Review: The Garden of Lost Secrets

While Kelly Bowen has written a number of historical romances, I hadn’t heard of her until her novel The Paris Apartment was published in 2021. (Review here.) I liked it so much that I didn’t even need to read the description of The Garden of Lost Secrets to know that I’d want to read it. That doesn’t always work out but, happily, it did in this case. I really, really enjoyed this book.

Here’s the book’s description:

1940 - Stasia always found comfort in the idyllic French countryside where she spent her childhood summers, roaming the gardens of an old chateau and finding inspiration for fairy tales full of bravery and adventure. But these days are much darker, and with Nazis storming across Europe, she soon finds herself one of the most hunted agents of the Resistance. The only safe haven she can think of is Chateau de Montissaire. But she’s about to discover that it just may be the center of her biggest mission yet.
Present day - When Isabelle purchases a crumbling chateau in Rouen, it’s not just a renovation project—it’s a chance to reconnect with her sister, Emilie, the only family she has left. What she uncovers instead is an intriguing mystery… As the siblings piece together the incredible truth behind the books written by their great-grandmother Stasia, they discover an exciting story of courage in the face of treachery and an explosive secret that will change everything they believed about their family.

For some reason, even though I knew Anne Frank lived (and hid) in the Netherlands, I never realized how much World War II impacted that country. I didn’t know Nazis moved in and I didn’t really think about how many Jewish people would have been removed from that country. I definitely didn’t know much about the Resistance efforts there nor did I think about how so many people would have said, after the war was over, they were part of the Resistance but, in reality, did nothing to help their Jewish neighbours and others who were being sent to labour or death camps. This is not the first historical fiction book I’ve read this year that featured Dutch characters (though this one was much better) and I think we might start seeing more of these stories soon. It’s another little nugget of WWII history that is interesting and why I will continue to read these kinds of stories. Bowen shared in the historical note that there were 140,000 Jewish people living in the Netherlands before WWII. Around 107,000 of them were deported to camps and 102,000 of them died in those camps. This was, as Bowen writes, the highest mortality rate for Jewish populations of all the occupied Western European countries. It’s sobering and I always appreciate reading these notes, especially when I’ve really enjoyed the fictional story that came out of the research. This might have been a novel I’ve loved reading but I need that reminder that this fictional tale was based in real, horrifying, facts.

Dual timeline historical fiction novels aren’t always done well and are becoming maybe, a little bit, overdone. That said, I’ll defend them when the present day timeline plays an important role. Usually the present day characters can serve as stand ins for the reader as we all go on a journey of learning about the past. That’s somewhat the case in this book. Isabelle’s discoveries and research, with the help of experts which I loved, shed some light on the past while also recognizing that there is so much we don’t know. And so much that we’ve been told - like how so many people had been involved in the Resistance - is more fiction than fact. The truth is, sometimes we just can’t get a final answer to what happened in the past. It’s frustrating but I appreciated Bowen including some of that in this story.

It’s no surprise that I enjoy a love story in all my books so I was really hoping for a happy ending for Stasia and Nicholas. I loved how they met and desperately wanted them both to make it through the war. They had absolutely horrifying experiences and they each thought the other was dead. Oh, the heartache I was feeling for them both! They were both such strong characters and I really loved them and their love for each other.

I don’t want to say too much more about The Garden of Lost Secrets because I feel like it’s best if you go in without too much information. Just know that Kelly Bowen has written an excellent historical fiction novel that is full of interesting and devastating facts and characters that you can’t help but love. If you’re a fan of historical fiction written about World War II, you should definitely read this book.

*An egalley of this novel was provided by Forever via NetGalley and a finished copy was provided by HBG Canada, both in exchange for review consideration. All opinions are honest and my own.*

Review: Meet Me at the Lake

I, like many romance readers, fell head over heels in love with Carley Fortune when her debut novel was published last year. Every Summer After was everything I didn’t know I needed and more (review here). It was one of those books I finished and immediately wanted to reread. So, not surprisingly, I was very, very much looking forward to reading Fortune’s sophomore novel, Meet Me at the Lake. There was a bit of worry too - would her second book live up to her first? Good news, my friends. It did. I loved everything about it.

