Dial A for Aunties by Jesse G. Sutanto

 

Click here to buy from Amazon

Well, i spent some time this weekend creating an impromptu video where I talked about a whole lot (no shelf control, folks) of books I wanted to read for the summer. However, it was too darn long to load into a post and I finally gave up posting it on Facebook after what felt like a zillion tries. 

So, I'm a bit late posting and I'm going to try another, shorter video and get that up Friday. 

Meanwhile, I have been reading a few books, and I finally finished this novel that's a bit romance, a bit screwball comedy, and well, a slight murder mystery. 

Meddelin Chan has three aunts and a mom who run a successful wedding company. They do it all: flowers, cake, makeup & hair, and Meddy is the photographer. Their biggest wedding is coming up: two wealthy families joining together on a posh island hotel resort. It's huge for Meddy and her family, and they can't screw it up. 

Meddy's mother sets her up on a blind date, and things go terribly, terribly wrong. As in dead body wrong the morning they are to leave for the wedding. What's a girl to do? Call her aunts! And what's wonderful about Meddy's aunts and her mom is that they believe her without question, and throw themselves into solving the pickle Meddy has created (accidentally). 

At the hotel resort, Meddy runs into Nathan, now part-owner of the luxury hotel. He is Meddy's true love, and she broke up with him in college because she couldn't leave her family in California. The heat is still there between the two, and Nathan makes it clear he's missed Meddy and still has feelings for her. Now, to just explain about the dead body in the cooler...

It really is a screwball comedy in that we have a group of women preparing for a major wedding, dragging a cooler around with a body in it-trying to hide it but constantly being interrupted and having to change course. Toss in a developing second plot involving the maid of honor, theft, and a whole fleet of really, really hungover groomsmen, and this wedding will take a miracle to pull off! 

I wasn't sure what to expect and actually enjoyed this novel very much. I wouldn't say it's a mystery, nor a straight romance, either. Kind of a little bit of both, with plenty of Chinese-Indonesian culture and family dynamics. Will Meddy have a happy ending? Happy news! This novel has been optioned for a Netflix movie!

Rating: 3/6 for a fun read about a wedding where everything that can go wrong, goes wrong-and how having a meddling ma in your romantic life can lead to a really, really bad blind date. Enjoyable, full of loveable characters and a demonstration of what families will do for each other in times of crisis. 

Available in hardcover, trade paperback, audio, and ebook. 

Share: facebook - twitter - pinterest

Dial A for Aunties by Jesse G. Sutanto

The Late Bloomers' Club by Louise Miller

I was thrilled to receive an advanced copy of The Late Bloomers' Club in the mail last week. I absolutely loved Louise Miller's first novel, The City Baker's Guide to Country Living.  Set in the little town of Guthrie, Vermont, this novel has the same warmth and delicious baking that made CBGTCL one of my favorite reads of 2016. 

Nora Huckleberry owns and runs the town's beloved Miss Guthrie Diner; first started by her parents, and inherited by Nora after her mother dies of cancer and her father falls apart. Taking care of her younger sister Kit as a teenager, Nora has always done what she should do, rather than what she wants. The diner is popular, but always has something that needs fixing, and takes up so much of Nora's time she has little for her real passion: creating art. When a local cake baker, Peggy Johnson suddenly dies and leaves her house and land to Nora and Kit, it starts a whole new chance for the town, and Nora, to begin a new life. 

Elliot, a representative from HG Corporation, had been in talks with Peggy before her death on purchasing her land for a new big box store. Nora and Kit could sell the land, pay all their bills, and have some extra cash. It would help Kit with her struggling film career, and help Nora get ahead of diner bills. But Peggy's home includes an old growth orchard and some surprises in the woods. As Nora discovers what Peggy kept hidden from the town, she falls in love with the comfort, quiet, and sense of home Peggy's place provides. And darn it all, Elliot is a cutie, too. Nora has to not only think about what would benefit her, but what a big box store would mean to the town of Guthrie and all the small shop owners who make their living from tourists. It would change the makeup of Guthrie permanently, and while there are benefits, are they worth it?

There's so much more to this novel; I don't want to give any of it away. Cakes are a big part of it all, and like a great cake, you should savor every bite. Peggy's life may have seemed quiet, but she had a lot going on behind the scenes, and those secrets effect Nora and Kit's choices. 

This was such a lovely book to read, especially after The Hunger. The town of Guthrie must surely exist somewhere, and all the wonderful folks who make Guthrie a special place are out there, too. Characters from The City Baker's Guide to Country Living populate this novel, and it felt like a continuing story, with hardly any time gone by. 

