1.) Summer Wives by Beatriz Williams
This book was the perfect summer beach, poolside, or in my case. lake side read! It also got me out of my book slump. Where are all of the five star books these days?! They are getting harder and harder to find. This book was one for me. I loved it!
From Goodreads:
In the summer of 1951, Miranda Schuyler arrives on elite, secretive Winthrop Island as a schoolgirl from the margins of high society, still reeling from the loss of her father in the Second World War. When her beautiful mother marries Hugh Fisher, whose summer house on Winthrop overlooks the famous lighthouse, Miranda’s catapulted into a heady new world of pedigrees and cocktails, status and swimming pools. Isobel Fisher, Miranda’s new stepsister—all long legs and world-weary bravado, engaged to a wealthy Island scion—is eager to draw Miranda into the arcane customs of Winthrop society. But beneath the island’s patrician surface, there are really two clans: the summer families with their steadfast ways and quiet obsessions, and the working class of Portuguese fishermen and domestic workers who earn their living on the water and in the laundries of the summer houses. Uneasy among Isobel’s privileged friends, Miranda finds herself drawn to Joseph Vargas, whose father keeps the lighthouse with his mysterious wife. In summer, Joseph helps his father in the lobster boats, but in the autumn he returns to Brown University, where he’s determined to make something of himself. Since childhood, Joseph’s enjoyed an intense, complex friendship with Isobel Fisher, and as the summer winds to its end, Miranda’s caught in a catastrophe that will shatter Winthrop’s hard-won tranquility and banish Miranda from the island for nearly two decades. Now, in the landmark summer of 1969, Miranda returns at last, as a renowned Shakespearean actress hiding a terrible heartbreak. On its surface, the Island remains the same—determined to keep the outside world from its shores, fiercely loyal to those who belong. But the formerly powerful Fisher family is a shadow of itself, and Joseph Vargas has recently escaped the prison where he was incarcerated for the murder of Miranda’s stepfather eighteen years earlier. What’s more, Miranda herself is no longer a naïve teenager, and she begins a fierce, inexorable quest for justice for the man she once loved . . . even if it means uncovering every last one of the secrets that bind together the families of Winthrop Island.
The story takes place on Winthrop Island off of the coast of Long Island. A place where the wealthy come to spend the summer. It is a family saga and one full of mystery and secrets. I loved the juxtaposition of life on the island for the privileged summer residents and the local Islanders with their complicated dynamic and class struggle.
I thought the writing was fantastic. It was elegantly and luxuriously written. It is a slow burn mystery and the story unfolds gradually. It keeps you turning the pages as you jump from timeline to timeline. Williams writes fluidly and her descriptions are dreamy. The characters are well-developed and memorable. I really loved all of the characters even the most flawed ones.
The novel is extremely atmospheric! I loved the setting of the island, light house, country club, and the old summer estates. The author uses a triple timeline to tell the story and it spans 40 years...from the 1930s to 1970. It was so interesting. I enjoyed all of the timelines equally which is pretty rare for me. Usually there is always one I dislike.
I especially loved all of the background details. They were superb for this vintage loving girl. Everything was so vivid. The estates, the club, the decor, the fashion, the parties, and the food. That was such a treat! It was definitely a book to get caught up in. It was entertaining and absorbing. I loved the sense of nostalgia that was evoked; a great sense of times-gone-by. I needed a fun summer page-turner and this was it! I look forward to reading more of Beatriz Williams' novels in the future.
My Rating: I loved it!
2.) Savoring the Season with Our Best Bites
I enjoy the Our Best Bites cookbooks. I think the recipes are easy and delicious. My daughters ages 14 and 10 are enjoying trying the recipes in this book. So far so good!
My Rating: Good
3.) The Burning Land by Bernard Cornwell
This is book #5 in The Last Kingdom/Saxon Stories series. I loved it. Mainly because our hero Uhtred is back however briefly with the Danes...and his adopted brother Ragnar! I love their relationship and dynamic. Five stars for that!
