Romantic Comedy - Curtis Sittenfeld

 

Description

Life is (not)* a Romantic Comedy...

With a series of heartbreaks under her belt, Sally Milz - successful script writer for a legendary late-night TV comedy show - has long abandoned the search for love.

But when her friend and fellow writer begins to date a glamorous actress, he joins the growing club of interesting but average-looking men who get romantically involved with accomplished, beautiful women. Sally channels her annoyance into a sketch, poking fun at this 'social rule'. The reverse never happens for a woman.

Then Sally meets Noah, a pop idol with a reputation for dating models. But this isn't a romantic comedy - it's real life. Would someone like him ever date someone like her?

Skewering all our certainties about why we fall in love, ROMANTIC COMEDY is a witty and probing tale of how the heart will follow itself, no matter what anyone says. It is Curtis Sittenfeld at her most sharp, daring and compassionate best.

Review

Not too keen on this one until the last 25%!

I wanted to read this book based solely on the fact that it was written by Curtis Sittenfeld, as I loved Rodham. Unfortunately I found the first half of the book far too detailed to be enjoyable. The minutia of the off air production team for a comedy show at TNS was not appealing to me. We got to go through the writing, then the run through, then the show - too much. Unless you want to live vicariously through the book and experience real life comedy writing for live TV.

I wasn't really engaged with any of the main characters at this point. I did like the female friendships and some of the slick comedy lines, but I was struggling with it. I read advance reviews that said to stick with it as the second half was so much better. So I did.

Then came into the storyline Covid, so if you are uncomfortable about revisiting that time this might not be the book for you. I was ok with it but not with the dialogue being through emails. I am not a fan of this style of writing so the next 25% wasn't too good for me either but fared better than the first 50%.

Finally the last 25% of the book was pure genius and I loved it. I felt that I finally got the characters and was really engaged with the story. The writing is certainly intelligent and observational. I'm pleased I didn't stop reading, but I think a lot of readers may not get to that last 25% as the first half is so bogged down in detail.

I'm giving this book 3 out of 5 stars.

The book is published on 6 April 2023. My thanks to netgalley for the ARC to review.

Vera Wong's Unsolicited Advice for Murderers - Jesse Sutanto

 

Description

The new must-read cozy crime mystery from the bestselling author of Dial A For Aunties Put the kettle on, there’s a mystery brewing…

Tea-shop owner. Matchmaker. Detective?

Sixty-year-old self-proclaimed tea expert Vera Wong enjoys nothing more than sipping a good cup of Wulong and doing some healthy ‘detective’ work on the internet (AKA checking up on her son to see if he’s dating anybody yet).

But when Vera wakes up one morning to find a dead man in the middle of her tea shop, it’s going to take more than a strong Longjing to fix things. Knowing she’ll do a better job than the police possibly could – because nobody sniffs out a wrongdoing quite like a suspicious Chinese mother with time on her hands – Vera decides it’s down to her to catch the killer.

Nobody spills the tea like this amateur sleuth.

Knives Out meets Kim’s Convenience for anyone who loves solving mysteries by Richard Osman and Janice Hallett, and watching Death in Paradise and Midsomer Murders.

Review

An enjoyable and amusing read.

I was drawn to this book title and the fact that it involved the owner of a tea shop. Not much other than Vera finding a dead body in the tea shop happens in the tea shop though, as Vera only has one customer!

Vera is 60 - described as elderly - so if you identify with that age group you may think differently. Otherwise I loved Vera, she is a no nonsense straight talking lady with firm ideas about what needs to be done. She's not too clued up on police procedure though, evident from her actions when she discovers the dead body. However, Vera thinks otherwise and is determined to help the police, who in her opinion don't have a clue.

One by one Vera makes a list of suspects and then befriends them. She cooks for them, match makes for them and generally takes over their lives, but in a nice way. There are plenty of descriptions of the teas Vera makes, but it was the food that I found intoxicating. I just need Vera to pop round and make it all for me. 

Very funny at times and then at others a little sad. I felt it dragged a little in the middle,  and wondered why the story was meandering so much. Of course a few more things get revealed along the way and the ending was just ingenious. 

I'm giving this book 4 out of 5 stars. My thanks to netgalley for the ARC to review.

Violeta - Isabel Allende

 

Description

One extraordinary woman.
One hundred years of history.
One unforgettable story.

Violeta comes into the world on a stormy day in 1920, the first daughter in a family of five boisterous sons. From the start, her life is marked by extraordinary events, for the ripples of the Great War are still being felt, even as the Spanish flu arrives on the shores of her South American homeland almost at the moment of her birth.

