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3.61 AVERAGE
3.61 AVERAGE
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Get in loser, we’re healing generational trauma through casseroles. This is a sweet, poignant story steeped in the upper Midwest’s landscape and culture. The grandmother/granddaughter relationship at the heart of the novel makes it ideal to share with your own loved ones, especially if you also grew up in the Catholic world of altar society ladies.
This is the rare romance that is PG enough for your mom’s church group but also feels authentically “adult” without being preachy. Characters grapple with PTSD, substance abuse, and relationship conflicts. Even the Boomers have the humility to learn new things! My only quibble is that vintage cookbooks are not an unknown concept; you can find them all over TikTok.
This is the rare romance that is PG enough for your mom’s church group but also feels authentically “adult” without being preachy. Characters grapple with PTSD, substance abuse, and relationship conflicts. Even the Boomers have the humility to learn new things! My only quibble is that vintage cookbooks are not an unknown concept; you can find them all over TikTok.
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I was expecting something lighter or more about the experience of making food for funerals and the grief journey. It might have changed my perspective as it was something completely different.
The story is centered around a girl who’s close with her grandmother, mother and sister, and growing up to fall in love with an abusive alcoholic with PTSD. It was emotional and triggering in idea but also lacking in depth at the same time. Personally, if you like this type of book, I would recommend The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah.
Overall it wasn’t a bad book, nor poorly written, just not memorable in the way I anticipated.
The story is centered around a girl who’s close with her grandmother, mother and sister, and growing up to fall in love with an abusive alcoholic with PTSD. It was emotional and triggering in idea but also lacking in depth at the same time. Personally, if you like this type of book, I would recommend The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah.
Overall it wasn’t a bad book, nor poorly written, just not memorable in the way I anticipated.
inspiring
tense
medium-paced
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I was given a copy of this book by Netgalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
Esther is an 82yo who loves her family, her church, and her Funeral Ladies. She is also a lady who was just cheated out of $30,000 from an internet cheat pretending to be an unmarried young mom who needs help. Esther didn't think a second thought - her new friend needed help, so she gave it. But now it is Esther who needs help - she is about to lose her house because she can't pay the mortgage.
Cooper just lost his mom; okay, maybe she was technically she was his stepmom, but she was the only mother he ever had, and has come to Ellerie County to bury her, with his little half-sister and Food Channel-famous dad.
Iris loves her grandma Esther. She may be falling in love with Cooper. But between trying to save Esther's house with a cookbook of funeral fare and dealing with Cooper's issues, how can she save herself?
I loved this book - it reminded me of the people I grew up with, but without the drinking (our funeral ladies were Baptists, so they were teetotalers). You feed people when they are sad, or happy, or even hungry. It's just what you do.
Esther is an 82yo who loves her family, her church, and her Funeral Ladies. She is also a lady who was just cheated out of $30,000 from an internet cheat pretending to be an unmarried young mom who needs help. Esther didn't think a second thought - her new friend needed help, so she gave it. But now it is Esther who needs help - she is about to lose her house because she can't pay the mortgage.
Cooper just lost his mom; okay, maybe she was technically she was his stepmom, but she was the only mother he ever had, and has come to Ellerie County to bury her, with his little half-sister and Food Channel-famous dad.
Iris loves her grandma Esther. She may be falling in love with Cooper. But between trying to save Esther's house with a cookbook of funeral fare and dealing with Cooper's issues, how can she save herself?
I loved this book - it reminded me of the people I grew up with, but without the drinking (our funeral ladies were Baptists, so they were teetotalers). You feed people when they are sad, or happy, or even hungry. It's just what you do.
I was captured by the premise of this book immediately! It made me think of the women at my grandpa's childhood church who pulled out a whole spread for his funeral reception despite his not having attended their church since he was in his 20s. The characters were vibrant and each had such distinct personalities. I loved seeing the pull of place take a really starring role, exploring how that might look from generation to generation.
Overall, I really loved this book. It was easy to read and compelling. The ending felt a little rushed to me but it could just be because I wanted to keep spending time in Ellerie County!
Overall, I really loved this book. It was easy to read and compelling. The ending felt a little rushed to me but it could just be because I wanted to keep spending time in Ellerie County!
perfectly fine mom book you would find in a little free library
This one surprised me - I did not expect to like it this much. It’s a lovey little story about friendship, family, love, and suffering. I love that the ending wasn’t a wrapped up little package with a bow on it, which is what I had anticipated.
If you like shows like Virgin River you will enjoy this one. At first I thought it was gnna be a five star but then it turned into a Iris and Coopera story which i wasnt rooting for, I wanted more of Esther and the funeral ladies (as the title suggests)
Very heavy on the PTSD so TW! And also i get that the old folks in our families like to normalize things that are obviously wrong and sometimes say some out of pocket shit, but drunk driving? Absolutely not.
Loved the gun violence talks especially in a town thats clearly based on your typical southern conservative USA small town.
Very heavy on the PTSD so TW! And also i get that the old folks in our families like to normalize things that are obviously wrong and sometimes say some out of pocket shit, but drunk driving? Absolutely not.
Loved the gun violence talks especially in a town thats clearly based on your typical southern conservative USA small town.