Phaedra PatrickCríticas

Martha Storm is a librarian and works hard to help others. However, she doesn't relate well to people. But, she did have a connection with her grandmother, Zelda, who used to tell her many stories when Martha was very young. One day, a book of fairy tales appears which confuses Martha, because the inscription is dedicated to her grandmother, but dated a few years after Zelda's death.
Martha wants to dig into this mystery. In doing so, she finds out a long buried secret about her family.

This is a character-driven novel. The main character, Martha, is in her forties. She lives on her own and volunteers at the local library. And she constantly takes on small tasks for friends, family and neighbours, never thinking of her own wishes.

Martha is a very likeable woman who reaches a turning point when she picks up a book that someone has given her. She finds a dedication in it which starts her questioning whether her parents lied to her about her much-loved grandmother's death three decades earlier.

The book is very well written with flashback scenes here and there as the past gradually unfolds. None of the revelations were surprises to me, by the time Martha discovers the many secrets that were kept from her. But that doesn't matter - I was more interested in Martha herself as she learns to take small steps towards a more confident future.

Definitely recommended if you like women's fiction with a bit of depth.

Longer review here: https://suesbookreviews.blogspot.com/2024/06/the-library-of-lost-and-found-by.ht...½

A very cute, feel-good, easy Saturday read.

A book loving Olivia cleans for a living. She has always loved books and her favorite writer Essie Starling becomes one of her regulars. Essie has written 19 books about her charaacter, Georgie Rory. She has been out of the limelight for 20 years. Just as she and Liv begin talking about books and writing Essie dies. In her will she has asked Olivia to complete her 20th novel that is only half done and to keep her death a secret for 6 months. Thus begins Olivia?s quest to write this final novel and to find the love of Essie?s life. It is a difficult situation, but also rewarding as she begins to find herself and become stronger. In the end, she finishes the novel with rave reviews for Essie and begins her life again with confidence and the respect of her husband and family. A good read. Goodreads: Mother of two Liv Green barely scrapes by as a maid to make ends meet, often finding escape in a good book while daydreaming of becoming a writer herself. So she can't believe her luck when she lands a job housekeeping for her personal hero, megabestselling author Essie Starling, a mysterious and intimidating recluse. The last thing Liv expected was to be the only person Essie talks to, which leads to a tenuous friendship.But when Essie dies suddenly, a devastated Liv is astonished to learn of her last wish: for Liv to complete Essie's final novel. But to do so Liv will have to step into Essie's shoes, and as Liv begins to write, she uncovers secrets from the past that reveal a surprising connection between the two women--one that will change Liv's own story forever...

A sweet story. Benedict?s wife has moved out of the house to take a break from him. They have tried many times to have children and not succeeded. He would like to adopt as he feels a strong need to raise a child. His wife Estelle wants to move on. One rainy night Benedicts?s niece from from his estranged brother shows up at his door, wet, hungry and needing to stay with him. She says she is taking a break from her dad and that he allowed her to come to Benedict?s. Benedict makes jewelry and runs a shop in the local village. Gemma, the niece, has heard stories from her dad about a book her grandfather has that tells the meanings of each gem. They begin to bond over the gems. She wants to help Benedict win Estelle back and she has very creative ideas to do so. We also learn about the estrangement between Benedict and Gemma?s dad. It is a troubling story for all. Gemma is trying to find her place in her dad?s life and hides the truths of why she has come to be there. All ends well after the gem stones are shared with others and Benedict and Gemma ?wake up? to find their lives changing in positive ways. Benedict and Estelle reconcile and Gemma finds her dad really does have a place for her in his lfie. Kirkus: Unabashedly heartwarming, Patrick?s (The Curious Charms of Arthur Pepper, 2016) second novel is set in a quaint English village where our hero drinks lots of tea and eats too many sweets.Benedict Stone is a mild-mannered, risk-averse jewelry maker who runs a shop originally owned by his late father in a town called Noon Sun. Much to his dismay, Estelle, his wife of 10 years, has left him, partly due to the couple?s unresolved feelings about their childlessness. Lucky for Benedict, his plucky 16-year-old niece, Gemma, suddenly appears, on the run from her family in the States. Gemma takes her uncle in hand, helping him spruce up his shop and turn out more creative pieces of jewelry. She also prods him to woo back his wife. (While clearly meant to be amusing, some of Benedict?s ploys�one involving a sword; another a llama¥are deeply cringeworthy.) Gemma, meanwhile, is clearly harboring a secret; but so, it turns out, is Benedict¥a secret that has alienated him from his brother, Gemma?s father, Charlie. The latter eventually arrives on the scene, and family fireworks ensue. Still, the ending is never seriously in doubt. And though the book is eventful, much of it is plodding; the pace only picks up toward the end. Throughout, there?s much talk of gemstones¥each chapter heading bears the name of a different stone and a brief description of its potential powers (e.g., Emerald: equilibrium, patience, honesty). Yet despite the attempt to confer a magical aura on the proceedings, the book remains stubbornly earthbound.It does bear some resemblance to the author?s first book, but it lacks the charm and genuine eccentricity of the earlier effort.

