Good Glimpse Books paired with a great glass…
The First Good Read is
A Glimpse of Good!
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These MidLife Travels are tailored just FOR YOU and Delivered each Thursday::
Weekly Travel Tips
Travel Styling equally in luxe + bargains for the best travel outfits
Book idea to take along each trip {or cozied on the couch}
12 Travel Essentials List + the 30 Best Travel Tips are waiting to meet you on the other side of that pretty pink button…
Some book inspiration to toss into your carry-on bag sits below
Glimpse of Good Books {2024}
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Happy New Book Year
When Life Gives You Lululemons:: {3/5 Red Blend rating} If you liked The Devil Wears Prada this one is a cute follow-up of 3 character’s aging coming to grips with their age, the strange suburban lifestyles people lead {really strange –or maybe I just live in a very small bubble}, and how 3 friends come together to squash a cheating husband.
Scroll on down for the 2023 & 2022 list of Rom-Com, Mystery, and good non-fiction reads.
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Killers Know No Age
Killers of a Certain Age:: {4/5 Blood Red Cabernet rating} Billie, Natalie, Alice, Mary, and Helen are being retired from the Museum and given an all-expense paid cruise to thank them for their years of assassination-al service.
People never suspect the woman in the knife-slicing, club thumping, or shoot-em under the cafe table mystery killing…And that’s been their prime advantage in their “job”
These 5 would also be under-estimated when a hit was put on their heads. Eliminate and frame the retired Broads, that should be easy😬 I love a good kick-butt story of the 60+ generation - I think you will too in this who is after us & why mystery.
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Sequel Holds Up To Original
The Mystery Guest:: {4/5 Chardonnay rating}
Molly the maid is back at the Regency Grand Hotel doing what she does best…Notice the fine details that others miss.
This is the sequel to The Maid mystery murder.
There’s been another murder at the Regency Grand and this one makes Molly fall into her past, but she doesn’t want to tell Detective Stark she knows the dead man.
I love how Nita Prose bestows the hero-status on the typically overlooked Molly. A feel-good who-done-it story.
Full blog post on book 1 ☞ The Maid
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Who is The Liar?
None of This Is True:: {4.5/5} Lisa Jewell’s imagination has no boundaries! Not her darkest book I’ve read, but the complexity of back-story and the pinball guess work keeps you reading about where Josie and Alix will end up.
Alix is making a podcast about Josie after a chance meeting at their birthday dinners. Josie calls it a Birthday Twins podcast telling, but Alix is far more curious about the strange things of Josie’s life that make her uneasy, but she can’t stop meeting with her.
How far will Alix go for the REAL story and who will pay the price?
Scroll down for the 2023 & 2022 list of Rom-Com, Mystery, and good non-fiction reads.
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I Want To Be Elizabeth Zott When I Grow Up
Lessons in Chemistry:: {5/5 perfectly balanced coffee made in a beaker} Her scientific brain weaves from the lab at Hastings Institute to her cooking and even her perfect cup of coffee.
It’s the 1960’s and Elizabeth Zott is a brilliant scientist surrounded by less smart men in the world of science. She doesn’t let the 1960’s stop her from getting what she wants. Not even the Noble-Prize nominee Calvin Evans changes her mind when it comes to science. But he does melt her heart.
There isn’t a formula for this kind of love, heartbreak and redemption story
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February Soulmate Equation💖
Soulmate Equation:: {4.5/5 Coffee & Rumchata rating} The sign of a really good Rom-Com is that we already know they end up together, but the ‘HOW’ the get there + the ‘HICCUP’ in the middle that they get past is the gushy-feel-good stuff that makes a
GREAT Rom-Com.
Jess has seen Mr Americana every morning at precisely 8:24 in the local coffee shop that she makes her workspace.
Crunch data with DNA science and spit out a match of 2 unlikely people to make a match made in science.
Cute, adorable, rom-com read. Perfect for a bumpy airplane ride to the Northwest.
