What Strange Paradise - Omar El Akkad

 Title: What Strange Paradise (Bookshop.org)

Author: Omar El Akkad

Published: 2022 (first published 2021)

Genre: Fiction, Contemporary, Literary

Edition: Paperback

Source: Surrey Libraries

Thoughts:  I really wanted to like the book, as I thought, and the others in my library book club also thought, that it would be a good read.  And it was a good read; it's just that I couldn't get into it with the two different timelines that the author gave for the book.  The book really needs to be read either closely or multiple times to really understand the two main timelines.  It is definitely a fairly quick read, if you just want to go through it once, but I think that if you really want to understand the book, you may want to read it many times.

Bottom line: A really excellent read that needs to read multiple times to get a complete understanding of it.  I just feel like there was something more to the book that I missed that would have completed my understanding of the book better. Recommended.

Rating: 3.5/5

Description: From the widely acclaimed author of American War a new novel--beautifully written, unrelentingly dramatic, and profoundly moving--that brings the global refugee crisis down to the level of a child's eyes.

More bodies have washed up on the shores of a small island. Another over-filled, ill-equipped, dilapidated ship has sunk under the weight of its too many passengers: Syrians, Ethiopians, Egyptians, Lebanese, Palestinians, all of them desperate to escape untenable lives in their homelands. And only one has made the passage: nine-year-old Amir, a Syrian boy who has the good fortune to fall into the hands not of the officials but of Vanna: a teenage girl, native to the island, who lives inside her own sense of homelessness in a place and among people she has come to disdain. And though she and the boy are complete strangers, though they don't speak a common language, she determines to do whatever it takes to save him.

In alternating chapters, we learn the story of the boy's life and how he came to be on the boat; and we follow the girl and boy as they make their way toward a vision of safety. But as the novel unfurls, we begin to understand that this is not merely the story of two children finding their way through a hostile world, it is the story of our collective moment in this time: of empathy and indifference, of hope and despair--and of the way each of those things can blind us to reality, or guide us to a better one.

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China Rich Girlfriend - Kevin Kwan

Title: China Rich Girlfriend (Crazy Rich Asians #2)
Author: Kevin Kwan
Published: 2015
Pages: 400
Genre: Contemporary Fiction
Edition: Hardcover
Source: Library

Description:
On the eve of her wedding to Nicholas Young, heir to one of the greatest fortunes in Asia, Rachel should be over-the-moon. She has a flawless Asscher cut diamond from JAR, a wedding dress she loves more than anything found in the salons of Paris, and a fiancée willing to sacrifice his entire inheritance in order to marry her. But Rachel still mourns the fact that her birthfather, a man she never knew, won't be able to walk her down the aisle. Until: a shocking revelation draws Rachel in to a world of Shanghai splendor beyond anything she has ever imagined. Here we meet Carlton, a Ferrari-crashing bad boy known for Prince Harry-like antics; Colette, a celebrity girlfriend chased by fevered paparazzi; and the man Rachel has spent her entire life waiting to meet: her father. Meanwhile, Singapore's It Girl Astrid Leong is shocked to discover that there is a downside to having a newly-minted Tech Billionaire husband. (via Goodreads)

Thoughts: While I enjoyed this book, I didn't enjoy the book as much as I did the first one in the series.  It took me longer to get into the book and I really didn't get the point of it.  I really didn't like the focus on Kitty but when the book focused more on Rachel and Nick, I felt that the book was better.

Bottom line:  I felt it was a decent sequel to the first book Crazy Rich Asians, but it suffered from what most second books do in that it was flat in areas.  Sure there were areas that were funny, but it didn't have the introduction that Crazy Rich Asians had and it didn't really wrap any of the lingering story lines that the third book will likely have.  And yes, I will be reading the final book in the series.

Rating: 3.5/5

Dreaming Sophia - Melissa Muldoon

Title: Dreaming Sophia: Because dreaming is an art
Author: Melissa Muldoon
Pages: 234
Published: 2016
Genre: Romance
Edition: Paperback
Source: I received this book in exchange for a fair and honest revew
 

Description:  

Dreaming Sophia is a magical look into Italy, language, art, and culture. It is a story about turning dreams into reality and learning to walk the fine line between fact and fantasy. When tragedy strikes, Sophia finds herself alone in the world, without direction and fearful of loving again. With only her vivid imagination to guide her, she begins a journey that will take her from the vineyards in Sonoma, California to a grad school in Philadelphia and, eventually, to Italy: Florence, Lucca, Rome, Verona, Venice, and Val d’Orcia.

​Through dreamlike encounters, Sophia meets Italian personalities—princes, poets, duchesses, artists, and film stars— who give her advice to help put her life back together. Following a path that takes her from grief to joy, she discovers the source of her creativity and learns to love again, turning her dreams into reality.

