild Women Do is another fantastic novel from the incredibly talented Karma Brown. If you haven’t yet read books from this (Canadian!) author, you must change that and I highly recommend starting with her latest. I think you’ll love it too!

*An egalley of this novel was provided by the publisher, Penguin Random House Canada, via NetGalley in exchange for review consideration. All opinions are honest and my own.*

Review: All I Want for Christmas

It pains me so very much to say this but…All I Want for Christmas was not a winner for me. It hurts because I love authors Karma Brown and Marissa Stapley who, together, make up Maggie Knox, the author of the holiday rom com in question. I know you can’t win ‘em all but this one? Not liking this one really hurt.

Here’s the book’s description:

True love wasn't on their holiday wish list.
When Sadie and Max are selected as contestants on the famed reality singing show Starmaker, each thinks they've finally gotten their big Nashville break. But then they're paired up for duet week and stun the world with their romantic onstage chemistry. With fans going wild for #Saxie the network demands that they remain a duo on and offstage, or exit the competition. Faking a relationship until their final performance in the Starmaker holiday special shouldn't be too hard, except for one small problem--Sadie and Max can't stand each other.
But with their dreams just within reach, they agree to the ruse. Will their fake relationship be exposed before they can win? Or will an unexpected trip to Banff spark real feelings by the Christmas finale?

My biggest problem with this book was I just could not buy Sadie and Max as a couple. At all. They didn’t have any chemistry and just kept being so incredibly awful to one another. I couldn’t buy Max’s “excuse” and he never did win me over as a suitable rom com hero. Enemies to lovers is a tricky trope for me so that may have been part of my aggravation, but I really couldn’t see why the two of them would have worked as a couple – even for the short term.

I also hated that Sadie kept details from Max. There was no reason for her to keep the info to herself, even allowing for other strong emotions. (I’m trying to be vague here so I don’t ruin a plot point so bear with me.) It was like she just couldn’t be bothered sharing any part of herself with Max and how does that make for a good relationship?

The story really did start off strong and I hoped I was in for a delightfully festive and cheesy read. The pacing quickly threw me off and things went downhill from there. I don’t think I loved the time jump from when the show wrapped up to a year later when we met back up with the characters. There had to be a lot of explaining about what went on during that year and I got a bit bored and lost. Not to mention, again, that there was no connection that I could see between the main characters.

I’m sure there are readers who will love All I Want for Christmas by Maggie Knox. I hope there are. It’s hard when you have really high hopes for a book and so many things let you down. Ah well. Onto the next read, right?

*An egalley of this novel was provided by the publisher, Penguin Random House Canada, via Edelweiss in exchange for review consideration. All opinions are honest and my own.* 

Review: The Holiday Swap

I had been eagerly awaiting the publication day of The Holiday Swap since authors Marissa Stapley and Karma Brown announced they had written it together under the name Maggie Knox. And that was sometime back in 2020. Needless to say, my expectations were through the roof. And guess what? It totally delivered. I absolutely adored the festive rom com and think it’s a must read for fellow romance readers this holiday season.

Here’s the book’s description:

All they want for Christmas is a different life.
When chef Charlie Goodwin gets hit on the head on the L.A. set of her reality baking show, she loses a lot more than consciousness; she also loses her ability to taste and smell--both critical to her success as show judge. Meanwhile, Charlie's identical twin, Cass, is frantically trying to hold her own life together back in their quaint mountain hometown while running the family's bustling bakery and dealing with her ex, who won't get the memo that they're over.
With only days until Christmas, a desperate Charlie asks Cass to do something they haven't done since they were kids: switch places. Looking for her own escape from reality, Cass agrees. But temporarily trading lives proves more complicated than they imagined, especially when rugged firefighter Jake Greenman and gorgeous physician's assistant Miguel Rodriguez are thrown into the mix. Will the twins' identity swap be a recipe for disaster, or does it have all the right ingredients for getting their lives back on track?

Just like In a Holidaze last year (also by an author duo, this time Christina Lauren), Knox delivered a classic rom com - but updated for 2021. The premise - identical twins swapping lives at Christmas - is perfectly set up for hijinks, miscommunication, and characters learning more about themselves. But even though it seems ridiculous and far-fetched, it totally worked. Of course, you have to enjoy these types of stories but I definitely do so the story completely captivated me. I was laughing and swooning and enjoyed the entire book.

