The Great Carpezio
Pearl Clutcher
Something profound goes here.
Posts: 3,165 
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Post by The Great Carpezio on Aug 11, 2025 23:26:20 GMT
Hey all!
This week I read two books:
Icebreaker
Hanna h Grace
Romance//hockey/spicy
⭐️⭐️
I am glad it was free on Kindle Unlimited. It was spicy but mostly in an annoying way. I probably would have enjoyed this when I was a teen, and I have seen a few teens reading it. 😳
The Bone Marrow Thieves
Cherie Dimaline
YA/Native American/Dystopia
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
The world has collapsed and most people can no longer dream, but indigenous people can, and their marrow can be harvested to “help humanity.” Most native people have been rounded up and taken to “schools”, but a few small bands have found a way to escape. I loved the concept of this and it is a solid YA novel, but more just gave me an itch I couldn't scratch, I do recommend it though.
What did you read this week?
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Post by alsomsknit on Aug 12, 2025 0:29:28 GMT
Ink by Jonathan Maberry. The bad guy is so disgusting and evil. Somehow, I forget this fact every time I reread it. Why a reread? I was not ready to part with characters who are secondary/peripheral to this story.
The Well-trained Wife Tia Levings. Highly recommend this one. Combine it with the Shiny Happy People docs on Netflix. And the newest Steve Hassan interview with Steve Kent regarding the Cult of Trump and Scientology tactics. See the long game that started in the 80s, the time of the Satanic Panic. It wasn’t just the IBLP. It will answer why the checks and balances are non-existent.
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camcas
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 4,414
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Post by camcas on Aug 12, 2025 0:58:18 GMT
“Little” by Edward Carey
A fictionalised account,based on historical fact, of the life of Madame Tussaud [as in waxworks]
I really enjoyed it
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Post by cadoodlebug on Aug 12, 2025 1:19:21 GMT
Last night I finished Say You’ll Remember Me by Abby Jimenez. The only other book of hers that I’ve read is The Friend Zone which was a DNF. I actually loved this book. It was funny, bittersweet and sometimes, heartbreaking. 5/5 stars
Now I'm reading the latest in the Hunger Games series: Sunrise on the Reaping. It's the 50th Hunger Games and it's the story about Haymitch (played by Woody Harrelson in the movies.) The movie based on the book will come out in 2026.
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cycworker
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 4,556
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Post by cycworker on Aug 12, 2025 2:20:23 GMT
The Great Carpezio - There is a sequel to The Bone Marrow Thieves. I haven't read it because it's supposed to be even darker than the original. I don't want to spoil anything so I will just say what I discovered about it affirmed for me that as much as I loved the original book, some of it confused me. You can PM me if you want to know more. I did 2 audiobooks by James Breakwell. He's Exploding Unicorn on Facebook, Substack, BlueSky, and X, though he stopped posting there in February. First one I did was Bare Minimum Parenting = spoof on parenting books. And the next one, which also is a satirical look at parenting is Only Dead on the Inside: A Parent's Guide to Surviving the Zombie Apocalypse, where a 'zombie apocalypse is like a metaphor for the ups & downs of parenting. It is worth it to start with reading a few of his newsletters or his old tweets to see if you find him funny, if you're unfamiliar with him.
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gottapeanow
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 2,912
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Post by gottapeanow on Aug 12, 2025 2:31:34 GMT
The Well-trained Wife Tia Levings. Highly recommend this one. Combine it with the Shiny Happy People docs on Netflix. And the newest Steve Hassan interview with Steve Kent regarding the Cult of Trump and Scientology tactics. See the long game that started in the 80s, the time of the Satanic Panic. It wasn’t just the IBLP. It will answer why the checks and balances are non-existent. Yes, The Well-Trained Wife is a great read. Along with Shiny Happy People season 1, especially. That season hit me way harder than Season 2, but Season 2 is also great. I haven't seen the cult of Trump interview yet. I'll look for it. Lisa ![]() |
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gottapeanow
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 2,912
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Post by gottapeanow on Aug 12, 2025 2:42:44 GMT
I read two books last week.
The Emperor of Gladness: This is depressing but beautifully written. I loved the relationship between Hai and Grazina. The ending is like slamming on the brakes, IMO. I did not like it. I had to go read a few commentaries on it. Apparently, it's supposed to be ambiguous. I do like this thought: We are all the emperors of our own gladness. That mostly works for me. 3/5 stars.
