Category: Contemporary Fiction

My Favorite Read of March 2024: Someone Else’s Shoes by Jojo Moyes

Title: Someone Else’s Shoes

Author: Jojo Moyes

Publisher: Pamela Dorman Books

Publication Date: February 2, 2023

Words of Wisdom:

“when we’re low, it can be easy to see everything through a prism of negativity. Human beings are remarkably bad at understanding other people’s motivations, even when they know them terribly well. We write all sorts of inaccurate stories in our heads.”

― Jojo Moyes, Someone Else’s Shoes

Goodreads:

Nisha Cantor lives the globetrotting life of the seriously wealthy, until her husband announces a divorce and cuts her off. Nisha is determined to hang onto her glamorous life. But in the meantime, she must scramble to cope–she doesn’t even have the shoes she was, until a moment ago, standing in.

That’s because Sam Kemp – in the bleakest point of her life – has accidentally taken Nisha’s gym bag. But Sam hardly has time to worry about a lost gym bag–she’s struggling to keep herself and her family afloat. When she tries on Nisha’s six-inch high Christian Louboutin red crocodile shoes, the resulting jolt of confidence that makes her realize something must change—and that thing is herself.

My Thoughts:

In typical Jojo Moyes fashion, Someone Else’s Shoes deals with serious issues while making you laugh. Nisha and Sam couldn’t be more different. But, getting a taste of each other’s words makes them reevaluate their own. A wonderful celebration of the power of female friendship.

1

My Favorite Read of August 2023

Goodreads Synopsis:

Put the kettle on, there’s a mystery brewing…
Tea-shop owner. Matchmaker. Detective?

Sixty-year-old self-proclaimed tea expert Vera Wong enjoys nothing more than sipping a good cup of Wulong and doing some healthy ‘detective’ work on the internet (AKA checking up on her son to see if he’s dating anybody yet).

But when Vera wakes up one morning to find a dead man in the middle of her tea shop, it’s going to take more than a strong Longjing to fix things. Knowing she’ll do a better job than the police possibly could – because nobody sniffs out a wrongdoing quite like a suspicious Chinese mother with time on her hands – Vera decides it’s down to her to catch the killer.

Nobody spills the tea like this amateur sleuth.

Reasons I loved this book:

  • It’s hilarious!
  • Despite her flaws, you can’t help loving Vera
  • The suspects are all likable, and the murder victim is deplorable
  • Delicious food and tea descriptions
  • Found family

My favorite read of July 2023

Goodreads Synopsis:

As one of the few witches in Britain, Mika Moon knows she has to hide her magic, keep her head down, and stay away from other witches so their powers don’t mingle and draw attention. And as an orphan who lost her parents at a young age and was raised by strangers, she’s used to being alone and she follows the rules…with one exception: an online account, where she posts videos pretending to be a witch. She thinks no one will take it seriously.

But someone does. An unexpected message arrives, begging her to travel to the remote and mysterious Nowhere House to teach three young witches how to control their magic. It breaks all of the rules, but Mika goes anyway, and is immediately tangled up in the lives and secrets of not only her three charges, but also an absent archaeologist, a retired actor, two long-suffering caretakers, and…Jamie. The handsome and prickly librarian of Nowhere House would do anything to protect the children, and as far as he’s concerned, a stranger like Mika is a threat. An irritatingly appealing threat.

As Mika begins to find her place at Nowhere House, the thought of belonging somewhere begins to feel like a real possibility. But magic isn’t the only danger in the world, and when a threat comes knocking at their door, Mika will need to decide whether to risk everything to protect a found family she didn’t know she was looking for….

Reasons I loved this book:

  • It’s a beautiful combination of whimsical and heartwarming
  • A delightful cast of diverse characters with unique backgrounds and personality quirks
  • Found family trope
  • I loved how Mika looks at people through the lens of nice vs. kind
  • It’s a great model for making social change in small steps

Throwback Thursday Book Review: 7/27/23 Family Tree by Barbara Delinsky

Welcome to my weekly post where I look back at some of my four and five star reads before I started Nicole’s Nook.

Publisher: Doubleday

Publication Date: February 6, 2007

Date Read: August 10, 2010

Goodreads Synopsis:

Dana Clarke has always longed for the stability of home and family—her own childhood was not an easy one. Now she has married a man she adores who is from a prominent New England family, and she is about to give birth to their first child. But what should be the happiest day of her life becomes the day her world falls apart. Her daughter is born beautiful and healthy, but no one can help noticing the African American traits in her appearance. Dana’s husband, to her great shock and dismay, begins to worry that people will think Dana has had an affair.
The only way to repair the damage done is for Dana to track down the father she never knew and to explore the possibility of African American lineage in his family history. Dana’s determination to discover the truth becomes a poignant journey back through her past and her husband’s heritage that unearths secrets rooted in prejudice and fear.
Barbara Delinsky’s Family Tree is an utterly unforgettable novel that asks penetrating questions about race, family, and the choices people make in times of crisis—choices that have profound consequences that can last for generations.

