Simmer Down

By: Sarah Smith
Published Year: 2020
Publisher: Berkley
Pages: 336

Amazon Barnes & Noble

I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. This in no way shape or form influenced my opinion of this novel.

Summary (Provided by Goodreads): In this finger-licking good rom-com, two is the perfect number of cooks in the kitchen.

Nikki DiMarco knew life wouldn’t be all sunshine and coconuts when she quit her dream job to help her mom serve up mouthwatering Filipino dishes to hungry beach goers, but she didn’t expect the Maui food truck scene to be so eat-or-be-eaten—or the competition to be so smoking hot.

But Tiva’s Filipina Kusina has faced bigger road bumps than the arrival of Callum James. Nikki doesn’t care how delectable the British food truck owner is—he rudely set up shop next to her coveted beach parking spot. He’s stealing her customers and fanning the flames of a public feud that makes her see sparks.

The solution? Let the upcoming Maui Food Festival decide their fate. Winner keeps the spot. Loser pounds sand. But the longer their rivalry simmers, the more Nikki starts to see a different side of Callum…a sweet, protective side. Is she brave enough to call a truce? Or will trusting Callum with her heart mean jumping from the frying pan into the fire?

First Impression

I honestly don’t remember my first impression of this book very well so, that probably doesn’t say much. The cover is cute, but I don’t know if it’s one I’d pick up based on that below. I was ultimately drawn in by the summary which sounded cute and I liked the fact that it focused on Filipino cuisine.

What I thought

Uh… well… the idea was cute?

Nikki runs a food truck with her mom in Hawaii. Callum parks his food truck next to hers one day. When Nikki goes to tell him that it’s an unwritten rule to park that close to another truck, he goes off on her and they immediately become rivals. Their rivalry comes to a head with the Maui Food Truck wars to determine who gets to keep their truck on that spot. Of course, in the midst of that they fight their attraction to each other.

Like I said, the idea was cute, but the execution was very lacking. The writing and character development was… not great. When Nikki meets Callum he’s all nice and has “kind eyes”. The minute she says that he’s not supposed to park next to her he turns into a raging ball of fire who immediately slams doors. The change of character gave me whiplash. Then, just ask quickly, they’re friends with benefits and in love with each other. Because of all of this back and forth it made the chemistry between the two main characters a little hard.

Since I liked the story itself I was able to finish the book. I liked the rivalry between food trucks and I liked Nikki’s family drama. I want to say I liked the characters but they really didn’t have much substance. Nikki was pretty decent but sometimes her attraction to Callum confused me. I also didn’t like the problem that splits them up partway through the book. It just seemed a little lazy.

While this isn’t the worst book I’ve read, the writing was just too poor to get over. I was interested enough to finish the book, though I will admit I skimmed bits of it. I would recommend skipping this one, even if you are looking for a light read. There are much better ones out there.

Book Club November 2020- You Should See Me in a Crown

By: Leah Johnson
Published Year: 2020
Publisher: Scholastic Press
Pages: 336

Amazon Barnes & Noble

Summary (Provided by Goodreads): Liz Lighty has always believed she's too black, too poor, too awkward to shine in her small, rich, prom-obsessed midwestern town. But it's okay -- Liz has a plan that will get her out of Campbell, Indiana, forever: attend the uber-elite Pennington College, play in their world-famous orchestra, and become a doctor.

But when the financial aid she was counting on unexpectedly falls through, Liz's plans come crashing down . . . until she's reminded of her school's scholarship for prom king and queen. There's nothing Liz wants to do less than endure a gauntlet of social media trolls, catty competitors, and humiliating public events, but despite her devastating fear of the spotlight she's willing to do whatever it takes to get to Pennington.

The only thing that makes it halfway bearable is the new girl in school, Mack. She's smart, funny, and just as much of an outsider as Liz. But Mack is also in the running for queen. Will falling for the competition keep Liz from her dreams . . . or make them come true?

