Shakespeare Update

Will this year never end?!?!  Shakespeare is a beast. 

I have to average a work every 5 days in order to finish up all of Shakespeare's works by December 31st. 

The last couple have been fairly enjoyable.  I'm reading Cymbeline now and liking it more than I've enjoyed many that I've read.  I'm thinking I'm not a tragedy person for sure.  I have a more comedic leaning when it comes to Shakespeare.

However, I continue to be amazed at how prevalent Shakespeare is in our culture as far as references, words lifted from his works, etc.  He is absolutely all over the place.  And on Jeopardy a lot too. 

A Portrait of Emily Price - Katherine Reay

A Portrait of Emily Price by Katherine Reay

Genre:  Fiction; Contemporary; Chick Lit

Pages:  368

Publishing Date:  November 1, 2016

Synopsis from Goodreads:

Emily Price—fix-it girl extraordinaire and would-be artist—dreams of having a gallery show of her own. There is no time for distractions, especially not the ultimate distraction of falling in love.
But Chef Benito Vassallo’s relentless pursuit proves hard to resist. Visiting from Italy, Ben works to breathe new life into his aunt and uncle’s faded restaurant, Piccollo. Soon after their first meeting, he works to win Emily as well—inviting her into his world and into his heart.
Emily astonishes everyone when she accepts Ben’s proposal and follows him home. But instead of allowing the land, culture, and people of Monterello to transform her, Emily interferes with everyone and everything around her, alienating Ben’s tightly knit family. Only Ben’s father, Lucio, gives Emily the understanding she needs to lay down her guard. Soon, Emily’s life and art begin to blossom, and Italy’s beauty and rhythm take hold of her spirit.
Yet when she unearths long-buried family secrets, Emily wonders if she really fits into Ben’s world. Will the joys of Italy become just a memory, or will Emily share in the freedom and grace that her life with Ben has shown her are possible?



My Thoughts:
I have read and enjoyed Katherine Reay’s previous books, so I made sure I requested an ARC from NetGalley. 

This book was different from Reay’s previous books in that it departed from literary ties and delved more into the art world.  I think that is the main reason it took me awhile to engage in the books and with the characters.  The art world is not something I am familiar with.  Or Italian, for that matter; and there was quite a bit of Italian sprinkled throughout. 

I appreciated the characters.  Emily and Ben share a connection.  While their whirlwind love story is quite fairytale, it is sweet.  I actually would like to see a follow-on book about Ben’s brother.  He was a dynamic supporting character who captured my attention.  I would like to see how his story continues.   

The story was fairly predictable, but I think that’s what a reader respects from this genre.  It’s what keeps us coming back. 

There is a deeper theme exploring the layers people have and restoration – of family, relationships, and self.  It wasn’t preachy though. 

I really have no content warnings.  There was quite a bit of wine drinking.  However, I chalked that up to Italian culture since so much of the book revolves around food and customs of Italy. 

It was a good book.  Not my favorite of hers, but I don’t regret the hours (and one late night) I spent turning the virtual pages. 

A Royal Christmas Wedding - Rachel Hauck

A Royal Christmas Wedding by Rachel Hauck
(Royal Wedding Series #4)

Genre:  Christian fiction, romance

Pages:  240 pages

Publishing Date:  October 18, 2015

Synopsis from Goodreads:
It’s been five years since Avery Truitt and Prince Colin of Brighton Kingdom fell in love. But he broke her heart with no explanation.
Fast forward to present day, and Colin is Brighton’s most eligible bachelor now that cousin Stephen has married. When Avery’s father dies of a heart attack, she puts her life on hold and returns home to St. Simons Island, Georgia, to help Mama with the family restaurant. But Mama misses Avery’s sister Susanna, who lives four thousand miles away in Brighton Kingdom—and is expecting her first child. So Mama insists she and Avery spend the Christmas season in Brighton.
Colin and Avery are going to see each other a lot while she’s visiting. But she can’t forget the way he hurt her, and he didn’t expect his feelings to still be so strong.
Avery is torn between considering a future in Brighton and taking a coaching job in Georgia, and Colin is finally pushed to pursue what he really wants. Is it too late to convince Avery that she is his true love? And even if he does, will she make it to the chapel on Christmas Day to give him her heart?


