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!