March Read: Expiration Dates by Rebecca Serle

 

This is my second Rebecca Serle novel. I thoroughly enjoyed One Italian Summer and saw the premise of this novel and thought it would be an interesting twist on modern dating, so I grabbed a copy at my library and quickly read it. 

Daphne lives in Los Angeles and is an assistant to a producer. She's in her early thirties, and has a weird quirk: since she was a young girl, she gets pieces of paper that tell her the name of her next boyfriend, and how long the relationship will last. One month, a few years, a night--it takes her a few years to figure out what's going on, and she never shares her quirk with anyone until Hugo, her best friend/ex-boyfriend. You'll get tastes of some of her previous relationships as the story bounces between her past and the now. 

Now she's received a note with a name, but no end date. Is Jake the one?And if he is the one, is she ready for it? 

This plot had some steam and kept me interested for the first half, but a few surprise revelations come to light and they change the tone of the novel quite  bit. I certainly didn't see them coming. Daphne is so sure Jake must be the one, she basks in the simplicity of their life together-he's calm, cool, charming, warm--a golden retriever, if you will. But I felt the chemistry was definitely lacking between the two. It's pretty obvious who she should be with, but Daphne is stuck on those names always having an end date, and there's no revisiting past relationships. Jake must be the one who will be her happily ever after. 

I can't say I liked Daphne a whole lot. She's not a terrible person; she's a good person--but her decisions and actions just didn't vibe with me. 

What I do enjoy about Rebecca Serle's novels are the introduction of magic that is not explained; the characters don't try to figure it out or question it much--it just is, and that's refreshing. 

Rating: 3/6 for an interesting concept, but a lack of chemistry between Daphne and her main squeeze just didn't work for me. It's a quick read, and has some interesting twists, so if you're looking for a semi-romantic contemporary novel with a dab of magical realism, go for it! 

Available in hardcover, ebook, and audio. 

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March Read: Expiration Dates by Rebecca Serle

The Women by Kristin Hannah

 

I finally cracked and read a Kristin Hannah novel. Thanks to St. Martin's Press for an advanced copy; otherwise I probably would not have read it, for a couple of reasons: I wouldn't have gotten around to it, and I tend to avoid novels about the Vietnam War. 

I didn't lose any family in the Vietnam War, and I don't really remember much of it at all--I was a small child, born just as it was ramping up. By the time it ended, I was about 6-7 years old. I only remember Walter Cronkite on the evening news, seeing some of the footage in color on my parent's console TV. I don't recall my parents ever talking about it, either. That little I do remember is still pretty sharp in my memory. 

This novel, is, you guessed it, about the women who served in Vietnam: the nurses, mostly. Those fierce women who saw some of the most grisly and devastating parts of the war, who toiled through unimaginable scenarios to save men's lives and get them home. 

Francis "Frankie" McGrath lives on Coronado Island, California. Her parents are wealthy, and her brother Finley has just signed up to go to Vietnam. In 1966 no one knew the horrors of the Vietnam War just yet, and it was considered honorable and expected of men to join the armed services and go over and end the hostilities quickly. At a party, Frankie meet Rye, one of her brother's good friends, who tells Frankie "women can be heroes, too." That one phrase changes Frankie's life. 

Frankie, fresh out of nursing school, decides she wants to follow Finley to Vietnam as a nurse. At twenty, she's sheltered and not happy with the limited choices she has, and the expectations of her parents to get married and raise a family. 

Once Frankie steps off the plane in Vietnam, her world is completely shaken. From her first days in camp and meeting her friends Ethel and Barb, to meeting Jamie, a surgeon who is clearly interested in Frankie, she's thrown into a world where there's no time to be afraid. Frankie's experiences in Vietnam shape her into a veteran who cannot shake her experience once she comes home.

The novel is split into two parts: Vietnam, and the return home. It spans 1966-1982, and follows the heartbreak, heartache, and struggles Frankie endures once she returns home and discovers Vietnam Vets are not being welcomed home. Will Frankie overcome her demons? 

This was one heck of a read. I started it this past week and power read over the weekend to finish it. I was afraid if I stopped I wouldn't pick it back up; only because some of it is tough to read. Frankie's PTSD, nightmares, and drug and alcohol use are harsh and your heart breaks for her struggles in a world where even the vets don't believe women served in Vietnam. As Frankie tells them, they would only have seen her if they were gravely wounded. 

Loved it--I'm glad it wasn't just about Frankie's experience in Vietnam, but also the aftermath at home, and the years it took to overcome the results of her experience. 

This novel is released in the U.S. on February 6th in hardcover, ebook, and audiobook. I know it is going to be immensely popular and bring new fans to Kristin Hannah. 

Rating: 6/6 for an absorbing, heartbreaking, tough look at the Vietnam War from a nurse's experience on the ground in the harshest conditions. It also examines the aftermath of the war and the mental toll it takes on veterans and how the system failed so many when they needed help and compassion the most. Powerful stuff. 

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The Women by Kristin Hannah

August Read from the Shelves: I'm Glad My Mom Died by Jennette McCurdy

 

I've been dilly-dallying between four books the past few weeks and not finishing any of them. When that happens I do what's probably counterintuitive and pick up a whole different book and read it. I've had this memoir in my stacks for a few months and decided to dive in and reset my reading mojo.

Whoa. Lots and lots of some pretty hard stuff in this memoir. Not a read for people who may have experienced physical or mental abuse; eating disorders, or alcohol abuse. I've read a few interviews with Jennette and she said she decided on this title because she wanted it to grab people's attention, and also because she knew her three brothers would immediately get it and understand. I think it's safe to say there are plenty of other people who also get it and understand. 

