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6 Works 12 Membros 8 Reviews

Obras de Kimberly Fish

Comfort Songs (2019) 2 cópias
Sweet Comfort 2 cópias
Comfort Plans (2017) 1 exemplar(es)
Comfort Foods (2020) 1 exemplar(es)

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Conhecimento Comum

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Membros

Resenhas

I sometimes admit to being a ‘woman of a certain age’ and it was with great pleasure that I dove into this story of a fictional contemporary. Gloria Bachman is a retired banking professional whose career ended on a bitter note. She’s happily childless and her ex-husband, who she nursed during his final days, has left her without a partner. But she’s not alone. Gloria has a collection of colorful friends both young and old. She’s determined to launch a new career with her partner Kali in a food retail business. Kali is a master in crafting all things chocolate and together they are opening a shop in Comfort, Texas.
My motto in life is ‘Nothing’s Easy’, and this holds true for Gloria. Ted, the owner of their building, is a curmudgeon who insists the shop’s name honor him and his demands all but sink their plans. Construction issues also threaten to delay their grand opening. Add a handsome gentleman and a murder to the mix and you’ve got a heck of a story.
The author brings the town of Comfort to life with her engaging characters and descriptions of the town. I appreciated the portrayal of Gloria as a vibrant woman, full of life, admired by the younger women who surround her and seen as a problem solver. She is the one her friends run to when they need help and she generously gives it. I especially appreciate the budding and realistic romance between Gloria and the handsome Mason Lassiter. Yes, older people do fall in love!
With its engaging layered plot, the story draws you into Gloria’s life until you find yourself wishing you could play bunco with the ladies of Comfort and gossip about the neighbors. I really enjoyed this book and look forward to reading more in the series.
… (mais)
 
Marcado
JeanRoberts | 1 outra resenha | Mar 26, 2023 |
The story teased me in with the promise of chocolate, but I stayed for the relationships.

Sweet Comfort is the first book in author Kimberly Fish’s spin-off series, Comfort and Joy, and I can’t think of a more descriptive or appropriate moniker for the series; it's set in Comfort, Texas, and it was a joy to read. While I was initially attracted to the book because of the promise of gourmet chocolate, it was the characters’ relationships that pulled me deep into the story. This is one of the best buildups of the community of characters for a series that I think I’ve ever encountered.

The main character Gloria Bachman is a woman of a certain age and well-regarded in her adopted hometown of Comfort, Texas. She’s suffered some hard knocks in her life and career, but she’s a survivor. To her chagrin, perhaps, her younger women friends have seemed to have placed her on a pedestal, and she certainly doesn’t view herself in that light. They hold her in high esteem and aspire to emulate her take-charge and take-no-prisoners demeanor that got her to where she ended up: a bank president. I liked seeing her opening this new chapter in her life and trying something entirely different with her friend and business partner, Kali. Then it was also good to see an older woman exhibiting realistic attitudes toward a possible romantic partner and relationship.

Besides the second chance storyline, there is the chocolate business to drool over. And while I enjoyed every virtual morsel, I also liked all the details about renovating the old building slated to house the new shop. I appreciate all the research the author must have done before putting pen to paper. There is even a mention of the traffic snafu caused by the crane that was needed for some of the work! True to life. And there was still so much more that had me turning pages: the mysterious death of the estranged wife of the successful Dallas businessman, the murder of a local contractor, and of course, learning everyone in Comfort’s business. As always, it was fun to have a fictional story set in the very real town of Comfort, Texas.

The author’s writing style is easy to read yet compelling. I was immediately drawn into Gloria Bachman’s life and soon felt like I knew her and her many friends and acquaintances. The dialogue sparkled, with some real laugh-out-loud moments and situations that were Pure D entertainment.

Although this is the first book in this series, there are hints that certain characters or couples have backstories featured in the author’s previous works. However, I didn’t need to have read those to become immediately invested in this current tale. The bonus is that there is backstory gold just waiting to be discovered.

I recommend SWEET COMFORT to readers who enjoy women’s fiction, later-in-life and second-chance romances, cozy mysteries, chocolate themes, stories set in Texas, especially the Hill Country, and fans of the author’s previous novels.

