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Cussy Lovett is a blue and her husband isn't so their mixed marriage is against the law in 1930's Kentucky. They are pulled from their home and both are sent to prison. Cussy fights hard to take over the prison library which she is more than qualified after years spent as a book woman delivering books by mule to rural areas around her home. The warden seems to have a soft spot for Cussy and allows her to be shipped out for a week to help a pastor and his wife with their library. She has a big secret and has not been able to see or get a letter from her husband or teen daughter they left behind. She tackles growing readers for the prison library and helping the pastor and his wife with the same kindness, grace and determination she always had in her past. It will take a few other determined women to offer help. This is jaw dropping historical fiction that digs up a horrific past of atrocities performed on women of color, those less fortunate and the powerless by those in power. This is part of the series revolving around the book women of Troublesome Creek but can easily be read as a standalone. 4 1/2 stars 
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Cowboy romance lovers treat yourself to a boot scooting debut romance of a woman trying for a fresh start on the largest ranch in Texas if her past doesn't wreck it for her. Grace is a horse trainer with a golden touch who takes a job far away from her shady uncle hoping to keep a low profile but instead finds a warm set of ranch hands, kind but firm boss and one hot ranch manager who just happens to be the golden boy heir. Will her future at the ranch let her get away from her past or will she get the boots knocked out from under her? A warm romance that hits you like cowboy justice on a two-stepping Friday night with a spicy margarita in your hand. Sure to please fans of Lyla Sage. 4 two steppin stars  A slim novel that tries to ask an important question. Who should take the blame for loss of life when dealing with a catastrophe in open sea between two countries boundaries? It centers on November 2021, after what felt like another night of overloaded rubber rafts filled with migrants trying to get from the coast of France to safe shores in England. This night however there was a perfect storm of a faulty raft, an unreliable phone signal and no way to give an exact location as well as a tired coast guard radio operator who would truly regret her actions after learning that the raft had capsized and 27 people died. Was she responsible because she gave the wrong information? Were the people who took the migrant's money and put them in an overcrowded raft responsible? Was the governments of both countries responsible for passing the buck? It gives us the hard truth of a subject we would all rather shake our heads at and say how tragic is all is. Hard hitting translation with much philosophy guaranteed to make you think. 3 1/2 stars  Mouse has inherited a dilapidated manor home from her mean dead uncle with a distinct set of requirements in the will. She must restore the house fully in one month to receive it and the rest of her inheritance - money she needs to care for her shellshocked brother. Mouse, still reeling from so much loss after the Great War has no means to fix anything. Enter a handsome charming faerie with magic galore to fix the estate if he and mouse can break the curse on the house. But you know what they say about making a deal with the faeries. Together they summon enough magic and wherewithal to fight silk dragons, nasty mermaids and the wrath of the faerie folk. Fans of EMILY WILDE'S ENCYCLOPEDIA OF FAERIES will love this romantasy that celebrates love and unusual couples of all sorts. 4 stars  Just before the Civil War begins Lidie's husband is brutally murdered for his abolitionist views in the untamed Kansas territory. Lidie returns home to Illinois to live with family in her new life as a widow. With no money and no desire to marry again she has little to look forward to until she and her young niece get involved in community theater. When an opportunity to join a theater company in London arrives at their doorstep the two grab what looks like their only chance for freedom and adventure and run away. As they navigate their new lives in England with Annie on the stage and Lidie as a lady's maid ,the two contemplate the path they chose and the surprises along the way. Written in the writing style of the times readers of Jane Austen, the Bronte sisters, and Louisa May Alcott and other stories of women showing some character and willfullness will enjoy this as will fans of Jane Smiley's first book of Lidie Newton. 4 stars  Jean falls in lust for a professor on a summer session in France which leads to a relationship that will haunt her later as an adult. When she is invited to his retirement years later the ghost of Monica Lewinsky helps her see what the relationship and the manipulation was all about. Peppered with stories of female saints and the wry wit of Saint Monica this is a biting look at the double standards of how society looks at bad male behavior as opposed to sinful young women who have been used and cast to the mob. Readers who are looking for a lighter version of DEAR VANESSA but with snark will eat this up. 4 stars  An interesting look at a strange mission into the unknown territory of everything north of Mexico. El Norte Misterioso was a quest by Francisco Coronado to expand (conquer) the native population and mineral rich land just as the Spanish had done in Mexico. Not knowing what to expect and going off of a report of a city of gold they were ill prepared for the harsh terrain, the sheer size (2500 miles) and that the peoples they met might not understand what they wanted or give up easily. The author does a great job of setting the scene especially what it must have looked like for the native people to see horses and men head to toe in metal for the first time screaming latin at them or other languages that they had no way of understanding. Coronado was desperate to make this his claim to fame and impress his mother in law as well as the Spanish but it did not go as planned. To think that this began in 1540 and the native people lived there unbothered once more until the westward expansion. This story will resonate with history lovers and those who enjoyed Erik Larson's storytelling. 4 stars  Lou is so tired of trying to make everyone happy so when she is at the brink of losing yet one more job she instantly agrees to do a property appraisal in the rural Appalachian woods. While just being in the woods alone with her dog for a few days sounds wonderful her troubles begin almost immediately. Rabid coyotes, a sabotaged truck and dangerous people are hunting her. With nowhere to hide and no way to get home she starts to listen to that inner voice that commands her to take matters into her own hands. I wouldn't recommend this if you can't stomach animals getting hurt or a ton of gore. Do read this if you love getting scared silly and listen to all those folktales and urban myths of monsters in the woods. A slim novel that packs a punch. 4 stars  A cozy romantasy that is just the ticket if you love Travis Baldree and B.K. Borison. Being a princess is not all it is cracked up to be so when Tandy is cursed to spend her life in a bookstore until her prince charming comes and breaks the spell, she is overjoyed. As she sorts through running a bookstore and irritable employees she is plagued with a cursed pirate who annoys and appeals to her. This curse is really a godsend but Tandy's future depends on it staying in place. 4 stars  Cherry and her husband Tom are doing ok until Tom's comic strip hits the big time and he is off to Hollywood to write the screenplay. Seemingly overnight the world recognizes Cherry as the plus size character in the comic strip. As their relationship goes south and Tom stays in L.A. Cherry meets and dates an old college friend. Russ doesn't know or care about "Baby" and likes her for who she is. Tom in the meantime realizes that he still loves Cherry and wants to come home. It comes down to trust. Will Cherry be loved for who she is and not just a tragic comic strip character? The book does a great job of tackling body shaming by her family, people she meets and Hollywood and that goes both ways. Cherry's family are all large and happy with it but they give one of the sisters a hard time for losing a lot of weight. It is about being comfortable in your own skin and being around people who accept and love you for being that person. 4 stars  |
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