Category: music

THE TRUTHS AND TRIUMPHS OF GRACE ATHERTON by ANSTEY HARRIS

The Truths and Triumphs of Grace Atherton

Grace Atherton is not only an exceptionally talented musician, she also creates beautiful works of art in her shop. Her dream was to play professionally but was devastated when a professor kicks her out of his class and tells her she has no talent.

Now her world is her violin shop and her boyfriend of eight years, David. David who is married with children. But he and his wife have an arrangement. Keep it quiet. So the day David jumps in to save a woman in the train stations, photos appear and David is keeping a low profile. Finding out that he has lied to her for years and she wasn’t the only one leads Grace down a destructive path.

Her saving grace will be an elderly musician and a smart mouth teen, Nadia. They all are broken in some way. Which made me love them so much.

I have to admit I didn’t like Grace. I don’t like adultery and I don’t like women who fall for lies wrapped in pretty packages. I was very happy with the way the book played out, especially all of the beautiful music you could almost hear. But for the most part I didn’t feel sorry for her and felt she was rather cold.

Netgalley/January 10th 2019 by Simon & Schuster

 

The Boyfriend Swap by Meredith Schorr

The Boyfriend Swap

Is Christmas really the most wonderful time of the year? New Yorker’s Robyn Lane and Sidney Bellows aren’t so sure.

Robyn has always dated struggling creative types. For once, her parents would love her to bring someone with health insurance and a 401(k) to their Chrismukkah celebration. Her actor boyfriend doesn’t qualify. While across town, Sidney’s professional life already belongs to her parents. She’s an attorney at her father’s law firm and she works tirelessly to keep her love life private. If she brings her lawyer boyfriend to their annual Christmas extravaganza, her parents will have the wedding planned by New Year’s Eve.

A mutual friend playfully suggests they trade boyfriends for the holidays. The women share a laugh, but after copious amounts of wine, decide The Boyfriend Swap could be the perfect solution. This way, Robyn can show off her stable attorney boyfriend and Sidney’s high-society family will take no interest in her flakey actor beau.

It’s a brilliant plan—in theory. In practice—not so much. When Will turns out to be the boy-next-door Robyn crushed on hard throughout her teenage years, and Sidney’s family fawns all over Perry like he’s an Oscar-winner rather than a D-list wannabe, one thing is certain: The Boyfriend Swap might just change their lives forever.

I could definitely see this as a Hallmark Channel Movie! Especially at Christmas.

Sidney and Will haven’t been dating long and she is not looking forward to tossing him to the wolves at her family’s Christmas! Especially in a house already full of lawyers. She just wants something for herself. Agreeing to the swap Sidney gets more than she bargained for. Her entire family is charmed by Perry and Sidney may be getting a little hot under the collar for him as well.

While Robyn is bringing home the boy next door who she still has a crush on and her family thinks he is just the perfect man for her. And Robyn is beginning to think so too.

A lovely romp of a Christmas story and the stories we tell ourselves about who we are and what the people we love want for us.

Netgalley/Henery Press  November 07, 2017