Jennette McCurdy's acting career wasn't something I was aware of; I was long grown up and not watching Nickelodeon when she was on iCarly. To think of her years on that show, and how miserable she was, is heartbreaking. This kid went through some stuff.

Jennette's mother decided when Jennette was six years old that she should become an actress. Mostly because that's what her mom always wanted to be. Jennette wanted to make her mom happy, because she mostly wasn't-so she said "sure". Dragging Jennette around to auditions, being a pushy stage mom, using her past breast cancer diagnosis to illicit sympathy and open doors eventually got Jennette a starring role on what was to become a very popular kid's show: iCarly. 

What people may not have known was Jennette's home life was a disaster. Her mother constantly worked to keep her children (Jennette has three older brothers) dependent on her and always cried that she didn't want them to grow up. Jennette's dismay at puberty had her mom sharing her "calorie restriction" methods on an eleven year old who developed full blown anorexia, followed by years of bulimia and a dysfunctional relationship with food. This woman was the worst mother. So awful. What's sad is Jennette believed everything her mom said, and worked so hard to not disappoint her mom. This kid was completely lost, naive, and had no chance to figure out who she was, as long as her mother was in control. 

Jennette's mother died from cancer when Jennette was 21. She's free, you think. But no, years of terrible harm to herself required extensive therapy, and a lot of ups and downs. It speaks to Jennette's incredible strength that she's come out whole on the other side. Not only as a child of abuse, but a child actor in a terrible industry that isn't kind at all. 

Jennette's writing is spot on--she's got talent, and I hope she continues to thrive. This was a powerful memoir and I'm so glad I read it, even when it became uncomfortable. 

Rating: 5/6 for a moving, powerful memoir about a young woman's traumatic childhood and her struggle to find her voice. If you have a chance to watch one of her interviews about this book, please watch! 

Available in hardcover, ebook and audio. 

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August Read from the Shelves: I'm Glad My Mom Died by Jennette McCurdy

March Read: A Dangerous Business by Jane Smiley

 

This was a quick read (just over 200 pages) and I loved it. It's a bit of a murder mystery but it's also historical fiction that has a lot to say about women in the Wild West. 

The Wild West in this case is Monterey, California in 1851. Eliza Ripple is a very young woman who has recently been widowed after her ass of a husband, Peter, is shot at a bar. Best thing ever for Eliza. Peter was her much older husband, and treated Eliza like his personal servant. Both had recently arrived in Monterey from Michigan, where Eliza's strict religious parents had fallen for Peter's seemingly mild mannered and sincere actions. Once married, the truth comes out and Eliza is trapped. 

Peter is killed, and wow, Eliza is free! All alone in a bustling gold rush town, she needs a way to make a living. The kindly Mrs. Parker offers her a solution, and Eliza becomes a prostitute. Seems like a good way to make a living and save up some cash. Eliza has a few clients every day, then retires to her room at a boarding house. Eliza learns a whole lot about men, and decides they aren't all like Peter-in fact, there are some pretty good men around. She's quite content to be independent and loves living in Monterey.

Eliza and her friend Jean discover a dead body while out on a carriage ride. The sheriff and the coroner don't seem too disturbed by it, but Eliza and Jean are-mostly because it's a young woman, and she was murdered and tossed aside like garbage. With a recent interest in reading Edgar Allen Poe's stories, the two women decide to investigate the murder 'Poe style'. And sure enough, this young woman is only the first of the women who are disappearing around Monterey. 

Eliza and Jean are absolutely delightful characters. I was immediately taken by the matter-of-factness of Eliza. This is no helpless female. She looks around, assesses, and makes her choices. Jean is equally delightful. She's a prostitute who caters to female clients. As Jean says, most of these clients just want someone to talk to, or to give them a hug. Women who are married and feel alone. 

Both women have freedom most other women do not. They have no husbands or children, make their own income, and are able to walk about (properly and demurely dressed, of course) with no worries. Eliza spends her time with clients quickly doing the deed, but then talking to them about where they live, what they do, and questions them about the latest political news. Slavery and the railroad are big topics. The Civil War is only a few years away. Eliza never once feels like a victim and sees what she does as a way to make a living and be independent. 

Nature plays a big part in this novel. The nature of Monterey, the ocean, the twisty trees and the fog; the different journeys of the men Eliza crosses paths with; the very nature of a swiftly changing country and political climate. 

It seems that every client or man Eliza meets may very well be the murderer; it's very near the end that the mystery is solved. I thought it was clever. I especially love the final few paragraphs; satisfied with Eliza and Jean's futures that will take them wherever the wind blows. And that's just how they like it. 

Rating: 5/6 for a short mystery that isn't your typical murder mystery. The setting and especially  the characters created a fast read that I enjoyed. 

Available in hardcover, ebook, and audio.

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March Read: A Dangerous Business by Jane Smiley

I Finally Read a Taylor Jenkins Reid Novel: Malibu Rising

 

To order from Amazon click here

  I'll admit sometimes I stubbornly refuse to read an author right out of the gate--mostly because there's so much praise about the novels that I have to take a step back and not rush to jump on the bandwagon. I don't want to read something just because everyone else is--I'd rather come around in my own time. 

So, I ordered Malibu Rising from BOTM and decided to give it whirl. I was looking to read something very different after reading my Christmas novels in December. This fit the bill!

Yeah, I loved it. I don't know if it was the setting: Malibu in the early 1980's; or the characters, or reading a novel set by the Pacific Ocean in the warm California sun. All of it combined to create a read that I simply couldn't put down. 

So, the Riva family: Nina, Jay, Hud, and Kit. Children of singer Mick Riva (I kept picturing Dean Martin), who was a famous crooner in the 1950's, all the way up to the early 1980's. He had married their mother June before he hit it big, and left her after only a few years of marriage--but was never completely out of her life. Their mother became an alcoholic, and did her best to raise her children in Malibu when it was a sleepy beach community. 

