WHAT ARE WE READING & REVIEWING IN JULY 2024?

WHAT ARE YOUR READING PLANS FOR JULY?

Carol's "Kingdom of Imagination" For July
47/47
🧨Black Mouth - Ronald Malfi -4.5★ (Friend) (West Virginia)
🧨The Sixth Extinction - James Rollins -4★ (Group Read) (2)
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🧨Hiatus - L. A. Witt - 2★
🧨The Torches We Carry- L. A. Witt 4.5★
🧨Ashore - L A Witt - 4.5★
🧨Ripples & Waves: A Queer Retelling of Hans Christian Andersen's The Little Mermaid L.A. Witt -4★
🧨Forsaken - E.M. Lindsey -5 ★
🧨The Sweetest Goodbye - Christina Lee - 4★
🧨The Darkest Flame - Christina Lee -5★
🧨The Faintest Spark - Christina Lee -4★
🧨Without A Doubt - E.M. Lindsey -5★
🧨Aftermath - Tanya Chris -5★
🧨His Kind of Love - Kate Hawthorne - 4★
🧨The Colors Between Us - Kate Hawthorne - 4★
🧨Love Comes After - Kate Hawthorne -5★
🧨Devil's Dance- Garrett Leigh - 1★
🧨The Small Town Sweetie - Joe Satoria - 4.5★
🧨Owen, Blue Collar Daddies - Jacki James - 5★
🧨Gunnar, Blue Collar Daddies - Jacki James 5★
🧨Colby's Lost Binky -Della Caine - 5★
🧨My Chaos His Calm - Romeo Alexander -4★
🧨Winter Wonders - Leighton Greene -5★
🧨The Truth in My Lies - L.A. Witt -5★
🧨Greeking Out - Colette Davidson -4.5★
🧨Break The Rules - Leighton Greene - 4.5★
🧨Obey The Rules - Leighton Greene - 4.5★
🧨Flying Free - Leighton Greene -4.5★
🧨Rebound - Kate Hawthorne -5★
🧨I Wished For You - Colette Davidson -4.5★
🧨Unfettered - Kate Hawthorne -4.5★ (28)
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🧨Last Word - Taylor Adams -5★
🧨Dark Suits and Sad Songs - Denzil Meyrick -5★
🧨Holy Island - L J Ross -5★
🧨Fifty-Fifty - Steve Cavanagh -4★
🧨You Will Remember Me- Hannah Mary McKinnon -5★
🧨The Poacher's Son - Paul Doiron - 4.5★
🧨Black Cathedral - L. H. Maynard -5★
🧨The Devil's Kiss - William W. Johnstone -4★
🧨The Devil's Cat - Willliam W. Johnstone -4★
🧨Reckoning - Catherine Coulter -5★
🧨Merlin, the Magical Fluff - Molly Fitz -5★
🧨My Name Is Mary Sutter - Robin Oliveira -4★
🧨The Echo Man - Sam Holland -5★
🧨The Color of Bee Larkham's Murder - Sarah J. Harris -5★
🧨Looking Glass Sound - Catriona Ward -5★
🧨Come With Me - Ronald Malfi - 5★
🧨The House That Horror Built- Christina Henry - 4.5★ (17)

Black Mouth - Ron Malfi - West Virginia
Genera: Mystery/Suspense/Thriller/Paranormal
4.5★
The story begins with a suicide. Jamie Warren, who after leaving rehab, receives a phone call from the police telling him that his mother has killed herself and that his disabled brother, Dennis, is in their care. Reluctantly, Jamie gets in his car and begins to journey back to Sutton’s Quay, West Virginia, his childhood home. On the outskirts of Sutton’s Quay is a place with a very dark history known as Black Mouth, where a traumatic event occurred close by, and it has haunted Jamie his entire life. He's not the only one. Mia Tomasina has led a troubled life. She was orphaned and left in the care of her uncle and is now a filmmaker. Finally, she has begun to leave her past behind, that is until the day she visits the carnival. While strolling through the carnival she spies a man...a nightmarish demon, who she recognizes from her childhood in Black Mouth. When Clay Willis receives photos of this man from his old friend Mia, he discovers that history is repeating itself and he too must return to where it all began. As fate reunites these three friends, it is up to them to hunt down the man, or the monster, who ruined their lives and uncover who he is once and for all. As you may tell, from the very beginning Ron Malfi wastes no time dropping his readers into a narrative filled with mystery and suspense. We are immediately captivated, questioning who the man is and what exactly happened in Black Mouth. You will certainly want to find out.

Aftermath - Tanya Chris
Ever After Series Book #3
Genera: M/M/ Romance/BSDM
5★
I was sorry to see that this one concludes this 3-book series. The books need to be read in order as they all tell the story of a gay bashing that resulted in the death of one person ...Jamie.... with the rest of the characters forever tied together. The main character is Casey, the brother of the man who did the bashing that resulted in Jamie's death. Casey didn’t actively take part; but he was present and stood by allowing it to happen. He testified against his brother and when this story opens, he has just been being released after a short time in jail. Casey also is gay but being brought up by and having a homophobic father and brother as role models...he really carries some heavy damage. Brooks had been a victim of Casey's brother but managed to fight him off. As with most of these types of books the characters continue to float through, and some often take very active roles. Such is the case of Syed and Dashiell from the first two books. Like Syed, Brooks is also a Dom. It was Casey’s checking Brooks out in a bar that sent his brother after Brooks. Casey seeks out Brooks to apologize and try to make amends. Brooks, in turn, recommends he go to the LGBTQ Center, Ribbon and Rainbows, where he volunteers. Most of this story is about Casey and his coming to grips with his sexuality and trying to refit into society. Volunteering at the center let him see that there were others like him and there was absolutely "nothing wrong with him". Other parts of the story were about him seeking out punishment in the way of rough, bordering on abusive sex. Brooks was encouraged to help him, since he counsels kids at the center about safety in all actions especially those that may involve kink. Soon Casey and Brookes become much more than just teacher and student. Unfortunately, a few things occur that are out of their power to control. The story featured some fabulous side characters. Finn, the young teenager who becomes Casey’s shadow and plays a big part in many of the changes that Casey undergoes. Casey's Aunt Kit who gave him unconditional love and a safe home along with the growth that he needed...and of course seeing Syed and Dashiell again. Overall, it had a satisfying ending. It was a wonderful story/series about forgiveness and grabbing those second chances when life offers them.

Last Word - Taylor Adams - (Washington)
Genera: Mystery & Suspense
5★
When you chose a book, it is sometimes a gambit as to if you will like it, be indifferent, yeah or nay...but the last thing you would ever expect is the unstable author of that book going over the edge and coming after you...but this is what happened to Emma Carpenter, a former junior high school math teacher who is settles into a remote beach house on the Washington coast binge-reading e-book horror novels. She tries to forget a terrible event that happened just a few months ago. Her most trusted companion is her golden retriever, Laika, and Emma, an introvert, likes and prefers it like this. Her only human contact is an author, Deacon Cowl, who isn't on the best seller list, and who lives next door. The two have never met, but they "communicate" through the use of whiteboards and telescopes. Cowl recommended that she download "Murder Mountain" by H.G. Kane. NOTE: (it isn't a real book so don't waste time looking for it:) Emma is not at all a fan of this. She hates everything about this badly written thriller about an angry man who tortures and kills young women. She does what any of us would have done. After finishing it she posts a glaringly, negative review. Deacon Kane reads it and then messages her and insists she take the review down...and good or bad for Emma depending on how you look at it...refuses...still Kane just won't take "no" for an answer. Soon, Emma's power goes out, her internet goes down, and Emma, like the women in this awful thing she just read and reviewed... "Murder Mountain", goes into a full-on fight for her very life. By now you know what is happening as it becomes a "Classic Stalker" situation that can't end anything less than bad. This is a twisted, edge of your seat tale of a psychopath who, believes that he's invincible, and... ready for this?? He wants Emma's death to be the subject...the highlight, of his next novel. Our Emma, being the indomitable heroine that she is, takes control and shifts the story in her favor as she fights to protect herself and Laika. Knives are out, no swords, no guns...not even a stun gun. Just a frightened but angry and determined woman and her dog. You can't wait to see what happens next in this head-spinning tale. The prey truly becomes the predator in this unnerving tale.

Dark Suits and Sad Songs - Denzil Meyrick - (Scotland)
Genera: Mystery & Suspense
5★
It's a story filled with thrills, danger, emotion and tension, in other words it is everything fans of the series or these genera could want. The author is quite ingenious when it comes to "taking out" the victims and some of it borders on gross...so be prepared. As well as having very disturbing murders, there is a great deal of double crossing and animosity...especially between Daley and Superintendent John Donald. Daley doesn’t have the usual expected amount of support that usually surrounds him, neither personally nor professionally. It has an authentic feel and doesn't detract from the story, but long-time readers of this author will be surprised and a bit mystified. Daley and Scott are back and the friendship between them still makes them an irresistible team. Neither of them is perfect, but they make up for it in determination and, in Daley’s case especially, an unerring sense of right and wrong, even if it may cost him everything. My grandfather was fresh off the boat from Scotland, and I grew up loving to hear him talk, so the author's use of the very, very Scottish vernacular was music to my ears, and it adds character and an atmosphere of authenticity to the story. This is a story of drug dealing, corruption, abduction and murder.... but above all it's a story that will have you fully engaged and entertained from start to finish. While the books don't necessarily need to be read in order, you will find that the characters speak of past cases and events that have appeared in the book before...but each one is individual enough to easily be read as standalone.

Without A Doubt - E.M. Lindsey
Narrator: Nick Hudson
Series: Love Starts Here -Book #1
Genera: M/M Romance
5★
When Carter’s love life crashes, his best friend, Gabriel convinces him to try a hook-up on Grindr. When his gorgeous “date” arrives in a Jaguar to whisk him away for the dinner that became so much more in a secluded parking structure, he couldn't believe his good luck. Maybe this was a good idea after all. The date is going great until the man knocks off one of Carter's CI's in the aftermath. Carter tells him finally that he’s deaf and explains the CI and then later when he is on his way to the restroom, he lip-reads the gorgeous date, who is now no longer quiet so gorgeous... complaining about his deafness and making a major slur about him to the cute bartender that he's now hitting on. Instead of confronting the "date", Carter runs off. Six months later Carter finally lands his chance to work at London Enterprises as a PA to the CEO. He hopes this will be the steppingstone to a bright future with the company he's hoping for. Then he's introduced to his new boss...and what are the chances??? The new boss turns out to be no other than Rhys London, the jerk from the horrendous humiliating date. When Rhys chases Carter down to help him when he has a severe case of vertigo... he can't believe that Rhys doesn’t remember him. Carter wants this job so he's willing to give the jerk a second chance.... but can he really overcome the way he was treated? Carter and Rhys were such a sweet "mistaken identity" story that pin-pointed some of the challenges that deaf people often face in a society that often takes the ability to hear for granted. I also liked the idea that Rhys had taken sign language as his second/foreign language in college. It allowed the readers to know that this was an actual thing that students could do if they wanted. By now you have probably also figured out what had actually happened...what the difference was between the man on the date and the man that is Carter's boss in the office, and the reason why Rhys doesn't remember him. I hope Rhys and Carter make a least a slight appearance in the next book.

His Kind of Love - Kate Hawthorne - (California)
Lonely Hearts Series Book #1
Genera: M/M Romance
4★
The story in many ways was frustrating as well as sometimes unbelievable. There were too many secrets here that had no need to even be secrets. Joel is young...somewhere in his early twenties...much younger than Gaberial who was somewhere in his mid-thirties... but age wasn't the problem. I have no problem with age gap romances, and this wasn't a huge gap by any means. They were both adults and that was all that mattered. People love who they love and if it works for them, it's not my place to judge or care. The main problem here was that the entire fiasco that was bound to happen eventually, could have been avoided if Gaberial had told Joel the entire truth to start with. I didn't care much for Joel's best friend, Althena either. She "ruled" his life way too much and he happily depended on her to do so. I knew when Joel and Gaberial's family relationships were explained early in the story what was going to take place the longer that Gaberial waited to have the important "talk" with Joel. In spite of all that it had some really good twists, the characters of Joel and Gaberial were interesting, and they certainly were perfect for each other....in spite of the age difference. I loved reading about the things that Joel collected...old records, old books, and old Bible's. He had a Bible that was 200 years old. He loved reading about family histories. The author could have based the entire story on what made Joel and Gaberial special as people as well as to one another and left Joel's toxic, money hungry mother and stepfather out of the story completely and probably earned the story another half-star. I have the second and the third book in the series. Hope there isn't as many secrets hidden in the remainder of the series.

The Poet X – Elizabeth Acevedo
5*****

In her debut novel, Acevedo tells the story of a teen from Harlem, who finds her voice in writing poetry, but who struggles against her mother’s expectations.

