12.30.2019 - Good Girls Lie

Many thanks to NetGalley, Harlequin/MIRA, and JT Ellison for the opportunity to read and review her latest thriller - this book had the perfect setting for an intriguing book!

Set in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia, the Goode School is an elite, all-girls boarding school made up of the privileged daughters of politicians and the wealthy.  All of the girls must sign the Honor Code, pledging more than anything to not lie.  Do Goode girls lie?  You bet they do!

The school has a history of hidden tunnels, secret societies, and enough creepy ghost stories to scare even the toughest girl.  When a young girl is found dead after falling from the bell tower - rumors swirl as to whether it was suicide or something even worse.  Everyone here has their secrets, from the Dean to the new student in school, Ash Carr.  Her background is definitely something she wants to keep secret and is upset when it is uncovered.

Just a good book to curl up with on a cold, rainy winter day.  Lots of twists and turns in this one!

12.29.2019 - Such a Fun Age

Many thanks to NetGalley, GP Putnam's Sons, and Kiley Reid for the opportunity to read this wonderful debut novel - 4.5 stars rounded up and a hope that Ms. Reid is busily working on her next book!

This is a very multi-faceted book - it would be a wonderful book club selection.  On the surface, it is the story of a young woman, trying to figure out what she wants to do with her life, and the little girl she babysits.  Emira loves spending days with young Briar, who will definitely steal your heart as well.  Briar's mom, Alix, moved to Philadelphia from NYC for her husband's job, changing her career as a blogger and influencer of other women to stand up for themselves.  When Alix calls Emira late one evening to take Briar out of the house because there was an incident where Alix and her husband needed to call the police, Emira takes Briar to the neighborhood grocery store where only wealthy white people typically shop.  A security guard stops Emira, thinking that she kidnapped Briar, and someone videotapes the interaction.  Emira wants to put the situation behind her, but Alix decides to take on Emira as her latest cause.  The race/privilege divide is so well portrayed.  When we are trying to avoid being racist, are we really just being racist and contributing to the issue?  How do we view those we pay to help us - are they servants or family?

A beautifully written book that will have you thinking deeply beyond the wonderful story presented.  Highly recommended!

12.25.2019 - Zenith Man

Many thanks to NetGalley, Amazon Original Stories, and Jennifer Haigh to read this installment of the Inheritance series of short stories.  I am not typically a short story fan but these are just so good!

This story involves a reclusive tv repairman, Harold, and what happens when he discovers his wife had died.  But no one even knew Harold had a wife.  How can they prove he didn't kill her if they can't prove she was ever alive?

Just another story in this great series that will make you think.  This one will make you reflect on how we judge other people.

12.25.2019 - Can You Feel This?

Many thanks to NetGalley, Amazon Original Stories, and Julie Orringer for the opportunity to read and review this short story, another in the 5-part Inheritance series and another 5 star read.  These books are short but so powerful.

Written in the 2nd person, this is the story of a mother being rushed to the hospital in an emergency to deliver her too-early baby.  Her husband, Ky, takes her to the nearest hospital instead of the one where she is supposed to deliver.  This hospital is where she was taken after her mother died which brings up so many emotions as well as the secret she is keeping from her husband.

You will definitely feel the emotions of this book - some are so relatable to all new mothers.  Another highly recommended story in this series - can't wait to read the others.

12.24.2019 - The Wives

Many thanks to NetGalley, Graydon House and Tarryn Fisher for the opportunity to read this thriller.  3.5 stars rounded up.

Thursday (yes, that's the character's name) is crazy about Seth - crazy enough that she went along with the fact that, even though he was married to her, he was still in a relationship with his ex-wife and also had another woman on the side who was expecting his child!  Yes, you read all that right.  What could possibly go wrong except everything.  When Thursday starts investigating the other wives, it leads her down a dark road and shows her a different side of her husband.

Lots of twists but a lot of unbelievable scenes as well - of course, anything involving my husband having other wives is unbelievable to me!  Still a good read.

