ANGELINA’S BACHELORS by Brian O’Reilly

November 20, 2014

Click to purchase

A Novel of Food

Narrated by Xe Sands

This is a sweet, old fashioned tale – so old fashioned, I’m really not sure when it is supposed to take place. Could be the 1950’s-60s, but sometimes feels more modern and then with a jolt, no cell phones, back to another era. I guess the author,  the Executive Producer of Food Network’s Dinner: Impossible, was going for timeless, and perhaps it was achieved.

I listened to the audio book, so had a different experience from the printed version. For one thing, there are no recipes in the audio, just a note at the end to check out the website for recipes. Some of the print reviews made note of the fact that recipes were interspersed throughout the chapters, in the midst of story, which some felt were jarring, but the audio book avoided that issue.

So this novel of food is exactly that – if you don’t want to read lavish descriptions of meals on a regular basis, then this is not the book for you. I love that stuff, so it worked for me.

Angelina is a young woman whose husband dies suddenly in her kitchen. The young widow quickly loses her job and when a neighbor comes knocking on her door, offering to pay her to cook him breakfast and dinner six days a week, she decides that food may be her salvation, in more ways than one. Soon other men come knocking, and almost immediately Angelina’s dining room table is full of bachelors looking for a good meal.

The men quickly become a family of sorts, with Angelina the glue that binds them together. When she finds out she’s pregnant some months after her husband’s passing, the bachelors all rally around and support her.

If it hasn’t slapped you in the face yet, the message here is that when one door closes, another opens and Angelina steps through into a good life, despite her tragedy. And despite her tragedy, this is a light hearted read, interspersed with humor and love. It is a lovely read, and a memorable one.

11/14 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch

ANGELINA’S BACHELORS by Brian O’Reilly. Tantor Audio (December 30, 2011). ASIN: B006RCYUFQ. Listening Length: 7 hours and 22 minutes.

Paperback: Gallery Books; Reprint edition (August 9, 2011). ISBN 978-1451620566. 384p.

Comments Off on ANGELINA’S BACHELORS by Brian O’Reilly | Book Reviews, Fiction, Women's Fiction | Tagged: | Permalink
Posted by Stacy Alesi

RUTH’S JOURNEY by Donald McCaig

October 14, 2014

Click to purchase

The Authorized Novel of Mammy from Margaret Mitchell’s Gone with the Wind

Gone with the Wind is one of my favorite books. I know it’s racist and promotes stereotypes, but I love it anyway despite it’s political incorrectness.

When I was about 11 years old, my mother dragged me to a movie theater about 45 minutes away because they were screening GWTW. I was young, had never even heard of it, but I fell in love with Scarlet and Rhett and one of the greatest love stories of all time and learned I had a romantic side. Who knew. I also didn’t know that the film was based on a book – my mother wasn’t a reader so never thought to mention that fact.

A few years later I found a copy in my stepmother’s bookshelves (she was a big reader,) inscribed to her from her high school boyfriend, later her first husband. She gave it to me and I stayed up all night reading it. I fell in love all over again, and read and re-read that book many times over the years.

I’ve read all the GWTW off shoots, and while I enjoyed revisiting Tara in all its incarnations, the only one that I thought was really good was McCaig’s Rhett Butler’s People.

So when I heard about this book, I was pretty stoked to read it, and I’m happy to say it lived up to my expectations. This is Mammy’s story, and McCaig turned around all the racism and stereotyping and brought Mammy to life as a fully realized character, not a caricature.

For starters, Mammy has a name – Ruth. Born on Saint Dominque and brought to Savannah on the heels of the revolution there, she falls in love with Jehu Glen, a free black man and a gifted carpenter. Ruth is a strong woman, surviving many disappointments in her life, yet continues to love.

We learn how she ended up with Scarlett’s mother Ellen, and how Ellen married Gerald – which was hinted at in GWTW but futher explained here, along with the mysterious Phillip. We learn of her connection with Rhett Butler’s family as well. And the cruelties of slavery are much more fully embraced here.

I don’t know how this book stands on its own as I am so familiar with GWTW that I have no basis for that understanding. So all I can say is this book brings another dimension to that one, and I ripped through it in a night. I think it’s a great addition to the saga and not to be missed by GWTW fans.