A big thank you to Pamela Dorman/Viking for an advanced review copy. Just what this gal needed in the dog days of summer. 

Rating:  5/6 for a delightful return to the small Vermont town of Guthrie. It's never too late to realize your dreams.  And the cakes! Oh, the cakes. Yum. 

Available in hardcover and ebook. 

Share: facebook - twitter - pinterest

The Late Bloomers' Club by Louise Miller

Christmas at Two Love Lane by Kieran Kramer and I'm Done With Christmas Reads!

I've made a pretty good dent in my month of Christmas reads, but I decided today that I just can't read anymore holiday themed novels.  I'm ready to get back to my regular reading.  So much so that I've already put so many books on my mental January reads list that it's impossible for me to read them all.  I'm afraid to sit and actually write down what I'm planning on reading for January. The bone chilling cold that has visited Iowa in the past few days (and not leaving any time soon) has me yearning (and yes, I do mean yearning) to plant my tush on the couch and read for days.  Those are my plans for this coming weekend, so I hope they become reality.

I bought this novel last month while perusing the holiday reads at B&N.  I hadn't read a holiday romance since last year, and when I read the back cover, I had to buy it. Anything that is set in Charleston has me won over.  I've never been to Charleston, but it's on my travel list as a must see. I'm halfway in serious like with a city I've never been to, but someday I'll get there.

After my unhappy reading experience with Christmas in London, I was ready for a romance with some heat, and Deacon Banks, hailing from New York City, was just the ticket.  He's in Charleston for the month of December to help his Aunt Fran settle into her winter condo and make her entrance into Charleston society.  A famous talk show host, she's retired and wanted to make a change, so Charleston was her change.  She wants Deacon to settle down, so he's reluctantly promised her he'll date a few women while he's in Charleston, just to make his Aunt happy.  Enter Two Love Lane, where Macy Frost and her two friends run a matchmaking service.  They've got the magic touch, and are well known as matchmakers who help folks find their true love.  Deacon just wants a few dates with no strings attached, but the first time he lays eyes on Macy, it's lust.  Macy tries to keep it professional, but she feels the pull of attraction, too.  

Macy is a matchmaker who believes in love, but not for herself.  That, and Deacon's unwillingness to admit that it's more than lust with Macy make the road to happily ever after a bit bumpy. As they spend the December social scene  together, and get to know one another, it's clear this is a love match.  Clear to everyone but the two of them.  I got a little lost in some of the finer details as to why they just couldn't admit to their deeper feelings; it seemed to take way too long, even after they did sleep together.  I think the story could have been shortened by about 50 pages by cutting out some of that dragging plot.  But, that was about all I had to complain about.  The sparks between Macy and Deacon were hot, they were cute and funny together, and the secondary characters were delightful.  I can't imagine that Charleston is as small town as it appears to be in this novel--everyone knows everyone, and everything is in walking distance--but that is part of the charm of the setting. I'm willing to overlook it. 

There is a sequel coming out next week, called Wedding at Two Love Lane.  It is the story of one of Macy's partners, and it looks like fun, too.  I'll probably be reading it just to see how things turn out.  I suspect there will be a third, to round out the trio of ladies who own Two Love Lane.  

So, I am ending my Christmas reads with this novel.  I have a few that I didn't get to, or gave up on, and I'll have a roundup of those in a later post. I'll say goodbye until next year to my holiday reads.  I'll be ready to tackle another pile of them come December 1, 2018.  

Rating:  3/6 for an entertaining romance set in Charleston in December.  The chemistry between the two main characters is palpable, and the secondary characters are pretty fantastic. Available in mass market, and ebook. I'll read the sequel coming out next week.   

Share: facebook - twitter - pinterest

Christmas at Two Love Lane by Kieran Kramer and I'm Done With Christmas Reads!

The Memory of Lemon by Judith Fertig

This is not the book to read if you're trying to eat clean.  Nope.  But I read it anyway, and it was enjoyable even if I did experience some big pangs for delicious tarts, cakes, and pies.  

This is the sequel to The Cake Therapist, which I reviewed last year after discovering another new author that writes one of my favorite genres:  foodie fiction.  

The Memory of Lemon returns to Millcreek Valley, Ohio and Claire "Neely" Davis.  Her bakery Rainbow Cake is winning people over, and business is good.  Her love life, however, is not in a good place.  Still married to her football pro (and cheating) husband, she can't file for divorce until she's established residency in Ohio--she's got a few weeks yet.  Her growing feelings for childhood sweetheart Ben are confusing and frustrating--her prenup agreement with Luke has a clause in it stating that he gets anything he's provided for her if she's caught being unfaithful during their marriage.  And that means Claire's home and bakery are on the line.  And gee, Luke doesn't want to give Claire up.  