Here’s the book’s description:

Fern Brookbanks has wasted far too much of her adult life thinking about Will Baxter. She spent just twenty-four hours in her early twenties with the aggravatingly attractive, idealistic artist, a chance encounter that spiraled into a daylong adventure in Toronto. The timing was wrong, but their connection was undeniable: they shared every secret, every dream, and made a pact to meet one year later. Fern showed up. Will didn't.
At thirty-two, Fern's life doesn't look at all how she once imagined it would. Instead of living in the city, Fern's back home, running her mother's Muskoka lakeside resort--something she vowed never to do. The place is in disarray, her ex-boyfriend's the manager, and Fern doesn't know where to begin.
She needs a plan--a lifeline. To her surprise, it comes in the form of Will, who arrives nine years too late, with a suitcase in tow and an offer to help on his lips. Will may be the only person who understands what Fern's going through. But how could she possibly trust this expensive-suit wearing mirage who seems nothing like the young man she met all those years ago. Will is hiding something, and Fern's not sure she wants to know what it is.
But ten years ago, Will Baxter rescued Fern. Can she do the same for him?

There are some similarities between Every Summer After and Meet Me at the Lake. Both books are dual timeline. They both take place by a lake. They’re both full of emotions that pack a huge punch. And each one has a second chance storyline (though I’d say that’s a loose description of the trope in MMATL). But Fern and Will’s story is all their own and just as good - if not better - than Percy and Sam’s. YES I SAID IT. I think I might like Meet Me at the Lake more!

Did anyone else read Just One Day by Gayle Forman back in the day? Meet Me at the Lake gave me a lot of the same vibes - in the best possible way. As much as it ripped my heart out, I loved that Fern and Will spent one perfect day together. The sparks were there as was the knowledge that they could have had a great relationship if circumstances had been a little kinder. So the present day timeline, when they were thrown together again ten years later, was…*chef’s kiss* Right up my alley.

The location of this book felt really familiar to me. The present day timeline is set in Muskoka and I grew up in that area with my hometown being about an hour and a half south-ish from Huntsville, a town mentioned in the book. I could picture the landscape that would have surrounded Brookbanks and know what hot summer days can feel like up there. While I have no desire to move back up to my hometown, there was an extra layer of comfort while reading a book set in Muskoka for this small town girl. 

This book is more than a romance, which I expected and appreciated. Family plays a huge part in the story (which is another slight similarity with ESA), especially the role of mothers. Fern has to come to terms with a life without her mother far sooner than she ever expected to. Her best friend is a new mother. And Will had some issues with his mother as well. Make sure you read Fortune's note at the end of the book. It adds even more to the story and I appreciated how honest and vulnerable she was sharing that story.

Meet Me at the Lake was a phenomenal sophomore novel from Carley Fortune. She’s now solidified herself as an auto-buy author and I already can’t wait to reread both this one and Every Summer After. You must read this book if you love stories with all kinds of emotions that are well-crafted and well-written that end with a realistic Happily Ever After. Trust me - you’re going to love it.

*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: Jana Goes Wild

Farah Heron has become an auto-read author for me. Her adult rom coms are so freaking wonderful (I have yet to read her YA books!) so I was so very excited to read Jana Goes Wild. It was fun and real and I enjoyed reading it but it won’t crack the favourites list.

