No One You Know – Michelle Richmond

Title: No One You Know
Author: Michelle Richmond
ISBN: 9780385340144
Pages: 352
Release Date: June 24, 2008
Publisher: Bantam
Genre: Mystery
Rating: 4.5 out of 5

From Amazon.com:

All her life Ellie Enderlin had been known as Lila’s sister—until the day Lila, a top math student at Stanford, was murdered, and the shape of their family changed forever. Twenty years later, Ellie is a professional coffee buyer who has never put down roots. When, in a chance meeting, she comes into possession of the notebook that Lila carried everywhere, Ellie returns home to finally discover the truth about her sister’s death—a search that will lead her to Lila’s secret lover, to the motives and fate of a man who profited from their family’s grief, and ultimately to the deepest secrets even sisters keep from each other.

When I was selected to receive No One You Know from the LibraryThing Early Reviewers program in honor of its release in paperback, I was thrilled.  I love mysteries and have heard great things about Michelle Richmond’s books.  Though I haven’t had the chance to read The Year of Fog, I was very much looking forward to reading No One You Know.

I loved the way the mystery was crafted in No One You Know.  Richmond really keeps the reader guessing – I had no idea who really murdered Leila.  There was no predictability to this book, but when I came to the end, it was completely believable.  This really was a wonderfully written novel, with amazing twists and turns that keep the reader hooked.

I also loved the character of Ellie.  In a lot of ways, her life stopped the day that her sister was murdered.  Lost and confused, she turned to a friend in order to find herself again.  When he betrayed her and wrote her story in a book, she took it to heart.  In effect, she became the person he wrote.  In some ways, she had to find closure in the story of Leila to find herself again.

No One You Know was a great mystery and a completely absorbing book.  I can’t wait to go back and read The Year of Fog.  I’m so glad to have had the chance to read Michelle Richmond and highly recommend it to any mystery fans or any lovers of contemporary fiction!

Thank you to the LibraryThing Early Reviewers program for sending me this book to review!

Modern Spice – Monica Bhide

Title: Modern Spice: Inspired Indian Flavors for the Contemporary Kitchen
Author: Monica Bhide
ISBN: 978416566595
Pages: 288
Release Date: April 21, 2009
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Genre: Cookbook
Rating: 4.75 out of 5

From the author’s website:

A local approach to global flavors, Modern Spice captures the spirit of Indian cuisine while updating the genre to reflect modern tastes and lifestyles. Author Monica Bhide builds on longstanding traditions and techniques to create stylish and refined Indian fare that captures the vibrant flavors and colors of a new generation. With a compelling foreword written by Mark Bittman, the award-winning author and food writer, Modern Spice dispels myths about Indian cuisine being all about the curry, while introducing its audience to a new chapter in Indian food.

Replacing the ubiquitous Mango Lassi with a Lychee Martini, and the traditional Chicken Tikka Masala with a flavorful chicken simmered in fresh cilantro and mint, Bhide explores the full potential of Indian flavors and spices to create a new style of Indian cuisine that is both approachable and flavorful. Filled with simple and unusual dishes like Pomegranate Shrimp, Paneer and Fig Pizza and Salmon with Kumquat Chutney, Modern Spice is a perfect gift for cooks who love to entertain and experiment with spices. In addition to the mouthwatering recipes, Bhide also explores the relationship between food and emotions in a collection of essays interspersed throughout the book.

Though I am Indian, I am a complete failure when it comes to cooking Indian food.  In some ways, it is an art form and I just don’t have it.  However, I enjoy cooking very much and am always looking for new recipes.  Therefore, when I first heard about Monica Bhide’s Modern Spice, I immediately knew I wanted to give it a try.

The recipes in Modern Spice are simple.  This isn’t to say that they are simplistic, merely that many seem to be designed to be made in 30 minutes or less.  Additionally, the recipes don’t require multiple expensive ingredients; therefore, it’s easy on both the watch and the pocketbook.  Modern Spice really is a godsend for those who love to cook but aren’t looking to spend a lot of time or money making dinner.

I’m going to approach this review a little differently than my normal reviews.  I made two dishes from Modern Spice before writing this review – evaluations of these are below.

Tamarind-Glazed Honey Shrimp

My rating: 4.5
My husband’s rating: 4.5

The preparation of this dish was incredibly simple.  It simply consisted of marinating and cooking the shrimp, as well as preparing the rice.  The only ingredient I couldn’t find in my regular grocery store was the tamarind date chutney, which I found very easily in an Indian grocery store.