10/14 Stacy Alesi

RUTH’S JOURNEY by Donald McCaig. Atria Books (October 14, 2014). ISBN 978-1451643534. 384p.

Comments Off on RUTH’S JOURNEY by Donald McCaig | Book Reviews, Fiction, Women's Fiction | Tagged: | Permalink
Posted by Stacy Alesi

MINDING FRANKIE by Maeve Binchy

September 14, 2014

Click to purchase

Read by Sile Bermingham

Emily is a middle aged woman with no real ties to America after her father, an alcoholic, passes on, so she decides to take an extended trip to visit her aunt and uncle in Dublin. Their son Noel is living at home and spending his days working in an office, sneaking drinks before lunch, and wandering aimlessly through life. But he really likes Emily, everyone does, and in her very subtle way she starts steering him towards the future.

Then he hears from Stella, a girl he barely remembers since all they did was drink and party together. She informs him that she is dying of cancer and oh, by the way, she’s pregnant with his child. After denial comes acceptance, and Stella puts his name on the birth certificate and asks that he raise her daughter, Frankie. Noel can barely take care of himself, but he agrees to become the baby’s guardian.

Emily helps him find a place to live and offers to pay if he’ll enroll in college. There he meets Lisa, a graphic designer with a serious crush on Anton, a celebrity-chef wannabe. After some trouble at home, Lisa ends up moving in with Noel and helping out with Frankie while trying to make herself indispensable to Anton and quitting her job in the process.

Noel joins AA and falls in love with his daughter. A ferocious social worker, Moirer, is assigned to his case, and everyone in town is petrified that she will take Frankie away from him. His parents help out, and all his friends and neighbors in the area where he grew up are eager to help mind Frankie. Her first year of life she is surrounded by people who love her, and Noel sorts out his life.

There is a cast of quirky yet lovable characters of the sort that often frequent Binchy’s novels. I haven’t read her for a while, and listening to this book was a delight. Bermingham’s narration with all the different accents – American, Irish, even Australian, adds even more depth to this charming story. I have a short commute, so I found myself listening at home while doing the dishes and so forth. This was one of the longer audio books I’ve listened to, and I really enjoyed every minute of it.

9/14 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch

MINDING FRANKIE by Maeve Binchy. Anchor (December 27, 2011). ISBN 978-0307475497. 512p.
Downloadable: Audible Audio Edition. Random House Audio. Listening Length: 13 hours and 23 minutes. ASIN: B004Q3G4EI.

Comments Off on MINDING FRANKIE by Maeve Binchy | Book Reviews, Fiction, Women's Fiction | Tagged: | Permalink
Posted by Stacy Alesi

THE APPLE ORCHARD by Susan Wiggs

August 22, 2014

Click to purchase

Bella Vista Chronicles, Book 1

This series is set at the Bella Vista apple orchard in Sonoma County, California, in the small town of Archangel. I read these out of order, starting with book 2, The Beekeeper’s Ball, which I liked so much that I immediately ran out and got this book. They don’t have to be read in order, but probably is better to do so.

This story centers around Tess Delaney, an antiques appraiser working for a prestigious California auction house like Sotheby’s. She grew up in Dublin with a single mom who travelled a great deal, so really her grandmother raised her.  The grandmother had an antiques store and Tess loved being there with her, and learned a great deal that helped her in her career. Her mother told her that her father was a one night stand and she didn’t even know his name.

Tess is on the verge of a big promotion and move to New York when Dominic Rossi enters her life. She originally believes he’s come to her for an appraisal, but is shocked to discover that he’s there to deliver some bad news. Her grandfather, Magnus,  has taken a tumble and is in a coma. The news would be devastating to anyone, but the real shocker is that Tess never knew she even had a grandfather. Then she comes to find out that she also has a half-sister.

Dominic is divorced with two kids and dogs and is the executor of Magnus’s estate, and tells Tess that the two granddaughters are equal heirs. Stunned to learn she stands to inherit an estate, Tess decides she had better go meet her half sister, Isabel, and find out more. Along the way she falls in love with the area, and with Dominic, but the estate is on the verge of bankruptcy. Dominic works for the bank that holds the mortgages, but try as he might, the conglomerate that owns the bank won’t budge – until Tess ferrets out a rare antique that is worth millions.

