08/28/2026
đź“šNO PRESSURE BOOK CLUB REVIEW
THE MOST FUN WE EVER HAD by Claire Lombardo
The title of this book is very much a misnomer. No one enjoyed reading it. The unanimous consensus was it was too long, too much complaining by the characters that had only problems of their own making and were hard to relate to. The draft of this novel was over 900 pages, edited down to 532. The editor quit too soon. Set in a very nice suburb of Chicago, the Sorenson family had a lovely home, healthy children, a steady income, good health insurance and did not lack for creature comforts, yet no one seemed to appreciate what they had and the drama in their lives, written about down to the last detail, was home grown.
FAVORITE CHARACTER
Jonah - He had very few complaints in spite of all he had been through.
GRADES
Character Development - B
Setting - C
Pace - C
Writing Style - B (There were witty conversations, followed by italicized print of what the character was really thinking, but not saying.)
There were no favorite quotes and no one would recommend this book for others to read.
WHAT ELSE ARE YOU READING?
THE CORRESPONDENT by Virginia Evans
This format for this novel is letters. Sybil uses letters to make sense of her life, the world and her place in it. She writes to her brother, her best friend, to the president of the University who will not allow her to audit a class she desperately wants to take. She also writes to the authors of books she has read.
RAINWATER by Sandra Brown
In 1934, Ella Barron is running a boardinghouse. Her son, Solly is ten years old with special needs. When David Rainwater arrives at the house to seek lodging, Ella could never for see how her life and Solly’s would be changed forever. The novel is set against the historical backdrop of drought, economic depression and racial prejudice.
THE BOOKBINDER'S SECRET by A.D. Bell
Lily Delaney is a bookbinder’s apprentice in Oxford, 1901 and she also helps her father in his financially troubled bookstore. When she finds a letter hidden in a burned book, she becomes fixated on solving the mystery it is hiding, leading to danger to herself and those she loves. (Note: The author’s name is connected to the central story as well as the conclusion. Research revealed it is a pseudonym and there will be a sequel released in February 2027 with the title The Bookbinder’s Code. This is a warning!)
INDIGO ISLE by T.I. Lowe
Sonny Bates is a Hollywood location scout with wounds from her past and a troubled present. While seeking a site for filming she encounters the Monster of Indigo Isle. Hudson Renfrow, a former NY attorney, is now a recluse, spending time alone in his grief and tending his indigo fields. A story of redemption, reconciliation, and two people who expose the other’s faults while learning about their own and healing each other.
IT'S NOT HER by Mary Kubica
A fast paced and compelling murder mystery. Cortney Gray and her family are in a cottage in a resort town. When her brother and sister-in-law are murdered in a nearby cottage, her niece, Reese is missing. Courtney tries to unravel the mystery, but everyone is hiding information and she begins to suspect everyone, even her husband. Who’s the killer and are they in plain sight?
TINKERS by Paul Harding
A 2010 Pulitzer Prize winner and under 200 pages. George Washington Crosby is dying. As he hallucinates, he recalls his father who struggled with epilepsy and sold household goods from a cart.
ONE ITALIAN SUMMER by Rebecca Serle
When Katy’s mother, Carol, dies, she’s lost because they were best friends. They had planned a trip to Positano where her mom had been as a young woman. Katy leaves her husband behind and makes the trip alone. A story of loss, self-reflection and love that never dies.
OUR DARKEST NIGHT by Jennifer Robson
In the fall of 1943, Antonina, an Italian Jew, is sent by her father from Venice to the countryside with a young man, Niccolo Girardi. Farm life is different from her dreams of becoming a doctor. As Nina and Nico draw closer to each other, the N***s not only terrorize the small village, but threaten to tear apart Nina and Nico from their family and each other.
THE SCENT KEEPER by Erica Bauermeister
Have you ever had a scent touch you with a memory of a person, a place, an event or all of those wrapped together? This is a story that is mesmerizing. Like a perfume that changes “with each person’s skin chemistry”, this will be different for every reader. Emmeline lives with her father on a remote island. Her father collects scents in bottles that are on the wall of their cabin. When tragedy strikes, Emmeline is propelled from her fairy tale world to the real one where there is love, betrayal, ambition and revenge. She discovers lies and truth, and seeks her true home and identity. An emotional ride told from Emmaline’s point of view.
SLAUGTER HOUSE 5 by Kurt Vonnegut
A semi-autobiographical anti-war novel. A captured WWII solder survives the bombing of Dresden Germany because he is locked in a slaughter house. There is PTSD and time travel as a result.
I AM NOT THE ONLY MURDERER IN THE RETIREMENT HOME by Fergus Craig
A former 75 year old serial killer, who spent decades in prisons is released and now lives in a retirement home. Her true identity is leaked out, making her the chief suspect when another resident is murdered.
THE HERO NEXT DOOR by Martha Raddatz
This book profiles a dozen ordinary servicemen and women in extraordinary circumstances, focusing on the “forever” wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and their lives afterward.
WHERE ARE THE CHILDREN by Herb Brin
Released in 1991. The author, a newspaper publisher and editor, interviews German figures about the Holocaust. They speak on the forces that brought Hi**er to power.
BOOKSHOP ON THE CORNER by Jenny Colgan
Nina loses her job as a librarian, decides to buy a van, turn it into a bookshop on wheels, and heads to Scotland, finding love on the way.
SOMETHING IN THE WATER by Catherine Steadman
Newlyweds, Erin and Mark, find a duffle bag filled with valuables while scuba diving on their honeymoon. The choices they make tests their trust, marriage and core values.
‼️The next meeting will be SEPTEMBER 24TH, at the Snow Memorial Building at 7:00 pm. The book is SOLITO: A MEMOIR by Salvadoran poet Javier Zamora.
