The Complete Food Substitutions Handbook, book review

The Complete Food Substitutions Handbook: Including Options for Low-Sugar, Low-Fat, Low-Salt, Gluten-Free, Lactose-Free, and Vegan by Jean B. MacLeod
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

You might need this on your shelf.

When cooking, either under time constraints that leave no room for another trip to the store, or with diet requirements, figuring out substitutions for items in a recipe can halt the process. You can go to Google or Pinterest, but we all know that leads you down a zero world problem rabbit hope of distraction and doubt whether or not to believe some food blogger.

This author has done her research (see multiple page bibliography) and provides multiple, measured substitutions for hundreds of food items. The book is simple: alphabetical order of ingredients with volumes of substitutions for those items. You'll read the names of foods you never knew existed.

The text doesn't identify which substitutions provide the vegan, low sugar, dairy free, etc option. One needs to know which of the substitutions from the list fulfills one's requirements.

Simple, but possibly an invaluable kitchen resource.

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It All Comes Back to You, book review

It All Comes Back to You by Beth Duke
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This will be your next book club read, you'll learn from it, and you might get in an argument with your friends about perception of some of the plot elements. A cordial, "Bless your heart" insult kind of Southern tiff. But then everyone with sip some wine and laugh it off.

I donated sleep to this book and it was totally warranted. I crave books that challenge me, contain deep and meaningful themes and color authentic and rich characters. This book has all of those attributes in addition to being delightfully readable.

As a writer myself, I was hesitant to read a book that followed a writer in her prices of novel creation. Please don't let that stop you. This book has inspired me to finish my own book and to keep going after that!

(view spoiler)[The Southern fiction follows the life of a woman born around 1930 through the eyes of a young woman she befriended late in life. We start the book thinking she's a typical spoiled and beloved homecoming queen (a judgement women make of her to the end of her life) and discover the more complex woman beneath. Themes include how women support each other (or don't), motherly relationships, justification of hurtful action, selling the elderly as the 22 year olds they are at heart and many more.

I won't spoil it completely, but HEAVENS! The twists and the way the author presented them were like surprise punches to the gut. I never saw that last one coming and it's still challenging what I think about it. (hide spoiler)]

These characters have real flaws and no one comes out shining brilliantly. However, don't we all need that reminder? Highly recommended.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to read the book and exchange for a fair review.

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Love Big, book review

Love Big by Kat Kronenberg
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I have yet to read Kat Kronenberg's first book, Dream Big, but I am glad that she recognized the need to remain a moral, kind person in the pursuit of dreams. Children need to learn that from day one, otherwise their pursuit of their dreams is all about them and they lose sight of others' needs.

The book is filled with gorgeous, engaging illustrations paired with current, colloquial normal speech. I appreciate that a character exists in the book who sets the example for how to be kind even when someone treats you poorly, rather than a typical children's book wherein the adult figure brings the wisdom down on the kids.

I can see this book working well in a classroom, in homeschool, or just as bedtime reading for all preschool and elementary aged kids. It takes courage to be kind in the face of adversity and we need more courageous people in this world.

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A Flicker of Hope, book review

A Flicker of Hope by Julia Cook
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

This book was written with obvious intent to be a read aloud book (teacher / adult reads to a group of kids) for kids aged 9 or 10 to mid-teen. It has great intention to help kids who feel like no one understands their sadness or whatever other emotion they're weighed under.

Unfortunately, there is so much telling and so little showing in this book, I don't know how it can actually reach the kids it's trying to reach. I can't imagine a too-cool-for-school group of kids from ages 10 to 14 who would actually humor a teacher trying to read this book. The language is geared for kids in lower elementary, but the problems and stresses (grades, job prospects, etc) are age appropriate for older students.

I was the perfect audience for this book when I was between 9 and mid-teen. I wanted approval from my teachers and I wanted to respect them, even if I thought something like this was cheesy. Therefore, I would quietly listen and try to learn from it what I could. However, while this book makes a good point of telling students to seek help from others, it does so in such a cheesy way that even goodie-two-shoes me wouldn't have grown in my understanding after listening to it.

The tips for parents and educators in the back of the book is gold. Perhaps that should be attached to a book more suited for younger kids so that parents and educators can help prevent flickering lights. I want kids who face struggle to have an outlet. I'm afraid this book isn't it.