Claire's latest client is getting married in June, and is having a tug of war over her wedding with her mother. Lydia wants to be married at her grandmother's old cabin, with a rustic theme and no cake; her mother wants a wedding fit for high society--and a spectacular cake.  Claire's usual special intuition, which matches dessert flavors exactly with her clients, is failing her each time she meets Lydia.  She just can't pinpoint what Lydia wants.  A visit to the cabin in Kentucky sparks Claire's talent and gives her a peek into the past history of the cabin and the women who lived, loved, and raised families there.  

This was a sequel that was almost better than the original.  The past glimpses of history between Claire's family and Lydia's family were really quite interesting.  Claire's father, long absent from her life, begins to connect to Claire through letters.  He's a homeless Vietnam vet who is trying very hard to get his life together and find a place of peace.  It's surprising how Claire's family history becomes such an integral part of the story, and melds perfectly with her latest efforts to create the perfect wedding for Lydia.  

And of course the descriptions of pastries, flavors, and scents all create such a wonderful background.  My mouth was watering!  There is a reason recipes are passed down generation after generation.  It's not just the tradition, but the memories those flavors invoke in us that keep us connected to our families and our roots.  Sometimes those flavors can bring us back when we're lost and feeling adrift.  

Rating:  8/10 for a lovely sequel to The Cake Therapist.  I hate to say goodbye to Claire and the folks of Millcreek Valley, so I certainly expect a third book.   

Available in paperback and e-book. 

  

Share: facebook - twitter - pinterest

The Memory of Lemon by Judith Fertig

Wedding Girl by Stacey Ballis

This is my first Stacey Ballis book, and I'm sure it won't be my last.  She is firmly under the "chick lit" moniker, but her character Sophie is a refreshing change of pace from the typical lovelorn heroine I've read in other chick lit novels.  I am a big fan of novels where women are faced with rebuilding a life whether it's due to a job loss, or a loss in their romantic life.  I want women to know, even if it's just by reading a novel, that we can continually remake ourselves, and find happiness and strength in moving past a rough patch in life.  

Okay.  I'm off my soapbox!  You've got to feel bad for Sophie:  it's her wedding day, she's spent $70,000 on her wedding, and her fiancee never shows to the wedding.  He doesn't even send her a note.  Instead, guests at Sophie's wedding see on social media that he has eloped to an island paradise with a thin, moneyed woman that is the opposite of Sophie.  Crushed, but being brave, Sophie instead invites everyone to enjoy the food, the band, and the venue.  Sophie throws herself into her party, and unfortunately, pictures flood social media, and she's humiliated.  Sophie is a well-know pastry chef in Chicago, and her plans to open a restaurant with her ex-fiancee were big news, and her humiliation is complete.  

Months later, Sophie has lost her job, sold her condo, and is living with her lively grandmother Bubbles.  She's in debt up to her eyeballs, and burned a few bridges professionally with her bad attitude.  Seeing a sign in the local neighborhood bakery, she starts working part-time, with an eye to getting back into the pastry world in Chicago.  But life, of course, has a way of throwing curve balls, and Sophie is about to get a few tossed her way.  

There is a lot of plot going on in this book.  There is Sophie's relationship with Bubbles, her relationship with her parents, who have been together for 40 years of unwed bliss, her budding career at the local bakery (which is threatened by a new entry into the neighborhood), and there is the annoying son of the owner--Mark, who wonders why Sophie is even bothering to save the bakery.  I found Sophie refreshing because she isn't a size 8, she enjoys food with no feelings of guilt, and instead of jumping into a big job and career change right away, she takes the time to sift through her feelings to decide where she wants to go next with her serious pastry skills.  And most of all, I love the family dynamics between Sophie, Bubbles, and her parents.  Chicago is a big part of this novel, and I always have a soft spot for the city in which my family made home for three generations.   

There's much more going on in Sophie's life, and you'll get the title pretty quickly.  I did feel there was almost too much going on in the plot and in Sophie's life.  I was exhausted!  And it seemed that the end was pretty quick, after many pages of Sophie's life moving a bit slowly.  I would have liked an epilogue.  

Thank you to Penguin-Random House for an advanced copy to review.  

Rating:  7/10 for an enjoyable novel about restarting life, being resourceful, enjoying food and loving the people in our lives.  

This book will be available May 3rd in paperback and e-book format.  

Share: facebook - twitter - pinterest

Wedding Girl by Stacey Ballis

The Cake Therapist by Judith Fertig

After the turmoil of Hausfrau, I decided I needed to either eat cake or read about it.  I decided to go the hip-friendly route and read The Cake Therapist by Judith Fertig.  I'll preface my review with two warnings:  this book will make you drool, and it doesn't come out til June. 

