Let the Northern Lights Erase Your Name by Vendela Vida

This was a quick read, and an enjoyable one. Clarissa, the heroine, is in search of her roots. At her father's death, she finds out that he was not really her father after all, and her mother left the family when Clarissa was just a teen. She just disappeared one day when she and Clarissa were doing their Christmas shopping at the Poughkeepsie Mall. Her mom arranged to meet her at a given place at a given time, and never came back. And her father never shared this secret with her. Neither did her fiance, who has known for 15 years that it was not her father, either.
Clarissa finds her birth certificate in her father's papers after he dies and finds another man's name as her father. He is a Sami priest and lives in Lapland. (The Sami are the indigenous population in Lapland, resembling our Native Americans.) Clarissa leaves her fiance to find out the truth about her past.
When she finds him in Lapland, she finds out other interesting information as well, and her journey takes her eventually to the truth about her past.
I heard of this author because she has a new book out that is on my Want to Read list but since I could not get it, I took this one out instead. She is a good writer and I am inclined now to find her other books.

The Three Weissmans of Westport by Cathleen Schine

After reading other reviews of this novel,  I guess I need to read Sense and Sensibility again in order to appreciate this one.  But I DID appreciate it, even without a reminder of the close correlation between the Jane Austen book and this one.
The characters Betty, Miranda and Annie are interesting and human. Betty, the mother, has just been left by her husband of 40 plus years. She moves from NYC to Westport, CT into a cottage owned by her Uncle Lou and is joined by her two daughters.  Their "adventures" are described in detail in this entertaining novel that is full of humor, satire and pathos.

Julia's Chocolates by Cathy Lamb

I can't say that I did not enjoy reading this book, but I was a bit disappointed since it came highly recommended.  The story follows a young woman, Julia Bennett, as she escapes the torture and abuse of an abusive mother and blue blood fiance. The story is told in a humorous way, but personally, I find it hard to be glib about subjects as serious as these are.
The novel becomes a kind of "male bashing" vehicle, but there are sympathetic male characters in the book as well, which makes it a bit more palatable in the end.
Julie leaves her wedding gown draped over a tree in North Dakota as she escapes from her horrendous fiance, Robert. This was probably the best part of the book.  I really loved the description of Julia trying to drape that gown over the tree and have it stay there. So initially, I was "hooked," the talent of this young writer was powerful to start.
But I found as I continued reading that the characters were typical and predictable and reminiscent of other such novels, such as the Ya Ya Sisterhood.
I wanted more. The ending was not surprising. I was hoping for more.
Is Cathy Lamb related to Wally?

The Irresistable Henry House by Lisa Gruenwald

I was totally unaware of the fact that in the late 40's & early 50's and up to the late 60's, colleges and universities had home economics classes in childcare that had young women "practicing" mothering skills on orphans who were supplied by local orphanages. Quite strange!
This book deals with just such a baby - Henry House - who was reared by multiple moms for a short time in his infancy and who is then adopted by Martha, the head of the program at the school. She is so dedicated to Henry but he does not feel the same toward her. She lied to him early in his life, hiding the truth of his parentage and suffocating him with her love.
Henry has relationship and committment issues, given his unusual rearing and the book follows his life through his early years and into his adulthood. He has numerous relationships, but none can really last until Henry deals with his own insecurities and feelings about his past.
I recommend this book!