Tag: baking

Book Review, Fiction, Romance

Book Lovers by Emily Henry ~ Book Review

Morgan

Berkley
Romance
Release Date: May 3, 2022
My Rating: 🍪🍪🍪🍪.5

Emily Henry’s books are like a warm hug and Book Lovers was no exception. It follows Nora Stephen, a successful literary agent who agrees to join her little sister Libby on a girl’s vacation to the town where one of her favorite books is set. Libby comes prepared with a secret checklist of Hallmark-esque experiences she wants the two to have together, but Nora finds herself distracted by work and by an unexpected run in with Charlie, an editor she’d had unpleasant interactions with in the past.

I loved the contrast between Nora’s cutthroat work persona and the cheesy charming activities Libby tries to force upon her during their vacation. The book that Nora finds herself working on was an entertaining and unexpected addition to the story and I liked the way she and Charlie connected over the content. How could I not fall for two book lovers?

As always, Henry knows how to create a detailed and wonderfully interesting and vivid setting, and how to craft chemistry with a buildup that keeps me glued to the pages. The family history and the way the sisters look out for one another added a lot of depth to the characters and the ending completely made me melt.

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Buy Book Lovers at an indie bookstore near you
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Book Review, Fiction

The Hotel Nantucket by Elin Hilderbrand ~ Book Review

Morgan

Little, Brown & Company
Fiction
Release Date: June 14, 2022 (Thank you to NetGalley for my ARC!)
My Rating: 🍪🍪🍪🍪.5

Ah, to be back in Elin Hilderbrand’s world! The Hotel Nantucket transported me instantly to sun-soaked Nantucket and the glamour of the newly renovated and incredibly posh Hotel Nantucket. Lizbet Keaton, hired to be the general manager by the mysteries Xavier Darling, who himself has never seen the hotel, scrambles to hire an eclectic mix of employees to get the place up and running. The cast of characters had such wonderful dynamics with one another. Even though there were a lot of them, each was so unique that I never mixed anyone up or felt confusion over who was who.

I was the littlest bit thrown off by the part of the narrative told by a ghost, but I promise it wasn’t too disruptive to the rest of the story – and I’m not one who usually enjoys that kind of suspension of reality in an otherwise realistic story. Although there was not a ton of action in the day to day goings on of the hotel, the secrets and drama of each individual employee grew and complicated over time in a way that made this book hard to put down.

As always, Hilderbrand’s descriptions of everything from room décor to cocktails leapt off the page and illustrated every aspect of the novel. I felt that things were a little rushed and maybe not entirely thought out at the very end of the story, but other than that, I loved every page.

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Buy The Hotel Nantucket at an indie bookstore near you
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Book Review, Fiction, mystery, thriller

The Younger Wife by Sally Hepworth ~ Book Review

Morgan

St. Martin’s Press
Mystery
Release Date: October 26, 2021
My Rating: 🍪🍪🍪

Heather meets Stephen when she’s hired as an interior decorator for his wife, who has dementia. As her condition deteriorates and she is moved to a care facility, Heather and Stephen soon find themselves romantically involved. Stephen’s two grown daughters Tully and Rachel are shocked when Stephen announces his engagement to Heather, who’s younger than them.

Tully, Rachel, and Heather all narrate the story and have really rich backstories. That being said, the issues they have dealt with including eating disorders, rape, and kleptomania seemed like they were included as personality traits and were glossed over. The seriousness of these issues did not feel addressed enough to me. Instead, they were used over and over for descriptors of the women.

The book includes flashes to a tragedy occurring at Stephen and Heather’s wedding, narrated by an unknown fourth narrator. I enjoyed the way this built suspense and how the rest of the threads of the story all lead to that point.

I was surprised that there wasn’t a twist at the end of this book. To me, it didn’t feel like much of a thriller since what was going on was pretty much explained to us early on. This felt much more character-driven to me than a true thriller. That being said, I did think it was an interesting character exploration, and I liked reading about the narrators and Stephen’s influence on their lives.

