June Read: The Bookshop by the Bay by Pamela Kelley

 

Bookshop, summer, beach...yes, I'm a sucker for it! I've read Ms. Kelley's Nantucket Restaurant series so I knew I would enjoy this summer read that takes place on Cape Cod. It's a place I've had on my travel radar for a long time. For now, I'll have to do armchair travel.

Jess is married to Parker and they're both lawyers in a thriving firm in Charleston. Their daughter Caitlin still lives with them as she bounces from job to job, unsuccessfully trying to find a career path. She's a hard worker, but never a "good fit".

All is not great in the marriage; Jess has noticed they're more friends than partners after 30 years of marriage. Before she can bring up divorce, she discovers her husband's been unfaithful with his secretary and now is expecting another child. Jess is DONE. She decides to return to her hometown of Chatham on Cape Cod for the summer to visit her mother and think about what she wants to do, and Caitlin decides to come along. It's a life changing trip for both of them. 

Jess' best friend Alison still lives in Chatham and works for a magazine that is in financial trouble. She's looking for a part-time job and finds out the local bookshop, which has been a staple in Chatham for decades, may be for sale. It's been her dream to own a bookshop and here's her chance, if she can pull the finances together. 

Along comes Jess with time on her hands, an impending divorce, and the means to invest in the bookshop and become co-owner with Alison. Soon Caitlin has taken over managing a defunct coffee shop next door to the bookshop, and the summer really kicks in! Plenty of characters are introduced and smaller plot lines run alongside the main bookshop/divorce storyline. 

All three women are going through life changes--all involving career changes as well as romantic. Although Jess and Caitlin have set October as a deadline to return to Charleston, will they stay in Chatham for good?

This is what I call a gentle novel. What makes a novel gentle (to me) is when there are no big plot twists; characters are all likable, and the story moves along at a gentle pace. Everyone is likable and the setting is a place that's perfectly perfect. No big surprises, but a satisfying read. 

I enjoyed this read, mostly because it was a relaxing one. My only slight beef was Caitlin expressing over and over how she was going to return to Charleston. It got old after a bit, especially when you, as a reader, knew there was nothing in Charleston to return to except shallow friends and temp jobs. It took her a bit too long to figure it out. 

Romantic interests for all, delicious food descriptions, and a seaside town that sounds like a dreamy place to live. And of course we can't forget the bookshop. I can't think of a more satisfying career than to own a bookshop in a seaside town. 

Rating: 4/6 for a perfectly enjoyable summertime read. Women enjoying their friendships, figuring out life, and realizing that you can go home again. And--you can love the ocean and not swim in it!

Available in paperback, ebook, and audio. 

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June Read: The Bookshop by the Bay by Pamela Kelley

Frontier Follies by Ree Drummomd

 

I've watched Ree's cooking show (The Pioneer Woman) off and on for years, and have purchased a few of her cookbooks. She's got some pretty divine recipes--if you haven't tried her cheesy olive bread, please do. It is flat out amazing (just ignore the calories, please). I've eaten it just for a meal and didn't feel one lick of guilt.

I read her first book, Pioneer Woman: Black Heels to Tractor Wheels years ago, and enjoyed her stories of meeting and marrying Ladd, her ranch-owning cowboy, and their first years together. This book, however, is more of a short essay collection, which I loved! Stories about raising her children, her in-laws, learning to live on a ranch after being a city girl; all the oops moments over the years. Her love for Ladd is never wavering, and I find it so refreshing that after twenty-five years of marriage, they are still madly in love with each other. Ree doesn't hesitate to own up to her own mistakes and how she's learned from them. There is nothing in this collection of essays that will bring you down; in fact, it made me grin reading it. If anything, Ree reminds us that life is ever changing and always interesting, even in the quiet moments. 

This would make a perfect gift for anyone who loves Ree's blog or cooking show--it also explains all the flowers! I always wondered. And Ree, I get it. I love them, too. 

