I found myself constantly reading “just one more” chapter every time I picked up this book. It is light (yet with some depth) and a very enjoyable novel. That said, it does require some suspension of disbelief, I think.
Have you ever felt that you were in a rut? Doing a job that you know well but which feels unsatisfying? Have you ever hoped for the rush of a new romance and the chance to make a spontaneous life change? These are aspects of Clare’s life so when the opportunity to live in Switzerland with her new romance is a possibility, she does the unexpected and goes.
Clare wants to take a course while there and chooses chocolate making. Through a bit of an error, Clare has enrolled herself in a class with those who have much more experience than she. Not everyone is nice to this beginner. Despite doubts, Clare stays.
Readers get to know a lot about the making of chocolate. I enjoyed this aspect of the book. They also get to know the other students in Clare’s class and those who work at the school.
The boyfriend turns out to be a maybe. Read the book to see if Clare is with him at the end or with a well-known chocolatier whom readers learn is facing his own challenge.
Recommended to those who like fiction, women’s fiction, romance, stories of growth, Switzerland and chocolate. That certainly means many readers who will enjoy this one.
Many thanks to NetGalley and Random House UK-Transworld for this title. All opinions are my own.
I started reading this novel soon after Serena Williams retired and when I had tennis on my brain. Carrie is not Serena but there is no doubt that tennis has defined her life. As the story opens, Carrie is at the U.S. Open waiting to see if her long held record for most wins will be shattered. From here the book moves back in time to when she first began playing and goes forward to the time of the book’s title.
I understand the basics of tennis but don’t have the knowledge base to know how accurate the descriptions in the matches played were. I know that they were deeply involving and that I always wondered how Carrie would do.
This novel, however, is not just about Carrie’s tennis but is also about Carrie. She has a rather hard and brittle shell and most although most everything about her has been about tennis, she has things to figure out. Readers get to know the people around her; there are those that she lets in to some degree. The most important one is her father who has shared Carrie’s dream. Another is a player on the male circuit named Bowe and, of course, many of the women players.
Along with a page turning story, this novel offers some food for thought. Are we our accomplishments? Does winning mean everything? How is it to have to deal with being in a constant limelight? What happens when a game that one started to play out of love becomes so dominant? No spoilers for the end of the book. Find out for yourself what happens to Carrie.
I recommend this title to tennis lovers, Taylor Jenkins Reid’s fan base and those who enjoy an involving story.
Many thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for this title. All opinions are my own.
Pub date: 30 August 2022
From the Publisher
Editorial Reviews
Review
“The books in Reid’s famous women quartet stand alone. . . . But each of the books centers a vibrant protagonist managing the tensions between her glamorous life in the public eye and the pressures she feels in private . . . with Reid meticulously collecting minute yet meaningful details to help build immersive worlds”—TIME
“Carrie Soto [Is Back] . . . is like other sports novels in which underdogs punch, volley, bat and birdie their way to victory or additional defeat, but it goes beyond this to explore sexism and racism in the tennis world in the 1990s. . . . This novel will grab you. You’ll tear through blow-by-blow descriptions of championship matches on some of the most famous tennis courts in the world. . . .”—The Washington Post
“An epic story about bravery, endurance, but also the power of vulnerability.”—BuzzFeed
“Reid . . . draws on the lives of actual tennis pros (think Serena, Sharapova) to build a world of believable rivalries and intrigue infused with the whiplash suspense of a nail-biting tennis match.”—People (Book of the Week)
“Nearly every Taylor Jenkins Reid novel reads like a survey course in some flagrantly glamorous specialty and era. . . . Come for the King Richard–level attention to the art of the game; stay for the more personal soap operas unfolding off the court, and the final score.”—Entertainment Weekly
Jo Callaghan’s first novel was easily one of my favorite crime stories of 2024. All of the elements that made me love that book are back in Leave No Trace, the second in this series. These include characters with depth (and backstory), a plot that keeps the pages turning, and the use of a unique sidekick to detective Kat Frank.
AIDE is an AI created detective. Through a hologram, he looks very real. His thoughts, although at times concrete because of a lack of understanding of nuance, are often key to the case. It has been enjoyable to watch the “relationship” between Kat and AIDE evolve. That is just one of the joys of the series.
This time, Kat has asked for a “live” as compared to historical case. The one that she is given is rather grim. A man has been found at the top of a local landmark and he has been gruesomely murdered. The case will lead to fear and warnings to young men.
Readers know that the case will be solved. The enjoyment is in watching how the team accomplishes this.
