1.) The God of the Woods by Liz Moore
From Goodreads:
Early morning, August 1975: a camp counselor discovers an empty bunk. Its occupant, Barbara Van Laar, has gone missing. Barbara isn’t just any thirteen-year-old: she’s the daughter of the family that owns the summer camp and employs most of the region’s residents. And this isn’t the first time a Van Laar child has disappeared. Barbara’s older brother similarly vanished fourteen years ago, never to be found. As a panicked search begins, a thrilling drama unfolds.
This was an atmospheric literary historical mystery. Perfect to kick off my fall reading! I loved the setting of a 1970s summer camp in the Adirondacks and a wealthy family full of secrets who has had two children go missing 14 years apart. It's haunting and sad. There are multiple POVs and timelines...1960s and 1970s. This is a very character driven novel which I really like but not everyone does. It is basically a character study and police procedural (with some beautifully descriptive writing) as the mystery unfolds. The characters are complex. Some you really root for and others are rich people behaving badly but the dual mystery was compelling and I was hooked. This is NOT a thriller. It is a slow burn mystery. The pacing slowed down quite a bit in the middle but by the last 1/4 of the book I couldn't put it down.
I was immersed in the story of the two missing Van Laar children with their dark family secrets set in the mountains. The ending was fine but left me with some unanswered questions. I wanted a little more of a "wow" ending but I liked the book and would recommend it to most readers.
My Rating: Good.
2.) The Thread Collectors by Shaunna J. Edwards and Alyson Richman
From Goodreads:
1863: In a small Creole cottage in New Orleans, an ingenious young Black woman named Stella embroiders intricate maps on repurposed cloth to help enslaved men flee and join the Union Army. Bound to a man who would kill her if he knew of her clandestine activities, Stella has to hide not only her efforts but her love for William, a Black soldier and a brilliant musician. Meanwhile, in New York City, a Jewish woman stitches a quilt for her husband, who is stationed in Louisiana with the Union Army. Between abolitionist meetings, Lily rolls bandages and crafts quilts with her sewing circle for other soldiers, too, hoping for their safe return home. But when months go by without word from her husband, Lily resolves to make the perilous journey South to search for him. As these two women risk everything for love and freedom during the brutal Civil War, their paths converge in New Orleans, where an unexpected encounter leads them to discover that even the most delicate threads have the capacity to save us. Loosely inspired by the authors' family histories.
This was my book club's pick for September 2024. This is historical fiction that is set during the Civil War and tells the story of two couples: one black and one Jewish. There is Jacob a Jewish man and musician who enlists in the Union army and his abolitionist wife, Lily, who is back home in New York helping with the war effort. Then there is William a black Creole man who is also in the Union army. He too is a musician. William has recently escaped slavery and joined the army. Through music he and Jacob become friends. William is in love with Stella who lives in New Orleans as an enslaved woman who was auctioned off to be the mistress of her Confederate master. She is a seamstress and embroiders maps to help escaped slaves find their way to freedom. This novel is the collaborative work of two female authors...one black and one Jewish...and is loosely based on their own family histories.
I liked the perspective of the black former enslaved soldiers and the Jewish soldiers fighting for the Union. I've only read a couple of books about black soldiers and I haven't read any books about the Civil War from a Jewish perspective. Interesting. The story follows the points of view of all four characters. It was interesting to read about their lives at home, on the battlefield, and as their stories converged.
This wasn't an easy story to read. It is heartbreaking and brutal. The racism, antisemitism, violence, and realities of war are tough. But it is also the story of bravery, friendship, found family, and the courageous risks that are taken for love, freedom, and doing what is right.
I don't usually love novels that are co-written by two authors. I think it affects the overall flow and emotional depth of the story and I think that happened to a certain extent here. Maybe it was the simplistic writing? Even though I wanted a little more from the story; it was still an impactful and interesting read.
My Rating: A unique Civil War story.
3.) Perma Red by Debra Magpie Earling
From Goodreads:
On the Flathead Indian Reservation, summer is ending, and Louise White Elk is determined to forge her own path. Raised by her Grandmother Magpie after the death of her mother, Louise and her younger sister have grown up into the harsh social and physical landscape of western Montana in the 1940s, where Native people endure boarding schools and life far from home. As she approaches adulthood, Louise hopes to create an independent life for herself and an improved future for her family—but three persistent men have other plans. Since childhood, Louise has been pursued by Baptiste Yellow Knife, feared not only for his rough-and-tumble ways, but also for the preternatural gifts of his bloodline. Baptiste’s rival is his cousin, Charlie Kicking Woman, is a man caught between worlds, torn between his duty as a tribal officer and his fascination with Louise. And then there is Harvey Stoner. The white real estate mogul can offer Louise her wildest dreams of freedom, but at what cost? As tensions mount, Louise finds herself trying to outrun the bitter clutches of winter and the will of powerful men, facing choices that will alter her life—and end another’s—forever.
