For those lucky few not familiar with it a TBR Pile is a To Be Read pile, a pile full of those books you were eager to buy but not so eager to read. Or books you were given and didn't have the good sense to rush to the used book store. So now there they are. Taking up space. This year I have determined upon a simple plan. I will eliminate at least some of those books. I will be disciplined enough to add fewer than I eliminate. I will finally get to at least some (if not all) of the books I have been meaning to get to and just haven't.
Here is my plan: For every time I buy books or get a bunch from the library I will pull a book off the pile and read it.
I won't kid you -- it will be slow going. But I expect to find some real gems in there. I mean, there was a reason I bought these books to begin with, right? I began this week with "A Spell for Susannah" by Jody Wallace. It wasn't brilliant but it was a solid C. I'm glad I eliminated it from the pile and plan to pick up a second from the TBR pile this week, after I finish a library book.
I challenge you all to do the same. Let's get those piles down and discover the hidden treasures within.
Maggie
tea time
Friday, January 1, 2010
Friday, December 18, 2009
The Magicians and Mrs. Quent
Galen Beckett
Fantasy
Grade: B, B-
Be warned, the Magicians and Mrs. Quent is a novel only for those who like classic English literature. If you are otherwise inclined, as in wanting action and hair raising adventure in your books, you will wind up despising this novel.
The first half of this book is a what if novel. Specifically, it asks the questions:
What if in Pride and Prejudice Elizabeth's father was indisposed and Mr. Darcy's still alive?
What if Magic existed side by side with genteel society?
In that case Elizabeth would be Ivy Lockwell, a lovely, practical young women whose father was made ill by a spell gone wrong and whose mother is slowly bankrupting the family by insisting upon living in the house she inherited, which the family can in no way afford. As Ivy tries to make payments on the home and do what she can to keep the family together a most unexpected surprise falls into their midst. Her cousin, Mr. Wyble, meets Mr. Rafferdy at a party and invites him to join him on a visit to the house he will someday inherit. Mr. Wyble is in raptures when Mr. Rafferdy assents (he is half asleep listening to Wybles fawning and agrees before he can stop himself)and so Mr. Rafferdy (and a friend he enlists as backup) find themselves spending an enrapturing afternoon tea with the lovely Lockwell sisters. Mr. Rafferdy finds himself going quite out of his way to run into the lovely Ivy thereafter and the two strike an unlikely friendship in which her mother begins to pin her hopes.
In the meantime, Altania, the land in which they live is facing a growing rebellion within and a magical problem of some magnitude, though no one seems to pay attention but a select few. The ancient and original trees of Altania are alive and much like Tolkien's Fangorn Forest they are alive with a menace which bodes no good for the humans who tangle with them.
I have told you only the barest beginning of the book. Ivy, Mr. Rafferdy, Mr. Quent and the others all begin a journey to save Altania which I trust will take many books to reach fruition. That fact and the rather long winded why in which the tale is told made it a B for me.
Tea: A nice cup of Earl Grey for this Regency England meets magic tale.
Fantasy
Grade: B, B-
Be warned, the Magicians and Mrs. Quent is a novel only for those who like classic English literature. If you are otherwise inclined, as in wanting action and hair raising adventure in your books, you will wind up despising this novel.
The first half of this book is a what if novel. Specifically, it asks the questions:
What if in Pride and Prejudice Elizabeth's father was indisposed and Mr. Darcy's still alive?
What if Magic existed side by side with genteel society?
In that case Elizabeth would be Ivy Lockwell, a lovely, practical young women whose father was made ill by a spell gone wrong and whose mother is slowly bankrupting the family by insisting upon living in the house she inherited, which the family can in no way afford. As Ivy tries to make payments on the home and do what she can to keep the family together a most unexpected surprise falls into their midst. Her cousin, Mr. Wyble, meets Mr. Rafferdy at a party and invites him to join him on a visit to the house he will someday inherit. Mr. Wyble is in raptures when Mr. Rafferdy assents (he is half asleep listening to Wybles fawning and agrees before he can stop himself)and so Mr. Rafferdy (and a friend he enlists as backup) find themselves spending an enrapturing afternoon tea with the lovely Lockwell sisters. Mr. Rafferdy finds himself going quite out of his way to run into the lovely Ivy thereafter and the two strike an unlikely friendship in which her mother begins to pin her hopes.
