Book Review: Be Ready When the Luck Happens: A Memoir by Ina Garten

Be Ready When the Luck Happens: A Memoir by Ina Garten
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I have been watching Ina on the Food Network for years and also enjoy reading her cookbooks.  Therefore, I was looking forward to reading her new memoir.  However, if you have watched any of her TV appearances or read any of the print interviews for her book tour, you already know the highlights of the book -- her challenging childhood with difficult parents, meeting Jeffrey as a teenager and marrying when she was quite young, buying the Barefoot Contessa shop in the Hampton's with no food, retail or business experience, etc. 

I really enjoyed reading about the 1972 summer that Ina and Jeffrey spent camping in France -- visiting the open air markets to buy very fresh and cheap food, tasting the French wine, visiting the boulangeries, and bistros.  And it was interesting to read about her foray into filming a TV show in her own house, along with her adamant denial to never do it again after the first 13 episodes!  However, the rest of the book seemed to be a re-hash of the same thing over and over.

Many other reviews  have mentioned how privileged both she and Jeffrey are, coming from very wealthy families, having excellent educations at well-known universities, and not having to struggle or worry about money.  This theme comes through continually throughout the book -- buying the Hampton's shop, purchasing and renovating a house, dumping all of their furniture and belongings on the curb when they moved to a new house, buying and renovating another house, hiring architects, hiring decorators, searching for the perfect Paris apartment, and various business deals.  She admits that she does a lot because she is bored in a job -- buying real estate, taking flying lessons, getting a graduate degree.  She also seems very controlling and always wanting to get her way, which became obvious in all her business dealings.  It's easy for the luck to happen when you are financially secure and have the bank balance to back it up.  

Read more of my reviews at https://thegoodreader13.blogspot.com/.

View all my reviews

Book Review: A Fatal Grace by Louise Penny (Chief Inspector Armand Gamache #2)

A Fatal Grace by Louise Penny
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I re-read this book for my Mystery Book Club.  I originally read it 7 years ago, and it was amazing that I remembered virtually nothing about the story details.  It's set in the small Quebec village of Three Pines (as many of her books are) at Christmas. 

I'm reading her books in order.  Up next is #9 - How the Light Gets In.  A perfect selection for the month of December!  Another book set in Three Pines at Christmastime.

Read more of my reviews at https://thegoodreader13.blogspot.com/.

View all my reviews

Book Review: Paved Paradise: How Parking Explains the World by Henry Grabar

Paved Paradise: How Parking Explains the World by Henry Grabar
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A fascinating, extensively researched and documented non-fiction book about parking and how it impacts city development.  Henry Grabar is a writer for Slate and he presents quite a few case studies of various city's parking laws, problems, and outcomes, which include housing prices, city expansion, parking availability and pricing, traffic patterns, and the decline of downtown areas.

I read this for one of my book clubs and have to admit that this was an incredibly lively discussion!  Everyone had something to say and an anecdote to report.

Read more of my reviews at https://thegoodreader13.blogspot.com/.

View all my reviews

Book Review: The Waiting by Michael Connelly (Harry Bosch #25 and Renee Ballard #6)

The Waiting by Michael Connelly
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I have read all of of the Harry Bosch books in the series, and always look forward to a new one.  This one doesn't disappoint with lots of action, but the focus is primarily on Renee Ballard as it's been for the past couple of books.  Harry is retired, but plays an important role for Renee as an undercover operative in one of her investigations.  The pleasant surprise in the book is that Harry's daughter, Maddie, joins Renee's Open Unsolved squad so we get to see her in action.

There are three story lines, each following one of Renee's cases.  We get to see more of her team, see how they work each of the closed cases, and also get to find out more of Renee's backstory.  I'm always looking forward to another Michael Connelly book and hope he doesn't ever decide to retire.

Read more of my reviews at https://thegoodreader13.blogspot.com/.

View all my reviews

Book Review: Hot Blooded by Lisa Jackson (New Orleans #1)

Hot Blooded by Lisa Jackson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The setting is New Orleans during a hot summer.  A serial killer has been killing women.  Dr. Samantha Leeds is a psychiatrist / radio talk show host.  She has been receiving phone calls and mail from an unknown individual who knows way too much about her past.  Everything comes together in this atmospheric thriller. 

New Orleans police detectives Rick Bentz and Reuben Montoya work together to find the killer.  It was these detectives and their work together that I really enjoyed about this book.  I will definitely be reading the next book in this series.  

I'm not sure whether it was just my Kindle version, but the formatting was very screwy throughout the entire book, especially when it came to quoted dialog.  The dialog from different speakers was all run together, making it very difficult to determine who was actually speaking.  

Read more of my reviews at https://thegoodreader13.blogspot.com/.

View all my reviews

Book Review: The Perfect Couple by Elin Hilderbrand (Nantucket Series #3)

The Perfect Couple by Elin Hilderbrand
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Summer in Nantucket.  The setting is a glamorous ocean front mansion and the occasion is the wedding of Benji and Celeste.  Friends and family are gathered for the event, but tragedy strikes the morning of the wedding and the local police are called in to investigate.

Everyone is harboring their own dark secret and as the story unfolds, we slowly discover the secrets and how they affect the other wedding guests.  

In true Elin Hilderbrand fashion, each short chapter is devoted to a different character in the saga.  In addition, the timeline is not linear, jumping from present day to several points in the past to fill in the backstory.  However, each section is clearly identified with the character's name along with the date and time, so it's easy to keep on track.  

This was an incredible book, both a romance and a mystery.  Hilderbrand always immerses the reader in such a sense of place with all of her books.  I'm very anxious to watch the Netflix streaming version of this book!

Read more of my reviews at https://thegoodreader13.blogspot.com/.

View all my reviews