
Strangers in the Villa by Robyn Harding
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
also interesting. her books are compulsively readable for me. her endings always seem to fall short.
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also interesting. her books are compulsively readable for me. her endings always seem to fall short.
interesting and twisty but i somehow kept waiting for the other shoe to drop. and it never did. kept me reading, though.
4.5 stars. I loved this story about two women in alternating timelines. Jo van Gogh working hard to preserve the legacy of her husband’s brother and make him to be the famous and recognizable artist he never was in his lifetime with the helps of an old friend of her husband’s. Emma, a struggling artist, who cleans the home of Stella Swanson, the widow to an art empire who can’t get a penny to her name thanks to the kids of her new deceased husband. The storylines alternate until they inevitably intersect. As with all Piazza novels, this story is about strong women doing hard things. Being underestimated and overcoming odds. I love art so this was an extra special one for me. I loved every minute I spent with it. with gratitude to netgalley and Dutton for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.
what a beautiful beautiful story. I have always been a fan of Somerset Maugham and this book made me get (albeit a tiny) glimpse into him. I loved the writing and the story. Loved it.
3.5 stars. This was good but maybe because I went in with high expectations I didn’t end up either being as shocked or loving it as much as others seem to have. ![]() Meh this week was a total wash. I had a lot of after-work meetings and I just came home exhausted. I ate out practically every day. It was not the best. We will see if I can do better next week.
Good progress this week. Here’s to a better week. Paying attention. Savoring and living in awe. And taking steps to move onward. ![]() My big goal this month is to focus a bit more on health both for movement/stretching/mental well-being and for nutrition. I’ve made some tangible progress on this, this week. I’ve had several of the breakfast ideas from the list last week and I’ve made shredded chicken, beef+broccoli, zucchini+groundbeef and I’ve also made the 5-5-5 eggs. Even though I’ve also had lots of chocolate, etc. I feel happy that I ate much more protein and vegetables this week. So, progress. Let’s see if I can keep it up. I’ve also taken small steps towards movement. On the days I am home, I take about a 3mile walk but I wasn’t doing enough on the other days. This week I did short 10-minute exercise each of those days and I also stretched or did restorative yoga almost all of those days. So, progress there, too. Let’s see what I can keep going and turn into a routine.
Good progress this week. So proud of myself and how much I am doing. Day by day, drop by drop. Here’s to another week. Paying attention. Savoring and living in awe. And taking steps to move onward.
This was an interesting read. It was more nuanced and balanced than I had thought. The part that was most interesting to me was about the Mormon church and the role they play in backing influencers and also explanations around why there are more Mormon influencers.
My friend Lauren recommended this to me and I read it in one swallow. It was an excellent mystery because it was about character development and each of these characters are so very flawed. The author does a great job making you both really dislike them and also feel for them. The voice is also very difference since she breaks the fourth wall regularly. I loved it.
I am so sad to say that I was disappointed by this. I love Nora Ephron’s movies. I love her sense of humor. But this book, it didn’t feel like it went anywhere. It almost felt incomplete to me.
I’ve loved many of Ann Patchett’s books but this once might be one of my favorites. I find that her recent books seem to be a bit lighter, not in that they are less literary but they are more uplifting and feel more full of joy. This story was so beautiful and the characters so real that even though I took forever to read it, to savor it, I still wish I hadn’t finished it. I loved every single moment I spent with this one.
My friend Jess recommended this to me and despite not loving the audio, I really enjoyed the characters, the story and the pacing. I wish there were other or more recent audios of Perry’s work. |
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