The Spellshop by Sarah Beth Durst

Last summer reading review!

This was recommended by Amazon, and I loved it so much I put it up for the Teachers and Friends Book Club for October consideration. 

Kiela is a librarian (BONUS!) in a Greek mythology type land of Alyssium. She and her (talking, walking, intelligent) plant Caz know war is coming. Rebels are looking to overthrow the royalty. They have been secretly hiding important documents, manuscripts, maps, and books in crates. They have a boat at the dock ready to take them and the books to safety. Unfortunately, this comes to be, and they must flee. They head for Kiela's childhood island home.

They open a jam shop that eventually becomes a secret spellshop. Using the magical books she has hidden in her parents'old bedroom, she is able to help the desolate townspeople and barely surviving ecosystem to regrow and thrive. There are all sorts of humans and critters in this mythical place, including some very obstinate merhorses (I'm guessing the author was a My Little Pony fan in the 80s, iykyk).

Elements of witchcraft and magic, definitely my cup of tea (read the last 6 posts if you don't get me), and the happy/cute/romancey parts will make the rest of the members satisfied too.

All opinions expressed on this blog are solely those of Mrs. W. and do not reflect those of WHHS or WHPS. 

Murder by Cheesecake by Rachel Ekstrom Courage

6 of 7.

This was the Teachers and Friends Book Club selection for July, chosen by Mr. Adams. We met at the Cheesecake Factory of course! 

This is a Golden Girls story.  It is set in-universe to the show, and it reads like a script for a double episode.  I was reading the dialogue in the voices of Rose, Sophia, Blanche, and Dorothy.

Rose's niece from Saint Olaf is coming to Miami for a wedding. As you can imagine, there are a lot of Saint Olaf words and traditions that have to go into this wedding, mixing with those of hyper-trendy Miami. As the wedding approaches, Dorothy's very bad blind date ends up dead in the reception's fridge, face down in a cheesecake, and she is the prime suspect. 

This is a mystery of course, so I don't want to spoil too much. 

If you are a fan of the show, you'll probably enjoy this!

All opinions expressed on this blog are solely those of Mrs. W. and do not reflect those of WHHS or WHPS. 

Little Beach Street Bakery by Jenny Colgan

5 of 7

This is the Teachers and Friends Book Club selection for August, and we will be discussing it next week.  As you likely know by now, we try to match our book to a restaurant or event. In this case, we had the event first. We are going to make sourdough with Our Daily Bakes! So, we needed a book about baking. Mrs. Tirollo chose this one. It is the first in a series.

It's cute and happy. Not my...wait, I just wrote that a couple reviews ago today. Not something I'd read typically. 

Polly had a rough break-up and decides she needs English country air. She rents a very run down apartment and bakes to clear her mind. Soon the townsfolk, including local fishermen, are buying her loaves, angering the little old lady who owns the real bakery in town.

A LOT happens to this gal, including an affair with a married fisherman, a fling with a beekeeper who is actually an entrepreneur from Georgia USA, several arguments with said little old lady, battling rich people who want to change things, and adopting an injured puffin. 

It's a beach read for sure...

All opinions expressed on this blog are solely those of Mrs. W. and do not reflect those of WHHS or WHPS. 

The Housemaid by Frieda McFadden

4 of 7

This was recommended to me by a student, which are the recommendations I take most seriously. It is the first in a series, and a film adaption is in production.

It was...ok? I don't see myself picking up the next book or the third, nor going to see the movie. 

Millie is a former felon, and her criminal record precludes her from most employment. She is hired by a scatterbrained socialite and her "very important" husband to be a live-in maid, doing cleaning, cooking, and some childcare for the couple's brat daughter. Unfortunately, this family has some really dark secrets. 

This is a mystery/thriller, so I don't want to spoil too much. But, I saw the twist coming a mile away. I also had trouble not wanting to smack every one of the female characters senseless. 

All opinions expressed on this blog are solely those of Mrs. W. and do not reflect those of WHHS or WHPS. 

Funny Story by Emily Henry

3 of 7

This is the Teachers and Friends Book Club selection for September, chosen by Mrs. Sousa. 

It's cute. Happy. Not my cup of tea usually, but that's the whole point of a book club, right? Read things you normally don't pick up. 

Librarian (bonus the main character is a children's librarian) Daphne gets dumped right before her wedding. Her fiance Peter leaves her for his best friend Petra (the name thing did annoy me). Daphne is now homeless in a new city, but Petra's former fiance Miles offers to take her in while she gets things worked out.

Daphne is calm and orderly, Miles is loud and chaotic. After a series of comedic/romantic mishaps, they end up happily ever after.

Like I said, cute and happy. Beach read for sure.

All opinions expressed on this blog are solely those of Mrs. W. and do not reflect those of WHHS or WHPS.  

The Midnight Feast by Lucy Foley

2 of 7

I loved The Guest List. So I was excited to read another Lucy Foley book. 

Don't bother.  This is way too much like 9 Perfect Strangers and The Weekend Retreat. 

In fact, I was so irritated feeling like I'd already read this, I stopped reading about a third of the way in. 

The worst was the alternating viewpoints and alternating timelines. 

Rich chick opens "woodland retreat" on her grandfather's land. Charges ridiculous prices. Fences out the locals. Bribes City Council to change walking paths. Serves everything with CBD in it. There's a murder, and everyone is a suspect.

Sorry, hard no as well.

All opinions expressed on this blog are solely those of Mrs. W. and do not reflect those of WHHS or WHPS.  

Let Him In by William Friend

Helllllooooo!

Been a minute. Today I am posting all of my summer reading reviews! This is 1 of 7. 

This was recommended to me by Amazon. And goodness it was...AWFUL.

Premise: Mom of twins dies after getting stung by a bee. Newly single Dad of twin girls is struggling to keep things together, and enlists his wife's sister (also twins) to help (she happens to be a psychiatrist--while her deceased sister was an artist). Wife and sister's mother is a religious wacko. The twin daughters have created an imaginary friend as a seemingly innocent coping mechanism to their mother's sudden death. Except the friend is snake? Or maybe a bird? Maybe a demon? Maybe their grandfather's spirit, as he also died in the house? And the total ick that Dad and the sister end up in bed, conceiving the boy he always wanted. 

Yeah, this was an acid trip. The grandmother is sneaking into the house and lighting scented candles, doing seances in the attic? The dead mother's paintings are in the basement along with a rattle the grandfather used to shake at the wall? The girls are doing normal twin sibling stuff like hitting each other, but using the imaginary friend to blame? Dad is really an abusive alcoholic? But maybe it's all a dream?

I really have no idea what was going on, who was really doing what, or if anyone actually survived? 

Hard no. 

All opinions expressed on this blog are solely those of Mrs. W. and do not reflect those of WHHS or WHPS.