|
Montana offered a new start for Adelaide but it was not an easy life for a lone black woman especially one who brings a curse with her. A homestead far away from prying eyes can be a dangerous thing but after a rocky start she finds a few female friends in town - after all lone women need to stick together. There is a secret that threatens her new life. It will not be contained, kept hidden or silenced as Adelaide soon finds out. The hardships that these women face are different from the men and justice doesn't always land on their side but they all show incredible resilience, strength and understanding. Once the trunk is opened you will find out, dear reader, why they call it the wild west. A LibraryReads top pick! Horror mixed with a rainbow of characters in complex relationships make this a must read for fans of A DANGEROUS BUSINESS, UPRIGHT WOMEN WANTED and WHEN WOMEN WERE DRAGONS. 4 stars 
0 Comments
Beatrix was just a little girl when the bombing started in London and her parents made the impossible decision to send her to safety in America. She arrives quiet and scared only to be welcomed with open arms to an exuberant family and the two boys who would become so much more. Bea, Gerald and older brother William became joined at the hip and Bea grew to cherish the time she spent with them in Boston and summers in Maine. When the war was over and she returned to London neither she nor London is the same and Bea is not sure which family feels more like hers and home. A poignant coming of age story where family is what you make of it and if you are fortunate you will have more than one. Seen from each of the main characters viewpoint over a span of decades this covers so much history from WWII, the Civil Rights Movement and women's rights as well as being a heart tugging, multiple tissue story. The audio was spot on and emotional. 4 stars  Their love for each other was the stuff for the movies as their fights became stuff for the tabloids. Frank Sinatra was very married and very smitten with Ava Gardner from the first. He was well into his singing and nightclub career and she was one of the "Love Goddesses" in Louis B. Mayer's stable. She is beautiful, she is ambitious and she plans on staying far away from the sweet talking Frank Sinatra. Seen from both of their viewpoints we follow the on again, off again stormy relationship and marriage that seemed doomed from the start. It is an inside look at the struggle young women had getting serious roles and how phony their staged life was compared to their publicity. While I found Sinatra's macho attitude and womanizing distasteful it would not have felt honest had it not been included. Behind the glitter and Hollywood fairy dust they were like everyone else but their demons were made public. 3 1/2 stars  Penelope Schieman wrote a blockbuster novel allowing her to quit her high school teaching job and move to a glass high rise fortress in Los Angeles. Even better, the novel was optioned and she has been asked to help write the screenplay. What could go wrong? She finds that the make believe world of movies is almost the same as reality in Hollywood. Deals are made at poolside parties where she must learn to navigate the shark infested waters of temperamental directors, a host of actors/actresses and so many writers. Seemingly overnight her story of a foundling baby who grows up wheelchair bound and confused by her feelings turns out to be a mermaid gets turned into a superhero, action adventure flick featuring a teenage sex bomb. The beauty of this story is that the reader is privy to Penelope's book and the Hollywood highjinx giving us a beautiful parallel of finding yourself and your voice and the way Penelope's words and voice get silenced. Feminist coming of age and delightfully funny this masterful debut will empower women trapped like the mermaid to add their voice to the siren song. For fans of SIREN QUEEN and PLAIN BAD HEROINES. 4 stars  A word to the wise. Finish this book in a quiet private place and give your self enough time for a good cleansing cry after. Young William is no match for the gregarious Padavano family. Where his family scowls at him with crossed arms theirs are open, where his family shares nothing theirs share all -good and bad and where his is solitary and quiet theirs is a loud but loving family of four sisters. William is enveloped into the fold and while he will have a deeper relationship with two of the sisters, the others are always there to influence him in some way. Suffering from severe depression William will sever ties as will a couple of the sisters and their mom. This story chronicles the ebb and flow of family joy and sorrow, the growth and loss over time. Heartbreaking and painfully honest, this is an intense and deeply rooted family drama that will stay in your head and heart for some time. Readers of her previous book DEAR EDWARD, Ann Pratchett, Fredrik Backman and Pat Conroy will find much to love. 5 stars  Three generations of Russian women fighting for their independence along with the start of the Russian Revolution. A memoirist looking for an assistant to travel with him to Moscow lands Rosie the perfect excuse to unlock the secret of her own past. Rosie heads to Moscow with a key and a few notes that her mother hid in a porcelain doll along with disjointed childhood memories. A love affair between an idealistic revolutionary and the woman he loves even though she is married to an abusive nobleman begins the story. As sides are taken and the country finds itself in civil war they are torn apart. Their love lives on in the next generation and the next circling back to Rosie (Raise) in present day and her memories of a tragic incident. Clever clues unravel the mystery as we learn more of this turbulent time and love story for the ages. An epic historical love story that fans of DR. ZHIVAGO and ANNA KARENINA will dive into as well as fans of historical mysteries. 