Tag: marriage

What’s Ashley Reading?: The Island Villa

The Island Villa by Sarah Morgan

First line: For the first time in her life she was planning to kill someone.

Summary: Catherine Swift has spent her career on the top of the romance charts. Her books have sold millions of copies and earned high praise from her fans. If only her love life was as perfect as the ones in her books. But she is hopeful that this fourth marriage will be the perfect one and bring her family back together again.

Adeline has had a troubled relationship with her mother since she was young. After the affair, divorce and the birth of her younger sister, it has been hard for Adeline to forgive her mother for abandoning her for a new family. Now she has been guilted into attending her mother’s fourth wedding. How is she going to get through this week and the memories it stirs in her?

Cassie has dreamed of getting to know her older sister and she is hoping that this family wedding will help bring them closer. She is excited for her mother and her future husband but she has been hiding something from everyone about her own career. Maybe this trip will be the perfect time to reveal her secret.

As all three women prepare for several weeks together they each have their own expectations. However, as the days progress and secrets are revealed it seems that no one expected how this vacation was going to actually go.

My Thoughts: This was my first book by Sarah Morgan. I picked it up at a used bookstore several months ago with the plan to read it during the summer. As June rolled around it felt like the perfect time.

I wasn’t sure what to expect from her. Was it going to be a romance? Was there going to be drama? And the answer to both was yes. There are several romances throughout the book but nothing is explicit. It had a sweet romcom feel to it. However, there was definitely drama and secrets that gave some shocks to the story. Each woman learns something about their past and themselves through their journey in the book. This is a story where people are given second chances and the past is made clearer for all involved.

I liked the story even though much of it was rather predictable. If you want something set in a beautiful location, a little family drama and a sweet ending with it all coming together perfectly then this is it. So in summary this is a perfect example of a beach read!

FYI: Abuse, death, abandonment.

What’s Ashley Reading?: Kill Your Darlings

Kill Your Darlings by Peter Swanson

First line: The first attempt at killing her husband was the night of the dinner party.

Summary: Thom and Wendy have been married for years and the whole time they have had a secret that has bound them together. But now Wendy is sure that she is ready to make sure that Thom will never reveal this secret, which means she needs to kill him. Everything leading the Wendy’s decision is evident from their past. Told in reverse the story hits on major life events going all the way back to their secret and the childhood that brought them together. Sometimes only two people can keep a secret if one of them is dead.

My Thoughts: Of all the Peter Swanson books, this was probably my least favorite. I loved the premise which several authors have used recently. Sometimes it works and other times not as much. At the beginning I was really interested in how it would work out. However, I felt that much of it dragged on and on. I did not like any of the characters. They all had major flaws and we see where it came from as the story progressed. Even the ending felt rather blah. There was a bit of information that ties back to the beginning and shows what consequences may be coming for our characters. This slow burn was interesting but Swanson’s other books have been much more engaging for me.

FYI: Release date is June 10, 2025.

What’s Ashley Reading?: Dear Hanna

Dear Hanna by Zoje Stage

First line : Hanna had a feeling about them as soon as she saw them in the waiting room.

Summary : Hanna has spent the last sixteen years trying to deal with her feelings toward her mother through therapy and letter writing to her younger brother. She is now living a rather normal life as a wife and stepmother. That is until her stepdaughter starts to change into something that does not fit into Hanna’s carefully crafted plan. She tries to fight it but finally she decides she has to manipulate the people around her in order to have the life she has so long planned for herself no matter the cost.

My thoughts : I really need to start reading the synopsis of books I request. I saw the author’s name and automatically requested it. I did not realize or pay attention to the fact that this is a sequel to Baby Teeth. That books was crazy and Stage hasn’t written one I’ve liked as well as that one until this.

Revisiting Hanna as an adult is kind of a scary premise. She was a terrifying child. She tried to kill her mother! But I did not realize the link between the books until she mentions an incident from the first book that made it all click. I would have read this sooner had I known. This was just as crazy and twisty as the first one. Hanna has grown up but still has her demons.

FYI : Teenage pregnancy. Abortion. Death. Language. Murder.

What’s Ashley Reading?: Only Say Good Things

Only Say Good Things by Crystal Hefner

First line: Last night I dreamed about the mansion again.

Summary: Crystal Hefner, the widow of Playboy founder Hugh Hefner, finally opens up about her time at the mansion and life within the Playboy world. She spent her youth only seeing value in her looks and the attention she received from those around her. Through her memoir she describes how she survived her time in the fantasy world of Playboy and came out the other side with a new view on her own self-worth.

My Thoughts: I had no idea this book was coming out until I was putting it in the library’s catalog. I remember watching The Girls Next Door on E! but I was never really interested in the season with Crystal and the twins. However, I have spent the last year listening to the Girls Next Level podcast where Holly and Bridget, previous girlfriends, speculate on Hef’s last years. So when I saw Crystal was writing about life with Hef after the show, I immediately placed myself on hold to learn more about Crystal’s time as Mrs. Hefner.

