The Best is Yet to Come” Lauren Bretanha (Read 11/22/19 to 11/27/19)

The book mostly jumps back and for the between present day Claire, and Claire 5 years ago when she she first met Bass. Sometimes we get chapters from Bass’s point of view, both present and 5 years earlier.
I really like the characters, my heart aches for their situation. Bass is so understanding I want to shake Claire, but I get the emotional walls she has built. It makes my heart hurt so deeply for them and for the baby. Claire is defiantly a classic example of self-fulfilling prophecy, she is so intent of not getting hurt or causing hurt that she wreaks it in so many unintended ways.
In understand that Claire’s self hatred and lack of confidence in her mothering skills is the heart of her character, and needed for her character growth, but at times it was all a little much. Jeez, they bring the baby home and she cries, so automatically the baby hates Claire. It is just a little over the top at times in my mind.
A really confusing part of the book, is that sometimes both parents are referred to as being dead, but sometimes it seems like it is only the Father that died. Then on page 204 it seems that her mother may have committed suicide. It was all cleared up by the end, but I spent a lot of time trying to figure out what was going on.
Parts of this book really hit me in the feels. I could see myself in Claire, and I could understand some of her decisions, I and also understand how a baby changes a marriage, and not all survive it.
I felt like this was very much a self fulfilling prophecy book. All of Clair’s worst nightmares come true, because of what choices and actions she takes to protect herself. I got really frustrated with how Claire refused to talk to Bass, I feel 100% that they issues with communication stemmed from her and I really wasn’t that sympathetic. I did feel bad for Bass though.
This was a harder book than I expected. It hit a lot of feels. My 1st marriage feel apart for many reasons, a few of them reflected her with trust and intimacy issues. I could really see both sides. There were some slow parts, but overall the book moved at a good pace. There were very few present choices that I could find, that took some reaching sometimes.

The True Story of Hansel and Gretel by Louise Murphy (Read 11/12/19 to 11/17/19)

This is my second Quarterly Book Exchange book.  It is set in Poland in the last year of World War II.  Two jewish children are sent into the Bialowieza Forest by their Father and Stepmother.  They are told to hide their identities and take the names Hansel and Gretel.  They find an old woman, Magda, in a hut on the outskirts of the village Piaski, the village calls her a witch.  This takes what you think you know about Hansel and Gretel, and weaves a magical and tragic tale about what could have been the real story behind the fairy tale.

I really enjoyed this book, it took the horrors of Nazi occupation of Poland and combined them with the fantasy of a Fairy Tale, to create surreal world, that was probably exactly how it felt to survivors.  I'm not going to lie, this had some very graphic movements, but I think that was Murphy's attempt to stay true to the graphic nature of that time period, it was an ugly brutal period in human history.  I love the writing style and the way she kept elements of the fairy tale in the story of these fugitive children.  It was beautifully written and heartbreaking at time.

The Other Son by Nick Alexander (Read 11/4/19 to 11/9/19)

I received this book as an Advanced Reader's Copy (ARC) through NetGalley. It was originally published I UK in 2015, 12/17/19 is US release
This is a story about a dysfunctional family. It takes place in London area.
The characters are Alice her husband of 50 years Ken, they are in their late 60’s almost 70’s. Their son Tim and his wife Natalya, and their other son Matt.
This book did a bit of timeline jumping, it was broken up into parts, Part 1 was about Alice and her marriage to Ken and her view on her relationship with her children. Part 2 was from Natalya and Tim’s view on their life and their relationship with Alice and Ken. Part 3 is a bridging section between what happens to Alice after Part 2 that leads to Part 4. The first part of Part 4 is from Tim’s point of view of his life, and the final part is from Alice’s view of Tim’s life and making some revelations about her own.
There is some touchy topic, abuse, drinking, prostitution, human trafficking.
I really enjoyed this book, I know that it has lots of triggers and may not be appropriate for everyone. I found the characters to be very realistic, even if they were not all likable. As a domestic abuse survivor myself I was really able to relate to Alice, Tim and Matt and understand their motivations for the choices they made. But I realize it is a heavy topic. It was a really well written book and compelling characters to me.

#TheOtherSon #NetGalley

The Glass Magician by Caroline Stevermer (Read 11/1/19 to 11/3/19)

I received this book as an Advanced Reader's Copy (ARC) through NetGalley. It will be published April 7, 2020.

I did not finish this book, I only made it to 36%. I found the world really interesting, it was set in the early 1900’s and focuses on stage magicians in the Vaudeville circuit. But the world had 3 classes of people, the Solitaire which seem to have no magic. The Traders who can change form into animals, and the Sylvetri who have some sort of affinity with nature. There was the start of some great world building and some interesting dynamics. There are some stolen ticks that seemed to be leading to a bigger conspiracy, and I know there is a murder in the future, but I didn’t get far enough in the book to find out what happened.

The reason I didn’t finish the book is the author describes people by color, they are white Solitaire or black Solitaire, a white Trader or a black Trader. At first, I hoped that it was describing if they were good or bad, but as the book went on I was disappointed to find it really was describing their skin color and I found it offensive and therefore did not finish the book. I feel like there was no need for the descriptions based on skin color and it just made the book very un-enjoyable for me.

The Companion by Kim Taylor Blakemore (Read 10/29/19 to 11/1/19)

I received this book as an Advanced Reader's Copy (ARC) through NetGalley. It will be published January 14, 2020

This book is set in 1855, Lucy Blunt is on death row at New Hampshire State Prison for killing two women, her employer and another woman in the house, Rebecca. This book jumps timelines a lot, it bounces between Lucy on death row, Lucy being hired by the Burton’s and being employed as their maid, and Lucy’s life before the Burtons.

The book starts out with Lucy being hired because the previous maid Mary Dawson had drowned. Lucy has lied and faked her references to get the job. We also find out that Lucy’s son died at 3 days old. The house is kept locked up tight, and keys are a frequently referenced item throughout the book, because Mrs. Burton wanders. We then find out that Lucy is telling her story to a newspaper man, possibly to try and get out of being hanged. One day Rebecca is locked out of the house and almost dies, it is never made clear how it happened, if Rebecca did it herself or if Mrs. Burton locked her out. While Rebecca is recovering Lucy is recruited to help Mrs. Burton. As the book unfolds we find out many secrets. Lucy and Mrs. Burton become close, and eventually form a romantic relationship, Rebecca is very jealous. It is never clearly stated that Rebecca and Mrs. Burton used to be lovers, but it is implied. Mrs. Burton gives Lucy many gifts such as lace, and dresses and jewelry, these are also used as evidence against her in the trial. But how does all this secrecy lead to two deaths and a woman awaiting her own hanging? Did she do it? Will her appeals be granted?

