I picked this book up at Barnes and Noble when I was buying a birthday present for a friend earlier in the year, because I cannot go into a book store and not buy a book that looks interesting.  This is definitely a little bit of an investment in terms of time, since it’s over 500 pages.  I decided to take it with on our 2 week vacation, since I figured it would last for most of the trip.  And it did - I finished it a few days after we got home. The Guestbook is a family saga spanning 3 generations, which deals with the great divide between the rich and poor, Jewish and Protestant, Black and white, as well as how the decisions we make will affect our families through generations.  Kitty and Ogden buy Crockett’s Island, and a fair bit of this very well written story takes place on the island.  There are clearly some interesting family secrets which Sarah Blake slowly reveals throughout the story.  This is definitely a slower read, but a very important...

 “Those that truly love, have roots that grow toward each other underground, and when all the pretty blossoms have fallen from their branches, they find that they are one tree and not two. “ From Captain Corelli’s Mandolin I randomly spotted this book at my library’s “New and notable” section, and the title, The Lost Love Song , and cover art caught my eye.  The blurb sounded interesting so I brought it home.  And boy was that a good idea.  I read this wonderful book by Minnie Darke in 2 days, and immediately sat down to write this review.   I occasionally play piano, so this tale that starts with a very talented pianist who meets her true love, and composes a love song for him while away on tour, was especially interesting.  But then tragedy strikes and Diana is lost to Arie forever.  But, perhaps her song can get back to him.   Through a crazy turn of fate, this amazing song makes its way from musician to musician in different parts of the world...

 I’ve seen Elizabeth Strout’s books recommended quite a lot, and I’ve previously read My Name is Lucy Barton, which was a fun, short read.  I plan to review it too at some point, but when The Burgess Boys came up in my library list, I thought I’d give it a chance. This author definitely writes what I would call more complicated books, that is to say they’re not your typical beach read, and she’s won some serious book awards for her stories.  But I’m trying to branch out my reading a little, and this book was great for this.  I was definitely a little slow reading it, but I enjoyed it, and even found myself thinking about the characters after I was done reading it. Jim and Bob Burgess left the small town in Maine where they grew up as soon as they were old enough to head to New York City.  As a side note, I love reading about NYC since we’ve visited 3 times, and we can’t wait for our next post Covid visit.  Jim is a successful corporate lawyer and Bob is a ...

The next great Jane caught my attention because I’m a tentative Jane Austen fan, who really enjoys her stories, but has not ever managed to actually read one.  K.L. Going writes an interesting young adult novel here, in which we meet Jane, who loves to write and fancies herself the next great Jane. She has the fortune to meet a famous author who promises to share her secrets for great writing with Jane. Jane doesn’t seem to think the advice is all that revolutionary, but will some unlikely friendships, some science projects and some good old falling in love prove her wrong. This is a fun, quick read, which I can highly recommend for anyone over the age of 10 since it is appropriate for younger readers.  I’m interested to see what some of this author’s 10 other YA novels on Amazon are like - I would happily read any of them based on the enjoyment which I got from reading The Next Great Jane.

Four friends is a beach read type novel by Robin Carr has a slightly slow start where we meet three friends, who walk around their neighborhood together in the morning and share the ups and downs of their lives with each other. Gerri’s marriage falls apart first when she finds out a devastating truth about her husband and she cannot figure out how best to handle it in a way that feels right for her and her 3 older kids.  Will she get what she wants and learn something about herself as she navigates this big event or will it ruin everything. Andy’s next bad marriage ends and she finds herself alone once again.  And when she finds herself attracted to someone she would not normally spend time with she has to work out what she really wants and needs. Sonja is normally the one in the neighborhood watching out for and taking care of everyone else, and now her husband has declared he is done with their marriage as well.  How will Sonja cope with being thrust into life on her o...

 I said previously that I would post about this literary fiction book again once I was done reading it, and I finally finished it a few weeks ago.  It's taken me a few weeks to write about it, partly because I'm not entirely sure what to say about it, and also because I immediately jumped into a few lighter reads.  Am I glad I read The Goldfinch ?   It's a very big, long, slow book. Yes, because now it's no longer on my TBR list.  Yes, because I'm not sure I've ever read a book that won a Pulitzer Prize, and I'm not sure I will again.  But in all honesty, once I was done, I kind of felt like not much happened in the story considering it's well over 500 pages long.   I think perhaps if you're in the mood for a slower paced, book that is clearly super well written and perhaps a breath of fresh air from a typical beach read then this is the book for you.  If you're sick of romcom type books, then this is the book for you.  Definitely w...

