Quote of the Day, Tacoma Grand Opening of Grit City Books, The Hunting Wives on TV, Gerwig Directs Chronicles of Narnia, The Book Proposal by KJ Micciche, The Stand-In by Lily Chu, The Spy and I by Tiana Smith, and All The Inn's A Stage by Roseanna White

Welcome to the second week of May, and the week after Mother's Day!  My mother developed my love of reading by reading to me nearly every evening from the moment that she brought me home. I was so enchanted by the stories that she read that I was excited to learn to read myself, and I did by the time I was 4. I've been a bibliophile ever since. So thanks, Mom, for getting me started down the path of the book dragon!

 

Quotation of the Day

'Independent Bookshops Really Become Community Hubs'

"So, I work as an editor at Penguin Classics. I've been in publishing

for quite a long time. And before I worked in publishing, I worked as a

bookseller.... And as a result, I experienced firsthand the way that

independent bookshops really become community hubs.

"I have very fond memories of the many customers we used to have, who

knew that this place was a safe place for them. They knew they could

come here, they could talk to people, they could browse the books that

they'd accepted as part of this community. And I don't think I would be

anywhere near as good an editor, and by extension writer, if I hadn't

worked in bookshops for many, many years. I'm very glad I did."

--Kaliane Bradley

 

Tacoma's Grit City Books Celebrates Grand Opening 

Grit City Books https://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/x/pjJscQmPk70I6a8zJR4jGg~k1yJoKXv-hs8x6nOXZL1poMLg-gVdw, which began as an online bookstore last fall, celebrated the grand opening

on Saturday of its new physical storefront at 3116 Sixth Ave. in Tacoma,

Wash. Co-founders Jeff Hanway, Kegan Hanway, and Kaitlin Chandler want

their store to be "a bookworm's dream--a mecca for curious minds."

"To say we are grateful is an understatement. The love we felt yesterday

was immeasurable. (I'm pretty sure we cried multiple times). We will be

back Tuesday with new releases and hopefully some fully stocked shelves!

Tacoma, we love you. We are so excited for our future."

This series sounds intriguing, so I'm looking forward to seeing it, especially since my favorite actress from This Is Us, Chrissy Metz, is starring in the show. 

 

TV: The Hunting Wives

Karen Rodriguez (Swarm), Michael Aaron Milligan (Outer Banks), and

Hunter Emery (Orange Is the New Black) have been cast in recurring roles

for the upcoming Starz series The Hunting Wives https://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/x/pjJscQmMk-gI6a80dRl1GQ~k1yJoKXv-hs8x6nOXpKgpoMLg-gVdw, Deadline reported. Rebecca Cutter adapted May Cobb's 2021 novel for the project, with production currently underway in Charlotte, N.C.

Starring Brittany Snow and Malin Kerman, the project's cast also

includes Dermot Mulroney, Evan Jonigkeit, Chrissy Metz, Jaime Ray

Newman, Katie Lowes, and George Ferrier. Showrunner Cutter executive

produces with Cobb and 3 Arts' Erwin Stoff.

Not that I felt that the past adaptations of CON by the wonderful CS Lewis were bad, because they weren't, but I'm excited to see what Greta Gerwig does with a classic book series that had an inherent strain of misogyny woven into it via Lewis's love of traditional Christianity. The first time I read this series I didn't even realize that it was full of Christian allegory. It took me another read-through to see that Aslan was a stand in for Jesus Christ. Even then, I much preferred the books without all the religious pandering. But, again, I think Gerwig will find a way to bypass all of that and bring a fresh and modern perspective to the stories.

 

Greta Gerwig to Direct New Adaptation of THE CHRONICLES OF NARNIA

 

Greta Gerwig — director of movies like 2023’s hit Barbie, Little Women, and Lady Bird — will direct a new film series that adapts C.S. Lewis children’s classic The Chronicles of Narnia.

This latest adaptation has a bit of stank surrounding it, though — Netflix and Gerwig are both very aware of the failures of past adaptions of the books, and are eager to avoid them. Gerwig has listed acquiring new talent for the cast as one way to keep the new adaptation feeling fresh. She’s only onboard for two out of a possible five movies, though, so only time will tell what happens to the film franchise as a whole. Filming is currently set to start in August this year, and is expected to last for seven months.