Kudos to the author. I am already eager for book three.
Many thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for this title. All opinions are my own.
Mark you calendar for the pub date for Fiona Davis’s forthcoming new novel. I think that this may just be her best book yet. I thoroughly enjoyed The Stolen Queen.
As is often the case, the story is told in two time lines and in two countries. Interestingly, both time lines have characters in common.
Readers first meet Charlotte Cross when she is a young girl embarking on an adventure of a lifetime. She has left her society family behind to be part of a 1930s dig in Egypt. So much happens to Charlotte there in terms of both her professional and personal life, but readers need to find out all of this for themselves.
The second timeline takes place partly in NYC right around the time of the famous King Tut exhibition. Now Charlotte is working in the Egyptian section of the museum when a necklace becomes part of an exhibit and leads to many events.
In this second time line, readers also meet Annie. She has been an enabler to her mother. Unexpectedly Annie secures a position working for the very well known Diana Vreeland just in time for a major fashion event. As was true for Charlotte, things don’t go according to plan.
It is not long before Charlotte and Annie travel to Egypt together. There is, again, much that happens while they are there.
Davis handles all of the plot elements flawlessly. It is also clear that she did her homework in order to give this book a real sense of its historical authenticity.
Anyone who has enjoyed a novel by this author will want to read this title. My guess is that this one will also bring her many new fans.
Many thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Group-Dutton for this title. All opinions are my own.
Readers who enjoy a Gallic mystery with a British protagonist may well enjoy this second food titled mystery following on the author’s Death and Croissants. It is written by a British comedian who brings a certain sensibility to the genre.
Richard has gone out for dinner. The menu is a tasting one and he has not tasted enough (he is still hungry). The beginnings of a mess emerge with the goat cheese parfait that is the dessert course.
Soon, there is, of course, a murder. It takes place in a cheese related locale. Will Richard, a local B and B owner figure out what has happened? How will his amie, Valerie, contribute? Read this one to find out. It will especially be enjoyed by Francophiles.
Many thanks to NetGalley and Poisoned Press for this title. All opinions are my own.
A muizai is a mistress’s shadow. You are there to do her bidding…
19th Century China. Tightly bound feet, or “golden lilies,” are the mark of an honorable woman. When Little Flower is sold as a maidservant to Linjing, a daughter of the prominent Fong family, she clings to the hope that her golden lilies will someday lead her out of a life of slavery.
Not only does Little Flower have bound feet—uncommon for a muizai—but she is gifted at embroidery, a skill associated with women of fortune. Resentful of her talents, Linjing does everything in her power to prevent Little Flower from escaping. But when scandal strikes the Fongs, both women are cast out to the Celibate Sisterhood, where Little Flower’s talents catch the eye of a nobleman, threatening not only her improved status, but her life—the Sisterhood punishes disobedience with death. And if Linjing finds out, will she sabotage Little Flower to reclaim her power, or will she protect her?
Richly atmospheric and profoundly moving, The Lotus Shoes is an empowering tale of two women from opposite sides of society, and their extraordinary journey of sisterhood, betrayal, love and triumph.
Start reading:
One
Little Flower
I sat shivering on a low stool in our farmhouse kitchen. The frosty air stung my cheeks and chilled my hands and feet until they hurt. To warm up, I rubbed my arms and legs. Though it never snowed in southern China, this winter in the sixth year of Emperor Guangxu’s reign felt brutally cold. Normally, I would still be curled beneath our patched quilt, but my aa noeng had woken me at first light.
“We are going on an adventure today,” she announced, turning to me with a basin of boiling water. For the first time in months, her thin, pale face broke into a smile. But it wasn’t a proper sparkling smile, like the ones she used to shower on me before my aa de died. This smile looked stiff, and her eyes remained dull.
“I’m taking you to Canton City,” she continued. “Farmer Tang will give us a ride on his cart.” She poured cold water into the basin. I squealed, clapping with delight. I had never been to Canton City, but I had heard all about it from traveling storytellers. Peddlers prowled the streets, selling sugared plums, sweet buns and roasted chestnuts. My belly grumbled at the thought of them, reminding me that I had not eaten since yesterday’s bowl of watery congee. The storytellers also boasted of traveling acrobats, men who swallowed live snakes, and puppet shows.
“Is Little Brother coming too?” I asked.
“He is too young,” she said. “I’ve sent him to our neighbor for the day. This is a mother-and-daughter trip.”
“Why are we going?” “Little girls should not ask questions,” she chided. “Good girls keep quiet, follow rules and obey grown-ups.” Her tone was mild, but her face sagged with misery, frightening me into silence.
