Book Review: It's You

by: Jane Porter

It's You was given to me by BookSparks in exchange for an honest review.

I'm a fan of Jane Porter's women's fiction. I didn't even realized that one character was from another story. I found that tidbit in a review. This takes place in Napa, along with Jane's Brennan Sister's novels. I loved those stories, it's just been awhile since I read them.

Craig is the bachelor vineyard owner along with his brother Chad. Craig is there with his Great Aunt Edie. Ali and Edie are the main characters of this novel. Ali lives in Arizona, but makes the trip to visit her father after he has a fall. Ali is recovering from the loss of her fiancé and mother, within 6 months of each other. Edie is a crotchety old lady in the retirement community her father lives in.

It is healing for Ali to be in Napa. It gives her something to focus on, and let's her open up to new relationships. Friendships with new people, figuring out her relationship with her father, deciding what she wants. She was on such a straight path with her Andrew. Now that he is gone, she feels adrift, and so very angry.

I felt this was such a realistic look at love and loss. How to recover and move on, reminding us there is no real rule. You just have to keep moving forward, and keep moving forward. Push when you feel like giving up. But this just makes her more angry at Andrew. He gave up, how could he? Ali has to figure out how to forgive him and move on.

Edie gives us a startling look at the reality of war from within Germany. She was there as WWII was beginning. She was American, but gave up her citizenship to marry a German officer. People hear that and immediately judge Edie, never realizing there is so much more to this story. Franz was the love of her life, and a true German citizen.

He was fighting for Germany, his Germany. It is hard, especially as Americans, to understand that not all Germans during WWII were Nazis. Maybe not enough, but there were citizens fighting against what Hitler was doing. People who were rightfully horrified by what was happening in their country. But no one bothered to try and understand this about Edie.

Book Review: The Good Daughter

by: Jane Porter

Available at Amazon and Barnes & Noble

Synopsis:
Love was given to all, except herself . . . Kit Brennan has always been the most grounded of her sisters. A Catholic school English teacher for seventeen years and a constant giver, her decisions have been sound—just not very satisfying. Her fortieth birthday is right around the corner, causing Kit to consider some wilder notions, like skipping right past the love and marriage to raising a child all by herself . . . A girls’ weekend away is just the reprieve Kit needs from school, Mr. Wrongs, and life-changing decisions. It’s there that she meets a man who’s dangerous; a man who challenges who she thought she was, or rather should be. Kit wants to indulge herself this once, but with one of her students in crisis and the weight of her family’s burdens weighing heavy on her heart, Kit isn’t sure if now is the time to let her own desires take flight . . .

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The Good Daughter continues from the 1st story, The Good Woman, but it's from a different sister's perspective. These books are about the Brennan sisters. The first was about Meg and the mess she creates by having an affair. This continues where that ended but now it's from Kat's perspective.

Kat is tired of waiting. She spent 10 years with a man who turned out to not really love her at all. He just wanted a girlfriend. She wanted a family. Now she's lost hope of ever finding someone. She does some real soul searching in this novel and makes some choices for herself even as she is watching her mom die from cancer. I do have to admit that I'm in love with this family. They aren't always perfect and it's presented in a realistic way. But they love each other and are close, it's the family I dream of having.

Jane Porter has such a smooth writing style that there are never any boring spots, it's a real page-turner. I love how she can seamlessly go from one story about one sister right into the next about another sister. She did give a little peek at how Meg is doing, too.

I truly love these Brennan Sisters books and can't wait for the next one. *fingers crossed* I can review that one, too! I wonder if she'll write about all the sisters?

Book Review: The Good Woman

by: Jane Porter

Available at Amazon and Barnes & Noble

Synopsis:
The firstborn of a large Irish-American family, Meg Brennan Roberts is a successful publicist, faithful wife, and doting mother who prides herself on always making the right decisions. But years of being “the good woman” have taken a toll and though her winery career thrives, Meg feels burned out and empty, and more disconnected than ever from her increasingly distant husband. Lonely and disheartened, she attends the London Wine Fair with her boss, ruggedly handsome vintner, Chad Hallahan. It’s here, alone together in an exotic city, far from “real” life, that Chad confesses his long-standing desire for Meg.

Overwhelmed, flattered, and desperately confused, Meg returns home, only to suddenly question every choice she’s ever made, especially that of her marriage. For Meg, something’s got to give, and for once in her life she flees her responsibilities—but with consequences as reckless and irreversible as they are liberating. Now she must decide whether being the person everyone needs is worth losing the woman she was meant to be.

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I read this a few weeks ago. I picked it up, and couldn't put it down...didn't matter that it wasn't due yet. Jane's writing in this story is so colorful. Meg is a type A personality, all the way. I'm not...and that could have ended the tale. But the way she is presented, you get to know Meg so intimately that you can relate even if you would never be in that situation.

Have you ever felt undesired, unloved and unappreciated in your family? All women can relate to that, and those are the keys to understanding Meg's dilemma. She's spent her entire life being the strong one, the one to take care of everyone. She blamed her parents for putting that pressure on her, but maybe she was just always high-strung?

It runs through the tale in a realistic way. We all have our problems, and times when life doesn't go the way we want it too. But you always have family, even if they bug the living hell out of you. And they will pull you to your feet, even if the regret threatens to drown you.

I adored this story and I can't wait to read "The Good Daughter" coming out in February.