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

A WINDOW OPENS by Elisabeth Egan

September 30, 2015

Click to purchase

If you love charming, quirky novels, you have come to the right place! This book is being compared with Where’d You Go, Bernadette and The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry, two of my favorites, and as far as I’m concerned, I’m happy to say it ranks right up there with them.

Alice Pearse is happily married with three young children. She is the part time books editor at the fictional woman’s magazine, You. She is an avid reader and a true book lover, which I could totally relate to.

Alice’s husband Nicholas is a lawyer who comes home one day and tells her he’s not making partner, had a hissy fit at work and is opening his own office. And by the way, would she mind getting a full time job until he gets his business going?

Alice finds what she thinks will be the perfect job as “arbiter of taste” for a new start up, a book/reading salon that sounds too good to be true – and of course it is. While she struggles to get with the technology and fit in with all the nerds at work, she also has to deal with her father, who suffers a serious setback in his fight against throat cancer.

Nicholas steps up to do more with the kids, the cooking and the housework. Babysitter Jessie puts in more hours but Alice’s best friend owns a traditional, small bookstore and considers Alice as having made a deal with the devil, straining their friendship.

Alice soldiers on as best as she can, and we can’t help rooting for her in this delightful debut novel. The techie nightmare she finds herself in is uncannily like the recent NY Times story about what it’s like to work at Amazon.com (while this book was written more than a year before that article appeared along with its subsequent publicity.) The characters are wonderfully drawn and we can’t help but care about them. It is a fast read and frankly, I couldn’t put it down. Book clubs will love it as much as I did.

9/15 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch™

A WINDOW OPENS by Elisabeth Egan. Simon & Schuster (August 25, 2015). ISBN 978-1501105432. 384p.

Comments Off on A WINDOW OPENS by Elisabeth Egan | Book Reviews, Fiction, Women's Fiction | Tagged: Book Discussion | Permalink
Posted by Stacy Alesi

AFTER YOU by JoJo Moyes

September 29, 2015

Click to purchase

The sequel to the hugely popular Me Before You

Like millions of other readers, I loved Me Before You, so I was excited to hear there was a sequel. If you want the thirty second review, I liked it but not nearly as much as its predecessor.

The author has asked that reviewers not give away anything in reviewing the second book, so the major plot point is kept secret. I have wrestled with how to do that as I would like to honor that request. So I’m not going to give a synopsis.

Instead I will tell you that the story is about Louise Clark, the protagonist of MBY. This is her story, and the people that are in her life and those that come into her life. It starts out one way, which I thought was going to be a sentimental ripoff, but instead veers in an unexpected direction which I much preferred. Love is the predominating factor, but it is more a story about family than romantic love, but no fear, there is still romance here.

I did enjoy the book; the characters were engaging and I cared about what happened to them. If you like dysfunctional family stories, there is much to like here. If you are looking for a great romance and all that implies, keep looking.

That’s the best I can do under these restraints.

9/15 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch

AFTER YOU by Jojo Moyes. Pamela Dorman Books (September 29, 2015). ISBN 978-0525426592. 368p.

Kindle

Audiobook

Comments Off on AFTER YOU by JoJo Moyes | Book Reviews, Fiction, Romance, Women's Fiction | Permalink
Posted by Stacy Alesi

THIS IS YOUR LIFE, HARRIET CHANCE! by Jonathan Evison

September 25, 2015

Click to purchase

This book was recommended to me by the same person who recommended one of my favorite books of 2014, The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin. I was told it was a charming, quirky book, which are hard to find and something really I love. Like Fikry. Or The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey. Or Where’d You Go, Bernadette by Maria Semple.

I didn’t love this one so much. It was quirky for sure, but really could have used a bit more charm, which I found lacking.

