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Month: February 2022

Published on Leave a comment on Black Cake
Black Cake Book Cover Black Cake
Charmaine Wilkerson
Fiction
Ballantine Books
February 1, 2022
Hardcover
400
Free from publisher

In present-day California, Eleanor Bennett's death leaves behind a puzzling inheritance for her two children, Byron and Benny: a traditional Caribbean black cake, made from a family recipe with a long history, and a voice recording. In her message, Eleanor shares a tumultuous story about a headstrong young swimmer who escapes her island home under suspicion of murder. The heartbreaking tale Eleanor unfolds, the secrets she still holds back, and the mystery of a long-lost child, challenge everything the siblings thought they knew about their lineage, and themselves.

Can Byron and Benny reclaim their once-close relationship, piece together Eleanor's true history, and fulfill her final request to "share the black cake when the time is right"? Will their mother's revelations bring them back together or leave them feeling more lost than ever?

Charmaine Wilkerson's debut novel is a story of how the inheritance of betrayals, secrets, memories, and even names, can shape relationships and history. Deeply evocative and beautifully written, Black Cake is an extraordinary journey through the life of a family changed forever by the choices of its matriarch.

My review:

First can we marvel at this amazing cover? I'm really enjoying these books being released with swaths of color, I can't imagine it doesn't help to catch the eye of anyone browsing books, as it did me. There is a lot to unpack in this family story. First we have siblings Benny and Byron who have not exactly been close since they were children. When they come back together for the reading of their mother's will, their relationship will undergo a lot of soul searching, but will it cause them to come together or break apart again? Second is the story of Eleanor, and her will which consists of a traditional Caribbean black cake and a fifteen hour audiotape that will tell the parts of her story her children have never heard before. Third is the story of the Black Cake itself, and how a certain food can play a significant role in our lives. I found this book fascinating and engaging albeit a bit long (more on that shortly). I was definitely more invested in Eleanor's story than the siblings, but that doesn't take away from the fact that they were well drawn characters. To me it did get a bit bogged down in the middle with too many characters and plot points, and the people and timelines jumped around a bit, but this didn't impact my enjoyment of the novel as a whole. I will say that I'm positive from the description of the cake that I would probably not enjoy it (dried fruits in rum.....no thank you!), but I've seen lots of book groups attempt to make one for their meeting, which is such a fun idea.

A really interesting story full of secrets and memorable characters that will live up to the praise it's been given. I may not want to sample the cake, but I can certainly find the cover and story delicious.

Published on Leave a comment on With Love From London
With Love from London Book Cover With Love from London
Sarah Jio
Fiction
Ballantine Books
February 8, 2022
Paperback
375
Purchased

When librarian Valentina Baker was a teenager, her mother, Eloise, unexpectedly fled to her native London, leaving Val and her father on their own. Now in her thirties and fresh out of a failed marriage, Val feels a nagging disenchantment with her life--and knows she is still heartbroken over her mother's abandonment.

In a bittersweet twist of fate, Val receives word that Eloise has passed away, leaving Val her Primrose Hill apartment and the deed to a bookshop Val never knew she'd owned. Though the news is devastating, Val finds herself more determined than ever to discover who her mother truly was. She jets across the Atlantic, departing Seattle for a new life in charming London.

Slowly but surely, Val begins to piece together Eloise's life in the UK, falling in love with her pastel-colored flat, cozy neighborhood, and tucked-away storefront. But when she discovers that The Book Garden is in danger of going under, Val must work with its eccentric staff to get it in working order. In the process, she learns more about Eloise than she ever thought possible. And as Val races to save the shop, Eloise's own story unfolds, leading both mother and daughter to unearth revelatory truths.