I love poetry. I am in awe with how much a poet can convey in so few words. And Acevedo does a truly marvelous job in this novel-in-verse.

Xiomara (sometimes referred to as Xio or simply X) is not the best student, but when it comes to her poetry her English teacher recognizes talent and encourages Xio to express herself. Being a teenager is hard. Xio’s path is further complicated by her early development of “curves” and by her twin brother’s genius status. (He has skipped a grade and attends a different school.) Then there is her mother, who at one time wanted to be a nun, but instead married Xio’s father. Mami insists that Xio attend church and be pious, but Xio isn’t feeling it.

She isn’t at all wild, but she is attracted to a boy in her biology lab. She would like to be able to be a normal teenager, with friends, including boys, but she cannot talk to her mother. So, she pours her feelings into her poetry, written in a leather-bound notebook her twin gave her. As she finds her voice, she also finds the courage to be herself.

Recursion
Blake Crouch
3/5 stars
This is the science fiction story surrounding a New York City cop Barry Sutton and scientist Helena Smith. Smith wanted to have people to keep and remember their memories. However, her technology attacks the mind and changes the past and the world. Very interesting! Science Fiction

On This Day / Nathaniel Bellows
3.25 stars

Warren and Joan are (young adult) siblings and orphans. Their dad, then mom, died within a short time span (although the back of the book (and the blurb) says how, I feel like it is a bit of a spoiler, so I will not mention it here). They lean on each other heavily for support as they deal with their losses, but they were always quite close. They feel like they are getting along just fine, but it’s obvious that they are having some trouble.

It is told from Warren’s point of view and it went back and forth in time. It was decent. Slow-moving, definitely not full of plot, although there was one “surprise” (I had guessed it). There were some things I didn’t like about both Warren and Joan, but they were dealing with a lot. Things aren’t fully resolved, either, but I suppose that’s more realistic.

The Colors Between Us - Kate Hawthorne - (California)
Lonely Hearts Series Book #2
Genera: M/M Romance
4★
Possible Triggers: Depression, Alcoholism
You might say that this story gives us a view of life's uglier parts. Roland and Donny...so perfect yet so different. I wasn't going into this book completely blind, there's a trigger warning at the beginning of this book and it sets the stage for what you are going to encounter...but it doesn't tell you how many feelings, both good and bad, you will have for these two men. Roland is a famous artist that can no longer paint. He no longer feels any passion for his art...and spends most of the day in a vodka bottle. Roland's pain is very real, and it is very real for many real people...for some folks this will be a difficult, if not impossible, read.... but if you can get through these hurdles, you will discover that it also is a very fulfilling one. While Roland is a fictional character, and his situation is fictional, it's also real life for some...but it shows that it's okay to trust in the love that someone else has for you. Adonis, (Donny), is sweet, patient, and caring. He was Roland's "everything". Not only did he help Roland realize the important things in life, but he found a few missing parts of himself as well. He learned what it meant...and how it felt, to love someone completely...even the parts that were slowly destroying them. He was confident enough to know what that he was worth Roland getting his life together for and he wasn't going to settle for anything less...and he didn't. The two of them don't start out easy but they had enough passion between them to set the world on fire. That passion sometimes led to hurt, but it also led to love, and it led to Roland accepting his limits and then pushing himself beyond them. It allowed two very passionate but hurting men to find themselves individually as well as with one another.

Holy Island L.J. Ross - (Scotland)
Genera: Mystery & Suspense/Thriller
5★
This is a crime thriller, but it also contains a hint of the supernatural, occult, and macabre. As the only police officer on Lindisfarne, or also known as Holy Island, DCI Ryan is summoned to the scene of a suspicious death. A young girl has been found strangled and left naked in the ruins of the old Priory. Ryan was still on sick leave following an incident a few months before in which he was attacked by a serial killer, so his boss is reluctant to let him investigate. Little did either of them know that this would be the start of a challenging, and in some respects, life changing investigation for many of the Islands residents and is team. Places such as Lindisfarne, are covered with ancient myths, legends, spooky old Priories, along with being on a location along a stunning stretch of the north-east coast. Many people come to celebrate the summer and winter solstice, and it is during the winter solstice that the death occurs just a few days before Christmas. The author has managed to create a thrilling and chilling tale, which may be a bit short on the murder side but still manages to be delightfully gruesome. The victims are varied, the methods of death random and diverse and yet all seem to link back to pagan symbolism. I really liked this this about the book. It adds a touch of "madness" and a feeling to what might otherwise have seemed a straightforward domestic event. The murders themselves are not described in grotesque detail, but they didn't need to be. From the very first chapter, as the body count grows, as the true sense of the darkness which infected the small island community became crystal clear, I wanted to know more. It's an intriguing plotline, a good mystery, with a bad guy that you will just love to hate. The story leaves you with a sense that there is still more to come, making you look forward to the next book.

Fifty-Fifty - Steve Cavanaugh - (New York)
Eddie Flynn series Book #5
Genera: Mystery & Suspense
4★
This is s a straightforward courtroom drama: One daughter is a murderer. The other has been framed. Yet, one daughter is not only a murderer but is really a serial killer...a psychopath with not one ounce of remorse, totally fixated on her agenda. Our job...we the readers, same as the jury, is to decide which sister is guilty and to make sure that the innocent one doesn’t get sentenced instead. Therefore, the title 50:50. The evidence means it could go either way. Now we meet Eddie Flynn whose "party trick" is also his superpower. He can ALWAYS tell when someone is lying, and Eddie never defends those that are guilty. However, this case is so unusual and he's not at all sure that he’s on the right side. On first glance it appears to be obvious who is guilty. The sisters, a year apart in age, really are very different. One is successful, a girl successful in both looks and endeavors. The other one the exact opposite... pale and troubled. Alexandra and Sofia. The evidence could easily go either way either supporting or damning either of the sisters. The story is told from the point of view of the two lawyers who are defending the sisters and from the mysterious ‘She’, the sister who is the killer. This set up works very well until about halfway into the story at which point you just want the book to end so you can either cheer your case solving skills or pull your hair out for being utterly, entirely oblivious to who did it. Maybe I forgot that Eddie is more or less a conman turned lawyer. At any rate, no one is going to hire me to solve any cases anytime soon. Overall, it's an engaging & lightweight read. I liked the book but not many of the characters, but I don't really think we were supposed to. Unfortunately, the ones who were the most unpleasant took up the most space.

Woe: A Housecat's Story of Despair
Lucy Knisley
3/5 stars
Lucy Knisley writes and draws about her beloved cat Linney. Very short but very sweet!
Books Off My Neverending Reading List

Devil's Dance - Garrett Leigh
Rebel Kings Series Book #1
Narrator: Dan Calley
Genera: M/M Romance/ Motorcycle Club
1★
Have you ever really tried to like a book? A book that the description sounded interesting...maybe something like some others that you had read and liked, so you thought you'd give this one a try? If your answer was "yes" or even "maybe"...then you will totally understand where this 1-star rating...an unusual rating for me came from...and believe me, it was generous. I have spent literally an entire week and a half listening to this book. To this day, I couldn't tell you one single thing that the story is about...who the main characters...or for that matter, any of the characters are, or what in the heck is happening, except that a lot of people are dying, and a few others are finding time to have sex, so I guess they died happy. Maybe it was the narrator, as I have never listened to him before and have to admit that the narration was less than...well let's just say...less. I DO like this author. I've read and listened to several things that she has written and never before have had this problem...so I'm counting this as being a fluke and will certainly try another one, hoping I'm not the "glutton for punishment" that I'm starting to believe I might be:)...but believe me... it WILL NOT ANOTHER ONE IN THIs SERIES!!!

Science Comics: Cats: Nature and Nurture / Andy Hirsch
4 stars

The “Science Comics” are a series of graphic novels aimed at young readers (middle grades?), but they all have interesting information for adults, too. This one follows a calico kitten left on the street to fend for herself, so she looks for food and finds other cats to befriend on the street. There is all kinds of information on wild cats, in addition to domestic.

I love these books. Really enjoyed this one, as well. The colour illustrations are so nice. I also love cats, and I knew the basics of much of what was mentioned, but not the details. It talks about cats’ senses, how they became domesticated, and more.

Love Comes After - Kate Hawthorne - (California)
Lonely Hearts Series Book #3
Genera: M/M/M Romance/BDSM/Daddy, little
4.5★
Of the 3 books in the series, I believe I liked this one slightly more than the other two, or I was just in a more generous mood:) There was a little different kink added to this story...some BDSM and some "daddy" time. Can two friends who had been together since childhood, find the thing that is missing in their life together? They can and do when they find Chris...or rather when Chris finds them. Chris turns out to be just want they have been missing and they turn out to be just what Chris needs too. There was a bit of "hold your breath, hope everything turns out okay" moments but all's well that ends well. I love Kate Hawthorne as an author and I own a lot of her books, but this series was at times, a bit too much before life got better for the characters. Still, well worth the read.

Owen - Jacki James - (Texas)
Blue Collar Daddies Series Book #4
Genera: M/M Romance/Daddy - Boy Relationship
5★
Keegan knows his life is missing something, and he feels ready to explore his bisexuality for the first time. Owen is a "Daddy" and not looking for a boy but can't deny his feeling when Keegan's close by. They are both two likeable men and agree to pose as boyfriends and attend Owen's ex's wedding. Soon a real relationship develops. They make a great couple who are sweet together and have loads of chemistry, so naturally things unfold quickly between them, but it didn't feel rushed...it had a patient feel to it. They both agree to spend the time checking on their own feelings and talking with each other about mutual expectations and the rules that will be in their Daddy/boy dynamic. I liked the communication at play here. The only part that felt a bit rushed was their first post-trip...first time together. Having just agreed to be boyfriends and in a Daddy/boy relationship, the intimacy, and that it seemed the chapter ended abruptly made it feel more like a checked off to-do item on a to-do list, than a monumental point in their relationship. I also like that it was almost angst free...a beautiful love story and a quick read that can easily be read as a standalone, although it does build on the Daddies and boys friend groups that have developed over the series. Overall, a sweet story with lovable characters.


Gunnar (Blue Collar Daddies) - Jacki James - (Texas)
Blue Collar Daddies Series Book #5
Genera: M/M Romance/Daddy-Boy Relationship
5★
In this the 5t book we meet Simon and Gunnar. Simon is a nurse and the only "Boy" in his group of friends...all from the previous books, who does not have a "Daddy". He would like one, but he doesn’t trust himself because the last "Daddy" he had was horrible and not a real "Daddy" at all. It took him a while to figure this out and dump him, but he feels like he should have known this sooner, so he’s not sure he will know what a true Daddy looks like if and when he should meet one. I loved Gunnar. He served in the Navy for 20 years and only recently retired. He has moved back to Texas to be near his sister and her 3-year-old daughter. He is since become a tattoo artist and is working on buying the studio where he now works when the current owner is ready to sell. He’s a Daddy that went to the club on "Daddy/Boy" night and here is where he first saw Simon. They are attracted to one another but unfortunately, Simon has had a bit more to drink and Gunnar doesn't want him to make any decisions in that condition, so Gunnar gets his number and sends him back to his friends, and texts him the next day. Simon really likes Gunnar but is scared that he might turn out to be like his old "Daddy". His friends and their Daddies all like him because of the way he handled the meeting and giving Simon a chance to sober up before making any meetings. They both decide that they owe one another a chance and go on a first date. Gunnar knows about Simon's past and goes slow to set out to prove that he is a true "Daddy" who will love, care for and cherish him. The story continues as they get to know each other, date, do things with their friends, and then fall in love. I have really enjoyed this series. The characters have all been realistic, they all have had problems, yet they are all very sweet and caring. There's hardly any angst at all in the stories, just how Simon learns he can trust in himself again. I always like stories where previous characters appear so you can see what has happened to them since their books and this one was full of them. I really like Daddy/Boy stories, and this story did not disappoint in any way. I wish here was going to be many more of these books but that's what rereads are for.

Women Talking / Miriam Toews
3.5 stars

In the mid-2000s, in a remote Mennonite village in Bolivia, several of the women (and some children) were waking up in the mornings, bleeding, sore, and bruised. They were told they were being punished for sins, etc. It was only when one of the women caught one of the men coming into her bedroom did they figure out that multiple men were drugging and raping them in the night. When one of the women attacked one of the men with a scythe, the eight accused men were sent away to jail (for their protection). But the other men wanted to bail them out and bring them back. The women would then be expected to forgive them, or they would lose their place in heaven.

This really happened. This book takes that situation and (fictionally) has the women discussing what to do while the men are away. Three options: they can do nothing, they can stay and fight, or they can leave. These are the options being discussed (at least among those who don’t want to simply do nothing). They need to decide before the men return, so there is a limited time frame to discuss and decide.

