booksbydorothea

HughBridge

TRIGGER WARNINGS: Death, grief, medical content, medical trauma, mental illness.

Happy reading,

Dorothea 💜

Sunday, June 29, 2025

REVIEW - The Matchmaker's Gift (ebook)

The Matchmaker's Gift by Lynda Cohen Loigman (ebook)

OVERVIEW

This is my second book by Lynda, and somehow, with the pandemic ending, I missed reading it!

This is the most beautiful and lovely book. It was what my heart needed, with the current chaos in the country. I loved it!

As someone who is married to an ABC (American Born Chinese), it was surprising to discover so many similarities with match-making in the two cultures. The ABC in the United States does not have an equivalent to a shadchan (male matchmaker) or a shadchanteh (female matchmaker). Interestingly, my Chinese-born in-laws had an arranged marriage, as did some of my husband's Chinese-born cousins.

OVERALL REVIEW: 5.0 stars

Writing: 5.0 stars

Lynda writes so well that it is almost as if you are IN the story! She adds gorgeous descriptive details, sprinkles Yiddish throughout, and shares Jewish traditions, which I love!

Character development: 5.0 stars

The two main characters are Sara (a first-generation immigrant from Kalarash and a matchmaker) and Abby (Sara's granddaughter and a divorce attorney). They are at the polar opposites of marriage!

The secondary characters are all of the matches that Sara has made over her eighty years of matchmaking.

The tertiary characters are Sara and Abby's family and friends, the Lower East Side Jewish community, and Abby's boss and clients.

The character development was excellent, especially as Sara had to fight to be a female matchmaker and Abby learned to be herself in her career. It was done so very well!

Storyline: 5.0 stars

There are two storylines, but they do intersect. The first storyline is Sara's, 1910-1994, and the second is Abby's, 1994-1995, with flashbacks in both.

The main location was New York City.

Memorable/Informative: 5.0 stars

This was a beautiful education about the intricacies of Jewish culture. It was a fantastic learning experience!

Book cover: 5.0 stars

So pretty!

Book title: 5.0 stars

Perfect.

Highly recommend

Los Angeles Public Library (LAPL) borrow: ebook

The Matchmaker's Gift by Lynda Cohen Loigman

320 pages

St. Martin's Press

Release date: 9/20/2022

INFORMATIONAL LINKS

Lynda Cohen Loigman

St. Martin's Press

TRIGGER WARNINGS:

Alcohol, death of a parent, grief, infidelity, misogyny, anti-semitism, domestic violence, pregnancy.

Happy reading,

Dorothea 💜

Friday, June 27, 2025

My next ebook is ...

The Matchmaker's Gift by Lynda Cohen Loigman (ebook)

Happy reading,

Dorothea 💜

REVIEW - The Midnight Library (ebook)

The Midnight Library by Matt Haig (audiobook)

OVERVIEW

This book was originally published in 2020, and was on many "recommended book lists", and won multiple awards. So I had very high expectations.

Well, I liked the book, but didn't love it. I truly thought it was about a library, and "real books" would help the main character find her way again. Boy, was I disappointed!

There was a lot about physics and parallel universes, which would be a great way to really lean into the speculative fiction aspects. It could have been even wilder and included magical realism more heavily. Yes, there was some of both, not enough for my taste. For some reason, while reading this book, I kept thinking of A Wrinkle in Time and how it took speculative fiction to the nth degree.

The last twenty pages or so were the best of the book, and I would have liked that powerful writing throughout the book.

OVERALL REVIEW: 3.5 stars.

Writing: 3.0 stars

Matt has written approximately twenty-five books, including fiction, non-fiction, and children's genres.

His writing just didn't do it for me. It wasn't beautiful, descriptive, or elegant.

Character development: 3.5 stars

The main characters are Nora (a young woman) and Mrs. Elm (Nora's former school librarian).

The secondary characters are Joe (Nora's brother), Dan (Nora's friend), and Ash (Nora's friend).

