The Thirteenth Tale

From Goodreads:

Biographer Margaret Lea returns one night to her apartment above her father’s antiquarian bookshop. On her steps she finds a letter. It is a hand-written request from one of Britain’s most prolific and well-loved novelists. Vida Winter, gravely ill, wants to recount her life story before it is too late, and she wants Margaret to be the one to capture her history. The request takes Margaret by surprise — she doesn’t know the author, nor has she read any of Miss Winter’s dozens of novels.

Late one night while pondering whether to accept the task of recording Miss Winter’s personal story, Margaret begins to read her father’s rare copy of Miss Winter’s Thirteen Tales of Change and Desperation. She is spellbound by the stories and confused when she realizes the book only contains twelve stories. Where is the thirteenth tale? Intrigued, Margaret agrees to meet Miss Winter and act as her biographer.

As Vida Winter unfolds her story, she shares with Margaret the dark family secrets that she has long kept hidden as she remembers her days at Angelfield, the now burnt-out estate that was her childhood home. Margaret carefully records Miss Winter’s account and finds herself more and more deeply immersed in the strange and troubling story.

Both women will have to confront their pasts and the weight of family secrets... and the ghosts that haunt them still.

From Me:

A deliciously creepy, gothic story. Of course, it's mysterious, contains a creepy house and a governess.  And a surprise twist that I never saw coming.

It was a great fall read for me.

The Lost Recipe for Happiness

From Goodreads:

It’s the opportunity Elena Alvarez has been waiting for–the challenge of running her own kitchen in a world-class restaurant. Haunted by an accident of which she was the lone survivor, Elena knows better than anyone how to survive the odds. With her faithful dog, Alvin, and her grandmother’s recipes, Elena arrives in Colorado to find a restaurant in as desperate need of a fresh start as she is–and a man whose passionate approach to food and life rivals her own. Owner Julian Liswood is a name many people know but a man few do. He’s come to Aspen with a troubled teenage daughter and a dream of the kind of stability and love only a family can provide. But for Elena, old ghosts don’t die quietly, yet a chance to find happiness at last is worth the risk

From Me:

Read this one for bookclub. It was a good discussion book and everyone seemed to enjoy it.

I am all about a good foodie book, but at the same time, I didn't fall in love with these characters. (but that's about me, right?)   Elena was an especially complex character, as was Julian I guess.  Well, written, but I wanted to bond with them better.  I don't know why I didn't.

You and I know that sometimes 'the time' is just not right in our lives for 'the book'.  I think it was one of those times.

I loved everything about the book --  3 stars.

But I feel if I had picked it up during a different time, I would have given it 4 stars.

Romancing Mr.Bridgerton

From Goodreads:

Penelope Featherington has secretly adored her best friend's brother for... well, it feels like forever. After half a lifetime of watching Colin Bridgerton from afar, she thinks she knows everything about him, until she stumbles across his deepest secret... and fears she doesn't know him at all.

Colin Bridgerton is tired of being thought nothing but an empty-headed charmer, tired of everyone's preoccupation with the notorious gossip columnist Lady Whistledown, who can't seem to publish an edition without mentioning him in the first paragraph.

But when Colin returns to London from a trip aboard, he discovers nothing in his life is quite the same, especially Penelope Featherington, the girl haunting his dreams!

And when he discovers that Penelope has secrets of her own, this elusive bachelor must decide... is she his biggest threat, or his promise of a happy ending?

From Me:

I love Julia Quinn. And if you like historical romances you would too!

Romance Time

From Goodreads:

A little subdued. A little stubborn. A little tired of going out on blind dates with men who drive vans with sofas in the back, Jane Alcott is living the Single Girl existence in the big city. She is also leading a double life. By day, she's a reporter covering the raucous Seattle Chinooks hockey team—especially their notorious goalie Luc Martineau. By night, she's a writer, secretly creating the scandalous adventures of "Honey Pie"...the magazine series that has all the men talking.

SEE JANE SPAR

Luc has made his feelings about parasite reporters—and Jane—perfectly clear. But if he thinks he's going to make her life a misery, he'd better think again.