Neely O'Neil flees her crumbling marriage to a pro football player in New York to her hometown of Millcreek Valley, Ohio.  She comes ready to open her bakery, Rainbow Cake.  Neely is an experienced professional baker, and she's got an added bonus:  she can "read" people and match flavors to their moods.  She's a psychic with a dash of cake.  She usually blocks it out, but uses it to create a successful reputation as a delicious baker, capable of delivering just the right cake.  If you didn't know Judith Fertig has a career as a cookbook writer, you figure it out pretty quickly reading this book.  Only someone with a background in all things baking would be able to write so well about buttercream, chocolate, and flavor pairings.  I'm drooling now just thinking about chocolate and coffee entwined together in a rich swirl of frosting.  Yum.

Neely's move back to her hometown hasn't stopped her estranged husband from trying to get her back, however.  He continually bombards her with gifts, phones messages with songs, and rag magazine stories.  But Neely has too much going on at Rainbow Cake, and she's surrounded by people who all have desires and secrets of their own.  Including Mrs. Amici, the grumpiest, most sour lady walking a dog you'll ever meet.  Surprisingly, Mrs. Amici's past plays a big part in this book, and the storyline flips between present day and the mid 20th century.  You'll have to read to find the connection!

What Neely really wants is a home, a safe place to land, and someone she can trust with her heart.  Can she find it in Millcreek Valley?

This novel was just plain fun.  Perfect for what ails you.  I have to apologize for the big time gaps between reviews in the past 5 months.  I'm finishing up grad school, and I'm in my last few weeks.  It has been an intense and very crazy 2 years of my life, and it has made a huge dent in my reading time.  I never thought I'd say it, but it's true:  there aren't enough hours in the day for me to read whatever I want whenever I want.  That will change in about 30 days, and then look out!  I'll be returning to a much richer review schedule.  So until then, thank you all for following, leaving comments, and being patient.  I've got piles of books to read and review; this summer promises to be a big book summer!

Rating:  7/10 for a fun, magical story about love, cakes, and memories. 

Available in June in paperback and e-book.

Share: facebook - twitter - pinterest

The Cake Therapist by Judith Fertig

The All You Can Dream Buffet by Barbara O'Neal

I've discovered I like Barbara O'Neal.  I've seen her books on the shelves at work for years, but never picked one up.  Now I have, and I'm trying to figure out how I can read the rest of her titles sometime in the next few months.  I think every time I finish a paper for school I'll reward myself with one of her novels.  The key is to buy the book after I've finished the paper and not before.  

The All You Can Dream Buffet is Barbara's latest novel, and it combines two things I love:  lavender and food.  It takes place on Lavender Honey Farms, run by Lavender Wills.  She's become friends with three other women who blog:  Ginny, a cake blogger, Ruby, who's blog revolves around organic eating; and Val, who has a popular wine blog.  
It's time to celebrate Lavender's 85th birthday and she's invited the three women to her farm to celebrate.  

There's more to Lavender's invitation, however.  She wants to leave her farm and its successful business of honey, lavender, and organic produce to one of the women.  She's afraid her nephews will sell the land to a developer and can't bear for that to happen.  Who will be the lucky woman?  

Each woman bring her own backstory to the novel.  Ruby is a young pregnant woman trying to figure out her life.  Ginny is traveling from Kansas for the first time in her life, running away from an unhappy marriage.  Val is struggling to connect with her daughter after a family tragedy.  

The author includes "pages" of blogs as the women post, which adds to the feel of the novel.  The food, the descriptions of the farm and the lavender all combine to make this a novel I just loved--and put me in the mood for Spring.  

My only issue with this novel is the cover.  It doesn't match the story at all!  I think it should be a farm scene, or lavender fields.  But ignore the cover, and enjoy the story.  

Rating:  8/10 for wonderful descriptions of an organic farm, the workings of a lavender business, and the food!  And characters that are warm and wonderful.

Available in paperback and ebook.  

Side note:  I've worked really hard in the past few years to stay out of the "where to buy this book" discussion due to my personal feelings about bookstores and their vital importance to communities.  But I understand that making my blog a friendlier place means making it possible for my readers to quickly find and order the books I review.  So with that in mind, I've added an Amazon link, and I am working on putting in a Barnes & Noble link.  I've also begun linking my reviews on my "Books I've Read" page for 2014.  I'll be adding links to older reviews throughout the year.  Thanks for all your input!

Share: facebook - twitter - pinterest

The All You Can Dream Buffet by Barbara O'Neal