A tale of time and chocolate: January at the Reader's Nook
Magical realism, debut authors, and a handful of books you're sure to love. Grab a cuppa and dive into the world of books!
Dear reader,
You know that feeling of intense satisfaction mingled with low-key dread that you feel after you finish a book that took your breath away? I started the year with that feeling. My last book of 2023, which I just so happened to finish on 30 December, was the absolutely breathtaking The Once and Future Witches by Alix E. Harrow. The writing, the world building, the story, the characters, everything about this book just blew me away.
I spent the next day under the spell of that book, wondering what I could possibly read that would be if not as enchanting, at least not a complete let-down.
I settled on R.F Kuang’s Yellowface (my pick for A book nominated for the 2023 Goodreads Choice Awards), and let’s just say, the hype over this book was overdone. Sure, it peels back the curtain on the cut-throat world of traditional publishing, the consequences of social media bullying, and talks about plagiarism, and race and representation. But the story is tepid, the protagonist is annoying AF, and the writing is strangely flat. What a terrible let down, and a bad start to the reading year.
But things did, thankfully, pick up after that!
If a miles-high TBR pile makes your bookish heart happy, you’ll love this newsletter! Come on in to the Reader’s Nook; pull up a comfy chair, and let’s read together.
Books I read
The Echo of Old Books by Barbara Davis (Set in a bookshop)
Rare-book dealer Ashlyn Greer’s affinity for books extends beyond the intoxicating scent of old paper, ink, and leather. She can feel the echoes of the books’ previous owners—an emotional fingerprint only she can read. When Ashlyn discovers a pair of beautifully bound volumes that appear to have never been published, her gift quickly becomes an obsession. Not only is each inscribed with a startling incrimination, but the authors, Hemi and Belle, tell conflicting sides of a tragic romance. Determined to learn the truth behind the doomed lovers’ tale, she reads on, following a trail of broken promises and seemingly unforgivable betrayals. The more Ashlyn learns about Hemi and Belle, the nearer she comes to bringing closure to their love story—and to the unfinished chapters of her own life.
This was a delightful book, such a breath of fresh air after the disaster that was Yellowface! The love stories — one old, the other contemporary and unexpected — were beautifully woven together. And through it all was a delightful sprinkling of quotes on the care of old books, and the healing power of stories.
Only The Beautiful by Susan Meissner
California, 1938—16-year-old Rosanne has a secret, one that she promised her mother she would never reveal — she can see colors when she hears sound. But in a moment of weakness, driven by her crushing loneliness, she not only breaks that vow, but lets down her guard and ends up pregnant. Her guardians, Celine and Truman Calvert, the owners of the vineyard where she has lived her whole life, promptly send her away. Rosanne believes she is bound for a home for unwed mothers, but finds out she is going to a place far worse than anything she could have imagined.
Austria, 1947—After witnessing firsthand Adolf Hitler’s brutal pursuit of hereditary purity, Helen Calvert, Truman's sister, is ready to return to America for good. But when she returns to her brother’s peaceful vineyard, she is shocked to learn what really happened nine years earlier to Rosanne, whom Helen had long ago befriended. In her determination to find Rosanne, Helen discovers that while the war had been won in Europe, there are still terrifying battles to be fought at home.
This was a captivating story that examined the horrors of eugenics not just in Nazi Germany but also in the US. Helen’s story brought the book to life for me, perhaps because of the added layer of the complexities of the families who were directly impacted by Hitler’s eugenics laws.
Pretty Things by Janelle Brown (The anti-heroine)
Nina once bought into the idea that her fancy liberal arts degree would lead to a fulfilling career. When that dream crashed and her mom got sick, she turned to stealing from rich kids in L.A. alongside her wily Irish boyfriend, Lachlan. After all, Nina had learned from the best: her mother was the original con artist, hustling to give her daughter a decent childhood despite their wayward life. Vanessa is a privileged heiress who wanted to make her mark in the world. Instead, she becomes an Instagram influencer. But behind the covetable façade is a life marked by tragedy. After a broken engagement, Vanessa retreats to Stonehaven: a mansion of dark secrets not just from Vanessa's past, but from that of a lost and troubled girl named Nina. Nina, Vanessa, and Lachlan's paths collide here, where their intertwined lives give way to a winter of aspiration and desire, duplicity and revenge.
There are cons within cons and things aren’t always as they seem in this interesting novel that intertwines influencer culture with the lives on the 1%, the insecurities of troubled teenagers, and parents who can seem to do nothing right for their kids. The one thing that I found a bit tedious was the repetition of the same set of scenarios from both Nina’s and Vanessa’s perspectives. It helped drive the story forward, but I wonder if there could have been a better way to structure the story.
