All Books Considered

The Villa by Rachel Hawkins, Narrated by Julia Whelan, etc. Blurb from Goodreads : As kids, Emily and Chess were inseparable. But by their 30s, their bond has been strained by the demands of their adult lives. So when Chess suggests a girls trip to Italy, Emily jumps at the chance to reconnect with her best friend. Villa Aestas in Orvieto is a high-end holiday home now, but in 1974, it was known as Villa Rosato, and rented for the summer by a notorious rock star, Noel Gordon. In an attempt to reignite his creative spark, Noel invites up-and-coming musician, Pierce Sheldon to join him, as well as Pierce’s girlfriend, Mari, and her stepsister, Lara. But he also sets in motion a chain of events that leads to Mari writing one of the greatest horror novels of all time, Lara composing a platinum album––and ends in Pierce’s brutal murder. As Emily digs into t...

Yerba Buena by Nina LaCour Blurb from Goodreads : Sara is a broken girl from a drug-soaked Northern California town. Fueled by panic, desperation, and impulse, she heads south, hoping to start over in LA. A decade after Sara has come of age in the restaurant industry, we meet Emilie, the granddaughter of Creoles who left New Orleans to escape segregation. Emilie takes a job arranging flowers for an elegant LA restaurant—and things get complicated when she captures the attention of the restaurateur and engages in an affair. When Sara and Emilie meet, their connection is immediate. But before they can find a way forward, both Sara and Emilie must reckon with the places they came from, even if it means revisiting what they'd rather leave behind. My Review: This book started off pretty dark but there is a lot of light, love and growth by the end. I also wasn't put off by the start at all even though it was a bit heart-brea...