Book Chatter

It’s a beautiful day in So Cal. It’s about 72 degrees and gorgeous! I’ve been visiting blogs and from the looks of it, many of you are thinking about Summer and putting your reading lists together. I am not quite there yet. We had some funky weather which sort of delayed that feeling for me, but now that it’s sunny again and all the stores are pushing their outdoor stuff, I’m started to get excited about it.

But, do I have a Summer reading list yet? Uh…no. However, I normally pick some heavier reads for Summer so it may take awhile for me to come up with my list.

On to other things…

I haven’t shared photos of the Otter Pup lately so here are a few along with a brief update. She’s still doing great. We love her to pieces. She’s gained 2 lbs. since we adopted her and weighs in at a hefty (ha!) 7 lbs. She is quite the personality. Chloé knows her name now but comes to “Baby” which makes me think that is what her previous owner called her. She’s about 8 months old now.

Here she is getting a suntan. With her blond highlights and her Hollywood tan, she fits right into the California lifestyle. See that smile? Each time you click on the photo it should get bigger. I love her little pouty mouth.

Today is a lazy day. I ran one errand (can’t seem to escape them) and then later we are hitting my MIL’s for a BBQ. My nephew is home from Afghanistan for a short visit so we’ll visit with him a bit. Until that time though, I plan to hang out with the book I’m reading, The Raising. I rolled my eyes by page 58, but now I am pretty into it.

Oh, and while flipping channels I stumbled across an AbFab marathon. I love that show, so I’ll have to sneak a few peeks at it in between reading. What are you doing today?

The Four Ms. Bradwells
By Meg Waite Clayton
(Ballantine Books, Hardcover, 9780345517081, March 2011, 336pp.)

The Short of It:

A pending Supreme Court appointment and a secret which could ruin it all. How much are friends willing to sacrifice in order to keep things under wraps?

The Rest of It:

Lainey, Mia, Betts and Ginger have been friends since their days at the University of Michigan. While studying law, their teacher aptly nicknames them “the Ms. Bradwells” after discussing a case where a woman was not allowed to be appointed to the Court.

Several years later, many of them have families of their own yet they still remain the best of friends. Betts is about to be appointed to the Supreme Court and as she completes the interview portion of the appointment, a secret from the past threatens to surface. The four women decide to spend the weekend at Ginger’s family home on Chesapeake Bay to discuss their options and to avoid the media.

There are many things that I enjoyed about this book. The story centers around four, very strong women. I found this refreshing. Usually when reading a book like this, I get frustrated with the women because they are too timid or weak. I never felt this way while reading this one.

I also enjoyed the setting quite a bit. A beach house on Chesapeake Bay is pretty perfect no matter how you cut it and Ms. Clayton does a wonderful job describing the house and its immediate surroundings. I also enjoyed the closeness of these women. Sometimes the interactions between women can seem forced, but I did not get that here. There was the closeness I mentioned, but also a realistic tension to the characters that made them seem real.

However, I did have some issues with the book. This is where the setting sort of worked against the story. Once they got to the house, the only things really discussed were things that happened on the Bay. Through flashbacks we’re given the rest of the story but as a reader, in order for me to really understand how these women think, I needed to know more about their lives prior to becoming “The Bradwells” and unfortunately, there wasn’t much said about their lives prior to college.

As for the secret, it was sort of anti-climactic and a bit predictable. Since I don’t classify this as a mystery, I didn’t expect there to be a big reveal or anything, but it seemed rather abrupt in the telling.

Overall, the book read like a play to me. It was pretty much confined to the one setting and although I loved the setting, I think it stole the show a bit.

But, if you are intrigued with the setting and enjoy reading books with smart female characters, enter to win your own copy. Details below.

To visit Meg’s website, click here.

To visit her blog, go here.

To follow her on Twiiter, @megwclayton.

To follow her on Facebook, go here.

To view Meg’s other TLC tour stops, click here.

Source: Review and giveaway copy provided to me by the publisher via TLC Book Tours.

Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links.

GIVEAWAY INFORMATION

This giveaway is for one copy of The Four Ms. Bradwells and is open to the US and Canada. A winner will be chosen randomly by me. The book will come directly from the publisher. Only one entry per person. Giveaway closes on April 22, 2011 (pacific). I will contact the winner for his/her mailing address.

To enter the giveaway, please click here. (This giveaway has closed! Thanks!)