This month was nothing outrageous. Just some good reading (including an old favorite). I read a total of 7 books. 2,955 pages. An average of 95 pages a day. So let’s get to it!
Caller Unknown by Gillian McAllister (340 pages). This was a special edition Once Upon a Book Club box, so gifts on social. Simone and Damien are restauranteurs in London. Their daughter Lucy is at a theatre program in Texas, prior to starting college at RADA. Mother and daughter plan a little holiday in Texas after Lucy’s program is complete. But things don’t go according to plan. Their very first night together, Lucy is kidnapped. Simone (and later on Damien) do whatever they can to find her. And when they do, they find themselves in a much bigger mess. There were some good twists. I finished in 3 days.
The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch (618 pages). This was for my ISI book club. From the day 5 year old orphan Locke Lamora finds himself taken in by the Thiefmaker, he displays an uncanny ability as a thief himself. So much so that the Thiefmaker actually sells him to the Eyeless Priest, the greatest con artist in all of Camorr. 20 years later, Locke is now the head of a group of thieves called the Gentlemen Bastards, the most infamous and successful thieves in the city. He is called the Thorn of Camorr (as he is a thorn in the side of the nobility), but his identity remains unknown. His small but mighty gang of thieves are delightful characters (honestly, you find yourself rooting for the thieves to win the day). But something dark is happening in Camorr. Heads of gangs are being killed and the Capa in charge of them all is being threatened. By a mysterious figure known only as the Gray King. As the world starts closing in on Locke and his gang, they begin to learn more of the secrets of the Gray King and of Camorr’s history. While this genre isn’t my jam, the book was actually pretty good. I truly loved Locke and Co (Jean, Calo, Galdo and Bug). I finished in 7 days.
A Jingle Bell Mingle by Julie Murphy and Sierra Simone (383 pages). I know it’s the wrong season to read a Christmas book. But it’s so hot out that I wanted something the exact opposite. I did not get that. This story was supposed to be a cute rom com. I did not realize it was a cute rom com about former porn stars. Honestly, change the professionals and it was kind of cute. Sunny is in Christmas Notch, Vermont, working on a movie script she has already sold. Isaac is also there, working on his last record for his label. Upon realizing that both of them are experiencing writers block, Sunny moves into Isaac’s mansion and they agree to help each other. But both of them are struggling with past memories. Can they move past what is holding them back and find happiness with each other? I finished in 4 days.
The Ladies of the Secret Circus by Constance Sayers (452 pages). In 1926, Cecile Cabot left Paris, with her infant daughter Margot. She found herself in Virginia, eventually starting a circus called Le Cirque Margot. While Cecile loved the circus life, Margot first ran away. Then returned home to settle down, with a husband and daughter Audrey. In 1972, Audrey also decided that circus life wasn’t for her and Cecile retired the show. The family stayed in Virginia and opened Cabot Farms, a premier horse farm. Audrey married and had daughter Lara. And here is where the story begins. Because on Lara’s wedding day in 2004, her fiancé’s car is found. In the exact spot and the exact day of another man’s disappearance 30 years earlier. As a young girl, Lara encountered Althacazur, a mysterious man who told her that her legacy was a circus. But not Le Cirque Margot like she thought. Instead, it’s a mysterious circus called Le Secret Cirque, or the Devil’s Circus. This circus is just- wow. Learning about the performers and Lara’s connection to them was soooo good. I really liked this one! I finished in 5 days.
A Winter in New York by Josie Silver (357 pages). After her mother’s death, chef Iris decides to leave London and make a fresh start in New York. With just her memories and her mother’s special gelato recipe. She stumbles upon Belotti’s Gelatoria. Where she learns that the shop is about to shut down because Santo, the only family member with the recipe, is in a coma. She offers to help Santo’s nephew Gio. Not telling him that she actually already HAS the recipe. As Iris begins to fall more in love with Gio and the Belotti’s, she begins to imagine her life amongst them. But when Gio’s father returns home and Santo wakes up, they spill secrets that Iris’ mother kept hidden for years. Can Iris and Gio survive the lies their love is built on? It was like While You Were Sleeping. But with gelato. I finished in 3 days.
Girls of July by Alex Flinn (496 pages). Spider and her grandmother Ruthie have 3 rooms for rent in Ruthie’s charming cabin in the Adirondacks. So they advertise for 3 teenage female roommates for the summer. Bubbly Britta and studious Meredith (classmates in Florida) and socialite Kate from Georgia answer the ad. Each girl needs an escape- from family, from stress, from scandal. What they didn’t realize was that what they really needed was each other. I finished in 4 days.
Anne of Green Gables by LM Montgomery (309 pages). Most book nerds will agree, it is REALLY hard to pick a favorite book. It’s like asking which child is your favorite. But let’s face facts- everyone DOES have a favorite child. And this one is mine. I have loved Anne spelled with an E for so long that I can’t remember life without her. When we went to PEI 30+ years ago, I got offered a job as a tour guide at Green Gables if I could become fluent in French or Japanese. And yes, I was a teenager at the time. Anne Shirley is an orphan who is adopted by Marilla and Matthew Cuthbert (siblings). She is full of imagination. The Cuthberts offer her a home and stability. She offers them love and life. The relationship between the three is so beautiful. Anne has many misadventures as she finds her way. Montgomery has a wonderful way of making the small big. And I will love her and all of her books until my last breath. I finished in 3 days.
This month’s favorite was….obviously, Anne. Always and forever.
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