12.24.2019 - Half the Sugar All the Love

Many thanks to NetGalley, Workman Publishing, and Jennifer Tyler Lee and Anisha Patel for the opportunity to read and review this cookbook.

I try and watch added sugar in things where you don't need it and save it for those special desserts when I want them!  This book had lots of good info on being aware of sugar in foods, reading labels, and substitutes to make.  The recipes look great - however, they may be lower in sugar but they still aren't necessarily healthy.  I try to cook with less white flour, more whole grains, less butter and fat but these recipes didn't go along that line too much.

But still, helpful information and a good start to more healthy eating!

12.19.2019 - The Women of the Copper Country

Many thanks to NetGalley, Atria Books, and Mary Doria Russell.  What an wonderful book of historical fiction about amazing women who set out to make right of so many wrongs.  I'll admit I wanted to read this book for a couple of reasons - I have visited the copper country of the Upper Peninsula and was interested in its history and Mary Doria Russell is from Northeast Ohio (where I lived for 25 years) and such a wonderful writer!  Definitely a 5 star read.

Annie Clements was only 25 when she decided to stand up for the copper miners in Calumet, Michigan.  While still having to perform all of her household duties for an abusive husband, she worked to establish a union for better working conditions for the miners.  She rallied the Women's Auxiliary into a nationally-recognized fight at the cost of much that was dear to her.

The story of the impossible lives of miners of this age is horrific; families were indebted to the rich bossman for generations.  The women's lives were so difficult - I need to remember this when our modern problems seem so hard!

An eye-opening book that is highly recommended!

12.15.2019 - Everything My Mother Taught Me

Many thanks to NetGalley, Amazon Original Stories, and Alice Hoffman for the opportunity to read and review this short story - spot on as all of her books are!

Adeline is devastated after her father's death, left with a mother who never put her first, and stops talking.  But that doesn't mean that she can't change her world.  In 28 pages, Hoffman manages to make you feel so much for these characters.

Brilliant!

12.15.2019 - Little Weirds

Thanks to NetGalley, Little, Brown & Company, and Jenny Slate for the opportunity to read this book.

However, I definitely feel like I am not the target audience for this book. It's a very stream of consciousness/memoir that is indeed full of "little weirds."  Much too weird for me.

I did like the cover drawing though!

12.14.2019 - The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek

Many thanks to NetGalley, Sourcebooks Landmark, and Kim Michele Richardson for the opportunity to read and review this book - 5 stars!  I probably upped my rating because of all the hype going on with Jo Jo Moyes' new book, The Giver of Stars, and the passages seemingly plagiarized from this book.  I love Moyes' books, but the similarities are just too close to be coincidental.

Both of the main topics in this book were new to me.  Blue-skinned people?  Never heard of them.  The Pack Horse Library Project in Kentucky - wow.  If that doesn't pique your interest - there are so many topics in this book to explore - this would be such a wonderful book club pick.  Prejudice, poverty, hope, resilience.  Kudos to this author for an amazingly well-researched book.

Cussie Mary is the last in the line of blue-skinned people in Troublesome Creek, Kentucky.  She also joined the Pack Horse Library Project in the Appalachians, bringing written books and material to the people who lived in the hills.  She covered miles and miles of scary routes to bring her patrons these books, while also dealing with prejudice against her skin color.

Highly recommended!

12.11.2019 - The Other Son

Many thanks to NetGalley, Lake Union Publishing, and Nick Alexander for the opportunity to read and review this book - loved it.  I read this book on the heels of another of his books, The Bottle of Tears, and have determined that Alexander really gets people's emotions - the good, the bad, the ugly.  4.5 stars!

Alice stayed married to Ken, an abusive husband/father, because she didn't see another way to live and thought it was best for their two boys, Tim and Matt.  But now in her 70s, Alice is starting to wonder if there could be another kind of life for her.  Both boys have suffered their upbringing in different ways - for Tim, a successful banker, there is never enough things to surround himself with - the perfect wife, the always bigger house and sound system.  Matt never followed through on anything - dropped out of college right before graduation and ha been traveling the world not communicating with his family much at all.  What will happen if Alice decides to make a new life?

