Friends Sharing Book Love discussion
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Book Reviews
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Books You’re on the Fence About - 2023
Send For Me – Lauren Fox – 3***
This is an historical fiction work set both in 1930s Germany and in contemporary Wisconsin, that tells the one family’s story. There were parts of the novel I really liked, when I was completely engaged and caught up in the story. But there were other parts that just fell flat for me. I think this is my fault; I am just so over the dual timeline in historical fiction.
My full review HERE
I read
Run to Ground by Katie Ruggle. She is a new author for me.My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
I just finished Seasonal Work
Short stories by Laura Lippman. Uneven content. My 3.5 star review:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Playing with Fire by Mary Burton 3-StarsA good Romantic-Suspense, at least in some spots
My Review
Taken by Lisa Marie Rice 4-StarsIs it obsession or is it love?
My Review
Run Rose Run - James Patterson & Dolly Parton -(Tennessee)
3 stars
Review:https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
I'm the outlier on this one but I really was underimpressed with this one
3* review
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Middle of the road. You'd have to be in the mood for this:Just finished this audio on the way to work.
by Eckhart TolleMy review, 3 stars:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
I finished Gun Barons: The Weapons That Transformed America and the Men Who Invented Them
by John Bainbridge Jr..My 4 star review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Mod
The Secret World of Connie Starr by Robbi Nealhttps://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Completed "The Surgeon's Daughter" by Audrey Blake.
I would have liked it a lot more if I had known it was a sequel and had read the first book. The story is a continuation and no character background is provided. Worth reading if you go in series order. 3.5 stars.
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
"Everything in Between" by Italian-Australian writer Valerie G. Miller.
Expected a lot more from this anthology. 3 stars.
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Subpar Parks – Amber Share – 3***
You can’t please all of the people all of the time, but a 1-star review of the Grand Canyon (“A hole. A very, very, large hole.”)? Share is an avid fan of the USA’s National Parks and had to shake her head at such comments. Inspired, she painted some wonderful depictions, graced with the clueless remarks of seriously underwhelmed visitors, added genuinely helpful descriptions of what the parks had to offer, including Native American culture and significance, and put together this entertaining and informative book.
My full review HERE
I just finished Peril at the Exposition
I loved the first book in the series, but this one was just ok. My review:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
My review of An Elderly Lady Must Not Be Crossed by Helene Turstenhttps://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Elizabeth Blackwell: Girl Doctor – Joanne Landers Henry – 3.5***
This is part of a series for middle-school readers about the “Childhood of Famous Americans.” This fictionalized biography focuses on Elizabeth Blackwell’s childhood in England and the United States, the incidents that piqued her interest in healing, and her constant goal to become a doctor and practice medicine. It is both entertaining and informative.
LINK to my full review
I really enjoyed the first part of How to Find Your Way in the Dark
but the ending was too slow for my taste. My 3.5 star review:https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
The House of Broken Angels – Luis Alberto Urrea – 3.5***
A large Mexican-American family plans a get-together for the patriarch’s birthday. I have read two of Urrea’s novels previously and am a fan of his writing. He peoples the work with a wide variety of characters and balances tender scenes against highly comic ones or anxiety-producing tragic occurrences. I do wish I had had a family tree handy, however.
LINK to my full review
What My Sister Knew - Nina Laurin
3.Stars
Review:https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
It did have lots of potential.
Finally completed "The Witch's Tree" by Elena Collins. 
I slogged through this one, but most readers seem to have loved it. An outlier 2.5 stars review.
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
I finished listening to
Secret Remains by Jennifer Graeser Dornbush.My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Dying Light - Stuart MacBride - (Scotland)
5 Stars
Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
I had forgotten how annoying some of the characters were:)
Olga Dies Dreaming – Xochitl Gonzalez – 2.5** (rounded up)
I really wanted to like this. I’d heard the author in a virtual event and felt her enthusiasm for the story and for her characters. I liked that her focus was on two successful siblings and their rise to those positions, and on the issues of living up to expectations (our own and those of our parents and community). But I never warmed up to the characters, even though I like how Gonzalez portrayed the siblings’ relationship.
LINK to my full review
Book Concierge wrote: " Olga Dies Dreaming
– Xochitl Gonzalez – 2.5** (rounded up)
I really wanted to like this. I’d heard the author in a virtual event and felt her enthusiasm..."
If you're doing an alphabet challenge anywhere you have an X author, so it's not a total loss:)
My 3 star review of Thank You, Next
by Andie J. Christopher:https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
GhosTV - Jordan Castillo Price - (California)
3.5 Stars
Review:https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
A Fall of Marigolds – Susan Meissner – 3***
A vibrantly printed scarf connects two women across a century; both lost someone in a horrific tragedy, both experience grief, guilt and PTSD. Meissner does a good job of weaving these stories together and moving back and forth in time across a century to explore the common elements. I liked Clara’s story better than that of Taryn, probably because of it’s setting on Ellis Island. Both women struggle with the ethical dilemma of what (and when, if ever) to reveal or withhold to others. My F2F book club had quite the discussion about this.
LINK to my full review
3* for this entertaining, if predictable, mystery/thriller from Audible
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
My 3 star review of Cowboy Wolf Outlaw
by Kait Ballenger:https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Entertaining. However, it was short on the suspense that is usually in this series.
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Friends Sharing Book Love
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I think I’m burned out on WWII fiction. My three star review:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show..."
Me too, Liz. The stories have started getting repetitive, especially the dual timeline ones. I am taking a break from WWII novels for now. :(