Check out my bookstagram: @Treat.your.shelf
Buy The Younger Wife at an indie bookstore near you
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Book Review, Fiction, thriller

These Silent Woods by Kimi Cunningham Grant ~ Book Review

Morgan

Minotaur Books
Thriller
Release Date: November 16, 2021
My Rating: 🍪🍪🍪.5

These Silent Woods is classified as a thriller, but I definitely don’t think that’s quite accurate. I found it to be really character-driven and slow paced, but not in a bad way. Cooper lives with his daughter Finch in a remote cabin in the woods. They have one neighbor, Scotland, and a friend named Jake who brings supplies to them every year.

When Finch sees a girl out hiking in the woods one day, she becomes curious about her. Finch’s isolation causes her to begin to obsess about the girl and her life. Cooper is clearly uncomfortable with Finch’s interest, and it’s clear that something sinister occurred in his past that keeps him hiding out with his daughter.

The secluded setting and the small patch of forest that was Finch and Cooper’s world were so vividly depicted. I felt like I was seeing the cabin and the woods through their eyes. 

I was anticipating there being some sort of explosive and shocking discovery as to what caused Cooper to flee to the woods, but instead, there was a slowly unfolding and heartbreaking account of his history and the hardships he’d fought through to stay with Finch.

These Silent Woods was hauntingly atmospheric and told a unique and captivating story, but I would not classify it as being particularly shocking or thrilling.

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Buy These Silent Woods at an indie bookstore near you
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Book Review, Fiction, Romance

Hook, Line, and Sinker by Tessa Bailey ~ Book Review

Morgan

Avon Books
Romance
Release Date: March 1, 2022
My Rating: 🍪🍪🍪🍪

I loved It Happened One Summer and was excited for another light, steamy story in the Bellinger Sisters’ universe. I really enjoy the small fishing town of Westport and the tight knit community it fosters, so I was thrilled when Hannah ended up there for work. She decides to crash with Fox Thornton while she’s there, a notorious flirt who she has befriended, largely over text, since her last visit.

The build up of Fox and Hannah’s relationship and their individual concern about ruining their friendship felt realistic to me and kept me on my toes. I couldn’t wait for them to finally get together. I did think there were some very dramatic hot and cold situations, but that feels like more a product of the genre than this specific story.

I really enjoyed getting to delve into Hannah’s work life and her career aspirations and how prominently that played into her storyline and her motivations. This added a lot more to her character and I liked seeing how Fox supported her.

Check out my bookstagram: @Treat.your.shelf
Buy Hook, Line, and Sinker at an indie bookstore near you
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Book Review, Fiction, mystery

The Paris Apartment by Lucy Foley ~ Book Review

Morgan

William Morrow
Mystery
Release Date: February 22, 2022
My Rating: 🍪🍪🍪

I love a thriller with a creepy, atmospheric, anthropomorphic setting. When Jess arrives to visit her brother Ben at his new apartment, that’s exactly what she finds in his building. What she doesn’t find is Ben. Jess begins to question the other residents, trying to ascertain what could have happened between her last phone message from Ben and his disappearance.

There were a lot of characters, each of whom narrated different chapters, and it was hard for me to keep track of them all. Getting so many points of view also made the story move really slowly, since we saw how every character perceived the same events.

I will say that the sinister activities at the heart of this story were very unique compared to the numerous other thrillers I’ve read, but I would definitely classify this as more of a ‘mystery’ than a thriller (there’s a very distinct difference in my mind between the two).

The setting and character motivations of The Paris Apartment were interesting, but I wished things moved faster.

Check out my bookstagram: @Treat.your.shelf
Buy The Paris Apartment at an indie bookstore near you
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Book Review, Nonfiction

Cultish by Amanda Montell ~ Book Review

Morgan

Harper Wave
Nonfiction
Release Date: June 15, 2021
My Rating: 🍪🍪🍪.5

I’d seen Cultish all over the place before picking it up and had a general sense that it was about cults of all kinds, including brands that were on the verge of being cult-like. The real focus of the book is the language used in cults, referred to by the author as ‘Cultish.’ Montell highlights the ways that cult leaders speak to and teach those around them in order to encourage them to internalize ways of thinking and believe certain things about themselves.

The chapters range from covering intense cults with mass suicides, to multi-level marketing schemes, to organizations like Soul Cycle, and draws parallels between the ways that leaders of these different groups speak to members.

