I received a free ebook of Everything We keep from NetGalley in exchange for a fair review.

This book begins with  the protagonist Aimee burying her fiance on what should have been the day of her wedding.  The rest of the book involves Aimee’s grief recovery? I guess that is what it was supposed to be.  If I had not needed to review for NetGalley, I would not have finished this book.  It comes across as very dated, specialty coffee shop what a novel idea!!!  Aimee herself is a very one note character, all we really know about her is that she is grieving, grieving some more, and still grieving,  she know how to make coffee, and she basically gets walked all over by everyone she meets/knows and has been her whole life.  She appears too immature, even childlike, to have been contemplating marriage in the first place.

The plot throws in evil corporate wrong doers,  jealous/sociopathic family member, insurance fraud, unreported rape,  government crime fighting secret plot,  misunderstood artists, a psychic???,  and one of my least favorite tropes, convenient amnesia.  I just couldn’t buy into any of this.

  I received a free ebook of Lizzie’s Christmas Escape from NetGalley in exchange for a fair review.

It is coming up on the holiday season and Lizzie is ready for a change.  Something, anything needs to happen.  Her daughters have left for uni and her husband Henry is just this vague lump, who watches darts on the telly and doesn’t seem to interact with her at all.  On top of the loneliness, Lizzie is feeling the yearning for a career of her own after years of being a stay at home mum with odd sewing jobs thrown in on the side.   Her best friend, Ann, is dealing with the end of her mother’s life and a promotion at work at the same time.  Throw in a charming, new, single neighbor into this pot, stir well and watch what happens.

This is a great book about middle age, marriage after the kids are grown, depression, friendship  and asking the question, “Is this all there is?”  Very relateable characters and  a story written to make you laugh and cry makes this a great read!