Now the kids are all grown up: Nina is a famous model and surfer; Jay is a famous surfer competing for world titles; Hud is the photographer who keeps Jay in magazines. Kit is the youngest-an amazing surfer, but her talent hasn't been noticed by her siblings just yet. It's the day of their famous once a year party at Nina's malibu mansion. A party that started out small years ago, and now has reached epic proportions: only those who are in the know attend-famous people and hangers on. 

Leading up to the party, we learn about the Riva family history, and how all of the kids came to be in this spot at this certain time. The sacrifices Nina has made to  raise her siblings; the unhappiness they experienced growing up without a father present, and where they plan to go in life and love. 

I loved the setting, all of the siblings, and the back story of June and Mick Riva. I definitely felt myself back in the early 1980's, too. It's a character driven novel, but enough happens that you're never bored. Once the party kicks into gear, so much is happening all over the place you don't want to stop reading. 

So yeah, now I'm going to read another of Taylor Jenkin Reid's novels. She's definitely talented, and writes a darn good story. I don't think I would have been able to stick to this novel if I'd tried to read it before now, so I'm glad I waited and read it when I wanted to, and not because I felt I had to join the crowd. 

Rating: 5/6 for a novel that transports you to 1980's Malibu-the surfing, the beaches, the sun. All of the characters were well defined and each had a compelling story. Loved it!

Available in hardcover, ebook, and audio. 

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I Finally Read a Taylor Jenkins Reid Novel: Malibu Rising

Dial A for Aunties by Jesse G. Sutanto

 

Click here to buy from Amazon

Well, i spent some time this weekend creating an impromptu video where I talked about a whole lot (no shelf control, folks) of books I wanted to read for the summer. However, it was too darn long to load into a post and I finally gave up posting it on Facebook after what felt like a zillion tries. 

So, I'm a bit late posting and I'm going to try another, shorter video and get that up Friday. 

Meanwhile, I have been reading a few books, and I finally finished this novel that's a bit romance, a bit screwball comedy, and well, a slight murder mystery. 

Meddelin Chan has three aunts and a mom who run a successful wedding company. They do it all: flowers, cake, makeup & hair, and Meddy is the photographer. Their biggest wedding is coming up: two wealthy families joining together on a posh island hotel resort. It's huge for Meddy and her family, and they can't screw it up. 

Meddy's mother sets her up on a blind date, and things go terribly, terribly wrong. As in dead body wrong the morning they are to leave for the wedding. What's a girl to do? Call her aunts! And what's wonderful about Meddy's aunts and her mom is that they believe her without question, and throw themselves into solving the pickle Meddy has created (accidentally). 

At the hotel resort, Meddy runs into Nathan, now part-owner of the luxury hotel. He is Meddy's true love, and she broke up with him in college because she couldn't leave her family in California. The heat is still there between the two, and Nathan makes it clear he's missed Meddy and still has feelings for her. Now, to just explain about the dead body in the cooler...

It really is a screwball comedy in that we have a group of women preparing for a major wedding, dragging a cooler around with a body in it-trying to hide it but constantly being interrupted and having to change course. Toss in a developing second plot involving the maid of honor, theft, and a whole fleet of really, really hungover groomsmen, and this wedding will take a miracle to pull off! 

I wasn't sure what to expect and actually enjoyed this novel very much. I wouldn't say it's a mystery, nor a straight romance, either. Kind of a little bit of both, with plenty of Chinese-Indonesian culture and family dynamics. Will Meddy have a happy ending? Happy news! This novel has been optioned for a Netflix movie!

Rating: 3/6 for a fun read about a wedding where everything that can go wrong, goes wrong-and how having a meddling ma in your romantic life can lead to a really, really bad blind date. Enjoyable, full of loveable characters and a demonstration of what families will do for each other in times of crisis. 

Available in hardcover, trade paperback, audio, and ebook. 

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Dial A for Aunties by Jesse G. Sutanto

We Begin at the End by Chris Whitaker

 

Click here to buy from Amazon

Well this book took me a bit to get through to the end. Mostly because it broke my heart over and over and I had to read it in bits and pieces. 

I've heard so much about this book--tons of rave reviews, and even a few friends telling me about it. So I bought it last month and have been reading it since May 1st. Some books I can sail through; others take me a bit. This was a "take me a bit" kind of book. It's heavy. It's not a happy ever after. And even for the first 100 pages, I was wondering if I'd made a mistake and it wasn't a book for me. 

But I kept with it, and wow, what a powerful, haunting novel. It's a bit of a thriller, murder mystery, and a family drama all rolled into one. It reminded me of Jane Harper's novels-the desolate feeling I get when I read them. 

In a nutshell: Duchess and Robin Radley are two young kids who live with their mother, Star, in the small town of Cape Haven, California. They are dirt poor. Walker is the town Chief of Police, and he's a childhood friend of Star. He watches over her and the kids and tries to ease their burden as best he can. Vincent is, after 30 years, being released from prison for the murder of Star's younger sister, Sissy. He struck her with his car and drove off, unaware he'd killed Sissy. Vincent was only fifteen at the time. Now he's 45 and being released from prison, back to the town where he grew up. Star, Vincent, and Walker were fast friends and had a special bond. 

Duchess is a fierce 13 year old--she's sassy as hell, tough as nails, and protective of her mom and brother. But she is only a child, and it's exhausting to read about Duchess constantly working to keep Robin cared for, and food on the table. 

Vincent returns home, and shortly thereafter, tragedy strikes again with devastating shockwaves felt by Walker, Duchess, and Vincent. Nothing but tragedy in this novel, over and over. Just when you get slightly comfortable that Duchess will find some peace, wham! fate strikes. 