Take some time to read this book. You can pick it up, read a few chapters, and put it down. There is no timeline; it's just as if she sat down and had a conversation with you that kept evolving. Perfect for when you want to read a little, or a lot, after a busy day. 

Rating: 5/6 for a supremely enjoyable look at life on a ranch in Oklahoma, parenthood, and a long-lasting marriage. There is even a chapter on her love of dogs. 

Available in hardcover, ebook, and audio. 

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Frontier Follies by Ree Drummomd

The Ghost Tree by Christina Henry

 I naturally turn to books that have the potential of keeping me up at night just as soon as the weather cools down, and Fall arrives. Halloween is my favorite holiday. I think I loved it so as a child (and still do today) because it was the unofficial kick off to the countdown towards my birthday in November, then Thanksgiving and Christmas. Now, as an adult, it's less about the build up of excitement for those holidays and more of a nesting thing. I also love to watch paranormal shows, and October is definitely the time for those to pop up everywhere. My DVR works overtime to record everything I can't possibly watch during the week. I also love to watch the Halloween baking shows on Food Network, too...which lead directly to the winter holiday baking shows! 

Onto the review. I realized as I was reading the author's bio in the back of the book that I had read Christina Henry before, and liked what I'd read. I read the first of her Black Wing series years ago, and enjoyed it enough to want to read the rest of the series. But did I?  Nope. Going on my list. What I like about Christina's writing is that she gives enough horror to make you uneasy and get you sucked into the plot, but not so much that you're grossed out. I like to read scary books, but not books where there's so much gore illustrated. Yes, there is some gore in this book, but I can handle it because it doesn't go over the top and we're not lingering over it for pages. 

Lauren and Miranda are fifteen, and have always met under the ghost tree in the woods surrounding their town of Smiths Hollow, about an hour or so away from Chicago. Their friendship is going through a rough patch, since Miranda is all about boys, and Lauren is lagging behind. One day in June, they're together in the woods, and swiftly leave so Miranda can meet a few boys in town. Lauren's not interested, but goes anyway. She's got a migraine coming on-so strong that she gets sick in the alley behind the arcade and decides to grab her bike from the woods and get home. But this migraine is different-she sees a horrifying vision of two young women being killed in the woods, by something that is not human and not a wild animal. Something that leaves the girls in pieces. When Lauren reaches her bike, she notices something terrible: a bloody handprint on her bicycle seat. A handprint that looks human, but not quite. 

Sheriff Alejandro Lopez receives a call that there are remains in a neighbor's back yard. When he arrives, he sees a terrible sight: bits and pieces of two young women, with their heads next to each other. He's recently moved his family to Smiths Hollow from Chicago, and thought he'd left this kind of violence behind. Trying to coordinate an investigation, he notices how everyone around him seems to be forgetting all about these murders. The Police Chief isn't doing anything to find out who these victims are, and Alejandro himself struggles to write down every detail he can remember. Why are people acting like nothing happened? 

There's so much more that happens, and I can't tell you more without giving a lot away. Let's just say Smiths Hollow is not an ordinary town, and something terrible has been taking place for decades--and Alejandro and Lauren are two keys to unlocking the mystery, and stopping the monster that stalks the town. 

At first, I will admit, I struggled to concentrate enough to get through the first few chapters. But I finally sat down Saturday and read a chunk and was hooked. I will definitely read more of Christina Henry's novels. Folks who like horror novels will definitely enjoy this book. There is some blood and blech moments, but they are short and not so horrible I was grossed out or had to put the book down. 

Rating: 4/6 for a spooky, entertaining read about a cursed town, a monster in the woods, and a young girl who may be the only hope to break the curse. You'll love Lauren and her little brother, David-they are quite the pair. 

Available in paperback, ebook, and audio. 

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The Ghost Tree by Christina Henry

A Review of The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett

Summer. It's here. It took me a few months to get back into my reading groove, and I think I'm almost there again, thankfully. 