What I thought

Liz lives in small town outside of Indianapolis where Prom is a massive deal as is fitting in. Liz already stands out being poor and black, which is why she hides the fact that she’s queer. When she decides to run for prom, it’s initially just for the scholarship. But then it becomes something more.

I read this book in a day. It’s an easy read and was very cute. I loved all of the prom drama and different things that the potential kings and queens had to do. I liked Liz as well. She was awkward and nerdy but had a good heart. There were a few little bits here and there that felt thrown in at the last minute, but overall it was a really cute book.

This is the first young adult book to have been picked by Reese Witherspoon and while I can see her reasons, I do think there are better books out there. If I was between two diverse, young adult, debut books, I would pick This is My America over this one every time. Granted, they’re two very different types of books, but I think that one will stick with me much longer than this one.

This book is almost pure fun with some prejudice thrown in. I also was intrigued by the fact that her brother had sickle cell anemia and wish that there had been a little bit more to the story. I think between that, the prom, her friends, and the relationship there was a lot going on. In my opinion, a few things here and there could’ve been taken out so that other parts could’ve had more focus and a little bit more meat. But overall, I did enjoy the book and would gladly visit these characters and this town again.

What Book Club Thought

Oddly, talking about this book with book club made me like this book a little bit less. We were talking about a lot of the details and I started to realized that there were a lot of little things that didn’t match up and bothered me. The rest of book club really enjoyed the book. We agreed that it was a fun, light hearted novel and easy to read. I think it also made for some good discussion because we definitely talked about high school and what it would’ve been like in small town Indiana.

Queenie

By: Candice Carty-WIlliams
Published Year: 2019
Publisher: Orion
Pages: 330

Amazon Barnes & Noble

Summary (Provided by Goodreads): Queenie Jenkins is a 25-year-old Jamaican British woman living in London, straddling two cultures and slotting neatly into neither. She works at a national newspaper, where she’s constantly forced to compare herself to her white middle class peers. After a messy break up from her long-term white boyfriend, Queenie seeks comfort in all the wrong places…including several hazardous men who do a good job of occupying brain space and a bad job of affirming self-worth.

As Queenie careens from one questionable decision to another, she finds herself wondering, “What are you doing? Why are you doing it? Who do you want to be?”—all of the questions today’s woman must face in a world trying to answer them for her.

With “fresh and honest” (Jojo Moyes) prose, Queenie is a remarkably relatable exploration of what it means to be a modern woman searching for meaning in today’s world.

First Impression

Definitely was drawn in by the orange cover and the beautiful silhouette. The summary didn’t initially appeal to me, but when I was looking to purchase books by authors of color I remembered hearing lots of positive things about this one so it jumped to the top of my list. Everyone raved about this book, so while the first impression of the summary wasn’t super strong, the recommendations were.

What I thought

Queenie is a 25 year old black woman living in London. Her boyfriend has just asked her for a break and to move out of their shared apartment. Slowly but surely her life starts to unravel as she copes with being single, alone, and black in an ever changing neighborhood of London.

Initially, I really liked this book. A lot of what Queenie was going through hit close to home. I separated from my ex 2 years ago and went through a lot of similar emotions that Queenie did. It’s a very shocking adjustment to go from being with someone to all of a sudden, not. Honestly, the truth and rawness of it made it a little hard for me to read.

Then Queenie starts to cope by sleeping around (which, I couldn’t relate to but could understand why, having read a lot of books and seen a lot of movies). But it’s not just sleeping around, she is doing so with men who treat her like an object and it doesn’t seem to bother her in the least. The blunt way in which this was written made me a little uncomfortable and I continued to find this book hard to read but now in a different way

I understand (sort of) the stigma of seeing a therapist, but the entire book I was just yelling at Queenie to go talk to someone because she had problem upon problem that piled up that she just wasn’t dealing with. In addition to that, while I try to understand her anger towards a lot of things, such as people touching her hair, I did feel like her reactions were overblown at times. I’m not saying that she’s wrong, just it’s a very different reaction than I would have had so I didn’t quite understand it.

I’m very glad that I read this book but I definitely think that it is not for me. Meaning, I am very much not the target audience.