As far as the taste, I wasn’t sure about the first bite.  It was the second that fully appreciated how simple the dish was, and how the flavors worked with one another.  This was an incredibly subtle dish, but it really was delicious. 

Paneer and Fig Pizza

My rating: 5
My husband’s rating: 4.5

Once again, preparation was incredibly easy, which I loved!  I used dried Nutra Figs instead of fresh figs, as the recipe suggested.  The author also suggested that, if I eat meat, I include pan fried pancetta on the pizza, which I did. 

I absolutely loved this dish.  I thought all the flavors worked together incredibly well.  The saltiness of the pancetta was offset by the sweetness of the figs.  My husband really liked it as well, though he thought it was a little bit dry.

Modern Spice is an absolutely wonderful cookbook that will be a staple in my kitchen.  Bhide’s creative twist on Indian cooking is wonderfully executed in this book.  I highly recommend this one to first-timers in the kitchen and seasoned cooks alike! 

Thursday Tunes – Jennifer Love Hewitt

Welcome to the Thursday Tunes! Each week, I will showcase music, whether new or old. Hopefully you will find something that interests you here!

If I said the name Jennifer Love Hewitt, what would immediately come to mind?  “Party of Five”?  “The Ghost Whisperer”?  Random TV movies?  Believe it or not, what comes to my mind first is her music.  I absolutely love Jennifer Love Hewitt’s album Barenaked.  Released in 2002, it’s sort of a pop-folk mix that is very catchy.  This is one of those albums I’ve listened to over and over again, but if I had to pick a couple of favorite songs, they would be the title track “Barenaked” and “Can I Go Now.”  Barenaked can be purchased from the Amazon MP3 Store for $9.99.

Ten Things I Hate About Me – Randa Abdel-Fattah

Title: Ten Things I Hate About Me
Author: Randa Abdel-Fattah
ISBN: 9780545050555
Pages: 304
Release Date: January 1, 2009
Publisher: Orchard Books
Genre: Teen, Multicultural Fiction
Rating: 4.5 out of 5

From the dust jacket:

Jamie just wants to fit in. She doesn't want to be seen as a stereotypical Muslim girl, so she does everything possible to hide that part of herself. Even if it means pushing her friends away because she's afraid to let them know her dad forbids her from hanging out with boys or that she secretly loves to play the darabuka (Arabic drums).

But when the cutest boy in school asks her out and her friends start to wonder about Jamie's life outside of school, her secrets threaten to explode. Can Jamie figure out how to be both Jamie and Jamilah before she loses everything?

I knew I wanted to read Ten Things I Hate About Me from the second I heard about it.  I love multicultural stories, and I have been reading more and more teen novels lately.  I appreciate the fact that the books I’ve read in the genre have been engaging, yet relatively simple to read.  That doesn’t mean that these books aren’t complicated or well-written; they are just easier to digest.

Ten Things I Hate About Me is really an amazing novel.  I loved the character of Jamie/Jamilah.  I was a little bit concerned that I might dislike her because of her determination to hide her heritage, but I didn’t at all.  I completely sympathized with her decision, especially after learning how horribly some of her fellow students treated minorities.  I could completely understand why she was so confused.

The characters in Ten Things I Hate About Me were very well-developed.  I appreciated how much care took with Abdel-Fattah with Jamie’s family.  At the beginning, it’s difficult to understand Jamie’s father’s rigidness.  But as the novel progresses and the reader begins to understand the hardships and dilemmas he has faced, his reasoning becomes clearer. 

I also loved the cultural tidbits present in Ten Things I Hate About Me.  I feel like I learned a lot about Lebanese culture.  It was interesting to learn the little that we did about Jamie’s father’s experiences in Lebanon, and I thought she had a sound point when she asked herself what stories she would be able to tell her children, since her father seemed intent on stifling her.

Ten Things I Hate About Me was really a wonderful novel.  Jamie is a great character who seems full of life.  I would love to see her story continue through high school and college, to see if she finally manages to be true to herself while balancing the world around her.  This was a great read that I highly recommend.

