A Well-Read Tart

A Food and Book Lover’s Blog

SEX ROMP GONE WRONG Book Review

I really wanted to love Sex Romp Gone Wrong. However, this collection of short stories by Julia Ridley Smith wasn’t quite what I was expecting.   What’s Sex Romp Gone Wrong about? Sex Romp Gone Wrong covers relationships and friendships, love and romance, marriage and kids, and all the blurred lines in between. Based on the wonderfully intriguing title -- the sole reason I requested an ARC of this book --  I expected the stories to be a...

A BAKERY IN PARIS Book Review

Although I started off a little annoyed with A Bakery in Paris, this heartwarming story about two Parisian ladies -- and their delicious French recipes -- grew on me by the end of the book.   What’s A Bakery in Paris about? A Bakery in Paris follows two women in the same family. There's Lisette, who lives in 1870, and Micheline, who lives in 1946. Each woman finds comfort in friendship, baking, and freedoms she didn’t know she needed as...

THE CLOISTERS Book Review

Tartlets, I’m a bit confused about my thoughts on The Cloisters. When I first finished reading this suspense novel that combines medieval art history, dark academia, and astrology, I really liked it. Then, after talking with a few people, I realized that I didn't like this book as much as I think I did. You know how when you’re dating someone new and you think they're awesome? Then, that person meets your friends, and they all throw you...

THE ECHO WIFE Book Review

The Echo Wife is very different from the type of books I usually read. The premise sounded a bit domestic suspense-y, so I grabbed it since I love reading thrillers in the winter months. It wasn’t until I glanced at the side of my library copy and saw a little “science fiction” sticker on the spine that I was like, “Wait, what?” What I got from author Sarah Gailey’s novel was so much more. This domestic thriller/science fiction...

THE TRUTH PROJECT Book Review

I waited a long time -- too long! -- to read The Truth Project. Author Dante Medema (whether she knows this or not) was one of the very first people to start following the Tart’s Instagram account. Of course, I followed her right back, and not long after that, she announced her upcoming debut publication. I've been waiting to read The Truth Project since the day it was published back in 2020.  Correction: I've been waiting to read it since...

THE FINAL GIRL SUPPORT GROUP Book Review

Grady Hendrix is so fucking brilliant. The Final Girl Support Group blew me away with its originality, its wit, and its non-stop, heart-pounding, guess-again action.   What’s a “final girl”? “Final Girl” is the term coined for the last girl left standing in a horror story. You know, there’s a close-knit group of a few teens, and the killer picks them off one by one until, finally, there’s only one person – usually a girl –...

THE FURY Book Review

The Fury isn’t the first book I’ve read by Alex Michaelides – and, unfortunately, it wasn’t my favorite.   What’s The Fury about? This thriller is about a supposedly close-knit group of friends on a lavish vacation together on a private Greek island – and one up them ends up dead. The story is told through the eyes of one of the friends, Elliot Chase, who narrates the The Fury. And, who is super annoying. There’s basically two...

THE BEAR AND THE NIGHTINGALE Book Review

Many thanks to those of you (there were many!) who told me to read The Bear and the Nightingale. Extra special thanks goes to those who pointed out that I should do so during wintertime. You were spot on about this.   What’s The Bear and the Nightingale about? The Bear and the Nightingale beautifully weaves together historical fiction and fantasy, truth and fable, new religion and old world magic. There are princes and peasants, house elves...

HOME FOR CHRISTMAS Book Review

Home for Christmas by Holly Chamberlin wasn't my favorite Christmas book ever. But, it definitely wasn’t the worst.  You know how some holiday stories can get overly saccharine? Home for Christmas is like that. Just a little. The two daughters are just a little too perfect. The main relationships in the book are just a little too on the nose. And, everything gets tied up a little too neatly in the end. But, hey. It’s Christmas, right? WE...

HAMNET Book Review

I hated Hamlet, the famous play by William Shakespeare. But, I adored HamNet, the novel by Maggie O’Farrell. This work of historical fiction has been on my TBR list for a little while, but because of the title, I was reluctant to dive in. Luckily, a friend reassured me that the novel Hamnet has very little to do with Hamlet, and then told me I should read it because it’s wonderful. My friend was right.   What’s Hamnet about? Hamnet’s...