🟣 :::READING THREAD::: Week of March 17

Hi, I read two this week.

I read Falling Upwards by Jeremy Fall. Jeremy Fall is an LA based restauranteur and he struggles with anxiety and depression. This is his memoir/take on being a creative entrepreneur with mental illness. It was an easy read and I give him some kudos for the way he is handling things. 4 stars.

I also read Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. I had read this to Esther when she was little and in a Harry Potter phase. As I am trying to read more significant works of fiction, I bought one of those 100 books you must read posters and Harry Potter was on it. I enjoyed it. I have the next book ready to go. I also put some non-fiction on hold at the library so we shall see what I read next.

I listened to The Auschwitz Escape by Joel C. Rosenberg. SO good! It came up as a suggested book for me and it was a winner. I was still thinking about the characters three days after I finished. 5 stars

Murder Road by Simone St. James 
This another 'must read' author for me, and my 7th book by her. All her books have elements of the supernatural, and this one is no different, and while I don't believe in ghosts, I do like fictional ghost stories.
Set in USA 1995, a newlywed couple are on their way to their honeymoon, when they pick up a young female hitchhiker, and discover she has been injured and she dies after they get her to the hospital.
They become suspects in her murder and therefore cannot leave the little town they have landed in. As they get to know the locals, they discover that several people have been killed along that same stretch of road over the last 25 years and they all remain unsolved. They learn the story of the 'lost girl' a ghost who haunts the road, and if you see her - it means you'll be the next one killed.
Creepy & entertaining. 4 stars.

A Grave Robbery (Veronica Speedwell #9) by Deanna Raybourn

Every year I look forward to the latest book in this series and they never disappoint.
Set in Victorian England, two quirky main characters; Veronica Speedwell (a butterfly collector) & her lover Revelstoke “Stoker” Templeton-Vane (a taxidermist) get involved in solving local murders.
This time their rich benefactor has just brought a wax-work figure of the Sleeping Beauty for his daughter, but on closer inspection they find she isn't made of wax, but is a very well preserved corpse...and they set out to find who she is and who killed her.
It might sound a bit grim, but these books are lighthearted and a lot of fun. This one has a cute tamarin, some mad scientists, a nod to Frankenstein and lots of twists.
4 stars.

I love this series so much!  I'm currently on book #7.  Glad to know the series is continuing!

I have The Haunting of Maddy Clare on my TBR and a few others on my to-buy list, glad to hear you enjoy her writing.

I just started The Women by Kristen Hannah this morning.

I started Vera Wong's Unsolicited Advice for Murderers by Jesse Q. Sutanto on Friday.
From Goodreads:
Put the kettle on, there’s a mystery brewing…
Tea-shop owner. Matchmaker. Detective?

Sixty-year-old self-proclaimed tea expert Vera Wong enjoys nothing more than sipping a good cup of Wulong and doing some healthy ‘detective’ work on the internet (AKA checking up on her son to see if he’s dating anybody yet).

But when Vera wakes up one morning to find a dead man in the middle of her tea shop, it’s going to take more than a strong Longjing to fix things. Knowing she’ll do a better job than the police possibly could – because nobody sniffs out a wrongdoing quite like a suspicious Chinese mother with time on her hands – Vera decides it’s down to her to catch the killer.

Nobody spills the tea like this amateur sleuth.

I LOVE Alex Kava and especially the Ryder Creed Series !  All the books in this series were at least 4 stars with books 5, 6 & 8 being 5 stars.  So you still have some awesome reads to come.  Enjoy each one !

Great reading week ………



WHERE BUTTERFLIES WANDER (‘24 - 5 STARS) BY SUZANNE REDFEARN
DESCRIPTION : After a tragic accident claims the life of one of her children, Marie Egide is desperate to carve out a fresh start for her family. With her husband and their three surviving children, Marie travels to New Hampshire, where she plans to sell a family estate and then, just maybe, they’ll be able to heal from their grief. Marie’s plans are thwarted when she realizes a war veteran known by locals as “the river witch” is living in a cabin on the property, which she claims was a gift from Marie’s grandfather. If Davina refuses to move on, Marie won’t be able to either. The two women clash, and battle lines are drawn within Marie’s family and the town as each side fights for what they believe is right, the tension rising until it reaches its breaking point. And the choice is no longer theirs when a force bigger than them all—fate—takes control.

REVIEW :

Previous books by this author for me were Moment in Time (‘22 - 3 Stars), Hush Little Baby (‘19 - Read ‘21 - 4 Stars), Hadley & Grace (‘21 - 4 Stars) and In An Instant (‘20 - 4 Stars).

