May Read: The Collected Regrets of Clover by Mikki Bramm

 I've heard buzz about this novel for a few months and had the chance to grab a copy at the library just before my long weekend. Oh, I loved this one. It's definitely in my top ten favorite reads for 2023. And yes, I did get weepy. 

Clover Brooks is a death doula. What, you may ask, is that? It's someone who sits with those who are in their last weeks; usually someone who has no one else. They help guide them through some of their last requests, talk about memories, and hold their hand. Clover is really good as a death doula. 

Clover is also very alone. She lost her parents at a very early age, and moved to New York City to live with her Grandfather. Now thirty-six, Clover's Grandfather has been gone for over ten years, and Clover misses him so much she hasn't changed anything in the apartment they shared for so long. She's introverted, only playing mahjong with her elderly neighbor Leo and otherwise living quietly with her dog and cats. Life is passing her by, but the universe intervenes and begins pushing Clover towards a more meaningful, happy life. 

A new neighbor moves in, and Sylvie is vivacious and super friendly. She charms Clover and slowly starts becoming friends. Sebastian meets Clover at a death cafe--yes, a place where people gather to talk about death. Even though Clover isn't interested at all in a friendship with Sebastian, he keeps popping up and being friendly. His grandmother, Claudia, is dying, and Sebastian wants Clover to be her death doula. Clover reluctantly agrees, and soon begins a firm friendship with Claudia--and so much happens because of this relationship. 

It was wonderful to see Clover change as her interactions with Sylvie, Sebastian, and Claudia prove to be catalysts towards Clover living a life of purpose and joy. She's got a lot of unprocessed grief over her grandfather to work through, and the difficulty that comes with leaving her comfort zone for the unknown. All of the characters who populate Clover's world are the kind of people you'd want to have in your life. 

This was a quick read, with many poignant moments. It will have you reflecting on the life you live, and how important it is to live so you have no regrets at the end of your life. As one character says, "The secret to a beautiful death is to live a beautiful life". 

Rating: 6/6 for a fantastic novel that made me smile, cry, and reflect. Just a joyful novel that will stick with me for a long time. 

Available in hardcover, ebook, and audio. 

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May Read: The Collected Regrets of Clover by Mikki Bramm

We Begin at the End by Chris Whitaker

 

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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 Lost and Found Bookshop by Susan Wiggs

I'm pretty sure I haven't ever read a Susan Wiggs novel before this one. I was pleasantly surprised. Of course, this novel had me at bookshop (as they all do!) and even though I've had an ARC of this book for months, I finally decided to finish it today, after stopping and starting a few times a few months ago. 

I'll confess I was cruising along with my books, and suddenly this past week I hit a wall again. Just couldn't get through anything. So I am glad I picked this back up again, because I hit that magical place in the book that had me focusing in and forgetting about anything for awhile. Even though I didn't do anything for July 4th but stay home and cook out, I was still feeling a bit of a holiday hangover today. After watering my flowers outside and getting laundry started, I was happy to just stay inside and read. 

This novel really is a nod to booklovers everywhere. Natalie Harper grew up in a bookstore; her mother Blythe operates a family bookshop in a building that has been in the Harper family for 100 years-a coveted building in fashionable San Francisco. After a horrible tragedy, Natalie returns to San Francisco and the bookshop, to take stock of its future, and to take care of Grandy, her grandfather. He'd recently fallen and broken his hip and was now showing signs of early dementia. Natalie had been successful at a wine brokerage firm and while she didn't love her job, she was good at it. But it wasn't hard to leave and return, if only to help her Grandy take care of next steps. 

Those next steps aren't as easy as Natalie expects, when she finds out her Grandy owns the building and the bookstore, and will not sell, even after Natalie realizes they are deep in debt and behind on taxes. What's a bookstore manager to do, but try and build up the business with a huge author event that could help pay bills and give the store much needed advertising?

