A Well-Read Tart

A Food and Book Lover’s Blog

OLD COUNTRY Book Review

Old Country is one of the best horror stories I’ve read in a very long time. Tartlets, this supernatural horror novel by Matt Query and Harrison Query is AWESOME. There’s no other word for it. Old Country blew me away with its originality, insidiously creepy reveals, and excellent writing. I’ve read a lot of haunted house stories, but this tale about a young married couple living on haunted land stands out as a rare treat in the horror...

A STORM OF INFINITE BEAUTY Book Review

A Storm of Infinite Beauty begins with a bang – pretty much literally. Did you know that a massive earthquake and tsunami decimated a portion of the Alaskan coastline in the 1960s? Because I had no idea this happened until I read Julianne MacLean’s detailed and deeply researched women’s fiction novel set in Valdez, Alaska.   What’s A Storm of Infinite Beauty about?  A Storm of infinite Beauty is a dual timeline novel. There's young...

THE SPARROW SISTERS Book Review

I tried reading the second book in the Sparrow Sister series a few years ago. I only made it a few pages into Book #2 -- The Forbidden Garden -- before putting it aside. It was mainly because I just couldn't get into the story or keep the characters straight.  Now, I know why. I was supposed to read The Sparrow Sisters first.  Whoops.    What's The Sparrow Sisters about? The Sparrow Sisters by Ellen Herrick unfolds slowly. It eases you...

BEST SERVED HOT Book Review

Best Served Hot marries two of my favorite types of books: a hilarious rom-com and delicious foodie fiction. I ended up loving this funny, sweet, and sexy novel by Amanda Elliot, though it admittedly took a few chapters to get into it. This is mostly because of main character Julie. When we first meet her, she spends most of her time scheming about how to get clicks on her restaurant review blog. As a result, Julie comes across as a little...

MY MAGNOLIA SUMMER (DNF Book Review)

Unpopular opinion alert: I didn’t like My Magnolia Summer. I hate to break it to you, but this is another DNF book review. This Southern fiction novel by Victoria Benton Frank has been sweeping through the #bookstagram and BookTok feeds recently. The main reason is because it looks like the perfect summer read. Another reason might have something to do with the fact that author Frank is the daughter of famed novelist Dorothea Benton Frank....

A NOVEL OBSESSION Book Review

I bet Naomi, the main character in A Novel Obsession, has "crazy eyes." She has to have crazy eyes. Because, it sure doesn't take long for her crazy to start coming out.   What's A Novel Obsession about? I stumbled across A Novel Obsession when I decided to take a writing workshop taught by author Caitlin Barasch. The story’s premise intrigued me right away: twenty-something Naomi stalks her boyfriend's ex-girlfriend under the guise of...

THE RESERVOIR Book Review

The Reservoir's a quirky one, Tartlets. Just warning ya.  This novella (a.k.a, a short book) is written by David Duchovny. Most people my age will know him as Fox Mulder from a little TV phenomenon called The X-Files, and later on from Californication. Normally, I’m pretty skeptical of books written by celebrities. Either such books are ghostwritten, or the celeb just got the book deal because, well, they’re a big, famous actor and not...

LOCKDOWN ON LONDON LANE Book Review

If you're a fan of the movie Love Actually (umm, who isn't???), you’re going to adore Lockdown on London Lane.   What's Lockdown on London Lane about? Lockdown on London Lane (or, Love, Locked Down if you’re reading the UK edition) features a cast of characters who are quarantined inside their large apartment complex after a neighbor contracts a “dangerous virus” that seems to be spreading all over the world. Sound familiar? **gulp**...

THE HOLLOW PLACES Book Review

Christ on a cracker. The Hollow Places is one of the most mind-bending, horrifying books I've ever read. I actually let out a low, guttural groan at one point -- that's how disturbed I was by one passage.  It was wonderful.  The Hollow Places isn't my first T. Kingfisher novel, nor will it be my last. I read The Twisted Ones by her last year and I loved it. The Twisted Ones was fantastically creepy, a stomach-clenching, supernatural,...

THE WINTER SEA Book Review

Yes, this is the first book review I've posted in quite awhile. And, yes, I'm reviewing a book titled The Winter Sea even though it's springtime. I'm just wacky like that.  Hello, Tartlets! It's been a hot minute. (An update about that will go up later this week.) Sorry it's taken me so darn long to find my way back to this space. But, I'm here and ready to resume discussing all things books, recipes, and writing with my lovely...