Review: Reasonable Adults

I had really, really high hopes for Robin Lefler’s debut novel, which was released this past December. Reasonable Adults seemed like such a good read and one that took place in Ontario, where I live? Bonus! Alas, it let me down in ways I can’t quite put my finger on but are reasons why I only just now, finally trying to put my thoughts into words.

Here’s the book’s description:

A swanky new gig at a luxury artists’ retreat in Muskoka, a delightful canine companion and a chance at a clean start. It should be smooth sailing from here . . .
Everything has fallen apart for Kate Rigsby: she is freshly single—separated from an ex she never really liked—and freshly fired—from a job she never really liked, either. Somehow, she’s reached the age of thirty-one and the only things she truly cares about are her goldendoodle, Eric, her two best friends, and proving to her parents (and, if she’s honest, to herself) that she made the right choice moving to the city. Except, instead of thriving, she finds that her life has taken a nose-dive. So when a job at Treetops Creative Retreat suddenly lands in her lap, she’s thrilled. Three months at a glorified arts and crafts workshop for grown-ups that boasts five-star cuisine and a helipad, and she’ll be well paid? The perfect escape. So what if her contract spans the depths of winter? Neat! A charming life experience! She can learn to snowshoe.
But when Kate arrives at the retreat, nothing is as she imagined. She didn’t read the fine print, her targets are impossible, her boss seems committed to seeing her fail and there happens to be an extremely off-limits fellow staffer who has no business being so gorgeous.
Part self-discovery, part rom-com and part comedy of errors, Reasonable Adults is a hilarious debut about finding yourself—and maybe love—along the way. A little summer-camp romance never hurt anyone, right?

I could see why a lot of people might like this book and really like Kate. I saw one review compare her to Lorelai Gilmore which, I can see. I’m a huge Gilmore Girls fan and have been from the very start but even I can acknowledge some of the problematic behaviours in that show. Kate was strong and smart but forget that often. She had a weird relationship with herself and while I wanted to root for her…I just couldn’t get totally behind her.

And the romance part of it? I didn’t get it. I thought maybe it might be between Kate and one character but then was like, no, that doesn’t make any sense. Then I thought it could be someone else. Nope, my first instinct was correct but so was my instinct that it didn’t make sense. I just couldn’t see the pair together. Or maybe I couldn’t see the issues that they were so clearly putting in their own way? Like just…figure it out?

Also…heads up for a sexual assault scene. And then a scene where the victim is blamed and while that character tries to say he understands why he was being a complete asshole immediately after judging her…I was lost. It was not cool and I did not like it one bit.

I did, however, adore the setting. I grew up in kinda-sorta cottage country in Ontario so I really identified with where the book took place. (Not that I’ve ever gone to a resort like Treetops!) Feeling like I was in Muskoka right alongside the characters was my favourite part of the book. Along with the dog. Who doesn’t love a doggo?

So…Reasonable Adults was very much not a win for me. I wanted to love Robin Lefler’s novel but I just couldn’t get into it as much as I should have. Will I read her next one? Perhaps. But it’ll be a library borrow if I do.

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

Review: Mating for Life

Declaration time! I have found a new Canadian author to love after reading Mating for Life. Marissa Stapley's debut novel was so good and I enjoyed every second I spent reading it.

Here's the synopsis:

Former folk singer Helen Sear was a feminist wild child who proudly disdained monogamy, raising three daughters, Liane, Ilsa and Fiona (each by different fathers) largely on her own. Now in her sixties, Helen has fallen in love with a traditional man who desperately wants to marry her—and while she's fearful of losing him, she’s equally afraid she’ll betray everything she's ever stood for if she goes through with it.
Her youngest daughter, Liane, has just ended her own tepid engagement, and is in the heady early days of a relationship with the love of her life. But he has an ex-wife and two daughters—and her new role as “step-something” doesn’t come with an instruction manual. Ilsa, an artist (and classic middle child), has broken away from a bohemian past and is fervently hoping her second marriage will stick. Yet her world feels like it is slowly shrinking, and her painting is suffering as a result—and she realizes she may need to break free again, even if it means disrupting the lives of her two young children. And then there's Fiona, the eldest sister, who has worked tirelessly to make her world pristine. When she discovers her husband has been harboring a huge secret, her own past becomes harder to ignore, and Fiona loses her tenuous grip on happiness. To get it back, she must face some truths that she’d rather keep buried,
and alter the impossibly high expectations she’s been holding everyone – including herself – up to.
Interwoven with these narratives are glimpses of the lives of the women that surround Helen and her daughters: the first wife of Liane's great love; the girlfriend of a man Ilsa is drawn to; the young woman that Fiona's husband has kept a secret. Through these alternating perspectives, and with pitch-perfect honesty and heartwarming humor, Stapley explores sex, marriage, and how the many roles that women play are often at odds with each other. Ultimately a celebration of the redemptive power of love in all its forms, Mating for Life is a stunning, memorable debut.

I had received an ARC so long ago that I had forgotten what the book was really about, let alone that it was written by a Canadian. There are oodles of amazing Canadian authors out there. Some of those authors have written really great women's fiction. What I lack in my reading life (which, let's be honest, is my entire life) is women's fiction set in Canada. It just doesn't often happen. So, I was thrilled when I realized (remembered?) that Mating for Life was set in Muskoka and Toronto. This may not mean much to anyone else but ever since interning at Project Bookmark Canada (and, actually, I think there are some awesome Bookmark opportunities with this one) I've been trying to read more CanLit and it's hard when one of my preferred genres isn't represented. So, thank you, Marissa , for writing just the book I wanted to read.

