Lisa Lawrence > Recent Status Updates

This is a great story! I had a bit of a struggle getting into it, fearing it would be a predictable “accuse the wrong person” type of mystery. Instead, the development of the characters has drawn me in and created lots of interest! Ms. Davis has skills!

If Maia falls for the author who is squiring her around Rio, it will be such a cliche. Otherwise, I love this historical mystery and romance, all tied up with the Cristo!

Slow start for me, but picking up quickly. Natalie’s misery in her work and a lackluster relationship conveyed a weak character, full of fear but wedded to security and safety. A crisis moved Natalie to action, where she returned home to an old, valuable building in San Francisco and the care of a failing grandfather and a failing bookstore business.

Charming story of Natalie and her grandfather, who is senile and frail but the firm owner of a building in San Francisco that contains a failing bookstore and his lifelong home. Secrets in the walls are discovered as repairs are made.

A reader can’t go wrong with a book about a bookstore, but this one sure is taking its time to get there.

I have read another book about the massacre, so this one seems repetitive. I am enjoying the interviews of survivors. However, I’m not impressed with the wordy writing of the author; the quality of the images and graphics is poor. Ugh.

I love this story, both Isabella and Laurent in Paris, as well as Maia in Rio. Listen to the musical language! The best!

He buys a farm and wants to call it Fair Fields, but Laura and the girls call it Mudbound b/c the heavy rains often flood the bridge and trap them on the property. The foreshadowing of a tragedy between the two brothers and Laura, doubtless provoked by the disgusting father Pappy, is hinted early on.

I enjoyed the legal story of the manumission of Somersett, but the intrigues of Franklin and other revolutionaries are tedious and long.

The accents of French and Portuguese are delightful and melodious. The history of the Christ statue in Rio is told through the parallel stories of two women. Isabelle appears to be the unknown ancestor of Maia, though how that occurred is yet to be revealed.

A sweet romance alongside a family mystery. Not remarkable, but a pleasant diversion.

10

About to quit ...

So good! Brazilian history and culture - plus a mystery.

Amazing how much I have learned through this book!

Even reading the interlude ahead of the main text, this book is slow going. Too many details, too much political intrigue that seems subordinate to Franklin and the American colonies. Will plod on...

Dani does a strong job of communicating her sense of “otherness” and the secrecy in the atmosphere of her childhood home. I am unsure if I would react as strongly as she did to the news of a different biological father; the man she knew as a father seemed to have a powerful bond with her despite the biology.

Excellent! Maia and her sisters, named from the Pleiades, now confronting their unknown origins after the death of their beloved adoptive father, “Pa Salt.” I like meeting each of the girls and learning their personalities.

Started audio. Maia, an English accent, the oldest sister...

Powerful, intense, tragic, and fast-paced. I love it! The title itself has a much different meaning than I expected.

This is quite interesting, but it feels like a school assignment instead of recreational. Plowing through and learning, regardless!

Conspiracy feel to the beginning in author’s note. Text is good, so far.

Excellent. Love the Yiddish heard on audio. 😁

Oooh. Go Morris. Jewish guy w/ moxie vs. the bullies grown up. Yiddish on audio is delightful!

“Everybody needs a mother. Even grown-ups need a mother. If you ever need a mother so badly you can’t stand it, come back and see me again. I have a big vacancy in that department.” Theresa/Annie breaks down when James’ mother offers to stand in as a mother. “Stop pretending you don’t need anything and that you don’t hurt.” This girl has a tough facade because that is her coping mechanism.

I didn’t appreciate the scope of this book when I skimmed it the first time. Now, I do. So many titles and authors new to me.

Funny.