Here’s the book’s description:

Jana Suleiman has never really fit in—everyone always sees her as too aloof, too cool, too perfect. The one time she stepped out of her comfort zone she ended up with a broken heart and a baby on the way. Aaaand lesson learned . Now she’s a bridesmaid for a destination wedding in Serengeti National Park, and almost everyone she knows will be there. Her five-year-old daughter. Her mom. Her friends. Even her potential new boss. And of course (because who doesn’t love surprises!) her gorgeous-but-not-to-be-trusted ex.
Fortunately, Anil Malek is a great dad, even if Jana hasn’t quite forgiven him for lying to her all those years ago. Determined to show he has no effect on her whatsoever, she and the bridesmaids concoct a go-wild list to get Jana through the week. Sing karaoke? Sure. Perform their high school dance routine in front of strangers? Okay. But the more she lets down her guard, the less protection she has against her attraction to Anil. And Jana soon realizes it’s one thing to walk on the wild side . . . and quite another to fall for her ex all over again.

Because I love Heron’s books so much, I didn’t even read the description before requesting the egalley. I also didn’t read it before starting it. The latter was a bit of a mistake. I hadn’t realized this was going to be a romance featuring parents and that’s a storyline that just does not work for me. It’s totally and completely a personal thing so if I do end up reading a book by an author I love, I try to prepare myself before diving in. And because I didn’t, I think it was even harder to get into the story. That said, I recognize how fantastic it is to get rom coms that feature parents. They deserve love too. I just don’t want to be a parent and my bias gets in the way sometimes.

I also don’t know if it was my silly brain or the fact that I wasn’t able to really tuck into the book for long chunks of time but it took me awhile to get into this one. I found it pretty long and even though I remembered Jana from Kamila Knows Best, I wasn’t really getting the Main Character Energy from her. I cared about her, don’t get me wrong, and I was totally rooting for a Happily Ever After for her and Anil. But it was a struggle to get really invested. Her issues seemed to be so very much in her head. They weren’t totally unwarranted, of course. Anil hurt her immensely and those around her were total assholes when she was pregnant with their daughter. I also think she had some anxiety that wasn’t ever addressed in the story - it was just sort of dealt with by saying she was an introvert and couldn’t “people” too much. I think it was more than just simply being an introvert. She refused to let go of the (again, justified) hurt even though Anil had gone above and beyond to prove that he regretted his mistake. I also think she thought people talked about her far more than they actually did. It seemed like she was self-centred but it was her past trauma and her anxiety that was making her come across that way. It all just didn’t really work (for me) for the tension and the issues that needed to be created for a rom com.

Getting to “travel” to Tanzania was super cool. I don’t think I’ll ever do a safari so I appreciated getting to experience it through reading this book. I also appreciated that Jana and Anil both worked in development and cared about making a difference and were conscious of their (and the wedding party’s) tourism and both the positive and negative impacts of it. That all said…holy man, the escapades in Tanzania really seemed to drag. I lost track of time and it felt like they were there for a month or more.

The best parts of the story were when the whole “hashtag Bridal Brigade” were together. I felt a bit bad because I am also an introvert and preferring some of the more vivacious characters to Jana felt incredibly disloyal (but omg when she was talking to someone and said, quite derisively, “you people” meaning extroverts, let me tell you, I cackled!). Heron writes relationships - both romantic and friendship - so extremely well and it was the friendship relationships in this one that shone. (Again, as much as I wanted an HEA for Jana and Anil.)

I know it likely seems like I really, really didn’t like this book. But honestly, I didn’t dislike it. I did have fun reading Jana Goes Wild but I think my expectations for Farah Heron are so high that I just expected more from it. I’ll absolutely keep reading Heron’s books and am already looking forward to what she writes next.

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

Review: 10 Signs You Need to Grovel

Kelly Siskind was a new-to-me author last year when I read 50 Ways to Win Back Your Lover (which I loved and you can read about here). I always love finding new Canadian romance authors and love it even more when their books completely thrill me. 10 Signs You Need to Grovel featured another of the Bower Boys and I was just as invested as I was with the first book!

Here’s the book’s description:

For the last ten years, I’ve been living a lie in witness protection. But the drug cartel that put me there isn’t a threat anymore, so I can have my life back. I should be thrilled, right?
Wrong.
The last thing I want to do is go back home and show everyone how far I’ve fallen. I’m not the high-powered lawyer they all expect me to be. I’m just a guy who slings drinks and scowls at the world.
But then I hear about Max, my ex’s ten-year-old son. My ten-year-old son.
I have to go back now. Figure out how to be a dad. Face the love of my life. Make things right with Sadie and earn her trust. Will she have me—or is it too late to reinvent myself as the man she once loved?

