No Place I'd Rather Be. Cathy Lamb

Published:Kensington Books
Date: 29th August 2017
Format: e-ARC
Pages:480
Genre: Mainstream Fiction
Source: Publisher via NetGalley
Rating:
            

Two years ago, Olivia Martindale left behind her Montana hometown and her husband, Jace, certain it was the best decision for both of them. Back temporarily to protect her almost-adopted daughters from their biological mother, she discovers an old, handwritten cookbook in the attic. Its pages are stained and torn, their edges scorched by flame. Some have been smeared by water . . . or tears. The recipes are written in different hands and in different languages. In between the pages are intriguing mementos, including a feather, a pressed rose, a charm, and unfamiliar photographs.

Hoping the recipes will offer a window into her grandmother’s closely guarded past, Olivia decides to make each dish, along with their favorite family cake recipes, and records her attempts. The result, like much of her life to date, involves a parade of near-disasters and chaotic appearances by her doctor mother, her blunt grandma, her short-tempered sister, and Olivia’s two hilarious daughters. The project is messy, real—and an unintended hit with viewers.

Even more surprising is the family history Olivia is uncovering, and her own reemerging ties to Montana, and to Jace. Generations of women have shared these recipes, offering strength and nourishment to each other and their loved ones. Now it’s Olivia’s turn to find healing—and determine where her home and her heart truly belong.

No Place I'd Rather Be - and no book I'd rather be reading. Cathy Lamb has managed to enthral me again with her far reaching story of strong women who are loads of fun.  Lamb has a strong, unique voice in all her writing, as Kristy Woodson Harvey says in her review "If I was on a deserted island and stumbled across a blank copy of No Place I'd Rather Be with no title, no author page and no distinguishing marks, I would still know it was Cathy Lamb's. Her voice is totally unique, pitch perfect and utterly charming." I couldn't agree more. And I'd know it too.

This is a mix of historical and contemporary fiction, both heart warming and heart breaking. Gisela is the great grandmother, a German Jew who was uprooted when the Nazi's went to work. She lost everyone, but did find a strong Montana man in Oliver Martindale an American airforce officer and a doctor. Together they set up a practice and have one child Mary Beth, who in turn becomes a doctor. She did not find a strong Montana man, her husband abandoned her and left Mary Beth and her daughters Olivia and Chloe. But like Gisela these women have spines of concrete. I so loved them all.

Olivia has left her wonderful husband Jace for some reason we don't know, and it takes quite awhile for that mystery to unfold. I kind of guessed it, but had to wait and see. Jace is amazing and it did break her heart to do it. Olivia has taken on the guardianship of two young girls who need her and she makes a wonderful mother. When she has to return to her home town relationships change, stories unfold and we are introduced to a family I'd love to meet. Chloe, Olivia's sister has a son - Kyle who has Aspergers.  I loved his part in the story and how he was involved, his whole journey.

If you are a food lover then this book would definitely appeal from that angle. Much to Mary Beth's disappointment Olivia did not follow her into the medical field, but rather is a fantastic cook. And the discovery of a family cookbook in the attic is a thread that runs through the book, linking past family to the present.

This book has all I could ask for in a book - some history, some humor, some romance, some mystery and suspense, and a huge focus on family and what brings love and happiness. The characters are smart, flawed and totally loveable. Its a big, warmhearted, compassionate feast of a book. I'll be buying myself a paperback version to reread in future.

 

My Top Books of 2016

Top Ten Tuesday was created and is  hosted by The Broke and the Bookish.  

It is rather difficult to chose the top books of 2016 for me. So many good reads, although not necessarily outstanding reads. Some haven't made the list but could easily have. I haven't included audiobooks although some were fabulous. Thank you to all the authors who entertained me in 2016. I apologise that your book is not here, mainly because the post would just be far too long!

This was my first book of the year and it turns out to be one of my top reads for 2016. It was fantasy and a real saga.  I was reluctant to leave these people. I held my breath, I wondered, I wept, I smiled. I'll be reading Foxmask in 2017, the follow up of this book. First time reading author Judith Marillier - New Zealand born and educated now living in Australia.