Through her father's prescience, the family will come through that crisis unscathed, only to face a new one as the Great Depression transforms the genteel city life she has known. Her family loses all and is forced to retreat to a wild and beautiful but remote part of the country. There, she will come of age, and her first suitor will come calling.

In a letter to someone she loves above all others, Violeta recounts devastating heartbreak and passionate affairs, times of both poverty and wealth, terrible loss and immense joy, and a life shaped by some of the most important events of history: the fight for women's rights, the rise and fall of tyrants and, ultimately, not one but two pandemics. Through the eyes of a woman whose unforgettable passion, determination, and sense of humour will carry her through a lifetime of upheaval, Isabel Allende once more brings us an epic that is both fiercely inspiring and deeply emotional.

Review

Such an interesting story spanning 100 years.

The book is written as a fictional autobiography of Violeta. She is telling the story of her life to someone; who at first, we do not know who this person is. The writing as always is so very beautiful by this author.

I was mesmerised by the story which begins with the Spanish flu epidemic. It was certainly educational as well as a good story. That is until the politics began and I lost some interest for a while. Fortunately the characters who come in and out of Violeta's life are interesting and I read on wanting to know what became of them.

I'm giving this book 4 out of 5 stars. My thanks to netgalley for the ARC to review.

The Station Road Sewing Circle - Lou Lewis

 

Description

Nosey Neighbours, Vigilantes or Community Assets? Read these charming tales and you decide!
Thirteen stalwart and like-minded women meet weekly as a Sewing Circle to publicly portray their dedication to knitting, needlework and all things stitched. Nothing, could be further from the truth.
Bessie the Law learns that there has been a serious outbreak of litter all over Pembroke town. She calls upon the Sewing Circle members to quickly expose the young culprits. How deep will they have to dig to find the real criminal who aims to make money out the town’s discarded rubbish?
A member of a respected family in the town is accused of poisoning her sister. Bron the Books steps out of the library and engages the Sewing Circle to prove her friend’s innocence. Will they need to take a closer look at the so-called treasured family pets to uncover the real poisoner?
Megan the Signals alerts the Sewing Circle to an auction fraud involving her grandmother’s antique chairs. They arrive too late to save the family keepsakes. Will a pair of fake heirlooms and a crockery crashing intervention be enough to spring their trap on the unscrupulous dealer?
How can the Station Road Sewing Circle possibly solve these mysteries without revealing their identity?

Review

A wonderful collection of charming and intriguing short stories.

Set in Wales these stories are a flashback to a more gentler and easier time, when life was simpler. When all it took for minor wrong doings to be sorted out was a word in the ear by the local Policeman. This is where Bessie the Law comes in as her husband is a Policeman. Each of the women in the circle have a  moniker determined by their husbands profession. Not very PC these days - but this is the 1950s.

Each tale was a joy to read. One in particular concerning antiques reminded me of the TV series Lovejoy - if anyone can remember that! The tales are like little puzzle to solve or let the ladies of the circle do it for you.

Although the circle is more of a cover for the ladies to meet and protect their town, there are sewing references!

I'm giving this book 4 out of 5 stars. My thanks to Pigeonhole for the staves to read this book. 

The Dress Diary of Mrs Anne Sykes - Kate Strasdin

 

Description

The hidden fabric of a Victorian woman's life - from family and friends to industry and Empire - told through her unique textile scrapbook.

In 1838, a young woman was given a diary on her wedding day. Collecting snippets of fabric from a range of garments she carefully annotated each one, creating a unique record of her life and times. Her name was Mrs Anne Sykes.

Nearly two hundred years later, the diary fell into the hands of Kate Strasdin, a fashion historian and museum curator. Strasdin spent the next six years unravelling the secrets contained within the album's pages.

Piece by piece, she charts Anne's journey from the mills of Lancashire to the port of Singapore before tracing her return to England in later years. Fragments of cloth become windows into Victorian life: pirates in Borneo, the complicated etiquette of mourning, poisonous dyes, the British Empire in full swing, rioting over working conditions and the terrible human cost of Britain's cotton industry.

This is life writing that celebrates ordinary people: the hidden figures, the participants in everyday life. Through the evidence of waistcoats, ball gowns and mourning outfits, Strasdin lays bare the whole of human experience in the most intimate of mediums: the clothes we choose to wear.

Review

I loved the beginning of this book and the story of how the dress book came into the author's possession. It was certainly fortuitous, as the author was obviously the right person to own the book and share it with us all. 