The world is a hurting place, and I, along with so many others, are self-reflecting on my place in it, and my responsibility towards living a life of peace and love. I have always looked to the stories that books tell-whether they are fiction or non-fiction-to help me understand where the world was, and how we came to be where we are now. How others live; their cultures, the barriers they face, and the ugly and brutal things we do to each other out of fear and just plain ignorance.

 I will continue to read stories, memoirs, and history books that will help me understand the beautiful, magnificent, deeply troubled and damaged world we live in and call our home. And I hope I can, in some way, make it better. I may not be out protesting, but I will vote for change, and donate to causes I feel are important. We all do what we can. 

I saw a quote from Denzel Washington yesterday. He said that "Resistance is NOT a one lane highway. Maybe your lane is protesting, maybe your lane is organizing, maybe your lane is counseling, maybe your lane is art activism, maybe your lane is surviving the day. Do NOT feel guilty for not occupying every lane. We need all of them." 

So, onto The Vanishing Half. I received an advanced copy of this novel from a library conference and it was a great choice to kick off my summer reading. Brit Bennett's the author of The Mothers, which is the  adult All Iowa Read for 2020. I haven't read it, but now it's definitely on my list. 

The Vanishing Half is about two sisters-identical twins. The Vignes sisters: Desiree and Stella. They live in the very small town of Millard, Louisiana. Millard is a black community with a bit of a twist: everyone there is light skinned. They could pass for white people, but they identify as black, and are treated by the white people around them as black. It's the 1960's, and both girls want to escape Millard. Memories of their father being murdered by white men haunt them both, but especially Stella. They run away to New Orleans, and seem happy there for a bit. But Stella decides to try for a 'whites only' job, and gets it. She hides her secret every day, afraid someone will find out she's not white at all. And as she works, she realizes that she wants that kind of life-the white kind. But it means leaving Desiree behind. 

Years later, Desiree returns to Millard with her young daughter, Jude. Desiree did what most folks in Millard consider unforgivable: she married a black man-a very dark black man, and produced a child that did not fit into Millard's light skinned community. Poor Jude. She's shunned by everyone in the town; sits by herself at school, and running track is her only way out. Desiree stays in Millard, reconnecting to an old boyfriend and taking care of her mother. She always says she'll leave, but she never does. Desiree thinks about Stella-where she is, what her life is like, and the depth of her anger, sense of betrayal, and grief never goes away.

You also dive into Stella's life. It's vastly different from Desiree's life. She lives her life as a white woman, and keeps her secret from everyone, including her husband and her daughter, Kennedy-a blonde, violet eyed beauty. She has lived her life as a white woman longer than she ever identified as a black woman. And she lives in a privileged community in L.A., caught in her lies and unable to make peace with all of it. 

The novel moves into the 80's, as Jude and Kennedy grow up--and yes, cross paths. You may think it's just not possible, but Bennett writes the story in such a way that yes, it's very possible and makes perfect sense. How can these two women find any commonality? Will Stella ever return to Millard? Will Desiree ever see her sister again? What do you do when you live a lie for so long that it traps you? 

This was such a powerful novel about sisters, family, race, and identity. Hiding behind masks. Struggling to be seen. Jude--I loved Jude! She is such a powerhouse. Kennedy--a hot mess so lost she doesn't even realize how lost she is, and just keeps spiraling down. Stella so full of guilt; Desiree who tried to escape but finds herself right back where she started. The characters in this novel are worthy of long discussions, and this would make an excellent book group title. 

Rating: 5/6 for a powerful look at how we identify ourselves and people of color, and how society identifies us-the struggles to reconcile dreams with reality, and the sacrifices made on the journey. 

Available in hardcover, ebook, and audio. 

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A Review of The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett

The Garden of Small Beginnings by Abbi Waxman

This book has been so patient with me. I bought it in 2017, and it has had a place of prominence on my bookcase. The bookcase that I walk past multiple times a day; the one just outside my kitchen. The bright cover always catches my eye, and I think "I've got to read that someday".  It took a pandemic, but here we are--it's read, and I'm so glad I waited until now to dive into it. 

