A Moonbow Night

Author: Laura Frantz
Genre: Christian / Historical Fiction
Publisher: Baker Publishing Group, 2017 
Pages: 384 
Rating: Recommend

Synopsis: After fleeing Virginia, Temperance Tucker and her family established an inn along the Shawnee River. It's a welcome way station for settlers and frontiersmen traveling through the wild Cumberland region of Kentucke - men like Sion Morgan, a Virginia surveyor who arrives at the inn with his crew looking for an experienced guide. When his guide appears, Sion balks. He certainly didn't expect a woman. But it is not long before he must admit that Tempe's skill in the wilderness rivals his own. Still, the tenuous tie they are forming is put to the test as they encounter danger after danger and must rely on each other.

After fleeing Virginia, Temperance Tucker and her family established an inn along the Shawnee River. It's a welcome way station for settlers and frontiersmen traveling through the wild Cumberland region of Kentucke—men like Sion Morgan, a Virginia surveyor who arrives at the inn with his crew looking for an experienced guide. When his guide appears, Sion balks. He certainly didn't expect a woman. But it is not long before he must admit that Tempe's skill in the wilderness rivals his own. Still, the tenuous tie they are forming is put to the test as they encounter danger after danger and must rely on each other.

Review: Exactly what you’d expect from Laura Frantz. That said, I wanted more Sion and less James, so that the “new” relationship could have been more developed.

Laura Frantz novels are predictable and sweet. It's the journey, not the destination.

Other Laura Frantz Novels:
The Frontiersman's Daughter
The Colonel's Lady
Courting Morrow Little 
The Mistress of Tall Acre
A Bound Heart

The Ballantyne Legacy:
Love's Reckoning
Love's Awakening 
Love's Fortune

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone

Author: J. K. Rowling
Genre: Fiction
Publisher: Scholastic
Pages: 336
Rating: Recommend

Synopsis: Harry Potter has never been the star of a Quidditch team, scoring points while riding a broom far above the ground. He knows no spells, has never helped to catch a dragon, and has never worn a cloak of invisibility.

All he knows is a miserable life with the Dursley's, his horrible aunt and uncle, and their abominable son, Dudley - a great big swollen spoiled bully. Harry's room is a tiny closet at the foot of the stairs, and he hasn't had a birthday party in eleven years.

But all that is about to change when a mysterious letter arrives by owl messenger: a letter with an ivitation to an incredible place that Harry - and anoyone who reads about him - will find unforgettable.

For it's there that he find not only his friends, aerial sports, and magic in everything from classes to meals, but a great destiny that's been waiting for him. . .if Harry can survive the encounter.

Review: I may be the last person in the free world to read Harry Potter, but I told my oldest daughter, who's obsessed, that I would give it a try. I liked, didn't love. After reading Book 1, I don't get all the hype surrounding it, but I've heard the series improves with each book. It remains to be seen if I'll continue with it.

The Death of Mrs. Westaway

Author: Ruth Ware
Genre: Thriller
Publisher: Gallery/Scout Press, 2018
Pages: 384 
Rating: Recommend

Synopsis: On a day that begins like another any other, Hal receives a mysterious letter bequeathing her a substantial inheritance. She realizes very quickly that the letter was sent to the wrong person - but also that the cold-reading skills she's honed as a tarot card reader might help her claim the money.

Soon, Hal finds herself at the funeral of the deceased. . .where it dawns on her that there is something very, very wrong about this strange situation and the inheritance that's at the center of it.

Full of spellbinding menace and told in Ruth Ware's signature suspenseful style, this is an unputdownable thriller from the Agatha Christie of our time.

Review: I was not a Ruth Ware fan going into this. I hadn't been impressed with The Woman in Cabin 10. However, someone from one of my book groups recommended the audio version. Imogen Church is the narrator, and she didn't just read this, she performed it.

Now, the story itself. I liked it, but WHY? WHY did I have to guess the twist? To be fair, I didn’t have it all figured out, but enough. The Death of Mrs. Westaway wasn’t enough to make me a Ruth Ware fan, but it was good enough.

Ruth Ware Novels
The It Girl
The Lying Game - review coming soon
The Turn of the Key
The Woman in Cabin 10

The Blue Cotton Gown

Author: Patricia Harman
Genre: Memoir
Publisher: Beacon Press, 2008
Pages: 296
Rating: Recommend

Synopsis: As a nurse-midwife and the manager of a women's health clinic in West Virginia, Patricia "Patsy" Harman bears witness to the struggles and triumphs of every woman who walks through her exam room door. She sees Heather, a teenager pregnant with twins, through the loss of both babies and their father. She cares for Nila - a longtime patient who must try to make a new life without her abusive husband - and helps Kaz transition into a new body. The only thing more varied than these women's background are their stories, which they share with Patsy inside her small clinic, covered only a blue cotton gown.