This was the 2024 selection for Spokane is Reading which is an annual event that the libraries and bookstores sponsor in Spokane. A book is selected for our city to read and then the author comes and speaks. I love this event so much! This is the 10th year that I've participated. This year's selection was definitely an interesting one. I haven't read many native voiced books. The author is Bitterroot Salish and this book and the main character are based on her aunt. Several of her family members also make appearances as characters in the novel.
This is gritty and intense historical fiction. Louise's coming-of-age story showcases the harsh realities of life for a 16 year old girl on the Flathead reservation in 1940s Montana. It is a bleak story of survival. But there were also some lovely elements of magical realism in between the sadness and brutality. The imagery was so vivid. One moment would be breathtakingly beautiful and the next horrifically brutal. There were scenes so haunting that I will always remember them. The characters, while interesting, are incredibly flawed, make terrible and limited choices, and find themselves in horrible circumstances some of their own making and some which are not. Racism, poverty, generational trauma, obsession, abuse of power, substance abuse, and domestic violence are not easy reading. The ending left me unsettled and questioning. The narrative is also written in both first and third person which made the storytelling a bit disjoined. Is Louise the main character or is Charlie? It also made Louise harder to root for never being in her head nor understanding her actions and motives. There was an emotional detachment while still watching in horror as Louise spiraled. The story feels timeless. Louise's reality is all too real. Her story was powerful in its despair.
I have a deep appreciation for the experience that I had of listening to the author Debra Magpie Earling talk about her writing. Earling also answered several of my lingering questions. She is fascinating. She relayed so many riveting stories about her life. I could've listened to her speak for hours. The book that she is currently writing is her memoir. I will be the first in line to read it.
My Rating: Complicated and haunting.
4.) Go As a River by Shelley Read
From Goodreads:
On a cool autumn day in 1948, Victoria Nash delivers late-season peaches from her family's farm set amid the wild beauty of Colorado. As she heads into her village, a disheveled stranger stops to ask her the way. How she chooses to answer will unknowingly alter the course of both their young lives. So begins the mesmerizing story of split-second choices and courageous acts that propel Victoria away from the only home she has ever known and towards a reckoning with loss, hope and her own untapped strength. Gathering all the pieces of her small and extraordinary existence, spinning through the eddies of desire, heartbreak and betrayal, she will arrive at a single rocky decision that will change her life forever.
This was my book club's pick for November 2024. This book came highly recommended from several trusted friends and sources. I love historical fiction so I was super excited to read this book. This is a coming-of-age survival story. Victoria Nash is a teenager the 1940s living in a small town in Colorado when she meets and falls in love with Wilson Moon, a Native American drifter, who comes to town and changes her life. We follow Victoria through several decades of her life. This is a complicated family drama. Victoria's home life is bleak and falling in love with Wilson puts her on a path of beauty and heartbreak as she builds a life for herself after suffering unimaginable loss. This is literary historical fiction with beautiful prose and vivid descriptions. The landscape, peach farm, mountains, and the soon-to-be submerged town all have a life and character of their own. There is something so intriguing and haunting about a submerged town that let's the imagination run wild. I was fascinated by the side story of the river being dammed and the town flooded...the symbolism and parallels to the story were interesting and I wanted more of that. (Interesting side note: the town of Iola is a real place that was flooded in the 1960s when the Gunnison river was dammed creating the Blue Mesa Reservoir.)
Something that makes this novel unique is that a few chapters into the story the unthinkable happens. I had a hard time believing that it really did happen. I read the whole book waiting to find out that it was a mistake and that we would get a big reveal at the end. Literally to the last page I kept waiting for it to not be true but it was.
I liked that the story took several incredible turns that left me thinking that there was no way that the story could progress and yet it did. Much like the river in the story; life keeps moving forward even if you wish it didn't or can't imagine that it possibly could. The main theme of the book is how does a person keep going after their life has been irrevocably changed and the answer is that you just do.
This was a heavy read. Victoria moves from traumatic event to traumatic event. At times it was depressing and exhausting to read. There are themes of hardship, prejudice, racism, displacement, family, motherhood, loss, and loneliness but also courage, survival, and resilience. Victoria grows from a timid subservient girl to a strong and independent woman.