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Lightning Struck, book review

Lightning Struck by Nichole Van
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Our souls are responsible for our hearts in this book, alive or kinda-alive alike.

I must admit that I read this one because I didn't want to skip it before reading the one about Tennyson... the one I am positively thrilled to read. I just wasn't that interested in Chiara's story because, frankly, I'm not a bird-like, tiny woman and I suppose I resent reading about someone who is. That judgement is one of the things made apparent to me in reading this book, so well done, you, Mrs. Van, for helping me see my prejudice!

As always in reading a book by this author, I was pulled in almost immediately by likable voice and an intriguing premise. A non-ghost ghost has little hope of becoming alive again, to his chagrin primarily because of his burgeoning love for a wounded ("NO I'm not!" -Chiara) woman who uses 21st century sarcasm and emotional barriers to push people away.

(view spoiler)[
Here might be one of my sticking points with this book. I know he had a full year of adjusting to 21st century life before the bulk of the book got going, but I had a hard time believing that someone from the Regency era would love so much of the spunk and spitfire of that little woman ("Stop calling me that!" -Chiara). I can't currently recall more of the Regency era ways that survived his time in the 21st century beyond wanting to wait to marry her and to court her properly. In almost everything else (I'm sure I'm forgetting something), he became completely adapted.

In all, Chiara's way with men had a well-thought-out driving reason. I loved how she sought justice, especially for children. I think I would have liked to see her interact with children in the book to show a bit more of that dedication.
(hide spoiler)]

I know I can rely on a book that calls me to read it at every spare moment when I pick up a book by Nichole Van. Even this, the book I read just to make it to the fourth in the series, stands out as a worthwhile dive into a wounded character.

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Another Woman's Husband, book review

Another Woman's Husband by Gill Paul
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

4.5

Certainly the royal family and loyalists to the crown easily focus on the connection between Wallis Simpson and Princess Diana, but even this anglophile neglected to think much about it. This novel, spectacularly written, makes a fictional connection between the two women in a unique as only Gill Paul does.

The point of view switches back and forth between Mary, a dear and life-long friend of Wallis Simpson, and Rachel, a woman who was physically at the scene of Diana's ill fate in that Parisian tunnel. We gradually gain access to the vulnerabilities of all women (as well as the men, but they're certainly not the focus) involved in this web of insecurity.

It's such a pleasure to read another book by this author because I know I can rely on a character driven story that shows rather than tells. Her language is perfectly lush and descriptive, but only in ways that add to the reader's understanding of the plot and characters.

As I always hope to do (and occasionally achieve) when I pick up a book, I learned about life from this book. (view spoiler)[ I was nervous that I was in the midst of reading another diatribe about how women are superior to men and how we've been pushed down for centuries, blah blah. While there is plenty of truth to be explored in that anger, it's boring and so shortsighted for hope for change. Gratefully, Paul is more intelligent than to settle on a simple objective like that.

These characters truly bleed. They have real reasoning for their decisions that supports their mistakes, over-corrections, and needs for forgiveness. Most characters learn that they need to rely on someone else. The one character who doesn't seem to learn that quite perfectly is the one who teaches the audience through example. (hide spoiler)]

What a pleasure to read. I'm thrilled to have found this author after she's already produced so many books I can buy and read!

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Whisper Falls, book review

Whisper Falls by Elizabeth Langston
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Wholesome, intriguing YA

What if a simple portal to the same spot, two hundred years different, opened up near your respite hang out?

This was my first young adult book in years and it was delightful. I was on the lookout for character development, historical accuracy, learning about the human condition, and authenticity of teenage mindsets. I found all to be well cared for and well done.

Both characters matured in playing ways, while maintaining flaws. The villain was disgusting, but the reader gets some believable insight into his reason for invoking what little power he had on his victims.

Historical descriptions felt real and lived in. Conversely, the narration of 21st century items and weighs through the point of view of a nineteenth-century pair of eyes was equally authentic.

one of my number one pet peeves is when an author holds your hand to try to explain things the entire time rather than showing. This author was a breath of fresh air, showing and not telling for the majority of the novel. I also appreciated how wholesome it was without being Christian fiction. Christian fiction hold the wholesome in front of your face the whole time smacking you with it every once in awhile. This book allowed the characters to be attracted to each other, but become friends before anything else. It happened the way we all wish it would, without over sexualizing seventeen year olds nor being naive.

