Book Club Reviews & Menus (Month 6) – See what I’ve been reading this month and check out a sample menu to enjoy with your friends at your next book club meeting.  I am always looking for new recommendations and would love to hear what YOU are currently reading…please leave a comment with your favorite suggestions!  Click here to subscribe and receive next month’s reviews sent directly to your inbox!

Here’s to Us | by Elin Hildenbrand

I always  turn to Elin Hildenbrand when I’m looking for a good beach read or am in the mood to read as an escape.  Of all her books, this might be one of my favorites….possibly because it includes some really fabulous sounding recipes!  The story surrounds the three ex-wives of a celebrity chef who has unexpectedly passed away.  As in all Hildenbrand books, plenty of familial and romantic drama ensues.  You’re going to have to read the book to get the recipes!  Cool side note…one of my favorite food bloggers, Jessica from How Sweet Eats, is responsible for developing two of the recipes in this book.  Um Hello, Dream Job!!! 

The Lake House | by Kate Morton

Definitely my favorite of all the books I read this summer!  I am now officially hooked on this author and am slowly making my way through all of her books (see next month’s selections!)  I love a big fat book with lots of suspense, a historical setting, and interesting characters.  This book is a classic page turner with all the good stuff.  Highly recommend if you are a lover of historical fiction and mysteries.

Circling the Sun | by Paula McLain

I was such a huge fan of Paula McLain’s first book, The Paris Wife, I couldn’t wait to read her newest novel.  This book is based on the true story of Beryl Markham, who was a record-setting female aviator in the 1920s.  Unbeknownst to many, she was also part of a love triangle involving the 2 main characters in the memoir, Out of Africa.  Beryl was a woman way ahead of her time in Colonial Kenya.  I loved this story for the inspirational main character and lyrical descriptions of the landscape.  If you enjoyed Out of Africa, you need to check out this book!   

Next Month’s Selections:

A Dark, Dark Wood | by Ruth Ware

Amazon Description: What should be a cozy and fun-filled weekend deep in the English countryside takes a sinister turn in Ruth Ware’s suspenseful, compulsive, and darkly twisted psychological thriller.  When reclusive writer Leonora is invited to the English countryside for a weekend away, she reluctantly agrees to make the trip. But as the first night falls, revelations unfold among friends old and new, an unnerving memory shatters Leonora’s reserve, and a haunting realization creeps in: the party is not alone in the woods.

The Secret Keeper | by Kate Morton

Amazon Description: During a picnic at her family’s farm in the English countryside, sixteen-year-old Laurel Nicolson witnesses a shocking crime, a crime that challenges everything she knows about her adored mother, Dorothy. Now, fifty years later, Laurel and her sisters are meeting at the farm to celebrate Dorothy’s ninetieth birthday. Realizing that this is her last chance to discover the truth about that long-ago day, Laurel searches for answers that can only be found in Dorothy’s past. Clue by clue, she traces a secret history of three strangers from vastly different worlds thrown together in war-torn London—Dorothy, Vivien, and Jimmy—whose lives are forever after entwined. A gripping story of deception and passion, The Secret Keeper will keep you enthralled to the last page.

Station Eleven | by Emily St. John Mandel

Amazon Description: Kirsten Raymonde will never forget the night Arthur Leander, the famous Hollywood actor, had a heart attack on stage during a production of King Lear. That was the night when a devastating flu pandemic arrived in the city, and within weeks, civilization as we know it came to an end. Twenty years later, Kirsten moves between the settlements of the altered world with a small troupe of actors and musicians. They call themselves The Traveling Symphony, and they have dedicated themselves to keeping the remnants of art and humanity alive. But when they arrive in St. Deborah by the Water, they encounter a violent prophet who will threaten the tiny band’s existence. And as the story takes off, moving back and forth in time, and vividly depicting life before and after the pandemic, the strange twist of fate that connects them all will be revealed.

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