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Weaving Lies Thru March
First Lie Wins:: {4.8/5 Fireball & Irish Cream rating} You’re not sure what the story is with Evie Porter, but when the first lie presents, you’re hooked and flipping the pages to see how Evie is staying one step ahead of Mr Smith.
There are a lot of names to keep track of going present to past in this mystery, otherwise it would have been a perfect 5 for me. If you take this on your next flight, you won’t mind sitting in row 31 just to read a few more pages. ✈️
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March Madness of A different Kind
Then She Was Gone:: {3/5 Dark Merlot - reallll dark} I enjoy Lisa Jewell’s writing. I rated this one lower because it was as twisted as a curly-Q french fry!
Elle is finishing up her school exams and looking forward to a relaxing summer. Then she was gone!
Mom, Laurel, struggles with finding answers {what mother wouldn’t}, when she meets Poppy…An adorable and precocious little girl who resembles her Elle too much so to be coincidence – right? Did Elle run away? Is she really gone?
1- Being a mom {this story twisted me in knots}
2- A chill-me-to-my-toenails plot.I’ll read more of Jewell’s books, but this one was this Mama’s unthinkable nightmare. But it did have me reading to the end🫣
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Honey-Mooning with your Nemesis
The UNhoneymooners:: {4/5 fruity beach drink} Rom-Com where the unlucky twin Olive Torres is about to get lucky - unlucky - and then lucky again. But it’s not really luck, it’s life.
But when Olive gets sent to an all expense paid trip to Maui with her nemesis, Ethan, is it really that bad of luck?
Cute Rom-Com and sets us up for the sequel, The Honeymoon Crashers.
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Finlay Is Back! Book 4
Finlay Donovan Rolls the Dice:: {5/5 Sparkling Moscato rating} The finale I’ve been waiting for!
Finlay and Vero are running rom the mob, keeping one-step-ahead of the police, and trying not to find anymore dead bodies.
It’s a mystery – It’s comedic – It’s a fun read {or listen} for your next road trip. This is a 4 book series that you won’t get tired of read!
1- Finlay Donovan is Killing it!
2- Finlay Donovan Knocks’Em Dead
3-Finlay Donovan Jumps The Gun -
How Much Would You Want To Know?
No One Can Know:: {4.5/5 Dark roast coffee rating} 3 sisters, 3 murders and a whole lotta secrets. Catch up on your mystery skills as you weave from past to present to find out who the killer{s} are.
Kate Alice Marshall can write a mystery that keeps you turning the page, with just a touch of freaky-factor. I’ll be looking up more of her books.
Get full synopsis by clicking on the title above.
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MidLife Inspiration
Learning To Love MidLife:: {3.5 Spinach & Mango Smoothie rating}
Life is full of ups & sinkers at any age! This MidLife adventure has been a very crazy and fast pace that I wasn’t expecting. Conley’s book has some good examples ad phrases that made me pause and re-think a few ideas of this chaper in life.
Most important reminder for me…Everyday we get in this middle life is a blessing. Find at least ONE PIECE each day to be grateful.
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Stretches The Imagination
The Unmaking of June Farrow:: {2.5/5 Cold Brew Coffee rating}. While I liked the characters and storyline {mostly}, it became a little hard to follow once the secret was revealed. I found myself going back over how it all came to be in the last few chapters.
Curious to know what you thought if you’ve read this one.😊
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I Love Me a Sophie Kinsella Book
The Burnout:: {4/5 Green Kale Smoothie rating} You feel for Sarah right from the beginning. She is burnt out on her job, has no life outside of work, {almost} joins a convent…she was going mad & needed a drastic change.
Instead of becoming a nun, she takes a much-needed holiday. And in Kinsella fashion, the adventure starts when she arrives at the lodge. 🤗
Fun characters in this one, and of course, the RomCom pieces fit together perfectly.
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Magic Is Not Lost in This Story
The Lost Bookshop:: {4.5/5 Sparkling glass of Moscato rating}
It’s a whimsical, bit maddening, hopeful, sad, but most of all enduring story told from 3 people’s perspectives about how books keep the magic alive.
