Nine Rules to Break When Romancing a Rake by Sarah MacLean (★★★★☆)
E-Book • Libby • Historical Romance • 2010
Short synopsis: Tired of living by society’s restrictive rules, Lady Calpurnia Hartwell sets out to experience the pleasures she’s long been denied—with the help of the scandalous and irresistible Marquess of Ralston. But in chasing freedom, she risks breaking the one rule she never expected: falling in love.
This was a reread for me, and I loved it just as much the second time around. I needed a fun, sweet, well-written romance after a string of duds. Callie was such a fun heroine to root for, and I especially loved watching her slowly break down Ralston’s walls and make him fall for her. Okay, sure, these books are slightly anachronistic (like most historical romances—because who wants to read about women just following society’s rules?!), but that’s part of their charm. If you haven’t given Sarah MacLean’s romances a try, please do yourself a favor and pick this one up!
The Third Gilmore Girl by Kelly Bishop (★★★★★)
Audiobook • Hoopla • Nonfiction (Memoir) • 2024
Short synopsis: Beloved award-winning actress Kelly Bishop, famous for playing the iconic Emily Gilmore in Gilmore Girls, finally tells the whole story of her six decades in show business.
Everyone is raving about this memoir, so I moved it up my TBR list. I’m so glad I did! It was the right book at the right time—a pure delight from start to finish. I didn’t know much about Kelly Bishop’s life, other than how much I loved to hate her character on Gilmore Girls. She was perfectly cast as Emily Gilmore, and I thoroughly enjoyed learning more about her background as a dancer, her romantic adventures as a young woman, and her marriage. She talks about breaking into acting after working for so long as a dancer, how much she loved working on Gilmore Girls, and what it was like to lose her beloved husband to cancer. This book was perfect, and I highly recommend the audiobook because there’s nothing like hearing Kelly’s voice in your ears for six hours!
Pete and Alice in Maine by Caitlin Shetterly (★☆☆☆☆)
Audiobook • Hoopla • Contemporary Fiction • 2023
Short synopsis: Amid the chaos of the COVID-19 pandemic and a crumbling marriage, Alice retreats with her family to Maine, only to find herself trapped in a hostile quarantine that forces her to confront her identity and the true foundations of her family.
I cannot remember the last time I gave a book 1 star. In most cases, I would have DNF-ed this book. But for some reason, despite the glaringly low 3.38 Goodreads rating, I gave this one a shot. I HAVE REGRETS. What did I hate about this book? Everything. The characters were unbearable, especially Alice. She was so insufferable, I wanted to shake her. The level of unacknowledged privilege was off the charts—she had it all but wanted to play the victim over and over again.
I hated the way the author shoehorned in political topics. It felt like a cringe-inducing performance of virtue—“Look at me! I care about George Floyd! I hate Trump! I’m one of the Good White Women!” There are ways to write about 2020 politics with nuance. This was not that.
The kids? Bratty and annoying. Every scene with them made me extra grateful to be childless. The husband? A nonentity. Technically a terrible person, but written with so little depth I couldn’t even muster the energy to dislike him properly.
Listen, if you liked or loved this book, I am so happy that you had a much better reading experience than I did. It’s definitely a character-driven story, and these kinds of stories are hard for me to enjoy, especially if the characters are so unlikable. I should have DNF-ed this one, and let this be a lesson to me and everyone else to DNF books that aren’t working for you!
What are you reading?
I think I already voiced my dislike of Pete and Alice! The shoehorning politics also got to me.
I just finished a reread of one of my favourite Alice Munro’s, Hateship Friendship Courtship Loveship Marriage. FIVE STARS ALL THE WAY. I had a craving to reread one of her stories and just read the whole thing. Now I’m starting on Cleopatra and Frankenstein and so far I’m enjoying it. But I’m only like two chapters in, I will report back!
The politics was so weird in Pete and Alice! It just felt very “look at me” and didn’t feel nuanced or natural.
I *love* that title: Hateship, Friendship, Courtship, Loveship, Marriage. What a great title!
Ha, your review of Pete and Alice is pretty funny. I DEFINITELY will not read that book! I also don’t love character driven stories, and this one sounds especially unlikeable.
I did like Pete and Alice in Maine but I never would have recommended it for you! I thought it was an interesting look at a marriage in despair during a global pandemic. They were sort of trapped in that marriage and had fewer options since the world was in lock down. But I really hated the ending! By the time I saw that you were reading it, you were 75% of the way through – if you weren’t as far into the book I would have told you to abandon it!
I’m reading “All in Her Head” which you recommended! It’s really interesting! I am reading it on the tails of another non-fiction book, though, so that was poor planning on my part!
The reason why I liked Peter and Alice is that I have big time nostalgia for the pandemic. It was one of the happiest times of my life! I think I liked this book because it was the opposite of my family’s experience.
However, BOO to the last chapter! My take was that the author was saying that even if your marriage sucks you will always be dependent on your partner, and that’s very sad. Just lop off the last chapter and the message is “relationships are complicated and there isn’t always a clear answer” – much better and true.
And yes, if a book isn’t working for you, then DNF that sucker without mercy! The time that you spend with a book that isn’t working is time that you could have spent reading a great book.
That last review was so entertaining. I think we should rant more often about terrible books – but then I dont want to hurt the authors.
Happy to hear you enjoyed Emily Gilmores book. It was so entertaining listening to her. She has unique form of witty humor.
Ha! Your last review was so funny! I’ll take your word for it and skip that one!
Buah ha ha. When you rated that last book so poorly on GR I could not wait to read the review here and I was not disappointed!!!!