I love when I learn something new from a book, and I almost always do with historical fiction. In this novel, I learned of the important role that the Chinese played in France during WW1. The story gave a good perspective from both the Chinese and the French side. I did the audio version, and found the narrators very good. I read this book as part of the Goodreads 52 Week Challenge.

I‘ll start by saying that I‘ve always loved the story of the Wizard of Oz.Wicked strayed from the original story a bit, but not enough to bother me. This book strayed a bit too far away for my liking. I hardly recognized any of the original characters or storyline. Maybe that is what the author intended.There are many questions left unanswered, but there are two more books in this series. I may or may not read them.

I‘m not sure how to rate this book. It was one of the most complicated books I‘ve ever read. I learned way more about Sir Isaac Newton and Alchemy than I‘d care to. Although I normally love stories about ghosts and magic, I didn‘t love this one. I can‘t say that the book was bad, because it was obvious that amount of research the author put into it. It was just way too technical for me, footnotes and all.

I did the audio version of this book. I enjoyed Meryl Streep as the narrator. During this story, a mother tells of her past to her 3 daughters. Her past included a romance with an actor who later became famous. She met him while playing Emily on a play called “Our Town”. This author writes beautifully, like a poet. The morale of this story is family. I thought this book was very good, and I recommend it.

This story is going to stay with me a long time. It was educational, entertaining, suspenseful, and haunting. I learned a lot about the islands on the outer banks of Australia. I also learned a lot about botany and seed vaults. This was my Book of the Month club pick for March 2025. I‘ve read so many books I would never have otherwise heard about thanks to this book club. The end of this book was especially good. I couldn‘t put it down.

I had never heard of Winnie Ruth Judd or of the “Trunk Murders” before reading this book. The story was riveting! It‘s hard to believe what this woman did and nearly got away with. The story starts in 1931, when the protagonist arrives at the LA airport with trunks that contained dismembered bodies. It just got stranger from there. Im glad that this book is pick for a book club that I belong to, otherwise I may not have read it.

I seriously considered putting this book down after a few chapters. I‘ll be honest, I didn‘t like it at all at first. I‘m so glad I stuck with it. It went from bad and confusing to great very quickly. I love books that include magic. This story has a lot of that. It also has unforgettable characters. This is the first book in a series that I know I will continue. I‘m not a huge fan of the fantasy genre, but it didn‘t matter with this book.

This was definitely one of the best audiobooks I‘ve listened to.It never lost my interest. I have the pleasure of knowing this author and am in her bookclub. This is the third bookI‘ve read by her, and none of them have disappointed.I always learn something from her books. I enjoyed the in depth explanations of poisons and. Chemistry in this story. I encountered a surprise at the end of the book. I highly recommend this book.

Before reading this book, I had never heard of the explosion in the Halifax harbor. While I enjoy learning new things, I can‘t imagine what these people went through. Many of them lost their entire families, even their children. This book took us through the lives of two families who lost almost everything in the disaster. The main morale of this story is that family is everything.

I visited New Orleans twice. I purchased find book on my second visit.I wish I‘d read it before I visited.It definitely makes me want to go back!This book is non-fiction, but it doesn‘t read as such.I felt glued to the pages and to the characters.I googled many locations and street addresses. I also googled the 9 individuals who were interviewed and was pleased to see that some are still in the city. I have to go back and visit Joanne‘s Kajun Pub

I love this author. I didn‘t love this book. I‘m not one for short stories, but I thought I‘d try it out. The first few stories were good. Then I got to then longest story at the end. It didn‘t interest me at all. I felt like I was watching an episode of Dragnet, monotone voice and all. (I did the audio version). This is the 3rd book I‘ve read Amor Towles. The first 2 were excellent. I hope he goes back to the writing style I‘m used to.

This book was quirky, but in a good way.As the author will tell you in his note at the end,it is a bit weird.I really fell for these characters,and deeply felt their feelings of sadness towards the end.This book reminded me a bit of ET. There‘s nothing like a lovable little space creature, or a”space princess”in this case. This is the second book I‘ve read by TJ Klune. I will be reading more. I recommend this book,it‘s an action packed love story

This book is a tough one to rate. So much hype! First off, fantasy is not my go-to genre. I felt that it was written for a younger audience (and it probably was). This doesn‘t mean it was badly written. It had way too many “fight” scenes, which don‘t interest me. I do like the concept of dragons. Other than that, I feel that this book was just so-so. I lost likely won‘t read the other books in the series.

