The Collected Regrets of Clover by Mikki Brammer

 

 

 

Ok, This is a goodie - don't miss it!

Books You Loved: August Edition!

 

 

Books You Loved: July Edition  once again provided reviews of some great books. Thank you to all. Here are some posts that caught my eye:

Melissa posted on Goodreads about Famous in a Small Town by Viola Shipman.  She said 'It's also about friendship between generations and there's some romance too! The setting is a beautiful and cozy town in Northern Michigan, … It's the perfect idyllic summer escape read! I even cried happy tears.'

Elizabeth of Silver's Reviews brought us The Paris Daughter by Kristin Harmel.  She said 'Everyone had to make difficult choices during the war, but a mother's choice to leave her children in the care of someone else was necessary and heartbreaking.'

My Jane Austen Book Club posted about What Would Jane Austen Do? By Linda Corbett.  Maria said 'I'm having great fun leafing through a witty modern romance with so many winks at Jane Austen and her world..While the story is not exactly a retelling of any Austen novel, each chapter starts with a Jane Austen quote, and the main character Maddy is an Austen superfan, which leads to references to her books, characters and quotations.'

Tina posted the Goodreads review of Meredith, Alone by Claire Alexander.  It said 'You’ll be laughing and crying as “the brilliant author of this brilliant book” introduces Meredith, who, after spending three years inside her house, figures out how to rejoin the world one step at a time.'

Now on to the Books You Loved: August Edition. There are no rules for this party.  The only requirement is that your post is about a book that you loved.

To add to the list just pop the name of the book (and your name/blog name if you like) into the first Mr Linky box and then copy and paste the url of your post about it into the second box.

I'll be pinning your links to this Pinboard  to make it easier for you to check them out at a glance. 

 

Books You Loved: July Edition!

 

Books You Loved: June Edition  once again provided reviews of some great books. Thank you to all. Here are some posts that caught my eye:

Jessica of The Bookworm Chronicles brought over Heidi by Johanna Spyri.  She said 'Overall. I thought Heidi was a timeless coming-of-age tale, that explores the power of love, nature, and a simpler life, as well as how to overcome hardships with thankfulness. An utterly delightful read, that brought me comfort, joy and solace. It is a classic for a reason!'

Melissa posted on Chick Lit Central about Hazel Fine Sings Along by Katie Wicks.  She said 'Catherine McKenzie … debut as Katie Wicks hits it out of the park! It is such a fun and interesting story. I even got teary-eyed a couple of times. I really liked getting to know Hazel and seeing what it was like behind the scenes of a reality music competition.'

Elizabeth of Silver's Reviews brought us The Collected Regrets of Clover by Mikki Brammer.  She said 'Readers who are looking for something different, wonderful characters, wonderful writing, and an actual heartwarming theme will like this book. 5/5'

Stray Thoughts brought us an oldie – Miss Buncle's Book by D.E Stevenson.  She summed up by saying 'Overall this was a fun book with a very satisfactory ending.'  I'm looking forward to reading this one.

Lastly for this month, The Burgeoning Bookshelf posted about Dawnlands by Phillipa Gregory.  She said 'Dawnlands is a story of tyranny, greed, slavery and the fight for equality and freedom. …Gregory states that Dawnlands took three years to write and I think it was well worth the wait. Her writing is captivating and it flows effortlessly from one scene to the next with each point of view being just as interesting as the last.'

 

Now on to the Books You Loved: July Edition. There are no rules for this party.  The only requirement is that your post is about a book that you loved.

To add to the list just pop the name of the book (and your name/blog name if you like) into the first Mr Linky box and then copy and paste the url of your post about it into the second box.

I'll be pinning your links to this Pinboard  to make it easier for you to check them out at a glance. 

 

Books You Loved: June Edition!

 

 

Books You Loved: May Edition provided reviews of some great books. Thank you to all. Here are some posts that caught my eye:

 

Melissa shared her Goodreads review of Hello Stranger by Katherine Center.  She said 'I just loved everything about this novel. It was a refreshing and interesting story, and I found myself laughing and getting teary-eyed.'

 

Melissa also posted  about Fifth Avenue Glamour Girl by Renee Rosen. She said it 'truly sparkles. I learned a lot about Estee Lauder and the story was really empowering and inspiring.'

