A review by baileylemoine
The Secret, Book & Scone Society by Ellery Adams

3.0

I love the way Adams talks about books, and the clear love of books and stories woven through the narrative and characters. The book did feel somewhat unpolished, but the reason I rated it 3 stars instead of 4 is really because I was super disappointed in the addition of romance subplots and how those felt like they take away from the central friendship of the 4 women. It feels like they're setting up for these women to all end up happily married with supportive husbands later in the series, and while that's fine for one or two characters, I was really hoping this would be a story more focused on women's friendship, on how women can age without a male partner, on building community outside of marriage and religious bonds over shared love of books. This book hinted at that but can't seem to follow through.