So, it might surprise you that I loved this book as much as I did. You see, I have a bit of a…well, I’m not sure what to call it but I don’t love books that have pregnancies or single parents or any parents of kiddos, to be completely honest. I’ll read them because I’m not a total monster and understand that kids make some people happy but that is SO not a life choice for me so I struggle with “getting” those storylines. I try to avoid them with review books when I can because I know it’s not necessarily fair to the author with my strong bias against books like that. But this book? I needed it. There was no question. I had to read Desmond’s story.

The relationship between the brothers (and their mom - who I’d love to see get a Happily Ever After of her own) is a huge part of why I love this series. They’ve been through hell together (finding out their dad was a total ass whose actions caused the whole family to go into Witness Protection? UGH.) but they’ve stuck together. That kind of thing seriously messes a person up so these books, while funny and with a Happily Ever After at the end, are very heavy and emotional. Especially Des’s story. If he had just proposed to Sadie the night he planned to, he would have been able to take her into WITSEC with them and he wouldn’t have missed out on a decade of his son’s life. Oof. Definitely heavy. So, yeah, Siskind’s books will rip your heart out and stomp all over it but then it oh so tenderly puts it back in your chest and sends you on your way. It’s angsty and it’s done very well.

I like the small town feel of these books. The brothers are slowly heading back to the town they were yanked from ten years prior and it’s going about as well as you’d expect. Most townspeople heard the news of their father once they were released from WITSEC and many were able to forgive them for disappearing. In the first book, the town was totally Team Delilah so Edgar (aka E) had to work hard to win them over. In Des’s story, Sadie had also moved away from town and was back, trying to build a better life for her son who had been struggling a bit in school. Seeing Des meet Max (for the record, I am not a fan of how they went about that and I’m relieved that it worked out) and getting to know him was heart-warming (yes, even for me). There seems to be a lot more to Max’s issues at school and making friends than Sadie thought and that’s kind of worked out (without a full resolution) in this book. He’s able to find more people (family and friends) who care about him and you could see his self-confidence growing through the book.

I think I liked the first book in the Bower Boys series a wee bit more but 10 Signs You Need to Grovel was the best kind of emotional rollercoaster and I could not put it down. I can’t wait for Kelly Siskind’s next book!

*A copy of this novel was provided by the Canadian distributor, Thomas Allen & Son, in exchange for review consideration. All opinions are honest and my own.* 

Review: A Guide to Being Just Friends

I had popped into Sophie Sullivan’s rom com series about three brothers with book two (my review of How to Love Your Neighbor is here) and thoroughly enjoyed it. When I had the chance to review A Guide to Being Just Friends I jumped at it and I ended up really liking this one too!

Here’s the book’s description:

Hailey Sharp has a one-track mind. Get By the Cup salad shop off the ground. Do literally everything possible to make it a success. Repeat. With a head full of entrepreneurial ideas and a bad ex in her rearview, her one and only focus is living life the way she wants to. No distractions.
Wes Jansen never did understand the fuss about relationships. With a string of lackluster first dates and the pain from his parents’ angry divorce following him around, he’d much rather find someone who he likes, but won’t love. Companionship, not passion, is the name of the game.
When Hailey and Wes find each other in a disastrous meet cute that wasn’t even intended for them, they embarrassingly go their separate ways. But when Wes finds Hailey to apologize for his behavior, they strike a friendship. Because that’s all this can be. Hailey doesn’t want any distractions. Wes doesn’t want to fall in love.
What could possibly go wrong?

Friends to lovers is a favourite trope of mine so it’s no surprise that this romance hit the mark for me. It was a slow burn and while I was anxious for the pair to finally realize that, HELLO, they had romantic feelings for each other, I was just happy to be along for the ride. I really think friendship is so very important for romantic relationships so I was all in for Hailey and Wes building that foundation before jumping into bed with each other.