Elizabeth of Silver's Reviews also brought us Fifth Avenue Glamour Girl by Renee Rosen.  She said 'another entertaining, well-researched read by Ms. Rosen.'

Tracey of Carpe Librum posted about The Satsuma Complex by Bob Mortimer.  She said 'Mortimer's imagination and creativity were a welcome surprise.  …The duck jokes were a quack-up and the no-comment interview (page 100) made me read the entire scene to my husband so he could join in on the chuckles.

This five star rating is based purely on enjoyability. This book made me laugh out loud and I often found myself thinking about it during the day and looking forward to picking it up again each night.'

 

Thanks to Books I Think You Should Read we have Justice is Served  by Leslie Karst.  She ended up cooking for RBG!  The review said 'The book was interesting and engaging to read and live the life of the author for a year'

 

Now on to the Books You Loved: June Edition. There are no rules for this party.  The only requirement is that your post is about a book that you loved.

 

To add to the list just pop the name of the book (and your name/blog name if you like) into the first Mr Linky box and then copy and paste the url of your post about it into the second box.

 

I'll be pinning your links to this Pinboard  to make it easier for you to check them out at a glance. 

 

Books You Loved: May Edition!

 

 

Books You Loved: April Edition provided reviews of some great books. Thank you to all. Here are some posts that caught my eye:

 

Julie brought over Parabellum by Greg Hickey.  She said 'Words on the page jumped out at me, in full color and expressions I could feel for myself. Prepare for war…'

 

Melissa shared her Goodreads review of The Paris Daughter by Kristin Harmel.  She said the book 'was so well-written that I forgot I was reading a book! I got so absorbed in the story and everything felt so real.'

 

Melissa also posted on Chick Lit Central about The Sweet Spot by Amy Poeppel.  She said 'I've been recommending The Sweet Spot even while just in the early chapters, it's that well-written and engaging. Do yourself a favor and pick up this feel-good read!'

Elizabeth of Silver's Reviews brought us The Echo of Old Books by Barbara Davis.  Her post said the book 'has the imaginative, descriptive, pull-you-in writing style Ms. Davis excels at. You will be in for a treat...don't miss it.'



Now on to the Books You Loved: May Edition. There are no rules for this party.  The only requirement is that your post is about a book that you loved.

 

To add to the list just pop the name of the book (and your name/blog name if you like) into the first Mr Linky box and then copy and paste the url of your post about it into the second box.

 

I'll be pinning your links to this Pinboard  to make it easier for you to check them out at a glance. 

 

Reminding you of an oldie - but it's a goodie - The Pedant in the Kitchen by Julian Barnes

 

If you like food and have some views about what constitutes a good recipe, this book is a must read.  It is funny and real.  I am in the camp of not following recipes but just treating them like a starter for ten – which would annoy Mr Barnes no end.  But each to their own.

This is not a recent book – it dates to 2003 but it is in no way dated.

He calls himself a pedant because he is a slavish recipe follower and therefore gets annoyed by references to a knob of butter – goodness what he would say about a splosh of wine!

Don't read this if you don't like cooking or sly wit.

I've posted about The Sense of an Ending by this author – you might like to check it out by following this link

Dead Beat by Val McDermid

 

 

This is the first book in a series featuring Kate Brannigan – a PI.  I enjoyed it and thought she was a relateable, fun protagonist.  It isn't a recent book – published in 1992.  There is some reference to technologies that we don't use today – floppy disks, anyone?

 

But it is a good story.  Based in Manchester Kate gets involved in working for a pop star – then things take a bit of a dire turn.  Apart from the person who is murdered, it is a good mystery that ends satisfactoriy.

 

I actually started another book by this author – called 1979 – but couldn’t get into it.

 

I've ordered the next one in this series – Kick Back.

The Light We Carry: Overcoming in Uncertain Times by Michelle Obama

 

 

Please overlook the politics (whatever yours are) and give this thoughtful well written and mind changing book a go.

 

This is not exactly biography and certainly she doesn't presume to be able to offer self-help advice.  But I found her thoughts on how we think about (and talk to) people that are outside our normal scope of things very insightful.

 

I enjoyed her first book – which was autobiographical – I posted about it here.  But this book is even better.