Memoir, Romance, and Women's Fiction, Oh My!

Taking a step back from reviewing books will catch up with you fast. No big deal I’m just…30 books behind…so…yeah we’ve got some catching up to do.

My reading is eclectic, and there’s not a whole lot that’s off the table for me. As it stands now, I most enjoy reading contemporary romance (Emily Henry, Abby Jimenez, Carley Fortune, etc…), historical fiction (World War II, but we can blame that on the current state of the publishing market), memoirs (especially audiobooks read by the author—I just want to hear all the gossip and drama), investigative journalism (healthcare and fraud have been  big ones for me), and contemporary literary fiction (despite being an English major, I do not read the classics for fun). At this most current moment in time, I am absolutely binging Rebecca Yarros’s backlist of contemporary romance after coming off a historical fiction streak. Will I take the dive into Fourth Wing? Only time will tell. I also have been listening to some nonfiction reads on Spotify, but that pesky monthly limit is putting a stop to that soon. Something fluffy paired with something that teaches me is the perfect combination.

Alright, on to the agenda! First up is Kristen Kish’s memoir that, like so many celebrity memoirs, lacked the depth and detail that made paying for a copy feel largely unjustified for me. Next is the legendary Julia Whelan’s first book, which, disappointingly, did not capture the magic of her sophomore novel. Emily Henry’s latest book was a definite departure from her previous works and gave major Taylor Jenkins Reid energy, and while it’s not my favorite of hers, I appreciated what she was doing and still enjoyed my reading experience. Lastly, I’ve been following Hannah Orenstein on Instagram for her lifestyle content. She spends her summers on a lake in Maine with her family and posts gorgeous sunsets all season long. Her summer home inspired her grown-up version of The Parent Trap. Overall, it was a sweet summer read that millennials will appreciate. Let’s break these down, shall we?

Accidentally on Purpose by Kristen Kish

I’m a big fan of cooking shows and enjoy learning about chefs’ journeys and philosophies. The culinary world is incredibly demanding and competitive, and mastering the art, science, and business of cooking takes a lot of skill and practice. Kish’s life is star-studded and spotlight-soaked at the moment. As the new host of Top Chef and a previous winner, I wanted to know more about her culinary background and what she’s been doing since she won her season. I especially wanted behind-the-scenes details of Season 10 because of her unforgettable elimination and redemption.

Let’s start at the beginning. Kish was adopted as an infant from Korea and grew up in a loving and supportive home in the Midwest. She initially wasn’t sure what she wanted to do with her life and seemed more focused on running away and taking on a new persona because of her anxiety and secret attraction to women. She changed life directions to get an AA degree from culinary school and worked her way up the ladder unjustifiably, arrogantly, and foolishly quickly. She wanted to be the leading chef in the kitchen right away and impatiently believed that putting in the work at lower positions was “below” her. All the while she was dealing with addiction and partying like so many other chefs.

She moved to Boston and ended up working for the legendary (though now a bit infamous) Barbra Lynch who helped to get her in Top Chef. Her details about the season are incredibly minimal and, like so much of her life’s story, pretty surface level. There were no real insights that Top Chef fans would enjoy, and this was one of the most disappointing aspects for me given that this was her initial claim to fame.

Kish’s life took a turn with her win because she realized that there was so much more money and freedom in doing publicity and building her brand than working in a traditional kitchen. As a short-lived former model, she began to embrace being in the media spotlight and was also offered the opportunity to open her own restaurant. This led to meeting her wife who just so happened to be the Vice President of Food and Beverage for the company that Kish was partnered with to start her restaurant. Totally not a conflict of interest that they start dating…

Kish was drawn further and further away from actually cooking as she appeared more frequently on television. She co-hosted Fast Foodies, Netflix’s reboot of Iron Chef, and Restaurants at the End of the World, but there was so little proof for me that her culinary credentials live up to her being a “food expert” and “all star chef.” She’s won nominations for her TV work, but she doesn’t have the James Beard awards, Best Chef awards, or just general recognition for her leadership in the kitchen that so many other Top Chef contestants (not even just winners) have. I’m not saying that she doesn’t have talent as a chef, but I feel as though her rapid ascent to the spotlight was more because of her television presence than her cooking credentials. Yes, her work with Barbra Lynch was impressive, but there are so many more impressive chefs out there with far more culinary expertise, experience, and accolades. I don’t want to say that her fame is undeserved, but I feel as though her meteoric rise is premature.

Overall, her book, in my opinion, didn’t offer any revelations about her life that are worth paying for, and the lack of depth and detail made it a more forgettable read for me. Do I still enjoy watching Top Chef? Sure! Do I feel like this book enhanced or changed my viewing experience by making me have a greater appreciation for the new host? Sadly, no. I was left with a lingering feeling that she is the fortunate recipient of good luck, good timing, and good business opportunities that have allowed her to pivot into a more lucrative industry.