I loved both the characters so much. They had some of their own issues to sort out, as per usual with romances, but they weren’t insurmountable or completely ridiculous. They both wanted to succeed on their own without any help (Hailey from anyone and Wes without being tied to his father’s business, which is what he and his brothers were trying to get away from). Wes had some learning to do when it came to Hailey and how to help her and Hailey had to, you know, allow others to help (and recognize that it didn’t mean that she was a failure). As I write this, it sounds like something that would drive me nuts in a romance but Sullivan did a great job of writing the characters so I was invested and rooting for their character growth.

I also really appreciated getting the chance to hang out with the characters I had gotten to know in the second book (I still have plans to go back and read book one, Ten Rules for Faking It). They’re such a fantastic group and it was so wonderful getting to “see” them again in this book. I’m kind of a little sad that we’re out of Jansen brothers! Maybe there will be a spin-off with some of the other friends…

All in all, A Guide to Being Just Friends was super fun and enjoyable. I got to meeting characters I loved and read as they realized they were much better off being more than just friends! Sophie Sullivan is a great author to pick up when you need a feel good, pick me up kind of romance with a lot of heart and some laughs, too!

*An egalley was provided by the publisher, St. Martin’s Press, via NetGalley in exchange for review consideration. All opinions are honest and my own.* 

Review: The Dutch Orphan

I enjoyed Ellen Keith’s debut novel, The Dutch Wife, back in 2018 when I read it. I even got to meet her and hear how her first book came to be. Always inspiring to hear from debut authors! I didn’t love the book but I liked it enough that I knew I’d read the Canadian author’s next novel, whenever it came. That moment is finally now as The Dutch Orphan is out in the world today. I read it a few weeks ago though… “read” might be a bit of a stretch. I skimmed. I wanted to know the ending and how Keith wrapped up things for her characters but I didn’t really care. And that made me so sad!

Here’s the book’s description:

Amsterdam, 1941. When the Nazis invade Amsterdam, singer Johanna Vos watches in horror as her Jewish friends are forbidden from performing with her onstage, and the vibrant music scene she loves is all but erased. Johanna helps organize the Artists' Resistance, an underground network that arranges for Jewish musicians to perform at house concerts hosted by their allies. When Johanna is told about a Jewish orphan who is headed for deportation, she does not think twice: she takes the baby in as her own, hiding the truth from everyone, including her sister, Liesbeth.
Meanwhile, Liesbeth de Wit finds herself torn between her sister and her failing marriage. She knows Johanna is an ally of the Resistance, while her husband actively supports the Dutch Fascist Party. As the sisters navigate the ongoing Nazi occupation, they find themselves growing further and further apart. And when another charming member of the Dutch Fascist Party sets his eyes on Liesbeth, her predicament only deepens.
As the war unfolds, secrets continue to grow between the sisters, severing their once-unbreakable bond. Eventually, both women are forced to make a choice that will alter their lives forever: the choice between family and freedom.

I think my ultimate problem with this novel was the characters. I couldn’t understand their motivations, not really. And, sure, a part of that is I literally cannot imagine what it would be like to have my city become occupied by Nazi soldiers. I recognize that. But Keith still should have been able to make me see why they were acting in certain ways. Johanna, for example, seemed like a really smart woman but she acted like an absolute idiot on a number of occasions in the novel that put herself and others in danger. Liesbeth, on the other hand, had absolutely no spine until suddenly she did? Maybe I missed the growing of the spine because I had really started skimming by that point but the plot points in the novel at that spot didn’t quite seem like enough to make her change. I also couldn’t forgive her for something she did and I don’t know how other characters would be able to either.

I knew that Keith had a connection to the resistance in the Netherlands because of the event I went to after the release of The Dutch Wife (recap here). She also wrote a good part (if not all) of The Dutch Orphan while living in Amsterdam, which is where the book is set. I appreciate that kind of connection to the story and I really feel like that came through in the heart of the story. And it was that heart that had me finish the book.