This was a good read, I thoroughly enjoyed it. The time line was a little jumpy, but I think that was on purpose. Lucy wasn’t thinking in a straight line, how could she tell her story in a straight line? The book got a little slow in the middle, but it really picked up in the end. It reminded me style wise, and even storyline wise of Sarah Water’s Fingersmith. The book kept me guessing right up to the end as to if Lucy really committed the murders or if she was framed.







#TheCompanion #NetGalley

In Cold Chamomile by Joy Avon (read 10/27/19 to 10/28/19)

I received this book as an Advanced Reader's Copy (ARC) through NetGalley. It will be published February 11, 2020.  This is the third book in the A Tea and Read Mystery Series, I have not read the first 2.  This is set around Valentines day and Callie Aspen and her Great Aunt Iphy Aspen have organized an event to raise money for Haywood Hall.  However, instead of love there is a murder.  As I have not read the previous 2 books, I was not attached to the characters, in fact I hated most of them.  I felt as people they were shallow, and selfish, and dumb, they made a lot of poor choices based on dumb reasons.  Callie spent all her time moaning about her maybe boyfriend Ace, and seems like a weak pathetic woman.  I expected as one of the lead sleuths that she would have a backbone and it was very much, "oh no! I didn't do what my boyfriend told me to do, oh is he breaking up with me?"   Iphy should also have been a spunky 70 year old sleuth who at her age didn't care about what people thought, instead her character came across as a lovestruck 16 year old who didn't know how to use logic at all.  Ace was a controlling jerk, who just wanted his girlfriend to "do as he said" and not disrespect him.  Peggy was a whinny pathetic woman, who caused a lot of dram for no reason at all, besides to get Callie further "in trouble" with Ace.  I knew it was a cozy mystery and I was hoping for something light and fun, but the characters were a little too light for me.  Joy Avon's writing was good, the story moved at a nice place, there was just the right amount of death for a cozy mystery.  But I didn't like a single character in this book. I hope that for fans of the series this was just a one-off, and that I am missing a great series because I won't pick up the others.

A Sister’s Courage by Molly Green (Read 10/23/19 to 10/27/19)

I received this book as an Advanced Reader's Copy (ARC) through NetGalley. It will be published November 28, 2019. Lorraine “Raine” Linfoot is the main character. Her mother, Simone is very French, her Father, Robert, who is older than Simone and English. She has two younger sisters, Suzanne (Suzy) and Veronique (Ronnie). This is described as being about the Air Transport Auxiliary (ATA), which is the British Version of the WASPS. However, it is more about Raine and her love life than the ATA’s history. In 1936, at the age of 14 Raine flies for the first time, and it is then that she decides she will be a pilot. We see Raine achieve that dream and also get caught between her feelings for two very special pilots in her life.

I didn’t realize until I got to the end that this was the first in what I believe will be a trilogy, the 2nd book is due out May 2020 and is about Raines sister Suzy, called A Sister’s song. This was an ok book, it was more of a romance and less of a historical novel than I expected. Actually I felt like besides setting it wasn’t really about the ATA, it was about Raine’s love triangle.

I liked the strong character Raine is, she was not afraid to advocate for herself. In the WWII era, there was a lot of discrimination against women, especially in historically male work fields. She is a very strong character that way. I think that if I had realized it was more about the love story and not the history of the ATA I may have enjoyed the book more. It was well written, and there were some very well developed characters, I just wanted more history I think.

No One's Home by D.M. Pulley (Read 10/19/19 to 10/23/19)

This was the Spooky Once Upon a Book Club selection.
The Rawlingswood house has quite the history, but when the Spielman's buy it, it has been abandoned and treated as a teenager party house.  They buy it for a sweet deal, and throw all the money they saved into renovations, but all the changes are not enough to remove the ghosts that live there.  And then things start happening, doors left open or suddenly locked, lights left on, strange noises.  And the Spielman's were barely holding it together as a family before the move, now that ghosts are involved they drift even further apart.
This was a good book, I really liked all the intertwining stories of the house history.  It was a little slow in the start, but once we hit the middle things really picked up.   It had it's creepy moments, I admit I couldn't read it too late into the night.  But I wouldn't call it horror either, it just makes an empty house feel really empty.

Frozen Secrets by Myles Christensen (read 10/16/19 to 10/19/19)

I received this book as an Advanced Reader's Copy (ARC) through NetGalley. It will be published January 25, 2020.
Max is the son of an astronaut, his father’s last mission was 13 year ago on Jupiter’s moon Europa, there was an explosion an three people died. Max and his best friend Jonathan, also an astronaut’s son, are caught using a jetpack they rebuilt and make friends with a space shuttle driver Jake. Then it is decided that Max’s family will be one of families to settle in the new Europa City, but there is more to Europa City than meets the eye.
I enjoyed this book, it was a fun and action-packed adventure. I think my son would enjoy it. I can see that it is being set up for a series, and I liked the concept. The writing was good. I wouldn’t say it was my favorite book, but it was a solid story. The characters were likable and relatable. The action never seemed to stop, I like that there were no slow parts to the book, Christensen managed to move the story line along while keeping the kids moving, literally.
#FrozenSecrets #NetGalley

Housewitch by Katie Schickel (Read 10/14/19 to 10/16/19)

This is the OUABC Sweet mini box book, I did not buy the book box, I bought the spooky one instead, but I did borrow the book from the library.
This is about Allison, who seems like a normal stay at home mom, wanting to be part of the in crowd and perfect moms.  And she finds away by being invited to be a Glamour Girl.  All she has to do is exactly what the Boss Lady Astrid says to do.  But the Glamour Girls have a secret, and so does Allison.
The description of this book compared it to Practical Magic, which I can see a bit, but it was much better.  It was a light read, and lots of fun twists.  The theme of witches was perfect for October.  Sadly I had the major plot twist figured out by about 40%.  Which doesn't mean I didn't enjoy the book, but it does mean it wasn't a shocking surprise ending.  It was a nice light read for Halloween.