My Thoughts:

I have read the previous three books in Rachel Hauck’s Royal Wedding Series.  I’ll admit, I’m fairly obsessed with royalty and the idea of fairy tale perfect matches.  So when I learned she had a new book in the series, I requested an ARC from NetGalley.

Unfortunately, I didn’t fall in love with this book.  It was, probably, my least favorite of the series – a couple of which I enjoyed.  I gave it 2 stars (“It was okay.”) on Goodreads but is more of a 1.5 in my evaluation. 

Avery and Colin have a past.  In a whirlwind courtship when Avery was 17, they fell deeply and madly in love.  Then Colin cancelled on attending her prom and ceased all communication…for five years.  Then the holiday season suddenly throws them back together in daily contact via their respective families.  The whole premise is if they rekindle their love.  Which, of course they do.  It’s a Christian romance book.  So it’s more a question of how they do. 

I enjoyed revisiting with Susanna from a previous book.  A few other characters make mentions or brief appearances.  But this book definitely has Avery and Colin as the focus – which is how it should be in this genre.  And they drove me crazy.  How adamant Avery was that she was over him when speaking to others but kept talking to herself about how much she was still in love with him.  How they (Colin mostly) continued to get into the same situations to cause doubt and angst. 

My angst with the book was how quickly all of it happened.  Granted, Colin and Avery had a relationship five years previous.  However, five years have passed.  Haven’t they both changed?  Don’t they want to at least sort of get to know who they each are now – especially since everything that goes wrong Avery assumes Colin is just the same as he’d been.    I would have liked a slower pace for the romance (re)development. 

I did struggle some, too, with knowing who was talking.  Many times, I didn’t know who had which lines of dialogue.  That was frustrating.  Perhaps it is an issue just with the ebook copy I had.    There were also some discrepancies in the text.  Minor things, but there nonetheless.

All that being said, this book is still a good read for those in a mood for ooey gooey emotional romance free of sex.  While it didn’t keep me up at night turning pages, it was still a sweet story most enjoyed by those who like some fluff in their reading.  So probably just perfect for a Christmas book. 

The Wife, the Maid, & the Mistress - Ariel Lawhon

The Wife, the Maid & the Mistress by Ariel Lawhon

Genre:  historical fiction, mystery

Pages:  304

Publishing Date:  January 14, 2014

Synopsis from Goodreads:

One summer night in 1930, Judge Joseph Crater steps into a New York City cab and is never heard from again. Behind this great man are three women, each with her own tale to tell: Stella, his fashionable wife, the picture of propriety; Maria, their steadfast maid, indebted to the judge; and Ritzi, his showgirl mistress, willing to seize any chance to break out of the chorus line.
As the twisted truth emerges, Ariel Lawhon’s wickedly entertaining debut mystery transports us into the smoky jazz clubs, the seedy backstage dressing rooms, and the shadowy streets beneath the Art Deco skyline.

My Thoughts:

This was the book my book club chose for October.  I don’t remember who suggested it or any compelling arguments for it.  We just compile a list and take votes.  It’s very democratic like that.  I had heard of the author and her website SheReads.org though.  And I think have even listened to her on a podcast.

Anyway, starting the book I was not convinced that I was going to like it. There was a lot going on and I wasn’t finding the characters initially engaging.  But then…

About a quarter of the way in I was hooked.  I didn’t want to put the book down.  My workouts at the Y shifted from classes to walking the treadmill so I could read more. 

Stella…Maria…Ritzi – oh my!   Those three ladies drew me in.  Maria probably more than the other two.  I could feel her.  I think they were each very well-drawn and nuanced.

And just the era – I learned a thing or two.  There was definitely a lot of corruption and a seedier side to life represented. 

The twists and revelations were the best part though.  I didn’t see a lot of it coming – something I really love in a book because it tends to be rare.  Looking back, I can see the hints…sort of.

There are some trigger warnings.  We’re talking showgirls and mistresses and drinking – a lot of drinking.  Violence – but more alluded to than graphically described. 

I’m glad I stuck it out and got past the beginning.  The last 4 pages make it so worth the read.  I also appreciated the author’s note at the end that detailed some true information about the people involved in the story versus the parts she created. 

