Angelina's Bachelors, Brian O'Reilly

I

love books.  I love food.  I really love books *about* food.  So, when I first saw a blurb about Angelina’s Bachelors somewhere in the dregs of goodreads.com, I knew I would have to pick it up at some point.  It apparently came out in 2011, but didn’t make its way into my hands until now.

The book tells the story of Angelina D’Angelo, a young widow facing life on her own with a mountain of grief and bills to pay.  A born foodie, she finds a form of therapy in the intricate, yet homey, dishes she creates.  Before long, she finds herself accepting an informal job offer from a bachelor neighbor - to become something of a personal chef.  The deal is sealed and includes two daily meals, six days a week, prepared and served in Angelina’s living room.  Before long, several other bachelors jump into the fray, and a new family is born.  The cast of characters runs the gamut from a mobster to an aspiring priest, and certainly makes for some entertaining moments. 

There were various recipes interspersed throughout the book, to match Angelina’s creations.  I thought this was a nice touch, although admittedly, most were a bit far-reaching for the casual home cook.  At some points, I think the gastronomic detail was a bit much, as well.  I don’t need to read all about how Angelina is creating a new masterpiece, only to re-read virtually the same thing in the recipe section.  Too much of anything is not a good thing. 

Overall, however, I thoroughly enjoyed this book.  I found it to be an endearing, sweet look at how people – virtual strangers – can come together to form unbreakable bonds.  Sure, there were moments of predictability - some so saccharine they’d give you a toothache.  Ultimately, though, what this book has is heart.  It’s a feel-good story, and who couldn’t use one of those from time to time?

3.5 Stars      

The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake, by Aimee Bender

I’m sure you’re all wondering why on Earth I’m choosing to read and review this book now, when it came out approximately 3 billion years ago.  I know, I admit it – I’m late to the party.  (You’ll come to see this as a normal trait for me).  But, my tardiness with this particular book has an explanation.  The reviews I’ve read have been AWFUL.  Now, why would I want to waste any of my precious reading minutes on stuff that has been deemed crap by so many others??  Hence, the delay.  Just last week, however, Paperback Swap came through with an available copy, so I gave it a shot.  How bad could it be?

At the opening of the book, we meet young Rose Edelstein, who lives with her parents and older brother, Joseph.  All appears to be (somewhat) normal in the Edelstein household until Rose is celebrating her birthday with a scrummy Lemon Cake lovingly made by her mom.  Upon taking her first bite, Rose realizes that she has the uncanny ability to identify the personal feelings, mental state, and/or emotions, of her baker mom.  As the book unfolds, it becomes clear that this new ability holds true for just about everything Rose eats, anytime, anywhere.  Talk about cumbersome.  At one point, she’s even joined by her brother’s intellectual friend, George, to try out her new ‘powers’ at a local bake shop.   

Meanwhile, we also get a deeper look into the unusual, secluded world of her brother, Joseph.  When I first started to read about his various quirks and privacy issues, I didn’t think all that much of it.  I have an older brother.  When we were growing up, he didn’t want to have anything to do with me, either.  As the book progressed, though, the depth and extent of his ‘issues’ became more apparent.  He would disappear for various lengths of time, with no explanation, causing the family countless hours of worry.

By the time I reached the three-quarter mark of this book, I found myself questioning all those crappy reviews.  What I was reading wasn’t so bad.  In fact, it was actually a pretty interesting concept.  Rose was able to solve various family mysteries and problems just by eating the various foods that were prepped around her.  The relationship she had with her parents, as well as with her sibling, were things that, I think, anyone can relate to on some level.  And, then the shoe dropped…

I don’t want to give away that ‘shoe,’ but you have been warned.  It’s there, and it’s ready to stomp all over you.  I closed the cover, just shaking my head to and fro.  It was a major ‘WTH’ moment.  I really, truly hate spoilers, but a fair warning is justified.  I’m still giving this sucker a decent rating, because I was entertained throughout.  I just think the author was smoking a little somethin’ somethin’ when she wrote the last few pages. 

3 Stars

The Tao of Martha, by Jen Lancaster

Let’s get this out of the way now.  Jen Lancaster is one funny lady.  If you’ve ever read one of her previously released ‘memoirs,’ you’ll know exactly what I’m talking about.  (And, if you haven’t, why the hell not?!?)  Regardless, I think she went above and beyond with this one.  I laughed…I cried…I laughed some more!  No, seriously.  That’s exactly what I did...in that order.  And, the tears weren’t always from laughing so hard.    

When I first heard of Jen Lancaster, I walked right past the big display with her books.  (I know, I know.  I’m hanging my head in shame, okay?)  I foolishly thought they were some sort of feminine self-help mumbo jumbo, and that’s REALLY not my thing.  After hearing a friend gush about them, though, I finally checked one out of the library…and saw the light.  Hilarity ensued.  Now, if that doesn’t teach you to do your research, boys and girls, I don’t know what will.  But, I digress...

