Olivia’s Picks
With the New Year off to a great start, I have finally been able to get caught up on my work and on some reading. Where is your favorite spot to read? I find that a nice hot cup of tea and a bubble bath is the perfect set up for me, especially on these cold winter nights! I hardly have the time, but I must admit I have been reading ahead. One of the perks of working at a bookstore is that we receive advanced reader copies of books before they are published. Requesting and reading them months in advance is somewhat of a guilty pleasure of mine, and I will say there is some great stuff coming out this summer so keep an eye out!
Currently I am juggling a few books. I don’t typically read more than one at a time, but sometimes when I am behind or trying to finish another, I will read 2 at a time. I can typically do this if they are of a different genre or topic, this way I don’t get characters confused. I used to do this in college. Being an English major I had to manage 5-6 classes, all expecting me to read a different book, so essentially when I do this, it’s not my first rodeo. (I don’t recommend getting into a habit of it!)
Here are several novels I have finished reading lately:
-The Kitchen Front, by Jennifer Ryan- A sweet and light novel that is reminiscent of the great british bake off and Downton abbey. Four women decide to enter into a BBC hosted baking competition during WWII. The point of the baking competition is to advertise and show women at home new ways to use their rationing to still make delicious meals for their families. The winner will be featured regularly on the BBC radio station to cook and talk about their new recipes every week.
Audrey, a young widow and mom of three is an excellent baker. She is well known in her community for her pies, and recipes using minimal ingredients and rationed items.
Gwendolyn, Audreys younger sister, is the wife of a wealthy gentleman. While snobby, a socialite, and unliked by her community, she wants to give it a try for fame. However, she doesn't realize how hard cooking can be and how often she relies on her cook staff.
Young kitchen maid Nell has always relied on old Mrs. Quince the head cook of Lady Gwendoline's household, to show her the ropes. She has learned well on her own and is talked into doing the competition, if she can come out of her shell.
Zelda is a fantastic 5 star hotel chef from London. After a troubled relationship ends up in her pregnancy and the bombings leave her out of money and out of a job, she flees to the countryside and hears about the cooking competition. She plans to give up the baby, win with her expertise, and take the fame and opportunity to show the people of her past that she can make something of herself. I adored this novel! One of my favorite reads, and the recipes inside are a neat touch!
-The Artic Fury, by Greer Macallister- It was definitely worth the read. It’s a historical fiction suspense about a secret Artic expedition in 1853 that ultimately leads to the group leader being accused and on trial for murder. This novel alternates between the Artic expedition, and the trial a year later. You slowly will start to uncover the mystery of who survived the expedition, and who didn’t…I found myself reading to the last page to find out what really went on out there in the unmapped uncharted snow.
(You can find this book linked to my book page on our online shopping site for online purchase. Give me a call in store if you would like to order it in store.)
-The Last Garden in England, by Julia Kelly- This was a beautiful novel told in alternating voices and time periods.
1907, Venetia Smith is a horticulturist and is set upon designing a grand garden with several garden rooms for the Melcourts, who live in the Highbury House mansion. Upon arriving she has big dreams and plans for the garden, with sentimental aspects for each flower chosen that is planted, and each room design. She is becoming distracted however by Mrs. Melcourt’s brother.
1944, Beth is a land girl newly arriving to the countryside near Highbury House and Highbury House farms. Beth loves to draw and is using her talents to sketch parts of Highbury House gardens for Mrs. Symonds, the new owner of the house. Beth makes many acquaintances around the area, one being the head of Highbury’s kitchen staff, Stella Adderton. Stella Adderton already has a lot to manage, with the injured soldiers for the war taking over all the rooms in Highbury House and infringing upon her kitchen supply rations. To make matters worse, her sister entrusts her to take care of her nephew Bobby as her sister heads back into the workforce into dangerous London. Diana Symonds recently lost her husband in the war. Now the sole owner of Highbury House, she is learning to love it as much as her late husband did, however now with the soldiers in every corner of her house she is becoming frantic in not having any time to grieve privately, showing an icy exterior to those around her. These three women will learn to lean on each other through the war and the troubles that come.
Present Day, Emma is a horticulturist with her own gardening company. Severely in debt, she never stops working and never stops moving from job to job. She has never found a place to call “home” until she arrives at Highbury House. She is struggling under the enormity of restoring the gardens, but is inspired by Venetia Smith’s designs, an idol of hers. She wants to restore it to its original beauty for the new owners of Highbury, but there is something secretive about the locked and over grown Winter Garden. Although it is a bit hard to keep up with all of the characters and alternating point-of-views in this novel, it is a must read and thus far my favorite book of 2021!
(You can find this book linked to my book page on our online shopping site for online purchase. It is also available in store.)
-The Chanel Sisters, by Judithe Little- This novel surprised me in such a good way. It was definitely not what I was expecting, which made me love it even more. I am a huge fan of the brand of Chanel, which is what originally turned me on to this novel. However it not only focuses on the early life and early career of Gabriel (Coco) Chanel, but it gives her younger sister Antoinette the shining star in this novel. It details their lives growing up (more specifically Antoinette’s) and lets readers in on the secret behind their rough upbringing and the “double c” insignia we all know too well. Set in the early 1900’s in France, I fell in love with this novel. New in paperback!
(You can find this book linked to my book page on our online shopping site for online purchase. It is also available in store.)
Here is a sneak peek into what I am currently reading (ahead) coming out this year!
Pub Date May 11th 2021
Mary Jane, by Jessica Anya Blau- A hilarious heartfelt novel about a naïve young 14 year old girl named Mary Jane who lives in a wealthy suburb in Maryland in 1975. She takes a job as the summer nanny for the daughter of the Cones family, a family who behaves differently than what Mary Jane would have thought. Mary Jane was raised in a proper and tight mannered household. The Cones are messy, they yell, they don’t wear bras, they walk around naked, and listen to music while belting it to the rooftops. Mary Jane loves the free and wild lifestyle that the Cones live, and is struggling to find her true self, all while hiding the true personality of her employers from her mother and father. When the Cones have famous movie stars come to stay with them for the summer while undercover, things start to go awry. I laughed and cried along with the characters while reading this novel! I only have 50 pages left and I don’t want it to end. From the music down to the shag carpets, I felt as if I was transported back to the 70’s. Absolutely fantastic, keep your eye out for this one!