Miriam ParkerReseñas

This a perfectly acceptable way to pass an afternoon.

Very impressed with their wine tasting skills, really, because I definitely wouldn't be able to taste that lavender smell.

I like the premise, I do, it just felt a little too formulated and events a tad too organised.

Room and Board --- first impression had me intrigued. Once I began reading though, my opinion changed. The storyline and how it played out was really all over the place and unrealistic. A book should have some fantasy in it, but the situations the main character gets in are often unrealistic. The storyline moves quickly and I found myself not keeping up with it. It is a quick read for those who want to give it a try.

Room and Board by Miriam Parker is the perfect cure for insomnia. I struggled to finish this book. The disgraced publicist becomes a dorm mom at the boarding school she attended for high school. We are left to wonder how she got this this job for which she is not qualified. The other dorm moms must do double duty by teaching and chaperoning a building full of students. Gillian neglects her job from the beginning. The first night she is too tired to check on her charges and is just shocked when she discovers evidence of partying in the building the next day including the requisite sick teenager from overindulging in alcohol. This will not be the last time Gillian neglects her duties (dating before duties seems to be Gillian’s motto). I was surprised when a pampered princess named Bunny (a senior) befriends Gillian. Bunny and her clique frequently hang out in Gillian’s suite. The students just love Gillian, and they trust her from the beginning (is anyone buying this). Gillian pays more attention to her love life than the students she is responsible for. Gillian’s crush from high school is now the father of Rainbow who happens to live in Gillian’s dorm (what a coincidence). Here is Gillian’s chance for the man she has been unable to get out of her thoughts for twenty years. She is willing to overlook what he did back in high school. The students are your stereotypical pampered rich kids who expect the best and enjoy torturing the scholarship students. I believe the author has spent too much time watching Gossip Girl (both versions) and Gilmore Girls. I can see details from both shows in the book. I had to roll my eyes at some of the scenes. When you put out a sign stating that you can ask me anything, what do you expect. People are going to ask you some ridiculous questions. Gillian gets annoyed when a child shows up at her door asking for help. This means taking time away from getting ready for a date or stalking her crush on social media. The author is detail oriented. I really did not need to know what Gillian wore down to her shoes or that she spends an hour doing her face care routine (or all the items she used to keep her skin looking youthful). There are many contradictions in the book. If the headmaster’s assistant does the accounting for the school, why is there a finance department? Gillian tells the girls that accepting freebies will make you beholden to others, but readers are told in great detail how the majority of Gillian’s wardrobe is from freebies (clients and from companies). The dialogue is awkward and unrealistic (the author should have spent some time talking to teenagers). There were some plot points started in the book that were never revisited while others were left unresolved. I found the ending to be unrealistic. Room and Board is one of those books that left me feeling like I had just wasted a few hours of my time.

Gillian is back at the boarding school she went to as a scholarship student. She is now the dorm mom and licking her wounds after losing her business as a publicist to the stars due to a scandal. She finds that there are a lot of things that haven't changed from years ago and yet things are different too. She runs into her high school crush who is now a single parent of one of her boarding students, so there is a little second chance romance as well.

While I liked the idea of this story, I wasn't blown away by any of it. Not that I HAVE to be blown away, but I really feel the story could have been a lot more. 3 stars

The story wasn't bad but there was something about the writing style that felt off to me. I like that the female MC put herself first once she realized what she wanted but it still felt like something was missing. I can't quite put my finger on what the problem (for me) is.

While taking a weekend trip with her boyfriend, Ethan, Hannah Greene falls in love with the Sonoma wine country. The vacation should mark the last weeks of college and the beginning of their future together in New York, but Hannah has a sudden change of heart, as an offer of a job becomes available at a winery they visit. She makes the life-altering decision to stay behind in California and abandon her dreams of New York. With unhappy memories of her childhood, Hannah begins to help the failing winery and begins to see herself and her hopes and dreams in a new light.

The overall feel of the novel is one of a lighthearted summer read. The pleasant California wine country scenes are beautifully set and well described to give a sense of place. The plot of the book is encouraging and warm. And I always love a book where the main female character is strong enough to walk away without needing a man in her life to fill her sense of self worth. However, this just wasn't a great read for me. There was a sub plot dealing with the owners of the winery that seemed extraneous of the main point of the book and didn't seem to fit. Hannah wasn't very likable. Her immaturity for her age (she came across as more in her early 20's than the 30 that she is) and her unhappiness over growing up poor grated on my nerves at time. I was also uncomfortable with the author's assumption that Hannah's mother, while living in a small town, couldn't understand the basic logic that a job as an executive's assistant at Tiffany's didn't mean that Hannah was wearing diamonds all the time. Also, there was what seemed to be a discrepancy with Hannah's age. While the book seemed to be set in present day time with the mention of social media like Instagram, she mentions that Hannah enjoyed making mix tapes from the Weekly Top 40 when she was 11 with some of her favorite songs being "Me and Bobby McGee" and "Tainted Love". Not sure those work for the time frame.