I wish the author dug a little deeper into Victoria's psyche. So much time was covered but not in enough depth. It gave me a sense of disconnection at times from the characters. The story is in first person retrospect...an older woman reflecting on her life. We get the perspective of a very naïve, sheltered 17 year old girl who never asked any questions as relayed by her older self who also didn't go digging deeper into her past. I needed more from the author to really understand the story and the motivations of the characters. My big expectations for this book fell a bit flat because of this. I would've loved it know more about Wilson's thoughts, background etc. and of some of the other characters as well. Like Uncle Og... he is set up to be one thing in the story and then he just disappears off the page. Confusing. I expected more of a story arch with him and others.
This novel is beautifully and heartbreakingly written. It is evocative and tells the story of a time and people in a way that is harsh but was also the reality for many. I've thought a lot about it since finishing the novel and how circumstances can define our lives if we let them. It was an interesting book and provided a good book club discussion.
My Rating: Thought-Provoking.
5.) A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas
My adult daughter has been reading this series and raving about it. One of my favorite things to do is read books with my kids especially my adult children so I had to get on board. I've also seen this book and series EVERYWHERE. Time to take the plunge. This book is a spicy take on Beauty and the Beast.
From Goodreads:
When nineteen-year-old huntress Feyre kills a wolf in the woods, a terrifying creature arrives to demand retribution. Dragged to a treacherous magical land she knows about only from legends, Feyre discovers that her captor is not truly a beast, but one of the lethal, immortal faeries who once ruled her world. At least, he’s not a beast all the time. As she adapts to her new home, her feelings for the faerie, Tamlin, transform from icy hostility into a fiery passion that burns through every lie she’s been told about the beautiful, dangerous world of the Fae. But something is not right in the faerie lands. An ancient, wicked shadow is growing, and Feyre must find a way to stop it, or doom Tamlin—and his world—forever.
I am not a typical fantasy reader. I very rarely like them especially those having to do with fairies but this book was pretty fun. Yes, some parts were cheesy but this was a fantasy world that I could visualize and I liked my time spent in Prythian especially in the Spring Court. Are there some plot holes? Sure...but I could overlook most of them because I liked the world building, world history (that is just starting to be revealed), and most of the characters. I especially liked Tamlin and Lucien. Also the anti-hero Rhysand has ended up being quite intriguing. I'm looking forward to learning more about him. Is Feyre annoying? Yes. She makes questionable decisions and doesn't listen to anyone. That sounds like a typical 19 year old to me.
I've put off reading this book for years because it just didn't sound like anything that I would be interested in reading but the things we do for our kids... AND... I liked it!
My Rating: Fun!
6.) What Lies in the Woods by Kate Alice Marshall
From Goodreads:
Naomi Shaw used to believe in magic. Twenty-two years ago, she and her two best friends, Cassidy and Olivia, spent the summer roaming the woods, imagining a world of ceremony and wonder. They called it the Goddess Game. The summer ended suddenly when Naomi was attacked. Miraculously, she survived her seventeen stab wounds and lived to identify the man who had hurt her. The girls’ testimony put away a serial killer, wanted for murdering six women. They were heroes. For decades afterward, the friends have kept a secret worth killing for. But now Olivia wants to tell, and Naomi sets out to find out what really happened in the woods―no matter how dangerous the truth turns out to be.
This was the book I picked for my October spooky season reading. It was a good one! Tyler read it too and we both really liked it. It hooked me right from the start and kept me obsessively reading until it was over. I was in from the dedication:
"For all the wild girls who search for magic in the woods."
As a little girl who had a big imagination and ran wild outdoors and loved to make perfumes and potions and made up all kinds of detailed and dramatic games and make-believe stories. I was all in! A story of three best friends who played in the woods, made up stories, and had magical places was definitely something I could relate to. The goddess game in the story (while much more intense) would fit right in with the games I played of witches, boxcar children, lost kids, pioneers, and the adventures of Mark and Melissa. I am also always a sucker for a story about childhood friends.
Then there was the setting. Also perfection. A small town in the Pacific Northwest with secrets. I live in the PNW and knew several of the places where the story took place. My hometown was even mentioned which made my reading experience even more fun.
