Tag: baker

Book Review, Fiction

Wahala by Nikki May ~ Book Review

Morgan

Custom House
Fiction
Release Date: January 11, 2022
My Rating: 🍪🍪🍪.5

Wahala is the story of Ronke, Boo, and Simi, longtime friends living in London. Simi introduces the others to her friend Isobel, who ricochets into their lives. At first, Isobel seems like a harmless bundle of energy, but as she begins to worm her way into the other ladies’ lives, they begin to find themselves turning against each other.

Each of the main characters has a detailed and believable life, relationships, and backstory. Each woman had a very different personality and way of thinking about life, and they were each dealing with different struggles. Their friendship was believable and I enjoyed learning about Nigerian culture through them.

Some of the choices these characters made, and the way they were so easily influenced and manipulated by Isobel really rubbed me the wrong way. It would seem that after so many years of being friends, they would have had a little more allegiance to the other girls and wouldn’t be so quick to turn on them. Also, the way the drama ramped up and got very dark toward the end was a lot – I wished the book hadn’t been so backloaded.

Buy Wahala at an indie bookstore near you
Wahala on Goodreads

Book Review, Fiction

Winter in Paradise by Elin Hilderbrand ~ Book Review

Morgan

Little, Brown and Company
Genre: Fiction
Release Date: October 9, 2018
My Rating: 🍪🍪🍪.5

When a man and a woman are killed in a helicopter crash off a Caribbean island, their loved ones are forced to grapple with what the truth behind their clandestine relationship and what it means for their future. Irene Steele finds herself reeling from the lies her husband was keeping from her. When her sons arrive on the island, they quickly meet and are both enchanted by Ayers, the best friend of their father’s mistress.

In true Elin Hilderbrand fashion, Winter in Paradise is full of never ending drama. The relationships she introduces are complicated and layered with secrets. The setting provided wonderful escapism filled with picturesque tropical outings and adventures.

I felt like the grief that should have permeated this book wasn’t really present. No one seemed quite as upset about the deaths of their loved ones as I would have expected. It seemed weird that the characters were able to focus on pursuing romance and galavanting around the island instead of the deaths that brought them together.

I happily consumed the drama and the tropical beaches in the pages of this book, but I don’t think I liked it enough to read the rest of the series.

Buy Winter in Paradise at an indie bookstore near you
Winter in Paradise on Goodreads

Book Review, Fiction, Science Fiction

Meet Me in Another Life by Catriona Silvey ~ Book Review

Morgan

William Morrow
Genre: Science fiction
Release Date: April 27, 2021
My Rating: 🍪🍪🍪.5

This book reminded me a lottt of The Midnight Library. It asks the reader to suspend reality and engage in Thora and Santi’s constantly intertwining multiple lives. From their first brief meeting, the two have a connection, but it’s cut short by an untimely accident. When they next meet, in another life, they have more time together to connect. And so it goes, lifetime after lifetime. They meet as friends, lovers, teacher and student, father and daughter.

I couldn’t decide how I felt about the multiple lifetimes. I like a story that builds on itself, and I felt like I would just be getting into a storyline when the entire thing would change as another life began. That being said, each different narrative was beautifully written and whatever kind of relationship they had was intricate and touching.

Things change in the later part of the book as they begin to come to terms with their situation and try to figure out what’s really going on. From there, it took on a little bit of a thriller feel and I was just as invested as them in uncovering the truth. Their ultimate discovery shocked me and I loved how the entire story up until then was suddenly revealed in a totally different light.

Meet Me in Another Life is conceptually fascinating, and although a bit slow in the middle, I would highly recommend holding out for the ending.

Buy Meet Me in Another Life at an indie bookstore near you
Meet Me in Another Life on Goodreads

Book Review, Fiction, Historical Fiction, YA

Luck of the Titanic by Stacey Lee ~ Book Review

Morgan

G.P. Putnam’s Sons Books for Young Readers
Genre: YA Historical Fiction
Release Date: May 4, 2021
My Rating: 🍪🍪🍪🍪

Luck of the Titanic tells the story of Valora Luck as she attempts to board the Titanic and is turned away because she’s Chinese. Her voyage has two goals: to find her twin brother Jamie, who she believes is working on board, and to impress the traveling circus owner and get him to let her perform in his shows.

