Fiction | Book Chatter

The Block Party
By Jamie Day
St. Martin’s Press,9781250283191, July 2023, 384 pp.

The Short of It:

If you like neighborhood drama, in that “train wreck” can’t look away category, The Block Party is your book.!

The Rest of It:

The folks on Alton Road are about to host their annual summer block party. The anticipation is palpable as the neighborhood prepares their dishes, opens up the wine, and settles in for a lovely evening. What they don’t anticipate is the sound of sirens blaring through the neighborhood. You see, there’s been a murder.

The author takes us back to Alton Road a year before the murder. As a reader we are introduced to each household and all of their secrets. There’s an alcoholic in denial, paternity questions, teens battling depression and worse. As a reader, I had the feeling that I was listening in on private conversations. It’s deliciously wicked and at times so stressful! I was wondering how the author would carry that pace throughout but Jamie Day does! I could not put the book down. Every time I picked it up it was like returning to a favorite show.

The Block Party was just what I needed. Flawed characters. Secrets. Beautiful people with a lot of insecurities. All living in gorgeous homes with manicured lawns. It’s as if someone lit a match and set the neighborhood on fire because it is non-stop drama. I loved it.

Source: Review copy provided by the publisher.
Disclosure: This post contains Indiebound affiliate links.

The Bird Hotel
By Joyce Maynard
Published by Arcade, May 2, 2023,9781956763737, 432 pp.

The Short of It:

Maynard never fails to tell a story, and tell it well.

The Rest of It:

After a childhood filled with heartbreak, Irene, a talented artist, finds herself in a small Central American village where she checks into a beautiful but decaying lakefront hotel called La Llorona at the base of a volcano.

The Bird Hotel tells the story of this young American who, after suffering tragedy, restores and runs La Llorona. Along the way we meet a rich assortment of characters who live in the village or come to stay at the hotel. With a mystery at its center and filled with warmth, drama, romance, humor, pop culture, and a little magical realism, The Bird Hotel has all the hallmarks of a Joyce Maynard novel that have made her a leading voice of her generation. ~ Indiebound

I was delightfully surprised by this novel. I expected to love it, but I didn’t expect La Llorona to find a place in my heart. I love it when a home, village or dwelling is so well-imagined that it takes on an identity of its own. The crumbling hotel with all its challenges is lovingly restored by Irene. Her sensitivity to the environment around her and the respect she has for the hotel’s original staff, earns her respect in the village.

People come to La Llorona for many reasons. To get away from it all, to find elusive herbs, to profit off the locals and yes, sometimes to hide as Irene continues to lay low to protect the secret she is hiding. Irene’s grief over losing a child and husband continues to grow and hold her captive, Memories of her mother’s last words replay in her head. She is heavy with grief and La Llorona gently calls her mind to other things.

People come together. Some become family, others become enemies. There’s heartache and great displays of loyalty. I found myself completely absorbed by the hotel and its people. It was one of those reads that you fall right into.

Recommend.

Source: Review copy provided by the publisher.
Disclosure: This post contains Indiebound affiliate links.

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