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What have you just read? Opinions, recommendations, reviews Part 2
Two reviews now up The Runaway Daughter 
by Joanna Rees3 stars
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
An Offer From a Gentleman by Julia Quinn
4 stars
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Smashing through the Jack Reacher series on audio. 
by the talented Lee ChildMy review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Keep the dream alive! This little book is a great introduction to Martin Luther King Jr.. It's part of an excellent series to inspire little kids (and their parents!). Author Mª Isabel Sánchez Vegara has produced an amazing library of these.
5★ Link to my review of MLK Jr with several illustrations.
BOX 88 by Charles Cumming, a former secret service recruit himself, describes the mixed-up world of international intrigue. We may know who the enemy is, but with so many 'agencies' of spies today, nobody is quite sure who the bad guys are. Great read!
4.5★ Link to my review of Box 88
Big catch up on reviews:Stephen King's Under the Dome - reviewed - https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4183947458
The Bear Pit by S G McClean - reviewed - https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3494502002
and in the same series
The House of Lamentations - reviewed - https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4184499200
Forbidden Books of the Original New Testament by William Wake - reviewed - https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4171253572
and Later by Stephen King - reviewed - https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4123218748
my review of The Apothecary's Daughter by June Davies
3 and a half stars
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
My review of The Reckoning: Our Nation's Trauma and Finding a Way to Heal by Mary L. Trumphttps://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
I read The Captain's Daughter and Other Stories by Alexander Pushkin, translated from the Russian by Natalie Duddington.A delightful novella set in 18thC Russia with echoes of Sir Walter Scott. It has romance, a duel, a rebellion, a swashbuckling hero, and a damsel in distress. An entertaining read.
My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Another history book - Carlo Ginzburg's Ecstasies: Deciphering the Witches' Sabbath - reviewed - https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4184042648
I loved Michael Ondaatje's much lauded Warlight, which begins in London, 1945. Bomb flashes were what lit the way for those sneaking around during curfews - criminals, spies, and kids.Terrific read!
5★ Link to my Warlight review
Two reviews up now Cold Wind by Paige Shelton
3 and a half stars
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Learning to Love by Sheryl Browne
4 and a half stars
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
My review of The Pavilion in the Clouds: A new stand-alone novel by Alexander McCall Smith
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
I read The Girl with the Louding Voice by Abi Daré. A story about a girl growing up in Nigeria with a fierce determination to achieve her dream of becoming a teacher. The story was somewhat predictable, but her voice was powerful, compelling, and an absolute delight. My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
The Elephant's Girl by Celesta Rimingtonhttps://www.goodreads.com/review/show...?
Although written for the "middle grade" reader, this is a heart-warming story with some magical realism about identity, self-discovery, family and community, and a love of animals and the natural world.
My review of Black Noir: Mystery, Crime, and Suspense Fiction by African-American Writers edited by Otto Penzlerhttps://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Strange Bliss: Essential Stories is a collection of six of Katherine Mansfield's excellent, quirky short stories. People are just as selfish and awkward and silly today as they were when she was writing. 
Link to my review of Strange Bliss
Apples Never Fall is the latest from Aussie author Liane Moriarty. It's a family tree of tennis players, the kind of varied group of characters she's so well-known for. I wish I'd liked it better.
Link to my review of Apples Never Fall
I read Samarkand by Amin Maalouf; translated from the French by Russell Harris.A historical novel linking the two time frames of Omar Khayyam in 11th century Persia with an American in the early 20th century who goes on a quest to locate the original manuscript of the Rubaiyat. An interesting format and an engaging, educational read.
My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Family is the first in Owen Mullen's new Glass Family series. Two crime families vie for supremacy, but don't think the Glass siblings are the good guys!
Link to my review of Family
Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan is a little gem that tells a big story. Excellent!
5★ Link to my review of Small Things Like These
I read Three Apples Fell from the Sky by Narine Abgaryan, translated from the Russian by Lisa C. Hayden.A heart-warming, delightful book that reads like a fable. It's about the inhabitants of a remote village in the Armenian mountains. The aging population nurture and care for each other. It has an element of magical realism, but it is not obtrusive. It's a lovely story, beautifully told and beautifully translated. It reminded me a lot of Alina Bronsky's Baba Dunja's Last Love, which I also loved. I highly recommend it.
My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
This Chinese epic got 4.5 stars from me 
She Who Became the Sunhttps://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
My review of The Unusual Abduction of Avery Conifer by Ilsa Evans
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
I'm loving the Monkeewrench series by P.J. Tracy, thanks to all the readers who recommended them. Dead Run is chock-a-block with nail-biting thrills!
4.5★ Link to my Dead Run review
All About Books
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Authors mentioned in this topic
Ashley Kalagian Blunt (other topics)Daniel Suarez (other topics)
Willow Rose (other topics)
L.P. Hartley (other topics)
Luis Alberto Urrea (other topics)
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