One man, a teacher who once left the community with his excommunicated parents, but did return, is in the women’s meeting to take notes. None of the women can read, they do not know their way around very far outside their own community, and they only speak Low German (not any local languages outside their community).

What a horrible situation! Their were even children who were violated. It was an interesting discussion happening among the women (though told from August’s POV, and what he was seeing and hearing during the discussions). I would have liked to know what the women really did in the end (if anything), and will likely look that up.

You Will Remember Me - Hannah Mary McKinnon - (Maryland)
Genera: Mystery & Suspense/Thriller
5★
It's a really, really good, twisted thriller, and one that almost instantly will draw you in. The story is dark, wicked and diabolical, complete with obsession, manipulation and devious behavior from all the equally flawed characters. The story is told from three different points of view, and you will immediately know that all is not what it seems. There is definitely something off with the characters and each seems to be hiding something from their pasts. Memory loss is a good way to build on a theme, which is what the author does with the man from the beach. While this isn’t by any means anything new, but the way it’s done here is just...clever.... something that keeps it from becoming the same pattern we’ve all seen before. We also have just the right number of twists and turns to really keep you on edge as the story slowly begins to unfold. Once you start reading it, you will not want to stop, so make sure that you have nothing else important to do once you start to read. I read this one in an afternoon since I had to see how it was all going to come out in the end...and you will be SOOO surprised. I definitely did not see that coming. I don't usually recommend a book...even a really, really good one as everyone has different idea about what constitutes a "really good read"...but I believe any Mystery & Suspense fan will find this one their "cuppa tea".

A Hundred Flowers – Gail Tsukiyama
Book on CD read by Simon Vance
4****

In this novel, Tsukiyama turns her attention to the mid-to-late 1950s and Mao’s Cultural Revolution in China. The title refers to 1957, when Chairman Mao declared “Let a hundred flowers bloom; let a hundred schools of thought contend,” and encouraged China’s intellectuals, teachers, and scholars to voice their opinions openly. Of course, this was a trap.

The story focuses on the Lee family. Kai Ying’s husband, Sheng, a teacher, promised not to jeopardize his family’s safety, but he was still dragged away for writing a letter criticizing the Communist Party and sent to a labor camp to be “reeducated.” A year later their son, Tao, has an accident and breaks his leg. Kai Ying may be an herbalist who is sought out by neighbors for her many remedies, but no tea or poultice will fix this injury. Sheng’s father, Wei, who also lives with them, was once a renowned university professor, and he is obviously distraught by what has happened to his son and the family.

The family members do their best in difficult times to move forward, working, studying, helping friends and neighbors. They share what they can, but they cannot help but worry. The uncertainty is palpable. Yet, they face their circumstances with grace, dignity and courage.

Simon Vance voices the audiobook. He’s a talented narrator and I’ve enjoyed many of the audiobooks I’ve listened to him perform. But for this work, I could not help but hear his British voice and think “that’s not right.”

Merlin, The Magical Fluff - Molly Fitz - (Georgia)
Cozy Mystery/Paranormal
5★
This is the second book I've read in this series. I do admit the cute Maine Coon cat on the covers were 99.9% of the attraction...at least to begin with. l've been owned by more than one cat in my lifetime so I had no problem believing that Merlin was magical and could solve mysteries, or that he owned a human. Then I quickly found out that Merlin is not actually a cat. He's really a witch...being that he's male I guess he's a warlock...anyway he's magical and solves mysteries. Gracie thinks she is Merlin's owner, (silly human), but if you have been owned by a cat, you know this isn't true but, to get more tuna, Merlin is willing to go along with it...as he knows she is actually his familiar...and she is starting to settle into that role rather nicely, but the magic world around them can't let that happen. As one reviewer adequately remarked "This book went by in a blur of shenanigans and cat fur.". I thought that described it rather well. It kept me guessing and of course my guesses were never right. It's a completely different twist on the cat and familiar relationship and not what I usually read but I think I might be hooked on Merlin and might consider applying for the 'familiar" position should he need another one.

The Poacher's Son - Paul Doiron - (Maine)
Mike Bowditch Series Book #1
Genera: Mystery & Suspense
4.5★
I am on a mission to go back and read these books in order. Paul Doiron was one of my mother's favorite authors and every year since her death, I have tried to read at least one book that was one of her favorites. This year I will spend some time with Mike Bowditch, Paul Doiron's game warden who is a bit out of his element in this one. Instead of his usual Wyoming haunt he finds himself in in Maine. His father, Jack, is mainly responsible for Mike's career choice since he's a hard-drinking, often unemployed womanizer who spent his life poaching illegal game. Mike and his father were never close, especially after his mother left with young Mike in tow. Mike's decision to become a game warden was made in part because of a heartfelt need to pay society back for his father's actions, a decision that also led to the dissolution of his relationship with his longtime girlfriend. The girlfriend wasn't any great loss...but then neither was his father. Imagine how surprised and conflicted Mike was when he returns home one night and finds a message on his answering machine...a message from his father who he hasn't spoken to or heard from in at least two years. The message doesn't make a lot of sense, but it grows in importance when the next morning Mike learns that a local policeman and a lawyer representing a timber company had both been murdered, and "Daddy Dearest" is the primary suspect. Jack had managed to escape from the police and is now on the run. Mike knows all about his father's violent temper, but he truly believes that there is no way he could have killed anyone. Needless to say, he is the only one that believes that...so Mike sets out to gather facts and try to understand what happened...but in doing this he begins to jeopardize his own career and his relationships with colleagues. Determined to find out the truth, despite being warned against it, he joins forces with a retired warden; and one-time enemy of his father and begins the search. He meets a woman who claims to be his father's girlfriend, and insists she knows what happened. This was the first book in the Mike Bowditch series and was written 7-years ago...so there are many more in this series that I intend to explore. There are a lot of characters here that I'm sure make appearances in the other books and that appear to be complex and well-drawn, although a few tend to be stereotyped. I shouldn't have been surprised that I actually liked the back story of Mike and Jack and their turbulent relationship and its impact on their lives, almost more than the mystery itself. If you like authors like CJ Box, William Kent Krueger, Jeff Carson, or Randy Wayne Wright, you will probably like meeting Paul Doiron's game warden.

Am half way through The Berry Pickers and am enjoying it. Also just started The Door by Magda Szabo.

Black Cathedral - L.H. Maynard - (Scotland)
Genera: Paranormal Horror/Mystery & suspense
5★
It's not just a ghost story...it's a wickedly evil ghost story that seems to spread roots into every page. The story introduces us to Department 18, a special unit of the British government dealing with paranormal activities, and those that embrace it. We enter their doors as they are working to solve the strange disappearances that have taken place on Kulsay, an island off the Scottish coast. A group of employees from Waincraft Software have gone missing while on a weeklong team building course on the island and now the pilot and helicopter sent to rescue them has also mysteriously disappeared. No wreckage has been found. A private company with a secret interest in the outcome pays for the investigation. Of course it's no ordinary team. It's led by Jane Talbot, a woman whose marriage and personal life have come unglued, four sensitives with special skills... one of the members of that team is, the brilliant but troubled Robert Carver...a man Jane has had romantic ties with. Carver is a strange one and we find out that his assistant had also disappeared on his last investigation, and he believes that the two cases are linked. The team sets up their workspace in the ancient manse on the island, and it didn't take long for "strange psychic phenomenon" to begin. The morning found the situation deteriorated into violent manifestations that leaves one team member dead and Talbot missing. There is now no contact with the outside world and those remaining are left on their own to confront whatever the horror is that awaits them. I loved this weird, scary, creepy, story. The "evil things" were so well done that their presences were almost tangible, although we recognized that it was a play on the eternal struggle between good and evil, and this was an ancient evil that has risen to unleash devastation upon anyone and anything that dared to stand in its way. Did you like Shirley Jackson's The Haunting of Hill House? How about Anne Rivers Siddon's The House Next Door? If your answer is "yes"...then you will devour Black Cathedral ...just watch out that it doesn't devour you first.

NOTE: I don't know if such a department as "Department 18" actually exists in the British Government...Perhaps some of our British friends can enlighten us. I just hope that it's not a situation that if they tell us they have to kill us:)

The Small Town Sweetie - Joe Satoria
The Shaftdale Daddies Series Book #1
Gener: M/M Romance/Daddy Little
5★
Owen runs the local arcade and is also a bratty "little" and is in love with the sexy electrician that he keeps calling to fix the arcade's wiring problem, Jonny...He could fix the wiring but then he'd have no excuse to call Jonny to run over. The two of them are actually perfect for one another, but we just have to be patient and wait for them to discover that fact. Owen has resorted to “assisting” the machines in breaking down. Our Owen is resourceful and has had a crush on Jonny for a long time. Jonny thinks Owen is the cutest thing he has ever seen so he always just “happens” to bring the cutie at the arcade a lollipop or two or three when he’s called. He wants to be but can't work up the nerve to ask the little sweetie out for a date. Jonny doesn’t usually date, but he sure suddenly wants to now...as long as it's with Owen. He starts to overthink this again...What will he do if Owen says no? Or even worse...what if Owen says YES!? Jonny has never been on a real date before. "Listening" in to Jonny getting help with date planning advice, and Owen trying to respect Jonny’s wish to “take things slow” borders on hilarious. Sweet, sexy, funny, endearing and stuffed full of sweet and interesting characters, this series is going to be amazing!

The Devil's Cat - William W. Johnston
The Devil Series Book #4 - (Nebraska)
Genera: Mystery/Horror
4★
This book was like sitting in a theater watching a 1950's horror movie, only with words instead of pictures. All it lacked was the popcorn. It's more than likely also going to offend or even anger readers that are very religious. The author takes a hard, critical view of the local preacher...who really couldn't be viewed as "holy" or "faithful"....at least not for the right side.... but it's the old "good vs. evil idea. It has been set it up as a "never ending" story that moves from one part of the country to another where the devil uses sinners and false prophets to achieve his goals to call his minions forth into the world. The book portrays the idea that the Earth is a game, complete with rules between the devil and God, but no one has explained these "rules" to mankind. The main character, Sam, and his wife, Nydia along with their son, little Sam, all seem to understand the "rules" of the game. It is their job to guide the “true believers" in the small town through a three-day ordeal where they face all manners of evil. It was enough to make you seriously considering switching sides:) I thought the title was a little misleading. The town is overrun by hordes of cats, but I'm not sure they're actually evil or that they bring the evil with them. I think the idea was that they were supposed to be a forerunner to the evil...the devil's minions so to speak. Seems no one explained "the rules" to the cats either. Was it an award-winning novel? No....but it was an interesting enough story that I will try another.

Take My Hand – Dolen Perkins-Valdez
Digital audiobook narrated by Lauren J Daggett.
4****

In 2016, Dr Civil Townsend, reflects on her time three decades previously when she worked with Montgomery (Alabama) Family Planning. In 1973, she was a nurse and hoping to help women take some control over their destinies. She was particularly involved with the Williams family, and horrified at how the two young daughters were treated.

Perkins-Valdez took inspiration from a shameful episode in America’s history, when poor, Black people were used as subjects for medical studies without their informed consent.

Additionally, Perkins-Valdez looks at the class distinctions between poor, rural Blacks and the wealthier professional Blacks. Civil belongs to this latter social class and she has to make a conscious effort to hide her judgment of the way her patients live. She behaves compassionately towards them and even risks her career to fight on their behalf, but she has never encountered these conditions and it is difficult for her to hide her reaction.

I was certainly aware of the syphilis study done at Tuskegee, but I was not aware of the studies and policies on birth control and sterilization perpetrated against women of color. Kudos to Perkins-Valdez for shining a light on these policies in our history.

Lauren J Daggett does a fine job of narrating the audiobook. I did get confused a few times when the storyline jumped from 2016 to 1973 and back again. But context usually made it clear in which era the story was taking place.

The Torches We Carry - L.A. Witt
Narrator: Greg Boudreaux
Genera: M/M Romance
4.5★
This is a second-chance romance, short story (a novella), featuring ex-lovers and co-workers Reuben and Marcus, who get stuck together on a long work trip. Despite having a somewhat simple plot and very little, but some conflict, I was immediately caught up in the men’s story. The characters, their history, and their current relationship were all very well-done and the ending completely satisfying. I always find that the chemistry and the dynamic between the characters in "second chance" romances interesting and important to the believability of the story, so I appreciated just how perfect that connection was here. There is no struggle to believe in these men’s feelings for each other, even when they faced missteps that could easily have created stumbling blocks. It was a pleasant trip to watch Marcus and Reuben come together again, and I especially liked that their communication stayed related to the plot, rather than a quick, and easy thing that just happened to happen. It made the couple completely believable, and someone you could easily root for. The only thing I could say that would have improved the book would have been if the author...whose works I love by the way, could have allowed us a bit more time with Reuben and Marcus, and we could have had the extended pleasure of listening to Greg Boudreaux's beautiful voice.

