Elegance - Kathleen Tessaro

I read Kathleen Tessaro's second book, "Innocence" before this one, and I enjoyed that and was looking forward to reading "Elegance", particularly as it uses for its structure the chapters in the book "A Guide to Elegance" by Genevieve Antoine Dariaux, an 1960s style guide - I thought it sounded like an interesting idea. I was quickly disappointed. Firstly, the protagonist and the love interest have the same kind of careers as the protagonist and love interest in "Innocence", which seemed really lazy to me. Secondly, the book that inspired the novel isn't used as well as I had hoped. Some chapters are better than others, ...  Read the complete review

Louise Canova is an American living in London. She's 32, childless and already feels as if her marriage has reached crisis point. The last thing she feels is 'elegant'. By chance she discovers a gem of a book in a second hand bookshop. It's entitled 'Elegance' and is an A-Z of style written by Madame Antoine Dariaux, a French fashion expert. This book is the beginning of a new Louise as she reads Madame's advice on everything from ideal wardrobes to husbands. She decides it's time for a life change. * What I thought * To start off, this was a little cliched. Louise is frumpy - so naturellement her mother in law is an ex-model. ...  Read the complete review