Title: The Light in SummerAuthor: Mary McNearSeries: Butternut Lake, #5Published: June 2017, William Morrow PaperbacksFormat: ARC Paperback, 366 pagesSource: Publisher via TLC Book ToursNew York Times and USA Today bestselling author Mary McNear brings you home to Butternut Lake and a novel filled with irresistible characters who you will want to call your friends.
It’s summertime on Butternut Lake, where the heat of noon is soothed by the cool breezes of the evening, where the pace grows slower, and sometimes, just sometimes, the summer light makes everything clearer...
For the lovely Billy Harper, Butternut Lake is the place she feels most at home, even though lately she feels the only one listening to her is Murphy...her faithful Labrador Retriever. Her teenage son, Luke, has gone from precious to precocious practically overnight. Her friends are wrapped up in their own lives, and Luke’s father, Wesley, disappeared before his son was even born. No wonder she prefers to spend time with a good book, especially ones where everything ends in perfection.
But Billy is about to learn that anything is possible during the heady days of summer. Coming to terms with her past—the death of her father, the arrival of Cal Cooper, a complicated man with a definite interest in Billy, even the return of Wesley, will force her to have a little bit of faith in herself and others...and realize that happiness doesn’t always mean perfection.
“Butternut Lake is so beautifully rendered, you’ll wish it was real.”—Susan Wiggs, #1 New York Times bestselling author
“This triumphant story had me reading until the wee hours of the morning.”—#1 New York Times bestselling author Debbie Macomber on The Space Between Sisters
My thoughts: I just adore Mary McNear's Butternut Lake series...it's such an enjoyable, light series to read. I know when I pick up one of these books, not only am I going to read about a fun romance or two, but I'm going to read about characters that have real, life-like problems. It's not all fluff and fairy-tale like, but at the same time, it's not all weighed-down heaviness either.
This book was great - it's sort of a mix of book-nerdiess with a touch a romance and a good dose of real-life thrown in. Billy, the female main character - which takes a bit of getting used to the fact that this is a she! - is a librarian and has a thing for her Jane Austen books. I loved this!!! I loved that she would sit with her Jane Austen collection at night to decompress. She's a single parent raising a boy on the cusp of the teen years - who is just on the verge of going down the wrong path...and suddenly wants to know who his father is right this second!
I loved that not only do we get Billy's perspective in this book, but we also get Luke's, Billy's son. Hearing his take on things really helped to see where his head was in all this. And boy were there some tender moments at times - my heart really did break for him! And we also get Cal's perpective - who naturally is the guy who comes into Billy's life. I loved the way Billy and Cal's romance took it's time developing. It wasn't fast by any means and had quite a few obstacles to overcome, but it was one of the sweetest journeys I've read in a while.
One of my favorite relationships, though, in this book was that between Billy and a patron in the library - little Mara. She is a bookworm for sure - a girl after my own heart! She would come into the library and check out a ton of books each time - but my favorite was right before she was headed to go see her grandparents - she was checking out quite a few books, afraid that she wouldn't have enough to get her through the week. Oh how I loved this and could totally see me doing this!!!
This book was such a great installment in an already good series and I hope there are more to come. What I love about this series is that you really don't have to read these books in order - the stories really do stand on their own. So, do yourself a favor and pick one up today - you won't regret it!!!Books in this series:
1. Up at Butternut Lake
2. Butternut Summer
2.5 Butternut Lake: The Night Before Christmas
3. Moonlight on Butternut Lake
4. The Space Between Sisters
5. The Light in Summer
About the Author: Mary McNear, New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of the Butternut Lake series, writes in a local doughnut shop, where she sips Diet Pepsi, observes the hubbub of neighborhood life, and tries to resist the constant temptation of freshly made doughnuts. Mary bases her novels on a lifetime of summers spent in a small town on a lake in the northern Midwest.
Author Links: Facebook
Purchase Links: HarperCollins | Amazon | Barnes & NobleBe sure to check out all the other stops on the blog tour and follow the tour on Twitter (hashtags: #TLCBookTours & #TheLightInSummer).
Title: Kiss CarloAuthor: Adriana TrigianiNarrator: Edoardo BalleriniPublished: June 20, 2017, HarperAudio / HarperCollinsLength: 16 hours 2 minutes / 544 pagesSource: Audio - Personal copy via Audio / Hardcopy - Publisher via TLC Book Tours From Adriana Trigiani, the beloved New York Times-bestselling author of The Shoemaker’s Wife, comes an exhilarating epic novel of love, loyalty, and creativity—the story of an Italian-American family on the cusp of change.
It’s 1949 and South Philadelphia bursts with opportunity during the post-war boom. The Palazzini Cab Company & Western Union Telegraph Office, owned and operated by Dominic Palazzini and his three sons, is flourishing: business is good, they’re surrounded by sympathetic wives and daughters-in-law, with grandchildren on the way. But a decades-long feud that split Dominic and his brother Mike and their once-close families sets the stage for a re-match.
