The Golden Spoon

  

I received a copy of this release from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Title: The Golden Spoon

Author: Jessa Maxwell 

Publisher: Atria 

Release Date: 3.7.23

Publisher’s Summary 

A killer is on the loose when someone turns up dead on the set of a hit TV baking competition in this darkly beguiling debut mystery that is perfect for fans of Lucy Foley, Nita Prose, and Anthony Horowitz. Soon to be a limited series on Hulu.

Production for the tenth season of Bake Week is ready to begin at the gothic estate of host and celebrity chef Betsy Martin, and everything seems perfect. The tent is up, the top-tier ingredients are aligned, and the crew has their cameras at the ready.

The six contestants work to prove their culinary talents over the course of five days, while Betsy is less than thrilled to share the spotlight with a new cohost—the brash and unpredictable Archie Morris. But as the baking competition commences, things begin to go awry. At first, it’s merely sabotage—sugar replaced with salt, a burner turned to high—but when a body is discovered, everyone is a suspect.

A deliciously suspenseful thriller for murder mystery buffs and avid bakers alike, The Golden Spoon will keep you guessing until the very last page.

My Review

I read this book in the days before Christmas and in the midst of my Southwest travel fiasco. It was the perfect mix of snarky, suspenseful, and fun--just what I needed at the time to keep my mind occupied so I didn't go absolutely insane. I love any gothic mansion/secluded manor setting and this one didn't disappoint. If you love cooking competition shows, you're sure to love this one.  

 

Tina, Mafia Soldier

  I received a copy of this release from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Title: Tina, Mafia Soldier

Author: Maria Rosa Cutrufelli 

Publisher: Soho Crime

Release Date: 3.7.23  (First published January 1, 1994)

Publisher’s Summary 

A classic of Italian feminist mafia literature about a dangerous, enigmatic young gangster pushing the boundaries of gender and propriety, in English for the first time

In the 1980s, a teenage girl terrorizes the Sicilian town of Gela. Tina's father was in Cosa Nostra and was brutally shot dead in front of her when she was just eight; after that, she made it her mission in life to join the mafia, although women are traditionally not allowed in. Nicknamed 'a masculidda, or "the tomboy," Tina is notorious through Gela for her recklessness, cruelty, and complete disregard for societal expectations.

When a news article is published about Tina's latest crimes, an unnamed teacher living in Rome feels compelled to write a novel about her--even though it means returning to her home island of Sicily to gather material. She and Tina circle around each other in a hypnotic, dangerous dance of obsession and violence until their first, and last, explosive meeting.

In this ruminative, literary exploration of what it means to live in the mafia's dark shadow, the narrator's observations and interactions are counterposed against recollections of Tina's life as she grows up from a child into a soldier of the mafia, shedding gender constraints along the way.

Based closely on Maria Rosa Cutrufelli's experiences as a Sicilian and on the true case of a teenage girl who became a mafia soldier, Song to the Desert is a powerful work of autofiction whose original Italian publication was a watershed moment for Italian crime fiction, as it shed a light on a corner of mafia literature that had previously gone unexplored: the role of women in the mafia, and the impact that the mafia has on women and girls.

My Review

I don't think I could write anything in my review that is not already covered in the summary. This book is a slow slow burn and definitely atmospheric but it is not quite the action-packed story I expected. The promise of a "genderbending mafiosa" had me expecting more of a salacious and feminist Sopranos but this story focuses more on the local history and setting, with Tina almost blending into the background.  I struggled with the first half of the book in terms of pacing and not knowing where the story was going, but once I got my bearings I was intrigued. The notes at the end of the novel explaining the author's inspiration gave me much more perspective and appreciation for this story. I would recommend this to readers of hyperlocal and specific historical fiction. 

Buzz Books 2023: Spring/Summer

 

Title: Buzz Books 2023: Spring/Summer

Author: Publishers Lunch

Publisher: Publishers Lunch

Release Date: 1.17.23

I often get asked how I choose which ARCs to read and review. My go-to is Edelweiss but it can be a bit confusing for someone just starting out. If you are new to book reviewing / bookstagramming and want to know about some of the hottest upcoming releases, be sure to check out the Buzz Books collections, released twice per year and always available as a "Read Now" option on Netgalley. The most recent compilation, the Buzz Books 2023: Spring/Summer features "the buzziest books due out this season." Included are works by bestselling authors Ryan Holiday, Nancy Horan, Kate Morton, Abraham Verghese, Jamel Brinkley, Eleanor Catton, Patrick DeWitt, Cathleen Schine, Helen MacDonald and Elizabeth Acevedo, as well as 23 debut authors. In addition to several lists of upcoming releases, some of the titles have excerpts and there are lots of publisher contacts included. This is a great resource for beginning bookstagrammers.

