The Finishing Touches

The Finising Touches, by Hester Browne

Hester Browne, of The Little Lady Agency series gets my vote with this book.

Betsy was left on the doorstep of the Phillimore Academy for Young Ladies finishing school as an infant and is raised with the best manners possible. Skip to the current time & the school is outdated & out of shape.

Betsy is asked to use her considerable business acumen (which she doesn't really have), to turn things around, but is this a project her heart is really in?

Hester Browne avoids cliches and keeps the books fun and interesting. An added bonus are all of the tips in the book that really are helpful in real life. I even wrote some down, if only I had a lilac leather notbook.

Great summertime reading!

Microthrills, by Wendy Spero

Click here to read my review at Girls With Books.

Everyone Is Beautiful, by Katherine Center

Click here to read my review of this book at Girls With Books.

Wild Swans

Wild Swans: Three Daughters of China, Jung Chang

This memoir is a huge, eye-opening look at what the Chinese people went thru from the 1870's thru 1978. It documents the culture in a way that most people have no idea about. It's a long book filled with much detail, but I have to tell you that just thinking about the way those people were forced to live made me both amazed by the resilience of the human spirit & even more thankful to have born in the USA.

The story is heartbreaking, frustrating, almost inconcievable & riveting. This book is really worth a read, it's both informative & entertaining.

The Summer Of Us, by Holly Chamberlin

Click here to read my review of this book at Girls With Books.

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, Mary Ann Shaffer & Annie Barrows

Juliet's correspondence with a book society on a small island is just the inspiration she needs for her next book. Set in 1946 London Juliet & her newfound friends turned family kept me reading long into the night.

I found this book utterly charming. It's got great historical value without being stuffy, showing a snapshot of a different part of the Second World War. One most of us have probably not heard about. This book is a lovely tribute to friendship and family, showing that families can be made in many different ways.Written by Mary Ann Shaffer and her niece Annie Burrows after Shaffer had health issues, the book is a tribute to the island of Guernsey and it's residents.

Babyface

Babyface, Fiona Gibson

Babyface is a typical release from Red Dress Ink. It's light reading, chick lit, a lot of the time I dig that.

Nina meets Jonathan through an ad & oops, they end up pregnant before they even know each other! Deciding to "do the right thing", they move in together & plan for their future. Then they begin to realize they don't know exactly what "the right thing" is.

Set in the UK, this book has a little more English terms than the standards like crisps & biscuits, but I didn't find it offputting.

The baby modeling storyline seemed a little superfluous & not too connected to me, but as a fun rainy day read, it's great.