Cool Book Arch at “Roger’s Gardens” (Newport Beach, CA)

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Another gal from my Book Club hosted us last week for an Easter-themed lunch and our discussion of the book, The Traitor’s Wife.

HER TABLESCAPE

Cute little male and female poseable bunnies surrounded by scattered jelly beans…

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Delightful hopscotch bunny…

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A large light blue vintage-inspired mason jar…

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We all were smitten with her napkin rings  – reshaped vintage forks – a recent find during her travels

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LUNCH IS SERVED

A pretty plate of chicken salad, colorful fruit salad, and a peas/carrots side…

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Addictive mini parmesan crisps

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Chocolate raspberry tart with fresh raspberries and whipped cream (in addition to lots of jelly beans and M & Ms)

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THE BOOK

The Traitor’s Wife by Allison Pataki

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This book was well received by our group.  Everyone rated it fairly high.  The book was entertaining.  We really liked learning more about that time period (late 1700’s), but especially about Peggy Shippen Arnold (Benedict Arnold’s wife) and the {possible} role she may have played in her husband’s betrayal.

Peggy Shippen Arnold
Photo source: google images

I was the one that was more critical of this book.  Part of the reason was, historical fiction is one of my favorite genres to read, and I had just finished reading another historical fiction book right before The Traitor’s Wife (it will be our book discussion next month).  I absolutely loved that book, and found it to be very well written.

I enjoyed The Traitor’s Wife from a storyline standpoint.  In spite of it being a long book (almost 500 pages), it continued to hold my interest.  However, I felt at times it read as more of a romance novel rather than a historical fiction book.  I also felt Ms. Pataki took too many liberties in writing this book.  The primary one that bothered me was she had several fictional characters in the book including one of them being a main character.

Another book arch at Roger’s Gardens (Newport Beach, CA)