🟣 :::READING THREAD::: Week of July 24th

I'm reading A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles and am really enjoying it. I am sure many here have already read it as it was published in 2016.

From Goodreads:
"A Gentleman in Moscow immerses us in another elegantly drawn era with the story of Count Alexander Rostov. When, in 1922, he is deemed an unrepentant aristocrat by a Bolshevik tribunal, the count is sentenced to house arrest in the Metropol, a grand hotel across the street from the Kremlin. Rostov, an indomitable man of erudition and wit, has never worked a day in his life, and must now live in an attic room while some of the most tumultuous decades in Russian history are unfolding outside the hotel’s doors. Unexpectedly, his reduced circumstances provide him a doorway into a much larger world of emotional discovery.

Brimming with humour, a glittering cast of characters, and one beautifully rendered scene after another, this singular novel casts a spell as it relates the count’s endeavour to gain a deeper understanding of what it means to be a man of purpose."

I read Old Flame by Molly Prentiss.
I won this book in a giveaway and I very much disliked how this story is told.
Emily spends her days writing catalogs for a New York City department store, "selling herself to herself." It's fun until it isn't. After her best work friend Megan is laid off, Emily begins to understand that her corporate safety net isn't as safe as she'd presumed. When she and Megan embark on a soul searching trip to Italy, during which Emily discovers she is pregnant. Emily is plunged into a past life just as she is forced to make a pivotal decision about her future. In this moment of reckoning, Emily begins to see the cracks in the facade of her life and to wonder if the structures she has built will hold. Will her vision of the future buckle under the pressures of the "real world"? Will her friendship with Megan? And what about her relationship with her boyfriend Wes, whose own self-possession keep him just slightly out of reach?
Through the narrator's search for meaning and connection, which leads her out of her midtown cubicle and through Bologna's lonely porticos,into long conversations with old friends and down the poignant passages of poems.

I didn't like how this book was narrated and very few likeable characters.

I just finished Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing by Matthew Perry and I'm working on One Last Stop by Casey McQuiston.

Two family members died of their addictions in 2020, so the Matthew Perry book was interesting in that way. Friends was mentioned quite a bit but it was not the focus of the book. I did not know much about Matthew Perry's life, and now I do.

One Last Stop I am reading because I need to read a book with a train in it for a challenge, and a lot of it takes place on the subway. It is about a girl from the 70s who is stuck on the subway, and befriended by the main character who falls in love with her.

I need to read a sports book for a challenge (the same one mentioned above) and the book I chose I dnf'd (it was recommended by someone online when I mentioned I am not a sports person but I hate all the characters and don't want to read another 300 pages about them) So if you have any recommendations... as long as it's not The Art of Fielding by Chad Harbach, I will try reading it

Her Lost Words: A Novel of Mary Wollstonecraft and Mary Shelley by Stephanie Marie Thornton
This is a fictionalized biography (mostly true and based on real people) of Mary Shelly & her feminist mother Mary Wollstonecraft.
Mary Wollstonecraft was born in 1792 to an abusive father, she left home to become a governess and then became a writer, she wrote A Vindication of the Rights of Woman, in which she dares to propose that women are equal to men.
Her daughter Mary met the poet Percy Shelley when she was just 17 and began an affair with him when he was still married to his first wife. The had an illegitimate child and only married after Percy's first wife committed suicide.
Mary Shelley wrote Frankenstein when she was only 21yo.
In the end notes the author outlines what she changed....several names because there were too many Marys, and didn't include some of the children who died in infancy.
Apart from knowing who wrote Frankenstein, I didn't know much about these women and thought their lives were fascinating and I really liked this novel, and I'm planning to read Frankenstein in the near future.
4 stars

Truly, Darkly, Deeply by Victoria Selman.
Set in London in the 1980s and is mainly told in two timelines; 1980 12yo Sophie adores her mother's new boyfriend Matty, but she starts to get suspicious when a series of murders happen close to where they live, and 20 years later, when a grown-up Sophie gets a message from Matty in prison that he wants to see her.
There's a few things I didn't like about this book, I went in thinking (based on the blurb) that this was going to be more about adult Sophie, but most of the book is from her 12yo point of view. I also thought that the author made her too intelligent and insightful for a 12yo.
There was supposed to be a twist - but I think the author gave away too many clues early on, so I doubt it's a surprise to most readers.
Despite that, the book kept me interested and reading.
I'd give it 3.5 stars, but rounded down for GR to 3 stars.