In the meantime, Altania, the land in which they live is facing a growing rebellion within and a magical problem of some magnitude, though no one seems to pay attention but a select few. The ancient and original trees of Altania are alive and much like Tolkien's Fangorn Forest they are alive with a menace which bodes no good for the humans who tangle with them.
I have told you only the barest beginning of the book. Ivy, Mr. Rafferdy, Mr. Quent and the others all begin a journey to save Altania which I trust will take many books to reach fruition. That fact and the rather long winded why in which the tale is told made it a B for me.
Tea: A nice cup of Earl Grey for this Regency England meets magic tale.
Saturday, December 5, 2009
Hunger, A Gone Novel
Author: Michael Grant
Genre: Sci-Fi, YA
Grade: C, C-
In the first book, Gone, we meet the kids (15 and under) of Perdido Beach, CA. They have a unique problem: in the blink of an eye every person over 15 vanished from their little town. This was big enough but then other problems began -- kids started developing powers like telekinesis, teleportation, hands that shot blasting bolts of light -- and the list went on. Then the animals around them began to mutate -- snakes that could fly (ick!), coyotes much smarter than they should be. . . .
In book two we are about to meet part of what is causing all the problems. It doesn't solve things in the FAYZE, as the kids call their new world, but it will clarify some things for us. Also in this issue we will deal with the troubles kids have with setting up their own government and running things on their own.
It is this second point in which the book really failed for me. I was disturbed at how the kids seemed to arrange themselves. My own son is pretty helpless in a lot of ways (I have to constantly remind him of basics.) But he can cook, he can read, he would have some common sense when it came to taking care of himself. And politics literally bore me and much of the book was about establishing a government not in the form of running things but with an underlying hint of politics (something they did at the end of the last book but felt the need to reiterate.)
One major squabble I had was that the author insisted on two basic ideas: 1) that humans don't work without money 2) that if you don't establish a monetary system the lazy will live off the hardworking. Finally, he went to pains to say being "rich" is more than OK, it is human nature to want the best for ourselves and the best way to deal with humans is to accept the idea that some are going to work to be rich. I had all kinds of problems with this. First, even children know that the rich aren't always the hardest working among us. I am "rich" compared to my ancestors but those people worked ten times harder for what they had. Someone in Africa could work like a fiend and not reach what I have. This is like the idea that bad things only happen to bad people, it's what many people feel should be but it isn't. If it were, CEO's would often live in card board boxes while missionaries handed boxes of food out the front door of their mansion.
But what really got me was that these kids weren't establishing a survival government. They were establishing a government more like a political government that runs a nation than a "we're a group and we're gonna survive this" type government. That second option is what I thought kids would do in this situation. Just my .02 but it didn't seem to me that a 15 yr. old who had suddenly lost every adult in the world who had ever cared for him would be all concerned with how he could earn more but would rather be concerned with how he could survive. I am probably doing a bad job of describing it all but I just felt that there was an underlying tone of propaganda that was inappropriate to the whole issue of survival.
That tone jarred enough that it didn't turn into a great read for me.
Tea: I am all about Celestial Seasonings "Candy Cane Lane" right now. Very Christmassy!
Genre: Sci-Fi, YA
Grade: C, C-
In the first book, Gone, we meet the kids (15 and under) of Perdido Beach, CA. They have a unique problem: in the blink of an eye every person over 15 vanished from their little town. This was big enough but then other problems began -- kids started developing powers like telekinesis, teleportation, hands that shot blasting bolts of light -- and the list went on. Then the animals around them began to mutate -- snakes that could fly (ick!), coyotes much smarter than they should be. . . .
In book two we are about to meet part of what is causing all the problems. It doesn't solve things in the FAYZE, as the kids call their new world, but it will clarify some things for us. Also in this issue we will deal with the troubles kids have with setting up their own government and running things on their own.
