Skip to main content

Review - Vinegar Girl by Anne Tyler


Vinegar Girl is loosely based oh Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew.  I enjoyed the book. It was a quick, solid read overall but the writing fell a little flat for me.  I think that might be the author more than the story.

 The story focuses on Dr. Battista and his two daughters Kate and Bunny. Dr. Battista is about to lose his research assistant to importation and hatches a plan for him to marry his daughter Kate.  Kate has been feeling stuck in her job teaching preschool and her line living at home and wonders if going along with the plan will move her life forward or keep her firmly in the same old life. Will she agree to the plan or will she discover how to move forward with her own plans. The whole book I kept wondering if the characters were going to become more alive or interesting. The ending also seemed very impractical. Anyone who loves Anne Tyler's books will enjoy this one...it just fell a little short for me.

 Rated 3/5 starts on Goodreads

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Review: Fat Fridays by Judith Keim

I wasn't going to review this one on my blog because, frankly, I didn't like it.  But then I decided that my blog shouldn't just be about books I like, it should be honest reviews about all books good and bad. The premise of the book was promising, the main character Sukie is rebuilding her life after her husband leaves her for another women.  A common theme with women's fiction books.  Sukie learns to rely on her friends, and makes new friends while she discovers who she is when she is alone.  I love this type of story line and it was probably the best part of the book, but it was hard to read, rushed and all over the place. The characters, to me, just didn't seem real and I had trouble connecting to them.  To me this is the cornerstone of a women't fiction novel and without it I just couldn't get into the book.  This one had a lot of promise but didn't deliver. Thanks to Netgalley for the advanced readers copy in exchange for this honest review...

Review: Always a Cowboy by Linda Lael Miller

I have been enjoying this Carsons of Mustang Creek series.  They are light, fun and entertaining reads - and really who doesn't love a cowboy story? Book two Always a Cowboy features Drake Carson, in charge of the family ranch. He is devoted to the animals and the land.  He is all cowboy, all the time.  His biggest challenge of late is managing the wild horses on his land, the stallion is running off with some of his other horses. Luce Hale is a graduate student intent on studying and saving the wild horse population.  Sparks fly between Luce and Drake right away and the attraction is instant.  They work together to come up with a plan that works for everyone and fall in love in the process. It's a solid story and a lot of fun.  If you are a fan of sexy cowboys and western romances this one is for you! Start with book one - Once a Rancher . 3/5 stars on Goodreads.

Review - The Island House by Nancy Thayer

Anyone who knows what books I enjoy, knows by now that I love any book that features summer, the beach, an island or any combination of those things.   The Island House didn't disappoint.  I love Thayer's books that are set on the island of Nantucket, I love reading about the families who summer there and the families that stay there all year long. This book was exciting because it not only featured a family who lives on Nantucket year round, the Vickerey's, but also their "summer children".  The main focus of this novel is Courtney who was college roommates with Robin Vickerey.  Courtney has fallen in love with Robin's brother James, but has many unanswered questions about their relationship.  Also, someone from Courtney's past appears and makes her wonder if she knows her own heart. Although I enjoyed this book a lot, it wasn't quite as well written as some of Nancy Thayer's other books.  Rated 3/5 stars on Goodreads.