I can't tell you anymore. You'll have to read it yourself. It was such a good story; it will remain with me for a long time. I don't even know what else to say. Read it, if you can!

Rating: 5/6 for a haunting exploration of family, actions and consequences, love, and paying for past sins. 

Available in hardcover, ebook, and audio. 

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We Begin at the End by Chris Whitaker

The Rural Diaries: Love, Livestock, and Big Life Lessons Down on Mischief Farm by Hilarie Burton Morgan

 

I cannot resist reading about women who move to the country and live a farming life. I guess it's because I think they're very brave. And they're so darn handy at creating something out of nothing, or using very little to create that something. Hilarie Burton Morgan joins my list of women I admire, who roll up their sleeves and jump in with a brave heart. 

The Rural Diaries is about Hilarie and Jeffrey Dean Morgan (you know, that heartthrob of a guy from Grey's Anatomy, and the nasty Negan from The Walking Dead), and their decision to move to Rhinebeck, New York and live on a farm.  After meeting in L.A. through mutual friends, their connection was pretty quick and deep. Driving through Rhinebeck, they immediately felt at home and wanted to put down roots away from the craziness of Hollywood. And so they did. 

But this story is not all fairy tale and happy ending; at least not for a few years. Hilarie recounts their beginnings, with their young son Gus, in a little cabin by the woods. Their happiness at finding home, and becoming part of the community. Hilarie is a whiz with power tools and gardening; she learned a lot of skills from her parents and had always longed for a special place to call home. Her attitude of just jumping in and doing the hard work, and the satisfaction of making a home are inspiring. 

Hilarie and Jeffrey find a farm with 70 acres nearby and move there after a few years. More hard work, with the addition of chickens, alpacas, donkeys, and dogs. Hilarie recounts her heartbreaking miscarriages, and the strain they put on her relationship with Jeffrey. Healing from that, and finding their way back to each other. Community is also huge in this memoir; the friends and family that surround the couple and their son Gus are amazing, and I'll admit to being a little bit envious of their little piece of heaven!

Hilarie is a breath of fresh air. Her openness at the ups and downs of her relationship with Jeffrey, her obsession with getting pregnant again and the strain it caused; her heartbreak at losing her pregnancies. Her willingness to get on with the work and not be afraid of failure (in gardening, especially), and her big heart make this a charming read. Her brief inside look at Hollywood and her experiences as an actress are certainly interesting, too. 

This read certainly brightened a dismal February for me. My partner's Mom passed away last week after a very long illness. It was crushing to see her slowly getting worse over the past few years, the past six months have been hard; the past few months were profoundly sad. I was blessed to spend the last few weeks with her, helping my partner to care for his Mom and spending the days with her. It was not easy, and boy oh boy I cried so many tears my face hurt and my eyes were a mess. I'm taking some time to just be home, support my partner in his grief, and yes, grieve myself. So this memoir actually reminded me that the sun will shine again, flowers will bloom, and Spring will arrive. Life keeps going, and we will keep moving forward. 

Rating: 4/6 for an utterly open and honest look at the ups and downs of creating a life together, taking a leap and deciding to live that dream. Anyone who loves farm life, homemaking, and the country life will enjoy this memoir. A reminder that family, friends, and home are most important. 

Available in hardcover, ebook, and audio. 

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The Rural Diaries: Love, Livestock, and Big Life Lessons Down on Mischief Farm by Hilarie Burton Morgan

The Arctic Fury by Greer Macallister

 

The Arctic Fury is a novel I've been waiting quite some time to read, and I've been chipping away at it all week. Today I spent the day on the couch reading all day to finish it. It was a day well spent! 

Sometimes when I'm reading a book, I look at reviews about midway through just to see how people have reacted to the story. I'd say for this, there were a lot of folks who didn't like the lack of relationship building between the women. Now that I've read the book, I can say that wasn't the case for me, and I was not disappointed at all in this historical adventure. 

Viriginia Reeve has been summoned to Boston by Lady Jane Franklin with a very unusual proposition: to lead a group of women into the Arctic to find her husband, Lord John Franklin of the famed Franklin Expedition. Lord Franklin and his crew, along with their two ships, never returned, and no one knows what happened to them. Lady Jane believes a group of women can actually succeed where men have failed: either find the crew, of find out what happened to them. Her stipulation: Virginia has to take along a crew of 12 women (3 of her choosing), and if she tells anyone Lady Franklin funded the trip, Lady Franklin will deny, deny, deny. 

Virginia's background is pretty interesting: she has been guiding people to California  for a number of years as an experienced trail guide. After her friend's untimely death, she decides it's time for something new. Virginia is at times confident in her ability to traverse to the Arctic, and at others, terribly uncertain and aware of the responsibility on her shoulders. As we meet the other women who join the expedition: Doro, Elizabeth, Siobhan, Margaret, Irene, Ebba, Althea, Caprice, Stella, Dove, and Christabel--the story slowly unfolds, moving back and forth between the expedition in 1853 and the Virginia's trial for murder in Boston, 1854. Who is she accused of murdering, and how will she prove her innocence? 

This is definitely a story that unfolds bit by bit, chapter by chapter. All of the women have useful skills for the expedition; the dislike between Virginia and Caprice signals trouble to follow; and let's not forget we've got a group of women going where no white women have ever been. It's 1853; women trekking their way up North in dangerous conditions not only puts them in treacherous weather, but sharing space with men who look at them with suspicion, lust, and disdain. 

The story of the expedition is interspersed with chapters of the trial. We know what Virginia's thinking, but what of the other women? You get glimpses, for sure. Each have their own secrets and reasons why they joined the expedition. Each has a reason to tell the truth--or near enough the truth. Virginia's life is on the line--will she hang or will the truth come out? 

