Review: The Curious Charms of Arthur Pepper by Phaedra Patrick

Title:  The Curious Charms of Arthur Pepper
Author:  Phaedra Patrick   (Author Website)
Genre:  Literary Fiction (British)
Publisher:  MIRA; First Edition edition (May 3, 2016)
Length:   336 pages
Source:   Ramsey County Library

 

About Book: (from Good Reads)

In this poignant and sparkling debut, a lovable widower embarks on a life-changing adventure. Sixty-nine-year-old Arthur Pepper lives a simple life. He gets out of bed at precisely 7:30 a.m., just as he did when his wife, Miriam, was alive. He dresses in the same gray slacks and mustard sweater vest, waters his fern, Frederica, and heads out to his garden.

But on the one-year anniversary of Miriam's death, something changes. Sorting through Miriam's possessions, Arthur finds an exquisite gold charm bracelet he's never seen before. What follows is a surprising and unforgettable odyssey that takes Arthur from London to Paris and as far as India in an epic quest to find out the truth about his wife's secret life before they met--a journey that leads him to find hope, healing and self-discovery in the most unexpected places.

Featuring an unforgettable cast of characters with big hearts and irresistible flaws, The Curious Charms of Arthur Pepper is a curiously charming debut and a joyous celebration of life's infinite possibilities.

About Author:

Phaedra qualified firstly as a stained glass artist before gaining her professional Marketing qualifications. She has worked as a waitress, stained glass designer, film festival organiser and communications manager.

She enjoyed her first real writing success when she entered and won several short story competitions, and she now writes full time.

Phaedra lives in Saddleworth, UK, with her husband and son, where she enjoys walking, eating chocolate, and arts and crafts. Her idea for The Curious Charms of Arthur Pepper emerged as she showed her own childhood charm bracelet to her young son and told him the stories behind each of the charms.

My Review/Rating: Phaedra Patrick’s debut novel, The Curious Charms of Arthur Pepper is an enjoyable read with endearing characters. The main character Arthur Pepper has lost his wife and is struggling to find a rhythm, meaning to his life after her death.   In a effort to move on, he decides to clean out her closet and finds a charm bracelet in the process.  

This charm bracelet starts Arthur on a journey to learn more about his wife, Miriam’s life before he met her.  The Curious Charms of Arthur Pepper is a story of discovery of Arthur learning about his wife as well as about himself as well.   Arthur is an endearing character looking to find his way through his grief and to healing.  

The Curious Charms of Arthur Pepper had me think what would I do if I suddenly lost the most important person in my life.  The journey Arthur goes on brings him healing but also helps him to rediscover love and life after his wife’s death.   The Curious Charms of Arthur Pepper is an enjoyable read, a slower paced read with very well developed characters that you will enjoy spending the afternoon with.  It was a nice change of pace for me.   The Curious Charms of Arthur Pepper is a 3 star read for me.   I look forward to future books by Phaedra Patrick.

The Curious Charms of Arthur Pepper by Phaedra Patrick was also reviewed by Rhapsody in Books, Smart Bitches Trashy Books, and Blog Critics

My Rating Scale: 1 – didn’t like it; 2 – it was ok; 3 – liked it; 4 – really liked it; 5 – it was amazing

Happy Reading!

Review: My Not So Perfect Life–Sophie Kinsella

Title:  My Not So Perfect Life
Author:  Sophie Kinsella   (Author Website) (FB Page)
Genre:  Chick Lit
Publisher:  Dial Press (February 7, 2017)
Length:   448 pages
Source:   Netgalley.com

About Book:

Everywhere Katie Brenner looks, someone else is living the life she longs for, particularly her boss, Demeter Farlowe. Demeter is brilliant and creative, lives with her perfect family in a posh townhouse, and wears the coolest clothes. Katie’s life, meanwhile, is a daily struggle—from her dismal rental to her oddball flatmates to the tense office politics she’s trying to negotiate. No wonder Katie takes refuge in not-quite-true Instagram posts, especially as she's desperate to make her dad proud.