SEE JANE ATTRACT

For as long as he can remember, Luc has been single minded about his career. The last thing he needs is a smart mouthed, pain in the backside, reporter digging into his past and getting in his way. But once the little reporter shed her black and gray clothes in favor of a sexy red dress, Luc sees that there is more to Jane than originally meets the eye.

Maybe it's time to take a risk. Maybe it's time to live out fantasies. Maybe it's time to....

SEE JANE SCORE!  

From Me:

It was fun....and touching.....and steamy (just read the front cover).

And it's Hockey....so you know, a nice way to spend an afternoon.

The Get-Away Car by Ann Patchett

From Good Reads:

“The journey from the head to the hand is perilous and lined with bodies. It is the road on which nearly everyone who wants to write—and many of the people who do write—get lost.”

So writes Ann Patchett in "The Getaway Car", a wry, wisdom-packed memoir of her life as a writer. Here, for the first time, one of America’s most celebrated authors ("State of Wonder", "Bel Canto", "Truth and Beauty"), talks at length about her literary career—the highs and the lows—and shares advice on the craft and art of writing. In this fascinating look at the development of a novelist, we meet Patchett’s mentors (Allan Gurganas, Grace Paley, Russell Banks), see where she made wrong turns (poetry), and learn how she gets the pages written (an unromantic process of pure hard work). Woven through engaging anecdotes from Patchett’s life are lessons about writing that offer an inside peek into the storytelling process and provide a blueprint for anyone wanting to give writing a serious try. The bestselling author gives pointers on everything from finding ideas to constructing a plot to combating writer’s block. More than that, she conveys the joys and rewards of a life spent reading and writing.

From Me:

I wasn't really looking to find out more about writing as a career, so I'm not sure why I picked this up.  But I did and I liked it well enough. It was interesting to see a little bit into Patchett's life.

One fascinating connection--which I thought spoke to me, was that in Elizabeth Gilbert's "Big Magic" and in Patchett's "Getaway Car", they both said  I a writer!  Even if this is all I ever do--write blog posts. Even is all I do is write old-fashioned snail mail letters.  

As long as I enjoy it and find satisfaction in it--I am a writer.  And I am creative--and I never again have to listen to a friend say to me "well, what DO you do then?"  (this said to me when I said I didn't like crafts, sewing, painting, making, anything.)

I do DO something.  I am creative!  I am a writer!

So there!

Thanks Ann Patchett and Elizabeth Gilbert.

Oh... I guess the correlation is that they are real-life friends, who basically said the same thing to me in different words.

First Chapter, First Paragraph, Tuesday Intros

Today is Tuesday--- which means I'll be joining up with Diane at Bibliophile By the Sea and her First Chapter, First Paragraph

Tuesday Intros.

Where,  bloggers post the first paragraph of a book they are thinking of reading --- and get everyone's opinion to see if it grabbed them from the beginning or not.

Click here to join the fun!

My Paragraph:

Prologue...From the journals of Gustavo Silva, Jr: Last entry

January 9, 2011

In prison you learn that no one is innocent.  It doesn't matter whether you were wrongly convicted, if your crime was justified or if life constricted your path so brutally that even the most heinous act   came to feel inevitable.  The cell accepts no excuses.  There, no matter who you are, the truth will coming looking for you, in all its darkness and mercy.  Either you look back unflinchingly or you die.

What do you think?

Should I keep on reading?

My book?

I think I will!

*****************************

An  update!

On Tuesday, August 16th.  I posted my first intro paragraph about this book:

(If you want to see what you guys said about it, you can check out that post here)

And I did end up reading this one and I finished it last week.

From Goodreads:

In this funny, frank, tender memoir and New York Times bestseller, the author of A Homemade Life and the blog Orangette recounts how opening a restaurant sparked the first crisis of her young marriage.

When Molly Wizenberg married Brandon Pettit, he was a trained composer with a handful of offbeat interests: espresso machines, wooden boats, violin-building, and ice cream–making. So when Brandon decided to open a pizza restaurant, Molly was supportive—not because she wanted him to do it, but because the idea was so far-fetched that she didn’t think he would. Before she knew it, he’d signed a lease on a space. The restaurant, Delancey, was going to be a reality, and all of Molly’s assumptions about her marriage were about to change.

