THE YUMMY MUMMY by POLLY WILLIAMS

Not the cover of the book I read, but for some reason blogger is not allowing me to paste that picture!

Amy is our new mother, Evie is our infant and Joe is the partner. We then have the various other mothers - each one different and oh so very individual.  We have the single mum, we have the placid mum where everything is all right in her world, we have the model mum. the earth mum, the organic food only mum. In fact the whole gamut of them.

More than a story about Amy our new Mum, this is an eye opener into the world of new mums - the insecurities faced in a modern world ranging from body image to self confidence, to the need for family or partner support and how mums struggle to deal with these more modern issues. The subject of faithfulness despite the light hearted attitude to "affairs of the heart" and the heartbreak which follows unfaithfulness is also a revealing subject, specially in the view that these mums view flirting and sometimes an actual open invitation to flirting very matter of factly and part of the lifestyle.

A chick lit with a bit of serious overtones once you stop to think of it all. 

THE ITALIAN WEDDING by NICKY PELLEGRINO

The stuff of fantasy - haven't we all wished that we could just flit away to Venice or Florence or Provence. Well this is what Catherine did thirty years ago and where she met the impoverished and handsome Beppi (still true to form and fantasy) married him and moved back to England.

Fast forward thirty years, we have an established restaurant called Little Italy, a very clever chef in the form  of Beppi who has remained true to his Italian roots and we now have two daughters by the unusual names of Pieta and Addoloratto (pity and sorrow!) and Catherine our mother in the story. 

We also have a wedding coming up (the Italian wedding in the story) of Addoloratto marrying a Scottish/Ghanian and Pieta on the sidelines. One daughter has followed her father into the restaurant business and is equally successful and Pieta is a bridal designer equally good.  The saga, the history behind these characters, the unfolding drama at the wedding forms the entire story which is delightful.

Interspersed with receipes (I would have loved more) the warmth and caring of a small knit family set in an immigrant community in a foreign city comes through marvellously.

Liked it very much. 

DEATH OF AN OUTSIDER by M C BEATON

My second M C Beaton read in one week. I am now getting into her style and liking it. Like Hamish our local detective the author is almost laconic in her manner of dealing with murder and mystery.

A completely different style to what I have been used to. 

We have a plodder - a detective in the backwoods of the Highlands. Frowned on by his superior officer Blair who treats him with contempt but is secretly fearful that he will solve the mystery (again) and make Blair the laughing stock of the police force, Hamish goes on his merry way seemingly oblivious to what goes on around him but obviously picking up clues studiously and putting the whole thing together.

I would like the surroundings to be a little more descriptive. I can imagine the Scottish Highlands to be beautiful in their own right but this is a murder right? so the background is just that. 

Light reading and to top it all a nice sized font!

On a non reading note we are back to hot, extremely hot weather. We also bought our wedding sari so that is a major hurdle over. I just hope our bride loves it as much as I do!

MAILBOX MONDAY/IT'S MONDAY! WHAT ARE YOU READING?

Mailbox Monday hosted for July by Book Obsessed.

The books that I got this week are

Put Italian and romance in one sentence and I am a sucker! the cover is a bit unprepossessing I thought. You can do so very very much with Italian and Romance!

Not read British chick lit for quite sometime. I like the sound of this one.

Two feuding families, two love stories and to crown it all a feast of delicious Italian food.

This week it is all fun, light reads!

This meme hosted by Sheila at Book Journey.

Reading 

I find these books very easy to read. They are small books which fit into a handbag very conveniently so I seem to be reading much more than usual!

Unlike most bloggers, I do not have a stack of books to be read awaiting me. I am in awe of those who seem to have literally hundreds of books awaiting reading and review. My TBR list is enormous of course but the actual physical number of books is always just a couple of books available at any one time. The fortunate thing is that I always find a couple of books to have around so that the fear of not having anything to read is never there. 

THE REAL THING by CATHERINE ALLIOTT

Although it could be called a romance this is more about family - the complicated and straight forward relationships that go to bind a family together and how though we may not forgive someone "outside" we are always willing to go the extra mile to forgive someone within the family.

We have our housewife  stay at home Mum 30ish two young kids, devoted husband barrister. We have a background of a close knit sibling almost 30 unmarried. A dominant father and a submissive mother who seems to give in for the sake of peace. We also have as a side kick a rather interesting cousin and her parents. Altogether three kids form the whole parcel of family.

Set in a family pile in Scotland where the family trek for holidays we also have the smouldering ex  boyfriend who for the last twelve years has been holding out hope that our now Mum but erstwhile girlfriend Tessa will come back to him. A few fairly interesting, eye brow raising questions do come up but it all seems to end well.

A very simple story and just right for the lazy Sunday I have had! My visitors have gone away for the weekend leaving behind heaps of washing to be done but the house is quiet so reading got done!

CHEERFUL WEATHER FOR THE WEDDING by JULIA STRACHEY

When I first read this title I thought it was going to be a read in the manner of a Joanna Trollope - a fun read. I did not expect the interest to be rather dark and humorous. Dark but still humorous.

A young woman (not a very nice person!) is in her dressing room on the morning of her wedding with a bottle of rum. The house is very full of guests and family including her ex lover! There are squabbles, there is a lot unsaid, you can read some of the characters very well and some are difficult to fathom. A short story you are finished almost before you get into it but the characterization is very good and the plot very short and sweet.

Definitely not for everyone and judging by general reviews the audience is divided on this one.  I rather liked it.

It's Saturday morning here and I was hoping for a quiet weekend. I think its going to be anything but quiet!

DEATH OF A DREAMER by M C BEATON

My first ever read of M C Beaton. A short review.

I've got several of them on my shelf and find them very easy to read. The books are small, a good sized font and are ideal for someone who can read in between appointments, endlessly waiting for someone (me) so this was a quick read.

I found the style succinct and to the point. I expected much more. I thought the rural setting of the Highlands would have been more descriptive. I think I've got used to (and liked) descriptions of the country where the book is actually based. This may be due to the fact that I enjoy travel and this is another vicarious way of visiting these fabulous places! from that point of view this book disappointed me but that is me.

Straight forward murders in a sleepy locale. The local cop is looked on as a bright spark by some and a plodder by others. He however has the reputation of finding the killer (always!).  Quirky characters involved including the murdered victims and all are not what they seem - including the copper's pets - loved their names by the way Lugs and Sonsie! thought that was really good.

A pleasant enough read and if you are looking for a book that you could just pick up and start and then put aside and come back to later this is perfect.