Tartlets, prepare yourself for ALL the things with In the Garden of Monsters by Crystal King. I could not put down this novel that blends historical fiction, fantasy, Greek and Roman mythology, Gothic horror, and so much more into an amazing read.
What’s In the Garden of Monsters about?
In the Garden of Monsters follows Julia, a 1940s art model who takes a job posing as the goddess Persephone for famed artist Salvador Dali. Julia, Dali,...
Grab a glass of lemonade, settle into your beach chair, and get ready for the lovely summer read that is The Summer Club.
What’s The Summer Club about? The Summer Club by Hannah McKinnon takes place at a generations-old beach club in Massachusetts named Mayhaven. Everything at Mayhaven – along with its members and staff – is going through a summer of change, whether it's ready for it or not.
This contemporary novel has an ensemble...
I regularly attend goat yoga sessions in the summer, so when I heard that Janna Rollins was writing a cozy mystery titled An Escape Goat: A Zen Goat Mystery about a goat yoga retreat gone awry, I knew I had to read this book.
Prepare yourselves, Tartlets, for all the goats, all the yoga, all the foodie fiction, and, yes, for a spot of murder.
What’s An Escape Goat about?
An Escape Goat is about a woman named Callie who opens up a goat yoga...
I seem to be on a Jane Austen retelling kick lately: first Once Persuaded, Twice Shy, and now Relative Strangers, which is a modern reimagining of Sense and Sensibility.
What’s Relative Strangers about?
Amelia Bae-Wood ((ahem, Marianne Dashwood) goes to live with her widowed sister Eleanor, her widowed mother, and her niece Margaret after her glamorous foodie-preneur lifestyle falls apart. Her family has been rendered near penniless...
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...
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 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...
Tartlets, it’s Two-fer Tuesday!
The Cottage on Pumpkin and Vine and The Bakeshop at Pumpkin and Spice are set in the same enchanting world of Moonbright, Maine, so I thought it'd be fun to do a dual book review today.
Never judge a book (completely) by its cover
LOOK AT THESE BOOK COVERS. And these titles!
With the fall season in full swing, how can you resist something with “pumpkin” or “spice” in the title? Obviously, I couldn't,...
The quickest way to dissolve a marriage is with secrets and lies. Both abound in Recipe for a Perfect Wife.
This bold, thought-provoking, and heartfelt novel by Karma Brown captured me right from the start with its recipes, its gardening advice, and its setting in the New York suburbs – all the things an in-her-late-30s woman like myself enjoys.
What's Recipe for a Perfect Wife about?
In Recipe for a Perfect Wife, you have Nellie,...
Sunrise by the Sea is the fourth installment of the Little Beach Street Bakery series, and boy, was it worth the wait. Much like one of the “red thinks” (a.k.a., strawberry tarts) from character Polly’s bakery, I devoured this Jenny Colgan novel that brought me back to the fictional Mount Polbearne, a quaint and remote fishing village on an island off the Cornish coast. A note about the Little Beach Street Bakery series If you’re...