It is this second point in which the book really failed for me. I was disturbed at how the kids seemed to arrange themselves. My own son is pretty helpless in a lot of ways (I have to constantly remind him of basics.) But he can cook, he can read, he would have some common sense when it came to taking care of himself. And politics literally bore me and much of the book was about establishing a government not in the form of running things but with an underlying hint of politics (something they did at the end of the last book but felt the need to reiterate.)
One major squabble I had was that the author insisted on two basic ideas: 1) that humans don't work without money 2) that if you don't establish a monetary system the lazy will live off the hardworking. Finally, he went to pains to say being "rich" is more than OK, it is human nature to want the best for ourselves and the best way to deal with humans is to accept the idea that some are going to work to be rich. I had all kinds of problems with this. First, even children know that the rich aren't always the hardest working among us. I am "rich" compared to my ancestors but those people worked ten times harder for what they had. Someone in Africa could work like a fiend and not reach what I have. This is like the idea that bad things only happen to bad people, it's what many people feel should be but it isn't. If it were, CEO's would often live in card board boxes while missionaries handed boxes of food out the front door of their mansion.
But what really got me was that these kids weren't establishing a survival government. They were establishing a government more like a political government that runs a nation than a "we're a group and we're gonna survive this" type government. That second option is what I thought kids would do in this situation. Just my .02 but it didn't seem to me that a 15 yr. old who had suddenly lost every adult in the world who had ever cared for him would be all concerned with how he could earn more but would rather be concerned with how he could survive. I am probably doing a bad job of describing it all but I just felt that there was an underlying tone of propaganda that was inappropriate to the whole issue of survival.
That tone jarred enough that it didn't turn into a great read for me.
Tea: I am all about Celestial Seasonings "Candy Cane Lane" right now. Very Christmassy!
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Yankee Wife
Genre: Historical Romance, Shortly after Civil War
Author: Linda Lael Miller
Grade: F
Lydia McQuire, a nurse for the Union in the Civil War, has just enough money in her pockets for either food or board (but definitely not both) when she spots a sign advertising for a wife. She would never do anything so demeaning as sign on to being a wife to some stranger when piano playing at saloon's is going so lucratively for her but she figures that since it is breakfast time she might get her interview with a meal. So she rouses Devon Quade from bed, asks for an interview and sure enough gets breakfast with it. But he is so handsome! So mannerly! Lydia decides to marry him when she is offered the opportunity.
Once aboard ship Lydia is surprised to see Devon walking towards her with another woman on his arm. His sister? Daughter? Alas no, it is his wife. Devon had not contracted Lydia to marry him but his older brother Brigham. Brigham of course knows nothing about it and doesn't want to marry. Lydia begins her conversation with him by assuring him she doesn't want to marry him either.
This book is a mess of standard romance subplots. Lydia lusts after Brigham, eventually sleeps with him, but won't marry him till he says he loves her. Devon's wife Polly turns out to be a soiled lady in search of a better life and hasn't really married him (She would use a fake preacher, "marry" men and then steal from them). Since Polly is pregnant and Devon deserts her Brigham starts to marry her but then Lydia and Devon interrupt the ceremony to get their respective partners back. Now that everyone is legally married to who they want to be there is a big fight and life goes pretty much back to lusting, fighting and living separately while the ladies pine for the men to say those three magic words. Everyone eventually does of course, because this is a romance novel.
I didn't like any of the characters. When they weren't being TSTL they were being hateful or stubborn. I bought two Millers at the used book store and am debating if the second one is even worth reading at this point.
Tea: Brew a pot and pour it over this clunker.
Author: Linda Lael Miller
Grade: F
Lydia McQuire, a nurse for the Union in the Civil War, has just enough money in her pockets for either food or board (but definitely not both) when she spots a sign advertising for a wife. She would never do anything so demeaning as sign on to being a wife to some stranger when piano playing at saloon's is going so lucratively for her but she figures that since it is breakfast time she might get her interview with a meal. So she rouses Devon Quade from bed, asks for an interview and sure enough gets breakfast with it. But he is so handsome! So mannerly! Lydia decides to marry him when she is offered the opportunity.