There were so many layers to this book. Valora and Jamie are orphans and the grief and conflicting emotions they feel about their parents’ deaths was brought up subtly throughout the narrative, but in a way that cuts you to the core. The racism experienced by Valora and Jamie and his fellow crew-mates was also heartbreaking, but Valora faced it all with such poise and perseverance. She was an incredibly strong protagonist who didn’t let anything or anyone stand in the way of her.

The setting was also fantastic. I’ve always found the Titanic fascinating, and Lee’s descriptions of the maze of a ship brought it to life and made for such an interesting place for the story to unfold.

Valora meets a diverse set of characters on her journey, and each of them was so wonderfully unique. From the fashionable first-class women, to Jamie’s quirky group of friends, each of them made an impression.

I usually have trouble getting into YA books, but this story was so immersive and beautifully written that I had no such problem.

Thank you to Once Upon A Book Club for sending me a box with this book!

Buy Luck of the Titanic at an indie bookstore near you
Luck of the Titanic on Goodreads

Book Review, Fiction, Romance, Science Fiction

Layla by Colleen Hoover ~ Book Review

Morgan

Montlake
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Release Date: December 8, 2020
My Rating: 🍪🍪🍪🍪

When I heard the term ‘paranormal romance’ being thrown around about Layla, I was instantly skeptical, but the paranormal aspects of this book actually totally worked for me! Layla follows Leeds and Layla’s love story, from a meet-cute at a wedding to a horrible tragedy, and then through the recovery process.

First of all, their meeting was so stinking cute. Leeds is in the band at Layla’s sister’s wedding and the two of them convene afterwards at the venue pool. Layla is so quirky and unique that I bought every ounce of their conversation and understood why Leeds felt such an instant attraction to her.

When the couple returns to the bed-and-breakfast where they first met, which has since been sold, things have changed for them dramatically. Layla seems completely different after the accident and Leeds feels like he’s lost sight of the woman he loves. Feeling lost, he begins to investigate a seemingly paranormal presence at the B&B and finds himself using Layla as a conduit for spending more time with whoever else is there.

I thought this was going to be a full on ghost story and that would leave me unsatisfied in the ending, but Hoover came up with a very interesting concept that was able to wrap up the story well and gave me mystery vibes as Leeds searched for answers. Overall, this was such a fascinating concept and I was fully invested.

Buy Layla at an indie bookstore near you
Layla on Goodreads

Book Review, Fiction, Historical Fiction

The Lost Apothecary by Sarah Penner ~ Book Review

Morgan

Park Row
Release Date: March 2, 2021
Genre: Historical Fiction
My Rating: 🍪🍪🍪🍪.5

I went into The Lost Apothecary totally blind and I was blown away. This book is such a unique mix of tropes. It has a little bit of mystery, historical fiction, and feels almost like fantasy at times. The book is split into two timelines, one in 1791 and the other in present day.

In the 1700s, Nella runs a secret apothecary shop catered to women who want to poison a man in their life. In the present-day narrative, Caroline jets to London for her tenth anniversary leaving her cheating husband behind. Determined to still have the trip her history-loving self desired, she joins an expedition looking for old artifacts in the river Thames and stumbles across an old apothecary vial.

I really loved Caroline’s story. The background information about what led her to the place she was at in her life and her struggle between pursuing her passions or settling down with her husband were really well written and believable. Her trip to London feels like a second chance for her and I loved seeing her character open up and thrive on her own. It was an unexpectedly empowering addition to the book.

The historical sections were slightly less enthralling for me, but the concept behind the apothecary shop was intriguing. That being said, I wasn’t quite sure how I was supposed to feel about Nella.

The Lost Apothecary is so unique and varied, that I think it would appeal to a wide range of readers. I’d suggest going into it blind and (hopefully) letting the story suck you in.

Buy The Lost Apothecary at an indie bookstore near you
The Lost Apothecary on Goodreads

Book Review, Fiction

Fly Away by Kristin Hannah ~ Book Review

Morgan

St. Martin’s Press
Fiction
Release Date: April 23, 2013
My Rating: 🍪🍪.5

I wasn’t sure what to expect from Fly Away given how the first book in the series, Firefly Lane ended. Understandably, it focuses in large part on grief. Much of the story follows Kate’s daughter Marah, who at 16 goes on a rebellious spree in an effort to grapple with the death of her mother. Tully too finds herself spiraling in both her career and personal life, unsure how to move forward. I definitely didn’t love Marah’s storyline, and it felt kind of repetitive and drawn out to me.

