Lucy and Sam and their father live a hard existence in the golden hills of the West. They piece together a living by prospecting, mining, and gambling in a place where fortunes are won and lost in an instant. Samantha becomes Sam to help in the mines and is content with the role of son whereas Lucy must fight against the only work a girl can do in a mining town. Sam craves the wildness and adventure and Lucy craves a sense of belonging, home, and roots. They are destined to seperate and come back together like yin and yang. They were born in the West but are still tied to their parent's Asian culture and traditions. Beautifully written with references to Eastern culture and stories mixed in with Western culture and misconceptions. It is a non-western western. A story of the various definitions of home and where you belong.
0 Comments
Imagine a young woman gripped in misery over several miscarriages and a failing marriage who learns that she is the last surviving heir to a North Italian remote castle and fortune. She is the last of the Montebianco family who carved out an existence in the harsh landscape of the Italian Alps. After arriving she learns much more about what she has gotten herself into, her heritage and how she will be the key to the survival of a hidden group of people. Combining a bit of the unusual myths about Yeti and Ice Men with a traditional Gothic romance storyline, THE ANCESTOR straddles historical fiction with an age-old mystery. This book will have you looking much closer to your results from Ancestry.com or 23 and Me. Illuminating and mysterious this is an unusual shift away from your typical Gothic mystery story. Fans of THE HISTORIAN, A DISCOVERY OF WITCHES or tales of old European family trees will enjoy this book. A naive farm girl from Wisconsin runs away to New York to make it big on Broadway but instead of landing the lead role in the next Rogers and Hammerstein she is given the lead in the most controversial play Broadway has ever seen. This scenerio could happen today but this story takes place in the 1950's and the show that Eleanor lands the lead in is a love story between a white girl and a black man and they do more than hold hands on stage, igniting deep seated racial tensions. She must not only learn the cut throat world of the theatre but also learns first hand the secret segregated world for people of color and homosexuals and handle her new independence and sexual awakening. This well written debut starts off with an innocent who must open herself up to much more than she ever dreamed of. The lesson is that just because you are blinded by the lights of Broadway doesn't mean you shouldn't fight for the people hiding in its shadow. Fans of CHELSEA GIRLS and CITY OF GIRLS and avid watchers of THE MARVELOUS MRS. MAIZEL will enjoy this slice of New York history.
Micah is a creature of habit knowing the tasks before him on any given day of the week and nothing really rattles him. Until the day his girlfriend leaves him and the young son of an old girlfriend shows up on his doorstep. This slim novel is just the kind of sweet story that Anne Tyler is famous for. We all know a Micah or maybe share his peccadillos and we are in his corner hoping he will figure it all out. Maybe the key to finding happiness is knowing you have to start looking for it.
An imagined true story of Cassandra Austen's attempt to uncover letters that may damage her famous sister's reputation. Cassandra appears in this story very much like a doddering aunt from one of Jane Austen's stories as she shows up, almost without warning, at the doorstep of Isabella's home in the quise of offering to help her settle her parent's affairs and pack up the house. The truth is that Cassandra is on a mission and must locate correspondence between herself, Jane and their good friend Isabella's mother. The pace is slow as she finds these letters and remembers her life. There is a certain cloak and dagger quality to her hunt and her methods are funny. Fans of all thing Austen will relish this glimpse into how strong the sister's bond was and more about little known Cassandra.
Emily Roebling's husband's desire to build bridges knows no limits and sadly, his greatest bridge design will also be his biggest challenge. The construction of the Brooklyn Bridge contained obstacles no one could predict and also paved the way for construction and engineering methods used today. In a show of force to protect her husband's reputation, Emily runs messages from his bedside, studies engineering and learns to stand up to what has been a man's world. Even her days of fighting for women's suffrage could not prepare her for what she would face in a male-dominated world of engineering, construction and government. Her relationship with P.T. Barnum is one that bolsters and threatens to tear down her reputation and the completion of the very project she gave up much of her life to see built. Well written historical fiction in the "woman behind the great man" style that we all love so much. From the first page, we see what we want to see - a well off couple with a beautiful daughter. Mom is a bit overly protective of the daughter due to her asthma and both parents are really busy with their businesses. When Charlotte meets her brother's new girlfriend she is happy for him but soon something begins to gnaw at her. There is something not right and as the alarm bells start Charlotte's daughter goes missing. Really scary because it could happen, this thriller is a sure bet for readers who want their heart rate to go through the roof.
Indochine in 1933 where wealthy plantation owners and a few powerful local families live their privileged lives while local workers labor in the hot sun for next to nothing. The land and people here have been exploited by French, Chinese, British and Americans but smile and cater to the Lesage family who have just arrived as a chance to improve their ties to the Michelin rubber barons. Jesse Lesage whose humble American roots she is trying to forget about, is very eager for this opportunity to succeed and make her way into the wealthy club life. Soon she becomes fast friends with one of the club wives who introduces her to the shadowy part of Indochine and the secrets no one speaks of. What begins as a historical look at privileged women and men running amok turns into a dangerous game of secrets, politics and manipulation. A story that all fans of historical fiction will devour with a side of intrigue like CASABLANCA.
There are three similar murders of three young women in a party dress found on the same stretch of remote highway roughly twenty years apart and no actual cause of death or credible suspects. This small town's police must try to piece together the murders even as the current Chief was once considered a suspect in the second murder and some might still assign guilt. Finding one killer for all three crimes will be a challenge with the first murder found 60 years ago but there are too many similarities for the new Chief of police and his Reverend wife to ignore. On top of everything they must fight to keep the police force going instead of handing over cases to the state and there is a whiff of wrong doing with one of his officers. There are a few sub plots that can get sticky at times but at the end it ramps up and leaves some details open ended for the next book. Fans of Craig Johnson's Longmire character and C.J. Box will find these characters endearing and the mystery solid.
As soon as you think you have had your fill of WWII thrillers, comes a book that catches you up completely like THREE HOURS IN PARIS. An American, a skilled markswoman, who has just lost the two people most dear to her, takes on a mission to assassinate Hitler while he is in Paris for a few hours. She has had the bare minimum of training but that will have to be enough to get her in and out of enemy territory. However, she soon finds herself in the middle of a cat and mouse game where she is constantly in danger and must use all the tools she has to live long enough to deliver the information the Brits are so badly in need of. Intense and well researched, this is another fine example of the unsung female heroes of WWII Europe that will leave you breathless.
|
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
April 2024
|