June glorious June- what a great month for reading!

 This was a pretty good month of reading. I finished 9 books. A total of 3,212 pages. Which is an average of 107 pages a day. Not too bad!

Servant and Dove by Shelby Mahurin (513 pages). In the city of Cesarine, the Dames des Sorcieres (witches) live a hidden existence, their very lives at risk from the Chasseurs (holy men who are witch hunters). Young Lou lived her life on the streets, hiding a very big secret. But when her path crosses with Reid, captain of the Chasseurs, everything that each of them thought was true is challenged. And their bond becomes unbreakable when they are thrust into a sham marriage. A marriage that promises to change their city and the futures of everyone there. I finished in 5 days. 

A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman (337 pages). Ove is the very definition of a curmudgeon. He is old, he is set in his ways, he is profoundly unfriendly. But when a couple with young children move in next to him, his world, which had grown dark, begins to open up again. Between this new family, a feral cat and other neighbors long ignored, Ove realizes that life is for living. I LOVED this book!  I finished in 5 days. 

Song of a Captive Bird by Jasmin Darznik (395 pages). Forugh Farrokhzad was born in Tehran in 1935.  She went on to become, in her too short life of only 32 years, one of the most influential feminist poets to ever come from Iran. This novel was about her life. I’d never heard of her (of course, I’m not big on poetry). But wow- what a life!  She was married at 16, a mother by 19 and divorced by 21. She also lived a bold life with lovers and adventure in a time when Iranian women were modest and property of their husbands. I finished in 5 days. 

The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson (181 pages). So I’d read The Lottery. And I’d seen the Netflix series. But I’d never read this book. The only similarity between the two was character names and the house itself. Otherwise, two totally different stories!  In the novel, Dr Montague seeks out several people to stay with him in the allegedly haunted Hill House. The only people who respond are Luke, who is set to inherit the home eventually; Theodora, a lively young woman; and Eleanor, a lonely young woman with a mysterious past. For one week, they experience unexplainable events. But Hill House is beginning to wake up. And it will eventually claim one of them as its own.  I finished in 2 days. 

Strongheart: The Lost Journals of May Dodd and Molly McGill by Jim Fergus (385 pages). The third in the One Thousand White Women series. I seriously loved this trilogy. The idea of these white women heading off to the West, ready to marry Indians for their freedom from lunatic asylums and prisons. Two of the brides who arrived in different groups, May and Molly, finally meet. And as their worlds intersect and overlap, they realize that the savage beauty of their new lives will forever be threatened by the imperialism of the United States government. I finished in 4 days. 

A Betting Woman by Jenni L Walsh (304 pages). This was my Once Upon a Bookclub book. Historical fiction with gifts?!  Yes please!  Simone Jules arrived in San Francisco from New Orleans in 1849. She quickly reinvented herself as Eleanor Dumont. And Madame Dumont introduced the Wild West to vingt et un (or as it is known today, blackjack). She was the first female gambler, the first female dealer and a fascinating woman (about whom little is known). I finished in 3 days. 

Bookish Boyfriends: A Date with Darcy by Tiffany Schmidt (386 pages). Merrilee is 15 years old and about to start a new, co-ed prep school with her two best friends and her younger sister Rory. And Merri is convinced that, while boys are always better in books, perhaps she’ll find her Prince Charming at her new school. While her English class begins with reading Romeo and Juliet, Merri is convinced that she has met Romeo incarnate. Monroe is picture perfect. Until he isn’t. And Merri quickly realizes that maybe she isn’t Juliet, but rather a different (and much more inspiring) heroine. Both of literature and of her own life. Super cute YA chick lit, which is one of my guilty pleasures. You know, as a 40 something year old woman.  The boom lover in me really loved Merri!  I finished in 4 days. 

Midnight at the Blackbird Cafe by Heather Webber (333 pages).  When her beloved Grandma Zee dies in the small town of Wicklow, Alabama, Anna Kate takes the summer before medical school to go and settle her grandmother’s estate, including closing her Blackbird Cafe.  But the town that drove her mother away at the age of 18 is waiting for Anna Kate to finally come home. A town that has secrets about Anna Kate’s family and about her heritage. And most importantly, about the famous blackbird pies that help people. For a girl who’s only ever had wings, she quickly realizes the beauty in finding your roots. I finished in 3 days. 

The Red Lotus by Chris Bohjalian (378 pages). Alexis and Austin have a pretty unusual meet-cute for two people who work in the same hospital (she is an ER doctor, he works for the chief development officer). Austin arrives at the ER with a bullet in his arm and Alexis treats him. Six months later, they are on vacation on a bike tour of Vietnam. Austin goes out alone for a ride and simply vanishes. When he is found as the victim of a hit and run, Alexis is shattered. And goes home feeling like something is off. As lies begin to emerge, she starts questioning what really happened in Vietnam. And the connection that it might have to her hospital and its labs back in America. I finished in 3 days. 