Wordless Wednesdays

The “Sound of Music” house outside of Salzburg, Austria

For more Wordless Wednesdays, click here

The Blue Notebook – James Levine

Title: The Blue Notebook
Author: James Levine
ISBN: 9780385528719
Pages: 224
Release Date: July 7, 2009
Publisher: Spiegel & Grau
Genre: Literary Fiction, Multicultural Fiction, Contemporary Fiction
Rating: 4.5 out of 5

From the publisher’s website:

An unforgettable, deeply affecting tribute to the powers of imagination and the resilience of childhood, The Blue Notebook tells the story of Batuk, a precocious 15-year-old girl from rural India who was sold into sexual slavery by her father when she was nine. As she navigates the grim realities of the Common Street—a street of prostitution in Mumbai where children are kept in cages as they wait for customers to pay for sex—Batuk manages to put pen to paper, recording her private thoughts and stories in a diary. The novel is powerfully told in Batuk’s voice, through the words she writes in her journal, where she finds hope and beauty in the bleakest circumstances.

Beautifully crafted and deeply human, The Blue Notebook explores how people, in the most difficult of situations, can use storytelling to make sense of and give meaning to their lives. All of the U.S. proceeds from this novel will be donated to the International and National Centers for Missing and Exploited Children (http://www.icmec.org).

I was sure I wanted to read The Blue Notebook as soon as I first heard about it.  All I really knew was that it was about a young Indian prostitute, but that was enough for me.  I was aware that it would be beautiful as well as tragic, and that it would move me.  I was definitely right; The Blue Notebook is a gorgeously written novel that is completely heartbreaking.

I’m not going to lie:  The Blue Notebook is a very difficult novel to read.  I found myself close to tears while reading it.  It has such a strong emotional impact.  The idea of a child being sold into prostitution is horrible, yet it’s something that happens in today’s world.  I know a lot of people avoid “heavy” novels because they want to be lifted up by their reading, not dragged down .  However, this is one of those books that I think is very important to read. 

The bright spot in The Blue Notebook is Levine’s prose.  It is a striking novel, beautifully written.  Each horrific event in it is cloaked in amazing prose.  This makes the book very easy to read, despite the difficult subject matter.  I can’t praise James Levine’s writing ability highly enough.

Batuk is a wonderful narrator, though it is difficult to believe that the words in the novel are hers, simply because of their sophistication.  Still, she is such a sympathetic character.  She has seen so much of the world, of its ugliness and brutality, yet there is hope in her character.  She somehow still seems innocent.  It’s an amazing dichotomy that exists within a character that should be simple, but is anything but.  I loved the way she was written and her exuberant voice.

The Blue Notebook is a heartbreaking novel.  While it is difficult to read, it is totally and completely worth it.  Levine’s beautiful prose, the wonderful narrator, and the compelling story serve to make an amazing read that will stick with you for a long time.

Thank you to the publisher for sending me this book to review.

London!

Well, I’m settling in at Oxford and thought I would check in to let you guys know how my trip is going!  It’s really been great, but in some ways, it was a bit of a nightmare.  Our flight here was delayed 28 hours (I am NEVER flying Virgin Atlantic again) and we had some trouble with the hotel once we settled in London.  That threw our entire trip off, but since then, things have been good!

As soon as we got to London, we went to the British Museum which I have never had the opportunity to visit.  We saw the Elgin Marbles and most of the Greek, Egyptian and Asian collections.  It was a great visit, and a nice, laid back way to start the trip.

 

Friday, we went to Hampton Court Palace.  After how much I’ve been reading about King Henry VIII lately, as well as watching The Tudors, I was really looking forward to this visit.  We spent pretty much the whole day there.

Me in a niche of the maze at Hampton Court

If you look closely in this picture, you can see the intertwined H and A symbols that Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn.

After we got back from Hampton Court, we took a ride on the London Eye, which really was cool. 

Then we walked around Parliament and Westminster Abbey because it was so close by!  Unfortunately, Westminster Abbey was closed so we’re hoping to visit in when we’re back in London at the end of the month.

Saturday, we went to the Tower of London, and ended up spending a lot of the day there because there is so much to see!

Traitor’s Gate

 
Graffiti carved by the Dudley family

After that, we went to the National Portrait Gallery, but since photography wasn’t allowed, I don’t have anything to share from that part of the trip!  After that, we walked to Buckingham Palace and through Hyde Park.

Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Fountain

I haven’t taken any pictures at Oxford yet (I haven’t had a chance to remotely explore the city) but rest assured that I will be posting some soon!