The Girls of Good Fortune: So many super far-fetched incidents in this book. It was 50 to 100 pages too long. But a decent plot with some great insight into some unknown aspects of history. A similar book about the blatant racism against the Chinese that I absolutely adored is Four Treasures of the Sky. Read this instead. And skip this. 3/5 stars.
Currently reading Happy Land. So far, so good.
Lisa
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hutchfan
Drama Llama
Posts: 7,276
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Post by hutchfan on Aug 12, 2025 3:06:36 GMT
I read The Stolen Life Of Colette Marceu by Kristin Harmel and I adored this beautiful novel, I have loved everything I have read by her.
I had tickets to see her along with wine and horderves. It was a wonderful evening and she was so sweet. It was fascinating to learn her writing process and her story of beating breast cancer.
Colette Marceu has been stealing jewels for nearly as long as she can remember, following the centuries-old code of honor instilled in her by her mother, Annabel: take only from the cruel and unkind, and give to those in need. Never was their family tradition more important than during the Second World War, when Annabel and Colette worked side by side in Paris to fund the French Resistance.
But one night in 1942, it all went wrong. Annabel was arrested by the Germans, and Colette's four-year-old sister, Liliane, disappeared in the chaos of the raid, along with an exquisite diamond bracelet Sewn into the hem of her nightgown for safekeeping. Soon after, Annabel was executed, and Liliane's body was discovered floating in the Siene-but the bracelet was nowhere to be found.
Seventy years later, Colette-who has "redistributed" $30 million in jewels over the decades-has tried to leave behind her tragic past, but her life begins to unravel when the long-missing bracelet turns up in a museum exhibit in Boston. If Colette can discover where it has been all this time-and who owns it now-she may finally learn the truth about what happened to her sister. But she isn't the only one for whom the bracelet holds answers, and when someone from her childhood lays claim to the diamonds, she's forced to confront the ghosts of her past as never before.
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hutchfan
Drama Llama
Posts: 7,276
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Post by hutchfan on Aug 13, 2025 22:56:38 GMT
I seen that Lindsay Lohan and Shaliene Woodley have been cast in Count My Lies.
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gottapeanow
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 2,912
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Post by gottapeanow on Aug 14, 2025 2:03:26 GMT
I seen that Lindsay Lohan and Shaliene Woodley have been cast in Count My Lies. It will be a limited series on Hulu. I will be watching. |
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Post by Fidget on Aug 15, 2025 11:58:37 GMT
I read The Thorn Birds - I didn't watch the mini series when it first aired back in the 80's. I came across the book and thought I'd give it a whirl and I absolutely loved it. I wish I could find it streaming somewhere!
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Post by picotjo on Aug 15, 2025 16:18:55 GMT
I wish I could find it streaming somewhere!
Amazon Prime Video has it.
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Post by ~summer~ on Aug 15, 2025 17:16:56 GMT
I just started “Murder Takes A Vacation” - while in France.
It’s delightful! The author has written a lot, but I’ve never heard of her (or the book, which just came out).
Curious if anyone has their eye on it, or is reading it?
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TXMary
Pearl Clutcher
And so many nights I just dream of the ocean. God, I wish I was sailin' again.
