***1/2

Tales from the Yoga Studio by Rain Mitchell
(2011, Penguin)

Rain Mitchell isn’t exactly a household name, so when I received Tales from the Yoga Studio, it marked my first sampling of her work.   I enjoy reading new authors, but I’m always a little concerned that they could be wasting my time with bad writing, weak characters or a bad plot.  Moreover, the title of Mitchell’s book, Tales from the Yoga Studio, was also a little off-putting.  Even though I try to practice yoga a few times a week, I’m far from a fanatic.  I wasn’t sure if I could tolerate 279 pages of Yoga- Chick Lit, but I more than tolerated it.  Tales from the Yoga Studio was pretty solid Chick Lit, especially from a newbie author.

Tales from the Yoga Studio is set in California’s Silver Lake (I looked it up on Google, it’s a real place) and has four protagonists, two who work in the studio and two who take classes. Mitchell takes us on the journey of each character, who also happens to be dealing with an issue, such as a broken marriage, a miscarriage, etc. Mitchell shows that even if your life isn’t perfect – and even if you make some bad decisions --  if you stay with the journey of life – and do a little yoga, you’ll be alright.  Yoga isn’t what Tales from the Yoga Studio is about, it just happens to glue the plot together. 

However, I can’t imagine that someone who dislikes yoga, will enjoy this book.  The characters and plot are decent, but there are enough yoga references, i.e. to poses and Rodney Yee, and scenes focused in the studio, that a Chick Lit fan who is also a yoga hater won’t enjoy Tales from the Yoga Studio.  Mind you, I don’t know that many people who are against yoga.

I also liked the novel’s references to now and inside Hollywood references.  For example, Beyonce, a character based on Jennifer Aniston, Lululemon, are all inserted in the story line to make it feel current, without it seeming that Mitchell is forcing the “I’m a modern, with it girl.” 

I was dipping in and out of the book for the first few chapters and got a little confused with the storyline of each character. But about a quarter of the way through, I just read Tales from the Yoga Studio straight-through and found each character’s storyline really entertaining and engaging.

This isn’t a literary masterpiece, but it’s not supposed to be.  Tales from the Yoga Studio is for a Chick Lit fan who dabbles in yoga and who is looking for some indulgent chick lit.  I’m looking forward to Rain Mitchell’s next book!