2020 What are you reading and/or reviewing?

[Suze73]

I finished The Ghost Bride by Yangsze Choo. Interesting fantasy based on folktales from Malaysia. A 17 year old girl from a genteel but impoverished family is promised in marriage to the dead son of a wealthy family. She enters a world of ghosts and otherworldly creatures. Great sense of place, but the story dragged a bit. The book has been made into a Netflix series. 4/5 stars

[Jason]

I finished NEW WAVE: LAZARUS and now I'm on To Bee: A Budding Beekeeper’s Book: Beginner to Beekeeping? Discover How to Start Your First Hive in Your Own Backyard. Harvest Your Own Honey and Have Fun Doing It!

I review all the books I read now as I believe it's good for my karma 🙂

[John]

Finished NEVER ( Never) by Ken Follett. This is actually four stories, intertwined. There is Tamara (CIA) and Tab (DGSE) in the African country of Chad, Abdul (CIA undercover), Kiah, and Naji, also in Chad, and Chang Kai and his wife, Ting, in Beijing, China. The central figure is in Washington, DC, Pauline Green, the President of the US, her husband, Gerry, and fourteen year old daughter, Pippa. Ken Follett does an amazing job of weaving the activities of all of these people into a single story. There are a lot of twists and turns, some predictable, and some unpredictable. Four stars for this one.

John

[Suze73]

I finished Disappearing Earth by Julia Phillips. The story begins with the kidnapping of two young sisters. But the novel focuses on the lives of several women who, in some cases, seem only loosely tied to the case. It’s set in a remote part of Russia and gives an excellent view of life there. The writing is wonderful. You’ll be disappointed if you are looking for a fast paced, plot-driven thriller. But if you appreciate character-driven novels with interesting settings and wonderful writing, this is the book for you. 5/5 stars

[Jan]

I recently finished Go Tell the Bees That I Am Gone the latest in the Outlander series. It did not disappoint! It is the continuation of the Fraser Clan during the start of the American Revolution. 5 stars for me.
I also read a new one from Brian Selznick, Kaleidoscope. This was different from any of his other books. It is classified as YA. Very deep and thought provoking, but beautifully written. 4.5 stars

[⚡eli⚡]

Hi! Just finished The Love Hypothesis by A. Hazelwood. Easy, cute and funny read. Pretty much, while reading this book, I smiled. Don't know what that says about me, but I enjoyed this story :)

[John]

Finished Tom Clancy's CHAIN OF COMMAND (Tom Clancy Chain of Command) written by Marc Cameron. This is a Jack Ryan (Sr. & Jr.) novel, but these two are basically bystanders. A pharmaceutical magnate in India tries to discredit Jack, Sr. to prevent passage of a Pharmaceutical Reform Bill. The First Lady, Cathy Ryan, is in danger. All the resources of the Campus, and law enforcement agencies in and around central Texas are called on to prevent a major disaster. The body count is very high, as is normal for Clancy novels, regardless of who the actual author is. Four stars for this one.

John

[Jan]

The Soul of a Woman by Isabel Allende is a memoir of sorts about growing up in a male dominated world. She is a fascinating author. 5 stars.

[Suze73]

I finished Miss Moriarty, I Presume? by Sherry Thomas. It’s the latest entry in her Lady Sherlock series, which is a variation on Sherlock Holmes with a female as Holmes. It’s a fun series. 4/5 stars.

[Jan]

I just finished Jane and the Twelve Days of Christmas by Stephanie Barron. This was in the first book in this series that i have read. It is set in Jane Austen days and she is a slueth (besides author) that Seems to find mysteries to solve. I enjoyed this kind of Christmas book and may read more of the series. 4/5 stars

[John]

Finished DYNEWAVE (Dynewave) by K. Patrick Donaghue. This is the continuing space opera centered around the Rorschach Explorer Missions. A dormant magnetar in deep space threatens "wake up" and generate a gamma wave that will destroy Jupiter. Because of their relative proximity at the time, Earth will also be destroyed. Can a rescue mission, launched two years before, neutralize the magnetar in time to save Earth and Jupiter? Can a colonization mission be launched to the earth-like planet Tula in time to save some of civilization? Why didn't the Suhkai, a race of highly intelligent aliens, inform the humans of this possible problem a long time ago. How will the zikzaws, a belligerent electronic intelligence, factor into the ultimate resolution of the problem? There are a lot of questions to be answered in this story. Three stars for this one.

John

[John]

Happy New Year to everyone.

Started 2022 by finishing FURY IN THE GULF (Fury in the Gulf) by Peter Nealen. The birth of a brand new mercenary group--Brannigan's Blackhearts. Their first effort is directed at the rescue of a group of hostages held by a radical Islamic group in the Mediterranean. There are several groups, representing different aspects of Islamic terrorism, operating on the island, each with their own agenda. Brannigan and his crew are forced to make several "on-the-fly" adjustments in their effort to rescue the hostages without starting an all-out war in the Middle East. This one has a lot of action, an astronomical body count, and a few unexpected twists and turns. Three stars for this one.