I read Abbi's novel The Bookish Life of Nina Hill  last August (click on the title for my review) and loved Abbi's style of writing: a bit of snark, a bit of humor, and a whole lot of heart. Contemporary women's fiction that I really enjoy, and sometimes have a hard time finding just the right fit. Abbi's writing fits me perfectly. So when I realized this was the same author, I really wanted to read it--and I needed something a bit lighter, and something that had to do with gardening. 

Lilian Girvan is a single mother of two young girls: Annabel and Clare. Her husband died in a terrible car accident right in front of their house three years before. Lillian had a breakdown and was pretty out of it for a year. Her sister Rachel took care of the girls and kept things together until Lilian was home again. Now life is as normal as it can be; Lilian is a book illustrator, the girls are thriving, and Lilian is taking one day at a time. 

Lilian's latest illustrating assignment is a book about vegetables. Part of the job requires her to attend a local gardening class for six weeks. She talks Rachel into going along with her and the girls. This class will change their lives in ways they can't begin to imagine. 

Lilian has no intention of ever dating again. She's planning on being single for the rest of her life. She misses Dan, her husband, so much, and can't begin to imagine ever wanting anyone else. Besides, she's got her girls to raise.  Enter Edward, the man who is leading the gardening class.He's pretty cute. And smart. And charming. And gets along with Annabel and Clare. And likes Lilian a lot. 

All of the class participants are pretty wonderful characters, and Lilian forms friendships with all of them pretty quickly. It's a group of people brought together for a reason, and as the weeks go by, they lean on each other, support each other, and eat a lot of pizza. Life throws lots of changes at all of them as the garden grows and flourishes under their care and attention. 

Yes, this book was just what I needed. Absolutely enjoyed every bit of it. Abbi has a new book coming out: I Was Told It Would Get Easier in June and you betcha I'll be reading it--and not take three years to do it. 

Rating: 4/6 for a delightful read about moving on after losing someone you love; all the gifts of gardening, finding love, and opening up your heart. 

Available in paperback, ebook, and audio. 

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The Garden of Small Beginnings by Abbi Waxman

The Five: The Untold Lives of the Women Killed by Jack the Ripper by Hallie Rubenhold

The Five is a long overdue look at the women who were Jack the Ripper's known victims: Polly Nichols, Annie Chapman, Elisabeth Stride, Catherine Eddowes, and Mary Jane Kelly. We know all the horrid details of their murders, but all we know of them is what's been handed down by newspapers and stories: they were all prostitutes, drunks, and roaming the streets of Whitechapel when they each crossed paths with Jack the Ripper. 

However, as is usual in sensational murders, the victims are often swiftly overlooked, soon becoming less-than. Hallie Rubenhold, a social historian, decided it was long past time to correct what we've all thought about these women. She researched each woman, and tells the stories of their lives. These women were sisters, daughters, mothers, lovers, and wives. Two were known prostitutes; the other three were victims of circumstance and some really incredibly stupid laws in Victorian England. Laws and social customs that kept women down, unable to improve their lives, or even divorce. Marriages broke down, and since divorce was not an option, women oftentimes walked out of their grimy, crowded, disgusting homes and went to the workhouse for assistance. There, they joined thousands of others in drudgery in exchange for a place to sleep and food. Husbands were required to pay a small monthly fee to their wives, but if they could prove their wives were unfaithful, that small payment could end, as it did in the case of a few, leaving them in even more dire straits. 

Hallie Rubenhold has really dug deep into research on each of the women, and it is fascinating stuff. It's also a very sobering look at the lower middle class and poverty level population of England in the 1800's. Childhood, if survived, was brief before children had to go to work to help support the family. If the male head of house was injured, died, or walked away, women and their children were left destitute. So many didn't have any reading or writing skills, it made everything that much more terrible. Polly, Annie, and Catherine all had attended school and knew how to read, write, and have basic skills in math. However, unable to break the cycle of poverty, they didn't have any chance at a better life. Elisabeth Stride was raped as a young girl, contracted syphilis, and the treatments forced on her caused her to give birth to a stillborn daughter. Branded publicly as a prostitute at 18, she was humiliated and never recovered from it all. 