This month’s favorite was .....A Man Called Ove. Followed closely by Strongheart. 

MAY I tell you about the books I read this month?

 This month started out pretty strong. But it ended a little rough (personally) and I didn’t read a single page for about 6 days. So I feel like I did pretty well. I read 7 books and a total of 2,462 pages. Which averaged 79 pages a day (technically 98.5 if you account for not reading for a few days). So here goes. 

Meet Me at the Cupcake Cafe by Jenny Colgan (396 pages). Issy Randall is working a job she tolerates and dating a man she adores. But when she loses her job and her boyfriend in one day (it’s never smart to have a hidden office romance), she isn’t sure what to do with herself. Luckily, a childhood spent in her Grampa Joe’s bakeries helped her develop a talent for delicious cakes. After spotting an empty space that seems just perfect, Issy starts working on opening her Cupcake Cafe. While cupcakes and recipes are pretty straightforward, life sure isn’t!  This book was deliciously sweet and fun. And had receipts scattered throughout. I finished in 6 days. 

The Queen’s Fortune by Allison Pataki (432 pages). In 1794 France, the Reign of Terror had just ended. And 16 year old Desiree Clary has just met 25 year old Napoleone di Bonaparte. After a whirlwind love affair, where promises of eternity are exchanged, Napoleon makes his way to Paris to prove himself. He asks his brother Joseph and his wife, Desiree’s sister Julie, to join him. Desiree goes with them, only to discover that Napoleon has met Josephine. And any affection he’d had for Desiree had vanished in the face of Josephine’s magnificence. Desiree finds herself at the center of the Empire, as she is considered family. She marries Jean-Baptiste Bernadotte, a general in Napoleon’s army. But as Napoleon becomes more paranoid and his marriage to Josephine ends, Bernadottte realizes his only chance for survival is to take Desiree and their young son Oscar to Sweden, a country that has made him an offer they cannot refuse. I LOVED this book. Loved it!  I finished in 5 days. 

Meet Me in Paradise by Libby Hubscher (328 pages). This was my Once Upon a Book Club book.  Marin Cole plays it safe, and has since her journalist mother died while on assignment. Meanwhile, her younger sister Sadie is a dare-devil, world-traveling photographer who never stops for more than a moment. But when Sadie comes home from one trip rather tired, she manages to convince Marin that a sister’s trip to the Caribbean island of Saba is in order. Much to Marin’s chagrin, Sadie misses the flight and Marin losses her passport and her luggage. But her seat mate, Lucas, offers to help her out. And as Marin learns the beauty of living life, she is able to finally put aside her fear and anger and lose herself to the beauty of the world. I sobbed like a damn baby. I finished in 3 days. 

Elizabeth the Queen by Sally Bedell Smith (555 pages, plus 130 pages of index and notes that I didn’t read). This was a biography of Queen Elizabeth II. I already had a lot of admiration for her and what she’s done in her 69+ years on the throne. I mean, she is the longest reigning female monarch and, in a little over a year, will be the second longest reigning monarch (behind someone who took the throne at age 5. She was 26 when she did. So I don’t consider that a fair competition!). And watching her at her husband’s funeral recently made me appreciate her humanity even more. But for me, I completely fell in love when I learned that her favorite genre of books is historical fiction, just like me!  I’d love to sit down and chat books with her. I’d totally be her favorite. If you love learning about the royals, this book was great!  Honestly, my only complaint is that it was published in 2012 and soooooo much stuff has happened with the royals since then. I finished in 7 days. 

Ready Player One by Ernest Cline (372 pages). I actually watched the movie before reading the book. And enjoyed the movie enough to decide to give the book a try. I will say that I’m glad I saw the movie because it allowed me to visualize what was happening in this virtual world in a way that I might not otherwise have been able to. But back to the story, Wade Watts is a teenager in 2044. The world is miserable, so most people spend their time in the virtual world of the OASIS. Wade spends his time searching for an Easter egg hidden by OASIS’s creator Halliday that will give the finder all of Halliday’s vast wealth. After years of trying, Wade finally cracks the first riddle. And the race is on. I finished in 2 days. 

Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck (107 pages). I’ve seen two versions of this book in movie form. So I already knew the story. It doesn’t make it any less heartbreaking. George and Lennie couldn’t be more different. George is small and quick-witted; Lennie is big and strong and slow. But they’ve formed a family of sorts as they travel around California in search of work. They have a dream of a little plot of land where they can live their lives without working for anyone else. They think they finally have a plan in place. But Lennie’s love of petting soft things has gotten him in trouble more than once. But George has always managed to get them out of trouble. Until one day, he can’t. I finished in less than a day. 

The Stone Necklace by Carla Damron (272 pages). A heart attack and impending deadly crash drastically changes the lives of more people than the victim Mitch. There’s his wife Lena who is worried about how she can parent their teenaged daughter without her husband’s steadying presence. There’s Tonya, who was involved in the accident and is struggling with a very controlling husband. Sandy, the nurse who helped Lena on the cardiac floor but is facing a tough time with her recent sobriety. And Joe, the homeless man who never truly realized how much Mr Mitch helped him.  I really enjoyed this book. For two reasons- one, it was set in Columbia. And two, in the end, family and love and faith in God won the day. Just a sweet, lovely story. I finished in a day. 

This month’s favorite was .....The Queen’s Fortune. Y’all KNOW historical fiction is my favorite. And Desiree’s story was <chef’s kiss> perfection. 

Spring time, tra la la la, read time

 Even though I’m a little behind in my Goodreads challenge, I still feel like I’m doing well with reading. And my pool is about to open. So expect more books to be finished in shorter periods of time. But 8 books at a total of 3,014 pages (that’s an average of 100.5 pages a day) isn’t too shabby. So here goes the recaps

Chelsea Girls by Fiona Davis (353 pages). Hazel and Maxine met in Italy in 1945, both actresses in a USO troop. After the war ended, Hazel headed home to New York to get back to auditions at her mother’s insistence and Maxine headed to Los Angles and the silver screen. But 5 years later, they are reunited at the Chelsea Hotel, a veritable melting pot of artists and eccentrics in New York. Hazel has written a play and Maxine is set to star in it. But the Korean War is about to begin. And so is the Communist witch-hunt of the entertainment industry that was spearheaded by Senator McCarthey.  A witch-hunt that destroyed careers and lives and friendships. While one woman’s career is destroyed, the other flourishes.  And 17 years later, when fate brings the women together again, can they ever become friends again?  I really enjoyed this one. I finished in 4 days. 

Shiver by Allie Reynolds (388 pages). This was my February Once Upon a Bookclub box. It arrived late, so I decided to wait to read it. As usual, gifties are on social.  10 years ago, Milla spends a winter at La Roucher, a resort in France where she can train for snowboarding with a lot of other young athletes. Among them, siblings Curtis and Saskia, Brent, Odette and Dale (along with his non-snowboarding girlfriend Heather). After a winter of training and game-playing, the final competition doesn’t go how they expected. Odette is paralyzed and the others don’t even compete. And Saskia never even shows up. When Milla receives an invitation to visit La Roucher off-season for a reunion with Curtis, Brent, Dale and Heather, she is happy to go. But a lack of staff and an icebreaker game threatens the reunion. And when their phones disappear and the power is shut off, they realize the game is still on. Is someone in their group responsible for Saskia’s disappearance?  And will any of them make it off the mountain alive?  This one was a good suspense novel.  Better than I thought it would be when I first started it. I finished in 3 days. 

The Gender Game by Bella Forrest (396 pages). Hundreds of years ago, the destruction of America led to the establishment of 2 countries- Matrus, a female-led, biology and chemistry driven country and Patrus, a male-led, architecture and agriculturally driven country. When 11 year old Violet’s beloved 8 year old brother is marked as unfit, she attempts to smuggle him into Patrus. But when they are caught, they are separated and Violet’s string of troubles truly begins. 8 years later, she finds herself in yet another juvenile workhouse, bidding her time until she is 21 and free to rejoin society. But when she is offered a chance to have her crimes erased and be reunited with her brother, she jumps at the chance. Can she survive an undercover operation in Patrus?  Or will her rebellious nature get the best of her?  And is there anyone in her life who she can trust?  Not my favorite book. I mean, it wasn’t bad. But it was the first in a series and I have no plans to read the rest of them. I finished in 4 days. 

The Lost Apothecary by Sarah Penner (301 pages). This was my March Once Upon a Bookclub box. Caroline is in London for an anniversary trip. But she left her husband home in the States. While in London, she goes mudlarking and finds an interesting vial.  This vial starts her on a quest to learn more about it. And she uncovers a mystery from an apothecary shop from the 1700’s. A shop where women could come to get help with unwanted ailments and with unwanted men. Nella, the apothecary, has her own reasons for being willing to help women commit murder. I loved this book!  Caroline’s story and research, offset with Nella’s story in February 1791, were just great!  I finished in 3 days. 