Delightful story. KIRKUS REVIEWNothing otherworldly happens in this feel-good debut novel, yet the story of an English widower who goes rummaging in his late wife?s past has the quality of a fable.A mild-mannered pensioner from York, the title character�described by an ex-girlfriend as ?timid and a bit twitchy?¥is tethered to his domestic routines, hardly ever leaving the house. All that changes when he happens upon a mysterious gold bracelet¥with eight distinctive charms¥that belonged to his beloved wife, Miriam. Screwing up his courage, he embarks on a journey that will take him far from his comfort zone as he tracks down the story behind each ornament. Along the way, our 69-year-old hero finds himself fending off a tiger, having an audience with a famous author who may or may not have been his wife?s lover, getting mugged in a Tube station, and posing naked for an art class. Unsurprisingly, he learns as much about himself through these adventures as he does about Miriam. The writing is breezy, and Arthur?s escapades are, well, charming, at least some of the time. The book flirts with real emotion, too: Arthur?s grief over the loss of his wife is palpable, and his sadness at the estrangement of his adult children feels quite genuine. You may even, against your better judgment, shed a few tears as he endeavors to set things right with them. Yet each bad turn in the book comes wrapped in a teachable moment; each cloud has an unmistakable silver lining.The author?s outlook remains relentlessly upbeat, and in the end, this sentimental novel is as cozy and fortifying as a hot cup of tea on a cold afternoon.

This is a generous three stars

There’s nothing wrong with this book but there’s not much there either. Loved the concept of a middle aged woman (who gives advice for a living) being thrown a curveball by her husband who takes a three week holiday in Italy along with four “broken hearted” people she met through her advice job. Result = Found family / less sadness and loneliness. The problem: I didn’t really care about any of them.

As I type I am revising down to two stars.

I guess I want this same framework in the hands of a different author who might provide me with more rounded characters and a more satisfying ending.

A good character study of a elderly man in morning finding out about himself and others while looking into the past of his departed wife. Feel good book.

A gentle read that kept me mildly interested. Not nearly as good as the first book. The audiobook was okay, but the reader does a horrible job with female voices. Ehhh.

The Messy Lives of Book People follows Liv, a cleaner for a local author named Essie Starling, through her daily life working and taking on more and more tasks with the author. She is asked to complete Essie's last book following her death, and in the time before it is due, she uses Essie's name to do things she otherwise never would have been able to do under the guise of finishing her novel.

I am glad I listened to this as an audiobook, as it was quite slow at places, which made it hard to understand the goal. Most of the novel was a 3 to 3.5 star. I thought it was fine, but not particularly interesting. It also felt quite repetitive, cycling through the same plot points over and over again. While Liv is essentially a ghostwriter for Essie, the book did not address ethics of ghostwriting or model how it is usually done. It was good enough to keep me listening until the end, but that's about it.

Then we got to about chapter 30. The last several chapters of the novel (starting at around chapter 30) felt abrasive. Themes were just stated as if the author did not expect the adult listeners to put together a deeper meaning to the plot; several new and major plot points were introduced and barely touched; and details did not seem to make sense.

First, how did Liv not know the date of her dad's death when she had grown up with him and had seen her parent's marriage as perfect? Second, how was her dad teaching university in the United States at the same time as living in the UK? Or, why did Liv never mention moving from the United States to the UK with her family later in life? Third, how did Liv not realize that Essie would have written her will months before her death and that having Liv finish her novel to earn her inheritance could not have been in the will to begin with?

Additionally, Liv mentions at one point that she has a husband and children, something Essie did not. While that is true, the way Liv said it makes it seem like she thinks she is morally superior to Essie for having a husband and kids, which left me feeling icky.

