Blog Tour: Promises to Keep

Like most Canadian kids, I learned about our country's history in school. And, again like most kids, I was bored. I remember hearing about the Acadians but I wouldn't be able to tell you more than they had some French ties and lived on the East coast. Genevieve Graham's newest novel, Promises to Keep, shows what it would have been like for a family of Acadians when the British came to take over their land. It's a heartbreaking tale with uplifting moments and, most importantly, so very interesting. This is my third stop on Simon & Schuster Canada's Timeless Tour - have you been following along?

Here's the synopsis:

Summer 1755, Acadia 

Young, beautiful Amélie Belliveau lives with her family among the Acadians of Grande Pré, Nova Scotia, content with her life on their idyllic farm. Along with their friends, the neighbouring Mi’kmaq, the community believes they can remain on neutral political ground despite the rising tides of war. But peace can be fragile, and sometimes faith is not enough. When the Acadians refuse to pledge allegiance to the British in their war against the French, the army invades Grande Pré, claims the land, and rips the people from their homes. Amélie’s entire family, alongside the other Acadians, is exiled to ports unknown aboard dilapidated ships. 

Fortunately, Amélie has made a powerful ally. Having survived his own harrowing experience at the hands of the English, Corporal Connor MacDonnell is a reluctant participant in the British plan to expel the Acadians from their homeland. His sympathy for Amélie gradually evolves into a profound love, and he resolves to help her and her family in any way he can—even if it means treason. As the last warmth of summer fades, more ships arrive to ferry the Acadians away, and Connor is forced to make a decision that will alter the future forever. 

Heart-wrenching and captivating, Promises to Keep is a gloriously romantic tale of a young couple forced to risk everything amidst the uncertainties of war.

Promises to Keep takes place during a time of war and, as the synopsis so accurately pointed out, it's totally heart-wrenching. I felt like my heart was breaking for the last third of the book. For a girl who loves her Happily Ever Afters, that's a tough story to read. As someone who knows history was not kind to many people and war is hard, I understood why so many terrible, awful things had to happen over the course of the novel. 

Over the last few years I've gotten in the habit of reading the acknowledgments at the end of the book. I admit it started because I became friends with more authors and my name started popping up but that made me realize that every name in every acknowledgment is important. It's especially great to read them when the book is a historical novel as the author will often discuss their research and the reasons why they've focused on a particular subject. That was the case with Graham. She wrote about how many people, including Canadians, think our history is boring. I'll admit I'm one of them. History classes in school could never hold my interest for very long even though I knew, on some level, it had to be better than textbooks and memorizing dates. Graham says, (and I absolutely adore this), 

"Our stories are just waiting to be written, and they need to be written so people will want to read and learn more. Often that means they require fictional reimagining and that's where I come in. My goal, my passion, is to breathe life back into Canadian history."

Well, Ms. Graham. You've done it. You managed to completely capture my interest and, as I said, made me realize that I don't remember much about the Acadians and that needs to change. So, thank you.

Amélie is a fantastic heroine. She is tough, she is smart, she is loving. I'd like to think I'd handle being thrown off my family's land with half as much strength as she did (that's not to say she never felt defeated because she definitely did), but I don't think I'd be able to handle it. She stayed strong for her family (her elder sister had bursts of strength as well and, in those moments especially, I really wanted to know more of how Claire was really faring) and did everything in her power to put her family back together again.

I really enjoyed reading Promises to Keep. Genevieve Graham's latest book was one I didn't want to put down. It has a wonderful storyline, excellent writing, and characters whose lives will grab you and won't want to let you go. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to have to look up Graham's other novel Tides of Honour!

Make sure you follow along with the blog tour! You can check out the Timeless Tours site and the graphic below for more details.

*An ARC of this book was provided by the publisher, Simon & Schuster Canada, in exchange for a review for the purpose of a blog tour. All opinions are honest and my own.*

Review: City of Friends

Joanna Trollope is one of those authors who I've heard of for what seems like forever. But...I've only ever read one of her novels (the updated Sense & Sensibility for The Austen Project...my review is here if you're interested). When her latest, City of Friends, showed up in my mailbox I was immediately intrigued and fell head over heels in love with that cover. I was in the mood for a contemporary tale so it moved itself right to the top of my TBR list. And was it worth it? Yes! It was a delightful story that kept me interested and I knew right away that I'd be passing it on to my mom to read too.