Spot on with emotions, this book is hopeful and wise.  Another great read from this author!

12.9.2019 - The Bottle of Tears

Many thanks to NetGalley, Lake Union Publishing, and Nick Alexander for the opportunity to read this wonderful family drama.  4.5 stars.

Penny and Vicky are sisters and survivors of a horrible family tragedy that happened on Christmas.  Their mother, Marge, seems to encourage the drama between the sisters.  Penny, a successful psychologist working with refugees, is married to Sanders, a once successful painter, and has 2 children.  From the outside, she seems to have it all - except that Penny feels she's the only one working and trying to keep their family afloat.  Vicky, married to Martin, a successful lawyer, has one child and a host of anxiety issues, fueled by her addiction to Valium.  When childhood secrets finally come out, the sisters need to finally find a way to understand each other and move forward.

Just a good family drama story and I loved the "bottle of tears" analogy.  It's amazing how different our perceptions can be from reality and cause so many family issues.

12.6.2019 - All That's Bright and Gone

Many thanks to NetGalley, Crooked Lane Books, and Eliza Nellums for the opportunity to read this wonderful debut novel - I'm looking forward to reading more from this author!  4.5 stars!

Aoife is 6 years old living with her mom who is struggling to take care of her.  When her mom gets out of her car in the middle of the road screaming at Aoife's brother, Theo, who Aoife knows is dead, her mom is taken to a hospital and Aoife's Uncle Donny comes to her house to take care of her.  Written entirely from Aoife's point of view, we see Aoife with her imaginary bear friend, Teddy, trying to make sense of the adult things that are going on around her.  Aoife feels that if she can solve the mystery of what happened to her brother, her mom will be able to come home.  She enlists the help of her friend next door to find clues into the mystery.

I love how Aoife's Catholic upbringing and education about prayer and saints brings her such peace as she struggles to make sense of her world.  The author did a fabulous job of incorporating the thoughts and vocabulary of a 6-year-old into this story.  Great read!

12.4.2019 - The Less People Know About Us

Thanks to NetGalley, Grand Central Publishing, and Axton Betz-Hamilton for the opportunity to read and review this book - especially one that is so personal and private and had to be difficult to write.

Axton grew up an only child on a farm in rural Indiana.  From an early age, there were many secrets swirling around the family and Axton learned the term "identify theft" before it was a common thing.  Her parents fell prey and Axton was taught to be suspicious of anyone and everyone; she never fit in at school, had friends, could answer the phone.  When Axton finally went off to college and discovered her credit report, she realized that she was also a victim from the age of 11.

This is a difficult book to review - some things seem so obvious to the reader.  It comes down to the blinders we wear in our family and how we trust them to be honest and put our needs above their own or others.  When that doesn't always happen, it's devastating.  Mental illness plays a big part in the backstory of this book.  To me, Axton, no matter how successful, is partially still that child keeping the rest of the world at bay.

12.2.2019 - Meg and Jo

Many thanks to NetGalley, Berkley Publishing, and Virginia Kantra for the opportunity to read and review this modern retelling of Little Women.  I haven't read Little Women in probably over 45 years, so this review is not based on the merits of the retelling vs the original book - I'll leave that to others more knowledgeable!  While based mostly on the Meg and Jo characters, Amy and Beth also appear and will have their own book next!

However, I very much enjoyed this story on its own merits.  Meg is the reliable one in the family - she stayed close to home, is happily married and the mother of twin toddlers.  But she can't seem to let go of the feeling that she always needs to be in control for things to work out.  Jo ventured off to NYC for a writing career.  When the paper she worked for went under, she finds work as a cook in a trendy restaurant and writing a food blog on the side.  When their mother becomes ill and things in NYC start falling apart, Jo heads back to North Carolina to help out.

It's hard to break the habits of our childhood - Jo tends to run away when things become difficult or out of her control.  I loved the depiction of the marriage of Meg and John - very real and a lesson to all of us about how differently we show and receive love.  A good story of family, sisters, just life and love in general!