I was impressed by this one and it was my first book by USA author Kristina McMorris. Historical fiction. The climax was tense and I wanted to close my eyes and jump a few pages! Perhaps it ended a little too tidily some might say, however I  found it very satisfying, and loved how the story circled around itself and even with one element having a bittersweet mirror image.

Rachael Johns - Australian author produced two books in 2016 I loved, this was one of them.  Outback Sisters -  all that I love in a good romance novel. Add to that a good dose of rural Australia. There were plenty of little twists and turns, much drama and heartache, and of course love. If that wasn't enough, I was also reminded of good times, when Rachael Johns mentioned The Magic Faraway Tree (Enid Blyton) which took me off in a little indulgent reminiscence. And she also has two characters who love reading and love to discuss the books they read.

Another Australian author I enjoyed. Historical fiction and debut novel. Set in the USA in the 1920's. I loved the whole historical background and what it was like for women in those days. It was rather horrifying to read of some of the childbirth practices and attitudes prevalent in that time. A woman's touch was certainly needed. penned an absorbing, clever book, with characters that came alive off the page. I enjoyed the drama, the humour, the sadness, the romance and the time period. Fantastic read. And totally adore the cover.

I have come to love the romance books of UK author Sarah Morgan. Loved the #3 in the Puffin Island series. To my mind Sarah Morgan is tops at writing today's romance stories. This one was charming and enchanting. Set in the winter wonderland of snow and Christmas - a wonderful backdrop. At first I was disappointed it wasn't all on Puffin Island, but the English countryside was magical too. Loved the tension between the two main characters, the humour and the growing love. There was plenty of wisdom in the story and loved that too. Love her writing and the similes were often spot on. Perfection.

Allegiance of Honour is #15 in this wonderful urban fantasy/paranormal series. I have loved every book in the series and this was another winner for me. As Nalini Singh (NZ author)  says it has an ensemble cast. Many of the characters from previous books are given updates on how life is going for them. As I love each and every one of these characters that was a delight for me. I took my time reading it. No skipping lines, I just wanted to savour it. Delicious!

USA author J. R. Ward does it again. This soap drama series has intrigued me and the second one - this one - just left me wanting more of this dysfunctional family. I couldn't wait to find out all the scandal that has gone on since last year's book The Bourbon Kings. Of course I had to wait! A whole year, but it has passed and I eagerly began this book. I might even have peeked at the end - although it didn't tell me that much. This is a book that you have to read every line because you just might miss something of one of the characters evolving story.

I always love a new book from USA author Cathy Lamb. Toni is the narrator, one of three sisters who have a very special bond. They began their lives in Russia in the 80's where it was dangerous for them. They were under the eye of the KGB and their large extended family were quietly escaping to the USA. While the story begins in America, every so often we go back to that time in Russia until every little horrific detail of that time is revealed. One of the mysteries that Toni holds a little part - how did their brother arrive to them one bloody night?

Archangel's Heartis #9 in the Guild Hunter series by Nalini Singh. In this book the focus is back on Elena and Raphael and their ever maturing relationship. This time they are off to Morocco where the Luminata have called all the Cadre (the group of archangels who rule the world), because one of the Cadre - Lijuan ruler of China is missing. Is she dead? Hiding out? Or gone into a deep Sleep that lasts for centuries?
This book made me want to reread and reacquaint myself again with the whole series. It was an absorbing and emotional read. Every detail needs to be read, you can't afford to skip a line, everything counts. Fabulous writing, satisfying reading, the very best!

This was my first introduction to USA author Karen Rose and her romantic suspense. Every Dark Corner introduces Kate Coppola - an agent I just loved. Despite stress and a personal history that might have levelled another, Kate dedicates herself to helping others, working to save those caught in the nets of depravity.  I highly recommend you get to know her.  She sits within a 5 star read.
I have since gone on to read the first one in the series and have the next one as well. Then I will be all caught up and waiting for the next one in the Cinncinnati series.