Old Babes in the Wood

 

 I received a copy of this release from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Title: Old Babes in the Wood: Stories

Author: Margaret Atwood

Publisher: Doubleday

Release Date: 3.7.23

Publisher’s Summary 

A dazzling collection of short stories from the internationally acclaimed, award-winning author of The Handmaid's Tale and The Testaments, stories that look deeply into the heart of family relationships, marriage, loss and memory, and what it means to spend a life together

Margaret Atwood has established herself as one of the most visionary and canonical authors in the world. This collection of fifteen extraordinary stories--some of which have appeared in The New Yorker and The New York Times Magazine--explore the full warp and weft of experience, speaking to our unique times with Atwood's characteristic insight, wit and intellect.

The two intrepid sisters of the title story grapple with loss and memory on a perfect summer evening; "Impatient Griselda" explores alienation and miscommunication with a fresh twist on a folkloric classic; and "My Evil Mother" touches on the fantastical, examining a mother-daughter relationship in which the mother purports to be a witch. At the heart of the collection are seven extraordinary stories that follow a married couple across the decades, the moments big and small that make up a long life of uncommon love--and what comes after.

Returning to short fiction for the first time since her 2014 collection Stone Mattress, Atwood showcases both her creativity and her humanity in these remarkable tales which by turns delight, illuminate, and quietly devastate.

My Review

“Old Babes in the Wood” first appeared in The New Yorker (April 19, 2021) and "My Evil Mother" was released as an Amazon Original Story (April 1, 2022.) This collection features each of those stories and several others, some independent and some linked. Ranging from an alien helping quarantined groups pass the time to wise-cracking old women joking about breast implants, these stories are kooky, smart, and sharp-tongued. Atwood's writing is extensive (fiction, nonfiction, graphic novel, children's novels, anthologies, short stories, etc etc etc) and I've barely made a dent in reading her work. In addition to this short story collection and her Dearly poetry collection, my reading has mainly focused on her novels. 

I've read:

The Handmaid's Tale 
Cat's Eye 
The Robber Bride 
Alias Grace 
The Blind Assassin 
Oryx and Crake 
The Penelopiad 
The Year of the Flood 
MaddAddam 
The Heart Goes Last 
The Testaments 

Atwood novels I want to read:

The Edible Woman
Surfacing
Lady Oracle
Up in the Tree
Life Before Man
Bodily Harm

For the Birds

The Labrador Fiasco

Hag-Seed

Bottle

Have you read any of these? 

Birnam Wood

  

I received a copy of this release from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Title: Birnam Wood

Author: Eleanor Catton 

Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux

Release Date: 3.7.23

Publisher’s Summary 

Birnam Wood is on the move . . .

Five years ago, Mira Bunting founded a guerrilla gardening group: Birnam Wood. An undeclared, unregulated, sometimes-criminal, sometimes-philanthropic gathering of friends, this activist collective plants crops wherever no one will notice: on the sides of roads, in forgotten parks, and neglected backyards. For years, the group has struggled to break even. Then Mira stumbles on an answer, a way to finally set the group up for the long term: a landslide has closed the Korowai Pass, cutting off the town of Thorndike. Natural disaster has created an opportunity, a sizable farm seemingly abandoned.

But Mira is not the only one interested in Thorndike. Robert Lemoine, the enigmatic American billionaire, has snatched it up to build his end-times bunker--or so he tells Mira when he catches her on the property. Intrigued by Mira, Birnam Wood, and their entrepreneurial spirit, he suggests they work this land. But can they trust him? And, as their ideals and ideologies are tested, can they trust each other?

A gripping psychological thriller from the Booker Prize-winning author of The Luminaries, Birnam Wood is Shakespearean in its wit, drama, and immersion in character. A brilliantly constructed consideration of intentions, actions, and consequences, it is an unflinching examination of the human impulse to ensure our own survival.

My Review

I did not read The Luminaries and I initially passed this title over but I circled back to request an ARC after my friend Deb reviewed it. I mean...guerrilla gardening? Not exactly a topic that I necessarily wanted to read a novel about. Buuuuuuuut, this story is not at all what I was expecting. Catton dives deep into posing the question of "when is it ok to break the law" to make readers wonder who is the "good" guy? Oh, and there are lots of drones and technological surveillance. I can't do this novel justice with a review but I recommend it to anyone who loves literary fiction. The writing is immersive and detailed and repeatedly reminded me of The Goldfinch. Be prepared that it is LONG (423 pages), with no chapters, and only 3 section breaks. Overall this is just not AT ALL what I was expecting but I liked it very much.