WINDFALL (‘23 - 4 STARS) BY WENDY CORSI STAUB
DESCRIPTION : J.J., Molly, and Leila had once been inseparable, but it’s been a long time since college, and life—not to mention distance—have disrupted the former roommates’ friendship. When the three reunite for a birthday weekend in Las Vegas, the lottery ticket they buy on a whim has the winning numbers—giving them a billion-dollar windfall. Shell-shocked, they turn to Shea Daniels, a “sudden wealth manager,” who promises to guide them through the pitfalls of having more money than they’d ever imagined. It was the girls’ weekend they’d live to regret. The trio travels to a secluded California mansion, where Shea and her staff cater to their every whim, promising to teach them to navigate their newfound wealthy lifestyles with ease. The house is luxurious beyond their wildest dreams—and purportedly cursed, the last place a missing movie star was seen alive. Their weekend turns to terror when they discover they are trapped—roads blocked and communication disrupted by the wildfires raging around them. And when history repeats itself and one of them disappears—the one who’s holding the billion-dollar ticket—the others must face the fact that either their friend has betrayed them…or a predator is lurking.

REVIEW :

I’ve read 20 books by this author which have varied from 3-5 stars. I think some of her books are more thrillers which I like better and they get 4/5 stars, where her mysteries get 3 stars. I do like her writing in all of them.

In this book, I enjoyed the build-up of tension right away as plans are made to claim the winnings. This author has a great way to make the simplest events have an eeriness that gives me goosebumps. Very mysterious plot. Enjoyed ! I’m hoping there’s a book 2.

I finished The Whispers. This one has been talked about a bit on here. The players confused me a bit. And that ending. Oh my. 4 stars.

I also read Just a Regular Boy. Remy's mom dies when he is five. His survivalist dad takes him to northern Idaho to live. If you could call it that. When tragedy hits, Anne and her family take Remy, who is almost feral and incredibly traumatized (duh), in. Some of this was super simplistic and not realistic. But it was a feel-good story. 4 stars.

I'm almost done with Lady Tan's Circle of Women by Lisa See. This is so fascinating with multi-faceted characters and a great plot. I'll rate it next week.

Lisa

I read:

Identity by Nora Roberts 3.5/5
Description: Former Army brat Morgan Albright has finally planted roots in a friendly neighborhood near Baltimore. Her friend and roommate Nina helps her make the mortgage payments, as does Morgan's job as a bartender. But after she and Nina host their first dinner party―attended by Luke, the flirtatious IT guy who'd been chatting her up at the bar―her carefully built world is shattered. The back door glass is broken, cash and jewelry are missing, her car is gone, and Nina lies dead on the floor.

Soon, a horrific truth emerges: It was Morgan who let the monster in. "Luke" is actually a cold-hearted con artist named Gavin who targets a particular type of woman, steals her assets and identity, and then commits his ultimate goal: murder.

What the FBI tells Morgan is beyond chilling. Nina wasn't his type. Morgan is. Nina was simply in the wrong place at the wrong time. And Morgan's nightmare is just beginning. Soon she has no choice but to flee to her mother's home in Vermont. While she struggles to build something new, she meets another man, Miles Jameson. He isn't flashy or flirtatious, and his family business has deep roots in town. But Gavin is still out there hunting new victims, and he hasn't forgotten the one who got away.

Review: Despite what I'm about to write, I did enjoy the book. What I have a hard time with is how she lost absolutely everything to identity theft. I mean, lock your credit!

The Ex by Freidan McFadden 4/5
Description: Cassie thinks she has met the perfect man.

Joel is sweet, handsome, romantic, and best of all, he’s crazy about Cassie. She thinks she’s found the guy she’ll spend the rest of her life with. Have children with. Grow old with.

Yes, she knows about his perfect ex-girlfriend, Francesca. The beautiful, brilliant chef, beloved by all his friends. But she thinks Francesca is out of the picture. She thinks Francesca is gone for good.

Think again, Cassie.

Review: I liked this one a lot. Lots of surprises right up until the end. She's a little repetitive though. "got up so fast, the chair almost fell backward" 3 times.

The Wife Upstairs by Freida McFadden - DNF
Started reading this bc I enjoyed the last book and I quickly realized it sounded just like the plot from Verity which I also hated.

I bought it earlier today after reading your review!

I read Ducks by Kate Beaton 5/5 stars. It's my favorite book I read so far this year. I don't usually read Graphic Novels but loved this so much.

Also, Saturday Night at the Lakeside Supper Club by Ryan Stradal It was a 3 1/2 star rounded up to 4. I loved that Minnesota was its character in this story. I'm a sucker for a multi-generational story as well.

Forgot to add Station Eleven is one of my all-time favorites too!

I just finished Lisa Tan’s Circle of Friends and loved it. The story is well researched (as always) and is inspired by the true story of a woman physician from 15th-century China. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Yes!!!! I finished it yesterday. All the research Lisa Tan did for this one. Wow! Full rating to follow. 

Lisa 

How about Beartown by Frederik Backman?

Or a bit of a stretch-Evvie Drake Starts Over. He’s a former baseball player.

Carrie Soto is Back (tennis)