Wednesday, August 18, 2021
Review - The Forest of Vanishing Stars
AUTHOR: Kristin Harmel
RATING: ★★★★
Summary (from Goodreads): The New York Times bestselling author of the The Book of Lost Names returns with an evocative coming-of-age World War II story about a young woman who uses her knowledge of the wilderness to help Jewish refugees escape the Nazis—until a secret from her past threatens everything.
After being stolen from her wealthy German parents and raised in the unforgiving wilderness of eastern Europe, a young woman finds herself alone in 1941 after her kidnapper dies. Her solitary existence is interrupted, however, when she happens upon a group of Jews fleeing the Nazi terror. Stunned to learn what’s happening in the outside world, she vows to teach the group all she can about surviving in the forest—and in turn, they teach her some surprising lessons about opening her heart after years of isolation. But when she is betrayed and escapes into a German-occupied village, her past and present come together in a shocking collision that could change everything.
Inspired by incredible true stories of survival against staggering odds, and suffused with the journey-from-the-wilderness elements that made Where the Crawdads Sing a worldwide phenomenon, The Forest of Vanishing Stars is a heart-wrenching and suspenseful novel.
REVIEW: What a beautiful story! First of all, the amount of research Kristin Harmel put into this book is simply incredible. The details are so amazing and really bring the story to life. The main character, Yona, is courageous and someone to be admired. I don’t want to give away too much information or spoilers. I will say the plot is one of the most unique I've ever come across, but it all comes together so beautifully, and I would gladly recommend this book to everyone. I look forward to reading more of Harmel’s work in the near future.
Monday, August 9, 2021
Review - The Lost Apothecary
AUTHOR: Sarah Penner
RATING: ★★★★
Summary (from Goodreads): A female apothecary secretly dispenses poisons to liberate women from the men who have wronged them - setting three lives across centuries on a dangerous collision course.
Rule #1: The poison must never be used to harm another woman.
Rule #2: The names of the murderer and her victim must be recorded in the apothecary’s register.
One cold February evening in 1791, at the back of a dark London alley in a hidden apothecary shop, Nella awaits her newest customer. Once a respected healer, Nella now uses her knowledge for a darker purpose - selling well-disguised poisons to desperate women who would kill to be free of the men in their lives. But when her new patron turns out to be a precocious twelve-year-old named Eliza Fanning, an unexpected friendship sets in motion a string of events that jeopardizes Nella’s world and threatens to expose the many women whose names are written in her register.
In present-day London, aspiring historian Caroline Parcewell spends her tenth wedding anniversary alone, reeling from the discovery of her husband’s infidelity. When she finds an old apothecary vial near the river Thames, she can’t resist investigating, only to realize she’s found a link to the unsolved “apothecary murders” that haunted London over two centuries ago. As she deepens her search, Caroline’s life collides with Nella’s and Eliza’s in a stunning twist of fate - and not everyone will survive.
REVIEW: Loved this story! I can't believe this is Sarah Penner's debut novel. WOW! I can't wait to read more from her in the future. If you're looking for a story that blends a little magic and mystery from the past with some twists and turns from the present then you'll love this book. I loved it so much I purchased it for the library where I work. Recommended!
Tuesday, August 3, 2021
Review - Things You Save in a Fire
AUTHOR: Katherine Center
RATING: ★★★★
Summary (from Goodreads): Cassie Hanwell was born for emergencies. As one of the only female firefighters in her Texas firehouse, she's seen her fair share of them, and she's excellent at dealing with other people's tragedies. But when her estranged and ailing mother asks her to uproot her life and move to Boston, it's an emergency of a kind Cassie never anticipated.
The tough, old-school Boston firehouse is as different from Cassie's old job as it could possibly be. Hazing, a lack of funding, and poor facilities mean that the firemen aren't exactly thrilled to have a "lady" on the crew, even one as competent and smart as Cassie. Except for the handsome rookie, who doesn't seem to mind having Cassie around. But she can't think about that. Because she doesn't fall in love. And because of the advice her old captain gave her: don't date firefighters. Cassie can feel her resolve slipping...but will she jeopardize her place in a career where she's worked so hard to be taken seriously?
