Genre: Fiction

Wednesday Wisdom – The Island of Missing Trees by Elif Shafak

The Island of Missing Trees by Elif Shafak Published by Viking Adult on August 5th, 2021 Genres: Fiction Pages: 368 Format: Paperback Source: Book Club Buy on Amazon Goodreads A rich, magical new book on belonging and identity, love and trauma, nature and renewal, from the Booker shortlisted author of 10 Minutes 38 Seconds in This Strange World. Two teenagers, a Greek Cypriot and a Turkish Cypriot, meet at a taverna on the island they both call home. In the taverna, hidden beneath garlands of garlic, chili peppers and creeping honeysuckle, Kostas and Defne grow in their forbidden love for each other. A fig tree stretches through a cavity in the roof, and this tree bears witness to their hushed, happy meetings and eventually, to their silent, surreptitious departures. The tree is there when war breaks out, when the capital is reduced to ashes and rubble, and when the teenagers vanish. Decades later, Kostas returns. He is a botanist looking for native species, but really, he’s searching for lost love. Years later, a Ficus carica grows in the back garden of a house in London where Ada Kazantzakis lives. This tree is her only connection to an island she has […]

Posted November 23, 2022
4 Comments

Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus

Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus on April 5th, 2022 Genres: Fiction Pages: 390 Format: Paperback Source: Book Club Buy on Amazon Goodreads Chemist Elizabeth Zott is not your average woman. In fact, Elizabeth Zott would be the first to point out that there is no such thing as an average woman. But it’s the early 1960s and her all-male team at Hastings Research Institute takes a very unscientific view of equality. Except for one: Calvin Evans; the lonely, brilliant, Nobel–prize nominated grudge-holder who falls in love with—of all things—her mind. True chemistry results. But like science, life is unpredictable. Which is why a few years later Elizabeth Zott finds herself not only a single mother, but the reluctant star of America’s most beloved cooking show Supper at Six. Elizabeth’s unusual approach to cooking (“combine one tablespoon acetic acid with a pinch of sodium chloride”) proves revolutionary. But as her following grows, not everyone is happy. Because as it turns out, Elizabeth Zott isn’t just teaching women to cook. She’s daring them to change the status quo. Laugh-out-loud funny, shrewdly observant, and studded with a dazzling cast of supporting characters, Lessons in Chemistry is as original and vibrant as its […]

Posted August 13, 2022
17 Comments

Six Degrees of Separation – The Book of ……

Greetings you guys! We haven’t done a Six Degrees post since March… Good grief!! How did that happen?? We love Six Degrees and I can’t believe we’ve skipped 4 months. In our defense, it was a bit of a crazy year so far. I guess I now need to start explaining Six Degrees all over again. From Kate over at Books are My Favorite and Best, our host for this fun monthly meme: On the first Saturday of every month, a book is chosen as a starting point and linked to six other books to form a chain. Readers and bloggers are invited to join in by creating their own ‘chain’ leading from the selected book. How the meme works Books can be linked in obvious ways – for example, books by the same authors, from the same era or genre, or books with similar themes or settings. Or, you may choose to link them in more personal ways: books you read on the same holiday, books given to you by a particular friend, books that remind you of a particular time in your life, or books you read for an online challenge. A book doesn’t need to be connected to […]

Posted August 6, 2022
22 Comments

Wednesday Wisdom from The Frequency of Us by Keith Stuart

The Frequency of Us by Keith Stuart Published by Little Brown Book Group on March 21st, 2021 Genres: Fiction Pages: 400 Format: Paperback Source: Book Club Buy on Amazon Goodreads In Second World War Bath, young, naïve wireless engineer Will meets German refugee Elsa Klein: she is sophisticated, witty and wordly, and at last his life seems to make sense . . . until, soon after, the newly married couple’s home is bombed, and Will awakes from the wreckage to find himself alone. No one has heard of Elsa Klein. They say he was never married. Seventy years later, Laura is a social worker battling her way out of depression and off medication. Her new case is a strange, isolated old man whose house hasn’t changed since the war. A man who insists his wife vanished many, many years before. Everyone thinks he’s suffering dementia. But Laura begins to suspect otherwise . . . Greetings you guys! We haven’t done a Wednesday Wisdom post in over a year. I actually kind of forgot about this fun feature where I share quotes or passages that stood out for me from a specific book. That is until I’ve read The Frequency of Us by Keith […]

Posted July 27, 2022
7 Comments

Throwback Thursday #12 – Froelich’s Ladder

Greetings you guys! Yes, I know we’ve promised to do a throwback Thursday more regularly, but books tend to get in the way of that. Last week Thursday, we were busy planning our Throwback Thursday post and just quickly wanted to make sure that we have all our previous Throwback Thursday posts updated on the WordPress site. While updating 11/22/63, we remember we still have The Pink Suit on our TBR and well, the rest is history. But welcome to our version and latest edition of Throwback Thursday! The Chocolate Lady’s #Throwback Thursday takes place on the Thursday before the first Saturday of every month. Yes, there is a linky and it will remain open until she uploads the new one. Thank Goodness. My first and last sometimes gets very confused. Your post must highlight one of your previously published book reviews and Davida encourages other participants to do the same. Add the link to your post and remember to link back to The Chocolate Lady’s Book Blog And do not forget to #ThrowbackThursday! The 12th review my Mommy has written, was on a book she enjoyed ever so much and she is actually quite sad to see that it never really took […]