East of the Sun – Julia Gregson

Title: East of the Sun
Author: Julia Gregson
ISBN: 9781439101124
Pages: 608
Release Date: June 2, 2009
Publisher: Touchstone
Genre: Historical Fiction
Rating: 4 out of 5

From the publisher’s website:

As the Kaisar-i-Hind weighs anchor for Bombay in the autumn of 1928, its passengers ponder their fate in a distant land. They are part of the "Fishing Fleet" -- the name given to the legions of Englishwomen who sail to India each year in search of husbands, heedless of the life that awaits them. The inexperienced chaperone Viva Holloway has been entrusted to watch over three unsettling charges. There's Rose, as beautiful as she is naïve, who plans to marry a cavalry officer she has met a mere handful of times. Her bridesmaid, Victoria, is hell-bent on losing her virginity en route before finding a husband of her own. And shadowing them all is the malevolent presence of a disturbed schoolboy named Guy Glover.

From the parties of the wealthy Bombay socialites to the poverty of Tamarind Street, from the sooty streets of London to the genteel conversation of the Bombay Yacht Club, East of the Sun is graced with lavish detail and a penetrating sensitivity -- historical fiction at its greatest.

I’m generally very interested in books about India, though I haven’t read many from the British perspective. Therefore, when I heard about East of the Sun, which is about three British women traveling to India at a very volatile time in its history, I immediately knew I wanted to read it.

East of the Sun is an epic novel, as can be discerned by its sheer size. It tackles so many things at once: the stories of three very different women, the turbulence of Indian society, the historical details of India, the experiences of the British military. It tries to be many different things at once, and for the most part, it succeeds at this task. The only area where it really is lacking is the storyline featuring Guy Glover. I thought that was completely unnecessary and actually took away from the rest of the book!

Of the three main characters, I think I liked Rose the best. She was much stronger than she initially appeared. Over the course of East of the Sun, she grows from a naive child to a confident woman. Though she must experience some trials and hardships to arrive at this point, it’s a very gratifying journey. I also liked Viva, though her emotional issues made her a bit difficult to really love. She held everyone at an arm’s length, including, it seems, the reader. It’s hard to get to know her, to understand what’s beneath the surface. Though we see her true character, we don’t really understand it until the end of the book.

I also enjoyed reading about India coming into its own in the novel. I could completely understand why the Indians no longer wanted the British in their country, why they were skeptical of Viva’s orphanage. The historical details really made the novel for me. I loved reading about the geography and rich history of India.

If you enjoy historically rich, detailed, and in depth novels, then definitely give East of the Sun a try. Despite its length (which is considerable), it definitely holds the reader’s attention and is a great read.

Thank you to the publisher for sending me this book to review.

Jennifer Johnson is Sick of Being Single – Heather McElhatton [TSS]

Title: Jennifer Johnson Is Sick of Being Single
Author: Heather McElhatton
ISBN: 9780061461361
Pages: 304
Release Date: May 5, 2009
Publisher: Harper Paperbacks
Genre: Chick Lit
Rating: 4.5 out of 5

From the back cover:

Quirky, clever, cubicle-bound Jennifer Johnson is desperate. Everyone around her is getting married, while she's still single and stuck writing ad copy about men's dress socks.

Her life hits crisis level, launching her into a humiliating and painfully hilarious quest to find Prince Charming at any cost. This includes agonizing online dates, diet-clinic cults, drag-queen fights, and a debilitating addiction to Cinnabon icing. When she meets handsome, wealthy Brad Keller, she wonders if he's the answer to all her dreams, or is he just too good to be true?

Darkly funny and outrageously honest, McElhatton's wit shines in this no-holds-barred cautionary tale about getting what you want—and how it can be the worst thing for you.

Jennifer Johnson is Sick of Being Single is not what I was expecting in any way.  I expected a typical chick lit read.  Instead, I found a dark, but wickedly funny novel about real life, rather than the stuff of dreams.

I didn’t like Jennifer Johnson.  At the beginning of the novel, I suspected she wasn’t the greatest person, especially after how she treated her sister, but I figured her character would improve.  At some point, she would realize the error of her ways.  What I didn’t expect is that instead of improving, she actually confirmed my suspicion – Jennifer really wasn’t a good person.  What surprised me most, though, was the fact that it didn’t bother me.  I enjoyed the book immensely anyways.

