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3.73 AVERAGE
3.73 AVERAGE
Fantastic book!! One of the best books I've read in a really long time. A very empowering book and humerous in parts too. Loved it!
So, I freely admit that this is not great fiction, but it is definitely feel-good female fiction. There's lots of woman power, stick up for yourself, find out who you are, overcome your fears, follow your heart energy, and I giggled in places and otherwise smiled through much of it (though there are, of course, the obligatory tragic and horrifying set of situations, so that the women can have suitable opportunities to show their strengths, and those you just can't smile through).
So yeah, maybe some of it's a bit trite, and the main romance didn't do much for me (where ARE these men who allegedly make up their minds that they will be forever-in-love with a woman upon first meeting her, and stick by her through all her neuroses without asking for a single thing in return?) but in the end, I thought "really liked it" best summed up my experience. So go for it, it's enjoyable.
So yeah, maybe some of it's a bit trite, and the main romance didn't do much for me (where ARE these men who allegedly make up their minds that they will be forever-in-love with a woman upon first meeting her, and stick by her through all her neuroses without asking for a single thing in return?) but in the end, I thought "really liked it" best summed up my experience. So go for it, it's enjoyable.
Julia's Chocolates is a gem! It follows the life of Julia who not only makes the world's most amazing chocolates, but is running from a horrific pattern of abuse. She runs to Golden, Oregon to live with her Aunt, and slowly begins her new life. Although at times the story of abuse is tough to read, the overall message of the book is sweet and beautiful.
Based on previous reviews, I did expect the chocolate to take more of a lead in the book, but it was nonetheless a quick and very enjoyable read!!
Based on previous reviews, I did expect the chocolate to take more of a lead in the book, but it was nonetheless a quick and very enjoyable read!!
This was a good chick-lit book. A little too much of a nice neat wonderful ending, but I enjoyed it.
adventurous
emotional
funny
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Contrived.
This was an awesomely written book with great characters.
I promised myself I wouldn't read sad books this year...and this was certainly sad at points.
Overall, a great read, though it did break my criteria for this year's non-downers.
I promised myself I wouldn't read sad books this year...and this was certainly sad at points.
Overall, a great read, though it did break my criteria for this year's non-downers.
Great, great characters. Wonderful rich setting. BUT there's just something about the actual writing that I found disarming. I wanted to stop reading it but I wanted to see how it all wrapped up.
This book was very hard to read, mostly because I could relate to the main character on too many levels. While my experiences in life haven't been as drastic and violent as hers, I have experienced the Dread Disease and the mother issues and the controlling relationships. I have felt all of the things that Julia feels, so it was hard to read and relive.
But I couldn't stop reading. Yes, the ending had a nice bow on it, but you know what? We need more pretty bows in our lives after going through sh*tstorms. Real life has enough chaos and hurt and turmoil. This book had plenty! It was nice to have it end like it did. It gave me hope after crying so many tears.
I'm off to read another Cathy Lamb book...
But I couldn't stop reading. Yes, the ending had a nice bow on it, but you know what? We need more pretty bows in our lives after going through sh*tstorms. Real life has enough chaos and hurt and turmoil. This book had plenty! It was nice to have it end like it did. It gave me hope after crying so many tears.
I'm off to read another Cathy Lamb book...
While not my favorite book we've read for book group, I will say it was intriguing and I'm curious to find out the thoughts of the other members. Regarding the book specifically, Lydia and her strange group meetings were over the top and, well, rather disturbing. The only other minor complaint is that all of these women seemed to have a lot going on, which ultimately felt melodramatic and soap-opera-ish. The writing was so so. I think Lamb's later books are better constructed, in general. On the flip side, I didn't realize this book had discussion questions at the end so as I was reading it, part of my brain was turned towards coming up with good discussion questions. And, it really made me wonder what the women in my group would do I the shoes of these women and what they think and dream about in the dark of the night. As I said, could be an interesting group meeting. I can't wait to get to know them that much better.
I never would have found/picked up this book and I am so delighted I did. It was a fun, quirky book with a very serious undertone of childhood and spousal abuse. I have a fun Aunt Kathryn in my life but she's not quite as ecclectic and fun as Julia's Aunt Lydia. Read this book, you will like it. The first sentence should pull you right in "I left my wedding dress hanging in a tree somewhre in North Dakota."
Thank you chics for making this one of our November picks.
Thank you chics for making this one of our November picks.