In her memoir, Patsy juxtaposes these heartbreaking and uplifting tales with her own story of keeping a small medical practice solvent. She recounts conversations with her patients over the course of a year and a quarter - a time when her own life seems on the brink of collapse due to financial troubles, malpractice threats, serious medical problems, and marital strife.

Review: Not the best  memoir I’ve ever read, but I liked how it was structured. I read this in a few hours, so it wasn’t a huge commitment. I was expecting more midwifery, but this was more nurse practitioner. This also has a Hillbilly Elegy vibe. I liked it, but not enough to read the follow-up, Arms Wide Open.

Good choice for upping your book/page count, if you track that sort of thing.

River Bodies

Author: Karen Katchur
Genre: Thriller
Publisher: Amazon Publishing, 2018
Pages: 302
Rating: Do Not Recommend

Synopsis: A body just turned up in the small town of Portland, Pennsylvania. The crime is eerily similar to a twenty-year-old cold case: another victim, brutally murdered found in the Delaware River. Lead detective Parker Reed is intent on connecting the two murders, but the locals are on lockdown, revealing nothing.

The past meets the present when Becca Kingsley, who returns to Portland to be with her estranged by dying father, runs into Parker, her childhood love. As the daughter of the former police chief, Becca's quickly drawn into the case. Coming home has brought something ominous to the surface - memories long buried, secrets best kept hidden. Becca starts questioning all her past relationships, including one with a man who's watched over her for years. For the time, she wonders if he's more predator than protector.

In a small town where darkness hides in plain sight, the truth could change Becca's life - or end it.

Review: Page 1 opens with the murder scene, reminiscent of Melinda Leigh's Say You're Sorry. That novel was off and running at that point, this novel was not. I decided to read up to page 50, and then decide if I was going to keep reading, or not.

I thought around page 35 the book had some potential, but eventually that fizzled too. I just didn’t care about any of it...the characters, or what happened to them. Just a big ol’ snooze fest.

Side note, having grown up in Pennsylvania, I first wondered if Portland is an actual town here. It is.

Kate: A Biography

Author: Marcia Moody
Genre: Biography
Publisher: Michael O'Mara Books, 2013
Pages: 256
Rating: Recommend

Synopsis: Following the royal wedding, the Diamond Jubilee and the imminent birth of Kate and William's first baby, popular sentiment towards the royal family has rarely been higher. At the centre of this surge in affection is a woman who has captured the heart of a nation and who, at the side of her husband, Prince William, is ushering a new dawn for the United Kingdom's reigning family. For, due to planned amendments to the rules of accession to the British Crown, their first child, regardless of gender, will succeed William to the throne. This biography explores the life of the woman who has done so much to revitalize the public image of the royal family, covering her early years, her family, her time at St. Andrews University, and her meeting with Prince William, their early relationship and its trials, the wedding and her new official role, her style, and of course, her pregnancy. Besides being the perfect book for admirers of this remarkable young woman, Kate: A Biography, marks a crucial moment in the history of the royal line.

Review: Five years after publication, Kate and William are now the parents of three children, and settled into their roles as the stable, but still fashionable, married couple. Kate is my favorite royal, especially for her style, but also as a mom.

This wasn't the most exciting, best written biography, but I enjoyed it anyway. I'd like to read something published more recently about Kate.

All the Ever Afters

Author: Danielle Teller
Genre: Fiction
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers, 2018
Pages: 384
Rating: Recommend

Synopsis: We all know the story of Cinderella. Or do we?

As rumors about the cruel upbringing of the beautiful newlywed Princess Cinderella roil the kingdom, her stepmother, Agnes, who knows all too well about hardship, privately records the true story.

A peasant born into serfdom, Agnes is separated from her family and forced into servitude as a laundress's apprentice when she is only ten years old. Using her wits and ingenuity, she escapes her tyrannical matron and makes her way toward a hopeful future. When teenaged Agnes is seduced by an older man and becomes pregnant, she is transformed by love for her child. Once again left penniless, Agnes has no choice but to return to servitude as the manor she thought she had left behind. Her position is nursemaid to Ella, an otherworldly infant. She struggles to love the child who in time becomes her stepdaughter and, eventually, the celebrated princess who embodies everyone's unattainable fantasies. The story of their relationship reveals nothing is what it seems, that beauty is not always desirable, and that love can take on my guises.

Lyrically told, emotionally evocative, and brilliantly perceived, All the Ever Afters explores the hidden complexities that lie beneath classic tales of good and evil, all the while showing us that how we confront adversity reveals a more profound, and ultimately more important, truth than the idea of "happily ever after."

Review: It took me a chapter or two to go into the language and writing style, and I wondered if I was even going to like this book. I was rewarded for my tenacity. So enjoyable.