She knelt in front of me, cradling my golden lilies in her palms. “Do you remember why I started binding your feet when you were only four?” she asked.
“Because…because…” I shook my head. With a heavy sigh she explained, “Other six-year-old girls in our village wouldn’t start foot-binding until now. Some farming families might even wait until their daughter is seven or eight, if they’re desperate for an extra worker around the house. But that is risky. Do you know why?”
I shook my head again. “The bones might already be too stiff to be shaped. I love you so much that I bound your feet two years ago, as though you’re a little lady, to make sure you get perfect golden lilies so you can be like Consort Yao Niang. Do you remember her story?”
“I do!” Eager to impress her, I merrily recited the bedtime tale she had often told me. “Once upon a time, before the Manchu invaded and when China was cut up into lots of little kingdoms, like a patchwork quilt, there lived an emperor called Li Yu. He loved to see new things. One day he asked his many, many wives to surprise him with a new dance. Everyone tried but no one was good enough except Yao Niang. She wrapped her feet into crescents and danced on her toes!”
“What else?” she quizzed.
I frowned.
She prompted, “The emperor was so impressed that he promoted her to Royal Imperial Consort—”
“Oh!” With a bounce I finished her sentence, “So no other wife could boss Yao Niang around except the empress. All the ladies of the court copied her and soon rich girls across the country started to do the same. Now all re-respectable girls have bound feet. And the most loving mothers make sure their daughters have perfect four-inch golden lilies.”
I expected the rest of my speedy answer would earn praise, especially since I had only stumbled on two characters, but Aa Noeng’s lips trembled. I reached out to hug her, but she shook her head as she straightened her back and smoothed her faded tunic-blouse, ou.
“Even the poorest boy might hope to pass the imperial exams and become a mandarin if he is clever and studious,” she said, “but a girl’s only chance for a better life is through her golden lilies. This is my priceless gift to you. No matter what happens, I want you always to remember how much I love you. You’re my precious pearl. Do you understand?”
“I love you this much too!” I swung my arms behind my back until my palms touched. But she didn’t return my smile.
“Why is it important to have perfect four-inch golden lilies?” she asked.
“To get a good marriage,” I chirped. “Matchmakers and mothers-in-law like tiny feet. Golden lilies are proof of a girl’s goodness.”
“Yes,” she agreed. “Only girls with immense endurance and discipline can get perfect golden lilies. This is what mothersin-law from nice families want for their sons.” She squeezed my hands and asked, “Do you want to marry into a nice family when you grow up?”
“Yes.”
“How do you get four-inch golden lilies?” she asked.
“I must sit very still when you clean my feet and change my bandages.”
“What else?”
“I mustn’t complain when you tighten the bindings.”
“That’s true,” she replied slowly. “But…” After a long pause she said, “You are a big girl now. It’s time you learned to take care of your golden lilies yourself.”
“I’m still little!” I protested, alarmed by her grave tone.
“Watch carefully,” she instructed. She unraveled the binding and eased my left foot into the basin of warm water. She massaged away the dead skin on the sole and between my toes. Next she trimmed my toenails and wrapped my foot in a towel before sprinkling alum onto it.
“Be sure to use a generous amount of alum,” she said. “It wards off sweat and itch.”
She wound a length of clean, dark blue cotton around and around my foot. The pressure increased with each layer until my foot throbbed and my eyes ached with unshed tears. I had to use all my willpower not to groan. She continued to wrap the bindings, much more tightly than usual. I tried to pull my foot away. She gripped it harder. “Stay still,” she ordered.
“Aa Noeng,” I cried. “It hurts too much.”
“Hush,” she said. “One day these golden lilies will bring you a good marriage. You will wear silk and live in a house with tiled floors. Best of all, you will never go hungry again.”
My whimpering faded as she continued to talk about the tasty food that would fill my belly when I become a bride in a wellto-do family. Finally, she eased my foot into my best pair of indigo cotton shoes. She pushed the basin toward me.
“Now you must do the same for your right foot,” she said.
Jane Yang was born in the Chinese enclave of Saigon and raised in Australia where she grew up on a diet of superstition and family stories from Old China. Despite establishing a scientific career, first as a pharmacist and later in clinical research, she is still sometimes torn between modern, rational thinking and the pull of old beliefs in tales that have been passed down the family. Jane’s family tales are an inspiration for her writing. She writes stories about women in pre-Communist China, exploring power and class struggles, and sometimes with a dash of suspense, spirits and hauntings.