This is a psychological thriller with true crime vibes. Something horrible happens to those three friends when they were eleven and now 20 years later they have to face what happened in the woods. The story grabbed my attention and didn't let go. It was a fast and propulsive read that was fun and atmospheric. Perfect for my spooky season reading. I had fun trying to figure out what happened. I had all kinds of theories...some were proven correct and some were not. It was twisty and I did not guess the ending which was especially fun. Sometimes thrillers let me down. There was a good balance between the past and the present and an interesting cast of characters. It was just suspenseful enough without keeping me up at night. I really enjoyed this novel of friendship, dark secrets, and what lies in the woods.
My Rating: Fun! I couldn't put it down.
7.) A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J. Maas
From Goodreads:
Feyre has undergone more trials than one human woman can carry in her heart. Though she's now been granted the powers and lifespan of the High Fae, she is haunted by her time Under the Mountain and the terrible deeds she performed to save the lives of Tamlin and his people. As her marriage to Tamlin approaches, Feyre's hollowness and nightmares consume her. She finds herself split into two different people; one who upholds her bargain with Rhysand, High Lord of the feared Night Court, and one who lives out her life in the Spring Court with Tamlin. While Feyre navigates a dark web of politics, passion, and dazzling power, a greater evil looms. She might just be the key to stopping it, but only if she can harness her harrowing gifts, heal her fractured soul, and decide how she wishes to shape her future-and the future of a world in turmoil.
This is the second book in the series and it was better than the first book. The first was somewhat of a Beauty and the Beast retelling and this one has Hades and Persephone vibes. The cult-like hype around this series is crazy and also kind of fun. The internet is full of book chat, fan art, memes, playlists, and all kinds of things that make this an interactive reading experience.
Feyre is less annoying in this book. She's gaining momentum as a character. She's growing and developing. The fact that Feyre and her romantic interest are also good friends added some much needed depth to their story. I love her inner circle of found family and friends.
The way this plot twisted regarding a main character was fascinating. I've only read something like this once before in The Game of Thrones series. When that happened it shocked me. I wondered how could I change allegiance to someone so quickly in that series and yet here I am again. I didn't like it when it was happening but now that I've accepted the transition; I'm all in. I definitely get some Game of Thrones vibes in this series. The seven Prythian courts and their families are somewhat like the Game of Thrones seven kingdoms in Westeros. Each one unique and interesting. I love the descriptions, history, and interrelations of the various courts. I look forward to more political intrigue and drama between them. I enjoy the ambience and world building of this fantasy universe.
I also thought the plot was better and more mature. No fighting worms in this book. The action that takes place was more exciting and had higher stakes. Unfortunately Feyre's sisters are back and they annoy me, especially Nesta, but I am hoping for good twist where they are concerned as the series progresses. This writing isn't fine wine but it is entertaining. I am thoroughly enjoying being immersed in this world. I'm a seasonal reader and in the winter I love reading a long series of big books that I can be absorbed in. When I am stuck inside at least I have something fun to read. This book and series seem to fit the bill. It has a good mix of world building, character development, adventure, and humor. It is also romantic fantasy and is very spicy in that department so know that before you read.
My Rating: Enjoyable. This book was better than the first book in the series.
8.) You Couldn't Ignore Me if You Tried by Susannah Gora
From Goodreads:
You can quote lines from Sixteen Candles (“Last night at the dance, my little brother paid a buck to see your underwear”), your iPod playlist includes more than one song by the Psychedelic Furs and Simple Minds, you watch The Breakfast Club every time it comes on cable, and you still wish that Andie had ended up with Duckie in Pretty in Pink. You’re a bonafide Brat Pack devotee—and you’re not alone. The films of the Brat Pack—from Sixteen Candles to Say Anything—are some of the most watched, bestselling DVDs of all time. The landscape that the Brat Pack memorialized—where outcasts and prom queens fall in love, preppies and burn-outs become buds, and frosted lip gloss, skinny ties, and exuberant optimism made us feel invincible—is rich with cultural themes and significance, and has influenced an entire generation who still believe that life always turns out the way it is supposed to. You Couldn’t Ignore Me If You Tried takes us back to that era, interviewing key players, such as Molly Ringwald, Anthony Michael Hall, Ally Sheedy, Judd Nelson, Andrew McCarthy, and John Cusack, and mines all the material from the movies to the music to the way the films were made to show how they helped shape our visions for romance, friendship, society, and success.
I saw this book and it was an immediate YES! As a child of the 80s and a Brat Pack and John Hughes fan I couldn't read this fast enough. My teen years easily are lumped together with whatever John Hughes movie was out at the time. The Breakfast Club is my favorite movie of all time!
I loved the deep dive into all of the different movies and personalities. There was some good gossip and interesting behind the scenes insights. John Hughes' body of work is enormous. He wrote so many more movies than I even knew. Each movie is its own chapter. I loved reading about how John Hughes, a New Wave devotee, picked the music for his movies. The nostalgia was through the roof!