I liked hearing about the ways that people were sucked into these groups, and especially the insight from past members and the ways that they thought about their time in cults. I think I just wanted a little bit more about how cults get into people’s heads and why certain people are more susceptible to them than others. The organization also felt a little jarring to me. I feel like adding in more examples would have made the transitions less jumpy.

Check out my bookstagram: @Treat.your.shelf
Buy Cultish at an indie bookstore near you
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Book Review, Fiction

The People We Keep by Allison Larkin ~ Book Review

Morgan

Gallery Books
Fiction
Release Date: August 3, 2021
My Rating: 🍪🍪🍪

I feel conflicted about The People We Keep. The narrative follows April, who lives largely alone in an immobile motorhome while her dad moves in with his new girlfriend. One day, April decides she’s had enough, takes her neighbor’s car, and drives away. April ends up in Ithaca, NY, and being a little bit familiar with the area, I found the descriptions of the area really fun to read.

April finds a job at a local cafe and works there while living out of her car. The difficulty and confusion she experienced around how to trust was heartbreaking, but the small group of quirky friends who took her in were so wonderful to read about. During this section of the book, I couldn’t stop reading, and loved seeing April learn to let people in.

The book took a sudden turn after this, which saw April once again on the road. From there, the story never recaptured the initial magic it had for me. April tended to define her life by men, which diminished her character for me. I understand that the point may have been that events in Ithaca were catalysts for pushing her back into her old confusion and mistrust, but that didn’t seem fully developed.

The ending of the book, particularly her random reconnection with an ex, felt rushed with a lot of seemingly unconnected events crammed in. I wish this story had built off of April’s time in Ithaca, rather than having her character lose so much again and again.

Check out my bookstagram: @Treat.your.shelf
Buy The People We Keep at an indie bookstore near you
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Book Review, Fantasy, Fantsy

A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J. Maas ~ Book Review

Morgan

Bloomsbury Publishing
YA Fantasy
Release Date: May 3, 2016
My Rating: 🍪🍪🍪🍪

What struck me most about A Court of Mist and Fury was Feyre’s growth over the slow-burning narrative arc. The strength she grows as she becomes more comfortable and understanding of her new reality was incredible to watch. While the men started out with the most power, I loved watching her take her power back and take ownership of it.

The decision Feyre makes near the beginning of the book felt kind of rushed and not fully explored to me, but it opened the door for her return to Rhysand, which is where the story really took shape. Although I found it a little hard to keep track of all the new characters, their support and acceptance of Feyre was commendable and I liked the way they banded together to try to figure out the underlying mysteries of their world.

This definitely felt more slow moving to me than A Court of Thorns and Roses, but I liked the characters a lot and the action really picked up toward the end. While I was reading I wasn’t sure if I’d feel compelled to pick up the next book in the series, but I can’t stop thinking about the cliffhanger of an ending.

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Book Review, mystery, thriller

Insomnia by Sarah Pinborough ~ Book Review

Morgan

William Morrow & Company (Thank you to the publisher for my copy!)
Genre: Thriller
Release Date: April 12, 2022
My Rating: 🍪🍪🍪🍪

As Emma approaches her fortieth birthday, she becomes increasingly paranoid that it will trigger a psychotic break like it did for her mother. The changes begin with insomnia, and as Emma paces around her house unable to sleep, she increasingly draws parallels between her actions and those she remembers of her mother just before things went downhill and Emma and her sister had to be put into foster care.

I knew there must be more going on than Emma really just losing touch with reality as she got closer to her fortieth birthday, but I had no idea what was at play. What I loved about the big twist in this book is that there were hints along the way that someone could have noticed, but I totally glossed over. I think it’s so cool when a thriller is able to shock me, but the ending wasn’t so outlandish that it came out of nowhere.

There was an element of this book that definitely required a suspension of reality, which I was not expecting, but I found it to be an incredibly interesting layer to the story that seemed like a fresh take on this kind of a thriller.

My one negative comment is that there were certain details of the story that were repeated over and over again, but I was mostly able to look past this because of the intrigue to figure out what was going on.

Check out my bookstagram: @Treat.your.shelf
Buy Insomnia at an indie bookstore near you
Insomnia on Goodreads