As this book opens, we find out that Jen is on a mission to go all Martha Stewart on us.  She wants to live a year of her life emulating that guru of, well, everything.  Do you know what I say to that?  Better you than me!  It is, in fact, very good for ALL of us that she chose to partake in this little experiment, because you may need to change your undies at least once while reading.  As she embarks on various elements of domesticity, such as dinner parties and gardening (and other miscellaneous ‘stuff’ that I avoid at all costs), her loving husband, Fletch, is right there at her side, showing his support (and an occasional eye roll).      

Aside from her usual zany, raucous, and wacky sense of humor, the aspect of Ms. Lancaster’s persona that shines brightest in this book is her role as an animal lover – verging on an animal hoarder, judging by her many various pets.  (Side note:  please don’t read that as a negative comment, since I mean it most sincerely as a compliment.  In my eyes, animals are FAR superior to all humans.  Well, except for my husband.  And my parents.  And my brother.  Well, whatever, you know what I mean.)  Bottom line?  Ms. Lancaster is a very good egg. 

Whether you’re laughing at the way she (lovingly) refers to her ‘Thundercats’ as assholes, or crying while embracing the journey she shares with her beloved, ill furbaby, Maisy, this book will tap into all sorts of different emotions.  To put it succinctly, I finished it feeling sufficiently full, in every way.  The aforementioned tears were very real, but the mastery of Jen Lancaster lies in the fact that she had me laughing out loud (again) before those tears could even dry.

While her previous books were always riotously funny, I didn’t feel the pull of the heartstrings much.  They were amusing, for sure.  They always made me laugh.  But, then I was moving on to the next book in my stack.  This time, however, the book stayed with me.  She let us get a peek at the REAL Jen behind the funny anecdotes.  And, what makes that even more special to this fan is that my initial opinion of her holds true.  She’s just a funny (compassionate) chick.

4.5 stars   

Revenge Wears Prada: The Devil Returns, by Lauren Weisberger

She’s baaaack!!  The evil fashion maven we all love to hate has returned in Lauren Weisberger’s sequel to the 2004 hit, The Devil Wears Prada.  This time around, we’re promised more of the stormy, turbulent trials and tribulations of Andrea Sachs, and her skirmishes with the truly appalling Miranda Priestly, in Revenge Wears Prada.  I was so eager to get my grubby little paws on this sucker I think I pre-ordered back in January.  Good ol’ Amazon came through and delivered my precious to me a day before its official release – Monday, June 3^rd.  I was so excited, so eager, so amped-up, that I did something I don’t ordinarily do.  I <gasp!> dropped the book I was previously reading and dug right into this one.  I couldn’t wait for more of the back-stabbing, the eye-rolling, the truly E-V-I-L deeds of Ms. Priestly. 

The first wonky thing I noticed in the book was that Andy was suddenly friends with Emily.  Not just friends, but good friends…BEST friends.  Are we talking about the same Emily?  Really?  The girl who made me genuinely appreciate some of the loons I’ve had to share office space with, in the past? Yep, that’s her.  Sadly, I just didn’t buy their connection.  There were so many other directions she could’ve chosen to take them in.  But, what’s a girl to do?  I read on…

Best chums Andy and Emily have started their own successful glossy mag, focusing on the glamorous, dreamy side of the wedding industry.  My second hint for where this book was going came in the form of the magazine’s name, The Plunge.  Every time I saw the Italic script standing out on a page, I SWORE it said The Plague.  Please tell me I’m not the only one.

Once I read through about a third of the book, I must admit, I was starting to panic.  Where on EARTH was the she-devil??  Let’s face it, Ahn-dre-ah was sweet and all, but I wasn’t all that interested in her boring, vanilla life.  Even the melodrama was drab.  It was the down and dirty stuff – the angst - that intrigued me.  Fear not, anxious readers.  The beast eventually does return, though it takes far too many turns of a page to reach her. 

My overall opinion, sadly, is meh.  The book was alright, but it certainly didn’t live up to the hype of its predecessor.  It was…bland.  The new characters that were introduced weren’t the sparkling, interesting folk I looked forward to.  I had high hopes for Barbara, Andy’s not-so-sweet mother-in-law, but I felt like she was just thrown in as an afterthought – to add a tad bit more drama when it was needed.  None of the characters made me want to root for them, including Andy.  She BORED me. 

I readily admit that the author couldn’t just make a carbon copy of the first Prada book.  And, I don’t really believe that’s what I was looking for here.  However, a little excitement would’ve been nice, not some collection of schleppy dramatics that any one of us can get on a daily basis by visiting our relatives.  I'm so bummed.

3 stars (barely)