Book Review

Review (quick and dirty #5 FINALLY): Summer at the Little French Guesthouse by Helen Pollard 

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I’m all caught up! Here’s the fifth and final Friday night quick and dirty book review: 

I love this series set in the French countryside! Emmy is a wonderful Jane-of-all-trades at Rupert’s lovely inn, and there’s no shortage of chick-lit drama. “Interesting” guests, crazy ex-wives, and family secrets drive the plot forward fast and furiously. I like that Emmy is soft-hearted yet doesn’t stand for any nonsense… and the other characters appreciate that about her as well. What most impresses me is how Pollard writes about real life issues with lightness and whimsy. GUESTHOUSE is so fun that you don’t even realize you’ve read about divorce, grief, mortality, trauma, and tolerance. All you feel is love, laughter and friendship — which are balms for all of life’s messy parts. C’est bon. 

-calliope

Buy SUMMER AT THE LITTLE FRENCH GUESTHOUSE

Review (quick and dirty #4): The Rules of Love and Grammar by Mary Simses 

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I chose this cute story because it’s set on the Connecticut shore, where I spend some time on the beach with my children each summer. I liked meeting Grace, and seeing the family dynamics as she temporarily stayed with her parents. I enjoyed meeting the people in her hometown, especially the bike shop peeps. But then Grace got a little unlikeable: immature (re)actions toward men she’s crushing on, blundering through her home life, and making some disappointing choices. The bike rides were beautiful, though, and so was the happily ever after, but the ride could’ve been a little smoother. 

Note: If you like your heroines seriously flawed, you’ll appreciate this book more than I did. 

-calliope

Buy THE RULES OF LOVE & GRAMMAR

Review (quick and dirty #3): Secrets of the Tulip Sisters by Susan Mallery 

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I was so happy to read this smart, fun, contemporary, relatable book about two very different sisters — the farmer and the fashionista. What’s underneath is what really matters, of course, but the ladies needed to find that out themselves. There were nosy gossips, nice guys who definitely didn’t finish last, big jerks who get sent on their merry way, and a couple of romances that made me sigh with giddiness. You’ll get all you bargained for and more in this novel with terrific dialogue and likeable characters. Reminded me of Jill Shalvis’ Lucky Harbor books. Excellent writing. 

-calliope

Buy SECRETS OF THE TULIP SISTERS

Review (quick and dirty #2): The Blessing by Wanda E. Brunstetter 

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Love Amish books, and love the main character Heidi (and her husband Lyle). Brunstetter does a good job writing dialogue and action for this married couple without children. I enjoyed Heidi’s cooking classes and her visits with friends. But the secondary characters…. oh my. The unrealistic, over the top, and inconsistent personalities drove me crazy. I struggled to get through their stilted dialogue. The only reason I finished is because I always need to know how a book ends! Plot and main characters get 4 stars from me, but the execution of secondary character development completely failed. 

-calliope

Buy THE BLESSING

Review (quick and dirty #1): Marry Me at Willoughby Close by Kate Hewitt

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I’m behind on book reviews, so here’s my attempt at redemption: Five quick and dirty reviews on a Friday night. 🙂 

This is the BEST of the Willoughby Close novels — light, fun, witty, believable. Loved Alice’s story, including her realistic fears about feeling settled after being a drifter for so long, and her reactions to handsome-but-snobby Henry. Alice was the perfect companion to elderly and frail Lady Stokely, unobtrusive and kind. I liked the cameos by the Willoughby Close neighbors from previous books in the series, and Hewitt did a fabulous job having them stay true to themselves — as did Alice, even when she fell in love. This is one of my favorite summer British chick lit reads, but you might want to prep by reading book 1 first. 

-calliope

Buy Marry Me at Willoughby Close ($3.99!)

Review: Firefly Lane by Kristin Hannah

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firefly-laneThis is the story of two best friends and follows their 30 year friendship. This was an alright read..it’s not the best I’ve read but certainly it isn’t the worst either….it’s just that it seemed like it went on and on for 30 years as I was trying to read it! Yammer Yammer Yammer…that’s all I heard in my head…the longer it went on the more I was annoyed. Honestly, no matter how good a book is (or isn’t) you don’t want it to feel as if you are actually experiencing every single one of the 30 years…

Have you guessed yet? I didn’t much like this book. It was a miss for me…

Until next time…
Urania xx

Buy it now Firefly Lane by Kristin Hannah

Review: The Wicked City by Beatriz Williams

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30037263-1This was like some patchwork quilt that you’ve imagined in your mind. You can see just how beautiful and perfect it will turn out. In your mind’s eyes, all the colours and patterns mesh perfectly and you can follow it through with your eye, each sweep of you vision leads you to a more perfect piece…and it’s not only beautiful but you know it’s warm and comfortable as well.

