The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake by Aimee Bender

The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake is the story of a nine-year-old girl, Rose, who can taste the feelings of anyone who made her food. For example when she tastes her mom's baking she can taste the sadness and longing, and when she takes a bite of her brother's toast, she can taste the anger.

While the concept of The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake was good, the execution was off. First, after the first third of the book, the story shifts from Rose to her brother Joseph, who keeps mysteriously disappearing and reappearing. Also, Joseph is really angry and moody about something, but Bender never fully develops what he is so angry about. He chooses to shut himself off from in the world in a very unique way (which I will not spoil here) but Bender never says just why he needs to take such a drastic measure.

Also, even though Rose has this power, she doesn't really do a whole lot with it except tell a couple of people. The people she tells thinks it's a fascinating power, but still nothing else is done. After awhile her power is treated more like a magic trick than anything else.

So, while the idea of The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake was intriguing, the story ended up missing the mark.

2 out of 5 stars.

The Baker's Sweets by Angela Wray

*Note: This post is about a book that contains some adult content, reader discretion is advised*

The Baker’s Sweets is an erotic fiction about a young woman named Lily who ends up in a three-way relationship with Morgan and Ian, twin shape shifters who share just about everything, including their women. Lily struggles with being in this type of relationship, and the story chronicles her feelings and thoughts as she forms a relationship with not one, but two extremely hot men.

Wray writes sex very well. The sex scenes are steamy and really get the juices flowing. Each sex scene gets hotter than the last and it leaves the reader wanting to read more of it. Wray is not afraid to use the language that is necessary to really get an intimate feeling from the reader.

The story itself is also very interesting, and well worth the read, as Lily sorts out her feelings about the two men and the trials and tribulations they face to solidify how she feels. I really felt like I got to know Lily, Morgan, and Ian, and I really felt for them as the story progressed. It was also very easy to feel the love between the three of them.

However, there were a few drawbacks that detracted from the story. The first is that Wray got a bit wordy during the non-sex scenes. At one point she spent nearly an entire page telling exactly how Lily got ready for the day, and it just wasn’t necessary to go into that level of detail. The other is that The Baker’s Sweets still needed some minor editing, there were a few missing commas and quotation marks that I had to go back and re-read the passage a few times to understand exactly what was going on.

I give this book 3 out of 5 stars.

The Baker’s Sweets is available at http://www.bookstrand.com/the-bakers-sweets , starting March 9.

The author provided me a free copy of this book with the expectation of an honest review.

Crestmont by Holly Weiss

I won this book on a Goodreads Giveaway.

Crestmont started off a little slow, but by the third chapter things picked up and I was able to get into the story of Gracie, a young woman with dreams of a life on stage who ends up working at the beautiful Cresmont Inn to save some money.

While I liked the book, I didn't love it and there were a few things that detracted from the story for me. The first was Mrs. Woods (the owner of the Crestmont along with her husband) seemed to be a wild card of a character. Sometimes she would get mad at Gracie and hold a grudge, then the next day everything would suddenly be fine. Also, the book was slow in some parts but then glossed over what I thought would be big events.

The last thing that kind of detracted from the story is nitpicky on my part, but the math didn't add up. When Gracie left home in 1925 she was 22, she turned 23 in August of 1925, yet in 1927 she was still 23 and celebrated her 24th birthday. She should have been 24 going to 25 in 1927.

All in all though it was a good story and one that I enjoyed reading. 3.5 stars from me.

Cycling, Wine, and Men by Nancy Brook

I decided to read Cycling, Wine, and Men based on the review of a friend of mine. This is a memoir of a woman in her forties who decided to take a cycling tour of southern France. The 700 mile bike ride gives her a chance to think about her life, her priorities, her lack of romance, and overcoming some obstacles.

Along the way Nancy decides to break from the pack and meet the locals and get a chance to see what life in France is really all about. Nancy's strength and courage is very admirable. Her life story is also very interesting, from the struggles she faced in her life to what lead her decision to bike across France.

