Lori's life is a disappointment. Her college degree is useless, her job experience is laughable, her social life is in shambles, and her finances are nonexistent. She is burned out and jaded, nothing at all like "Aunt Dimity," the unflappable, ever-optimistic, fictional heroine of her late mother's bedtime stories.
And then a letter comes, on fancy embossed paper, summoning her to the law office of Willis & Willis. Out of a sense of both curiosity and obligation, she shows up. Shivering on their doorstep like a Dickensian orphan, she is taken in by the handsome but way-too-friendly Bill Willis, whose father gives her the baffling news that Aunt Dimity, the character from her favorite childhood stories, has died, and named Lori in the will.
Fast enough to cause whiplash, Lori goes from a world of temp jobs and unheated apartments to one of mansion-like law offices and impossibly charming English cottages straight out of her childhood imagination. But Aunt Dimity had secrets that Lori must uncover, even if it completely changes the way she remembers her mother and her past.
Aunt Dimity's Death is a cozy mystery for people who don't necessarily like cozy mysteries. There are no cookie-related murders, and Lori's trek into Dimity's past can only barely be called an investigation, but it certainly is cozy. Historical fiction fans will enjoy the tales of England's traumatic but thrilling days of World War Two, and fans of character development will enjoy Lori's emotional recovery from her dark days. It's a charming and heartwarming read.
A Place for Us is a deeply emotional novel told through the different viewpoints and perceptions of an Indian-American family. Author Fatima Mirza takes us through the struggles and personal turmoil that parents Rafiq and Layla endure as they search for ways to make their children's lives happy but still wholesome in their Muslim faith. As they look back on their lives, they find themselves coping with the decisions they had to make to keep their youngest and only boy, Amar, on the same religious path that they themselves have been on. With this pressure, Amar struggles to find a place in the Muslim community, but perhaps even more within his own family.
I enjoyed the intersecting points of view from each of the family members, but the constantly shifting perspective may be confusing to some. The book ends with a powerful monologue from Rafiq to Amar, his words pained and racked with regret. It was a deeply moving end to this emotionally charged piece of literature.
Freelance writer Nikole Paterson is at a Dodgers game with her boyfriend, when he proposes to her on the Jumbotron, but everything about this moment is horrible. They've only been dating for five months, and they've never even talked about getting married. Worst of all, he couldn't even spell her name right. Nik obviously turns him down, only to be met by a camera crew intent on further capturing her humiliation.
Carlos Ibarra and his sister Angela swoop in to save the say, hustling Nik out of the stadium and into a bar where her friends are waiting to help her lick her wounds.
This is such a warm, engaging romance novel, where we see Nik and Carlos evolve from friends to more than friends, all the while trying to carefully navigate the threads of their casual relationship as it develops into something more. While this is technically a sequel to The Wedding Date, you do not have to read it to enjoy this one.
Full of fun and with a sharp feminist edge, The Proposal is a romance novel you definitely don't want to miss.