My Oxford Year by Julia Whelan

If you read romance books, you know Julia Whelan’s unforgettable voice as an audiobook narrator, and perhaps you enjoyed her second novel, Thank You For Listening (I know I did!). Her first novel has recently been turned into a Netflix movie starring Sofia Carson (of Purple Hearts fame—cringe along with me if you suffered through that one). I read this on one of my many flights this summer and was so frustrated with it.

Overachieving Ella is a Rhodes scholar balancing a magical opportunity to study literature at Oxford (just for fun because you know she’s just so serious and competitive!) and a prestigious political job that just kind of…becomes less and less mentioned and important as the story limps along. Similarly, her actual experience as a student at Oxford becomes pretty forgettable pretty quickly as the novel takes a sharp turn from a young woman enjoying a year of opportunity abroad to a lovesick and oddly immature woman falling in love with her professor. But don’t worry, he’s young and dating your professor is totally okay there!

Anyway, Ella loves Davenport but has commitment issues…because her dad died when she was a kid. Davenport loves Ella but has commitment issues….because he’s secretly dying of cancer and totally hiding his health from Ella. Yes, in the great tradition of Nicholas Sparks, John Green, and so many other cliched romances, the seemingly completely fine love interest has a short time left to live and doesn’t want to burden anyone with it. Isolation and rejection it is! Can I just say once again how sick I am of this trope? You are not less loveable for being sick, you are very much worthy of love, and you should be embracing the people around you rather than sabotaging your life to go die in the mansion you somehow conveniently own because your family happens to be crazy rich.

You literally forget that Ella has classes and career aspirations except for the inconvenience that she has a job to eventually get back to and a visa that will expire. That’s not helpful when your true love is dying of cancer! Don’t worry about that too much because SPOILER she quits her job to stay with Davenport and travel with him before he will ultimately die.

Ella has a cast of friends that feel as though they belong in the realm of imagination and Tumblr rather than a celebrated campus. If they were left out of the story all together, it probably would have helped, and this is coming from someone who dislikes when protagonists have no life outside of their love interests. Oxford makes for an enchanting setting and is a far better secondary character than any of the humans, but the second half of the book sidelines it as well. It feels as though Whelan is trying to tell two different stories, and the characters, plot, and pacing suffer for it. Is this the story of a young woman finding herself or finding love? The best love stories show growth through love, but I don't think that this is one of them.

Is it romantic? Sure. Am I so tired of “surprise I have cancer” stories? Yes. Is Ella even likeable and relatable? Eh, not especially. I hated to dislike this book and went in with such high expectations, but I was just disappointed. In fact, I’m disappointed enough that I’m not going to suffer through another Sofia Carson movie just to see how Netflix makes this cliched story even more trope filled.

Great Big Beautiful Life by Emily Henry

Emily Henry is the queen of romance right now with buzzy summer read after summer read. I haven’t had a book from her I’ve disliked, but I’ve had some I’ve enjoyed significantly more than others. While there is romance and a love story here, I think it falls more under the enigmatic umbrella of “women’s fiction.” This isn’t a bad thing, but it is a shifted focus from her more straightforward romance writing up until this point. The blessing and curse of genre fiction is that readers have certain expectations about how the story will unfold. There’s great comfort within that, but there’s also a rigidity that can’t be escaped. Marketing matters, and I think it could have been clearer that Henry was experimenting a little with this one.

Alice is a writer in need of a big break to feel like a “serious writer.” Hayden is well established, award-winning, and enviable. Both have the opportunity to write the biography of Margaret Ives, an heiress who disappeared from public view after a tragic life. The story alternates between sunshine-y Alice winning over grumpy Hayden and Margaret’s life story. The framing of Margaret’s story reminded me of Taylor Jenkin Reid’s beloved The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, and I would have happily read a more fleshed out version of Margaret’s life. The cover, in my opinion, is deceptive in that it focuses on Alice and Hayden and leaves out Margaret, who we come to learn, plays a far larger role in their lives than we initially expected.

There is mystery about Margaret’s story as it is slowly doled out to Alice. Regrettably, we don’t get Hayden’s point of view, and given his vastly different experiences with Margaret and different outlook on life, I think it would have enhanced the narrative. I also tend to prefer dual-narration romances because they lend more to the why behind the love story, and I love seeing the slow unfolding of attraction from both perspectives. Oh well.

