It’s a memoir weekend for “American Saturdays” and believe me, it won’t be happening again for some time. I’ve definitely gotten my fill over the last few weeks. Eat Pray Love is actually a book I have now attempted at least a couple of times to complete. I did accomplish my goal this time, thankfully. My primary reason for trying this time was the upcoming movie release here in the United States on 13 August 2010. I’m still not sure I will see the movie, but I’m glad I was able to read through the book.

Elizabeth Gilbert’s journey is mapped by her travels to three completely different countries: Italy, India, and Indonesia. She initially starts by drastically, and without little explanation, leaving her husband and starting an affair with another man. Quickly, after her divorce is settled and she has started to slip away from her newest relationship she makes the decision to escape her troubles by eating, praying and loving in these foreign lands. Her discovery and path is explored all while finding her sense of self is undeniably tied to her relationship to her version of God.

From the beginning of Eat Pray Love I had a difficult time getting through it, as I said, this is my second attempt. One of the first acts of the book happens to be her announcement of her desire to divorce her husband at the time. Without any explanation at all, other than the fact that she doesn’t want children and she doesn’t see herself as a mother. This was difficult for me to swallow, there are many people today who marry and never have children, but yet are happy with their lives. If I could have changed anything about the book it would be to know even a glimpse of why she left her husband, because as it stands, all I could think of was that she was a completely selfish person and it continued through the entire book.

The negative selfish point aside, there was still much to be gleaned from Eat Pray Love. Her desire to find purpose in life and truly know her path is enviable. If only we all had the time to focus as much as she did. On her path, while in India, she meets a strong Texan who quickly nicknames her “Groceries” because she can eat more than anyone he’s seen in some time. The Texan is by far my favorite person she meets. His advice about opening your mind and letting go of all the questions you have, is one of the best bits of conversation I’ve read in a book in quite a long time. As she finally takes the words in and allows herself to change she starts to feel more comfortable with herself and the world.

Eat Pray Love isn’t a book I’d recommend to everyone I know. It’s difficult to get past the selfishness and gluttony she gorges herself on throughout the book. There are many occasions I caught myself rolling my eyes at her lack of ability to appreciate her incredible circumstances and embrace her opportunities. But there are still incredible moments for those seeking a bit of enlightenment and can overlook her desperately human qualities.

I’m still at a loss for exactly why Gilbert’s story has become so popular in the US, but for those not interested in reading the book there is always the movie. Take a look at the trailer, is this a story you think you’d rather watch on the big screen than read in the pages of a book?

A luminous, tender-hearted debut novel about a young widow, a nine-year-old girl, and a baking contest that will change both their lives.

Rose-Ellen (“Zell”) Carmichael Roy wears her late husband Nick’s camouflage apron even when she’s not in the kitchen. That’s her widow style.

It’s been over a year since Nick died tragically during a post-Katrina relief mission in New Orleans. Long enough, according to the grief pamphlets, to have begun to move on with her life. But Zell is still unable to enter her attic, which is full of Nick memories. She hasn’t even turned on her oven because cooking was Nick’s chore. That is, until she decides to enter the first annual Desserts that Warm the Soul baking contest, hoping to donate the grand prize to Katrina survivors in Nick’s memory.

Meanwhile, Zell’s nine-year-old neighbor, Ingrid Knox, is learning to cope with the loneliness of growing up without a mother. With an imagination as big as her heart, Ingrid treasures her doting father but begins to plot how she will meet the woman who abandoned her so many years ago. When an embarrassing baking mishap brings Zell and Ingrid together, they form an unlikely friendship that will alter both of their lives forever. Together, and with the help of a lively and loveable cast of friends and family, Zell and Ingrid embark on winning the Desserts that Warm the Soul contest – and learn that through the many sorrows and joys of life, with a little bit of flour and a pinch of love, anything is possible.

The Liars’ Club brought to vivid, indelible life Mary Karr’s hardscrabble Texas childhood. Cherry, her account of her adolescence, “continued to set the literary standard for making the personal universal” (Entertainment Weekly). Now Lit follows the self-professed blackbelt sinner’s descent into the inferno of alcoholism and madness—and to her astonishing resurrection.