Together they built Delancey: gutting and renovating the space on a cobbled-together budget, developing a menu, hiring staff, and passing inspections. Delancey became a success, and Molly tried to convince herself that she was happy in their new life until—in the heat and pressure of the restaurant kitchen—she realized that she hadn’t been honest with herself or Brandon.

With evocative photos by Molly and twenty new recipes for the kind of simple, delicious food that chefs eat at home, Delancey is a moving and honest account of two young people learning to give in and let go in order to grow together.

From Me:

I love memoirs.

I love foodie books.

I love Molly Wizenberg.

I think a long time before I posted this on Tuesday Intros, my friend, Kathy from Bermudaonion blog, after hearing that I read A Homemade Life by Molly Wizenberg, suggested Delancey to me.  So, thanks to Kathy and all of you who encouraged me to read on.

4 stars from me.

Classic Club--my first!

From Goodreads:

In the village of King's Abbot, a widow's sudden suicide sparks rumors that she murdered her first husband, was being blackmailed, and was carrying on a secret affair with the wealthy Roger Ackroyd. The following evening, Ackroyd is murdered in his locked study--but not before receiving a letter identifying the widow's blackmailer. King's Abbot is crawling with suspects, including a nervous butler, Ackroyd's wayward stepson, and his sister-in-law, Mrs. Cecil Ackroyd, who has taken up residence in the victim's home. It's now up to the famous detective Hercule Poirot, who has retired to King's Abbot to garden, to solve the case of who killed Roger Ackroyd--a task in which he is aided by the village doctor and narrator, James Sheppard, and by Sheppard's ingenious sister, Caroline.The Murder of Roger Ackroyd is the book that made Agatha Christie a household name and launched her career as a perennial bestseller. Originally published in 1926, it is a landmark in the mystery genre. It was in the vanguard of a new class of popular detective fiction that ushered in the modern era of mystery novels.

From Me:

Great book! A classic mystery--a whodunit -- everyone should read it.

I started out with an easy book, I understand that, but I have to read Dr. Zhivago for my Classic's spin very soon, so, Agatha Christie was okay to begin with. 

And now I feel bad that I said it was an 'easy' one to begin with... this book was:

1.  Really good.  Do you remember (or have you seen on Facebook) that cat who is watching a horror movie?  Well, that's how this book is--I'm sure my face looked exactly like that cat's...eyes large, eyes small, furrowed brow, pursed lips, shock and awe.  That pretty much describes your facial expressions upon reading this.

2. Christie really is the master of "who-dun-it" and this one was her most controversial book when it was first published, as well as being featured on the 1001 books you should read before you die!  Two great reasons one should read it.

3.  If I hadn't chosen  a list of classic mysteries  (yes, thinking they might be an easier read than some more traditional classics) I would have never read Agatha Christie.

And now, I can't wait to get back to her!

The Fireman by Joe Hill

From Goodreads:

From the award-winning, New York Times bestselling author ofNOS4A2 and Heart-Shaped Box comes a chilling novel about a worldwide pandemic of spontaneous combustion that threatens to reduce civilization to ashes and a band of improbable heroes who battle to save it, led by one powerful and enigmatic man known as the Fireman.

The fireman is coming. Stay cool.

No one knows exactly when it began or where it originated. A terrifying new plague is spreading like wildfire across the country, striking cities one by one: Boston, Detroit, Seattle. The doctors call it Draco Incendia Trychophyton. To everyone else it’s Dragonscale, a highly contagious, deadly spore that marks its hosts with beautiful black and gold marks across their bodies—before causing them to burst into flames. Millions are infected; blazes erupt everywhere. There is no antidote. No one is safe.

Harper Grayson, a compassionate, dedicated nurse as pragmatic as Mary Poppins, treated hundreds of infected patients before her hospital burned to the ground. Now she’s discovered the telltale gold-flecked marks on her skin. When the outbreak first began, she and her husband, Jakob, had made a pact: they would take matters into their own hands if they became infected. To Jakob’s dismay, Harper wants to live—at least until the fetus she is carrying comes to term. At the hospital, she witnessed infected mothers give birth to healthy babies and believes hers will be fine too. . . if she can live long enough to deliver the child.

