JULY/AUGUST NEW RELEASES posted 7.1.26

Since I only have a few new book releases to share with you, I'm including August along with my July recommendations. These are perfect reads to get you through the next month or so of hot weather, especially Kristin Harmel's latest wonder of a novel, "Meet Me in Paris," the first on this list. I look forward to hearing what you think of all these new reads!

Meet Me in Paris - Kristin Harmel

If you are yearning for a sweet love story . . . and one that takes place in the magical City of Light . . . look no further. Kristin Harmel's inspiring writing is full of profound sentiments about life and love, lessons that speak to anyone ready to look within themselves and their personal relationships. This is exactly what happens to nine American tourists whose lives are swept up during their week-long springtime visit to Paris. Using her own Parisian memories as the story's backdrop, the tourists eat and drink, walk and tour in the very places Harmel visited in her youth and holds dear in her heart. This happily-ever-after story is a heartwarming testament to being open to new possibilities, despite the "No! Don't do it!"message we burden ourselves with in our heads.It’s a really dear story with lots of twists and surprises and strong messages about the choices we are faced with and those we make.Treat yourself to feeling positive at this time when positivity is not the current norm.

Summer of Love - Kerri Maher

The story opens in 1967 in the midst of San Francisco's Summer of Love. We meet two sisters who are miles apart in their values, lifestyles, and ambitions attending an outdoor concert, setting the tone for which one is the hippie (Winnie) and which one is not (Miranda). Winnie is an aspiring poet crazy in love with her musician boyfriend and their stoner/acoholic life. The only female vineyard owner in the male-dominated Napa valley, Miranda works tirelessly to raise her family business to the level and recognition as that of the French wine industry. The magnitude of Winnie's alcoholism results in the sisters cutting ties, becoming strangers to each other. As the novel travels back and forth through time and the beautiful vistas of Southern and Northern California, fifty years later we meet Miranda's daughter Dawn who is, sadly, an alcoholic, like the aunt she's never met and has been told is dead. Not only is the story about the family's 50-year untold secret, it's also about the culture of becoming sober, as much is sbout the years Winnie and Dawn spend going to meetings in their attempts to get sober. I learned alot in this novel . . . about the wine industry and the suffering and hardships drinking can inflict on people who can't stop themselves from drinking. I also learned about the culture of attending meetings, the community within the nine-step programs, and the struggle of getting and remaining sober. 

Because of a Dog - Matthew Sigman

For dog lovers who are able to relate to the horrible pain of losing the canine love of your life, this is a very sweet memoir. Matthew Sigman lost more than his elderly dog. He discovered his identity disappeared when he was no longer out and about with his dog, who was much loved in his West Village neighborhood. When soon after his boyfriend broke up him, his job came to an end, and his apartment ceiling collapsed, he decided to flee New York . . .  to the remote mountain village in Italy that Airbnb found for him. At first his identity was still at a loss as he was the American stranger in a village inhabited by people who have known each other their entire lives. Fortunately his Airbnb host, Valerio, was a gregarious and kind man and took Matthew under his wing . . . to the point where, over a considerable length of time Matthew, became ensconced in the community. What turns into a heartwarming turn-around for Matthew is also a turn-around for the villagers, who came to trust him enough to share their life stories with him. Kudos to Matthew Sigman for taking the leap that helped him learn how to live with his grief and for sharing his story with those of us who've endured that same grief. Put this memoir in a gift bag with Billy Collins' lovely poetry collection "Dog Show" and you've got a perfect gift for anyone suffering from the loss of their beloved pet . . . or for a new dog mommy or daddy who will relate to the love found within both books.

Meet Me in the Garden - Nina LaCour

This decades-long family sage is inspired by Nina LaCour's Creole heritage and history, as well as of the Great Migration. The story centers around two cousins from New Orleans in the early 1940s who treat their Creole skin color in polar-opposite ways, one hiding it by "passing," the other struggling with the racism that comes with being brown-skinned. Post 1930s depression, the Great Migration takes some of the family members to Los Angeles, where it's rumored that jobs and wealth are there for the asking. Life turns out to not be as easy as thought for the cousines, whose lives In LA split them apart. This is a fascinating slice of life of a time and a people in American history and culture.