March 31, 2019
I read ten books in March and abandoned one. Titles are listed in order of my star ratings. Although I didn’t have any full five star reads, it was still a good reading month.
*Titles are Amazon affiliate links and available reviews are linked.
Beantown Girls by Jane Healey
Genre: WW11 Historical Fiction
4.5 Stars (rounded to 5 Stars on Goodreads)
Find my full review here. (more…)
March 29, 2019
coffee…doughnuts…dancing…friendship…courage…determination…romance…
Genre/Categories: Historical Fiction, WW11, Red Cross Clubmobiles, Romance
*This post contains Amazon affiliate links.
In Beantown Girls, three best friends conspire to serve their country during WW11 by joining the Red Cross as Clubmobile girls: Fiona is admired for her organizational and leadership skills; Viviana is adventuresome and outspoken; and Dottie is a shy music teacher. Healey uses a linear timeline to tell the story from Fiona’s point of view, and we soon discover that Fiona’s primary objective in this venture is to find more information about her fiance who is missing in action. To qualify as Clubmobile girls, the young women were chosen for their inner strength and outer charm, but none of them were prepared for the realities of war or the front lines. In addition to the Clubmobile story line focus, there is a bit of romance for the girls, too.
March 27, 2019
Genre/Categories: Non Fiction, Memoir, Ancestry, Bioethics, Jewish
Family secrets….bioethics…..if you send in a DNA sample to Ancestry on a lark, be prepared for truth.
*This post contains Amazon affiliate links.
Receiving DNA results from Ancestry propels a determined and persistent Dani Shapiro into a quest for identity and paternity. Shapiro thoughtfully unravels family secrets as she explores the meaning of love versus biology, a new cultural heritage, and family bonds. The story behind Shapiro’s discovery is not what you might expect and I won’t spoil that part of the story for you. You will want to know, though, that the ethical considerations that she brings up are worthy of discussion and careful thought.
March 25, 2019
Genre/Categories: Contemporary Fiction, African-American Literature, Mothers/Daughters, Sisters, Family Life
The Care and Feeding of Ravenously Hungry Girls shares the compelling and multilayered story of the three Butler sisters: Althea, Viola, and Lillian. Althea was a teenager when her mother died and the children were faced with living with their unstable and often absent father. As the oldest, Althea shouldered the burden of caring for her younger siblings. As adults, they each deal with their traumatic childhood in different ways. To the shock of the community, Althea and her husband face some serious criminal charges and years in prison. Viola and Lillian rally to care for Althea’s children. The story is told from three perspectives as we learn more about the family secrets and childhood trauma.
March 22, 2019
Genre/Categories: Historical Fiction, Thriller, San Francisco, 1888 Asylum, Sisters
Thanks to #NetGalley @Sourcebooks for a complimentary eARC of #woman99 by @theladygreer upon my request. All opinions are my own.
*This post contains Amazon affiliate links.
What would you do for your sister?
In the historical fiction thriller, Woman 99, two sisters living a life of privilege suddenly find themselves in a dire situation. Their parents have committed Charlotte’s older sister to an insane asylum because of her pattern of mood swings and a recent emotional outburst. Charlotte is on a quest to rescue her sister from the insane asylum. Inspired by real-life Nellie Bly, Charlotte manages to get herself committed to the asylum by staging a fake suicide attempt. Once inside she experiences troubling events, conducts a desperate search for her sister, decides to enlist help from a risky source, attempts a harrowing rescue, and risks her life.
March 19, 2019
Genre/Categories: Women’s Fiction, Southern Fiction, Romance, Small Town Life, Mothers/Daughters
Thanks to #NetGalley #ThomasNelsonPublishers for my free copy of #GloryRoad by @LaurenKDentonBooks @laurenkdenton in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
*This post contains Amazon affiliate links.
Glory Road shares the story of three generations of women from the same family during one summer of their lives on Glory Road as they work toward building trusting and loving relationships with each other and also forging the path of their individual lives and future. While some characters are stereotypical, the main characters are well drawn and seem like friends. We are able to empathize with the grandmother’s fear and feelings of distress as she experiences episodes of dementia; we understand the pressure Jessie feels as a single, working, entrepreneurial mom; and we remember how it felt to be a teenager through the experiences of fourteen-year-old Evan.
March 19, 2019
Image Source: Canva
I’m linking up today with That Artsy Reader Girl: Top Ten Tuesday: 10 Books on My Spring 2019 TBR.
I have two books to finish from my Winter TBR, and they’ve been on my TBR for so long that it’s too embarrassing to add them to yet another TBR. So 84, Charing Cross Road and its sequel will be my priority before any book on this list!
***UPDATE: finished these two reads…both 3 stars.
Keep in mind that I’m not yet recommending the books on this list…..check back often though because I will provide updates and links to reviews as I read them. In no particular order, here is my Spring 2019 TBR list.
*Titles are Amazon affiliate links.
March 15, 2019
Genre/Categories: Historical Fiction, the Depression, Family Life
*This post contains Amazon affiliate links.
‘2 Children For Sale’ is the sign that captures a rookie newspaper reporter’s interest in 1931. The picture that he snaps of the sign and the children on a dilapidated farmhouse porch leads to his big break and a promotion. The publication of the picture has unintended consequences, and the reporter and a colleague set out to right the wrong and reunite the family. This is an imagined story of a real photograph that appeared in a newspaper during The Depression.
March 12, 2019
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I’m linking up today with That Artsy Reader Girl for Top Ten Tuesday: 10 Books That Need a Sequel. *This post contains Amazon affiliate links.
Have you read a book and thought “I wish there had been a little bit more closure?” Then do you think about the book and the ending for a few days as you mull over various ways it could have ended or do the characters linger in your mind for days and you worry about them? It’s not that you were unhappy with the ending, but you were simply left wanting more. I have listed a few books below that made me wish for a sequel. Do you agree with any of my picks? What books would you put on your list?
(listed in no particular order…..titles are Amazon affiliate links)
What were the three words?!
(not reviewed because it was read before I was active on Goodreads and before my blog)
(more…)
March 10, 2019
Image Source: Canva
Inspired by Women’s History Month, which was established to amplify women’s voices and value their contributions to history, I searched through my reading lists to find stories about inspirational women whom we can celebrate during Women’s History Month. Titles are Amazon links and my available reviews are linked.
*This post contains Amazon affiliate links.
In no particular order….
This fictionalized biographical narrative of Eliza Hamilton, reveals her vital contributions to U. S. History in her role as Mrs. Alexander Hamilton. Review