Convinced that his do-gooding wife has made him sick, Jakob becomes unhinged, and eventually abandons her as their placid New England community collapses in terror. The chaos gives rise to ruthless Cremation Squads—armed, self-appointed posses roaming the streets and woods to exterminate those who they believe carry the spore. But Harper isn’t as alone as she fears: a mysterious and compelling stranger she briefly met at the hospital, a man in a dirty yellow fire fighter’s jacket, carrying a hooked iron bar, straddles the abyss between insanity and death. Known as The Fireman, he strolls the ruins of New Hampshire, a madman afflicted with Dragonscale who has learned to control the fire within himself, using it as a shield to protect the hunted . . . and as a weapon to avenge the wronged.

In the desperate season to come, as the world burns out of control, Harper must learn the Fireman’s secrets before her life—and that of her unborn child—goes up in smoke. 

From Me:

I can't believe I haven't posted this yet.  I found it in my drafts.  I did a read-a-long with friends in July. 

JULY--the month I had grandchildren for all 31 days!

That's probably why I didn't get a post written up.

I love read-a-longs!  I'm not great at the whole Twitter thing, but it's fun to hear what everyone else has to say and talk about the book as you are reading it.

I listened to the audio version of this book--Kate Mulgrew narrated and she did a great job.

So...what's not to like?  I think Joe Hill did a great job of describing a dystopian (that's not the right word, I know or perhaps it is) community, and what might happen if there were a situation of chaos after an epidemic or other disaster.

It kept me turning the pages--I wanted to find out what would happen!  I thought the characters were well developed too and I loved Hill's references to pop-culture music and books/authors.

I was a teeny-tiny bit disappointed in the ending.  I just wanted more, but still--4 stars!

****************

I also highly recommend (4 stars as well)  State of Wonder by Ann Patchett.

Also a read-along, done in June, but July just saw me with not enough time to articulate myself on a blog post--all those grandchildren, remember?

I loved this book!  I had never read anything by Patchett before  (but am reading her newest, Commonwealth, right now-recommend too) so glad to be introduced to her in a Read-a-long --Thanks Care!

Since I didn't hold up my end of the bargain---check out these great blog posts from,

Care, Katie and Stacy.  

It was  an impromptu read but so much fun for me.  

I agree with everything they said!!

(and oh man, the ending!)

From Goodreads:

Award-winning "New York Times"-bestselling author Ann Patchett (Bel Canto, The Magician's Assistant) returns with a provocative novel of morality and miracles, science and sacrifice set in the Amazon rainforest--a gripping adventure story and a profound look at the difficult choices we make in the name of discovery and love.

In a narrative replete with poison arrows, devouring snakes, scientific miracles, and spiritual transformations, State of Wonder presents a world of stunning surprise and danger, rich in emotional resonance and moral complexity.

As Dr. Marina Singh embarks upon an uncertain odyssey into the insect-infested Amazon, she will be forced to surrender herself to the lush but forbidding world that awaits within the jungle. Charged with finding her former mentor Dr. Annick Swenson, a researcher who has disappeared while working on a valuable new drug, she will have to confront her own memories of tragedy and sacrifice as she journeys into the unforgiving heart of darkness. Stirring and luminous, State of Wonder is a world unto itself, where unlikely beauty stands beside unimaginable loss beneath the rain forest's jeweled canopy,

Follow that Arrow

From Goodreads:

After losing her center, her marriage, and her future in one stroke, Gwen Van Velsor set off to find a new path. She traveled across the United States before finding her way to the Camino de Santiago, a journey that would redefine her life. Her story is a reflection on love, faith and the food that got her here from there.

From Me:

A  few months ago, I received a message from the author asking if I would like to read her book for review.  I had never done this before, but something in me had me agreeing this time---not so much to get a free book, but because she had a food blog.

Yes, she had me at Food Blog...Gourmet Gwen.

I'm a sucker for food blogs.

So, I agreed, she sent me her book and I set it on my nightstand and there it sat, thru August, thru September and I finally picked it up a few days ago---October.

