Tag Archives: California

Malibu Rising

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Malibu Rising by Taylor Jenkins Reid

Malibu, California in 1983 is home to the four Riva siblings: Nina, a surfer/model, Jay, a professional surfer, Hudson, who photographs Jay, and teenager Kit, who also loves to surf but is thinking more about kissing a boy at their upcoming party at Nina’s cliffside house. They also help run a diner started by their grandparents. Nina’s separated from her husband, a tennis pro, and of course he shows up, along with Mick Riva, their long-absent father and former singing sensation. In between chapters about the siblings and their wild party is the tragic love story of Mick and June Riva, who met in 1956. As it’s not a happy marriage, Nina is more parent then typical teen growing up. This fast-paced, compelling read has a strong sense of place and complex, flawed characters, making for a great vacation read. Readalikes include L.A. Weather by Maria Amparo Escandor, Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng, and The Paper Palace by Miranda Cowley Heller.

Brenda

Daughter of Moloka’i

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Daughter of Moloka’i by Alan Brennert

Moloka’i was a bestseller and a favorite with book clubs, but I hadn’t read it until I heard about this forthcoming sequel. Daughter of Moloka’i is the compelling story of Ruth, an adopted Hawaiian-Japanese girl who grew up in Hawai’i and California, and was later sent to internment camps with her family during World War II. The daily life, joys, disappointments and hardships of the Watanabe family make for engaging reading. After Ruth is a mother herself, she receives an unexpected letter from her birth mother, Rachel, who lived in the leper settlement on Moloka’i. This poignant, family-centered, ultimately hopeful novel can be read before or after reading Moloka’i, and is a real pleasure for fans of character-driven historical fiction.
Brenda

The House of Broken Angels

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The House of Broken Angels by Luis Alberto Urrea

A big, messy novel about a Mexican American family coming together to celebrate and to mourn. Big Angel de la Cruz, ill with cancer, wants one last birthday party, and then his mother America dies at 100. Angel’s younger half brother, Little Angel, a literature professor in Seattle, reluctantly shows up, and the brothers resolve some issues and relive memories of their father Antonio, a motorcycle cop. Set on the southern border of California, the family doesn’t worry too much about legal status, as their history goes back before California was a state. Exuberant, intimate, funny, sad, and occasionally violent, the story of the de la Cruz family makes compelling reading. Big Angel’s wife Perla and her two sisters also tell their stories, and there is cake, a surprise mariachi band, and even a party crasher with a gun. Inspired by events in the Naperville author’s family, this is a moving and memorable story.

Brenda

Eight Hundred Grapes

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grapes jacketEight Hundred Grapes by Laura Dave

Georgia Ford comes home to her family’s Sonoma Valley vineyard the week before her wedding, needing time to think but finding secrets and chaos. Two marriages are in trouble, and her parents are selling the vineyard. Georgia, a real estate lawyer, has just found out that her British fiance Ben has a daughter. It’s not clear when Ben meant to share that news with Georgia, even though they are moving to London right after their wedding. The Fords’ last harvest festival is just around the corner, and Georgia and her brothers struggle to reconnect while the reader learns through flashbacks the history of the family vineyard. I think the number of problems and secrets affecting the Ford family is much too high, but the characters feel real and the vineyard setting is well drawn. More of a family drama than a romantic comedy, this novel may become a movie. I think readers of books by Robyn Carr about the Lacoumette family, The Promise and New Hope, would enjoy this book.

Brenda

Robyn Carr’s Virgin River

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Robyn Carr’s Virgin River is a fictional village set in northern California, but it feels real. The bestselling, award-winning, romance series is up to 19 titles, with another coming out in November. I have read three books scattered throughout the series and expect I’ll read more: Shelter Mountain, Paradise Valley, and Harvest Moon. I’ve had to replace most of the books for the library’s collection as they have worn out. What makes these books so appealing? The cozy small town setting, romances that continue on throughout the series, plots that don’t wrap up neatly in a single book, characters that continue to change and grow, and heal. I would describe them as romances that readers of cozy mystery series might enjoy. The people who come to Virgin River tend to have medical or military backgrounds, and many are wounded in body or soul, and have come to Virgin River to start over. Here, they find friends, new jobs, hang out at the bar, and often get married and have babies, then welcome other members of their family to town. For lots more about the series and characters, visit the author’s website. The Virgin River books are:

1. Virgin River

2. Shelter Mountain

3. Whispering Rock

4. A Virgin River Christmas

5. Second Chance Pass

6. Temptation Ridge

7. Paradise Valley

8. Forbidden Falls

9. Angel’s Peak

10. Moonlight Road

11. Promise Canyon

12. Wild Man Creek

13. Harvest Moon

14. Bring Me Home for Christmas

15. Hidden Summit

16. Redwood Bend

17. Sunrise Point

There are also two novellas in That Holiday Feeling and Midnight Kiss.

Brenda