🟣 :::READING THREAD::: Week of October 20

I read two books too.
Beautiful by Danielle Steel
⭐⭐⭐1/2
Veronique Vincent is a star. At age 22, she is one of the most sought after models in fashion, gracing the covers of magazines and walking the runways of haute couture shows across the globe. Despite being the consummate professional, Veronique wants little of the glamorous life that modeling offers her. The beloved daughter of a hardworking single mother, she always preferred spending time at home or with her kindhearted boyfriend to attending lavish parties. On a quick getaway to escape her busy schedule a tragic explosion at Zaventem Airport in Brussels changes her life forever.
The ruthless terrorist attack has the world on edge. Veronique finds herself hospitalized and alone, devastated to learn the blast has killed both of the people she loved most. She is also forced to confront the harsh reality that she has been severely injured, her famous appearance forever altered. As she plunges into seclusion, the industry that once adored her believes she has fallen off the map. In truth, she is struggling to find herself again after losing everything, and to discover what truly matters in life. But her mother's will, accompanied by a letter Veronique never knew existed, reveals long-held secrets, introducing her to a world she hadn't even known was possible.
As Veronique forges bonds old and new,she begins to see a light beyond the darkness she has come to inhabit, finding peace in opportunities to help others, and redefining for herself what beauty is and what it truly means to be beautiful.

The Other Side Of Disappearing by Kate Clayborn
⭐⭐⭐⭐
Hairstylists Jess Greene has spent the last decade raising her half-sister Tegan and keeping a shocking secret. Ever since their reckless mother ran off with a boyfriend she'd known only a few months, Jess has been aware that he's the same accomplished con man who was the subject of a wildly popular podcast, The Last Con of Lynton Baltimore.
Now 31, Jess didn't bargain on Tegan eventually piecing together the connection for herself. But Tegan plans to do exactly what Jess has always feared-leave their safe,stable home to search for their mother-and she'll be accompanied by the prying podcast host and her watchful, handsome producer, Adam Hawkins. Unwilling to let the sister she's spent so much of her life protecting go it alone, Jess reluctantly joins them.
Together, the four make their way across the country, unraveling the mystery of where the couple disappeared to and why. But soon Jess is discovering other things too. Like a renewed sense of vulnerability and curiosity, and a willingness to expand beyond the walls she's so carefully built. And in Adam, she finds an unexpected connection she didn't even know she was missing, if only she can let go and let him in...

I finished Weyward. It was a quick easy read. I do love all things witchy. It was an interesting family lineage sort of book. My first for annotating. I didn't think I would find as many things as I did but it was sort of neat to pick up foreshadowing, family line connections through 400 years.

I am now listening to My Sweet Audrina by V C Andrews. Who in the dysfunctional family suggested this one? I remember reading out it on an earlier thread and added to my list. I started it last Thursday. Holy cow!! This may be a DNF for me. I remember now I did not like the Flowers series. Read them but just thought how bizarre they were. And that was the teenage me. As an adult, I am just so creeped out, in a ewwww way, with this one.

I also have Hester by Laurie Lico Albanese as a physical book on deck. I grabbed it from the bookshelf but haven't started it yet. I'll start that one this evening or tomorrow.

Hester
Laurie Lico Albanese
3.97

Goodreads Choice AwardNominee for Readers' Favorite Historical Fiction (2022)

Isobel Gamble is a young seamstress carrying generations of secrets when she sets sail from Scotland in the early 1800s with her husband, Edward. An apothecary who has fallen under the spell of opium, his pile of debts have forced them to flee Edinburgh for a fresh start in the New World. But only days after they've arrived in Salem, Edward abruptly joins a departing ship as a medic––leaving Isobel penniless and alone in a strange country, forced to make her way by any means possible.

When she meets a young Nathaniel Hawthorne, the two are instantly drawn to each other: he is a man haunted by his ancestors, who sent innocent women to the gallows––while she is an unusually gifted needleworker, troubled by her own strange talents. As the weeks pass and Edward's safe return grows increasingly unlikely, Nathaniel and Isobel grow closer and closer. Together, they are a muse and a dark storyteller; the enchanter and the enchanted. But which is which?

