Welcome to Litsy!

I‘m not much of an alcohol drinker. The book is still worth it. It has other recipes. The author was a chief/baker at Chez Panisse in the 90s before he moved to France to write.

This is a hard one to sum up - it‘s about a marriage that is falling apart after the individual‘s dreams don‘t work out the way they hoped. The characters are well drawn, but it took so long for the book to get moving. I had to switch from print to audio to keep me reading in time for our book group discussion. #wickedwords : bet, school

I enjoyed this intimate look at the “peak of the storm“ of a couple's marriage set within the backdrop of an actual winter storm. It definitely has the atmosphere of time stopping a chance to pause and reflect, which they do with multiple flashbacks. I didnt mind the shifting in POV especially because the narrators changed for the audio. I liked and understood most of the subplots but maybe not Tripp's?

Okay, I liked this book overall. I liked the chopping and changing between Jess and Mal, and how it biased whom I had empathy or sympathy with. But the subplots were odd. I'm not sure they were really necessary?
Good ending too.

I missed a full Bingo by about 75 pages. 😬 There's always this month!

This story was so relatable to me. Like Jess, I'm a lawyer in my early 40s. We even have the same maiden name! And though my issue wasn't necessarily infertility, my husband and I wanted kids but it didn't happen for us for other reasons, and we both had to process that and grieve the what could have beens in our own way and time, and that puts a strain on a marriage. Keane writes beautiful novels with such realistically flawed characters.

#Wardens2024 #ReadAway2024 #BookSpinBingo #ReadMyRoom #SeriesLove2024

A trilogy finish that‘s been on my tbr & physical shelves for way too long. Because it‘s been years😬since I read the preceding instalments so, this was basically read as a stand alone. I very much enjoyed it as much as the others. Strong characters with zing to go with a great storyline.

Oof, this is a tough review to write as it‘s very close to home. Keane writes about the world I grew up in and it‘s almost eerie how familiar it is. My dad has been a Queens bar owner my whole life and she really nabs the challenges of the restaurant industry, down to its shady dealings and side hustles. Even more personally, she captures the desolation of IVF and its impact on relationships in a way I haven‘t read before. Highly recommend. #botm

So torn! I found the writing here compelling but for the first half of the book was just epically frustrated by Jess and Malcolm - a married couple who didn‘t seem to communicate at all - then I realised despite myself I had been drawn in and raced to the end ! Book 4 for #outstandingoctober @Andrew65