The story revolves around the eponymous Harriet Chance, a 79 year-old widow. Her husband has died but still visits her on occasion, to the displeasure of the angels and her children and pastor, who thinks she’s losing it. She finds out that her husband has won a cruise to Alaska and she takes it as a sign that she should go. She invites her best friend, who cancels at the last minute and eventually her estranged daughter shows up on board. And slowly, Harriet finds out that much of her life and the people around her have been full of secrets and lies.

The book is a series of short chapters that jump around to various specific days in Harriet’s life showing her at different ages. The chapters do not move chronologically but are nonetheless easy to follow. Harriet is an odd duck at best, as are her husband, family and friends, which adds to the quirkiness of the story. But I just couldn’t get attached to her, and without that, the story just meanders pointlessly. It was a fast read, and I’m not sorry I read it but it was a bit of a letdown.

9/15 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch™

THIS IS YOUR LIFE, HARRIET CHANCE! by Jonathan Evison. Algonquin Books (September 8, 2015). ISBN 978-1616202613. 304p.

Kindle

Comments Off on THIS IS YOUR LIFE, HARRIET CHANCE! by Jonathan Evison | Book Reviews, Fiction, Women's Fiction | Tagged: Book Discussion | Permalink
Posted by Stacy Alesi

THE ART OF CRASH LANDING by Melissa DeCarlo

September 19, 2015

Click to purchase

If you’re looking for your next book discussion selection, look no further. Melissa DeCarlo’s debut novel about a dysfunctional family set in a small town full of secrets is bound to fit the bill.

Mattie Wallace is a self proclaimed screw up. We meet her as she has packed all her belongings into several trash bags, stolen her boyfriend’s prize possession, and jumped into her old car heading off for a visit to her stepfather. There she learns that the grandmother she never knew has died and possibly left her something.

On an impulse, she jumps in her car and drives off to the small town in Oklahoma where her mother grew up and her grandmother died. Mattie lost her mother several years earlier but we don’t find out how or why until much later. The story moves and back and forth between Mattie’s childhood with her single, alcoholic mother and her present day circumstances. To complicate things further, Mattie is pregnant.

While staying in her grandmother’s house, Mattie learns more about her mother and her family than she expects, and even more about herself. At times poignant, funny and occasionally even inspirational, Mattie is a well drawn character that is simply unforgettable. Enjoy this warm, wonderful, witty read.

9/15 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch™

THE ART OF CRASH LANDING by Melissa DeCarlo. Harper Paperbacks (September 8, 2015)). ISBN 978-0062390547. 432p.

Kindle

1 Comment | Book Reviews, Fiction, Women's Fiction | Permalink
Posted by Stacy Alesi

THE SPARROW SISTERS by Ellen Herrick

September 18, 2015

Click to purchase

Sorrel, Nettie, and Patience, the last of the Sparrow line, are quite well respected in their little town of Granite Point. Together the three run a nursery that supplies plants and arrangements for folks near and far, and Patience sells holistic and natural remedies made from the herbs and flowers of her medic garden.

For newcomer and doctor Henry Carlyle, Patience’s potions defy most everything he believes in. Sure plants are the basis for many medicines, but Patience has no formal training and, to his mind, can’t possibly be a reliable substitute for a licensed medical practitioner. Of course that’s before Henry meets Patience and gets to know her. The doctor soon falls head over heels for the healer and even begins to see the merit of her work.

But then Patience is blamed for the death of a young local boy. Suddenly, the townspeople who have relied on her help begin to turn against her and even as her most staunch supporters rally to her side, it may not be enough to help the Sparrows or Granite Point get through this tough time.

The Sparrow sisters are enchanting characters. Three sisters who were orphaned early on and ultimately never married – not that there isn’t time for that – they’ve relied on one another to get themselves through hard times in the past and are determined to do so once again. But this time they’re facing something that could ruin everything they’ve built in Granite Point.

The Sparrow history is so tightly woven into that of the town itself that it’s not just the nursery or the sisters’ reputations that are at risk. The town also suffers because of Patience’s fear and sorrow. And it’s not the first time in Granite Point or Sparrow family history that such a thing has happened.