I enjoyed this novel very much. Adventure, tense standoffs, friendships formed. I felt the relationships between the women started off standoff-ish, but they quickly realized they only had themselves to depend on to survive. There is a bit of a surprise with Virginia that is slowly revealed, that explains a lot of her behavior. She is definitely a strong woman, surviving tragedies that would finish off so many others. There's also a bit at the back of the book about the Franklin Expedition. There are so many books available if this novel peaks your interest in Lord Franklin's doomed expeditions. Fascinating stuff. 

Rating: 5/6 for a thrilling adventure featuring a group of women who set off to do what no other women have done: travel to the Arctic in search of a lost expedition. The story unfolds, keeps you turning the pages, and holding your breath. It would make a pretty darn good mini-series! 

Available in paperback, ebook, and audio. 

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The Arctic Fury by Greer Macallister

The Westering Women by Sandra Dallas

Sandra Dallas knocked it out of the park again with her latest novel about women pioneers, Westering Women. I've had the pleasure of meeting Sandra, and I've read pretty much all of her novels over the years. I'm never disappointed. 

One of my favorite history subjects is pioneering women. I've always been fascinated by these incredible women, who gave up everything they knew and loved to follow their husbands out West to start new lives. Imagine walking from St. Louis to California. In a dress. No A/C, no iced coffee, no comforting hotel to sleep in at night. Maybe giving birth while out in the middle of nowhere. Losing children and husbands to cholera, accidents, drowning. When I think of these women, I can't help but admire their tenacity, strength of mind, and downright badassery. I wonder if I would have been able to do what they did; if I had the hardcore toughness, and grace, to make it West and start a new life. This is what Sandra's novel had me thinking about every time I sat down to read Westering Women. 

It was pretty easy to slip right into Maggie Hale's story, which starts in Chicago. She's fleeing a horribly abusive husband with her small daughter, Clara. She sees an advertisement for women to travel West as potential brides for miners in California. It's her only chance to get out of Chicago before she's arrested for her husband's murder. A seamstress, she's been working hard to keep herself and Clara going, but money is running out, and after defending herself and Clara from the latest abuse of her husband, she fears she will pay the ultimate price. 

Maggie meets Mary at the church where they gather to apply to go West. Mary is one tough woman. Standing tall and broad, she works on the farm she shares with her brother and his wife. She's treated badly by both, and does the work of two without much reward. She's ready to travel West and start anew. 

Maggie and Mary are two of the main characters, but there's also a host of other folks who round out the wagon train: William and Joseph, both reverends who have organized the wagon train; Caroline, Joseph's wife and William's sister, who shows compassion and love to all she meets; Penn, a runaway from an abusive man and his brothers; Winny, a servant who wants to find her brother in California, and Bessie, the rich widow who is sponsoring the trip and also going West to start over again. There are more characters, and you'll get to know them all. 

The women endure many hardships, challenges, and tragedies. It may seem like a lot, but in reality, this was life on the trail. Most of the men in the novel aren't the best characters. Penn and Maggie are always looking over their shoulders, afraid they will be caught. But as the weeks go by, the women learn to defend themselves, perform the hard labor required to keep the wagons moving forward, and find strength they never knew they had. The trail hardens them in all the best ways. William and Joseph also change for the better, as they face the reality and responsibility of their journey. 

Most of all, this novel is about friendship and sisterhood, and the ties that bind women together. It's about working as a team even when it's hard or when it doesn't benefit you. It's about supporting, celebrating, and comforting those on the journey with you. This is always a theme in Sandra's novels, and I can't think of a better over-arching theme to weave into every story she creates. 

Fans of Nancy Turner's These is My Words--if you haven't read Sandra's novels, I would highly recommend you do. I can't get enough of them. 

Rating: 5/6 for another wonderful story about women who keep moving forward through strife, heartbreak, and pain. The characters are endearing, the story moves swiftly, and it is hard to put down! 

Available in hardcover, ebook, and audio. 

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The Westering Women by Sandra Dallas

Old Bones by Preston & Child

This is just the kind of story I love to dive into, and even though it was my first Preston & Child novel, it won't be my last. 

First of all, bless Grand Central Publishing for taking the time to list all of Preston & Child's novels by series! Makes reading their previous works much easier. I wish every publisher did this for prolific authors. Old Bones is another new series, with characters from previous novels, but this is the first in the Nora Kelly series. I can't wait to read more. 

This novel involves the mystery of the Donner Party, and the Lost Camp. After the Donner party became lost and stuck in the Sierra Nevada area in the winter of 1847, they became part of western legend and lore. Very few people survived the months long ordeal as they starved, survived blizzard after blizzard, and some resorting to cannibalism to survive. The party was broken up into three camps, each a distance away from each other. One camp, known as the Lost Camp, remained  undiscovered over a hundred and fifty years later. 

Archaeologist Nora Kelly is called in to lead an expedition up into the wilds of the Sierra Nevadas to attempt to discover the "Lost Camp". Traveling with Nora is Dr. Clive Benton, a historian (and descendant of one of the Donner party families) who has discovered Tamzene Donner's long lost diary, which describes the location of the lost camp. Finding this lost camp, and the remains of the people who died there, would be a huge historical find, and answer a lot of questions. There is also a big chance that twenty million dollars in gold coins is also somewhere in the camp, stolen from one of the Donner party men, who was murdered by two men who died at the lost camp. 

Another interesting addition to this story involves FBI Agent Corrie Swanson. Just learning her job, she's assigned to a simple case: investigating the murder of a man found in a recently disturbed grave. Doesn't seem like it would have anything to do with the Donner lost camp, but oh, it does. It seems that someone has been digging up graves and making off with parts of the remains. Corrie makes a connection between seemingly random events, but no one believes her--it's rookie enthusiasm, after all. 