Once aboard ship Lydia is surprised to see Devon walking towards her with another woman on his arm. His sister? Daughter? Alas no, it is his wife. Devon had not contracted Lydia to marry him but his older brother Brigham. Brigham of course knows nothing about it and doesn't want to marry. Lydia begins her conversation with him by assuring him she doesn't want to marry him either.
This book is a mess of standard romance subplots. Lydia lusts after Brigham, eventually sleeps with him, but won't marry him till he says he loves her. Devon's wife Polly turns out to be a soiled lady in search of a better life and hasn't really married him (She would use a fake preacher, "marry" men and then steal from them). Since Polly is pregnant and Devon deserts her Brigham starts to marry her but then Lydia and Devon interrupt the ceremony to get their respective partners back. Now that everyone is legally married to who they want to be there is a big fight and life goes pretty much back to lusting, fighting and living separately while the ladies pine for the men to say those three magic words. Everyone eventually does of course, because this is a romance novel.
I didn't like any of the characters. When they weren't being TSTL they were being hateful or stubborn. I bought two Millers at the used book store and am debating if the second one is even worth reading at this point.
Tea: Brew a pot and pour it over this clunker.
A Bride Most Begrudging
Author: Deanne Gist
Genre: Inspirational Romance
Grade: A
I have to admit to a bit of a prejudice against inspirational romance. Over the years I have read some that are just plain awful, some that abound with such a judgmental attitude that I feel I am being smacked in the face every time I pick the book up and some that have so much preaching I want to skip that weeks visit to church. For the most part I avoid the books. While I can manage to pick up a clunker in any genre I seem to have a special knack for it with this one.
Fortunately, this book quickly banished those past experiences; Surprising since it begins with a bit of a TSTL (too stupid to live) moment. Lady Constance Morrow is horrified when she finds out that her beloved Uncle Skelly is being deported to America for speaking against the King and slips away from the protection of family and servants to say a final goodbye to him on the ship taking him to the Colonies. The captain, seeing a young woman without protection, quickly adds her to the group of female felons he has changed down below who will serve as brides for the colonists. Travel in 1634 is no picnic and Constance finds herself hungry, dirty and devastated as her uncle dies and she lands in the Colonies with no way to prove who she is. Enter Drew O'Connor, a man not looking for a wife but who, with a few twists of fate, finds himself attached to Lady Constance.
Watching these two fall in love was a ton of fun. There were some truly hilarious moments between the two of them as they adapted to life seen through each others eyes. One memorable moment involving a shared trencher and two very hungry people had me laughing out loud but many others had me snickering, giggling and smiling my way through the book. I loved that Constance wasn't a doormat/Sunday school teacher type heroine but an honest to God woman who got cranky, could be selfish, liked to use her mind and was strong willed without (for the most part) using that will for TSTL'ness. Drew seems like one of those men turned bitter by the hardness of life (and he has a tough one) at first but pretty quickly we are shown the gentle heart beneath the tough exterior. His struggle at one point to determine if lust was an acceptable emotion or if his love was supposed to be something pure and he was somehow tainting everything was funny and touching, rather than heavy handed or preachy. There wasn't an assumption of what constituted good, Christian behavior from either of them and that made them seem very life like to me, very much like christian people I know in the real world. They didn't spout bible verses at every problem, nor did they indulge in judging their neighbors constantly. If I am harping on this issue I apologize but many an inspirational romance has lost me over just such things.
The book is sweet rather than hot and towards the end I felt the author was tacking on a bit to stretch things but the epilogue is great and the feel of the book overall brought a smile to my face. If you have been interested in giving an inspirational a try this might be the one to do it with.
Tea: How about something truly American? Here is a link to a recipe for Pumpkin Tea Bread! Seasonal, unique to our country (at least at first) and colonial (not sure about the bread but the pumpkin itself assuredly was!) http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Pumpkin-Tea-Bread/Detail.aspx
Genre: Inspirational Romance
Grade: A
I have to admit to a bit of a prejudice against inspirational romance. Over the years I have read some that are just plain awful, some that abound with such a judgmental attitude that I feel I am being smacked in the face every time I pick the book up and some that have so much preaching I want to skip that weeks visit to church. For the most part I avoid the books. While I can manage to pick up a clunker in any genre I seem to have a special knack for it with this one.
