Maggie and her daughter Piper travel to charming New Hope, PA for a knitting retreat but their weekend is interrupted by a bachelor party at the same inn. Relationships are tested as the weekend continues. Ugh, I wanted to love this one! It sounded so cute - I love New Hope, PA, and I really felt like the book transported me there, but the characters were a bit of a downer for me. Maggie is a single mom who had her daughter young - while on the surface their relationship seems good, Maggie desperately wants more for Piper than the life she had, and Piper is always doing things that will make her mother happy instead of herself. Maggie just felt a bit overbearing. There were too many extraneous side characters to keep track of, and a whole lot of unnecessary drama. I did enjoy the character of Belinda, the inn keeper, though. She and her husband have contrasting ideas on their next steps in life - keep the inn or retire? The ending was underwhelming, unrealistic, and rushed, unfortunately. 3 stars
When southern England receives a nuclear bomb alert, giving people just 59 minutes before the attack, three women find themselves willing to do anything to get to their loved ones. Carrie is a young mother trying to get across London to her daughter and girlfriend. Frankie, who just found out she's pregnant, is on vacation when she's separated from her boyfriend. Mrs. Dabb is an older woman who realizes her daughter is missing during the alert. This premise is absolutely terrifying to me - knowing you only potentially have minutes to live and desperately wanting to be with your family or other loved ones. What would you do to get to them? This was a quick, absorbing read - short chapters kept the rapid pace, and I couldn't read fast enough to see how each woman would fare as the minutes counted down. I was heartbroken for them as they faced insurmountable odds and had to make unimaginable choices. But, I was shocked further when I realized there was a twist, and the story definitely ends in an unexpected way! 4.5 stars
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