Alcohol numbed each women's pain over losing their children, failed marriages, and poverty. Most of them also lost one or both parents very early in life, leaving grief and no way to cope with it. I found myself getting so angry at the circumstances each woman found themselves in, and the laws that limited them from getting the help they needed, and the laws that branded them as loose, unvirtuous, and not worthy. 

I found this a very interesting book, and yes, it's long overdue. Each of the women, forgotten by society for so long, and now infamous for how they died, deserves this telling of who they really were, the people they loved, and the families they left behind with so many unanswered questions. 

Rating: 5/6 for an incredibly well researched story about five women who became infamous for all the wrong reasons in 1888. These victims deserve to tell their stories, and Hallie Rubenhold is their voice. Whether you are a true crime fan, or a women's history devotee, or just interested in a really good book, pick this one up. You'll never look at Jack the Ripper's five victims: Polly, Annie, Elisabeth, Catherine, and Mary Jane, quite the same way again. And that's a good thing. 

Available in hardcover, ebook, and audio. 

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The Five: The Untold Lives of the Women Killed by Jack the Ripper by Hallie Rubenhold

Daughters of the Lake by Wendy Webb

I've read a few of Wendy Webb's novels, and they fit right into one of my favorite genres: modern gothic. Wendy writes what I like to think of as Midwestern Modern Gothic; novels set in the United States Midwest. Carol Goodman is another author who writes modern gothic. I can't go wrong with either of these authors. 

Daughters of the Lake takes place along Lake Superior, with dual timelines of the early 1900's and the twenty-teens. Great Bay is a small town on the shores of Lake Superior, and one morning a woman's body floats to shore. She's dressed in a white nightgown, and looks like she's peacefully sleeping. But she's dead, and nestled near her side is a small baby, also dead. 

Kate's father Fred discovers the body, and when Kate sees the woman, she's visibly shocked. Her reaction peaks the interest of the local authorities, who think Kate may know more about the mysterious woman than she's letting on. 

Kate herself has just come to stay with her parents after discovering her husband's been having an affair with a co-worker. She's left her job, and her husband, and is still reeling from his betrayal. And then there are the weird dreams, where she's someone else, living as a happily married woman. A woman who looks exactly like the body on the shore...

The story moves back and forth between Addie and Jess, living in the early 1900's in Great Bay, and Kate, who travels from Great Bay to Wharton, another small tourist town on Lake Superior. Her family's B&B is run by her cousin; both are descendants of the man who built the great house, Harrison Connor. Kate's grandmother, Hadley, was his only child. Kate's cousin Simon invites her to stay at the B&B for awhile to figure out what she's going to do next to start over. They're both curious to explore the third floor, which was a ballroom but is now unused and full of old boxes and family mementos. 

Addie's story is pretty interesting. Born in the lake, she has an affinity for the water, as her mother and grandmother have; the lake is always welcoming and the place to go when they need to escape and recharge. The spirit of the lake is alive and always watching...

Both stories kept me interested in finding out what exactly happens to Addie, and how she ends up appearing in the lake 100 years after she's died. You have to just go with it, and accept that the lake has protected her body all this time, and released it now for a reason. That reason is Kate. The police investigation, and suspicion on Kate is pretty flimsy, but it spurs the plot forward. It gets Kate moving in the direction of solving the mystery, and meeting the handsome Detective Nick Stone.

I thoroughly enjoyed this read. There's just not enough fiction written about the Great Lakes, the beauty and sheer wonder of them. And, of course, the magic. So just read this novel for the fun of it, and interesting legend that is the Daughters of the Lake. 

Rating: 4/6 for an interesting plot, even though some of the devices to move it along were kind of flimsy. But I didn't mind, because I found the storyline interesting and hard to put down. Lake Superior is a major character in this novel, and it will make you yearn for some quiet contemplation on the shore of a lovely lake. If you like light modern gothic mysteries with a Midwest flavor, I recommend Wendy Webb's novels. 

