Review: Wait for the Rain and Bridges by Maria Murnane

Wait for the Rain (Book 1) 

Summary/Cover Image from Amazon:

Daphne White is staring down the barrel of forty—and is distraught at what she sees. Her ex-husband is getting remarried, her teenage daughter hardly needs her anymore, and the career she once dreamed about has somehow slipped from her grasp. She’s almost lost sight of the spirited and optimistic young woman she used to be.

As she heads off to a Caribbean island to mark the new decade with her best friends from college, Daphne’s in anything but the mood to celebrate. But when she meets Clay Hanson, a much younger man, she ignores her inner voice warning her that she’s too old for a fling. In fact, this tropical getaway might be the perfect opportunity to picture her future in a new sun-drenched light.

With the help of her friends, Daphne rediscovers her enthusiasm for life, as well as her love for herself—and realizes that her best years are still ahead.

Review:

A long time ago I read and enjoyed Perfect on Paper and It's a Waverly Life, two of Maria Murnane's earlier books. So when the chance came up to read Wait for the Rain, the first book from her new series, I jumped at the chance, especially given the fact that it contained a tropical setting - living in Northeast PA I find that any opportunity to vicariously live through the travels of others hooks me. Luckily, Wait for the Rain was a fun as well as romantic read, and more importantly, it introduced three likable characters.

Wait for the Rain revolves around Daphne White, a soon-to-be forty year old who is incredibly down on her luck. When the story first starts, Daphne is a shell of the girl she used to be. Back in college she was determined, hardworking, and passionate. Now she's divorced, sad, and uninspired by life. Throughout the book, I found it incredibly easy to root for Daphne. I wanted her to find her place in life again and also open up to her old friends. Over the course of the book, that's exactly what happened. Daphne let loose and began to life for herself again. I truly enjoyed seeing that transformation occur. In addition to Daphne, the book also focuses on KC and Skylar, her two best friends from college, and I loved the energy they brought to the book. KC is the typical free spirt. She lives for the moment and doesn't let the small things get to her. Skylar, on the other hand, is hotheaded and fierce - a force of nature in her work field. I can't say I had a favorite out of the three - they were all so different - but I liked them all for different reasons: Skylar for her blunt, truthful behavior,  KC for her kindness and warmth, and Daphne for newly cultivated optimistic look on life.

The main focuses in Wait for the Rain is on friendship. As a recent college grad, it was fun for me to see that even after twenty years, Daphne, Skylar, and KC reunited for vacations. I can only hope my college friends and I stay as close as they girls over the years! It was enjoyable to see the adventures they experienced on the island and the funny banter that came with it. Often I felt like I was right there with them, experiencing the monkey forest as well as the yummy restaurants they went to. I also loved the seriousness that also came with their friendship. At the start of Wait for the Rain, they aren't as close as they once where, especially with Daphne's unwillingness to open up with how unhappy she's been; however, over the course of the book, they begin to find each other again, and see that no matter what curve balls life throws them, they'll always have each other. It was adorable.

The one aspect I didn't quite enjoy about this one was the fact that it was slow moving at times. There were certain parts of the book I felt took forever to get through, but in the end, I felt that it did help to solidify the story as well as the characters.

In all, Wait for the Rain is a fun read, and anyone who loves friendship centered chick-lit is sure to enjoy it!

Grade: B

Wait for the Rain (Amazon, Goodreads, Barnes and Noble) is now out! Side note: It's free through kindle unlimited!

Bridges (Book 2) 

Summary/Cover Image from Amazon:

From the bestselling author of the Waverly Bryson series.

It’s a piece of news Daphne never expected to hear: Her globe-trotting friend Skylar, who vowed never to get married, is engaged! Time to celebrate in Manhattan—Skylar’s treat, of course. After years scaling the corporate ladder, she can more than afford it.

Daphne arrives in NYC with news of her own—the novel she’s finally finished appears to be going nowhere but the trash bin of every publishing house around. She’s devastated but plans to keep her disappointment under wraps, something that becomes trickier when she sees Skylar’s spectacular apartment. Could her life have been like this if she’d chosen a different path?

What Daphne doesn’t know is she’s not the only one with a secret. Skylar and their friend KC are also holding something back, but what? As the trip unfolds, the truth about each woman emerges, along with tears.

And laughter. And love.

The fun-loving trio readers fell for in Wait for the Rain is together once more. Here's to the power of friendship!

Review:

After reading Wait for the Rain, I was excited to dive back into the lives of KC, Skylar, and Daphne. It's like catching up with old friends - I wanted to know all about what they had been up to. Was KC enjoying being a grandmother? Had Daphne found new love yet? And most importantly, Skylar was getting married?! To whom?! I needed answers to these questions! As it turns out, Bridges was an incredibly enjoyable read and much stronger of a story than its predecessor.

One of my favorite aspects of this book was the setting. I'm a always a sucker for any book set in NYC, and Bridges was no exception. I loved getting to see KC and Daphne experience life in the city with Skylar. Maria did an excellent job of fleshing out the places - I had no problem visualizing the park KC and Daphne were running in or Skylar's lavish apartment. It made the story stronger in my opinion.

In Bridges strong character development occurred for the three girls. In the previous book, much of the focuses was on Daphne and her problems; however, this time around, we get to see KC and Skylar admit and take on their own challenges. It made the two of them fully become three-deminsial characters, and I couldn't have been happier. Most importantly, it had me hooked on this book. I wanted to know what KC was hiding, and I wanted to see Skylar forge a relationship with her soon-to-be stepdaughter.

As with Wait for the Rain, the friendship between the three girls in yet again the prime focus. It was exciting to see them find a new dynamic in the group as well as address bubbling issues they had with each other. By the end of their book, it was easy to see that their friendship was stronger than ever. What I especially loved about this book, though, was the little twists and turns Maria Murnane threw in. There was a couple of times I was taken back a little, especially when it came to Daphne's love life. That one turn at the very end involving an old character's reappearance? WOAH. I didn't except it to turn out as it did!

Funny as well as charming, Bridges is a slam-dunk sequel. However, ward of warning: it will make you want to reunite with all your best friends for a fun weekend in New York. I can only hope we'll get to catch up with the gang again someday!

Grade: A 

Bridges (Amazon, Goodreads, Barnes and Noble) is now out!

Source: eBooks provided by PR by the Book - thanks Paxton!

About the Author:

The story of how Maria became an author is a little crazy. She used to work in high-tech PR but hated it, so she quit and ended up playing semi-pro soccer in Argentina for a year. While she was down there she decided to write a novel, which was something she'd always dreamed of doing. Fast forward a few years, and she's now the bestselling author of the Waverly Bryson series (Perfect on Paper, It's a Waverly Life, Honey on Your Mind, and Chocolate for Two, which garnered a starred review in Publishers Weekly), plus Katwalk, 2015 International Book Award winner Cassidy Lane, Wait for the Rain, and Bridges. And yes, she still plays a lot of soccer!

Learn more about Maria: 

Twitter: @mariamurnane

Facebook: Maria Murnane

Instagram: mariamurnanewriter