Let me just state for the record, that you might be thinking, of course she's going to say it's good--she got a free book.  But here's the thing--if I didn't like it, I just wouldn't have mentioned it at all. Ever.

I was under no obligation, but here is the thing, once I started reading it, I fell in love.

It's a memoir. It's reflective.  Two things I love.

She grew up in the Pacific Northwest.  I did too (this had nothing to do with the story, I just found it interesting)

She's a coffee drinker and a walker on a spiritual quest.

AND a food blogger!

She's what I imagine myself to be.

She actually does these things  (I just think about them), and writes about her experiences.

I thought she wrote well, it flowed well and kept me turning the page.

There you have it!  My armature reviewer opinion.

I liked the story and she wrote well.

(this is why I don't review books very often--I don't write well, or explain myself well)

The thing is--I felt very connected to Gwen's story.

I felt as if I knew her journey on the Camino de Santiago,  because in a strange coincidence, I know at least 5 people  who have walked the Camino, from my small little town .

One is my Friday Night Dinner Friend, and one I saw at book club last night. (now bookclub thinks we should walk the Camino next March).

On the back of her book, the description says that her story is: a reflection on love, faith and the food that got her here from there.

I wish I had written that, because that it in a nutshell.

I enjoyed the story.

Noggin

From Goodreads:

Listen — Travis Coates was alive once and then he wasn’t.

Now he’s alive again.

Simple as that.

The in between part is still a little fuzzy, but he can tell you that, at some point or another, his head got chopped off and shoved into a freezer in Denver, Colorado. Five years later, it was reattached to some other guy’s body, and well, here he is. Despite all logic, he’s still 16 and everything and everyone around him has changed. That includes his bedroom, his parents, his best friend, and his girlfriend. Or maybe she’s not his girlfriend anymore? That’s a bit fuzzy too.

Looks like if the new Travis and the old Travis are ever going to find a way to exist together, then there are going to be a few more scars.

Oh well, you only live twice. 

From Me:

I thought it was a crazy premise and I balked at having to read it (it was a book club choice)--but, I ended up really liking it.  It was a great story, although  kind of crazy and totally unbelievable but a very touching 'coming of age' story.

Worth the read.

The Wednesday Wars

From Goodreads:

In this Newbery Honor-winning novel, Gary D. Schmidt offers an unforgettable antihero. The Wednesday Wars is a wonderfully witty and compelling story about a teenage boy’s mishaps and adventures over the course of the 1967–68 school year in Long Island, New York.

Meet Holling Hoodhood, a seventh-grader at Camillo Junior High, who must spend Wednesday afternoons with his teacher, Mrs. Baker, while the rest of the class has religious instruction. Mrs. Baker doesn’t like Holling—he’s sure of it. Why else would she make him read the plays of William Shakespeare outside class? But everyone has bigger things to worry about, like Vietnam. His father wants Holling and his sister to be on their best behavior: the success of his business depends on it. But how can Holling stay out of trouble when he has so much to contend with? A bully demanding cream puffs; angry rats; and a baseball hero signing autographs the very same night Holling has to appear in a play in yellow tights! As fate sneaks up on him again and again, Holling finds Motivation—the Big M—in the most unexpected places and musters up the courage to embrace his destiny, in spite of himself.

From Me:

I LOVED this book.

I don't know what else to say.

A middle grade, Newbery Honor award winning book--that everyone should read!

Nostalgic, emotional, funny, compelling!

You'll fall in love with Holling Hoodhood.

I listened to the audio version and the narration was great, but I'm also going to purchase this for my bookshelf, so my grandkids can have easy access to it.

Loved it!!

Earlier in the  year, I signed up for the Newbery Reading Challenge, hosted by Julie at Smiling Shelves.

This is only my 2nd book in the challenge.

I better get busy--I have a few more to read before the end of the year.

Elizabeth is missing

From Goodreads:

Maud is forgetful. She makes a cup of tea and doesn't remember to drink it. She goes to the shops and forgets why she went. Sometimes her home is unrecognizable—or her daughter, Helen, seems a total stranger.

But there's one thing Maud is sure of: her friend Elizabeth is missing. The note in her pocket tells her so. And no matter who tells her to stop going on about it, to leave it alone, to shut up, Maud will get to the bottom of it.