My review:

Sometimes when a story is told in dual timelines and perspectives, I tend to gravitate to one or the other. Not the case with this one. I really loved both characters. Eloise is the mother whose timeline begins in 1968 London, and moves forward chronologically until 2013. Valentina is her daughter, and we pick up her story in 2013 when she goes to London to try and find answers as to why her recently diseased mother abandoned her when she was eleven years old. Through the dual narration we learn more about Eloise pre and post leaving her daughter, and we slowly learn the why as well. From Valentina we experience her anger and hurt about being left by her mother, and also her present time in London as she explores the life her mother was leading prior to her death. Hint.....there is a quaint and lovely bookstore with an elderly shopkeeper and a fabulous tenant rounding out the great characters. This was well written, with not a paragraph of dull filler, and an absolutely beautiful ending that may have brought a tear to my eye. There is a bit of a romance in this one (we all know how I feel about the obligatory romance), but one was lovely and swoon worthy, and the other was tolerable and not at the forefront of the story.

This was a really enjoyable read focusing on love and forgiveness, loss and discovery, that will leave you with a full heart and wistful smile. And don't forget there is a bookstore 🙂

2

Published on 2 Comments on Beautiful Little Fools
Beautiful Little Fools Book Cover Beautiful Little Fools
Jillian Cantor
Harper Perennial
February 1, 2022
Paperback/Audio
368
Free from publisher

On a sultry August day in 1922, Jay Gatsby is shot dead in his West Egg swimming pool. To the police, it appears to be an open-and-shut case of murder/suicide when the body of George Wilson, a local mechanic, is found in the woods nearby.

Then a diamond hairpin is discovered in the bushes by the pool, and three women fall under suspicion. Each holds a key that can unlock the truth to the mysterious life and death of this enigmatic millionaire.

Daisy Buchanan once thought she might marry Gatsby—before her family was torn apart by an unspeakable tragedy that sent her into the arms of the philandering Tom Buchanan.

Jordan Baker, Daisy’s best friend, guards a secret that derailed her promising golf career and threatens to ruin her friendship with Daisy as well.

Catherine McCoy, a suffragette, fights for women’s freedom and independence, and especially for her sister, Myrtle Wilson, who’s trapped in a terrible marriage.

Their stories unfold in the years leading up to that fateful summer of 1922, when all three of their lives are on the brink of unraveling. Each woman is pulled deeper into Jay Gatsby’s romantic obsession, with devastating consequences for all of them.

Jillian Cantor revisits the glittering Jazz Age world of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby, retelling this timeless American classic from the women’s perspective. Beautiful Little Fools is a quintessential tale of money and power, marriage and friendship, love and desire, and ultimately the murder of a man tormented by the past and driven by a destructive longing that can never be fulfilled.

My review:

When I read that this was a retelling of The Great Gatsby, my first thought was whether I was going to have to re-read that book in order to enjoy this one. I'm not a re-reader....so many books, too little time is my mindset. My most prominent memory of the story is actually the movie version with Robert Redford (yes, I'm that old!). I decided to just jump in and perhaps my takeaway would suffer a bit, but hopefully some of the details would come back to me. I can't say that many of them did, but I didn't even care, because this book is fantastic! While the original book is told from the perspective of Gatsby's neighbor Nick, this book is told from the viewpoint of three women entangled in Gatsby's life. The characters were brilliantly portrayed and I was sucked into their stories immediately. They may have been beautiful, but they were anything but little fools. Then of course there is the time period of the roaring twenties and the Jazz age. The settings made you feel totally immersed in that era and you could see and feel everything down to the minutest detail. In between the women's stories is the testimony of a detective who is convinced one of these three women knows more than she's letting on. While I did think this was the weakest part of the story, I understand how it was necessary to tie in with the mystery surrounding Gatsby's ultimate end. I listened to this one on audio, and that experience is one I highly recommend for this book (provided you enjoy this medium). The characters are all narrated by different voices, pulling you into the story even more.

This book took me completely by surprise by how much I loved it! The time, place, and characters all combined to make this a hit. Even if you know nothing about the original, I cannot imagine you won't be completely hooked by this re-imagining. I can't imagine it not making my best of the year list.

