Friday, June 30, 2023

Sunshine Nails


                                         *free review copy* 


Title: Sunshine Nails
Author: Mai Nguyen 
Publisher: Atria 
Release Date7.4.23

Publisher’s Summary 
A tender, humorous, and page-turning debut about a Vietnamese Canadian family in Toronto who will do whatever it takes to protect their no-frills nail salon after a new high end salon opens up—even if it tears the family apart. Perfect for readers of Olga Dies Dreaming and The Fortunes of Jaded Women.

Vietnamese refugees Debbie and Phil Tran have built a comfortable life for themselves in Toronto with their family nail salon. But when an ultra-glam chain salon opens across the street, their world is rocked.

Complicating matters further, their landlord has jacked up the rent and it seems only a matter of time before they lose their business and everything they’ve built. They enlist the help of their daughter, Jessica, who has just returned home after a messy breakup and a messier firing. Together with their son, Dustin, and niece, Thuy, they devise some good old-fashioned sabotage. Relationships are put to the test as the line between right and wrong gets blurred. Debbie and Phil must choose: do they keep their family intact or fight for their salon?

Sunshine Nails is a light-hearted, urgent fable of gentrification with a cast of memorable and complex characters who showcase the diversity of immigrant experiences and community resilience.

My Review
First of all, let's take a moment to admire this cover--summer vibe perfection!

Now, for the story...
Debut author Mai Nguyen draws on her personal and cultural history to expertly weave heavier themes of gentrification, privilege, and freedom with hilarious family hijinx and perfectly timed humor. I drank up every page and loved her cast of characters. 

I also found her acknowledgments to be especially heart-warming: 

"I was eight when my parents opened a nail salon in Halifax, Nova Scotia. When I got older, I learned there were thousands of nail salons all over North America run by Vietnamese immigrants who wanted to paint a new life for themselves after the Vietnam War. That’s why I wrote Sunshine Nails. For all the immigrant nail techs out there. I hope you enjoyed being the main characters for once."

I recommend this one pretty widely as I think almost anyone who reads it will like it. 




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June 30 is Stuff Your Kindle Day: What I Got

 


June 30 is Stuff Your Kindle Day, so head over to your favorite e-book retailer (Amazon, Apple Books, Barnes & Noble Nook, Google Play, etc) to add to your already toppling TBR! Here are a few tips for how I searched and a quick list (with links) of what I got!

About the event:
This event happens 4x/year (the next dates for 2023 are September 20 and December 27) and is NOT the same as Kindle Unlimited. For more info about the event I suggest you check out this post from The Krazy Coupon Lady

How I shopped: 
Today, I shopped on Amazon and used the "Advanced Search" page to choose "low to high" in the "Sort Results by" box. I recommend doing this on your laptop/desktop. I had difficulty trying from my phone. This will start you off with all the $0.00 ebook offerings. You could streamline your search here by adding more into the keyword, title, etc boxes. There are thousands of options but you are definitely in luck if you like romance books because that is a majority of the offerings. 

What I got:
Here are the ones I downloaded--all FREE!! I've also included their direct purchase links in case any of these are ones you want to read too!

Witchy Cozies 


by R.K. Dreaming


by Louisa West


by Dionne Lister


by Aubrey Bennett


by Nikki Haverstock


by Katie Penryn


by C. A. Phipps 


by Shéa MacLeod


by Humphrey Quinn



by T.J. Deschamps


by D. A. Kelly 


by Amity Allen


by Jane Hinchey


by Robyn Peterman


by Janni Nell


by Cate Martin


by G Clatworthy


by Fiona Grace


by N.M. Howell


by Alyn Troy


More Witchy Reads



by Jenna Ocean Meadows



by Odette C. Bell


Murder Mystery Cozies 



by Merryn Allingham


Gothic





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Tuesday, June 27, 2023

✨PUB DAY SPOTLIGHT: How to Taste✨

                                      *free review copy* 


Title: How to Taste: A Guide to Discovering Flavor and Savoring Life
AuthorMandy Naglich
Publisher: Citadel
Release Date6.27.23

Publisher’s Summary 
Perfect for foodie fans of Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat as well as Cork Dork and The Flavor Equation, this instant classic is both a sumptuous behind-the-scenes tour and a fun, appetizing, and informative how-to that covers everything from wine and cheese to ice cream and honey, tea, chocolate, and even water, from the science of taste and the rituals of creating a fine-tuned palate, to plucking flavor descriptions from the tip of your tongue, and learning how appreciating food can help you appreciate life.