Overall, this was only a 3 star read for me and was possible on the lower end of that rating. Thank you to the publisher, Dutton, for the advanced copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

interesting story of a family book of tales that leads lonely young english woman to a new love and renewed family connex.½

Hannah thinks she’s on track to get exactly what she’s always wanted. But one unexpected stop at a winery changes everything.

Hannah and her boyfriend are moving back to NYC. She is about to start an extremely coveted job. He is starting a tech project with his closest friends. And Hannah is pretty sure he’s about to propose. They’ve been together two years and he is exactly the type of guy she thinks she should marry. And she’ll be incredibly wealthy and that has appealed to her since her childhood.

But when they stop at the winery everything changes because Hannah can see a new life right in front of her eyes. After a little chat with the winery owners about how they could improve business, they offer Hannah a job.
Pros and cons:
It pays way less.
It’s in California
Free wine
Free room and board
She’s pretty sure her boyfriend won’t stay

I absolutely loved the premise. I loved the setting. I even loved that the author included food and wine pairings. I even took a few of the suggestions and enjoyed the book with a bottle of Sauvignon Blanc and brownies with sea salt.

Here’s what I didn’t love. Hannah.
I feel like I can forgive more in a storyline when I love the characters. It’s the characters we are supposed to love. This isn’t a book where I felt like this was supposed to be a “hate to love” lead character or even a “likable villain”. I felt like I was supposed to like Hannah and I didn’t.

I felt that Hannah was cruel to her boyfriend.
If she chose to leave him unexpectedly after two years together, that’s fine. That’s not what bothered me.
She treated him so badly and unkindly. She avoided his phone calls. If he came to see her, she avoided him in person. Didn’t answer his texts. Didn’t call him when someone said he looked homeless.
If this storyline were reversed and a male character was treating the female lead like that, we’d be screaming “dump him!” At our books.

In addition, she avoids her mother’s calls.
She listens to her mom’s phone messages but doesn’t call her back.
She’s really quick to assume her mom is judging her but it’s definitely the pot calling the kettle black.

And she has no friends because she openly admits that she can’t keep up contact when it’s not convenient.

Hannah is selfish.
I wasn’t totally thrilled by the winery owner either.

I hate saying negative things about a book. I did really enjoy the concept and the setting. I just struggle with not liking the main character.

This was a very refreshing read. It was light hearted and warm at the same time. The setting was beautiful and very descriptive making you able to picture it vividly. Infused with some great themes and morals. Sweet ending. You will be happy at the end of this book and enjoy every moment of it.

The Shortest Way Home by Miriam Parker
Source: NetGalley and Overdrive Audio/Public Library
My Rating: 2½/5 stars

**MINI-REVIEW**

The Bottom Line: I struggled with this book and had I not listened to it, I most certainly would have added this title to my DNF list. With the exception of the dog, I found every major character in the book to be tremendously selfish and hard to like. While I completely appreciate circumstances led to so many of each character’s decisions, they had choices and each often made the wrong decision and simply caused more hurt, resentment, and anger to fester. With so many years of negative energy swirling around, it isn’t a great surprise the tone of this book is relatively depressing. So, why didn’t I DNF this book? Because I really liked the setting, all the information about the wine, winemaking, and the vineyard, and the steps taken to make the setting so much more than it has been for so many years. Had the setting been populated with more likeable, sympathetic characters, I most certainly would have assigned a far higher star rating. As this is the author’s debut novel, I don’t want to throw the baby out with the bath water. From a technical perspective, there is nothing wrong with this book, and I think, given time, Miriam Parker will be a very good author.½

It’s hard to believe we’ve come to the unofficial end of summer. Why do summers go by so fast, and winters drag on? If you want to hang on to a little bit more of summer, this month’s Book Report has a few books that will help you do that.

Miriam Parker’s delightful debut novel, “The Shortest Way Home,” begins as Hannah and her boyfriend, Ethan, are celebrating their impending business school graduation with a trip through Sonoma wine country before their move to New York City, where Hannah will begin a coveted job at Goldman Global Investment Research.

They end up at a lovely small family-owned winery, Bellosguardo, where Hannah becomes enchanted by Tannin, the family dog, and the beautiful setting. Hannah strikes up a conversation with the owner’s son, William, and after awhile, she begins to brainstorm some terrific ideas to drum up more business for the small winery.

