Fiction Reviews

The Dream Daughter + Copycat Mexican Pizza The description for Diane Chamberlain’s “genre-spanning” novel The Dream Daughter promises it will be “irresistible.” In that, it was 100% correct. Twenty-six-year-old ... Read more
There There + Indian Tacos Tommy Orange’s novel There There tells a multigenerational story of Native Americans as they are today, living not on reservations but in ... Read more
Midnight at the Bright Ideas Bookstore + Cider Donuts I suppose I expected a book about books when I chose Midnight at the Bright Ideas Bookstore for the Book Challenge by ... Read more
An American Marriage + Blackberry Jam Cake An American Marriage, the poignant novel by Tayari Jones, received a boost of popularity when Oprah selected it as her book club ... Read more
TBR Mix ‘n’ Mingle – What I’m Reading in September September is here and it’s exciting! Fall is coming… those cooler, breezy days that are perfect for reading. The end to the ... Read more
The Late Bloomers’ Club + Burnt Sugar Cake (and Corn Tomato Salad) If you’re anything like me, you’re looking forward to fall. It’s the season of cool nights, hot cups of tea, fresh baked ... Read more
The Immortalists + Apple Noodle Kugel I included Chloe Benjamin’s novel The Immortalists on my list of Books I’m Looking Forward to in 2018 over eight months ago. ... Read more
Fruit of the Drunken Tree + Caramel Flan Let’s be real, the cover of Ingrid Rojas Contreras’ latest novel Fruit of the Drunken Tree is gorgeous. Like the “drunken tree” ... Read more
The Book of Essie + Cuban Sandwiches Meghan MacLean Weir’s debut novel The Book of Essie is about seventeen-year-old Esther Hicks, also known as Essie. Her father is an ... Read more
The Cast + Summer Picnic Food Amy Blumenfeld’s The Cast centers around a group of friends — Becca, Jordana, Seth, Holly and Lex — who are bonded and ... Read more
Goodbye, Paris + Treacle Tart Anstey Harris’ novel Goodbye, Paris is being marketed as “Jojo Moyes meets Eleanor Oliphant,” which is definitely what drew me to the ... Read more
Mother, Mother + Lemon Blueberry Scones I read Koren Zailckas’ memoir Smashed about her “drunken girlhood” over a decade ago, and I absolutely loved it. It was a ... Read more
We Were the Mulvaneys + Shrimp and Sausage Casserole Joyce Carol Oates’ novel We Were the Mulvaneys has been on my shelf forever. I picked it up at a used book ... Read more
TBR Mix ‘n’ Mingle – What I’m Reading in August Today, I’m excited to be participating a new monthly TBR linkup, hosted by Rachel at Never Enough Novels, Allison at My Novel ... Read more
Fierce Kingdom + Cheese Crackers I was unexpectedly captivated by Gin Phillips’ novel Fierce Kingdom, which I read as part of the Book Challenge by Erin earlier ... Read more
Then We Came to the End + Bagels When I’m not reading, cooking or writing about it, I’m often at work. And, for those of you who don’t know, I ... Read more
Castle of Water + Banana Fritters I have never before had to request that my library purchase I book I wanted to read, but for Dane Huckelbridge’s Castle ... Read more
Homegoing + African Yam and Peanut Soup My book club recently selected Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi, a book that was selected in one of my other book clubs last ... Read more
The Afterlife of Walter Augustus + Chocolate-Date Pudding Cake Hannah Lynn’s second novel The Afterlife of Walter Augustus was actually brought to my attention when the author herself reached out to ... Read more
Interview with Hannah Lynn, Author of The Afterlife of Walter Augustus For those of you stopping by as part of the blog tour for The Afterlife of Walter Augustus, welcome! I was so ... Read more