Book Review: The Peach Keeper by Sarah Addison Allen

The Peach Keeper by Sarah Addison Allen
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is the fourth book I’ve read by Sarah Addison Allen and it did not disappoint.  I could tell from the description that it was a bit different from her other novels, as magic played less of a role.  It wasn’t as obvious as in other stories, but it was there in the background.

This is a novel of friendship and somewhat of family as well as moving forward with life.  The main character is Willa, but other characters play a prominent role - Paxton, her twin brother Colin, Sebastion, and Willa and Paxton’s grandmothers, Georgie and Agatha.  The house, the Blue Ridge Madam, is also a presence of it’s own in the story.

Willa and Paxton aren’t friends.  They are two different people, each trying to find her spot in life and to move forward.  Paxton is re-doing Willa’s family’s old home, one that hasn’t been in her family for years.  During the renovations, a skeleton is found.  By visiting their grandmothers and digging out old photo albums and a little bit of investigation, Willa and Paxton learn the story of the skeleton and in so doing, they learn about friendship, namely that shared by their grandmothers.   And, they find out they aren’t so different and a friendship of sorts develop.

But, it’s not just about Willa and Paxton.  It’s also about Sebastion and Colin.  It’s about friendships that last a lifetime.  They are all looking for something and in the end, it turns out that what they are looking for might just be right in front of them.

The mystery didn’t take center stage in this story, it was the catalyst for the relationships, both for family and new and old friends.  As with her other books, this one left me wishing for just a bit more.  It’s hard to describe everything.  It isn’t a “deep” book, but it’s a highly enjoyable read.  Definitely recommended.


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Book Review: Invisible by Lorena McCourtney

Invisible by Lorena McCourtney
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This was a free Nook book.  I vacillated between two and three stars, but the mystery was basically good and there  was enough that I liked that I went with three.  This is the first book in the Ivy Malone series and is set in the South -- Alabama if I remember correctly -- which is always a plus for me.  The book starts out with a death, by natural causes and is just kind of sad.  From there we veer into several stories, one of which is the death of Ivy’s friend’s renter, Kendra.

The invisible part comes from Ivy’s observation that Little Old Ladies, whom she refers to as LOLs, are not really noticed by the world at large.  So, she uses this to her advantage.  Sorta.  The LOL part I had to think about every time I read it, because I kept thinking Laugh out Loud from chat speak. (In fairness, I believe this book was written in the early ’90’s before chat).  At any rate, there was some romance for Ivy with two really nice guys and I liked the detective who investigated Kendra’s murder, Dix.  I also liked her neighbor Magnolia.  In fact, I liked most of the characters... except the bad guys, of course.

There were a couple of things I didn’t like.  First, it’s a Christian book.  I have nothing against Christian books, I just wish I’d known up front.  Here, however, it’s almost gratuitous.  With romances, I think there’s a point and maybe there can be with mysteries, but with this book it was almost a side story -- let’s get the good detective to church and make sure we hook him up with a nice, Christian girl.  Othewise, it added nothing to the story other than Ivy goes to church.

The second thing was Ivy’s "Investigating."  In the beginning, while not what I would do, it wasn't reckless, just odd (cemetery stakeouts). I don’t care for detectives that clearly do what they shouldn’t without thinking things through; those who wind up looking like little old meddling ladies and kind of dumb in the process. Granted I didn’t like the detective who took over from Dix, however, Ivy’s investigating just grew tiresome.  At times, it was somewhat funny, but the end was cliche, right out of a detective TV show (think requisite chase scene) and it turns out not quite the end.  I will say that everything did tie up nicely, however, turns out it’s a “to be continued” book.  Alas, I don’t foresee me continuing this series.


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Book Review: The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton

The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I truly enjoyed this book, slightly more so than her first book, The House at Riverton.  Where that book could have been considered a bit dreary with no happy endings, I found this one a bit more on the happy side, for lack of a better way of phrasing it.