Ah...USA author Mary Alice Monroe. Another in her Lowcountry series. It was everything I love in a story and it was just so good to go back in Taylor's life to when he first was discharged from the Marines, after experiencing a terrible explosion that left him shattered and suffering from PTSD. He can't cope with returning to his family for Christmas, finds crowds threatening, and his family are bewildered and find it difficult to understand.
This is a beautifully written story, it sucked me in right from the beginning and I loved every word and minute of it. It is a perfect Christmas story and is linked with little quotes and references to Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol.

The Language of Sisters. Cathy Lamb

Published: Kensington
Date: August 2016
Format: Paperback
Pages: 457
Genre: Fiction
Source: Own book
Rating:
        

Toni Kozlovsky can’t explain how she knows exactly what her sisters are feeling—only that the connection seems to happen out of the blue, just when they need it most. Since Toni, Valerie, and Ellie were little girls growing up in Communist Russia, their parents have insisted it’s simply further proof that the Kozlovskys are special and different.

Now a crime and justice reporter, Toni lives on a yellow tugboat on Oregon’s Willamette River. As far as her parents are concerned, the pain of their old life and their dangerous escape should remain buried in the Moscow they left behind, as should the mysterious past of their adopted brother, Dmitry. But lately, Toni’s talent for putting on a smile isn’t enough to keep memories at bay.

Valerie, a prosecuting attorney, wages constant war against the wrongs she could do nothing about as a child. Youngest sister Ellie is engaged to marry an Italian, breaking her mother’s heart in the process. Toni fears she’s about to lose her home, while the hard edged DEA agent down the dock keeps trying to break through her reserve. Meanwhile, beneath the culture clashes and endearing quirks within her huge, noisy, loving family are deeper secrets that Toni has sworn to keep—even from the one person she longs to help most.

I really don't know where to begin talking about this book.  Cathy Lamb is an author whose work I have come to enjoy in the last couple of years - thanks to an Australian blogger at Book'd Out. Lamb's books just so satisfy my reading heart.

Toni is the narrator, one of three sisters who have a very special bond. They began their lives in Russia in the 80's where it was dangerous for them. They were under the eye of the KGB and their large extended family were quietly escaping to the USA.   While the story begins in America, every so often we go back to that time in Russia until every little horrific detail of that time is revealed. One of the mysteries that Toni holds a little part - how did their brother arrive to them one bloody night?

Toni is at a low point in her life and it takes awhile to find out all the details. She lives on a converted tugboat ( and I want one) at a dock. Surrounding her are a wonderful group of people who are a little community that really watches out for each other. Daisy - an old woman just sinking into dementia is a treat.  And of course then there is the DEA agent Nick who just adores Toni.

Valerie - Toni's sister is a prosecutor and is dealing with a particularly bad case - one that threatens her. Ellie is engaged to be married but has to keep breathing into a paper bag to deal with all the stress and differing opinions with her fiance. These girls and their brother are part of a large extended family. Their parents are such fun, despite all that they went through in Russia,  they love each other, run a very successful restaurant. Uncles, aunts, cousins abound. They are all such a hoot.

This book kept me reading, I wanted to find out all of Toni's story, I wanted to know what the secret was that they were keeping from Dmitry. I chuckled so many times. There were moments of sadness. The love in this family just won me over. Even if they were in your face nosy and interfering at times!

My Very Best Friend Cathy Lamb

My Very Best Friend
Cathy Lamb
Published: Kensington
Date: July 28th 2015
Format:e-ARC
Pages: 480
Genre: Women's Fiction
Source: Publisher via NetGalley

Charlotte Mackintosh is an internationally known bestselling romance writer who has no romance, and remains a mystery to her fans. In fact, she has little in her life besides her work, her pampered cats, and her secluded home off the coast of Washington. And then there is her very best friend, Bridget, who lives in Scotland, where Charlotte lived until she was fifteen. Bridget, whom Charlotte hasn’t seen in twenty years, but continues to write to—though the replies have stopped. Hurt by the silence, an opportunity arises to find answers—and maybe much more.

