Guest Book Review: The Wedding Bees

By Connie Fischer

Sugar Wallace has just moved into an old apartment building in an charming, yet older neighborhood of Manhattan. The small penthouse on the fifth floor with a large terrace and gorgeous view which is perfect for her. This is the latest of an annual move she has made since fleeing her wedding at the altar. Some years ago, she had been a debutante and daughter of wealthy parents in Charleston preparing to marry a very handsome guy. However, his arrogant, bossy and violent personality had just come to a head which is the reason Sugar fled. As a child, Sugar had loved spending her time with her recently deceased, yet beloved grandfather from whom she gained her knowledge and love of beekeeping. When she left Charleston, she took her bee hive with her and it has been with her ever since. In each town she has lived in, she has made her living by selling honey and other bee-related products. In addition, her friendly, kind and helpful personality has won her many friends.

As Sugar gets to know her new neighbors, she uses her happy ways to bring them all together. The completely different personalities of her neighbors make for some lovely, funny and bittersweet stories. When Sugar meets Theo, a lawyer from Scotland, they are intrigued by each other, but incidents happen that make their relationship appear that it is not to be.

Sugar's bees play a huge part in this book and her current queen bee is named Elizabeth the Sixth, descended from her original queen, Elizabeth the First. The book imparts a fascinating lesson on bees: raising them, their personalities, what they do and do not like, and, of course, the delicious and highly versatile honey they produce.

I read The Wedding Bees in a day and found I couldn't put it down. The characters make you laugh, make you think and make you want to have them for your own friends. I highly recommend this book as one that will stay with the reader for a long time to come.

Thanks to Sarah-Kate Lynch for the book in exchange for an honest review.

Connie Fischer is a retired office manager from NASA. Loved books from the time she could read. Spent childhood summers in her front yard tree reading Nancy Drew books and biographies. Loves historical and contemporary romance novels, chick lit and anything British. Is a reviewer for the blog, bookworm2bookworm. Her goal for 2013 on Goodreads is to read and review 100 books and she's way ahead of schedule. Lived in Paris, France for a number of years. Living now in southwest Florida. Ahhh...life is good!

More by Sarah-Kate Lynch:

Guest Book Review: The Story of Us

By Sara Steven

Reading a good book is like a mini-mental vacation for me. It’s all about finding myself in another world, or within someone else’s shoes- an escape if you will, and let’s face it. We all need an escape from time to time.

The Story of Us took me on a mini-mental vacation, and it was just what I needed. Nestled within the imagination of Ellen Faith lives Alexandra “Lexi” Jones, a soon-to-be 30 year-old who is living in England with her rich, handsome fiance. She’s due for a promotion at work any day now, and is truly content in the life she’s leading, until she loses the promotion, and discovers her fiance at home early one afternoon, in the shower. With his secretary. Not only that, but her ex-boyfriend who she has been in love with since high school comes knocking on her door, expressing a lot of interest in picking up where they left off. Lexi has always viewed him as her long-lost soul mate. The problem? He’s currently engaged to someone else.

When Lexi’s best friend books a flight to San Francisco for a work assignment, Lexi decides to tag along. She’s always wanted to visit California, and she wants to forget the drama and not deal with the reality of her life. She soon discovers she’s traded one drama for the next. A new potential love interest in the form of a gorgeous man enters stage left, and he’s nothing like anyone she’s ever known before. Is she falling for this
man? Should she return to London, or stick around and see where her future lies? And what about the ex-boyfriend, who hunts her down, ready to give up his own engagement for a new beginning with Lexi?

This was a sweet, easy story, and one I could fall right into and not put down. Although a few of the twists and turns were predictable, I very much enjoyed living vicariously through Lexi. She tells it like it is, and has an enviable spirit. Most of us have been in a position where we feel we have to make a tough call in life, and this made Lexi a very believable character.

It was the perfect escape during this bitterly cold winter, and I could practically feel the warm sunshine on my face when reading about San Francisco, a place I’ve never been to, but a place I’d love to visit someday. After reading The Story of Us, maybe I will!

Thanks to Ellen Faith for the book in exchange for an honest review.

Sara Steven is a wife and stay-at-home mother of two rambunctious boys in Bellevue, NE. When she’s not running marathons, or working on her novel, she takes a break and opens up a good book (or turns on her Nook). Find her at her blog.

Reader Spotlight: Perfecting the craft

This year, we're doing "Reader Spotlight" posts on a bi-weekly basis. We want to feature readers who have been actively following CLC for a while. We're hoping you can get to know some new friends this way. One of the joys of having CLC is that readers have connected with each other, as a result. That's one of the reasons it was started up in the first place...to bring chick lit fans together from all over the world! We've made some amazing friends because of this blog and we hope you'll get to do so too!

If you'd like to be spotlighted sometime this year, please contact us.

See our previous Reader Spotlight posts.

Note from Melissa A: I met Lindsay a couple of months ago, when she asked to be a guest reviewer. Her first guest review went up last week and we look forward to more from her. She's really sweet and we have fun chatting about books and our children.

