This month’s host is Library of Clean Reads
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The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake: A Novel by Aimee Bender
(for review from Doubleday via Goodreads First Reads)
On the eve of her ninth birthday, unassuming Rose Edelstein, a girl at the periphery of schoolyard games and her distracted parents’ attention, bites into her mother’s homemade lemon-chocolate cake and discovers she has a magical gift: she can taste her mother’s emotions in the cake. She discovers this gift to her horror, for her mother—her cheerful, good-with-crafts, can-do mother—tastes of despair and desperation. Suddenly, and for the rest of her life, food becomes a peril and a threat to Rose.
The curse her gift has bestowed is the secret knowledge all families keep hidden—her mother’s life outside the home, her father’s detachment, her brother’s clash with the world. Yet as Rose grows up she learns to harness her gift and becomes aware that there are secrets even her taste buds cannot discern.
The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake is a luminous tale about the enormous difficulty of loving someone fully when you know too much about them. It is heartbreaking and funny, wise and sad, and confirms Aimee Bender’s place as “a writer who makes you grateful for the very existence of language” (San Francisco Chronicle).
♦ ♦ ♦
Pale Rose of England: A novel of the Tudors by Sandra Worth
(from Marcia at The Printed Page) Thanks, Marcia!
It is 1497. The news of the survival of Richard Plantagenet, Duke of York, has set royal houses ablaze with intrigue and rocked the fledgling Tudor dynasty. With the support of Scotland’s King James IV, Richard-known to most of England as Perkin Warbeck-has come to reclaim his rightful crown from Henry Tudor. Stepping finally onto English soil, Lady Catherine Gordon has no doubt that her husband will succeed in his quest.
But rather than assuming the throne, Catherine would soon be prisoner of King Henry VII, and her beloved husband would be stamped as an imposter. With Richard facing execution for treason, Catherine, alone in the glittering but deadly Tudor Court, must find the courage to spurn a cruel monarch, shape her own destiny, and win the admiration of a nation.
What was in your mailbox?
I’ll be interested to see what you think of The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake – it’s gotten mixed reviews. Have a great week in books!
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I still haven’t read The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake, and I still want to even though it’s gotten mixed reviews because I just love the title so much. Can’t wait to see what you think of it 🙂
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The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake sounds great!
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Both great books Mary! I have the first one but I’d sure love to get Pale Rose of England. Have a great week!
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The Pale Rose of England sounds great. I still haven’t read The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake but am interested to hear what you think of it.
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i read and reviewed ‘…lemon cake’ last summer and thought some parts were so beautifully written while some plot lines were a bit bizarre. it’s a suspension-of-belief type of novel but is well worth a read.
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Ohhh the pale rose! That one sounds so fascinating
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I enjoyed the Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake, and enjoyed it, but I also agree with nat@book,line and sinker, some parts were peculiar. I do however, feel that it’s not a far stretch to know what people feel by what they cook. If you doubt that, come on over for my meatballs, hate making meatballs.
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Wow, both of these look great! Looking forward to your reviews.
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I’m still interested in hearing more about The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake, because I can’t decide whether to read it or not! Happy reading! 🙂
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Can’t wait to hear what you think of Pale Rose of England! Great books!
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Pale Rose cover is amazing!!! I have an ARC of Sadness from Diane (Bibliophile) I’m sure we’ll both enjoy it!!!
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Can’t wait to read Pale Rose of England. I’ve heard nothing but good things about this one 🙂
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I’ve been wanting to read The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake…hope you enjoy it.
Here’s MY MONDAY MEMES post.
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Love Marcia, she introduced me to India Black and I haven’t been the same since.
Your historical fiction looks amazing as does the Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake.
PS Arranged just needs a snail mail and don’t worry about the shipping… DING consider it a belated Blog anniversary gift. So send me email with snail mail at aisleb@hotmail.com
JUST DO IT 😉
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Both of these look intriguing as all get out! Enjoy them.
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The one about the Lemon Cake looks really good.
Here is mine
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I still haven’t read The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake. It’s gazing down at me from my ‘read me soon’ shelf! Pale Rose of England is a new one for me. I’ve been getting into historical fiction lately.
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I read the Lemon Cake one and found it a difficult read. The Sandra Worth book is of course looking glorious.
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I have been wanting to read The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake and look forward to your review. I just love the title and the cover:)
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I have heard so much about The Particular Sadness of the Lemon Cake. I hope you enjoy all your books!
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Have a great week and enjoy your new books
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I would love to read Pale Rose of England. I love the Tudors. 🙂 Plus, awesome cover. Enjoy reading!
Here’s my Mailbox.
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I loved the first one Mary — enjoy.
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I like the sound of the Pale Rose of England: A novel of the Tudors, its just my kind of read.
I’m reading Storm Force by Jim Butcher. A story about a private investigator who happens to be a wizard, I’m only a few pages in but it looks promising.
Happy reading.
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I’m dying to know what you thought of …Lemoncake. I picked that up a while ago and was on the fence. BUT it got great reviews. hmm I’ll be back for your review! You can find my mailbox here if you want to stop by 😉 http://blog.juliealindsey.com/
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The Particular Cake of Sadness is sitting on my shelf unread. I have read so many mixed reviews for it. I’ll be curious to see what you think of it. Have a good week!
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I would love to read both of these books-they look great! Thanks for sharing!
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here’s mine http://tributebooksmama.blogspot.com/2011/02/mailbox-monday-shes-all-that.html
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Oh wow! These definitely sound interesting. I hope you enjoy them.
My Mailbox Monday is up at Wakela’s World.
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TPSOLC – sounds interesting and I too have read some really mixed reviews. I hope you enjoy it fully.
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I keep thinking I should read TPSOLC. Most of what I’ve read has been good, and it does sound interesting.
Enjoy your reading!
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Both books I would like to read! Thanks for stopping by. Happy reading 🙂
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I like the title “The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake”. Makes you wanna know that the story is about.
Thanks for dropping by my blog earlier. I can’t wait to start on the Guernsey and Water for Elephants.
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Oh I really want to read The Pale Rose of England – I hope you like it!
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Both books sound great, haven’t heard of either but I look forward to your reviews, Mary.
Thanks for stopping by my blog. Have a great week!
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Sounds like a couple of good ones. Enjoy!
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