Ellen Herrick’s debut is a mesmerizing and gorgeous read. With its lush and vibrant detail, strong sisterly bonds, romance, and just a hint of magical realism it brings to mind the works of Sarah Jio and Sarah Addison Allen, making The Sparrow Sisters the perfect read for fans of both authors. And while this tale stands on its own, there’s more than just a hint of possible additional Sparrow sisters’ tales – something I certainly hope we get to see in the very near future.

9/15 Becky LeJeune

THE SPARROW SISTERS by Ellen Herrick. William Morrow Paperbacks (September 1, 2015). ISBN 978-0062386342. 384p.

Kindle

Audiobook

4 Comments | Book Reviews, Fiction, Women's Fiction | Tagged: Magical Realism | Permalink
Posted by Stacy Alesi

THE COINCIDENCE OF COCONUT CAKE by Amy E. Reichert

August 27, 2015

Click to purchase

One of my favorite movies is You’ve Got Mail, the Tom Hanks/Meg Ryan romcom written by Nora & Delia Ephron that is set around NYC bookstores. Much as You’ve Got Mail was a love letter to New York City, Coconut Cake is a love letter to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and Reichert did an amazing job – I want to go! The Coincidence of Coconut Cake is the foodie equivalent of Mail, and that completely worked for me.

Lou is a talented chef who is sweating away trying to make a success of her small French restaurant, Luella’s, named after her beloved grandmother. She has a core group of regulars, and is just making ends meet. Her personal life is a little bit better; her fiancé is successful but not entirely supportive of her endeavors. And then everything falls apart.

Lou walks in on her fiancé with another woman and she dumps him. She’s off to work, heartbroken, humiliated and angry, not the best way to cook. She alienates most of her staff, and the food suffers terribly.

Of course this is the night that the new food critic in town visits the restaurant. Al is quite acerbic in his reviews and is building a nice following. One meal at Luella’s is all that he needs to eviscerate the restaurant, sounding the death knoll for the struggling restaurant.

Meanwhile, Lou and Al literally run into each other and she decides to show him around Milwaukee, a city he is sorry he landed in. By the time she’s through with him, he loves the city and Lou – but it takes a while before he realizes who she is and she finds out who he is. Fireworks ensue, but it is the journey that is so delicious.

This was a fast moving story with warm, likeable characters and a fun plot.

8/15 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch™

THE COINCIDENCE OF COCONUT CAKE by Amy E. Reichert. Gallery Books (July 21, 2015). ISBN 978-1501100710. 336p.

Kindle

Audiobook

2 Comments | Book Reviews, Fiction, Romance, Women's Fiction | Tagged: Book Discussion, Food | Permalink
Posted by Stacy Alesi

WHO DO YOU LOVE by Jennifer Weiner

August 11, 2015

Click to purchase

Two reviews…first up: Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch

I have loved Jennifer Weiner since her first book, Good in Bed, and she has grown since then, graduating from smart chick-lit to smart women’s fiction, and this new one is a coming of age/contemporary romance at its best – and it’s still smart.

Rachel Blum is a sickly child, born with a heart condition that requires constant monitoring and many surgeries. During one hospitalization, she wanders into the ER, bored and looking for a story. She meets Andy Landis, a biracial young boy with a broken arm and a missing mother. She keeps him company, tells him a story and gives him a stuffed animal. Eventually his mother shows up and Rachel is sent back to her room.

Fast forward to college and Rachel is on a trip to Atlanta for a charitable organization. A good looking young man catches her eye, and yes, it is Andy. Thus begins a life-long love affair that survives different socio-economic classes, geographical separations, breakups, other relationships, a scandal, and so much more.

Weiner makes us wonder, is there such a thing as a one-and-only love? Can you meet your soulmate as a child and love them forever? Can a spoiled Jewish princess find happiness with an Olympic runner from the Philadelphia projects?