The Nickel Boys by Colton Whitehead (210 pages). Elwood Curtis, a black teenager in 1960’s Tallahassee, is going places. He’s smart and plans to be the first member of his community to go to college. He’s also idealistic and just, due to the influence of Martin Luther King Jr. But when he finds himself in the wrong place at the wrong time, he lands at the Nickel Academy, a juvenile reform “school”. Nickel is loosely based on the Dozier School for Boys was a juvenile penitentiary/reform school in Florida that operated from 1900 to 2011.  This school, both the real one and the fictional one, was a place of horrors. The boys were segregated. They received little education. They were forced to do hard labor. And the punishments were severe. Elwood and his friend Turner try to make the best of things. But Elwood’s sense of injustice is too strong. In the 2010’s, an investigation into Nickel causes many of the boys, including Elwood, to come forward with the truth about the horrors they survived. This book was gut wrenching. In true Jane fashion, I immediately started reading about Dozier. And oh my- this novel barely touched on the real life horrors. The rapes, the killings, the beatings. Boys who went to Dozier were already a little damaged. They were destroyed when/if they left. I finished in 2 days. 

Miss Graham’s Cold War Cookbook by Celia Rees (487 pages). WW2 has just ended, but the Allies work isn’t done. There are still war criminals to be rounded up. When 20-something Edith Graham applies to the Control Commission in Germany, it’s to help establish and monitor schools (she does have degree in German).  She quickly learns that the Commission thinks she will do much better as a spy. Her cousin’s college friend (and her former lover) is a Prussian doctor who is suspected of war crimes due to experiments he conducted. But no one can find him. So Edith uses her wiles to try to track him down, all while sending collected recipes rife with code back home to her handlers. The world,of spies and double crossers is much more difficult than Edith imagined. She isn’t sure who she can trust, other than herself. I finished in 6 days. 

Firefly Lane by Kristin Hannah (479 pages). So I watched the Netflix series before reading the book. It was odd to still find myself thinking “the book is better” when it was a reverse situation!  And to be super annoyed by the changes made to the series (that did not make it better than the book. In fact, the changes were not for the better). But back to the story. Kate and Tully are 14 when they first met in the 1970’s. Kate is a bit of a loner, Tully is the new girl who is immediately popular. They quickly form a lifelong friendship over the summer. Before life tries to pull them apart. But they know they will always be best friends. And despite careers, marriage, kids and fame taking them all over the place, the decades never divide them. Sure, they have fights (like all lifelong and intimate relationships). But they always find their way back to each other. No matter what. It’s been a long time since a book gutted me the way this one did. And when I say gutted, I mean snotty, mascara running down my face gutted. I finished in 4 days. 

Fly Away by Kristin Hannah (400 pages). So there’s a sequel to Firefly Lane. And despite being emotionally distraught after reading the first in the series, I had to dive straight into this one.  It’s been 4 years since Kate died. And those four years have not been kind to her best friend Tully, her daughter Marah and the rest of Kate’s family. But when another tragedy strikes, Tully, Marah and Tully’s mom Dorothy must band together to escape from their grief and learn to live their lives with the memory of Kate always there for them. I didn’t like it as much as the first in the series but I still really liked it. A lot. I really loved these characters- their pain, their struggles, their love for each other. It was all so poignant. I finished in 4 days. 

This month’s favorite was .....Firefly Lane. I really liked my two 1940’s books (Chelsea Girls and Miss Graham). But Firefly Lane was just amazing 

Spring has sprung and my March readings are done!

 This month's reading was pretty solid.  8 books.  2,632 pages.  So an average of 85 pages a day.  I have one book listed that I didn't include in my number count because I read the bulk of it across the school year and only just finished in this month.  But I did include it because I technically finished it this month.  So let's get to it!

The Loveliest Chocolate Shop in Paris by Jenny Colgan (338 pages).  Anna Trent is single and 30 years old, managing a chocolate factory in England.  When an accident lands her in a hospital bed next to her high school French teacher Claire Shawcourt (who has cancer), she is offered a chance to work at a world famous chocolate shop in Paris.  While there, she learns how to live, how to love and how to really make chocolate.  She also learns about Claire's one beautiful summer in Paris,  I laughed, I wept.  It was so beautiful.  And it made me want to go to Paris!  I finished in 5 days.

