This Perfectly Imperfect Life

Bed and Breakfast by Lois Battle My rating: 4 of 5 stars This is the December group read for my Southern Lit Lovers group  on Goodreads and my nomination for the month which means I'm leading the chat! I've had this book on my living room shelf for years , tried it a couple of times & never finished, but I kept it with my Christmas books because, honestly, I adore the cover! Am I glad I held onto it! I so enjoyed this novel! At times it reminded me of other Southern family novels I've read, but that didn't take away from it. I didn't want to put it down and didn't want it to end once I got there. And ever since visiting the Charleston & Folly Beach areas of South Carolina briefly early this year, I have a better appreciation for & now enjoy novels set in SC as a whole. I also liked the fact this wasn't the usual type Christmas novel I end up reading at this time of year; it's a Southern family novel that happens to take place aro...

Those Who Save Us by Jenna Blum My rating: 5 of 5 stars What a Remarkable novel. One of the best I feel I've ever read. Remarkable. Disturbing. Horrifying. Painful. Utterly compelling. Shocking. Upsetting. Incredible. Remarkable. I've yet to fully gather my thoughts on it, there are so many!  I am very glad I finally read this novel. View all my reviews

The Tender Mercy of Roses by Anna Michaels My rating: 5 of 5 stars Debut novel by this author and another pleasant surprise! I'm not usually one for mysteries but again, I do love Southern novels and gave this a try based purely on the title. A side of Southern writing I'm not familiar with, woven with Native American Indian lore. Beautiful prose intertwined with a captivating plot and vivid characters. View all my reviews

The Beach House by Mary Alice Monroe My rating: 5 of 5 stars What an unexpected gem of a read!  I originally picked it because I've been focusing on novels with a sense of place more like where I live to try & help me with my own writing struggles with sense of place. Yes, I live in NJ and not in a traditional shore town, but, we are right on the coast & directly across the bay from a barrier peninsula.  (I'm still not over Hurricane Irene & the area of our Northwestern NJ home (inland) was hit worse than we were here on the coast! Anyhoo...)  My Aunt loved this book so I thought it was high time to give it a try.  Plus, I love Southern novels. I didn't expect to be swept up into the story of this novel, nor did I expect it to be such a touching & emotional read.  For many this has been & would be a great 'beach read' as it's often referred to!  For me, it touched on areas very close to home ( spoiler: one of the main characters...

Whistlin' Dixie in a Nor'easter by Lisa Patton My rating: 3 of 5 stars Again, different than my usual contemporary southern lit read & pleasantly surprised I ended up enjoying the novel. Cute, light read. Once again also surprised that I'd like to read the follow-up! Back story as to why I bought this book earlier this month: Originally borrowed from my Aunt, I started this last year but returned it to her unfinished. (Timing is everything when it comes to a read for me!) Now that I lucked into the hardback edition for $3, (truth be told, I Love the cover!) it's one of those unfinished books haunting me so I'm determined to finish it once and for all. And I'm glad I did! View all my reviews

Big Stone Gap by Adriana Trigiani My rating: 4 of 5 stars This was the first selection of 2012 for evening bookclub and a welcome change of pace from our many recent serious reads. I thoroughly enjoyed this novel! I loved the opening paragraph and once I was into the novel, I didn't want to put it down. I'd definitely like to read the others in this series which is unusual for me. Different than most contemporary Southern reads I've read. Leaning towards the chick-lit side but not so much that it turned me off. A cute, easy read despite a few sad parts. Her descriptive writing is vivid without being fluffy or wordy and she paints a beautiful picture of the mountains in West VA and gives a great sense of place. Just the change of pace I may have needed to give my reading rut the boot once and for all! View all my reviews