Posts: 3,410
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Post by TXMary on Aug 15, 2025 17:29:40 GMT
I read The Stolen Life Of Colette Marceu by Kristin Harmel and I adored this beautiful novel, I have loved everything I have read by her. I had tickets to see her along with wine and horderves. It was a wonderful evening and she was so sweet. It was fascinating to learn her writing process and her story of beating breast cancer. Colette Marceu has been stealing jewels for nearly as long as she can remember, following the centuries-old code of honor instilled in her by her mother, Annabel: take only from the cruel and unkind, and give to those in need. Never was their family tradition more important than during the Second World War, when Annabel and Colette worked side by side in Paris to fund the French Resistance. But one night in 1942, it all went wrong. Annabel was arrested by the Germans, and Colette's four-year-old sister, Liliane, disappeared in the chaos of the raid, along with an exquisite diamond bracelet Sewn into the hem of her nightgown for safekeeping. Soon after, Annabel was executed, and Liliane's body was discovered floating in the Siene-but the bracelet was nowhere to be found. Seventy years later, Colette-who has "redistributed" $30 million in jewels over the decades-has tried to leave behind her tragic past, but her life begins to unravel when the long-missing bracelet turns up in a museum exhibit in Boston. If Colette can discover where it has been all this time-and who owns it now-she may finally learn the truth about what happened to her sister. But she isn't the only one for whom the bracelet holds answers, and when someone from her childhood lays claim to the diamonds, she's forced to confront the ghosts of her past as never before. I am about 30% in to this one and loving it. Like all of her books, it's a great story. She has become one of my favorite authors. I didn't know she had breast cancer. |
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hutchfan
Drama Llama
Posts: 7,276
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Post by hutchfan on Aug 15, 2025 18:20:43 GMT
I read The Stolen Life Of Colette Marceu by Kristin Harmel and I adored this beautiful novel, I have loved everything I have read by her. I had tickets to see her along with wine and horderves. It was a wonderful evening and she was so sweet. It was fascinating to learn her writing process and her story of beating breast cancer. Colette Marceu has been stealing jewels for nearly as long as she can remember, following the centuries-old code of honor instilled in her by her mother, Annabel: take only from the cruel and unkind, and give to those in need. Never was their family tradition more important than during the Second World War, when Annabel and Colette worked side by side in Paris to fund the French Resistance. But one night in 1942, it all went wrong. Annabel was arrested by the Germans, and Colette's four-year-old sister, Liliane, disappeared in the chaos of the raid, along with an exquisite diamond bracelet Sewn into the hem of her nightgown for safekeeping. Soon after, Annabel was executed, and Liliane's body was discovered floating in the Siene-but the bracelet was nowhere to be found. Seventy years later, Colette-who has "redistributed" $30 million in jewels over the decades-has tried to leave behind her tragic past, but her life begins to unravel when the long-missing bracelet turns up in a museum exhibit in Boston. If Colette can discover where it has been all this time-and who owns it now-she may finally learn the truth about what happened to her sister. But she isn't the only one for whom the bracelet holds answers, and when someone from her childhood lays claim to the diamonds, she's forced to confront the ghosts of her past as never before. I am about 30% in to this one and loving it. Like all of her books, it's a great story. She has become one of my favorite authors. I didn't know she had breast cancer. She has become a favorite author for me too. She had to put this book on hold to battle breast cancer. She wore pink dresses on this tour to honor all those with breast cancer. |
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Post by coloradocropper on Aug 15, 2025 18:29:03 GMT
I just finished The Woman in the Window by AJ Finney. A solid 4 stars. I want to watch the Netflix movie to see how it pares up to the book
I have started reading My Friends by Fredrik Backman. It's off to a good start so far.
I'm listening to The River is Waiting by Wally Lamb. I can tell it's going to be an emotional one.
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Post by Bridget in MD on Aug 15, 2025 20:08:57 GMT
I read The Stolen Life Of Colette Marceu by Kristin Harmel and I adored this beautiful novel, I have loved everything I have read by her. I had tickets to see her along with wine and horderves. It was a wonderful evening and she was so sweet. It was fascinating to learn her writing process and her story of beating breast cancer. Colette Marceu has been stealing jewels for nearly as long as she can remember, following the centuries-old code of honor instilled in her by her mother, Annabel: take only from the cruel and unkind, and give to those in need. Never was their family tradition more important than during the Second World War, when Annabel and Colette worked side by side in Paris to fund the French Resistance. But one night in 1942, it all went wrong. Annabel was arrested by the Germans, and Colette's four-year-old sister, Liliane, disappeared in the chaos of the raid, along with an exquisite diamond bracelet Sewn into the hem of her nightgown for safekeeping. Soon after, Annabel was executed, and Liliane's body was discovered floating in the Siene-but the bracelet was nowhere to be found. Seventy years later, Colette-who has "redistributed" $30 million in jewels over the decades-has tried to leave behind her tragic past, but her life begins to unravel when the long-missing bracelet turns up in a museum exhibit in Boston. If Colette can discover where it has been all this time-and who owns it now-she may finally learn the truth about what happened to her sister. But she isn't the only one for whom the bracelet holds answers, and when someone from her childhood lays claim to the diamonds, she's forced to confront the ghosts of her past as never before. I am about 30% in to this one and loving it. Like all of her books, it's a great story. She has become one of my favorite authors. I didn't know she had breast cancer. I just read this in one day (we are in the car taking DS to College). It was very good! |
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gottapeanow
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 2,912
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Post by gottapeanow on Aug 15, 2025 21:02:32 GMT
I read The Stolen Life Of Colette Marceu by Kristin Harmel and I adored this beautiful novel, I have loved everything I have read by her. I'm just starting this one. Love her books and looking forward to it! I'm listening to The River is Waiting by Wally Lamb. I can tell it's going to be an emotional one. This is my favorite read of the year so far. I'm still gutted! Lisa |
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TXMary
Pearl Clutcher
And so many nights I just dream of the ocean. God, I wish I was sailin' again.