All the Missing Girls - Megan Miranda

Synopsis from Goodreads:
It’s been ten years since Nicolette Farrell left her rural hometown after her best friend, Corinne, disappeared from Cooley Ridge without a trace. Back again to tie up loose ends and care for her ailing father, Nic is soon plunged into a shocking drama that reawakens Corinne’s case and breaks open old wounds long since stitched.
The decade-old investigation focused on Nic, her brother Daniel, boyfriend Tyler, and Corinne’s boyfriend Jackson. Since then, only Nic has left Cooley Ridge. Daniel and his wife, Laura, are expecting a baby; Jackson works at the town bar; and Tyler is dating Annaleise Carter, Nic’s younger neighbor and the group’s alibi the night Corinne disappeared. Then, within days of Nic’s return, Annaleise goes missing.
Told backwards—Day 15 to Day 1—from the time Annaleise goes missing, Nic works to unravel the truth about her younger neighbor’s disappearance, revealing shocking truths about her friends, her family, and what really happened to Corinne that night ten years ago.
Like nothing you’ve ever read before, All the Missing Girls delivers in all the right ways. With twists and turns that lead down dark alleys and dead ends, you may think you’re walking a familiar path, but then Megan Miranda turns it all upside down and inside out and leaves us wondering just how far we would be willing to go to protect those we love.

My Thoughts:
I was confused through the first part of this book as it was written in such an interesting format.  At one point, the present jumps two weeks prior.  Then the author spends the rest of the book running the present day narrative backwards with flashbacks into a decade past.  It was an interesting format. 
I will say that I had good portions of the suspense figured out by the time they were revealed.  But not all. 
I did like exploring the deeper themes of who we are (or aspects of it at least) disappears over time as we grow and change. 
I think this would be a great book club book as it has a lot of fodder for discussion.

Next to Love - Ellen Feldman

Summary from Goodreads:

For fans of The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society, The Postmistress, and Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet, a story of love, war, loss, and the scars they leave set during the years of World War II and its aftermath.
  Set in a small town in Massachusetts, Next to Love follows three childhood friends, Babe, Millie, and Grace, whose lives are unmoored when their men are called to duty. And yet the changes that are thrust upon them move them in directions they never dreamed possible—while their husbands and boyfriends are enduring their own transformations. In the decades that follow, the three friends lose their innocence, struggle to raise their children, and find meaning and love in unexpected places. And as they change, so does America—from a country in which people know their place in the social hierarchy to a world in which feminism, the Civil Rights movement, and technological innovations present new possibilities—and uncertainties. And yet Babe, Millie, and Grace remain bonded by their past, even as their children grow up and away and a new society rises from the ashes of the war.
 Beautifully crafted and unforgettable, Next to Love depicts the enduring power of love and friendship, and illuminates a transformational moment in American history.

My Thoughts:

Okay, first of all, this book is *nothing* like The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society.  I mean, other than they’re both set (sort of – Next to Love spans more years) in the same time frame.  But I think the similarities end there. 

Next to Love is the story of three friends as they go and grow through World War II and beyond into the 1960’s.  As they face love and loss and everything in between. 

It took me awhile to get into the book and the characters.  Even towards the end, they were doing things and things were happening that made me say “What?”  However, towards the middle and end I was more able to overlook those as I wanted to know where the story was taking the characters. 

Here are my caveats on why I maybe struggled with this book:

1.       I read it on my Kindle.  So I couldn’t easily flip back and forth to line things up as the timeline and story jumped around in and between characters.

2.       I read it in the midst of moving my family a few states away.  So chaos was in my head, and I perhaps transposed some of that to the book.

As I’ve said, I was thoroughly engaged with the characters as the book progressed.  All of the main characters were incredibly nuanced, which I appreciated. 

There are a lot of triggers in this book:  sex, drinking, violence, rape, some language.  So I’m not sure I would necessarily recommend it.  It was interesting but not my cup of tea. 

Also, I read the e-version from my library that had these great hyperlinks throughout.  You could click on one, and it would jump to the appendix and tell you more about Western Union or a particular location or whatever.  So that was a neat feature.  Although now that I think about it, that could have kept me from delving into the story sooner as well. 

Shakespeare Update

It's mid-August.  On my "Shakespeare in a Year" reading plan, I'm only at the beginning of July.  I've learned that Shakespeare apparently didn't have much use for women and was quite ribald.  I liked several of the histories, none of the tragedies, and most of the comedies thus far.  And I completely didn't get the sonnets.  I just trudged through them.

Shakespeare is definitely meant to be watched, not read.  So much more understandable and interesting that way. 

Here's hoping I get them all finished...