My Thoughts:

This book is a unique look at racism and family.

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Throw Back Thursday Book Review: 7/19/23 Alphabet Weekends by Elizabeth Noble

Welcome to my weekly post where I look back at some of my four and five star reads before I started Nicole’s Nook.

Publisher: William Morrow Paperbacks

Publication Date: January 1, 2000

Date Read: November 22, 2008

Goodreads Synopsis:

Natalie and Tom have been best friends forever, but Tom wants them to be much more. When Natalie’s longtime boyfriend walks out on her just when she thinks he’s going to propose, Tom offers her a different and wildly romantic proposition. He suggests that they spend twenty-six weekends together, indulging in twenty-six different activities from A to Z, and at the end of that time Tom’s convinced they’ll be madly in love. Natalie, however, is not so sure. As Natalie’s touring the alphabet with Tom, her mother’s going through her own romantic crisis—while Tom’s unhappily married sister-in-law, Lucy, struggles with temptation. And over the course of six amazing months, three generations of passionate dreamers are going to discover that, no matter how clever they are, love—and life—is never as easy as A, B, C . . .

My Thoughts:

This as a fun friends to lovers story. Tom and Natalie alternate picking ideas for each weekend which coordinate with the letters of the alphabet. This was a fun concept and the different activities chosen helped to develop the characters in a unique way.

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Throwback Thursday Book Review: 7/6/23 The Chocolate Thief by Laura Florand

Welcome to my weekly post where I look back at some of my four and five star reads before I started Nicole’s Nook.

Publisher: Kensington

Publication Date: July 31, 2012

Dead Read: February 28, 2016

Goodreads Synopsis:

Paris

Breathtakingly beautiful, the City of Light seduces the senses, its cobbled streets thrumming with possibility. For American Cade Corey, it’s a dream come true, if only she can get one infuriating French chocolatier to sign on the dotted line…

Chocolate

Melting, yielding yet firm, exotic, its secrets are intimately known to Sylvain Marquis. But turn them over to a brash American waving a fistful of dollars? Jamais! Not unless there’s something much more delectable on the table…

Stolen Pleasure

Whether confections taken from a locked shop or kisses in the dark, is there anything sweeter?

My Thoughts

Cade is an heiress to a chocolate company which appears to be a thinly disguised version of Hershey. While they have some of the best selling chocolate in the world, it does not have the quality of French chocolate. She is determined to discover the recipe, even if it means breaking and entering. Sylvain is apalled by the plebian American chocolate and refuses to share his secrets. But, when the natural enemies meet, sparks fly.

This is a fun hate-to-love romance which is the first book in the Amour et chocolat series. While the characters are connected, they can be read as a stand alone. Warning: you will crave chocolate while reading this book

Rating: 4 out of 5.

My Favorite Read of June 2023: The Reading List by Sara Nisha Adams

“Please try to remember that books aren’t always an escape; sometimes books teach us things. They show us the world, they don’t hide it.”
― Sara Nisha Adams, The Reading List

Goodreads Synopsis:

Widower Mukesh lives a quiet life in the London Borough of Ealing after losing his beloved wife. He shops every Wednesday, goes to Temple, and worries about his granddaughter, Priya, who hides in her room reading while he spends his evenings watching nature documentaries.

Aleisha is a bright but anxious teenager working at the local library for the summer when she discovers a crumpled-up piece of paper in the back of To Kill a Mockingbird. It’s a list of novels that she’s never heard of before. Intrigued, and a little bored with her slow job at the checkout desk, she impulsively decides to read every book on the list, one after the other. As each story gives up its magic, the books transport Aleisha from the painful realities she’s facing at home.

When Mukesh arrives at the library, desperate to forge a connection with his bookworm granddaughter, Aleisha passes along the reading list… hoping that it will be a lifeline for him too. Slowly, the shared books create a connection between two lonely souls, as fiction helps them escape their grief and everyday troubles and find joy again. 

Reasons I loved this book:

It celebrates that a great book can mean different things to different people.

I love a intergenerational friendship story.

I learned more about Indian culture.

I love creating my own book lists.

Throwback Thursday Book Review: 6/28/23 The Boyfriend of the Month Club by Maria Geraci

Welcome to my weekly post where I look back at some of my four and five star reads before I started Nicole’s Nook.

Publisher: Berkley Books

Publication Date: December 7, 2010

Date Read: December 11, 2010

Synopsis:

This sexy, funny new novel asks: Can a woman find a modern-day Mr. Darcy in Daytona Beach?

