Utterly unrelated to this book, I have a serious problem remembering to review my paperbacks and hardcovers. The Kindle books aren't a problem because they show up in my current reading list thanks to the Kindle's connectivity to Goodreads. The physical books, though, tend to get lost.

Okay, now...on to the book.

Elizabeth Zott is not your typical romance heroine, but then again, I don't really consider this is a romance novel. Sure, there's romance in the book, but this story is more about finding love, losing it, and living beyond that loss. It's also about a woman who did not follow social norms during a time when women were defined by the men they dated or married. Elizabeth's inability and unwillingness to hide her intelligence and unique worldview caused her hardships. Still, she did not flinch away from them, perhaps because she didn't always understand why they should be a source of controversy.

That brings me to another observation. The two smartest people in the book were socially awkward, if not inept. I wonder why the author chose to depict them in this way. Even exceptional intelligence does not necessarily consign one to being a social pariah, yet both Elizabeth and Calvin are depicted as being unapproachable and dislikeable by their peers. I don't want to read too much into this, but it is an interesting stereotype to apply to both the main character and her love interest.

I enjoyed the book and would recommend. I'm off to watch the television adaptation.