The tertiary characters are all the various people, including friends and family, whom Nora interacts with throughout the book. I cannot say much more, or I will ruin the book for anyone who reads this review.

The character development was okay. It felt as if Nora was led by Mrs. Elm to make the changes, which resulted in her introspection and her growth. I really wanted so much more.

Storyline: 4.0 stars

The storyline about Nora, who has lost her way in her life, finds a library that helps her find her way. I wish that speculative and fiction had been turned up. The storyline was the best part of the book - it was scientific and different. Being purposefully vague here again.

The locations were Bedfordshire, Cambridge, and London, England.

Memorable/Informative: 3.5 stars

There were some powerful quotes, but I have already forgotten them, so that says a lot.

Book cover: 3.0 stars

Meh!

Book title: 3.0 stars

Somewhat misleading.

Recommend

Los Angeles Public Library (LAPL) borrow: ebook

The Midnight Library by Matt Haig

288 pages

Viking

Release date: 8/13/2020

INFORMATIONAL LINKS

Matt Haig

Viking

TRIGGER WARNINGS:

Alcohol; alcoholism; suicide; death of a parent; grief, strong cursing; cancer; gun violence; medical content

Happy reading,

Dorothea 💜

My next audiobook is ...

The Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion (audiobook)

Happy reading,

Dorothea 💜

DNF - Better Small Talk (audiobook)

Better Small Talk by Patrick King (audiobook)

Somehow, this was NOT the book that I checked out! How did I do this? There ARE multiple audiobooks with similar names! I have returned the wrong book and will look for another audiobook to listen to tonight!

Happy reading,

Dorothea 💜

Thursday, June 26, 2025

My next audiobook is ...

Better Small Talk by Patrick King (audiobook)

Happy reading,

Dorothea 💜

REVIEW - We Might Just Make It After All (audiobook)

We Might Just Make It After All by Elyce Arons (audiobook)

OVERVIEW

This is a memoir of the personal and professional relationship between Elyce and Kate. They met as undergrads at the University of Kansas in 1981, and their friendship took off from there!

Most of the memoir covers their friendship before Kate Spade New York was sold to Liz Claiborne in 2006. This is a love letter from Elyce to Kate about their friendship. They had a very normal best-friendship, which included the normal difficulties of any relationship.

If you are looking for a tell-all with details about Kate Spade's death by suicide, this is not the book for you.

OVERALL REVIEW: 4.5 stars

Writing: 4.5 stars

The writing was strong with real and raw anecdotes that are true of any long-term friendship. Elyce was the only person who could have written this book about her best friend.

Narration: 5.0 stars

Elyce does a great job with the narration. I love it when the author narrates the audiobook. Especially as it is her and Kate's lives before, during, and after the loss of her best friend. Elyce was never the "face" of any of the companies with Kate, but she rocks it!

Character development: 4.5 stars

The main characters are Elyce (the author and BFF) and Kate (the eponymous designer and BFF).

The secondary characters are the other partners (both professional and personal), parents, friends, and family.

The tertiary character is Kate Spade New York - the company.

There is a huge cast of characters (especially New York fashion folks), which makes it hard to follow who is who, as I am from Los Angeles.

The character development was good, but most especially for the two main characters. We are let into their entire friendship and backstories.

Memorable: 4.0 stars

Kate and Elyce, along with their partners, create an international and multi-million-dollar empire out of basically nothing. Of course, they make mistakes along the way, but what entrepreneurial spirit during the wild 1990s!!

Entertaining/Educational: 4.0 stars

I had always thought that I had bought Kate Spade during the heyday, but I was wrong! I didn't realize that Kate, Elyce, and their partners sold their final stake in Kate Spade New York in 2006.

Book cover: 4.0 stars

There had to be a better picture!

Book title: 5.0 stars

Perfection on ALL levels! (Read the book to find out WHY!)

Strong recommend

Los Angeles Public Library (LAPL) borrow: audiobook

9 hours, 25 minutes

Simon & Schuster Audio

Release date: 6/17/2025

INFORMATIONAL LINKS

Elyce Arons

Simon & Schuster Audio