Great reads for adults and children!
#SayItwithFlowers #NetGalley
This is a gorgeous collection of bouquets that will make readers want to call a florist! There are also the note cards that accompanied the flowers, letting readers see many heartfelt messages.
The concept of this title is simple but it really works!
Many thanks to NetGalley and Chronicle Books for this title. All opinions are my own.
Pub date: 24 September 2024
#TheDaysILovedYouMost #NetGalley
Take a deep breath as you begin this title. The story opens with a husband and wife telling their adult children that they plan to end their lives in exactly one year. They have their reasons although Jane, Violet and Thomas are in no way accepting when they hear this. The novel takes off from there.
In these pages readers get to know Joseph and Evelyn over the course of their lives, beginning when they were kids. They move together through the significant events in their lives, their children’s lives and those around them.
The story is told by different characters and in different time lines. This allows readers to experience past events as they were happening.
Will Evelyn and Joseph move ahead with their plans? Read this emotional title, get to know the characters, see what they decide and see what you think.
Many thanks to NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for this title. All opinions are my own.
Pub date: 30 July 2024
Stephanie Barron has written in several genres. She is the author of the Nantucket based, Merry Folger mysteries which I read and enjoyed. She also wrote the Jane Austen mystery series and novels with JFK and Virginia Woolf as characters. In this book, That Churchill Woman is Jennie Jerome Churchill, the mother most famously of Winston, the wife of Randall and a lover of Charles Kinsky.
The novel moves back and forth in time allowing the reader to understand Jennie’s upbringing in the Gilded Age and her father’s influence on her life. The reader also learns about the traumas of Jennie’s early life, including the profound loss she faced, her father’s affairs, her move to Europe, etc.
Jennie glitters in British society. There are numerous appearances in the book of Bertie, the Prince of Wales and his wife Princess Alix. Other American women who married into the British aristocracy are also characters in the novel.
The reader empathizes with Jennie, especially during a time when a young Winston is quite ill. Further, as Jennie learns the truth about her husband, (I don’t want to include spoilers), one truly feels for her.
I highly recommend this novel for those who like historical fiction, those who are Anglophiles and those interested in the family in which Winston grew up.
Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this absorbing read.
Meg Shaffer’s previous novel, The Wishing Game, was one of my favorite books last year. So, I was incredibly excited to receive an e galley of The Lost Story.
In this title, the author develops an imaginative story that pays homage to CS Lewis. Just as Lewis did, Shaffer creates an alternate and magical world populated by unique characters and situations. As in The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe, characters lives will be transformed.
Two boys, Rafe and Jeremy, disappeared only to miraculously return six months later. How did their relationship and lives fare after this? What happens to them and a young woman named Emily fifteen years later? No more plot reveals as readers will want to have their own experience while reading this.
Good and evil, many kinds of love, and adventure await in this highly recommended title. BookPage has given it a well deserved star review.
Many thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing-Ballantine Books for this title. All opinions are my own.
Five stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
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#Jackie #NetGalley
Is there a more iconic American woman than Jacqueline Kennedy? Much has been written about her and yet she still retains an air of mystery.
In this novel Dawn Tripp successfully imagines Jackie’s life with a carefully researched title. Readers follow Jackie over a period of many years. They will learn more about her life before Jack, her courtship and marriage to both him and to Onassis, her role as a mother, her career, her cancer diagnosis and much more in this well written narrative. Readers will witness both the tragedy and the inner strength that defined this most impressive woman.
Tripp has written a long (over 450 pages) and immersive novel. It is very easy to recommend this title to historical fiction readers and those who are intrigued by the myth of this woman.
Many thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing for this title. All opinions are my own.
Pub date: 18 June 2024
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Get to know them: Jackie and Maria by Gill Paul
Yes, that Jacqueline: Jacqueline in Paris
#TheCozyChristmasCookbook #NetGalley
For anyone who thinks about the holiday season well in advance, here is a book for you. Instead of the blazing sunshine that I have today, I will think of fireplace warmth as I peruse these recipes.
The chapters are a bit whimsically named. For example, one is title Yummy Stocking Stuffer Sides, while another is Deck the Halls with Sips & Sugar.
The recipes seem easy to follow. The illustrations are inspiring. See for example the Ho, Ho Holiday Appetizer Wreath. For another appetizer, consider Santa Suit Button Mushrooms. Keeping with adorable recipe/illustration, see the one for Rudolph’s Reindeer Burgers. A nice looking dessert is the Joyeux Dark Cherry Clafoutis.
All in all, this cookbook teams up the cute and the tasty. It seems perfect for its audience.
Many thanks to NetGalley and Quarto Publishing Group for this title. All opinions are my own.