Here's the synopsis:

The day Stacey Grant loses her job feels like the last day of her life. Or at least, the only life she'd ever known. For who was she if not a City high-flyer, Senior Partner at one of the top private equity firms in London?
As Stacey starts to reconcile her old life with the new—one without professional achievements or meetings, but instead, long days at home with her dog and ailing mother, waiting for her successful husband to come home—she at least has The Girls to fall back on. Beth, Melissa and Gaby. The girls, now women, had been best friends from the early days of university right through their working lives, and through all the happiness and heartbreaks in between.
But these career women all have personal problems of their own, and when Stacey's redundancy forces a betrayal to emerge that was supposed to remain secret, their long cherished friendships will be pushed to their limits...

City of Friends takes the typical format when multiple characters are the focus of the story. Each chapter of this novel follows a different friend - Stacey, Melissa, Gaby, and Beth - as they each deal with the fallout of Stacey losing her job. I sometimes have problems with books like this but it didn't bother me as much as it normally does. It took awhile to get into and really get a sense of each woman but it flowed better than other novels like this I've read in the past.

That being said, I think I wanted more from each woman. The story takes place over the course of a year or so (I think? That was another issue...I wasn't totally sure how much time had passed.) and each woman had a lot going on that had to be fit into one chapter. There were gaps but I think that's just kind of how life goes. You're going to have days that are of great importance to your life, and those are the ones we got with this novel, but there are also the other days when you're just putting one foot in front of the other and everything is ticking along as usual.

Speaking of being like real life, I thought the friendship between the four women was realistic. They may be in their forties and I'm just in my twenties (hoo boy...can only say that for another month or so!) but female friendships are similar at all ages. I did love the following quote because I knew exactly what kind of "crossed wires" Trollope was referencing. It makes me look forward to even more solid friendships in the future:

"Even when they couldn't meet, they rang each other, or texted, or tweeted. The inevitable crossed wires of their twenties and thirties had mellowed into a much less judgemental support system in their forties." (page 12)

They have such a great friendship that they know they are always there for each other even if they don't see each other for a few weeks at a time.

I loved how successful all four women were (yes, Stacey lost her job but she definitely didn't deserve it). They were proud of their successes because they worked hard to get where they were. This hit pretty hard as I was reading this book back on International Women's Day.

Current read is great for #InternationalWomensDay - 4 women who have worked HARD&moved up in male dominated business world. #IWD #amreading pic.twitter.com/cYXKcXWx0h

— Kaley Stewart (@KaleyS23) March 9, 2017

The fact that they've had to fight to get where they are, and had to fight much harder than their male counterparts, is referenced throughout the novel. Also, all four women are so supportive of other women in their workplaces and, in Gaby's case especially as she manages so many people, will do whatever they can to make sure other women are able to succeed. As much as I loved this whole female success storyline...I think it shows a lot that I even needed and wanted to reference it. We've come so far but there's still more work to be done!

Final note...I already mentioned how much I love this cover. I'm not sure what it is but all of the elements together work for me. This cover is, from what I can tell from my (admittedly not very thorough) Internet sleuthing, for the paperback. There is another cover for the hardcover that I also really love. It has a very different feel but it also fits the story so well. Each woman has a house and lifestyle that suits them, or so they think, and so this cover is lovely. (This is actually making me realize that Trollope spent a lot of time discussing their houses and living arrangements. Interesting that I hadn't noticed it until now.)

City of Friends is a book for you if you love (or are in need of) contemporary novels. Joanna Trollope has written a story of four smart, realistic women that you will thoroughly enjoy reading about. You'll drop into their lives and, at the end, emerge with the desire to text, write to, call, or visit some of your own best friends.

*A copy of this novel was provided by the distributor, Publishers Group Canada, in exchange for review consideration. All opinions are honest and my own.*

Blog Tour: Q&A with Genevieve Graham

For my second stop on the Simon & Schuster Canada Timeless Tour, I'm so excited to share a Q&A with Genevieve Graham. She's the author of Promises to Keep which I'll be reviewing next Friday. The book is a great one and focuses on Amélie in 1755 when the British have invaded Acadia. Enjoy!

Amélie’s world is torn apart by war and infiltrating forces, a reality that unfortunately persists in present day. Did you find any parallels between Amélie’s world and your own while writing Promises to Keep?

War and disagreements will always exist—as will love and understanding, though the latter do not often make the headlines. The interesting thing to me is how both sides to every battle believe absolutely they are in the right, whereas those who seek love so often feel themselves to be undeserving. Parallels? No. Wars over this land were fought centuries ago, and I feel confident I will never leave my home unless I choose to do so. My family, my home, my beliefs, and my life are safe. 

