A book with a twist ending, and a surprise entry from a beloved celebrity trying her hand at writing make the list. You know, about the latter, chick lit can really be a lot of fun. I can see why it’s a popular genre.
#14 – Help for the Haunted by John Searles
I’ve read a lot of coming of age novels this year, and they’ve all been on the positive side of good. Help for the Haunted is no exception. Sylvie and Rose Mason have grown up dealing with parents who help people who are experiencing what they believe are hauntings or possession. When they are murdered on night during a blizzard, and an arrest is made, it is primarily due to Sylvie’s testimony. However, Sylvie has lied, and she is also not really sure what happened that night. By jumping between the past and the present, Searles slowly unspools the story until explaining things with a last minute reveal that is almost out of nowhere. That said, it worked well, and there were just enough obscure hints as to have it make sense. This one was a September Library Reads pick.
#13 – The Star Attraction by Alison Sweeney
As a huge ‘Days of our Lives’ fan, and of Sami Brady’s in particular, how could I resist Sami’s portrayer, Allison Sweeney’s first novel, the effervescent and good-hearted The Star Attraction. Hollywood publicist extraordinaire, Sophie Atwater, lands a major client for her agency, in the form of Billy Fox, the next Brad Pitt, on the cusp of superstardom. How could she predict that one of her biggest career coups would do thoroughly disrupt her life in a soap opera scenario reminiscent of her author’s alter ego. Thoroughly entertaining, but with real heart, and a delightfully relatable heroine in Sophie, The Star Attraction is a behind-the-scenes look at the antics of the Hollywood elite as seen through the eyes of a publicist to the stars. Allison Sweeney has created a quick and enjoyable summer read, that makes you cringe at its heroines missteps, and cheer when she surmounts the obstacles around her.