The Other Woman by Sandie Jones (Read 10/12/19 to 10/14/19)

Emily meets Adam at a bar and he is perfect, it’s a match made in heaven.  Except for one thing, Adam’s mother Pammie.  She has taken a dislike to Emily and is doing everything in her power to tear them apart, while acting the loving Mother in Adams eyes.  But remember looks can be deceiving.
This was quite the page turner.  And keeps you guessing until the very last chapter.  What is real, what is a lie. What are the true underlying motives?it was fast paced and well written. The characters were very complex and developed, but so easy to relate to.  I thought I knew what was happening, but I was wrong, I felt like I was reading a Gillian Flynn when the truth was revealed.  The clues were so well hidden in plain sight, that I missed them.  An absolute recommendation.

A Girl, A Racoon, and the Midnight Moon by Karen Romano Young (Read 10/8/19 to 10/12/19)

I received this book as an Advanced Reader's Copy (ARC) through NetGalley. It will be published January 7, 2020

Pearl Moran is 10 years old and starting 5th grade. She was actually born at the library! Her mom is the circulation desk librarian and dating the library manager Bruce. Bruce used to be a park ranger, and has costume of Ranger Rick the Raccoon. Pearl’s father has never been in the picture. The library is her home, and the library staff her family. But her library is not doing well, there is poor circulation and some developers want to turn it into apartments. And to top it off the statute of the poet Edna St. Vincent Millay (known as Vincent), get her head stolen one night. Things are not looking good for the future of the Lancaster Branch of New York City library at all.

I really liked this book. There was nothing in the book that I said, OH I wouldn’t want my kid reading this, there were a few discussions about reproduction in the animal kingdom, and a few cuss words like piss, and damn and hell, but it was mild in mind. This was a great story about perseverance and social issues. It was about friendship and change, and how small actions can lead to great things. Peal and Francine and Oleg and all the library workers, really brought the library back to life. Pearl found her place in her world, and friends. And she didn’t sacrifice important things, like the raccoons, to achieve it. She showed integrity and commitment and inclusion. I don’t know that kids will get all the concepts, but the seeds of them could be planted with this book. Once I figure out how to get it to be readable on my kindle (netgalley sent a pdf, not a kindle file), or when it comes out, whichever happens first, I will absolutely have my son read it.



#AgirlAraccoonAndTheMidnightMoon #NetGalley

Farah Rocks Fifth Grade (Read 10/7/19)

I received this book as an Advanced Reader's Copy (ARC) through NetGalley. It will be published January 1, 2020

The main character is Farah Hajjar which is Arabic for Rocks. She is in 5th Grade. Her brother Samir is in kindergarten and has some disabilities, he was a preemie baby and that seems to have affected his speech. Allie Liu is Farah’s best friend and is Chinese.
Farah and Allie are applying to attend Magnet Academy, a special public school with a focus on math and science. Both the girls have been in advanced “gifted” classes since 2nd grade. There is a new girl on the bus Dana Denver, she is a transfer student from Texas, and she is really tall. The first time we meet her she is mean to Samir. Dana trips over Samir's feet getting on the bus, then he pulls her hair, I think because it is red and he meant to just stroke it. But this upsets Dana and the feud begins.
I really liked the way this book handled bullying. That it can be a quiet and subtle thing, not overt. I truly felt like it was written from a 9/10/11 year old’s perspective. My son is 10, and in fifth grade, and Farah’s decisions fall right in line with his decision-making patterns. I also liked that the characters had variety, Farah being Arabic, her best friend Chinese. It didn’t make race an issue but it acknowledged that sometimes if we look different than everyone else that we can get made fun of, or have problems related to that. It wasn’t “The Theme” of the book, but it was there as an undertone. I also think the idea that adults don’t take kids seriously or understand when they say something is wrong, is true. Kids get brushed aside, because it’s no big deal, but I liked how this book addressed that and said yes but keep trying, someone will eventually listen if you just give them a chance.

I had my 10-year old son read the book too. As a disclaimer, I bribed him with unlimited tablet time today if he read the book. It took him about an hour to read. I have never seen him read a book so fast.
Son’s Comments: The words sound weird to me when I pronounce them because they speak a different language. It was pretty good there were a lot of simile’s which I liked. The part where she purposely got bad grades was weird, when she wanted to protect her brother from Dana. Dana is going through a divorce. The story itself had a pretty good layout. I didn’t understand Arabic words. He thought Farah was pretty nice to protect Samir. It really stuck with him that Farah kept saying she was Samir’s hero.
He liked that Farah was in fifth grade because he is in fifth grade, and he liked that she stood up for her little brother. He said he would recommend it, it is a good book.



#FarahRocksFifthGrade #NetGalley

The Alice Network by Kate Quinn (read 9/29/19 to 10/6/19)

This is my selection for the Quarterly Book Exchange Facebook group I have joined.  There are 4 of us in a group, and we each select a book, then highlight mark, ask questions, make comments, etc. in it and then mail to another person in the group.  Eventually we read and comment on 4 books via mail, and our original book returns to us.  I think it will add a fun new element to the book reading experience.

This is the story of two women Eve and Charlie.  The book covers both WWI and WWII.  Charlie is looking for her cousin Rose after WWII ends.  And her hunt brings her to Eve's door, Eve was a spy in WWI, and is now a very damaged woman in a lot of ways.  The hunt for Rose takes them from London and into France.  As the story unfolds we learn more about Eve's past and how it effects Charlie's future.

This was a great book, I gave it 5 stars.  I wasn't sure I was going to like the timeline skipping, but I really did, it allowed both women's stories to unfold simultaneously.  The characters were really well written, I liked Charlie, but by the end of the book I love her.  We got to see her grow into such an amazing woman.  And Eve, oh where to start on Eve.  She was my favorite character, I love her attitude from the start.  I also really liked that this book is based on true event and true people, a little creative license was taken for story sake, but for the most part it was based on a real person, Louise de Bettignies, was really knows as the Queen of Spies in WWI.  And Quinn used a memoir by her 2nd in command to help write this book, even going so far as to use actual quotes by Louise.  Additionally there is an event near the end of the book, that was a real horrific act by the Germans, that I had no idea happened.  I love a book that entertains me with great story and characters but also teaches me about history.

Beyond the Horizon by Ella Carey (Read 10/2/19 to 10/4/19)

I received this book as an Advanced Reader's Copy (ARC) through NetGalley.  It will be published October 15, 2019.
This is a fictional account of the real-life stories of the Women’s Airforce Service Pilots (WASPs) in WWII.  Many of the events are real, but the characters are all fictional.  The story if from the point of view of Eva Forrest, née Scott.  She is testifying at the 1977 congressional hearings on giving the WASPs military recognition.  The book opens with Nina and her husband Jack and son Alex at a market. Her son has met women organizing for the WASPs to testify in front of congress, and it triggers a flashback for Eva.  She was in a horrible crash, that killed her co-pilot Helena.  It is after this that she defies her husband and decides to testify, unless the records are militarized she cannot access them to find out what happened the day of the crash, and she fears she is to blame for her friend’s death.  The remaining chapters start out with a question from congress and Eva’s response, then it moves into a flashback to 1943/1944.  We follow Eva from her choice to join the WASPs with her best friend Nina up until the fateful accident.

