Great reads for adults and children!
I recommend this collection most highly. I absolutely adore Mary Oliver’s deeply thoughtful, and incredibly moving poetry.
In this collection, readers can spend time engaging with both Oliver’s poetry and prose. They will be the better for it.
Many thanks to NetGalley and Grand Central Publishing for this title. All thoughts are my own.
Note: Oliver’s poetry is very accessible. No deep scholarship required.
Pub date: 09 September 2025
The Maid has garnered so much praise both before and after publication. It is a book that is definitely worth reading. Those who enjoy The Thursday Murder Club and Ruth Galloway mysteries are certain to love this novel with it quirky, idiosyncratic and (morally) good protagonist.
Molly sees the world in her own way. She appears to be “on the spectrum,” though I hate to use that term and do not want to make Molly anything other than the unique woman that she is. Molly has trouble reading social cues and people’s facial expressions. This can lead to her being naively trusting. Molly speaks with a beautifully old fashioned syntax and sometimes makes rhymes as, for example, “a tissue for your issue.”
Molly lives with her grandmother who works as a domestic. Molly is herself a maid, working at the Grand Hotel. It is a job that suits her orderly personality and Molly takes great pride in her work. (She will hopefully leave readers with more respect for those who toil in hotels for the benefit of the guests).
Molly becomes involved in a series of events that leave her in over her head. There were times when I wanted to yell “stop” to Molly when she trusted some of the hotel staff and guests but, of course, could not do so. The fact that I wanted to is a tribute to the author’s ability to create characters for whom readers will care.
Who will protect Molly? Will she get out of this mess? Will she or the hotel ever be the same? Read this charming, heartfelt novel to find out. To use one of Molly’s favorite words, it is “delightful.”
I sincerely hope that the author’s next book is published soon. I give this first novel of hers five stars.
Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher. All opinions are my own.
After her hospitalization, June is invited to recuperate at Ali’s ranch and accepts this offer. The ranch was the home of well-known author Carson Wells.
Ali and June share an important relationship as readers learn early on. What is their relationship to the deceased Carson and to each other? How do things go between these two and the other characters? Read this one to find out. Also, learn more about the title of the novel.
I very much enjoyed this newest book by Ms. Thayne. I liked the characters, relationships and settings. Anyone who enjoys women’s fiction may want to give this one a look.
Many thanks to NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for this title. All opinions are my own.
Alison may be the worst intern at Juniper Connolly’s company. In fact, Juniper was in the process of firing Ali when she (June) suffered a cardiac arrest, despite being fit and young. Amazingly, it was Ali who saved Juniper’s life. For reasons that the reader learns, Ali knew CPR.
Pub date: 03 June 2025
352 pages
Women’s fiction
I may be one of very few people never to have read anything by Margaret Atwood. I am so happy to now have had the chance to spend some time with her poems.
The poems are reflective and often moving. One of my favorites was called Blackberries. It is about fruit, growing older and generational connections. Another elegiac poem called Blizzard is about the poet’s mother getting older and how hard it is to let go.
Ms. Atwood covers a wide range of topics in this collection. It is definitely worth either reading straight through in order or dipping into.
Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this title in exchange for an honest review.
#SwimmingforBeginners #NetGalley
Loretta lives a carefully controlled and planned life. She has a fiance with whom she shares a measured relationship. Surprises are not her thing. Loretta works hard, wants a promotion and is trying her best to fit in at work, even if this has her doing things that she does not enjoy. Loretta is traveling abroad to meet with a client when…she meets Phoebe at the airport and her life changes.
Readers get to know Loretta and Phoebe well. Their relationship will change both of them in ways that they were not expecting or prepared for.
Those who enjoy warmhearted stories with quirky protagonists, this novel is for you. The last heroine I enjoyed who reminded me of Loretta was in Lessons in Chemistry. Both of these women have their unique style and ways of living their lives.
I very much enjoyed this book and am delighted to recommend it.
Many thanks to NetGalley and Bedford Square Publishers for this title. All opinions are my own.
Pub date: 14 September 2023
An e book bargain
This book has received a tremendous amount of publicity, and there have been many excellent reviews. Now that I have read this one, I can see why. In these pages readers will find humor, excitement, some heartbreak, good characters, many settings, and some surprises.
Overall, this is a story of two sisters, named Penny and Josephine. As the novel begins, they are in their 90s and about to receive a special honor in France. Readers discover that each of them had an exciting war, meaning World War II.
In addition to learning about their wartime experiences, readers learn about those close to Penny and Josephine. This includes everyone from housekeepers to a special nephew to those that they have loved over the years.
I think readers will be taken by the story and its characters. it is one with a unique flavor
Many thanks to NetGalley and William Morrow for this title. All opinions are my own.
This title was published in January 2024.
Transient Desires is Donna Leon’s thirtieth (!) book about Guido Brunetti. What an accomplishment to have kept a series fresh over so many novels..
In thinking about this title, I concluded that it is a story of place and character, as compared to a classic mystery. There are people good and bad, those with and without morals, those who get caught up in situations with difficult consequences, vicims, various types of love and more. Venice is also critical part of this story. Areas of the city that were new to me were in this book as were the canals, cafes and tourist sites along, of course, with Brunetti’s home.
My favorite of all of the people in this novel is Brunetti. His desire to do right, his willingness to apologize when wrong, his trying to help others and his love of lunch and Paola (his wife) all play their part.
The plot is not dense. Two young girls are injured and left at a hospital. The story goes from there as it impacts a number of others.
If you are going to be a new reader of Brunetti, start at the beginning with Death at La Fenice. All other Leon fans welcome our Commissario back.
Many thanks to the publisher and NetGalley. All opinions are my own.
The book is worth reading and I eagerly anticipated the movie which stars Lily James from Downton Abbey.
An e book bargain
Soon to be on tv
Readers who devoured Richard Osman’s mysteries are pretty sure to enjoy The Marlow Murder Club. It has many similar good eccentricities while telling its own story.
As in Osman’s novels, our woman on the scene is a pensioner. Eccentric Judith Potts is in her seventies. She may be a little too fond of whisky. She sets crossword puzzles to earn money, lives in an inherited property and observes everything around her. She is also intrepid.
One night Judith hears a shot. Her neighbor Stefan is dead. It is quickly established that Stefan was murdered. His character is less clear; there are those who saw him as a good and kind man and others who did not. What was the nature of his association/relationship with an antiques business and Elliott, its proprietor? How, if at all, is Stefan’s death connected to another victim, a well-liked taxi driver named Iqbal? And, what about the people Judith gets to know along the way? There are a mysterious redhead, a dog walker and a vicar’s wife among others. It all crescendos in a satisfying story.
Many thanks to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for this title. All opinions are my own.
Pub date: 03 May 2022
An e book bargain
Allison Pataki tells the story of Marjorie Merriweather Post from her childhood right on through her “many lives.” She was a daughter, wife (multiple times), mother, key part of Post (later known as General) Foods, society woman, charitable worker and donor, ambassador’s wife, builder of multiple estates and more. The pages just flew as I followed Marjorie through her life.
Readers will travel with Marjorie to many locations. Among these are Battle Creek, Washington DC, Manhattan, the Adirondacks, Palm Beach (Mar-a-Lago) and Moscow. Readers see Marjorie’s own experiences in each of these places.
Relationships were a big part of Marjorie’s life. No spoiler so I won’t write about how many times she married or who her husbands or children were.
I so highly recommend this book to those who enjoy historical fiction. It is one of the best that I have read in this genre.
Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this title. All opinions are my own.
Joyce's mystery and fiction book reviews with some non-fiction too! 