It is the story of three women - Eliza, Nell, and Nell’s granddaughter, Cassandra.  It begins with Nell’s journey aboard ship from England to Australia at about age three.  She remembers a lady, but she makes the journey alone.  Once the dockmaster realizes no one is coming for her, he takes her home and he and his wife raise her.  On her 21st birthday, she is told the story of her arrival.  Sadly, it changes her life forever.  I say sadly, because in an ideal world, she would have had enough sense of self to love her adoptive parents while trying to learn who she is.  I think on some level she did, but the impression is given that it gives her a sense of disconnection from her family.  And, it affects how she is a mother.  This changes to some extent when she winds up raising her granddaughter, Cassandra.

After Nell’s death, Cassandra learns about Nell’s arrival from her Aunts and then finds out she’s inherited a house in England.  It turns out it is a cottage, complete with overrun garden, from Nell’s childhood at Blackthurst Manor.  From there the book interweaves between Eliza, Nell, and Cassandra and brings in Rose, Eliza’s cousin. In the end, nothing is as it appears.  There is some sadness in this book even though I still consider it a somewhat uplifting book.  The sadness to me comes from the time period itself - a time when society and it’s rules were all important.  For me, the sadness comes from the end of a true friendship due to Rose’s desires.  In the end, Rose became a person I didn’t want her to become and her fears ultimately led to her end and to Eliza’s end.  It made me look at the nature of friendship and family.  Of course, the time period played a role here, but it shows the shifting nature of people and how wants and desires can change them.  

This book did leave me with unanswered questions; there is the untold story of Georgiana, Eliza’s mother, and her older brother, Linus.  We learn very little of Georgiana other than she is in hiding from a man.  Upon her death, she implores Eliza, still a young girl, to avoid this mystery man at all costs.  Then, there is Linus, who apparently has a disability and maybe has some mental illness, but we just get random notes on this.  We are never given definite answers about Georgiana or Linus, though hints are throughout the novel.  Still, I kind of wish definitive answers had been provided.

In the end, Cassandra learns the whole story, which probably not even Nell knew, and in doing so she is able to move forward with her own life.  This book left me thinking, as did her other book, about people and how our actions affect us and others.

Highly recommended.


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Baking and a cookbook review...of sorts...

I haven't baked since I moved back in April.  Which is sad, because not only do I enjoy the results of my labor, I enjoy the process of baking as well.  However, it's always hard to get used to a new kitchen and new appliances and really get a cooking/baking groove in any new place.  My Mom figures it's because in the beginning, it's not "my" kitchen.

But, things happen and in my case I baked out of a little bit of desperation.  I'm having a lot of stomach problems as well as a return on headaches, just plain tiredness, etc.  It finally occurred to me that it could literally be the food I eat.  I mean who thinks they're intolerant to certain things if they've gone their whole life not thinking that?  Well, I'm still researching, but I started by going dairy free (taking a challenge, which is still in the rough start phase).  Do you know how many things have diary in them?  Even my bread had dairy.  This weekend's grocery store trip I got more substitute items (for lack of a better phrase) to better go dairy free (I'll also be following up with a doctor).

So, back to the baking.  This weekend I tried two new recipes - diary free and gluten free - from the cookbook, Cooking for Isaiah by Silvana Nardone.  Awesome.

Last night, to satisfy that sweet tooth, was Chocolate Chip cookies.  I have not made her "flour mix," so I subbed Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free mix, but after baking these two recipes (other one below), I will be.  The cookies have a slightly nutty flavor, but I've baked chocolate chip cookies with whole wheat flour, so this doesn't bother me.  Overall, these cookies are great and were worth my late night baking foray.


The other recipe I baked today.  Cornbread.  I hadn't planned on it, but I've been eating sandwiches at work and the author has a recipe that uses cornbread as the sandwich bread.  What a cool idea.  This cornbread is awesome!  It will be around my house even if it's not the food causing my problems.  I didn't do the sandwich she had in the cookbook, but I did an egg sandwich (with a small amount of dairy free cheese that was quite tasty).  Truly, this cornbread is some of the best I've made.

I'm looking forward to trying other recipes from this cookbook.