A little bit romance, little bit history of the times, and
A LOT GOOD BOOK.
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A Twisted Turn of Events
The Black Book:: {4/5 L’Ecole no.41 Cabernet rating} Dark blood red is the only wine for this mystery twist. I’ve read a few Patterson books and somehow there are enough twists & turns that I don’t see the biggest GOTCHA of all.
The list of suspects is long and you’ll keep guessing all the way through this one. A dark & good mystery without being too thriller-ish.
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They're Just Getting Started
The Marlow Murder Club:: 4/5 Scotch rating- If I was scotch drinker like Judith}
3 women - a dog walker, crossword writer, and vicar’s wife have nothing in common. Unless you count 3 murders in the town of Marlow that they live.
Nothing brings a group together like murder {in a good book}.
It was a slow beginning, book 1 set-up’s usually are, but I liked how these 3 women, of very different ages, came together to forge friendship and solve murders.
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Flight Delay Book of Dreams
One Perfect Couple:: {4.9/5 Ice Cold Water rating} Alright, none of us wish for a flight delay, but this book HAS IT ALL! It’s listed under “thriller” but I don’t like heart-thumping thrillers. There was a few pages toward the end of the book that my heart started racing, but not enough to stop reading.
A twisted mystery with affable characters to cheer for, have pity on, despise, and respect.
Click the link above & read the synopsis, and then grab this one for your next trip!
Glimpse of Good Books {2023}
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Summer in January
Mary Jane~A Novel:: {3/5 coffee rating} Straight-laced collides with free spirited as sweet Mary Jane gets a Summer nanny job for the Cone family. It’s family disco ball {Cone’s} meets family rock {Mary Janes}. Ones all shiny and brings the party – the other solid, stoic, and unmoving. Mary Jane see’s a very different way of life from her own and how she doesn’t want one or the other…but her own way of seeing the world.
A coming of age book. If you’re 60’s-70’s baby this book will take you back to how it once was {for better and for worse}.
Back then, most coffee was drank black or if you were a kid, it was Orange Crush soda. #dryJanaury.
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January Snow Fall with Coffee & a Book
I Owe You One:: {3.8/5 Rosé rating} Another Kinsella RomCom from my stack::Fixie Farr, the main character, is fixing everything except...her love life. Not sure I'd ever collect on an IOU from a stranger in a coffee shop, but in RomCom style, you can get away with that kinda plot and romcom readers –like myself– soak that stuff up. Ignoramus Uncle Ned + nemesis Ryan are sucking a bit of the RomCom joy outta this for me in parts of this book, but it's a Kinsella novel. I'll be here to the end.
Winning Quote of this one::
"You need to start thinking less about what you owe other people and more about what you owe yourself" {don’t be selfish - but remember YOU TOO} And pour a glass of SMAK Rosé as you read this one. -
January Affair
The Christie Affair:: {4/5 Whiskey rating} A mystery of ginormous proportions on the mystery queen writer herself. What happened in those 11 days that Agatha Christie disappeared? We’ll never know, but this story would engross Christie herself from beginning to end clicking & un-clicking the pieces of the mystery together until it ends with a HOLY SHA-MOLY😳 A few chapter lags, but mostly page-flipping good!
Whiskey – neat. Best time to try one is with this book. Never had one, but felt like I should as I read this high-society, old time mystery.
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January GG Book
Daisy Jones & The Six:: {4.5/5 Brevé rating} A novel that transports you back to the golden age of rock and roll. A perfectly TJR penned documentary-style book; interviewing the band members for a tell-all story. Picture Janis Joplin’s rawness with Fleetwood Mac meets The Doors. Electric guitars matched up with an ELECTRIC STORY. In #dryJanuary I’m matching this up with a caffe breve to soothe the soul as you read. {@colvillestreet in Walla Walla makes my favorite}
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February in Gelato
Love & Gelato:: {3/5 gelatos rating} An easy, heart-warming read of Lena, a 17-year old girl, off to Italy to meet + live with a father she’s never met after her mother passes away. A come-of-age, first-love, friendship, + finding independence book. My favorite pieces were the little pieces of Italy and the culture weaved into the book.