I listened to the audiobook which Crystal reads herself and found it heartbreaking and fascinating. She rushed into this lifestyle after some personal hardships and became stuck in this new life for years. I remember hearing about her runaway bride and eventual marriage to Hef but she never really interested me too much. However, after reading this I find myself liking her more than I did before. It was very interesting to listen to and I applaud her for being willing to tell her story no matter how hard it probably was for her.

FYI: Contains abuse (verbal and sexual).

Monica’s Musings: After I Do

After I Do by Taylor Jenkins Reid

“Why do we do this? Why do we undervalue things when we have them? Why is it only on the verge of losing something that we see how much we need it?”
― Taylor Jenkins Reid, After I Do

Summary: When Lauren and Ryan’s marriage reaches the breaking point, they come up with an unconventional plan. They decide to take a year off in the hopes of finding a way to fall in love again. One year apart, and only one rule: they cannot contact each other. Aside from that, anything goes.

Lauren embarks on a journey of self-discovery, quickly finding that her friends and family have their own ideas about the meaning of marriage. These influences, as well as her own healing process and the challenges of living apart from Ryan, begin to change Lauren’s ideas about monogamy and marriage. She starts to question: When you can have romance without loyalty and commitment without marriage, when love and lust are no longer tied together, what do you value? What are you willing to fight for?

My thoughts: While the summary was intriguing, I do not think that I really knew where the plot would take me until I truly got into it. What a controversial idea on how to save a marriage. What an interesting way of navigating love and all the different ideas surrounding it.

Taylor Jenkins Reid writes flawed and clueless characters, which helps make the book feel relatable. The character development was so wholesome and satisfying to read in this one particularly. While we only see from Lauren’s point of view, I must say all the characters were fleshed out. I truly enjoyed each one and their journey!

My only complaint is that the ending wrapped up a little too neatly for my liking. I felt that there were some parts of how Lauren and Ryan handled their separation that were not realistic at all. The ending was too fictional for me, but I still rate it highly!

Monica’s Musings: The Last Thing He Told Me

The Last Thing He Told Me by Laura Dave

“This is the terrible thing about a tragedy. It isn’t with you every minute. You forget it, and then you remember it again.”
― Laura Dave, The Last Thing He Told Me

Summary: Before Owen Michaels disappears, he manages to smuggle a note to his beloved wife of one year: Protect her. Despite her confusion and fear, Hannah Hall knows exactly to whom the note refers: Owen’s sixteen-year-old daughter, Bailey. Bailey, who lost her mother tragically as a child. Bailey, who wants absolutely nothing to do with her new stepmother.

As Hannah’s increasingly desperate calls to Owen go unanswered; as the FBI arrests Owen’s boss; as a US Marshal and FBI agents arrive at her Sausalito home unannounced, Hannah quickly realizes her husband isn’t who he said he was. And that Bailey just may hold the key to figuring out Owen’s true identity—and why he really disappeared.

Hannah and Bailey set out to discover the truth, together. But as they start putting together the pieces of Owen’s past, they soon realize they are also building a new future. One neither Hannah nor Bailey could have anticipated.

My thoughts: This was my first Laura Dave book, and she hooked me right from the start. Her writing style, the characters, the plot, and the pacing felt authentic. Hannah narrates events in the present moment, but we also get flashbacks to her marriage to Owen. It helped that Hannah doesn’t feel sorry for herself. Her emotions are subtle, real, and honest.

While the mystery of Owen’s past is intriguing, the strength of this book lies in the characters. This is not as much about Hannah’s relationship with Owen, but more about her relationship with Bailey. Overall, I absolutely loved this book and can’t wait to read more by Laura Dave!

Monica’s Musings: Pineapple Street

Pineapple Street by Jenny Jackson

“Competition was their family love language.”

― Jenny Jackson, Pineapple Street

Summary: Darley, the eldest daughter in the well-connected, old-money Stockton family, followed her heart, trading her job and her inheritance for motherhood but giving up far too much in the process; Sasha, a middle-class New England girl, has married into the Brooklyn Heights family, and finds herself cast as the arriviste outsider; and Georgiana, the baby of the family, has fallen in love with someone she can’t have and must decide what kind of person she wants to be.

Shot through with the indulgent pleasures of life among New York’s one-percenters, Pineapple Street is an addictive, escapist novel that sparkles with wit. Full of recognizable, lovable—if fallible—characters, it’s about the peculiar unknowability of someone else’s family, the miles between the haves and have-nots, and the insanity of first love—all wrapped in a deliciously funny, sharply observed debut of family, love, and class.

