🟣 :::READING THREAD::: Week of February 4th

I am reading Big Lies in a Small Town by Diane Chamberlain. I'm not very far into it but it's interesting so far.

I recently finished A Flicker in the Dark by Stacy Willingham. It was okay but I have come to the conclusion that I just don't care for twisty books where you don't know who is telling the truth. The main character annoyed me at times with the decisions she made and I thought the ending was too abrupt, I needed some additional closure on some of the story lines. 2.5 rounded up to 3 stars.

The Last Love Note by Emma Grey. This one made me laugh and cry. 4 stars

True Love Experiment by Christina Lauren. I liked this one. 4 stars

Currently reading The Frozen River and I am loving it.  I think it was previously recommended here, so thank you!

Yesterday I finished reading Yellowface by R.F Kuang. I seem to be one of the few who don’t think this book is the best thing since sliced bread. I got bored with the main character and only finished it to find out if she got *outed*. There was so much repetition and droning on and on about Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, etc. that it made me crazier than June. The ending also ticked me off. 2/5 stars. My apologies to everyone who loved this book. Just not my cup of tea.

Like sudie, I am reading The Frozen River and so far I am liking it!

I agree with your assessment here. 

On the other hand, The Frozen River was one of my fave books that I read last year. So enjoy! 

Two good reads for me this past week ………..



THE LIES YOU TOLD (‘20 - READ ‘23 - 4 STARS) BY HARRIET TYCE
DESCRIPTION : When Sadie Roper moves back to London, she's determined to pick up the pieces of her shattered life. First, she needs to get her daughter settled into a new school-one of the most exclusive in the city. Next, she's going to get back the high-flying criminal barrister career she sacrificed for marriage ten years earlier. But nothing goes quite as planned.

REVIEW :

First book by this author for me, whose books are recommended by BA Paris, who I love! Blood Orange (‘19 - Legal) and It Ends At Midnight (‘23 - Legal) all look good; different characters, not a series.

Like the writing and the 2-sided plot of a school dilemma and a court case. Very enjoyable and found myself worrying about one plot while reading the other, if that makes sense to anyone. Tension on several fronts really picked-up towards the last 30%. Will definitely read another book by this author.



HIDEAWAY (‘19 - READ ‘24 - 4 STARS) BY NICOLE LUNDRIGAN
DESCRIPTION : Gloria Janes appears to be a doting suburban mother and loving wife. But beyond her canary-yellow door, Gloria controls her husband, Telly, as well as seven-year-old Maisy and her older brother Rowan, through a disorienting cycle of adoration and banishment. When Telly leaves, Gloria turns on Rowan. He runs away, finding unlikely refuge with a homeless man named Carl, with whom he forms the kind of bond he has never found with his parents. After they are menaced by strangers, Rowan follows Carl to an isolated cottage, where he accidentally sets off a burst of heightened paranoia in Carl, and their adventure takes a dark turn. Gloria is publicly desperate for the safe return of her son while privately plotting ever wilder ways to lure Telly home for good. The two storylines drive relentlessly toward a climax that is both shocking and emotionally riveting.

REVIEW :

First book by this author for me. Had this on my price watch list but don’t remember who recommended.

Starts out a little sad with some child neglect; different enough that it captured my attention wanting to see a turnaround. Characters evoked real feelings in me, definitely not all good either. Sad story of neglect and mental illness. The imagination and words of the author kept me reading. Touching words from two characters towards the end warmed my heart. I could definitely see this being a movie. Like the description said “emotionally riveting”. Due to the subject matter of mental illness and child neglect, definitely not for everyone.

New book by this author, A Man Down Stairs due 3/5/24.  



Happy Reading !

Thanks to the Currently Reading Podcast, my little Ivy mini-Zink printer arrived so now I have book cover stickers for my book journal. Whoot, whoot.



Symphony of Secrets by Brendan Slocumb. I loved his author interviews, and his previous book was such a great portrayal of playing music (I was less enthralled with the mystery aspect,) so was looking forward to this one. I loved the dual timelines and the story of a spectrum woman of color with synesthesia, but like the great Kaytee Cobb says, it went bonkerballs towards the end. 3/5 stars.



Anne’s House of Dreams by LM Montgomery. The Anne book that I needed right now – many good quotes that coincided with things that this hard January has brought. 5/5 stars.



Everyone in this Room will Someday be Dead by Emily Austin. Like other books with neurodivergent main characters, while there is humor and zaniness in some of the descriptions, I feel a great deal of sadness and weight for the struggles. This one had some good zingers, but I felt that way, I hope that she will be ok. 2.75/5 stars.

I read Hello Beautiful by Ann Nepalitano.

The main story line was very intriguing and I think the book raised really important questions about family relationships and mental health. However, I thought the book had way too many unnecessary quirky characters who didn’t move the story along. In my opinion the book would have been a lot more interesting if there had been two sisters instead of four and the author had spent more time exploring why the two sisters turned out so differently, and why they made the decisions they did. Also, I thought the main male character was a little one dimensional.