Overall, the book is well written and the story is intriguing. I wanted to see what happened to Queenie and I really enjoyed reading about her friends. But there was a lot of this book that made me feel uncomfortable. And not because it was making me face realities I’ve been denying, like I felt when I read This is My America. There is a lot of objectification that is written in a way that I jut didn’t like and I could see it affecting a lot of other readers too. If you’re ok with scenes like that, I do recommend checking this book out. If not, then I say you won’t be missing out on much.

In a Holidaze

By: Christina Lauren
Pages: 336
Published Year: 2020
Publisher: Gallery Books

I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. This in no way shape or form influenced my opinion of this book.

Amazon Barnes & Noble

Summary (Provided by Goodreads): It’s the most wonderful time of the year…but not for Maelyn Jones. She’s living with her parents, hates her going-nowhere job, and has just made a romantic error of epic proportions.

But perhaps worst of all, this is the last Christmas Mae will be at her favorite place in the world—the snowy Utah cabin where she and her family have spent every holiday since she was born, along with two other beloved families. Mentally melting down as she drives away from the cabin for the final time, Mae throws out what she thinks is a simple plea to the universe: Please. Show me what will make me happy.

The next thing she knows, tires screech and metal collides, everything goes black. But when Mae gasps awake…she’s on an airplane bound for Utah, where she begins the same holiday all over again. With one hilarious disaster after another sending her back to the plane, Mae must figure out how to break free of the strange time loop—and finally get her true love under the mistletoe.

Jam-packed with yuletide cheer, an unforgettable cast of characters, and Christina Lauren’s trademark “downright hilarious” (Helen Hoang, author of The Bride Test) hijinks, this swoon-worthy romantic read will make you believe in the power of wishes and the magic of the holidays.

First Impressions

As you should know by now if you’ve been reading my blog with any regularity, Christina Lauren is (are?) one of my favorite authors. I have absolutely adored them ever since reading Josh & Hazels Guide to Not Dating. They are on my automatic to-read list and I know that if I’m in a reading slump or a life slump, that if I pick up one of their books, all will be right with the world.

What I thought

Perfection. I loved everything about this book and it was exactly what I needed.

Every year, Maelyn and her family spend the week of Christmas with her parents’ college friends and their families. At the end of this year’s trip, however, she doesn’t feel as fulfilled as she usually does. Not only is she living back at home at 26, but she has kissed the wrong brother and found out that the cabin is being sold and the won’t be able to all come together again next year. That is, until on the drive back to the airport, Mae and her family are in a terrible accident and she wakes up on the airplane back to the cabin at the beginning of the trip. Mae is the only one who knows that this has all happened before.

When I was describing this book to a friend they said that it seemed like a Hallmark movie and that is exactly the vibe it gives off. This book could easily be made into a Hallmark Christmas movie and I would love every second of it. Mae has been in love with older brother Andrew (not her older brother) but made out with younger brother Theo in the first reality. I loved watching Mae and Andrew’s relationship evolve. The only issue I had was that the relationship with Mae and Theo was a bit underdeveloped. Apparently they were the closest of friends, though they had grown apart in years, but in the story they barely interact. It made it difficult to understand some of the difficulties they were having. I wish that the story had started maybe a day earlier with more interactions between Mae and Theo so that I understood that side of the story a bit more.

Every other side character was so much fun. I loved her “uncle” (whose name is escaping me at the moment). You could tell he really loved and cared for Mae and I loved that he was her confidant. He was a bit more active in the first few rounds of vacation that she lived through, so I do wish he hadn’t fallen by the wayside quite so much in the final reality, but I understand why he did.

I also really enjoyed Mae. I loved her take charge attitude but that she struggled with learning how to do that. I could see some people getting annoyed with her figuring stuff out, but I loved her. I found her to be very relatable and I rooted for her the whole way through.

I just overall enjoyed everything about this book. I don’t think there’s anything that I could criticize. This is the perfect book to pick up for the holiday season and to read in a cozy cabin, just like in the book. I’m so glad that I loved this book as much as I did, because I wasn’t as crazy about their last two books. Christina Lauren does it again! Love.