Why is the Acadian Expulsion an important part of Canadian history? What about the expulsion inspired you to write about it? 

I grew up in Toronto then spent almost twenty years in Calgary before I moved to Nova Scotia, and when I arrived here I had no idea what an Acadian was. Many people around here have Acadian ancestry, and it seemed like something I should have just known. So my husband and I took a weekend drive out to the Grand Pré area, hoping to gain a true understanding of the Acadian culture. After sampling some of the fine wines bottled along that lovely shore, we toured the Grand Pré Historical Site. I cannot tell you how much that visit touched us both. The exhibit leads the visitor through the day to day lives of these “neutral French”, teaches us about dykes and aboiteaux, then draws back the curtain to reveal the brutal, unconscionable crime committed by the British. In my mind I could hear them singing and playing music, see them bringing in the harvest or tending the fish weirs, and when I visited an actual Acadian house I could practically feel the family inside. How could I not follow Amélie’s story? How could I not be inspired? 

There are a lot of books written about the Expulsion, but I had not read any. That actually works out well for my writing technique. As a writer, I use historical facts as a framework to my stories and do not allow myself to be swayed by anyone else’s interpretation.

In your research for Promises to Keep, what information was the most surprising to you? Are Amélie and Connor based on real people? 

When I began my research I learned over 10,000 Acadians were forcibly taken from their homes and shipped to points basically unknown, but I did not know they travelled in the hulls of rickety, rented ships. I did not know families were torn apart, though I suppose I cannot say I was surprised by that; war is not kind or humane. I was happily surprised when I came across the story of one actual ship, the Pembroke, on which 232 Acadians freed themselves from the eight sailors taking them across the sea—and the greatest surprise was finding the actual Charles Belliveau, mast maker, who piloted the Pembroke after their liberation. What luck! I even found his exact dialogue with the defeated British captain! 

I suppose my biggest surprise was the reception I got when I told people the theme of this book. Their anticipation was stronger than for any book I’ve written before. 

Regarding my characters, unless I am referring to actual people (like Colonel Winslow, who is a known figure whose 1755 journal is published on the internet), I do not base them on real people. I imagine a people or a place in time, land in their lives like a fly on the wall, and the individual characters appear in my imagination, complete with personalities and mannerisms.

Amélie is quite headstrong and outspoken in contrast to other women in the novel. Were you able to find examples of feisty women in eighteenth century history? Did you feel you needed to give them a voice? 

I didn’t base Amélie on anyone in particular, but in every group of people we are bound to find varied personalities. Amélie was a loving, dutiful daughter, but she was also intelligent and curious. 18th century etiquette generally required women to be quiet and modest, but the Acadians were sheltered from the outside world, oblivious for the most part to those expectations. In addition, the Acadians lived alongside the Mi’kmaq, and the Mi’kmaq are a matriarchal society. Amélie learned to speak both Míkmawísimk and French, and knowing those languages gave her deeper insight into her changing surroundings. She felt protective of her family and their way of life. Once her world began to turn upside down and the British appeared to cast aside the rules of decency, she broke out of her shell to meet the challenge. 

  

Your writing transports readers to a different time and place. If you could live in any time period anywhere in the world, where would it be? 

I think I would have to choose a time period that had at least some modern conveniences. While I love the glory of centuries ago, when we envision the hero on horseback streaming through the battlefield with sword held high, I do not envy the women of that time. I think I’d prefer the 1920s-1940s. We were not yet as strong as our male counterparts, but we were well on our way, thanks to the suffragettes’ hard won victories. And yet it was still an era when ladies were ladies and gentlemen treated them as such. Doors were opened, and kisses were by invitation only. I am a romantic, but I’m a realist as well. And because I’m a romantic, if I were to choose a location, I think it’d be Paris.  

Did you always want to be a writer? If so, did you always want to write historical fiction? 

I had never even considered being a writer until I was in my forties. Until then I was a reader, a musician, a promoter, a piano teacher, and above all, a wife and mother. When I was in school, I did not enjoy history at all. To me, history was merely dates, names, and places to memorize for exams. Maybe it was the fault of my short memory span. Or perhaps I simply needed to mature so I could understand that none of today’s stories would exist without stories from yesterday. Then I began to read good historical fiction, and I was smitten. History fascinates me now that I can envision characters within the stories. I have tried to write other genres, but I always return to historical fiction. I love breathing life back into history one story at a time.