Where the Crawdads Sing

Author: Delia Owens
Genre: Historical Fiction
Publisher: Penguin Publishing Group, 2018
Pages: 384 (12 hours, 10 discs)
Rating: Recommend

Synopsis: For years, rumors of the "Marsh Girl" have haunted Barkley Cove, a quiet town on the North Carolina coast. So in late 1969, when handsome Chase Andrews is found dead, the locals immediately suspect Kya Clark, the so-called Marsh Girl. But Kya is not what they say. Sensitive and intelligent, she has survived for years alone in the marsh that she calls home, finding friends in the gulls and lessons in the sand. When the time comes she years to be touched and loved. When two young men from town become intrigued by her wild beauty, Kya opens herself up to a new life -- until the unthinkable happens.

Perfect for fans of Barbara Kingsolver and Karen Russell, Where the Crawdads Sing is at once an exquisite ode to the natural world, a heartbreaking coming-of-age story, and a surprising tale of possible murder. Owens reminds us that we are forever shaped by the children we once were, and that we all subject to the beautiful and violent secrets that nature keeps.

Review: This book was published in August, and almost immediately I saw rave reviews on Goodreads, and in my reading groups and book club. It seemed that everyone was loving it. I jumped onto my library's website to request, and the print book had a million holds on it. I opted for the audio version, which also received a high rating, since that list was much shorter.

I loved the writing style, imagery, and language. It's poetic and beautiful. For example, the opening paragraphs:

"Marsh is not swamp. Marsh is a space of light, where grass grows in water, and water flows to the sky. Slow-moving creeks wander, carrying the orb of teh sun with them to the sea, and long-legged birds lift with unexpected grace - as though not built to fly - against the roar of a thousand snow geese.

Then within the marsh, here and there, true swamp crawls into the low-lying bogs, hidden in clammy forests. Swamp water is still and dark, having swallowed the light in its muddy throat. Even night crawlers are diurnal in this lair. There are sounds, of course, but compared to the marsh, the swamp is quiet because decomposition in cellular work. Life decays and reeks and returns to the rotted duff; a poignant wallow of death begetting light."

The story continues in the same lyrical prose, but the story. The story left me wanting. The author pushed me to the point where I felt like something had better happen or I was going to scream, and then something did. Then it was more of the same marshy grasses, blue skies, and feathers. Just as I was starting to think, "let's move this along," she did.

Authors should never underestimate the power of a good editor. There were contradictions or holes in the details that jolted me out of the story every time. I felt the ending, the last 5-10% of the book were the strongest.

This is a book worth reading, but my favorite of the year? Not even close.

Pretending to Dance

Author: Diane Chamberlain
Genre: Fiction
Publisher: St. Martin's Press, 2015
Pages: 352
Rating: Recommend

Synopsis: Molly Arnette is very good at keeping secrets. She and her husband live in San Diego, where they hope to soon adopt a baby. But the process terrifies her.

As the questions and background checks come one after another, Molly worries that the truth she's kept hidden about her North Carolina childhood will rise to the surface and destroy not only her chance at adoption, but her marriage as well. She ran away from her family twenty years ago after a shocking event left her devastated and distrustful of those she loved: her mother, the woman who raised her and who Molly says is dead but is very much alive. Her birth mother whose mysterious presence raised so many issues. The father she adored, whose death sent her running from the small community of Morrison Ridge.

Now, as she tries to find a way to the make peace with her past and embrace a future filled with promise, she discovers that she doesn't even know the truth of what happened in her family of
pretenders.

Review: I like Diane Chamberlain novels so I don't know why this one didn't grab me sooner. Chamberlain is a clean writer, which to me means story lines make sense, loose ends are tied, there are no plot holes, suspension of belief is not required, and so on. 

I follow her on Facebook, and who she is a person, her interests and feelings come through in the books she writes. Her sister has MS, like the father in this book. She lived in San Diego for a time, like the main character does. She also draws upon Facebook fan input, which she even mentions in the acknowledgement section of this book.

Where I think this could have been tightened up was in the almost constant reference to, and reminder that this was set in, the 1990s. New Kids on the Block references on every other page, Doc Martens. . .there's plenty of variety when it comes things specific to the 1990s and repeatedly referencing the same handful of items became boring and seemed almost forced.

I also wish Molly had been a little older in the book for the things she experimented with, and did. I was 14 in the 1990s, and we were still young. Kids didn't grow up so fast then, doesn't every generation say that? But Molly was generally a "good" girl, and her age and general behavior didn't fit her attempt to rebel.

All in all, still a fan, and this was worth reading.

The Letter

Author: Kathryn Hughes
Genre: Fiction
Publisher: Headline Book Publishing, Limited, 2016
Pages: 416
Rating: Recommend

Synopsis: Tina Craig longs to escape her violent husband. She works all the hours God sends to save up enough money to leave him, also volunteering in a charity shop to avoid her unhappy home. Whilst going through the pockets of a second hand suit, she comes across an old letter, the envelope firmly sealed and unfranked. Tina opens the letter and reads it - a decision that will alter the course of her life forever. . .

