The Bookshop Ladies

Author: Faith Hogan

Who Picked the Book: Rachel

One-sentence summary: A recently widowed American living in Paris decides to hand-deliver something her late husband left to his daughter she didn't know he had and she unlocks a whole new world of friendship and purpose in Ireland.

B.A.D. Girls Book Rating: 8

Our favorite thing about it: This was a fun, uplifting story that was easy to read.

Our least favorite thing about it: Maybe that Kian's deception at the end of the book didn't seem to fit with what we knew of him as a character. 

Main Topics of Discussion: Grief, Friendship, Betrayal, Secrets, Marriage

Our favorite quote: “We either confront it or we forgive, but we learn to live with things, not run away from them or hide behind something that’s shiny enough to cover over the pain momentarily.”

Notes: We all universally enjoyed this book. We loved the story and the ending. We loved most of the characters and their development. The setting (Ireland) was especially great as well as the bookshop itself. We liked Robyn's character arc in particular and how the friendship and mentorship of Joy helped her blossom. We really liked Joy's character and enjoyed reading about her motivations and thoughts.

We did think that Kian's actions at the end of the book were not in line with the kind of character we believed him to be. However, we also discussed the fact that we "knew" him through Robyn's eyes and she thought she was in love with him. Maybe his character was this deceitful and selfish all along and we just didn't see that side of him until the end. Either way, we thought the book heist at the end was a bit rushed and also kind of unnecessary, but we didn't hate it. 

We talked about the idea of Robyn getting over Kian a little earlier in the book so her relationship with Will could have been further explored rather than a rushed kiss at the very end of the book. We also acknowledged how important the non-romantic and female friendships were to Robyn in her transformation. It was ok to not have a romance in the story. 

We'd highly recommend this fun read and wish we could open our own bookshop together!

Memorable Meeting Moments: Rachel took us to eat at Ciccio's Trattoria near her house and we came back to her house for dessert and discussion. Lindsay was able to attend this meeting in person and we celebrated Amberly's birthday month. 

What We Ate: Focaccia with Ricotta and Olive Oil/Balsamic Vinegar, Various pastas, Branzino, Salmon, and a Brownie Sundae bar for dessert.

The Strength of the Few

Author: James Islington

Who Picked the Book: Lindsay

One-sentence summary: Vis navigates peril in three worlds as all three of him (and others) try to overturn the oppressive regime.

B.A.D. Girls Book Rating: 6

Our favorite thing about it: It was very creative and had interesting things to say about what will be done just to survive.

Our least favorite thing about it: It was way too complicated and hard to follow.

Main Topics of Discussion: Novel structure, character development, sacrifice, moral compromise, loss, violence.

Our favorite quote: "Without grief, love would be meaningless. Because it is impossible to truly love something that cannot be lost."

Notes: Our overwhelming feeling about this book is that it could have been so much better if it hadn't tried to do too much. Just when you think you're getting a handle on this new world, the author expands the worlds to three and you've got to learn two more. Except now, you're learning them one chapter at a time, breaking up any development or action with chapters from each different world. It took so long (especially for those listening, not reading) to reorient themselves in every single chapter that it took some of the enjoyment out of just following the story and characters. If you're constantly trying to place where you are and with whom, and who are these people again? - it is sort of exhausting and not a fun reading experience. The chapters about Rez (the original world) were more enjoyable precisely because we'd spent the entire first novel learning those characters and that world. It seemed hard for the author to properly develop the characters or the action because there simply wasn't enough time (and this novel is LONG). 

One of our criticisms from the first book carried over to this one - and largely just because of the structure of the book. We still didn't like that we didn't connect with the characters - even Vis. There were parts of the first book (return to Sus, sometimes at the Academy) where we began to feel more emotionally attached, but overall both books are lacking in this department. It's hard to care about what's happening if you don't care about the characters. If this book had just continued the story in ONE world, that development might have been possible. 