I‘ve been wanting to read this book for a while. I like every book I‘ve read by this author so far. Ordinary Grace had some many life lessons in its pages, forgiveness being one of the biggest lessons. This novel was made of a mixture of genres. It was action packed, and it contained a mystery. This is one of the better books I‘ve read, so I gave it 5 ⭐️s. I highly recommend this book.

I did the audio version of this book. I like the way that this story was laid out. A student interviews a nursing home resident for a class project. The student didn‘t expect the what would come of that. The book turned very suspenseful. It seemed a bit drawn out towards the end. All in all, this was a good book.

This book started out slow. I began to doubt that I could stick with it. I‘m so glad that I didn‘t give up. What a read! I learned so much about the Assyrian Empire it seems unreal to me that these times existed at that some of the events described in the story really happened. It seems even more unreal that we‘re able to read about them all of these centuries later. This was a very good book! This young author is excellent.

This book is based on a popular podcast featuring Demi Moore.If you‘re offended by stories that contain soft porn, this book isn‘t for you because it sure did contain a lot of that. This book deals with many real life topics that affect marriage. I found it ironic how the protagonist‘s relationship with her husband took a complete 360 by the end of the book. I found the storyline to be so-so..

*spoiler alert• I did the audio version of this book. It was ok, but left me wanting more. More for the book, and more for the protagonist. I wanted her to her what she wanted. But, this book was written more for the reality of the times. I think my biggest issue is it‘s the same story many of us have heard time and time again. Nothing really happened to change things up. Life isn‘t fair, and this book portrays that well.

**spoiler alert** This book had a lot going on. Maybe too much? It was very convoluted, especially towards the end. The map at the beginning of the book gave it a fantasy feel, when it was in fact a thriller. The horrible deed that the protagonist did didn‘t seem believable for his character. It came out of nowhere. This book was a quick read, and it kept me interested until the end.

I had to re-read this book before I watch the movie. I had read it years ago, and remembered liking it. It was just as good as I remembered. It‘s a very intense, politically driven story. I think that parts of it can be interpreted differently, and it did leave me with a few questions. It wasn‘t until the very end that Dorothy and her crew appeared in the story. I do like the way that the loose ends seemed to come together at the end.

I liked The Ten Thousand Doors of January so much more than I liked this book. I did the audio version. I had a very hard time following it. I did like the setting, a creepy old house. I didn‘t care for any of the characters. I had a hard time understanding the relationship between Opal and Arthur. This book was just so-so.

This book is truly magical. It‘s set in Alaska, a place I long to visit. It‘s based on a children‘s book in which an older couple longed for a child that they could not have. Along came a magical snow child who could only survive in the cold. I love the description of the coat that Mabel made for the snow child in the version I read. I also loved the descriptions of the Alaska wilderness.I don‘t know that I could survive an Alaskan winter though

Finally, a book that lived up to the hype! The story was a retelling of Huckleberry Finn from the slave‘s point of view. I‘ll admit, I‘ve never read the original book. This inspires me to. I loved the main character, James. He seems like a man I‘d be proud to know. A good way to describe this book is “adventurous” and “tense”. I found it to be a very quick read, and highly recommended it.

This was a very quick read, or should I say “listen” as I did the audio version. It was a very simple RomCom. No surprises. It was a pleasant story, but probably not memorable. It‘s hard to write a review on a book that was just pretty mediocre. It certainly wasn‘t bad.

I‘ve been reading old Anne Rice books lately.She was amazing,and this book didn‘t disappoint.It was intense! What made her think of these stories?It started slow, and required a lot of attention.By the end of the book I wondered if some of what was written about really happened.There are many things that the public are not told about.When I first started reading this novel, I never thought I‘d be giving it a 5 star rating,but here I am.5 stars.

I definitely recommend the audio version of this book! The multiple narrators did a wonderful job. I especially loved the special effects that were pulled into the narration, which made parts sound like a real pod cast. The storyline was intriguing, and kept me fully engaged until the end. I don‘t like that I was left with questions at the end. I like when things are wrapped up tightly with a bow. All in all, this was a good book.