Charlotte must finally return to Scotland to sell her late father’s cottage. It was his tragic death when Charlotte was fifteen that began her growing isolation, and the task is fraught with memories. But her plans are slowed when she’s confronted with the beautiful but neglected house, the irresistible garden—and Toran, Bridget’s brother. Capable and kind, Toran has the answers Charlotte seeks. And as she is drawn deeper into the community she thought she’d left behind, Charlotte learns not only more about her dear friend, but about herself—and discovers a new and unexpected path.

Set in Scotland My Very Best Friend by Cathy Lamb has all the trade marks of a wonderful Lamb novel.  It has at its heart people, the very best and... the very worst.  It has great friendships from childhood to adulthood, it is full of outrageous humour, fun and wit. Yet there is  also deep sadness. It examines relevant issues and how people deal with them... or not.

Charlotte is a scientist and biologist and romance writer of time travel living of cost of Washington, but returns to her home Scotland to sell the family home and find out what has happened to her friend Bridget who is missing. When her father died at the age of fifteen years, Charlotte and her mother left the village of St Ambrose and this is Charlotte's first time back. Charlotte is a recluse, wears frumpy, comfortable clothing. Nobody knows she is the author of a series about a warrior woman who is very sexy and adventure seeking.  However now Charlotte has writer's block. Also her best friend is missing and she Charlotte wonders where she is.

Toran is Bridget's brother, farmer and long time best friend of Charlotte too.  He knows a little more about Bridget and her story but not where she is now.  As Charlotte and Toran work together to restore the sorry mess that is Charlotte's family home, the love they have for each other comes creeping back. It doesn't hurt that Toran is one sexy hunk of a Scotsman, who is compassionate and loving.

Led by Olive there is a group of women who are a garden club of sorts and a women's support group for each other. Their antics are hilarious and as the story develops these women even more. Some of them are a little odd, but most of them have their heart in the right place.  There is a strong feminist theme right throughout the book- feminism at its very best. Some of them though have 'issues' that are unpalatable.  

Bonds of friendship, truth and lies, love and forgiveness, shocking happenings, cover ups, injustice  and justice meted out, all combine to give a reader a heart warming and heartbreaking read.  Mystery and surprises combine. Do I think Charlotte and Bridget were the best of friends - yes.  I recommend you read this book and check that out for yourself. Maybe you will agree maybe you won't. 

Set in Scotland.

Julia's Chocolates. Cathy Lamb

Julia's Chocolates
Cathy Lamb
Published: Allison & Busby
Date: 2007
Format: Paperback
Pages: 478
Genre: Women's Fiction
Source: Own book



Julia's Chocolates is the story of Julia, a woman who leaves her soon to be husband before the wedding and flees to her Aunt Lydia in Oregon. Robert who comes from a wealthy family and was to marry Julia is abusive and mean.  She escapes his clutches at the last minute, taking every bit of courage she has to do so.
Julia has had a horrific childhood as well and her Aunt Lydia is a port in the storm.

Lydia begins to make a new life for herself, finding a few jobs that will help pay her way.  She takes one up at a library and finds herself involved with two children that she takes under her wing. She recognises something of herself in them, and tries to alert authorities of suspected abuse, they however don't wish to be alerted!

Aunt Lydia is a character, yet she has a heart of gold.  She holds a women's meeting every so often, rather wacky, but it helps her reach out to some of the local women who are experiencing various difficulties in their lives.  They are all very supportive of each other and are there when needed, helping each other to realise their true selves.

Abuse, drinking, cancer, threats, attacks, depression are some of the things they grapple with, and with courage and determination work their way through it.

This was not my favourite Cathy Lamb book, although I did enjoy it on the whole.  I can see a pattern so far in some of her books where a woman ends up in Oregon, fleeing an abusive situation and begins to make different life choices that enable her to heal and become her true self. I am not complaining though - happy to read and enjoy!

What I Remember Most Cathy Lamb

What I Remember Most
Cathy Lamb
Published: Kensington
Date: 2014
Format: Paperback
Pages: 486
Genre: Women's Fiction
Source: Own book

Grenadine Scotch Wild has only vague memories of the parents she last saw when she was six years old. But she's never forgotten their final, panicked words to her, urging Grenadine to run. The mystery of their disappearance is just one more frayed strand in a life that has lately begun to unravel completely. One year into her rocky marriage to Covey, a well known investor, he's arrested for fraud and embezzlement. And Grenadine, now a successful collage artist and painter, is facing jail time despite her innocence.