Billy Stirling knows he has been a fool, but he hopes he can put things right. On 4th September 1939, he sits down to write the letter he hopes will change his future. It does - in more ways than he can ever imagine.

Review: Tragic, sweet, heartbreaking, and predictable. While it started slow, it picked up momentum, and I couldn't turn pages fast enough about midway through. 

Game of Crowns

Author: Christopher Andersen
Genre: Biography
Publisher: Gallery Books, 2016
Pages: 352
Rating: Recommend

Synopsis: A moving and compulsively readable look into the lives, loves, relationships, and rivalries among the three women at the heart of the British royal family today: Queen Elizabeth II, Camilla Parker-Bowles, and Kate Middleton.

One has been famous longer than anyone on the plant - a dutiful daughter, a frustrated mother, a doting grandmothers, a steel-willed taskmaster, a wily stateswoman, an enduring symbol of an institution that has lasted a thousand years, and a global icon who has not only been an eyewitness to history, but a part of it. 

One is the great-granddaughter of a King's mistress and one of the most family "other women" of the modern age - a woman who somehow survived a firestorm of scorn to ultimately marry the love of her life, and in the process replace her arch rival, one of the most beloved figures of the twentieth century.

One is a beautiful commoner, the university-educated daughter of a flight attendant-turned millionaire entrepreneur, a fashion scion the equal of her adored mother-in-law, and the first woman since King George V's wife, Queen Mary, to lay claim to being the daughter-in-law of one future king, the wife of another, and the mother of yet another.

Review: Let’s take a moment and be glad we’re not royal. Hot mess, all of them. And the way people jockey to become one? Weird.

Even though the beginning was strange, imagining the world following Queen Elizabeth's death, I couldn’t put this down. At the same time wish I wouldn't have read it. I prefer the shiny, polished side that we see in the media, not who they really are.

There were times I was giggling, shaking my head, and nearly wanting to cry, all on the same page. There is no way William and Harry can be easy men to be married to and live with; not with their childhood. Charles and Diana's marriage, and especially that two children had to grow up in that dysfunction was heartbreaking.

I was also surprised to learn that William and Kate's relationship did not develop as organically as I thought it had. Kate's mother made sure Kate attended the same college, and orchestrated their relationship, to some degree. Fortunately, Kate and William do seem to be in love, despite these machinations.

Camilla Parker-Bowles is something else, but my least favorite member of the family is Charles. What.a.dog. There were some interesting tidbits about him.

I wish this book would have been published after Meghan Markle joined the family, but she would have been outside the scope of this novel anyway, I suppose. Harry was barely mentioned as well.

Without Merit

Author: Colleen Hoover
Genre: Fiction
Publisher: Atria Books, 2017
Pages: 384
Rating: Recommend

Synopsis: The Voss family is anything but normal. They live in a re-purposed church, newly baptized Dollar Voss. The once cancer-stricken mother lives in the basement, the father is married to the mother's former nurse, the little half-brother isn't allowed to do or eat anything fun, and the eldest siblings are irritatingly perfect. Then, there's Merit. 

Merit Voss collects trophies she hasn't earned and secrets her family forces her to keep. While browsing the local antiques shop for her next trophy, she finds Sagan. His wit and unapologetic idealism disarm and spark renewed life into her - until she discovers that he's completely unavailable. Merit retreats deeper into herself, watching her family from the sidelines, when she learns a secret that no trophy in the world can fix.

Fed up with the lies, Merit decides to shatter the happy family illusion that she's never been a part of before leaving them behind for good. When her escape plan fails, Merit is forced to deal with the staggering consequences of telling the truth and losing the one boy she loves.

Review: I sat down with a stack of books intending to read the first chapter of each, to see which one seemed to have promise. Right out of the gate this book grabbed me with it's quirkiness. The quirks, are intentional and deliberate, and I really appreciated the author's sense of humor and style of writing.

Despite the quirks, and moments when I giggled out loud, this is not light reading. Without Merit touches on some dark themes, although some suspension of belief may be required.

I would read more by this author.

Winter in Paradise

Author: Elin Hilderbrand
Genre: Fiction
Publisher: Little, Brown, and Company, 2018
Pages: 320 (9 discs)
Rating: Recommend

Synopsis: Irene Steele shares her idyllic life in a beautiful Iowa City Victorian house with a husband who loves her to sky-writing, sentimental extremes. But as she rings in the new year one cold and snowy night, everything she thought she knew falls to pieces with a shocking phone call: her beloved husband, away on business, has been killed in a plane crash. Before Irene can even process the news, she must first confront the perplexing details of her husband's death on the distance Caribbean island of St. John.

After Irene and her sons arrive at this faraway paradise, they make yet another shocking discovery: her husband has been living a secret life. As Irene untangles a web of intrigue and deceit, and as she and her sons find themselves drawn into the vibrant island culture, they have to face the truth about their family, and about their own futures.