 

The Book Proposal by KJ Micciche is a rom-com novel that I got for a low price on my Kindle. I don't think I've read a book in the past couple of years that made me laugh as hard as this one did. Of course, there were sad moments, too, but the witty banter was top notch, and the prose sparkled along the zingy plot. Here's the blurb:
Broke up with, broke, and with a vicious case of writer's block, romance writer Gracie Landing is a hot mess. She can hardly be blamed for drinking one (or a few) too many cocktails when out with her besties in an attempt to cheer herself up. Sometime in the foggy wee hours, she recklessly emails her unrequited high-school crush, Colin Yarmouth, who is now a successful attorney harboring regrets of his own. When she receives an intriguingly friendly (not to say flirty) response, her acute embarrassment is overcome only by her fervent curiosity—what would a hottie like Colin be like as a grown up? The two forge an unlikely friendship that's unmistakably headed for more. Colin's tales of his own woeful break-up become fodder for Gracie's fertile imagination and her current work-in-progress takes off. With the deadline looming and her checking account dwindling, Gracie has no idea that borrowing Colin's story could wreak havoc on her life, her career, and her own chance at happily-ever-after.

This novel rang a lot of bells for me, personally, and I'd imagine that I'm not the only one, as who among us hasn't wanted to reconnect with our high school crush, even though it is most likely not going to work...people grow up, get married, start families, etc.That's why I found it hard to believe that both Gracie and Colin are in a place where they can feel free to renew their romance. I also found it difficult to believe that Gracie would forgive Colin for literally destroying her life, both professionally and personally, all because he's handsome and she's lonely. I dislike the trope of women losing all common sense and control when they encounter a handsome and available man. Colin uses Gracie for his revenge against his ex, thereby destroying her career, and somehow he thinks just saying "Oh gosh, I'm sorry" will make everything okay between them again. Gracie also loses her home, and is left doubting that she will ever be able to write and sell a book again. WHY do we let men use and abuse us, as women, and then go crawling back even when they've destroyed our lives? It's misogynistic and I'm tired of reading about women who initially have spines, suddenly losing it when romance is afoot. All that said, the first half of this book is freaking hilarious. Grace is amazing, funny and smart. She's worth the price of the book alone. I'd give it an A, and recommend it to anyone who has ever fantasized about "the one who got away" in high school.

The Stand-In by Lily Chu is a YA romantic comedy that combines the delightful attributes of Crazy Rich Asians with the classic "Prince and the Pauper" trope in a new and interesting way. Here's the blurb:

"The Stand-In is a charming, engaging rom com that drips in glamour and sparkles with banter. Chu's exploration of multi-racial identity was resonant and nuanced. The Stand-In is truly a stand out romance." — author Andie J. Christopher

Gracie Reed was just fired by her overly "handsy" boss at the worst possible moment. She's been scraping together every extra dollar to get her mother into a top-notch memory care center. To make matters worse, a paparazzo has mistaken her for a famous Chinese actress in town for a new project and the resulting snapshot's gone viral. Gracie's barely holding it all together...until a mysterious SUV rolls up beside her on the street, and she's offered the opportunity of a lifetime.

Gracie can't believe what she's hearing: due to their uncanny resemblance, gorgeous actress Wei Fangli wants Gracie to be her stand-in. The catch? Gracie will have to be escorted by Sam Yao, the other half of Chinese cinema's infamous golden couple. Problem is, Sam is the most attractive—and infuriating—man Gracie's ever met.

But if it means getting the money she needs for her mother, Gracie's in. Soon Gracie moves into a world of luxury she never knew existed. But resisting her attraction to Sam, and playing the role of an elegant movie star, proves more difficult than she ever imagined—especially when she learns the real reason Fangli so desperately needs to step out of the spotlight. In the end all the effort in the world won't be able to help Gracie keep up this elaborate ruse without losing herself...and her heart.