Katherine Center's Things You Save in a Fire is a heartfelt, affecting novel about life, love, and the true meaning of courage.
REVIEW: It took me awhile to get through this one. Like, I read the first couple of chapters in the first week of April, but then I put it down, and I didn’t pick it up again until a month later. BUT...despite a slow start, I finished reading the remainder of the book in one day. I might not have been sucked in from the very beginning, but once I got past the first few chapters I was hooked and couldn’t put it down. I love Katherine Center’s writing style. She can be laugh-out-loud funny one minute, and in the next minute she’ll have you crying until you’re a snotty, sniffling mess. That’s what happened to me when I read this book. I won’t give away any spoilers, but the heroine, Cassie, is truly someone to be admired. Her love interest, Owen? Well, he’s everything you look for in the perfect hero - masculine and strong but tender too. Take my advice and read Things You Save in a Fire. You’ll be glad you did.
Friday, July 30, 2021
Review - The Vanishing Half
AUTHOR: Brit Bennett
RATING: ★★★★
Summary (from Goodreads): The Vignes twin sisters will always be identical. But after growing up together in a small, southern black community and running away at age sixteen, it's not just the shape of their daily lives that is different as adults, it's everything: their families, their communities, their racial identities. Many years later, one sister lives with her black daughter in the same southern town she once tried to escape. The other passes for white, and her white husband knows nothing of her past. Still, even separated by so many miles and just as many lies, the fates of the twins remain intertwined. What will happen to the next generation, when their own daughters' storylines intersect?
Weaving together multiple strands and generations of this family, from the Deep South to California, from the 1950s to the 1990s, Brit Bennett produces a story that is at once a riveting, emotional family story and a brilliant exploration of the American history of passing. Looking well beyond issues of race, The Vanishing Half considers the lasting influence of the past as it shapes a person's decisions, desires, and expectations, and explores some of the multiple reasons and realms in which people sometimes feel pulled to live as something other than their origins.
REVIEW: This book was beautifully written, but when I turned the last page there was one emotion that stood out to me above the others - sadness. Although the story was very poignant and profound, it still saddened me how some of the characters wanted so badly to be someone else - so much so that they lied to their loved ones for many years and caused them unimaginable pain and suffering. To me, that’s just heartbreaking and tragic. Still, I would recommend this book to everyone, but with a word of caution...if you don’t like sad stories, then this might not be the one for you.
Thursday, July 8, 2021
Review - Harry Potter and the Cursed Child
AUTHOR: J.K. Rowling, John Tiffany, and Jack Thorne
RATING: ★★★★
Summary (from Goodreads): The eighth story, nineteen years later...
It was always difficult being Harry Potter, and it isn't much easier now that he is an overworked employee of the Ministry of Magic, a husband, and a father of three school-age children.
While Harry grapples with a past that refuses to stay where it belongs, his youngest son, Albus, must struggle with the weight of a family legacy he never wanted. As past and present fuse ominously, both father and son learn the uncomfortable truth: sometimes, darkness comes from unexpected places.
Based on an original new story by J.K. Rowling, Jack Thorne, and John Tiffany, a new play by Jack Thorne, "Harry Potter and the Cursed Child" is the complete and official playscript of the original, award-winning West End production. This updated edition includes the final dialogue and stage directions, a conversation piece between director John Tiffany and playwright Jack Thorne, the Potter family tree, and a timeline of events in the wizarding world leading up to "Harry Potter and the Cursed Child."
REVIEW: First off, I was very surprised to see this story is actually written as a play. (Am I the only person who didn’t know this?) Reading it in a screenplay layout took some getting used to, but once I got past that, I quickly became engrossed in the story. I’ve been a huge Harry Potter fan for many years now, and this new addition didn’t disappoint. It begins where Deathly Hallows left off, nineteen years after the Battle of Hogwarts. I loved reading about Harry as a grown man with a family. I won’t give away any spoilers, but let’s just say that one of his three children has a tendency to find trouble wherever he goes, much like his dad did when he was younger. *wink* I would LOVE to see a movie adaptation of this book! If you're a fan of the Harry Potter series, then I encourage you to read The Cursed Child. You’ll be glad you did.
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