Julie's Review: Vanity Fare

Summary: Molly Hagan is overwhelmed. Her husband left her for a younger, blonder woman; her six-year-old son is questioning her authority, and now so is she. In order to pay her Brooklyn rent and keep her son supplied with Pokémon and Legos, not to mention food and clothing, she has to get a job—fast. So when an old friend offers Molly a freelance position copywriting for a new bakery, finding romance is just about the last thing on her mind. But the sexy British pastry chef who's heading up the bakery has other thoughts. And then so does Molly, when she meets the chef's intimidating business partner—who also happens to have a secret that might prevent Molly from getting her own happily ever after. ~amazon.com

Review:  Vanity Fare: A novel of lattes, literature, and love is just what I needed to read to kick off my winter break. I knew it would be a quick read but that's not to say it was a "light" read. Molly is in the middle of a life change. Her husband left her and not only that but he's pretty much broke. So her real issue, in addition to getting over her marriage, is trying to figure out how to support herself and her son, Aidan.

Ms. Caldwell writes Molly like she's sitting on your couch as your friend telling you her worries and fears. She's as real as they come. I also loved that Ms. Caldwell had Molly seeing a therapist to deal with issues that have stemmed from her divorce and also her childhood. What was even better was that Molly didn't have to see the therapist for life. I think this is a more realistic view of therapy; it doesn't go on forever.

It's not hard to figure out who Molly will end up with in the end but I like that it wasn't the center piece to the story. The center of the story is Molly becoming confident in herself and finding out what it is that she wants to do. Not only is Molly dealing with her failed marriage but then she takes on her mother and her mother's financial issues. It's a lot for one person to handle.

Molly has a great circle of friends who she counts on and count on her. It is wonderful to see women's friendships displayed in a positive light since so many "reality" shows portray the exact opposite. Of course as an avid reader I loved all the literary references and I loved that even though Molly read the "appropriate" books, her secret passion were trashy or a.k.a. bodice rippers.

Ms. Caldwell wrote a novel that is engaging and a heroine that is like a close friend. I'm glad that Molly got her happy ending since she had read so many of them.

And just so all of you know I kept seeing Michael Vartan as Simon. He could definitely do a British accent. Yummy! :)


Final Take: 4/5

Vanity Fare: A novel of lattes, literature, and love will be released on 12/26/12