jessreads2023

Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion: Vol. 1 | Beth Brower

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Review: 5⭐️ Run for a copy! All are part of the Kindle Unlimited program. And then I promptly treated myself to the set for my rereads. I couldn‘t put the books down, until the moments I was laughing too hard to keep reading. If you love a brave, cynical, witty heroine and an assorted cast of lovable friends, frenemies, and mortal enemies; this is your series! Emma‘s adventures while saving herself from ruin and grief will move you.

Jess_Read_This #recommend #bookreview #jessreads2023 #heroine #currentlyreading

The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion: Vol 4

(edited) 2y

Tamra This looks fun! 2y

Jess_Read_This @Tamra This series has been one of my best reads so far this year. I‘ve never encountered an author quite like Brower. She‘s unpredictable, simultaneously light and deep in her themes/plots, hilarious, and uses many literary references as Emma rebuilds her bookshelf. If you decide to read the series, please let me know your thoughts! The first two are novellas and the rest novels. But definitely are read in order as they chronicle a entire year. 1y

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Tamra @Jess_Read_This I am definitely intrigued! 😃 1y

Cuilin I am intrigued. Stacked. 1y

Jess_Read_This @Cuilin oh terrific! Once you read, let me know what you think 😄 1y

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Jess_Read_This

Untitled | Unknown

so-so

3⭐️ and not even in the Litsy database. I wanted to like this one and did for the first half. Then the story seemed to have lost its way. Morton writes out a main character unexpectedly. The rest of cast wallows in their emotions and engages melodramatically in classist behavior. It was a shame because the plot was original and building upon nature vs nurture.

#jessreads2023 #vintageread #bookreview

LeahBergen Too bad (because it‘s pretty 😆). 2y

Jess_Read_This @LeahBergen 🤣 That‘s why I bought it! The blurb really told me nothing about the plot so because of the cover I took an expensive Abebooks gamble. 2y

LeahBergen Oh, I know those gambles so well. 😆 2y

33 likes3 comments

Jess_Read_This

Wine of Honour | Barbara Beauchamp

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As @Ruthiella mentioned, it‘s a fast read once picked up! I was absorbed in needing resolutions to each of the characters‘ stories. Angela‘s struggle with trying to help Peter knowing the correct societal norm would be to marry yet she‘s got a brilliant career ahead of her was moving. She‘s lived a life and has one ahead of her. Beauchamp‘s portrayal of the mental and physical results of the war on soldiers along with the impact of their return ⬇️

Jess_Read_This Was raw, insightful, and bleakly honest at times. Both the military serving men and women returned to a life that is both foreign and familiar. It was beautifully written for me. I appreciated the transparency in her writing on infidelity. I also loved how we end the story in the same setting as we began it. Just altered and more the wiser for some of the characters. I loved some get their HEA and we hope for the same for the others. 2y

Jess_Read_This #furrowedmiddlebrowclub #jessreads2023 2y

Jess_Read_This @Ruthiella @LeahBergen @quietjenn @batsy @CarolynM @catebutler @Kimzey @erzascarletbookgasm @elkeOriginal @Cathythoughts @jlhammar @MrsK @willaful @Tamra @PageShifter 2y

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Kimzey Great review! 2y

Jess_Read_This Dick‘s struggle with a head injury and how it‘s impacted his ability to regulate emotions really made me sad for his young wife. His anger at the system and inability to hold a job was hard to reading knowing the effect it will have on the future generation. I had my fingers crossed for the entire Cobb family in the end when he‘s back working at the pub. Sadly, I struggled with sympathy for Laura. Did anyone else feel similarly? 2y

Jess_Read_This @Kimzey Thank you! 2y

batsy Lovely review. I didn't quite fully like Laura or Helen, but I felt sympathetic for both. And I kind of wanted Laura to have a happy ending or at least a romance of her own. 2y