What I Remember Most by Cathy Lamb was a great read.  I sat and read it during the day and into the night until I had finished it. I can't remember when I did that with a book.  Maybe I was in the mood for a good read and this book just slotted right in there.

It is told in the first person, so we only have Grenadine's side of the story.  However Cathy Lamb also adds in reports from child welfare officers, teachers and police officers and small slots of a creepy guy's thoughts.  In this way the life history of Grenadine is slowly built up.  Let's just say her past is on the whole horrific.  Yet what a wonderful woman has emerged.

When her creepy, slime ball husband tries to prove that Grenadine is a part of his whole investment scandal, she takes refuge in a small town in Oregon and fends for herself.  There she fights her way into jobs and eventually a place to call home.  She is a very hard worker and a gifted artist, it is not long before the people of the town recognise her talents and abilities.

When she takes up work at Hutchinson's Furniture she meets a whole raft of women, some providing fun and humour, others tears and sadness. Friendships and bonds form.  Then there is Kade - a tough looking reformed gang leader from LA.  What a group of people, and of course there is a delightful little one - Cleo who wins Grenadine's heart in unexpected ways.

This book didn't quite have the humour in it that I have met in Cathy Lamb's other books, but it did have some!  I chuckled and shed tears at times.  I cheered Grenadine on and was relieved when she made it through each challenge. 

Love the cover and for once it fit right in to a page of the book wonderfully well. Thumbs up from me on this one.

The Last Time I Was Me. Cathy Lamb

The Last Time I Was Me
Cathy Lamb
Published: Kensington
Date: 2008
Format: Paperback
Pages: 404
Genre: Women's Fiction
Source: Own book

I wrapped up my grandmother's tea cup collection and my mother's china, then grabbed a violin I'd hidden way back in my closet that made me cry, a gold necklace with a dolphin that my father gave me two weeks before he died of a heart attack when I was twelve and, at midnight, with that moon as bright as the blazes, I left Chicago. When Jeanne Stewart stops at The Opera Man's Cafe in Weltana, Oregon, to eat pancakes for the first time in twelve years, she has no idea she's also about to order up a whole new future. It's been barely a week since she succumbed to a spectacularly public nervous breakdown in front of hundreds of the nation's most important advertising and PR people. Jeanne certainly had her reasons--her mother's recent death, the discovery that her boyfriend had been sleeping with a dozen other women, and the assault charges that resulted when Jeanne retaliated in a creative way against him, involving condoms and peanut oil.

Now, en route to her brother's house in Portland, Jeanne impulsively decides to spend some time in picturesque Weltana. Staying at a B&B run by the eccentric, endearing Rosvita, she meets a circle of quirky new friends at her court-ordered Anger Management classes. Like Jeanne, all of them are trying to become better, braver versions of themselves. Yet the most surprising discoveries are still to come--a good man who steadily makes his way into her heart and a dilapidated house that with love and care might be transformed into something wholly her own, just like the new life she is slowly building, piece by piece.

The Last Time I Was Me by Cathy Lamb was not quite what I was expecting, however I loved it and read it any chance I had.  This book covers a large number of important issues, but with such humour the reader does not ( or I didn't) become burdened by everything that has happened. I am not going to list all those issues, because to do so may give away some of the plot. There are a number of secrets, and by the end of the book I wasn't sure if we'd found them all out or not!  Jeanne is a real character, Brigid Jones on steroids and then double it.

The story is revealed step by step, when we meet Jeanne she is moving to Oregon after having delivered a very impressive speech to her advertising colleagues and having also dealt to her cheating boyfriend.  The treatment to the boyfriend  has led to a pending civil court case, that is hanging over her.  The speech has led to no longer having a job in advertising! While she relies on drinking to drown her sorrows, she is still a straight talking woman that I just had to take sides with the whole way through. 