I really enjoyed this book.  It was full of very strong women characters overcoming discrimination.  I felt that at times the timeline jumps were jarring. Sometimes Carey forgets to give lead ins that 3 months have passed, or that someone has entered the room.  This happened more at the beginning then the middle and end, but it caused me pause.

I also felt like a good portion of the book was spent on Eva and Nina getting into the WASP program, and training in Sweetwater.  The parts once they were assigned to Camp David and aftermath of the crash seemed really short, but maybe it was because the storyline had really picked up by then.  I admit I spent the last part of the book crying, from the moment  the hearing ended until the end of the book.  It was so heart wrenching in a good way.  Needless to say this was a book "Couldn't Put Down" as I finished it in two days.

#BeyondTheHorizon #NetGalley

Unmentionable: The Victorian Lady’s Guide to Sex, Marriage and Manners by Therese Oneill (read 9/25/19 to 9/29/19)

This was a library hold that came in unexpectedly.
From Goodreads description "Ladies, welcome to the 19th century, where there's arsenic in your face cream, a pot of cold pee sits under your bed, and all of your underwear is crotchless. (Why? Shush, dear. A lady doesn't question.)  UNMENTIONABLE is your hilarious, illustrated, scandalously honest (yet never crass) guide to the secrets of Victorian womanhood, giving you detailed advice on:
~ What to wear
~ Where to relieve yourself
~ How to conceal your loathsome addiction to menstruating
~ What to expect on your wedding night
~ How to be the perfect Victorian wife
~ Why masturbating will kill you
~ And more"

I like the tone of the writing, it is informative and a bit snarky.  It provides and insight, I mostly already knew,  life was hard in the 19th century.  But is also provides some tidbits I didn't know.  Pantaloons were crotchless!
I know that for the most part women had little say over their own lives, but even one of the worst mysoginistc writers of the time, felt they should have some say.   “Of all the rights to which a woman is entitled, that of the custody of her own body is the most indubitable.”  Ladies' Guide in Health and Disease: Girlhood, Maidenhood, Wifehood, Motherhood By John Harvey Kellogg, published 1884
Maybe some of our politicians etc should listen to that wisdom.
I learned that the Comstock law of 1873 changed what could and could not be mailed. No advertisement for products relating human sexuality or contraceptions. It didn’t make contraceptions themselves illegals but the ability to obtain them was. It started the idea that contraceptions were in equal footing with abortions, an idea we are still having debates over 146 years later.
On cooking in the 19th century “Unless you are excruciatingly careful and sometimes even if you are, look forward to intestinal worms, lead poisoning, and four-day-old unrefrigerated pork with a side of botulism.”  Well no one said good food easily obtained.

Overall it was a fun book, I enjoyed the facts, nothing was really mind-blowing news though.

War of Honor by David Webber (read 9/18/19 to 9/28/19)

This is the 10th book in the series and it is quite the tome.
I'm glad to be back in the Honorverse, but I feel like I missed something. There is a big thing about genetic slavery and it's affecting the political landscape, but I missed what genetic slavery actually is. Some of the players I'm having a hard time remembering who they are...mostly I'm frustrated with the current RMN’s Lords games. They remind me too much of the Tump administration. The deeper I get in the book the more this frustrates me. I know as the reader I can see the bigger picture easier than the characters, but the civilian politicians narrow minded decisions really frustrate me. It actually makes me angry that they are looking so intently at their own careers that they put the nation at risk. Again I am sure our own US political environment right now feeds into that anger.
Again I feel that we are so busy talking about the political machinations of the RMN and the Peeps that we forget to talk about our main character. So much so that I actually began to tally when we had an Honor chapter versus a chapter about politics, other navies etc. Out of 60 chapters only 25 maybe 26 involved Honor and her actions. This is one of the reasons I have struggled so much with the last few Honor Harrington books, they have moved more to being about the Honorverse world and politics and not so much about Honor herself. But Honor is why I read them, the politics etc are only background noise in my mind, but Webber has moved them to the front line and Honor seems to be the background noise.
Things finally start to heat up around page 643, we got one chapter of excitement in and went back to political machinations. Things started moving again around page 800 and still there was only 1 maybe 2 chapters that were about Honor.
Another issue I am beginning to recognize, is that every time a minor character dies, even this far into the series I still flinch, I keep hoping the devastation won’t happen. I’m not sure I’m cut out for war novels, but the characters such as Honor, Mayhew, Lefollet, Nimitz etc keep me trudging on through the blood and the loss. And Webster isn’t afraid to kill a major character either we have seen that so many times. I am about at the end of my limit though, the cost benefit is shifting for me. There is getting to be too much politicking, war and death, and not enough focus on the characters that keep me coming back.  I have some other books on my TBR shelf and for book clubs, so I think those will be my next choices, but if the next book isn't about Honor more, the final 3 may go unread by me.

Fire Logic by Laurie J. Marks (read 8/30/19 to 9/3/19)

I got this book as an advanced reader copy from LibraryThing. I won this in December of 2018, and I admit it got lost in the shuffle of life.

GoodReads Description: “The martial Sainnites have occupied Shaftal for fifteen years but every year the cost of resistance rises. Emil, a scholar officer, Zanja, the last survivor of her people, and Karis, a metalsmith, half-blood giant, and an addict … together, perhaps they can change history.”

When I looked this book up on GoodReads I was confused because it showed that it was published in 2002, yet my copy said Advanced Reader Copy January 2019. And when you google it, it says it is being published in June 2019...very confusing.

I had a hard time with this book. I felt like the writing was masterful, Marks has created a complex and beautiful world. But, I also felt like I was coming into the middle of a story. She creates this world but then doesn’t adequately explain it to us the reader. The first few chapters I felt very lost, I wanted to understand the social structure of the characters but there just was not enough information and I wasn’t sure how things fit together.

There is a lot of comments on other reviews about how great the protagonist is a powerful woman of color. The fact that she is a woman of character was immaterial to me, what I liked about her was she was put in a position for her tribe that laid an unimaginable amount of responsibility on her shoulders at a young age. Zanja did the beat she could to help her tribe, she faces horrific loss and still she never gave up. She had her doubts about her abilities as anyone would, but she never shirked her duty to her people despite the cost to herself. Zanja is a beautifully written character that is relatable to all of us.