I am delighted to be on the blog tour for this title. Many thanks to the team at HTP for this opportunity.
Those who enjoy historical fiction set in Asia, as well as those who enjoy historical fiction in general, will want to pick up this title. It offers a glimpse of a world and time with which some may be unfamiliar. That landscape and the characters offer much to the reader.
What does it mean to be a muizai? What does it mean when the relationship between the server and served faces challenges? How will each character navigate and how will they change?
Last year I read Lisa See’s novel about Lady Tan. Anyone who enjoyed that will, I think, like this title as well. Both this book and See’s show how difficult life could be for women and some of the practices (foot binding) to which they could be subjected.
Many thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for this title. All opinions are my own.
Readers probably know that there is something to be said for finding the right read for the right time or mood. When in Rome was that kind of book for me. It offered a slower, somewhat more contemplative stroll through the life of its protagonist, Claire and was just the kind of book that I was seeking.
As the story opens, Claire is fifty-two years old. Her daughter, Dorothy, is in her late twenties and was raised by Claire as an only child. Claire’s own mother died when she was young leaving her to be raised by her father as a single parent. She also became well known to her Milwaukee community of nuns.
Claire goes to Yale where she makes a very good female friend and also falls for Marcus. Her nascent desire to become a nun remains even as Claire takes a post graduation real estate job where her specialty is the sale of ecclesiastical buildings.
This career sends Claire to Rome, a city that is lovely to visit in Claire’s company. There she meets a group of idiosyncratic sisters who engage with her. Will they lose their unique convent to a real estate developer?
The crux of the story is about what decisions Claire will make and what she wants in her life. Is it to be a nun or is it to remain in the world, possibly with Marcus? Read this gentle novel to find out.
Publishers Weekly calls this one “a delight.” I heartily agree.
Many thanks to Penguin Group Dutton for this title. All opinions are my own.
Sophie Mayhew is married to an English politician who is poised for great things, hopefully to be the next P.M. Devoted Sophie is the perfect spouse. She is intelligent, beautiful, supportive and kind with a tragedy in her past. She is the one who shows compassion for her husband’s constituents and stands by his side to enhance his profile.
However, Sophie, though well-educated and seemingly perfectly suited for this role, is quite unhappy. Things come to a crisis point (no spoiler as this happens early in the novel), when she learns of her husband’s second affair. Groomed carefully on what to say to the media, Sophie instead says what she wants and of course, chaos results.
Sophie escapes to the one place where she had been happy, lives under an alias and begins to know what she wants for herself and to feel entitled to this. Along the way, she forms friendships and a potential romantic relationship. However….Sophie knows that she must return home. What will happen then?
This is a delightful escapist read so, of course, readers can imagine what will happen. Still, getting there is enjoyable and I very much enjoyed this light read.
Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this title in exchange for an honest review.
Editorial Reviews
Review
“A glorious, heartfelt novel” (Rowan Coleman, New York Times bestselling author )
“Every time you discover a new Milly book, it’s like finding a pot of gold.” (Heat magazine)
“A warm hug of a book” (S Magazine)
“Bursting with warmth and joie de vivre” (Jill Mansell, New York Times bestselling author )
“Must read” (Express)
“Absolutely loved it. Milly’s writing is like getting a big hug with just the right amount of bite underneath”
(Jane Fallon, Sunday Times bestselling author )
Jennifer Saint is one of the best writers of Ancient Greek stories with feminist viewpoints. Her latest novel will be welcomed by anyone who has read her other books and it will also, hopefully, introduce new readers/listeners to her works.
Hera was at the pinnacle. She was the sister of Zeus and was involved in the toppling of their father. As often happened siblings married so she was also the wife of Zeus. Hera has come through the ages to be seen as a difficult figure. This may be true-however, Hera had many reasons to feel aggrieved as readers/listeners will learn in this story.
In these pages get to know this goddess of marriage and fertility. Learn about the ways in which Zeus treated her and the consequences of his actions and attitudes.
This audio version is very well done. The narration is crisp and easily engages the reader.
I very much enjoyed Hera. She is not always likeable but Saint always kept me involved in her story.
Many thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for this title. All opinions are my own.
Sophie Mayhew is married to an English politician who is poised for great things, hopefully to be the next P.M. Devoted Sophie is the perfect spouse. She is intelligent, beautiful, supportive and kind with a tragedy in her past. She is the one who shows compassion for her husband’s constituents and stands by his side to enhance his profile.
Joyce's mystery and fiction book reviews with some non-fiction too! 