I voluntarily reviewed this after receiving an Advanced Review Copy from the author through Lone Star Book Blog Tours.
… (mais)
 
Marcado
KarenSiddall | 1 outra resenha | Mar 12, 2023 |
Comfort Songs is a heartwarming, beautifully written, easy to read (and harder to put down) contemporary fiction novel that I read in the course of a weekend. It owned that rare magic where you don’t want to put it down all while wanting to stretch out your moments in the book.

This is a story of family and forgiveness, and oh, goodness, is there a LOT of room for forgiveness in this tale! The main character, AJ, is likable and relatable, and you will quickly find yourself wanting to shake everyone around her for what she was put through in her childhood.

I think character development is one of the strengths of the book. Both July and Roger were more layered than I expected them to be, both evolving but still holding on to some of their drama and perhaps less flattering traits.
Author Kimberly Fish is no stranger to the Lone Star book bloggers.

Fans of Mary Kay Andrews and Barbara Delinsky will love this story. Comfort Songs was a delight and I’m looking forward to more stories set it in this lovely Texas town.
… (mais)
 
Marcado
jenncaffeinated | 1 outra resenha | Jul 4, 2021 |
In Comfort Foods, author Kimberly Fish returns to her Comfort, Texas setting where Lacy Cavanaugh is begrudgingly working for the local weekly newspaper, and staying far away from Dallas and the social media debacle that landed her back in Comfort. Lacy is a former beauty queen, former Instagram “influencer”, and at the start, we find her resisting settling into her new, hopefully, temporary life. And I admit, initially, I didn’t think I was going to like her much, particularly in the descriptions of her perfect looks, and nickname “The Blonde Goddess”.

However, the more Fish lets us into Lacy’s life, the more interesting this character reveals herself to be. She speaks her mind while sticking to the rules of her banishment to Comfort (including no iPhone), connects with Gloria, her landlord, and learns how to cook a bit along the way. Her sister Kali and friend AJ bring her into their plans to host a food and wine festival in Comfort – which is how she initially meets Chef Rudy Delgado.

Rudy is also an interesting, wounded, complicated character. He’s a single dad, dealing with a difficult controlling ex. He admits he wasn’t an attentive husband and involved father when they were first married, but he’s doing his best to be a good dad to his spunky, adorable daughter Luna now. His restaurant is facing bad reviews and some social media fallout of its own, and he’s got ex problems to boot, making his life a complicated mess. He lives in Austin, which provides some fun flavor to the setting while throwing another wrench into their relationship with its distance from Comfort.

Both characters have personal flaws to overcome, and their timing for a relationship is terrible – and they each handle their personal bad timings, well, badly. Thankfully, both characters go through a lot of personal growth. Lacy ultimately grows and finds her path.

This is the story of a woman really growing up and figuring out who she is and what she wants, and what home means to her. It’s a story of redemption, and of second chances – for Lacy and for Rudy. Both come up against challenges and manipulations that will have you rooting for them. It was a balm for the soul to watch them face their manipulators head-on.

While parts of the book involve food, it’s not a book ABOUT food (although Fish does include a few recipes at the end.) It IS a book that touches the senses, with images and imagined scents of the lavender fields, the smells of the goats and the cheeses, the descriptions of the colors of Rudy’s restaurant or Lacy’s clothes. The author brings you into the book with all of your senses and left me longing to escape my own North Texas environs and escape into Hill Country.

And she left me hungry for parmesan truffle fries!
This book is part of Fish’s Comfort Stories series but works just fine as a standalone. That said, while I’ve read Comfort Songs, finishing up this book makes me want to revisit that book. I dug into my Kindle and found that I had purchased Comfort Plans, and that book now moves to the head of my TBR list, because the characters and setting of Comfort Foods was just what my weary heart needed right now.

I’m giving Comfort Foods four-and-a-half stars (rounding to five here).
… (mais)
 
Marcado
jenncaffeinated | Jul 4, 2021 |

Prêmios

Estatísticas

Obras
6
Membros
12
Popularidade
#813,248
Avaliação
½ 4.7
Resenhas
8
ISBNs
7