Yet, there is a big link to these two big events, and that is what is most fascinating about this novel. I seriously couldn't put it down. The blend of archaeology, legend, lore, and history hooked me good. I've always been interested in the Donner tragedy and have read a lot of books about it. That's what  drew me to this novel, too. I wasn't disappointed. It was a heck of a good read, and a great introduction to Preston & Child novels. 

I've had friends tell me how much they enjoy Preston & Child novels, and now I know why. I'll be working my way through all of them, and looking forward to the next Nora Kelly novel. I liked both Nora and Corrie--two strong women,  navigating through the politics and machinations of their chosen fields. Both experts in what they do, they make a great team. Did I say I loved this novel?! I sure did! Fans of historical mysteries, anthropology, archaeology, and police procedurals will enjoy this one. I'm a fan of Ellie Griffith's Ruth Galloway mysteries, which also feature historical mysteries and forensic archaeology. I'm excited to have found another series with all the elements I enjoy. 

I know I read a lot of magical realism, foodie, and contemporary women's novels, but oh, the nerdy history and forensics girl in me loves this type of novel, too. 

Rating: 5/6 for a thriller that combines history, action, adventure, archaeology, forensics, and a race against time. The Donner Party tragedy continues to echo down through the years. It's never too late to bring peace to those who died tragically in the most horrible of circumstances. 

Available in hardcover, ebook, and audio. 

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Old Bones by Preston & Child

Chase Darkness with Me by Billy Jensen

First read for September is done! I do like to read about true crime; usually I prefer to read forensic books about how crimes are solved through analysis, forensics, and good old fashioned smarts. However, this one is a bit different, in that Billy Jensen doesn't use forensics, but Facebook and Twitter to help solve crimes. 

Billy is a journalist, and for years he wrote about murders that remained unsolved. He partnered with Michelle McNamara, the author of I'll be Gone in the Dark, who sadly died suddenly before her book was finished. Michelle was obsessed with finding the serial killer she dubbed The Golden State Killer. Billy worked with her on a few crime podcasts and shows, and formed a firm friendship. Crushed by her sudden death, he turned his grief into action. He decided that he would pursue the killers of unsolved crimes after the police had given up. 

In this non-fiction crime tale, Billy talks about a few of the cases that began his new career as a crime solver. Each one of them is heartbreaking. Once case involved a Polish immigrant who became the only other murder in New York City on 9/11. Another involved a man who was in the wrong place at the wrong time, and was hit so hard by a stranger he fell into a crosswalk unconscious, and was subsequently run over by a taxi cab and killed. All captured on cameras. But not so easy to identify the killer and bring him to justice. Billy used a new crime solving tool: Facebook. Paying for ads, he created Facebook posts and targeted them to audiences that were near the areas the crimes took place. Sometimes he was successful, sometimes not. He realized he had to do more than just put the word out, and hope someone, somewhere would help. 

This was a very interesting read, especially concerning the use of social media, and the evolution of DNA testing and finding killers based on something brand new: tracing them based on family genetics via Ancestry and 21 and Me results. And this..this was how the Golden State Killer was finally caught, two years after Michelle's death, and many years after raping and murdering dozens of people and terrorizing a city. We are in a new era of crime fighting and soon new tools will be available that will make it even harder for criminals to hide. Crowdsourcing to fight crime is happening, thanks to social media. 

Now I've got an itch to check out a few true crime podcasts. I am horrified and disgusted at the disregard of human life so many people show; there is another part of me that is grateful there are people like Billy Jensen out there who work tirelessly to solve what was previously unsolvable. Thousands of murders go unsolved each year, but solving even just one brings closure to those left behind, and justice to those who died at the hands of others. 

Available in hardcover, ebook, and audio. 

Rating: 3/6 for a behind the scenes look at the evolving science of crime solving through the lens of journalism. Crimes that are haunting, and the people who take it all on to provide answers for families left behind to grieve. 

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Chase Darkness with Me by Billy Jensen

The Kiss Quotient by Helen Hoang

I've seen so many reviews about this novel, and still it took picking it for a book group before I finally read it. This group is one that usually reads historical fiction, or novels that are chock full of symbolism and meaty discussions. Well, I decided we'd read this as an end to our last meeting before our summer break. I'll be honest, I got some grumbles. And I've had a few tell me it wasn't to their liking or taste. So I thought I'd made a horrible mistake. 

I was wrong-I didn't make a mistake, and I relish the upcoming book discussion. I like to remind book club members that book clubs are all about reading books that take them out of their usual reading groove; books that introduce them to another genre, or books that they would never pick up for any other reason. I'm always amazed at the books I've read that turned out to be very memorable, or books that I so enjoyed that I was happy I "had" to read it for a book club. It's too easy to fall into a reading rut, and only read what makes you comfortable, or what you come to expect in every book you read. The Kiss Quotient was decidedly different from my usual reads, and I loved it. 

Yes, it has some pretty steamy sex scenes. Hot hot hot scenes. Yes, some terms are used to describe physical anatomy that aren't what I'm used to reading in what I consider a romance. I'm not one for erotic romances; I find myself skipping over all of that and getting back to the story. I'm not offended, just not interested. However, this novel, while I consider it a romance novel, has some special qualities that make it memorable, and I can see why it's been a hit this past year. 

Stella Lane is one smart woman. She's a thirty-year old at the top of her game, as a econometrician who creates algorithms to study why people buy what they buy. It's fascinating work, and often times she works seven days a week, for hours on end. Stella is also on the autism spectrum, which makes it hard for her to socialize, break out of set routines, and have a healthy romantic relationship. Her mother insists Stella find herself a date for an upcoming gala, so Stella, in her methodical way, decides to hire someone to help her be better at sex, and that will lead to finding a romantic partner who understands and accepts her, quirks and all. 