Jess_Read_This @batsy Yes! That‘s a good way of putting it. I couldn‘t fully like either either. After about 90 pages, I wanted to tell both of them to just get on with it already. They seemed never fully committed. Maybe that‘s part of the point Beauchamp was trying to make in showing all the varying characters‘ responses to post war life. I wanted Laura to escape that cottage and her father. Find love and just be happy. Instead, she seems to be turning bitter? 2y

Cathythoughts I love your review ❤️. I really enjoyed this one 👍🏻 2y

Ruthiella Great review! I liked that the book had realistic if less than perfect outcomes for most of the characters. But she left it open enough to allow for our imaginations to fill in their futures. 2y

jlhammar Glad you liked it. I appreciated Angela's story line as well. I loved that we got so many different experiences and personalities (even if it did leaving me wanting more in some cases). Fantastic review and lovely photo! 2y

LeahBergen Great review! I was really rooting for Dick to do well at the pub and I felt a bit irritated by Laura‘s limpness. 😆 2y

CarolynM Great review! I think Laura liked being told what to do. In the services the direction was a lot more constructive. I suspect she will be somewhat lost when her father dies. 2y

quietjenn Terrific review and such a pretty picture. I particularly appreciate you calling out Angela's story, as it's the one that has stuck with me the most. 2y

Jess_Read_This @Cathythoughts Thank you! I‘m glad this one got selected for our group read. I very much enjoyed it as well. 2y

Jess_Read_This @Ruthiella Well said! I think what made it impactful on me was the less perfect outcomes since Beauchamp really was speaking to the realistic post war outcomes. Thank you for pointing that out! 2y

Jess_Read_This @CarolynM Thank you! That‘s a good observation about Laura. I‘m glad we discussed her character more because it‘s helped me see her more sympathetically. 2y

Jess_Read_This @LeahBergen Thank you! I was so glad reading that sentence about him being back working in the pub after running out on his wife. Even though he was abrasive and honestly, just awful in scenes, I still felt sympathy because I wasn‘t sure what was due to head injury or not. We never really see how he was as a person pre-war. 2y

Jess_Read_This @quietjenn @jlhammar Angela is the character that resonated with me. She‘s judged by other females in the book, successful professionally, kind, and seems so comfortable in her skin. So when it seems like she pauses in her rhythm and considers Peter as commitment material, it stuck out to me. As if she pauses and considers doing what all the women around her do: get married. That scene in her apt, where Peter sees the photos of her in ⬇️⬇️⬇️ (edited) 2y

Jess_Read_This St Tropez and Singapore (? )with other men in her travels, really stood out to me that she has lived. She‘s been actively building a professional and personal life. And the whole time reading, I was wishing for her not to settle for the drunk who can‘t pay the housekeeper and lies to her face about it. I still felt sympathy for Peter. His brother‘s comment about the Navy and his “homosexual” leaning made me think Peter drinks to cope/forget. 2y

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Jess_Read_This

Diary of a French Herb Garden | Geraldene Holt

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“Gardeners are simply custodians, each handing on the tradition of stewardship, of protecting the land and caring for the ground, until the next generation succeeds us”

This resonated with me. Holt‘s gorgeous writing and passion for native plants spoke to my plant loving heart. I could identify with her efforts in hacking back the wilderness of an overgrown plot and transforming it into a fragrant colorful paradise. Marvelous! #jessreads2023

Aimeesue Lovely shot! 💜 2y

Jess_Read_This @Aimeesue Thanks! My lavender plants are languishing in the garage while they overwinter here in Michigan. I had to use my faux flowers to spruce up the photo! 2y

Aimeesue @Jess_Read_This poor lavender plants. . . Mine are hardy enough to stay outside here, but we're a bit warmer in Virginia than you are in MI. I'm looking forward to spring - the bees love them so much! 2y

jlhammar Lovely photo! Sounds wonderful. Have you read this one yet? I loved reading about Mrs. Todd's herb garden in coastal Maine.