These characters are complex and real, and this is a beautiful coming of age story in addition to a sweeping romance. Best of all, the book is totally unputdownable – I couldn’t stop turning the pages and when I finished it, I couldn’t stop thinking about these characters, and that is the highest praise I can give. Don’t miss it.

From Becky LeJeune:

Eight-year-old Rachel Blum is recovering from her latest heart surgery when she meets Andy Landis. He’s brought into the emergency room with a broken arm, his mother nowhere to be found, so Rachel decides to keep him company.

As teens they cross paths again, this time on a volunteer trip to Atlanta. Andy remembers the girl who sat with him in the waiting room – Rachel Blum. Bloom like flower… For Rachel it’s love at first sight but for Andy, the trip marks the first time he really sees the differences that stand in their way.

For years, the two connect and part ways, date and break up, and fall in and out of love. Only time will tell, though, whether Rachel and Andy are truly meant for one another or if their fate lies elsewhere.

Weiner’s latest is a sweet but very realistic love story. Rachel and Andy grow and change as the years pass and face a lot of things most people never will – a life threatening heart condition, the pressure of being an Olympic athlete – but they also face a lot of things the average reader can relate to. They learn from one another, they make mistakes, and they piss each other off. Royally. It lends an air of believability and realism that I think most stories of this kind are missing. And it’s exactly this realism that ultimately pulls the reader in: Rachel and Andy could be your best friends, your sister, your brother, or even you… You’ll laugh with them, cry with them, and root for them all the way through the final pages.

WHO DO YOU LOVE by Jennifer Weiner. Atria Books (August 11, 2015). ISBN 978-1451617818. 400p.

Kindle

Audiobook

8/15

Comments Off on WHO DO YOU LOVE by Jennifer Weiner | Book Reviews, Fiction, Romance, Women's Fiction | Tagged: Book Discussion, Food | Permalink
Posted by Stacy Alesi

EVER AFTER by Jude Deveraux

August 10, 2015

Click to purchase

Nantucket Brides Trilogy, Book 3

According to her publisher, Jude Deveraux is the author of more than forty New York Times bestsellers and has more than sixty million copies of her books in print worldwide. And I’ve never read her. This book arrived at my front door and I loved the cover – that is one gorgeous dress – but it is the third book of a trilogy that I haven’t started. I contacted the publicist to see if the books stand alone or need to be read in order, and like most romances, she said go for it, you won’t even notice, and she was right.

This is a contemporary romance set mostly on Nantucket, but the setting is pretty much irrelevant to the story. Hallie Hartley lost her mother very young, and her father remarried, and when he and her stepmother die, Hallie is left to care for Shelly, her much younger stepsister. Shelly is gorgeous and spoiled, and Hallie has her hands full. She has just graduated as a physical therapist when things come to a boiling point.

Hallie inherits a house on Nantucket from a relative she’s never even heard of, and the house is seemingly haunted, which she learns after she gets there. She is offered the opportunity to work with just one patient, Jamie Taggert, who has severely injured his knee in a skiing accident. Hallie figures Jamie to be the ultimate rich playboy but a job is a job and she escapes to the island. There is an immediate attraction between them but Hallie is determined to keep things professional. She slowly realizes that there is more to this rich playboy than he or anyone from his enormous family is letting on.

The ghosts are amusing, not scary, and all the family drama adds complexity to this romance. I can see why Deveraux is so popular. Guess I’m going to have to go back and read the first two books in this trilogy.

8/15 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch

EVER AFTER by Jude Deveraux. Ballantine Books (June 23, 2015). ISBN 978-0345541857. 368p.

Kindle

Audiobook

Comments Off on EVER AFTER by Jude Deveraux | Book Reviews, Fiction, Romance, Women's Fiction | Permalink
Posted by Stacy Alesi

ANA OF CALIFORNIA by Andi Teran

July 31, 2015

Click to purchase

One of my favorite books is Anne of Green Gables by Lucy Maud Montgomery. I read it as a child, and then again when I was in library school taking “History of Children’s Literature.” It was an even better read as an adult, or at least it felt that way to me. So when I heard about this modern retelling, I must admit I was skeptical. But I braved it out and started Ana…and was immediately hooked. I loved how Teran brought this story into the 21st century and kept the charm and spunk of the original.

