Set in the middle ages in a smaller fiefdom this is a story of the pecking order of a village and their lord including all the superstition, religion and power struggles that go along with daily life. There is a lonely sheepherder, his strange cast off motherless son, the local wet-nurse with magical powers, the tyrannical Villam and his band of servants and the local priest. Villam is a crude and obnoxious ruler who takes the villagers last coin while cutting off their water supply and having his guards secretly raid the village to keep them in line. Their luck has gone from bad to worse coinciding with the "Prince and the Pauper" son switch that sends the sheepherder's son to the castle after Villam's son dies. The only ones that seem to keep things together are the ones without any overt power - the women. This is a cruel look at power, abuse and what it meant to be a woman in the middle ages sure to appeal to readers of Ken Follett's Kingsbridge series and Lauren Graff's MATRIX. 4 stars
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New York 1953 and Louise sees herself as an up and coming magazine and novel writer. The fact that she has only written a couple of articles for her boyfriend's magazine and is only halfway done with her romance novel is beside the point. She soon finds herself knee deep in the underground dealings of the unpatriotic kind, her boyfriend might be a spy and they might be under surveillance by the CIA.
It is non other than Ernst Hemingway who turns out to keep a protective eye on Louise. The glittering literary world juxtaposed with the behind the scenes Cold War watchful eye - this is a fascinating look at a young woman fighting social norms to have her voice heard amidst the men in her life trying to keep her silent. The secondary part of the story is Louise's novel which is a sci-fi romance about an American pilot and a Russian cosmonaut trapped on the moon and is at times more interesting than what is going on in New York. With a Mad Men cocktail vibe laced with literary royalty and a shot of THE AMERICANS cold war spy games, this slim novel packs a quiet but deadly punch. 4 martini stars A solid thriller set in a small Minnesotan town where two missing teens and a drug ring set the town on edge. Acting Chief of Police Packard has returned to the small town where he spent summers as a kid. Eager to be somewhere calmer his job is anything but when a teenager he knows and her problematic boyfriend go missing. The teens picked the wrong house to steal from and Emmett Burr is tired of people taking advantage of him stealing his pain pills and he isn't afraid to dispense justice. Intense and timely with all the new crime from Opiod addiction this thriller doesn't get preachy about the dangers of peddling prescription drugs , hanging out with the wrong crowd or pushing your neighbors too far because believe me you will get the point. 4 stars
This is a story of one of the greatest racehorses who ever lived and the people who were affected by him. It is also a story of ownership - be it Lexington the horse, Jarret the slave groom whose wisdom and faith developed Lexington's greatness or the countless jockeys, horse tenders and horse painters whose worth was judged by white plantation and racetrack owners. Beginning before the Civil War and continuing to present day, this saga takes into account all sides of the horse's life from birth to racing greatness to after his death where his skeleton is studied by a Smithsonian scientist. The other part of the story is about a talented yet little known artist who specialized in painting racehorses and the travels of one of these paintings until it ended up in the Smithsonian collection. We see all the best in the love for these horses and the worst in the greed and disregard for the human beings and families torn apart making this both epic historical fiction and a scalding commentary on how race and bigotry is still very much present and not just in the south. Readers of racehorse stories such as SEABISCUIT and THE EIGHTY DOLLAR CHAMPION as well as stories of slavery like THE UNDERGROUND RAILROAD and TAKE MY HAND will find much to love. 4 1/2 stars
When Laurie travels back home to pack up her beloved aunt's house she feels a plethora of emotions. While she loves seeing her childhood best friend and her high school crush who is now the hunky town librarian, she is used to flying solo and living an independent life on the other coast. She finds a wooden decoy hidden in her aunt's trunk and the mystery of where it came from and why it was hidden away proves to be a welcome diversion to packing until a conman grabs it. The three dive in like it was a Nancy Drew mystery and in the process of getting the duck back Laurie finds that it might not be a bad thing to be a pack animal instead of flying solo once in a while. Sweet romcom that checks off all the boxes - small town, good friends, hunky librarian and the message to find love wherever you can. Fans of Emily Henry, Robyn Carr and devout watchers of the Hallmark Channel will flock to it. 4 stars
A shocking look at racial health disparity among the African American community as well as the documents atrocities committed in the name of science throughout this country's history. From duped young girls being sterilized without their knowledge to men being withheld treatment for venereal disease as a control group in a study. When African Americans get sick they are less likely to receive solid medical advice and treatment compared to their White counterparts. When a college educated Black woman is more likely to die or have severe complications in childbirth compared to a White woman with only an eighth grade education, something is wrong. Hopefully enough people will read this and become angry and bring about a change. 4 stars
A change of plans during the evacuation of children off the island of Guernsey changes the lives of two families. The Simons send their young children Henry and Catherine away to mainland England to keep them safe during the German invasion only to have the children separated. Another islander desperate to escape a bad marriage takes Catherine for her own and disappears in England. As the years go by the Simons face hard times on Guernsey especially not knowing where and how their children are doing. Catherine grows up with little memory of her time in Guernsey but has a happy life with her new parents. Of course, there are secrets that must come out. This is an unusual storyline that speaks to different experiences and viewpoints than the standard WWII historical novel. Proving once again that human kindness is seen even in war and children are resilient. This is a great choice for those readers of WWII stories without too many grisly details. 3 stars
Fiona was a child actor who flamed out in a big way years ago. She now has a new gig working at the front desk of her father's copy shop - not exactly reel worthy! When an opportunity comes her way to do a re-boot of the famous show she starred in along with her old co-stars, she couldn't be more disinterested. Even when her old co-star crush tries to convince her picking up right where they left off, Fiona does not want back into her old life in front of the cameras. This spicy romcom does have a darker side - that of dealing with public humiliation and the public feeling like they own you as well as the many ways that young actors get taken advantage of. Sharp wit with great references to books this is one for readers who want a bit more spice in their romance and think Britney and Lindsay got a raw deal. 4 stars
The summer of 1999 the housing projects on the south side of Chicago were a rough place to live for everyone but especially hard on the kids. Felicia, Precious,Stacia and Tonya began that summer playing jump rope games and it would end with their world torn apart by gangs, their home environment and if they were "lease compliant" when their building was slated to come down. A coming of age that is equally horrifying as it is heartwarming. The struggle for the mom's to take care of kids and make enough money to live, the boys who went from toddlers to gangs overnight and the girls who just wanted the world to be as beautiful of a place as their dreams. Strong women of all ages did everything they could to protect these kids and at the heart was Felicia who tried to help those who couldn't help themselves by offering friendship. Fans of The Wire and THE INVISIBLE CHILD and stories from the inner city will appreciate this.
4 stars Winifred (Freddie) is an author who is sitting at a table in the Boston Public Library when a murder takes place. While waiting for the police to let her leave she strikes up a conversation with the other three people at her table. Marigold who is studying psychology, Whit who is a law student and Cain who happens to also be an author. Could one of them be a murderer? The four become friends but soon it seems they are being targeted or harassed. Freddie is falling in love with Cain but do any of them really know that much about each other? The secondary story is told between Hannah an author and Leo an armchair editor who correspond through emails discussing a book that Hannah is writing a book about the woman in the library who was murdered. A bunch of misdirection, an unreliable narrator in Freddie and not knowing how the emails fit in make for a tight little thriller that will have you sure that you know whodunnit until you don't know. 4 stars and our LibraryReads pick.
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