Reading Update

It has been a very busy past couple of weeks! Got our youngest daughter moved back to college for fall semester. Went to a concert at our local winery featuring the Zenda Torrey Band. Helped that same winery bottle some wines. Worked at our local library sale. Went to see Jeff Dunham live. Have been able to do some reading, but not as much as I would like to do!

If you want to check out what others are reading, go to The Book Date’s Linkup

I voluntarily received complimentary copies of many of these books for review. All opinions are my own. This post contains affiliate links, please see disclosures for more detail. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Recently Completed and Reviewed

The Swallows by Lisa Lutz

About the Book:

When Alexandra Witt joins the faculty at Stonebridge Academy, she’s hoping to put a painful past behind her. Then one of her creative writing assignments generates some disturbing responses from students. Before long, Alex is immersed in an investigation of the students atop the school’s social hierarchy—and their connection to something called the Darkroom. She soon inspires the girls who’ve started to question the school’s “boys will be boys” attitude and incites a resistance. But just as the movement is gaining momentum, Alex attracts the attention of an unknown enemy who knows a little too much about her—and what brought her to Stonebridge in the first place.

Meanwhile, Gemma, a defiant senior, has been plotting her attack for years, waiting for the right moment. Shy loner Norman hates his role in the Darkroom, but can’t find the courage to fight back until he makes an unlikely alliance. And then there’s Finn Ford, an English teacher with a shady reputation, who keeps one eye on his literary ambitions and one on Ms. Witt. As the school’s secrets begin to trickle out, a boys-versus-girls skirmish turns into an all-out war, with deeply personal—and potentially fatal—consequences for everyone involved.

My Thoughts: I gave this book 2 stars

This book took me way, way too long to get through. Although I was technically only reading it for three days, it shouldn’t have taken me that long. I really didn’t like this book nearly as much as I have liked Lutz’s other books. It didn’t have the snarky humor I’ve come to expect from her writing in The Spellman Files, and the plot just didn’t grip me like The Passenger.

I think if the girls would have had a steady plan of getting their revenge for the boys’ sexual grading system and manipulation, I would have liked it better, but for me, it just came too little, too late. Yes, the girls ultimately come out on top, I guess, but not without some collateral damage.

I liked Alex as a character, and she was basically the only person I connected with in any way. Yet even her character wasn’t immune to the wandering plot. I ultimately just wasn’t sure where Lutz was going with the tale. A #metoo story? A feminist story? It just didn’t go far enough or show enough power, and since it was set before the whole #metoo era, I just didn’t know what she was trying to convey.

And don’t get me started on the irresponsible adults in this book. They are so clueless (other than Alex…kind of) and they are never around when needed, even in dire situations. They were basically caricatures of adults that were seemingly hiding the abhorrent behavior of these boys for years and years.
I will still seek out Lutz’s books because I have generally liked them, but this one was a miss for me.

Ask Again, Yes by Mary Beth Keane

About the Book:

Francis Gleeson and Brian Stanhope, rookie cops in the NYPD, live next door to each other outside the city. What happens behind closed doors in both houses—the loneliness of Francis’s wife, Lena, and the instability of Brian’s wife, Anne, sets the stage for the explosive events to come.

Ask Again, Yes is a deeply affecting exploration of the lifelong friendship and love that blossoms between Kate Gleeson and Peter Stanhope, born six months apart. One shocking night their loyalties are divided, and their bond will be tested again and again over the next 40 years.

My Thoughts: I gave this book 4 stars

This book had a similar feel about it to Commonwealth by Ann Patchett or Clock Dance by Anne Tyler. It’s a sweeping family saga, told over multiple decades featuring two families affected by a horrible incident.

This is more of a quiet tale, one that explores family, trust, forgiveness, and the lengths it takes for different people to move forward despite their reluctance to do so. I wanted more in the end, but I also appreciated the ending, because life isn’t all neat and tidy. There’s one thing about life…it goes on (thanks Robert Frost), and this book shows that even though certain things are resolved, there are many other things that might never be resolved and we have to agree to move forward even without that closure.

The book also shows how the choices that you make as a parent can have repercussions on your children and their choices both as a child and an adult. Mental illness, abandonment, infidelity, alcoholism, and even rehabilitation from an injury can have deep effects on everyone who comes into contact with that person, and this book helps the reader to see how that is manifested in these families.
This isn’t really an action-packed tale, it’s quieter, but still provides deep impact.

A Better Man by Louise Penny, #15 in series

About the Book:

It’s Gamache’s first day back as head of the homicide department, a job he temporarily shares with his previous second-in-command, Jean-Guy Beauvoir. Flood waters are rising across the province. In the middle of the turmoil a father approaches Gamache, pleading for help in finding his daughter.