This was a good book, and worth the read. It really shows how much a person can achieve if they really try and set their mind to it. That inner strength combined with some hard work can get a person almost anywhere they want to be. Also, I loved the tips she threw in between the chapters: cycling basics, touring basics and wine basics.

However, there were some minor downsides that detracted from the story a little bit. The first was that Nancy seemed a bit judgmental of her fellow riders, however, she later on admitted that this was a problem that she needed to work on. The second was the way she described the other American tourists in Paris. She kept reminding the reader how they were "supersized". I just didn't see the need for that to be in this book.

I gave this book 3.5 stars.

Words in the Dust by Trent Reedy

I won this book on the Goodreads Giveaway.

When I first started this book I was skeptical because it was the first-person narration of a thirteen year old Afghan girl, written by a member of the US military. I got it in the mail last night and figured I would read a little bit before bed. Well, I ended up reading the whole thing in one sitting. I was enchanted by the young girl and everything that she and her older sister, Zeynab had to go through.

I felt like I was really in...moreI won this book on the Goodreads Giveaway.

When I first started this book I was skeptical because it was the first-person narration of a thirteen year old Afghan girl, written by a member of the US military. I got it in the mail last night and figured I would read a little bit before bed. Well, I ended up reading the whole thing in one sitting. I was enchanted by the young girl and everything that she and her older sister, Zeynab had to go through.

I felt like I was really inside of her home and watching her interact with her family. I also felt the pain when she told of the hurtful things that people said to her because of her cleft lip. This book had some dark moments, but also some hopeful ones. It was a great read and I look forward to more from Mr. Reed

Words in the Dust was an insightful, heartwarming, remarkable book. I give it 5 stars.

Confessions of a Prairie Bitch: How I Survived Nellie Oleson and Learned to Love Being Hated by Alison Arngrim

As a long time fan of the show Little House on the Prairie I was very much looking forward to reading Alison Arngrim's Confessions of a Prairie Bitch: How I Survived Being Nellie Oleson and Learned to Love Being hated. In this book Arngrim shares what her life was like growing up, what it was like playing Nellie Oleson, and what she has done since the show.

I found the book to be a great read. I had no idea some of the trauma that Arngrim had to face, but she puts it forth as simply an obstacle that she had to overcome. She is not looking for pity or sympathy, instead she shows the strength that she had inside to overcome some of the things she was forced to go throw. It gives a certain human quality to a woman who is most famous for playing a TV villain.

I loved the parts of the book where she talked about her life on the set of Little House on the Prairie. She lays it all out on the line, telling who she got along with and who she didn't. She also tells of some of the most memorable Nellie Oleson moments and how she felt while she was shooting them. Arngrim also mentioned her relationship with her fans, and how some really hated her because of the role that she played.

What I liked the most about Arngrim and her book, was that she embraces the fact that she played Nellie Oleson and that is how most fans see her. She doesn't let any sort of pride stand in the way of as she puts it "knowing where her bread is buttered." Arngrim also showed how she used the power of being Nellie Oleson to do various charity work and help raise money for those who need it the most.

I give this book 4.5 out of 5 stars. If you were (or still are) a Little House on the Prairie fan, you will enjoy reading this book.

Roseflower Creek by Jackie Lee Miles

Roseflower Creek by Jackie Lee Miles was offered for free for the Kindle on Amazon, so I decided to give it a try. The story involves the life, murder, and afterlife of a 10-year-old girl named Lori Jean, written from the point of view of the little girl. (Note: This is not a spoiler as it tells you that in the very first paragraph.) It is set in the 1950's in a very poor part of Georgia.

Even though the story itself deals with a tough subject matter, it is very engaging. It is written as though Lori Jean were sitting there talking to you, complete with a drawl and moments of joy and pain that a child feels. I felt connected with Lori Jean right from the start was compelled to hear her tell her story.

Roseflower Creek is one of those books that just stays with you long after you read it. It is not exactly "entertaining" because of the subject matter at hand, but it does have a certain endearing quality and once I started, I had a hard time putting it down. I give this book 4 out of 5 stars.