Tag Archive: chic-lit



My Grape Year (The Grape Series, #1)My Grape Year by Laura Bradbury
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Who knew that a book about a foreign exchange teenager would have me in tears and longing to read the next in the series immediately? This book is the reason I read books. It took me to a place I hadn’t been before. It challenged a lot of preconceived notions. And I picked up a word or two more of French. That probably doesn’t count for much, but every little word counts, right?

Laura Bradbury can write an engaging book. When I found I couldn’t read it tiny bits at a time, I longed for more of the story than the time reading it took. I added Whispersynch, and the voice of Hope Newhouse (Narrator) made the story even better, especially since she pronounced the words text-to-speech or my own struggles with unfamiliar French words.

I don’t remember how I heard of the Grape books, and I hope it might be in connection with a movie or television series because this could be quite good in that medium, too. Anyway, I got the first Grape on Kindle Unlimited but decided to buy it and buy the Audio to go with it as I love the layers it adds to the written word.

I highly recommend this to teens and older. Even if 18 is 56 (yikes!) years ago, I still remember the angst of those years quite well, sometimes better than I remember where I put the keys, ya know?

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The BreakawayThe Breakaway by Jennifer Weiner
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

From my stationary bike, I felt a part of this story. It inspired me to hope that maybe I would find my way to getting a real bicycle that would work out here in the dirt road backcountry I find myself a part of.

This seems a gentle beach story at first. But soon, a person can see there are many subjects brought up from the character’s point of view. A person needs to see all the layers of the story involved. Some may not agree with the views presented, but grab what you may and enjoy what you can. Mostly enjoy this young woman’s life and journey as she finds her way to adulthood.

I was lucky to be able to read this Kindle edition through NetGalley. Thank you.

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The Messy Lives of Book PeopleThe Messy Lives of Book People by Phaedra Patrick
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This was a fun read. Katy Sobey (Narrator) kept the story interesting.

The thing that stands out in my memories of this read was how often, as an aspiring writer, the author captured the insecurities I have often felt.

Watching the main character, Liv Green, find her inner superhero was fun. Strength. Courage.

And another story about books. And writing. It was fun!

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The Lost and Found BookshopThe Lost and Found Bookshop by Susan Wiggs
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This book would have been a perfect read if I only had a beach. Even so, it felt like You’ve Got Mail in a way. But the list of books mentioned throughout the book to check out was longer. The book series that contained Ballet Shoes wasn’t even mentioned.

What I loved was the multiple generations not just mentioned but given problems seen from both sides of the issues. And the story goes back generations and includes historical events of their times that affected the outcomes of the current characters.

I love how often San Francisco played in the story. I felt I got to travel just the tiniest bit.

The writing was fun, and the narrator, Emily Rankin, was great.

This is a book that I recommend for fun and leisure. Go for it!!!

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The SetupThe Setup by T.B. Markinson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

What have I said about mysteries and romances? Travel. In this romance, I got to go to London. Through the main character, Rory, I got to take a job in London and meet with an old friend who sets her up with a new friend.

This was another Kindle Unlimited, so it was a free, sort of, read. I read it in one night. Yes, that was with text-to-speech.

I found the main character okay. I like her new friend, Imogen, boring, but Rory loved her, so that’s not for me to care. I was in London.

Anything more gets into spoilers, and the book is too short for that. It was fun. Give it a try.

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Seventh HeavenSeventh Heaven by Alice Hoffman
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I love me an Alice Hoffman book. I don’t what happened here. Okay, maybe I can make the allowance that reading this with text-to-speech makes the confusion of characters even more perplexing. There was a whole neighborhood of people with problems.

Maybe when you can read the book as a paper product, you can see whose point of view that you are looking through. Books with a lot of characters are hard when the author doesn’t give you a straight forward warning like the chapter name (character’s name) or first word (character’s name) of the new chapter. Especially with TTS.

Having read a couple of reviews, I found some who felt the story started with promise but went downhill. I was bewildered during the first part of the book. I just rode along feeling I would soon catch up. Sure enough by the end, I did seem to care about a couple of the characters and felt I was knowing who was who.