Karr’s longing for a solid family seems secure when her marriage to a handsome, Shakespeare-quoting blueblood poet produces a son they adore. But she can’t outrun her apocalyptic past. She drinks herself into the same numbness that nearly devoured her charismatic but troubled mother, reaching the brink of suicide. A hair-raising stint in “The Mental Marriott,” with an oddball tribe of gurus and saviors, awakens her to the possibility of joy and leads her to an unlikely faith. Not since Saint Augustine cried, “Give me chastity, Lord—but not yet!” has a conversion story rung with such dark hilarity.

Lit is about getting drunk and getting sober; becoming a mother by letting go of a mother; learning to write by learning to live. Written with Karr’s relentless honesty, unflinching self-scrutiny, and irreverent, lacerating humor, it is a truly electrifying story of how to grow up—as only Mary Karr can tell it.

It’s almost impossible to believe that someone could rise out of the ashes of the broken home Mary Karr came from. Her upbringing and early home life left absolutely nothing to the imagination. From parents who can’t seem to help themselves enough to help their own children, to the eventual replication in her own life and motherhood, Mary Karr’s story is gripping. A not-so-feel-good, but yet triumphant journey that proves anything is possible.

I need to start by saying that memoirs are generally not my thing, and not always something I equate with the standard definition of “Chick Lit”. But in the way that chick lit can often inspire and motivate you in ways you never thought of, Lit – as a memoir, does just that. After I finished reading it, I truly looked back at my own life and reflected that I had had things very easy. Where I had parents who truly cared for my well-being in a loving way, Mary Karr had a mother who joined in and advocated frequent drug & alcohol binges. Where I had opportunity without question, Mary had a questionable requirement for something as simple as a college recommendation. How do you pull yourself out of all that? That’s exactly what Lit is all about. Her struggle to overcome the imprint of the mother that she once had, who nearly destroys her with every drink and drug usage.

Miraculously, Mary meets a wonderful man, gets married and soon has a son. But unfortunately through the struggles that come with motherhood and her “reference material”, Mary settles back into a life of drunkenness. It’s by overcoming this shadow hanging over her head that she’s able to become the successful person she is today.

For me, personally, I was shocked to see how recklessly her parents handled her upbringing and even more so, that she has been able to become the person she is despite it all. Some of her experiences were almost too much for me to read, sexual assaults and a mother who shows up high to her daughter’s wedding. It was so difficult. I felt like so many of the people who tried to help Mary along the way, I just wanted to pick her up throughout the story and carry her to a safe place. Unfortunately, that’s not how life works. We all have struggles we have to overcome and would often like to have a “clean slate” to begin anew, but until we sort out the tragedies of our past we can’t move forward. No matter how many around us would like to step in and carry our burdens.

Mary Karr’s story is something I won’t soon forget. It’s inspiring and troubling all in one breathe. But definitely worth the read, especially if you love memoirs. Her writing is beautiful and somehow, the words seem to flow off the page and into your mind like water. This is one memoir you don’t want to miss.

I’d like to thank TLC Book Tours and the publisher, Harper Perennial for providing me with a copy for review! Thank you!

Rebecca Chance – Bad Girls – 5th August 2010

They met in rehab – but some of them had rather more therapy than they bargained for. Supermodel Amber Peters should have the world at her feet. But her secret addiction has led her down a dangerous path. Lap dancer Skye Ellwood is desperate to get out of the life she’s living, but has no idea how – until a client makes her an unusual proposition. Following an ultimatum from his fiance, A-list movie star Joe Jeffreys is finally heading to rehab to sort out his sex addiction – and save his squeaky-clean image. Spoiled daughter of a legendary rock god, Petal Gold is convinced she’s a huge star in waiting, and she’ll trample on anyone she thinks is standing in her way. Passion, jealousy, betrayal, revenge and scandal: during their tumultuous thirty days at Cascabel clinic, the lives of Amber, Skye, Joe and Petal will be transformed forever. But for one of them, the stakes could not be higher – or more dangerous.