The backstory here is a complicated family one, with some really interesting flashbacks to World War II in Copenhagen, and the Danish resistance. A very fast read with characters that come alive on the pages, and I truly hope there are more books to follow.

8/14 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch

THE BEEKEEPER’S BALL by Susan Wiggs. Harlequin MIRA; Reprint edition (April 29, 2014). ISBN 978-0778314967. 448p.

Comments Off on THE APPLE ORCHARD by Susan Wiggs | Book Reviews, Fiction, Women's Fiction | Tagged: , | Permalink
Posted by Stacy Alesi

THE BEEKEEPER’S BALL by Susan Wiggs

August 20, 2014

Click to purchase

Bella Vista Chronicles

This was the first book I’ve read by Susan Wiggs, and as soon as I realized it was the second book of a series, I went and got the first – this is the sequel to The Apple Orchard . Hopefully, there will be more to come.

This story is set at Bella Vista farm in Sonoma County, California, in the small town of Archangel. Isabel Johanson is a culinary school dropout but a gifted chef, and she is converting the large hacienda where she grew up into a farm-to-table cooking school. She is also busy helping her half sister Tess plan her wedding, which will be held at the recently converted barn on the property.

Bella Vista is home to a small apiary, and Isabel is determined to expand it. She leaves a message for a local beekeeper and is waiting for some help, but her bees have minds of their own and start swarming, looking for a new home. As she tries to capture the swarm, a young man stops, who she assumes to be Jamie, the beekeeper. But he knows even less than she does about bees, and gets stung, triggering a life threatening allergic reaction.

Turns out he is Cormac O’Neill, a famous journalist who is on his way to Bella Vista to work on a book about Isabel’s grandfather, Magnus, who worked with the Danish resistance during World War II. This is a family with a lot of secrets, and having the writer there helps them all come out.

There is obvious chemistry between Cormac and Isabel, but she is hesitant about getting involved. She had a bad experience in culinary school and hasn’t really come to terms with everything that happened, but she is forced to when her ex shows up in town to open a restaurant.

There are a lot of threads to this story, and Wiggs masterly weaves them all together seamlessly, creating an engaging page turner with historical significance – I learned a lot about about Denmark’s role during the Holocaust. Her characters are skillfully brought to life, and the setting becomes another character here. There are a few honey based recipes included as well, and I’m dying to try the Bee Sting Cake, a sort of breakfast sweet bread.

If you liked The Storyteller by Jodi Picoult, try The Beekeeper’s Ball – I liked it even more.

8/14 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch

THE BEEKEEPER’S BALL by Susan Wiggs. Harlequin MIRA; First Edition edition (June 24, 2014). ISBN 978-0778314486. 368p.

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

THE SEA GARDEN by Deborah Lawrenson

July 30, 2014

Click to purchase

Three interconnected stories make up this lush and intriguing latest from The Lantern author Deborah Lawrenson.

Ellie Brooke is looking to really make a name for herself and her garden design business. The restoration of an historic garden on the island of Porquerolles could be just the thing to really get the attention the business needs. But when Ellie meets the family that wants to hire her, she realizes that the job is more complicated than it seems.

In WWII Provence young Marthe has been apprenticing at the Distillerie Musset. Things are changing in their little village and Marthe knows that it’s the result of the war. The Mussets have taken Marthe into their home, offering her shelter and a job, so she feels a certain amount of guilt in suspecting that they are keeping things from her. The truth, that the Mussets are part of the growing resistance in France, could put everyone around them at risk.

Like many of the young women in England, Iris wanted to join up and help the war effort. She’d planned to sign on as a Wren – the Women’s Royal Naval Service – but was recommended for the Special Operations Executive instead. From their office in London, Iris and her colleagues run a specialized spy ring in France. When Iris meets and falls for an operative who later goes missing, though, her job takes her well beyond 64 Baker Street.

These three women and their stories intertwine to become one larger tale in The Sea Garden. There’s even a nod to The Lantern as well, though it’s not at all necessary to have read it beforehand.

I loved the idea of the connected novellas. Each tale is its own all-encompassing story but there are some mysteries as well. The answers to those mysteries come only in completing the book as a whole.

7/14 Becky Lejeune

THE SEA GARDEN by Deborah Lawrenson. Harper (June 24, 2014). ISBN 978-0062279668. 320p.