Rich with the lush beautify of the tropics and the drama, romance, and intrigue only Elin Hildebrand can deliver, Winter in Paradise is a truly transporting novel, and the exciting start to a new series.

Review: I didn't realize this was Elin's newest book until I started this entry. I've read and enjoyed her novels in the past, and just wanted something set in warmer weather since winter is definitely upon us here in Pittsburgh.

The thing with Hilderbrand's books is that I like them, but they don't stay with me long term. I guess it's impossible to think every book could, but as fun as these are to read, they're forgettable. Winter in Paradise is no different.

First, what's in a name? The names in this book made me crazy. I felt like I was reading a bodice ripper. Cash and Baker are brothers, but there's nothing about Russ and Irene's personalities, or relationship that can explain such unusual names (although eventually the reader is given an explanation). Floyd is Baker's 4 year old son. Marilyn Monroe is Russ' secretary. Ayers (pronounced Airs) and Huck are thrown in with a more traditional Rosie. They're all just such odd, seemingly random choices. And, they're distracting.

Now, the story. I liked it. The characters, despite their odd names, are (mostly) likeable. Plus, it's just nice to read a tropical story in the middle of winter.

Be aware that this is the first book in a trilogy, and that if you are seeking resolution, you'll have to commit to reading all three books. I borrow my books from the library so there's no cost involved, as long as I get my books returned in time. However, readers who bought this book were frustrated with this format, that this first book felt like an installment, rather than a complete story.

Other Elin Hilderbrand Novels:
The Five-Star Weekend
Summer of '69
The Blue Bistro
Golden Girl
The Hotel Nantucket
The Island
The Castaways

The Winter Street Series
Winter Street
Winter Stroll
Winter Storms
Winter Solstice

The Winter in Paradise Trilogy
Winter in Paradise
What Happens in Paradise
Troubles in Paradise

American Princess

Author: Leslie Carroll
Genre: Biography
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers, 2018
Pages: 256
Rating: Recommend

Synopsis: When Prince Harry of Wales took his American girlfriend, Meghan Markle, to have tea with his grandmother the queen, avid royal watchers had a hunch that a royal wedding was not far off. That prediction came true on November 27, 2017, when the gorgeous, glamorous twosome announced their engagement to the world. As they prepare to tie the knot in a stunning ceremony on May 19, 2018, that will be unprecedented in royal history, people are clamoring to know more about the beautiful American who captured Prince Harry's heart.

Born and raised in Los Angeles to a white father of German, English, and Irish descent, and an African American mother whose ancestors had  been enslaved on a Georgia plantation, Meghan has proudly embraced her biracial heritage. In addition to being the star of the popular television series Suits, she is devoted to her humanitarian work - a passion she shares with Harry. Though Meghan was married once before, Prince Harry is a modern royal, and the Windsors have welcomed her into the tight-knit clan they call "The Firm." Even a generation ago, it would have been unthinkable, as well as impermissible, for any member of Great Britain's royal family to consider marrying someone like Meghan. Professional actresses were considered scandalous and barely respectable. And the last time an American divorcee married into the Royal Family, it provoked a constitutional crisis!

In American Princess, Leslie Carroll provides context to Harry and Meghan's romance by leading readers through centuries of Britain's rule-breaking royal marriages, as well as the love matches that were never permitted to make it to the altar; followed by a never-before-seen glimpse into the little-known life of the woman bring the Royal Family into the 21st century, and her dazzling, though thoroughly modern romance with Prince Harry.

Review: This was on display at my library, and I figured I'd give it a try. I knew Harry and Meghan announced their engagement in November 2017, which is also a special month for my husband and I. We met in November (2011), and were married in November (2013). Since our five year anniversary is coming up at the end of this week, I thought this would be a fun read.

I was not impressed with Meghan: A Hollywood Princess, which I read in October, and, if you follow the link you can read my full review. This, however, was cute. In alternating chapters, the author details Harry and Meghan's childhoods and formative years. This was both entertaining and informative.

If there's one criticism, it's that the title is misleading. This isn't just about Meghan, the American Princess.

The Warmth of Other Suns

Author: Isabel Wilkerson
Genre: Non-fiction
Publisher: Brilliance Audio, 2013
Pages: 640 (18 discs)
Rating: Recommend

Synopsis: In this epic, beautifully written masterwork, Pulitzer Prize-winning author Isabel Wilkerson chronicles one of the great untold stories of American history: the decades-long migration of black citizens who fled the South for northern and western cities, in search of a better life. From 1915 to 1970, this exodus of almost six million people changed the face of America. Wilkerson compares this epic migration to the migrations of other peoples in history. She interviewed more than a thousand people, and gained access to new data and official records, to write this definitve and vividly dramatic account of how these American journeys unfolded, altering our cities, our country, and ourselves. 

