The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake by Aimee Bender

The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake by Aimee Bender

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I really wanted to love this book. SO MUCH. Because of great reviews by folks that I really respect and admire. Because of a premise that seemed so unique and interesting. Because of that amazing cover art.

Unfortunately, I didn't love it. I liked it but not as much as I'd hoped. I really struggled with whether or not this book deserved two or three stars. I ultimately decided on 3 but it was really more like a two and a half.

I should preface my thoughts with the fact that I often struggle with magical realism unless its written by Sarah Addison Allen (who I seem to adore!). And this novel just didn't do it for me. But, it wasn't because of the magical realism. I actually think that was very well done in this novel. I enjoyed that aspect of the story. I know that a lot of people felt the novel was 'weird' and I think the magical realism accounts for some of that. But, the writing style and pacing only contributed to that sense of weird for me. I liked the actual magical qualities of the story but the rest just didn't do anything for me as a reader. At all.

I was bothered by the writing style, the somberness, and the pacing of the novel. I am not sure that I'm going to be able to capture my concerns and what I didn't like very well because it was more of a feeling than something concrete. I just didn't enjoy the reading of this book. I kept asking myself why I cared to finish it. I just didn't care enough about it to want to keep reading. Yet, the book was VERY readable which is why I stuck with it.

There were times when I thought the writing was very good but most of it just felt disjointed in some way to me. I just felt that the story, the characters and the sense of place were all jumbled up in some way for me. I never really connected to any of it. It felt like something otherworldly with no connection to me as a reader or even to the characters that I was reading about. This ultimately made me enjoy the reading of the story much less than I'd hoped.

In the end, I was so disappointed with this book. The premise was so clever and intriguing but I just didn't feel like it was executed very well. I have very mixed feelings about recommending this book so I'm going to recommend with a lot of caution. Although not a bad book, this is not even remotely one of my favorites. However, some of my bookish friends who I respect have loved the book. So, because of that, you might want to give it a try!

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Review: Still Missing by Chevy Stevens

Still Missing by Chevy Stevens

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I've been hearing a lot of buzz about this novel over the last few months and couldn't wait to get my hands on it! The entire premise of this novel was so intriguing and interesting to me. Here's an overview from Goodreads on the plot just to set the stage ...

On the day she was abducted, Annie O’Sullivan, a thirty-two year old Realtor, had three goals—sell a house, forget about a recent argument with her mother, and be on time for dinner with her ever- patient boyfriend. The open house is slow, but when her last visitor of the day pulls up in a van as she's about to leave, Annie thinks it just might be her lucky day after all.

Interwoven with the story of the year Annie spent captive of a sadistic psychopath in a remote mountain cabin, which unfolds through sessions with her psychiatrist, is a second narrative recounting events following her escape—her struggle to piece her shattered spirit back together and the ongoing police investigation into the identity of her captor.

Can you see why I was so intrigued?? It sounds amazing. And overall, it is super close to amazing. It's a debut novel that is actually a pretty good one. Many debut novels just don't deliver but this one does ... for the most part. It's not a 5 star but its close!

The psychological suspense of the novel, combined with the intensity of the character study that it entails makes it one of those books you don't want to put down until it concludes! I enjoyed how the events of the past (the kidnapping/captivity) were told through sessions with her psychiatrist. I thought it added some authenticity to Annie's voice. She certainly wasn't particularly likeable but I did enjoy watching her journey throughout the novel.

What I see as the primary flaw in this novel is essentially the ending. I don't want to get too much into it because I do not discuss spoilers in my reviews but it was the ending that really made this a 4 rather than a 5 star book for me. I was captivated with the story throughout the novel ... until the ending. I remember shaking my head and thinking 'Seriously?' I was pretty disappointed in how the ending was handled and how it went from WOW to eh in what felt like moments. I struggled with rating the novel but ultimately decided that it was more of a 4 than a 3 despite the ending and its flaws.

Overall, the book is excellent (minus the ending) and I do recommend it. However, be prepared ... the ending could very well disappoint!

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Mini Reviews ...

I have a few mini reviews to share today because I've been sooo busy and have had little time to get on here and post reviews. So, I ended up with a few pretty short reviews but I still wanted to share so here are some 'hit and run' reviews for you ...

The Black Echo by Michael Connelly

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Excellent mystery/crime fiction! I am so glad that I got keyed in to Michael Connelly and gave his Harry Bosch series a try! It was fantastic reading! Looking forward to starting the second book in the series!



Oprah: A Biography by Kitty Kelley

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I rarely read these unauthorized biography but I was curious about this one, particularly when I heard how upset Oprah was about it. I found it to be a decent escape. There wasn't anything earth shattering to me although I will say the book confirmed many of my suspicions about Oprah. I think the book was entirely too long and could have been edited better. It was much less full of 'revelations' than I'd expected, frankly. Anyone who has watched Oprah through the years should already be aware of most of this - particularly her extreme ambition, her relationships with Steadman and Gayle, and her piles of money. Is she spoiled? Is she a control freak? Is she amazingly successful? Is she a philanthropist? Is she more important to herself than anything else? I think its safe to say that Oprah is flawed (just like all of us). I can appreciate the good that she's done while also understanding that much of that was in an effort to support her empire. This book is a nice escapist read for someone interested in Oprah and her world.


Unexpectedly, Milo by Matthew Dicks

My rating: 1 of 5 stars


Although I loved 'Something Missing', I could just never get into this one. I REALLY wanted to because it had such an interesting premise and I adore Matthew Dicks. But, I just couldn't force myself to keep reading it. maybe I'll revisit it again later and hope that my perspective has changed enough that I'll enjoy it. But, for now, I'm letting it go ...


The Little Stranger by Sarah Waters

My rating: 1 of 5 stars


Unfortunately, I just couldn't ever get into this book. I tried for over 100 pages and I just never came to care about the book AT ALL. I was forcing myself to finish it and then I decided to just let it go because I wasn't interested anymore. I just didn't care to finish. I wish I'd enjoyed it as much as I'd hoped.


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Review: The Scent of Rain and Lightening by Nancy Pickard

The Scent of Rain and Lightning by Nancy Pickard

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I'd heard an interview with Nancy Pickard talking about this book and it sounded wonderful so I'd added it to my TBR list. When it became available at the library, I eagerly jumped on it and dug in. Overall, this was a good, solid book. Nothing outstanding but nothing terrible. Just solid good reading.

The novel has an excellent sense of place - Kansas just comes alive on the page as described by Nancy Pickard. That sense of place was one of my favorite things about this reading experience. Another thing that I liked about the novel was the characters. Although none of them really jumped off the page quite as much as Kansas did for me, they were all good, solid, well written characters. They had interest and complexity. They kept me interested in continuing to read.

The writing was good ... very solid. Nothing flowery or overly expressive but nice, solid writing. The mystery itself was well written. I actually didn't suspect the truth until the big reveal which was really nice. Mysteries rarely surprise me any more but this one really did.

In the end, I enjoyed this one but didn't love it. It was good. It was SOLID. I know that I've said that over and over but that is my ultimate impression of this book ... solid. If you love a good mystery or have an affinity for a good sense of place, I definitely recommend this book.

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