The Girls of Atomic City: The untold story of the women who helped win World War II by Denise Kieran (read 8/23/19 to 8/29/19)

GoodReads description “This is the story of the girls/women of Oak Ridge Tennessee who unknowingly helped to create the Atomic Bomb. The Tennessee town of Oak Ridge was created from scratch in 1942. One of the Manhattan Project’s secret cities, it didn’t appear on any maps until 1949, and yet at the height of World War II it was using more electricity than New York City and was home to more than 75,000 people, many of them young women recruited from small towns across the South. Their jobs were shrouded in mystery, the penalty for talking about their work—even the most innocuous details—was job loss and eviction. They all knew something big was happening at Oak Ridge, but few could piece together the true nature of their work until the bomb "Little Boy" was dropped over Hiroshima, Japan, and the secret was out. The shocking revelation: the residents of Oak Ridge were enriching uranium for the atomic bomb. Though the young women originally believed they would leave Oak Ridge after the war, many met husbands there, made lifelong friends, and still call the seventy-year-old town home.”

From the very start I was excited. I like that there is a listing of who everyone is at the start. Sometimes I get names mixed up in historical books, and it is great to have a reference when I ask myself “who is this again.”

This book contained lots of facts, but a good mix of personal storytelling as well. Still never kept all the characters straight, but it was a really good read. I enjoyed the flow of the book, it really kept the events moving along and never got too bogged down with facts, yet I learned a lot at the same time.

I liked that the authors choose to follow different women from different social and economic backgrounds throughout the book, how were things for a scientist, a secretary, an operator and a janitor. White versus black? It let the reader know what was the same across the board, and what was not. Sometimes the differences were mind boggling.

I also really liked that the last chapter and some of the notes at the end of the nook told more of what happened to the women after the project was wrapped up, a sort of where are they now.

Why the Right Went Wrong: Conservatism from Goldwater to the Tea Party and Beyond by E.J. Dionne Jr. (read 8/11/19 to 8/22/19)

I am on a roll of political analysis books, this should be my final one for a bit. Well until the election really heats up. Then I will want to read about candidates and books from candidates. This is a history of the Republican party and their politics. As you could guess, I am really trying to understand why our government is functioning/or not functioning the way it is. I don’t want to just vote party lines, but I feel the need to understand what the other side is trying to achieve. This was obviously written by a liberal trying to understand the conservative side of things. I had good information, but there was just so much of it. I had a hard time reading it and digesting, it was so dense. And as a result I didn’t enjoy it, and at about halfway I just wanted it over so everything at the end was lost on me.

*Opinions expressed are solely my own and do not express the views or opinions of the US Government. None of the ideas expressed in this blog post are shared, supported, or endorsed in any manner by my employer.

The Tattooist of Auschwitz by Heather Morris (read 8/12/19 to 8/13/19)

I choose this book as the first book of a new book club I have started.  I choose it because my boyfriends mother recommended it to me, and wow was she right, I could hardly put it down.  I think I read it in every free moment I had in a 24 hour period.
This is a true story, with a little historical/fictional embellishment.  All the major historical details are correct, but some of the timelines are a little changed for ease of reading.  Additionally since this is story in dedication to love it has a little of embellishment on the romance I am sure.
Lale is a jewish man who becomes the tattooist of Auschwitz, a privileged but dangerous position, he tattoos the number on the arm of a beautiful girl, Gita, and he spends the rest of his time romancing and protecting her as best he can.  This is the type of story I love, WWII always draws me in, the audacity of the Nazi's and the human carnage they left in their wake.  Yet there are just as many stories of human kindness and bravery fighting the horrors as there are horror stories.  I admire the survivors of the concentration camps, not only for surviving but because many did not allow their humanity to be taken from them.  I admire the stories of those that helped smuggle and protect the Nazi persecuted people, not just Jewish, because they did not say it's too hard.  They said this is wrong, and it's hard, but what small things can I do, and often the small things compounded to greatness.  This story encompasses all those. It was beautifully written and real pleasure to read.

The Shadows of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafron (read 7/25/19 to 7/30/19)

This was a BOTM read for August, but my library copy came in early, so I had
to read it early.
It starts off so dark and dreary and mysterious, and then a secret library with books nobody remembers are stored and still read and loved. And on Daniels first visit he adopts the book title, so it can never go extinct.  I loved the premise behind the story.  There was a great mystery and what happened to the  author Julian?  There were parts of the story that were very slow for me, particularly in the middle, I didn't really see how it added to the plot.  The ending had a bit of a twist, most of it I had figured out, but the shocker part I did not. But it did wrap everything up nicely in the end.   Overall it was an ok book.

The Cactus by Sarah Haywood (read 8/8/19 to 8/11/19)

This was an ok book for me. I didn’t love it. But it was a quick read. I don’t like Susan, she has a stick up her ass and is very cold. I don’t care for her treatment of people in her life, I understand it’s her character, but it doesn’t make me like her in the least. I feel no sympathy towards her, and actually I feel like she gets what she deserves. Throughout the book, I never really got to like her, I saw the twist by the 50% point. Everything wrapped up a little too neatly. It was an easy break between some heavier novels I have been reading. I don’t think I would recommend it. I like the writing style and authors voice, it was the story itself I didn’t care for, and the characters never grabbed me. There wasn’t a single one I cared about wha happened to them. I could see Susan’s growth as a person through the book, Haywood did that brilliantly, but I just didn’t care for who Susan was as a person enough to celebrate her changes.  I liked Haywood's writing style enough to see if she had written any other books, and she hadn't.  But I will be willing to her her next book a go.

The Deep State by Mike Lofgren (read 7/31/19 to 8/7/19)

This book is written by a former Republican Congressional Employee, he worked for 28 years as a staff member and national defense analyst for the House and Senate budget committees. He said, “My purpose with this book is to question the rationale of the game rather than attack the player who happens to be at bat at any given inning.”

Deep State: “A shadow government ruling the United States that pays little heed to the plain words of the Constitution8. It’s governing philosophy profoundly influences foreign and national security policy and such domestic matters as spending priorities, trade, investment, income inequality, privatization of government services, media presentation of news, and the whole meaning and worth of citizens’ participation in their government.”

“A hybrid association of key elements of government and parts of top-level finance and industry that is effectively able to govern the United States with only limited reference to the consent of the governed as normally expressed through elections.”