Many of us were turned off by the violence - we don't love reading graphic depictions of violence in general. And especially when all of the characters we actually knew and remembered were being killed. 

And one thing that bothered us was Vis's view on using Will. In the first book, it was a major deal that he did not do that. He went to great lengths and it caused him trouble to not use Will. And now in this second book - he not only uses it all the time, but all the guardrails are off. There seems to be no limit to what he will do even though he thinks about how bad it is while he's doing it. This seemed so incongruent to us. 

Usually we'd take more care to reread portions of a book that didn't make sense the first time or spend time really trying to remember and get to know each character - but this book was just so laborious in every way. We basically just kept reading and thought "oh, well." We felt very "meh" about this one. 

Memorable Meeting Moments: We were able to try The Bloom Lounge for brunch, which was fabulous. And then we went to Rachel's house for tea and book discussion. We met at 12:30pm for brunch - one of our earlier meeting times!

What We Ate: Lindsay treated us to brunch (from afar!) at The Bloom Lounge. We had mimosas, goat cheese & jam dip, chicken & gnocchi, short rib risotto, and vanilla pancakes with chocolate ganache.

The Will of the Many

Author: James Islington

Who Picked the Book: Dara

One-sentence summary: An orphaned prince who is hiding his identity gets taken up in high stakes secret missions for both sides of the new regime's conflict, making a discovery that completely changes his understanding of his world.

B.A.D. Girls Book Rating: 7

Our favorite thing about it: Good balance of dialogue to action.

Our least favorite thing about it: Hard to get into. 

Main Topics of Discussion: Ethics of Resistance, Friendship, Loyalty, Survival

Our favorite quote: “There comes a point in every man’s life where he can rail against the unfairness of the world until he loses, or he can do his best in it. Remain a victim, or become a survivor.”

Notes: The start of this book gave us the most trouble. Because it's an entirely new world, it (like other books of this genre) was confusing at first. And the plot took a while to ramp up, so it took us a while to care about the characters and what was going on. We actually felt that the first quarter of the book could have been shortened quite a bit without losing any of the history of the character. And the author makes no attempt - even later in the book - to really flesh out what "using people's wills" really is and how it works. That's not that important to the plot, but it kind of sits in the background, unknown. Most of us were able to just ignore this looming question. 

Distinguishing between the characters was hard for some of us as well. Those that listened had a harder time remembering who everyone was. Those that read (or did a combo of reading and listening) did not have as hard of a time. The names of the characters were unusual so that probably contributed to the overall confusion. In addition to this, it took us a while to care about the characters and some of us never quite got there. 

One of the best parts of the book as far as emotional weight and character development was when Vis is forced to travel back to Suus, his former home that was violently taken over by the current regime (who also killed his entire family). Wrestling with hiding his identity in this place, coupled with a budding relationship, and encountering his father's former advisor working for the Hierarchy - all of it carried such high stakes and emotional weight that this part of the book was one of the most interesting for us. 

And the ethical discussion of the resistance's (Anguis) tactics was both interesting and gave the book some depth. Likewise, Vis's discussion and revelations about his father's former advisor and the reality of life in Suus was insightful and nuanced as well. 

Overall, we enjoyed the story and thought it was interesting even though there were aspects that either took us out of the reading experience, made it harder, or just didn't interest us. Our next book club pick is the second book in this series, so we'll see how we like it!

Memorable Meeting Moments: This was our Christmas meeting and we painted Christmas paint by number canvases at Dara's house, played our Jeopardy game, opened gifts from each other, and discussed the book.

What We Ate: Melon, Prosciutto, and Balsamic Vinegar bites along with Fig Jam and Goat Cheese Crostini for appetizers. A festive and refreshing cocktail. Spinach salad, Steak with Asparagus and Butternut Squash Risotto. Pumpkin Dump Cake AND Brownies with Ice Cream for dessert.