As crisis piles upon crisis, Gamache tries to hold off the encroaching chaos, and realizes the search for Vivienne Godin should be abandoned. But with a daughter of his own, he finds himself developing a profound, and perhaps unwise, empathy for her distraught father.

Increasingly hounded by the question, how would you feel…, he resumes the search.

As the rivers rise, and the social media onslaught against Gamache becomes crueler, a body is discovered. And in the tumult, mistakes are made.

My Thoughts: I gave this book 5 stars

Penny is the most exquisite writer. Her turns of phrase are simply perfection, and her plots never fail to keep me thoroughly engaged and captivated. This is the 15th book in this series, and I’m not tired of these characters, in fact I have grown more and more fond of them over the years. They feel like members of my family at this point.

These characters are so real. They make big mistakes, but forgiveness is big as well.
I am so sad I have to wait for the next book in this series, but I will patiently wait because perfection takes time.

Five Days Gone: The Mystery of My Mother’s Disappearance as a Child by Laura Cumming

About the Book:

In the fall of 1929, when Laura Cumming’s mother was three years old, she was kidnapped from a beach on the Lincolnshire coast of England. There were no screams when she was taken, suggesting the culprit was someone familiar to her, and when she turned up again in a nearby village several days later, she was found in perfect health and happiness. No one was ever accused of a crime. The incident quickly faded from her memory, and her parents never discussed it. To the contrary, they deliberately hid it from her, and she did not learn of it for half a century.

This was not the only secret her parents kept from her. For many years, while raising her in draconian isolation and protectiveness, they also hid the fact that she’d been adopted, and that shortly after the kidnapping, her name was changed from Grace to Betty.

My Thoughts: I gave this book 3 stars

I can’t grade this down too much for not being what I expected, but it definitely wasn’t. From the description and the title, it seems as if it will be a delving into the mystery of Cumming’s mother’s disappearance as a child. And it is…but it also isn’t.
It’s a beautifully written book, a deep look into life in the early 20th century. The mystery does get solved, but not in a way that anyone would have guessed at the time. It involves a lot of secret keeping from Laura’s mother Elizabeth (Betty/Grace), because so many people knew about the situation that led up to the kidnapping and everything that happened afterward. It’s a shame that her parents kept these things from her.
Cumming is a skillful writer, she paints pictures with words that help the reader to envision what life must have been like for Betty. It also looks at how our memories are shaped–via photographs, stories people have told us, and what is withheld.
I overall liked this book, but I was in the mood to read one thing and got another because I didn’t really know what I was getting into. Definitely worth reading for the subtle mystery and look back into a past with its own rules, stereotypes, and secrets.

The Book Charmer by Karen Hawkins

About the Book:

Sarah Dove is no ordinary bookworm. To her, books have always been more than just objects: they live, they breathe, and sometimes they even speak. When Sarah grows up to become the librarian in her quaint Southern town of Dove Pond, her gift helps place every book in the hands of the perfect reader. Recently, however, the books have been whispering about something out of the ordinary: the arrival of a displaced city girl named Grace Wheeler.

If the books are right, Grace could be the savior that Dove Pond desperately needs. The problem is, Grace wants little to do with the town or its quirky residents—Sarah chief among them. It takes a bit of urging, and the help of an especially wise book, but Grace ultimately embraces the challenge to rescue her charmed new community. In her quest, she discovers the tantalizing promise of new love, the deep strength that comes from having a true friend, and the power of finding just the right book.

My Thoughts: I gave this book 4 stars

This is a very sweet book. Not a gigantic amount of depth and not quite as far reaching emotionally and magically as a Sarah Addison Allen book, but it was still totally worth reading and had so much to say about family.

Grace is a headstrong character and was a bit prickly to me at first. It was understandable after everything she had gone through. Her pre-judgment of Trav was annoying to me, but the reader gets more of an insight into what makes him tick and the demons that he deals with, so it does make sense that I would have more sympathy for him than she did.

What I loved about this book is what I mentioned above. It really focuses on the meaning of family. Whether it’s a blood relation or someone that you have come to know for other reasons, a family is made up of those who stick with you and those you can trust and count on. I got very teary when Grace and Daisy finally talked to each other, because they were creating a stronger family bond that way.

I look forward to seeing how the author continues this series, hopefully she will focus on different members of the Dove family and their gifts.

