Romance | Book Chatter

Finding Grace
By Loretta Rothschild
St. Martin’s Press, July 2025, 336pp.

The Short of It:

The first chapter cliffhanger left me with my mouth open.

The Rest of It:

I have to be very careful with this review because for me, the draw was the absolute shock of those first few chapters.

Honor seems to have everything: she adores her bright and beautiful daughter, Chloe, and her charming, handsome husband, Tom, even if he works one hundred hours a week. Yet Honor’s longing for another baby threatens to eclipse all of it―until a shocking event changes their lives forever. ~ from the publisher

This was the perfect read. It’s about relationships, love and loss, and what happens when things don’t go quite as planned. How do you deal with such heartache? Can you? Can you go on? How do you rebuild a life when everything seems to have fallen down around you?

This was a clever story. The set-up leads you innocently by the hand and then you are completely sucker-punched in the best possible way. I mean, I was floored. I kept re-reading one page over and over again. Completely in shock. Honestly, I was a little mad at Rothschild because when I settled in for a good read, I had NO idea what I was signing up for. Wow. Well done. And it’s a debut? What?

All I can say is read it. It’s not perfect but what a read.

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

The Summer Club
By Hannah McKinnon
Atria Books,9781668025185, July 23, 2024, 336pp.

The Short of It:

Dishy neighborhood gossip.

The Rest of It:

Mayhaven is the best keep secret in Massachusetts. Tucked between old cedars and a spring-fed lake, the Mayhaven beach club has long been the ultimate escape to understated exclusivity. It’s the place where Darcy Birch is supposed to be experiencing the best summer of her life, but there are a few things standing in her way. ~ From the publisher

The Summer Club is all about the Mayhaven “country club”. Quotes because the members and staff of Mayhaven choose not to think of it as a country club per se. To them, it’s an association and not quite as exclusive as a typical country club but don’t be fooled, it is and only certain types are fit be members.

Darcy’s summer is not going as planned. Her love for golf came to an end, so there is no golf for Darcy but her proximity to the course as she works as a summer counselor reminds her daily of what she’s lost. Especially the time she and her dad spent on the course.

Mr. Birch wants what’s best for his family, but he doesn’t understand Darcy’s sudden mood swings or the complicated nature of club membership. As president, membership equates to dollars so when new folks join, he doesn’t really care if they are the right types or not. His board doesn’t agree.

Enter the Creevys. They are rich, loud and flashy and they happen to be Mr. Birch’s neighbor. Parties into the wee hours of the night, statement cars and the hugest monstrosity of all, a gigantic luxury RV, parked where everyone can see it. Mr. Birch is not happy but when the Creevy’s apply for membership, dollars are dollars after all.

There is a lot of tension in this story. Darcy’s reasons for quitting golf are revealed slowly and her relationship with Flick Creevy proves to be a little surprising. He doesn’t really seem like her type, and yet she finds herself drawn to his quiet nature. Mr. Birch is regularly caught putting out fires. Someone is stealing from the club, there’s vandalism, and there is the day to day routine of the inebriated members as they try to tell him how it should be.

This was a good read but I wouldn’t call it a beach read. There are some heavy topics and the tensions run high throughout the story. However, McKinnon held my attention and I literally read it in one sitting.

Source: Sent to me by the publisher.
Disclosure: This post contains Indiebound affiliate links.

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