Caroline's Book Club: Warm Reads for Cold Days

My internal clock is failing so please forgive this late edition of Caroline's Book Club!

#1: Under the Tuscan Sun by Frances Mayes
I. Loved. This. Book. I've read very few memoirs but this one was spectacular. The whole premise is this Italian villa that author bought and the restoration process and life in Italy and it's just fabulous! There are entire chapters solely dedicated to recipes in between the regular chapters. It's a little over two hundred pages so in my opinion, a pretty fast read. I enjoyed getting to travel through the pages and still think about it all this time later.

#2: One Summer in Paris by Sarah Morgan
Buckle up, because we're going to Paris! This book follows two people- Grace and Audrey- who come to Paris following multiple disasters in their lives. Grace learns her husband is cheating on her with the babysitter (classy) and Audrey is desperate to escape her dysfunctional life fueled by her alcoholic mother. Grace and Audrey end up being neighbors above a French bookshop in this novel of self-discovery. They each learn the importance of taking chances even though they are both at very different points in life. While I was unsure about the ending, overall, this book is fantastic and I highly recommend!

#3: Darling Girl by Liz Michalski
Ever wonder how the story would've gone if Peter Pan was actually evil? Well, guess no more! This novel asks that very question by turning a beloved classic fairy tale on its head. Now we all know that Wendy had a daughter, Jane. In this take, Jane has a daughter called Holly. Holly has two children: Jack and Eden. Eden, as it turns out, is Holly's daughter with Peter Pan. Ironic, right? The boy who wanted to be a child forever had a child. Probably the most adult decision ever but I digress. Eden fell out of a tree years prior to the start of the novel and has been in a coma ever since. On top of that, because of her less than average DNA, she has a condition that causes her to age rapidly. She may be twelve but physically looks about twenty or so. Holly had her stashed at the family's country home and all was well until the girl in a coma just disappears one day. Thinking Peter is up to something nefarious, Holly returns to London hoping to finally uncover the truth- whether she's ready or not.

#4; Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin
Taking this one at face value, I was not prepared to like this book. It's about video game developers and that had never been an interest of mine. At least all the logistical stuff, that is. But I was pleasantly surprised. At its heart, this novel deals with love, loss, and the acceptance of whatever life throws at you. I laughed, I cried, I yelled, I closed it (and then opened it five seconds later). Everything was amazingly written and there were so many unexpected moments. Very rarely can a standalone execute a full-circle plot but this author pulled it off.

#5: The People We Hate at the Wedding by Grant Ginder
This book was a deliciously chaotic, trainwreck plot centered around an equally chaotic wedding. Siblings who've had a lifelong rivalry mixed with parents who can't stand each other, served with a platter of extended family members make for excellent reading. Also, half of the characters are British and they just manage to make snobby classy. People get arrested, people break up, people do actually get married, people have knockout fights in the kitchen at the wedding reception, people break noses. You truly never know what's going to happen in the next paragraph but you can't stop reading. This book is a true page-turner!

I hope this month's lineup gave you some books to read by the fire or maybe even put them on your Christmas List. Let me know if you end up reading any! 

See you in December!
-Caroline