You love to eat. But do you know how to taste?

On a delectable sensory romp through the science of flavor, award-winning professional taster Mandy Naglich, one of less than 100 Advanced Cicerones in the world, gives you a seat at the table in the elite world of master tasters – scientists, professional tasters, sommeliers, umami ushers and more – divulging the secrets behind their perfected palates so you, too, can become a super taster.

Whether it’s a meaningful meal or a favorite nostalgic road trip snack, we know what we like to eat. But even when it comes to the most vivid and memorable dishes it’s tough to say what exactly makes them so delicious. Now award-winning expert, certified food and beverage taster and lifestyle journalist Mandy Naglich reveals how to hone your tasting superpowers like a pro.

Take a seat beside highly-trained cheese analysts, world-class sommeliers, competitive whiskey tasters, internationally recognized chefs, and sensory scientists as experts divulge the secrets to discerning the notes in a range of ingredients, from a dab of honey to a spoonful of olive oil—and even a sip of mineral water.

Discover why a James Beard award-winner was visibly nervous before a blindfolded taste test on Top Chef Masters , and how coffee farmers base growing practices on the palate of one world-renowned authority. Learn why your taste buds respond to variables such as food temperature and background music. What the flavor distinction is between a pomme fruit and a stone fruit, how to judge the acidity of anything, from a cup of tea to a square of dark chocolate—and how understanding flavor can impact the way you understand the world.

A rich journey for the flavor-obsessed, this instant classic is both a practical guide and a sumptuous meditation on how to savor all things delicious—on the plate and in life.

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Sunday, June 25, 2023

Pete and Alice in Maine

 


                                        *free review copy* 


Title: Pete and Alice in Maine
Author: Caitlin Shetterly 
Publisher: Harper
Release Date7.4.23

Publisher’s Summary 
A powerful and beautifully written debut novel set against the backdrop of the chaotic spring of 2020 that intimately explores a fractured marriage and the struggles of modern parenthood. Reeling from a painful betrayal in her marriage as the Covid pandemic takes hold in New York City, Alice packs up her family and flees to their vacation home in Maine. She hopes to find sanctuary—from the uncertainties of the exploding pandemic and her faltering marriage. Putting distance between herself and the stresses and troubles of the city, Alice begins to feel safe and relieved. But the locals are far from friendly. Trapped and forced into quarantine by hostile neighbors, Alice sees the imprisoning structure of her life in his new predicament. Stripped down to the bare essentials of survival and tending to the needs of her two children, she can no longer ignore all the ways in which she feels limited and lost—lost in the big city, lost as a wife, lost as a mother, lost as a daughter and lost as a person. As the world shifts around her and the balance in her marriage tilts, Alice and her husband, Pete, are left to consider if what keeps their family safe is the same thing as what keeps their family together.

My Review
Any stories set in 2020 will have to reference the COVID-19 pandemic. The question is just how they will do it. Future readers may find the references informative but current readers will likely be divided. Some may yearn for these stories while others turn away. It's a divisive topic and can quickly enrage a reader depending on the trajectory of the story and the intentions of the author. In Pete and Alice in Maine, debut novelist Caitlin Shetterly focuses on a certain type of family that we vaguely heard about in the first days of national news coverage of the pandemic--the privileged city dwellers fleeing to their vacation homes. After struggling to get to their Maine home and dealing with their not-so-friendly neighbors the family looks at their time there as a bit of an adventure before the novelty wears off. Alice and Pete's marital problems are still present even if they've changed their geographical location. 

"We didn’t have time to talk or fight anything out. We couldn’t go to therapy. The kids were with us constantly. There was no space, or time, to fix what had been broken, even if it could be fixed."

While it's easy to dismiss this situation as "rich people problems," Alice is relatable in that she acknowledges her privilege of essentially sticking their head in the sand: 

"When I forget, I think Covid has leveled the playing field for all of us; then I remember that I have a second house, a husband making a pile, I’m not Black. I can afford to not know and not know and not know and not know."