This was a depressing read, 265/277 pages about how corrupt and messed up our government is. I will give it to Lofgren he equally blamed both parties. It was a lot of depressing stuff, nothing is what it seems, everyone has a secret agenda, and nobody cares about the state of our country or its citizens.

But don’t fear Lofgren has the solutions in his final chapter.

1. Eliminate private money from public elections. 
2. Sensibly redeploy and downsize the military and intelligence complex. 
3. Stay out of the Middle East. 
4. Redirect the peace dividend to domestic infrastructure improvement. 
5. Start enforcing our antitrust laws. 
6. Reform tax policy. 
7. Reform immigration policy. 
8. Adopt a single payer health care system. 
9. Abolish corporations personhood status, or else treat the exactly like persons.

Overall Lofgren seems to have been telling what he saw as an insider at Congress, and how disappointed and disillusioned with our government he was when he left.  He provided a great amount of evidence for why change is needed, which I think we all know, and his solutions are not new ideas, just ones that no-one seems willing or able to make happen.  Besides writing this book, it did not seem he was trying to change anything, I did not hear about him becoming an activist or even a lobbyist.  Maybe he thought this book was action enough?  I don't know why I disliked it so much, yeah the subject matter was hard, there were some events that it provided a new perspective on, but for the most part, I already knew that at the upper echelons of our government there is disfunction and change needs to happen so that more can be accomplished.  Maybe it was his tone that bothered me, he writes with a disgust and a "no hope" attitude up until the last chapter.  I love my country, and I understand that we are not functioning at the best of our ability right now, both public and private, government officials and private citizens, maybe I am an optimist but I don't feel that there is no hope.  I just don't know when it will happen, but when it does I hope it will be swift.

*Opinions expressed are solely my own and do not express the views or opinions of the US Government. None of the ideas expressed in this blog post are shared, supported, or endorsed in any manner by my employer.

Educated by Tara Westover (Read 7/21/19 o 7/25/19)

I don’t know what I was expecting, but it wasn’t this. Whoa she was part of a cult, hidden birth (no birth certificate until 9) no schooling, I missed that part in the description. Amazon description:

“Born to survivalists in the mountains of Idaho, Tara Westover was seventeen the first time she set foot in a classroom. Her family was so isolated from mainstream society that there was no one to ensure the children received an education, and no one to intervene when one of Tara’s older brothers became violent. When another brother got himself into college, Tara decided to try a new kind of life. Her quest for knowledge transformed her, taking her over oceans and across continents, to Harvard and to Cambridge University. Only then would she wonder if she’d traveled too far, if there was still a way home”

Her father is obviously mentally ill, but as a child she thought his obsessions and paranoia was normal life. I admit I had some issues keeping all the siblings straight, and by that I mean what age order.  Other than that, it was a really easy read, the subject matter may not have been, but Tara's storytelling was in an easy manner, like we were talking over coffee.

As an abuse survivor myself, I can see her acceptance of the past in the last chapter. And by acceptance I don’t mean forgiveness, I mean that she can accept the past happened and that her choices to no longer be abused had consequences. That was her education, she learned the truth of her childhood and the abuse, verbal, emotional and physical that took place and she choose to no longer accept that behavior towards herself. We all want when we say “this is not ok to treat me this way” to our loved ones for them to change the behavior, and it is heat breaking when they don’t.

I found her story entirely engaging and enjoyable, she had lived through a horror of a childhood. But it is not written with malice or hate. I can see how writing down her story was part of her healing process, and even after all she has been though how deeply she loves her family.

I have read some articles after finishing this book, that her parents are denying the abuse etc., it did not make me doubt her story. If anything it re-enforced my belief, their reaction is what would be expected, and gave her more credence in my mind.

I was not expecting to read about such a hard, controversial issue. But I feel Tara told her story with honesty and compassion and love. Her writing was easy and conversational. At its heart, it wasn’t a book about Mormonism or abuse. It was a book about Tara and the very personal journey she has taken to become the person she is.

Crisis Point by Trent Lott and Tom Daschle (Read 7/13/19 to 7/21/19)

This seems like a timely read with with the way politics are currently and as broken as Washington is. This book is written by two former Senators and was published in 2016. It is even more relevant in today’s political environment. Lott and Daschle spend the first part of the book talking about history and how our Congress came to be so dysfunctional. They talk about how it used to work and bipartisan bills would pass. Government is not meant to agree, but they are meant to compromise. Something I think our current Congress members have forgotten. Lott and Daschle have some bipartisan solutions to the issues too.

• A national primary day, all states vote in primaries on the same day, or regional primaries if not a single. 
• Change voting day from Tuesday to the weekend. 
• Develop an electronic voting system. 
• Limit campaign length, fixed starting point a few months out from the election. 
• Limit leadership PACs to the top 3 leaders on each side. 
• Transparency in super PAC donations 
• 5 day work week in Congress 
• Have senate and house in same schedule, 3 weeks on, 1 week off 
• Senators limited to serving on 1 major and 1 minor committee 
• Bills posted a minimum of 3 days in advance of vote 
• Return to the requirement that a Senator hold the floor in person to filibuster 
• Abolish dual tracking 
• Require a member to come to the floor to announce a hold 
• Require a year of national service (military, civilian, or volunteer through nonprofits or religious institutions) when between ages 18-28. 
• Student debt forgiveness for national service as an incentive. 
• Reimplement mandatory civics classes in high schools. 
• Private sector provide for service-sabbatical opportunities. 

All of those ideas seem reasonable and good starting points to make our government function again. They end the book with the following, “It is not only within our power to change things, it is our duty: we must work and fight for it.” It is not out government official alone who have to change the way they function, it is our duty as citizens to advocate and ask, and yes even sacrifice our personal wants, to evoke change that is best for out country instead of just for ourselves.

*Opinions expressed are solely my own and do not express the views or opinions of the US Government. None of the ideas expressed in this blog post are shared, supported, or endorsed in any manner by my employer.

Equal Rites by Terry Pratchett (read 7/11/19 to 7/13/19)

At first I felt that it is weird that this book doesn’t have chapters.

I forgot how much I love Pratchett’s tone, he really doesn’t take himself or his stories seriously. Which is why he is so much fun to read.  I really flew through the book, without chapters there are no natural stopping points lol

I really enjoyed the characters they were wacky and fun.  There was lots of humor, mostly of the dry British variety.  Good ending, leaves you wanting to read the next one.  Super fun 

How the Irish Saved Civilization by Thomas Cahill (read 6/29/19 to 7/11/19)

This book was not at all what I expected, but then again that is what I get for thinking I know what is going to be in a history book.This had a lot more about the Roman Empire than I expected, the entire first 67 pages in fact. It was fascinating to read about the rise of the monks and Catholisim in Ireland, and how it effected all of Europe.  I really enjoyed the writing tone, it was a history book, but the author had a sense of humor.  He kept it light with lots of puns.

