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We revisit that beloved family from SANDWICH who are in their rambling house where Rachel "Rocky", husband Nick , daughter Willa and Rocky's 90+ dad are together living their best life. A horrible car/train accident and the discovery of a weird mole/rash sends Rocky's sense of balance off kilter. We follow as they navigate what this will mean to them as a family and to Rocky as a wife, mother, daughter and woman. Once again Catherine Newman balances a perfect see saw of emotions that have you laughing one minute and crying the next. While I always find someone in her books to relate to I was drawn to Willa and the amazing relationship she has with her mom. A slim slice of life you wish would go on much longer which is the feeling I have after reading Ann Patchett, Ann Napolitano and Amor Towles. You yearn to have a seat in the kitchen drinking a cup of coffee with them talking about nothing in particular and totally escape. I highly recommend reading SANDWICH if you have not already but both are perfectly wonderful as a standalone. 5 stars 
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Put yourself in an old black and white Hitchcock film. We see a woman settling into her first class train seat, the gift from her husband, so she can work on her manuscript. She takes in her surroundings and is annoyed to find her seat mate is a talkative curmudgeon and a woman who used to be a friend but now considers her the enemy is also on the train. Can her trip get any worse? Add a dead body and a blizzard trapping them between Toronto and Montreal and you now have a classic Agatha Christie style murder mystery. As in other books by this author the pacing is perfect and full of false clues, half truths, morally questionable characters and plenty of theories that will have you thinking about the story well after the last page. The notes from the author and questions will open the door for lively book club discussion. 4 stars  Take an abandoned hotel in Switzerland, an art appraiser that can't get past a mistake as a child that caused her sister's death, magical objects and moving octopus tattoos, a brilliant composer whose mind is trapped in a war where he survived when others did not and add a way to travel back in time to find the truth and that is the basis for THE WHITE OCTOPUS HOTEL but the true beauty of this book is the mystical hotel itself which the author has described down to the last detail. The characters evolve as does Eve and Max's circular relationship as she travels back and forth through the years at the hotel. The story is clever, there is always a touch of the surreal with objects and people appearing at the corner of the eye and I loved how these broken people through guilt and regret found each other. If you have ever touched a wall in an old place and tried to glimpse what life must have been like then you will find the magic and time travel in this book irresistible. For fans of THE WARM HANDS OF GHOSTS and THE LISTENERS. 4 1/2 stars  Two magicians whose magic is stronger together than if they are apart, are called back to their old magic university to solve a situation of dark magic involving students. With one levitating in a semi-coma state and more on the horizon Cella and Max must deal with some powerful ancient magic with the clock ticking. Is it a case of too much power in the hands of inexperienced students or is a professor and fraternity caught up in something sinister. Cella and Max must work together despite a long separation, hard feelings and great danger to find a way to reverse a curse making this is the perfect mix of dark academia, danger and a "what could have been" romance. Fans of Dan Brown, Naomi Novik and THE SECRET HISTORY will enjoy this debut. 4 stars  The master of legal thrillers usually has protagonists who are clearly "good guys" but this novel had me on the fence for at least half of the book. Simon Latch is a small town attorney whose legal practice and marriage is hanging on by a thread. He is what I would consider borderline ethical in the sense that he does sports betting (illegal) and takes on an elderly client who would be a cash cow for him and is ripe for taking advantage of (morally wrong). What Simon doesn't count on is getting pulled into a murder rap when his client is poisoned. Suddenly the media, townspeople and the law all think he is guilty. Doing what Grisham does best is how Simon tries to find the real bad guy and get himself out of life in prison. 4 stars  A good spirited woman has a visit from the Spirit of Christmas Past... you know where this is going right? He happens to be in the form of a rugged, good looking man whose worst character flaw is that he is impatient to check Harriet off his to do list. Something doesn't sit right with Nolan about this assignment as Harriet seems to lack a mean bone in her body and her worst flaw is that she is an unselfish people pleaser. The clock is ticking and they have until Christmas to return to her memories and find out what she did wrong and get passed onto the next spirit. Their spirits and strong attraction to each other can't be wrong but what kind of future can they have? Wonderful writing, a clever reimagining of a holiday classic and just the seasonal spice to read as the weather takes on a chill and a big mug of peppermint cocoa at the ready. Fans of Emily Henry, the Hallmark channel and sappy holiday movies will love this. 4 1/2 stars  A wild ride through the much coveted and very exclusive sorority known only as "The House" and the new mom/adjunct professor Sloane who is struggling to find her identity and new demands. Sloane loves her new baby girl and handsome husband but overnight her already busy schedule shot to unattainable. She is expected to manage a baby, marriage, household, teaching schedule and faculty meetings plus submit an award winning academic paper or book to cement her chances of being asked to return teaching next term. She finds a lifeline in a group of alums from "The House" who ask her to be their faculty advisor and with it comes friendship and emotional support. However, when she does some digging for her new book idea she finds what is going on at "The House" less than appetizing. Feminist horror at its best and a terrific audiobook. 4 1/2 stars  A memoir-like novel of two generations of women - one born in China and one born in the US. Loo Shu-hsin from her birth in 1925 throughout her life was told that it was too bad she was born a girl because she would have gone far. She hears the cries of "bad bad girl" even through she is exceptionally bright and fortunate to have been given a good education . Loo, now called Agnes, travels to the states to pursue her Phd where her life takes a different path. She meets another Chinese student and after they marry and have children Agnes drops out of the Phd program.
Her story is like that of many women of the day both Chinese and American in that the man rules the household, was the major bread earner and it was the women's duty to put family and home first. When the author is born and is just as outspoken as her mother before her we hear the familiar "bad, bad girl" again. Themes of outspoken daughters forging a new path, mother/daughter relationships and the complexities of straddling two cultures for the promise of a better life are well covered in this deeply personal love letter to her mom and historical story. 4 stars Samantha has just proposed and been thoroughly rejected by her girlfriend Hannah who she thought was her soulmate. At the end of her rope Sam makes a deal with a very attractive demon - her soul in exchange for six wishes. She thinks she only needs one wish to make things perfect again with Hannah but with each try we see that nothing is really the way Sam thought it was. As Daphne helpfully points out the error of her ways with each wish the demon becomes more interested in making things right than snatching a soul. Quite the paranormal romcom mashup but fun with Daphne the demon with style. For fans of GOOD OMENS and Travis Baldree's LEGENDS & LATTES. 4 stars  College friends band together to help one of their own get out of a pickle that has him stealing priceless manuscripts to insure that his imprisoned mom is ok. The trouble is their solution is to summon an ancient dragon bent on total upheaval and one that demands they choose a blood sacrifice every year or become one as part of their deal. While King Sorrow does come in really handy for getting Arthur out of a jamb the price they must all pay over decades is steep. Friendships and more grow while other threads fray. King Sorrow begins to pick them off as the remaining members fight to send him back to where he came. Joe Hill takes real life situations and then counters with both good and evil creating characters we fall in love with and despise. To balance the horror he adds light humor and terrific dialogue. He is a master of the horror genre but readers who usually do not enjoy all the gore will find much to appreciate in the deep themes of friendship, power struggles and morality. The moral of the story is if you make a deal with the devil read the fine print first. 4 1/2 stars  |
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