Beautiful Bad by Annie Ward (356 pages).  American Maddie met British Ian when she was living in Eastern Europe.  She was a teacher, he was in the British army.  Their attraction was undeniable.  But both of them (especially Ian) had too many demons to make their eventual marriage work.  Years of love and fear culminate with the Day of the Killing.  When the police arrive at their home, they face a grisly scene.  But murder scenes aren't always what they appear.  And neither are marriages.  I finished in 5 days.

Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman (325 pages).  Eleanor Oliphant lives a perfectly fine life- she's got a job and a routine.  But she's got a severe lack of social skills and an uncanny ability to say whatever is on her mind (appropriate or not).  One day, the new IT guy at work, Raymond, comes to her desk to help.  And suddenly, Eleanor learns that life isn't meant to just be fine- it's meant to be lived.  Through her friendship with Raymond, she begins to go out, to meet people, to take more notice of her physical appearance and to learn more about her tragic childhood.  Eleanor was both frustrating and endearing.  I'd heard mixed reviews about this book.  It was a NY Times best seller, but I'd heard that some people didn't like it.  Those people were not me- I really enjoyed it!  I finished in 5 days.

The Ex Talk by Rachel Lynn Solomon (336 pages).  This was a special edition steamy romance Once Upon a Bookclub box, so the gifts are on social media.  Shay loves her job as a producer at a local Seattle public radio station.  She does not love the new reporter, Dominic.  But when their boss asks them to cohost a new talk show, Shay is both excited (being on air has always been her ultimate dream) and repulsed (working with Dominic will not be fun).  Their new show?  Ex Talk.  Yep, they have to convince the world that they are exes who have managed to work together and navigate a friendship post breakup.  But as their attraction grows, can they keep lying to everyone?  And what happens if the world finds out the truth?  This was super cute and I wish I could've been poolside while reading it.  I finished in 2 days.

The Bookshop on the Shore by Jenny Colgan (407 pages).  Yes, my second book by this author this month.  Zoe is a single mother, struggling to make ends meet in London with her four year old son Hari (who is electively mute).  Hari's father is of little to no help.  But his sister is (at least once she learns about Hari's existence).  She finds Zoe new jobs.  In Scotland.  The first is nannying for three children at the local big house.  Three broken children and their equally broken father.  The second is working at the mobile bookshop in town (the back story to that is in The Bookshop on the Corner and is delightful).  Between the new family and new environment, Zoe and Hari start to emerge from their shells and finally find a sense of belonging.  I finished in 5 days.

Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance by Angela Ducksworth (291 pages, plus nearly 40 pages of notes that I did not read).  This book was "required" reading for a mentor/mentee program that I am a part of with JLC.  It was a very interesting book.  I learned that I'm not a super gritty person.  And I'm 100% okay with that!  It did give some excellent pointers on how to become more gritty and how to encourage grit in others (including your children).  I finished in 14 days (because it was spread over about 8 months).

The Alice Network by Kate Quinn (503 pages).  Y'all know I love a good historical fiction.  And this one was amazing!  In 1947, college girl Charlie St. Clair is desperate.  She's unwed and pregnant and wants to find out what happened to her beloved cousin Rose in Nazi-occupied France.  When she is sent to Europe to "take care of her little problem," she manages to get herself to London to find the one person she thinks can help.  She has two names- Eve Gardiner and Rene Bordelon.  In 1914, Eve was part of a network of female spies called the Alice Network (after their fearless leader Alice Dubois, real name Louise de Bettignies).  After the war, there is little more than a shell of Eve left.  But when Charlie mentions the name Rene, the two women, along with Eve's driver Finn, join forces and head to France to finally learn the truth about Rose and even Eve herself.  OMG- I cannot stress how much I loved this book!  I finished in 4 days.

This month's favorite was... duh, The Alice Network.  Historical fiction is almost always going to win!

February is a short month, so this is a short list

 This month was a short month, so I didn’t get as many books read as usual. But my average was pretty good. It was a total of 7 books and 2,106 pages. Which averaged 75 pages per day. So on to the recaps. 

Yellow Wife by Sadeqa Johnson (272 pages). This was my Once Upon a Bookclub box. The novel begins in 1850 in Virginia. Pheby Delores Brown has been promised her freedom when she turns 18. Her mother is the plantation medicine woman. And her father is the master of the plantation. She’s in love with Essex Henry, the horseman of the plantation. Her life is as perfect as it can be. Until disaster strikes and she finds herself sold deeper into slavery at the Devil’s Half Acre, which was a real jail in Richmond. Her beauty (and ability to pass as a white woman) makes her stand out to the jailer and he takes her in as his “wife.”  Pheby’s quick wits and desire to survive are put to the test when it comes down to protecting the people she loves the most. I finished in 3 days. 

