Women’s Fiction | Stacy Alesi's BookBitch.com™

THE READERS OF BROKEN WHEEL RECOMMEND by Katarina Bivald

January 23, 2016

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This is the first book of the year that is sure to make my best books of 2016 list! Loved, loved, loved. Seriously.

Sara works in a bookshop in Sweden. She has been pen pals – letters written on actual paper – with Amy, an older woman in Broken Wheel, Iowa, a tiny, depressed town. They met online and started swapping books and a friendship was formed.

Sadly, the bookshop closes, and Amy invites Sara to come for a nice, long visit, and she does. But when she arrives in Broken Wheel, she is just in time to attend Amy’s funeral. The small town begs her to stay, and makes her feel welcome.

Eventually Amy falls in love with the town, and with Tom, Amy’s nephew. But theirs is a relationship fraught with doubts, misunderstandings and a sort of apathetic malaise. The town is full of interesting characters which truly bring this novel to life; George, a recovering alcoholic whose wife and daughter have left him; Grace, who runs the town’s only diner; Andy, who owns the town’s bar; John, the grocer and only black man in town and several others.

Everyone is so kind to Sara that she wants to do something nice for the town, so in one of the boarded up old stores, she opens a bookstore, stocking it with all of Amy’s books. This is not a town of readers, but Sara is convinced that there is a book for every person and she sets out to prove it.

Filled with tiny excerpts of classics and contemporary books, and many literary references, this book will appeal to anyone who loves books. It is a charming read, reminiscent of The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin and I loved it. Don’t miss it!

1/16 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch™

THE READERS OF BROKEN WHEEL RECOMMEND by Katarina Bivald. Sourcebooks Landmark (January 19, 2016). ISBN 978-1492623441. 400p.

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SUMMER ON BLOSSOM STREET by Debbie Macomber

January 22, 2016

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Blossom Street #6

This is the 6th entry into this very gentle series, which of course I started with book 10. When I need something I know will be light, sweet and ultimately satisfying, I turn to Debbie Macomber. It encompasses everything Macomber readers expect; women’s friendship, sweet romance and knitting. The series is set in Seattle and centers around A Good Yarn, a knitting shop. I don’t knit but I envy those who do.

Lydia Goetz, owner of A Good Yarn, decides to offer an evening knitting class called “Knit to Quit.” She gets an interesting mix of people. Phoebe Rylander signs up in hopes of getting over her broken engagement. Her fiance was arrested for soliciting a hooker – for the second time. She took him back once before and despite her mother’s pushing, not to mention his need to always be in control and working hard to get her back, she won’t budge. She hopes the knitting will take her mind off of things.

Hutch took over his family’s chocolate business after his father died very suddenly, and very young, from a heart attack. His doctor warns him that he is heading down the same path and recommends he takes up knitting as a stress reducer, so Hutch joins the class. And Alix Turner joins to try and help her kick the smoking habit since she wants to have a baby.

The young widow, Anne Marie Roche, is finally happy to be settled with her adopted daughter Ellen. They are a small family, and when Tim comes by the bookshop asking about Ellen, Anne Marie gets her guard up. Lydia and Brad decide they want to try and adopt a baby. Anne Marie loves being stepmother to Brad’s young son Cody, but two rounds of brain cancer left her unable to have her own so they hook up with a social worker to try and adopt. While they are waiting, a 12 year old girl needs immediate placement in a foster home so they take her in, which causes a bit of strain on the family.

All these women are friends, and their relationships and the budding romance between Phoebe and Hutch make for an interesting and enjoyable read.

I listened to the audiobook version of this book and it was completely captivating and entertaining, despite the reader. Narrated by the single-named Delilah, who I did not love, to say the least. Delilah is quite the actress, or at least thinks she is, but was completely over the top here. Not to mention reading the same line twice on more than one occasion, and even worse, mispronunciations – I was especially annoyed when a thriller reader in the story was reading Brad “Metzler” books, who I happen to know as Brad MELTZER! Twice she called him Metzler. Arggh! I am very glad a different narrator does some of the later books, I won’t be listening to any more Delilah if I can help it.

1/16 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch™

BLOSSOM STREET BRIDES by Debbie Macomber. Ballantine Books (March 31, 2015). ISBN 978-0345528865. 432p.

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THE LAST ORIGINAL WIFE by Dorothea Benton Frank

December 27, 2015

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I have been hearing about this author for years and finally picked up a book at random. It was a quick read, and an enjoyable one. Set in the South Carolina Lowcountry, a place I’ve never been that is described so beautifully, I can’t wait to go.

Wes and Les have been married forever and live in Atlanta, Georgia. They have two grown children who are making their way in the world, albeit not in the most positive ways.

Wes is a domineering and secretive husband with a bit of a temper. Not abusive, at least not physically, but certainly demanding and shouty. Les has been a stay at home mom and housewife for all of their marriage, just the way Wes wants it. They belong to the local country club and the two couples they’ve been closest with have undergone some changes. Harold left Danette for a much younger woman, and Paolo’s wife died, and he’s with another much younger woman. Les has nothing in common with these women, making their couple time together uncomfortable at best.