Comments Off on THE SEA GARDEN by Deborah Lawrenson | Book Reviews, Fiction, Women's Fiction | Tagged: | Permalink
Posted by Stacy Alesi

BIG LITTLE LIES by Liane Moriarty

July 29, 2014

Click to purchase

Wow!

My first Moriarty book was What Alice Forgot, a fast, entertaining read with memorable characters and an unusual story. Then I picked up The Husband’s Secret, and saw that she really stepped up her game. Big Little Lies is her latest and it appears that Moriarty just keeps upping the bar.

The book opens at a school event for parents in the small beach town of Pirriwee, Australia – but it could be Any Town, USA, too. This costume event – all the parents are dressed as Elvis Presley or Audry Hepburn, is part of  a Trivia Night fundraiser for the public elementary school. The drinks are strong and the food hasn’t arrived yet, so everyone is getting drunk and having a good time, that is until someone dies. The police are called, and then we are left hanging – the story moves back in time to six months earlier.

Sprinkled throughout the pages are little snippets from the police interviews, with parents gossiping about everything that’s gone on that semester. This is black comedy at its best, and the story moves back towards the day of reckoning with lightning speed.

At its heart, this is a story is about bullying. On the first day of school, Amabella (not a misspelling) accuses Ziggy of trying to choke her, and has the bruises to prove it. Ziggy and his very young, single mom Jane have just moved to this small town and he instantly becomes the class pariah. The parents all take sides, with the emotional Madeleine and the super wealthy Celeste forming the Jane triumverate, and the “blonde bobs,” a group of helicopter moms with identical haircuts, taking the other side.

The perfect Celeste is in a deeply troubled marriage, but no one knows. Madeleine’s teenage daughter (from her first marriage) is pulling away from her and towards her new stepmother, the eternally calm, yoga loving Bonnie. And Jane is running away from something.

There are so many secrets in this small town, the malicious gossip is scintillating and  neverending, and the characters are fraught with all the foibles we’ve come to expect from Moriarty. The way she builds almost unbearable suspense is simply magical, especially as we don’t even know who dies until the end, never mind who did it. Moriarty has become one of my favorite authors and this is a page turner of the finest kind. Don’t miss it.

7/14 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch

BIG LITTLE LIES by Liane Moriarty. Amy Einhorn Books/Putnam (July 29, 2014). ISBN 978-0399167065. 384p.

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

LANDLINE by Rainbow Rowell

July 28, 2014

Click to purchase

UPDATE:

Win a copy of the Landline audio book!

Macmillan Audio has offered up an audio book on CD for one lucky reader! Check out this excerpt read by the extraordinary Rebecca Lowman.

Send an email to contest@gmail.com with “LANDLINE” as the subject. You must include your snail mail address in your email.

All entries must be received by August 12, 2014. One (1) name will be drawn from all qualified entries and notified via email. This contest is open to all adults over 18 years of age in the United States only. One entry per email address. Subscribers to the monthly newsletter earn an extra entry into every contest. Follow this blog to earn another entry into every contest. Winners may win only one time per year (365 days) for contests with prizes of more than one book. Your email address will not be shared or sold to anyone.

Review:

Rainbow Rowell seems able to shift between Young Adult and Adult books seamlessly. This is her latest, and while ostensibly for adults, those who love teen books will undoubtedly enjoy this one too.

I listened to the audiobook, narrated by Rebecca Lowman, who also narrated Rowell’s Eleanor and Park.  She does a fine job here.

Georgie McCool is a comedy writer working with her writing partner, Seth, on a hit TV show she hates. Seth and Georgie have their own idea for a sitcom and a week before Christmas, finally get a call from the network looking for several scripts.

Georgie panics as she, her husband Neal and their two young daughters are supposed to go to Neal’s parents for Christmas, out in Omaha.  Georgie needs to stay home and write, so an unhappy Neal takes the kids to Omaha himself.

When Georgie calls, her calls all go directly to voicemail until the mailbox is full. Her daughters call her sporadically, but she never talks to Neal. That is, until the night she crashes at her mother’s house and uses the landline in her old bedroom to call Neal’s house, not his cell. Somehow, she ends up talking to Neal – but not present day Neal, this is Neal back in 1998, a week before he proposes to her.