Book Club October 2020- City of Girls

By: Elizabeth Gilbert
Published year: 2019
Publisher: Riverhead Books
Pages: 496

Amazon Barnes & Noble

Summary (Provided by Goodreads): In 1940, nineteen-year-old Vivian Morris has just been kicked out of Vassar College, owing to her lackluster freshman-year performance. Her affluent parents send her to Manhattan to live with her Aunt Peg, who owns a flamboyant, crumbling midtown theater called the Lily Playhouse. There Vivian is introduced to an entire cosmos of unconventional and charismatic characters, from the fun-chasing showgirls to a sexy male actor, a grand-dame actress, a lady-killer writer, and no-nonsense stage manager. But when Vivian makes a personal mistake that results in professional scandal, it turns her new world upside down in ways that it will take her years to fully understand. Ultimately, though, it leads her to a new understanding of the kind of life she craves - and the kind of freedom it takes to pursue it. It will also lead to the love of her life, a love that stands out from all the rest.

Now ninety-five years old and telling her story at last, Vivian recalls how the events of those years altered the course of her life - and the gusto and autonomy with which she approached it. "At some point in a woman's life, she just gets tired of being ashamed all the time," she muses. "After that, she is free to become whoever she truly is." Written with a powerful wisdom about human desire and connection, City of Girls is a love story like no other.

What I thought

I remember seeing this book all over the place when it first came out. I love the cover and I do remember picking it up a few times to read the summary. However, there must have been something about it that didn’t jump out at me because I never picked it up.

Vivian receives a letter from Angela asking her what exactly her relationship with her father had been. As an answer to Angela’s letter, Vivian decides to write her a 500 page book, pretty much about her entire life. Vivian tells the story of her life when she moved to New York City at 19, which takes up the majority of the book, but then she does quickly move through the rest of her life in the last 200 pages or so.

I didn’t mind the style of the writing, which definitely kept the tone of it being a letter throughout the book. However, this is definitely the kind of book that doesn’t really seem to have a set plot point moving it along. It truly is about Vivian’s life and our lives don’t really have set plot points. Also, I was easily 300 pages in and still hadn’t (obviously at least) met Angela’s father. All I could think of was the fact that if I had been Angela reading this novel of a letter, by 300 pages I would have been irritated and annoyed. I wouldn’t have felt the need to know this woman’s entire life story.

There is a line in this story in which one character tells Vivian she is not an interesting woman and she will never be an interesting woman and, unfortunately, I feel like I have to agree. Looking back on the story, I feel like this book/letter is Vivian trying to convince one last person that she is an interesting woman when really she isn’t.

This is one of those odd books that, while I was reading it, I didn’t mind it and, in fact, enjoyed a decent amount of it. But, now that I’ve finished it and sat with it for a bit, I find more and more that I don’t like about it.

What Book Club Thought

Minus Stephanie, it seems as though everyone else liked the book a little more than I did. Denise and Stephanie both listened the audiobook. Interestingly, they both got stuck at a similar point. It lead to a good discussion about how this book is more interesting in the second half than the first. We did also discuss how much of the book could have been left out. A lot of the discussion made me realize that I liked portions of the book a lot more than I was giving it credit for.

It was a good book club book choice because it lead to a lot of good discussion. Denise also pointed out that one of the reasons she liked the book so much was because of how strong of a woman Vivian needed to be to be who she was during that time.  

Chasing Lucky

By: Jenn Bennett
Published Year: 2020
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Pages: 416

Amazon Barnes & Noble

 I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. This in no way shape or form influenced my opinion of this novel.

Summary (Provided by Goodreads): Budding photographer Josie Saint-Martin has spent half her life with her single mother, moving from city to city. When they return to her historical New England hometown years later to run the family bookstore, Josie knows it’s not forever. Her dreams are on the opposite coast, and she has a plan to get there.