In this sensuous and hypnotizing tale, a young immigrant woman grapples with our country's complicated past, and learns that America's ideas of freedom and liberty often fall short of their promise. Interwoven with Isobel and Nathaniel's story is a vivid interrogation of who gets to be a "real" American in the first half of the 19th century, a depiction of the early days of the Underground Railroad in New England, and atmospheric interstitials that capture the long history of "unusual" women being accused of witchcraft. Meticulously researched yet evocatively imagined, Hester is a timeless tale of art, ambition, and desire that examines the roots of female creative power and the men who try to shut it down.

A vivid reimagining of the woman who inspired Hester Prynne, the tragic heroine of Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter, and a journey into the enduring legacy of New England's witchcraft trials.

I read "All The Colors of the Dark" by Chris Whittaker.  Solid 5 stars.  I probably got the recommendation here.  Beautiful book where I loved all of the characters.


1975 is a time of change in America. The Vietnam War is ending. Muhammad Ali is fighting Joe Frazier. And in the small town of Monta Clare, Missouri, girls are disappearing.

When the daughter of a wealthy family is targeted, the most unlikely hero emerges—Patch, a local boy, who saves the girl, and, in doing so, leaves heartache in his wake.

Patch and those who love him soon discover that the line between triumph and tragedy has never been finer. And that their search for answers will lead them to truths that could mean losing one another.

A missing person mystery, a serial killer thriller, a love story, a unique twist on each, Chris Whitaker has written a novel about what lurks in the shadows of obsession and the blinding light of hope.

You know I love me some Ryder Creed and his adorable Jack Russell Terrier, Grace. Hopefully there will be a 9th book.

3 Stars for The Seventh Veil of Salome by Silvia Moreno-Garcia. Told via 3 three main characters in 1950s Hollywood: Vera (an up and coming Mexican actress who has the starring role of Salome in the film production), Nancy (a self-absorbed talentless wannabe who felt she should have gotten the lead role) and Salome (a princess during the reign of King Herod, who famously asked for and was granted the head of John the Baptist after dancing). Sprinkled throughout the book, there are also various interviews from the cast & crew of the film as well as excerpts from a gossip rag./newspaper. The author was trying to weave together the three women's stories, but it really wasn't sucessful.

The plot is extremely slow moving until the last 10% where it flies and where I felt the POV changes were the most interesting and really developed the story. The problem is, I had been slogging along through these characters' inner struggles and lack of moving the story forward that when the drama really starts, the book basically ends!

Bridget in MD The Seven Veils of Salome is on my TBR. Good to see you review.

This week, I had a Silent Reading party, finished up one of the books that I keep in the little bath to read a bit at a time, and had some baseball reading whilst listening to the NLDS.

The White Witch by Elizabeth Goudge. Read for the Elizabeth Goudge Bookclub, this historical fiction takes place in the English Civil War. Goudge’s books are always a slow read, not because of anything other than the density of her prose so it took longer than usual, but I appreciated the story of the pollical machinations of the time, the people caught in the cross-fire, and an interesting look into the Romany culture, especially when one marries outside of it and the impacts upon the children. 3.5/5 stars.

One Poison Pie by Lynn Cahoon. A lovely online friend is hosting a book discussion about this book tonight, so I picked it up. It’s a cozy mystery with a bit of witchyness and romance. She’s a kitchen witch so there is a lot of talk of cooking and even a recipe. 2/5 stars.

The Third Gilmore Girl by Kelly Bishop. For a friend’s IRL Book Club. I am definitely not the target audience as I’ve never seen the Gilmore Girls, have only seen a film production of A Chorus Line, but I have seen Dirty Dancing, so there’s that. I enjoyed her story but I never was super connected to her. 3/5 stars.

The Abortion: A Historical Romance 1966 by Richard Brautigan. I grew up reading Brautigan books in the household as my Baby-Boomer mom was a fan and had read this as a early teen, but had not even seen a copy since then until recently at Used Book Store. My memory focused on the eponymous storyline, but it opens with a man whose job is to intake self-published books for a library. This part was utterly charming. The second storyline is really a relic of the late ‘60s and includes when flying (as they had to go to Tiajuana) was a luxurious and rare affair. For nostalgia and a thought exercise on the late 60s iconoclasm and how the effects of that still continue to reverberate through society, publishing, and mores, in addition to the difference between generations – my mom’s Baby-Boomerism and my Gen-X, I’m very glad that I reread. Read a bit at a time in the little bath. 4/5 stars

I've seen her name around, thank you for the recommendation! Nothing about this one made me want to continue the Kitchen Witch series