Sisters by Choice , by Susan Mallery was a random find at the library and I thought I'd read one of her previous books so I grabbed without knowing anything about this book.  That fact is even clearer as I write this because apparently this book is book 4 of 4 in the Blackberry Island series .  Having never read any of the other books in this series, I can confidently say that this book does just fine as a stand alone book. This beach read type novel follows cousins by chance, who are sisters by choice.  Sophie Lane returns to Blackberry Island after her cat toy empire goes up in flames.  Can she learn to let go, and grow her business within the small town life she finds herself thrown into or will she lose everything. Then there's Kristine who is a wife and mother of 3 growing boys.  But what she really wants is to open a small bakery.  Will she have to choose between her marriage and her dreams. Finally there's Heather who would like nothing more than to ...

This turns out to be book 1 of 6 written by Ransom Riggs.  The first book, which is the only one I've read, was a little slow to start, which comes from not knowing what's going on initially.  But once you get through the first third or so, then it's hard to put down because you really want to know what is going on. If you like time travel, and X-Men type stories, then this will be fun for you to read.  Jacob's grandfather dies at the beginning of the story, leaving behind some strange photographs and stories he's told Jacob throughout his childhood.  This tragedy sends Jacob on a trip of discovery to a remote island off the coast of Wales, where he finds an abandoned orphanage, Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children .  Why were these strange, and perhaps even dangerous children on the island, and are they still alive? Definitely worth the read for older children (Amazon recommendation on book 1 is ages 14-17) or even adults.  And you'll want to read ...

The Swap , written by Robyn Harding, was a new type of book for me.  Definitely a littler riskier than I would normally read, and I actually considered not finishing, but the background story got me hooked and I wanted to know what happened.  So be warned if you pick this one up. Low is a teenager, living with her very hippie parents in a small island town.  Low is different and doesn't fit in at school, so she doesn't have any friends.  But then she meets Freya, who is teaching her pottery class and everything changes.  Low becomes obsessed with her new friend and gets very jealous when Freya makes another friend in town.  Freya becomes friends with Jamie, who owns a small gift store and they have the shared characteristic of neither of them having children - Jamie because she suffers from infertility and Freya because she doesn't want kids.  So they bond and enjoy each others company, and even manage to get their husbands in on the friendship. And on...

The Jane Austen Society was written by Natalie Jenner.  Having never actually managed to read any Jane Austen, but being a fan nonetheless, I was intrigued by this novel about a small town in England where Jane Austen once lived. It was definitely a slower read, but no less enjoyable that the fluff type books I've been reading lately.  Jane Austen and some of her extended family lived in Chawton and now, a few years after the Second world war, the villagers begin a society in her honor to preserve some of what is left of her legacy.  We follow their trials and tribulations as well and even meet some interesting characters from London and America.  There are also a few unexpected surprises, which I will not spoil for you.  and at the end of the day, will their plans succeed? This is well worth a read, and actually makes me want to finally read some Jane Austen.  In fact, some of the references in this book may have made more sense had I read all of Jane Aust...

Belong to me is book 2 in a 4 book series by Marisa de los Santos.  You might remember my review for book 1, Love walked in , earlier in the year.  I added the other 3 books in the series to my TBR list since I enjoyed book 1 so much, and book 2 did not disappoint. This book follows Cornelia Brown's life in her new suburban house, a couple of years after where Love walked in finished off.  We meet a few new characters in her neighbors, and also get reacquainted with her pseudo-daughter Claire, srom book 1.  Cornelia's new 'friends' Piper and Lake are from different worlds and add different interest to her life.  And there's obviously also a mystery which we and the characters are also trying to figure out.  And without spoiling the story, I can tell you it will not disappoint.  We'll see how 3 different histories collide in the most surprising ways. This book was a little more substantial that a pure summer read and took me a week to read.  I can...