As a reader, who are some of the storytellers you find most inspiring, and why? 

Diana Gabaldon is the one who inspired me to write. I read her “Outlander” series seven times before finally sitting down and trying something myself. I love the writing of Susanna Kearsley, Penelope Williamson, Sara Donati, Ami McKay, and Jennifer Roberson. And since I love epic, sweeping historicals, I savour Wilbur Smith’s books and the beautiful prose of Khaled Hosseini. On the mystery/suspense side I enjoy authors Harlan Coben and my friend, Pamela Callow.

What can readers expect from you in the future? What are you currently working on, if anything?

I’m always working on something! At present I have four books underway, which seems crazy—probably is—but I find when I run into some kind of writing block I simply need to refocus on something else for a bit and that gets me back on track. It can get confusing at times, though. The novel after Promises to Keep will be the companion to Tides of Honour, returning twenty years later to the Eastern Shore of Nova Scotia. I have also been researching the British Home Children in Canada and the beginnings of the RCMP (NWMP) including the Klondike Gold Rush. And the fourth, well, I think I’ll keep that as a surprise for now!

Review: The Enemies of Versailles

The Enemies of Versailles was one of my most anticipated reads of 2017 and I'm thrilled to be part of the Timeless Tours Blog Tour with Simon & Schuster Canada. I thoroughly enjoyed the first two books of Sally Christie's Mistresses of Versailles trilogy, and I was really looking forward to reading the final installment.

Here's the synopsis:

In the final installment of Sally Christie’s “tantalizing” (New York Daily News) Mistresses of Versailles trilogy, Jeanne Becu, a woman of astounding beauty but humble birth, works her way from the grimy back streets of Paris to the palace of Versailles, where the aging King Louis XV has become a jaded and bitter old philanderer. Jeanne bursts into his life and, as the Comtesse du Barry, quickly becomes his official mistress.
“That beastly bourgeois Pompadour was one thing; a common prostitute quite another kettle of fish.”
After decades suffering the King's endless stream of Royal Favorites, the princesses of the Court have reached a breaking point. Horrified that he would bring the lowborn Comtesse du Barry into the hallowed halls of Versailles, Louis XV’s daughters, led by the indomitable Madame Adelaide, vow eternal enmity and enlist the young dauphiness Marie Antoinette in their fight against the new mistress. But as tensions rise and the French Revolution draws closer, a prostitute in the palace soon becomes the least of the nobility’s concerns.
Told in Christie’s witty and engaging style, the final book in The Mistresses of Versailles trilogy will delight and entrance fans as it once again brings to life the sumptuous and cruel world of eighteenth century Versailles, and France as it approaches inevitable revolution.

I think I've realized a good historical novel is, to me, equally entertaining and interesting. I really didn't know much about Louis XV before I began Christie's series. Truthfully, I may not have known anything about him. I only knew the very basics about XV's grandson, Louis XVI and his wife, Marie Antoinette, and the French Revolution (sorry, history teachers). Now, though, I really want to dive in and do some research of my own. I think Christie did a good job of finding that balance of storytelling and educating.

That being said, I do wonder if sometimes the history and research played a part in the detail of the story. Some events were described in detail but others were skipped over. Was that because there wasn't a lot of documentation and Christie didn't want to make up too much?

The title of this book has a bit of a double meaning, I think. "Enemies" doesn't just refer to the animosity between Adelaide, Louis XVI's daughter, and Jeanne, his mistress. At the end of the book I think it also means those who are opposed to the monarchy and are in favour of the Revolution.

My biggest problem with this book was that I had no idea what year it was at any given moment. So much time passes in this novel (the first chapter is, I think, around 1750 when Jeanne is 7 and the epilogue is 1800) and I found it jumped around so much that it was hard to keep up.

Wait - I have another big problem. Simon and Schuster Canada. Guys. Friends. Why did you change the cover? Now my series doesn't match! Sigh. Bookworm problems.

I hadn't really thought about how Christie was going to have to end this series. I didn't realized that Louis XV would be dead, as would be his grandson and granddaughter-in-law. Pretty much everyone I had "met" in the last two books were dead too, either because of old age or because of the Revolution and the guillotine. That is incredibly dismal. But that is life. That was life for these very people who actually lived and died so many years ago. It says something about the stories Christie told that I mourned the characters. Before reading these novels they had only ever been names in a history book.