The Nickel Boys by Colson Whitehead

About the Book:

As the Civil Rights movement begins to reach the black enclave of Frenchtown in segregated Tallahassee, Elwood Curtis takes the words of Dr. Martin Luther King to heart: He is “as good as anyone.” Abandoned by his parents, but kept on the straight and narrow by his grandmother, Elwood is about to enroll in the local black college. But for a black boy in the Jim Crow South of the early 1960s, one innocent mistake is enough to destroy the future. Elwood is sentenced to a juvenile reformatory called the Nickel Academy, whose mission statement says it provides “physical, intellectual and moral training” so the delinquent boys in their charge can become “honorable and honest men.”
In reality, the Nickel Academy is a grotesque chamber of horrors where the sadistic staff beats and sexually abuses the students, corrupt officials and locals steal food and supplies, and any boy who resists is likely to disappear “out back.” Stunned to find himself in such a vicious environment, Elwood tries to hold onto Dr. King’s ringing assertion “Throw us in jail and we will still love you.” His friend Turner thinks Elwood is worse than naive, that the world is crooked, and that the only way to survive is to scheme and avoid trouble.
The tension between Elwood’s ideals and Turner’s skepticism leads to a decision whose repercussions will echo down the decades. Formed in the crucible of the evils Jim Crow wrought, the boys’ fates will be determined by what they endured at the Nickel Academy.

My Thoughts: I gave this book 5 heartbreaking stars

This book is so completely gripping. It is incredibly difficult to read, but at the same time it is a book that I believe everyone should read. The fact that things like this happened within my lifetime is absolutely heartbreaking and appalling. It makes me so angry. So very angry.

The suffering these boys were made to endure breaks my soul into a million pieces. Although this is a fiction story, it has roots in the truth, these things really did happen, even though not exactly the way this narrative plays out. Mr. Whitehead deserves immense praise for bringing these atrocities to light, shining a bright light on the ugliness of the past. And hopefully shining it so bright that it will illuminate situations like this that are still going on–because you know that they are.

Words fail me. Just pick up this book, you will not be disappointed.

The Wisdom of Sally Red Shoes by Ruth Hogan

About the Book:

Once a spirited, independent woman with a rebellious streak, Masha’s life was forever changed by a tragic event twelve years ago. Unable to let go of her grief, she finds comfort in her faithful canine companion Haizum, and peace in the quiet lanes of her town’s swimming pool. Almost without her realizing it, her life has shuddered to a halt.

It’s only when Masha begins an unlikely friendship with the mysterious Sally Red Shoes, a bag lady with a prodigious voice and a penchant for saying just what she means, that a new world of possibilities opens up: new friendships, new opportunities, and even a chance for new love. For the first time in years, Masha has the chance to start living again.

But just as Masha dares to imagine the future, her past comes roaring back…

My Thoughts: I gave this book 3.5 stars

This is a sweet book, I have come to like and appreciate Hogan’s writing, she fills it with so much life and love and the reader can’t help but root for the characters to triumph over their adversities.

In this book, there’s one story thread that’s a bit too convenient and I saw where it was going from a mile away. Not that it still wasn’t touching, I just wanted a bit more of a twist rather than something predictable.

I loved Masha, everything about her is endearing and made me adore her character. I also loved Edward and Sally Red Shoes and everyone in their circles. Like I said, it’s a very sweet story and I will definitely continue to seek Hogan’s books out in the future.

Diamond in the Rough by Jen Turano

About the Book:

To save her family from financial ruin, Miss Poppy Garrison accepts an unusual proposition to participate in the New York social season in exchange for her grandmother settling a family loan that has unexpectedly come due. Ill-equipped to handle the intricacies of mingling within the New York Four Hundred, Poppy becomes embroiled in one hilarious fiasco after another, doomed to suffer a grand societal failure instead of being deemed the diamond of the first water her grandmother longs for her to become.

Reginald Blackburn, second son of a duke, has been forced to travel to America to help his cousin, Charles Wynn, Earl of Lonsdale, find an American heiress to wed in order to shore up his family estate that is in desperate need of funds. Reginald himself has no interest in finding an heiress to marry, but when Poppy’s grandmother asks him to give etiquette lessons to Poppy, he swiftly discovers he may be in for much more than he bargained for.

My Thoughts: I gave this book 4 stars

What a delightful novel by Jen Turano! The second book in the American Heiresses is filled with laughs and meaningful romance.
I loved Poppy. She’s headstrong and knows her own mind, but she is also a lady, even though she doesn’t exactly know how to handle herself in every situation. Reginald is the perfect balance to Poppy’s nature, giving level-headed advice and direction, but also finding himself falling for this woman who can’t seem to fit in with the society mavens.
Poppy is spunky and a friend that everyone would want to have (as long as you aren’t trying to sabotage her). This book delves into more serious topics such as forgiveness, deception, and the meaning of family.
I always adore Ms. Turano’s books and this one was perfect for me at this time–light, but with a meaningful message.