Stonemouth by Iain Banks (read 6/3/19 to 6/9/19)

So this book is full of a lot of ambiguity regarding whatever the event was.  I felt like we didn’t move far.  I want to know what is going on though.  I don't care for time jumps and this book was particularly jarring for me.  I don’t like the flipping between past and present in the same chapter.  It’s confusing to follow.  We would flip in the same chapter an I wouldn't realized ht time period had changed at first.

It’s slow and most of the action is in memories of the past.  I was expecting more.  It felt like it took forever to get the story really moving.  

Overall this was an ok book, I had hoped it would be a little more fast paced.

A Man Called One by Fredrick Backman (read 5/4/19 to 5/27/19)

This is not my first Backman book.  I read My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She's Sorry and Britt-Marie Was Here.  This is written in the same style, I would call ironic minimalist.   He does not portray the characters in his book in a good light on the surface but they are always deeper than they appear.  And he pokes fun at society a lot.

Over grows on you, like so many of Backman’s characters they are really unlikable at first but as you get to know them and their history they become loveable.

The Sympathizer by Viet Thanh Nguyen (read 4/22/19 to 5/4/19)

This book made me feel really uneducated. I wonder if that is because the war was so bad for us and we lost that it isn’t taught as throughly as the wars we won?  I had a hard time finding a grove on this book...it drags for me.  I didn’t like this book, and after some reflection I realized I wasn’t supposed to. I didn’t like it because it made me uncomfortable. It showed some glaring gaps in my education when it came to the Vietnam war and the aftermath. I knew that out soldiers had been mistreated when they came home, but I had never given a thought about the treatment of the Vietnamese here or in Vietnam. And that made me uncomfortable to realize. This war showed everyone in a poor light, no one was on the right side everyone had an antagonist part to play. The world is violent, the author didn’t sugar coat it to make it easier for the reader, and he shouldn’t have. Maybe we have too sugar coated and blind to a giant historic event because it was unpleasant and we lost. This is one of those books that makes you not only look at the story, but society and yourself, and I didn’t like it because it wasn’t a favorable light. But with that being said I feel like at the end it clicked. I had borrowed this book from the library but I am going to buy a hard copy. I know I will want to read at least once more and I feel like this is a book my kids should have access to when older.

Milk and Honey by Rupi Kaur (read 4/4/19 to 4/4/19)

This was a BOTM read.  I do not like poetry.  It all feels too short, not matter the subject.  I feel like if I took snippets from letters and diary entries and put them in "poetry" format that I could have a book too.  The only poem I liked in the whole book was “The Vacation” on pg. 97.

So I already knew I wasn’t a big poetry fan, when this book was selected by the club.  I never have been.  Poetry rarely speaks to me like it does for some people.  I don’t have a favorite poem, and I don’t enjoy reading it.  I think that I always want there be more, more story, more something than poetry can give me.  Epic poems are better for me.  And this book did nothing to change that for me.  I thought this must have been a throw away book, published by an established writer and that it’s renown much be based on her reputation and not the book. But when I read that THIS was her first book and it is what earned her the renown, I literally threw up my hand and said I give up literary world.  In my mind, this book was not poetry, it was rants and soundbites.

Future of Silence Fiction by Korean Women (read 2/13/19 to 2/18/19)

This was the February BOTM pick.  This was a book of Korean short stories originally published in 1989, and had been expanded and republished in 2016.

O Chŏng-hŭi: “Wayfarer”: I think there was so much more to this story that we missed somehow. Besides the fact that she was accused of killing her lover because she was in her slip. And it sounded like she asked for the divorce not him? Did she ask for one because she was tired of the accusations? And if he didn’t want it why did he abandon her in the mental hospital? And what happened with her daughter? Why did the daughter say “mommy forgive us what we did was a crime”. Then later she said her daughter was a liar? I need to re-read the story.

Kim Chi-wŏn: “Almaden”: I agree the stories do not wrap up at the end...very strange.  Did anyone catch the hunger refrence? “She felt as if he had the soul of a beggar; he was a hungry man who could never be satisfied.” Its not as predominate as in the first story, but it was there. Maybe I’m just looking now.

Sŏ Yŏng-ŭn: “Dear Distant Love”: Her aunt had the right of it. Wow was she brainwashed or what. Staying with and for that asshat! What was the suffering supposed to lead her to? And why didn’t she take her kid and marry the lawyer or go to America? Ugh that was awful. I mean the writing was good, but man was it bleak

Pak Wan-sŏ: “Identical Apartments”: Oh my god this story was so boring, I couldn’t stand the author...she was a jealous petty bitch. The whole story was tedious and I couldn’t wait for it to be over.

And tha pact that she pittied her husband was awful too

Kong Sŏn-ok: “The Flowering of Our Lives”: I think she is a lesbian that wants to be a prostitute but isn’t? She the hunger and food was predominant again

Han Yujoo: “I Ain’t Necessarily So”: I have no idea what the point of that story was, all I can say is thank god it was short!

Kim Sagwa: “It’s One of Those the-More-I’m-in-Motion-the-Weirder-It-Gets Days, and It’s Really Blowing My Mind”: Ok this was a weird one! Was he dreaming, did he really go postal and murder those people? Were we inside the head of a schizophrenic? 

All the death happened at diner tables...and the sister became a pig?

Ch’ŏn Un-yŏng: “Ali Skips Rope”: Ok so I didn’t realize until the end that the narrator was a young girl. It made more sense then. This one seemed to make the most sense of all the ones we have read so far.

Kim Ae-ran: “The Future of Silence”: This one made my eyes glaze over, and I realized halfway through that I wasn’t retaining any of it and I had to start over.

This was depressing, and sad. And very sci-fi.

February 2019 to June 2019 Catch up

Mu Shi Shi Volume 1 by Yuki Urushibara (Read 2/3/19 to 2/5/19)

So this is my jump back into BOTM.  BOTM is doing an international theme this year, and we start out in Japan.  It’s a graphic novel that I purchased on my Kindle...yeah a little interesting to me too. So the kindle version you read backwards just like it was a physical manga, which took me a moment to figure out, but was very cool! 