You don't have to be a history fan to enjoy Sally Christie's The Enemies of Versailles, or the rest of the Mistresses of Versailles trilogy. This time period really lends itself well to fiction because it was so full of intrigue, gossip, and drama. I'm sad the series is over but I've been inspired to do some more research on Louis XV, his mistresses, and his family.

Make sure you follow along with the blog tour! You can check out the Timeless Tours site and the graphic below for more details.

*An ARC of this book was provided by the publisher, Simon & Schuster Canada, in exchange for a review for the purpose of a blog tour. All opinions are honest and my own.*

Review: Fractured

Catherine McKenzie is one of my favourite writers and I always look forward to her latest novel. Fractured was released last fall and even though I read it right away I just haven’t sat down to share my thoughts on it! Bad blogger.

Here’s the synopsis:

Julie Prentice and her family move across the country to the idyllic Mount Adams district of Cincinnati, hoping to evade the stalker who’s been terrorizing them ever since the publication of her bestselling novel, The Murder Game. Since Julie doesn’t know anyone in her new town, when she meets her neighbor John Dunbar, their instant connection brings measured hope for a new beginning. But she never imagines that a simple, benign conversation with him could set her life spinning so far off course.
After a series of misunderstandings, Julie and her family become the target of increasingly unsettling harassment. Has Julie’s stalker found her, or are her neighbors out to get her, too? As tension in the neighborhood rises, new friends turn into enemies, and the results are deadly.

I’ve been finding a lot of authors who started out writing and publishing lighter books have begun gravitating to the darker, more twisted stories. I think we can thank Gone Girl for the emergence of “grip lit” and I appreciate how its given authors, women in particular, the ability to put more serious and dramatic novels out in the world. I think people are finally coming to terms that female characters can be unlikeable (and women can write them). My point? Fractured is much more twisted than McKenzie’s earlier books. And it’s awesome.

The story is told by both Julie and John and each chapter takes place either in the past or present day. McKenzie makes it really easy to follow, which I, as a reader, really appreciated. Each chapter, whether it's told by Julie or John, is in first person and I found it really gets you into the mindset of each character. (Quick aside...I found that Julie is the main character but the story would not have been as impactful had it not been for John's parts of the story.) There are also emails from the Pine Street Neighborhood Association president sprinkled throughout as well that help set the tone of how the rest of the neighbourhood is feeling about Julie and her family.

Julie isn't as unreliable as some other narrators in this genre but you can't help but wonder if you can trust her or if she's hiding something that will impact the rest of the neighbourhood and, ultimately, the overall story. You also have to wonder if you can trust John. You're pretty certain you can but every once and awhile something happens that makes you go, "hmmm." All of this helps create the suspense and you can't wait to find out exactly it was that happened "that day" which John alludes to at the start of the novel.

And here’s a fun fact – McKenzie has written and published Julie’s novel. You can actually buy The Murder Game by “Julie Apple.” How cool is that? I only just purchased it myself recently but I’m looking forward to reading it!

Finally, check out this article McKenzie wrote about the cover of Fractured and the state of covers by female authors. It's a must read that has so many great points.

You're definitely going to want to pick up a copy of Fractured if you're into thrillers and really good storytelling. Catherine McKenzie is still firmly in my list of favourite authors. I already can't wait for her next book!

*A copy of this novel was provided by the author in exchange for review consideration. All opinions are honest and my own.*

Review: Lily and the Octopus

I'm not entirely sure what I was expecting when I started Lily and the Octopus. I had heard amazing things so I thought I'd give it a try. But...I'm still not entirely sure what I got with Steven Rowley's novel.

Here's the synopsis:

Combining the emotional depth of The Art of Racing in the Rain with the magical spirit of The Life of Pi, Lily and the Octopus is an epic adventure of the heart.
When you sit down with Lily and the Octopus, you will be taken on an unforgettable ride.
The magic of this novel is in the read, and we don’t want to spoil it by giving away too many details.
We can tell you that this is a story about that special someone: the one you trust, the one you can’t live without.
For Ted Flask, that someone special is his aging companion Lily, who happens to be a dog.
Lily and the Octopus reminds us how it feels to love fiercely, how difficult it can be to let go, and how the fight for those we love is the greatest fight of all.
Remember the last book you told someone they had to read?
Lily and the Octopus is the next one.

I'm going to go against the synopsis and give you a bit more background on the story. Lily has been Ted's dog for many years and one day he realizes there's something growing on her head. Ted decides that that something is an octopus. I think he knows, deep down, that it's a tumor and Lily is therefore very sick. What follows is a story that is sweet and heartbreaking all at once.