Had me craving Italian gelato from beginning to the last page. The Gelateria shops are calling – I’m ready to fly back to Rome!
Until then, All Chocolate Kitchen in Geneva, Illinois serves a close 2nd in gelato.
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February Killer For Hire
Finlay Donovan Is Killing It:: {4.8/5 wine glass rating} FIRST TIME IN MY 18,615 days of life I didn’t mind cleaning the bathroom. And that’s saying A LOT because…BATHROOMS🤢🤢!
I got the book, but ended up doing Audible so I could forget I wash cleaning the mirror & listen while I washed.
Finlay Donovan is not presently “killing it” in life. Struggling writer, divorced with 2 kids, bills piling up on her doorstep {literally} and now she’s been mistaken for a ‘killer-for-hire’ at the local Panera. A good mystery with laugh-out-loud quips with her new roomie, Vero. Grab your glass of Moon Base Red Blend and package of Oreo’s. {Not a recommended pairing, but once you start reading this one, you’ll give them some slack.} Book 1 of 3 in the series.
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March Book : Wine : Oreo's
Finlay Donovan Knocks ‘Em Dead:: {4.5/5 wine & Oreo rating} Very bad combination, but they eat A LOT of Oreo’s trying to figure our their next moves.
Finlay wanted to kill Steven {her ex} most days. Now someone else is taking her words literally.
The cruel joke’s on Finlay. She has to figure out how to keep someone else from killing her ex-husband and turns out there are plenty of suspects. {If it could rain pitchforks, he’d be a good target😳}
Dark chocolate raspberry truffles {or Oreo’s if you’re like Vero} with a glass Eisenhower Cellars Rhapsody in Red with your Audible listen. {Book 2/3}
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March Cliffhanger
Finlay Donovan Jumps the Gun:: {3.5/5 strong whiskey rating} Straight out of a paper cup since that’s all they’ll find at a police training camp.
Started reading again, but the Audible reader has the best voice. Back back to the library & AirPods in.
The banter between Finlay & Vero is laughable page after page. I want TO BE VERO when I grow up. Book 3 is still coming in hot {with some hot cop steam too}. Another good mystery that will have you guessing.
The lower rating is only for the ending. Not to be a spoiler, but it’s a bit of a hang-over-a-cliff, not knowing how they’ll get out of this one, kind of ending. Whiskey ‘Neat’ for this cliffhanger.
Book 4 is in 2024.🙁 That’s too long for that kind of ending😳
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April Flashback to SNL
Romantic Comedy:: {4/5 Bourbon Mules rating} Based in the setting of SNL flashback {called the Night Owls, but clearly based on SNL😉}. It’s a boy meets girl rom-com, but I liked the twists and tackling the demon-voices that pop up in all our heads in our 30’s and 40’s. Starts in a 2018 timeframe and races through 2022, so yes, COVID references abound in this one.
An everyday music star {Noah} comes across a Nigh Owl writer {Sally} and the rest is history. Except that IT’S NOT and the internal monologues makes this one a great read.
I picture them all at the after parties each drinking Bourbon Mules, or Gin & Tonics, but pour yourself a glass of your favorite and sit back in time {not for the COVID part, but for the good ol’ SNL days}🙂
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May Mind-Reading
Carrots:: {3/5 rating with a Cabernet Sauvignon in the glass} One day you’re at the store grabbing carrots and then BAM! Now you can hear the inner-thoughts of everyone around you. Would you like it – Yay or Nay?
Shelby didn’t get a choice and instead of carrots, she got herself into a pickle jar of a mess with the mob having her new mind-reading talent. Dark red wine is a fitting Italian favorite for this listen/read.
I probably would have rated this one better if I had read, instead of Audibled. The narrator’s voice didn’t work with the story for me.