Amidst the hoopla, the arrival of an urgent telegram from Italy upends the life of Nicky Castone (Dominic and his wife’s orphaned nephew) who lives and works with his Uncle Dom and his family. Nicky decides, at 30, that he wants more—more than just a job driving Car #4 and more than his longtime fiancée Peachy DePino, a bookkeeper, can offer. When he admits to his fiancée that he’s been secretly moonlighting at the local Shakespeare theater company, Nicky finds himself drawn to the stage, its colorful players and to the determined Calla Borelli, who inherited the enterprise from her father, Nicky must choose between the conventional life his family expects of him or chart a new course and risk losing everything he cherishes.
From the dreamy mountaintop village of Roseto Valfortore in Italy, to the vibrant streets of South Philly, to the close-knit enclave of Roseto, Pennsylvania, to New York City during the birth of the golden age of television, Kiss Carlo is a powerful, inter-generational story that celebrates the ties that bind, while staying true to oneself when all hope seems lost.
Told against the backdrop of some of Shakespeare’s greatest comedies, this novel brims with romance as long buried secrets are revealed, mistaken identities are unmasked, scores are settled, broken hearts are mended and true love reigns. Trigiani’s consummate storytelling skill and her trademark wit, along with a dazzling cast of characters will enthrall readers. Once again, the author has returned to her own family garden to create an unforgettable feast. Kiss Carlo is a jubilee, resplendent with hope, love, and the abiding power of la famiglia.
My thoughts: Adriana Trigiani is one of my all-time favorite authors!!! I've met her numerous times and most recently just bumped into her at BookExpo - she's the most genuine person I've met in a long time and I love seeing her whenever I get the chance. I've read just about all her books and one of my most favorite books of hers is The Shoemaker's Wife...well, this latest one is right up there with that one. Kiss Carlo is fantastic!!! I loved it - from start to finish - and let me tell you, it's a chunkster of a book at 544 pages, and even a long audio book at just over 16 hours. But it's so worth it, let me tell you!
So first off...even though I have 2 copies of this book - I received an advanced reader's copy of the book for being part of the book tour and then picked up a finished copy at BookExpo...I still decided to listen to the audio version. Not because I was daunted by the length of the book - oh no. I love reading Adriana's words - I get lost in her stories and find myself losing track of time. But when I saw who was narrating the audio - Edoardo Ballerini, I could not give up the opportunity to listen to him narrate this book. He is like a tall drink of cool water - I love listening to him. And I just knew he would be perfect for this book. More on him and the audio production down below.
So back to the book itself...I loved this story. I found myself totally swept up in this family saga right from the beginning. The book is set right after WWII in Philly and centers around the Palazzini family. I love the big families that Adriana creates - they are so life-like and relatable - possibly because I have such a big family myself! But where Adriana shines is that with all the characters in this book - and believe me, there are a lot! - it is easy to keep them all separate as they all have their own identity and personality. And each one she introduces us to have a purpose - there really aren't any superfluous characters. The story is mainly set around Nicky - he has been brought up by his Aunt Jo and Uncle Dom and his three cousins and drives a cab for the family's cab company, not only taking on fares but also delivering telegrams. But what no one knows is that he also moonlights in a local theater - a theater that puts on Shakespeare plays. There Nicky helps the actors with their lines. Oh, and he's been engaged to Peachy for seven years - yes, seven years! With so many characters in this book, of course you are going to fall in love with a few. My favorites were Calla Borelli from the Shakespeare theater, Jo Palazzini, who took Nicky in after his mother died, and Hortense Mooney, the telegraph operator. Each of these women had so much spunk and passion - I couldn't get enough of them, especially Hortense.
And, for all you soap-opera fans out there...Gloria Monty has a cameo in this book. How freaking cool is that!!! I loved the way Adriana used the early soaps in this book, called a "teleplay" back then. There is so much packed into this book - so much, but oh so good!
This book has so much going for it, with so many different themes running through it. It's a story about family, love, loss, the search for meaning and self-worth. It's about finding one's purpose in life and realizing it before it's too late and not settling for something just because that's what is expected of you.
I adored this story - every part of it, from the setting to the characters to the dialog to the cover - it's a beautiful, enchanting story and one that I am thrilled to have sitting on my shelf. I know I can do no wrong when I pick up an Adriana Trigiani book!
Audio thoughts: As I mentioned above, I just had to listen to the audio version of this book when I saw that Edoardo Ballerini was narrating it. He is awesome - such a mesmerizing voice - and he did such a fantastic job with this audio book! Between the unique voices for all the characters, males and females, and the little bit of Italian - which was amazing, especially since I speak absolutely no Italian - I was in heaven! I can not recommend this audio more - it was so delightful to listen to - and even though it was long - I found myself so engaged that the time just flew by! His pacing and tone were spot on and I found this a pleasure to listen to. 