Silver Linings Playbook by Matthew Quick (289 pages). I absolutely HATED this movie. But I tend to find that books are better than movies, so decided to give this one a try. It was, in fact, far better than the movie. To be honest, the casting was awful. Pat was supposed to be a huge, buff guy (Bradley Cooper). And Tiffany was supposed to be a very small gal (not Jennifer Lawrence). As far as the story goes, Pat has just been released from a mental health facility, with no memory of what put him there or how many years he’d been there. He moves in with his parents- a mom who is thrilled to have him home and a dad who barely acknowledges him. He is obsessed with three things- Eagles football, working out and getting back together with his estranged wife.  His friendship with the also mentally unwell Tiffany actually offers him a way back to life. I finished in 4 days. 

American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis (399 pages). I HATED this book. I thought the movie was rough to watch. But at least Christian Bale has enough charisma to keep me moderately interested. I picked this book because I needed to read a book that scared me. Spoiler alert- this one actually managed to both bore and disgust me.  It did not scare me in the slightest. The label bragging alone was miserable. I didn’t like the story, I didn’t like the characters, I didn’t like the writing. I finished in 8 days. 

Every Breath by Nicholas Sparks (304 pages). I mean, you can’t beat a Nicholas Sparks book.  In 1990, Tru Walls arrives in Sunset Beach, NC, to meet the birth father he never knew about. Hope Anderson, freshly off a breakup with her on-again, off-again boyfriend, is staying at her family’s house next door in order to be a bridesmaid in a friend’s wedding.  The 5 days they spend together are the most intense of their lives- they walk the beach, they fall in love, they visit Kindred Spirit (a real mailbox where people leave letters for the universe). But Hope goes back to her life in Raleigh and Tru returns to being a safari guide in Zimbabwe. Years pass and lives go on, even when the love of your life isn’t by your side. But sometimes, Kindred Spirit has a way of bringing people together. I BAWLED. Several times. This book more than made up for the disaster that was the last book I read. I finished in 2 days. 

We Were Liars by E. Lockhart (225 pages). The Sinclair family owns a small island off the coast of Martha’s Vineyard and they vacation there every summer- grandparents in the main house and 3 other houses for their daughters and grandkids. Cadence is the oldest grandchild. Her cousins Mirren and Johnny are a few months younger and along with family friend Gat, the quartet make up the Liars. During the summer of her 15th year, she has an accident and it strips her of a lot of her memories. After a summer away from the island, she spends the summer of her 17th year trying to figure out what happened. And boy does she!  I finished in 3 days. 

The Pull of the Stars by Emma Donoghue (291 pages). This novel takes place over a three day period in the maternity quarantine ward of a Dublin hospital in October of 1918. Yes, I said quarantine because it was taking place during the Spanish Flu. I’m literally reading about what’s happening in our world right now. How the author managed to write this book and submit it to her editor prior to March 2020 I’ll never know. Nurse Julia Powers, Dr. Kathleen Lynn and volunteer Bridie Sweeney band together to help the women in their ward- women battling death to bring life into the world. I finished in 5 days. 

Where’d You Go, Bernadette by Maria Semple (326 pages). Bernadette Fox, former genius architect, has been living an agoraphobic life in Seattle with her Microsoft working husband Elgin and precocious 15 year old daughter Bee. A promised trip to Antarctica for Bee’s upcoming middle school graduation and good grades sets off a series of disasters that leads to Bernadette disappearing. Bee attempts to piece together her mother’s disappearance through a series of emails and letters that took place prior to Bernadette’s disappearance. She begins to learn more about her mother’s past and finally she and her father figure out where to find Bernadette. I enjoyed this book more than I thought I might. I finished in 3 days. 

This month’s favorite was ..... Yellow Wife. 

Kicking off 2021 with some good reads

 I didn’t read a lot of books this month. But I still read a lot of pages. Only 7 books at a total of 2,382 pages. So that’s an average of 77 pages a day. So away we go!

The Star-Crossed Sisters of Tuscany by Lori Nelson Spielman (374  pages). This was my Once Upon a Book Club book. So gifties on social. Review on blog. Over 200 years ago, an elder Fontana sister cursed her younger sister, that she and all second born daughters would never find true love. Whether you believe in curses or not, this one seems to have come true. 29 year old, happily single Emilia and her 21 year old, unhappily single cousin Luciana are invited to join their 79 year old great aunt Poppy on a trip to Italy. All of them are second born daughters. And Poppy has promised them that she will break the curse by meeting her true love on the steps of the church in Ravello on her 80th birthday. Adventures ensue. But can a curse be broken, especially if you don’t really believe in it?  I finished in 4 days. 