I liked this novel and after reading some other reviews I learned the term "pandemic-lite." Yes, the pandemic is what has driven this family to flee to Maine, but the heart of the story is the shifting family dynamics. I also want to note that this is some of the most authentic young sibling rivalry writing I have ever read. I recommend this to lovers of Pineapple Street and readers who like character driven novels. 


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Thursday, June 22, 2023

Swipe Up for More!

 

 

                                        *free review copy* 


Title: Swipe Up for More!: Inside the Unfiltered Lives of Influencers
Author: Stephanie McNeal
Publisher: Portfolio
Release Date6.6.23

Publisher’s Summary 
An unfiltered, colorful romp through the IRL world of influencers that spills the tea on the multibillion-dollar industry of content creation.

If you’re anything like journalist Stephanie McNeal—aka, a millennial woman—you spend hours every day indulging in Instagram’s infinite scroll. The influencers on the platform aren’t just providing eye candy; these tastemakers impact how we cook, consume, parent, decorate, think, and live. But what exactly is going on behind the curtain of the perfectly curated Instagram grids we obsess over the most?

Through intimate, funny, and vulnerable reporting, McNeal takes us through the looking glass and into the secretive real world of three major fashion and lifestyle juggernaut Caitlin Covington of Southern Curls & Pearls, runner and advocate Mirna Valerio, and OG “mommy blogger” Shannon Bird. Swipe Up For More! is based on three years of unprecedented, fly-on-the-wall access that offers a rare glimpse into how these influencers build their empires, struggle with the haters and snarkers, fight for creative control from the tech platforms that enable their businesses, parent in public, and try to look good while doing it.

Along the way, McNeal answers burning questions, Why are there so many Mormon mommy influencers? What is it like to work for a popular influencer? What do they do with all the free swag? How do brand partnerships work? And how much money do they really make?

Irresistible, juicy, and voyeuristic, Swipe Up For More! reveals all about the women some love to hate (and many actually, secretly, genuinely love).

My Review
I am so thankful that in the last few years, several books have been released to showcase what is really going on behind the scenes with social media. Max Fisher's "The Chaos Machine" outlined the profit algorithms integrated into each platform, Sarah Frier gave a full history of Instagram in "No Filter," Sara Petersen showcased how the previously unseen and unpaid labor of motherhood is being commodified in "Momfluenced" and Emily Lynn Paulson revealed the tight connections between MLMs and influencers in "Hey, Hun."

Now, In "Swipe Up for More!: Inside the Unfiltered Lives of Influencers," Senior Glamour magazine editor Stephanie McNeal dives into those burning questions like "how much do influencers make?" and "how do those brand partnerships get set up?" The first 2/3 of the book focuses on several well-known bloggers/influencers, giving readers a bit of their histories including all the ups and downs. However, it was the last 1/3 of the book where McNeal drills down on the current and future obstacles of influencers that I found truly noteworthy. For instance, the public's relentless need for influencers to make instant comments about current events and how to responsibly feature, protect, and financially compensate children. 

If you are fascinated by influencers, interested in social media marketing, or want some insight on future consumer trends I suggest you add "Swipe Up for More!" to your reading list. 


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Monday, June 19, 2023

Find Yourself at Home

 


                                        *free review copy* 


Title: Find Yourself at Home: A Conscious Approach to Shaping Your Space and Your Life
Author: Emily Grosvenor
Publisher: Chronicle Prism
Release Date6.20.23

Publisher’s Summary 
Experience magical shifts in your life by redesigning your living space.

Home can be a space to explore your sense of self, a message board to cue your aspirational goals, and a story where you choose which parts of your past to put down and which to carry. In Find Yourself at Home , design journalist and interiors consultant Emily Grosvenor introduces her five steps to align your home to suit your purpose and your

Connect with the mystery and power of your home
Prepare your environment for your story
Discover design tools to cue your behavior
Bring your aspirations into your space
Take your purpose into the world

Drawing on ancient wisdom and modern science, along with examples from Grosvenor's groundbreaking research and work with clients, Find Yourself at Home is a philosophical and practical guide to making spatial shifts that will help you cultivate a more meaningful life by shaping your space so it shapes you back.