Next in line is THUNDERBOLT (Thunderbolt) by M. L. Buchman.

John

[John]

Finished THUNDERBOLT (Thunderbolt) by M. L. Buchman. Miranda Chase is autistic, but she heads up the NTSB's #1 accident investigation team. She's quirky, flying around the country in a restored F-86 Sabre Jet. When the USAF loses several A-10 Thunderbolt II's in a 24 hour period, her team is called in to investigate. Zipping around from Washington state to Arizona, to Florida, and on to Washington, DC, the team works to pinpoint the cause (or causes) of the incidents. There are also a couple of back-stories which really are not resolved as the main story unfolds. Three stars for this one.

Next up is DEEP SLEEP (Deep Sleep) by Steven Konkoly. This is a new author for me, so I don't know what to expect.

John

[Suze73]

I finished Frenchman's Creek by Daphne Du Maurier. It’s an oldie but goodie. A married English woman is disgusted by her frivolous life among the aristocracy and escapes to a remote estate on the coast, only to discover it is being used as a part-time hideout by a dashing French pirate. It’s part romance, part swashbuckling adventure, and partly the story of a woman coming to terms with her choices in life. 5/5 stars

[Jan]

I started the year with a 5 star read: The Women of Chateau Lafayette by Stephanie Dray. A historical fiction written in three time lines/periods, it tells the story of Lafayette and his legacy.

[Suze73]

I finished Passing by Nella Larsen. It is a novella that was originally published in 1929. It tells the story of two childhood friends, both light-skinned African-Americans. One married a black doctor and is living in Harlem. The other is “passing” as white, having married a racist white man who does not know about her black lineage. They meet accidentally after not having seen each other for years and their lives become intertwined. Interesting look at attitudes and life at that time. It’s also a bit of a psychological thriller. It was recently made into a film. 5/5 stars

[John]

Finished DEEP SLEEP (Deep Sleep) by Steven Konkoly. Helen Gray is a CIA investigator who has uncovered what she believes is a vast sleeper network of Russian agents in the USA. However, she cannot get anyone in authority to believe her. When she dies under questionable circumstances, her son Devin is determined to follow up on her work. With retired CIA operative, Karl Berg, he becomes involved in a situation where he is both the hunter and the hunted. The action leaves bodies strewn across the landscape from Baltimore, MD to Branson, MO. This is the first in a series, so there are a lot of loose ends. Three stars for this one.

Next in line is THE SENATOR (The Senator) by Ken Fite.

John

[Jan]

The Book of Lost Names by Kristin Harmel is the story of WWII in France where two people that forge new identities for children who need to escape the atrocities of the Germans and the lives that are changed forever. It is a story of survival. 4 stars for me.

[John]

Finished THE SENATOR (The Senator) by Ken Fite. Senator Jim Keller is kidnapped just before he is scheduled to give a speech accepting his party's presidential nomination. Blake Jordan, a personal friend and former SEAL, is head of Keller's security detail. Jordan's efforts to locate and rescue Keller are stymied by a fractured relationship between the security detail and the FBI. When the kidnapper announces the time and date for the Senator's execution, everything switches into high gear. Who is the kidnapper, and why did he target the Senator? There are lots of questions, and even some answers, before all is said and done. Three stars for this one.

John

[Jan]

I enjoyed another of Simone St. James's spooky mysteries. The Sun Down Motel tells the story of lives affected by the infamous Sun Down Motel in two story lines. 4 stars.

[John]

Finished OKINAWA (Okinawa) by F. X. Holden. Karen "Bunny" O'Hare, the intrepid F-35 pilot and drone pilot is at it again. Working for DARPA, she is involved in the final testing of an AI controlled submersible at a facility on Okinawa. Suddenly, the submersible is hijacked, Japanese troops attack a US military facility on the island, and the Emperor of Japan dies. How are all of these events connected, and what is the rationale behind them? It will take all of Bunny's talents and resources to figure this one out. Three stars for this one.

John

[Suze73]

I finished Cloud Cuckoo Land by Anthony Doerr. The novel follows multiple threads set in different time periods, ranging from a young girl in 1400’s Constantinople to an American prisoner of war in Korea to an autistic eco-terrorist in present day Idaho to a spaceship in the future controlled by an AI presence. The threads are all tied together by an Ancient Greek manuscript. Definitely not a book for everyone, especially at over 600 pages. But it was beautifully written and I enjoyed it even though the ending left me scratching my head a bit. 5/5 stars

[Ruslan]

The Ideal Team Player - Patrick Lencioni

[John]

Finished ORBITAL (Orbital) by F. X Holden. It's 2033, and Alicia Rodriguiz and "Bunny" O'Hare are teamed up again, this time with the Space Force at the Cape Canaveral Complex. Russia has put a series of "artificial meteorite" weapons into earth orbit. Alicia and Bunny, with some help from the UK, are tasked to protecting the US and its allies. There is a lot of political intrigue, mostly Russian, and the body count is high. Is this is how future wars will be fought? We'll know in another decade.

