Jen Loves Books
  • Book Reviews
  • Bookish Goodness
  • Book Reviews
  • Bookish Goodness

Jen Loves Books

Instagram
Unabridged Podcast

Katherine Reay's OF LITERATURE AND LATTES - A Cozy Comfort Read

6/21/2020

0 Comments

 
Picture
Thanks to Partner NetGalley for the digital ARC of Katherine Reay's Of Literature and Lattes in exchange for an honest review. The book is available to read.

Katherine Reay's Of Literature and Lattes is a cozy comfort read. There's a warmth that infuses each page as we inhabit the small community of Winsome, Illinois, floating from character to character. I had a sense of dropping into lives in progress, of a shared history that came before and that would continue after the end of the novel.

Though the narrative moves through an array of characters’ perspectives, Reay focuses primarily on Alyssa and Jeremy. Alyssa has fled home to Winsome in disgrace after a Theranos-like scandal ended her employment at Vita XGC. Unfortunately, she's fleeing to a home she had already fled. Her relationship with her mother had always been contentious, but when Alyssa found out that her mother had been cheating, Alyssa broke off contact. Now, she's returning to divorced parents, no job prospects, utter disgrace, and horrible guilt that she was a part of a corrupt company.

Jeremy saw Winsome in the opposite light, moving there in hopes of nurturing his relationship with his young daughter, Becca. He and Becca's mom separated before Becca was born, and he wants to be a true father for her. He and his friend Ryan, a recovering addict, buy the local coffee shop, the Daily Brew, hoping that a complete overhaul can make it a success and allow each to start over.

Alyssa’s and Jeremy’s stories wind together eventually, but they also move within the larger story of the town. We come to know characters who are grieving, who are in love, who are aging. My favorite subplot is the one about Alyssa and her mom, who have to work through decades of resentment and repression to come to know each other again.

Of Literature and Lattes is a novel about redemption and forgiveness, about families born and chosen, about the ways that our communities can save us. The characters here are flawed and human, and I was absorbed in watching them come to terms with their own mistakes and misunderstandings and then working to move past them. It's not an earth shattering novel, nor is it overly plot driven. Instead, Of Literature and Lattes is a beautifully character-focused book that was, for me, a lovely and heartfelt escape.

0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Author

    I'm Jen Moyers, co-host of the Unabridged Podcast and an English teacher.

    Archives

    July 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020

    Categories

    All
    Activism
    Comfort Read
    Contemporary Fiction
    Diverse Reads
    Essays
    Fairy Tales
    Fantasy
    Historical Fiction
    Lgbtqia
    Literary Fiction
    Magical Realism
    Middle Grade Lit
    Mystery
    Nonfiction
    Poetry
    Recap
    Re-read
    Romance
    Short Stories
    Sports
    Suspense
    Thriller
    Unabridged
    Ya
    Ya Lit

    RSS Feed

Proudly powered by Weebly