With stunning and historical detail, Wilkerson tells this story through the lives of three unique individuals: Ida Mae Gladney, who in 1937 left sharecropping and prejudice in Mississippi for Chicago, where she achieved quiet blue-collar success and, in old age, voted for Barack Obama when he ran for an Illinois Senate seat; sharp and quick-tempered George Starling, who in 1945 fled Florida for Harlem, where he endangered his job fighting for civil rights, saw his family fall, and finally found peace in God; and Robert Foster, who left Louisiana in 1953 to pursue a medical career, the personal physician to Ray Charles as part of a glitteringly successful medical career, which allowed him to purchase a grand home where he often through exuberant parties.

Wilkerson brilliantly captures their first treacherous and exhausting cross-country trips by car and train and their new lives in colonies that grew into ghettos, as well as how they changed these cities with southern food, faith, and culture and improved them with discipline, drive, and hard work. Both a riveting microcosm and major assessment, The Warmth of Other Suns is a bold, remarkable, and riveting work, a superb account of an "unrecognized immigration" within our own land. Through the breadth of its narrative, the beauty of the writing, the depth of its research, and the fullness of the people and lives portrayed herein, this book is destined to become a classic.

Review: Now that I'm commuting to and from the office five days a week, rather than just the three days I had done for the last few years, I decided to dive into some of the thicker books in my To Be Read stack. Audio books make the drive faster and more interesting. And, just to note, I get through about one disc per day during my drive.

I had started this book a couple years ago, but it's thick, and before I could get too far into it, it was due back at the library. Now seemed like the perfect opportunity to pick it up again.

I wish it had been organized by differently. An overview and history of the migration itself, followed by each of the migrants' stories. Instead it was arranged by theme leading to repetition and lots of jumping around. The information and the narrative were great, but the organization is what caused me to give this a Recommend rating versus a Highly Recommend rating. 

I learned so much. Definitely a worthwhile read. There is a lot of information to internalize and digest. I have a certain clarity after listening to this novel.

What I've Done

Author: Melinda Leigh
Genre: Thriller
Publisher: Amazon Publishing, 2018
Pages: 336
Rating: Highly Recommend

Synopsis: Haley Powell wakes up covered in blood, with no memory of the night before. When she sees a man lying in the backyard, stabbed to death, she has only one terrified thought: What have I done?

Agreeing to take the case as a favor to her PI friend Lincoln Sharp, Morgan must scale a mountain of damning circumstantial  and forensic evidence to prove her client innocent. Haley couldn't appear more guilty: her bloodstained fingertips are on the murder weapon, and she has no alibi. But Morgan can't shake the feeling that this shocked young woman has been framed.

Someone out there is hell-bent on sabotaging her defense, targeting Morgan, her partner, and especially Haley. Someone who will stop at nothing-and whose next move will be deadly.

Review: This series is still going strong. In fact, I thought this was even better than the last book, which I thoroughly enjoyed. 

Book #5 isn't due out until next spring. It's going to be an even longer winter now.

The Morgan Dane Series
1 Say You're Sorry
2 Her Last Goodbye
3 Bones Don't Lie
4 What I've Done
5 Secrets Never Die
6 Save Your Breath

Carnegie's Maid

Author: Marie Benedict
Genre: Historical Fiction
Publisher: Sourcebooks, 2018
Pages: 352
Rating: Recommend

Synopsis: Clara Kelley is not who they think she is. She's not the experienced Irish maid who was hired to work in one of Pittsburgh's grandest households. She's a poor farmer's daughter with nowhere to go and nothing in her pockets. But the other woman with the same name has vanished, and pretending to be her just might get Clara some money to send back home.

If she can keep up the ruse, that is. Serving as a lady's maid in the household of Andrew Carnegie requires skills she doesn't have, answering to an icy mistress who rules her sons and her domain with an iron fist. What Clara does have is resolve as strong as the steel Pittsburgh is becoming famous for, coupled with an uncanny understanding of business, and Andrew begins to rely on her. But Clara can't let her guard down, not even when Andrew becomes something more than an employer. Revealing her past might ruin her future, and her family's.

With captivating insight and heart, Carnegie's Maid tells the story of one brilliant woman who may have spurred Andrew Carnegie's transformation from ruthless industrialist into the world's first true philanthropist.

Review: This is an American Downton Abbey, set in city I have called home for almost 20 years. Pittsburgh is also the city my mother's side of the family settled in after their arrival as immigrants in the early 1900s from Ireland, England, Poland, and Germany.

Local author, Marie Benedict, brings Carnegie alive, and we see another side of him that isn't widely known. I haven't researched how much of this book is fiction versus fact, and I don't think I want to. I loved the story, and choose to believe it all happened, exactly like this ;-)

I was all set to give this book five stars and a "Highly Recommend" rating, but then I read the last chapter. It barely seemed to fit the rest of the book. I suffered some kind of whiplash with how abruptly the author switched gears and ended the story. I'll have to spend some time thinking about how I would have transitioned to the conclusion, because I'm not sure myself at this point. However, I do know there were alternative ways. Still, this novel deserves a strong "Recommend" rating.