Hannah is the kind of person who likes to talk to the locals to find out where the best places are; Ethan likes to research and plan, and follow that plan to the letter. Ethan prefers to observe, Hannah prefers to interact.

Hannah can’t get the small winery out of her head, and when she discovers that she left her wallet at the winery, she returns and meets William’s mother, Linda, who offers Hannah a summer job at the winery working on marketing.

Her excitement gets the best of her, and Hannah decides to take the job, which doesn’t pay much, but allows her to live in a sweet little cottage at the winery. Ethan is dumbfounded that Hannah is willing to give up a high-paying job in New York to work at the small winery. He is also concerned what this will do to their relationship, as he loves Hannah and hopes to marry her.

I adored “The Shortest Way Home.” If you are a wine lover, as I am, this book is for you. It will have you planning a trip to beautiful wine country, or in the case of central New Yorkers, heading over to one of the many lovely local wineries in the Finger Lakes region to taste the best of what it has to offer.

I also think Parker realistically portrays the difficulties of owning a small family business, and the incredibly hard work it is to keep a business afloat. I related to Hannah and Ethan’s habit of looking at a business and coming up with ways to make it more successful (my husband and I like to do that, too).

“The Shortest Way Home” is the perfect book to end with this summer. Pour a glass of your favorite white wine, take it out to your comfy front porch chair and settle in for an enchanting read.

I can't believe I read the whole thing. This was a very light read, full of great descriptions of wine vintages and pairings. But, I didn't connect very well with the main character, Hannah and her quick choices about her life. In this debut novel, she decides, on basically the eve of her Business School graduation (job at Goldman Sachs already lined up) to work at a winery that appealed to her while on a end of the year school trip with her longtime boyfriend. He is a bit confused, but as with many of the characters, not particularly memorable.

The Shortest Way Home
By
Miriam Parker

What it's all about...

Hannah and Ethan are on their way to beginning what they both believe will be their life after grad school. Ethan wants his own start up while Hannah has taken a prestigious job in NYC. They are in Wine Country...relaxing before graduation...when Hannah begins to question this established course for her life. Does she want this life as much as Ethan does? Hannah isn’t quite sure and with an extreme leap of faith...Hannah tosses it all aside to work at a winery...a winery with tons of issues!

Why I wanted to read it...

I just simply wanted to read this because I loved the cover and I loved the sound of this book. Even though Hannah and Ethan and William...the son of the vineyard owners and a budding love interest for Hannah...were in their 30’s...none of them seemed to know what they really wanted for their lives.

What made me truly enjoy this book...

I actually loved that almost everyone in this book was changing, evolving, growing and learning about themselves. The book was filled with interesting characters. This book was filled with beautiful wine country scenes and descriptions. Hannah had a lovely little cottage...vineyards and great food were everywhere and these all made reading this book satisfying and relaxing...pages turned in an easy comfy way!

Why you should read it, too...

Readers who love a beautifully written story set in a beautiful area will love this book. I did!

I received an advance reader’s copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley and Amazon. It was my choice to read it and review it.

In the mood for romance, personal growth, and a wonderful winery setting, complete with castle? I really enjoyed the main character and would happily have read more.

Oh, how I loved THE SHORTEST WAY HOME by Miriam Parker! It’s the story of Hannah, a young woman on the verge of finishing her MBA at Berkeley who, along with her boyfriend Ethan, has her life all planned out. They’ll move to New York, start their careers, and have children that Hannah will quit work to raise. She’s all in until she walks into a winery and realizes that the whole New York thing isn’t really her dream – it’s Ethan’s. She decides to stay at the winery to see if she can figure out what her dream is. This book is about relationships – family, friends, and love – as well as finding oneself. It’s infused with wit and humor and lots of tidbits about wine. I’m not a wine drinker but reading about it in THE SHORTEST WAY HOME made me wish I were. This book comes out in July of 2018 and I adored it so much, I’ve already pre-ordered a finished copy. I think it’s perfect for book clubs and I hope I can talk mine into reading it next fall.

Miriam Parker is one of the first publishing people I met after starting my blog. She was living in Blacksburg at the time and Vance was a student at Virginia Tech so I would try to squeeze in a few minutes with her whenever we visited Vance. She’s moved since then and Vance has graduated but Miriam and I still exchange the occasional email. I don’t think knowing her influenced my opinion of the book – as a matter of fact, I think I read it more critically, especially at the beginning, because of it. Order a copy of this book or get your library to – you won’t be disappointed!