Category Archives: Fiction

Vintage

VintageTitle: Vintage
Author: Susan Gloss
Source: from publisher for TLC Book Tour
Rating: ★★★★★
Review Summary: This is a beautiful, amazing, wonderful book which explore female friendship and stands as a powerful testament to the idea that the modern women can be anyone she wants to be.

As I may have mentioned once or twice, I love books where people’s lives intersect and they all become happier as a result. This is one of those stories. At the beginning, I thought I might be getting tired of that story. I thought this particular story might feel clichéd and exactly like all the others. However, the more I read, the more I was convinced this was something special. The writing did remind me of The Wedding Bees or Lost Lake. Susan Glass does a wonderful job creating a vivid world with a cheerful atmosphere. Her writing is bright and colorful, making reading this book a delightful experience. Initially, I wasn’t sure I liked the fashion references, especially since I’m not fashionable enough to get all of them. I did, however, think the idea of focusing each chapter on one item from Violet’s store (described at the beginning of the chapter) gave this book a unique character. I eventually got used to the in-chapter fashion references too.
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Filed under Contemporary, Fiction, Romance

The Collector of Dying Breaths

18144112Title: The Collector of Dying Breaths
Author: M.J. rose
Source: from publisher for France Book Tours
Rating: ★★★☆☆
Review Summary: Although the writing of this book included bits that were melodramatic and bits that were dry, I really enjoyed the action-packed plot, complex characters, unique mythology, and rich grounding in historical fact.

Jac L’Etoile has been hiding from her past. She’s avoided joining the family perfume business, is skeptical about her visions of past lives, and tries not to think about her ex-boyfriend Griffin. However, her brother’s death will force her to confront all three as she tries to finish his final project: reconstructing an ancient formula for reviving someone using their dying breath.  Through her visions, she learns about the originator of the dying breath project, René le Florentin. René is both a perfumer and a poisoner for Catherine de Medici. Only by learning about René’s tragic death can Jac hope to avoid the same fate. Continue reading

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Filed under Historical Fiction, Uncategorized

Where I Want To Be

20877119Title: Where I Want To Be
Author: Cortney Roudebush
Source: from author for review
Rating: ★★☆☆☆
Review Summary: Although this book seemed like a good fit for me, I didn’t love the writing, the obsessive focus on dating bothered me, and I couldn’t relate to the main character.

Olivia Goldstein has a very successful career in LA, but her timidity generally prevents her from enjoying life. She doesn’t like her career, has few friends, and rarely dates. The only thing she truly enjoys is wine. With some encouragement from her best friend, she makes one of her first spontaneous decisions and enrolls in a wine class in Napa Valley. Once there, she begins to make friends who teach her about wine and talk her into being more courageous about dating. Although she starts her trip certain that she’d like to return to LA, by the end of the summer she’s not so sure. Continue reading

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Filed under Fiction, Romance

Lost Lake

13481275Title: Lost Lake
Author: Sarah Addison Allen
Source: from publisher for She Reads book club
Rating: ★★★★★
Review Summary: This book was perfect for me; it’s a very beautifully written, happy story about people helping each other find happiness with just a dash of magic.

Since her husband Matt died, Kate has been a bit lost. When she suddenly realizes that she’s let her controlling mother-in-law take over her daughter’s life, Katie decides she needs to do something. A bit of time away at her Aunt Eby’s summer camp, Lost Lake, may be just what she needs. Unfortunately, her Aunt Eby is about to be forced to sell the place unless Kate and the other people who depend on their visits to Lost Lake are able to do something to help. Continue reading

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Filed under Magical Realism

The Divorce Papers

18142403Title: The Divorce Papers
Author: Susan Rieger
Source: from publisher for review
Rating: ★★★★☆
Review Summary: I loved this modernization of the epistolary form, especially the beautiful formatting of letters from different sources and the unique voice each character had, although the ending felt a bit unemotional.

Sophie Diel is a criminal lawyer who “very much appreciates that most of her clients are behind bars”. Despite her professed lack of people skills, when she’s asked to fill in for a colleague at an initial interview with Mia Meiklejohn Durkheim they hit it off right away. Mia is heartbroken and angry at her husband’s request for a divorce. She likes Sophie and believes that her direct approach may be just what’s needed to win custody of her daughter and perhaps take her smug husband down a peg or two. The story of Sophie’s experience with the divorce and the ways it makes her reconsider her own relationships is told in epistolary style. This includes “personal correspondence, office memos, emails, articles, and legal papers.” (quotes from goodreads description) Continue reading

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Filed under Fiction, Women's Fiction

Coincidence

CoincidenceTitle: Coincidence
Author: J. W. Ironmonger
Source: from publisher for TLC Book Tour
Rating: ★★★★★
Review Summary: This was one of those books where the writing was so perfect and the plot was so engaging, I had a hard time stopping reading long enough to take notes.

Azalea Lewis believes that everything happens for a reason. Given the astonishing coincidences that have shaped her life, perhaps this should come as no surprise. However, it does make her relationship with Professor Thomas Post rather difficult, since he’s made a career of rationalizing away people’s belief in meaningful coincidences. When Azalea’s study of her past leads her to believe that she will die on Midsummer’s Day, Thomas begins to fear that her belief in coincidences will be proved right if he doesn’t do something to save her. Continue reading

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Filed under Fiction, Literary

When Patty Went Away

19505849Title: When Patty Went Away
Author: Jeannie Burt
Source: from publisher for review
Rating: ★★★☆☆
Review Summary: The writing in this book was beautiful and perfect for the story, but after the emotional impact of the first half of the story, the ending was too strange and too anticlimactic for me.

In a small farming town, a bad reputation is easy to get and hard to lose. By the time Patty Pugh disappears, she has such a reputation as a troublemaker that hardly anyone is surprised or bothered by her disappearance. Farmer Jack McIntyre’s daughter is one of Patty’s only friends and her concern for Patty slowly draws him in. As he learns more of Patty’s story, he becomes determined to save her, even if no one else believes he should. Continue reading

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Filed under Fiction