Natalie also meets Peach Gallagher, a local "hammer guy" who specializes in fixing old buildings. Her mother had arranged for Peach to fix a few things in the building, and Peach is one good looking man. He's also a really decent man, with an adorable daughter who frequents the bookstore. His friendly and calm attitude helps Natalie as she struggles between grief, understanding her grandfather's failing health, and the tough decisions she has to make. 

So we've got a few things running through this story: the struggle to save the bookstore, an ailing grandfather, a potential romance, and a story that's been handed down over the generations about a treasure that's hidden somewhere in the building, left by Grandy's grandmother, who died in the 1906 San Francisco earthquake. Is it just a fanciful story, or is there treasure lurking somewhere-treasure that could save the business?

I read this novel pretty quickly, and enjoyed it very much. No surprises, just a gentle unfolding of the story. I loved all the book references, and the peeks into what it takes to run a bookstore. Definitely a good vacation book!

This book is out in the U.S. on July 7th in hardcover, ebook, and audio. 

Rating: 4/6 for an enjoyable novel about life when it makes a few sharp turns, the importance of family, and of course, the life changing magic of books. Some parts made me a little teary-eyed, so you may need a tissue! 

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The Lost and Found Bookshop by Susan Wiggs

Flight Patterns by Karen White

Karen White is one of my go to Southern writers.  I've been reading her novels for years and always look forward to her newest tale of family intrigue.  She has a blend of contemporary issues, damaged family dynamics, and a bit of history mixed together that has me picking up all of her novels without even thinking twice.  

In Flight Patterns, Georgia Chambers is a thirty-something woman living in New Orleans, working as an expert in fine china for a local auction house.  She lives a solitary life, away from her family home in Apalachicola, Florida.  There, her 94 year old grandfather, her mother Birdie, her sister Maisy, and her niece Becky live in the family home.  Her grandfather is a beekeeper; her mother Birdie lives in a silent world where no one but Becky can communicate with her.  It's hard to pinpoint what exactly is wrong with Birdie, but Karen White did the reader a huge favor by alternating chapters between Georgia, Maisy, and Birdie, so you get an inside peek at what Birdie's mind is like.  If it had been left to only see Birdie from the perspective of other characters, nothing much would have made sense.  

Georgia has been gone from home for 13 years when she is given the task of figuring out the origin and price of an unusual Limoge china set brought to her attention by James, a man from New York who has plenty of his own heartbreak to work through.  It's an very different set of china:  it has bees in the pattern, and sparks a memory in Georgia:  she's seen that pattern before, in a soup cup her mother kept hidden in her closet.  Is the china set part of a generally produced pattern, or was it specially made by Limoge for a smaller audience?  And is Georgia's hunch that the cup and James' set belong together correct?

To find out, Georgia's boss tells her she must go back home and search for the cup.  James tags along, intrigued by the mystery (and Georgia).  Georgia reluctantly goes home to face the heartbreak and misunderstandings that sent her running--with a promise to Maisy to never come back--all those years before.  

This is a story with many layers, and the layers move back and forth between the two sisters, Birdie, and her grandfather.  It took me awhile to get into this book; mostly because I was distracted by life and couldn't concentrate.  So that made me feel like it was dragging on; I suspect that wouldn't have been the case if I'd read it more quickly.  It picks up steam about half-way through and moves to an ending that didn't surprise me, but I was glad to finally see Georgia and Maisy put all the pieces together and finally figure out what made Birdie live in her own world, and why their grandfather was so upset with the unfolding events and the search for the soup cup.  Bees are a big part of this novel; their predictable patterns, their loyalty, their ability to defend to the death what they hold dear.  All of it comes together at the end.  There are many moving parts to this story, and I don't know if the story would have suffered if maybe there weren't quite so many issues to wade through.  

I always enjoy Karen White's novels, and this was a satisfying read.  

Rating:  6/10 for a wonderful setting and an intriguing storyline.  I felt there were too many issues for one family story, but the author capably tied them all together at the end.  

Available in hardcover, e-book, and audio.  

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Flight Patterns by Karen White