Les’s brother Harlan is gay and lives in the South Carolina Lowcountry, where Les grew up. Wes is completely homophobic and has forbidden Les from having her brother stay with them or even visiting him. One day at the club, the two young trophy wives get into a cat fight, and Wes yells at Les for “allowing” it. She is pissed, leaves the club and goes home.

Les finds the file cabinet open that her husband has always kept locked, and starts looking around. She is dumbfounded to find a financial statement in both their names with a balance of over $22,000,000. Her husband leases a new Mercedes every few years, but Les has been driving used cars and scrimping and saving for years, never realizing how wealthy they were because her husband never told her. She really loses it then and decides to run away from home.

Les goes home to her brother, who is off to Italy for a month. She spends some time alone, and then with an old high school boyfriend. Learning about the deception in her marriage forces Les to do quite a bit of soul searching, with interesting results. And she rekindles her relationship with her brother.

It was refreshing to read about a woman who was turning 60 and still had a life. I enjoyed this and will be reading more of this author.

12/15 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch™

THE LAST ORIGINAL WIFE by Dorothea Benton Frank. William Morrow Paperbacks; Reprint edition (April 1, 2014). ISBN 978-0062132475. 368p.

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SECRET SISTERS by Jayne Ann Krentz

December 8, 2015

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Madeline was a young girl at her grandmother’s hotel when a guest assaulted her. Her best friend, Daphne, woke up to see Madeline being dragged away and got help in time to save her friend. It was a night none of them would forget.

Many years later, Madeline is running her grandmother’s hotels, but that hotel, the scene of the crime, has been abandoned all these years. There is a caretaker, and when Madeline’s grandmother dies, she has to go settle up the estate, including that hotel.

No one ever knew about that night, and it’s been twenty years since Madeline and Daphne were together, but circumstances bring them back and the friendship picks up as if it had been two weeks. Madeline brings along her chief of security, Jack, and he brings his brother along to help with the tech stuff.

An attempted murder and a new romance make the pages fly by in the latest entry from one of the doyennes of romantic suspense. This was my first Jayne Ann Krentz book, and now I know why she has been on the bestseller list for so many years. This is an entertaining read for sure.

12/15 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch™

SECRET SISTERS by Jayne Ann Krentz. Berkley (December 8, 2015). ISBN 978-0399174483. 352p.

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HEADS IN BEDS by Jacob Tomsky

November 25, 2015

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A Reckless Memoir of Hotels, Hustles, and So-Called Hospitality

Jacob Tomsky works the front desk of high end, luxury hotels. Here he offers up the inside dirt on what really goes on, how to get the most bang for your buck, but really his point is how to beat the system – all told in a most entertaining fashion. Think of it like Anthony Bourdain’s Kitchen Confidential for the hotel industry.

Not all of his tips are, how shall I put this…ethical? But he explains why you shouldn’t worry about it. Personally, I have to sleep at night so his tips on how to avoid paying for in room movies and the minibar just didn’t sit right with me. But I will definitely use his tips on how to avoid paying the cancellation fee, how to get upgrades, why and when you need the concierge, and why you should always use and tip the bellman.

I listened to the audiobook, which the author reads, and he does a really good job. I actually had to stop it a few times to take notes! But for the most part, the note taking portion is in the appendix. The book itself is by turns funny, horrifying and always interesting – at least to anyone who has ever stayed or is planning to stay in a hotel. A fun and informative read.

11/15 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch™

HEADS IN BEDS by Jacob Tomsky. Anchor (July 30, 2013). ISBN 978-0307948342. 320p.

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THE MARRIAGE PACT by M.J. Pullen

November 16, 2015

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Marci is turning thirty and her life is not what she expected. Living in Austin, Texas near no one she knows and working temp jobs is her sad reality. Her only relationship is an illicit affair with one of her bosses, who is married.

On her birthday she gets an email from one of her best friends from college, Jake. They had made a pact that if neither of them was married by the time they turned thirty, they would marry each other. Not that he’s pushing.

Marci is so involved with Doug and being at his beck and call around all his marital obligations that she has no time for anyone else and it is starting to wear on her. Eventually things take a turn as they often do in these sorts of relationships, and Marci quits her job and moves back home. Her best friends are there to help her muddle through and there is always Jake to the rescue. But Marci is torn; should she marry her friend while she’s still in love with Doug?

I had a hard time with this book. I know I was supposed to root for Marci to find her happy ending, but as a child of divorce with a father who was a cheater, I have a real problem with infidelity. I was tempted more than once to just put it down and forget about it, but I finished it. If you don’t have a problem with the other woman storyline, then go for it.

11/15 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch™

THE MARRIAGE PACT by M.J. Pullen. Thomas Dunne Books; First Edition edition (November 3, 2015). ISBN 978-1250070937. 304p.

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TOO MANY COOKS by Dana Bate

November 14, 2015

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Kelly Madigan is a cookbook ghostwriter; she helps professional chefs turn their recipes into something a home cook could use. She lives with her boyfriend of six years, who is neat, dependable, a cardiologist in training and ultimately boring. Then she loses her mom suddenly, and finds her mother left her a letter with her dying wishes, the ultimate guilt trip.