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May I Grant Your Wish?
ADDIE LARUE:: {4/5 deep red merlot rating}
Would you want a life of 300 years if you couldn’t age and no one remembering you as soon as they left the room?Addie LaRue made a wish one dark night to get out of an arranged marriage. But when you’re very young you don’t know how words can slither to fit the needs of the snake granting you your wish.
Addie didn’t make a perfect wish, but her obstinance prevailed to the very end, that wasn’t really an end for her.😉 Living 300 years gives you a lot of decades to cover and this back-n-forth read snaps together the perfect puzzle that kept me guessing until the last piece. Pour a glass of this Seven Hills Merlot from the Walla Walla Valley to go along with the invisible twisted life that ‘Luke’ grants Addie LaRue.
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June Hysterics & Mayhem
Excuse Me While I Disappear:: {5/5 any wine you want rating} Short stories of all and any that happens in life after 50. You may have your story to match or discover what’s coming for you. Either way Laurie Notaro will have you peeing your pants {yep, she writes about that too} laughing🤣
It’s happening to us all, let’s embrace it and laugh. Only one way to avoid this transition into MidLife and it’s WAYYYY WORSE than anything she writes about {except maybe that photo session we’re supposed to get taken at 50🤢}
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Blue Zones July Cookin'
The Blue Zones American Kitchen {5/5 Ceviche + red wine rating} No idea if we make it to 100, but I know my body feels better when I eat whole foods instead of that chocolate cake 🙊
We don’t have to be perfect, but eating a little better than yesterday helps☺️ Chocolate cake does too.
MidLife is aiming for the 80/20 rule, not perfection💖
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August is for Nosey Neighbors & A Dead Body
Vera Wong’s Unsolicited Advice for Murderers:: {3/5 tea rating} In MidLife we might get a bit bored. If a dead body lay waiting for you when you came downstairs one morning would you interject yourself into 4 peoples lives to find the killer? And hi-jack the police investigation at will?
A mystery where Vera Wong steps out of her routine to find a killer AND friendship. Vera’s a pushy little lady, but she gets results and group a friends she’d say, she doesn’t need {or want}. A bit slow in chapters, but a good mystery with an enduring end.
I would have upped the rating if there was an end section with some of Vera’s flavorful tea recipes 🫖
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A September Cozy up to Fall Mystery
The 7-1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle:: {4/5 warm Breve cup rating} Chaos, confusion, misdirection, and yes, murder. But who’s murder we’re not sure, where’s the body - unknown, who’s the friend and who’s the foe - don’t know.
Not many more questions you can squeeze into one book. The questions keep mounting until mid-way through the book when the pieces start to click into place.
I took this one from couch to plane all month long trying to decipher all the puzzle pieces. Once you get there, you’ll let your coffee go cold finishing up this read.
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Candy & Wishes in October
The Wishing Game:: {4/5 whimsical rating} Snuggle up with a cup of hot cocoa and get lost in a wish of “What if…” But you need to solve some riddles to win the game.
A long-ago children’s author abruptly stopped writing his series. Years later he returns with a contest for a select few to riddle their way to winning his newest book.
Kids grow up and wishes change, but wishes never go away. Play the game and yours just - might - come - true.
Dip into that Halloween candy for this sweet childlike ending. It’s a good feel-good read.
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A Cold November Blows in
The Murder of Mr. Wickham:: {3/5 hot coffee rating} With an Agatha Christie tone, this ol’ English mystery has plenty of suspects.
I liked the mystery part, but there were a gaggle of suspects to keep track. Weaving between people and rooms and pasts, it felt like keeping track of gooses roaming around the grounds.
A sign of the times, but the allowances between men and women still makes me cringe {and grateful I wasn’t born in those times}
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You'll Feel This November Breeze
The House In The Pines:: {2.8/5 Spiked hot chocolate rating} This book was “out there” a ways for me. Not the part where Maya was traumatized after her best friend died in high school, or how she blocked the trauma out.