Two Parts Sugar, One Part Murder – Valerie Burns
3***

Book one in a new cozy mystery series. Maddy Montgomery’s great aunt Octavia has left her a lakefront house and a bakery … in New Bison, Michigan. Maddy is used to a higher-end living situation, what with her “Jimmy shoes” and huge social media presence. But the conditions of Octavia’s will are that Maddy must reside in New Bison for at least a year … oh, and take care of Baby, an English mastiff. She’s surprised by how nice the house is, and that the bakery has a dedicated staff. But she’s barely in town for 24 hours when a murder occurs IN the bakery. Now she has to figure out who’s behind this, and whether Octavia was also murdered.

This was cute and enjoyable. I’m not into social media the way Maddy is, but I found her hashtags and tweets entertaining. The plot was a bit thin and there’s a bit of a cliff-hanger ending (one of my pet peeves). Still, I liked the residents of the town, especially Sheriff April Johnson and local veterinarian Michael Portman. Maddy seems to be in over her head, in terms of running a bakery (she can’t cook or bake), but she’s intelligent and self-reliant. A few recipes are included at the end.

And Baby … what an adorable dog!

The Darkest Flame - Christina Lee
Narrators: Tristan James & Iggy Toma
Roadmap To Your Heart Series Book #1
Genera: M/M Romance/Motorcycle Club
5★
Usually, I'm not especially interested in books that take place in Motorcycle Club culture. I've nothing against the clubs or motorcycles...it's just not something I'm interested in. However, with this one, I was immediately captured with the couple, Smoke and Vaughn. They had this smoldering tension that was intoxicating....and that could have been 95% due to the voices of the two narrators. Vaughn runs The Hogs Den, a biker bar. He also cares for his disabled father, so between those two activities, this pretty much sums up Vaughn’s life. He was in no way prepared for the attraction he feels for the Disciples of the Road Motorcycle Club recruit, Smoke. Smoke is a mystery within a mystery that shouts that he is incredibly hot but unmistakably off limits. Smoke owes everything, including his life, to the Disciples Motorcycle Club. He's been clean and sober for over 2-years now and all he wants to do is to serve the club that saved him and maintain his sobriety. What he doesn’t need or want is the undeniable attraction he feels for the man that runs The Hogs Den. The two guys end up working in very close proximity...and soon the plan to avoid one another goes out the window. What starts as a one-time only thing, ends in both men feeling a connection neither can, nor wish to deny. Amazing is the only word I can think of to describe how they are when together. The author kept the story along the lines of all the good things the club did for the community and how they cared for and protected one another. This one was diffidently on the straight and narrow. That may be a unique aspect to this type of club culture.... I'm not judging...I'm just saying what it appeared to be. There’s lots of goodness in this book…two men with a crazy attraction, loyalties, drama, crazy ex's, hot sex, and a little bit of angst. What more could you ask for? I enjoyed this one so much I'm going for the second book in the series...same two narrators who did a marvelous job.

The Lost Girls of Paris / Pam Jenoff
4 stars

In 1946 in New York City, Grace comes across an abandoned suitcase and finds pictures of 12 young women in the suitcase. Who were these women and who does the suitcase belong to?

In 1943, Eleanor in London starts a women’s unit of the SOE (Special Operations Executive). Women are recruited and trained to head over to France to help the resistance there. They will transmit (coded) information by radio, they might even help blow up bridges. It is a dangerous mission and the women are risking their lives.

In 1944, Marie, who has recently sent her daughter outside London to live with an aunt and keep her safe, is recruited because she is fluent in French. But there is so much secrecy, it takes a while to figure out what they are asking of her.

I really liked this. Though the women weren’t spies, they were often referred to that way, with no other “good” word to describe what they were doing. It was very dangerous work, and not something I knew about before now. I enjoyed all three storylines. Of course, it was loosely based on real women who did this work (though men did it, too).

Behold the Dreamers / Imbolo Mbue
3 stars

Jende and Neni have immigrated to the United States from Cameroon with their young son. Jende is excited to soon find work as a chauffeur, something he has wanted to do for a long time. Of course, they are also in the US to make a better life for themselves and their son. Jende’s boss, Clark, is a good and generous man, and Jende is a good worker. But things get a little tricky when Jende is asked to do something he really doesn’t think he should. But he doesn’t want to lose his job.

It listened to the audio and it was ok. The narrator did a very good job with accents (at least as far as I could tell). It seems I did miss some of the goings-on in the book, but I’m pretty sure I caught the main things happening. Overall, I’m rating it ok.

My Chaos, His Calm - Romeo Alexander (Colorado)
Part of the Men of Fairlake Series
Genera: M/M Romance
4★
Possible Triggers: Depression/ Sexual Assault,
Felix and his older brother, Grant, had lived a life that was a living, breathing, reoccurring, nightmare. Felix put an end to it though when he was barely a teenager. Most of us couldn't even imagine a life like that. In today time, we find Felix heading for the local bar. He knows he should not mix alcohol with his meds, but he's restless. No matter how many people he has around him, he still feels alone. He is finally starting to understand that it’s not the quantity of people that matters, but the quality. He remembers the best times were when he and Grant were living in a small town with a few nosey neighbors who took the time to wave to him, and sometimes ask for help in their gardens, or just acknowledge that they were neighbors. He really likes being in Fairlake, Colorado, but he's still lonely. Then Felix meets Luke and right off sees how attractive he is... but he is very much aware that Luke is off-limits since he is straight. That doesn’t become an issue, though, because the two of them enjoy each other’s company and their friendship is easy. Luke has a calming influence on Felix and makes him feel more comfortable than he's ever felt before. When they use the hot tub, Luke drinks too much and gets a conversation started, that will start their friendship rocketing into something much more. He thinks things just might work out… at least until Felix’s past catches up to him. Someone’s cruelty could hurt more than just Felix. Can they ever get past this, or will the relationships suffer a quick end? I have liked the first two books in this series and this one isn't a 'bad" story...it's just unnecessarily long with way, way too much lengthy conversations. The story itself is deep, allowing the reader to experience many different emotions, some heartbreaking, some terrifying. I guarantee you will feel what the characters have gone through. Seeing that happiness and love are being offered makes all the difference for Felix....but he can't help wondering when, and if, it will all be taken away. Felix and Grant have to believe and be ready to share the truth of their past with those who love and care for them in order to have any type of happy future. In spite of the title, there is very little "calm" in this story.

The Devil's Kiss - William W. Johnstone (Nebraska)
The Devil Series Book #1
Genera: Mystery & Suspense/Horror
4.5★
It's, as you can imagine from the title, a story about the age-old battle between good and evil. It's a story that makes you think about the way you treat your neighbor, your co-workers, or that person who always stops you to talk even when you may have something else to do. It might not make much of a difference now but someday it will. I found this to be a fast-paced enjoyable story with a lot of truths embedded between the lines. The main character is an ex-marine turned preacher who has no second thoughts or regrets about shooting a coven member.... staking a vampire... or blowing up a werewolf. Add in the "dark prince" and some witches and you have a war you will have no trouble remembering. If sex orgies, swearing and lots of violence offends you, you might want to stay away from this one. If you are a fan of this author's westerns, just be advised that this series is a "horse of an entirely different color".

A Very Private School by Charles Spencer

4 1/2 ****

Trigger Warnings: Intense physical and emotional child abuse, childhood sexual abuse

Boy, this was a difficult book to read. And I tip my hat to Charles Spencer for writing it. His writing style is fantastic - I read it in about 3 or 4 days. It's the subject matter of nightmares and maybe because of its unrelenting pace, or maybe just the subject matter, I could not give this book 5 stars. Others may differ.

The book details his 5 years, from 1972 to 1977, that he spent as a boarder at Maidwell Hall and the trauma he and the other boys experienced at the hands of the headmaster, the staff, and from one another. He was 8 when he was sent there as were many (most?) of the other boys of his station and generation in England. In fact, the beginning of this book includes quotes from George Orwell, who was whisked to boarding school 30 years before Spencer in much the same way, about the futility of it and the hope that such a life would never happen to another boy.

Spencer gives his personal accounts of the beatings, the homesickness, and the emotional abuse from the teachers. He also uses personal interviews (the names have been changed) with his classmates, both in the same forms and those who graduated later or earlier, to describe the conditions and their experiences at Maidwell. And the book kept going on through the years Spencer was a boarder to the point where I just wanted to stop reading. Because I wanted the abuse to stop for him and his fellow boarders, and that may have been the point: there was no end in sight for these young boys, until they matriculated from Maidwell and entered Eton or the other secondary schools their entrance exams allowed them to attend.

Once he becomes an adult, he details both his struggles with adulthood and those of his fellow Maidwell classmates. Much of the stories are the same for them all as adults: alcoholism, divorce, or even near-silence and self-imposed isolation.

I must say, it took guts to write this book and for Charles Spencer to write the deepest sadnesses and trauma of his childhood. It's not easy reading, there are triggers, and I hope the healing continues.

Winter Wonders - Leighton Greene - (Connecticut)
Friends of Friends Series Book #1
Genera: M/M Romance
5★
Jonathan (Jon) Ashe, a movie make-up artist, leaves sunny California after a bad break-up with an older man, a "Daddy", that he thought would love and care for him for the remainder of his life. A new start in a new city, in a new state, would work for him. What he hadn't counted on was that in the winter it snows...a lot... in the Eastern United States, and that he had never seen snow much less driven in it. Needless to say, he ends up in a snowbank, his car damaged, and he himself resembling a giant snow cone and nearly frozen to death when he is spotted by Dr. Cooper Kincaid...of the "Connecticut Kincaid's"...rich and powerful people, and Copper's parents. Cooper had just broken up with his boyfriend, Ryan who he was going to marry. No big loss there, but Ryan didn't seem to understand the meaning of the word "NO", and just wouldn't go away. Ryan desperately wants to a part of the "Connecticut Kincaid's", and with Cooper's mother's help and encouragement begins his campaign to get Cooper back, and Jon out of the picture. Readers will immediately hate Ryan just on general principals. Actually, we will continue to hate him throughout the rest of the story, as his main goal is to get Cooper back...and in the beginning he has the blessings and the help of Cooper's meddling mother. I liked both the characters of Cooper and Jon. Jon never let Ryan or Cooper's mother get to him...he so beautifully stood his ground without ever being loud, insulting or obnoxious about it. The story does slightly touch on the aspects of BDSM but it's not a continuous part of the story. I loved this story...especially the way that it ended. Winter Wonders is not a very long book but it's such a warm, sweet story...a fun Christmas tale. Before anyone asks... Yes...I know that it's July, but Christmas is good thing anytime of the year:)

My Name is Mary Sutter - Robin Oliveria - (Washington D.C.)
Genera: U.S. Civil War
3★
I read that this is this author's first novel. It's about an ambitious young woman who finds love and fulfillment while amputating limbs during the Civil War.
Mary Sutter is actually aa midwife...a really good one...but she is ambitious and wants what at that time considered "above her station". Actually, it's above her sexuality. You have to remember that this is the mid 1800's and our Mary dared to desire to be a doctor. The 19th-cetunry's ideas of a woman's "place" will never consider or allow this. When the nation becomes divided in bloody conflict, Mary sees and seizes the opportunity to learn the art of medicine while trying to escape from the pain of the man she loves marrying her more conventionally lady-like twin sister, Jenny. The book had many elements that made the historical fiction compelling, but there are issues with the pacing and the dialogue from the very beginning. The story's opening features an expectant mother exhausted and whose life is endangered by a difficult delivery. This should have provided a dramatic way of showing Mary’s expertise and dedication to her trade...the midwife that she had been trained to be, instead, both the stories author portrays Mary to show a total lack of interest in the woman’s state and none of the abilities that Mary was trained for. Mary carries on a lengthy and aggressive dialog with the attending physician...the very man she is determined to make her mentor...the man she hopes can help her be trained as a doctor. The author diffuses this tense, life and death scene with other lengthy passages that have nothing to do with the drama she has just introduced into the storyline. The rest of the story is similarly like this, making what began as an interesting concept...disappointing. The author does seem to have investigated the social, military and medical history of that period, but what was put on paper didn't seem to reflect that much as the story seemed to drag a lot. It was an interesting subject...a fairly good heroine... but it would have benefited from a better execution.