Then, just as she’s finding her feet—not to mention a possible new romance—the worst happens. Demeter fires Katie. Shattered but determined to stay positive, Katie retreats to her family’s farm in Somerset to help them set up a vacation business. London has never seemed so far away—until Demeter unexpectedly turns up as a guest. Secrets are spilled and relationships rejiggered, and as the stakes for Katie’s future get higher, she must question her own assumptions about what makes for a truly meaningful life.

Sophie Kinsella is celebrated for her vibrant, relatable characters and her great storytelling gifts. Now she returns with all of the wit, warmth, and wisdom that are the hallmarks of her bestsellers to spin this fresh, modern story about presenting the perfect life when the reality is far from the truth.

About Author: Sophie Kinsella has sold over 36 million copies of her books in more than 60 countries, and she has been translated into over 40 languages.

Sophie Kinsella first hit the UK bestseller lists in September 2000 with her first novel in the Shopaholic series - The Secret Dreamworld of a Shopaholic (also published as Confessions of a Shopaholic). The book’s heroine, Becky Bloomwood – a fun and feisty financial journalist who loves shopping but is hopeless with money – captured the hearts of readers worldwide. Becky has since featured in seven further bestselling books, Shopaholic Abroad (also published as Shopaholic Takes Manhattan), Shopaholic Ties the Knot, Shopaholic & Sister, Shopaholic & Baby, Mini Shopaholic, Shopaholic to the Stars and Shopaholic to the Rescue. Becky Bloomwood came to the big screen in 2009 with the hit Disney movie Confessions of a Shopaholic, starring Isla Fisher and Hugh Dancy.

Sophie has also written six standalone novels which have all been bestsellers in the UK, USA and other countries around the world: Can You Keep A Secret?, The Undomestic Goddess, Remember Me?, Twenties Girl, I've Got Your Number and Wedding Night. In 2014 she published a Young Adult novel Finding Audrey about a teenage girl with social anxiety and her madcap family.

Sophie's next novel My Not So Perfect Life, about a girl struggling to make her way in London and struggling to make her real life match her 'perfect' social media life, will be published in February this year.

My Review/Rating: We have all seen it, the “perfect life” on Instagram or Facebook.  Katie/Cat Brenner is going to great lengths to make her life in London look great.  Even resorting to taking pictures of stranger’s food, which she can’t afford, to post to her Instagram.  Katie is trying so hard to be Cat, her London persona.  She even might find romance.  A turn of events has Katie back at home with her father and stepmum.   Katie uses her PR/Branding skills to help them to set up a Glamping resort, which really takes off.

The predicaments Katie/Cat gets herself into will make you giggle.  She is very endearing and you only hope for her to find happiness.  The Glampers at the resort are characters.   A couple of unexpected guests also arrive at the resort and the fun begins.  Katie doesn’t want them to recognize her, which leads to some strange encounters. 

All the characters are relatable.  There is Demeter, Cat’s previous employer and of course a love interest.  Sophie Kinsella has way of telling a story and getting you to really care about the characters, but still laugh at them.  I  enjoyed the Shopahlic books when they came.  I only read a few as Chick Lit is not my preferred genre.  I am glad I return to Sophie Kinsella’s work and read My not So Perfect Life.  It is light, fun read with very relatable characters…just what I was looking for.  This was a 3 star read for me.

 

My Not So Perfect Life is available in book stores on February 7, 2017.

My Not So Perfect Life by Sophie Kinsella was also reviewed by Rott-I-Tude, The Gilmore Guide to Books, and Blank Stance

My Rating Scale: 1 – didn’t like it; 2 – it was ok; 3 – liked it; 4 – really liked it; 5 – it was amazing

Happy Reading!

**Disclosure – My Not So Perfect Life by Sophie Kinsella was received from NetGalley.com reviewer program and Dial Press in exchange for a fair review. All opinions are my own.

Review: I Found You – Lisa Jewell

Title:  I Found You
Author:   Lisa Jewell   (Author Website)  (FB Page)
Genre:   Women’s Fiction
Publisher: Atria Books (April 25, 2017)
Length:  352 pages
Source: Netgalley.com

 

About Book: (From Good Reads)  A young bride, a lonely single mother, and an amnesiac man of dubious origin lie at the heart of New York Times bestselling author Lisa Jewell’s next suspenseful drama that will appeal to fans of Liane Moriarty and Paula Hawkins.