When Maya returns home to confront her past and peel back what she’s been blocking about Frank…That’s where the story got fuzzy for me.
I’d be curious how you read this one.
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Mom's Still Got It!
Mother Daughter Murder Night:: {4/5 dark Cabernet rating} Lana Rubicon is a force in LA business life. Lana brings her strong personality with her as she moves in with her daughter in a quiet beach town.
Her business sense and stubbornness is HELPFUL when her granddaughter is accused of murder. When you reach a certain age it becomes all about…
“To be Strong – To be Needed
{To solve a Mystery}
To be Happy – To be Loved
To being Seen”Wrapping my 2023 list with a family love story in a Rubicon ladies way😉}
Glimpse of Good Books {2022}
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February GG Book
Late Bloomers Club :: {☕️☕️☕️☕️☕️/5 rating} Any book that has a cake recipe at the end is the book for me! A sweet story {pun intended} with big choices in a small town. Grab you java cup and a blanket and nestle in for a feel-warm read this month.
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March GG Book
My Not So Perfect Life :: {🍷🍷🍷🍷🍷/5 rating} Rom-Com Some things aren’t what they look like. And in this read, NOTHING is what it seems. Sophie Kinsella books are similar, but her writing is precious + she introduced me to Glamping, which you need to try!
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March GG Book
Whisper Network :: {Rated 🍷🍷🍷🍷.5/5 coffee cups} The success story of powerful women learning the deathly way of how important it is to support and stand up for one another. Pairs perfectly with the Amavi Cellars, Ceres {tastes of chili peppers and blackberry}. Spicy & dark, like the book you’re reading! There were a few catty moments that brush me wrong, but the grand SHE-POWER draws me in every. day.
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April GG Book
Fangirl :: A YA book from Emma’s book shelf. A shy fan-fiction blogger learns to stand up for herself and finds that standing up & correcting a few mistakes will change your life.
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May GG Book
The Chanel Sisters :: {🍷🍷🍷🍷.5/5 rating} I paired this book up with a style post. It’s Coco Chanel, you have to match a story of hers with style. A wine match to a good story with style! READ MORE
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June GG Book
The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo :: Rated🍷🍷🍷🍷🍷/5} IN LOVE with this historical-fiction that both E & I read + compared ON THE BLOG. Reading this one is seen a bit different at 50 vs 20. TJR wrote another FANTASTIC ONE!
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JUNE GG BOOK
The Paris Apartment :: Rated 🍷🍷🍷🍷.5/5 on this mystery. Only .5 less because I was comparing it to her Guest List book, which is a favorite of mine. How many character perspectives can you write from? Read a few Lucy Foley novels and you’ll see. Grab a glass of dark red like this Alton bottle to match the plot in this Paris apartment building.
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JUNE GG BOOK
Can You Keep a Secret :: {Rated 🍷🍷🍷🍷/5 in Kinsella rom-com land} I’m a Sophie Kinsella super reader/listener! And the Emma Corrigan quips in this one made me snort-giggle as I listened while editing photos. Careful as you drink your coffee or wine with this one—just may sputter out when you laugh.
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July GG Book
The Last Thing He Told Me:: {Rated 🍷🍷🍷🍷🍷} I listened to this one at 1.75 speed to get past the twists and up to the turns in the plot. Can’t wait for the movie to drop with Jennifer Garner! My glass of RULO Cabernet 2017 and popcorn are at the ready!
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JULY GG BOOK
Silver Girl:: {Rated 🍷🍷🍷🍷} My third Hilderbrand book, and thankful she skirted death in this one. I had to take a break from her books, because just when I thought I’d escape a sad ending…another character died. Always well written with beautiful mending relationships. Pour a L’Ecole Rosé and read on a nice sunny deck {where Connie and Meredith sit often}.
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August GG Book
The Guest List :: {Rated 🍷🍷🍷🍷🍷} Cold, foggy, and mysterious…The upscale wedding resort sits away from the banks of Ireland with spotty cell service, crashing waves, and a guest list with intertwining stories {not all of them good}. One guest won’t be leaving the resort alive. Pour a glass of Amavi Cellars Ceres and dive into this twisted plot!