From Goodreads:
The enemy is massing on the borders, a united force for once. The king, a man of many victories, is in failing health, and his heir is an untested youth. Uthred, the king's champion, leads his country's forces to war, but his victory is soured by personal tragedy and by the envy of the king's court. So he breaks with the king and takes off for the land of his birth, determined to resist all calls for his return. That is, until one unexpected request...
I love Cornwell's mix of history and fiction. This is an engaging read. I enjoyed it much more than book #4. It is fast-paced and, as always, battle-heavy but this book had more dialogue and character development which I loved. Of course, I will always wish for more page time with my favorite characters...Ragnar, Father Pyrlig the warrior-priest, Finan, and now Aethelflaed. Uhtred continues to be a fascinating and unforgettable narrator. I thoroughly enjoyed the book and am now reading book #6.
My Rating: Great historical fiction!
4.) The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis
This was my book club pick for July 2019. This was a 2nd read for me. I read it once before maybe 15 years ago. I liked it then but I liked it even more now. C.S. Lewis is a genius. His writing...all of it...not just this book is so moving, profound, and thought-provoking. It is always something to be savored. This book is no different.
From Goodreads:
A masterpiece of satire, this classic has entertained and enlightened readers the world over with its sly and ironic portrayal of human life from the vantage point of Screwtape, a senior tempter in the service of "Our Father Below." At once wildly comic, deadly serious, and strikingly original, C. S. Lewis gives us the correspondence of the worldly-wise old devil to his nephew Wormwood, a novice demon in charge of securing the damnation of an ordinary young man. The Screwtape Letters is the most engaging and humorous account of temptation—and triumph over it—ever written.
This is satire at its finest. The writing is superb as you would expect from C.S. Lewis. Despite being written in 1942 it is still so incredibly relevant for our day. This is definitely a book to buy, annotate, and revisit every few years.
My Rating: Fantastic! An insightful and enduring classic.
5.) Recursion by Blake Crouch
I absolutely love the the subject matter of Blake Crouch's novels. They are always interesting and trippy: alternate universes, quantum physics, time, false memories, choices...they are page-turning, thought-provoking, suspenseful, sci-fi thrillers. I really enjoyed Blake Crouch's other book
Dark Matter and couldn't wait to get my hands on
Recursion. This is a super fun mind-bendy addictive read! Tyler and I both read this and loved it. The very best part was discussing it!!
From Goodreads:
Memory makes reality.
That’s what New York City cop Barry Sutton is learning as he investigates the devastating phenomenon the media has dubbed False Memory Syndrome—a mysterious affliction that drives its victims mad with memories of a life they never lived. That's what neuroscientist Helena Smith believes. It’s why she’s dedicated her life to creating a technology that will let us preserve our most precious memories. If she succeeds, anyone will be able to re-experience a first kiss, the birth of a child, the final moment with a dying parent. As Barry searches for the truth, he comes face-to-face with an opponent more terrifying than any disease—a force that attacks not just our minds but the very fabric of the past. And as its effects begin to unmake the world as we know it, only he and Helena, working together, will stand a chance at defeating it.
Crouch's books suck me in immediately. They are full of all of the twisty, bending, mind-blowing concepts that my little conspiracy theory loving self thoroughly enjoys reading about. His books are super readable and enjoyable. I flew through the first half and couldn't put it down. My only complaint (and I had it with Dark Matter too) is that the last 1/3 of the book becomes a bit bogged down as the author attempts to wind up the story. In my opinion, endings aren't Crouch's strong suit but despite that his books are crazy, interesting, terrifying, captivating, and great fun! Netflix is adapting this book and I can't wait to watch!
My Rating: A super fun, thrilling, mind-bending, and unforgettable read.
6.) Tell Me Three Things by Julie Buxbaum
I typically don't read much YA. It is a genre that is hit or miss for me. High school romance just isn't my thing. LOL. But...occasionally...and when a recommendation comes from a trusted source...I read it. This was just what I was hoping for...a quick fun read. Sort of along the lines of
To All the Boys I've Loved Before but darker and more edgy.