As with many of the romantic comedy or romantasy books I've read lately, the male protagonist is heart-stoppingly gorgeous on the outside, but a real piece of crap person on the inside. I just do not understand how a smart and lovely young woman can be so shallow as to fall in love with said guy, when he treats her, and most other women in his life like garbage. He even makes a point of telling her that he's "acting" (ie pretending) to be attracted to her, and that he felt,from the start, that the whole "stand in" idea was a bad one that would cause more trouble than it was worth...and he's not wrong. But Gracie falls in love with the wealthy lifestyle about as hard as she falls for Sam, so she's shallow in two ways. That she's using her money to take care of her mother, who has alzheimers, is played down. But her mother is only demented for as long as it takes to reveal the "secret" that was evident from the first 1/3rd of the book, that Gracie and Fangli are actually half-sisters, which is why they look so much alike. There's a sloppy HEA ending, but the whole book left a bad taste in my mouth. Still, the prose was elegant and the plot muscled its way along, so I'd give this novel a B-, and recommend it to those who like the Kardashians and other "reality" TV shows about obscenely rich and stupid women misbehaving.

 

The Spy and I by Tiana Smith is an action/adventure romance that uses some tropes from romcom movies, like Mr and Mrs Smith to help readers understand what's going on in the story and how things are likely to end. Here's the blurb:

Right place. Wrong person. After a case of mistaken identity, one woman must work with her sister’s sexy spy partner to save the world in this heart-pounding romantic comedy.

The first thing to know about Dove Barkley is that, even though she works as a cyber security analyst, she is one hundred percent not an undercover CIA operative. But when a group of bad guys mistake her for her super-spy sister (news to her!), Dove gets roped into a dangerous government mission that she’d very much rather be left out of, thank you.

Too bad Mendez, the man who claims to be her sister’s partner, says she's in too deep to back out now. He’s smart, capable, and has a body almost distracting enough to make Dove forget about the team of trained assassins after her.

Dove has information that can help prevent a national tragedy, but there’s mounting evidence that Mendez might not be who he claims. More importantly, she's running out of time to save her sister. Because the last thing Dove wants is for either of them to go out with a bang.

This is another case of the 'weak' sister being mistaken for the strong sister with a secret life as a spy. It's also another one of those romances where the female protagonist goes gaga over the extremely handsome male protagonist, though he is pretty much a jerk to her for most of the novel. Of course the weak sister, aptly named "Dove" turns out to have hidden strength when she needs it, and she saves the day, gets her sister out of trouble and gets the man, (who of course prefers the traditionally feminine, blonde and weak sister to the tough sister with 10 percent body fat and a gun whom he can't push around) so all's well that ends well. It remains a mystery how a smart and sane woman can lose all common sense when they're faced with a handsome guy. So what if he's good looking! He might be anything from abusive to an insane serial killer for all you know, but I guess as long as he's beautiful to look at, all is forgiven and forgotten?! Really? I'd give this novel a B, and recommend it to those who like action movies and women who find their inner bad-ass.

 

All The Inn's a Stage by Roseanna White is a "Guideposts" book that I found at a thrift store, and I didn't realize it was a Christian mystery until I'd read the first 40 pages, and since it's such a short book, I figured I might as well finish it. Here's the blurb: Janice and her friends agree to host Heidi's traveling theater company. They didn't know how involved they would have to be though. Soon fog machines etc start to fail. A rival theater's flyers start to end up all of the place. harry gives the Inn a box of books that also contains part of a script.

The prose here is pretty "paint by numbers" and there's  way too much time spent on praying for help and waiting for Christian values to prevail (such as forgiveness and praying through misunderstandings), and less spent on finding who is causing problems for the protagonists and holding them responsible for their actions. The plot inevitably magically works out in the Innkeepers favor, and we're also supposed to be awed by her housekeeping skills, as well as cooking, cleaning and caring for a child, all things traditionally granted as a woman's purview. But there's no misogyny here, as these women are happy to be slaves to the "ideal" Christian woman who keeps house and bears children and takes care of the men in their lives. Blech...how utterly boring. It's all very cozy and easy reading, something your grandmother might enjoy. I'd give it a C, and only recommend it to women over the age of 75.