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August GG Book
The Menopause Manifesto:: {Rated 🍷🍷🍷🍷🍷} Candid, upfront and filled with good research. Dr Jen Gunter also gives new possibilty for this fun chapter of life. I’m changing a few things up after reading this one. And dropping a few others. Her snarky humor will go great with a glass of L’Ecole No 41 Perigee. And she says red wine can help😉
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August GG Book
Second First Impressions:: {Rated 🍷🍷🍷🍷-1/2} What do you get when endangered turtles, a sweet talkin’ tattoo artist, and a 25-yo cardigan wearing retirement villa director collide into each other - for the second time? A good RomCOM. Read {or listen} with a glass of SMAK Wines Summer Rosé and see 😉
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September GG Book
The Alice Network:: {Rated 🍷🍷🍷🍷.8} WWI and post WWII collide in this book to bring a harden female spy of the first war together with a young, scared girl together. Some pop up surprises how the two women fit, with a few unexpected turn of events. Read this one with a wine mix of POP UP sparkling wine, pour of Aperol, splash of club soda + orange garnish for your own Aperol Spritz.
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September GG Book
Book Lovers:: {Rated 🍷🍷🍷🍷.8/5 in Rom-Com land-ia} Cute, enduring rom-com with book editor rivalry and sister love beyond measure. Similar predictable rom-com theme, with a good twist along the way. Save this one for a back patio read in late Summer/early Fall with a SMAK Rosé .
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September GG Book
The Tattooist of Auschwitz:: {Too horrific to rate} And a very - V-E-R-Y well written with heart, emotion. Heather Morris captured the will + luck they survived over and over again. This historical book begs to be read with a spicy, dark, red wine and followed up with a light-n-fluff rom-com.
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October GG Book
Counterfeit:: {🍷🍷🍷🍷/5 rating} Part 1 you think you’ve got it… Part 2 I’m wondering if I’ve cured myself from wanting a Louis Vuitton designer bag {is it real?–main reason for the 4/5 rating ;)– This book is in parts here too…quarter cultural, quarter mystery, quarter psychological, and all a good book.
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OCTOBER GG BOOK
The Rose Code:: {🍷🍷🍷🍷/5 rating} Historical fiction with female leads at the center💖 War brought 3 unlikely friends together, tore them apart, and brought them back together to catch a traitor. Favorite:: Authors write how they gleen inspiration for their story and the parts they pulled from history.
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November GG Book
The Maid:: {🍷🍷🍷🍷/5 rating} Molly The Maid would pick a glass of white wine from the Olive Garden, but I’m pouring a glass of Dusted Valley Petite Sirah. This mystery read is Amelia Bedelia meets the game of Clue. Along with the reminder to NEVER UNDERESTIMATE the prowess of anyone. HERE is the full blog post.
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November GG Book
The Club:: {🍷🍷🍷🍷/5 rating} All of the elite are dying to get into The Club, even the hired help. Who gets out alive is the mystery of the book, and of course the seedy motive behind the murders in this multi-character narrative. A glass of the dark current and cheery taste in the Amavi Cabernet Sauvignon is the perfect pairing.
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November GG Book
The Paris Library {☕️☕️☕️☕️/5 rating} “A library is a bridge of books between cultures.” Best quote in the book! A story wrapped around how librarians continued getting books to patrons under Nazi Germany in WWII. The side story twist {1980’s timeframe} added a nice twist to the plot of how young and old can save each other without ever knowing it.
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November GG Book
This Time Next Year:: {🍷🍷🍷🍷/5 rating} Highly recommend this semi-unpredictable Rom-Com. Bonus points for reading over the holidays {New Year’s theme}. I thought I knew what was coming, but Sophie Cousens added a twisty-tie to the end. Only downside was the lag in getting there in the last quarter of the book.