Life and Death: Twilight Reimagined by Stephenie Meyer (387 pages). Why yes, I did buy a novel that’s the exact Twilight novel except with role reversals. Edythe is now the hundred year old vampire and Beau is the human in love with her. Almost all of the roles are reversed and names changed, except for Charlie and Renee. Beau lived with Renee and Phil in Phoenix until moving to Forks to live with Charlie. There were several changes, but most of them were to simply have it make sense that Beau was a boy and Edythe a girl rather than some massive change to the storyline. Except for one HUGE change to the story. Parts of the change I liked, others I didn’t. It was, however, a perfect ending to not have sequels. I finished in 4 days. 

Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro (288 pages). I did not like this book at all. It made absolutely no sense to me. Kathy, Ruth and Tommy grew up together at Hailsham. Was it a school?  Was it some sort of holding place for kids?  Who knows. But after they grew up and were allowed to leave Hailsham, they lost touch. Life eventually brought them back together and some of their questions were answered. I was still confused. Completely and utterly. How this book won a Nobel in literature is beyond me.  Truly a confusing and unenjoyable book. I finished in 5 days. 

The Lost Love Song by Minnie Darke (356 pages). This was a Once Upon a Book Club box. So gifts on social (as usual). After 7 years together, concert pianist Diana is finally ready to marry Arie. She’s even written him a love song while on tour. But before she can return home to him, tragedy strikes and her song disappears with her. But a simple notebook and talented musicians around the world manage to bring Diana’s song home to Arie. Along with the possibility of new love. I finished in 2 days. 

The Speechwriter: A Brief Education in Politics by Barton Swaim (204 pages). This was another book that Popsicle thought I’d enjoy. Again, he was correct. The author was Mark Sanford’s speechwriter for the last 3 years of his time as governor. Yes, he was there during the Appalachian Trail debacle. With a PhD in English (I got my BA in English), Barton wasn’t sure what careers were available to him (I feel your pain, which is how I ended up in law). He loved to write so applied to be Sanford’s speechwriter during his second term. A job that can only be described as horrific and hysterical, all at the same time.  The takeaway was that while “good” people might be elected into office, politicians are never to be trusted. I finished in 2 days. 

Little Big Love by Katy Regan (356 pages). 10 year old Zac decides he wants to find his dad, a man who did a runner before he was born. Or so he’s always been told. While he has people who love him (his mom, his grandad and nan, his best friend, his mom’s ex-boyfriend), he still feels like something is missing. Between bullying at school (both he and his mom are severely overweight) and learning the truth about his uncle’s death and his father’s subsequent desertion, Zac goes on a quest to find the dad he’s been missing. I really enjoyed it. I finished in 6 days. 

28 Summers by Elin Hilderbrand (417 pages). This book takes place over (shocker) 28 years of summers. At the age of 24, Mallory Blessing is living in NYC and hating her life.  But a miracle happens- her aunt Greta passes away and leaves her a cottage on Nantucket. And from that moment, her life changes. That very first summer, her brother comes to Nantucket for his bachelor part, bringing his two best friends. One of whom is named Jake McCloud. Jake and Mallory have a connection from the instant they meet. And when the bachelor party ends up falling apart, they have a weekend alone that they will never forget. And commit to repeating every year, no matter what. Marriage, children, family- nothing gets in their way. I finished in 8 days. 

This month’s favorite was.....probably 28 Summers. I know it’s easy to say the last book you read was the favorite. But I actually don’t say that often. The Lost Love Song was a close second though. 

The year is done. My reading was great!

 I finished out the year pretty strong. This month, I completed my 100 book challenge with Goodreads (and managed to read 5 additional books, just for fun!). But this month, I read 9 books, a total of 2,760 pages. Which is an average of 89 pages per day. Bringing my yearly reading total to 105 books. 37,010 pages. An average of 101 pages a day. 

Jane and the Twelve Days of Christmas by Stephanie Barron (327 pages). I’ve had this book for quite a while but wanted to wait until close to Christmas to read it!  Jane Austen- world famous novelist. And sleuth?  During the Twelve Days of Christmas, Jane and her family (mother, sister, brother, sister-in-law, nephew and niece) find themselves guests of the Chute family at their home. A snowstorm means that the guests find themselves snowbound at The Vyne for far longer than anticipated. On the third day, one of their party is found dead. While every else assumes it is a tragic accident, Jane and Mr Raphael West have other ideas- that someone at The Vyne killed him.  But for what gain?  And which of the other guests is a murderer? I finished in 4 days. 

