Lori & Julia's Book Club

Fiona Davis has captured the hearts of readers with the way she brings life to New York City landmarks through compelling historical fiction. Setting her sights on the Chelsea Hotel, she delves into the world of theater. The story centers around two friends, Hazel and Maxine. The two meet in Naples, Italy in an USO troupe entertainment troupe. After the war, Hazel becomes a budding playwright and Maxine a famous actress.. They unite to put on Hazel's first play on Broadway when the charge of Communism and McCarthy investigation impacts their lives. As the two women wrestle with wartime memories, fractured friendship, love, and trust, readers will find themselves immersed. It is also a reminder of what happens to people who are persecuted for their speech or opinion.

This is a story about a blue-blood 85 yr old grandmother (the rich & famous Genieveve London) who hasn’t spoken to her granddaughter Emma in 17 years. In what she deems is the last summer of her life, she reaches out to Emma and convinces her to return home for the summer so they can make amends and she can also know her great granddaughter, Riley who is 15. Moving and funny as well as exploring some deeply affecting topics (the loss of a child, estrangement, ageism), we highly recommend this book, this author!

It is hard to explain this book without sounding a little kooky but if you read the book “Helter Skelter”, what you think you know about the Manson murders may be wrong. This book is a result of 20 years of exhaustive research and investigative reporting. What becomes crystal clear to the author over time is that much of what we accept as fact in the best- selling crime novel of all time - is fiction. Not the who did it but the motive of why did these murders happen. What was the real relationship between Manson & Terry Melcher (Doris Day’s son)? Why was law enforcement so lax with Manson (who was on parole) over multiple arrests? What was story with Dennis Wilson (Beach Boys) and Manson. Why were so many Hollywood and music people suspicious of Manson immediately after the Manson murders yet “no one knew him”. Fascinating book.

Read it before you watch it! This fast paced psychological thriller about deception, dating and so much more has been optioned by Eva Longoria for a TV series. The story is about a woman who goes missing after a first date with a man she meets online. The timeline shifts back and forth between the actual date and the days after the date. Also interesting, the insight into repressed trauma and how it affects you later in life – no matter how much you think you are not thinking about it. We did not see the end coming! 4 stars

A meticulous history of New York’s iconic hotel, The Plaza Hotel. Just the name alone evokes images of “Eloise” and iconic movie scenes (Home Alone, North by Northwest to name just two,) the Palm Court, Capote’s famous Black & White Ball and many famous people. All of this is explored as well as the interesting ownership history, the scandals and the scams that happened at a fabulous hotel (that has always been a place where dogs are always welcome!).

Set in St. Paul between 1946 and Nov 1965, the novel follows the lives of 2 sisters, Eliza and Shannon Malone who are Irish “twins” and their close bond despite their different personalities. At 17 and 18, something traumatic happens to each sister that shapes the rest of their lives. This book covers realities and insights about motherhood, sisterhood, the stigma of the times for unwed mothers, illegitimate children and childless women. Weaved into the story, we also learn about a real life hero - Frances Perkins. The first woman appointed to the U.S. Cabinet during FDR’s presidency - she was a central figure to the New deal legislation including minimum wage laws, social security, unemployment compensation and child labor laws. This novel was inspired by Susan’s own experience (she spent the first days of her life in 1962 in the St. Paul Catholic Infants Home for unwed mothers & their babies and did not find out she was adopted until she was 46 years old).

An epic family novel set in both Manhattan and an island in Maine that moves through three generations back and forth in time (1936, 1959 & present day). In a way this book is a history of our country’s history with matters of race, class and politics. And asks how we remember and what we choose to forget. Sarah has written a stunning and beautifully told story that will linger in your mind long after you have closed the book. 5 stars

A feel-good romantic comedy that has a great premise (enemies to lovers!) and delivers some flirty fun. Twin sisters, two brothers, a wedding, a secret, a fake marriage and a very spicy romance - set in Minneapolis and Maui. If you are in need of a light breezy escape, this is your book. If you read Christina Lauren’s book, ROOMIES – that has been optioned by Jenna Dewan.

Jane Green along with Elin Hildebrand and Liane Moriarty is one of our fav authors! Her latest book will keep you reading all day at the pool, beach or porch. The story opens with a trio of 3 unlikely friends who meet at university and know they will be friends forever. But life as it does, gets in the way after graduation and they start to lose touch and forget what they envisioned when they were younger. And one of the characters, Evvie, a former child actress is also keeping a huge secret from her friends. 4 stars

A trio of adult sisters are coming to terms with their very complicated family history. We all experience and remember our family life differently and this book explores some deep and complicated issues that drive us all. Told with sweetness and with searing honesty about some difficult subjects (incarceration, eating disroders and domestic abuse) while at the same time being a gripping read.

This book has so much Hollywood wrapped around its pages that The Chateau is almost the narrator storyteller. Perfect summer read. Shawn weaves together historical research and firsthand accounts in an eye popping delicious way. And with 90 years of being in business, the walls are now talking! Jean Harlow, Marvin Gaye, John Belushi, Lindsay Lohan, Sharon Tate, F. Scott Fitzgerald, John Cheever, the Sunset Strip, Bugsy Siegal…..4 stars

A very compelling and twisty new novel about a woman's complicated relationship with her mother-in-law that ends in death...but what happens in between as the story is alternately narrated by both daughter-in-law and mother-in-law in past and present terms is what keeps the pages turning. Let’s just say that from the moment Lucy met her husband’s mother, she knew she wasn’t the wife Diana had envisioned for her perfect son but everyone in this family is hiding something…Highly recommended (unless you are trying to get pregnant!).

A heartfelt and moving coming of age story. Movies have always helped Ethan, our protagonist. Maybe it's because movies help him make sense of real life, or maybe it's because movies are the one place he can go to still feel close to his dad, a film professor who died three years ago. Either way, it's a place worth fighting for, especially when developers threaten to tear the classic Green Street Cinema down to build a luxury condos. So now it's up to the employees of the Green Street Cinema to save the place they love. And it's going to take a movie miracle if the Green Street is going to have a happy ending. And when Raina, Ethan's oldest friend (and possible soul mate?), comes home from Hollywood where she's been starring in B-movies, Ethan thinks that miracle just may have been delivered. This is a book that movies buffs, young adults and anyone who loves a great book will love. 4 stars

A charming, funny and sweet book about the effect a loved newspaper columnist has on the people of the small town of Granite Creek. Haze has chronicled her life and the real world life events in her column for 50 years. Haze is now in her 80’s and while in a coma, the town’s newspaper starts re-printing some of her columns with unexpected results and surprises. We fell in love with this book! And there really are a few recipes (which make sense in context). An excellent book club read too….. 4 stars

Inspired by the true story of Nazis living in plain sight in post WWII America. This incredible saga follows three storylines involving a Russian female bomber pilot, a battle haunted English journalist and a budding teenage photojournalist. Vividly written with rich detail and suspense, this book will have you turning the pages non-stop. If you loved The Lilac Girls, The Nightingale (or The Alice Network which Kate wrote) – this book is for you.

Told entirely from the perspective of the unnamed husband, this wildly compulsive debut thriller about a couple whose fifteen-year marriage is at a crossroads - until they find something exciting to do together (which is murder). We could not put this book down and read in 2 days. If you love a well written compulsively thrilling twisty book, this is it! Reese Witherspoon needs to option this ASAP! 4 stars