It feels odd to say that a book that left me so saddened and troubled was a favorite, but it’s the case with author Florence Knapp’s debut, The Names. This is an alternate realities story about an infant boy whose mother, Cora, in three scenarios, chooses a different name for him. The story follows the boy, his mother, and his older sister through the three lives they would ... Read More...
The Secret Book Society
It’s 1895 in England and women are kept firmly in their established roles as wives, mothers, and arbiters of society. Deviation from these roles or even a desire for something more could lead to a woman being institutionalized by her guardian “for her own safety”. A guardian was the male in her life be it father, husband, or brother. These female problems were often thought to ... Read More...
The Satisfaction Cafe
Joan is a Taiwanese woman in America in The Satisfaction Café. Her first marriage, through no fault of her own goes horribly wrong, leaving her destitute and living hand to mouth. She then meets and marries a wealthy, older man. They have their own children before he dies, leaving her very wealthy, but insecure, as the adult children from her husband’s first marriage vigorously ... Read More...
We Don’t Talk About Carol
We Don’t Talk About Carol begins with Sydney going back home after her grandmother’s death to help clear out her house. In doing so, she comes across a picture of a little girl who looks somewhat like her. She discovers this is an aunt who disappeared when she was a teenager and that Sydney was never told about. She’s immediately intrigued and wants to learn more but as both ... Read More...
The Correspondent
When Sylvia Van Antwerp came of age there was no such thing as digital. Given that, she sees no reason to abandon her lifelong habit of communicating via letter. She’ll even use email when it is the only option, but that is as much as she’ll concede. This means Virginia Evans’ debut The Correspondent is an epistolary novel comprised only of Sylvia‘s communications with the ... Read More...
Spy novels: Mini-reviews
Given that thrillers have been such fabulous reading for me lately, I thought it was worth sharing two more this week. Author Alma Katsu worked in the world of U.S. intelligence at the CIA and NSA for 29 years imbuing her Red Widow series with an authenticity that makes both novels, Red Widow and Red London, hard to put down. Lyndsey Duncan had been a rising star ... Read More...
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