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Review Date: 3/31/2024
i was hesitant to rate this book with 4 stars because it wasn't totally worthy of it. if i could rate it 3.5 that would sit better. i zipped through this book in about 24 hours so it was definitely an easy read. definitely a beach read. definitely the book i needed after reading some intense books and about to read more deep stuff. so i needed something light and fluffy. the characters are likable and believable. a multi generational group of women, all struggling with their identities, their relationships with the men in their lives and their career paths. and there was a bookstore involved. that always makes me happy. i would've enjoyed more details about the bookstore and books. it was predictable but had some tense moments as well. maybe 4 stars is just right after all............
Review Date: 3/31/2024
i'm not sure another review of this book is needed but here i am anyway. i adored the author's book "cutting for stone" and was excited to read this one. maybe it's the difference of many years between the two but i was definitely not happy about holding a 700 page book endlessly. i think the book would've been fine, more than fine, at 500 pages. hell, maybe even 400 pages! what i loved? following the history of the land itself and the families who lived there. just beautiful. what i didn't love? i didn't feel that pull to read forever. i didn't want to keep those characters with me forever. without spoiling it for anyone, the closing of the book, the pulling together of the entire story, did leave me feeling more complete, so i'm grateful for that. and i am sure that i would've enjoyed the audio book version more, for all reasons.
Review Date: 3/31/2024
ever dream of living your life in the city to take up farming in the middle of nowhere? finding that all of your sleek hip black clothes no longer work while milking a cow or mucking in mud. and worse. that's what kristin did. and as a born and bred new yorker, i can relate. kristin takes us through the four seasons of the year and shows us the nuts and bolts of building a working farm from scratch. it takes all the romanticism out of it, that's for sure. what it leaves is the beauty of nature and community and our relationship with the land and the animals. kristin also writes of the growth of her new relationship with mark, her farm partner, and soon to be husband. they have a "fiery" relationship. does that resonate for any of you readers out there? this is a lovely read.
Review Date: 3/31/2024
aaron falk is back and he is a delightful character, full of vulnerability, brains and kindness. there are tons of wonderful personalities in this book and we get to know a bunch of them well. in the most perfect way, the book gently meanders along and then the tension really rises in the final part of the book. i have loved all of jane harper's previous 4 books. this one joins the ranks. looking forward to the next one.
Review Date: 3/31/2024
do you like to hang out with books/libraries/gardens/small towns and nice people? this book is for you. the characters are well developed, kind hearted and flawed, as all humans are. there is time to explore a lovely garden, a backyard free library, and inside your heart, too. this book is soft but not sappy. it would make for a great beach or vacation read and also a wintry day inside by the fire.
Review Date: 3/31/2024
if this story is predictable, it doesn't detract from the fun you will have reading it. the waverly women are eccentric and emotional and electric and engaging. the supporting
cast of men in the book add the needed balance. if you love old homes and some magic, you won't be disappointed. favorite character: bay. she has the kind of confidence i wish i'd
had when i was 15. i read allen's first book in this series, garden spells, many years ago and hardly remember it. first frost stands alone beautifully.
cast of men in the book add the needed balance. if you love old homes and some magic, you won't be disappointed. favorite character: bay. she has the kind of confidence i wish i'd
had when i was 15. i read allen's first book in this series, garden spells, many years ago and hardly remember it. first frost stands alone beautifully.
Review Date: 3/31/2024
the singer and poet and author patti smith brought me to this book. this was one of her favorite childhood books. it was written in 1954, a year before i was born, intriguing me further. it was refreshing to read a children's book devoid of modern bells and whistles. there is magic in this book, in the form of an ancient coin but the other magic is one of kids being kids and how they navigate the rather ordinary world of adults, their community and their far from ordinary imaginations. there are plenty of politically incorrect moments in this book, as another reviewer wrote about, but that isn't the reason to read this. read this book to be transported back to a childhood where kids are kids.
Review Date: 3/31/2024
jud brewer has that brilliant combination of nerdy smarts, dry wit and warmth abounding. he presents a book to those of us who have spent our lives struggling with our relationship with food.
the first part of the book is about the science and his programs and his patients. and himself.
the second part of the book is a 21 day program, which one can read and digest as quickly or as slowly as one wants. i chose to read through once and then go back and begin again, taking more time to really digest the details, both what was being offered and what was housed inside of me. this book is about becoming mindful and present with oneself and our bodies, and how to take that awareness and create new helpful habits to replace old unhelpful ones. this book defuncts willpower, counting calories and the food police. one of my favorite parts is about the "committee" that lives inside our head, talking all the time about what we should do (diet and restrict), how we should feel (ashamed and guilty) and how to quiet and disband that committee, one voice at a time. don't hesitate to pick this book up. it's a good one!
the first part of the book is about the science and his programs and his patients. and himself.
the second part of the book is a 21 day program, which one can read and digest as quickly or as slowly as one wants. i chose to read through once and then go back and begin again, taking more time to really digest the details, both what was being offered and what was housed inside of me. this book is about becoming mindful and present with oneself and our bodies, and how to take that awareness and create new helpful habits to replace old unhelpful ones. this book defuncts willpower, counting calories and the food police. one of my favorite parts is about the "committee" that lives inside our head, talking all the time about what we should do (diet and restrict), how we should feel (ashamed and guilty) and how to quiet and disband that committee, one voice at a time. don't hesitate to pick this book up. it's a good one!