In a windswept British seaside town, single mom Alice Lake finds a man sitting on the beach outside her house. He has no name, no jacket, and no idea how he got there. Against her better judgment, she invites him inside.

Meanwhile, in a suburb of London, twenty-one-year-old Lily Monrose has only been married for three weeks. When her new husband fails to come home from work one night she is left stranded in a new country where she knows no one. Then the police tell her that her husband never existed.

Twenty-three years earlier, Gray and Kirsty are teenagers on a summer holiday with their parents. Their annual trip to the quaint seaside town is passing by uneventfully, until an enigmatic young man starts paying extra attention to Kirsty. Something about him makes Gray uncomfortable—and it’s not just that he’s playing the role of protective older brother.

Two decades of secrets, a missing husband, and a man with no memory are at the heart of this brilliant new novel, filled with the “beautiful writing, believable characters, pacey narrative, and dark secrets” (London Daily Mail) that make Lisa Jewell so beloved by audiences on both sides of the Atlantic.

About Author:   Lisa was born in London in 1968. Her mother was a secretary and her father was a textile agent and she was brought up in the northernmost reaches of London with her two younger sisters. She was educated at a Catholic girls’ Grammar school in Finchley. After leaving school at sixteen she spent two years at Barnet College doing an arts foundation course and then two years at Epsom School of Art & Design studying Fashion Illustration and Communication.

She worked for the fashion chain Warehouse for three years as a PR assistant and then for Thomas Pink, the Jermyn Street shirt company for four years as a receptionist and PA. She started her first novel, Ralph’s Party, for a bet in 1996. She finished it in 1997 and it was published by Penguin books in May 1998. It went on to become the best-selling debut novel of that year.

She has since written a further nine novels, as is currently at work on her eleventh.

She now lives in an innermost part of north London with her husband Jascha, an IT consultant, her daughters, Amelie and Evie and her silver tabbies, Jack and Milly.

My Review/Rating:   I Found You by Lisa Jewell is three different stories. But how are they related?    I will say this book is best read in longer settings.  The story grips you right away so you should have no problem reading it in longer settings.  Unfortunately, I started the book and picked it up and put it down a few times, before I had some time to read.  So on my birthday, I took the day off and read I Found You.   What a great way to spend my day.  The story quickly grabbed me and there was no way I wasn’t finishing the book. 

The first story in I Found You, starts with Annie a single mom and  free spirit.  Annie discovers a man sitting on the beach with no coat.  This man has lost his memory and has no idea how he arrived on the beach.  Annie calls him Frank and brings to her home against her friends advice. 

The second story is of Carl and Lily a newly married couple. Lily is Ukrainian and new to the area.  She is very depended on her hubby, Carl.  One day Carl does not return from work.  An investigation uncovers some contradictory information about Carl. 

The last story is of a family with two teens holidaying in the Yorkshire seaside in 1993.  While I was sure these stories were going to be related to each other.  Lisa Jewell masterfully gives you the information bit by bit and has you captured.   And if you are anything like me you will guess wrong a number of times.  If you love twists, turns and secrets you will love I Found You by Lisa Jewell. 

I Found You is a mystery/thriller, love story and coming of age story all wrapped into one.  This was a 4 star read for me.  Be warned if you start this book at night, you will be very tired the next morning!

I Found You by Lisa Jewell is available in book stores on April 25th, 2017.

I Found You by Lisa Jewell was also reviewed by Books & Boys, Novel Gossip, and It’s Book Talk,

My Rating Scale: 1 – didn’t like it; 2 – it was ok; 3 – liked it; 4 – really liked it; 5 – it was amazing

Happy Reading!

**Disclosure – I Found You by Lisa Jewell was received from NetGalley.com reviewer program and Atria in exchange for a fair review. All opinions are my own.

 

Discover White Bear Lake: Little Free Library

Hello Friends  -

A new little addition to Reading in White Bear Lake, we hope you will enjoy.  I  love the Little Free  Libraries popping up all over White Bear Lake.  I hope to someday have my very own Little Free Library.   Until, I do hubby and I will be biking to various Little Libraries and leaving one of the books or audiobooks, I have reviewed on Reading in White Bear Lake for others to enjoy. 