The Berry Pickers
Amanda Peters
4/5 stars
A family from Maine who travel and pick crops find their four-year-old daughter is missing and it tears the family apart. Each chapter reflects one of the family members thoughts, feelings and actions. Very well written! Books Off My Reading List

Ripples & Waves: A Queer Retelling of Hans Christian Andersen's The Little Mermaid - L.A. Witt - (Maine)
Genera: M/M Romance/Fairy Tale (in this case "M/M" could stand for "Male & Mer")
4★
It was advertised as a retelling of the Hans Christian Andresen story, "The Little Mermaid", but since most Fairy Tales are actually "Fairy Nightmares" when you learn what they are based on, it wasn't hard for this one to be much warmer and sweeter. The slow burn between Colin, the lobster boat operator, and Lir, the Mer Man was sweet even if many of their interactions and conversations were only summarized. There was one thing that I thought the story either could have explained better, or even done without. I guess Colin was trying to better prepare Lir for other interactions he was going to have with the world of humans if he was going to remain here. He told him many, many times about how much humans hated gay couples. Not all humans hate gay couples... I will admit that some do, and others aren't choosey about what they direct their hate toward, they just, in general, hate everything and everyone that doesn't look, think or act like them. Colin's mother was one of those types of people, so I guess he had an "up close and personal" platform to base that on, but it seemed that he made the world sound like a terrible place for Lir to have ended up, and why after that, would he want to stay? L.A. Witt always does a wonderful job with her stories, and she again did a great job here portraying Lir. She didn’t make him look exactly like a human that had grown a tail, but he did have gills, along with beautiful sea-green eyes, soft skin, that Colin loved to touch…and a set of extra fins. Can't have too many fins, folks. There were other important parts of his anatomy that was never touched on that would have been interesting to know...but seems he and Colin must have sorted it out. The folklore about Lir and the other Mer was explained fairly well. It seems that humans used to know all about them and even interacted with them, but that brought some really bad folks into their world, doesn't it always? ... so, the Mer decided the best thing for their survival as a species was to spread the word that they weren't really real and just be thought of by the human world as a sailor's tale...a myth. This story was diffidently a fun escape from reality for a short time.

Reckoning - Catherine Coulter - (Virginia, Washington D.C)
F.B. I Thriller series Book #26
Genera: Mystery & Suspense/FBI
5★
I read this book and the rest of this series years ago and it quickly became a favorite. As much as I hate to admit it, other books and other series came along and this wonderful, exciting series kind of got put on the back-burner until a challenge made me thin, how perfect something from this series would be. So, Dillon Savich and Lacey Sherlock, the pair of married FBI agents agreed to give me a second chance. They are taking on two cases that have roots imbedded deep in the past. After the murder of her parents in Virginia, 12-year-old Allison Rendahl barely escaped by climbing out a window and hiding in a cave. Her Uncle Leo took her into his home in Australia and raised her to be a strong woman who helped him lead extreme adventures, but her mental scars always remained. Now, she has changed her name and goes by Kirra Mandarian. After attending law school at the University of Virginia, she's permanently returned to her hometown in Virginia as a prosecuting attorney and hoping to solve the murder of her parents. She finds a painting done by her father, with photos taped to the back that gives her clues that she will need. Using the name Eliot Ness, not very original but then I didn't write the story:), she gathers and sends the incriminating information that she found to Agent Dillon Savich. Then we travel to the other side of the country where 12-year-old piano virtuoso Emma Hunt, who was traumatized at age 6 when she was kidnapped by a troubled priest, becomes the target of another predator. Savich and Sherlock, his partner and wife, were involved in the original case. The Hunt family is flying to Washington D.C. to attend Emma’s concert at the Kennedy Center and to try to move her into a safer environment. Emma’s grandfather...who is a sophisticated crime boss, could be the reason Emma is targeted for kidnapping and perhaps why her parents were murdered. At any rate, the people involved in both cases are cold-blooded killers that will use any means and stop at nothing to achieve their goals. Savich and Sherlock must identify those goals or more people are going to die. It's intense and loaded with action and suspense. This one as well as the others in the series, are a great way to spend your reading time.

Cell / Stephen King
3.5 stars

Clay is in Boston from Maine when, on the street, people start going crazy and violent! Someone rips off a dog’s ear and people start attacking (and killing) one another. Initially not sure what is happening, after a bit, Clay realizes those who went “crazy” were all on their cell phones just before it happened. Clay doesn’t have a cell phone. He meets up with Tom, who seems ok, and 15(?) year old Alice, who ran after her mom was affected. Initially they hide out in Clay’s hotel lobby with one of the staff. But Clay wants to get home to Maine to check on his (estranged? ex?) wife and son, Johnny. Sharon doesn’t have a phone, but little Johnny does, though he doesn’t use it often… but sometimes Sharon uses it.

I thought this was good. A bit slow-moving, but good. I really liked the climax of the book, but the actual end itself… I’m not too sure. It was pretty open-ended.

The Truth in My Lies - L.A. Witt - (Idaho & Washington)
Genera: M/M Romance/Police Procedural
5★
I’m not a fan of second chance romances, I try to avoid them, mainly because you usually don’t know why they left in the first place, and sometimes you don't find out until much later in the story and other times, not at all. Usually, it's for some hurt feelings that could have been resolved if they had just talked to one another, or one is cheating and got caught and then forgiven...way too much, so I just generally avoid them. This one...well it was written by one of my favorite authors, L.A. Witt...the description sounded like there was hope for a happy ending...so I made an exception...and I am glad that I did. We have two Idaho police detectives, Brendon, who we first meet as Andrew...and his fellow cop and boyfriend, Seth. Brendon just suddenly disappeared from Seth's life 5-months ago...5 lonely, confusing months...no text, no phone call...he was just...GONE. Seth goes on with life not understanding what went wrong.... what did he do...or what didn't he do? Then one night a knock comes on his door and when his roommate answers it...you guessed it...Andrew is back and wants to explain to Seth. Seth listens...understands...but doesn't immediately pick up where they left off...he's not sure that he even wants to pick up anything else with Andrew...who he finds out is really Brendan. It wasn't a case of "I don't love you anymore" on Brendon's part...he had been whisked away by Witness Protection and every means of communication had been removed to save his life from some very rich, resourceful people that he had testified against. He thinks all the people that were hunting him are now in prison, allowing him to go back for the man he loves and try to explain. So much happens after they first meet and reunite.... some good and some bad and some REALLY bad. The story will keep you reading and rooting for Seth and Brendon long into the night. Actually, it is one of the best stories that I have ever read by L.A. Witt, and I have read some really great ones. You can easily skip the sex parts if you want...the fight they put up for their very lives is worth the time to read. This is absolutely one of this author's best books.

The Faintest Spark - Christina Lee
Roadmap To Your Heart series Boo #2
Genera: M/M Romance/Motorcycle Club
4★
I listed to the first book in this series and decided that I liked the characters enough to go for the second. The title of the book may be a bit misleading, since when these two guys finally got up the nerve to try to be together and to tell their individual clubs that they more than just "liked" one another...they didn't produce a "spark"...what they had going was a roaring 4-alarm fire. Mal and Sawyer fell in love and developed a connection while Sawyer was working undercover to help Mal's club. The fact that the two clubs more or less tolerated each other, and Mel was the president of his club, made both guys cautious of showing anything but friendship while with their members...finally they figured out that it didn't matter what anyone else thought...they HAD to be together. I wasn't crazy about the book, but it was a good enough story for a 4-star rating. You really need to like motorcycle clubs and read the first book before this one.

Forsaken - E.M. Lindsey - (Vermont)
Breaking The Rules Series Book #
Genera: M/M Romance/ Animals
5★
I believe that this is the last book in this series, and it totally focuses on the new romance between Elliot and Arlo, there are some heartbreaking situations going on in the background, but it was good that the author devoted the majority of the story to these two guys, never overshadowing their romance or making it hard to connect with the characters. Actually, the comfort and understanding that Elliot and Arlo gave each other just added to their young, fragile love. I have read and own many, many of E.M. Lindsey's works, and I have to say that all of them are very well written, and the characters are always given the happiness that they deserve. The only thing I wished she had done that would have helped us see the Elliott character more clearly, was if she had given us a little more information to explain why Elliott was so down on himself. I hate having to say farewell to the little town of Fairfield, but I can't wait to see where she takes us next.

The Echo Man - Sam Holland - (England)
Genera: Mystery & Suspense/Extreme Serial Killer
5★
POSSSIBLE TRIGGERS: Decapitation, Rape, Gender violence, Frozen body parts & more)
Jess Ambrose’s husband is killed in a house fire as the story opens....an arson attack that the police blame Jess for sending her on the run from the hospital. Detective Nate Griffin believes that Jess is innocent and tries to help her. Together, Jess and Griffin spot a link between some gruesome and brutal murders, making them believe that a "copycat killer' is copying famous serial killer murders from the past. I like a lot of strange things so it should come as no surprise to anyone that I really liked this book. I had to read just one more chapter, which turned into one more and then one more... I could not stop reading...and I read it in one day and most of a night. This is NOT for everyone, and even the most die-hard Mystery & Suspense fan should pay close attention to the trigger warnings. It contains some very disturbing occurrences including several rapes and gruesome murders. True crime fans will soon see and remember a lot of familiar past crimes and begin to see the connections between the crimes in the book and the real-life brutalities. The body count is extremely high and continues to grow. This is added to the fact that Jess is on the run and the police are not far behind her. The investigations are being led by DCI Cara Elliott and DS Noah Deakin. This is much more comfortable ground. The depth and characterization of Cara in particular as she struggled with her family commitments and her need to bring a savage killer to justice is intense and so well done. Her relationships with Deakin and maverick Griffin are also good and believable. The author has clearly meticulously researched the real-life murders and the police procedures and brings them to life in this story, although the police ever letting Jess get this close to the investigation is something that I don't believe would actually be allowed. There are a few other implausible moments, but they never detract from the story. My friend Lynda, (Olivermagnus), recommended this book to me, and I whole-heartedly thank her. Anyone who enjoys a fast-paced as well as a entirely terrifying thriller, will enjoy this story for what it is. It's incredibly gruesome and will be disturbing to some so read with caution, as you may never sleep again! It is, however, also genuinely surprising, especially the ending....and totally shocking for so many reasons. I don't think Sam Holland can top this one any time soon....but I hope I'm wrong.

A Hope Divided – Alyssa Cole
3***

Book number two in the Loyal League series of Civil-War-era romances.

Marlie Lynch is a free woman who has been taken into the Lynch household as a member of the family. She’s always understood that her father was the plantation owner, though she and her mother lived far away. The old man is deceased and his heir Stephen has married and moved away, so Marlie and her older sister Sarah maintain the estate with a handful of servants … all freed slaves who are paid for their labor. Marlie’s primary contribution is the tonics and poultices she concocts from the plant knowledge passed down from her mother. With a Rebel prison camp in the neighborhood, Marlie begins to tend to the prisoners, and passing messages along to the Loyal League – Southerners who are against slavery and trying to help the Union. It’s at the prison that she meets Ewan McCall, a Union soldier with unique skills.

This is a pretty typical romance between two people of differing status, who join together with a common cause. Of course, they will have to fight against not only their mutual attraction, but the very real restrictions of the society in which they find themselves. I’m amazed they could find time for sex (or even for the desire for sex) given the dangers in which they find themselves, but if they can manage to have mutual orgasms in such a setting more power to them!

This is the second in a series, but I think it can easily be read as a standalone. I certainly didn’t feel that I was missing anything by not having read the first book.

The Sweetest Goodbye - Christina Lee
Roadmap to Your Heart series - Book #5
Genera: M/M Romance
4★
Billie Montgomery, called Will through most of the book, operates the family bakery...the Montgomery Sweets Bakery and has always been called, and made to feel that he was "special". He had had seizures from early childhood, until just recently, but still has his faithful service dog, Bull's-Eye, a Labrador who is getting up in dog years and now has hip dysplasia. Then there is Dylan...Dylan with the wavy hair and deep amber eyes, who works at the bakery during the week, and dances on the weekends. Billie's family took Dylan in when he lost his "God Given Right"...according to his father...to live with this "righteous" family, for the age-old, but unfortunately all too often used reason that is in almost every gay story..."How dare you dare to be different, and your gayness is going to rub off on the rest of us and after the family orgy we will no longer be so righteous". I could write an encyclopedia sized book on this subject...but I won't. Dylan would really like to be Will's boyfriend, but Will still misses and carries a burning torch for his first-time love, Leo, who had left to go to college. As the title suggests there is a lot of "sweetness" in the novella...almost too much at times. The way I viewed the situation was...Will is alone, Daylan is there, Leo is away at college and seems to have taken "away" to a whole new level...and the dog is sleeping and not at all interested, unless Will suddenly takes on rabbit characteristics...so I thought Dylan had nothing to lose and everything to gain...so just go for the "boyfriends" thing! "The book isn't that long, so just get to it." Happily, surprise, surprise... they found that what they both wanted and needed was right there, staring them in the face, the entire time. Overall, it's a sweet story with two good and likeable characters, well, three counting the dog...even though they were a bit dense sometimes...but not the dog.