Fortunately, this book quickly banished those past experiences; Surprising since it begins with a bit of a TSTL (too stupid to live) moment. Lady Constance Morrow is horrified when she finds out that her beloved Uncle Skelly is being deported to America for speaking against the King and slips away from the protection of family and servants to say a final goodbye to him on the ship taking him to the Colonies. The captain, seeing a young woman without protection, quickly adds her to the group of female felons he has changed down below who will serve as brides for the colonists. Travel in 1634 is no picnic and Constance finds herself hungry, dirty and devastated as her uncle dies and she lands in the Colonies with no way to prove who she is. Enter Drew O'Connor, a man not looking for a wife but who, with a few twists of fate, finds himself attached to Lady Constance.
Watching these two fall in love was a ton of fun. There were some truly hilarious moments between the two of them as they adapted to life seen through each others eyes. One memorable moment involving a shared trencher and two very hungry people had me laughing out loud but many others had me snickering, giggling and smiling my way through the book. I loved that Constance wasn't a doormat/Sunday school teacher type heroine but an honest to God woman who got cranky, could be selfish, liked to use her mind and was strong willed without (for the most part) using that will for TSTL'ness. Drew seems like one of those men turned bitter by the hardness of life (and he has a tough one) at first but pretty quickly we are shown the gentle heart beneath the tough exterior. His struggle at one point to determine if lust was an acceptable emotion or if his love was supposed to be something pure and he was somehow tainting everything was funny and touching, rather than heavy handed or preachy. There wasn't an assumption of what constituted good, Christian behavior from either of them and that made them seem very life like to me, very much like christian people I know in the real world. They didn't spout bible verses at every problem, nor did they indulge in judging their neighbors constantly. If I am harping on this issue I apologize but many an inspirational romance has lost me over just such things.
The book is sweet rather than hot and towards the end I felt the author was tacking on a bit to stretch things but the epilogue is great and the feel of the book overall brought a smile to my face. If you have been interested in giving an inspirational a try this might be the one to do it with.
Tea: How about something truly American? Here is a link to a recipe for Pumpkin Tea Bread! Seasonal, unique to our country (at least at first) and colonial (not sure about the bread but the pumpkin itself assuredly was!) http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Pumpkin-Tea-Bread/Detail.aspx
Invisible Lives
Author: Anjali Banerjee
Genre: Chick Lit/Contemp Romance
Grade: A
Lakshmi Sen was visited by the goddess before her birth. She was promised gorgeous hair (on which she was advised to use only herbal shampoos) and a special gift. Laksmi's special gift is her ability to see the perfect sari, the sari that will help her customer solve problems, win hearts and find happiness and she uses that ability day in and day out as a partner in her mother's sari shop.
She knows there is something special about the day her gift shows her pink bubbles of happiness surrounding her mother so she isn't surprised when their shop lands a huge customer and she simultaneously finds out her mother has begun arranging her marriage to a handsome Indian doctor. But she is surprised when her gift begins to fail around the important Bollywood client's chauffeur. More, she is surprised to find out just how much she has in common with the charming, very American Nick.
This book has a delicious touch of magic much like Sarah Addison Allen's "Garden Spells". It was fun watching Laksmi use that magical gift to help others reach their full potential. It was also great to learn a very little bit about sari's -- the story of their origin, how they are worn, what colors are worn when. While the book is firmly set in America it also highlights just how Indian American's are thoroughly tied to their community both through the small taste of home they have here and their frequent trips back to the mother country. It was fascinating reading about Laksmi's tie to her roots and her own internal struggle on fitting in in the much freer American culture while staying true to her past. I love books with a sweet sense of humor and this one abounded with that quality.