Because somewhere in Maud's damaged mind lies the answer to an unsolved seventy-year-old mystery. One everyone has forgotten about.

Everyone, except Maud . . .

A page-turning story of suspense, Elizabeth Is Missing hauntingly reminds us that we are all at the mercy of our memory. Always compelling, often poignant, and at times even blackly witty, this is an absolutely unforgettable novel.

From Me:

Maud is a totally unreliable narrator--not because she's an alcoholic (like Girl on a Train)--not because she's a psychopath    (like Gone Girl), but just because she's an aging woman in the middle of a horrible disease---Alzheimer's related dementia.

Unreliable yes, but very endearing.

I loved Maud and thought the way the story was written was very compelling.

I notice that some readers found it frustrating, because yes, at times it jumped around and felt jumbled, but that was why it compelled me so much---we really don't know what goes on in the minds of those affected by Alzheimer's and that is why the mystery was so captivating for me.

Also, as a side note, my mother suffered from Alzheimer's, and maybe I felt an emotional bond towards Maud and her daughter Helen.

I love the last paragraph in the Goodreads review... we are all at the mercy of our memory.

The Japanese Lover

From Goodreads:

In 1939, as Poland falls under the shadow of the Nazis, young Alma Belasco's parents send her away to live in safety with an aunt and uncle in their opulent mansion in San Francisco. There, as the rest of the world goes to war, she encounters Ichimei Fukuda, the quiet and gentle son of the family's Japanese gardener. Unnoticed by those around them, a tender love affair begins to blossom. Following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, the two are cruelly pulled apart as Ichimei and his family, like thousands of other Japanese Americans are declared enemies and forcibly relocated to internment camps run by the United States government. Throughout their lifetimes, Alma and Ichimei reunite again and again, but theirs is a love that they are forever forced to hide from the world.

Decades later, Alma is nearing the end of her long and eventful life. Irina Bazili, a care worker struggling to come to terms with her own troubled past, meets the elderly woman and her grandson, Seth, at San Francisco's charmingly eccentric Lark House nursing home. As Irina and Seth forge a friendship, they become intrigued by a series of mysterious gifts and letters sent to Alma, eventually learning about Ichimei and this extraordinary secret passion that has endured for nearly seventy years. 

From Me:

Wow! What a cast of characters!  And themes!

This is the first Allende novel I've read, and while I liked it--I did!-- there was some issue with me in the transitions from past to present.  Those took place often and sometimes in one paragraph it went from present to past to present again.  I had to really pay attention and think.

The characters were great and while I liked them, I never felt that I got to know them really well.

Deep themes, but some of them just touched on lightly.

Those all sound like criticisms, but I really liked the story. The main story as well as the side stories.

It's worth a read.

When Women Were Birds

From Goodreads:

"Brilliant, meditative, and full of surprises, wisdom, and wonder."—Ann Lamott, author of Imperfect Birds
"I am leaving you all my journals, but you must promise me you won't look at them until after I'm gone." This is what Terry Tempest Williams's mother, the matriarch of a large Mormon clan in northern Utah, told her a week before she died. It was a shock to Williams to discover that her mother had kept journals. But not as much of a shock as it was to discover that the three shelves of journals were all blank. In fifty-four short chapters, Williams recounts memories of her mother, ponders her own faith, and contemplates the notion of absence and presence art and in our world. When Women Were Birds is a carefully crafted kaleidoscope that keeps turning around the question: What does it mean to have a voice?

From Me:

May I borrow from Ann Lamott and say "Brilliant?  Meditative?  Full of surprises? Wisdom and Wonder?"

Because, it's all that.

I listened to this on audio, narrated by the author.  That's always a gamble; sometimes it's a winner, sometimes not---this time it was a WINNER!

Loved her narration.

I forget how much I love Terry Tempest Williams -- I live in the west, she writes about and understands the western landscape like no other.

I like birds--she LOVES and knows birds like no other.

I like contemplation-- this book is all about that.

I liked my mother -- she talks about a bond with our mothers that is so special and magical and unbreakable. (makes me shiver just thinking about it)

She does talk about her religion quite a bit in her writings, this book included,  and while I don't share the same views, she writes in such a way that  helps me to understand and appreciate her beliefs and traditions.  Likewise her activism and ecological viewpoints. 