The 6th Extinction - James Rollins - (California, Antarctica, Mexico, Brazil)
Narrator: Christian Baskous
Sigma Force Series Book #10
Genera: Suspense/Thriller
4★
This was the July book for our group book read on Mystery & Suspense group the Library Thing site. I like James Rollins. I have read most of his other series including some in this one, so I thought I knew what to expect. The book description read like it would be a top-notch adventure... and it was...but only up to a point. The opening chapter was mesmerizing...Charles Darwin on the Beagle in Antarctica...secret maps...science fiction, right? Maybe. It wasn't long before I began to find that it was much less a sci-fi story than I had expected. The female leads are highly trained and capable but somehow, they always need to be rescued by a potential love interest with a gun. All the heroes, of course, have guns with no doubts about killing and with astounding accuracy...but they are saving the world. If you want to read a fast-paced action novel, then this will not disappoint. If you are a science fiction fan, you might find the flaws in logic regarding the potential microbial threat a bit on the doubtful side. After the journey through history with Charles Darwin, the story switches over to modern times, along with a genetically engineered microbe that escapes from the laboratory and is threatening life on earth. The author skillfully weaves in some information about the Nazi development of Antarctic caverns, then he focuses on the continent's bizarre lifeforms...and begins to address the microbial dangers in this cavern purported to contain super-mutating, predatory species. He by-passes the fact that Mother Nature has quite a long-standing reputation for dealing with life-threatening life forms of any type. I guess the author believes that teeth and squirmy underwater threats are story-worthy villains...and, mostly he is right. I was rather disappointed with the flawed logic where the reader is expected to be fearful of man-made microbes, but not of microbes in a super-mutating environment. If you like gun-toting heroes and villains, then you will probably eat this story up...if it doesn't eat you up first. It has lots of bad guys, some very good guys that we can all root for, multiple life-threatening monsters, a fuzzy warm and sympathetic animal who loves one of the damsels in destress... in this case a dog...and a time-sensitive, can they save-the-world mission. If you are looking for an intellectually challenging science fiction drama with a sweet dog, and a complex moral challenge, then you will diffidently like this one. Side Note: I listen to the audio version read by Christian Baskous. He didn't do a bad job, but I had problems with the way he portrayed the voice of the characters. Of course, I had to take into consideration how many of those different voices he had to do.

Sex and Vanity – Kevin Kwan
Digital audiobook read by Lydia Look
2**

From the book jacket: A glittering tale of love and longing as a young woman finds herself torn between two worlds–the WASP establishment of her father’s family and George Zao, a man she is desperately trying to avoid falling in love with.

My reactions
Boring. Vain, shallow characters more concerned with who is wearing what, or how to upstage someone else with their over-the-top events. Whether it’s their residence, car, jewels, vacations or clothing, they are obsessed with appearances.

There were a few over-the-top scenes that tickled my funny bone, and I gave it two stars for those. I realize that Kwan means these works to be satires of “crazy rich Asians” but I just find them tedious.

Lydia Look does a good job of narrating the audiobook. Too bad she didn’t have better material to work with.

Break The Rules - Leighton Greene - (California/New York)
Rough Love Series Book #3
Genera: M/M Romance/Heavy BDSM
4.5★
Possible Triggers: Breath Play, Knife Play & Phycological Breakdown This was a difficult book to rate. There were parts of it that were certainly 5-star worthy, like the characters and how much they loved one another, how hard they worked to stay together...but there were parts of it that were pretty close to receiving a 2 or even a 1. I understand what BDSM is, what it offers and even why and how it appeals to some, but what these two did and wanted to do, boarded on sometimes cruel and downright dangerous...even though it was 100% consensual, It was things that I would have thought would have made them want to engage a third into their play. Xander and Ben have tried to find the perfect balance for their life together, while still living their individual lives. Living on different coasts can't possibly be ideal for a relationship of any kind...but they were determined. I admired them for how they did everything in their power to be together and exploring the things in their total power exchange that they both needed and wanted. It was also good that they also did "normal stuff". They had friends, each had a job that they loved...and most importantly they, 150%. really and truly loved one another. There are hardly enough words to adequately describe it but let's just say that some of that love was heavy, dangerous and dark. Not everything in any romance is always sunshine and roses...so when Xander's fears became too much he totally loses control, and everything gets sad and sadder. The story could be separated in two ...the happy first part, and the painful sad and lonely one. I didn't really mind that Leighton Greene did this, she could have just written about the happy things and let them be in love forever, but she chose to show us that no one's life is always sunshine and Xander and Ben had to find their way back to themself before they could reunite with each other. It was painful...not just for the two men but for the reader as well. You want them to be together and be happy forever. Since there is yet another book in this series, I hoped they would be together again before I got into that one. The story is partly sad but manages to still be beautiful at the same time.

Why Mermaids Sing by C.S. Harris
5*****

This was a really good book and important to the build-up of the characters. One of the techniques this author brings is an ability to narrate from both Sebastian's POV and Kat without detracting from the overall flow of the plot.

As the book opens, young Dominic Stanton is riding to his mother's for a dinner party, and in typical series fashion is waylaid and killed. His body is later gruesomely hung in public, and Sir Henry Lovejoy, the local magistrate, is brought in to begin the investigation. And of course he calls in Sebastian St. Cyr, Viscount Devlin, to assist him.

When more bodies of young men are found, some mutilated and some not, then Bow Street decides to take over the investigation, St. Cyr has to rely on young Tom and himself for the most immediate searches. Which lead him to the upper echelons of British society and a retired ship's captain who seems to have fallen into the bottle. And while St. Cyr was fighting abroad, a trial happened about a ship that floundered on its return from India captained by this retired captain.

Also we begin to learn more about the character and motivations of St. Cyr's lover, Kat, a beauty of the London stage and also a spy against England. While she does not care about Napoleon per se, she is Irish by birth and upbringing, and therefore despises the English for what they have done to her homeland.

Revelations come to light, sea voyages are examined, and even Lord Jarvis makes his presence known. As he does. And the title? It comes from the John Donne poem, and provides a clue about the murders in a literary twist.

Ashore - L.A. Witt -(Italy/Washington)
Cruising Series Book #2
Genera: M/M Romance/Transgender
4.5★
This book takes up where Adrift, book #1, leaves off, so it is best to read that one before this one. Andrew and Eric are getting closer in their personal relationship and in just getting to know who they each are as an individual. They also begin experimenting more with what they each need from the other and are now established in a solid friendship that is headed for much more. I also really liked how the transgender element was presented and explored more in this story. Eric and Andrew spend a lot of the story silently questioning their own feelings, focusing a lot on how short the time span has been that they’ve known one another and concerting the realistic impact it could have on their chances of making it work as a couple going forward. Their thoughts and worries were rehashed more than they needed to be, but it all seemed very realistic when you consider the situation they were in and that they live on opposite sides of the U.S. Even after presenting and questioning all the pros and cons of making what they have last beyond their holiday trip, it was good to see they were both willing to take that BIG risk and put their hearts on the line for what they shared and had the chance to continue to share in the future. One thing that I also liked about this story was the in-depth descriptions given of all the extensive travel and sightseeing places that Eric and Andrew experienced while in Italy. Such vivid details of the places visited, and the reactions felt by each of them was beyond real. The places, the people, the food, and even the weather, was depicted so that readers who have never been to Italy before will be fascinated and enticed to perhaps take a journey. The characters of Eric and Andrew were perfect for this sweet, romantic read. Their connection was absolutely effortless from the very first time they met so it’s not hard to imagine them turning what was initially just a holiday fling, into something beautiful, worthwhile and lasting...all these things despite the obstacles they still face. Their story finished rather "open-ended" but it was still on a positive and hopeful note. I sincerely hope that L.A. Witt will allow us to see what comes next for these two characters. I'm keeping my fingers crossed for the happy ending they so richly deserve. Another great one, Ms. Witt

One Of Us Is Lying – Karen M McManus
Book on CD performed by Kim Mai Guest, Shannon McManus, MacLeod Andrews, and Robbie Daymond
3.5***

Five high school students are found with cell phones in class, which is a violation of class rules. All claim the phones are not their own, but their teacher still requires them all to go to detention. While together in the room, but without the teacher present, one of the students dies. As it turns out there are significant questions about how this happened and the police are involved. Who did it?

This was a twisty mystery and the students surprised me with their insight and tenacity in trying to clear their names. Of course, there is the usual teenage drama as well: getting into college, sports, relationships, parents, bullying, social media, etc. There are also issues of dysfunctional families, and racism. Surprisingly I didn’t think all this teen drama distracted from the central plot. I certainly was kept guessing and didn’t figure out the culprit until the author chose to reveal the truth.

The audiobook is wonderfully performed by a quartet of talented voice artists. I’m not sure which artist performed which chapters, other than that the women voiced the teen girls and the men voiced the teen boys.

Flying Free (Rough Love - Leighton Greene - (California)
Series: Rough Love Series Book # 3 (or #8 depending on where you buy the books).
Genera: M/M Romance/Heavy BDSM
4.5★
POSSIBLE TRIGGERS: BDSM, with particular emphasis on sadism & impact play
Xander and Ben are living together on the same side of the country, and working 24/7 on their relationship, but they're still having to deal with their individual rising fame as well as someone threating to expose their personal lives to the public. This one is a bit different from the first two as it's told in multiple and varying points of view. Until this book, the stories have been told from mostly Ben's perspective and I think I really liked that best, but this way we are shown Xander's inferiorities, (yes, he has some), and what he is starting to think about how he shows his love for, and to, Ben. I never thought that he would allow this to happen...but now that it has, I found I really liked seeing it, plus it added so much more of his "human side" to the story. There were "snippets" of his past, the ways he had been a "bad" Dom and how he had struggled to mature into the person he is today. We were allowed to be present at some of his sessions with his analyst which were also interesting. We were there with him when his past finally came full circle and blended with his present. We got views from some of the other characters that were a bit annoying to begin with, but I started to really appreciate them as they added dimensions that were needed...especially to the character of Byron. Poor Byron, I felt so bad for him and loved how Xander handled what could have been a life damning situation for him. Byron needs an entire book of his own. This entire story was excellent. It never felt rushed or incomplete, but the last few chapters were REALLY, REALLY good! I admit that I don't understand the need some folks have for the "pain thing", but "to each their own" and it worked well in this series, especially for Xander and Ben. I'm glad that I bought these three books and will search for the other 5 if this is indeed an 8 books series...Amazon only shows it as 3, maybe some are combined.

The Color of Bee Larkham's Murder - Sarah J. Harris - (England)
Genera: Mystery & Suspense
5★
This may be the most unusual and interesting subject for a Mystery & Suspense book that I have ever encountered in my entire reading lifetime. From the book description: A teenager with autism becomes embroiled in the murder of a neighbor but is he the culprit or the witness? We have thirteen-year-old Jasper Wishart, who was in another of Sarah Harris's previous novels. He has synesthesia...which I then spent another half a day reading about after I looked it up. It seems that people with this, that i found includes a rather small part of the population, thank goodness, experience sights and, particularly, as is Jasper's case, sounds that evoke a range of colors in their heads...that the majority of the population can’t see. To more complicate matters, Jasper is also "face-blind", meaning that he is unable to recognize anyone, even the people that are closest to him...he only "sees" them by hues of voice and sometimes, clothing. He takes everything literally, including metaphors, idioms, and totally empty threats, like those made by his neighbor, David Gilbert, who you will love to hate. The narrative is told exclusively from Jasper’s first-person perspective...and goes back and forth between past and present as Jasper tries to reconstruct events on his street by "painting" the colors from his memories. He sincerely believes that he has killed his new neighbor, Bee Larkham, but he can only "see" disordered images of a bloody knife, and a wound on his own stomach, as evidence. His father, who has raised Jasper alone since the deaths of his mother and his grandmother, is coping by constantly covering up for his son. Jasper is quite sure that his dad disposed of Bee’s body. Jasper remembers how Bee, who was a musician caused many neighborhood arguments by playing loud music and deliberately luring wild parakeets to the feeders she placed in her yard. These parakeets are descendants of escaped pets and have become an invasive pest in the U.K. Even more disturbing is Bee’s behavior around Jasper’s schoolmate, Lucas Drury, a young music student of Bee's. Jasper’s "color-coded reality" becomes as tedious to the reader after a while as it did to the people around him. I really liked that Sarah Harris gave me a topic that was not only new but also very interesting. This can be summed up as a good story that is told with a lot of heart, humor and even a few tears.

The Silence Between Us – Alison Gervais
Digital audiobook narrated by Chloe Dolandis
3.5***

When her family moves several states away just before she’s to start her senior year of high school, Maya, who is deaf, is mainstreamed into a hearing high school. When student body president Beau Watson begins to learn sign language so he can converse with her, Maya is suspicious of his motives.

This is a lovely young-adult romance with the added inclusion of one partner with a significant disability. Maya is smart and tenacious, but she just can’t believe that a hearing person and a deaf person can form a true relationship. In many ways the relationship between Beau and Maya is a typical teen romance, with missteps followed by genuine gestures that show caring, alongside all the usual teen drama of a senior year in high school. And that, I think, is the beauty of the novel. Maya’s deafness may set her apart, but in all other respects she is a typical teenager with the same kinds of dreams and questions and aspirations and missteps as every other teenager.