Lakshmi is a wonderful, well drawn out character. It is easy to understand what motivates her throughout the book and while she is a complete sweetheart she is no doormat. She stands up for people when she needs to including giving aid to a young woman who wants to escape an arranged marriage. She has her choice of two potential heroes and while I was thrilled with the one she chose I liked the other guy enough to wish he had had a love story too. The secondary romances and what Lakshmi learns about her own parents love story make a good background for Lakshmi's own tale, really giving the book a feel of being full of romance.
Ms. Banerjee is writing children's books right now, which is a shame. I felt like this book was so great, so fun I could definitely have done with many more works like it from her.
Tea: Here is a link to a recipe for Indian Milk Tea, which is mentioned in the book. http://www.chai-tea.org/rec/rec103.html
Genre: Chick Lit/Contemp Romance
Grade: A
Lakshmi Sen was visited by the goddess before her birth. She was promised gorgeous hair (on which she was advised to use only herbal shampoos) and a special gift. Laksmi's special gift is her ability to see the perfect sari, the sari that will help her customer solve problems, win hearts and find happiness and she uses that ability day in and day out as a partner in her mother's sari shop.
She knows there is something special about the day her gift shows her pink bubbles of happiness surrounding her mother so she isn't surprised when their shop lands a huge customer and she simultaneously finds out her mother has begun arranging her marriage to a handsome Indian doctor. But she is surprised when her gift begins to fail around the important Bollywood client's chauffeur. More, she is surprised to find out just how much she has in common with the charming, very American Nick.
This book has a delicious touch of magic much like Sarah Addison Allen's "Garden Spells". It was fun watching Laksmi use that magical gift to help others reach their full potential. It was also great to learn a very little bit about sari's -- the story of their origin, how they are worn, what colors are worn when. While the book is firmly set in America it also highlights just how Indian American's are thoroughly tied to their community both through the small taste of home they have here and their frequent trips back to the mother country. It was fascinating reading about Laksmi's tie to her roots and her own internal struggle on fitting in in the much freer American culture while staying true to her past. I love books with a sweet sense of humor and this one abounded with that quality.
Lakshmi is a wonderful, well drawn out character. It is easy to understand what motivates her throughout the book and while she is a complete sweetheart she is no doormat. She stands up for people when she needs to including giving aid to a young woman who wants to escape an arranged marriage. She has her choice of two potential heroes and while I was thrilled with the one she chose I liked the other guy enough to wish he had had a love story too. The secondary romances and what Lakshmi learns about her own parents love story make a good background for Lakshmi's own tale, really giving the book a feel of being full of romance.
Ms. Banerjee is writing children's books right now, which is a shame. I felt like this book was so great, so fun I could definitely have done with many more works like it from her.
Tea: Here is a link to a recipe for Indian Milk Tea, which is mentioned in the book. http://www.chai-tea.org/rec/rec103.html
Lucy Gets Her Life Back
Author: Stef Ann Holm
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Grade: C
Moving from Boise to the small town of Red Duck, Idaho may seem counter intuitive for a personal chef like Lucy Carpenter but Red Duck has the two things Lucy most needs: celebrity clientele and a down home atmosphere in which to raise her two "lost" boys. Both Jason and Mattie have been struggling since their father walked out on them two years ago and Lucy is happy to find them a fresh start in a small town.
Former pro baseball player Drew Tolman has gone from playing in the Bigs to coaching the Little League but he loves it. He never feels as alive anywhere else as he does on the diamond. So why is it that this year he finds himself watching the stands,looking for one of his star players mothers, rather than the pitcher's mound.
One of the tough things about reading books about single parents when you are a parent is that you tend to question their every parenting decision. Lucy is a good, caring parent but some of the things she did made me want to ask her what the heck she was thinking. The initial move was one of those things and it took me awhile to get over that.