I really liked how Kristen Hannah found a way to still loop Kate’s character into the story and inserted memories of her and Tully consistently. This kept me going and brought back some of the energy from Firefly Lane. Overall thought, this didn’t seem like a really necessary follow up to the first book.

Buy Fly Away at an indie bookstore near you
Fly Away on Goodreads

Book Review, Fiction, Romance

The Blue Bistro by Elin Hilderbrand ~ Book Review

Morgan

St. Martin’s Press
Genre: Fiction
Release Date: May 28, 2019
My Rating: 🍪🍪🍪🍪.5

This book took me on the most glorious journey to Nantucket. Adrienne is a wanderer who bounces from place to place working for hotels. After her ex-boyfriend leaves her broke, Adrienne decides to head to Nantucket, where she’s immediately in need of a job that will pay well. Upon a recommendation, she interviews at The Blue Bistro, one of the most popular restaurants on the island. Despite having no experience, the owner, Thatcher Smith, decides to give her a chance as a hostess for the restaurant’s final summer before they close for good.

The descriptions of food and setting in this book are everything. Hilderbrand makes the chaos of the kitchen and the hustle of keeping picky customers happy absolutely come to life. She writes with a frenetic energy that made me feel like I was right beside Adrienne as she’s thrust into the fray and forced to quickly learn the idiosyncrasies of the restaurant’s regular customers, and what they do and don’t accommodate.

The details of the food served at The Blue Bistro made me want to go there. I wanted to taste the iconic crackers and sample Adrienne’s signature pink champagne. The glamour of the customers contrasted with the summery beach environment and made for such a rich setting.

The relationships between the restaurant employees added so much to the story too. Each person had a different relationship to the restaurant and what it meant for it to be closing. I enjoyed learning about each of these characters through Adrienne. The romance in this book was understated, but well written, and the undercurrents of heartbreak as the summer wore on added a lot of depth.

Buy The Blue Bistro at an indie bookstore near you
The Blue Bistro on Goodreads

Book Review, Fiction, Romance

Shipped by Angie Hockman ~ Book Review

Morgan

Gallery Books
Genre: Romance
Release Date: January 19, 2021
My Rating: 🍪🍪🍪.5

Shipped is a quintessential quick summer romance read. Henley is up for a promotion at her job in marketing for a cruise line. Her competition for the job: Graeme Crawford-Collins, her flippant and seemingly rude remote colleague who she’s never met in person. Although their communications mainly consist of Henley yelling at Graeme to do things faster, there are some times when she wonders if they might be…flirting?

Their boss announces that the two of them will be going on one of the company cruises to the Galapagos Island, and whoever comes up with the best proposal for how to boost cruise bookings will get the promotion. The beautiful depictions of the Galapagos and the quirky characters on the ship and the islands really rounded out the story and made it a thoroughly enjoyable setting for the story to take place in.

Henley and Graeme had great chemistry, and I loved their banter. There was also depth and detail to their characters that gave them dimension and made me care more about their relationship.

The story took a turn at the end, and that part of it felt kind of rushed and cliched to me. Although I loved being immersed in Graeme and Henley’s romance and in the Galapagos for the majority of the story, I found the ending somewhat disappointing and unbelievable.

Shipped on Goodreads
Buy Shipped at an indie bookstore near you

Book Review, Nonfiction

Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents by Isabel Wilkerson ~ Book Review

Morgan

Random House
Genre: Nonfiction
Release Date: August 4, 2020

Caste draws a comparison between the caste system in India, in Nazi Germany, and in the United States. Caste is a concept I was familiar with, but had never thought about as it applied to America. I had some difficulty following Wilkerson’s delineation between casteism and racism, but I found it to be an incredibly eye-opening lens through which to look at the disparities in the United States.

The connections between the US and Nazi Germany were especially shocking for me. I’ve never been taught about the amount of policy and ways of thinking that the Nazi’s based on things that were happening in America at the time. Wilkerson carries this comparison into present day, citing the way that reparations and memorials were handled (or weren’t) in each country and the mindset that Americans and Germans tend to have in relation to slavery and the Holocaust, respectively. This part of the book was incredibly hard to read about, but the information covered is something I wish more Americans learned about in school.

In addition to extensive research, Caste also includes personal anecdotes from Wilkerson’s experiences with racism. These excerpts offered a contrast to the denser historical context and also highlighted the way that the country has failed to progress in the present day.

Buy Caste at an indie bookstore near you
Caste on Goodreads