Her mom tells her that she needs to take risks, leave the Midwest and travel a bit, and not rush into marriage with Dr. Boring. So when Kelly is offered the opportunity to ghostwrite a major Hollywood star’s cookbook, she jumps at the chance, even though it means moving to London for the better part of a year.

Her boyfriend is devastated and furious. He kicks her out and she gets to spend a few weeks with her father before moving to London and perhaps making the biggest mistake of her life.

Natasha Spencer is imperious, demanding and a definite nut case. Her assistant, Poppy, isn’t much better and they combine to make Kelly’s life a living hell. But the money is too good to pass up, even if she doesn’t get paid for months, and the only bright spot is Natasha’s husband, a rising star in Parliament who seems like a genuinely nice guy. They are a power couple to be sure, except that they sleep in separate beds and seem to live separate lives.

This was an interesting look at how a cookbook ghostwriter works, and how all that Hollywood glitz and glamour comes at a price. It reminded me a bit of The Devil Wears Prada (the movie version, not Lauren Weisberger’s awful book) but veers off in the romance department. All in all, I liked it and if you’re a fan of foodie fiction like I am, then this is the book for you.

11/15 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch™

TOO MANY COOKS by Dana Bate. Kensington (October 27, 2015). ISBN 978-1617732621. 352p.

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MAYBE IN ANOTHER LIFE by Taylor Jenkins Reid

November 9, 2015

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I didn’t realize how much I missed reading chick lit until I read this. Now it’s probably called women’s fiction since chick lit appears to have disappeared from book vernacular, but however it is being characterized, it’s a fun read, and an interesting one.

I love those books that ponder the road not taken; one of my favorites is What Alice Forgot by Liane Moriarity (2011.) That book looked at woman who forgets the previous ten years of her life. This book looks at the future instead of the past, and it’s just as intriguing.

Hannah Martin is twenty-nine years old and still searching for…something. Her parents and sister moved to London while she was in high school, leaving Hannah to live with her best friend Gabby back in Los Angeles. She graduates from college and starts drifting from city to city, job to job, boyfriend to boyfriend – her last being Michael, a married man with two children, but never forgetting her first love, Ethan. They broke up during college but both still harbor the feeling of unfinished business.

Hannah decides to move home to L.A., and Gabby offers up her guestroom. Gabby is married to Mark, who Hannah likes well enough, and they all get along. Shortly after arriving, they go out to a club where Hannah runs into Ethan. Later that night, Gabby tells her she needs to get home and Hannah needs to decide whether to go home early with Gabby, or hang out with Ethan for a while longer.

The book then moves forward in two storylines; one in which she goes with Gabby, the other with Ethan. Told in alternating chapters, Hannah is living two different lives, a sort of choose-your-own-adventure with amazingly different results.

This was an engrossing story and a real page turner. I was torn between which life I thought she should be living, up until the very last page of the book. Reading this is like going on a roller coaster through Hannah and Gabby’s lives, and these characters were so well developed and likeable that I didn’t want the ride to end.

11/15 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch™

MAYBE IN ANOTHER LIFE by Taylor Jenkins Reid. Washington Square Press (July 7, 2015). ISBN 978-1476776880. 352p.

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CHRISTMAS BELLS by Jennifer Chiaverini

November 7, 2015

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I figured if I keep reading Christmas novels, eventually I’ll find one I can rave about…and here it is!

This book is a twofer – two stories told in alternating chapters that are set over a hundred years apart. The obvious inspiration of the historical story neatly focuses the modern day one, and I loved them both.

“Christmas Bells” is a Henry Wordsworth Longfellow poem (see below) that was turned into a Christmas carol, “I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day.” Chiaverini tells the story of how the poem came to be written, which is a mostly a biography of Longfellow, and she does a terrific job. Starting at the beginning of the Civil War, right before the first shots are fired, we learn how Longfellow lived, the tragedies that befell him and his family, and about his home and its historical significance in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

The alternating stories are about St. Margaret’s, a Catholic church in the nearby town of Watertown. Sophia is a music teacher whose job is threatened by budget issues. She also is the children’s choir director at the church. Her accompanist is in love with her, but it is an unrequited love due to various factors. Stories also are spun about two of the children in the choir, Charlotte and her younger brother, whose father is serving in Afghanistan.

One of the most memorable characters in the modern day story is Sister Winifred, a nun who has the rather unnerving habit of talking to herself. But she also has the uncanny ability to ferret out truths about her parishioners and the priest that seem other-worldly, or perhaps divine?

This is heartwarming, of course, but also fascinating and beautifully written. This will be the Christmas book I”ll be recommending this season.

11/15 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch™

CHRISTMAS BELLS by Jennifer Chiaverini. Dutton (October 27, 2015). ISBN 978-0525955245. 336p.

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I HEARD the bells on Christmas Day

Their old, familiar carols play,

And wild and sweet

The words repeat