Hester

Author: Laurie Lico Albanese
Genre: Fiction
Publisher: St. Martin's Publishing Group, 2022
Pages: 336
Rating: Highly Recommend

Synopsis: Isobel Gamble is a young seamstress carrying generations of secrets when she sets sail from Scotland in the early 1800s with her husband, Edward. An apothecary who has fallen under the spell of opium, his pile of debts have forced them to flee Glasgow for a fresh start in the New World. But only days after they've arrived in Salem, Edward abruptly joins a departing ship as a medic - leaving Isobel penniless and alone in a strange country, forced to make her own way by any means possible.

When she meets a young Nathaniel Hawthorne, the two are instantly drawn to each other: he is a man haunted by his ancestors who sent innocent women to the gallows - while she is an unusually gifted needleworker, troubled by her own strange talents. As the weeks pass and Edward's safe return grows increasingly unlikely, Nathaniel and Isobel grow closer and closer. Together, they are a muse and a dark storyteller; the enchanter and the enchanted. But which is which.

Review: I remember The Scarlet Letter being one of my favorite required reading books in high school, and this imagined back story was not only fun, but also not implausible.

First, let's talk about the cover. The cover artwork is stunning. The colors and detail are eyecatching, and illustrate the heart (core) of the novel beautifully.

Normally I am not a fan of including sex scenes in books set during this time period. It was a hidden side of the times, and including sex seems like a money grab, ie sex sells. However, how would one write a book about Hawthorne's inspiration for The Scarlet Letter, and his possible relationship to (with) her without sex? That is the entire basis for The Scarlet Letter. 

Underlying themes/events also drew me in - readers get a real sense of what New England was like when every aspect of daily lives and livelihoods revolved around ships and shipping industry. The atrocities of slavery and the early days of the Underground Railroad are also mentioned. 

This is a complex and encompassing novel. The author certainly packs a punch in 336 pages.

Weaving Sundown in a Scarlet Light

Author: Joy Harjo
Genre: Poetry
Publisher: Norton, W. W. & Company, Inc., 2022
Pages: 160
Rating: Recommend

Synopsis: Harjo selected her best poems from across fifty years, beginning with her early discoveries of her own voice and ending with moving reflections on our contemporary moment. Her poems are musical, intimate, political, and wise, intertwining ancestral memory and tribal histories with resilience and love.

Review: I haven't read poetry since college, but I was looking for books to celebrate Native American Heritage Month, and this seemed like a good option. It was the week of Thanksgiving and we had out-of-town guests visiting. I knew I wouldn't have a ton of time for reading so I decided to give poetry a try.

Since I don't read poetry, I feel underqualified to rate this, but I did like the notes the author included at the end for each poem. I didn't realize this information was available until I was almost finished with the collection. I would have preferred these notes either before or after each poem throughout the book, rather than at the end.

The Husband Hour

Author: Jamie Brenner
Genre: Fiction
Publisher: Little, Brown, and Company, 2019
Pages: 384
Rating: Recommend

Synopsis: Lauren Adelman and her high school sweetheart, Rory Kincaid, are a golden couple. They marry just out of college as Rory, a star hockey player, earns a spot in the NHL. Their future could not look bright when Rory shocks everyone-Lauren most of all-by enlisting in the US Army. When Rory dies in combat, Lauren is left devastated, alone, and under unbearable public scrutiny.

Seeking peace and solitude, Lauren retreats to her family's old beach house on the Jersey Shore. But this summer she's forced to share the house with her overbearing mother and competitive sister. Worse, a stranger making a documentary about Rory tracks her down and persuades her to give him just an hour to talk about her husband. . .

One hour with filmmaker Matt Brio turns into a summer of revelations, surprises, and upheaval. As the days grow shorter and her grief changes shape, Lauren begins to understand the past-and to welcome the future.

Review: I hadn't planned on it being so long before I read another Jamie Brenner novel (I read Forever Summer in 2017). I like this author. Interesting story lines and relatable characters.

Other Jamie Brenner Novels:
Blush
Drawing Home
Gilt
Summer Longing
The Forever Summer

Christmas Eve at Friday Harbor

Author: Lisa Kleypas
Genre: Fictions
Publisher: St. Martin's Publishing Group, 2012
Pages: 224
Rating: Recommend

Synopsis: One rain-slicked night, six year old Holly lost the only parent she knew, her beloved mother Victoria. And since that night, she has never spoken a word. 

The last thing Mark Nolan needs is a six-year-old girl in his life. But he soon realizes that he will do everything he can to make her life whole again. His sister's will give him the instructions: There's no other choice but you. Just start by loving her. The rest will follow.

Maggie Collins doesn't believe in love again, after losing her husband of one year. But she does believe in the magic of imagination. As the owner of a toy shop, she lives what she loves. And when she meets Holly Nolan, she sees a little girl in desperate need of a little magic.

Three lonely people. Three lives at the crossroads. Three people who are about to discover that Christmas is the time of year when anything is possible, and when wishes have a way of finding the path home. . . 

Review: Tis the Season. Who are we kidding? I read Christmas books all year long. This was cute. It's a movie on Hallmark, Christmas with Holly, but since I don't have that channel, I won't be able to watch it. 

I did look it up on youtube, and with the exception of Holly, the characters looked nothing like I had imagined so that's the end of that.

Heart Berries

Author: Terese Marie Mailhot
Genre: Memoir
Publisher: Catapult, 2019
Pages: 160
Rating: Do Not Recommend

Synopsis: Having survived a profoundly dysfunctional upbringing only to find herself hospitalized and facing a dual diagnosis of post traumative stress disorder and bipolar II disorder, Terese Marie Mailhot is given a notebook and begins to write her way out of trauma. The triumphant result is Heart Berries, a memorial for Mailhot's mother, a social worker and activist who had a thing for prisoners; a story of reconciliation with her father - an abusive drunk and a brilliant artist - who was murdered under mysterious circumstances; and an elegy on how difficult it is to love someone while dragging the long shadows of shame.

Review: I did not care for the author's stream-of-consciousness writing style. I believe she has a story to tell, but this jumped around a lot and at times I didn't know who she was talking about, or what time of her life she was recounting. Disappointing, but it's a check mark on my read for Native American Heritage month.

The Impossible Lives of Greta Wells

Author: Andrew Sean Greer
Genre: Fiction
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers, 2014
Pages: 304
Rating: Recommend

Synopsis: After the death of her beloved twin brother and the abandonment of her long-time lover, Greta Wells undergoes electroshock therapy. Over the course of the treatment, Greta finds herself repeatedly sent to 1918, 1941, and back to the present. Whisked from the gas-lit streets and horse-drawn carriages of the West Village to a martini-fueled lunch at teh Oak Room, in these other worlds, Greta finds her brother alive and well - though fearfully masking his true personality. And her former lover is now her devoted husband...but will he be unfaithful to her in this life as well? Greta Wells is fascinated by her alter egos: in 1941, she is a devoted mother; in 1918, she is a bohemian adultress.

Review: This fun book is for fans of Oona Out of Order. I love time travel when it has a historical fiction slant. In fact, it felt like I was treated to three different historical fiction novels at one time. 

I enjoyed each of Greta's lives, and the lives of those who surround her in each time period. I love an author who can tie one person into multiple eras. 

This was a quick read, and if I wasn't a full-time working mom with 3 kids at home, I would have finished this faster than I did.