Barbara JosselsohnCritiques

Does Giulia Sancino have the secret to how Tori and her daughter’s life have been playing out?

We go back-and-forth in time from Italy with Giulia during WWII to present day 2019 when secrets about Tori's family are revealed after seeing a wedding dress in a museum in Italy.

Could this dress designer really be Tori’s grandmother?

A beautiful story about family and Italy.

You will feel as though you are there on the island sharing the delicious food with Giulia and with Tori in present day with the characters struggling with their lives and the information they have found out.

You will fall in love with all the characters.

Ms. Josselsohn has written another heartwarming book that you won't want to end because you will want to stay in Italy with Giulia and find out all the secrets of why Giulia did what she did and why Tori never knew this famous seamstress was her grandmother. 5/5

Thank you to the publisher for a copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

A story from WWII that leads to finding a secret her grandmother kept.

Italy...nothing better than that, right?

Along with secrets, it can't be beat.

We find out what Mia's Grandmother, Annalisa/Lucy, experienced in Italy while she worked at Isola di Parissi and we find out why Mia had to go to Italy after her grandmother died.

Visiting Isola di Parissi in 1943 has us enjoying the gorgeous Italian island and learning about Annalisa and why she left her dying father and took her two sisters there and what she found while there.

In 2018 we get to see the story unravel as Mia makes the trip to Italy to find answers and perhaps find love…what better place to fall in love than in Italy.

You will love both Annalisa's and Mia’s story.

A very enjoyable read with wonderful descriptions and great family discoveries.

When is the next flight to Italy? :)

Women's fiction fans will devour this book and not want either story to end.

Enjoy!! 5/5

This book was given to me by the publisher via NetGalley for an honest review.

Anna Harris returns to her family’s summer house with some trepidation. She understands things won’t be the same after the death of her beloved husband Greg. It’s important to her to provide closure and a sense of normalcy for her teen son and young daughter. And to enjoy one last summer before selling a home packed full of memories.
Relationships are the focus of this novel, between parents and children, between Anna and her aunt, and the budding relationships with townspeople, including a potential romantic interest. I cared about these characters. It’s also a story of growth, as Anna renews her love of ballet, a career she gave up due to an injury, and her marriage.
The characters harbor secrets, and as they unfold, the tension built. Near the end, I really wondered how the story lines would be resolved. I didn’t want the story to end, but I had to keep reading to find out what happened to these people I’d grown to know.

Two words mean everything, but they’re locked in the memories of an elderly woman who forgets a conversation taking place just hours ago.
The ending of her marriage drives Jenna to the comfort of her childhood home. She and her daughter take refuge in Lake Summers. Instead of nursing her own emotional wounds, Jenna takes on caring for her mother after a terrifying fall down the basement steps. Sweet is the mom we all wish we had – attractive, creative and nurturing, with a bit of a daring side. Jenna’s sister Chloe threatens to drag Sweet away from the home and town she loves to a care facility. Sweet is having memory issues, and Chloe wants their mother where she can be safe, unless Jenna can stand up to her overbearing sister. While in Lake Summers, Jenna reconnects with her first love, but the story does not travel a straight line to renewed romance. While The Bluebell Girls at times reads like a wonderful fantasy many of us would love to live, it is rooted in realism. Jenna faces her fears and doubts in a story that ends on an upbeat note, but not in a sappy happily-ever-after way. So many threads in this novel mirrored my own experiences. I am certain it will resonate with other readers. Take a vacation to Lake Summers by reading this novel. You’ll leave refreshed and renewed.

Thank you to the author for this book which I won in a giveaway on Wild Sage Book Club (FB).

A fast, sweet story about being called home to your father's inn at Christmas and running your family's inn when noone is there and after finding out in a phone call that you're father has "disappeared" and will be back with a surprise on Christmas Eve.

The visit brings back Laurel's wonderful memories of her late mom and how her parents ran the inn and also meeting up with people who she hasn't seen since high school, especially Joel who is also home because his mom has died. Enter Christopher, who is an up and coming actor, who needs to get away from it all. It was sort of a coincidence that Joel's cousin is Christopher's agent. Sort of far fetched but it happens.

Of course, Laurel's father comes back and of course there's a happy ending for him and for Laurel.

This is a charming read from a first time author. What a dream come true for Iliana to meet her celebrity crush in person. The more I got to know Jeff, as the person and not the celebrity, the more I did fall for him. It was easy to see how Iliana fell for Jeff. Although, I did feel bad for her family (the children). Not so much her husband. This is only because he came off as a bit of strong arming Iliana and at the point that Iliana met Jeff, there were some bumps in Iliana and Matt's marriage. Although when it did come to the romance between Jeff and Iliana, it was mild. There was some flirting and a kiss but again not something that would steam up my glasses. This book is a good summer fling read.

As John Lennon said, "Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans." Who of us hasn't thought about the road not taken? Longed for a do-over? Wondered how to meet the needs of those we love most, while holding onto the dreams we once had for ourselves? Josselsohn deftly explores these themes in this engaging and insightful debut novel.

I was provided this book pre-official release in order to review. I read the description provided by the publisher and I couldn't wait to actually read it. But for some reason it sat on my "to read" list for about a month before I finally decided to get to it.

It's like I knew that it wouldn't be as great as I wanted it to be.

The Last Dreamer is about a writer who has given up her career in order to raise her children. Her husband, a lawyer, is working hard to gain a promotion but has put a lot of pressure on his wife to make them look worthy. Not her job? Not her job, but nonetheless, they are finding that it's bringing a lot of stress to their relationship. As a writer, she wants to get back into publishing but isn't sure how. Fast forward to a day where she sees her teen celebrity crush on tv and decides that she is going to interview him and that will be her big break.

But it's never that easy, is it?

I really wanted to like this book. But, honestly, I had a really hard time getting through it. The characters were annoying (at least to me), the story was very surface level, and it never felt fully developed like I wanted it to. I can tell the idea was great, but I just didn't find it to be an enjoyable read. Maybe it was better than I'm giving it credit for because I did finish the book in order to ultimately see what happens, but it's not one that I see myself recommending to others in the future.

I was provided with a free copy of this book in order to conduct this review.


WEBSITE | TWITTER | FACEBOOK | INSTAGRAM

The Last Dreamer is Barbara Solomon Josselsohn's engaging debut novel and provides a poignant study of the role of women and an interesting look at our mad celebrity culture.
The main character, Iliana, is going through a bit of an identity crisis. She put her career as a journalist on hold when she got married and had two children. Fifteen years later, she seems to be defined as the supporting wife to a career-minded lawyer and as her children's taxi driver and servant. She thinks she may have found her way to get back into publishing when she discovers a former TV crush from her teenage years now operates a business close by, so she decides to set up an interview with him.
I really enjoyed the author's writing, and found the story interesting and quite unique. I think anybody who has stayed at home with children while their partner concentrated on their career would be able to relate to Iliana and the issues she was facing. The characters created by the author were very real. Not exactly a feel-good book, but rather sad and depressing at times, but quite a realistic look at relationships, responsibilities, expectations, hopes and dreams. It stays with you. I still kept thinking about this book for some time after I had finished it. That has to be a good indicator that it was an evocative book. I will certainly keep an eye out for any further publications by this promising new author.
Thanks to Lake Union Publishing for my copy via Netgalley in exchange for an unbiased review.