Healing Hannah’s Heart by Preslaysa Williams

About the Book:

Hannah Hart may have been burned by the breakup of her rocky marriage, but the ambitious Afro-Filipina model has big plans for her future. Her stunning looks and flawless skin provide the opening she craves to become a celebrity in the fashion world. Then an arsonist’s match brings Hannah’s world crashing down around her.

While Hannah recovers from her burns, she is forced to accept help from the last person on earth she wants, her estranged husband, Jake Hart. Jake isn’t ready to give up on their marriage. The return of Jake’s teenage son from a one-night stand had been the catalyst for their breakup. Can Jake help both the son who resents his abandonment and the woman he still loves? He can do nothing about the scars on her skin, but can he heal Hannah’s heart?

As she struggles to rebuild her life from the ashes of her shattered dreams, does Hannah have the courage to give Jake a second chance? And is the world ready for a differently-abled model who will redefine what it means to be beautiful?

My Thoughts: I gave this book 4 stars

I absolutely inhaled this book. The narrative starts off with a gripping event and the tale proceeds at a deliberate, but steady pace.

I didn’t really warm to Hannah until quite a ways into the book. She’s not an easy character to like, but she’s definitely real and struggles with many of the things that most readers would struggle with in her situation: trying to reconcile the life she had (and still wants) with the life that she must learn to accept. This flows through more than just her injuries and career, Hannah has to deal with the death of her expectations within her marriage and parenthood as well. I did expect her to be more mature than she was, she acted like a young 20-something much of the time instead of an almost 40 year-old woman.

Williams stays true to the characters throughout, and the ending is not what you might expect. I loved that it is not your typical “happily ever after”–this is as realistic as life gets, and as Hannah learns, sometimes you have to play the cards you’re dealt and make the best of a situation even if it isn’t part of your original dreams and plans for your life.

I struggled a bit with the alternating first person POV chapters with both Hannah and Jake. I kept losing track of whose head I was in and it interrupted the flow somewhat. For me, it would have worked better to have Hannah’s chapters in first person and Jake’s in third, just so I could keep them straight. In the end, it didn’t make a huge difference overall though.
I’d love to see a sequel to this book, because it doesn’t feel like the story is completely over yet.
I look forward to more books by this talented author, she has a unique voice and a very readable style.

As the Light Fades by Catherine West

About the Book:

After her carefully constructed life crumbles, Liz Carlisle finds herself back on Nantucket, picking up the pieces. With the family estate under renovations, the solitude she craves seems out of reach.

Matthew Stone intends to steer clear of his new tenant. She’s carrying a load of baggage, but as long as she pays the rent, he’ll let her be. He’s got enough to deal with caring for his wayward niece, Mia.

Liz doesn’t have time for teenagers and her track record with men is abysmal, but an unlikely friendship forms between the three.

When her former boyfriend is charged with assault, Liz is called to testify against him. But he knows the darkest secrets of her life—secrets she’d hoped to keep buried forever, and he’s ready to reveal them. Telling the truth is the right thing to do, but it may cost her everything she’s worked so hard for, and all she’s come to love.

My Thoughts: I gave this book 3 stars

Although this book follows some of the characters introduced in The Things We Knew, and it refers back to things that happened in that book, this novel pretty much stands on its own. It would definitely help to read that book for background, because it explains a great deal about the Carlisle family and why they act the way they do toward each other.
It follows three people: Elizabeth Carlisle, who has come home after escaping an abusive relationship, Matthew, a man who has a guest house for rent where Liz moves in, and Mia, Matthew’s niece, whom he has custody of while her mom is in jail.

Although I liked this book, it is a bit of a slow burn with the romance, and rightfully so. The characters are dealing with some heavy issues, and rushing into a romance would have felt forced. The one thing that just didn’t go far enough is that many of the issues were more brushed over rather than fully explored: the abuse, abandonment, self-harm and there were hints of sexual abuse (never really confirmed, just alluded to) as well.
I felt like Mia’s character was the least defined of all of them. She didn’t speak or write like a fifteen-year-old–what teenager would call a therapist or counselor a “shrink”? I don’t think my young adult kids have even heard that term. I know it’s picky, but even the descriptions of her clothing was more adult clothing than teen.

I liked an appreciated the themes of forgiveness and learning how to overcome addictive behavior. This is a heartfelt book definitely worth taking the time to read. Although it is not written as Christian fiction, there is a subtle, faith-filled message.