Jo Rees – Forbidden Pleasures – 5th August 2010

From Las Vegas to Dubai, from Shanghai to London, the fatal pull of the gambling world stretches…

Savannah, pleasure-loving It Girl, wants to prove herself to her powerful, ruthless father Michael Hudson – until a terrible tragedy forces her to re-think her life. Lois, an ex-cop from the wrong side of the tracks, is now running the gambling business of Michael’s greatest rival, Roberto Enzo – and torn between the glamour and wealth of the casinos and the needs of her vulnerable young daughter.

Both women have to confront their pasts, discover new loves, and find out the really important things in life before the greed and corruption of their worlds consume them.

Tasmina Perry – Kiss Heaven Goodbye – 5th August 2010

A delicious cocktail of glittering escapism and gripping entertainment, KISS HEAVEN GOODBYE is Sunday Times Top Ten bestseller Tasmina Perry at her sizzling best… A hot summer. A private island. A dark secret… On the luxurious private island of Angel Cay, four privileged students toast the end of their exams, but one dark night will change their perfect lives for ever. As the friends move into their glamorous careers – fashion, music, politics – each tries to put the past behind them. But no matter how high their stars climb, they cannot escape the dreadful truth. And when the consequences of that fateful night finally catch up with them, for one of the four, there is a terrible price to be paid… From the sugar-white sands of the Bahamas to Australia’s Coral Sea; from London’s glittering society scene to the lavish decadence of Hollywood, Tasmina Perry travels the world and turns up the heat in her most spectacular novel yet…

Rupert James – Stepsisters – 5th August 2010

First they were strangers…Elizabeth Miller is a recent graduate, planning the perfect wedding to her charming fiance. As far as she’s concerned Rachel Barnes is a complete stranger. Only the fact that Elizabeth’s father has just married Rachel’s flighty mother, Anna, makes them related. Then they were family…Elizabeth doesn’t want to like her new stepsister but, annoyingly both she and her brother, Chris, find the pretty teenager charming. If she has to have a baby sister then at least Rachel is sweet, bright and talented. Now they’re enemies…Years later and the two women are no longer sisters, no longer speaking after a devastating betrayal ripped their new family apart. Now an actress, Rachel is dating a rock star and one role away from making it big in Hollywood. Elizabeth is a tabloid journalist, one who knows one too many secrets about Rachel’s past. And both women are about to discover that hell hath no fury like a stepsister scorned…

Rebecca Farnworth – A Funny Thing About Love – 5th August 2010

The funny thing about love is that just when you think you’ve got it sorted, it turns round and bites you on the behind. Which is exactly what’s happened to Carmen Miller. Her ex husband’s girlfriend is pregnant, her career as a comedy agent is going down the pan, she’s made a fool of herself with fellow agent Will Hunter, a man she’s fancied for ages, and to cap it all she has to move out of her flat. Surely things can’t get any worse.

Moving down to Brighton to write the TV comedy series that she’s always dreamed about, Carmen meets the divine Daniel. A man so gorgeous, she doesn’t even mind that he’s got long hair. It seems that Carmen’s life is on the up again. Until, that is…love bites again. It looks like Carmen’s back where she started. But could it be that love isn’t the problem? Maybe she’s just been choosing the wrong men.

Alexandra Potter – You’re The One That I Don’t Want – 5th August 2010

How do you know he’s The One?
Are you getting butterflies just thinking about him?
Have you dreamt of marrying him?
Do you just know?

When Lucy meets Nate in Venice, aged 18, she knows instantly he’s The One. And, caught up in the whirlwind of first love, they kiss under the Bridge of Sighs at sunset. Which – according to legend – will tie them together forever.

But ten years later, they’ve completely lost contact. That is, until Lucy moves to New York and the legend brings them back together. Again. And again. And again.

But what if Nate isn’t The One? How is she going to get rid of him? Because forever could be a very long time…A funny, magical romantic comedy about how finding The One doesn’t always have to mean happily ever after.