Loved it.

The Beekeepers Apprentice

From Goodreads:

Long retired, Sherlock Holmes quietly pursues his study of honeybee behavior on the Sussex Downs. He never imagines he would encounter anyone whose intellect matched his own, much less an audacious teenage girl with a penchant for detection. Miss Mary Russell becomes Holmes' pupil and quickly hones her talent for deduction, disguises and danger. But when an elusive villain enters the picture, their partnership is put to a real test.

From Me:

Very good at the beginning and at the end. The middle was a little slow for me, but I really enjoyed the story.   Even tho I know all about Sherlock Holmes, I haven't actually read anything by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.

I have watched the BBC series  with Benedict Cumberbatch a bit, and I've read other books that allude to Sherlock Holmes AND I have this old board game called  "221 B Baker Street",  so I feel I know Sherlock,  and yet---do I?

I feel that Laurie King has helped me know him better.  But really, I should probably read something original about Holmes.

The book is about a retired Sherlock Holmes living in the country, attending to his bees,  meeting a  young girl, Mary Russell,  and becoming her mentor.  Of course a mystery ensues and danger abounds and they have to solve the case together.

I looked on my bookshelf and I do have the "Treasury of Sherlock Holmes" in the 'classic' shelf---I knew enough to want the book on my shelf (where it has sat for years) but now I'm intrigued and have pulled it off the shelf and put it in a more accessible TBR pile.

As I mentioned above--I really enjoyed the story and will pick up the next in the series soon. 

I love the idea of Sherlock Holmes and this reimagining is quite good.

The Restaurant Critic's Wife

From Goodreads:

From Me:

I really wanted to love this.  It's a GREAT cover,  I love food, and books about food, and  I love restaurants and book, how could it go wrong?

To be fair, it was well written, and there were funny parts, and it was really an intriguing plot.  So, what didn't I like?  Why did I only give it 2 stars on Goodreads?

Because her husband (Sam) drove me crazy.  I didn't like him at all!  I then I was annoyed and frustrated with her  (Lila) too. 

I couldn't deal with the dynamics of their marriage.

The Regional Office is Under Attack

From Goodreads:

In a world beset by amassing forces of darkness, one organization—the Regional Office—and its coterie of super-powered female assassins protects the globe from annihilation. At its helm, the mysterious Oyemi and her oracles seek out new recruits and root out evil plots. Then a prophecy suggests that someone from inside might bring about its downfall. And now, the Regional Office is under attack.

Recruited by a defector from within, Rose is a young assassin leading the attack, eager to stretch into her powers and prove herself on her first mission. Defending the Regional Office is Sarah—who may or may not have a mechanical arm—fiercely devoted to the organization that took her in as a young woman in the wake of her mother’s sudden disappearance. On the day that the Regional Office is attacked, Rose’s and Sarah’s stories will overlap, their lives will collide, and the world as they know it just might end

From Me:

Hmmmm.  It was fun.  But maybe not for me.

I got very caught up in the 'attack' but then didn't completely understand why and what they were attacking.

It's told from different POV and I like that as I feel it gives a better understanding, helps me to understand the different characters.

I listened to this on audio, and maybe that's why it lost me---I couldn't turn back to figure things out.  Great narrators tho!

Like I said---it was fun and I did enjoy it---just didn't love it.

The Sugar Queen

From Goodreads:

Twenty-seven-year-old Josey Cirrini is sure of three things: winter in her North Carolina hometown is her favorite season, she’s a sorry excuse for a Southern belle, and sweets are best eaten in the privacy of her hidden closet. For while Josey has settled into an uneventful life in her mother’s house, her one consolation is the stockpile of sugary treats and paperback romances she escapes to each night…. Until she finds it harboring none other than local waitress Della Lee Baker, a tough-talking, tenderhearted woman who is one part nemesis—and two parts fairy godmother…

Fleeing a life of bad luck and big mistakes, Della Lee has decided Josey’s clandestine closet is the safest place to crash. In return she’s going to change Josey’s life—because, clearly, it is not the closet of a happy woman. With Della Lee’s tough love, Josey is soon forgoing pecan rolls and caramels, tapping into her startlingly keen feminine instincts, and finding her narrow existence quickly expanding.