Enter Michael. A gorgeous young man, frustrated fashion designer, and part-time male escort. He's hired to give Stella a few lessons in the bedroom, but instead, instant attraction hits. And Stella, for all her difficulty in forming relationships, is smitten by this kind man who treats her so carefully. Yes, he's a male escort with a heart of gold. A man who is working this job in order to pay his mother's medical bills, and get the family out of the debt left by his conniving father. Can Stella and Michael find their way to a solid relationship?

I was pleasantly surprised by this novel. Anyone who knows someone on the autism spectrum will just want to hug Stella. She struggles every day to be "normal", but her charm is that she has her quirks, and it's what makes her so unique and lovable. Michael is a good guy, who just can't resist Stella. But his self-confidence is beaten down, and he needs someone like Stella to make him see he's good enough, and not his father. 

I found the romance between Stella and Michael to be charming, and all of the supporting characters charming, too. The course of true love never runs smoothly, and there are plenty of obstacles in the way for Stella and Michael. I was cheering them on the whole way to the satisfying conclusion. 

Rating: 5/6 for a surprisingly modern, sexy, and solid romance about two people who don't quite fit in, but find their perfect matches in each other. It was refreshing to read about a heroine who is not run-of-the-mill. 

Available in paperback, ebook, and audio. 

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The Kiss Quotient by Helen Hoang

I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou

Maya Angelou was an amazing poet. That's about the extent of what I knew about her; that and Oprah Winfrey pretty much worshipped this woman. I can see why. 

An upcoming book group theme:reading a memoir, spurred me to finally read the first of Maya Angelou's many memoirs. Long considered a classic, I was ready to dive in and discover just what shaped such an extraordinary woman. 

Marguerite Johnson started life in California, but at a very young age was sent, with her brother Bailey, on a train to Stamps, Arkansas to live with their Grandmother, whom they called Momma. This was in the early 1930's, as the nation struggled with the Great Depression. Marguerite and Bailey settled in with their Momma and Uncle Willy. Momma ran a general store for their community and the children were expected to work there, go to school, do chores, and attend church. Momma ran a tight ship and was a respected member of the community. She kept her store open and thriving during the Depression through sheer grit and smarts. Marguerite's life with Momma was stable, but the times were troubling. The arrival of their father from California brought change. He took them to St. Louis to live with their beautiful, glamorous mother, and there Marguerite was raped by a man at the age of eight. She told her brother, and he told her mother. The resulting arrest and trial, and shortly thereafter murder of her rapist was more than she could bear. She decided that by speaking, she had murdered that man, so she stopped talking. Once again, Bailey and Marguerite were sent back to live in Stamps with Momma. 

There's much more to Marguerite's early life, but I couldn't get over how much had happened to her in such a short life. She identifies Mrs. Flowers as the first person who really saves her and starts her on a path towards the rest of her life, simply by reading classics to Marguerite and encouraging her to keep reading. Books and libraries were safety nets for Marguerite and Bailey and they spent a lot of time in libraries or at home reading. The power of storytelling and the written word are evident throughout this memoir. This memoir also speaks to the mood of America, the treatment of African Americans, and probably the most poignant and heartbreaking moment is when Bailey realizes what it means to be a young black boy in America. Maya's observations of the poor folk around her, and their belief that living this hardscrabble life will be rewarded in heaven are pretty profound for a young girl. 

Maya Angelou's writing is a gift. Her observations of life around her show a depth of maturity and wisdom rarely seen in one so young. Knowing where life will take her, and the people, places, and experiences she will have added to my interest in her early life-what made her and why? 

So glad I finally read this amazing memoir. I'm curious to read more, and to understand her relationship with her brother Bailey and her mother, the beautiful yet troubled woman who was in and out of her early life. To think this little girl would one day be reading her poetry at a presidential inauguration is pretty astonishing, and shows just how courageous a woman that little girl became and how far she traveled from Stamps, Arkansas. 

Rating:  5/6 for the language, writing, and simply amazing young life of Maya Angelou. She writes in a way that is more storytelling than in a cut and dried "these are the facts", which makes her young life experiences more impactful and from the heart. 

Available in paperback, ebook, and audio. 

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I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou

The Hunger by Alma Katsu

I've posted a video review of The Hunger on my Facebook page @bookaliciousbabe.  

I'll just say this was an unexpected find during a visit to Barnes & Noble; I went to work the next day and it came across my desk; that meant I had to read it! 

A real thriller/chiller retelling of the Donner Party Tragedy of 1846-47 with a supernatural twist. I consider this a horror novel.  I even go so far as to say it would make a good book club discussion book.  

American pioneers were an extraordinarily brave group of people, traveling across unknown territory hundreds of miles with only a hope that the end resulted in a place they could settle, raise a family, and create a new life. That's tough enough, but imagine if on the way (which you started months too late to safely get through before the snow starts flying), something is stalking you. Something that is not natural; something that looks human but isn't quite--was it ever human? Imagine that there's more than one of these creatures, and as you become more desperate as food runs low, tempers flare, hope begins to fade, you realize something horrible is out there, waiting to strike. 

The tension ramps up in this novel, and Alma Katsu masterfully blends the past with the present situation for each of the main characters. Everyone has secrets they are running from, and this wagon train to California forces those secrets out. Just how far will people go to survive?

Take a look at my video review; hope you enjoy it. I tend to just start recording and whatever falls out of my mouth, well, that's it. That's how I review books. 

