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Book Review: Lost Lake by Sarah Addison Allen

May 22, 2014

Lost Lake by Sarah Addison Allen
January, 2014 St. Martin’s Press

Synopsis from Goodreads: Suley, Georgia, is home to Lost Lake Cottages and not much else. Which is why it’s the perfect place for newly-widowed Kate and her eccentric eight-year-old daughter Devin to heal. Kate spent one memorable childhood summer at Lost Lake, had her first almost-kiss at Lost Lake, and met a boy named Wes at Lost Lake. It was a place for dreaming. But Kate doesn’t believe in dreams anymore, and her Aunt Eby, Lost Lake’s owner, wants to sell the place and move on. Lost Lake’s magic is gone. As Kate discovers that time has a way of standing still at Lost Lake can she bring the cottages—and her heart—back to life? Because sometimes the things you love have a funny way of turning up again. And sometimes you never even know they were lost . . . until they are found


My Thoughts: This book is on my 2014 book list, so I was pretty excited to read it. It was pretty amazing. Sarah Addison Allen did an awesome job on this novel. It had the usual mystical style we have come to expect from her books, but I loved the characters in this one more than any of her other stories. It was the perfect balance of love/mystery/excitement. I would definitely recommend it. I gave this book 4/5 stars.

7 Comments / Filed In: Books, Uncategorized
Tagged: 4 Star Books, Bookworm Reviews

Bookworm Review: A Place At The Table by Susan Rebecca White

March 1, 2014

*Disclaimer: I was given this book as compensation for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.*


A Place at the Table by Susan Rebecca White
March, 2014 Touchstone


Goodreads Synopsis: A Place at the Table tells the story of three richly nuanced characters whose paths converge in a chic Manhattan café: Bobby, a gay Southern boy who has been ostracized by his family; Amelia, a wealthy Connecticut woman whose life is upended when a family secret finally comes to light; and Alice, an African-American chef whose heritage is the basis of a famous cookbook but whose past is a mystery to those who know her.

As it sweeps from a freed-slave settlement in 1920s North Carolina to the Manhattan of the deadly AIDs epidemic of the 1980s to today’s wealthy suburbs, A Place at the Table celebrates the healing power of food and the magic of New York as three seekers come together in the understanding that when you embrace the thing that makes you different, you become whole.


My Thoughts: Love, heartbreak, loss, deception, acceptance and rejection – this book has it all! My favorite quote from this novel and the one I feel sums up the story best is “I think it is fair to say that I have become more interested in observing the world, rather than judging it.” 


I loved the stories of the three individuals – Alice, Bobby and Amelia – as well as how they all come together and are connected in a very creative way. I would have liked to see Alice’s character developed a bit more. I felt like the prologue was almost all we got of her life until closer to the end when it explains how they are all connected. I really liked her character and would’ve liked to read more about her.


I also loved that they all start their new lives in New York City considering New York and Ellis Island have always been symbolic of a “new world.” The book is centered around southern food and because I was born and raised in the south, it was very familiar to me. I liked that the novel included a recipe for “Meemaw’s Pound Cake.” 

I gave this book 4 stars. It was beautifully written and extremely creative but I would’ve hoped for a more developed story from Alice. Also, the ending felt a little rushed. I wanted it to keep going. 


This book will be available March 4th and is a Target Club pick for the month of March. Be sure to grab your copy soon!

3 Comments / Filed In: Books, Uncategorized
Tagged: 4 Star Books, Bookworm Reviews

Bookworm Review: Christmas at the Cupcake Cafe by Jenny Colgan

January 8, 2014

Christmas at the Cupcake Cafe by Jenny Colgan
October, 2012


Synopsis from Goodreads: Issy Randall, proud owner of The Cupcake Cafe, is in love and couldn’t be happier. Her new business is thriving and she is surrounded by close friends, even if her cupcake colleagues Pearl and Caroline don’t seem quite as upbeat about the upcoming season of snow and merriment. But when her boyfriend Austin is scouted for a possible move to New York, Issy is forced to face up to the prospect of a long-distance romance. And when the Christmas rush at the cafe – with its increased demand for her delectable creations – begins to take its toll, Issy has to decide what she holds most dear.

This December, Issy will have to rely on all her reserves of courage, good nature and cinnamon, to make sure everyone has a merry Christmas, one way or another

My Thoughts: This is the sequel to Meet me at the Cupcake Cafe. It was a good read although not as good as the first book. I loved the quirky characters that she brought back from the first book, but it lacked that certain festive flair that most people look for in a Christmas novel. It was too serious and was more like a novel that happened to take place around Christmastime rather than a lighthearted Christmas themed story that I was looking for at the time. It was a touch and go love story that made me a little anxious about what was going to happen. It ended well with a happy ending but I don’t recommend reading this as an feel good Christmas novel. Overall I gave it 4 stars.

1 Comment / Filed In: Uncategorized
Tagged: 4 Star Books, Bookworm Reviews

Bookworm Review: “Bringing Up Bebe” by Pamela Druckerman

December 26, 2013

Bringing Up Bebe by Pamela Druckerman
February 2012

Synopsis on Goodreads: When American journalist Pamela Druckerman has a baby in Paris, she doesn’t aspire to become a “French parent.” French parenting isn’t a known thing, like French fashion or French cheese. Even French parents themselves insist they aren’t doing anything special. 

Yet, the French children Druckerman knows sleep through the night at two or three months old while those of her American friends take a year or more. French kids eat well-rounded meals that are more likely to include braised leeks than chicken nuggets. And while her American friends spend their visits resolving spats between their kids, her French friends sip coffee while the kids play.

Motherhood itself is a whole different experience in France. There’s no role model, as there is in America, for the harried new mom with no life of her own. French mothers assume that even good parents aren’t at the constant service of their children and that there’s no need to feel guilty about this. They have an easy, calm authority with their kids that Druckerman can only envy.

Of course, French parenting wouldn’t be worth talking about if it produced robotic, joyless children. In fact, French kids are just as boisterous, curious, and creative as Americans. They’re just far better behaved and more in command of themselves. While some American toddlers are getting Mandarin tutors and preliteracy training, French kids are- by design-toddling around and discovering the world at their own pace.

With a notebook stashed in her diaper bag, Druckerman—a former reporter for The Wall Street Journal—sets out to learn the secrets to raising a society of good little sleepers, gourmet eaters, and reasonably relaxed parents. She discovers that French parents are extremely strict about some things and strikingly permissive about others. And she realizes that to be a different kind of parent, you don’t just need a different parenting philosophy. You need a very different view of what a child actually is.

While finding her own firm non, Druckerman discovers that children-including her own-are capable of feats she’d never imagined


My thoughts: I really enjoyed reading this book. It was written like a woman telling a story which I loved. I really enjoyed reading about Pam’s experiences in France and raising her children. I found it very interesting the differences in our culture versus theirs and I think we could learn many useful things from the French when it comes to raising our children. I especially found “the pause” very helpful with my little one. It is amazing the amount of times he will put himself back to sleep if I just wait a few minutes whether than running right to him, picking him up and really waking him up myself. There are several little tricks throughout this book that have been helpful to me. I gave it 4 stars. 

Leave a Comment / Filed In: Books, Uncategorized
Tagged: 4 Star Books, Bookworm Reviews

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