celebrating books & the literary lifestyle
When I put together my seasonal reading lists I try to include some variety beyond the historical fiction I tend to gravitate towards. (Most recently these books have had a heiress in an fancy dress on the cover but before that it was WWII fiction.)
The Unhoneymooners by Christina Lauren with its cheery cover looked like a lighter, fun read and was getting a lot of buzz so I decided to give it a try.
Continue readingThis new novel about Winston Churchill’s mother, That Churchill Woman, is a good read for anglophiles who enjoy historical fiction.
Jennie Jerome, an American, marries Randolph Churchill, the son of a duke and becomes Lady Churchill. Their oldest son, Winston, of course goes on to become the Prime Minister, but this book covers the family drama and secrets during his childhood. For one, Jennie remains in love with another man, Charles Kinsky, but there is much more to this family’s complicated story.
Continue readingI’ve been so excited to tell you about this book I just read: When We Left Cuba by Chanel Cleeton.
This book is a sequel to one I read and loved last year: Next Year in Havana.
This work of historical fiction is told from the perspective of Beatriz Perez, who fled Cuba with her family when Fidel took power (their exile is covered in the first book).
“It’s been nearly a year since we left Cuba for what was supposed to be a few months away until the world realized what Fidel Castro had done to our island, and American has welcomed us into her loving embrace – almost.”
Now living in Miami, the rest of her family is trying their best to assimilate, but Beatrice yearns for her homeland and decides to risk everything to save it.
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I am writing today about another book that I managed to read in a little more than 24 hours:
The book’s premise: A DNA test has been developed to match you with your perfect romantic partner. A reader follows five separate stories as characters meet and fall for their “matches” received from the test.
Continue readingThe book I just finished, Lost Roses: A Novel, is getting a lot of attention as the prequel to Lilac Girls, both by Martha Hall Kelly. Thanks to NetGalley I got access to this book in advance, and I’m ready to tell you more about it.
I liked this book though I had a couple of issues with it. Perhaps my expectations going in were a bit off, so I hope to help out with that in this post (for your future enjoyment). I do think it’s worth reading!
Continue readingI’m excited to write my first recommendation since publishing my spring reading list for:
American Duchess: A Novel of Consuelo Vanderbilt by Karen Harper.
An intriguing story, this work of historical fiction was a lighter read until the last sections. It tells the story (from first person perspective) of Vanderbilt heiress Consuelo who was forced by her mother Alva to marry the Duke of Marlborough. Consuelo’s character, as it is written here, is likeable and she navigates her circumstances admirably, becoming a champion for the underprivileged.
I had already read and enjoyed a prequel to this book though it was by a different author: A Well-Behaved Woman: A Novel of the Vanderbilts. which focuses on Alva but follows Consuelo’s marriage from afar.
Continue readingBelow are the books I plan to read this spring. Hopefully you will see something that interests you and will read along with me!
As usual, I will update this post with links as I read through it (no spoilers ever – but if I like the book I will tell you why).
(Publishers notes are in block quotes, and you can click on title or image to find on Amazon.)
Continue readingOccasionally I ignore a book until I can’t anymore. Of course I heard the buzz and reviews of this particular book for months, but I wasn’t in the mood for a “southern novel.” So I just kept on reading other books. Until a couple of weeks ago when this book literally ended up in my house:
Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens
Continue readingIt’s been a long winter, and I am ready to start my “spring reading” which means I will compile a new list of the most intriguing new books to read. As I read through this list, I will post about the books I want to recommend (usually this isn’t all of them although I had great luck with my winter reading list!!). And today I am happy to write that I can already recommend a book from my spring list:
American Princess: A Novel of First Daughter Alice Roosevelt
This is historical fiction by Stephanie Marie Thornton as the subtitle implies about a first daughter starting in 1901. I did not know anything about the oldest daughter of Teddy Roosevelt before reading this book. Apparently she obtained celebratory status with the press reporting her every move (many of these moves being rebellious) and even had the color “Alice Blue” named after her.
Continue readingI don’t have a book club, but I do have a Downton Abbey group…a group of 4 women who connected over this show years ago.
Once or twice we tried to read this same book but we were forgetting to talk about it until the end of our “meetings” so we gave that idea up, and now we just “meet.”
At the past meeting I hosted I had to laugh because they all walked in with a pile of books, and the first 20 mins of the gathering consisted of them passing books around to each other, returning books to each other, and recommending books.
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