GREAT GIFT FOR HOME DÉCOR MAKEOVER AND FENG SHUI This is a great gift for people who are looking to rejuvenate their homes, and for those who love home makeover shows, marathoning HGTV shows, and bringing spiritualism and philosophy into their daily lives.

A FRESH TAKE ON HOME Many of us have decluttered, home-edited our pantries, tried minimalism, made our homes hygge, and chosen things that 'sparked joy.' Now it's time to shape our homes to reflect who we want to be and our purpose, to make every room align with the behaviors we want to create. This is for readers who are recognizing that our homes have become more than places to they are places for mystery, self-discovery, and empowerment.

FOR READERS WORKING FROM HOME/STARTING NEW For many of us, our homes are now also our offices. This is the perfect guide for anyone wanting to bring more of their aspirations, such as focus, creativity, and purpose, into their workspaces.

My (MINI) Review
Full of philosophy and feng shui, this home design book is heavy on text and light on graphics. Not exactly a "coffee table" book but I would definitely give it as a gift to a new homeowner. 

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Tuesday, June 13, 2023

Reproduction

      

                  *free review copy* 


Title: Reproduction
Author: Louisa Hall
Publisher: Ecco 
Release Date6.13.23

Publisher’s Summary 
A lucid, genre-defying novel that explores the surreality of pregnancy, childbirth, and motherhood in a country in crisis

A novelist attempts to write a book about Mary Shelley, author of Frankenstein, a mother and artist whose harrowing pregnancies reveal the cost of human reproduction. Soon, however, the novelist's own painful experiences of pregnancy and childbirth, as well as her increasing awareness of larger threats from climate change to pandemic, force her to give up on the book and turn instead to writing a contemporary Frankenstein, based on the story of an old friend who mysteriously reappears in her life.

In telling a story that ranges from pregnancy to miscarriage to traumatic birth, from motherhood to the frontiers of reproductive science, Louisa Hall draws powerfully from her own experiences, as well as the stories of two other women: Mary Shelley and Anna, a scientist and would-be parent who is contemplating the possibilities, and morality, of genetic modification.

Both devastating and joyful, elegant and exacting, Reproduction is a powerful reminder of the hazards and the rewards involved in creating new life, and a profoundly feminist exploration of motherhood, female friendship, and artistic ambition.

My Review
As an English and Women's Studies scholar, I have already dissected and analyzed the parallels of pregnancy and childbirth in Mary Shelley's life and famous fictional work, Frankenstein, but I wanted to see how author Louisa Hall would take these themes to the next level by applying them to a contemporary protagonist. However, the story failed to reach the scientific frontiers I was anticipating. There are also constant allusions and pointed references to "current" events (Brett Kavanaugh trial, California wildfires, etc) that were just depressing, but maybe that was the point. Some other readers' have labeled this as autofiction in their reviews and maybe if I would have known that going into my reading I would have been more forgiving. I will say that I think this book may be a point of reference for future scholars looking to understand this period of time in American history.   
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Sunday, June 11, 2023

The Mythmakers

 

                                        *free review copy* 


Title: The Mythmakers
Author: Keziah Weir
Publisher: S&S/ Marysue Rucci Books
Release Date6.13.23

Publisher’s Summary 
From an acclaimed senior editor at Vanity Fair comes an intoxicating debut novel about a young journalist who discovers a short story that’s inexplicably about her life—leading to an entanglement with the author’s widow, daughter, and former best friend.

Sal Cannon’s life is in shambles. Her relationship is crumbling, and her career in journalism hits a low point after it’s revealed that her profile of a playwright is full of inaccuracies. She’s close to rock-bottom when she reads a short story by Martin Keller: a much older author she met at a literary event years ago. Much to her shock, the story is about her and the moment they met. When Sal learns the story is excerpted from his unpublished novel, she reaches out to the story’s editor—only to learn that Martin is deceased. Desperate to leave her crumbling life behind and to read the manuscript from which the story was excerpted, Sal decides to find Martin’s widow, Moira.

Moira has made it clear that she doesn’t want to be contacted. But soon Sal is on a bus to Upstate New York, where she slowly but surely inserts herself into Moira’s life. Or is it the other way around? As Sal sifts through Martin’s papers and learns more about Moira, the question of muse and artist arises—again and again. Even more so when Martin’s daughter’s story emerges. Who owns a story? And who is the one left to tell it?