However, once you actually sit down to join all the colours and bits together, you completely lose the vision and once you finally finish it, you can see all the stitches, and not in a good way. The colours don’t flow, they clash. It’s not warm and comfortable at all. It’s a bit thin and scratchy.

Do you think I am happy to write a review like this? Errrrr…no! I wanted to love this book. My first Beatriz Williams book. I started this book and NEEDED to love it. I so enjoyed it so much at the start. But as it went on it just went way off track for me. I became completely lost along the way. Bits that were meant to tie it all together were just thrown in to complete a picture…but you CAN’T just throw bits in…you have to explain how you go there…and it has to make sense! You can’t teach a Maths class by giving a final number and expecting the students to know how you reached that number! You can’t present a problem in a novel, then some farfetched solution and expect the reader to be able to sort it out either.

The ending wasn’t an ending at all…it was a rushed (felt like it) positioning of several characters that you really don’t know how they ended up there. I am guessing there’s another novel in the works and the ending was a set up for that novel…BUT STILL…you can’t just leap forward and put characters in sudden situations. Situations, that you’ve hoped the entire novel was working towards, but suddenly happen…it’s like they jumped from point A to B to C and then are now all on F skipping over D and E…

So gutted….

Until next time…
Urania xx

ARC provided by Edelweiss for an honest review

The Wicked City by Beatriz Williams

Review: The Irresistible Blueberry Bakeshop & Cafe by Mary Simses

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I love a good love story that includes food and baking and New England locales, but this one didn’t make the grade. The main character leaves her fast paced NYC lifestyle to deliver a letter from the past for her late grandmother. That plot line worked, but not so much the romance (in one week when she spent the first three days annoyed) or the baking (I waited so very long for the bakeshop to make an appearance). I’m not from Maine, but I could think of a dozen ways to get more blueberries into a book with blueberries in the title and on the cover.  I wanted to want to root for the main character but she wasn’t likeable enough. Would’ve loved more of Roy and his family, though!

Cute premise, but the execution fell short. 

-Calliope 

Buy THE IRRESISTIBLE BLUEBERRY BAKESHOP & CAFE

Review: Before Everything by Victoria Redel 

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This book is a lot of work to read. It’s emotionally taxing (although I didn’t even cry until near the end) and, frankly, depressing. Anna is dying of cancer. And that’s no spoiler, pal. That’s the premise of the book. 

Before Everything is also about love and friendship and family and a few secrets. Victoria Redel designs Anna’s friendships so realistically that the secrets the women have make me remember secrets I have with my friends … not contrived or hyperbolic or beyond belief, but just stuff we know about each other because we’ve been friends for so long. 

I read this book in hopes that I’d come to a better understanding of what it’s like for the family of a person dying of cancer. But I couldn’t do it. I couldn’t let myself feel it 100%. So instead I read with my shoulders tensed, my mind rushing to get to the next scene, and only half my heart with Anna. 

It’s a good read if you can let your guard down. I held back because otherwise it would’ve been too painful. Thinking about that, well, maybe I did learn what it’s like to be close to someone who’s dying. 

-calliope

Buy BEFORE EVERYTHING

Review: The Terror by Dan Simmons

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terrorHave you ever had friends rave about a book? Tell you how terrifying it was? How amazing it was? Have you rushed out to buy that book? Been so excited to start that book that you actually put it off for a few months (OKAY OKAY OKAY, maybe the size of my TBR list had a bit to do with that as well) just so you can savour it?

Yea, me too! The Terror by Dan Simmons was one of those books! Once I finally dived in I was beyond excited to finally get started! Do you know what I found once I did? Here it is…are you ready? My review in just a few short words…

All I can say is that I was about ready for the Tuunbaq to come and put me out of my cold misery long before this novel ended…..

That’s it…

The End…

Until next time…
Urania xx

Buy it now (or not) The Terror by Dan Simmons