As I continue on my path to own less, I don't keep books after I read them.   So what better way to share the books or audio books with the community of White Bear Lake!!

On Saturday, May 7th, I placed an audio book, The Art of Arranging Flowers in the Little Free Library locate by Indulge Salon at 2183 3rd Street in Downtown White Bear Lake. 

If you read my review of The Art Arranging Flowers  by Lynne Barnard and would like to listen to this audio book, head over to the Little Free Library by Indulge Salon.

I hope to place more of the books and audio books I have reviewed at various free libraries around White Bear Lake.   Not many of the Free Libraries are actually on the Little Free Library website map.  If you know of a location of a free library around White Bear Lake, please let me know.

MY REQUEST TO YOU:   If you take this audiobook from this free library,  please leave a comment on this post so others know it has been picked up.   Once you have enjoyed the audiobook, please leave another message of the Free Little Library location you have place it in after listening to it, so the next person can locate it.    Please leave the sticker on audiobook with the URL, readinginwbl.org.   

I look forward to seeing who enjoys the books and gets to visit White Bear Lake, our beautiful community.

Paul and I rode our bikes by White Bear Lake, it was great to see the boats returning to the lake.

We heading back home after a stop at Ramsey County Beach.   What a beautiful day we enjoyed!!

 

Happy Reading,

Review: Art of Arranging Flowers by Lynne Branard

Title: Art of Arranging Flowers
Author: Lynne Branard/Lynne Hinton (Author Website) (Facebook)
Narrators: Xe Sanders
Publisher:  Dreamscape Audio
Length:  7 Discs/ 8 hours: 3 Minutes
Source: Audiobook Jukebox‘s reviewer program
 
About the Book: (from Goodreads.com)Ruby Jewell knows flowers. In her twenty years as a florist she has stood behind the counter at the Flower Shoppe with her faithful dog, Clementine, resting at her feet. A customer can walk in, and with just a glance or a few words, Ruby can throw together the perfect arrangement for any occasion.

Whether intended to rekindle a romance, mark a celebration, offer sympathy, or heal a broken heart, her expressive floral designs mark the moments and milestones in the lives of her neighbors. It’s as though she knows just what they want to say, just what they need.

Yet Ruby’s own heart’s desires have gone ignored since the death of her beloved sister. It will take an invitation from a man who’s flown to the moon, the arrival of a unique little boy, and concern from a charming veterinarian to reawaken her wounded spirit. Any life can be derailed, but the healing power of community can put it right again.

About the Author:  (from author website)

Lynne Hinton was born and raised in North Carolina. She attended Wake Forest University and is a graduate of UNC-Greensboro. She also attended NC School of the Arts, School of Filmmaking and graduated with her Masters of Divinity from Pacific School of Religion in Berkeley, California. She is an ordained minister in the United Church of Christ and has served as a hospice chaplain and as a senior pastor in Guilford County and Asheboro, North Carolina and in Rio Rancho, New Mexico and as the interim pastor in northeastern Washington.
 
Lynne is the author of eighteen books, including the NY Times Bestseller, Friendship Cake and Pie Town, the 2011 NM Book of the Year: Fiction/Adventure, Drama Category and 2011 National Federation of Press Women's Fiction Book of the Year. Her 2014 book, written under the name Lynne Branard, The Art of Arranging Flowers, was also the winner of the NM-Arizona Book Awards Fiction/Adventure Category.
 

Lynne and her husband, Bob Branard, live in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

 
About the Narrator: Xe Sand has more than a decade of experience bringing stories to life through narration, performance and visual art, including recordings of Thrill of the Chase and Buttered Side Down.  From poignant young adult fiction to powerful first person narrative, Sands' characterizations are rich and expressive. Xe Sands does an amazing job in giving each character a distinct, individual voice in The Art of Arranging Flowers.

My Review: Ruby is 45 years old, never married.  Ruby was devastated by the death of her sister, Daisy. She fell into a great depression and was pulled out by the beauty of flowers, which lead her to become a florist in Creekside, Washington.  Ruby is not just any florist.  She knows everyone in Creekside, their birthdays and anniversaries.  She has their bouquets made before they even before they come in for them and gives a small reminder is needed.  She  is versed in the healing and medicinal aspects of various flowers. She knows just what to put in a bouquet to have people fall in love and comfort those in pain or with illness. 