4 stars  A quaint and enlightening tale of a man's journey into the world of selling rare objects and books in London. Subtle wit and an obvious love of books, booksellers, dusty shelves, hidden alcoves and book lovers of all kinds grace the pages of Oliver's travels in his apprenticeship at one of the oldest bookshops in the world- Henry Sotheran Ltd. Imagine book dungeons where nooks and crannies hide treasure on every shelf or you might come across a gourd carved with the likeness of Queen Victoria. A place where a dying breed of craftsmen toil away repairing book bindings considered hopeless. A place where every phone call may lead to a treasure trove and every search may begin in one direction and end in another completely different. Welcome to Oliver Darkshire's introduction and education into the remarkable world of antiquarian bookselling. Fun to read and guaranteed to make you unable to walk past any old bookshop in the future without wanting to go in. 3 1/2 stars  A moving story of war and the after effects that ripple through generations. Vietnam in 1969 where young boys barely out of their teens have been thrown into the madness and mayhem of a foreign country in war. Many find comfort in bars where young Vietnamese girls help them forget for a few hours. Two sisters are lured away from their village with the promise of easy money working in one of these Sai Gon bars. Soon they discover that it is more than just selling drinks and talking that is required of them. One sister and a lonely American will fall in love and escape into their own world far away from the war. Fast forward to 2016 and that G.I. is now racked with guilt about the pregnant girl he left behind in Vietnam. He travels overseas with his wife (who is ignorant of the real reason for the visit) to find her and redeem himself. We also see life through one of the many Amerasian children who do not fit in either society - they have been abandoned by both countries caught between wanting to find their American fathers but being taken advantage of. Engrossing and heartfelt, this is a story that is long overdue. A mix of corruption and innocence, love and the violence and loss of war and family vs. culture. 4 stars  While these crimes and the number of coffins will horrify some so will the living conditions for the women living in this Hungarian village in the 1920's. Women were born enslaved first to their fathers and then to their husbands giving birth to more children than they could feed and suffering from the abuse of the men in their family. Living conditions brought new meaning to the term "dirt poor" so many turned to the only woman they knew who could help - Auntie Suzy the village midwife. She hastened the end of unwanted children and husbands alike. Arsenic was her medicine of choice and soon the number of natural deaths and new friends added up. This put her in a position of power as it would be a death sentence for the women to reveal their part in all of this. Unbelievably this went unchecked until a prosecutor almost a decade after Aunt Suzy began started to put clues together. Vivid descriptions told in an investigative true crime style offer us a glimpse into life for these poor women and the power hungry midwife who offered them a way out. 3 stars  Our favorite American female sniper is back in Paris even though the Nazis have put a most wanted target on her back. Kate is only taking this mission to rescue a friend but the Brits see the opportunity to add to it and the danger. Shoot the mark, deliver a package and pick up the asset is all she must do but somehow these missions never go as planned. Things start to go wrong from the start but Kate, near exhaustion must keep zig-zagging to stay one step ahead of capture. Adrenaline filled WWII spy chase that moves as fast as Kate must with ever changing information and not knowing who to trust. This is not a cozy cup of tea historical fiction but more of a double scotch and cold blast of winter air type thriller where you, like Kate, must stay awake and alert until the final page. This does pick up after the previous Kate Rees book but is easily read as a standalone. For fans of Ken Follett's spy tales and Kate Quinn's THE DIAMOND EYE. 4 stars  |
I love to read good books and share the new books that are available and those that are coming soon
Adult Genres
General Fiction Historical Fiction Thriller / Mystery Fantasy / Sci-Fi Non-Fiction All Adult Genres Other Genres Young Adult Genre Kids Books Genre Follow Kim
Review Archives
March 2023
|
RSS Feed