What she doesn’t plan for is a run-in with the town bad boy, Lucky Karras. Outsider, rebel…and her former childhood best friend. Lucky makes it clear he wants nothing to do with the newly returned Josie. But everything changes after a disastrous pool party, and a poorly executed act of revenge lands Josie in some big-time trouble—with Lucky unexpectedly taking the blame.

Determined to understand why Lucky was so quick to cover for her, Josie discovers that both of them have changed, and that the good boy she once knew now has a dark sense of humor and a smile that makes her heart race. And maybe, just maybe, he’s not quite the brooding bad boy everyone thinks he is…

First Impressions

Jenn Bennett has written some of my favorite recent contemporary YAs. I have loved Alex Approximately, Starry Eyes, and Serious Moonlight. With each of her novels I have loved her even more. Her covers are also the best. I didn’t even look twice at this book before deciding I needed to read it.

What I thought

Josie is moving back to the town where she grew up and where her mother grew up. They haven’t been back in 5 years and she is not looking forward to it. Until she runs into her old friend Lucky, who has changed from the boy she remembers being best friends with.

I was so disappointed in this book. I don’t know why, but I couldn’t connect with it at all. I didn’t care for Josie, I found her to be very whiney, and I didn’t feel the love between her and Lucky. I started reading this at the beginning of March thinking it was going to be a quick read. Instead, I put it aside and read four other books before I finally finished it.

The story was fine. Josie is dealing with her relationship with her mom and her absent dad. Lucky is dealing with abandonment issues. There was a lot going on that seemed very repetitive. I felt like Josie was naiive, which, fine, she’s a teenager, but it just didn’t come off well to me. Maybe if I was younger I would’ve liked this one more?

I’m not one to write long reviews on books I didn’t like, so I’m not going to say much more. Maybe this book will be better for you than me, but I would recommend picking one of Bennett’s other books over this one. It’s not going to stop me from picking up more of her books in the future, but this one just wasn’t the one for me.

Henna Artist

By: Alka Joshi
Published Year: 2020
Publisher: Harlequin

Amazon Barnes & Noble

Summary (Provided by Goodreads): Escaping from an abusive marriage, seventeen-year-old Lakshmi makes her way alone to the vibrant 1950s pink city of Jaipur. There she becomes the most highly requested henna artist—and confidante—to the wealthy women of the upper class. But trusted with the secrets of the wealthy, she can never reveal her own…

Known for her original designs and sage advice, Lakshmi must tread carefully to avoid the jealous gossips who could ruin her reputation and her livelihood. As she pursues her dream of an independent life, she is startled one day when she is confronted by her husband, who has tracked her down these many years later with a high-spirited young girl in tow—a sister Lakshmi never knew she had. Suddenly the caution that she has carefully cultivated as protection is threatened. Still she perseveres, applying her talents and lifting up those that surround her as she does.

First Impressions

I found out about this book from Reese’s book club. I realized I hadn’t checked the books on her list in a while and when I did, this was the month’s pick. I like historical fiction and I loved the cover, so I decided to add it to my to-read list.

What I thought

Since I’ve been taking so many walks during the pandemic and the libraries were all closed, I decided to listen to this as an audiobook. Also, because of this, please excuse any misspellings as I didn’t get to read the names, only listen to them.

Lakshmi travels to the city of Jaipur in the 1950s to be rid of her husband and start her own life. After years there establishing herself as a henna artist, as well as a side business of providing women with herbal medicines, an unknown sister shows up at her door. All of a sudden, she is in charge of caring for Radha at 12 years old while trying to further her own place in life by working for women of status and even the palace.

Before I talk about the story itself, I want to talk about listening to it as an audiobook. I did like the voice of the narrator, but she spoke n a slow and soothing voice. I found myself tuning out sometimes when she was talking and, therefore, not being as engaged in the story as I probably should have. One of my coworkers reminded me that you can speed up audiobooks, so I increased the speed to 1.25 and found that I was more engaged and less likely to space out. I have to say, I don’t think I’m really an audiobook person. I’ve listened to a handful and rarely have I found myself as interested in the book as I am with physical books.