The Art of Arranging Flowers by Lynne Branard has a slow moving plot, which allows for extensive character development.  You just fall in love with the characters, even the dog Clementine has some depth.  My favorite characters are the young boy Will and Dan, the charming astronaut.  

My Rating: 4/5 – really liked it-  Initially after finishing this book, I thought, "well that was very predictable".  But as I thought more about The Art of Arranging Flowers, I realized the story wasn't about the ending.  It was about one person's long journey to overcome grief,  loss and to live again.  The story is the people that came into Ruby's life that helped her to move along a very difficult journey to healing.  It can be a difficult road from such grief to living life and finding happiness.

The Art of Arranging Flowers is a feel good story. It is a sentimental story of a quaint small town and unforgettable characters that touch your heart.  Topics woven throughout The Art of Arranging Flowers are grief, loss, and the power of friendship.

My Rating Scale: 1 – didn’t like it; 2 – it was ok; 3 – liked it; 4 – really liked it; 5 – it was amazing

 

The Art of Arranging Flowers by Lynne Branard was also reviewed on the following blogs:  Feathered Quill Book Reviews, Rhapsody in Books Weblog, A Novel Review,  Book Pleasures,  Simply Stacie, and Musings of A Bookish Cat.   
 



**Disclosure – The Art of Arranging Flowers by Lynne Branard was received from Audiobook Jukebox’s reviewer program and Dreamscape Audio in exchange for a fair review.

Review: All of Us and Everything by



Title: All of Us and Everything
Author: Bridget Asher (Author Website) (Facebook)
Narrators: Cassandra Campbell
Publisher:  Blackstone Audio, Inc.;
Source: Audiobook Jukebox‘s reviewer program





About the Book: (from Goodreads.com)The Rockwell women are nothing if not . . . Well, it’s complicated. When the sisters—Esme, Liv, and Ru—were young, their eccentric mother, Augusta, silenced all talk of their absent father with the wild story that he was an international spy, always away on top-secret missions. But the consequences of such an unconventional upbringing are neither small nor subtle: Esme is navigating a failing marriage while trying to keep her precocious fifteen-year-old daughter from live-tweeting every detail. Liv finds herself in between relationships and rehabs, and Ru has run away from enough people and problems to earn her frequent flier miles. So when a hurricane hits the family home on the Jersey Shore, the Rockwells reunite to assess the damage—only to discover that the storm has unearthed a long-buried box. In a candid moment, Augusta reveals a startling secret that will blow the sisters’ concept of family to smithereens—and send them on an adventure to reconnect with a lost past . . . and one another.

About the Author:  (from author website)
Critically acclaimed, bestselling author Julianna Baggott also writes under the pen names Bridget Asher and N.E. Bode. hundred foreign editions of Julianna’s novels published or forthcoming overseas.
Julianna began publishing short stories when she was twenty-two and sold her first novel while still in her twenties.

Her Bridget Asher novels include All of Us and Everything, The Provence Cure for the Brokenhearted, The Pretend Wife, and My Husband’s Sweethearts. Asher’s novels are widely published overseas.

She has also published award-winning novels for younger readers under the pen name N.E. Bode as well as under Julianna Baggott.

About the Narrators: Cassandra Campbell is very experienced narrator.  Campbell has narrated more than 100 audiobooks and has directed nearly twice that many.  She is very talented at giving each character their own voice and finding a nice cadence and rhythm to her narration.

My Review: The Rockwell sisters Esme, Liv and Ru had an unusual upbringing living with their mother, Augusta.  The three sisters are very  different, but after hurricane Sandy they are once again all at home with their mother.  They are a family of women and it is hard for any man to really be a part of the group.

A father they had not met returns to the family.  A father who was on the outskirts of their lives the entire time, trying to a part of their lives without them knowing.   How do you put a family back together after all this time??

While I found parts of the story interesting and entertaining, there were a number of parts in the story where I felt the plot just fell flat for me.  Without spoiling the plot, I will say it felt contrived and unrealistic at times.    