Review Date: 3/31/2024
as cliched a story as this is, it's more. if you are a jewish new york baby boomer, chances are you knew the catskills scene back in the 60's and 70's. i spent my summers at sleep away camp minutes away from all of the borscht belt hotels. they were legendary. in the early 2000's i had the opportunity to work as a massage therapist at the last hotel still in operation. the place was falling apart but the nostalgia and charm and energy was still alive. this book has a bittersweet vibe to it.
it is the story of two families who become one family. it includes 4 generations and i found myself growing to love them the further i read. there are tons of current terms in the book which rub up against the vintage feel of the golden hotel. but somehow, it works! a good beach read.
it is the story of two families who become one family. it includes 4 generations and i found myself growing to love them the further i read. there are tons of current terms in the book which rub up against the vintage feel of the golden hotel. but somehow, it works! a good beach read.
Review Date: 3/31/2024
so so many people have already read this book. so i'll just pop in to share a few things. firstly, i listened to the audiobook and there is an interview at the end with the author which was the absolute best part of the book for me. second favorite part was elizabeth zott's cooking show "dinner at 6". however unrealistic it was (remember, guys, this is FICTION), she really inspired her female audience. my favorite character was by far "mad". what a quirky, smart, sensitive, kind and inquisitive kid.
Review Date: 3/31/2024
this is a book that puts you right there in provence, france, amidst beautiful countryside, generations of families and friends who have lived there forever, and charm abounding
we follow tempesta from new york, where she is living a tight unhappy life, to the south of france, where she blooms, along with her lovely herbs. a delightful love story that
encompasses both human suffering and joy. it has lots of spirit!
we follow tempesta from new york, where she is living a tight unhappy life, to the south of france, where she blooms, along with her lovely herbs. a delightful love story that
encompasses both human suffering and joy. it has lots of spirit!
Review Date: 3/31/2024
this historical fiction story takes place in the early renaissance period of the late 1400's. i was drawn to it for both the historical fiction genre and the time period. anything about art works for me. i was less than enthralled early in the book but at some point things really turned around for me and i was swept into the taut narrative. the characters range from the ladies at the convent to the politically powerful italian men who ran things, to a love affair between a novitiate and a prominent artist. this is a good read.
Review Date: 3/31/2024
i read this book over two days. i couldn't put it down. there is so much grit and love in this story. the most beautiful part is that eileen garvin is able to show each character's individuality and vulnerabilities, and we get to watch each one of them grow into people who find themselves. we meet alice and jake and harry and "the girls", the honeybees. and the author offers us up some not so nice characters, too, who get their comeuppance. it's a really great ride and i highly recommend you take it.
Review Date: 3/31/2024
what a wild ride. half way through the book i was utterly confused, unengaged and not sure i wanted to finish it. then things started knitting together and i enjoyed the second half of the book. i will say that i found the book convoluted. yeah, it's about time travel. and like most fiction today, it goes back and forth between characters and time periods. but this book was very challenging for me. i really liked all of the characters. and this book was very much other worldly. good luck!
Review Date: 5/1/2024
i really loved this book. from start to finish. it's got a solid historical fiction story line going with the children of london being evacuated during world war two. it's about books, both real and imagined, including a special book shop or two. the main characters are memorable as are the secondary ones.
there are lots of eccentric characters who are also believable. don't hesitate to read this special one.
there are lots of eccentric characters who are also believable. don't hesitate to read this special one.
Review Date: 3/31/2024
many of the reviews on goodreads were scathing. i listened to the audio version and really liked the narrator, rebecca lowman. is everything in the book believable? nope. does it have to be? nope. it's fiction. it's the kind of fiction you read because it's a great escape. there are some gripping topics ranging from depressed mothers to infidelity to race and they're all handled honestly. i liked hearing what it might be like to be a twin. and i found the sisters' "senses" intriguing.
Review Date: 3/31/2024
if you love armchair adventure, this is a book for you. i'm not a reality show person. but i do love survivor stories. the second half of the book moved faster for me than the first. mara and ashley and kyle and bullfrog go through all the ups and downs imaginable, out in the woods, on ones own. sometimes scary, other times tender. wild and real, all rolled into one. blair's books are about the great outdoors, and our relationship with it. i find her work refreshing, direct and unique.
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