I listened to the audiobook, wonderfully performed by Chloe Dolandis. The irony of my listening to a book about a deaf student was not lost on me.

The Color Purple – Alice Walker
Book on CD read by the author
5***** and a ❤

Updated on 4th reading, 2024

Writing the book as a series of letters (or diary entries) really gives the reader the chance to hear Celie. There are moments of despair, of sorrow, and a very few of joy. Celie is an extraordinary woman and watching her grow from a scared girl to a confident, in-charge woman is fascinating and uplifting.

I've read it four times now, and each time I get something more from it. On my most recent re-reading I'm struck by the change in Mister - his realization of the mess he'd made of his life and his attempt at reformation.

My latest re-reading was inspired by my having seen the latest movie version (actually, a film based on the Broadway musical adaptation of this novel). I was not a great fan of this latest film and wanted to re-read the book to be sure I was remembering it correctly. I thought the original film, adapted by Steven Spielberg, was wonderful, and Whoopi Goldberg was stupendous, but the book is so much more than even that movie. I can't recommend it highly enough.

I first read this book back in the mid-1980s and recommended it as a good discussion book for one of my book groups (July 2001). I read it again in 2010, and another book club decided to discuss it in 2024, following the most recent movie version.

On my fourth reading, I listened to the audiobook version, narrated by the author. Walker has such a feeling for her characters that I cannot imagine that anyone else could have done a better job of the narration.

Looking Glass Sound - Catriona Ward - (Maine)
Genera: Mystery & Suspense psychological Thriller/Horror
5★
This was my kind of mystery/horror story! we begin by reading the unpublished memoir of Wilder Harlow...a sixteen-year-old boy whose uncle has died and left his parents a cottage on the Maine coast. Wilder soon makes two friends: a boy, Nathaniel and a British girl, Harper. The trio form a, almost instant close-knit bond during what appeared to be a magical summer together and they promised to return each year. The rural New England town they are in is also home to a serial killer the police are calling...The Dagger Man of Whistler Bay. If you think that that is that isn't creepy enough, this Dagger Man also takes threatening Polaroid photos of children while they are sleeping. Wilder’s summer soon becomes linked to the story of the Dagger Man, and friendships are shattered and his parents’ troubled marriage heads toward divorce. I felt so sorry for Wilder as the summers pass and he is left broken and alone as he begins college life, and still is unable to cope with the psychological trauma caused by that summer at Whistler Bay. Now we meet the overly friendly Sky Montague, an aspiring author who insists on becoming roommates with Wilder. We have to wonder right away if Sky is really the friend that he seems to be, or is he just trying to pump Wilder for information about the Whistler Bay murders? This book seems to cover all the clever and important bases that makes a story one that you want to read in one sitting right to the very conclusion. It has a plot involving a serial killer, believable and likeable characters that are obviously getting in over their heads, trauma that they each carry all the way into adulthood, and a beautiful, if haunting setting in rural Maine. this was standard fare to be found in the pages of the best Stephen King, or Shirly Jackson horror novel. However, I soon learned that the horror isn't anywhere near over yet...the Dagger Man story is just a covering for the true horrors that awaits us later in the story. The horror deepens as the author throws multiple layers of uncertainty into the story. The lines between reality and fiction slowly begin to blur as Wilder descends deeper into existential crisis, making the reader question everything they previously believed. From the Book: “An evocative, bone-chilling read, exploring grief, storytelling, and the dark forces of obsession. Ward’s writing is complex, challenging, and beautiful in equal measure. A tale to savor.”

Bet Me / Jennifer Crusie
3.5 stars

Min(erva) is a larger woman and is self-conscious about it. When she is dumped (because she hasn’t slept with him after 2 months), she heads out with a couple of girlfriends where she sees her ex. And overhears him betting the most good-looking of the men he is with (Cal) that Cal can’t get Min to dinner that night, then to bed within a month. Prickly Min goes with Cal, anyway. Turns out Cal is a pretty nice guy…

I enjoyed this. The larger woman self-consciousness hits home, but I’m happily single, anyway. I rarely read romances, anymore, and only occasionally chick lit, but I still enjoyed this. It’s nice to think the larger woman can get the good-looking guy. There were multiple perspectives in this book, including the ex-boyfriend. There were a number of secondary characters, mostly friends of both Min and Cal; I particularly enjoyed Emilio, the restaurant owner.

What Have You Done? / Shari Lapena
4 stars

Popular 17-year old Diana is found murdered in a farmer’s field. Things like this don’t happen in small towns where everyone knows everyone!

There are multiple points of view, including a few of Diana’s friends, a teacher and principal, her mother, the suspects, and Diana’s ghost. Diana doesn’t actually remember how she died, so it’s a reveal for her, too. There are three main suspects and it could be any of them. It’s a small town, so everyone is connected in some way. It didn’t feel fast-paced, but it was fast to read, and I quite liked it.

Rebound - Kate Hawthorne
Genera: M/M Romance/Age Gap
5★
The main characters of Ben and Thomas are well-developed, and the author has managed to infuse them with outstanding personalities. Ben is coming out of an abusive relationship with his boyfriend, Cody, and Thomas was finalizing a divorce that should have happened years ago. He never thought much about his being bisexual...until his loneliness overcame his shyness, and he used his long unused apt that he had on his phone to try the "other side"... a hook-up with a man...and he finds and answers Ben's request on the same site. It leads them both to a new relationship coming from very different angles... for Thomas, finding peace with a part of himself that he never thought that he never could ...and for Ben...something that he hadn't experienced for a very long time...trust. They just happen to perfectly mesh, even though it takes a bit of work for both of them to get there. Neither man expected to see the other past that first night together. This was an anonymous hookup, so neither man confesses anything about why this encounter is so important. These hidden issues elevate the scene from standard sexy shenanigans to a true focus on every facet of how Ben and Thomas interact, even if neither man yet knows the weight of its significance. This could have all gone so very, very wrong, but since this IS a romance novel, it’s only the beginning of a fascinating "almost" relationship. Things are going well for them...they are meeting more often and exchanging apartment keys, shopping for furniture and sheets...but not yet moving in together...nope. There are things that need to happen first. Ben wants Thomas to meet his two best friends. Thomas wants Ben to meet his daughter, Lana, and possibly his son Dakota. Dinner is planned...Thomas's adult children walk into the restaurant, and Thomas and Ben's perfect world explodes. Kudus to Kate Hawthorne for this amazing twist to the story. I never would have figured out the tie between Thomas's son Dakota and Ben's abusive ex, Cody. I loved the way the story came together and how the author made us even more invested in the new relationship and caused us to care even more about Thomas and Ben's happy ever after.

Valley of the Moon / Melanie Gideon
4 stars

In 1975, while her son is visiting her parents, Lux goes camping for a weekend. When a fog comes up, she wanders into it… and on the other side finds herself in the 1900s! There is a very nice group of people who have been stuck on this side of the fog for years in a community called Greengage. They ended up there after the earthquake in San Francisco and know they are unable to leave. They are surprised when someone from the future comes through. One of the “leaders” of Greengage, Joseph, is enthralled by everything he can learn about the future from Lux. Luckily, Lux is able to get back to her own time, but time does funny things on both sides of the fog as Lux continues to come back and forth when the fog appears during the full moon.

I listened to the audio and there were two different narrators, depending if the perspective was Lux’s or Joseph’s. We more commonly got Lux’s perspective, as we followed her in the more recent years, as well as when she was at Greengage, whereas we didn’t follow Joseph when Lux wasn’t back in time. Things got trickier because of Lux’s young son. It was slow-moving, but I really liked it. I kind of guessed the end (not early on, but closer to it), and I think it fit the story.

I Wished For You - Colette Davidson
Genea: M/M/M Romance/Friends to Lovers
4.5★
Seb, Matt, and Connor have been best friends since childhood, and the book is pretty much exactly as it is described...a sweet, warm, romance between the three best friends finding their way toward love together. It starts with Seb, who is recovering from a break-up with the man he spent 5-years of his live with and he thought loved him. One night while staying with one of his friends, he drunkenly kisses them both. It should have come off as just friendship, but it came from such an obvious depth of love that it couldn't be mistaken for anything but deep, genuine, love. The three guys decide that they need to have a mature adult conversation about their not only their feelings, but also their fears. There was zero toxic masculinity here, not even from the thought to be straight friend. Of course, the usual various complications are on the forefront... the lack of sexual experience, parental reactions, and one of the
friends fear that he might experience the same illness that took his mother too young. Again, the characters handle these issues with maturity, love, and support. A dark moment really made me fear for two of the characters, but in the end, it serves to bring them closer together and cement the love they share. The element I particularly appreciated about this book is that beyond Seb, who has been an out gay man since high school, the story places little emphasis on having Matt or Connor having to put a name on their own sexuality. Ultimately, the love each man has for his best friends evolves into something more, and that’s all that mattered....so no labels needed. The story is nicely built on the sweet and sometimes funny romance featuring three equally sweet and funny guys. Ultimately, the book lived up to every expectation that I had. I have read several other books by this author, and I certainly look forward to many more.

The Oracle of Stamboul – Michael David Lukas
Digital audiobook performed by Mozhan Marno
4****

This work of historical fiction takes us to 19th-century Stamboul, seat of the Ottoman Empire (now, Istanbul, Turkey). When her mother dies as Eleanora Cohen is born, a flock of hoopoes suddenly appears. Two midwives appear mysteriously to deliver the child and begin caring for her; they claim to have “read the signs.” Raised by her father, a carpet merchant, she is indulged and cosseted. Clearly intelligent (she is reading advanced works at an early age), she manages to stowaway on his voyage to Stamboul. Eventually, Eleanora charms and intrigues the sultan himself, with her precocious intellect and astute observations.

I was completely enchanted by this tale. In many ways it reads like a fairy tale, with castles and secret passages, court intrigue and wicked stepmothers, and, of course, the mysterious flock of hoopoes which follow Eleanora wherever she goes.

The writing is atmospheric and mystical. There were times when I had to remind myself of the setting in the late 19th century.

There were a couple of threads that disappeared without a satisfying conclusion, and the ending is ambiguous. But, on the whole, I was greatly entertained by this novel.

Mozhan Marno does a wonderful job of performing the audiobook. He really brought the setting and the characters to life for me.

I Wished For You - Colette Davidson
Genea: M/M/M Romance/Friends to Lovers
4.5★
Seb, Matt, and Connor have been best friends since childhood, and the book is pretty much exactly as it is described...a sweet, warm, romance between the three best friends finding their way toward love together. It starts with Seb, who is recovering from a break-up with the man he spent 5-years of his life with, and he thought loved him. One night while staying with one of his two best friends, he drunkenly kisses them both. It should have come off as just friendship, but it came from such an obvious depth of love that it couldn't be mistaken for anything but deep, genuine, love. The three guys decide that they need to have a mature adult conversation about not only their feelings, but also their fears. There was zero toxic masculinity here, not even from the thought to be straight friend. Of course, the usual various complications are on the forefront... the lack of sexual experience, parental reactions, and one of the friends that fears he might experience the same illness that took his mother way too young. Again, the characters handle these issues with maturity, love, and support. A dark moment really made me fear for two of the characters, but in the end, it serves to bring them closer together and cement the love they share. The element I particularly appreciated about this book is that other than Seb, who has been an out gay man since high school, the story places little emphasis on having Matt or Connor having to put a name to their own sexuality. Ultimately, the love each man has for his best friends evolves into something more, and that’s all that mattered....so no labels were needed. The story is nicely built on the sweet and sometimes funny romance featuring three equally sweet and funny guys. Ultimately, the book lived up to every expectation that I had. I have read several other books by this author, and I certainly look forward to many more.

Come With Me - Ronald Malfi - (Maryland)
Genera: Horror
5★
This is one twisted, emotional, fast paced, terrifying ride.... but would we expect anything less from Ronald Malfi? I sincerely hope not. Aaron Decker's life is shattered when his wife is murdered. He needs to investigate her murder like he needs air to breathe, so he dives head-first, no holds barred into his wife’s past and encounters twist after twist...some he could have done without knowing. This is not as simple as it would appear. What the author has done is what he absolutely excels at...he's written a complex and moving story centered around a husband’s grief, in a small town with numerous secrets, and then throws in a deep, dark mystery to be solved. There's been a mass shooting that provides us with some pretty horrific deaths...all young women. In the "Author’s Note" Ronald Malfi shares with us a true story from his past...the story of his friend who was shot and killed in a mass shooting, this story came from that horrific event...writing this story was how he dealt with it. He handled this very sensitive subject with the utmost respect and care. Be aware that this is not just a horror story but also an emotional read. Just hang on...there is horror aplenty in this story. You can feel the chill as you ride along with Aaron into the foggy, chilly, darkness. There is one particular abandoned refinery guaranteed to give you nightmares. Every time you think you know who the villain is, if you are like me...you'll be wrong. This author has the talent to spin a book so well that will absolutely keep you guessing. The ending is sad, but it was the only way for it to happen.

