LOVE AND OTHER WORDS by Christina Lauren | 5-star Review

Christina Lauren’s first foray into women’s fiction is as swoonworthy as any of their romances Review copy provided by Gallery Books When I sat down to write this review of Christina Lauren’s Love and Other Words, all I could think of was the scene in The Notebook when Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams get…

ByMichelleApril 10, 20180Comments

Book Reviews

THEN WE’D BE HAPPY by Al Riske | 4 star Review

Copy provided by the author for review Al Riske’s Then We’d Be Happy sneaks up on you. Going in, I knew the writing style would be spare, but it turns out, Then We’d Be Happy is a two-for-one deal. It’s billed as a novel, but it’s also series of vignettes. Some are funny, some poignant,…

ByMichelleFebruary 17, 20180Comments

Book Reviews

October Kindle Book Deals

There are so many new releases set to break my bank account this month that I've held off on posting the October Kindle book deals. Some of these I own, some I one-clicked myself this month. Prices are current in the United States as of 10/7/17. Lisa Fain's latest book, Queso, just came out at the…

ByMichelleOctober 7, 20170Comments

Book Reviews

Autoboyography by Christina Lauren| 5-star Review

I wrote my initial Goodreads review of Autoboyography, Christina Lauren’s latest, about a month ago. I felt that urgency to capture my first thoughts and reactions after reading the book, giving it a 5-star rating. But I needed the last month to just sort of let it sit with me, because that’s the kind of…

ByMichelleSeptember 7, 20170Comments

Just for Fun

Here’s Your Next Binge Listen: Jules and James

Image Credit: Jules and James/Through the 4th Wall Romancing the Podcast: In an age where you’re more likely to text than actually call someone on the phone, Jules and James is a delightful way to eavesdrop on an accidental, then ongoing, conversation. ********************** I’ve been waiting (and waiting, and waiting) for a serial fiction podcast…

ByMichelleJuly 10, 20170Comments

Book Reviews

KITCHENS OF THE GREAT MIDWEST by J. Ryan Stradal | Review

The Kitchens of the Great Midwest by J. Ryan Stradal is the best book I’ve read so far this year. Food is both its frame and its unifying thread and yes, there are recipes. Yet, it’s only sort of about food. Either way, it takes guts to start a story with lutefisk. Eva Thorvald, our protagonist,…

ByMichelleApril 4, 20160Comments

Book Reviews

Fiction for the Food Obsessed: Nuts by Alice Clayton

Finally, a rom-com that does food right! Usually food is an accidental backdrop in a story. Hero and heroine meet cute at a farmers market, or there's a front-of-the-house hookup between host and bartender in a restaurant, but the food is usually window dressing rather than a focus. In the last couple of months, I've read two…

ByMichelleMarch 4, 20160Comments