The story itself was very interesting. I have never read a historical fiction that takes place in India. I found the cultural and class differences to be fascinating. I had never thought about the fact that rich women would hire henna artists as henna is not a part of my culture. What really intrigued me though was the way that Lakshmi used herbal remedies for a variety of ailments. She was even questioned by a doctor for her herbs, but even he ended up coming around to her ways in the end.

I wasn’t crazy about the storylines with Radha. She is very immature, as should be expected by a young girl who lived out in the country, but I wanted to smack her upside the head. She was nothing but trouble from the moment she entered and I wanted Lakshmi to ship her off somewhere and never deal with her again. I wish that the story had focused more on Lakshmi and her trying to climb the social ladder and less on Radha and all of the destruction she brought.

Overall, this was an interesting read. I liked learning about the history and culture of India in the 1950s. There are a lot of class similarities as in other countries so it was interesting to see how that played out in the Indian culture. I can’t say for sure if I would’ve enjoyed this more if I had read it instead of listening to it, but I never found myself thinking about this book after listening to it. if you’re looking for something different, I definitely recommend checking it out.

The Secret French Recipes of Sophie Valroux

By: Samantha Verant
Published Year: 2020
Publisher: Berkley
Pages: 352

Amazon Barnes & Noble

I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. This in no way shape or form influenced my opinion of this book.

Summary (Provided by Goodreads): A disgraced chef rediscovers her passion for food and her roots in this stunning novel rich in culture and full of delectable recipes.

French-born American chef Sophie Valroux had one dream: to be part of the 1% of female chefs running a Michelin-starred restaurant. From spending summers with her grandmother, who taught her the power of cooking and food, to attending the Culinary Institute of America, Sophie finds herself on the cusp of getting everything she's dreamed of.

Until her career goes up in flames.

Sabotaged by a fellow chef, Sophie is fired, leaving her reputation ruined and confidence shaken. To add fuel to the fire, Sophie learns that her grandmother has suffered a stroke and takes the red-eye to France. There, Sophie discovers the simple home she remembers from her childhood is now a luxurious château, complete with two restaurants and a vineyard. As Sophie tries to reestablish herself in the kitchen, she comes to understand the lengths people will go to for success and love, and how dreams can change.

First Impressions

This cover makes me want to jump inside and live in it. Her dress, the sky, the chateau. Even the font of the title jut drew me in. I’m also a bit of a sucker for books about chefs (see my previous review about A Sweet Mess) so I was immediately drawn into a book that also occurred over seas.

What I thought

I wanted to really like this book, but it just didn’t work for me.

Sophie starts off as a chef in a 2 star Michelin restaurant waiting to get its 3rd star. When the restaurant loses a star, she gets thrown under the bus for intentionally sabotaging the restaurant. With her life falling apart, she learns that her Grandmother in France is ill. After falling into a depression because her career is over as she knows it, she decides to go visit her grandmother and make sure she is healthy.

The beginning of the book made me feel uncomfortable just because I was so angry at the fact that she got thrown under the bus. Once she got to France I started to enjoy the book a little more. I wanted to see how she pulled herself back together while also reconnecting with her past.

I loved all of the characters at the chateaux. I wish that there had been even more of them than there was. When she reconnected with Remi, her crush from her childhood summers in France, I was excited for a slow burn, but instead received an instant declaration of love on his part. I really appreciated that Sophie told him that she needed time and that she wasn’t in a space for that kind of relationship, rather than getting swept up.

My real issues with this book started at about 70% of the way through. I felt like the book could’ve been finished at that point and I struggled to get through the rest of the book because I didn’t understand what more could happen. There was a lot that got resolved at 70%, so the rest of the book felt unnecessary. Even though this was never quite a book that I didn’t feel like I couldn’t put down, I looked forward to picking it back up. Once I hit that final quarter, I no longer felt like I needed to read this book.

The story was cute and the writing was good. I just felt like this book was too long for its own good. If there had been more drawn out in the middle and then the final 30% was about the final 15%, I think that would have made it much more enjoyable.