The Art of Inheriting Secrets

The Art of Inheriting Secrets
by Barbara O'Neal


Blurb:

When Olivia Shaw’s mother dies, the sophisticated food editor is astonished to learn she’s inherited a centuries-old English estate—and a title to go with it. Raw with grief and reeling from the knowledge that her reserved mother hid something so momentous, Olivia leaves San Francisco and crosses the pond to unravel the mystery of a lifetime.

One glance at the breathtaking Rosemere Priory and Olivia understands why the manor, magnificent even in disrepair, was the subject of her mother’s exquisite paintings. What she doesn’t understand is why her mother never mentioned it to her. As Olivia begins digging into her mother’s past, she discovers that the peeling wallpaper, debris-laden halls, and ceiling-high Elizabethan windows covered in lush green vines hide unimaginable secrets. 

Although personal problems and her life back home beckon, Olivia finds herself falling for the charming English village and its residents. But before she can decide what Rosemere’s and her own future hold, Olivia must first untangle the secrets of her past.

My Reaction:
Another DNF.

I listened to probably more than two-thirds of the audiobook-- selected because I could listen for free on Amazon-- but at some point I lost patience and stopped listening. I'd planned to skim through to the end just to satisfy my curiosity, but it's been months, and I find my curiosity simply isn't that strong! Maybe I'll still skim through, but I think I can guess more or less what will happen, and if I'm wrong... (shrug)

My SPOILERY annoyances:
-- I'm not bothered by a little Anglophilia, but Olivia takes it to sickening, barf-worthy extremes. I was embarrassed on her behalf. The whole "as Lady of the Manor, I must learn this, do that, change who I am" thing made me sick. I guess I'm too American for that nonsense. Inheriting a beautiful home? Fun and exciting to think/read about! Doing right by the community as you take possession of this historically significant home? Great! But all the airs and graces and "you must do it this way because this is how it's done because we say so"? No, no, a thousand times no.

-- Olivia's obsession with the age difference between herself and Samir? Ugh, so, so boring! But then when they "hook up", it's possibly even worse. I wasn't expecting so much sex in this book, and it was unwelcome. (Please, more house renovation/mystery and less village gossip, family drama, food talk, and sex!)

-- Such a slow pace. Dragging its feet the whole way.

-- Very obvious "baddies".

-- Didn't really care for the "closeted lesbian grandmothers" subplot. Sorry, not what I was expecting from this book. Just didn't care. Like the heroine's food obsession. (Seriously. Can we stop with the food already?) I just couldn't care less!

All in all, it wasn't what I was expecting, and I didn't like what it was enough to get over that and stick with it until the end.

I'm sure Olivia and Samir end up together, her plans for the house work out (one way or another), and there's a happily-ever-after. That much was never, ever in doubt.

The Perfect Neighbors

The Perfect Neighbors
by Sarah Pekkanen


Blurb:

Perfect Neighbors takes us into the homes of an idyllic suburban neighborhood where we discover the burning secrets hiding just below the surface. 

Bucolic Newport Cove, where spontaneous block parties occur on balmy nights and all of the streets are named for flowers, is proud of its distinction of being named one the top twenty safest neighborhoods in the US.

It’s also one of the most secret-filled.

Kellie Scott has just returned to work after a decade of being a stay-at-home mom. She’s adjusting to high heels, scrambling to cook dinner for her family after a day at the office—and soaking in the dangerous attention of a very handsome, very married male colleague. Kellie’s neighbor Susan Barrett begins every day with fresh resolutions: she won’t eat any carbs. She’ll go to bed at a reasonable hour. And she’ll stop stalking her ex-husband and his new girlfriend. Gigi Kennedy seems to have it all together—except her teenage daughter has turned into a hostile stranger and her husband is running for Congress, which means her old skeletons are in danger of being brought into the light. 

Then a new family moves to this quiet, tree-lined cul-de-sac. Tessa Campbell seems friendly enough to the other mothers, if a bit reserved. Then the neighbors notice that no one is ever invited to Tessa’s house. And soon, it becomes clear Tessa is hiding the biggest secret of all.

My Reaction:
The Perfect Neighbors reminded me of Desperate Housewives, but with less of whatever it was that made (the earlier seasons of) Desperate Housewives entertaining. It's not as quirky or funny as Desperate Housewives, and I think that's what was missing. It's more realistic, which might actually be an improvement, depending on what you're after.

Yes, each woman has a secret, but most of them are fairly clichéd, and their stories unfold much as you'd predict. Tessa's secret is more mysterious than the others', but even it isn't difficult to guess, after a certain point.

Though rather predictable, the novel is still perfectly readable. This is the literary equivalent of the typical prime-time soap/drama. You don't have to concentrate very sharply to keep up with the story, but there's some emotional depth to it.

I don't read this genre (slightly gritty chick lit?) very often and don't expect that will change, but it's a decent read, if your expectations aren't too high. It took a while for the characters to become reasonably distinct in my mind, but by the end, I liked Susan. Tessa and Kellie were just "meh", and Gigi... Well, see the section below for that. (That's right; Gigi gets her own section.)

Overall, I wasn't enthralled, but it kept me reasonably entertained. My most honest review would be 2.5 stars, but since half-stars aren't permitted, I'm rounding up to three.


Spoilery Nit-Picks:
I really didn't care for Gigi (or her part of the novel) at all. First, her main concern is "oh no, my teenage daughter is acting like a stereotypical teenager, and I'm afraid we'll never be friends again, even after she inevitably ages and matures"-- which, I'm sorry, I found painfully dull to read about. (Spoiler alert: Her rather bratty daughter is already behaving better by the end of the book, mere months after her brattiness began. So that was a compelling storyline...)

Then there's the side-plot of Gigi's story, which is that her husband is running for Congress. He's intended to be a nice, sympathetic character in a typical modern novel, so obviously this means he's a democrat. ...Fine, have it your way. (But yes, predictable!)

I just love it when a character is a politician (or has political aspirations), because we are treated to gems like this: "I didn't expect to spend hours talking to people who think Obama is an illegal immigrant. The other day I had to explain the concept of global warming to someone..." Oh, and this: "He supported raising the minimum wage-- one of Gigi's pet causes-- and he believed in a woman's right to choose, another one of her priorities." Just... I cringe. Why is this even in the book? It feels totally out of place, in my ever-so-humble opinion.

I do wonder what kind of magical, fairy-tale democrat Joe's going to be, though, because one of his neighbors/friends half-jokingly asks him to "just give us a tax break". (Ooh, something tells me she's in for a disappointment.)

Did I mention that Gigi likes to smoke the occasional joint? And that she convinces the hubster to partake "for old times' sake" (and because, apparently, he "needed this" to alleviate his stress)? It's clearly illegal wherever/whenever they are-- and he's currently running for CONGRESS, y'all-- but sure, light that bad boy up! "She wondered what the voters would say if they knew that Joe had smoked pot in college. ... Let the campaign photographer get a glimpse of this, Gigi thought as she put the joint between her lips." (Insert gratuitous eye-roll here!)

Gigi's secret skeleton-closet is pretty full, what with the marijuana, shrooms, and an old shop-lifting habit (not to mention an abortion). For someone with some seriously questionable behaviors of her own, she manages to be pretty self-righteous, though. (She's "certain" that someone is ID'd on the basis of their race, for instance, and she uses that air-tight "certainty" to justify one of her shop-lifting offenses.)

Look, I'll just be honest: I don't like Gigi. Thank goodness she wasn't the primary focus of the novel!