The writing got fairly repetitive by the end of the book due to the stylistic format and since it was written in 2010 it wasn't quite as current as it could be...but still...so good.
My Rating: A very fun read!
9.) The Christmas Bookshop by Jenny Colgan
From Goodreads:
When the department store she works in closes for good, Carmen has perilously little cash and few options. She doesn’t want to move in with her perfect sister Sofia, in Sofia’s perfect house with her perfect children and her perfectly ordered Edinburgh life. Frankly, Sofia doesn’t exactly want Carmen there either. Her sister has always been sarcastic and difficult. But Sofia has yet another baby on the way, a mother desperate to see her daughters get along, and a client who needs a retail assistant for his ailing bookshop, so welcoming Carmen might still have some benefits for everyone. At Sofia’s behest, Carmen is thrown into the daily workings of old Mr. McCredie’s ancient bookshop on the streets of the old dark city. Can she use her design skills to revamp the store and bring it back to popularity in time to benefit from Christmas shopping traffic? Can she choose between bad boy literary rock star Blair and quiet Quaker student Oke? And will she heal the rift with the most important people of all: her family?
This was my book club's pick for December 2024. This was my second Jenny Colgan novel so I kind of knew what I was getting into; I've read her book The Bookshop on the Corner. That was a three star read for me and this was the same. Christmas books are what they are. They are always fluffy and usually a little cheesy. This book was no different. Literary fiction it is not but it also isn't exactly rom-com material either. This book can't seem to decide if it is a Hallmark-esque Christmas book or a rom-com or a family drama. It was a little too all over the place but you had me at Christmas, bookshop, and Scotland.
As I said, I knew what I was getting into with a Christmas book and Jenny Colgan and I was right on both accounts. I was entertained *enough* as I read and I enjoyed all of the parts that took place in the bookshop. I thought both of her love interests were uninteresting and lackluster but I enjoyed Carmen's interactions with her nieces and nephew. I loved the setting of Edinburgh at Christmas and the eccentric community that she finds there. I loved the descriptions of the book shop and its hidden rooms and window displays. I loved the decorated hilly streets, shops, and looming castle. Also...the book cover was perfection! Unfortunately the plot was only meh but it is the first book in a series so perhaps that is why some plot points seemed to go nowhere? Will I read the second book in the series? Yes, because Christmas is breathing down my neck and I don't have the energy to get into a new book with new characters and a new setting. My book club didn't love the book either and no one else was interested in continuing on with the series. I told them that I would read it and report back if anything exciting happens in book two. LOL.
My Rating: Okay.
10.) Midnight at the Christmas Bookshop by Jenny Colgan
This is the second book in the Christmas Bookshop series. My book club read the first in December of 2024 and it was just alright. I read the next one because I wanted to read something Christmasy and with all the hustle and bustle of the holidays I didn't have the bandwidth to read about new characters in a new setting. It worked out well because I liked this book a lot better than the first!
From Goodreads:
Carmen is at a loose end. Her gorgeous bookshop is the filming site of a cheesy Christmas movie, she's been ousted from her sister's house, and the love of her life has just flown thousands of miles away. It's threatening to be a very unjolly Christmas indeed! But when the elderly owner of the shop comes to Carmen with a Christmas wish that threatens to never come true, Carmen knows she must buckle down to get the funds to save not only his trip, but the shop itself. While fending off a shady tatt-selling businessman, Carmen discovers wonders to the shop she could have never imagined, and opens a labyrinth of bookish backrooms for the customers to get lost in. With her deadline looming, it might take more than a fresh coat of paint to solve Carmen's problems. But with the help of their neighbors, her nieces and nephew, and a very distractingly cute male nanny, Carmen might just pull her greatest magic trick yet...
The things I liked about the first book are all present in the second book...Christmas in Scotland...a bookshop...eccentric community...and all of the holiday sights and sounds of Edinburgh. Some of the plot points were picked up again in this book which was good and some were not which was annoying. I still think Carmen's love interest is dull and I got kind of excited about someone new and then was let down. But I still enjoy Carmen's interactions with her sister and nieces and nephews. She's less whiney and self-centered in this book. Ironically in reading other people's reviews it seems that the people that liked the first book didn't like this one as much whereas I didn't like the first book that much and liked the second one better. LOL. Also the very best part of this book is the bookshop and its accompanying rooms, corridors, and apartments.
My Rating: Entertaining enough.