This novel from bestselling author of The Escape Room , Megan Goldin, was selected by a Facebook bookclub I joined hosted by Kate from The Small Things Blog and her sister Lauren from Lauren Loves blog.  It sounded interesting so I requested it immediately from my library and proceeded to read it within 3 days of picking it up. This is another mystery story which follows a court case in a small American coastal town.  A true crime podcaster arrives to cover the case which revolves around the rape of a teenager (warning if that is triggering for you).  She is approached by another person about a 25 year old murder in the same time.  Only in the last 30 pages does it all come together and we understand how the cases are linked and what the full story is.   This 340 page novel is a great, fast paced and riveting read, which I imagine most people would be able to read in a week.  I will be adding The Escape room to my TBR (to be read) list now too.

Katherine McGee has written American Royals and American Royals II: Majesty in the last couple of years and they are wonderful.  If you, like me, are a fan of the British Royal family then I would highly recommend these 2 books.  I listened to them both on audiobook version, and they were super fun to listen to. American Royals follows the story of America's royal family, the Washingtons, who were offered a monarchy after the Americans won the Revolutionary War.  And now, two and a half centuries later, the King has an heir and a spare.  The states are Earldoms and Dukedoms based on their joining the union, and interesting points like that.  And who will be queen one day when the current king dies?   Princess Beatrice is expected to be Queen one day, since succession laws have changed and now her younger brother is not first in line to the thrown.  Her younger sister is the spare, and nobody seems to care about Princess Samantha except for how much sh...

Gosh, I seem to be on a roll at the moment.  The Stolen Daughter is ReShonda Tate Billingsley's 51st novel, and first that I have read.  I will definitely be finding more of her novels to add to my TBR list. Jillian had a tough childhood with her single mother Connie.  Even though they didn't have money, Jillian always felt loved and Connie did everything she could for her only daughter.  Now Jillian is married with a young daughter of her own, and Connie has early onset dementia.  Now it's Jillian's turn to take care of her mother. But now Jillian doesn't know what to believe since her mother is rambling and a mysterious stranger comes into her life claiming to have information that could turn Jillian's life upside down.  As Jillian goes on a journey to find out the truth about her past, she must decide what is most important to her.   It is a thrilling story, which I could not put down, and read in under 48 hours.  I really enjoyed the writing ...

The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt has been on my TBR (to be read) list for a long long time.  I think one of my highschool friends read and recommended it.  I borrowed it from my library ages ago and never got started, but after finishing Love Walked In, I was at a bit of a loss and wanted to read something I already had available, so I started The Goldfinch.   Now, this is a large book (771 pages according to Amazon), so it's going to take me a while and I'm almost 20% of the way and so far I cam really enjoying this story.  And as a bomus, when I'm done I'll be able to follow it up with the movie , which is newly available on Amazon.  This book won a Pulitzer prize, and I'm not sure I've ever read a Pulitzer prize winning book before - I feel accomplished even though I've got a way to go. I will report back once I'm done.  Since it's such a long book, I might read a few quick, small books in between.

I spotted this young adult novel on Instagram, and immediately requested it from the library.  Girl from Nowhere is a debut novel by Tiffany Rosenhan is a fantastic read.  It was so good that I wish there were more like it. This story is a relatively easy read which follows the life of a teenager who has just moved to a small town in America after some kind of trauma, which we don't have a full view of at the beginning of the story.  I don't want to spoil the plot for you, but I can compare the story to Bourne Identity type stories, which I have not read yet - this book made me want to read those. I can tell you that once you reach half way, you should ensure that you have nowhere important to be because you will not be able to put it down until you have read the whole thing.   I would say that this is appropriate for older teenagers, and definitely adults.  I hope your library has a copy.

This book by Marisa De Los Santos has been sitting on my shelf for a few years - I think my husband may have bought Love Walked In for me when we still lived in South Africa, which we moved away from over 6 years ago.  I am trying this year to read what is already there, even though library books are free.  And boy am I glad on this one - when I looked it up on Amazon to add the link, I discovered that it's the first of a series of 4 books - YAY. This story started a little slow for me because I hadn't read the blurb, which explained how the 2 narrators become connected, but once I realized, it was fun to read and see how it happened.  This is the story of a women and her boyfriend's daughter and how they become incredibly important in each other's lives.  I don't want to spoil the story, which definitely had some unexpected twists and turns, but I can tell you it's an engrossing story which I read in a week and had a really great ending.  I'm excited to re...