My Rating: 3/5 – it was ok - the characters in All of Us and Everything by Bridget Asher are quirky and interesting to an extent.  I had a hard time being pulled into this story.   It is a lighter read. I found the characters hard to connect to and found parts of the story unrealistic.

My Rating Scale: 1 – didn’t like it; 2 – it was ok; 3 – liked it; 4 – really liked it; 5 – it was amazing

 

All of Us and Everything by Bridget Asher was also reviewed on the following blogs:  Karma for Life Chick, and Bookish Devices,



**Disclosure – All of Us and Everything by Bridget Asher was received from Audiobook Jukebox’s reviewer program and Blackstone Audio in exchange for a fair review.

Review: Pretty Baby by Mary Kubica

Title: Pretty Baby
Author: Mary Kubica (Author Website) (Facebook)
Narrators: Cassandra Campbell; Tom Taylorson; Jorjeana Marie
Publisher:  Blackstone Audio
Source: Audiobook Jukebox‘s reviewer program



About the Book: (from Goodreads.com)
She sees the teenage girl on the train platform, standing in the pouring rain, clutching an infant in her arms. She boards a train and is whisked away. But she can't get the girl out of her head...

Heidi Wood has always been a charitable woman: she works for a nonprofit, takes in stray cats. Still, her husband and daughter are horrified when Heidi returns home one day with a young woman named Willow and her four-month-old baby in tow. Disheveled and apparently homeless, this girl could be a criminal—or worse. But despite her family's objections, Heidi invites Willow and the baby to take refuge in their home.

Heidi spends the next few days helping Willow get back on her feet, but as clues into Willow's past begin to surface, Heidi is forced to decide how far she's willing to go to help a stranger. What starts as an act of kindness quickly spirals into a story far more twisted than anyone could have anticipated.

Book Trailer:




About the Author:  (from author website)

Mary Kubica is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of THE GOOD GIRL and PRETTY BABY.  She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, in History and American Literature, and lives outside of Chicago with her husband and two children, where she enjoys photography, gardening and caring for the animals at a local shelter.  Her first novel THE GOOD GIRL received a Strand Critics Nomination for Best First Novel and was a nominee in the Goodreads Choice Awards in Debut Goodreads Author and in Mystery & Thriller for 2014.


Narrators:  Cassandra Campbell; Tom Taylorson; Jorjeana Marie  - the narration of Pretty Baby was very well done and seamless.  I am a fan of narration by Cassandra Campbell and Jorjeana Marie.  If I see they are narrating a book, I am very likely to check it out!   Jorjeana is remarkable at portraying younger characters.

My Review: I seem to be on a bit of a roll with reading psychological thrillers.   Pretty Baby by Mary Kubica certainly falls into that category.  Initially the book interested me as Heidi is a social worker type person like myself.  Heidi teaches adult literacy and frequently sees a young girl with a baby when riding the train.  Heidi has a good heart and wants to help the young girl.  She can't seem to stop thinking about the young girl, Willow and her baby Ruby.  Heidi eventually makes contact with Willow and she comes to live with Heidi and her family.  

Willow and her baby come to live with Heidi, her husband Chris and their daughter, Zoe.  The story is told in alternating voices of Willow, Heidi and Chris, which worked well for this particular story.  You  are left wondering which voice is reliable and which one is leading you astray.  You can feel the dread. You know something isn't right, but you just can't figure it out.  

My Rating: 4/5 – really liked it-  I don't like to share too much about a thriller, because it takes the fun out of it for those who have not yet read it.  Pretty Baby by Mary Kubica deals with child abuse, homelessness and the failure of the foster care system.  The characters are well developed and you really understand their feelings of guilt, loss and regret.  I read Pretty Baby in a day......no housework was done that day!   Mary Kubica is a new author to me, but one I will be checking out again.

My Rating Scale: 1 – didn’t like it; 2 – it was ok; 3 – liked it; 4 – really liked it; 5 – it was amazing

Pretty Baby by Mary Kubica was also reviewed on the following blogs:  Smart Bitches and Trashy Books, Outwardly Introverted, That's What She Read, and Novelicious.com  



**Disclosure – Pretty Baby by Mary Kubica was received from Audiobook Jukebox’s reviewer program and Blackstone Audio in exchange for a fair review.