The Dogs of Venice

Big fan pf Steven Rowley and his writing so I was super excited to check out this novella. It was short, sweet, and emotional. Paul and his husband have been planning a Venetian Christmas getaway for months. The only problem is Paul's husband has just decided that the marriage is over. Distraught, Paul decides to still go to Venice to try and soothe his broken heart. While there he discovers the stray dogs of Venice and is besotted with their carefree existence. Maybe there is something to it? A short and sweet novella. 

The Guncle Abroad

I am so thrilled that the Guncle lives on and I hope we get a few more books out of him. This follow up takes place five years after the first book. The kids are a little older and wiser, BUT they are up in arms. Their father is going to marry an Italian noblewoman and they are not ok with it. Patrick agrees to take the kids on a whirlwind European vacation and then escorting them to the Italian wedding. Grant and Maisie are trying their hardest to convince Patrick to intervene and stop the wedding. Their guncle wants them to learn about love and what better way then a trip through London, Venice, and the Alps?! Witty, funny, and not nearly so heartbreaking as the first one.

The Celebrants

Sentimental, sweet, but also sassy and over the top; this story of college friends will win over most readers. At the end of their college career in the 90's their friend group loses Alec to an overdose. Jordan, Jordy, Naomi, Craig, and Marielle are distraught. They had so many things they wish they could have said to him. While drinking and mourning Alec they decide to create a pact, a pact that will allow each of them to have a funeral while living so they can all say what is on their hearts. Well life happened and they grew up and grew apart (except for the Jordans, they got married), the pact was nearly forgotten until they all get a call from Marielle whose divorce has sent her spiraling. The Celebrants covers all the friends and their funerals and is extremely witty and wild - bordering at times obnoxious but still good fun. 

The Guncle

Lived up to the hype and then some! Extremely heartfelt, hilarious, and touching. I was enamored with this unconventional family trying to work through their grief and get to know each other. When Patrick's best friend and sister in law dies after a battle with cancer, his brother asks that he takes the kids back with him to Palm Springs so that he can check himself into rehab. And not just for a little bit either, ninety days - the whole summer! Patrick is a former tv star, a golden globe winner, and a sassy gay man who is perfectly content to be a recluse. Kids?! At his house?! They'll ruin the baby grand piano, trash the pool, ruin his collection of pristine Playbills. And for the whole summer?!? But he'll do it for Sarah. He knows a lot about grief and heartbreak and someone has to be there for his niece and nephew so it may as well be him. Five year old, Grant, and eight year old, Maisie, are a handful but as they get used to their GUP (Gay Uncle Patrick) they start to get into a routine and Patrick discovers that his life has never been more full. The kids are helping him as much as he's presumably helping them. They may not drink martinis but they know how to have a good time. The kids are hilarious and Patrick is someone you'll immediately want to be friends with. I could not put this book down. Soo soo heartwarming.