Some books work best when read in the context of a series. Kristy Woodson Harvey’s The Southern Side of Paradise pretty much follows this rule to the letter, because – while the antics of the characters amuse and we’re given a handy recap to start the proceedings – it ends up feeling incomplete because of…
The Scent Keeper is a marvelous piece of work. Like the bottled smells its characters covet and loathe, it carries an odor all its own. Top notes of other tales about children living on isolated islands float over the piece, but do not define it. You can smell flashes of Nim’s Island, sunbaked and golden…
The Key to Happily Ever After is the story of adversarial sisters and their romantic interests. Tif Marcelo has a keen understanding of the relationship space of sisters, how birth order affects that space, and how personal and professional emotions overlap when you have to work with your relatives. Filipino-American sisters Marisol, Janelyn, and Pearl…
Neurosurgeon Trisha Raje descends from Indian royalty. Her father – now a surgeon himself – was once a prince, and he gave up his royal lineage in an attempt at assimilating when he married their one-time child star mother. Due to their hard-to-please dad’s influence, the Raje children all consider themselves modern Californians, in spite…
The Library of Lost and Found is one of those books that one takes out of the library for a weekend and then forgets entirely about by Monday. Consumed between bites of sandwich and sips of tea, it plays out in bland, unexciting, and predictable ways. The author shows some real flashes of talent in…
Jane of Austin falls somewhere in the middle of a Venn Diagram of Texas, tea, and Jane Austen, and since I consider all three of those interests of mine, I thought I would give it a chance. Sadly, I found it lacking on all three fronts, too slow, and overly long with little to say….
Mitzi Taylor, Jody Andrews and Paula own a custom wedding dress shop for plus-sized women – the titular Perfect Dress – which is pretty ironic considering none of them have ever been married. Paula is a superstitious half-Cajun who believes in curses, Jody’s come the closest to actually achieving marriage – she’s been in a…
I’ve read and loved two of Alyson Richman’s World War II-era historical novels, so I was really looking forward to her latest novel, The Secret of Clouds. It is set in a completely different time period, and I was eager to see how it would compare to her previous works. The year is 1999, and…
Ann Howard Creel’s southern gothic mystery tale The River Widow combines homespun drama with wicked mystery. It’s a superb tale, but it’s not without its problems. When we first meet Adah Branch, it’s 1937, the Great Depression is ongoing, and she’s trying to salvage what she can from an oncoming flood ready to decimate her…
NOTE: This is a re-issue of the 2010 book Talking to Addison Florist and psychology degree holder Holly sells flowers at the New Covent Garden Market while waiting for a better position, and has terrific taste in blossoms. But when it comes to picking the right place to live – not so much. Packed in…
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