I love watching baking shows (who else absolutely loves Great British Bake Off?) so the fact that Charlie works on a baking competition program was too much fun. And be warned: you're going to want all of the baked goods while reading this book!

There’s city living as Cass experiences the best of LA and small town charm with Charlie in Starlight Peak where the women grew up. I really liked the balance of small town and big city in this story. You might not picture Starlight Peak as Stars Hollow but I, Stapley, and many, many readers all did!

And the relationships! Swoon! The connections between the women and the men they meet were immediate and so delightful to read about. Neither woman needs a man to solve their problems and the men Knox wrote are wonderful and supportive.

The Holiday Swap is romantic comedy at its finest. Both sisters have important career decisions to make but romance is at the heart of the story and readers will be left with a smile on their faces as they finish the delightful novel Maggie Knox has written. 

*An ARC of this novel was provided by the publisher, Penguin Random House Canada, in exchange for review consideration. All opinions are honest and my own.*

Review: Recipe for a Perfect Wife

It's a happy day for me when Karma Brown has a new book out. I've been eagerly awaiting Recipe for a Perfect Wife since I first knew it was being published and the book goddesses must have been listening to me - and everyone else I know who was also looking forward to it - because it was released early! I decided to choose it for my first read of 2020 and it was an excellent choice. I was completely riveted and could hardly put the book down.

Here's the synopsis:

When Alice Hale reluctantly leaves a promising career in publicity, following her husband to the New York suburbs, she is unaccustomed to filling her days alone in a big, empty house. However, she is determined to become a writer--and to work hard to build the kind of life her husband dreams of, complete with children.
At first, the old house seems to resent Alice as much as she resents it, but when she finds an old cookbook buried in a box in the basement, she becomes captivated by the cookbook's previous owner: 1950s housewife Nellie Murdoch. As Alice cooks her way through the past, she begins to settle into her new surroundings, even as her friends and family grow concerned that she has embraced them too fully: wearing vintage dresses and pearls like a 1950s housewife, making elaborate old-fashioned dishes like Baked Alaska, and drifting steadily away from her usual pursuits.
Alice justifies the changes merely as research for her novel...but when she discovers that Nellie left clues about her own life within the cookbook's pages--and in a mysterious series of unsent letters penned to Nellie's mother--she quickly realizes that the housewife's secrets may have been anything but harmless. As she uncovers a more sinister side to Nellie's marriage and with pressure mounting in her own relationship, Alice realizes that to protect herself she must harbour and hatch a few secrets of her own...

Brown alternated chapters between Alice and Nellie and I loved the dual narrative. Not only because it gives the reader two characters and viewpoints (double the fun!), but also because it shone a light on what it was like to be a 1950s housewife. What I learned? I would have failed as a 1950s housewife. And possibly would have accidentally burned the house down.

In all seriousness though, there were a lot of similarities between Alice and Nellie's lives which, honestly, is kind of disheartening. We think feminism has made such great strides in the last number of decades but Alice was still facing some of the same expectations Nellie had been in the 50s. For example, people still tend to assume that a woman should get married and then (immediately) want to have kids. That's changing, a little bit, but as a woman who has no plans to get married to her boyfriend and definitely does not want to have kids, I can tell you I'm in the minority and am constantly questioned or told I'll change my mind because, why wouldn't I want kids? I could identify with Alice as she struggled with trying to articulate why she wanted to wait to have kids when her husband was more than ready for her to be barefoot and pregnant (yes, he did say that in the book but he wasn't really as obtuse as that comment makes him seem).

Because I follow Brown on social media, I knew she had done lots of research both for the recipes she included in the book and for the life Nellie would have had in 1955. The recipes were such a fun addition because it really showed what life was like and it was so neat to read Alice's reactions to them as well. What was with all the jelly salads in the 50s? Blech. Though I do have to say, one of the meals Alice took objection to is one I can actually make (remember: undomestic goddess here). Porcupines - or porcupine meatballs as they were called in my house growing up - are ground beef and rice balls, cooked in tomato soup and spices. These days we make "porcupine mush" instead of meatballs and add in red pepper flakes for an extra kick, with the rice on the side. It's way tastier than you - and Alice - might expect.