Country of the Pointed Firs

Jess_Read_This @jlhammar I haven‘t read or heard of that one before! I think I‘d like it. I have been wanting to read a Maine setting book after traveling there and falling in love with the coast. This one sounds perfect! (edited) 2y

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Jess_Read_This

The Winter is Past | Noel Streatfeild

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4⭐️ As an aspiring seasonal reader, the title caught my eye. Fresh off of my first Susan Scarlett novel, I was curious how this compares. This one is less romance more focus on family dynamics during the beginning of WW2 and the impact of taking an evacuee family in. The main female lead is selfish and immature (imo) but experiences character growth. She has conflict with her husband and carries it over to her in laws. ⬇️ #jessreads2023

Jess_Read_This The evacuee family brought a bit of humor and sass to the story. They also brought sadness in the end. Overall, I enjoyed the book up until the ending. It was as if Streatfeild had a pile of plot strings and just jumbled it together calling it a tidy ending. Content Warning: Pregnancy Loss along with dated mental health advice on it. 2y

LeahBergen I have this waiting on my shelves. 👍 2y

40 likes2 comments

Jess_Read_This

Coco Chanel: An Intimate Life | Lisa Chaney

so-so

A 2023 reading goal is to always have a nonfiction or biography running simultaneously with my fiction reading. This 2nd 2023 bio read conversationally while slipping into a Who‘s Who List on influential people Chanel mingled with. To sum it up, Chanel was mysterious, inventive, prone to mixing truth with omission and embellishment in the story of her life. Chaney tried to piece it together but it‘s very surface level and speculative at times. ⬇️

Jess_Read_This However, I was left knowing more about Chanel and the origins of No.5 than I did prior to the book. 5 was her lucky number and one of her first collections was launched on 5/5. I lost count of her affairs. She loved art, ballet, opera, and decor. She seemed unfulfilled as she lost loves and friends. Turning to morphine and sedatives, she was lonely. Yet she remained a trendsetting force. A fascinating life. #jessreads2023 (edited) 2y

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Jess_Read_This

Miss Hargreaves: A Novel | Frank Baker

“Again I called. ‘Miss Hargreaves-Miss Hargreaves-‘ “

This was a pure pleasure to read. I felt thrust into a whirlwind of dizzying action following Norman‘s experiences with a creation from his imagination, Miss Hargreaves. His fibs have turned into a reality and now he‘s got to control his creation, before she controls him? It‘s comedic gold and yet, I read it with suspense in having to know how it ends! I hope to read more Frank Baker in 2023.

Jess_Read_This #jessreads2023 2y

quietjenn This is high on my list of books I want to get to this year! 2y

Jess_Read_This @quietjenn It was really good! I laughed out loud many times. The pace is fast too. A few times I felt as if my own head was swirling like Norman‘s seems to when Miss Hargreaves bursts around and is utterly outrageous. 2y

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Tamra I know I liked this one, but all the details escape me, sadly! 🤪 2y

Jess_Read_This @Tamra I‘m like that too! One detail that I won‘t forget because I snorted out loud in laughter was the scene in the Cathedral. She shows up while he‘s practicing and half takes over the organ. She‘s telling him to play the hymn slower or how else can her soul hark? 😂 2y

Tamra @Jess_Read_This 😂 good one 2y

LeahBergen I have this waiting on my shelves. 👏 2y

quietjenn @Jess_Read_This it sounds like great fun. 2y

batsy Great review! @LeahBergen Me too 🙌🏾 2y

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Jess_Read_This

Clothes-Pegs | Noel Streatfeild, Susan Scarlett

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This was exactly what I needed on my last free day before holiday is over. A lovely selection by #FurrowedMiddlebrowClub and my first Susan Scarlett read. It‘s a simple story of a naive girl becoming a model in a dress shop and meeting a Lord to fall in love with. My favorite parts belong to the periphery characters- her parents and hard life knocks fellow model Bernadette. It‘s a sweet story of young love, friendship, and happy ending.