Nine Perfect Strangers by Liane Moriarty (Read 2/5/19 to 2/11/19)
Oh Moriarty didn't fail me again!  This had a twist I didn't see coming.

That crumpled paper was due last week by Ana Homayoun (read 1/30/19 to 2/13/19)

My son has been struggling with turning in assignments and we spend a lot of time redoing assignments that he has rushed through in class. I picked this book up looking for some tips that may help me help him avoid this pitfalls.

There were a lot of examples of boys who struggled and then succeeded, but it takes forever to get into any actual tips.  So many of the stories are so and so was a great kid who was struggling until he learned her organization skills, but doesn’t explain what those skills are.  Finally starts to talk about how to organize a binder in chapter 5 (pg. 73), that is a lot of lead up time in my mind.  And even then the chapter was so full of case examples that the information was lost in the volume of text.  This was a very inflated book, thin information could probably been presented in a book 1/4 the size.  It also felt very sparse and just common sense. Phones silent and in another room during homework time, etc.

Almost Missed You by Jessica Strawser (read 2/18/19 to 2/21/19)
I really enjoyed this book until the last chapter.  The last 3 pages made me angry and disgusted.  The heroine turned out to be pathetic and lacked the ability to protect her child.  A marriage built on a lie that lead to a kidnapping.  Finn was a POS and Violet was pathetic.

Truly, Madly, Guilty by Liane Moriarty (read 3/1/19 to 3/5/19)
This was a great Moriarty, I spent the whole book wanting to know what happened at the BBQ.  Thankfully not what I feared most of the book.  There were so many little moving pieces of the story that when strung together equal the story of a few tragic minutes.  Love it!

Five Feet Apart by Rachel Lippincott (read 3/12/19 to 3/13/19)
I kept seeing the ads for this movie and decided to read the book.  It was a really sweet young adult knowledgeable about forbidden love and heartbreak as well.  It made me cry, like ugly cry.

Three Wishes by Liane Moriarty (read 3/13/19 to 3/17/19)
I liked the book because it was Liane Moriarty, and it had twists and turns and wonderful characters and relationships.  But the story itself and the characters were my least favorite of her books.  

The Host by Stephanie Myer (read 3/17/19 to 3/25/19)
I saw the movie year ago and I always meant to get around to reading the book.  By the time I did, I didn't really remember the details.  I can tell it is part of a series and and I wanted to pick up the next one.  I liked it a lot better than the Twilight series.  Still feel some of the characters are unhealthy relationships, bu not as much as Twilight.

Before I Go to Sleep by SJ Watson (read 3/26/17 to 3/28/17)
This was a great book!  Christine forgets who she is every night and wakes up to her loving husband who cares for her.  But everything is not as it seems, what is real and what is not.  How can she know when she can't remember the previous day?  This was a page turner!  

My Sunshine Away by MO Walsh (read 3/28/19 to 4/2/19)
This is the story of a girls rape from a boy's perspective.  How it effected the neighborhood and the boy's life.  It was an ok read, I thought the story flowed and I read it fairly quickly.  I didn't hate it, but I didn't love it either.

Ordinary Grace by William Kent Krueger (read 4/2/19 to 4/4/19)
This was a story that I flew through.  Sadly I didn't take notes, and as I only gave it three stars, I'm not really surprised I can't remember the details.

The Library Book by Susan Orlean (read 4/6/19 to 4/17/19)
I hated this book!  It was awful and jumps from past to present.  It jumped from building the library, to the fire, to her writing about the library.  I'm sure it would have been a wonderful history of the LA library if maybe she had stayed in a timeline.

The Proposal by Jasmine Guilory (read 4/17/19 to 4/18/19)
I really enjoyed this book, it was a very typical romance.  But it was super light hearted and a very easy read.  The characters were likable and fun.

All We Ever Wanted by Emily Griffin (read 4/18/19 to 4/22/19)
I liked this book, it was about scandal and people learning to be true to themselves.  

In Enemy Hands by David Weber (read 5/17/19 to 5/11/19)
This is my boyfriends favorite in the series, and I can see why.  Honor is such a force, the honor and fortitude this woman has really is to be admired.  And the loyalty she inspires is breathtaking.

Echos of Honor by David Weber (read 5/11/19 to 5/21/19)
I would have liked this book to focus a bit more on Honor and not so much what was happening at home.  But it was a daring escape, 100% of what I would expect from Honor.

Ashes of Victory by David Weber (read 5/21/19 to 6/3/19)
Once again an Honor Harrington book, not about Honor Harrington.  It was a ok book but I wanted more of what Honor was doing, she really took a side role in her own story.

The Best of Me by Nicholas Sparks (listened 5/3/19 to 6/10/19)
Well we have come to expect poignant love stories from Nicholas Sparks, but this was a real heartbreaker in the end.  I put down my physical book and looked for excuses to listen to the audio book the story had me so engrossed.

Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens (read 6/9/19 to 6/11/19)
Prologue starts with the heat of Chase Andrews.  Then chapter one jumps back in time to 1952.  I was very worried at first about the time jumps, they are often hard for me to like.  This was a fealty good read though.  The time jumps weren't jarring like I worried.  They actually moved the story along quite nicely.  To tell the truth, I was fooled right up until the epilogue as to what actually happened.  This was a really great book, I flew through it.  The characters were great as was the setting.

Daisy Jones and the Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid (read 6/12/19 to 6/19/19)
This was so well written that I had to google to make sure they were not a real band.  The story was engaging and the twist at the end, did not see that one coming AT ALL.

The Night Tiger by Yangsze Choo (read 6/19/19 to 6/21/19)
This had some mystical realism to it.  I read this on our Alaskan cruise after the kids went to bed and all I could do was read, couldn't leave the room and couldn't watch TV.  I'm not sure I would have made it though so quickly under other circumstances.  The characters were fine, and the story was fun. But it didn't stick in memory as an amazing book.

Bitter Ashes by Sarah C. Roethle (read 6/21/19 to 6/22/19)
This was again needed as a quick read at night, it was ok.  The writing was a little rough, I think it was a self published, it was missing some polish on the writing an editor would have brought.  The story was interesting, Norse Gods and all.  The book ended on quite the cliff hanger, so even though some parts were a tough read I think I am going to be forced to read the rest of the series.

Wicked Intentions by Elizabeth Hoyt (read 6/22/19 to 6/28/19)
This was a very typical romance with a little bondage included, 17th century wantonness.  Like most romance novels, the story was a little unrealistic.  Writing was really good though, there was good character develop in the narrow channel of the romance story.  The murder twist was fun, and added an element of danger.