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Under the Sun, Moon, and Stars

by Laura Kosann

This illustrated story reads like a fairy tale. It is about a little girl who learns that she can dream big dreams. Along the way, various critters offer the little girl their wisdom and yet at the end of the story it comes back to the importance of believing in one’s self. This is surely an empowering message.

I very much liked that message. I wish that I had enjoyed the illustrations more, but possibly that is just a matter of personal taste.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher. All opinions are my own.

50 Folktales and Legends from Around the World

by Angela McAllister

This title will make a welcome addition to any young child’s bookshelf. It is filled with beautifully illustrated short tales from all the continents and many countries of the world. Some of these stories as, for example, The Sword in the Stone were already known to me. There were also so many new reads within these pages. Each story will take just a few minutes to read; they are perfect bite size stories that can be read anytime and with regard for a young one’s attention span.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher. All opinions are my own.

Trace Elements A Comissario Guido Brunetti Mystery by Donna Leon

Where I live, the weather is currently cold and the days are short. When Trace Elements takes place during a summer in Venice, it is as hot as hot can be. Clothes are sticking, meals need to be light and our detective, Guido Brunetti is mystified by the tourists who want to be in Venice at this miserable time. I could feel the heat and the need to drink mineral water. All of this is to say that Ms. Leon is a master at creating her scenes and characters. When Brunetti was eating his cheese and salad, I salivated. When I followed this essentially good man throughout the story, I wanted to know him and his colleagues as real people. When Brunetti was with his wife, Paola, I wanted a marriage like theirs. All of this adds verisimilitude to a novel that, in parts, is deeply tragic.

Tue story begins when Brunetti and a female colleague go to visit Benedetta, a women in hospice care, who is dying a miserable death from cancer. Readers will feel great sympathy for this character’s suffering. Before she dies, Benedetta presents Brunetti and Claudia Griffoni with something to investigate. They learn that Benedetta’s daughters are about to become orphans as Benedetta’s husband recently died in a crash. Was his death an accident? If it was murder how, if at all, does it relate to his job?

In Trace Elements (an apt title), the crime as it relates to Venice feels all too plausible. Ms. Leon has done her research and written a believable and sad tale of human corruption and its consequences. Wrong actions happen but the reasons for them differ.

This title is the latest entry in Donna Leon’s long running series about Guido Brunetti. It is a most excellent novel and I recommend it highly.

This novel has received a good deal of attention, including being selected for Reese Witherspoon’s book club.  It is the story of Laurie and Jack, their friends and families.  It is a story of a romance that may or may not go to a happy ending.  It is definitely one in which the course of true love “never did  run smooth.”  If you enjoy light, romantic fiction you might want to join the many who have read this title.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the e-galley.  The opinions are my own.#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER
A Reese Witherspoon x Hello Sunshine Book Club Pick “Get ready to be swept up in a whirlwind romance. It absolutely charmed me.” —Reese Witherspoon

“Josie Silver writes with a warmth so palpable her characters sneak their way into your heart and stay for a long time.”—Jill Santopolo, New York Times-bestselling author of The Light We Lost #OneDayInDecember #NetGalley

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