I really loved the relationships in this novel. Stapley did an amazing job of capturing the nuances of the relationships between a mother and her daughter and between sisters. Because, as much as the marriages and other romantic relationships played a part in this novel, that's really what the story was all about - Helen and her three daughters and they way they interacted and felt about each other. I liked that even if you had a good relationship with your own mother or sister, as I do, you could still identify with Helen, Fiona, Ilsa, and Liane. You knew where they were coming from even if you couldn't understand, for example, how Liane didn't mention her engagement to her sisters, or even to her mother (those would be my first two phone calls should I ever get engaged). The family dynamic was just so real. I don't know how else to really explain why I liked the female relationships in this book...they were just really well done and I felt connected to their story and their lives as I was reading.

If you follow me on Goodreads you may be wondering why, if I'm obsessing over this book so much, I didn't give it five stars (if you don't follow me on Goodreads, I gave this one four, and only because I can't do halfs on the site!). This was purely for a personal reason. It is very common for me to not like a book when it switches perspectives. I like being in the head of one character (sometimes two is ok) but I'm not usually a fan of books that switch between three or more characters. Mating for Life switches between many characters but...I was pretty much ok with it. It still bothered me because I wanted to know what was happening in one character's life but then the chapter would end and it'd be onto someone else's world. It worked, totally, but it made me wish for more time with certain characters. It's also worth it to note that there were usually gaps in time between chapters and you're sort of left scrambling and playing catch up as you try to figure out what had happened with a character since you last heard of them. Again, this really worked with the way the story was being told but it was a little something that I didn't totally love. 

A small thing to note but I liked it so I wanted to share: each chapter started with the name of an animal (fox, squirrel, seagull) and a description of their mating behaviour. And I am pretty sure the name of that animal is mentioned within that chapter. I missed a few of them but I definitely caught others. So neat! Here's an example:

I'm a bunny owner. Of course I picked the rabbit one!

I don't know what else I can say about Mating for Life except: read it. Seriously. Marissa Stapley has written an absolutely wonderful novel and I think so many others would love it too. You can bet I'll be pushing this one on almost every reading woman in my life. If you're looking for a well written, emotional, real women's fiction novel (an added bonus if you want a Canadian to have written it), Mating for Life should be your next read. It will be released, appropriately enough, on July 1. Buy it, devour it, and then let me know what you thought of it!

*I received an ARC of this novel from the publisher, Simon & Schuster Canada, in exchange for an honest review.*

Just Finished: "Spin"

Good evening on this snowy March day! Yes. Snow in March. Welcome to Canada! This particular morning was pretty brutal as it took almost 20 extra minutes to get to work, no fun. So, I am now relaxing and watching Morning Glory.

I also have to tell you all about this book I just finished the other night. If you follow me on Twitter (@KaleyS23 if you don't!) you'll know that I stayed up MUCH too late the other night finishing a book...Spin was that book. The book came out in December of 2009 and it was one of those books I would always see on the shelves and think about getting. I was at the library last weekend and happened upon it when wandering through the stacks, so I thought...why not?

Here's the synopsis from Chapters:

Katie Sandford has just gotten an interview at her favourite music magazine, The Line. It's the chance of a lifetime. So what does she do? Goes out to celebrate -- and shows up still drunk at the interview. No surprise, she doesn't get the job, but the folks at The Line think she might be perfect for another assignment for their sister gossip rag. All Katie has to do is follow It Girl Amber Sheppard into rehab. If she can get the inside scoop (and complete the 30-day program without getting kicked out), they'll reconsider her for the job at The Line.
Katie takes the job. But things get complicated when real friendships develop, a cute celebrity handler named Henry gets involved, and Katie begins to realize she may be in rehab for a reason. Katie has to make a decision -- is publishing the article worth everything she has to lose?

To be honest, I didn't have high hopes for this book. A 30 year old boozer who clearly doesn't realize how much her drinking is completely and utterly screwing up her life? It could have gone so wrong...however, I was pleasantly surprised. Yes, it was annoying that she didn't realize that she was quickly becoming an alcoholic but she had one of those fantastic literary "journeys" while following Amber into rehab.

As I mentioned, this book was written by a Canadian author. That was one of the things that I really loved. What kind of surprised me, though, was the fact that there wasn't any mention of any Canadian cities or icons or anything. The major city Katie lived in was called The City. And the little town where she went to rehab wasn't mentioned either. The fun thing is that I think I kind of figured out where the novel took place. How? you ask? Well, let me explain. Even though the author is from Montreal I thought that the novel likely took place in Ontario (it's the province I live in so I feel like I can say this...it's where everything seems to be set in Canadian literature, movies, and television shows. It's probably all Americans think there is in our country!) There was also something else that tipped me off. When Katie goes off to rehab she mentions that it is in a teeny tiny town near where she grew up. She says that her hometown is near a Santa's Village and my first thought was Bracebridge! Of course rehab would be in Muskoka. Wouldn't you want to get cleaned up while looking at a view like this:

That's what I thought.

To summarize the above ramblings...I loved that the author is Canadian but wish the novel had had more Canadian aspects to it. Maybe that's unreasonable, but I think that we, as Canadians, need to celebrate our culture and not make our stories so ambiguous that they could be taking place in the US. Thoughts?

Overall, I definitely recommend this book. The characters are great, the writing is well done, and the story has just enough little twists and turns to make it interesting without being a rehab roller coaster. Not only all of that, but this was a debut novel! Fantastic. I am going to have to look into finding Arranged, McKenzie's second novel. I actually almost bought it a few weeks ago when it was on sale and am now wishing I did. I'll find it and let you all know how it is!

Well, the movie is over and I'm not sure how much I absorbed...what does that say about the movie? Or me? Not sure, but I do know that it is time for bed. Night all!