Joyce's mystery and fiction book reviews with some non-fiction too!

Below are the books that I read and reviewed this month.  Each can be found by searching the author’s name on the blog.  On the blog, I also listed many e-book bargains, made re-posts for pub days and also put in some book lists and suggestions.  I have not re-posted these but they are there for you on the site.  Let me know if there are things that you would especially like to see (or not see) moving forward.

Little Woodford by Catherine Jones- Women’s fiction ***stars

Mindful Me by Stewart and Peterson ****stars.  Written for children but good for adults

Snoopy the Fitness Fanatic by Charles Schulz ****stars

Date with Malice by Julia Chapman ***stars

Fifty Wacky Things Pets Do by Fiedler ****stars  Fun for children

Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy (Started in March) *****stars

The Kreutzer Sonata by Leo Tolstoy ***stars

No Cure for the Dead by Christine Trent ***and 1/2  Florence Nightingale as protagonist

The Little Teashop of Lost and Found by Trisha Ashley ****stars

Eleanor Roosevelt: Fighter for Justice by Ilene Cooper  *****stars Written for children but a good resource

Our Secrets and Lies by Sinead Moriarty ***stars

Macaroni the Great and the Sea Beast by Childress ***stars  A picture book

Love and Ruin by Paula Mclain *****stars About Hemingway and Martha Gellhorn

Much has been written about Ernest Hemingway and his wives but no-one writes about them better than Paula McLain, whose new novel is about Ernest Hemingway and Martha Gellhorn. I thought that this author’s debut novel, The Paris Wife, was a wonderful book;  it told the story of the young Hemingway and his first wife, Hadley. The author beautifully captured Hadley’s voice. When I started Love and Ruin, I wondered if Ms. McLain would be able to again capture the essence of an historical character…she does!
Martha Gellhorn and Hemingway initially meet in Florida. They become closer when traveling to Spain during the Civil War, a war which is hearbreakingly portrayed in the novel. Hemingway and Gellhorn travel together to Cuba, Florida, Europe during WWII, Utah, etc. with each locale coming alive. World events unfurl in their presence.
This is also the story of a relationship; what is it like to be in the orbit of a truly charismatic person? Is that enough? How does one maintain a sense of identity? Gellhorn, a writer and reporter of merit, struggles as a relationship of equals becomes less so. There is love and yes, ruin, in the coming together and apart of these two historical personages.  The reader is a witness to the joys and struggles of this couple.
I highly recommend Love and Ruin. It is one of the finest historical novels that I have read. Thanks for this one NetGalley!  It was special.

#LoveAndRuin #NetGalley

Jill Mansell’s books are the best kind of women’s fiction.  Both funny and heartwarming, this story of mismatched and eventually sorted out relationships is modern and entertaining.  Clemency meets Sam but he is married.  Clemency’s sister meets Sam when he is free.  Clemency makes believe that she is dating Ronan to make her sister jealous…but Ronan loves Kate..and these are only some of the stories in the book.   You know that all will be sorted by book’s end but the fun is in getting there.  In addition to romantic love, there are stories of parental love and an adoption story in this novel.  I have been reading Jill Mansell’s books for years, ordering them from England before they were available here.  They are among the best of their kind!

Macaroni the Great and the Sea Beast is a read aloud for a young child. This picture book with appealing illustrations, is told from the point of view of Macaroni, the cat. It is a gentle tale about how he and his owner, Sammy, spend time together; they share routines, eat and go out fishing. What happens to their biggest catch? Read this cute story to find out!

#MacaroniTheGreat #NetGalley

Our Secrets and Lies tells the story of Lucy and her family. If you enjoy women’s fiction, this may be for you.
Lucy was top of her class, ambitious and in love when she fell pregnant. The decisions that she makes from that point on fuel this novel. This book talks about many important issues in a way that is made part of the story. There is unplanned pregnancy and the difficulties of deciding what to do, teen drinking, sexting, bullying, etc. Characters are warmly drawn and each has a unique personality. My only quibble with this book is that it could have been shorter. Certain themes are repeated more than I felt that they needed to be. Overall, a good read though.

#OurSecretsAndLies #NetGalley

This is such an appealing book! Children who love their pets, and animals in general, will enjoy the short entries that explain why animals do the things that they do. There are entries about cats, dogs, horses, pigs, ferret…snakes. You get the idea. The illustrations are bright and appealing. This is a book that a child can read alone but that adults will also enjoy. I kept shouting out facts to my husband as I read this and I am about as adult as I ever will be!

#50wackyThingsPetsDo #NetGalley

I previously blogged on The Gilded Years.  It was a book that was well worth reading!  That and a number of other books have been selected for today’s bargains by the Skimm.  Each is $4.99.  I will reprint the Gilded Years blog entry below

The Gilded Years is an historical novel that takes place at Vassar at the turn of the 20th century. It gives a clear picture of what it was like to be a student at an elite women’s college at a time when many women did not receive higher education. The reader also gets to experience the many and unique traditions that the college had. Added to this narrative is an important historical dimension as the novel tells the story of an African American young woman who was passing as white in order to attend the school. What was this like for her? Will she be found out? How alone did she feel? This novel is based on true events and I would highly recommend it. You will get a sense of how far (and not) we have come over the years.

Earlene Fowler’s quilter’s series consists of about a dozen novels that feature Benni Harper and Police Chief Gabe Ortiz.  Each book in the series is named for a quilt pattern.  The first novel, Fool’s Puzzle was published in 1995.  I read it then so it has been awhile.  Below is feedback on that book:

From Publishers Weekly

Today in my class on Adultery in 19th century fiction, we spoke about the Kreutzer Sonata.  Are any of you familiar with this?  I was not.  It was agreed that this is either a novella or a short story.  If reading Anna Karenina or War and Peace just feels like too much, you can get an idea of Tolstoy through this work.  It was advised that we listen to the Kreutzer Sonata as a framework for the story  I recommend doing so.  There is a certain rhythm, a coming together, lyricisim, intensity and breaking apart that matches the ways in which the main characters relate.  In the sonata, neither the violin nor the piano dominates but each finds its place, not always easily.

Tolstoy asks the reader to think about marriage, mores, possible affairs, the roles of women and the actions of those in marriages.  It was pointed out that the reader becomes involved in the main character’s story and has empathy for much of what he says.  But…how do you feel about him, after you find out what he does?  Read this and see.  Next week it will be Jude the Obscure.  As a teaser, it was pointed out that this is the first book that we will have read that is named for a male character.