Jim Ciardella's The Dealer

Jim Ciardella's The Dealer is a fascinating book.  Now I admit that I am particularly interested in the subject matter because it's about the Ferrari of Los Gatos car dealership, which was in operation for nearly 20 years in the mid-70s to the mid-90s.  Why am I so interested?  Because I know the owner of that dealership, Brian Burnett, as well as his ex-wife, Tina.  And his kids went to the same school as my kids, in similar grades. But besides all that, Brian's dealership was the biggest in North America! And Jim tells us why.  He tells us about the celebrities that bought cars there.  He tells us about trips to Italy, with other dealers, to meet with, and get wined and dined by, Enzo Ferrari himself.  He tells us all about the ups and downs of owning a Ferrari dealership.  You don't have to be from Los Gatos to appreciate and enjoy this book.  Believe me.  It's just flat-out interesting reading. 

2 Short Reviews

Next month, Ellen Marie Wiseman will be Zooming in to the RBC.  Here is the book and my short review:

The Lost Girls of Willowbrook, by Ellen Marie Wiseman:

Leave it to Ellen Marie Wiseman to give us an historical fiction that I'm sure very few, if any, of us have heard about. And let me tell you that in her usual manner she makes us feel what went on at Willowbrook State School on Staten Island. In her latest, The Lost Girls of Willowbrook, we learn about the incredible abuses that so many children suffered at this institution from the late 1940s until the late 1980s. Through the central character, Sage, whose twin sister, Rosemary, was admitted a number of years earlier, we learn exactly how the residents were treated. At times it's difficult reading. But that's exactly what makes an historical fiction so affecting. And, believe me, you won't be able to put this one down. Ellen Marie Wiseman has struck again! Pick up a copy...quickly.

I also have a review of Kimberly Belle's latest, The Personal Assistant.  She is not currently scheduled to Zoom in to the RBC.  But she has come once before, and I will try to schedule her for this book.  Plus, she was kind enough to send me an ARC.

It's always a treat to read Kimberly's books (I started with The Marriage Lie, still one of my favorite books). And The Personal Assistant is no exception. This is a book that centers on a woman who has become a very popular influencer (is that redundant?)...and, of course, what goes wrong. There are a whole bunch of twists and turns, and I challenge any of you who think you can always figure out what's going to happen to do that with TPA. It's impossible. Nobody really is who she/he seems to be. 
Get a hold of this book, people. You will definitely be glad you did.