Margaret’s story does get a little confusing, and you’ll be tempted to make a family tree that you edit as you read to keep up. Reviewers lament that Margaret’s story is a bit of a slog in the beginning, and I think that goes back to trying to figure out what Henry is trying to do. On the one hand, she’s telling her conventionally expected trope-filled love story. On the other hand, she’s trying to squeeze in some literary fiction/historical fiction that doesn’t have the space it needs to fully breathe. We wanted a beach-read love story, so we’re impatient to get back to Alice’s story. By the time we’re invested in Margaret’s backstory, we feel as though we haven’t gotten enough of it.

Overall, Book Lovers remains my favorite of Henry’s, and I still eagerly anticipate whatever she’s working on next.

Maine Characters by Hannah Orenstein

If you’re looking for a cozy, breezy lakeside read, Maine Characters delivers with a story of a literal found family. Vivian and Lucy are half-sisters, but they never meet until their father’s sudden death, and their conflicting attachments to his beloved lake house fuel the narrative. City-girl Vivian was raised full-time by her father and wants to sell the house to fund her business dreams and escape a painful romantic relationship. Lucy only got brief snatches of her father when he spent time at the lake house, and she is desperate to hold on to the remaining piece of their relationship and the safety it promises in the wake of her recent separation from her husband.

In many ways, the two women couldn’t be more different, but they, of course, forge a sisterly bond and a real friendship. There are romantic storylines for the women, but, to me, they were not necessary, and I probably would have enjoyed the story more if it focused purely on familial relationships over budding romantic ones.

The writing felt similar to young adult fiction, and while the characters are well past their teen years, it is, in a way, a coming-of-age story. Orenstein spends her summers at a lake house and does the bulk of her writing there, and it is apparent (sometimes jarringly so) that she has taken inspiration from her surroundings. Her female main characters feel pulled from stereotypes and cliches, but it adds to the overall Hallmark feel of the novel. Yes, there are challenging relationships that are explored, but it’s not a complex literary book. It’s a fluffy, grown-up version of the Parent Trap, and it’s a quick and enjoyable read. It’s not in my top favorites of the year, but its cover is among my most favorites. By all means judge this book by its gorgeous artwork. Put this cover on display on your bookshelves. It’s not even a special edition and it’s just that pretty!

I’m not in a rush to read Orenstein’s backlist, but I’m glad I read her newest book. I look forward to watching her sunset Instagram stories next summer and imagining that I’m floating on a lake instead of packing up our house for an international move.

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Cooking: I hit the jackpot grocery shopping last week and found so many fresh fruits and vegetables. The ultimate standout was the Korean cherry tomatoes that had this rich, umami, almost caramel-like taste. I showcased them in my Cava-inspired bowls and in my sheet pan gnocchi with roasted vegetables. I’ve been seeing sweet potatoes paired with ground beef in viral protein bowls, so I added some roasted sweet potatoes to my taco bowls. It was a great addition, and I included the leftovers in my breakfast tacos as well.

Baking: I made mom’s copycat Levain bakery chocolate chip cookies, and they are my absolute favorite cookies. Mom sells them at the farmers market, and it’s very rare to have extras at home. They are 5 ounces of soft, chocolatey goodness, and I just can’t get enough. I found blueberries at a decent price, so I made mom’s blueberry-lemon muffins that she also sells at the farmers market. Next up on the agenda: America’s Test Kitchen’s ultimate banana bread.   Don’t worry, most of what I bake is shared with Tom’s coworkers, so we don’t just live on a constant diet of baked goods.

Listening: I’ve been looking forward to Zach Bryan’s newest album, With Heaven on Top, for months. It features 25 songs, plus there will be an acoustic version release as well. After a long walk to take in my first listen, I wasn’t blown away like I was for American Heartbreak, Boys of Faith, or The Great American Bar Scene. However, my second and third listens are giving me a greater appreciation for the album. I enjoyed reading Rolling Stone’s review of it, but I’ll need another couple of listens before I can record my own reflections.

Watching: My cringy but binge-worthy show of the moment is Below Deck. It’s mindless, dramatic, and totally ridiculous, but that’s what makes it so much fun. On the other hand, I’m also watching the second season of Man on the Inside, which makes me smile more than it makes me cry---why does it have to make me cry, though? I really hope that there’ll be a third season because it’s such a feel-good, wholesome show. The Pitt has released their second season, which is a total pivot from the lighter shows I’ve been watching. Opening thoughts: what ER doctor is riding a motorcycle without a helmet, did we really need to open someone’s chest in the very first episode (medically accurate but also gross), and Whitaker is doing us all proud now.

Doing: After a month of travel, it’s nice to be home and to be finding a routine again. Tom and I went to two trivia nights with friends, and we had vastly different outcomes. Thursday night we walked away tied for last after making a big bet, and Saturday we emerged victorious with a first place finish. Everyone on our team comes in with a different set of knowledge, but I’m always the most impressed by Tom’s vast and varied store of random facts. I’m not kidding when I say that he immediately knew that Tennessee was bordered by 8 states.