The Last Tale of the Flower Bride by Roshani Chokshi (Magical realism)
Once upon a time, a man who believed in fairy tales married a beautiful, mysterious woman named Indigo Maxwell-Casteñada. He was a scholar of myths. She was heiress to a fortune. They exchanged gifts and stories and believed they would live happily ever after. But Indigo extracted a promise from her bridegroom: that he would never pry into her past. But when Indigo learns that her estranged aunt is dying and the couple is forced to return to her childhood home, the bridegroom will soon find himself unable to resist. For within the crumbling manor’s extravagant rooms and musty halls, there lurks the shadow of another girl: Azure, Indigo’s dearest childhood friend who suddenly disappeared. As the house slowly reveals his wife’s secrets, the bridegroom will be forced to choose between reality and fantasy, even if doing so threatens to destroy their marriage . . . or their lives.
So this book…The fairy tale-eque writing is breathtaking with dark undertones. The mystery and mystique of Indigo and Azure’s childhood at The House of Dreams and in The Otherworld is enticing. The story that Chokshi weaves is very interesting. But still, there’s something missing…something I cannot put a finger on…something left to desire…
Recommendation corner:
Have some of the bingo prompts got you scratching your head, wondering what to read or maybe even what it means? I got you covered! Every month, I will pick 2 bingo prompts and share a couple of recommendations with you. And just so you’re not here all day reading this, I’ll link you up to Goodreads so you can check out the book and add it to your Want-to-read shelf. Here we go!
Magical Realism
Magical realism paints a realistic view of the world while also adding magical elements, often blurring the lines between fantasy and reality. But it is a different genre from fantasy, because magical realism uses a substantial amount of realistic detail and employs magical elements to make a point about reality, while fantasy stories are often separated from reality. - via Wikipedia
Like Water for Chocolate by Laura Esquivel: A delightful novel about love and food. Tita, the youngest daughter of the all-female De La Garza family, has been forbidden to marry, condemned by Mexican tradition to look after her mother until she dies. But Tita falls in love with Pedro, and he is seduced by the magical food she cooks. It will take a freakish chain of tragedies, bad luck and fate to finally unite them against all the odds.
The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman: Master storyteller Neil Gaiman weaves a fantastical story of the nostalgia of childhood and the imagination and terrors that mark those years. There’s a remarkable girl, Lettie Hempstock, who lives with her mother and grandmother at the end of the lane, near a pond that she claims is an ocean. And there are the memories of a past that is too strange, too frightening, too dangerous to have happened to anyone, let alone a small boy.
A Tale for the Time Being by Ruth Ozeki: When Ruth picks up a piece of flotsam that has washed up on the beach near her home in British Columbia, little does she know that her life will be changed. For in that package, which at first glance looked liked a jellyfish, is a Hello Kitty lunchbox with a diary, a bunch of old letters in French, and an old watch. You can read my review here.
Spells for Forgetting by Adrienne Young: An island rooted in folklore and magic, families that keep their secrets close, a tight-knit community that will do what it takes to protect their way of life, a murder shrouded in mystery and a fierce love story at the heart of it. What’s not to love?
A book by a debut author
You can choose the first book by any author {even famous ones} for this prompt. For bonus points, though, try and choose someone fairly new, or maybe someone debuting this year? Here are a few recommendations:
Ink Blood Sister Scribe by Emma Törzs: Two estranged half-sisters tasked with guarding their family's library of magical books must work together to unravel a deadly secret at the heart of their collection — a tale of familial loyalty and betrayal, and the pursuit of magic and power.
A Flicker in the Dark by Stacy Willingham: A page-turning psychological thriller that grapples with the trauma of the family of a serial killer, and the secrets that lie buried and festering in their family. A brilliant debut, and an excellent read.
Emily Wilde's Encyclopedia of Faeries by Heather Fawcett: A curmudgeonly professor journeys to a small town in the far north to study faerie folklore and discovers dark fae magic, friendship, and love in the start of a heartwarming and enchanting new fantasy series!
I Love You So Much It’s Killing Us Both by Mariah Stovall (Expected publication date: February 13): A Black woman’s coming-of-age story, chronicling a life-changing friendship, the interplay between music fandom and identity, and the slipperiness of sanity.
Thank you for being here and for spending some time in my bookish world. Hit reply and tell me what you’ve been reading and enjoying this month!
Happy reading,
Shinjini
Thank you for sharing!