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Kristy H (1252 KP) rated Blush in Books

Nov 18, 2021  
Blush
Blush
Jamie Brenner | 2021 | Fiction & Poetry
6
6.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
BLUSH tells the story of three generations of women who discover that the trashy novels of the Jackie Collins/Judith Krantz era might hold the key to saving their family’s winery. Jamie Brenner’s BLUSH is the second book in my ABC author challenge [B].

This is a sweeping novel that gives a lot (!) of details about wine and vineyards. The Hollander family owns their Long Island winery—belonging to matriarch Vivian and her husband, Leonard. Leonard, who is quite firm in his ideas about gender roles, would not let their daughter Leah take over, so she runs a cheese shop in New York City. Leah’s daughter Sadie is struggling in college with her thesis.

When they all converge at the vineyard, they discover Leonard is thinking of selling. He refuses to accept any of Leah or Vivian’s ideas to help save it. But when Sadie finds Vivian’s trashy old novels from her book club days, the three women come together. It’s fun to hear about the old novels (you’ll enjoy this book if you like Krantz or Collins) and watch the women triumph over Leonard, who, honestly can be sort of awful. The themes of marriage, sexism, and family run strong and make this an interesting read, even if the characters sometimes frustrate you to no end. 3 stars.
  
So, it is always really had to write a review of a cookbook for me. One, I cannot consider it read without thinking that it is kind of cheating if I haven't made all of the recipes. So... I'm not marking this as fully read nor will I have it as a book read in 2017.

I really enjoyed the author of this book and her narration. It was quirky and fun. Honestly, I was laughing through the descriptions and her random graphics thrown in.

I loved the concept of this book but I have to wonder if the author knew her stuff when it comes to creating recipes. I cooked "You're a Total Monster" cookies and they were okay. The addition of Nacho Cheese Doritos was weird yet fun. My one complaint though was the fact that the cooking time was completely wrong and I mean completely wrong. Luckily, I was able to figure out that it should be 5 minutes and then turn for 5 more minutes. This reduced the cooking time by 8 minutes. My first batches were burnt to a crisp which annoyed me.

All in all, if you're looking for a cookbook with attitude, this is a fun one. The recipes are weird and will surely be the talk of the gathering you bring them too. Just make sure that you change cooking times if they come out burnt.

I received this book from Bookish First in Exchange for an honest review.