Vinegar Girl by Anne Tyler

July 25, 2017Leave a comment

vinegar girl This book kept me completely content through a long plane ride, the sign of a good read.

Our protagonist, Kate, is stuck in her spinster existence. She lives at home with her quirky, scientist father, a self-centered much younger sister. She has a dead-end job teaching preschool. Her life is ripe for romance. However, the road is never easy, and it proves to be rough in this story as well. Her father is convinced a green card marriage is the perfect solution for his daughter. It will keep his lab assistant in the country, and keep his daughter close to home. This plan is insulting to Kate, to say the least, but a bit of an exciting prospect for the lab partner. A sweet story of love and softening of hearts ensues, it is funny, quietly beautiful, and satisfying to the end. A lovely re-telling of a Shakespeare classic. It is compact and endearing.

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Vinegar Girl: A Novel (Hogarth Shakespeare)

The Fortune Hunter by Daisy Goodwin

November 17, 2014December 24, 2015Leave a comment

The History of the Fortune Hunter

When I read historical fiction I always like to know a little back story on the real events. It helps connect me to the story and understand nuances when the author brings the era or person to life. Elisabeth, the Empress of Austria is one of the main characters in The Fortune Hunter. She became an empress at 16, did not care for life at court, and rebelled against her traditional duties. She was known for her very long hair and rigorous beauty routines. During her life time she had 2 daughters and finally a son, an heir to the throne. Her mother in law was very controlling and did not allow her to care for her own children. She spent a great deal of her life traveling apart from her husband and riding horses until her health did not permit it anymore. The Fortune Hunter brings her to life beautifully. Here is a picture of her with her very long hair, it is said it took 3 hours a day to care for it and caused her extreme headaches.

Bay Middleton was a handsome equestrian as well and was asked by the Empress to be her pilot on her hunting excursions. Charlotte Baird was later his wife. This book tells the story of their life before marriage.

To Order this book on Amazon, click here: The Fortune Hunter: A Novel

The Fortune Hunter

Old England as a setting always wins me over, and it was no different with The Fortune Hunter. When the book opens, it is hunting season and these high class English are up for a good fox hunt. The main characters in this story are Charlotte Baird, an heiress and photographer, and The Empress of Austria. Charlotte is heir to the Lennox fortune and naturally has to wade through conniving men wanting her money more than her. She bucks tradition and follows her love of photography and horses more than society and social expectations. Throw in a handsome equestrian named Bay Middleton, and you have quite a love story during hunting season. I loved this book on audio, if you do audio books at all this is a perfect one to listen to. There are 3 different accents that bring this story to life. The beginning takes a bit of perseverance to get through, but it is a strong story. It is an opulent portrayal of royalty and wealth, the search for true love and the longing to be known and cherished as a person, not an opportunity.

A Blind Spot for Boys by Justina Chen

November 10, 2014December 24, 20154 Comments

A Blind Spot for Boys is young adult as its best. It has romance, adventure, mud slides, heartache, but it is so much more than a fluffy love story. The main character Shana, hell bent on protecting her hurting heart, has sworn of boys. Sometimes life serves you exactly what you do not want, so of course Shana meets a boy. Taking photographs one morning at the gum wall in Pikes Place Market leads her straight into the path of a mysterious and witty boy. He is precisely what she is working so hard to avoid. Meanwhile, her family is struck with an unexpected turn of events which leads her to a hike in Machu Pichu with her parents and a tour group of hikers. Shana and her family have to take of the blinders and wrestle with life in the midst of beautiful ruins.

The characters in this novel are rich and multi-dimensional. I appreciated the layers of complexity with family struggles, learning about life through crisis, and personal triumph. Well written young adult novels are packed with hidden gems of depth and wisdom. This book is definitely a jewel, Justina Chen writes smart and relatable young women. She never dumbs them down or over-sexualizes them. You can feel confident letting your daughter read this book, and you will enjoy the journey even if you are far beyond adolescence. I declare it a good solid read.

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A Blind Spot for Boys

Justina Chen is a local Seattle author with other great books worth your time. Her other works include:

Girl Overboard

Nothing But the Truth (and a few white lies) (A Justina Chen Novel)

Return to Me

North of Beautiful (A Justina Chen Novel)