Sinead Moriarty – Pieces of my Heart – 5th August 2010

The modern woman is a Jill of all trades – wife, lover, mother, daughter, friend, fixer, boss … it’s never-ending. Ava is juggling a life that seems to have too many pieces. First, there are her chalk-and-cheese daughters, Alison the angel and Sarah the tearaway. Then there’s husband Paul. Unfortunately, he seems more interested in work than home – which might explain why her sex life is practically on life support. That certainly can’t be said about her Viagra-popping Dad, a loveable rogue who is determined to grow old disgracefully. She would envy her best friend Sally, sassy single singleton-about-town, if she didn’t know that behind her polished exterior Sally is as vulnerable as a kitten. Somewhere in there is Ava herself, trying to do her best for all of them but lately feeling like she’s running on empty. But that’s before she notices Alison is in deep trouble. Now she knows there’s no such thing as empty – not if she is to hold on to the most precious pieces of her heart …

Jennifer Weiner – Fly Away Home – 5th August 2010

Sylvie Woodruff has spent the last 30 or so years being the ideal politician’s wife and raising two daughters. When her world crashes down around her after a painful, public betrayal, she retreats to her grandmother’s rambling seaside home to wait for the scandal to blow over.

Sylvie’s eldest daughter, Diana, married out of friendship and respect, not love…then years later, finds herself falling for a most unsuitable man. When the affair ends badly, she sets off in search of a new beginning.

Lizzie, Diana’s younger sister, who caused her parents such heartache as a teenager, is finally getting her life together. When a summer fling leaves her pregnant, and her charming boyfriend turns violent, she too heads out of town.

Lucy-Anne Holmes – The (Im)Perfect Girlfriend – 6th August 2010

We kissed until it became necessary to stop so that we could breathe, by which time my lips were so swollen it looked like I’d been pleasuring a brillo pad. We grinned at each other again and I felt the urge to utter something brilliantly intellectual.‘Have I mentioned that I’m hopelessly in love with you?’

Actress Sarah Sargeant has finally landed the perfect boyfriend. But as she leaves London for LA, Sarah finds herself morphing from the perfect girlfriend, baby voicing ‘i love you’s, into a nutty one who throws phones and screams a lot.

Where did it all go wrong? Was it the photo of a semi-naked ex-girlfriend doing a downward dog she found in her boyfriend’s filofax? Or maybe it’s the steamy sex scene she films with the handsomest man in the world, ever. Laugh-out-loud funny and brutally honest, The (Im)Perfect Girlfriend is the story of one woman’s search for her happy ever after.  It is a novel that firmly establishes Lucy Anne Holmes as one of the best writers of romantic comedy today.

Lauren Weisberger – Last Night At Chateau Marmont – 19th August 2010

Heartbreak, headlines and Hermes – welcome to Brooke’s new world…

Brooke and Julian live a happy life in New York – she’s the breadwinner working two jobs and he’s the struggling musician husband. Then Julian is discovered by a Sony exec and becomes an overnight success – and their life changes for ever.

Soon they are moving in exclusive circles, dining at the glitziest restaurants, attending the most outrageous parties in town and jetting off to the trendiest hotspots in LA.

But Julian’s new-found fame means that Brooke must face the savage attentions of the ruthless paparazzi. And when a scandalous picture hits the front pages, Brooke’s world is turned upside down. Can her marriage survive the events of that fateful night at Chateau Marmont? It’s time for Brooke to decide if she’s going to sink or swim…

Sasha Blake – The Wish – 19th August 2010

We all have our dreams. But how far would we go to protect them?

Lulu longs for a loving man and father figure for her young son. In a perfect world, this would be her gorgeous boss, Ben Arlington. He is her dream man, and likely to remain so – as he’s also a highly sought after gaming industry millionaire, and engaged to another woman.

But not for much longer if Ben’s cold-hearted mother has anything to do with it. Sofia Arlington has a secret to protect, a secret so potentially damaging she’ll do anything to keep it hidden. And now a figure from Sofia’s dark past has been silent for too long. Bessie Edwards is determined to get back what’s rightfully hers. What she’s about to reveal will turn all their glittering lives upside down…