At thirty, Grace O’Bryan has dated every loser in Daytona Beach. After the ultimate date-from-hell, Grace decides to turn her dwindling book club into a Boyfriend of the Month Club, where women can discuss the eligible men in their community. Where are the real life twenty-first century versions of literary heroes such as Heathcliff and Mr. Darcy?

Could it be successful and handsome Brandon Farrell, who is willing to overlook his disastrous first date with Grace and offers financial help for her parents’ failing Florida gift shop? Or maybe sexy dentist Joe Rosenblum, who’s great with a smile but not so great at commitment? Unfortunately, like books, men cannot always be judged by their covers…

My Thoughts:

This is a fun contemporary romance for anyone who loves classic love stories. Grace and her book club categorize the men in their lives as Austen and Bronte characters. But real people are more complex. This results in some misteps on the road to true love. These modern characters made me look at their classic versions with new eyes.

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Throw-Back Thursday Book Review: Four of a Kind by Valerie Frankel

Welcome to my weekly post where I look back at some of my four and five star reads before I started Nicole’s Nook.

Today’s Book: Four of a Kind by Valerie Frankel

Publisher: Ballantine books

Publication Date: February 7, 2012

Date Read: August 31, 2016

My Rating: 4 Stars

Favorite quote:

“The choices we made, the long-forgotten decisions, the painfully unforgettable ones, are the framework of our lives…”

― Valerie Frankel, Four Of A Kind

Goodreads Synopsis:

Besides the fact that their kids all attend the same fashionable Brooklyn Heights private school, Bess, Robin, Carla, and Alicia have little in common. Thrown together on the tony school’s Diversity Committee, the women impulsively turn their awkward first meeting into a boisterous game of poker. Instead of betting with chips or pocket change, however, they play for intimate secrets about their lives.
 
As the Diversity Commitee meetings become a highly anticipated monthly ritual, the new friends reveal more with each game. Picture-perfect housewife Bess struggles to relate to her surly teenage daughter and judgmental mother. Robin, a single mom, grapples with the truth concerning her child’s real father. Carla, an ambitious doctor, attempts to balance the colossal demands of her family with her dream of owning her own private practice. And to distract herself from her troubled marriage, shy copywriter Alicia fantasizes about an attractive younger colleague.
 
Putting all their cards on the table, the four women grow to rely on one another, bracing for one final showdown.

My Thoughts:

Full disclosure: I don’t remember a lot of the specific details of this books because I read it in 2016. But, what stayed with me is the idea that there are layers to everyone and you never know what others are facing. While these women seem very different on the surface, they are all dealing with issues. Even though the problems may be different, comraderie and comfort that comes with sharing our burdens with other women is universal.

Throw-back Thursday book review: Soy Sauce for Beginners by Kirsten Chen

Welcome to my weekly post where I share some of the great books I read before starting Nicole’s Nook.

Today’s Book: Soy Sauce for Beginners by Kirsten Chen

Publisher: New Harvest

Publication Date: January 1, 2014

Date Read: December 27, 2016

My rating: 4 stars

Favorite Quote:
“One cannot refuse to eat just because there is a chance of being choked.”
― Kirstin Chen, Soy Sauce for Beginners

Goodreads Synopsis:

Gretchen Lin, adrift at the age of thirty, leaves her floundering marriage in San Francisco to move back to her childhood home in Singapore and immediately finds herself face-to-face with the twin headaches she’s avoided her entire adult life: her mother’s drinking problem and the machinations of her father’s artisanal soy sauce business.

Surrounded by family, Gretchen struggles with the tension between personal ambition and filial duty, but still finds time to explore a new romance with the son of a client, an attractive man of few words. When an old American friend comes to town, the two of them are pulled into the controversy surrounding Gretchen’s cousin, the only male grandchild and the heir apparent to Lin’s Soy Sauce. In the midst of increasing pressure from her father to remain permanently in Singapore—and pressure from her mother to do just the opposite—Gretchen must decide whether she will return to her marriage and her graduate studies at the San Francisco Conservatory, or sacrifice everything and join her family’s crusade to spread artisanal soy sauce to the world.

My Thoughts:

I love a good story about starting over and facing family issues. The background of a soy sauce empire made this one unique. I knew next to nothing about soy sauce aside from using it as an ingredient, and thought little about the quality. In addition to the story of Gretchen’s self-discovery, there were lots of tidbits about the soy sauce industry, I never would’ve known. I was surprised when I saw how long it’s been since I read this book, because I still think of it. I love books like this where I can gain knew knowledge through fiction.

Proudly powered by WordPress | Theme: Baskerville 2 by Anders Noren.

Up ↑