Let Them Eat Cake
Maybe I’m a little late to the show, but I’ve just found Sandra Byrd’s novel “Let Them Eat Cake” and I’m saying pass the croissants, I”m in for the series! Loved the woman whose expectations have taken a reality hit, but she perseveres. The Seattle setting, the heavy French influence and the will she or […]
Nurture Shock
I was at a perfectly lovely dinner party a few weeks ago, when a friend pulled me aside and preceded to tell me how we’d completely ruined our children. He had my attention. Apparently he’d heard an interview on NPR with the author Po Bronson about some maverick ideas related to how most yuppie parents had […]
What Southern Women Know About Faith
Well, with a title like “What Southern Women Know About Faith,” I was nervous and on guard for what was to come after I got past the pretty cover. But this book came recommended to me by a sister Southerner, so I figured if it was along the lines of “Suck your Stomach in and […]
The Long Walk Home
Vickie, at Barron’s Books, handed me this novel one afternoon and asked if I’d read anything by author Will North. I hadn’t, but when I read the back I admitted I noticed the endorsements said lyrical writing, with “comparison to Nicholas Sparks and Robert James Waller.” Truthfully, I’m not a Nicholas Sparks fan. His books […]
A Year on Ladybug Farm
Have you ever heard a cuter title? I admit I grabbed this book for cover quality alone. Then when I read the back copy, I was hooked. What was not to love? Three older women friends pool their resources to buy an old forsaken “Monticello” styled home in the Virginia countryside? This novel chronicles their […]
The Summer Kitchen
Lisa Wingate’s newest novel details the upheaval in a woman’s life when inheritances, life goals, family crises and new beginnings all converge in one hot summer. Lisa Wingate’s writing talent is ever-growing and she can turn ordinary women into unsuspecting heroes with a few finely crafted sentences. This novel is set in Dallas, Texas–a bit […]
Heartbreak Cafe
I walked out of Barron’s Bookstore the other day with an armload of summer reading. Though I have an Agatha Christie biography on my bedside table, inevitably I reach for the novels first. And I’m not talking thrillers or depressing tomes about social issues, I want fun reads for these hot, humid nights. Since I’ve enjoyed other […]
So Brave, Young and Handsome
Several years ago I read Leif Enger’s novel, Peace Like A River, and thought I’d found one of the most lyrical writers of our time. His book was spiritual, mystical and poignant. So when I was in Barron’s and saw he had a new book, So Brave Young and Handsome, I was expecting more of […]
The Fixer Upper
So I flew to Vancouver, Canada to tag with Mel to a conference, and along the journey grabbed some much needed ‘facebook’ time with novels. One that I could hardly put down was the newest page-turner from Mary Kay Andrews. (Let me just say everything I’ve read of hers I love, they’re all sooo much fun […]
The Missionary
I met Dave Lambert (one of the authors of The Missionary) at a writer’s retreat, thinking he was 100% , grade A editor. Turns out he’s a great writer too. He and his collaborator, William Carmichael, have crafted a gripping story seemingly lifted from the headlines of any daily newspaper. I don’t often peer too […]