Annie Sanders – Famous Last Words – 19th August 2010

Lucy spends her days beavering away at her sewing machine, making divine, flamboyant clothes that express all the passion and flair that she cannot, and at night she sits alone with her latest creations, fretting over her struggling business. Her life is one of unfulfilled ambitions and missed opportunities. Then one evening Lucy meets the beautiful, fey and enigmatic Micah, who has an uncanny knack for foretelling fortunes, and manages to convince even the cynical Lucy. So when Micah tells her that her future isn’t looking too rosy – in fact she doesn’t have one – Lucy embarks on a spree of ‘what the hell and why not’. She faces her demons, confronts those that have annoyed her, and takes risks for the first time in her life, convinced that the accident he predicts will befall her. When the day of her prophesied demise comes – and goes – Lucy storms round to challenge Micah, who sheepishly admits he must have got it wrong this time. The appalled and angry Lucy has a hell of a mess to put right now, and demands that Micah help her do some damage control. So begins an edge-of-the-seat, race-against-time to repair Lucy’s reckless actions. But halfway through Lucy asks herself if everything is worth mending? Has she inadvertently improved her life just as she thought it was about to end? And why is Micah so reluctant to help her untangle her biggest gaffe of all?

Rowan Coleman – The Happy Home For Broken Hearts – 19th August 2010

Ellie Woods spends her days immersed in the escapist pages of the romantic novels she lovingly edits. But her reality is somewhat less rose-tinted. Once upon a time, Ellie had her ‘happily ever after’ moment when she married her beloved Nick, but fifteen years later her husband’s tragic death leaves her alone with their soon-to-become-a-teenager son, faced with a mountain of debt, and on the verge of losing the family home. On the brink of bankruptcy, Ellie finally succumbs to her sister’s well-meant bullying and decides to rent out some rooms. And all too soon the indomitable Allegra with her love for all things lavender, Sabine on secondment from Berlin and estranged from her two-timing husband, and unreconstructed lads’ mag aficionado Matt enter her ordered but fragile existence – each with their own messy life in tow. And Ellie finds herself forced to step out of the pages of the romantic novels she hides behind, and learn to live – and love – again. Maybe a new chapter is about to begin for them all…

Polly Courtney – The Fame Factor – 19th August 2010

Does for the music industry what The Devil Wears Prada did for fashion.By day, Zoë Kidd lives a tedious existence, following orders and trying to appease her parents. By night, she’s the raucous lead singer of all-girl rock band, Dirty Money.

For six years, Dirty Money has toured the London scene, playing pubs, clubs, shopping centres and the odd public toilet. They’re gifted, they’re beautiful and they’re determined to make it to the top.

So when the American hit-maker Louis Castle appears at one of their gigs with talk of record deals and stadium tours, it seems as though their dreams are finally beginning to come true.

But fame turns out to be more elusive and divisive than any of the girls could imagine…The Fame Factor is a fast-moving story of friendship, resilience and revelation, exposing the darker side to an industry obsessed with the limelight.

Julie Buxbaum – After You – 19th August 2010

Ellie’s life is turned upside down when she learns the heartbreaking news that her best friend, Lucy, has been murdered. And, as best friends do, Ellie drops everything to travel to London to pick up the pieces.

Desperate to help Lucy’s traumatized child, who has simply stopped speaking, Ellie turns to the book that gave her comfort as a child – The Secret Garden. And while its story of hurt, magic and healing blooms around them, so too, do the secrets Lucy kept hidden, even from her best friend.

As Ellie peels back the layers of her friend’s life, she’s forced to confront her own as well. Suddenly her carefully constructed existence spins out of control in a chain of events that will transform her life – and the lives of those around her – for ever.

Wendy Holden – Gallery Girl – 19th August 2010

Zeb’s the darling of Brit Art; the rock n’ roll bad boy artist whose works go for bazillions. But can he keep his end up – in every sense – now that his powerful female patron is losing interest? Beth loves art and the traditional gallery she works in and loves her boyfriend, doctor David. But the hospital hours he keeps are putting a strain on the relationship. Marie’s pop-star husband was big in the Nineties; he’s relaunching his boy band with a vengeance. But where does this leave Marie and her dreams of being a painter? Ben’s a brilliant portrait artist but no-one wants his stuff. Why have a picture that actually looks like you when you could have a gold-sprayed prosthetic limb? Disillusioned Ben’s reduced to living in the country and holding adult education life classes. But what happened to his life? Then Beth finds herself catapulted into the crazed world of contemporary art. Marie walks into Ben’s life class. And the picture changes completely.