What I loved most about Jennifer Johnson is Sick of Being Single is its wicked sense of humor.  The book was simply hilarious.  This was the first book in recent memory that I actually laughed out loud during – multiple times!  The imagery was very vivid; I could see Jennifer getting into these unbelievable situations.  The descriptions of her cramming a whole Cinnabon into her mouth while hiding in the stairwell was a personal favorite.

Jennifer Johnson is Sick of Being Single is a really unique novel.  From its hilarity to the questionable main character to the surprise ending, this is definitely a book that stands on its own two feet.  If you enjoy chick lit with a twist or like dark humor, this is a book for you!

Thank you to the publisher for sending me this book to review!

Perfect Fifths – Megan McCafferty

Title: Perfect Fifths
Author: Megan McCafferty
ISBN: 9780307346520
Pages: 272
Release Date: April 14, 2009
Publisher: Crown
Genre: Chick Lit
Rating: 4.5 out of 5

From the dust jacket:

Old flames are reignited in the fifth and final book in the New York Times bestselling Jessica Darling series.

Captivated readers have followed Jessica through every step and misstep: from her life as a tormented, tart-tongued teenager to her years as a college grad stumbling toward adulthood. Now a young professional in her mid-twenties, Jess is off to a Caribbean wedding. As she rushes to her gate at the airport, she literally runs into her former boyfriend, Marcus Flutie. It’s the first time she's seen him since she reluctantly turned down his marriage proposal three years earlier–and emotions run high.

Marcus and Jessica have both changed dramatically, yet their connection feels as familiar as ever. Is their reunion just a fluke or has fate orchestrated this collision of their lives once again?

Told partly from Marcus’s point of view, Perfect Fifths  finally lets readers inside the mind of the one person who’s both troubled and titillated Jessica Darling for years. Expect nothing less than the satisfying conclusion fans have been waiting for, one perfect in its imperfection. . . .

I am a huge fan of Megan McCafferty’s Jessica Darling series, so I wanted to read Perfect Fifths as soon as it came out.  I knew it was the last book in the series, and while sad it was coming to an end, I was eager to see what happened between Jessica and Marcus and if they finally ended up together.

First of all, an important tidbit – if you haven’t read the rest of the series, you will not enjoy this book.  You will not understand this book.  You will not see what so many others have seen in this series.  Why?  Because Perfect Fifths is completely different than the rest of the books in this series.  The other books are written as journals, with a lot of inner monologue.  Perfect Fifths has little internal monologue.  Part of it is written as a normal book, from both Jessica and Marcus’ point of view.  Part of it is written as a conversation, with no emotions and narration whatsoever.  And part of it, weirdly enough, is written as haiku.  It’s basically a book for fans of Jessica and Marcus, for those who understand their complicated history.  It’s not a book to introduce new readers to the series.

Though some fans of the book might not like the conversation between Marcus and Jessica, I absolutely loved it.  It showed how much both of them have changed, yet also how both of them are exactly the same.  Just the conversation was enough to convince me that their chemistry hasn’t changed one bit.  I also liked that the secondary characters weren’t really in this book.  At its core, the Jessica Darling series has always been about Jessica and Marcus.  It’s only fitting that the series end with a book just about the two of them.

That being said, I have mixed feelings about Perfect Fifths just because it is so different than the first four.  I’m not saying it’s bad because I thoroughly enjoyed it and the format worked for the short amount of time the book covers.  It’s just strange to go from reliable journal entries to something completely different for the last book in a series.

I was happy with the way it ended, though I wanted more.  That’s not a criticism, but a testament to how powerful a writer Megan McCafferty is.  I don’t just want one more book, I want 5 more, 10 more.  I don’t want this series to have ended.  McCafferty created such wonderful, realistic characters that I’m sad to say goodbye to.  Still, Perfect Fifths was a great ending to a wonderful series and I can’t wait to see what she comes up with next!

The Canterbury Papers – Judith Koll Healey

Title: The Canterbury Papers
Author: Judith Koll Healey
ISBN: 9780060773328
Pages: 368
Release Date: December 23, 2003
Publisher: Harper Paperbacks
Genre: Historical Fiction, Mystery
Rating: 4.5 out of 5

From the back cover:

Alaïs, the king of France's sister, is abducted while on her mission for the wily Eleanor of Aquitaine, the former Queen of England, to retrieve hidden letters that, in the wrong hands, could bring down the English king. In exchange, the French princess was to receive long-held and dangerous information. Now Alaïs, along with help from the very intriguing leader of the Knights Templar, must unravel a tangled web of family secrets and lies.