I don't regret reading it, I just don't think it was a particularly good book for what I like to read.

A good story, a little mysterious a little sad The life lesson analogy fairy tail stories were especially well written

This was just a genuinely sweet book. The main character was lovable but also someone you could really respect. (I like how she knew she needed to change but she finished her commitments first. Maturity.) The supporting characters were all lovable, too. The Father was horrid---his scenes made me sick---but there was no raunchy anything and hardly any language.

I can't fully recommend it as it has some unBiblical elements promoted in a positive way, but I got a lot out of it and really appreciate the opportunity to enjoy the story.

Liv works as a cleaner. Her favorite client is Essie Starling, who also happens to be Liv's favorite author. Essie is a noted recluse, and Liv is one of the few people she talks to. When Essie dies, Liv is astonished to discover that Essie has left her the monumental task of finishing her last novel. Liv has six months to polish the manuscript and write the final chapters, and during that time, she is required to keep Essie's death a secret. Liv feels she can't finish the novel without a deeper knowledge of Essie, so she tracks down certain people who played important roles in Essie's life -- but she can't tell them that Essie is gone! Also, there's a journalist poking around...

I'm often intrigued by books with authors as characters, though reading about the act of writing is not always exactly enthralling. In this case, there's enough sleuthing going on as Liv delves into Essie's past that it's not all about the writing. Liv makes some savvy choices as well as some foolish ones, and there's a good bit of interpersonal tension as her marriage feels the strain not just from her own secrets, but from the things her husband is hiding as well. All in all, if you like a character-forward book about writing and the publishing industry, give this a go.

A cute premise. Unfortunately, it wasn't executed well.

There wasn't much conflict within the plot - everything came too easily; the male characters' dialogue struck me as very feminine; the sexual references and themes were completely unnecessary; there is some language; the characters (particularly the main character Arthur) are not consistent in their personalities.

I don't normally mind unrealistic settings or plots (they can make for great stories), but this story was completely unbelievable in a bad way. Supposedly Arthur and Miriam had a wonderful 40-year marriage, but he doesn't seem to know anything about her - he doesn't even know her mother's first name!

I don't recommend this book.

Wow. I so wanted to like this book. The thought of a librarian finding a mysterious book and tracing her family back and finding out secrets was an enticing one. What’s not to love about libraries?

Well. I hated it. I finished it because I thought the secret might be worth finding out about but it was a mess. The main character is a pathetic woman given to endless whining. Her older sister is a complete bitch who unconvincingly has a turn around at the end. The library patrons are all impossible and unlikeable, demanding favours from Martha (main character) like doing their laundry and mending clothes, etc etc. Ridiculous.

To add insult to injury, the book is filled with all these twee ‘stories’ - meant to be fables- that Martha and her grandmother tell each other. Martha’s child speech is completely wrong. Her grandmother is a cliche of a wild woman, saying shocking things and dressing always in turquoise. Of course she’s a lesbian. Of course she is dying of brain cancer.

For fun she reads the stories from the book she put together of both she and Martha’s tales (no credit to Martha, mind) out loud and then drops the book onto the ground with a “read me I’m yours” sticky note.

It’s not like the stories are anything special but we are supposed to believe people wander off and are changed.

Strange things happen in the book- a lot of ‘not speaking to’ moments which drag out the story far beyond any need. Martha almost gets drowned, spends days away from home and job and no one cares. By that point, I didn’t care.

And the earth-shattering secret, keeping everyone apart for 30 years is so banal I felt cheated.
We won’t talk about the editing errors and places where things are revealed more than once...

Gave a few stars because I hear the author is a well-published writer but this was a disappointment.

A bookcase on the cover. A book about life. A book about book people. I was sold based on the cover and title alone of The Messy Lives of Book People by Phaedra Patrick. The book proves to be a middle age version for coming of age story – a journey of self discovery that allows family paradigms to be reinvented and reminds us that dreams are always possible. While somewhat far-fetched and neatly packaged at the end, the book is a lighthearted, easy read.

Read my complete review at http://www.memoriesfrombooks.com/2023/10/the-messy-lives-of-book-people.html

Reviewed for NetGalley.