Suspend your disbelief and go along on an adventure through Georgie & Neal’s past to their present, and let me warn you that you will be laughing and crying along the way. Rowell writes these amazing characters that are warm and loveable yet still feel real,  but most of all, they are simply unforgettable. Teen book or adult, all her books are just a joy to read.

7/14 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch

LANDLINE by Rainbow Rowell. St. Martin’s Press (July 8, 2014). ISBN 978-1250049377. 320p.
Audiobook: Macmillan Audio; Unabridged edition (July 8, 2014). ISBN: 978-1427239327
Downloadable: Audible Audio Edition. Macmillan Audio. Listening Length: 9 hours and 3 minutes.

Comments Off on LANDLINE by Rainbow Rowell | Book Reviews, Fiction, Romance, Women's Fiction | Tagged: , | Permalink
Posted by Stacy Alesi

THE VACATIONERS by Emma Straub

July 27, 2014

Click to purchase

Franny and Jim Post planned their two week family vacation to Mallorca to celebrate their 35th anniversary and their daughter Sylvia’s graduation from high school. Shortly before they leave, Jim loses his job after having an affair with a 23 year old intern, but they decide cancelling the trip wouldn’t be fair to Sylvia.

Since they are renting a house from a friend, they invite their son Bobby and his girlfriend, the cougar Carmen, and Franny’s best friend Charles and his husband, Lawrence.

Spending two weeks in such close proximity is bound to bring up all sorts of issues and secrets, and it does. Franny doesn’t like Carmen, actually none of them do, even Bobby doesn’t seemed thrilled. To add a bit of romance to the mix, the Post’s hire a Spanish tutor for Sylvia, who turns out to be a real hottie.

Will Franny and Jim find their way back to a marriage or work towards a divorce? Will Sylvia lose her virginity? Will Bobby and Carmen stay together? Will Charles and Lawrence adopt a baby? Lots going on amidst a beautiful setting make a fast, entertaining read with fairly obvious conclusions. Did not live up to the hype for me.

8/14 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch

THE VACATIONERS by Emma Straub. Avon (April 29, 2014). ISBN 978-0062118196. 384p.

Comments Off on THE VACATIONERS by Emma Straub | Book Reviews, Fiction, Women's Fiction | Tagged: | Permalink
Posted by Stacy Alesi

ONE HUNDRED NAMES by Cecelia Ahern

July 17, 2014

Click to purchase


Kitty Logan is one misstep away from unemployment. A disastrous feature story has landed her in court for libel and now no one in journalism will touch her. No one except her longtime friend Constance.

Constance gave Kitty her first job and has been her friend and mentor ever since. Even in the wake of the current disaster, Constance hasn’t given up on her. But Constance is sick and doesn’t have much time left. On her one and only visit, Kitty asks her if there was ever a story she wished she’d written but never had the chance – the one that got away. Constance tells her there is and instructs Kitty to retrieve a file titled “names” from her home, promising to tell her all about it on their next visit. Sadly, Constance passes away never having explained the story.

Now, Constance’s magazine wants to put together a special edition to honor their founder and Kitty is given the opportunity to write Constance’s last story. Unfortunately for Kitty, all she has to work with is a list of one hundred names. With time running out, she knows this story is her chance to redeem herself while also paying tribute to the one person who never lost faith in her. But first, she’ll have to figure out what the story is really meant to be.

Each new book by Cecelia Ahern is a gem, and while I’m sure to love every new release, I know I can expect something completely different with each new book.

In One Hundred Names, Kitty not only has a lot to learn about herself but also has a ways to go to earn back the respect of her friends and colleagues. Her infamous story cost a man his reputation and could have been avoided if she’d not lost sight of the essential wisdom Constance imparted on her at the start of her career. It is relearning her passion and how to appreciate the things around her that become important in teasing out Constance’s story.

One Hundred Names is a charming tale, one that will stay with you long after you finish.

7/14 Becky Lejeune

ONE HUNDRED NAMES by Cecelia Ahern. William Morrow Paperbacks (May 6, 2014). ISBN978-0062248633. 496p.

Comments Off on ONE HUNDRED NAMES by Cecelia Ahern | Book Reviews, Fiction, Women's Fiction | Tagged: | Permalink
Posted by Stacy Alesi

« Previous Entries
Next Entries »