Next in line is S. H. Jucha's RACE RIVALRY( Race Rivalry), a continuation of his SILVER SHIPS saga, a couple of centuries later.

John

[Jan]

Include me as a fan ofThe Thursday Murder Club. Retirees help the police solve murders. Easy read with some laughs and quirky characters. Ill be read the next one in the series. 4 stars

[Suze73]

I finished The Anthropocene Reviewed by John Green. It’s a wonderful book of short essays about a wide variety of topics. Insightful, humorous, and heartwarming. He has a podcast by the same name. He’s most famous for his YA novels Turtles All the Way Down and The Fault in Our Stars. 5/5 stars

[John]

Finished RACE RIVALRY (Race Rivalry) by S. H. Jucha. This is an extension of Jucha's SILVER SHIPS saga, several hundred years into the future. Alex and Renee have passed into history. but their legacy lives on. Newcomers Escher, Allie, and Ceda are poised to become the leading human characters in this new saga. Their efforts to contain the militant group of "sisters" continues, as a new possible threat arises. A previously unknown race, the Krackus have established a detention colony just one wormhole away. What are their intentions? Are they peaceful or warlike? Four stars for this one.

Next in line is THE ALEUTIAN PORTAL (The Aleutian Portal) by Christopher Cartwright.

John

[Suze73]

I finished Piranesi by Susanna Clarke. It got great reviews, so I decided to give it a try. Very strange novel set in an alternative world. The good-hearted Piranesi lives in a world of connected halls filled with statues, flooded by tides, and inhabited by birds and marine life. He spends his time caring for the bones of the deceased, exploring the halls, conducting research for the other person who lives in the halls, and recording everything in his journals. Beautifully written, but very weird. 4/5 stars.

[John]

Finished THE ALEUTIAN PORTAL (The Aleutian Portal) by Christopher Cartwright. Strange tale involving a 3000 mile long lava tube connecting the Diomedes in the Bering Sea to a Navajo village in Colorado. Sam Reilly, Fred Bowers, Jenn Brody, and U. S. Secretary of Defense make the trip, in a Humvee, no less. Along the way, they encounter drug smugglers and the "Death Stone" which can prevent the extinction of the human race, IF they can decipher the codes. Three stars for this one.

Next is some serious reading--SKIN TIGHT (Skin Tight) by Carl Hiaasen.

John

[Jan]

The Shadow Box was a good and quick read mystery. The power of political hierarchy often creates murderous monsters that will kill to cover their transgressions. This was the first book i have read by Luanne Rice. 4/5 stars

[John]

Finished SKIN TIGHT (Skin Tight) by Carl Hiaasen.
Mick Stranahan is a retired (with disability) state investigator. He and his partner only had one unsolved case-a college student who disappeared after having a nose job. Four years later, his
partner, on his deathbed, remembers something--the plastic surgeon involved had a brother who was a tree trimmer. Several other cases involving a specific plastic surgeon suddenly arise, and a lot of people are expecting Mick to lead them to the ultimate culprit. A lot of interesting characters in this story, especially the one suffering from electrolysis burns on his face. He also loses his left hand, above the wrist, to a barracuda. What does he replace it with? Read on and find out. Carl Hiaasen is on a roll. Three stars for this one.

John

[Suze73]

I finished The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab. A young woman in a village in France in 1714 doesn’t want to lead the ordinary, boring life that lies ahead of her if she marries the man she has been promised to. She prays to the gods to save her. The god that answers is a devilishly handsome god of the dark. She makes a deal for her freedom, not fully understanding the terms. She will go through life never aging, never dying, but no one will remember her. The moment she is out of sight, she is forgotten, and she can leave no mark in the world. And of course she must eventually surrender her soul to the god of the dark. The book was disappointing. It read like a YA romance novel. Not much character development and not much plot in a book that ran over 400 pages. The writing wasn’t awful, so I’ll give it 3/5 stars.

[Suze73]

I finished Home by Marilynne Robinson. This is the follow up to Gilead. It’s an exquisitely written story set in a small town in rural Iowa in the late 1950’s. The black sheep of the family returns to his elderly father’s home after being gone for 20 years. He arrives shortly after his sister returns home due to a failed romance. Beautifully and sensitively rendered portrait of family and small town relations. Very little plot. This is all about the characters. 5/5 stars.