Pub date: 24 September 2024
Of all of Anne Perry’s series, currently this one featuring Elena Standish is my favorite. For those who don’t know she has also written books about Thomas and Charlotte Pitt and their son Daniel Pitt has his own series. In addition, there are the Monk books, the Christmas novellas, a WWI series and some standalones. Clearly, Ms. Perry is a busy novelist.
The Elena Standish stories take place in the lead up to WWII. The period is well portrayed. Elena has been the subject of four books and, in my opinion, they just keep getting better. Readers will admire Elena. She is brave but that does not mean that she is not scared; this makes her seem quite human.
In this entry, Elena is sent back to Berlin. It is a city where she previously faced great danger so she is aware of the high stakes. Her mission is to extract a scientist who has knowledge of and works in a germ war program. Will she be successful? As this is a series, readers read hoping for the best.
I enjoyed spending time with Elena and those around her. I especially like her paternal grandparents.
It was hard for me to read this novel without thinking about current events. The germ warfare plot may make readers think of Covid. Some of the ways in which Hitler is described will (sadly) remind some of U.S. politicians. I don’t know if this perspective was intentional on the author’s part but perhaps it was.
Those who enjoy books by authors like Susan Elia MacNeal are sure to like the Ella Standish novels. Best read in order but one could dip in anywhere.
Many thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group-Ballentine for this title. All opinions are my own.
Pub Date 20 Sep 2022
#AfterAnnie #NetGalley
In my opinion, Anna Quindlen is one of the premiere practitioners of the art of deeply felt domestic fiction. In After Annie, she once again goes deep into the heart and soul of a family, one that is facing loss and all that entails.
Annie was a mother to four children, all of whom counted on her, taking her for granted in the ways that children do. Her sudden, seemingly unpreventable death from an aneurysm at a young age, is the catalyst that deeply affects these children, her husband and her best friend.
Readers find out more about Annie as they spend time with those around her. Her daughter, Ali, is forced to grow up, her husband falters, and her best friend faces a renaissance of old issues. Will these folks who were left behind be able to move forward? Will they be okay? How will Annie continue to be a presence in their lives? Find out in this work of literary fiction that is as good as anything the author has written (and that is high praise).
Note: Anyone who has experienced a recent loss may find this book both difficult and worth reading
Many thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for this title. All opinions are my own.
Pub date: 27 February 2024
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Extra credit to you if you know where Wattle Island is. I knew the country but not the location when I picked up this novel. The answer will be in the next paragraphs.
I have been reading a lot of what I would term Australian women’s fiction recently. I do not live in Australia, have only been there once but have enjoyed my many virtual visits this summer. These began when I was reading novels by Sophie Green. Now I have read my first novel by Sandie Docker and I plan to read every one that is available in my country.
I always love books that have a bookish element, as is true here. One of the main characters is named Anne; her name is bookish. Can you guess for which Anne she was named? (GG is my hint). After her parents died, Anne grew up with an aunt on Wattle Island, which is off the Australian mainland. It was a small place and one that she did not choose.
Significant to Anne was her relationship to Tadashi, an artistic soul who was born in Australia. This romance began in the post WWII period. Note that there was much prejudice against the Japanese at the time, regardless of whether a person had been born in Australia. Also important to Anne in the story is her grandson Sam and her great granddaughter.
The other main character is Grace, a librarian. She is facing serious illness. Her own initiative for a work project brings her to Wattle Island. It is here that Anne and Grace meet and the storylines merge.
This book takes place in the present and in that post WWII period. Both are well developed. There are many other characters surrounding Anne and Grace. They add to the story.
I don’t want to say much more so that readers can enjoy this book without spoilers. Suffice it to say that I very much enjoyed this novel and will soon be cracking open another by Ms. Docker.
#RealSiblings #NetGalley
The question of whether children who come to families in their own ways are truly siblings seems to get a lot of attention. It is not a question that I like. It can feel intrusive and awkward when it is asked to children, as well as to the adults in their lives. The authors of this lovely kids book do a nice job of addressing this topic, especially in the relationship between the two siblings themselves. Hopefully after reading this book, kids will feel empowered and able to address their peers when the topic arises.
I liked this book very much. The only thing I would wish for is a little more. For example, I would have liked to see the dads address someone when asked the question. This could offer good role modeling for the adults who face this question with their kids.
This book should be part of preschool story hours. I hope that it will be found in both school and home libraries.
Many thanks to NetGalley and the American Psychological Association-Magination Press for this title. All opinions are my own.
Pub date: 17 September 2024
Joyce's mystery and fiction book reviews with some non-fiction too! 