Buy the Book:  

Amazon – print

Amazon / Kindle – ebook

Create Space

I-tunes – Apple Store-ebook

Barnes & Noble – ebook

Inktera-ebook

Author's Bio:

Melissa Muldoon is the Studentessa Matta-the crazy linguist! In Italian, "matta" means "crazy" or "impassioned". Melissa has a B.A. in fine arts, art history and European history from Knox College, a liberal arts college in Galesburg, Illinois, as well as a master's degree in art history from the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana. She has also studied painting and art history in Florence.

Melissa promotes the study of Italian language and culture through her dual-language blog, Studentessa Matta (studentessamatta.com). Melissa began the Matta blog to improve her command of the language and to connect with other language learners. It has since grown to include a podcast, "Tutti Matti per l'Italiano" and the Studentessa Matta YouTube channel. Melissa also created Matta Italian Language Immersion Tours, which she co-leads with Italian partners in Italy.

Dreaming Sophia is Melissa's first novel. It is a fanciful look at art history and Italian language and culture, but it is also the culmination of personal stories and insights resulting from her experiences living in Italy, as well as her involvement and familiarity with the Italian language, painting, and art history.

As a student, Melissa lived in Florence with an Italian family. She studied art history and painting and took beginner Italian classes. When she returned home, she threw away her Italian dictionary, assuming she'd never need it again but after launching a successful design career and starting a family, she realized something was missing in her life. That "thing" was the connection she had made with Italy and the friends who live there. Living in Florence was indeed a life-changing event! Wanting to reconnect with Italy, she decided to start learning the language again from scratch. As if indeed possessed by an Italian muse, she bought a new Italian dictionary and began her journey to fluency-a path that has led her back to Italy many times and enriched her life in countless ways.

Now, many dictionaries and grammar books later, she dedicates her time to promoting Italian language studies, further travels in Italy, and sharing her stories and insights about Italy with others. When Melissa is not traveling in Italy, she lives in the San Francisco Bay Area. She is married and has three boys and two beagles.

Melissa designed and illustrated the cover art for Dreaming Sophia. She also designed the Dreaming Sophia website and created the character illustrations that can be found in the book and on the Dreaming Sophia websites.

Connect with the Author:  

​Website  ~ Twitter ~ Facebook ~ Youtube ~ Pinterest

Book Trailer:

Thoughts:

Despite it taking me a little bit to get a rhythm going with the book, I really enjoyed the book. I quite enjoyed how Sophia was drawn and how her character went about her journey and how it wasn't as clear cut as I expected it to be.  What really captured me as a reader, is how Sophia was able to find her way without her parents by her side (I’m not really spoiling anything here, trust me) and how she had to rely not only on others around her, but on her inner strength and how that pushed her forward, despite setbacks along the way.

I also really liked the setting.  While I haven’t been to Italy myself, I do know people who have been to those cities that are mentioned in the book and I can honestly see myself there in those cities.  I also liked how the author integrated history, literature and art history into the book and it just brought the book alive for, being a lover of all three.

I also really liked that it was a fairly light read for me.  After slogging through some heavy books in terms of material, this was a nice Italian treat.

Bottom line:  I really enjoyed this read and would recommend it to those that need something light, but would like to learn something along the way.  Highly Recommended.

Rating: 4.25/5

 

The Cadence of Gypsies - Barbara Casey

Title: The Cadence of Gypsies
Author: Barbara Casey
Pages: 266
Published: 2010
Genre: Fiction
Edition: Hardcover
Source: I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Description: On her 18th birthday Carolina Lovel learned that she was adopted and was given a letter written by her birth mother in an unknown language. After years of research she travels to Italy on a mission to find the truth about her past. Carolina is accompanied by three extremely gifted but mischievous students the FIGs from Wood Rose Orphanage and Academy for Young Women. In an effort to help their favorite teacher, the FIGs will have to use their special abilities to decipher the Voynich Manuscript, the most mysterious document in the world, and the one thing that is strangely similar to what Carolina was given. Their search will take them into the mystical world of gypsy tradition and magic, more exciting and dangerous than any of them could have imagined.

Buy the Book:  Amazon  ~  Barnes & Noble

Thoughts: I really enjoyed the read.   I didn't know what to make of the book, but once I got into the book, I quite enjoyed the read.  I felt that the book was fairly realistic and could very easily envision each of the main characters in the book.  I suppose it didn't hurt that a good portion of the story took place in the Italian countryside, surrounded by good food and good wine.  I felt that the plot moved along quickly and held my attention and made me care about the characters.  

Bottom line: If you enjoy books set in a country that has good food and good wine, you will enjoy this book.  Recommended.