Schulz and Peanuts: A Biography / David Michaelis
4.25 stars

Charles “Sparky” Schulz created the Peanuts comic strip and wrote one daily comic for over fifty years. He was born in 1922 in St. Paul, Minnesota and died in 2000 in California. His father was a barber and though friendly with his customers, he didn’t like to travel or really leave home at all. Sparky was shy and grew up to be much like his father. His mother died when he was in his early 20s. Sparky was married twice and had five children.

There is so much detail! It is almost 700 pages long, and nonfiction, so it took a long time to read. Because I had other books to get to, although it’s a very good book, I did put it down for close to two months before getting back to it again. There are plenty of Peanuts strips peppered throughout the book, as Schulz often included autobiographical stuff in his strips; there is also two sections of photographs. The book itself, I’m giving 4 stars, but for the immense amount of research (much information given with help from the family) and detail, it gets the extra ¼ star.

One Hundred Saturdays – Michael Frank
4****

Subtitle: Stella Levi and the Search for a Lost World

In February, 2015 Michael Frank attended a lecture, where he had a brief conversation with an elegant elderly woman. The next morning, he received a call from the woman who had organized the lecture. Stella Levi, she told him, had enjoyed meeting him and wondered if he would be willing to help with a bit of writing she had done. Stella was not a native English speaker and wanted to ensure her piece was accurately written. Thus began a series of meetings over one hundred Saturdays and six years, as Stella told her story to Frank.

This is a marvelous tale of a very strong woman. She was a strong girl and teenager when growing up in the Juderia in Rhodes, and she was a strong young woman when she was “evacuated” to Auschwitz. She survived the camps, by using her intelligence and being prepared and willing to do what was necessary to stay alive. She managed to get to the United States where some of her relatives had gone before World War II. And she found her own path here as well.

Her memories, as related by Frank, and forthright and clear. She shows great courage in recalling and reliving some of these episodes in her life. She also shows her strength of character. But make no mistake, her experiences during the Holocaust did NOT define her. She did not forget or forgive, but rather she focused on moving forward. Stella made herself into the woman she always wanted to be and ensured that she LIVED her life.

The Sixth Extinction by James Rollins
4****

This is the first James Rollins book I read and I rather liked the research he put into it. The book starts with the journals of Charles Darwin and concern some creatures that were found? uncovered? during the voyage of the Beagle.

Fast forward to modern times, and Jenna, a park ranger in Mojo Park, California, drives to a sudden conflagration and a panicked emergency call. The science complex in her district is the site of this explosion, hovered over by commandos and a helicopter, and she is able to hold her own against them with the help of her beloved husky, Nikko.

Meanwhile, the Sigma Force is called into the case, in part because of the nature of the research and in part because of the commandos. And then the action really builds: from California, to Washington, D.C., to a Tepui in the Amazon, to a scientific research station in Antarctica. It was all a wild ride, bordering on the unbelievable with the timing, though with lots of brave folks taking risks to save the planet and the ones they love.

One of the factors I really liked about this book was its exploration of the current sixth extinction of so many species on our planet, along with some of the differing views about the best way to mitigate this tragedy. Do we continue to conserve resources and keep wild what is wild? Or do we mess with genes and DNA and try to help extant species adapt to the new climate?

The Burning of the Rose by Ruth Nichols
3 1/2***

I probably bought this book a few years after it came out, though I can't be sure. The receipt that marked my original ending place is dated 1992, and it was definitely not for the price of the book! Maybe for the cup of coffee where I bought it?

In any event, the idea of the book enchanted me: a young woman struggles to make sense of her place in the world. Claire Tarleton lives in the mid-1400's as an adopted daughter of a devoted Norman-English couple. She was found by them in her plague-ridden London home as a two-year old orphan, locked in with her parents who had just died of the plague. William Tarleton is an artist and scholar, Elisabeth is a healer, and they raise young Claire to have musical gifts and much learning. She is also an artist's model in Florence for many years.

The story then moves to Saint Aurele on the Norman coast, where Elisabeth lived as a girl and where she still owns lands outside of the town. There, the Tarletons set up a printing press to great acclaim, and William begins to print the Bible. And Claire becomes a performing musician while being courted by two brothers who might equally win her hand.

For the descriptions of the times, cloth, rooms, light, all those things that bring the plot fully into Europe of the Medicis and the Norman-English wars, I would have given this book hands down 5 stars. But. Ruth Nichols' writing style is continuously convoluted, sentences are divided up with references, commas, and backwards phrasing that just add a clunkiness to the flow of her story-telling. It is a style that can be used to great effect, when conveying a point or bringing something to the reader's attention. But it is too slow and awkward to narrate an entire book, and the plot and pacing suffer for it.

Unfettered - Kate Hawthorne
Genera: M/M Romance/Age Play/BDSM
5★
Heath is a professor in his mid 40's and Beau is his student in his mid-20s. The two met before they realized that they would be together in the classroom. Both elements make a big difference in how the characters relate to one another, especially since Beau is the dominant partner in the relationship rather than Heath. Also be aware that there is a high element of BDSM kink in the story that might not be what all readers are looking for or want. Heath is very up-front about his concerns after he had a bad experience with a previous partner, but he was so caring and considerate with Heath, who had also had a bad past experience, and about their developing dynamic with that knowledge in place. Not a long story but if you read this author before, you will recognize some of the characters, Beau and his 5 half-brothers, who he and they, had only just found out that each other existed, from other stories. I love seeing characters reappear and seeing how they have grown. As always with this author, a really good story with lovable characters.

Piranesi / Susanna Clarke
2.5 stars

“Piranesi” is in some world where there are multiple connected Halls and there are statues everywhere. There is only one other (live) person (whom he calls The Other), but Piranesi has found bones of about thirteen other people, so includes them in his count, as well. Piranesi and The Other are scientists.

This was odd. It got slightly more interesting toward the end, but still odd. Combine some parts fantasy (and/or magical realism) and literary fiction (and maybe some philosophy?) and it’s mostly not my thing.

Friend of My Youth
Alice Munro
3/5 stars
A wonderful collection of ten short fictional stories written by Alice Munro who reaches into the soul of her characters and bring out the best and the worse of them.

A Study in Scarlet – Arthur Conan Doyle
Audiobook performed by Frederick Davidson
3***

This novella introduced the reading public to Sherlock Holmes and his trusty sidekick, Dr Watson. The case hinges on a dead body found in a locked room; although the corpse shows no signs of having been attacked, Holmes is convinced it was murder.

I found it a slower read than today’s mystery novels. But I was interested in getting to know Holmes and Watson. We learn how Holmes came to his method of deduction, and begin to see the fast friendship that will develop between these two men.

I did find the interlude set in America rather jarring. I wondered if perhaps my copy of the book had inadvertently included a completely different story. But, of course, I was wrong, and this did serve to give a detailed background of the chief suspect. And, eventually, Holmes explained it all to both Scotland Yard and the reader.

Frederick Davidson did a fine job of narrating the audiobook. He set a good pace, and I did like the way he interpreted Holmes and Watson.

As is my habit when listening to an audiobook, I also had a copy of the text handy. In this case, it came with an introduction (dated 2009) by mystery writer Mark Billingham. I’m so glad I took the time to read that introduction. Gives me a whole new appreciation for Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Holmes, Watson and their legion of fans.

The House That Horror Built - Christina Henry - (Illinois)
Genera: Horror/Mystery/Suspense/Thriller
4.5★
Harry loves horror films, so when she gets a job cleaning house for renowned horror director Javier Castillo, she can't believe her luck. Castillo’s Chicago mansion is filled with props, posters, and paraphernalia from all her favorite films, and she gets to spend her days taking care of these items. She should be having so much fun. She is also so very careful to respect Castillo’s privacy. She never asks him questions...especially not about the family scandal that forced him to leave Hollywood. Then when Harry starts hearing voices in several totally empty rooms and seeing things move around by themselves...her thoughts can’t help going back to the whereabouts of Castillo’s missing family. The house has secrets, some dark and maybe dangerous...secrets that she can’t ignore...but exploring and uncovering them could result in her losing much more than just her job. This book called to me from the library shelves, and I HAD to take it home with me. I really connected with Harry from the first. The story is told almost exclusively from her point-of-view and in the present, with the occasional short chapter about her past life. She came from a very strict and overly religious family who did not approve of her film choices or many of her other choices either. Several short chapters tell us about the house's scandal that Harry is only guessing about through most of the story. These three different perspectives really help to give insights into the Harry and Castillo characters. Harry is A 30-something-year-old single mother with a teenage son, Gabe. She's trying to keep their heads above water in Chicago where work is hard to come by. Gabe is facing all the trials of high school with the richer kids and facing the painful truth that he can’t have everything that they have, and Harry really has no emotional support for herself. It’s a bleak existence made worse when her new landlord chooses to sell the house she lives in, meaning that she now also has to look for a new place to live. These financial pressures explain very well why Harry looked the other way ignoring the creepy things going on in the house... and why she puts up with all the strict rules she has to follow while working. I believed from the first that the readers are meant to know who the true monster is in this story and that knowledge, along with a steady stream of supernatural incidents, raises the story’s tension about a 150%. It's a book you will find almost impossible to put down even though it has a much slower pace than other some other books of this genera that you might have read. My only criticism was that the ending was much too abrupt. After building a connection with the characters, I wanted to know how they coped after the ending. That was the only reason the book didn't get 5 stars.

The Naturalist's Daughter / Tea Cooper
4 stars

Tamsin is a librarian in the early 1900s in Sydney, Australia. She is tasked to fetch a donated sketchbook of a naturalist from almost 100 years previous, Charles Winton. But when she arrives, the woman who is planning to donate the book has died and her daughter wants to sell the book, not donate it. In addition, the book has some sketches that don’t quite “fit”, though… ones that he may not have drawn, so where did they come from? Tamsin is able to take the book back to the library to try to figure out the provenance.

Almost 100 years earlier, Rose lives with her mother and father, Charles Winton, a naturalist studying platypus. When Winton gets sick just before leaving for England to share his information on the platypus, he sends his daughter Rose, instead. But it’s not easy to get a group of scientific men to listen to a woman, no matter how credible she is.

I really enjoyed this. I liked both timelines and both women, who fought for what they were trying to do. It got a bit confusing toward the end, but that didn’t diminish my enjoyment of the book.

Index, A History of The / Dennis Duncan
2.5 stars

The title pretty much sums this one up. This is a history of the index that we usually currently find at the back of a nonfiction book that places topics from the book in alphabetical order. (Not all of these things have always been the case for an index!)

I listened to the audio and my attention waxed and waned. Some of it was interesting, but I got distracted and lost interest quite a bit, as well. I think it’s not the best book for an audio, anyway, as there were examples of indexes that had to be read out, which would be much easier to look at.

After the Conquest by Teresa Cole
4****

A somewhat difficult book to begin, since I am not familiar with this time period nor had I read her earlier books on William the Conqueror. That said, once I realized that Teresa Cole used the person's identifier to help explain the various Williams, Roberts, Matildas, Henrys, etc., I flipped back and forth less often.

That said, by the time the events arrive at the formation of the Holy Roman Empire, I was hooked. Because, you see, a granddaughter of William I was named Matilda and she married Henry V who set himself up as the Holy Roman Emperor, and Cole explains this unique event in painstaking detail. And I now fully understand the machinations behind it and who the historical personages were.

So yes, from English History class, we all certainly remember that William the Conqueror came over in 1066 and killed Harold Godwinson at the Battle of Hastings. And then he had sons, and yes, we learned to recite the genealogy and there was some quibble in the succession later on down the line. But this book takes the important next steps to discuss the 3 sons who each received a share of England, Normandy, and some silver.

What happens next is a great deal of struggle, an arrow that kills William II (whether it was an accident or an assassination is reviewed and discussed); his eldest son, Robert Curthose is given his father's duchy in Normandy (and later goes on the First Crusade); and his youngest, Henry, is the most apt at statecraft and loses his only legitimate son on the White Ship. Which leaves the succession open to his daughter, Matilda, to whom the nobility swear fealty only to renounce it when Stephen de Blois makes his claim to the throne of England.

Another thing that impressed me about this book is the contemporary sources Teresa Cole uses: the Saxon Monk Eadmer's History, the Chronicle of Henry of Huntingdon, Orderic Vitalis' History, and William of Malmesberry Chronicle of the Kings of England. So while there may be scholarship and other histories of this time, this one draws on the eye-witness sources that speak to the people and events as, or soon after, they happened.