I’ve been wanting to read The Canterbury Papers for some time, especially because I’ve heard some great things about the way it combines historical fiction and mystery. When I heard that the author had a sequel coming out this summer, I put it a the top of my TBR list.

My favorite aspect of The Canterbury Papers was the character of Alais. She was so strong yet had her vulnerabilities, especially with the case of the former king of England. I felt so bad for her when she revealed her secret, yet never pitied her. I imagine that Alais is the type of woman who doesn’t allow pity. She was expertly written, a historical character that might have found a place in the modern day. I also appreciated that she was thoughtful; she didn’t make rash or stupid decisions and always thought through things before acting upon them.

The mystery behind The Canterbury Papers was somewhat predictable, but still very well crafted. I didn’t necessarily figure out the whole thing, but I had a pretty good idea of what might be going on about halfway through. Still, watching Alais uncover the mystery and her emotional growth because of it is very satisfying.

In the afterword, Healey describes the book’s basis in fact, and it surprised me that she didn’t take many historical liberties. She worked with what was already there in order to breathe life into the character of Alais and create this mystery. I thought it was extremely well done.

I thoroughly enjoyed The Canterbury Papers and am excited to read its sequel, The Rebel Princess. I highly recommend this novel to any fans of historical fiction or mysteries!

The Penny Pinchers Club – Sarah Strohmeyer

Title: The Penny Pinchers Club
Author: Sarah Strohmeyer
ISBN: 9780525951179
Pages: 304
Release Date: July 2, 2009
Publisher: Dutton Adult
Genre: Women’s Fiction
Rating: 4.5 out of 5

From the publisher’s website:

Bestselling author Sarah Strohmeyer offers up a timely (and recession-proof) treat about the things money can—and can’t—buy. Living in New Jersey—the state that boasts the most malls per capita—Kat’s favorite recreational activity is a no-brainer: shopping. But when she discovers that her husband, Griff, has been hiding a secret bank account, her joyful consumerism suddenly loses its appeal. Are their fights about money more serious than she understood? Is he, as her friends suggest, preparing for a divorce? Just in case, Kat decides it’s time to start saving.

Drastic times call for drastic measures: Kat starts by canceling cable and kicking her $240-a-month Starbucks habit. But what starts out as a simple effort to cut costs becomes an over-the-top obsession when Kat joins an eclectic but lovable group of savers called the Penny Pinchers Club. Soon she is pumping her gas at dawn (when it is thicker) and serving dinner made from food she retrieved at the grocery store dumpster. Kat is saving money, to be sure, but what she’s really saving is time—time she spends with Griff, their two kids . . . and an old flame who resurfaces at precisely the wrong moment, offering Kat a life where money is no object.

I was a huge fan of Sarah Strohmeyer’s last novel Sweet Love [review], so when I heard she had a new book coming out, I knew immediately I wanted to read it.  Happily, The Penny Pinchers Club didn’t disappoint; it was amusing and utterly engrossing.

I absolutely loved the character of Kat, which really surprised me.  I’m relatively careful with money (though I enjoy the occasional splurge), so I thought that I would find Kat’s spending habits very annoying.  However, I was surprised to find that while it was difficult to watch her spending money that she didn’t have, I didn’t dislike her for it.  It was just a part of her personality.  Strohmeyer deserves real credit for crafting a vibrant character who is sympathetic and easy to care about.

I also loved the discussion about what money (or a lack thereof) can do to a marriage.  The information within The Penny Pinchers Club that money, not infidelity, is the top reason for divorce was very surprising to me.  With one person constantly scrimping and saving and the other overspending to the limit, it’s difficult to imagine the kind of strain that would put on a marriage.

Though I couldn’t imagine myself bargain hunting like the Penny Pinchers, I found their antics hilarious.  All the characters within the club were endearing in their own way.  I’m really glad that Strohmeyer decided to include their personal stories as a secondary storyline.  It served as a welcome distraction from what was going on in Kat’s life.

I thoroughly enjoyed The Penny Pinchers Club, from the wonderful characters to the great storyline that Sarah Strohmeyer created.  This really is women’s fiction at its best; I highly recommend it!

Thank you to the publisher for sending me this book to review!