A Well-Read Tart

A Food and Book Lover’s Blog

Book Review of MY MAGNOLIA SUMMER (DNF review)

Unpopular opinion alert: I didn’t like My Magnolia Summer. I hate to break it to you, but this is another DNF book review. This Southern fiction novel by Victoria Benton Frank has been sweeping through the #bookstagram and BookTok feeds recently. The main reason is because it looks like the perfect summer read. Another reason might have something to do with the fact that author Frank is the daughter of famed novelist Dorothea Benton Frank....

Book Review of CHICK MAGNET

I know I signed up for a romance when I requested an ARC of Chick Magnet, but I was not prepared for this book cover when I opened my book mail. I guess I've gotten used to all the cutesy cartoon covers gracing every rom-com out there these days. Bravo, author Emma Barry, for reminding us all why we're really pickin' up a romance.  However... I'm very grateful I don't take public transportation into the city anymore because reading this book...

Book Review of SURVIVING SAVANNAH

It took me a few chapters to get drawn into Surviving Savannah, but once I did, I couldn’t put this book down. Settle in, Tartlets, because this book review is going to be a little longer than usual. This bittersweet, fascinating historical fiction novel left me with two things: 1) a hardened resolve to never, ever, ever take a cruise 2) a need to know more about the real story behind the Pulaski steamship disaster Author Patti Callahan...

Book Review of WHERE THE CRAWDADS SING

It took me a long time to read Where the Crawdads Sing. Please don't make the same mistake I did. There has been So. Much. Hype. around this 2018 novel by Delia Owens. It was picked up by both Oprah's Book Club and Reese Witherspoon's Hello Sunshine Book Club. And, the movie adaptation releases next week. Clearly, Where the Crawdads Sing is a BIG DEAL. So, why'd it take me so long to read it? **shrug** I'm suspicious about mega-hyped books....

Book Review of THE NEWCOMER

Honestly, is it even summer without a Mary Kay Andrews book to read? You all know my love for MKA runs deep, and The Newcomer hit every expectation that I had for my summer beach read: -- dreamy Southern vacation spot along the water? Check. -- a sweet and plucky heroine? Check. -- a predictable but enjoyable romance with a hot, too-good-to-be-true guy? Check. -- a spot of murder for a dash of intrigue? Check. When I told my husband the premise...

Book Review of CHRISTMAS JOY

Christmas Joy is the perfect book to sink into over the holiday season. Last year, I basically swiped right on a bunch of Christmas books available from my local library, and I spent the six weeks leading up to Christmas reading about nothing but candy canes, cookies, holiday décor, and small-town romance. There were some hits and some misses, but Christmas Joy is definitely one of the highlights from that book stack. It doesn't hurt that this...

Book Review of MIDNIGHT AT THE BLACKBIRD CAFE

Midnight at the Blackbird Cafe is as wonderful and lovely as its book cover. Please read it. There. DONE! Book review complete. Oh, okay. I suppose I should tell you a little more about why I blazed through this utterly charming novel by Heather Webber.     What's Midnight at the Blackbird Cafe about? Anna Kate Callow unexpectedly inherits her grandmother’s adorable Blackbird Café, on the stipulation that she uproot her life and move to...

Book Review of THE COOKBOOK CLUB

I think I want to start a Cookbook Club. I had no idea what one was until I read The Cookbook Club by Beth Harbison, and now I'm obsessed with the idea. And that's completely due to the fact that this women's fiction-meets-foodie-fiction novel is a sheer delight. The Cookbook Club is about three women whose lives intersect when they meet up together for this unique book club group: they pick a cookbook, cook/bake some recipes from it, and...

Book Review of THE SOUTHERN BOOK CLUB’S GUIDE TO SLAYING VAMPIRES

A blogger friend recommended The Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires to me during one of my reading slumps, and I jumped on it since I’m a big fan of author Grady Hendrix’s previous novel, Horrorstor. Also, as Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Twilight enthusiast (don’t judge), I have a thing for vampires, so I figured The Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires was worth a shot. This chilling Southern fiction tale is a...

Book Review of MEG and JO

OMGILOVEDTHISBOOK. *deep breath* Ahem. Sorry. But, seriously, guys. I absolutely adored Meg and Jo. I’m a huge fan of retellings, particularly ones that modernize classic stories (see Eligible), but this is the first retelling of Little Women that I’ve read. That being said, expectations were high when I started reading – and I’m so happy to report that Virginia Kantra's reimagining completely surpassed everything I could have hoped for....