Daisy Jones and the Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid

About the Book:

Daisy is a girl coming of age in LA in the late ’60s, sneaking into clubs on the Sunset Strip, sleeping with rock stars, and dreaming of singing at the Whisky a Go Go. The sex and drugs are thrilling, but it’s the rock ‘n’ roll she loves most. By the time she’s 20, her voice is getting noticed, and she has the kind of heedless beauty that makes people do crazy things. Also getting noticed is The Six, a band led by the brooding Billy Dunne. On the eve of their first tour, his girlfriend Camila finds out she’s pregnant, and with the pressure of impending fatherhood and fame, Billy goes a little wild on the road. Daisy and Billy cross paths when a producer realizes that the key to supercharged success is to put the two together. What happens next will become the stuff of legend.

My Thoughts: I gave this book 4 stars

I listened to the audio of this book, and I must say that every single thing I have to say about it is because the audio is absolutely phenomenal. It is very close to the best audio book I’ve ever listened to: full cast with a “behind the music” vibe, just stellar.
This is the story of a 70s era rock band and everything that went along with that: sex, drugs, and interpersonal strife. It’s also the story of longing for what you can’t have, what you shouldn’t have, and what you know is right for you.
Great book. Get the audio.

Currently Reading:

Now You See Me by Chris McGeorge

About the Book:

The Standedge Tunnel, the longest canal tunnel in England, has become one of the rural village of Marsden’s main tourist attractions. Now it’s also a crime scene.

Six students went into the tunnel on a private boat. Two and a half hours later, the boat reappeared at the other end of the tunnel carrying only one of the students, Matthew. He had been knocked unconscious and has no memory of what took place in the tunnel. The police suspect he killed his friends, hid the bodies and later moved them to an undisclosed location. But sitting in a cell awaiting trial, Matthew maintains his innocence.

When Matthew contacts a famous author asking him for help in return for information he claims to possess about the author’s long-lost wife, it’s an offer that can’t be refused. But before the author can prove Matthew’s innocence, he must first answer a far more unusual question: How did five bodies disappear into thin air?

Currently Listening to:

The Loveliest Chocolate Shop in Paris by Jenny Colgan

About the Book:

Anna Trent may be a supervisor in a chocolate factory…but that doesn’t necessarily mean she knows how to make chocolate. So when a fateful accident gives her the opportunity to work at Paris’s elite chocolatier Le Chapeau Chocolat, Anna expects to be outed as a fraud.

After all, there is a world of difference between chalky, mass—produced English chocolate and the gourmet confections Anna’s new boss creates.

But with a bit of luck and a lot of patience, Anna might learn that the sweetest things in life are always worth working for.

Up Next:

29 Seconds by T.M. Logan

About the Book:

Sarah is a young professor struggling to prove herself in a workplace controlled by the charming and manipulative Alan Hawthorne. A renowned scholar and television host, Hawthorne rakes in million-dollar grants for the university where Sarah works—so his inappropriate treatment of female colleagues behind closed doors has gone unchallenged for years. And Sarah is his newest target.

When Hawthorne’s advances become threatening, Sarah is left with nowhere to turn. Until the night she witnesses an attempted kidnapping of a young child on her drive home, and impulsively jumps in to intervene. The child’s father turns out to be a successful businessman with dangerous connections—and her act of bravery has put this powerful man in her debt. He gives Sarah a burner phone and an unbelievable offer. A once-in-a-lifetime deal that can make all her problems disappear.

No consequences. No traces. All it takes is a 29-second phone call.

Because everyone has a name to give. Don’t they?

What is a Girl Worth? My Story of Breaking the Silence and Exposing the Truth about Larry Nassar and USA Gymnastics by Rachel Denhollander

About the Book:

Rachael Denhollander’s voice was heard around the world when she spoke out to end the most shocking scandal in US gymnastics history. The first victim to publicly accuse Larry Nassar, the former USA Gymnastics team doctor who abused hundreds of young athletes, Rachael now reveals her full story for the first time. How did Nassar get away with it for so long? How did Rachael and the other survivors finally stop him and bring him to justice? And how can we protect the vulnerable in our own families, churches, and communities?

What Is a Girl Worth? is the inspiring true story of Rachael’s journey from an idealistic young gymnast to a strong and determined woman who found the courage to raise her voice against evil, even when she thought the world might not listen. This deeply personal and compelling narrative shines a spotlight on the physical and emotional impact of abuse, why so many survivors are reluctant to speak out, what it means to be believed, the extraordinary power of faith and forgiveness, and how we can learn to do what’s right in the moments that matter most.