My thoughts: I was hoping for a “rich family behaving badly” type of trope, but ultimately, nothing really happens in the book. Like nothing. The book’s content is mostly made up of the inner contemplation of the characters. I mean, obviously, things happen because it’s 300 pages, but nothing that stuck out to me to bring up in my review. While the details of the story may not stick with me long-term, I did read it, so it must have been interesting enough. I will say the cover is absolutely stunning though!

Monica’s Musings: Forever, Interrupted

Forever, Interrupted by Taylor Jenkins Reid

“Sweetheart, I’m telling you, you love someone like that, you love them the right way, and no time would be enough. Doesn’t matter if you had thirty years,” she tells me. “It wouldn’t be enough.” ― Taylor Jenkins Reid, Forever, Interrupted

Summary: Elsie Porter is an average twenty-something, and yet what happens to her is anything but ordinary. On a rainy New Year’s Day, she heads out to pick up a pizza for one. She isn’t expecting to see anyone else in the shop, much less the adorable and charming Ben Ross. Their chemistry is instant and electric. Ben cannot even wait twenty-four hours before asking to see her again. Within weeks, the two are head over heels in love. By May, they’ve eloped.

Only nine days later, Ben is out riding his bike when he is hit by a truck and killed on impact. Elsie hears the sirens outside her apartment, but by the time she gets downstairs, he has already been whisked off to the emergency room. At the hospital, she must face Susan, the mother-in-law she has never met—and who doesn’t even know Elsie exists.

Interweaving Elsie and Ben’s charmed romance with Elsie and Susan’s healing process, Forever, Interrupted, will make you laugh, make you cry, and remind you that there’s more than one way to live happily ever after.

My Thoughts: This book absolutely broke my heart and made me cry in the best ways. I felt all the emotions that this love story brought on. Please do yourself a favor, and pick up a copy of this book and a cozy blanket because you will not want to stop once you start. This was Taylor Jenkins Reid’s first novel, published in 2013, and I did not anticipate it to be so good! I loved The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, and can definitely say that I am a fan of her writing.

I finished this book in a day, and I was shocked at how rich this plot was. I was not expecting such a heart-wrenching experience. Sometimes you just need a good cry book, and this was definitely that for me!

Monica’s Musings: The Soulmate

The Soulmate by Sally Hepworth

“The line between normal and not normal had always been so thin for Gabe; sometimes I didn’t know if I was talking to a genius or a madman.”

― Sally Hepworth, The Soulmate

Summary: There is a cottage on a cliff. It is Gabe and Pippa’s dream home in a sleepy coastal town. But their perfect house hides something sinister. The tall cliffs have become a popular spot for people to end their lives. Night after night Gabe comes to their rescue, literally talking them off the ledge. Until he doesn’t.

When Pippa discovers Gabe knew the victim, the questions spiral…Did the victim jump? Was she pushed?

And would Gabe, the love of Pippa’s life, her soulmate…lie? As the perfect facade of their marriage begins to crack, the deepest and darkest secrets begin to unravel.

My Thoughts: To describe this book, I would say it is twisty. Sally Hepworth structures the story so that the character’s secrets slowly unravel. Gabe has a complicated past, and their marriage is recovering from an affair. The police have mounting questions as they uncover more details about the situation.

I loved the original concept and the ominous feel of the first half. And there were some cliffhangers that kept me intrigued. However, I felt the last half dragged on, and it became a bit repetitive. The final twists were decent but not amazing. Overall I enjoyed this, but it was not my favorite kind of suspense.

What’s Ashley Reading?: The Marriage Portrait

The Marriage Portrait by Maggie O’Farrell

First line: Lucrezia is taking her seat at the long dining table, which is polished to a watery gleam and spread with dishes, inverted cups, a woven circlet of fir.

Summary: Lucrezia de’ Medici is the third daughter of the grand duke of Florence. She has always been considered a little different than her siblings. Her family has given her freedom but also the same learning as her brothers. After the death of her sister she is suddenly pushed into a betrothal with her sister’s fiancé, the duke of Ferrara. Even though she fears this marriage she is a dutiful daughter. At first things seem to be going well with her husband but as time passes without an heir she starts to worry that something sinister is brewing in the duke’s mind.

My Thoughts: This book was beautifully written. I love O’Farrell’s style. It is almost poetic in the way it flows. For some it may not be their style and seem rather slow but I found it perfect for the period and subject.

Very little is known about the events of Lucrezia’s life but O’Farrell does a wonderful job of filling out the story and the characters. The narrative flashes back and forth between her childhood and the time of her marriage. I found the scenes with her husband to be dark and sinister. She is worried he is trying to kill her but she continues to question her feelings. As a reader I could feel the tension as she tried to decide how to handle her precarious situation.

If you loved Hamnet then I believe you will find this one just as intriguing. It has the same feeling of dread approaching with the same lyrical writing. I would highly recommend it be savored with a glass of wine on a crisp fall day.