From Goodreads:
Everything about Jessie is wrong. At least, that’s what it feels like during her first week of junior year at her new ultra-intimidating prep school in Los Angeles. Just when she’s thinking about hightailing it back to Chicago, she gets an email from a person calling themselves Somebody/Nobody (SN for short), offering to help her navigate the wilds of Wood Valley High School. Is it an elaborate hoax? Or can she rely on SN for some much-needed help? It’s been barely two years since her mother’s death, and because her father eloped with a woman he met online, Jessie has been forced to move across the country to live with her stepmonster and her pretentious teenage son. In a leap of faith—or an act of complete desperation—Jessie begins to rely on SN, and SN quickly becomes her lifeline and closest ally. Jessie can’t help wanting to meet SN in person. But are some mysteries better left unsolved?
The book talks about being the new kid at school, sex, death, loneliness, bullying, and family dysfunction in ways that are relatable and genuine. Even better... there was some depth, no love triangle, and it is not part of a series. Just a fun stand-alone-book that deals with some of life's real issues.
My Rating: Good. It was funny, sad, and sweet with a fairly predictable ending.
7.) Class Mom by Laurie Gelman
This was recommended as a fun summer read on a book podcast that I love called
Currently Reading. It sounded like just what I was looking to read in the waning weeks of summer.
From Goodreads:
Jen Dixon is not your typical Kansas City kindergarten class mom--or mom in general. Jen already has two college-age daughters by two different (probably) musicians, and it's her second time around the class mom block with five-year-old Max--this time with a husband and father by her side. Though her best friend and PTA President sees her as the-wisest-candidate for the job (or oldest), not all of the other parents agree. From recording parents' response times to her emails about helping in the classroom, to requesting contributions of-special-brownies for curriculum night, not all of Jen's methods win approval from the other moms. Throw in an old flame from Jen's past, a hyper-sensitive -allergy mom,-a surprisingly sexy kindergarten teacher, and an impossible-to-please Real Housewife-wannabe, causing problems at every turn, and the job really becomes much more than she signed up for.
This is a fun snarky read especially if you have had any experience with children in elementary school, classroom volunteering, helicopter parents, and Parent/Teacher groups. I also liked it because it takes place in Kansas City...where I went to high school... although some better editing could have happened. Overland Park is on the Kansas side not the Missouri side. I lived in Overland Park and that REALLY bugged me! But it was the perfect quick read right before the kids go back to school. Jen the main character's class mom emails were hilarious! Some may think that they were a bit over the top but I have a friend who talks just like Jen and as I read the book I heard her voice and it made me laugh even more.
My Rating: Pure mom chick-lit but a fun end of summer read.
8.) Maybe You Should Talk To Someone By Lori Gottlieb
I heard about this book from the Laura Tremaine podcast
10 Things to Tell You and it sounded intriguing. A peek behind the scenes look into the world of therapy and therapists. I couldn't wait to dive in!
From Goodreads:
One day, Lori Gottlieb is a therapist who helps patients in her Los Angeles practice. The next, a crisis causes her world to come crashing down. Enter Wendell, the quirky but seasoned therapist in whose office she suddenly lands. With his balding head, cardigan, and khakis, he seems to have come straight from Therapist Central Casting. Yet he will turn out to be anything but. As Gottlieb explores the inner chambers of her patients' lives -- a self-absorbed Hollywood producer, a young newlywed diagnosed with a terminal illness, a senior citizen threatening to end her life on her birthday if nothing gets better, and a twenty-something who can't stop hooking up with the wrong guys -- she finds that the questions they are struggling with are the very ones she is now bringing to Wendell. With startling wisdom and humor, Gottlieb invites us into her world as both clinician and patient, examining the truths and fictions we tell ourselves and others as we teeter on the tightrope between love and desire, meaning and mortality, guilt and redemption, terror and courage, hope and change. Maybe You Should Talk to Someone is revolutionary in its candor, offering a deeply personal yet universal tour of our hearts and minds and providing the rarest of gifts: a boldly revealing portrait of what it means to be human, and a disarmingly funny and illuminating account of our own mysterious lives and our power to transform them.