I am a Phaedra Patrick fan, and Rise and Shine, Benedict Stone did not disappoint. I listened to it as I have for many of hers and the narrator did a good job of capturing various characters. It was a nice surprise to have a male main character. Benedict Stone is middle aged, overweight and coming to realize his dreams of children are not going to come true. His wife is moving away from him, pursuing a new path, and he is at a very low point in his life. That's when his teenaged niece arrives on his doorstep from America. He has never met Gemma as he is estranged from his younger brother and over the course of the novel, we learn Benedict's devastating secret. Benedict is a jeweler just as his parents were and Patrick uses gemstones and their meanings to organize her chapters and form a major element of the plot. I enjoyed learning more about them. A lovely, light but meaningful story.½

A radio show host and “relationship expert” has planned a special Italian holiday to celebrate her twenty-fifth wedding anniversary. But when Ginny presents her husband with the tickets she is not prepared for his response. He not only does NOT want to go to Italy, but he wants a divorce. The tickets are nonrefundable, but for a small fee she can change the name of the guest. So, Ginny changes to a budget hotel and invites four of her listeners with “broken hearts” to join her for a healing vacation. Her treat.

This was mostly predictable, but I didn’t care. It was exactly the kind of “coming of middle age” adventure I wanted to read as an escape. The characters are interesting and sometimes surprised me, and the setting was gloriously depicted. I felt as if I were in Venice or Florence. And I loved the food descriptions!

It’s not a uniformly feel-good story. These people have some serious issues to face, but they all come to realize that while each of us has to make our own decisions about our lives, opening up to others can help ease the burden.

A fun, fast, enjoyable read.

I didn't like any of the characters (even the MC Martha) enough to keep reading. It feels like there's a sweet story about finding yourself here, but I don't have the patience to get to that point. ~ DNF @ 19%

Martha Storm helps everyone, sometimes even when they don't need it. It makes her feel needed but she really just feels invisible. A book of fairy tales with an unusual dedication sends her digging in the past only to discover a whole new life in the rubble. Another wonderful, poignant story from Phaedra Patrick.½

The main character once loved to write but now just cleans for writers. Or, at least for one famous, reclusive writer who asks her to do what seems impossible. I enjoyed this story as she learns to navigate a new world as she investigates the past while struggling to make her dream come true.

The tale of a woman whose husband is in the midst of a messy midlife crisis. She escapes to Italy with five strangers who, over the course of their time at a small Italian hotel share their sorrows and learn to find joy. It was a lovely, quiet story.

This is a coming of age story with a twist. The twist being, the coming of age person is 70. On the first anniversary of his wife’s death Arthur decides it’s time to go through her things and get rid of them. Dear old Arthur, that’s how I initially saw him, believed he and Miriam were soulmates. He did however, silently wonder why she ever married him. What on earth did she see in him? But all these years they’d been inseparable and happy, or so he thought. Since her death Arthur’s been lost, lonely and pretty miserable. He’d be the first to admit that life on his own is boring and repetitive however, the unexpected can always happen! While clearing out Miriam’s wardrobe he makes a discovery which proves a catalyst. Arthur is charming and I enjoyed going on his journey of discovery. Do we ever KNOW someone totally, even our nearest and dearest? Maybe now’s the time to start asking questions. Before its too late!

***** BLOG TOUR *****

The Little Italian Hotel by Phaedra Patrick is a story of loss and grief and finding the strength and courage to go on. This book is also about the lesson that when you have helping hands along the way, the journey of grief becomes perhaps just the tiniest bit easier. As with The Secrets of Love Story Bridge, this story starts in sadness and a crisis but ends up a sweet, feel-good read with characters who make me smile.

Read my complete review at http://www.memoriesfrombooks.com/2023/07/the-little-italian-hotel.html

Reviewed for NetGalley and a publisher’s blog tour.

Who would pass up a trip to Italy?

Ginny, a radio show host who specializes in helping relationships, booked a trip for her thirtieth wedding anniversary, but when she told her husband about it, he answered with: I want a divorce.

Heartbroken and embarrassed because she fixes everyone else's problems but didn't know about her own, Ginny spontaneously invites any four listeners on the trip with her.

Find out what happens as four strangers get to know each other and Ginny and her husband do too.

THE LITTLE ITALIAN HOTEL Is a heartwarming read that will have you falling in love with Italy and the characters who learned to care about others, learned to care about themselves, learned to not give up on their present-day situations, and learned to forget about the past.

Enjoy!! 5/5

This book was given to me by the publisher in print and via NetGalley for an honest review.