Author does a great job connecting us to all family members right away. Story really touched me. Change can happen in many ways when we least expect it; be open for it. Beautiful written story that evoked many emotions in me. This book is my favorite by his author and I hope the following quotes stay with me:

“Anger is a wasted emotion, more detrimental to the bearer than the target.”
 “The way I see it, we’re all a bit like curdled milk, so the choice is, you either decide to make cheese or else let the whole thing go to rot.”
 “Only when you lose the desire for the things that don’t matter do you start to have fun.”



FIRST LIE WINS (‘24 - 5 STARS) BY ASHLEY ELSTON
DESCRIPTION : The identity comes first: Evie Porter. Once she’s given a name and location by her mysterious boss Mr. Smith, she learns everything there is to know about the town and the people in it. Then the mark: Ryan Sumner. The last piece of the puzzle is the job. Evie isn’t privy to Mr. Smith’s real identity, but she knows this job will be different. Ryan has gotten under her skin, and she’s starting to envision a different sort of life for herself. But Evie can’t make any mistakes--especially after what happened last time. Because the one thing she’s worked her entire life to keep clean, the one identity she could always go back to—her real identity—just walked right into this town. Evie Porter must stay one step ahead of her past while making sure there’s still a future in front of her. The stakes couldn't be higher--but then, Evie has always liked a challenge.

REVIEW :

First book by this author for me. @bridget in MD gave it 5 Stars “could not put this book down”. The Lying Woods (‘18) and This is Our Story from (‘14) by this author look good too but they are Young Adult Novels; this is her first Adult Novel.

I liked the writing immediately and kept me reading and entertained. I read some reviews about difficulty following “jobs” or past history but I had no trouble at all and the book flowed right along. Very original plot for me. Even loved the ending !

You left me out - I didn't like it much, but I finished it - 2 stars. But I knew I'd be the outlier, I've just seen & read too many TV shows (e.g. Revenge, The Catch) and books, where mega-rich, supersmart beautiful people all have mysterious jobs and try to out con each other. I also didn't like any of the main characters.

I just finished The Hunter by Tana French which is a sort of sequel to The Searcher as it involves the same characters. I'd give it 5 stars.

It’s a blazing summer when two men arrive in a small village in the West of Ireland. One of them is coming home. Both of them are coming to get rich. One of them is coming to die.

Cal Hooper took early retirement from Chicago PD and moved to rural Ireland looking for peace. He’s found it, more or less: he’s built a relationship with a local woman, Lena, and he’s gradually turning Trey Reddy from a half-feral teenager into a good kid going good places. But then Trey’s long-absent father reappears, bringing along an English millionaire and a scheme to find gold in the townland, and suddenly everything the three of them have been building is under threat. Cal and Lena are both ready to do whatever it takes to protect Trey, but Trey doesn’t want protecting. What she wants is revenge.

I just put in a request for Veronica's first book. It sounds like a great series!

Can I just say The Women is ripping out my heart. With the current atmosphere and my son being in the Navy, I am only able to listen to a bit at a time.

I finished Vera Wong's Unsolicited Advice for Murderers and am halfway through Pineapple Street.

I've read several the last few weeks...
The Couple Next Door, by Shari Lapena. This is about a young family whose 6 month old daughter was kidnapped from her crib. This was ok. 3 stars. A twist at the end I somewhat didn't see coming. I was suspicious, but didn't connect all the dots.

The Other Side Of Midnight, by Simone St James, about a psychic in the 1920's London. Part mystery, part supernatural-ish thriller. I liked this...4 stars.

White Chrysanthemum, by Mary Lynn Bracht, about 2 Korean sisters at the dawn of WWII. This is so far one of the best reads of the year for me. One of two in this post. 5 stars.

The Postman Always Rings Twice, by James M Cain. A short, classic novel about a drifter and a woman he falls in love with, to their detriment. 4 stars.

The Other Windsor Girl, by Georgie Blalock, A fictional imagining of Princess Margaret's life from around the age of 17 to her marriage to Antony Armstrong Jones, through the eyes of a fictional lady in waiting. I liked this a lot. 4 and a half stars.

Hamnet, by Maggie O' Farrell. Wow. Just wow. I don't know why I waited so long. This was absolutely stunning. This is about William Shakespeare's family. His wife, father, mother, siblings and children. This is, for me, one of the best, well written, historical fiction novels I've ever read. One of the things I loved is that I didn't feel mired in the 16th Century with stilted, difficult language, if that makes sense. 5 stars, this will be one of my favorites for the year. I came away from this, even with a child's death, with a sense, A strong sense, of hope. Beautiful.