The Girl Who Chased the Moon by Sarah Addison Allen

I’ll keep this review short and sweet — kind of like Sarah Addison Allen’s books.  This is Allen’s third book and much like Garden Spells and The Sugar Queen, it has elements of fairy tale mixed with small town North Carolina flavor and a pinch of romance.  Emily Benedict returns to quirky Mullaby, North Carolina in [...]

Read Full Post »

College Girl by Patricia Weitz

Shy and awkward Natalie Bloom arrives at UConn, her dream school, as a junior after attending community college for two years.  The youngest of seven children, Natalie is the first in her family to seek a higher education.  Majoring in Russian history, Natalie spends literally all of her time in class or in the library studying, [...]

Read Full Post »

The Sugar Queen by Sarah Addison Allen

Sarah Addison Allen takes chick lit and mixes it with a pinch of magic and a good dollop of whimsy to give us her second novel, The Sugar Queen. Josey Cirrini is 27 years old, unmarried, living with her mother, and she has a secret. Hidden in her bedroom is a closet filled with all [...]

Read Full Post »

The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield

Every once in awhile I find a book that puts me into a quandary.  Do I keep reading, discovering what’s around the next corner (or page as the case may be), or do I ration it out, chapter by chapter, prolonging the enjoyment?  This book caused me just such a dilemma.  Margaret Lea,  an unassuming, [...]

Read Full Post »

Garden Spells by Sarah Addison Allen

 Garden Spells would make a great “chick flick”.  If it were one, it would be a cross between Chocolat and Sleeping With the Enemy.  Bascom, North Carolina is home to an odd assortment of citizens, and none are more eccentric than the Waverleys.   Each Waverley has a special gift.  Claire caters the affairs in town [...]

Read Full Post »