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The Forgotten Secret, book review

The Forgotten Secret: A heartbreaking and gripping historical novel for fans of Kate Morton by Kathleen McGurl
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

I picked this book because I love historical fiction, my father-in-law is (directly) from Ireland, and the description seemed intriguing. In the end, the book paid me back with intrigue and an interesting story, but it took a while to get there.

One of my pet peeves when reading is when the prose *tells* rather than *shows* and I'm sorry to say that was a frequent distraction in my mind while reading this book. It had a compelling enough story, but the characters felt flat until about halfway through the book. Rather than seeing that as character development, I felt like I just wasn't privy to the personalities of the characters. They were too busy *telling* me things about themselves and their lives.

(view spoiler)[I did learn a lesson in this book (one I've had to learn multiple times over in my lifetime): you don't know someone else's situation, so hold back your judgments. The modern day main character, Clare, seemed to very quickly decide to leave her husband when the opportunity arose, though she didn't seem to have the backbone prior to this to even stand up to him. I was so bothered by the fact that she wouldn't pursue marital counseling that I sat frustrated with her through most of the pages. By the end chapters, the character had slowly revealed countless anecdotes of life with her controlling, emotionally abusive husband. No, I never ever liked him. He was quite the villain. I learned my lesson that I was spending so much time judging her that I might have missed parts of her personality.

The book carries with it the common millennial psalm/proverb for women to become independent and separate yourself from men so you can "find yourself." As a joyful Catholic, I find that a little shallow, but I recognize its place in our culture. Also as a joyful Catholic, I'm disgusted by a renewed understanding of those laundries, as embodied in the novel. Awful, unchristian practices. Heart-breaking. (hide spoiler)]

Overall, the fact that I felt I was being told so much instead of being able to uncover emotions, motivations, and metaphors on my own was frustrating enough to overtake the intrigue of the story. I did cry in pain at times and finally connected with both characters in the last 25% of the book, so that's lovely.

Thank you to the author and to Netgalley for a copy of this book in exchange for a fair review.

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The Glass Castle, book review

The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Oy. That was a recurring thought throughout this book.

What a raw story. I felt drawn to judging Jeannette's parents for their selfishness. It seemed their philosophy was that life was about them and that their kids were part of the obstacles, yet they also wanted to entertain their kids along the way. Every judgement I made of them helped me draw closer to my ah-ha moment: don't we all treat our lives a little like that?

Their selfishness was over-the-top, but it certainly helped shape Ms. Walls to be the person she became. There are redeeming qualities of these parents I judged so harshly, bringing about the reality of our similarities as humans.

Somehow, Ms. Walls managed to preserve the childlike innocence and rose-colored glasses view of her parents in the early years. It was an adventure for her in the first 8 years of her life. Gradually, the voice comes to grips with the reality.

Parts of this absolutely broke my heart. I sought the redeeming glimmers throughout it.

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Love's Shadow, book review

Love's Shadow by Nichole Van
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I think Branwell is a more believable character than Dante (the main brother character in the first book) and therefore I'm head-over-heels for him. Swoon.

Rather than soul/reincarnation time traveling, as in the first novel in the series, this book centers around a family mystery and a bit of heartbreaking family drama. The characters felt real and as if they were based on people the author knows, a major draw for me whenever I read and judge a book.

(view spoiler)[Lucy found her love (soulmate? That's less the term used in this book as in the first. They're more like puzzle pieces for each other) a few months too late. She was dating Tennyson when she happened upon Branwell and eventually realized that she was with the wrong brother. Amazingly and chastely, both Branwell and Lucy sacrificed their own happiness and heart for the good of the other and for Tennyson. I appreciate that morality rather than just YOLO as the life philosophy in the book.

The story line containing Lucy's missing niece was compelling and, at times, had me sick to my stomach. It seemed to pale and fall to the back burner a few times in lieu of the developing and painful feelings suppressed by both Lucy and Branwell, which was hard to take. However, it's a romance, and their ability to work together and read each other eventually led to the supernatural rescuing of the niece and another family member... (hide spoiler)]

Overall, I don't want this series to end. The author writes in a compelling way and has built a world well. I also love the richness of the characters, even if they are built in order to fall in love on the page.

Additionally, I have a growing hunger to visit Italy again. Ay.

View all my reviews This post may contain affiliate links, which help me support my art habit, Liz Lenzi Art.