Rating: 3.75/5

Author's Bio:

Barbara Casey is the author of several award-winning novels for both adults and young adults, and numerous articles, poems, and short stories. In addition to her own writing, she is an editorial consultant and president of the Barbara Casey Agency, established in 1995, representing authors throughout the United States, Great Britain, Canada, and Japan.

In 2014 Barbara became a partner in Strategic Media Books Publishing, an independent publishing house that specializes in true crime and other cutting-edge adult nonfiction.

​Barbara lives on a mountain in Georgia with her husband and three dogs who adopted her: Benton, a hound-mix, Fitz, a miniature dachshund, and Gert, a Jack Russel terrier of sorts.

​Connect with the author:  Website

Anna and the French Kiss - Stephanie Perkins

Title: Anna and the French Kiss (Anna and the French Kiss #1)
Author: Stephanie Perkins
Pages: 372
Published: 2013
Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary, Romance
Edition: Paperback
Source: Library

Description:  Anna is happy in Atlanta. She has a loyal best friend and a crush on her coworker at the movie theater, who is just starting to return her affection. So she's less than thrilled when her father decides to send her to a boarding school in Paris for her senior year.

But despite not speaking a word of French, Anna meets some cool new people, including the handsome Étienne St. Clair, who quickly becomes her best friend. Unfortunately, he's taken —and Anna might be, too. Will a year of romantic near misses end with the French kiss she's waiting for?(via Goodreads)

Thoughts: After reading a couple of books that were weren't in my normal wheelhouse, it was nice to read something that was more in line with what I normally read.  And by the end of the book, I could see the appeal of the book and why so many Young Adult reviewers like this book.  The writing is smart and isn't dumbed down to the primary age of individuals who would primarily read the book and also has the ability to appeal to adult readers as well.

Bottom line: A very enjoyable read, even if it is a typical YA romance, I would probably recommend it to most readers, even if they just needed a palate cleanser.  Recommended.

Rating: 3.75/5

Such a Pretty Face - Cathy Lamb

Title: Such a Pretty Face
Author: Cathy Lamb
Pages: 467
Published: 2010
Genre: Fiction
Edition: Paperback
Source Personal

Description: Two years and 170 pounds ago, Stevie Barrett was wheeled into an operating room for surgery that most likely saved her life. Since that day, a new Stevie has emerged, one who walks without wheezing, plants a garden for self-therapy, and builds and paints fantastical wooden chairs. At thirty-five, Stevie is the one thing she never thought she'd be: thin.

But for everything that's changed, some things remain the same. Stevie's shyness refuses to melt away. She still can't look her neighbors' gorgeous great-nephew in the eye. The Portland law office where she works remains utterly dysfunctional, as does her family—the aunt, uncle, and cousins who took her in when she was a child. To top it off, her once supportive best friend clearly resents her weight loss.

By far the biggest challenge in Stevie's new life lies in figuring out how to define her new self. Collaborating with her cousins to plan her aunt and uncle's problematic fortieth anniversary party, Stevie starts to find some surprising answers—about who she is, who she wants to be, and how the old Stevie evolved in the first place. And with each revelation, she realizes the most important part of her transformation may not be what she's lost, but the courage and confidence she's gathering, day by day. (via Goodreads)

Thoughts: If it hadn't been for my book club, I probably wouldn't have not picked up this book due to not being aware of the author at the time.  And judging by the cover of the book, I probably wouldn't have picked it up either, but this was a time where the cover completely threw me.  It completely surprised me and possibly could be my sleeper hit for 2015.

I felt that the struggles that Stevie faced could be faced by anyone and could really empathize with what she had to deal with.  I could understand how food can become a way of coping for Stevie, as I have personally used food as a way to cope with things.

Bottom line: I would recommend the book for bookclubs, as it provides a lot of material to discuss about how we deal with things that aren't so pleasant in our lives.  Recommended.

 Rating:  4/5

The Rosie Effect - Graeme Simison

Title: The Rosie Effect (Don Tillman #2)
Author: Graeme Simison
Pages: 414
Published: 2014
Challenges: I Love Libraries
Genre: Fiction
Edition: Trade Paperback
Source: Library

Description: Don Tillman and Rosie Jarman are back. If you were swept away by Graeme Simsion’s international smash hit The Rosie Project, you will love The Rosie Effect.

The Wife Project is complete, and Don and Rosie are happily married and living in New York. But they’re about to face a new challenge.

Rosie is pregnant.

Don sets about learning the protocols of becoming a father, but his unusual research style gets him into trouble with the law. Fortunately his best friend Gene is on hand to offer advice: he’s left Claudia and moved in with Don and Rosie.