The Mythmakers is a nesting doll of a book that grapples with perspective and memory, as well as the battles between creative ambition and love. It’s a story about the trials and tribulations of finding out who you are, at any stage in your life, and how inspiration might find you in the strangest of places.

My Review
The publisher's provided summary of this novel labels it "a nesting doll of a book" and that is the most accurate description I can think of to package up this debut novel. The trajectory did not go along the routes I expected and that ended up being a major reading treat for me. I thought the story would stay focused on a single protagonist and her point of view, but the story ebbs out to include not only her best friend and boyfriend but also an author she becomes obsessed with and several of the people closest to him. The overarching themes of who owns a story and whose perspective is the truth make this a five-star read for me. However, there is a smaller storyline that felt incredibly forced and awkward. This pebble-in-my-shoe storyline drops my rating down to 4 stars--still great, but I found it to be a significant flaw. If you are a literary fiction lover, I recommend this. 
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Saturday, June 10, 2023

✨COOKBOOK SPOTLIGHT ✨The Hog Island Book of Fish & Seafood

 

                                        *free review copy* 


Title: The Hog Island Book of Fish & Seafood: Culinary Treasures from Our Waters
Author: Chef John Ash
Publisher: Abrams 
Release Date5.23.23

Publisher’s Summary 
From James Beard Award–winning chef and author John Ash, The Hog Island Book of Fish & Seafood takes a comprehensive dive into the world of cooking shellfish, crustaceans, finned fish, and many more.

Featuring favorites from the kitchens of Hog Island Oyster Bars and other talented chefs who have embraced the company’s sustainability ethos, this authoritative compendium showcases over 250 dishes from cuisines around the world, including regional favorites like San Francisco cioppino, Southern crayfish étouffée, and New England clam chowder. Presenting a wide variety of cooking methods—such as steaming, roasting, grilling, pan-frying, curing—along with illustrated techniques like shucking oysters, opening clams, and filleting fish, this comprehensive cookbook will guide you through the basics of seafood preparation. And the extensive list of sauces, butters, and seasonings will help you turn your choice of seafood into a stellar dish. The Hog Island Book of Fish & Seafood is a master class from an award-winning chef who shows home and professional cooks how to bring culinary gifts from the water to the table at their peak of perfection.


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Wednesday, June 7, 2023

The Forbidden Territory of a Terrifying Woman





                                         *free review copy* 


Title: The Forbidden Territory of a Terrifying Woman
Author: Molly Lynch
Publisher: Catapult 
Release Date6.13.23

Publisher’s Summary 
Fates and Furies meets Melancholia in this ominous and absorbing debut novel about marriage and motherhood in a time of ecological collapse, as mothers around the world begin to mysteriously vanish from their homes

Ada—a woman from Montreal living reluctantly in Michigan—vanishes from her bed one night while her husband Danny is asleep beside her, her young son, Gilles, in the next room. Desperate to locate Ada before Gilles understands what has happened, Danny begins a search. But the feds are already involved: across the country and around the world, mothers are vanishing from their homes.

Where did Ada go? What has she gone through? And how does the mystery relate to the forest that she seemed magnetically drawn to?
Confronting the role of motherhood and the meaning of home in the wreckage of capitalism and climate change, The Forbidden Territory of a Terrifying Woman is that rare, dazzling debut that is both thrilling and profound. It is a mystery, a play on myths of metamorphosis, and above all, a story of love—between husband and wife, mother and child—deeply troubled by the future we face.

My Review
This was a *weird* one. I held off on reading any other reviews until I finished because I didn't want any big *aha* moments or "twists" to be revealed to me and I'm not going to reveal too much in my review. This is not a traditional story so if you are someone who likes all the answers delivered in a nice, tied-up ending, this isn't the book for you. I've used this term a lot lately but this book has a "fever dream" quality. Part dystopia, part metaphor, I would label this one as an "ecofeminist fever dream." Author Molly Lynch very skillfully wove a story about motherhood and climate change that was both relatable and unsettling. I initially thought I'd give this novel 4 stars because I wanted a little something *more* at the end, but I couldn't stop thinking about it. After rolling it around in my mind for a few days, I realized Lynch's intended effect and bumped it up to 5 stars. 
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Tuesday, June 6, 2023