Rating:  5/6 for a thriller that kept me on the edge. Even knowing what the actual outcome of the Donner Party was, I still kept hoping something would change. Throw in a horrible supernatural slant, and the story takes on an even darker edge. It's been optioned for a film, and I hope it happens--I'll go see it!

Available in hardcover and ebook. 

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The Hunger by Alma Katsu

The Last To See Me by M Dressler

I had to finish out the month of October with a ghost story.  Happy Halloween!  I spotted this novel while looking at upcoming releases, and when I saw the main character was a ghost, I just had to read it.  What I got was part supernatural, part history, part philosophical.  

The novel takes place in Benito, California; a small Northern California town previously known in the early 1900's for the timber industry.  Now it's a quaint tourist stop.  Hunters--ghost hunters--are bonded by law, and hired to clear spirits out of places, and they've done a pretty good job in Benito--except for one ghost.

Emma Rose Finnis died in 1915, and she continues to haunt the town of Benito, and the stately Lambry Mansion.  Alice, the last Lambry, has died, and directed the mansion to be sold and the profits to be divided up between her distant family.  A obnoxious rich couple want to buy the mansion, and completely gut it and change it from the beautiful home it is into a contemporary monstrosity.  Emma won't have it. 

Philip Pratt is hired to clear out whatever spirit is causing all the trouble at the Lambry Mansion.  He teams up with the realtor, Ellen DeWight, to figure out who the spirit is--once he knows their name, he has all the power.  Emma is pretty smart, however, and has had plenty of practice honing her skills, and keeping her anger from allowing her to be seen.  

The novel switches back and forth between the contemporary plot, and Emma's life as a chambermaid in Benito.  Her mother died in childbirth, and her father died from a horrible logging accident, leaving Emma to fend for herself as a teenager.  She was a good girl, and only wanted to have a simple life, and maybe find some peace.  But that wasn't to be. After attracting the attention of one of the Lambry sons, Mrs. Lambry offers her a position as housekeeper to a family hired to help at the lighthouse on a desolate piece of land.  She takes the job, but what should be a means for her to save money and eventually leave quickly turns into a nightmare--and leads to Emma's death.  

You feel for Emma.  She's at times angry, sorrowful, and lonely.  Pratt has a job to do, and sees all spirits as not human, but creatures that harm living people.  When he sends them away, he destroys them--and whatever bits of humanity were left disappear.  It's an interesting novel, in that you see both sides of the story.  It's hard not to sympathize with Emma, however.  

The ending is a bit of a surprise, for sure.  There is more going on that you realize, until the last bit of the book.  And as you move closer to learning about Emma's death, the tension does grow.  You'll start to think about what death really means, and why some souls move on, and others stay.  What is it about a life that keeps us here?  And do those souls deserve a place here to heal?

A different kind of ghost story, and a good one.  The writing is beautiful, and ethereal.  A perfect tale for a dark, spooky night. 

Rating:  4/6 for a ghost story unlike any other I've read, with a compelling spirit you'll be rooting for, even though you wish her peace.  

Available in hardcover and ebook. 

Happy Halloween!!

via GIPHY

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The Last To See Me by M Dressler

The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down by Anne Fadiman

I'm ashamed to say it's taken me years to finally read this book, and I read it because I picked it for a book talk at work.  In light of today's climate regarding immigration, it's even more relevant today than when it was first published in 1997.  

At its core, this book is about the struggle to understand cultures other than our own.  Not understanding or even trying to understand; believing that our culture is the "best" culture and our medicine is infallible can lead to tragedy, as it did in the case of Lia Lee.   

Lia's parents and older siblings came to California from a refugee camp after fleeing Laos after the Vietnam War, where many Hmong were recruited by the CIA to fight for the American side both on the ground and as trained pilots.  They believed they would be taken care of by the Americans after the war; coming to America was an obvious choice for them. Lia's parents, Foua Yang and Nao Kao Lee didn't speak, write, or read English.  They came to Merced, California because there was a large Hmong population and, most importantly, family.  Lia was their first child born in America, in 1982. Lia began have seizures after a few months at home.  Her parents believed a dab (an evil spirit) had taken her spirit away, and that is what made her sick.  Their culture also believed that those who had this sickness were special, and would be a shaman.  Not only did the shaman have special abilities to fetch a spirit back to an ill person, but they had empathy for those who were ill, because they themselves suffered from seizures.  

The medical staff at Merced Community Medical Center weren't trained to deal with different cultural beliefs, and the Hmong population in Merced was a whole different ball game for them.  Lacking interpreters at the hospital, the language barrier was most of the time insurmountable.  What was most difficult, far and away, was the lack of understanding of the spiritual medicine the Hmong believed in; it was at the core of their culture.  The modern medicine and practices at Merced were at odds with what Lia's parents felt was the right course of treatment for their daughter.  

This lack of understanding proved diastrous to Lia and her family, and to the doctors who treated Lia.  Anne Fadiman explains all of this thoroughly, spending time with the Lee family, the doctors and other medical staff who treated Lia.  She spent four years pouring over medical reports, staff notes, and the history of the Hmong as a people.  

Written in 1997, the updated paperback version has an new afterword from the author, written 15 years after the first publication.  She updates us on all of the major players in this saga, including the creation at Merced Community Medical Center of a new program that allows shamans to conduct rituals for Hmong patients. While there is still much to do regarding effective communication and understanding between cultures, this is a great start and a big step forward.

This book is, ultimately, about one family's love for their daughter. It is the tragic nightmare that resulted from everyone trying their best to heal and protect her, but no one asking the important questions and bridging the gap between two vastly different cultures to come to a mutual understanding.  It is powerful, moving, and a testament to the importance of belief, spiritualism, and familial love.  

Rating:  9/10.  

Available in paperback, audio, and e-book.      

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The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down by Anne Fadiman