Saturday, July 11, 2020

Book Reviews - Nothing to See Here; Kevin Wilson and Tomorrow There Will Be Sun; Dana Reinhardt



AUTHOR:  Kevin Wilson
PUBLISHER:  Harper Audio
PUB. YEAR: 2020
Setting: TN and GA
Format: audio
Rating - 4/5

Lilian and Madison first met as unlikely roommates at an exclusive boarding school. Lilian was an over achiever and scholarship student while Madison came from a wealthy family and a bit of a party girl.  Despite their differences, the two girls became fast friends.  However, when an incident that resulted in expulsion occurs, and Madison was the guilty one, it is Lilian that takes the fall for her friend, and is forced to leave school in light of the scandal.

While Madison's life moves along onward and upward, now a wealthy heiress with an older husband in line to be the next Secretary of State, Lilian is stuck. So when Lilian receives a surprise letter from Madison with an urgent offer for employment as a governess to her husband's twin 10 year old children Bessie and Roland, Lilian is more than surprised.

The mother of the children has died and the children are a bit of a challenge. When the kids are stressed, upset or angry, they heat up and can burst into flames.  Of course, their father wants to keep this information quiet so that it won't have a negative affect on his political agenda. So Lilian is in for a big challenge after having accepted the job.

I felt badly for these two children who had been treated as an after thought during their young life. When Lilian steps in you can tell early on that this is going to be a win-win for her and the children.

Funny and tender, and so many themes like: social classes, loneliness and the power of love. I enjoyed this story even though it was a bit predictable. A creative plot line, I loved how it combined humor and tenderness and that the children finally began to feel love and security. 



TITLE:  Tomorrow There Will Be Sun
AUTHOR:  Dana Reinhardt
PUBLISHER:  Pamela Dorman Books
PUB. YEAR: 2019
Setting: Mexico
Format: print
Rating - 2.5/5

Two families complete with teenagers decide to vacation together at a 5-star resort in Puerta Vallarta, Mexico. What could possibly go wrong?

Peter is celebrating his 50th birthday and he and Solly are also business partners. Before too long it seems like the two families have very little in common as they quickly begin to get on each others nerves.

The story covers a lot of people issues: marriage, children, aging and friendship. The writing is ofter both cynical and funny but, the lack of likable characters spoiled this one for me. Moral of the story for me: don't vacation with friends!  I actually read this one over a month ago but, felt uninspired to write anything about it until now.  Although I do like vacation themed books, this one wasn't a favorite.

23 comments:

  1. I do like stories where someone comes along and makes life better for kids. Does it ever explain why they burst into flames?

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  2. Me too Judy and unless, I fell asleep, you never learn while the kids combust LOL

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  3. Kids burst into flames? Weird, but interesting! The second book sounded good until I read "lack of likable characters".

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  4. I own both of these books and in the format you read them - audio for the first and print for the second. Both sound good, as I must have thought when I acquired them. I'll try to get to them before long. And, by the way, based on what I've heard from some, including our daughter and son-in-law, vacationing with friends can go well or not so well. Ha!

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  5. Their stepmother was a piece of work, wasn't she? (Nothing to See Here) I found myself wishing nothing but bad things for her...

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  6. Too bad the one book wasn't good. I'm glad you got to balance it with a really good book this week.

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    1. I didn't have super high expectations for the second one with teens involved LOL

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  7. Nothing to See Here certainly sounds unique and ultimately heartwarming. Too bad the other one was a disappointment but one out of two is not terrible.

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  8. Nothing to See Here is one of my favorite audiobooks of 2020! I loved it and was able to suspend disbelief about kids bursting into flames. Lol! My husband read the print version and liked it, but I think the audio is the way to go. The reader is outstanding. I don't think I've ever listened to an audiobook twice, but if I do, this is the one!

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  9. I resisted picking up Nothing to See Here for a long time, mostly because the premise seemed so absurd... ended up loving the audio version!

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  10. Tomorrow There Will Be Sun, I remember not caring for the ending much.

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  11. So for some reason my comments are going through on blogger sites today so I'm going to try here. I read your blog regularly though.
    I think Nothing to See Here sounds good so that's on my audio list. Have a good week, Diane!

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    1. Thanks for stopping by. Funny how some blogs give us issues. I also read yours at least on the weekend even though I don't comment a lot.

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  12. Nothing to See Here has a great audio and it was a favorite of mine from last year. The 2nd one sounds like the alluring genre of people behaving badly on vacations .... yes !

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  13. I love that weird cover for Nothing to See Here. I keep hearing good things about that one so definitely would like to check it out.

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