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Our favorite on again, off again couple Lucy and William are back and they are doing whatever it takes to keep the family safe and connected in the wake of the Covid pandemic. William whisks Lucy out of New York to a rented house on the Maine coast at the onset of trouble and urges the kids to escape the city as well. As much as I didn't want to read a book about the pandemic, Elizabeth Strout's no nonsense quiet writing style pulled me in from the first few pages. Lucy feels like we all did back then - her moments of anxiety, bits of joy, unexpected friendships, sorrow and bewilderment all ring true. Their family will experience upset, pain and grief but it will also bring William and Lucy back even stronger into each other's lives. Profound, touching and bittersweet you will read, remember, blow your nose and wipe your eyes at the end and the get back to living. 4 stars 
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In 1926 London Nellie Coker has just been released from jail. She has amassed nightclubs in Soho which she keeps a close eye on and an even closer eye on her children in the family business. The Coker Dynasty depends on each of the six kids stepping up and taking part but some have other plans to take her down. Nellie is a delightful character - the perfect mob boss/ sharp tongued moll who is as wise as she is ruthless. Life is not all gin, dancing and jazz as some would like to believe and Nellie must contend with an inspector on her tail, an inside informer and the antics of her children and a good deal of danger. This is a slice of life historical novel at a time where the line between right and wrong is somewhat fuzzy and people desperately wanted to get past the war and just have fun. Fans of "Peaky Blinders" and Beatrix William's Gin Kelly will sip their gin, humming Ain't We Got Fun and read the night away. 4 stars  Another installment of the Thursday Murder Club gang. The group of older but very savvy members who investigate cold cases and get into all kinds of trouble is back at it this time looking into the murder of a journalist and at the same time Elizabeth is dealing with someone from her past who is proving to be annoying. She must commit a murder to save her best friend from being murdered. A clever mystery combined with the charming and witty "not to be taken lightly" crime solvers - this is a less grisly yet just as satisfying murder mystery. There is also a bit of romance within the group that adds a bit of spice. For fans of Anthony Horowitz and those who binge watch "Only Murders In The Building". 4 stars  There are ghosts in the graveyard and there are ghosts of relationships past and for Erin and Silas they are one in the same. Erin keeps coming back to the intervention that didn't happen for Silas in college who seemed to have one foot in the grave until the day when he really died. Falling into the same drug trap Erin takes a pill that lets her see the dead but soon she is seeing dead people everywhere. This frightening story deals with the horrors of ghosts, addiction and the afterlife. A horror story from page one to be read with all the lights on that will have you saying - I SEE DEAD PEOPLE. 3 stars  The second book in the ongoing witchy happenings of Graves Glen. Gwyn owns the town's witchcraft shop and business is going well. Life is good until another one of the founding father's sons comes into town to shake things up at the school and town. Wells Penhallow is someone Gwyn thought she was finished with but now he is back which creates havoc. Erin Sterling is very good at the love/hate romcom relationship that we adore. Add to this the fun witchy back story, a great pinch of wit and the spell is cast for a fun Fall romcom. 3 1/2 stars  We all thought of Baba Yaga as an old witch who lived deep in the snowy forests but this rich imagining of Baba Yaga is of an immortal woman who chooses to help the young Tsarina and is framed for her death. It is about political backstabbing and a vicious Tsar influenced by immortals. This is beautiful world building of a brave strong woman who is passionate about the promises she made and those close to her. She does have a house on chicken legs and a wolf who protects her but her spirit is very far removed from the childhood stories we knew. For fans of THE BEAR AND THE NIGHTINGALE this is a fantasy that pulls you in from the first page. 4 stars  This is a very difficult book to cast into a genre. I thought I would be reading the history of poorly constructed architecture which caused accidents or deaths. Instead it felt like the author did look into architecture that sadly cause accidents or led the architect to commit suicide but it is also her feelings on the philosophy of suicide. Charlotte Van den Broeck is a talented author and I enjoyed sections of the book but felt that it was very different from the book I thought I was reading. 3 stars  A very steamy yet somehow innocent and sweet romcom unlike anything I have read in a while. When Bee gets cast in a new made for tv movie it shouldn't be surprising except for the fact that this is a Christmas Hallmark Channel kind of show and she is well known as a porn star. She is delighted to find out that her costar is none other than a former boy band star looking to rebrand his bad boy image. Each has a huge crush, the mentally undressing the other kind, on each other and it doesn't take long for sparks to fly. It is essential that Bee's former film work isn't disclosed to the producers on the film and both stars need to keep their relationship g-rated. The writing is fresh, fun and irreverent and even though I am sure I blushed several times, this is a story of very consenting adults who very much enjoy each other and sex. These two great authors have found a wonderful balance giving readers sections sure to melt snow and positive body imaging with a relationship wasn't overdone with family channel sugar. 3 1/2 steamy stars  This is the story of a Vietnamese-Australian family grieving over the senseless death of their youngest member. Ky Tran feels guilt over the fact that she pushed her parents to allow her younger brother Denny to go to a celebration dinner at a local restaurant. The night ended in tragedy when Denny was beaten to death in front of a dozen people all who claim to have seen nothing. The police assume he was up to no good and have no leads. Ky's parents feel hampered by the language difference and culture so they didn't push the police. Ky, who is a journalist, isn't giving up and begins to search for and talk to anyone who was there that night. Ky's character is heartbreaking as she examines the town she grew up in and her old life and compares it to the town and people now trying to see where and how it all went wrong. Family, cross cultural differences and the cost of pressure that the children of immigrant families often feel to succeed all play a strong role in this coming of age story. It happens to be outside of Sydney Australia but the themes are universal and will appeal to readers everywhere. 4 stars  A little getaway before the baby comes should have been a wonderful idea but the stay at the remote guest house gets weird fast. Jamie and Victoria are in the middle of a nightmare when Victoria goes into labor and the owner's pitch in to deliver the baby but then force the parents to make a Rumplestiltskin choice. With a knife to their throat they keep quiet about what really happened and head back to London telling people at home that they lost the baby at birth. Of course, Jamie and Victoria aren't going to allow them to get away with it right? This story moves at breakneck speed with lots of turns and changing opinions about the characters and all their flaws. Not for new moms but it will resonate with the chiller thriller crowd. 4 stars  |
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