So that magic the synopsis alludes to? It took the reader on a bizarre adventure on the high seas and that is when Rowley completely lost me. I love a good magic realism book but when I'm not expecting something like that and when I wasn't as invested with the story to begin with...well...it doesn't help my enjoyment. 

I can't pinpoint what, exactly, my issue was with this novel. It wasn't a bad book. It was written well. I just don't think the subject matter resonated with me and I think it needed to for the reader to fully enjoy the novel.

I do have to say that I love the idea of being able to have actual conversations with our pets. And the opening? That Thursdays are for talking about boys Ted and Lily think are cute? Love. (Ted is a Ryan Gosling fan while Lily is Team Ryan Reynolds.)

Lily and the Octopus really was a sweet novel. I think it might resonate more with dog owners. I have a rabbit and I'd be devastated if an "octopus" moved in with us. Many, many other people absolutely adored Steven Rowley's novel so don't just take my (oh so very lukewarm) thoughts on it.

*An ARC of this novel was provided by the publisher, Simon and Schuster Canada, in exchange for review consideration. All opinions are honest and my own.*

Review: Hungry Heart

Jennifer Weiner has long been a favourite author of mine. I was able to see her when she was in Toronto a few years back and she was so nice and real. Because I find her to be an overall excellent human, I was so excited to read Hungry Heart, Weiner’s first non-fiction book.

Here’s the description of her book of essays:

Jennifer Weiner is many things: a bestselling author, a Twitter phenomenon, and an “unlikely feminist enforcer” (The New Yorker). She’s also a mom, a daughter, and a sister; a former rower and current cyclist; a best friend and a reality TV junkie. In her first foray into nonfiction, she takes the raw stuff of her personal life and spins into a collection of essays on modern womanhood as uproariously funny and moving as the best of Tina Fey, Fran Lebowitz, and Nora Ephron.
Jennifer grew up as an outsider in her picturesque Connecticut hometown (“a Lane Bryant outtake in an Abercrombie & Fitch photo shoot”) and at her Ivy League college, but finally found her people in newsrooms in central Pennsylvania and Philadelphia, and her voice as a novelist, activist, and New York Times columnist.
No subject is off-limits in this intimate and honest essay collection: sex, weight, envy, money, her mom’s newfound lesbianism, and her estranged father’s death. From lonely adolescence to modern childbirth to hearing her six-year-old daughter’s use of the f-word—fat­­—for the first time, Jennifer Weiner goes there, with the wit and candor that have endeared her to readers all over the world.
By turns hilarious and deeply touching, this collection shows that the woman behind treasured novels like Good in Bed and Best Friends Forever is every bit as winning, smart, and honest in real life as she is in her fiction.

I’ve met a few authors who just don’t give off an accessible sort of vibe but Weiner is so genuine. That personality comes through in the book and you really feel like she's just chatting with you and telling you, and only you, her stories. 

Side note: if you watch The Bachelor(ette), make sure you follow Weiner on Twitter. I'm guilty of hate-watching the show (though I've skipped the current season...Nick drove me bonkers so I couldn't bring myself to watch it) and I find that many of the things my friends and I are thinking and saying are what Weiner is tweeting. Funny, insightful, and sometimes cringe-worthy, they're definitely a must for any fan (or "fan") of the franchise. 

I love how passionate Weiner is about feminism and, in particular, discussing and bringing attention to inequality with book reviews. The issue is, basically, if you look at any major publications that review books, you'll see that women authors just aren’t getting reviewed as often. And when they are, it's not usually for commercial fiction but, meanwhile, genre fiction for men is often reviewed. I think I was expecting even more about this issue in the book and was a little let down that she didn't tackle it as much as I thought she might. She has written other articles about the issue so I encourage you to look them up.

When I finished Hungry Heart, I found I wanted more. I imagine Weiner had many more stories to share but only so many could make it into the book, which is too bad. So many stories, so few pages to share them in. I guess I'm just greedy!

I also wish there had been more present day stories and anecdotes. I loved finding out what Weiner's childhood was like and how it shaped her as a woman and an author but I found I wanted to know more about how she's living her life now and what she thinks of even more current events.

If you're a fan of Jennifer Weiner's novels, you're going to want to read Hungry Heart. If you like memoirs and books of essays by smart, funny women, you're going to want to read it. I hope she writes another series of essays soon. In the meantime, I'll impatiently wait for her next novel.

*An ARC of this book was provided by the publisher, in exchange for review consideration. All opinions are honest and my own.*