Monday, January 14, 2013

Review: Vanity Fare A Novel of Lattes, Literature, and Love




Vanity Fare: A Novel of Lattes, Literature, and Love by Megan Caldwell
Genre: Chick-Lit
Pages: 400 (paperback)
Source: TLC Book Tours
Author's WebsiteTwitter | Facebook
Buy it: Amazon | Kindle | B&N | Book Depo

Description:
A charming novel about a 40-year-old Brooklyn mother, recently divorced, who starts writing copy for a bakery, discovers a knack for food-related literary puns, and becomes entangled in a love triangle.

Molly Hagan is overwhelmed.

Her husband left her for a younger, blonder woman, her six year-old son is questioning her authority, and now, so is she. In order to pay her Brooklyn rent and keep her son supplied with Pokemon and Legos-not to mention food and clothing-she has to get a job. Fast.

So when an old friend offers Molly a copywriting position at a new bakery, finding romance is just about the last thing on her mind. But the sexy British pastry chef who's heading up the bakery has other thoughts. And so does Molly when she meets the chef's intimidating business partner-who also happens to have a secret that might prevent Molly from getting her own Happily Ever After.

My Rating:


My Review:
Molly's life is a mess.  Her husband leaves her for a younger woman, loses his job and informs her that he won't be able to pay child support.  Her mother is in financial trouble and forced to move in with Molly and her son.  She needs a job.  Fast.  While looking for a permanent job, she finds a temporary copy-writing job working on a project with a big celebrity chef and his somber partner.  On top of these problems, Molly has insecurities and worries brought on by her husband and years of not speaking up for herself.  Molly soon finds that as long as she has her coffee and her son, she's prepared to face her problems.

There were so many things done incredibly well with this book and few things that just bugged the heck out of me.  All in all, Molly really grew on me and found myself able to just sit back and enjoy.  Oh and did you see this cover and caption?  It's so cute.  That alone made me want to set aside a whole afternoon to read this book and drink coffee.  If that isn't enough, there are cute catchy book/bakery puns that were quite adorable.  I loved them.  However, the story didn't quite match the vibe that I was expecting based on the cover and packaging.   I didn't find Molly that funny or witty and there were a few contradictions to her character that I just didn't get.  The funny/witty moments were there but many just fell flat for me.  But that little disappointment aside, this was good read.  Molly experienced so much growth and grew into a confident person.  Her interactions with her son was cute and seemed real to life.  Plus, the romance was super cute.  It made me smile and feel all warm inside.  Just like coffee.  I also liked how the book ended.  It threw a huge surprise out but seemed more realistic.  The side characters were likable and fun, though a bit one-dimensional.  I enjoyed learning about their conflicts and resolutions.  

Overall, not what I expected but well worth the read.

P.S.  I was quite impressed with the overall vision of this book (geeky I know).  I felt like there was a common theme from the front cover all the way through to the description.  While I'm not doing flips over the story, I don't think I would give this book away.  It's a keeper and I want it in my library.


Blog Widget by LinkWithin

16 comments:

  1. That doesn't make you geeky at all (or at least not a bad geeky LOL)! It sounds like this book did at least meet most of your expectations :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It really did. The difficult part is that Molly is supposed to be a big romance reader but...some of her comments as a reader just didn't seem right. But it really wasn't a big deal. This cover is so adorable, who wouldn't get excited about books, coffee, and love?!

      Delete
  2. I'm thinking I should try this one. Thanks for your honesty.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Alexis, thanks for taking the time to read and post your thoughts on Vanity Fare! I'm thrilled to be on your keeper shelf.

    Megan Frampton (w/a Megan Caldwell)

    ReplyDelete
  4. I feel exactly 50/50 after your review. I know that if something bugs you a little bit, it will be a deal breaker end of the world for me because I'm such an all or nothing reader. On the other hand, if you are going to keep it, then maybe I should read it. I'll continue to brew on this one (get it?).

    ReplyDelete
  5. Glad you were able to enjoy this one despite the few things that kind of bugged you about it. You have me curious about the characters and the growth of the MC. And I hope the husband gets it in the end.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Thanks for this review. I actually wanted to read this book mostly because of the cover! Lol :-)I may have to really consider reading it this year.

    Tamara @ Shelf Addiction

    ReplyDelete
  7. It sounds like something I would enjoy, actually.
    Which is funny because those things you mention - the contradictions in her character and that it wasn't always as funny as it was meant to be - would usually bug me, but it just sounds so cute!

    ReplyDelete
  8. I DO love it when the book cover matches everything inside so well. :)

    Thanks for being on the tour!

    ReplyDelete
  9. Sounds like a pretty cute book overall... although I have to say I'm biased and tend to stay away from adult books featuring characters in their 40's. It's just easier for me to relate to younger characters most of the time.

    ReplyDelete

I absolutely LOVE all comments! So please feel free to chime in with your thoughts, questions, opinions, or whatever else you have to say.

Don't forget to check back as I reply to comments. Dialogue is good right?

09 10