This book takes place in the late 50s early 60s. I didn’t need the author to spell that out as I recognized it right away. I remembered people saying and gossiping about the things included in the story. It is my least favorite part of my life. So it was painful to live it again. Still, I wonder how folks who are not of that era see all of this. Older women may see this far differently than Gen X-ers. I need to go read some other reviews to see if age affects the read.

Alice Hoffman writes so well that even when I am lost I stick with the book until the end. I certainly think others might enjoy this book thoroughly.

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Hello LoveHello Love by Karen McQuestion
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

After spending so long time traveling with the Outlander, I needed a light read. This one was free on Kindle Unlimited. And I used a credit to get the Audible because I needed to just relax and listen to the story.

If you are looking for something light, this is for you. It was enjoyable. Karen McQuestion’s writing made a nice story with plenty of character development. It is both a believable story and not. But with all that is going on in the world right now, I needed a bit of fiction to help me sleep. If you have a dog or love dogs, the story plays out even deeper.

Just one little problem. Dan John Miller, the narrator does a good job playing the male main character but like all male narrators, in my estimation, all the woman voices sounded like a male making fun of women. But I think he did his best and he did keep the reader’s interest. Give it a try if you get the chance.

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The Moon SistersThe Moon Sisters by Therese Walsh
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I finished this ages ago. Mid-summer, I think. I still remember liking it. Though I have no sisters, I felt I could relate to both of the sisters’ points of view. As the oldest of three siblings, I had to be the responsible one taking care of the younger brothers, who were often caused their share of problems. On the other hand, I felt like the other sister in that music notes, words on paper, even how I hear words seem to be colored or animated or textured in some way that I know isn’t how normal people see/hear things. I’ve never been diagnosed as it never was a problem. It just added layers to my understanding of the world. So I quickly identified with both sisters.

It was fun that the more disabled of the sisters starts the adventure for both of them. It is unnerving for the reader to think that the one considered blind leads the way to hop the train.

For me, as I ‘read’ using text-to-speech, it was hard to know whose view I was seeing. I soon learned to take the time and read the chapter titles as that helped. After I got to know each of the characters, I didn’t need the reference so much. The characters were well developed.

The way the trip brings to mind the siblings history gave meat to what could have been just a joy-ride.

I don’t want to give any spoilers so I will just say, this is a fun book that I think many should read and enjoy.

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The GoddessesThe Goddesses by Swan Huntley

My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Y A W N! Think nearly break your jaw joints! And what a shame! The description made it sound like fun women finding their inner goddesses. I think their inner goddesses fled mid-book. I thought with this ‘new start’ taking place in Hawaii it would at least give scenery and traditions and history a good read.

Alas. No. There were nods but not enough to make up for the lack of character development or plot with any interesting thing happening.

I started to love the yoga instructor, but she wasn’t allowed her own reigns. She seemed to have something going but how she would choose that boring housewife to hang with was beyond me. Neither women grew, at all. And the ending was so disappointing. It felt like the author didn’t want the story to be told the way it wanted so she forced the story into strange convolutions.

The only thing I like about this book is its title and description. Too bad it didn’t live up to either.

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The Mother's PromiseThe Mother’s Promise by Sally Hepworth

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Maybe if I don’t write a review, I can hang onto the charms and lessons of this book. No. That’s not right. Others need to read it and the only way to hang on to the knowledge in this book is to read it again.

I finished this book four days ago. That’s how long I had the above conversation with myself.

There is a nice blurb about this book on GoodReads. And the one on NetGalley had me seeking it out. I’m glad they let me read it. But here’s my blurb: A young teen with severe social anxiety only child of a single mother dying of cancer, a social worker who is a victim of abuse, a nurse who is finished with IVF unsuccessfully.

Sally Hepworth pulls these four females into a book that is hard to put down and hard to leave behind. And not only is it a great story, it is full of real life answers to some of the problems these fems deal with.

I want to thank NetGalley for letting me read this, again. I do plan on a second read. Please read it, especially if you have social anxiety, there are some good ideas in here and the author shows she knows how we feel who have it. There are triggers for cancer patients and abuse victims but they are handled well and give each of the other characters more depth.

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