rubyslippersreads, quietjenn, Kimzey, erzascarletbookgasm, catebutler, CarolynM, LeahBergen, elkeOriginal, batsy, Tamra, Cathythoughts, jlhammar, Sparklemn, willaful, MrsK

Jess_Read_This #jessreads2023 2y

LeahBergen That was fast! 😆 2y

Jess_Read_This @LeahBergen 😂 I haven‘t left the couch all day! It‘s a definitely a be lazy and just read kind of day for me. 2y

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elkeOriginal Yay for happy endings! Congrats on your couch day 😉 2y

LeahBergen I love couch days! 😆 2y

Tamra Perfect way to end the holiday! 2y

Jess_Read_This @elkeOriginal @Tamra @LeahBergen 😆I at least put on fresh loungewear and brushed my hair. 2y

jlhammar Sounds like a wonderful day. Lovely review! 2y

quietjenn What an ideal way to end the holidays. Couch days are the best! 2y

erzascarletbookgasm Oh, I love a happy ending👌 2y

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Jess_Read_This

Clothes-Pegs | Noel Streatfeild, Susan Scarlett

📚Starting the January #FurrowedMiddlebrowClub selection today. My first Susan Scarlett novel too!

#jessreads2023

rubyslippersreads, quietjenn, Kimzey, erzascarletbookgasm, catebutler, CarolynM, LeahBergen, elkeOriginal, batsy, Tamra, Cathythoughts, jlhammar, Sparklemn, willaful, MrsK

jlhammar Look at that lovely Slightly Foxed stack! I've been very tempted to subscribe. 2y

Jess_Read_This @jlhammar I just started subscribing last year and it was probably one of the best treats I did for myself. I absolutely love their issues and look forward to each one! I started picking up past issues from Abebooks over the past couple years. I always come away learning new ideas and authors from their writers. I definitely recommend subscribing ☺️ 2y

Tamra Just read the first chapter - love it! Very soothing read. 2y

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Aimeesue @jlhammar @Jess_Read_This I've done exactly the same, scrounging back issues on Abe 😁 They're such a joy to read 2y

Ruthiella I still need to crack it open! 😂 2y

Jess_Read_This @Tamra Agree! I loved the scenes with her family at home at the end of the work days. 2y

Jess_Read_This @Aimeesue Agree! ❤️ 2y

Jess_Read_This @Ruthiella 😂When you do crack it open, I think you‘ll enjoy it! 2y

LeahBergen Yay! I‘m looking forward to this one. 👏 2y

38 likes9 comments

Jess_Read_This

Bunny Mellon: The Life of an American Style Legend | Meryl Gordon

Begin as you mean to go on? If that‘s true, then hopefully 2023 will be a chunkster reading (516 pages) style legend sort of year.
In all seriousness, this has been a fascinating read. Also disturbing at the obscene amount of wealth some people have. The jaw dropping excess has troubled me more than I expected. I normally enjoy vicarious luxury but sending your private plane back to Palm Springs for a forgotten scarf is a bit much.
#jessreads2023

Aimeesue For a scarf? 😳 2y

Jess_Read_This @Aimeesue Yes! I had to read that sentence over to be sure I read it correctly! Bunny‘s husband, Paul, disliked the nuisance of driving 90 min to the airport where their private plane was kept. He tried to build an airstrip on their property, a petition by the neighbors stopped that. So he built one at one of their other houses so they could leave via plane pretty much when the mood struck. 😳 2y

elkeOriginal Not my kind of people 😉✈️ 2y

Aimeesue @Jess_Read_This Yikes. I cannot even fathom the self- centered ses that would make such a thing seem reasonable. Egad. Although .. . There was a scene in Mad Men where they have a picnic in a park and just walk away, leaving all the garbage laying around. Same-same, I guess. Hoo boy. 🙄 2y

Jess_Read_This #jessreads2023 2y

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