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Menampilkan postingan dari Juni, 2020

The House of Whispers by Laura Purcell

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Laura Purcell's previous novel The Poison Thread was my top read of 2019, so I had high hopes for this next novel. And while it was good, and full of what I've come to think of as Purcell's trademark style, it fell a little short of my expectations. Gothic? Check. Creepy? Check. But a bit thin on the plot, and it left me a little confused.  Told in two storylines, the novel centers around Hester Why, who has traveled to the Cornish coast to take on nursing duties for Louise Pinecroft, the sickly head of the quintessential gothic Cornish home called Morvoren House. Hester is about as unreliable a narrator as you can get: an unquenchable thirst for gin, a sipper of stolen laudanum, and a women so wracked with insecurity and jealousy that she's done some pretty bad things in her previous employment. She's a mess, and someone who just keeps digging the hole she's in, letting it get deeper and deeper.  Once at Morvoren House, Hester realizes everyone there is a bit o

The Last Train to Key West by Chanel Cleeton

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I'll confess I've wanted to visit Key West for many years, and I've yet to get there. When I saw this novel set in Key West in the 1930's, I had to pick it up. Add to the plot a devastating hurricane over Labor Day Weekend, 1935, and I grabbed a copy to read on my last few days of a short staycation.  The plot revolves around three women who are in Key West and the surrounding area over the Labor Day Weekend. It's 1935, and the southern most tip of Florida is a pretty rough place--not the tourist destination it is today. The Florida East Coast Railway had finally been built to bring passengers all the way to Key West. World War One vets were living in pretty miserable camps while they worked on building and extending the railroad. No one wanted to deal with vets returning from the Great War that had left them damaged with PTSD; it was easy to ship them down to Florida and forget about them. Wow. Do we never learn from past mistakes?!  Anyhow. Three women: Helen, Eli

I'm Still Here: Black Dignity in a World Made for Whiteness by Austin Channing Brown

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I'm not usually one to immediately jump on the bandwagon and read a celebrity book club selection right out of the gate. However, when I saw this memoir was picked for Reese Witherspoon's book club, I thought I'd read an excerpt. I was hooked from those few paragraphs, and immediately bought the ebook for my Nook. I knew, based on bestseller lists, and my library's holdings, that any book I wanted to read regarding racial issues would be hard to come by because of demand.  I'm still processing all that Austin had to say. I'm still thinking about all the things I say, do, and think that have a basis in racist thinking that goes so deep I'm not even aware of it. That is comes from simply being born and growing up white in middle-class Midwest America in the 1970's and 1980's. And that, I believe, is what white people struggle with-those people who want change, that is. I struggle to comprehend the enormity of the road we have ahead of us, and the road

Big Summer by Jennifer Weiner

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I'll confess that I had no plans to read this book until I listened to a podcast where Jennifer Weiner was interviewed about this novel and why she wrote it. Then it was "sign me up!" I am surprised at how quickly I read it. A day off, a late night, and waiting for an A/C repairman had me reading it--and quite frankly it hit all the right spots for my reading appetite.  Daphne is an influencer-someone who uses Instagram to promote products and a lifestyle. Her niche as an influencer comes from her large size--and instead of hiding it, celebrating it in everything she does. This hasn't come easy, as Daphne has suffered from low self-esteem for years because of her size.  Six years after ditching her "best friend" Drue Cavanaugh, Drue finds Daphne and asks her to be in her upcoming wedding on Cape Cod. Daphne hasn't seen Drue since the night Drue set her up as a pity date and Daphne found out. Their relationship is super complicated for Daphne-she's we

Eliza Starts a Rumor by Jane L. Rosen

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I've had this novel on my radar for quite some time, and I had a chance to read an advanced digital copy (but for a limited time). I noticed I had just a few days left before my time was up, so I sped through it this weekend. To be honest, it wasn't hard to do--I got hooked and couldn't put it down.  Eliza has been the moderator of the Hudson Valley Ladies' Bulletin Board for over fifteen years. It's basically an online digital discussion group where women can post questions and others chime in with answers or suggestions. It's Eliza's one lifeline, since she's home alone after her twins have gone to college. Eliza also suffers from agoraphobia, and hasn't left the house in months. She had one bout in high school that lasted a few months, then one day it disappeared and she returned to her normal routine. Now, years later, she's suffering from it again, and can't tell her loving husband Luke. Instead, she has an elaborate system set up so he

Summer on the Bluffs by Sunny Hostin

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I received an advanced copy of this novel from William Morrow/HarperCollins and if this doesn't scream summer, I don't know what does. It's a kick off your shoes, pour a cocktail, sit on your porch swing kind of a book, and perfect for a summer getaway (even if it's in your own backyard). This novels oozes glamor, money, and lots of name dropping. Centering on New York City and Martha's Vineyard, it is the tale of three women who are goddaughters to Ama & Omar Tanner. Ama and Omar are an African American power couple in every way-both successful in their careers, wealthy, and connected to all the fabulous people. They built a summer home on Martha's Vineyard where they are part of Oak Bluffs society. However, Omar has died, and now Ama is gathering her goddaughters for one last summer, where she will reveal who will be granted sole ownership of Chateau Laveau. But in doing so, Ama may alienate the three women she loves the most.  Perry, Olivia, and Billie ar

A Review of The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett

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Summer. It's here. It took me a few months to get back into my reading groove, and I think I'm almost there again, thankfully.  The world is a hurting place, and I, along with so many others, are self-reflecting on my place in it, and my responsibility towards living a life of peace and love. I have always looked to the stories that books tell-whether they are fiction or non-fiction-to help me understand where the world was, and how we came to be where we are now. How others live; their cultures, the barriers they face, and the ugly and brutal things we do to each other out of fear and just plain ignorance.  I will continue to read stories, memoirs, and history books that will help me understand the beautiful, magnificent, deeply troubled and damaged world we live in and call our home. And I hope I can, in some way, make it better. I may not be out protesting, but I will vote for change, and donate to causes I feel are important. We all do what we can.  I saw a quote from Denze