My Friends

Author: Fredrik Backman

Who Picked the Book: Christina

One-sentence summary: A group of teenage friends grow up facing loss and heartache, simultaneously enduring and learning how to live and love.

B.A.D. Girls Book Rating: 8

Our favorite thing about it: We were all engaged by the story of the friends.

Our least favorite thing about it: The writing style was hard to adjust to for many of us.

Main Topics of Discussion: Friendship, Loss, Suspense, Storytelling, Art, Connection, Characters

Our favorite quote: "The world is full of miracles, but none greater than how far a young person can be carried by someone else’s belief in them."

Notes: We all agreed that we enjoyed this book for the most part. A couple of us really loved it. We liked reading about the characters and really wanted to know how their story ended. There were some really lovely parts about love, art, and connection that resonated with us. Some lines were really beautiful. 

But the writing style was hard for some of us as well. The translation into English made it a little hard to adjust to. And the writing seemed overwrought. Every sentence had to have a deep meaning and it was a little bit of a turn off for some of us. We shared the angst that Louisa had over how long Ted was taking to tell the story. It seemed to take forever. And then, some parts seemed deliberately misleading to some of us. Others of us were not bothered by that. And finally, although we wanted to know the ending to the story, we didn't really connect with any of the characters that much. 

So we enjoyed the book and acknowledge that there are profound and touching parts to is, but for some of us it had equally annoying aspects!

Memorable Meeting Moments: It was just the DFW crew for this meeting. We met at a new place for all of us, Escape 360 Cafe in McKinney. We also went to Christina's temporary home for the first time as a group! And Christina gave us beautiful flowers!

What We Ate: We all had shrimp and chicken dishes with varying degrees of spice! We shared two kinds of souffles (which were more like Japanese pancakes) - Biscoff and Nutella with Banana. We also shared a Biscoff cheesecake and got Pumpkin Hot Chocolate and coffee. 

Awake

Author: Jen Hatmaker

Who Picked the Book: Joint Pick

One-sentence summary: Jen details how an affair upended her life and how she made a new one for herself with the help of friends, family, and determination. 

B.A.D. Girls Book Rating: 8

Our favorite thing about it: Jen's spectacular way of writing that keeps you entertained and thinking deeply about what you're reading. 

Our least favorite thing about it: It's hard to find anything, honestly. Maybe just the implied privilege Jen has/had while working through something like this (see below) - which she would acknowledge but doesn't mention in the book. 

Main Topics of Discussion: What didn't we discuss. Church, Purity-Culture, Church Employees and Elders, Family Dynamics, Emotional Abuse, Trust, Healing

Our favorite quote: "The trauma someone else created is not your fault, but dealing with it is your responsibility."

Notes: Our discussion about this book was long and winding! But mainly, we all loved the book. Most of us listened to it since Jen read the audiobook (and added a few tidbits to that format). The audio format just played to her strengths as a speaker. She is a fantastic writer, but she also nails the delivery when speaking.

We loved that the blended her history and her healing. All of the stories made sense in her self-discovery about why she ended up where she was and how she was going to survive her unwelcome and entirely undeserved situation. 

One aspect Stephanie brought up while we were discussing the book with her via Facetime was just how privileged Jen was in this whole process. We don't say that to take away anything that she has. And we believe she would fully own all of it. For example - she is rich in family and friendships. The relationships she has with her friends and family are incredible. And they live so close to her. They offered support to her in ways that many (good) families and friends wouldn't or couldn't. She also had the time to take off for Me Camp for a month. And a flexible job that she could still do while there. This and more did help her journey, but again, it doesn't take away from her hard work and introspection. 

Memorable Meeting Moments: We had to fight the crowds at Frisco's Oktoberfest happening at the Star. And we went back to Rachel's house after dinner to discuss the book and Facetime Stephanie!

What We Ate: We ate at The Common Table in Frisco (hummus, meatballs, cocktails, salmon, fish & chips, smash burger, short rib, and Heath bar bread pudding for dessert).