I find myself drawn to stories about second chances and starting over because I find that, as a reader, I feel empowered whenever a character I have come to care about rises above their circumstances. I've always been drawn to characters who overcome, who find their own way in difficult times, and who do so with honor and integrity, especially when faced with adversaries who may be bigoted, self-absorbed, or even dangerous. I am drawn more to historical or exotic settings or even quirky everyday places, but I love writers who create almost an additional character with their sense of setting, giving it its own personality.
I count this book by Elizabeth Von Arnim as one of my all-time favorite books to read and re-read again and again. The setting is the medieval castle of San Salvatore, which stands on a hilltop over a picturesque sunny bay in Italy is absolutely gorgeous. The author skillfully makes the setting come alive.
But it is the characterization that really shines here with a group of random women who holiday together on a whim, strangers who must see beyond their initial impressions of one another, only discover as much about themselves as they do about the others.
Originally published in 1922, Elizabeth Von Arnim's The Enchanted April is a charming and light-hearted novel about unlikely female friendships and the power of a blissful escape.
Complete & Unabridged. Part of the Macmillan Collector's Library; a series of stunning, cloth-bound, pocket-sized classics with gold foiled edges and ribbon markers. These beautiful books make perfect gifts or a treat for any book lover.
Four mismatched women respond to an advert in The Times offering a beautiful medieval castle to rent on the Italian Riviera. Bashful Mrs Wilkins, cheerless Mrs Arbuthnot, widowed Mrs Fisher and socialite Lady Caroline Dester are each…
This book is the first in a series of books that celebrate the lifelong friendship of Elena and Lila, who meet as young girls in a rough and tumble neighborhood in 1950s Naples, Italy. I applaud the author's skill in weaving a setting that was beautiful despite what many would consider ugly.
I loved this whole series mostly because it celebrates the power and ever-evolving dynamic of female friendship through the many different stages of the character's lives and the events that they must overcome.
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From one of Italy's most acclaimed authors, comes this ravishing and generous-hearted novel about a friendship that lasts a lifetime. The story of Elena and Lila begins in the 1950s in a poor but…
This book is the story of Diana and Matthew, who share a love throughout the ages. I love how, after years of shunning her craft, Diana begins to embrace her identity as a witch and how she evolves with that acceptance.
Matthew also must come to terms with his own dark origins, and together, with the power of their love, I love how they seek to change the rules of the supernatural world they are a part of for the acceptance of those who are different from them.
In this tale of passion and obsession, Diana Bishop, a young scholar and a descendant of witches, discovers a long-lost and enchanted alchemical manuscript, Ashmole 782, deep in Oxford's Bodleian Library. Its reappearance summons a fantastical underworld, which she navigates with her leading man, vampire geneticist Matthew Clairmont.
This book is a richly historical novel set in Renaissance Italy. The main character, Lucrezia, must use her wits in a world where her only value is her dynastic marriage and the heir she is duty-bound to produce.
I loved the imagery of her as a canary in a golden cage, which is really a prison. The book is richly descriptive and historically evocative, and the ending provides an unexpected conclusion that left me cheering.
WOMEN'S PRIZE FOR FICTION FINALIST • REESE’S BOOK CLUB PICK • NEW YORK TIMES BEST SELLER • The author of award-winning Hamnet brings the world of Renaissance Italy to jewel-bright life in this unforgettable fictional portrait of the captivating young duchess Lucrezia de' Medici as she makes her way in a troubled court.
“I could not stop reading this incredible true story.” —Reese Witherspoon (Reese’s Book Club Pick)
"O’Farrell pulls out little threads of historical detail to weave this story of a precocious girl sensitive to the contradictions of her station...You may know the history, and you may think you…
This book is a beautiful tale that demonstrates the ugliness of first impressions when it comes to viewing others. When Vivienne is looked down upon by the local mayor for being a single mother and nomadic traveler, he is making assumptions based on his own narrow-minded authority.
I love how, despite his attempts to harm her financially, she continues to show how being an individual who is true to oneself means more than trying to fit the mold of what someone else might think you should be.
Even before it was adapted into the Oscar-nominated film starring Juliette Binoche and Johnny Depp, Chocolat entranced readers with its mix of hedonism, whimsy, and, of course, chocolate.
In tiny Lansquenet, where nothing much has changed in a hundred years, beautiful newcomer Vianne Rocher and her exquisite chocolate shop arrive and instantly begin to play havoc with Lenten vows.
Each box of luscious bonbons comes with a free gift: Vianne's uncanny perception of its buyer's private discontents and a clever, caring cure for them. Is she a witch?
Soon the parish no longer cares, as it abandons itself to temptation,…
My book is set in the fictional town of Ipswich-by-the-Sea in New England and is a story about a young widow with three small children who embarks on a new beginning. When a friend asks her to help run a bed-and-breakfast on the Massachusetts shore, suddenly, summer is full of possibilities.
There, she happens to cross paths with composer Gavin Matheson, who is grieving the loss of his marriage and son. The two lost souls learn to embrace new beginnings together as they discover that all is never lost…and hope can be found in the most unlikely places.
Willem and Jurriaan have a miserable childhood thanks to their cruel, controlling mother—Louisa Veldkamp, a world-renowned pianist. Dad turns a blind eye. One day, Louisa vanishes without a trace during a family vacation.
Adoptee Anneliese Bakker survives a toxic childhood and leaves home, vowing never to return. While searching for her biological mother, she meets the adult Willem, and they fall in love. Pregnant and engaged, she moves into the family mansion, wanting nothing more than to create a loving family for her child. But the Veldkamps are cold and distant. And why is Louisa a taboo subject?
An expectant mother gets more than she bargained for when she marries into a seemingly perfect family in this gripping debut novel–a must read for fans of A. J. Finn and B. A. Paris.
After surviving a nightmarish childhood, Anneliese Bakker is on the mend and searching for her birth mother. But when she meets Willem, she falls madly in love and finally finds a safe place to land. Engaged and expecting her first child, she moves into the Veldkamp mansion on a stately, tree-lined avenue in Amsterdam. And yet, nothing about Willem’s family is as it seems. Instead of…