Available in paperback, ebook, and audio.

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Daughters of the Lake by Wendy Webb

A House Full of Daughters: A Memoir of Seven Generations by Juliet Nicolson

It has been a race to the end of March to try and get all of my March reads in, and I'm just one shy.  I can't find the energy to finish that book, so I'll talk about that DNF in my next post. 

I was picking up a book at the library earlier this month, when I happened to see this in the new releases.  Curiosity had me flipping it open, and just a few minutes later I was adding it to my check out pile.  I'm so glad I saw this, because it was such a tremendously satisfying memoir.  And I finally learned something about Vita Sackville-West.  

Juliet Nicolson is the granddaughter of Vita Sackville-West, and the daughter of Nigel Nicolson, who was a well respected British politician, lecturer, author, and guardian of Sissinghurst, his mother's beautiful country home famous for its gardens.  You can visit and tour the buildings, extensive gardens, and spend the day wandering in a stunning bit of English countryside.  I've heard of Sissinghurst, and saw books on the gardens, but never really knew what it was, who owned it, and especially, who Vita Sackville-West was and why she was so scandalous.  Juliet explains it all, and explains the women in her family, starting with her great-great grandmother Pepita,  a famous Spanish flamenco dancer during the mid-19th century.  Pepita was beautiful, mysterious, and doing quite well financially touring Europe when she met and fell madly in love with Lionel Sackville-West, a British politician.  Only problem was, Pepita was married, and in 19th century Spain, divorce was pretty much impossible for women.  That didn't stop Pepita and Lionel; they ended up having five children together, with Pepita living in France with her children, and Lionel visiting.  She suffered the scorn of her neighbors, and when she died in childbirth, she left her children orphans in France; left to be raised away from their father. Years later,  Lionel and Pepita's eldest daughter Victoria eventually became his shining star in Washington, D.C.; organizing dinners and social events for her political father, and becoming so famous for her charm and beauty that proposals for marriage came fast and furious.  But Victoria was afraid of marriage; after all, she'd seen how loving a man not only made a pariah out of her mother, but ended up killing her in childbirth.  No thanks. 

But, Victoria eventually became smitten with Lionel Sackville-West, her first cousin.  He pursued her relentlessly.  She finally agreed to marriage because Lionel was the heir to her father's country estate Knoles, and Victoria loved that home with all her being.  Her marriage crumbled, though, after Victoria gave birth to Vita.  The whole ordeal of childbirth terrified her so that she forbade her husband to ever have sex with her again, and that began the slow decline of their marriage, and another bit of dysfunction to add to the Sackville-West family.

Oh, there is so much more to tell you!  I found this all fascinating.  So many strong women, but each was also so fragile in their own ways; there is a definite pattern of neglect/smothering love/frustration in each generation.  It was sad to see how damaging it was to everyone, especially the children.  Juliet also suffered from an unhappy mother; her mother married into the Sackville-West family through Juliet's father Nigel, the son of Vita Sackville-West and Henry Nicolson.  Both were famous in their time; mostly because Vita was a gifted author, and notorious for her affairs with women.  Henry also fooled around with men, but somehow their marriage lasted until Vita's death; quietly devoted to each other.  

What this memoir struck in me was the realization that I don't have the luxury of talking to my mother, grandmother, and great grandmother.  They're all gone, and I have no way of knowing what they were like, what they went through as young women.  They didn't keep diaries; there are only pictures to help piece together what life was like for them all those years ago.  Juliet is incredibly lucky; lucky that she is a gifted writer; lucky that she has the family papers,  Sissinghurst and Knoles to visit and discover little bits of history tucked into attics and drawers.  But Juliet understands all of that, and has crafted a memoir that is a love letter to all the women who came before her, and to her daughters and granddaughter who follow.  

Rating: 5/6 for a memoir that reads like a novel, about the generations of women in one family and how they shaped each generation to follow. This was so good! 

Available in hardcover, ebook, and audio. 

 

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A House Full of Daughters: A Memoir of Seven Generations by Juliet Nicolson