Never Have I Ever by Joshilyn Jackson (337 pages). Amy Whey loves everything about her life- her professor husband, her teenaged stepdaughter, her new baby boy, her best friend, her job as a dive instructor, her neighborhood. But when new neighbor Roux shows up to book club and high jacks it with a game, Amy’s world is turned upside down. Because Roux’s game is all about the worst thing you’ve ever done. And Amy has never shared that with anyone. But if the truth comes out, it could wreck Amy’s perfect world. It’s a game Roux excels at. And a game that Amy can’t let her win. I finished in 6 days. 

Sex and Vanity by Kevin Kwan (315 pages). This was my 100th book of the year!  Lucie Churchill is a 19 year old college student when she is invited to get former babysitter/adopted big sister’s wedding in Capri. From the parties to the fashion to the location, Lucie feels like she’s dropped into a fairytale. Especially when she meets 20 year old George Zao and they share one passionate, scandalous moment. Five years later, their paths intertwine again.  Only this time, Lucie is newly engaged to Cecil Pike.  Cecil is everything Lucie has ever wanted in a husband. But there’s something about George that makes him irresistible to Lucie. Still. Even 5 years later. I finished in 5 days. 

Miss Benson’s Beetle by Rachel Joyce (334 pages). This was my Once Upon a Book Club book box. So again, you know the drill- pics of the gifts are on social. Margery Benson fell in love with beetles as a child. Her dream?  Finding the never before found golden beetle of New Caledonia. But life took her in another direction after multiple disappointments. But in 1950, Margery has had enough- England is still reeling from WWII and she is unhappy with her job. So she makes a decision to go to New Caledonia. She advertises for an assistant and that’s when Enid Pretty enters her life. Nothing about Enid seems ready for the wilderness of a beetle-finding expedition. But the women make their way across the world and into the wilds. Along the way, they become the best of friends, each of them offering the other what they’ve always needed to become their best selves.  I finished in 2 days. 

Secrets of the Chocolate House by Paula Brackston (308 pages). The second book in the Found Things series. Xanthe Westlake has spent several weeks trying to get the seventeenth century and Samuel Appleby out of her mind. Until she finds a new object that sings to her, this time a chocolate pot. The pot takes her back in time. To just a few short months after she left Samuel behind. Last time, a young servant girl was in trouble. This time it’s Samuel himself. And Xanthe will stop at nothing to make sure that the man she loves is safe. But unfortunately for Xanthe, this time around she is facing a truly difficult foe- another time Spinner like her.  I finished in 5 days. 

In a Holidaze by Christina Lauren (304 pages). This was the Christmas special edition box from Once Upon a Book Club, so gift photos on social. Maelyn Jones is 26 years old, single, living back at home and working a job she hates. But she’s at her favorite place during her favorite time of year- a cabin in Utah with her divorced parents and younger brother, and all of her parents’ best friends and kids (including brothers Andrew and Theo- her crush and her best buddy, respectively). But after a night of too much eggnog results in a drunken misjudgment and the gut wrenching news that the cabin is being sold, Mae is distraught as they drive to the airport. The next thing she knows, she’s waking up, not from a car crash, but on an airplane that’s headed to Utah to start family Christmas. She keeps reliving the same holiday week over and over. Until she figures out what it will take to stop the time loop from restarting by figuring out what the universe wants her to learn. Literally Christmas chick lit!  I loved it!  I finished in 1 day. 

12 Days of Book-Club-Mas by assorted authors (234 pages).  This was a special edition box from Once Upon a Book Club- 12 “read one a day” short stories with accompanying gifts (see social media for those). The stories were wonderful- totally diverse. And the gifts were perfection!  I finished in 7 days (because it arrived late and I ending up reading 5 stories on day one so I could end on time!)

The Garden of Promises and Lies by Paula Brackston (309 pages). The third and final book in the Found Things series. Xanthe is back in her own time, but this time Benedict Fairfax has followed her. When Xanthe realizes that this evil Spinner is truly dangerous, she follows another object, this time a wedding dress, back to the 1800’s to deal with him once and for all. But this time around, Xanthe finally shares her Spinner secret with her mother and would-be beau.  Because she’s going to need all the help she can get.  I finished in 6 days.

Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng (292 pages). It’s May of 1977 and the body of 16 year old Lydia Lee was just found in the lake near her house. But Lydia hated the water. And her mom Marilyn is convinced this wasn’t a suicide. The novel delves into family history- how James (an American born Chinese man) and Marilyn (a blonde haired, blue eyed white woman) met and married, the three children in the family, all of their relationships to each other and, to be honest, their relationships with the world). I finished in 2 days. 

This month’s favorite was..... a tie between Never Have I Ever and In a Holidaze. Totally different genres.