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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.

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

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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!)

The Other Life
By Ellen Meister
Penguin
February 2011
320pp

The Short of It:

This book had me squirming in my seat. It asks the “tough” questions. The ones that we don’t like to ask ourselves unless we have to.

The Rest of It:

Quinn Braverman is happily married to Lewis. She has one son and is expecting a baby. This should be a joyous time for them all, but Quinn struggles with what she’s been given. Her life seems “safe” and at times, a bit mundane. When she discovers a problem with the pregnancy, she is forced to consider her options. Most of us, when faced with a grave decision, make the decision based on any number of things. We look for support in those close to us. We seek guidance from professionals, etc. But Quinn? Quinn’s a bit different because she can actually escape her current life, to visit her “other” life, where she is dating Eugene and doesn’t have to face any tough decisions. Through a portal in her basement, she attempts to live both lives.

As much as I enjoy portals and the idea of parallel universes, I struggled with the premise. Not so much the idea of it, because I can certainly suspend my disbelief in order to enjoy the story, but the execution of the portal pieces, didn’t come together for me so much. The appearance and the placement of the portals seemed a bit convenient and I had a tough time believing that a pregnant woman would even attempt to go through one, not knowing what would happen to the baby on the other side.

With that said, I was surprised at how anxious I was to get back to reading it! Some readers might argue this point but Quinn is a selfish character. Not overtly so, not enough to hate her, but enough to make me shake my head over her decisions. I kept reading it though because I wanted to see what she would do next and how her decisions would affect her life with Lewis and her son.

Overall, this would be a great vacation book. There is enough of a story here to make you want to turn the pages, yet it’s not just bubble-gum lit in that there is nothing to think about. Oh, there’s plenty to think about and if you’re like me, you’ll find yourself frustrated over Quinn’s decisions, but also cheering her on in the end.