Posted July 14, 2022
8 Comments

Close your Eyes: A Fairy Tale by Chris Tomasini

Close your Eyes by Chris Tomasini on May 2022 Genres: Fiction Pages: 256 Format: ARC Source: Netgalley, Reedsy Discovery Buy on Amazon Goodreads Set in early 1400s Europe, Close Your Eyes is a sincere, yet light-hearted and lustful, ode to love. As Samuel, the court jester, struggles to describe why his friends, Agnieszka the cook, and Tycho the story-teller, fled the King of Gora’s service, he learns that love was the beating heart behind everything that happened in the castle. He learns as well that more ghosts than he knew of walked the midnight halls, and that the spirit of Jeanne d’Arc haunted his friend, and once slid into bed with Tycho, daring him to leave – to take to the cold roads of Europe, where he had once wandered orphaned and alone, and find his destiny there. In the Kingdom of Gora, in early 1400s Europe, the King of Gora has assembled a collection of entertainers, scholars, cooks, and others, to care for and educate his young children, the Prince and Princess. Tycho, the children’s storyteller, and Samuel, the court jester, are happy in Gora, yet it becomes apparent that the children’s cook, Agnieszka, was lured to the castle […]

Posted June 23, 2022
10 Comments

Throwback Thursday #11 – The Companionship Of Harold Fry and Miss Queenie Hennessy

Greetings you guys! It’s a public holiday here in South Africa today, so we finally have time to do another Throwback Thursday. After being on WordPress for 9 months now, it really is time to start pulling through all those reviews that are not on our archive list. What better way to do that than to join Davida @ The Chocolate Lady’s Book Review’s fun link-up meme, Throwback Thursday. The Chocolate Lady’s #Throwback Thursday takes place on the Thursday before the first Saturday of every month. Yes, there is a linky and it will remain open until she uploads the new one. Thank Goodness. My first and last sometimes gets very confused. Your post must highlight one of your previously published book reviews and Davida encourages other participants to do the same. Add the link to your post and remember to link back to The Chocolate Lady’s Book Blog And do not forget to #ThrowbackThursday! Yes, I know our Thursdays are a bit messed up. At least it’s Thursday. For today we will take a look at our first and actually up to date, our last, companion reads: Aaah, my Mommy says she’s feeling very nostalgic after seeing this review pop up […]

Posted June 16, 2022
22 Comments

Danny the Champion of the World by Roald Dahl

Danny The Champion of the World by Roald Dahl Published by Puffin on 1975 Genres: Fiction, Middle Grade Pages: 205 Format: Paperback Source: VCS Buy on Amazon Goodreads “My Father, without the slightest doubt, was the most marvelous and exciting father any boy ever had.” Danny is brought up by his father, who is a marvelous story-teller and a genius with motorcars, kites and catching pheasants. Life is wonderful… until Danny discovers his father’s one vice. Soon Danny finds himself the mastermind behind and incredible plot against a wicked and wealthy landowner. Can he pull it off? If so, Danny will truly be the champion of the world. One of our favorite authors in the school’s library is, Roald Dahl. The classic author whose books have sold over 250 million copies worldwide. I so wish that Mr. Dahl could still be alive to see his dreams and aspirations for children having a love for reading, come true. “I have a passion for teaching kids to become readers, to become comfortable with a book, not daunted. Books shouldn’t be daunting, they should be funny, exciting and wonderful; and learning to be a reader gives one a terrific advantage.” […]

Posted June 10, 2022
4 Comments

Weekend Book Friends #32

Greetings you guys! The day has finally arrived! This is the date that all our renovations should be done. The fact that it is not done, is completely irrelevant and it’s only 08:00 here in SA now. So a miracle might still be in the works here. And if it’s not, we really, really don’t care. If my Mommy comes home from school today, she is going to do nothing but read her book. We are busy with such an intriguing read: We did find the opening a bit slow, but it sure is taking off at speed now and I can’t wait for Mommy to come home and we can continue reading. We are quickly going to say hi to @ Reading is my Super Power for First Line Friday and to Gilion @ Rose City Reader for Book Beginnings. Every Friday you can link up and share the first sentence of your current read (or the one you plan to devour over the weekend), as well as your initial thoughts and impressions. “WE HAVE YOUR DAUGHTER.’ It’s the first Tuesday in September, the afternoon of her one very bad day and Frida is trying to stay on the road. On the voice […]

Posted June 3, 2022
33 Comments

Never Tell a Lie by Gail Schimmel

Never Tell a Lie by Gail Schimmel Published by Lake Union Publishing on November 30th, 2021 Genres: Fiction, Thriller Pages: 349 Format: Paperback Source: Pan Macmillan SA Buy on Amazon Goodreads From the author of The Aftermath comes the story of a whirlwind friendship―and the dark secrets lurking beneath it. After a tumultuous marriage, Mary Wilson is happy in her uncomplicated life, focusing on her twelve-year-old son. She’s always been content with her little family―but then she finds an old postcard that throws her whole past into question… When an invitation arrives for her high school reunion, Mary jumps at the chance of a distraction from the shock discovery, and meeting her old classmate April feels like a gift. Despite barely remembering April, Mary throws herself into the new friendship and finds her previously quiet social life reinvigorated. But as the bonds between them are forged, Mary finds herself drawn further and further into April’s life and marriage, increasingly fearing that everything is not as perfect as it seems. Is her own painful past clouding her judgement, or is Mary right to suspect that the people she trusts most are the ones with the most to hide? “The whole business […]

Posted June 2, 2022
2 Comments

Genre: Fiction

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