✨SPOTLIGHT✨ You Were Always Mine


                                         *free review copy* 


Title: You Were Always Mine
Author: Christine Pride, Jo Piazza
Publisher: Atria
Release Date6.13.23

Publisher’s Summary 
The acclaimed authors of the “emotional literary roller coaster” ( The Washington Post ) and Good Morning America book club pick We Are Not Like Them return with this moving and provocative novel about a Black woman who finds an abandoned white baby, sending her on a collision course with her past, her family, and a birth mother who doesn’t want to be found.

Cinnamon Haynes has fought hard for a life she never thought was possible—a good man by her side, a steady job as a career counselor at a local community college, and a cozy house in a quaint little beach town. It may not look like much, but it’s more than she ever dreamed of or what her difficult childhood promised. Her life’s mantra is to be good, quiet, grateful. Until something shifts and Cinnamon is suddenly haunted by a terrifying “Is this all there is?”

Daisy Dunlap has had her own share of problems in her nineteen years on earth—she also has her own big dreams for a life that’s barely begun. Her hopes for her future are threatened when she gets unexpectedly pregnant. Desperate, broke, and alone, she hides this development from everyone close to her and then makes a drastic decision with devastating consequences.

Daisy isn’t the only one with something to hide. When Cinnamon finds an abandoned baby in a park and takes the blonde-haired, blue-eyed newborn into her home, the ripple effects of this decision risk exposing the truth about Cinnamon’s own past, which she’s gone to great pains to portray as idyllic to everyone…even herself.

As Cinnamon struggles to contain old demons, navigate the fault lines that erupt in her marriage, and deal with the shocking judgments from friends and strangers alike about why a woman like her has a baby like this, her one goal is to do right by the child she grows more attached to with each passing day. It’s the exact same conviction that drives Daisy as she tries to outrun her heartache and reckon with her choices.

These two women, unlikely friends and kindred spirits must face down their secrets and trauma and unite for the sake of the baby they both love in their own unique way when Daisy’s grandparents, who would rather die than see one of their own raised by a Black woman, threaten to take custody.

Once again, these authors bring their “empathetic, riveting, and authentic” (Laura Dave, New York Times bestselling author) storytelling to an unforgettable novel that revolves around provocative and timely questions about race, class, and motherhood. Is being a mother a right, an obligation, or a privilege? Who gets to be a mother? And to whom? And what are we willing to sacrifice for the sake of marriage, friendship, and our dreams?


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Monday, June 5, 2023

✨SPOTLIGHT✨ Uncommon Kitchens


                                         *free review copy* 


Title: Uncommon Kitchens: A Revolutionary Approach to the Most Popular Room in the House
Author: Sophie Donelson
Publisher: Abrams
Release Date5.23.23

Publisher’s Summary 
From the former editor in chief of House Beautiful , a vividly fresh collection of personality-filled kitchen designs and remodeling wisdom from innovators, designers, and creative thinkers

The past few years have made us all want to rethink our living spaces, particularly our kitchens. Our inner voices are saying, “You spend a lot of time in this room. Shouldn’t it feel more like you?”

Now it can. In Uncommon Kitchens , Sophie Donelson, the former editor in chief of House Beautiful , revolutionizes traditional kitchen design with a bevy of inventive ideas for makeovers both large and small. The kitchen is designed unlike any other room in the house, but that doesn’t mean you have to be hemmed in by tradition. Donelson takes a rule-breaking approach, mixing and layering styles, colors, furnishings, and layouts to make even well-trodden kitchens vividly fresh. Drawing on advice and up-to-the-minute projects from designers such as Frances Merrill, Jaqui Seerman, Victoria Sass, and many more, each personality-filled chapter is packed with liberating designs that will change your thinking about the tried-and-true kitchen.

Learn from DIYers, Instagrammers, and design experts including Nate McBride, Justina Blakeney, and Athena Calderone. Be inspired by innovators such as MK Quinlan and James Coviello. Uncommon Kitchens is a collection of imaginative new spaces that will make you a quick DIY convert, packed with indispensable tips to help you revolutionize your kitchen.

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