As Don tries to schedule time for pregnancy research, getting Gene and Claudia back together, servicing the industrial refrigeration unit that occupies half his apartment, helping Dave the Baseball Fan save his business and staying on the right side of Lydia the social worker, he almost misses the biggest problem of all: he might lose Rosie when she needs him most. (via Goodreads)

Thoughts: While I really enjoyed The Rosie Project earlier this year, I was disappointed with this book.  Maybe it was due to the expectations that grew out of The Rosie Project, but I wasn't blown away with the book.

I thought that Rosie was unreasonable at times, in that she was sometimes asking too much of Don and didn't give him time to process her pregnancy.

I also felt that while it did have a plot, it did seem to be all over the place and there really wasn't a coherent storyline that one could really follow.

Bottom line:  I would read The Rosie Project before reading this book and if you are a fan of contemporary romance books that are slightly quirky, you probably will enjoy this read.  Recommended.

Rating: 3/5

Pages for 2014: 25,086

The Goldfinch - Donna Tartt

Title: The Goldfinch
Author: Donna Tartt
Pages: 771
Published: 2013
Challenges: Blogger Summer Reading, Chunkster
Genre: Contemporary, Literary, Ficiton
Edition: Hardcover
Source: Personal

Description: It begins with a boy. Theo Decker, a thirteen-year-old New Yorker, miraculously survives an accident that kills his mother. Abandoned by his father, Theo is taken in by the family of a wealthy friend. Bewildered by his strange new home on Park Avenue, disturbed by schoolmates who don't know how to talk to him, and tormented above all by his unbearable longing for his mother, he clings to one thing that reminds him of her: a small, mysteriously captivating painting that ultimately draws Theo into the underworld of art.

As an adult, Theo moves silkily between the drawing rooms of the rich and the dusty labyrinth of an antiques store where he works. He is alienated and in love-and at the center of a narrowing, ever more dangerous circle. (from Goodreads)

Thoughts:  After reading a number of book reviews over the past few months, I realized that I needed to borrow the audiobook from the library and it was a good decision in the end, as I was able to get through several portions of the book.  When all I wanted to do was to give up, even though there were sections that I really enjoyed reading.

I will say that Ms. Tartt's ability to allow the reader to as though they are actually in the place being described.  I really liked Boris more than Theo, who seemed to be a tad too mopy for my liking.  It's not that the book wasn't well-written, it was very well-written, I just felt that Theo didn't deal with his grief very well and felt that the author could have maybe brought some sort of relief/happiness into Theo's life.  I also felt that the author rambled a little too much for my liking.

Bottom line: I would recommend the book for those that don't mind long books that sometimes tend to be on the rambley side of things.  Recommend.

Rating: 3.5/5

Pages for 2014: 16,305

If you have read it, what did you think of it?

The Rosie Project - Graeme Simison

Title: The Rosie Project (Don Tillman #1)
Author: Graeme Simison
Pages: 295
Published: 2013
Challenges: Blogger Summer Reading, I Love Libraries
Genre: Contemporary, Fiction, Humor, Romance
Edition: Hardcover
Source: Library

Description: Don Tillman, professor of genetics, has never been on a second date. He is a man who can count all his friends on the fingers of one hand, whose lifelong difficulty with social rituals has convinced him that he is simply not wired for romance. So when an acquaintance informs him that he would make a “wonderful” husband, his first reaction is shock. Yet he must concede to the statistical probability that there is someone for everyone, and he embarks upon The Wife Project. In the orderly, evidence-based manner with which he approaches all things, Don sets out to find the perfect partner. She will be punctual and logical—most definitely not a barmaid, a smoker, a drinker, or a late-arriver.

Yet Rosie Jarman is all these things. She is also beguiling, fiery, intelligent—and on a quest of her own. She is looking for her biological father, a search that a certain DNA expert might be able to help her with. Don's Wife Project takes a back burner to the Father Project and an unlikely relationship blooms, forcing the scientifically minded geneticist to confront the spontaneous whirlwind that is Rosie—and the realization that love is not always what looks good on paper. (from Goodreads)

Thoughts: After having seen a number of bloggers reviewing the book, I knew that this would probably be a really good read for me and I wasn't disappointed with the book.  It was probably due to the fact that at some level I could I identify with Don and his wanting to keep routines and a schedule as much as possible and how getting out of that routine and schedule can cause a certain degree of anxiety.  I also liked how Rosie allowed Don to change at a pace that he was more comfortable with.  

Like with His Majesty's Hope, this book was a nice break from the usual sort of books that I read and when I was able to sit down with the book, I found that it flowed really well and was an enjoyable read.  I am looking forward to the upcoming sequel this September.

Bottom line: If you enjoy books that have some romance and some humor in them or just need a nice, light read, you probably will enjoy this book.  The writing is pretty good and the characters are well-drawn.  Highly recommended.

Rating: 4.5/5

Pages for 2014: 13,690

If you have read the book, what did you think of it?