Diane Chamberlain – Secrets She Left Behind – 20th August 2010

This title is from the number 1 bestselling author of “The Lost Daughter”. Nineteen-year-old Maggie Lockwood spent a year in prison for her part in a fire that cost three lives. The scars carried by the surviving victims – inside and out – are still raw and Maggie’s release from jail does nothing to free her from the guilt. Returning home, Maggie hides herself away, too afraid to see Keith, the boy she grew up with, played with as a child – and recently learnt is her half-brother. Keith nearly lost his life in the fire and the emotional and physical wounds he carries have changed him forever. With childhood innocence gone, Maggie and Keith must learn to come to terms with their new lives, but trying to move forward will have deadly consequences.

Nell Dixon – Just Look At Me Now -5th August 2010

Life is fabulous for Tia Carpenter. She has it all, money, looks, a great job as the beauty expert at stylish Platinum magazine and, at last, the attention of her unrequited high school love, Josh Banks. But Tia has a secret – back at school she was Barbara Baker, overweight, crooked teeth, frizzy hair and no fashion sense.

Cosmetic dentistry, losing seven stones in weight and a complete makeover later, Tia has successfully erased her past life as Big Barb, tub of lard, until the day Juliet Gold, the bane of her teenage existence, arrives to work at the magazine. Juliet always got everything she ever wanted, and now she wants both Tia’s job and Josh. Tia will have to use every makeover trick she’s ever learned to stop Juliet from uncovering her past and stealing her man.

Sally Anne-Morris – Vintage Magic – 19th August 2010

Her love life in tatters, Rose Taylor decides its time to run away from London and open a vintage dress shop near her sister in Bath. If anyone is able to fully appreciate the life-enhancing power of finding and wearing that one very special dress, it’s Rose, but it seems the tea dresses, ball-gowns and lace in Viva Las Vintage! really do have a life of their own…

As she uncovers the secret of the shop’s magical powers, Rose realises that she can be transformed into a bewitching goddess, one with not only the power to get back the man she lost but to reach out and grab the life she’s always wanted. Dressing to impress is about to take on a whole new meaning…

Chick Lit Classics is a regular feature on Chick Lit Reviews where we highlight the books we feel are classics of the chick lit genre. Feel free to discuss our choices in the comments section!

I am a huge fan of Carole Matthews and have read the majority of her books. In fact I only have one or two still left to read so it was inevitable one of her books would, eventually, be deemed a Chick Lit Classic and there’s many to choose from because all chick lit fans should read Carole Matthews! However the one that stands out the most to me is The Sweetest Taboo. Essentially the book is one big love triangle set in the backdrop of LA, but it’s so much more than that and I truly never knew where it was going to end. It’s a total must-read and I can’t wait until I get the chance to re-read it again!

Falling in love isn’t easy. Sadie Nelson ought to know – she’s got two men to choose from and neither one is hassle-free. First there’s Gill McGann, a Hollywood producer who’s flown her from a grey day in London to sun-soaked LA in order to win her heart. He has more to offer Sadie than she could ever have imagined… Then there’s gorgeous actor Tavis Jones, whose sense of fun makes Sadie feel immediately at home. But can they ever be more than just good friends?  The longer she leaves it, the harder it gets, and Sadie’s about to discover that in LA anything can happen…

Colette Caddle’s

Before 28-year-old agony aunt Molly Reynolds finally settles down and marries Declan, her boyfriend of three years, she has a six-week window of opportunity, while he is away on a business trip to Japan, to put a few of the ghosts in her past to rest.
Declan is sweet, funny and dependable, and Molly loves him to bits, but she can’t help but wonder if she still has feelings for Luke – her childhood sweetheart who left the country when they were both 21 to play for a world-class Rugby team. It’s been seven years, and Molly isn’t one to dwell on the past (well not much, anyway!) but she decides to set off to find him and see him one more time, just to make sure . . .

Christopher Biggins

at Waterstones Salisbury on Saturday 4 September 2010 from 11.00am until 1.00pm

Donation to Salisbury Hospicecare for every copy sold

It’s 1994 and English Ph.D student, Ivy Stone, wakes up in a Moscow flat with a hangover and a vague sense of unease… Unable to remember what she did last night or why there is a cryptic Post-It note on her fridge, she begins an emotional, alcohol-fuelled journey via an Uzbek wedding, an Estonian sauna, and a Georgian serenade.