Posts: 3,410
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Post by TXMary on Aug 15, 2025 23:13:44 GMT
I am about 30% in to this one and loving it. Like all of her books, it's a great story. She has become one of my favorite authors. I didn't know she had breast cancer. She has become a favorite author for me too. She had to put this book on hold to battle breast cancer. She wore pink dresses on this tour to honor all those with breast cancer. I'm a breast cancer survivor too. I had no idea she was. ![]() |
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Post by worrywart on Aug 15, 2025 23:34:08 GMT
I just finished The Correspondent by Virginia Evans. I really liked this book a lot. Not to give anything away but it is basically a book of letters/emails that the main character writes and the responses. She writes a LOT so at first I thought I would have a hard time figuring out who everyone is but it worked out.
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hutchfan
Drama Llama
Posts: 7,276
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Post by hutchfan on Aug 16, 2025 4:03:29 GMT
She has become a favorite author for me too. She had to put this book on hold to battle breast cancer. She wore pink dresses on this tour to honor all those with breast cancer. I'm a breast cancer survivor too. I had no idea she was. ![]() That makes my heart happy to hear you beat breast cancer. I lost my best friend from High School at 53 from this horrible disease in 2020. I think of her all the time, she is buried really close to my mom and I visit her grave often. |
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chefsuzyq
New Member
Posts: 8
Jul 5, 2024 23:50:58 GMT
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Post by chefsuzyq on Aug 16, 2025 4:44:28 GMT
Ink by Jonathan Maberry. The bad guy is so disgusting and evil. Somehow, I forget this fact every time I reread it. Why a reread? I was not ready to part with characters who are secondary/peripheral to this story. The Well-trained Wife Tia Levings. Highly recommend this one. Combine it with the Shiny Happy People docs on Netflix. And the newest Steve Hassan interview with Steve Kent regarding the Cult of Trump and Scientology tactics. See the long game that started in the 80s, the time of the Satanic Panic. It wasn’t just the IBLP. It will answer why the checks and balances are non-existent. Thanks for your recommendation for The Well-trained Wife. It’s available on kindle unlimited and I had a hard time stopping to go to sleep last night. It touched on some similar past experiences with the church I had growing up. My regular church was not like the book but some of the revivals or the visiting preachers would preach on girls remaining pure for their husbands. Back then it creeped me out. Why are all of these old white men preaching about young girls being virgins? |
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sweetpeasmom
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 2,832
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Post by sweetpeasmom on Aug 16, 2025 13:30:30 GMT
While at the beach last week, I finished 4 books.
Swimming Lessons - Mary Alice Monroe Second in her Beach House series. Takes place 5 years after the first book, The Beach House. It's a lighthearted beach themed book. Takes place in Isle of Palms, SC. I enjoyed it.
This Summer Will Be Different - Carley Fortune I enjoy a book that is told in two different time settings, goes back and forth. Enjoyed this story line. Liked the direction the story went and how it came to a conclusion.
The Housemaid is Watching - Freida McFadden Third of the Housemaid series. I enjoyed it. Liked the twist at the end.
The Paradise Problem - Christina Lauren Cute book. Some funny banter laugh out loud parts for me. Much like This Summer Will Be Different, I liked how the story line went and the conclusion it came to. Now I'm reading The Things We Leave Unfinished - Rebecca Yarros. I love a book with a historical setting. This one goes back and forth in different voices and times (current and WWII). Enjoying this one so far. |
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Post by Laurie on Aug 16, 2025 23:28:22 GMT
Just finished reading Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt for my Bookopoly space. Thank you to the peas that recommended it. Wasn’t expecting to cry but I did. I plan on reading Three Bags Full as well but that wasn’t on Libby or at my library. RBC had a long wait on Libby so when I went to check both books on Kindle I saw that RBC print was on sale and it had printed page edges which I am a sucker for and bought it.
The Friend Zone became available for me on Libby so I need to sneak that in quickly. It won’t count for my next square.
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