Before long, Josey bonds with Chloe Finley, a young woman who makes the best sandwiches in town, is hounded by books that inexplicably appear whenever she needs them, and—most amazing of all—has a close connection to Josey’s longtime crush.

As little by little Josey dares to step outside herself, she discovers a world where the color red has astonishing power, passion can make eggs fry in their cartons, and romance can blossom at any time—even for her. It seems that Della Lee’s work is done, and it’s time for her to move on. But the truth about where she’s going, why she showed up in the first place—and what Chloe has to do with it all—is about to add one more unexpected chapter to Josey’ s fast-changing life.

Brimming with warmth, wit, and a sprinkling of magic, here is a spellbinding tale of friendship, love—and the enchanting possibilities of every new day.

From Me:

A little bit of magical realism?  Yes, but---just enough.

Heartwarming?  Yes.

Sad?  Yes.

Did it put a smile on my face?  Yes it did!

It was a very fun and fast read, and it made me smile.

   I liked it very much and would recommend it if you like Women's Fiction, quirky characters and ---there just might be a twist somewhere in the book that will blow you away. (or just make you smile, like it did me)

Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk

From Goodreads:

A razor-sharp satire set in Texas during America's war in Iraq, it explores the gaping national disconnect between the war at home and the war abroad.

Ben Fountain’s remarkable debut novel follows the surviving members of the heroic Bravo Squad through one exhausting stop in their media-intensive "Victory Tour" at Texas Stadium, football mecca of the Dallas Cowboys, their fans, promoters, and cheerleaders

From Me:

Quote from the book: It's sorta weird being honored for the worst day of your life.

I think this about sums it up---the American public have no idea what our soldiers go thru in war.

This book is satire, but you get to go inside Billy Lynn's mind for one day and see what he (or any soldier returning from Iraq or Afghanistan) might be feeling and thinking. Especially when being honored during halftime at an NFL football game. That in itself is just crazy showmanship---and perhaps not honoring at all--just displaying (for some crazy reason that most people think of as patriotic---don't get me wrong, I love NFL football and I love the production of a halftime show, but is that what returning 'war heroes' need?  Or want?  It's debatable.  And discussable.)

Billy's squad, Bravo Squad, is filled with a crazy group of young men who I liked right off the bat--that band of brothers thing is real, as no one knows what they are feeling and/or thinking except 'brothers and sisters' who have walked in their shoes.

I guess the fist sentence of the review above covers it-- it explores the gaping national disconnect between the war at home and the war abroad.

I listened to this on audio and the narrator, Oliver Wyman, did an excellent job with all the voices.  I would recommend the audio version.

The movie will be released this November.

The Girls by Emma Cline

From Goodreads:

Northern California, during the violent end of the 1960s. At the start of summer, a lonely and thoughtful teenager, Evie Boyd, sees a group of girls in the park, and is immediately caught by their freedom, their careless dress, their dangerous aura of abandon. Soon, Evie is in thrall to Suzanne, a mesmerizing older girl, and is drawn into the circle of a soon-to-be infamous cult and the man who is its charismatic leader. Hidden in the hills, their sprawling ranch is eerie and run down, but to Evie, it is exotic, thrilling, charged—a place where she feels desperate to be accepted. As she spends more time away from her mother and the rhythms of her daily life, and as her obsession with Suzanne intensifies, Evie does not realize she is coming closer and closer to unthinkable violence, and to that moment in a girl’s life when everything can go horribly wrong. 

From Me:

This book is based loosely on the Manson Family.

When I purchased this book (at a lovely little book store in San Francisco) the seller told me it was good, but dark.   Dark does not usually bother me--and I've always been intrigued by the Manson Family.  The Girls follows the same time-line and I found it interesting to compare.

If you don't know anything about the Charles Manson and his 'family',  the book is still an interesting read--and maybe 'darker' since you have no expectations of what is to come.  Very interesting to see what might make a young girl turn towards that kind of life---drugs, obsession, cult/gang/crowd mentality?

It was a good read.