In some ways Carnegie's Maid is reminiscent of another book I read years ago and loved, The Valley of Decision.

Other Marie Benedict novels:
The Only Woman in the Room
The Mystery of Mrs Christie

Alaskan Holiday

Author: Debbie Macomber
Genre: Fiction / Christmas
Publisher: Random House Publishing Group, 2018
Pages: 256
Rating: Recommend

Synopsis: Before beginning her new job as sous chef at one of Seattle's finest restaurants, Josie Stewart takes on a six-month position cooking at a lodge in an Alaskan lake town. It's only temporary - or so she thinks, as she becomes a valued part of the community, failing in love with the people who call Klutina Lake home. But on Alaskan man, in particular, stands out among Josie's new friends: Palmer Saxon, a quiet, intense sword craftsman, who very existence forces her to question whether her heart wants to return to Washington at all - or make Alaska her home.

Review: It's a Hallmark movie in hardback!

The character of Jack was a little overdone and his antics were eye roll worthy, but Palmer and Josie were cute enough to compensate. I wish I had met them earlier in their relationship in order to have a stronger connection to them.

This novel was exactly what I expected: light, cute, and a quick read.

Alaska has always fascinated me, but even more so since reading The Great Alone. It was fun to read another in that setting.

Ravel

Author: Jean Echenoz
Genre: Biography
Publisher: The New Press, 2005
Pages: 117
Rating: Do Not Recommend

Synopsis: Ravel is a beguiling and original evocation of the last ten years in the life of the musical genius Ravel, written by novelist Jean Echenoz.

The book opens in 1928 as Maurice Ravel - dandy, eccentric, curmudgeon - cross the Atlantic aboard the luxury liner the SS France to begin his triumphant grand tour of the United States. A "master magician of the French novel: (The Washington Post), Echenoz captures the folly of the era as well as its genius, including Ravel's personal life - sartorially and socially splendid - as well as his most successful compositions from 1927 to 1937. 

Illuminated by flashes of Echenoz's characteristically sly humor, Ravel is a delightfully quirky portrait of a famous musician coping with the ups and downs of his illustrious career. It is also a beautifully written novel that's a deeply touching farewell to a dignified and lonely man going reluctantly into the night. 

Review: I don't know why the shortest books are often the longest to read. At only 117 pages, I should have been able to blow right through this novel, but no. It took a week at a chapter a day. There were interesting parts, and even parts that made me giggle, but as a whole, boring. Why?

I found this during a rare opportunity to browse library bookshelves. Typically I request books online, and just stop at the library's front desk to pick up my latest stack of holds.

The Dream Daughter

Author: Diane Chamberlain
Genre: Fiction
Publisher: St. Martin's Press, 2018
Pages: 384
Rating: Highly Recommend

Synopsis: When Carly Sears, a young woman widowed by the Vietnam War, receives the news that her unborn baby has a heart defect, she is devastated. It is 1970, and she is told that nothing can be done to help her child. But her brother-in-law, a physicist with a mysterious past, tells her that perhaps there is a way to save her baby. What he suggests is something that will shatter ever preconceived notion that Carly has. Something that will require a kind of strength and courage she never knew existed. Something that will mean an unimaginable leap of faith on Carly's part.

And all for the love of her unborn child.

The Dream Daughter is a rich, genre-spanning, breathtaking novel about one mother's quest to save her child, unite her family, and believe in the unbelievable. Diane Chamberlain pushes the boundary of faith and science to deliver a novel that you will never forget.

Review: Diane Chamberlain is one of my go-to authors because she doesn't disappoint. The Dream Daughter captured my attention in the prologue, and it was hard to put down. 

This is my new favorite Diane Chamberlain novel. I loved it so much, and I read the last few chapters slowly, not wanting to leave this characters behind.

Time travel is a new theme for Chamberlain, and also not something I typically buy into, but she pulled it off masterfully.

I'm finding out I really enjoy reading books set in the 1970s as well. Check out Kristin Hannah's The Great Alone for another.