Published on Leave a comment on The Appeal
The Appeal Book Cover The Appeal
Janice Hallett
Viper/Atria
July 1, 2021 (UK) January 25, 2022 (US)
Paperback
447
Purchased

Dear Reader - enclosed are all the documents you need to solve a case. It starts with the arrival of two mysterious newcomers to the small town of Lockwood, and ends with a tragic death.

Someone has already been convicted of this brutal murder and is currently in prison, but we suspect they are innocent. What's more, we believe far darker secrets have yet to be revealed.

Throughout the Fairway Players' staging of All My Sons and the charity appeal for little Poppy Reswick's life-saving medical treatment, the murderer hid in plain sight. Yet we believe they gave themselves away. In writing. The evidence is all here, between the lines, waiting to be discovered.

Will you accept the challenge? Can you uncover the truth?

My review:

Side note before review..... I bought this copy of the book from the UK because I loved this cover compared to the US version. If you look for this book, you will find a different (mostly blue) cover, but it's the same book.

I cannot even begin to express how much I loved the experience of reading this book! Actually that's not entirely true since the writing was super small in the copy I had (see above) and my eyes were burning since I could NOT stop reading it!! This book was such a breath of fresh air, particularly for someone who consumes a ton of books. Sometimes it seems like the format and plots are things you've seen before. Not for this book which is told entirely through emails, texts, and news articles revolving around the death of someone in the small town of Lockwood. Two law students are handed tons of media and tasked with finding out if the correct person has been convicted of the murder. And YOU the reader get to go along and read it with them, all the while figuring it out with them. It was a brilliant concept and I was hooked from the start. There are lots of side plots going on leading up to the murder (which you don't know who it is) including a theater company play, a fund raising effort to save a little girl, and several people with ties to Central Africa. It was captivating and addictive as I tried to figure it all out. In the end I was on the right track, but not entirely correct (no surprise there, I'm awful at whodunnit stuff!). I will warn you that there are a ton of characters right from the start. There is a glossary of who's who, but if that kind of stuff bothers you, be forewarned. I didn't really get too hung up on it and it worked out just fine, the people fall into place as you keep reading.

Such a unique concept for a book, and I was there for it! I could not put this book down until I figured out what was ultimately happening with each of these characters. I absolutely cannot wait to see if this author puts out another gem like this! Edit to add....a new book has been released in the UK called The Twyford Code 🙂

Published on Leave a comment on The Family Chao
The Family Chao Book Cover The Family Chao
Lan Samantha Chang
Fiction
W. W. Norton Company
February 1, 2022
Advance reader copy
320
Free from publisher

The residents of Haven, Wisconsin, have dined on the Fine Chao Restaurant’s delicious Americanized Chinese food for thirty-five years, happy to ignore any unsavory whispers about the family owners. But when brash, charismatic, and tyrannical patriarch Leo Chao is found dead—presumed murdered—his sons discover that they’ve drawn the exacting gaze of the entire town.

The ensuing trial brings to light potential motives for all three brothers: Dagou, the restaurant’s reckless head chef; Ming, financially successful but personally tortured; and the youngest, gentle but lost college student James. Brimming with heartbreak, comedy, and suspense, The Family Chao offers a kaleidoscopic, highly entertaining portrait of a Chinese American family grappling with the dark undercurrents of a seemingly pleasant small town.

My review:

I loved the premise of this book. I'm a fan of family sagas, and this fit that perfectly. The fact that it was an Asian family was also a plus since I like to read about diverse populations in my fiction. Loved that much of the story takes place in a Chinese restaurant, it was fun to read about the food and cooking. I thought the author did a great job in writing these characters, none of whom were particularly likable at one point or another. For the most part I found the writing propelled the story along, however there were a few places it seemed a bit stilted and did effect my overall enjoyment. I liked most of the ending, but there was one thread left hanging that bothered me. I waited through the whole book and never got a definitive answer.

Good story with great characterization, but the ending left me wanting more answers.