This book was super interesting and insightful. A therapist talking about her own experiences and sessions with her patients (some details were changed for confidentiality) as well as discussing working on her own issues with her own therapist. I was entranced. I loved seeing therapy from both sides of the experience.
Mental health advocacy is a conversation that needs to happen. The stigma surrounding therapy needs to be demystified and eradicated. This book does a great job doing that and normalizing it.
A compassionate, thought-provoking, humorous, and at times heart-breaking read. I am so glad that I read this book.
My Rating: Great!
9.) The Beekeeper's Apprentice by Laurie R. King
This was my book club's pick for August 2019. Confession: I have never read one single book about Sherlock Holmes. Mystery isn't my genre. So although this book wasn't written by Arthur Conan Doyle I was intrigued to read and find out what all the Sherlock Holmes hoopla was about.
From Goodreads:
Long retired, Sherlock Holmes quietly pursues his study of honeybee behavior on the Sussex Downs. He never imagines he would encounter anyone whose intellect matched his own, much less an audacious teenage girl with a penchant for detection. Miss Mary Russell becomes Holmes' pupil and quickly hones her talent for deduction, disguises and danger. But when an elusive villain enters the picture, their partnership is put to a real test.
This book falls snugly into the cozy British mystery category which I guess if I am going to read a mystery this would be the type I would typically read. I loved the first half of the book. The character development was wonderful. The prose superb. Mary Russell and Sherlock Holmes banter and dry wit was an unexpected pleasure. (Are all the Sherlock Holmes book infused with humor?) I enjoyed the dynamic and dialogue of these two unlikely partners immensely.
I lost my enthusiasm half way through the book. The second half was a slog for me. I kept asking myself...how many more mysteries are Mary and Sherlock going to solve before this book is over? I also thought the biggest mystery was a bit anticlimactic and built upon other case histories of which I had no prior knowledge. Plus, the whole trip to Palestine?! What?! Why are we here...it slowed the action down completely not to mention talked about things/adventures/cases that occurred off canvas. What was the point?
I thought the book was interesting and definitely more character driven than the typical British detective novel. I liked the protagonist Mary Russell and her odd and unique relationship with Sherlock Holmes. Do I like these characters enough to read the next book in what is a 15 book series? No. It is one and done for me.
My Rating: Okay, if you like British Detective Novels.
10.) Death of Kings by Bernard Cornwell
This is book #6 in the Last Kingdom/Saxon Stories series. I am going to stop here for awhile because I love the TV show The Last Kingdom and I don't want to get ahead of the TV series. I really enjoy both the TV series and the book series.
From Goodreads:
As the ninth century wanes, England appears about to be plunged into chaos once more. For the Viking-raised but Saxon-born warrior, Uhtred, whose life seems to shadow the making of England, this presents him with difficult choices. King Alfred is dying and his passing threatens the island of Britain to renewed warfare. Alfred wants his son, Edward, to succeed him but there are other Saxon claimants to the throne as well as ambitious pagan Vikings to the north. Uhtred's loyalty - and his vows - were to Alfred, not to his son, and despite his long years of service to Alfred, he is still not committed to the Saxon cause. His own desire is to reclaim his long lost lands and castle to the north. But the challenge to him, as the king's warrior, is that he knows that he will either be the means of making Alfred's dream of a united and Christian England come to pass or be responsible for condemning it to oblivion.
This book was good in that there is finally *some* resolution in the series. Uhtred is older now and more mature and in an interesting stage of life. He is still the sword and shield of the Saxons. He is still the ultimate bad-A warrior. Uhtred is one of my favorite book characters. He is complicated, ruthless, and always enjoyable.
My Rating: Good.