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DECEMBER GG BOOK
Cross-Country Christmas:: {☕️☕️☕️.5/5 double-shot espresso rating} For a 7-day road trek from CA to IL double me up on the coffee cup. If you’re road-tripping this RomCom is written with friend second chances, family Christmas moments, a second chance job, and a puuuurfect Hallmark Christmas ending. Yes, you’ll see the gooing + ahhhhh coming between Will and Lauren, but it’s a cute holiday read.
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DECEMBER GG BOOK
Such a Fun Age:: {🍷🍷🍷/5 rating} Do you remember your middle 20’s? Emira Tucker's life is working 2 jobs, with one babysitting sweet Briar. She loves watching her. But the inner-monologue of it not being a sustainable job weighs on her. This book took some weird turns for me. Race and the different ways people saw/reacted looked more like a conflict in lifestyle than race. It’s a mixed box of thought but maybe that’s how the author wanted it to be. It raised questions from the different character reactions. No free wine deliveries like Alix, but I have some favorites I’d recommend with this read…
Gift Ideas + Book Blog
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Gift Ideas + Book Blog 〰️
This is the Final Four in my gift guide line-up – Book lover gifts for your favorite readers {and yourself, because there’s nothing wrong with beta-gift-testing}.
Book Lover Gifts in Peepers ~ Fuzzy socks & the Best Books
Historical fiction with style
And a good bit of mystery to keep you turning the pages. How long could you keep a secret – a REALLY BIG SECRET? TJR writes another book filled with mystery, style, and the lengths a determined woman would go to for her dreams.
In this GG book post, will my 20-something read the novel the same way I did? {I’ll leave that a mystery too until you click on over😉} {4.5/5 rating}
Hello BIG FAN of Lucy Foley’s books! –That’s me, I’m the BIG FAN–
And if you love mystery books, I know you’ll LOVE 2/3 of the three books.
The Hunting Party wasn’t my most favorite of the three, but still shares a good mystery. The ending was just a bit mehhhh for me.
Finding mystery books that don’t scare me into checking all the shadowy corners + sleeping with all the lights on in the house can be a struggle. These three have a good mystery without the eerie Stephen King suspense.
{That’s a HARD PASS on King’s suspense thrillers for me! Murder mysteries? Yes. Sewer clowns? HECK. NO}.
Mystery=good reading
Heavy Thrillers/Suspense=If the pages turn to fright night, the book becomes a coffee table decoration
Mystery with a Skoch of Thrill
Have You seen The Maid & Her Sweeping State of Perfection
The Maid, and her sweeping state of perfection! Or rather, have you read The Maid in all her “state of perfection”?
“I’m Molly, Molly the maid…”
Molly Gray works at the Regency Grand Hotel, and enjoys her job of returning every room “to a state of perfection”. She gets some ribbing about this from co-workers, but is cherished by her boss for her meticulousness (plus, she’s never missed a shift).
GG Rating::🍷🍷🍷🍷out of 5 glasses
{I’m a red wine girl, but Molly would change it to a white glass from the Olive Garden.}
Do you remember the book –or movie– Holes? In that book boys were in a labor camp where they had to dig hole after hole looking for a treasure, only coming up empty month after month.
Anxious People started out like that; Lots of holes to dive into with all the characters…Start a chapter and follow the character set-up, only before the character developed, the chapter ended and I’d be sent digging in a new spot.
Curiosity peaked – picked the book up – read three to four chapters….Full review on the Chapter 50 Blog 👇🏼
The story of 9 Anxious People
Summer reading 2022
Are you looking for a tall stack of art to decorate your coffee table? Does your bookshelf need an updated list of literature?
Or - most unlikely - are you traveling to the remote parts of Ellesmere Island in Nunavat, Canada and wishing you brought along these three books?
I won’t read you wrong with these three book reviews.
Be sure you have enough space for the books AND ALL your warm gear to pack to the frigid mountains of Canada. That’s precious packing space needed for long-johns, a heating pad, and a space heater.