Other Books by Diane Chamberlain:
The Stolen Marriage
Reflection
Summer's Child
Necessary Lies

She Can Run

Author: Melinda Leigh
Genre: Thriller
Publisher: Amazon Publishing, 2011
Pages: 288
Rating: Recommend

Synopsis: Elizabeth was a young widow with two small children when she met Congressman Richard Baker. Handsome and wealthy, with a sparkling public image, Richard seemed like the perfect man to provide the security that Beth and her kids were craving. But when she uncovers a dangerous secret about her new husband, Beth realizes he will go to any lengths—even murder—to keep it. After barely escaping with her life, she and her children flee. They eventually make their way to a secluded estate in the Pennsylvania countryside, where Beth dares to hope she has found a safe place at last…

Forced into retirement by an unexpected injury, Philadelphia homicide detective Jack O’Malley is mourning the loss of his career when his uncle abruptly dies, leaving Jack to dispose of his crumbling country house. Unbeknownst to him, his uncle engaged a caretaker just before his death, a mysterious woman with two children and a beautiful face that haunts his dreams. Determined to know her, Jack begins an investigation into Beth’s past. When he uncovers the shocking truth, and a local woman is viciously murdered, Jack puts his own life on the line to keep Beth and her children safe.

A 2012 International Thriller Award nominee for Best First Novel, She Can Run is a sexy, satisfying debut from award-winning author Melinda Leigh, packed with enough suspense and romance to get even the tamest heart racing!

Review: If this was the first book I read by this author, I probably would not think she was one of the best authors of thrillers that I've ever read, BUT, it is not. I started reading her Morgan Dane series this summer, and loved it. When I exhausted that series, I decided to try this one.

I was not surprised to learn She Can Run was the first novel this author had published. She's grown as an author, which I love. However, I can appreciate the criticism I've read about this book, but I still enjoyed it. Something about Leigh's storytelling just pulls me right in. I've already requested the second book in this series, She Can Tell.

The War Outside

Author: Monica Hesse
Genre: Historical Fiction / Young Adult
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, 2018
Pages: 336
Rating: Do Not Recommend

Synopsis: It's 1944, and World War II is raging across Europe and the Pacific. The war seemed far away from Margot in Iowa and Haruko in Colorado—until they were uprooted to dusty Texas, all because of the places their parents once called home: Germany and Japan.

Haruko and Margot meet at the high school in Crystal City, a "family internment camp" for those accused of colluding with the enemy. The teens discover that they are polar opposites in so many ways, except for one that seems to override all the others: the camp is changing them, day by day and piece by piece. Haruko finds herself consumed by fear for her soldier brother and distrust of her father, who she knows is keeping something from her. And Margot is doing everything she can to keep her family whole as her mother's health deteriorates and her rational, patriotic father becomes a man who distrusts America and fraternizes with Nazis.

With everything around them falling apart, Margot and Haruko find solace in their growing, secret friendship. But in a prison the government has deemed full of spies, can they trust anyone—even each other?

Review: Marketed toward those in the 12-17 year old range, this is written in a style more suited to older children, but the plot would be more compelling to those on the younger side of that range. It's an odd mix. 

I like young adult historical fiction, and factually speaking, I did learn something from this novel. I knew Japanese-Americans had been sent to concentration camps following the bombing of Pearl Harbor, but I was unaware that Germans were also imprisoned. Since that was all I took away from this novel, you can skip it since I just told you everything I learned. 

The plot wasn't exciting or compelling. Some of the supporting characters were unexplained and seemed out of place. This isn't one that I'd try to convince my own (nearly) 12 year old that she should read.

Meghan: A Hollywood Princess

Author: Andrew Morton
Genre: Biography
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing, 2018
Pages: 272
Rating: Do Not Recommend

Synopsis: Women who smash the royal mold have always fascinated the public, from Grace Kelly to Pricess Diana. Now acclaimed royal biographer Andrew Morton, the New York Times bestselling author of Diana: Her True Story, brings us a revealing, juicy, and inspiring look at Meghan Markle, the confident and charismatic duchess whose warm and affectionate engagement interview won the hearts of the world.

When Meghan Markle and Prince Harry were set up by a mutual friend on a blind date in July 2016, little did they know that the resulting whirlwind romance would lead to their engagement in November 2017 and marriage in May 2018.

Morton goes back to Meghan's roots to uncover the story of her childhood growing up in The Valley in Los Angeles, her studies at an all-girls Catholic school, and her fraught family life-a painful experience mirrored by Henry's own background. Morton also delves into her previous marriage and divorce in 2013, her struggles in Hollywood as her mixed heritage was used against her, her big break in the hit TV show Suits, and her work for a humanitarian ambassador-the latter so reminiscent of Princess Diana's passions. Finally we see how the royal romance played out across two continents but was fiercely kept secret, before the news finally broke and Meghan was thrust into the global media's spotlight.

Drawing on exclusive interviews with her family members and closest friends, and including never-before-seen photographs, Morton introduces us to the real Meghan as he reflects on the impact that she has already had on the rigid traditions of the House of Windsor, as well as what the future might hold.

Review: I'm a huge Kate Middleton fan, but I want to love Meghan too. However, this book did her no favors. Morton didn't always show her in the most favorable light, and while I give Meghan props for climbing as she did, she hurt a lot of people in the process.

As only 272 pages, this should have been a fast read, and some chapters were. Overall, I give this five yawns ;-)