I just finished The Personal History of Rachel DuPree by Ann Weisgarber

When Rachel, hired help in a Chicago boardinghouse, falls in love with Isaac, the boardinghouse owner's son, he makes her a bargain: he'll marry her, but only if she gives up her 160 acres from the Homestead Act so he can double his share. She agrees, and together they stake their claim in the forebodingly beautiful South Dakota Badlands.

Fourteen years later, in the summer of 1917, the cattle are bellowing with thirst. It hasn't rained in months, and supplies have dwindled. Pregnant, and struggling to feed her family, Rachel is isolated by more than just geography. She is determined to give her surviving children the life they deserve, but she knows that her husband, a fiercely proud former Buffalo Soldier, will never leave his ranch: black families are rare in the West, and land means a measure of equality with the white man. Somehow Rachel must find the strength to do what is right-for herself, and for her children.

I stumbled across this book recommendation on shereads.com and it turned out to be a great find. The struggles Rachel and her children are forced to go through in the Badlands are heartbreaking, both physical and mental. 5 stars.

I read I Could Live Here Forever and really enjoyed it. 4/5


When Leah Kempler meets Charlie Nelson in line at the grocery store, their attraction is immediate and intense. Charlie, with his big feelings and grand proclamations of love, captivates her completely. But there are peculiarities of his life—he’s older than her but lives with his parents; he meets up with a friend at odd hours of the night; he sleeps a lot and always seems to be coming down with something. He confesses that he’s a recovering heroin addict, but he promises Leah that he’s never going to use again.

Leah’s friends and family are concerned. As she finds herself getting deeper into an isolated relationship, one of manipulation and denial, the truth about Charlie feels as blurry as their time together. Even when Charlie’s behavior becomes increasingly erratic, when he starts to make Leah feel unsafe, she can’t help but feel that what exists between them is destined. Charlie is wide open, boyish, and unbearably handsome. The bounds of Leah’s own pain—and love—are so deep that she can’t see him spiraling into self-destruction.

I just picked this up today at the library. I'll give it a try and see how it goes. I don't think I can renew it (too many holds), so I'll report back soon. 

Lisa 

I just finished it and I loved it!!! I gave it 5 stars!!! LOL.

I'm so glad! Books land differently with different people and you loved it <3 Yay

I guess I havent' given my updates in a couple of weeks...

Three stars for The Last Love Note by Emma Grey. TW: early-onset Alzheimer's disease, death of a spouse, infertility, miscarriage. This was a touching but kind of predictable love story. Kate is a grieving young widow, losing her husband to early onset alzheimer's disease. As she tries to overcome her sadness with the help of her friends and family, she must also learn to move on with life, as hard as that is.

4 Stars for Devils Island by Midge Raymond & John Yunker. I enjoy stories of survival in the wilderness, and TV shows like Survivor, Naked & Afraid, Alone, etc. I also would love to visit Australia (esp Uluru) or Tasmania, but I hate bugs, so... I will travel via books. The premise interested me: 6 couples sign up for a tour through the Tasmanian wild - two estranged American friends plus 2 married Aussie couples. Guided by Kerry, whose passion was working with the endangered Tasmanian Devils, and Bryan, the couples are dropped off and start their trek, which has been carefully set up with checkpoints and stopping points along the way. This isn't really a survival trek, but more of a guided tour thru a very rural island. But the weather quickly turns sinister with a horrendous storm, and one of the guests has an agenda for revenge... so the story quicky turns into a cat and mouse game the guests arent even aware they are a part of,

I really enjoyed learning about some of the history of the island as well as the animals. I didnt realize a disesese plagues the devils, which is incredibly sad. and I didn't realize there were other animals (such as the Tasmanian tiger) that have been extinct due to humans settling in Australia.

The story was entertaining and flowed, but I was confused by the end and some other events in the story I felt I really had to suspend disbelief. But I read for entertainment and this was an entertaining read! I appreciate NetGalley for the advanced copy. I believe this book will be published in Sept 2024.

5 Stars for Symphony of Secrets by Brendon Slocumb. Premise: Bern Hendricks is one of the world’s experts on 20th century composer Frederick Delaney. When Mallory (Delaney) Roberts, a board member of the Delaney Foundation and direct descendant of the man himself, asks for Bern’s help authenticating a newly discovered piece (his famous lost opera, RED). With the help of his tech-savvy friend Eboni, Bern soon discovers clues about the strange doodles that are drawn all over the sheet music, which brings them to believe that Delaney either had help or flat out stole music from a savant, Josephine Reed, a young Black natural prodigy who hears "the music she wants to hear" in colors. Jumping btwn the present and the 1920s when Josephine meets and indavertantly becomes his "silent partner," Delaney’s career takes off—but who is the real taltented, musical genius? The Foundation does not seem to like what Bern and Eboni are uncovering.

It was hard to read how (in my opinon), Delaney used Josephine to improve his career. At first, he seemed to be thankful, grateful, for her lessons and how her true musicality improved his own playing, but it was heartbreaking to watch him become more and more greedy, and to exploit her. It was also really hard to read how Bern and Eboni were treated, threatened and bullied by powerful white people, who I am sure would have NEVER asked Bern to examine the music if they had known the truth that he was uncovering. The book was entertaining, and the ending was satisfactory, but still the scar of how Blacks were/are treated and exploited by White people is just heartbreaking and frustrating.