I really wanted to fall deliciously deep into Rhapsody. But, this book was a DNF for me. I feel extra bad about saying this, too, since author Mitchell James Kaplan sent a personalized note on lovely, thick, cream-colored stationary along with the ARC. But, I'm all about the honest reviews, so....here goes. What's Rhapsody about? Set in Jazz Age NYC, Rhapsody is the story of composer George Gershwin's love affair with Kay...
It just so happens that I cracked open Cosy: The British Art of Comfort on a cold winter night. The temp had dropped down below freezing, and gusty winds whipped around the corners of our little cottage in the snowy mountains. I was wrapped up in the colorful afghan my grandmother knitted for me, sipping hot cocoa topped with whipped cream from a hand-crafted clay mug, with a furry little cat snuggled up on my lap. In short, at that moment, I...
I completely adored The Flatshare by Beth O’Leary. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: the hardest book reviews to write are for the books you love the most. There’s just so much you want to say! And it seems impossible to find the right words to express how much the story means to you. That’s how I feel about The Flatshare. And, I'm completely surprised by this. What's The Flatshare about? I went into The Flatshare...
Well, Tartlets, we're rounding out a year of reading by heading back to Ballybucklebo with another book in the Irish Country Novels series: An Irish Country Family. And, I'm happy to report that I enjoyed this book much more than the last one in the series. Author Patrick Taylor mercifully toned down the in-depth discussion of Irish politics, And, while Barry and Sue's infertility issues continue to plague them, that plotline, too, has...
Christmas Shopaholic may be the best Christmas book I've read in a long time. It might also be the best book in Sophie Kinsella's Shopaholic series I've read in a long time. On both counts, nothing could have surprised me more. What's Christmas Shopaholic about? This newest installment in the Shopaholic series stars our girl Becky Brandon (née Bloomwood). Becky is a loveably ditzy but well-meaning woman with a slight...
Even though The Merriest Magnolia sounds like a Christmas book, and the beautiful cover makes it look like a Christmas book… it’s not what I would call a true Christmas book. And, I really liked that about it. What's The Merriest Magnolia about? Author Michelle Major’s newest installment of The Magnolia Sisters series kicks off just before Thanksgiving. The Merriest Magnolia ushers us into the Yuletide season by letting...
Clear your weekend, Tartlets. In fact, clear your week. Because Winter Solstice is a book you want to read slooooowly, savoring every word and turn of the page. I discovered this 2011 novel by Rosamunde Pilcher on a list of holiday reads from Modern Mrs Darcy. It was the most recommended book by her readers, and it didn’t take me long to figure out why. What's Winter Solstice about? Winter Solstice starts off...
House of Salt and Sorrows is aptly named: there's a heck of a lot of Salt, and there's way more sorrow than necessary plaguing the Thaumas family. The more you read, the more you're like, Sheesh, hasn't this family been through enough??? What's House of Salt and Sorrows about? House of Salt and Sorrows is author Erin A. Craig's reimagining of the Twelve Dancing Princesses fairy tale by the Brothers Grimm. We...
Dixie Wheeler, the main character of Theme Music, is a little odd. She gets a pass, though. You would, too, if your whole family was brutally slaughtered in front of your eyes. YEAH. You heard me. What's Theme Music about? The prologue of Theme Music is an incredibly graphic replay of when Dixie Wheeler's father pulled a Lizzie Borden on his family, taking an axe and chopping them into pieces one Thanksgiving morning....
First of all, can we all just take a moment to acknowledge how much the cover for The Girl in the Mirror looks like the cover for Desperate Girls? Click on the links to see what I mean. Second of all... is it weird that I called the entire story, from beginning to end? Nothing about The Girl in the Mirror surprised me. Like, NOTHING. Sigh. What's The Girl in the Mirror about? Despite The Girl in the Mirror...
