Nik's Piks: Women's Fiction

I recently came up with a new series for my blog called Nik's Piks. It is a way to share more book suggestions with my readers without going back and and writing full reviews for every book I've ever read, an impossible feat! In the first installment, I focused on four of my favorite MEMOIRS.  Here, I feature two very different women's fiction novels.

I've included excerpts from their official book blurb taken from Amazon with a few sentences on my personal thoughts.

Enjoy and Happy Reading!

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Lunch In Paris by Elizabeth Bard

From Amazon:

"In Paris for a weekend visit, Elizabeth Bard sat down to lunch with a handsome Frenchman--and never went home again. LUNCH IN PARIS is a memoir about a young American woman caught up in two passionate love affairs--one with her new beau, Gwendal, the other with French cuisine. Packing her bags for a new life in the world's most romantic city, Elizabeth is plunged into a world of bustling open-air markets, hipster bistros, and size 2 femmes fatales.  In the delicious tradition of memoirs like A Year in Provence and Under the Tuscan Sun, this book is the perfect treat for anyone who has dreamed that lunch in Paris could change their life."

My Thoughts:

I recently spotted this novel on my bookshelf and suggested my mom give it a read. It is a sweet love-story that throws the reader into life in Paris (doesn't get much better than that!). But, what makes this novel so unusual are the recipes the author includes for all you cooks out there (I'm just not one of them) that will prove Paris is the city of love and fine cuisine.  If you are a cook, you will love the recipes. I just loved the story! 

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The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd

From Amazon:

"A coming of age tale set in South Carolina in 1964, The Secret Life of Bees will appeal to fans of Kathryn Stockett’s The Help and Beth Hoffman’s Saving CeeCee Honeycutt, and tells the story of Lily Owens, whose life has been shaped around the blurred memory of the afternoon her mother was killed. 

When Lily’s fierce-hearted black “stand-in mother,” Rosaleen, insults three of the town’s most vicious racists, Lily decides they should both escape to Tiburon, South Carolina—a town that holds the secret to her mother’s past. There they are taken in by an eccentric trio of black beekeeping sisters who introduce Lily to a mesmerizing world of bees, honey, and the Black Madonna who presides over their household. This is a remarkable story about divine female power and the transforming power of love—a story that women will continue to share and pass on to their daughters for years to come."

My Thoughts: 

It's been a while since I've read this book and I've been meaning to watch the film adaptation. This may sound crazy, (although not really if you know me well) but the part of this story that really stuck with me is the beekeeping. It changed the way I look at bees, not just the importance of them, but their precious, little souls. I can now confidently hold a bee fearlessly while projecting love, confident I will not get stung. Yeah, maybe that sounds mad. But it is the coolest thing in the world to pick up a bee and feel it walking along your skin. This is a unique story filled with strong female characters with even stronger connections to each other. 

Check out my Book Reviews too!