I also had a tough time picturing Lucy and Drew together. At one point he says that the Laker Girls he has over for a party have no substance while Lucy has substance because she is more "real". That seemed pretty darn silly to me -- those girls would have plenty of substance to go with their looks and ambition. Try outs for jobs like that are relentless and difficult. Individual ones might be selfish but really, insubstantial? I didn't buy it. Additionally, Lucy was an "every woman" who simply didn't catch my heart. She was very much like the women I hang out with every day but she lacked their individuality and spark. To do a compare/contrast Goldy the Caterer from The Goldy Culinary Mysteries is an every woman but as a caterer (kinda like Lucy) she describes food in rich, lush detail. She describes her friends, the weather, tooling around town. All that gives Goldy a sense of the unique I don't get from Lucy. I think that might be writing style though. I didn't get a strong picture of Lucy or Drew but I think the author's style is all about what the characters are thinking. In some ways that imparts insight but in a lot of ways it leaves you grasping for details. In this case, I just felt that I might understand what the characters were thinking and feeling to an extent but I didn't get the why. It was like their emotions were all internal and nothing happened that changed or affected them.
My other quibble was with the kids. Being the mother of two boys I have had the chance to observe boy behavior first hand. These kids did not ring true at all. There was an imbalance between their behaviors, attitudes and language that would yank me out of the story on a regular basis. In particular one characters use of the phrase "bang a lang" rang especially untrue. I don't know a single kid with the guts to do that unless they were using it as some kind of signature phrase. It sounded fifties and silly and caused pictures of "Leave it to Beaver" to flash through my mind.
There is a sweet secondary friendship that leads to another character finding romance which I liked but that wasn't enough to save the book.
I struggled to finish but it wasn't a bad book. Just also not a good one.
Tea: Nothing fancy. Maybe a Lipton tea bag with a bit of splenda.
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Grade: C
Moving from Boise to the small town of Red Duck, Idaho may seem counter intuitive for a personal chef like Lucy Carpenter but Red Duck has the two things Lucy most needs: celebrity clientele and a down home atmosphere in which to raise her two "lost" boys. Both Jason and Mattie have been struggling since their father walked out on them two years ago and Lucy is happy to find them a fresh start in a small town.
Former pro baseball player Drew Tolman has gone from playing in the Bigs to coaching the Little League but he loves it. He never feels as alive anywhere else as he does on the diamond. So why is it that this year he finds himself watching the stands,looking for one of his star players mothers, rather than the pitcher's mound.
One of the tough things about reading books about single parents when you are a parent is that you tend to question their every parenting decision. Lucy is a good, caring parent but some of the things she did made me want to ask her what the heck she was thinking. The initial move was one of those things and it took me awhile to get over that.
I also had a tough time picturing Lucy and Drew together. At one point he says that the Laker Girls he has over for a party have no substance while Lucy has substance because she is more "real". That seemed pretty darn silly to me -- those girls would have plenty of substance to go with their looks and ambition. Try outs for jobs like that are relentless and difficult. Individual ones might be selfish but really, insubstantial? I didn't buy it. Additionally, Lucy was an "every woman" who simply didn't catch my heart. She was very much like the women I hang out with every day but she lacked their individuality and spark. To do a compare/contrast Goldy the Caterer from The Goldy Culinary Mysteries is an every woman but as a caterer (kinda like Lucy) she describes food in rich, lush detail. She describes her friends, the weather, tooling around town. All that gives Goldy a sense of the unique I don't get from Lucy. I think that might be writing style though. I didn't get a strong picture of Lucy or Drew but I think the author's style is all about what the characters are thinking. In some ways that imparts insight but in a lot of ways it leaves you grasping for details. In this case, I just felt that I might understand what the characters were thinking and feeling to an extent but I didn't get the why. It was like their emotions were all internal and nothing happened that changed or affected them.
My other quibble was with the kids. Being the mother of two boys I have had the chance to observe boy behavior first hand. These kids did not ring true at all. There was an imbalance between their behaviors, attitudes and language that would yank me out of the story on a regular basis. In particular one characters use of the phrase "bang a lang" rang especially untrue. I don't know a single kid with the guts to do that unless they were using it as some kind of signature phrase. It sounded fifties and silly and caused pictures of "Leave it to Beaver" to flash through my mind.
There is a sweet secondary friendship that leads to another character finding romance which I liked but that wasn't enough to save the book.
I struggled to finish but it wasn't a bad book. Just also not a good one.
Tea: Nothing fancy. Maybe a Lipton tea bag with a bit of splenda.
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