What Keith’s novel does well is really hit home what it was like to live in Amsterdam specifically, and the Netherlands generally, during World War II. For some reason, I always forget that they were occupied by the Nazis beginning in May 1940. So, I appreciate that reminder of history and the examples of how everyday Dutch residents worked to protect their Jewish neighbours and undermine the soldiers’ orders. I had the feeling that I was there right alongside Jo and Lies, which, to be honest, was really hard sometimes. The suffering was intense and I was thankful for my own life circumstances as I read it.

All in all, The Dutch Orphan was an interesting historical fiction read with a lot of heart. I didn’t love Ellen Keith’s sophomore novel but I’m still willing to give her another chance whenever she publishes a third. I think if you really like learning about World War II history, especially the parts that we don’t always learn about in Canada (even though Canadians played a role in liberating the Netherlands), you should still pick up a copy of this one from your local library.

Content warnings: miscarriage/stillbirth, pregnancy, infertility, war, prison camps, murder, infidelity, suicide

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

Review: Lunar Love

Sometimes a romance doesn’t quite hit all the right notes but is still a pretty good read that you don’t really want to put down and you still need to know how the Happily Ever After will come about. That was how I felt with Lunar Love, Lauren Kung Jessen’s debut novel (which was published back on January 10). I liked it (and expected to like it more) but I also didn’t dislike it and wanted to finish it to see how it all wrapped up.

Here’s the book’s description:

Always a matchmaker, never a match...
Olivia Huang Christenson is excited-slash-terrified to be taking over her grandmother’s matchmaking business. But when she learns that a new dating app has made her Pó Po’s traditional Chinese zodiac approach all about “animal attraction,” her emotions skew more toward furious-slash-outraged. Especially when L.A.’s most-eligible bachelor Bennett O’Brien is behind the app that could destroy her family’s legacy…
Liv knows better than to fall for any guy, let alone an infuriatingly handsome one who believes that traditions are meant to be broken. As the two businesses go head to head, Bennett and Liv make a deal: they’ll find a match for each other—and whoever falls in love loses. But Liv is dealing with someone who’s already adept at stealing business ideas…so what’s stopping him from stealing her heart too?

I should really know better. I have to be very, very careful with enemies to lovers tropes. I don’t love them and I’m very picky about them. So, it’s not really surprising that that’s what was bothering me right off the bat with this book. Kung Jessen had to work really hard to win me back once the enemies part dissipated and Liv and Bennett started to become friends - and then something more. I can handle some enemies to lovers books but with this one, I was really upset with how Liv acted. She was rude and was not behaving like a business owner (or a decent person tbh). I was really disappointed in her. Bennett wasn’t much better but somehow his behaviour wasn’t quite as upsetting. Maybe because I was feeling like the story was very much Liv’s and she was the one who was doing really problematic things.

For those who aren’t aware, I’m white so I can’t talk too much about Liv and Bennett’s Chinese American culture and how they feel about their heritage. I do know, however, how extremely important it is for Chinese American (or Canadian, etc.) readers to see themselves in books like this, for those who don’t identify as Chinese American to read books like this, and for Chinese American authors to have the opportunity to publish books like this. Personally, I really liked learning more about the Chinese zodiac while reading this book and seeing what Liv’s family life was like.

Even with the few issues I had, this book did not read like a debut. It was solid and well-written. It was mostly just my own issues with the trope (that felt like more than the trope’s fault) that had me struggling a bit. I felt connected with the characters (even when I was telling them they were being idiots) and I could really immerse myself in the story. That’s a major win.

Lunar Love is Lauren Kung Jessen's debut novel and, while I didn’t love it, I was pretty invested and I’m really looking forward to what she writes next. I found a snippet of something that told me about her next book (maybe at the end of the egalley?) and it sounds absolutely delightful and I’m definitely going to be picking it up.

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