“Most of what she knew, she‘d learned from the wild. Nature had nurtured, tortured, and protected her when no one else would” (pg. 363). Excellent book. Perfect read for a muggy summer day! I devoured it in two days!

I was SO excited for this book. Historical fiction, romance, & fantasy - it sounded right up my alley. I was disappointed. The premise of the novel is extremely clever, but I didn‘t like the execution of it. The characters felt flat to me. There were stretches of the book where I felt quite bored.
With that being said, I liked the ending.
It wasn‘t a bad book. It wasn‘t a great book. I‘m very apathetic about it. I give it a solid 2.5/5 stars.

This is Jennifer Weiner‘s best work. I laughed and I cried, in equal measures — the sign of a truly good work of fiction. The lesson of this book for women in America: We have come so far. We have lots of choices to be wives or mothers or career-focused women or stay-at-home moms or a mixture of all of the above. But, we are not there yet. We are not on the other side of the equity fight. Don‘t give up.

“When you attain my age you will understand one of life‘s great secrets: Luxury is best appreciated in small portions. When it becomes routine it loses its allure.” - as told to Ruth in Paris

I enjoyed this memoir much more than I thought I would!

#memoir #mmdsummerreadingguide2019

If you like historical fiction (👍) and you like wedding gowns (👍), then I think you‘ll like this book. This story is told in three different strands from three different women. Robson‘s ability to interweave the three strands of the novel was excellent. I enjoyed learning more about the dress and the significance of this royal wedding to Britain. Great book and outstanding #mmdbookclub pick.

“ I was a precocious and prolific reader, often stealing Renee‘s books or ones from the cardboard boxes we had yet to unpack, generally preferring to exist within my own made-up world rather than the real one that surrounded me.”

3/5 stars - It was a really good story with just decent packaging. I didn‘t love it, but I also didn‘t hate it. I liked the individual and collective stories of the three women. However, I didn‘t like the writing. Multiple flashbacks within chapters and different perspectives each chapter were too much for me. I hope Claire Gibson keeps writing, because I would like to see her evolve and grow as a writer over time.