Name: Lindsay Yocum
Age: 27
Location: Visalia, CA

How did you find Chick Lit Central?
I used to only read reviews on Amazon because I order books through them a majority of the time. But, there's only so much "AWFUL BOOK" with no real explanation that I could handle reading anymore. I searched book review blogs on Google, and the rest is history.

What are your top FIVE favorite chick lit novels of all time? 
This is really hard to answer because there are so many. Right now I would say my favorites are: Jemima J by Jane Green, Thirty-Two Going on Spinster by Becky Monson, Socially Awkward by Stephanie Haddad, An Offer You Can't Refuse by Jill Mansell, and The Undomestic Goddess by Sophia Kinsella.

What do you do when you're not reading? 
When I'm not reading, I am either hanging out with the best five year-old in the world--my daughter, "Bear"--and my hilarious husband. We travel, we bake, we cook, we craft. Lots of crafts. Lots of Pinterest inspired FAILS happen in my house. When I'm not doing that, I'm busy working full time doing Healthcare Administration.

Book Review: A Fall of Marigolds

By Amy Bromberg

A beautiful scarf, passed down through the generations, connects two women who learn that the weight of the world is made bearable by the love we give away....

September 1911. On Ellis Island in New York Harbor, nurse Clara Wood cannot face returning to Manhattan, where the man she loved fell to his death in the Triangle Shirtwaist Fire. Then, while caring for a fevered immigrant whose own loss mirrors hers, she becomes intrigued by a name embroidered onto the scarf he carries…and finds herself caught in a dilemma that compels her to confront the truth about the assumptions she’s made. Will what she learns devastate her or free her?

September 2011. On Manhattan’s Upper West Side, widow Taryn Michaels has convinced herself that she is living fully, working in a charming specialty fabric store and raising her daughter alone. Then a long-lost photograph appears in a national magazine, and she is forced to relive the terrible day her husband died in the collapse of the World Trade Towers…the same day a stranger reached out and saved her. Will a chance re-connection and a century-old scarf open Taryn’s eyes to the larger forces at work in her life? (Synopsis courtesy of Amazon.)

Ever since I read Sarah Jio’s debut, The Violets of March, I’ve thoroughly enjoyed historical fiction and blending together two different stories from two different time periods, where both heroines have a bond. This is exactly what Susan does in A Fall of Marigolds. Having in common a special scarf that has stood the test of time, Clara witnesses a horrible fire in Manhattan in 1911, and Taryn witnesses 9/11 and experiences the aftermath.

Clara's story took me on an emotional roller coaster. I was transported into a world that of course I know nothing about, except some reading and studying in school. Isn’t this what books are all about, though? At least one of many, right? I felt like I was right along side Clara from the beginning till the end, hugging her through (or during) the sad times and and cheering her on during the good times.

While I enjoyed the story overall, there was one thing that didn’t work so well for me. The summary made me believe that the story would have an equal focus on both Clara and Taryn. The majority of the book is Clara’s story. I wish it was half and a half. Many chapters went by that were just Clara’s story, not Taryn’s.

This story explores feelings of grief, hope, love, loss and healing. It also reminds us that in life we need to learn how to let things go in order to find clarification, peace and purpose. If you’re part of a book club and looking for your next pick, I highly recommend this novel.There’s a great lengthy discussion guide. Make sure you have some tissues handy.

Thanks to Penguin for the book in exchange for an honest review.

More by Susan Meissner:

Edwina Darke is (almost) 30, flirty and thriving!

We are pleased to introduce Edwina Darke and her debut novel, Three's a Crowd. She's here today to talk about birthdays with us.

Edwina grew up in Sydney and attended Bond University, where she majored in accounting, psychology and journalism. Although she loved her home and family, Edwina had her bags packed, ready to go travelling at the age of 18. Among other adventures, Edwina worked as a ski instructor in Austria, studied the history of fine art in Florence, lived in London and ended up spending the better part of a year living with a friend in Manhattan, New York, the setting for Three's A Crowd. She now lives and works in Sydney. (Bio courtesy of Goodreads.)

You can find Edwina on Facebook and Twitter. While Three's a Crowd is not currently available to US readers, UK readers can purchase it for 99 p.

Synopsis of Three's a Crowd:
Manhattan editor Elan Moore thinks her dreams have come true when she is asked to manage an upcoming celebrity memoir. Not only is her career taking off, but she has amazing friends, the perfect boyfriend and finally she's mastered the art of avoiding her mother. But when her oldest friend Luke comes back into her life, things start to get complicated. To make matters worse, celebrity author Rox Wriothesly has no intention of being managed. Elan soon realises that this 'opportunity' may be the catalyst that brings everything else crashing down around her.

Sex and the City meets The Devil Wears Prada in this smart and funny story of life and love in New York. (Synopsis courtesy of Amazon UK.)

When is your birthday?
21 September 1984 – which means this year is the big three-oh.

Do you count down to your birthday?
Not really. I normally keep my birthday quite low key. Do something with family and friends with cake and presents and all the trimmings, but not a blow-out party. Though I’m going to be making an exception to that rule this year.

