Greetings Bookworms!
I am ridiculously behind on writing reviews. And writing anything, really. I’m hoping this slump abates soon, it’s kind of bumming me out that I’ve lost my blogging mojo. Until the glorious muse of inspiration strikes, I’m going to keep on trucking and bring you some tasty bite size reviews.
ONE: A Memory of Violets: A Novel of London’s Flower Sellers
by Hazel Gaynor– My MIL turned me on to this book, and as usual, she was right on the money in knowing what I’d like. A Memory of Violets centers on the plight of London’s flower sellers back in the day. You know. Like Eliza Doolittle, but with more heartbreak and fewer musical interludes. The book begins with Tilly Harper taking up a post at a home for London’s disabled flower sellers where the former destitute flower sellers now work to manufacture artificial flowers. Once Tilly arrives, she finds a diary and we’re submerged into the world of one of those very destitute flower sellers, and the heartbreaking loss of her sister. I know dual narratives aren’t for everyone, but I don’t mind them. I really enjoyed the book overall, even if I found it kind of predictable. Flower nerds who love period pieces, take note!
TWO. Like Water for Chocolate: A Novel in Monthly Installments with Recipes, Romances, and Home Remedies
by Laura Esquivel: This book has been on my TBR list for AGES. One of the girls who lived on my floor in college recommended it to me (if you’re reading this blog, HOLA LESLIE!) In case you’re bad at math that makes it eleventy billion years from recommendation to reading. The novel is set in turn of the century Mexico (that’s kind of a terrible phrase, since the century turned again… It’s set in the late 1800s- early 1900s) and features the all female De La Garza family. Magical realism is all up in this book. It’s kind of impossible not to draw comparisons to Gabriel García Márquez because of the magical realism and overall tone. Still, I found it to be a bit more quirky and humorous than Márquez, even at its saddest moments. If you dig the Latin American magical realism scene, this book is NOT to be missed.
THREE. The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks
by E. Lockhart: Wow today is just full of recommendations, isn’t it? I read THIS book because my friend Megan (Hi Megan!) posted that it was $1.99 on Kindle (I’m a sucker for a daily deal) and that she loved it. I didn’t realize until I’d purchased the book that I’d read E. Lockhart before, in the form of We Were Liars (discussion). I actually liked The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks much better than the over hyped We Were Liars
. Frankie was such a great narrator. Not content to be relegated to the sidelines as eye candy, she sets out to discover the secrets of her new boyfriend’s secret society. Shenanigans ensue at swanky boarding school. I’ll admit that I’ve got a limited tolerance for books about outrageously wealthy prep school kids, but Frankie was a gal after my feminist heart.
FOUR. The Last Anniversary
by Liane Moriarty: You know how everyone secretly wishes they had a fabulously wealthy long lost aunt or uncle who, unbeknownst to them, leaves you a large bequest in their will? That actually happened to our protagonist Sophie Honeywell. Only the aunt in question wasn’t hers- it was her ex-boyfriend’s. AWKWARD. Sophie is given her ex’s aunt’s house, which is located on quaint Scribbly Gum Island, home of the Munro Baby mystery. The only other residents are her ex’s family. Because of course. This early Liane Moriarty had a bit of a Sophie Kinsella flair to it, and I found it charming, if a little off the wall.
I offer this post as definitive proof that I do take the reading recommendations I receive from other people. No Bookworm is an island, my friends. So tell me. What have YOU been reading? Anything I might like?
*If you make a purchase through a link on this site, I will receive a small commission.*
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Megan M.
OMG I think I might be *the* Megan you’re talking about! *faints* I’m glad you liked Frankie. It’s one of the books I’ve read multiple times and saved it for my kids to read. Most recently I read John Grisham’s “Rogue Lawyer” and Alafair Burke’s “The Ex.” The Grisham was good, it was more like several connected short stories about one lawyer than a big, long, centralized plot, which I liked because as you know, I’m quite the complainer about over-long books. And I like every Alafair Burke novel I’ve read. They have a good pace and even if I figure out most of what’s going on by the end, there’s always one or two things that still manage to surprise me.
Words for Worms
YOU ARE!!! YOU ARE THE MEGAN! You should feel fancy. I liked Frankie a lot. I was a little disappointed in some of the other characters (the boys, mostly) but it was definitely a fun read.
Kailana
Hazel Gaynor has been on my radar for a while, but still have not read her. I have her book about the Titanic on my ereader… Must get to it!
Words for Worms
I just realized that I too have an unread book on my Kindle about the Titanic… I’ll have to check and see if it’s Hazel Gaynor because if so I might quit procrastinating and read it!
Jenny @ Reading the End
Okay I am not a flower nerd AND I swore off dual timelines so many times that it’s becoming ridiculous and I may need to stop swearing them off because I never stick to it. But A Memory of Violets sounds deeeelightful. I am in a place where I super-much want to read delightful things, so yay, perfect timing!
lostinliterature108
I read The Last Anniversary earlier this year. I liked it. Especially the little answer/twist that you get at the end when the old lady is painting the tiles on her floor.
I recently finished Sophie’s Choice. LAW HAF MERCY!!! That book!!! Trying to muster some courage to talk about it on the blog. I don’t know…..
Right now I’m reading My Sunshine Away.
Amal (AMB)
“In case you’re bad at math that makes it eleventy billion years from recommendation to reading”
HA! I’m the same way! I have a long list of book recommendations that I’ll get to someday.
I hope you get out of your blogging slump soon. I’m in a bit of reading slump these days. It comes and goes.
florinda3rs
Totally agree with you on the Lockharts: I adored …FRANKIE LANDAU-BANKS and was subsequently disappointed by WE WERE LIARS. Overhyped, indeed.
DoingDewey
Haha, I also take forever to get to book recommendations. There are just so many new, shiny things to distract me!
The Last Anniversary is one of the few books by Liane Moriarty that I haven’t read, but I love her enough that I definitely want to get to all of her backlist.