(Blurb taken from GoodReads, as it was easier than writing my own which would run in a similar vein).

When I was approached by RoastBooks, an independent publisher, about My Soviet Kitchen I was quite intrigued. I had a quick look on Amazon, read the press release and I thought it was definitely worth a read as it would not be something I had ever read before. Not to mention the fact that when I read the press release, it stated that as well as receiving the book, you would also receive a companion guide, all neatly presented in a bag as well as a bottle of vodka. I’ve had this confirmed by the publishers that should you purchase the book, that is how it will be presented. As such, I’ll be reviewing both the book and the companion guide!

The blurb on the back of My Soviet Kitchen states that it is “neo chick lit, with a darker side, a vodka twist and a generous slice of post-Soviet living” and My Soviet Kitchen ticks all of those boxes, despite the fact I have no idea what “neo chick lit” actually is, or means. I know absolutely nothing about Russia, or the USSR as it was known in the 90s which is the time in which the book is set so for me the book was going to be a bit like a history lesson. And, unfortunately, much like the history lessons I had at school, My Soviet Kitchen didn’t really hold my interest. I don’t know if it was the fact that the Russian/USSR setting kind of put me off a bit because although I do enjoy reading about a new country, Russia isn’t exactly somewhere I want to learn about, or somewhere I can imagine myself visiting (with the greatest of respect to the country of course).

I also found Ivy’s footnotes at the bottom of some pages a little irritating because they kind of interrupted the flow of the book and I ended up ignoring them after a while because I didn’t know how to fit them in properly; do I read the as soon as I come across the little number telling me there’s a footnote, or do I wait until I get to the bottom of the page? I don’t know how that works and if the information in the footnotes are indeed relevant, then I don’t see why they weren’t put into the text properly, instead of as a footnote. Then there is my main problem with the book: it jumps around. A lot. One minute Ivy is in her kitchen, replying to a letter, and the next she’s in Uzbekistan at a wedding. I like a little bit more flow when it comes to reading, because choppy kind of books make me rather confused because one minute I’m in one place and then in another minute I’m in somewhere totally different and it’s hard to keep up with a plot like that.

The book was, on a whole, easily well written, don’t get me wrong, I just couldn’t get a grasp on the plot and the entire Russian thing confused me and the book just seemed to be outside of my usual comfort zone and despite a fairly good start, I just found myself getting bored of it really quickly. Because the book is written in a diary style (which is what makes it so easy to read), I also felt I couldn’t get a good enough grip on any of the characters. We knew the bare bones about Ivy and everyone around her but not enough to make her “real” in my mind; I couldn’t imagine her at all and I couldn’t imagine what her life was like in Russia and it disappointed me I wasn’t able to fully immerse myself in the story as I might have liked. I’m fairly sure the book will have many people who adore it, and who can understand it all but it just wasn’t for me.

The last thing I would like to mention is the “Companion Guide”, the little booklet that comes with the book itself. Ivy mentions many different things in the book which you can then refer to in the guide to see what it is. It mainly relates to food and recipes, but there’s other things in there too and I’m sure anybody who loves Russia will adore the book and it’s companion because it is well-presented and the companion book is in full colour with plenty of photographs and what-not. So it might not have been to my taste, but it will certainly be to the taste of many other people!

I’d like to thank the publishers for sending me this to review!

Liza Haven couldn’t wait to escape the small village where she grew up with her perfect identical twin sister, Lee. Her life in LA as a stunt woman is reckless, fast and free – and that’s just the way she likes it. But when a near-fatal mistake drives her home, she finds Lee gone and everyone in the village mistaking her for her twin sister. Liza has to deal with her ailing mother, the family ice cream business, and Lee’s dangerously attractive boyfriend. Liza’s always been the bad twin, but as she struggles to keep up the masquerade and puzzle out where her sister has gone, she realises it’s not so simple. She’s spent her whole life getting away with it – is it finally time to face up to who she really is and where she really belongs?