She has been told by the court she has to take an anger management course which she does when she settles down in Weltana.  The facilitator is Emmaline and she takes quite an interesting approach to the group.  In the group are two men and another woman, and their meetings and activities take a significant part of the story.  As the book moved along I really came to care for these characters. They have all lost an important part of themselves and this group works towards helping them come back to their true selves.  As they do this I had the feeling they were forming bonds of friendship that would last a long time.

Jeanne is a very intelligent, capable person and thanks to her brother Charlie she becomes the communications person on the Oregon Governor's team as they build their case for re-election.  She handles all the speeches and press no problem, also the pest member of the team very ably.  If you don't like her already, then her delight in wearing the right pair of shoes for the occasion might do it. As well there is a little romance thrown in that becomes a delightful addition.

Loved all most of the characters - so courageous, great writing, loads of funny dialogue, and some serious issues explored.  In combination this made for  compulsive reading.

Henry's Sisters Cathy Lamb

Henry's Sisters
Cathy Lamb
Publisher: Kensington
Date: 2009
Format: Paperback
Pages: 434
Genre: Fiction
Source: Own book

Ever since the Bommarito sisters were little girls, their mother, River, has written them a letter on pink paper when she has something especially important to impart. And this time, the message is urgent and impossible to ignore River requires open-heart surgery, and Isabelle and her sisters are needed at home to run the family bakery and take care of their brother and ailing grandmother.

Isabelle has worked hard to leave Trillium River, Oregon, behind as she travels the globe taking award-winning photographs. It's not that Isabelle hates her family. On the contrary, she and her sisters Cecilia, an outspoken kindergarten teacher, and Janie, a bestselling author, share a deep, loving bond. And all of them adore their brother, Henry, whose disabilities haven't stopped him from helping out at the bakery and bringing good cheer to everyone in town.

But going home again has a way of forcing open the secrets and hurts that the Bommaritos would rather keep tightly closed Isabelle's fleeting and too-frequent relationships, Janie's obsessive compulsive disorder, and Cecilia's self-destructive streak and grief. Working together to look after Henry and save their flagging bakery, Isabelle and her sisters begin to find answers to questions they never knew existed, unexpected ways to salve the wounds of their childhoods, and the courage to grasp surprising new chances at happiness.

I have four Cathy Lamb novels sitting on my bookshelf since last year, when I read If You Could See What I See, my first book by her.  I decided it was time to read another one and chose Henry's Sisters off the shelf. I noted the high rating by readers that I respect and then looked at some of the low ratings and worried a little! However as I began the novel and moved along in it, I could see that this book would be off putting for some and could see why they didn't stay with it.  I have to admit reading in a little ways I was tempted to rest it awhile, but persevered and was very pleased that I did.

The story is told from Isabelle's point of view - first person is not my favourite, but after awhile it didn't really matter.  The story was both heart breaking and heart warming.  It is one of those books you read and as you sit with it at the end you know you have seen the world through different viewpoints and if you open your heart in compassion it is going to guide you into living life more fully.

Isabelle and Cecilia are twins - they often feel what is happening to the other. Their sister Janie is about a year younger.  Henry is there brother and he has a mental disability, but his heart and capacity to love far outweighs that.  For a good while through the novel I did not like River so much, but as more information was given, the heart of a mother was revealed in its capacity to put her children first and her capacity to make mistakes as well. I could not but help but feel compassion for her. Added to the family is River's mother who now has alzheimers and believes she is Amelia Earhart. Her antics often brought comic relief to the book.

As the girls meet back home to take care of their mother as she undergoes an operation, their relationship to her, each other and to Henry are revealed.  The reader also gradually learns of the many terrible events that took place in their childhood, which explains the psychological and emotional challenges of these women.  However what stands out is their love for each other and Henry and Grandma.  There would be few families too that would have be as straight talking as they are. When they are confronted with a crises that brings them all to their knees it is either going to split them apart or they are going to learn that they are more than they thought.

This is a story about mothers and daughters, forgiveness, childhood horrors and above all else love.  It wasn't easy reading but a very worthwhile read.  It would make an excellent book club book, and their are discussion questions at the end of the book. (Don't read them until the end.  I made the mistake of reading them first and came across a major event that of course I then knew as I started the book.  However as it turned out it didn't matter too much).