april ‘23 book reviews
april was dedicated to supporting independent bookstores for indie bookstore day on april 29! in total, 8 bookstores were visited across 4 different states (some of which had been on my TBR for a hot sec). my favorite of the month was the flatshare by beth o’leary - i’m still thinking about it!
the tobacco wives by adele myers
rating: 4/5
kramer’s / washington d.c.
in the 1940s, tobacco was the lifeblood of the south & it was especially true in north carolina. when 15-year-old maddie moves in with her aunt etta in bright leaf, she’s a bit nervous. her aunt is the star seamstress/dressmaker and the town’s famous fundraising gala is coming up in a few weeks. her aunt styles a group of women dubbed the “tobacco wives” because their husbands are big wigs in the industry. when maddie stumbles upon damning information that could hurt the tobacco industry, she’s left at a crossroads. besides, how does a young woman speak up when the men call the shots? i really enjoyed the themes of this novel (women empowerment!!!) and history behind the cigarette industry.
nora goes off script by annabel monaghan
rating: 5/5
the book nook / ludlow, vt
nora knows love stories. she knows them well because she’s a screenwriter for the romance channel. what’s funny however, is the lack of romance in her personal life. you see, her husband just left her & their two children. like any good writer, she channels her emotions into her latest script & a big time hollywood producer picks it up. when the production has to film at her house, she welcomes the chaos and figures it’ll pass in in a few days (3 days tops). but star actor (who is of course very handsome) doesn’t leave when the filming’s done. think of it like a mid-life crisis of a star who wants to kick it in the sticks for a while.
before spilling too much, i’ll stop here. it’s such a good read!!!! the characters are so frustrating sometimes you want to scream but it’s so relatable. (i.e. what’s leo doing? nora should text him but she doesn’t want to come off as one of those girlfriends so she refrains. ugh - SEND THE TEXT). it’s a delightful novel that you can devour in one sitting.
the flatshare by beth o’leary
rating: 6/5
main street books / davidson, nc
i don’t care if the rating system doesn’t make sense, it’s my system and this deserves six stars!!!!!! as i write this, it’s been a week since i finished it and i am still hungover. ok so the flatshare is about two londoners, leon and tiffy. tiffy is in a complicated relationship and in an effort to get out of it she needs a place to live asap. leon is going through some family struggles and needs extra money so he decides to put out an ad for a roommate. he works nights so whoever decides to move in will hardly ever see him. their paths won’t cross. tiffy sees this as ideal (much to the shock of her closest friends).
because they never see each other, tiffy and leon begin a platonic “post-its” relationship, leaving notes around the flat — “extra leftovers are in the fridge so help yourself,” “hey fyi the stove is broken but someone is coming to fix it,” you get the gist. through the course of a couple months, they actually know each other quite well, though they haven’t met. i won’t reveal too much more so please pick up a copy! this has been my favorite book of 2023 so far.
one italian summer by rebecca serle
rating: 5/5
yankee bookshop / woodstock, vt
another five star book this month! i read the dinner list by serle last year and it was wonderful so i knew one italian summer wouldn’t disappoint. it’s a truly magical book about the power of grief and the struggles that everyone faces when they lose someone they love. katy is heartbroken when her mother passes just a few weeks before their big italian vacation. though married to reliable and kind eric, katy’s mother is the real love of her life. they’re the closest of friends. now, katy is lost and going through an identity crisis.
she decides to take the trip to italy anyways, by herself, to see what it was that made the place so special to her mother when she visited 30 years ago. when she arrives, much to her surprise, she finds her mom! suntanned, spontaneous and thirty years old. she never knew this version of her mother and she’s excited at the chance to spend more time with her. this was the type of book that made me want to hug my mom after reading it.
what happened to the bennetts by lisa scottoline
rating: 3/5
taylor books / charleston, wv
terror strikes the bennett family after their 15-year old daughter is killed in a carjacking gone wrong. when the fbi come knocking that same night, they immediately have to enter the witness protection program. this is much bigger than they think as jason, the family patriarch begins to unravel the story. were they targeted? is it an isolated attack? who tore apart their family?
i will start by saying i’m a huge fan of lisa scottoline — if you haven’t read eternal, i highly suggest it! this story however wasn’t my favorite. it’s action packed and thrilling but there’s too many characters in the cartel involved that it started to get hard to follow.
the aviator’s wife by melanie benjamin
rating: 4.5/5
editions coffeeshop & bookstore / kannapolis, nc
okay i’ll be real honest with you, the only thing i know about charles lindbergh was that he made the first solo trans-atlantic flight back in 1927. after reading the aviator’s wife i learned that he was also a major dick. he was a nazi sympathizer, fathered seven additional children outside of his marriage, and was in general just a cold person. i know this now because of his wife and fellow aviator (which never gets much attention), anne lindbergh.
there were times i felt the book was slow and annoying and that’s probably symbolic of how anne felt in her marriage. she was often seen as second best behind her star sister and, at the time, could never speak for herself or against her husband. they were in the limelight constantly and suffered tragic circumstances very publicly. when they lost their first child, i felt for anne. she had no one to turn to because her husband chose to move on and never speak of it. this was a really great story about a lesser told aviator, who’s just as important and vital to the aviation industry as charles was.
the grand design by joy callaway
rating: 5/5
goldberry books / concord, nc
reading this book took me back home to west virginia and i loved every bit of it. dorothy draper is perhaps one of the best known interior designers - famous for styling the plaza hotel in new york city, the grand hotel in mackinac island, michigan and the greenbrier resort in white sulphur springs, west virginia (among other celeb homes like joan crawford, judy garland and joe namath).
this historical fiction takes you back to the debutante days when draper is visiting the greenbrier in 1908, and flashes forward to 1946 when she’s tasked with taking the hotel from a military hospital back to a resort. obviously there are some creative liberties taken here but her tributes to the greenbrier’s most notable and loved characters, like carleton varney and frank mosely (two indespensible individuals in the resorts history who both recently passed away in the last year), is fantastic.
maybe in another life by taylor jenkins reid
rating: 5/5
south main book company / salisbury, nc
each taylor jenkins reid novel gets better than the last (and daisy jones & the six was hard to beat!) maybe in another life explores the possibility of two very different lives based on one choice — to go home with your best friend and skip drinks with your high school ex or to stay out with your high school ex and see where the night leads. in split chapters, we learn what would happen if hannah martin chooses either option and whether fate really does exist. this book reminded me how short life is and how every decision, hardship and challenge gets us to where we’re supposed to be. the power of friendship (both platonic and romantic) is a huge theme and one that warms the heart. people magazine said: “it’s not a spoiler to say: love wins.” and i couldn’t agree more.
what did you read this month? what should i add to my tbr shelf?