I found out a few things that I previously had no idea about. Such as the ban on cotton imports when the trade in England was suffering. The book is littered with not just the story of the dress diary but research by the author of the textile trade and fashion throughout this period.

The book I found to be one that is to be dipped in and out of, although in sequential chapter order to fully appreciate the timeline of events. 

I'm giving this book 4 out of 5 stars. My thanks to netgalley for this ARC to review. 

Must Love Books - Shauna Robinson

 

Description

‘A heartfelt and exciting debut . . . a wise and honest story of how it feels to be a young woman in search of yourself’

Taylor Jenkins Reid, Sunday Times bestselling author of The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo

Meet Nora Hughes – the overworked, underpaid, last bookish assistant standing. At least for now.

When Nora landed an editorial assistant role at Parsons Press she thought it would be The Dream Job. But after five years of admin and taking lunch orders, Nora has come to the conclusion: Dream Jobs do not exist.

With her life spiralling and unable to afford her rent, Nora does the only thing she can think of and starts freelancing for a rival publisher.

But when Andrew Santos, a bestselling author (who also happens to be quite attractive), is thrown into Nora’s life, she must decide where her loyalties lie, and whether she’s ready to choose herself and her future over her job…

Your next book club read touching on mental health, happiness and the ups and downs of being a young woman trying to figure it all out.

Review

I've really enjoyed being a part of the #MustLoveBooksReadalong with @onemorechapter this week, thanks for the invite.

This is not your usual romcom read. It's so very down to earth - in the main - and has some very real and relatable characters, especially in the office.

We join Nora recruiting a new member of staff. This gets her thinking about her own journey into publishing, and the not so rapid ascent within it. She's been at the publishing house for 5 years and is still taking lunch orders while all around her people are being laid off and she's lumbered with some of their work. She has an idea to get her ahead and stay afloat by working for two publishers at the same time. This had the makings of a disaster written all over it and I could hardly bare to read, waiting for a car crash. Actually it worked pretty well until it didn't! Can't say more on that one.

With witty repartee between Nora and one of the authors and some great friends (if only she realised) the book bounces along nicely in between the fractious thoughts of how Nora is going to get promoted, find her life purpose and pay the rent.

Nora has a lot going on in her head and part of that is a reoccurring thought that she might not need to live anymore. I was really willing Nora to hang on in and find someone who she could really connect to and help her through all her issues. The ending wasn't one I was expecting, but it's maybe the right one considering how complicated Nora and her life choices are.

I'm giving this book 4 out of 5 stars. My thanks to netgalley and onemorechapter for the ARC to review.

Mrs P's Book of Secrets - Lorna Gray

 

Description

Mrs P’s Book of Secrets will be published in the US as The Book Ghost.

The Cotswolds, Christmastime 1946: A young widow leaves behind the tragedy of her wartime life, and returns home to her ageing aunt and uncle. For Lucy – known as Mrs P – and the people who raised her, the books that line the walls of the family publishing business bring comfort and the promise of new beginnings.

But the kind and reserved new editor at the Kershaw and Kathay Book Press is a former prisoner of war, and he has his own shadows to bear. And when the old secrets of a little girl’s abandonment are uncovered within the pages of Robert Underhills’s latest project, Lucy must work quickly if she is to understand the truth behind his frequent trips away.

For a ghost dwells in the record of an orphan girl’s last days. And even as Lucy dares to risk her heart, the grief of her own past seems to be whispering a warning of fresh loss…

There are no white shrouded spectres here, no wailing ghouls. Just the echoes of those who have passed, whispering that history is set to repeat itself.

Review

Set in 1946 this novel reads as if the characters just left the film Brief Encounter. You need to be prepared to read a very stylised form of writing.  

Lucy is a widow at 26 and has left Bristol to work and live above the printers her Uncle owns. She has publishing experience but does not get to use it, as a newcomer is the editor and she types, does the books and makes tea.

A lot of the book is taken with the inner thoughts of the main character Lucy - Mrs P. She also describes the inner thoughts of other characters which I found a little over the top. Although she does have some sort of sixth sense, so maybe she did know what everyone else was thinking.

There were glimpses of an intriguing plot and I did finish to find out how it all ended.  Reading more like a gothic novel to me than one set post war I found it very hard going. Veiled romantic interactions and yet then an outright relationship between two unmarried people in a small village in this time felt unrealistic.

It wasn't really for me. I never became invested in the characters and Lucy herself was so dramatic and I thought belonged in a Wilkie Collins story.

I'm giving this book 3 out of 5 stars. My thanks to netgalley for the ARC to review.