If you haven’t read the Montgomery book, I urge you to do so. I recently watched the movie and was startled to see that the actress playing Anne was named Anne Shirley, the same name as the character. That caused me to do some digging and apparently she was moved enough by the story (or the studio) to legally change her name to that of this most beloved character. The movie was okay but I would recommend the book over it any day.

Back to Ana…it is absolutely not necessary to have read Anne to enjoy this book. Ana is a 15 year old Mexican American, and a product of the foster care system. Eventually she gets thrown out of one too many homes and is offered a last chance; to work as an intern on a farm further up the California coast. If she can manage to hang on until she turns 16, she will be old enough to become emancipated.

Garber Farm is run by brother and sister Abbie and Emmett. Emmett is all in favor of an intern, but he’s expecting a boy and grudgingly decides to give Ana a one month trial period. Abbie is delighted to have a girl around the house, and Ana quickly finds that she enjoys life on the farm. Things get a little more difficult when school starts and there is boy trouble, friends and drug trouble, and other road blocks to happiness thrown in her path. But slowly she starts making a difference in the lives of those around her.

For fans of Anne, all I can say is some of the most memorable scenes are updated here. Ana has a run in with a neighbor, her best friend’s accidental drunkenness is now a psilocybin mushroom trip, there is a major hair mishap, and so forth. Every one of these scenes felt like finding a little nugget of happiness.

Ana is a charmer and this is a warm, wonderful coming of age story that should appeal to adults and young adults too. Great for book discussions – check out the Reading Group Guide

7/15 Stacy Alesi

ANA OF CALIFORNIA by Andi Teran. Penguin Books (June 30, 2015). ISBN 978-0143126492. 368p.

Kindle

1 Comment | Book Reviews, Fiction, Women's Fiction | Tagged: Book Discussion, Young Adult | Permalink
Posted by Stacy Alesi

KITCHENS OF THE GREAT MIDWEST by J. Ryan Stradal

July 28, 2015

Click to purchase

Let me start by saying this is one of the best books I’ve read this year. It has everything; great characters, terrific setting, a creative premise and mouthwatering meals.

Cynthia and Lars have a baby, she freaks out, has an affair with a sommelier at the restaurant where she works and they run off together. Lars brings up Eva by himself, with the help of some friends.

Eva is an unusual child; really a savant, and her gift is her palate. She will try anything, and as a child grows her own chilies, selling them to neighborhood restaurants. She grows up to become a celebrity chef extraordinaire, opening a pop up restaurant that moves around the country from one spectacular location to another. Foodies pay thousands of dollars for one her meals, and wait years to get an invite.

Eva’s journey is documented chapter by chapter, each focusing on a different dish and a different character, from lutefisk to cookie bars. Eventually all the strings are tied together, in a memorable meal.

This is a story about fathers and daughters, mothers and daughters, and community. It’s always about the Midwest and the foodie culture that has pervaded America. There are a lot of laughs, poignant moments that brought me to tears, and everything in between. The prose is beautiful, almost poetic at times, but it is the characters that completely stole my heart.

It is a book that begs to be read slowly and savored, and book that craves to be discussed. Don’t miss it.

7/15 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch

KITCHENS OF THE GREAT MIDWEST by J. Ryan Stradal. Pamela Dorman Books (July 28, 2015). ISBN 978-0525429142. 320p.

Kindle

Audiobook

Comments Off on KITCHENS OF THE GREAT MIDWEST by J. Ryan Stradal | Book Reviews, Fiction, Women's Fiction | Tagged: Book Discussion, Food | Permalink
Posted by Stacy Alesi