The second half of the book was more enjoyable ( to me anyway) than the first, which was a bit slow. Betty Stern was raised by her grandparents at their kosher resort on Lake Michigan; now in her 80s she feels that her life was micromanaged and taken out of her hands.
She and her two friends since kindergarten were going to spend a last few weeks at the resort,now her home, in anticipation of her moving to live with her son.Events took on a life of their own, as her granddaughter Hannah announces a pregnancy, while unsure she will marry the father. Deja Vu for Betty who has been called "Boop" most of her life.
Most of the books was spent reviewing her early years, but quickly coalesces about her own unplanned pregnancy, wedding and her regrets. There is a fun surprise ending one would not expect. Recommended for seniors, boomers and others.
5 Stars ! What a marvelous book! I couldn't wait to finish it and see what happened how it all turned out. Now I must read more about the Pack Horse Librarians and exactly what they did, when and how.
Alice Wright,a young English girl meets and marries a man, Bennett Van Cleve from Kentucky who was on a tour with his father. It was a whirlwind marriage that failed abysmally for a variety of reasons, and had repercussions throughout a small Kentucky town.
To escape from the situation she finds herself in, Alice heeds a call to join a WPA group needing librarians who have riding skills. The life she begins, to live are almost terminated by her father-in-law, an unscrupulous mine owner using blackmail and lies to ruin her and her companions.
A quick paced book with vivid depictions of Appalachian life, very fine writing and a terrific ending.
I enjoyed this book by Karen Harper although it clearly was a novel, with some aspects likely embellished for the story line. The "secrets", more than one of them by the way, may be partly rumor and innuendo but of course did not detract from the story. The author used them adroitly in the story, whether they are factual or fabricated in some way.
The most enjoyable parts of this novel for me were the day to day events going on with the war and it's effects on England and it's people.Their is no doubt the "Queen Mum" as she was later called was a beloved figure to many.
I have read and enjoyed several books by this author, this one was a good read but not my favorite.
Recommended for the time period.
#TheLifeline #NetGalley Thanks to Severn House, NetGalley and Margaret Mayhew author for this new-to-me cozy mystery series book. "Ruth Harvey runs a successful plant-selling business and provides gardening therapy for an increasing number of her husband Dr Tom Harvey's troubled patients" - troubled describes those working at the nursery as well as others connected to them.
The Colonel is well thought of at Frog End village and kind to all he meets. He has adopted an aging cat, several odd neighbors and often has to "fend off" his daughter in law's plans for his visits.
When a cantankerous man is killed at the nursery, Jacob, their gardener who has issues with relating to others is suspected.
The Colonel is able to solve the mystery, not as adroitly has others expected and life seems to be going on. A new mystery series for me, enjoyable and slow paced.
Again a great read, especially since I read both the middle of the series and finished and then read the first 3 books. Happily I now have them all and can reread them another year on my kindle. Am very much hoping that Sarah Hawkswood is busily writing another in the series.
Book #3 tells the story of how Lord Hugh Bradecote and Lady Christina met and ended up together.
I started a book later when they were betrothed and persevered through the rest of the books- Happily I must add!
The characters are well developed and engaging in their interactions, and the author does a marvelous job with both history and period dialogue. It's not often that I buy up a whole series to read at once.
Read this for my new reading group at our library. It was not my usual reading genre but was well written, obviously since it won multiple awards including the Edgar Award in 2010. A bit stark and allegorical but a compelling read nevertheless.
I had mixed feelings at the ending, but they were mostly positive, as it seemed their lives would definitely improve. Johnny's twin sister Alyssa would not return, nor would his father but there was some closure .
Johnny's father had not left his family, but was killed in his search for his daughter. Alyssa's death was not the horror story it seemed it was but sudden and accidental. The cover-up of her death rocked Johnny's world, but his mother's return to stability and the presence of Detective Hunt were positive.
It was difficult to put it aside once I got into it, although I mostly read it in the daytime. I'm a comfort reader also, I read mysteries but medieval and ancient history mysteries have characters long dead and in a different setting than North Carolina.
From the publisher:"Thirteen year-old Johnny Merrimon had the perfect life: a warm home and loving parents; a twin sister, Alyssa, with whom he shared an irreplaceable bond. He knew nothing of loss, until the day Alyssa vanished from the side of a lonely street. Now, a year later, Johnny finds himself isolated and alone, failed by the people he’d been taught since birth to trust. No one else believes that Alyssa is still alive, but Johnny is certain that she is---confident in a way that he can never fully explain."
AboveTheBayOfAngels #NetGalley Thanks to NetGalley and Lake Union for this advance copy of Rhys Bowen's latest stand alone."A single twist of fate puts a servant girl to work in Queen Victoria’s royal kitchen, setting off a suspenseful, historical mystery"
I enjoyed it and the historical period it evoked. Of course Queen Victoria was a bit out of known character but who knows?
I would not mind it being the beginning of a short series as the characters were a bit uneven, but that came and went in the book. That often happens with the first part of a series.
I enjoyed the time period and setting and it was a fun read! I think that Helen/Bella's figuring out the killer was a little bit hard to be plausible, but it was fiction.