What animal represents your birth year on the Chinese Zodiac calendar? Do you feel it describes you?
I’m a Rat! Unsurprisingly I wasn’t too thrilled when I found out - it’s arguably the least cute animal of the zodiac. I was hoping for Tiger or Dragon and then found out my animal representative was a plague vector. Such is life. According to Wikipedia, Rats are meant to be ambitious, charming and cunning, which is a bit of a mixed bag as far as good qualities are concerned (going by this description, Francis Urquhart is almost certainly a Rat). I’ve never thought of myself as particularly Machiavellian, but, with fellow Rats ranging from Alexander the Great to William Shakespeare to Katy Perry, it seems like there’s some room for interpretation.

Have you ever been surprised on your birthday?
Not yet!

What significant or insignificant event takes place on your birthday?
My birthday falls on the International Day of Peace (somewhere out there my mother is laughing) and, in a bit of fantasy geek trivia, J. R. R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit was published on 21st September 1937.

Where is your favorite place to celebrate your birthday?
Any place, so long as I’ve got family and friends with me. In an ideal world, the place would also serve really good cocktails.

Thanks to Edwina for visiting with us and Penguin Australia for coordinating the interview.

Book Review: The Art Forger

By Jami Deise

My favorite type of art is the written word. In close second would be those “moving pictures” – i.e. TV and movies. As far as the art that’s generally found in museums, I appreciate pretty things, but my knowledge of what’s hanging on those walls or spotlighted on pedestals is limited to “I like those dancers” and “Ohh, nice colors.” But my lack of art education didn’t keep me from thoroughly enjoying B. A. Shapiro’s The Art Forger. In fact, I got a bit of schooling to go along with my entertainment.

Claire Roth, an immensely talented young artist living in Boston, made a huge mistake three years ago, and she’s been paying for it ever since. Rather than showing in galleries and accepting commissions, she’s a painter with Reproductions.com, spending her time copying the great masters. She’s very good at what she does, especially when it comes to Degas.

Enter one Aiden Markel, owner of the famous and successful Markel G. gallery. He wants to host a show for Claire… but first he has a proposition. There’s a famous Degas painting -- “After the Bath” -- that’s been missing since it and several others were stolen from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in 1990. Now Markel has it – and an interested buyer willing to pay millions. Markel’s plan is for Claire to forge the painting, Markel to sell the forgery, and then return the original to the museum. After all, it’s not like the painting’s buyer can go complaining to the FBI! After some hesitation, Claire is up for the challenge. But as she prepares to create the forgery, she realizes “After the Bath” is itself a forgery. Should she tell Markel, and risk losing the hefty fee and the chance for her own show, not to mention their burgeoning romance? Or should she keep her mouth shut and reap the benefits?

Claire is not a typical women’s fiction heroine: She knows what she’s doing is wrong, but readers root for her anyway. It’s partly because of the shabby way she’s treated by the art world, and partly due to Markel’s assurance that she’s playing a role in having “After the Bath” returned to the museum. But it’s also because Claire is so intelligent and so hardworking (and she also volunteers with juvenile delinquents) that readers want her to succeed.

While the novel tells the forgery story in present day, it also flashes back in alternate chapters to three years earlier, showing exactly what Claire did to become an outcast in the art community. While Shapiro could have chosen to explain Claire’s back story in a couple of pages, by alternating past and present, she was able to create tension and suspense in places where the current story was a little too smooth. It’s this experience that directly impacts her decision about how to handle the forgery.
Shapiro mixes the roller-coaster plot with a layman’s education on painting and forgery. She takes care to explain even the simplest terms without ever sounding patronizing. The reader feels completely immersed in Claire’s world. I would imagine Bostonians would feel this way even more so, as Shapiro bases the story on a real museum and a real art heist.

Several times during the story, Claire reminds the reader that the best forgeries are still hanging in museums around the world – in fact, there’s speculation that the Mona Lisa in the L’Ouvre might be one of many copies made by someone other than Da Vinci during that time period. Beyond the question of a painting’s authenticity, though, lies a broader theme – that people see what they want to see. That’s why Claire became an outcast in the art world, and why no one before Claire ever suspected that the version of “After the Bath” that hung in the Gardner Museum until 1990 was actually a forgery. Even Claire herself realizes by the end of the book that she is guilty of the same kind of sight.

Flannery O’Connor once said, "The basis of art is truth, both in matter and in mode." Shapiro shows that while truth might be art’s base, that art – like people -- can just as easily tell lies. The Art Forger is a compelling women’s fiction offering, featuring a very specific plot and protagonist rarely seen in the genre. It’s the kind of book you read in one or two sittings, and then immediately pass on to your smartest friend.

Thanks to Algonquin for the book in exchange for an honest review.

What's in the mail

Melissa A:

Ghostwritten by/from Isabel Wolff

Hidden by Catherine McKenzie from Lake Union/New Harvest (Amazon)









Amy:

The Never Never Sisters by L. Alison Heller form Wunderkind PR

Don't Try to Find Me by Holly Brown from HarperCollins

After I Do by Taylor Jenkins Reid from Atria

Fallen Beauty by Erika Robuck from Penguin



Melissa P:


The Other Typist by Suzanne Rindell from Penguin (Berkley)