The story takes a turn that you might not expect, especially if you've read Brown's books in the past, and even though I had a pretty good idea of what was going to happen, I was totally riveted. I kept thinking, Is it actually go down like that? Because that would be shocking if it did. Lots of internal conversations as the story reached it's conclusion.

I also liked that Alice was so very real and relatable and also so very flawed. She has a host of issues she really needs to work out instead of hiding them from herself and her husband. She made some really unhealthy choices and I constantly found myself wishing she and her husband would just talk to each other. He wasn't perfect either but they were both sort of expecting the other to read their minds. And we all know how well that works out, right? Even with her flawed personality - or perhaps because of it - I loved reading about Alice and am pleased with the way Brown decided to end the story.

Recipe for a Perfect Wife needs to be added to your To Be Read list immediately. Karma Brown's latest novel is smart and so well written. You'll be engrossed in the lives of the characters she created and will want to rush to find out how the story ends but also take your time because it's such a good read.

*An ARC of this novel was provided by the publisher, Viking (Penguin Random House Canada), in exchange for review consideration. All opinions are honest and my own.*

Review: In This Moment

If you haven't read Karma Brown's books before you are missing out on some seriously good stories. In This Moment is her latest and it is a powerful read and oh so good. But, just a warning, it'll probably rip your heart out. 

Here's the synopsis:

Bestselling author Karma Brown is back with a morally infused and emotionally riveting exploration of one woman's guilt over an unexpected—yet avoidable—tragedy.
Meg Pepper has a fulfilling career and a happy family. Most days she's able to keep it all together and glide through life. But then, in one unalterable moment, everything changes.
After school pickup one day, she stops her car to wave a teenage boy across the street…just as another car comes hurtling down the road and slams into him.
Meg can't help but blame herself for her role in this horrific disaster. Full of remorse, she throws herself into helping the boy's family as he rehabs from his injuries. But the more Meg tries to absolve herself, the more she alienates her own family—and the more she finds herself being drawn to the boy's father, Andrew.
Soon Meg's picture-perfect life is unravelling before her eyes. As the painful secrets she's been burying bubble dangerously close to the surface, she will have to decide: Can she forgive herself, or will she risk losing everything she holds dear to her heart?

I know people are going to say Meg isn't the most likeable character. (Which I didn't know they'd say about Tegan, the main character in Brown's first book, Come Away With Me. I loved the book and really liked Tegan. Turns out I'm one of the few who do and many in my book club weren't a fan, as we learned when Karma came to our club a few months ago.) But, I don't think that should matter. Are you always likeable? Are your friends? No. No one is. No one is perfect and you don't really want to only read books where the characters are always good and perfect and likeable.

Meg is a good person. She's just carrying around a lot of baggage that she hasn't dealt with appropriately. She's tucked everything away and In This Moment is where it all comes spilling (exploding, really) out. At the start of the novel we've caught Meg on the second worst day of her entire life. It took a really long time to finally find out what happened on the worst day of her life. There were hints but the full story didn't come out for awhile (almost too long but not quite). As an outsider, it's so easy to see what could have gone differently had Meg only shared the full extent of her past with her husband (or, you know, anyone). But, you can also see why Meg made the decisions she did. Most of them, anyway.

Many studies have shown that fiction readers are more empathetic and I kept thinking about that as I read this book. I was so twisted up while reading In This Moment. I felt for pretty much every character we meet in this novel (except Andrew's wife, whose name is escaping me, she was under a great deal of stress, of course, but it was really hard to see her side of things...I guess I was Team Meg...). There's a lot of really heavy stuff happening in this novel and that's why I think you'll feel your heart breaking time and time again. It's a good thing because it means Brown has written a story that you can't help but be sucked into completely. It hurts like hell but you'll be better for it when you're done.

And speaking of being done, I absolutely flew through this book and had it finished in two days. I just didn't want to put it down!

I was really happy with Karma Brown's latest book and I think you will be too. In This Moment is such a great read and one that will keep you thinking well after you're done. Lots of "what ifs" and wondering what you would do yourself in certain situations. I'm already waiting for her next novel!

*An egalley of this novel was provided by the publisher, Park Row Books/Harlequin, via NetGalley in exchange for a review. All opinions are honest and my own.*