Saturday 11 December 2010

The Christmas Cookie Club by Ann Pearlman

Title: The Christmas Cookie Club
Author: Ann Pearlman
Publisher: Pocket Books (according to Amazon)
Published: October 2010
ISBN: 1439159394
Author's website:  http://annpearlman.net/

Rating 1/5

The cover is warm and inviting, and reminscent of Christmas.  However, this is one book I couldn't get into.  I read up to 50 pages and couldn't read any further, which is very rare.   This review does have spoilers in.

I found the characters stilted, they almost seemed devoid of emotions in relation to the story. The storyline is hard hitting in places, and there seems few positive aspects from the storyline I read. Whilst I am an avid fan of CSI, NCIS and Dexter, the pages gave me no indication of what was to come. I wasn't prepared for the negative and in depth, graphic descriptions of the violent accident which resulted in the death of one of the characters husbands' being killed....if it had been less graphic, or if I'd been more prepared for it, then I might have continued reading.

This book wasn't for me.  I did try to like it and read on, but couldn't. I've left it a while before posting my review whilst I tried to think about how this book made me feel.  It left me cold and feeling very uncomfortable.  I did think the addition of information and history about individual cookie ingredients was a nice touch though.

Book Synopsis:
"What would we do without one another? It was a statement, not a question. Each of us knew the answer for herself. Every year on the first Monday of December, Marnie and her twelve closest girlfriends gather with batches of beautifully wrapped homemade cookies. Everyone has to bring a dish and a bottle of wine and, as they eat, they take turns telling the story of the cookies they have baked. Stories that, somehow, are always emblematic of the year that has just passed. This year, the stories are especially important. Marnie's oldest daughter has a risky pregnancy. Will she find out tonight how that story will end? Jeannie's father is having an affair with her best friend. Who else knew about the betrayal? Rosie's husband doesn't want children, but can she live with his decision? Each woman, each friend has a story to tell. The Cookie Club is about the passion and hopefulness of a new romance, the betrayal and disillusionment some relationships bring, the joys and fears of motherhood, and above all, it's a celebration of the friendships between women."



Source: 'Free Book Club' with Simon & Schuster UK on Facebook

1 comment:

Willa said...

Sorry to hear that this one didn't live up to expectations, hate when that happens...