How can I put into words how much I loved this book? I loved every bit of this 715 page story! Not a word of it felt drawn out, and I didn‘t want it to end. I learned so much about India, about surgery, about leprosy, about politics in India, and more! I loved so many of the characters and began to feel that I knew them personally. I highly recommend this book!

This author doesn‘t disappoint. This is the 2nd book I‘ve read by her. I did the audio version, and both narrators were very good. The story kept me guessing right up until the end. Thrillers aren‘t usually my thing, but this book was an exception. I‘ll definitely be reading more by this author.

What a book! I haven‘t read Anne Rice in a very long time. Her descriptions of the cities and towns her story takes place in are in point. Such a poet! And who doesn‘t love a good ghost story? This book was published in 1997, what have I been waiting for? Anna is the reason that I had to visit New Orleans and walk thru the Garden District. I saw one of her homes. Now I feel I have to see Rio. Her stories pull me to the locations she writes about.

Another book in the books involving the WW2 topic. So different than any other I‘ve read. I never knew that the nazis had also invaded Greece. I liked the way this book took place over several decades and in several different countries. I also like the way it ties the lives of the 4 main characters together. I did the audio version, and the narrator was very good. I recommend this book.

Seems I‘ve been reading a lot of books about people being kidnapped or lost in the woods lately. Must be a trend. This book had a twist which made it different than the others. I certainly wouldn‘t want to go through the things that Ellie Black and bad “sisters” went through. This book was definitely a page turner. The end did not disappoint.

This is my book clubs February read. I‘m ahead of the game. I really like this book. I also liked “the yellow wife” by the same author. The subject matter made me feel so sad for these women. That made the characters both relatable and likable. I gave this book 5 stars and I highly recommend it.

This book was quirky. That‘s the best way I can describe it. Almost every character had some type of a strange behavioral issue. They did the strangest things! In the end, and what I got out of it, is that neighbors help neighbors and friends help friends. This book is also about superstitions. It‘s crazy the lengths people take to avoid certain things. Not a bad book, but not really my type.

I‘m not sure if I would have picked this book up if I knew what it was about. It‘s a very controversial topic that is on the forefront lately. I do not hate, but I definitely have different thoughts than the author on this topic. I don‘t think that makes either me or the author wrong. That being said, this book was very good. I was engrossed in the story until the very end. It may have even opened my eyes a bit on this topic.

What a nice story this was. I did the audio version and really liked it. I‘m usually not much for romance novels, but this book was an exception. Most of the characters were likable. The story did have a serious side to it, as it touched on depression and insecurity. I think the author wrote to both of these issues well. I didn‘t realize that this book was part of a series. It does well as a stand alone.

I don‘t often read memoirs. I don‘t find them as interesting as other books. This book confirmed my belief. It wasn‘t bad, I just didn‘t find it very interesting. I felt like I was being preached to at times. I found myself speed reading through it so I could get to my next book. There were some good parts. I liked the sections where the author described her experiences with patients in the ER. I‘ll probably stay away from memoirs for a while.

This was a tough read for me. It got into very technical political issues, and it required a lot of attention so that I didn‘t get lost. This doesn‘t mean it wasn‘t a good book. Every book I‘ve read by this author has been good. I didn‘t realize I was reading #17 in the series. It didn‘t matter. It was good as a stand alone book. I‘ll definitely be reading more of William Kent Krueger‘s books.

I had no idea what this book was about before I opened the cover. I‘m glad I didn‘tu, because I might not have read it. I‘ve read so many books from the WW2 era that I didn‘t think there could possibly be another good one. Boy, was I wrong. The fact that there were many stories within one story was amazing. It is possible to learn more about a topic you thought you already knew a lot about. I also love the budding relationship in this book.

A friend gave me this book. It took me over a year to finally get to it. Wish I hadn‘t waited so long! It really is a remarkable book. I loved the story line and the suspense. I couldn‘t wait to find out what happened to Joy. I grew to despise Savannah, and still do. The only downfall was the pandemic talk at the end. I‘d prefer to leave that behind forever as I was one who didn‘t like to follow the rules that we have since found out were useless

This book has been on my TBR forever it seems. It was a quick, good read. It‘s a “who done it” which I don‘t usually like-but this was a good one! I wasn‘t sure that I liked the way that the main character was portrayed at first, but I understand why it was written the way it was, especially at the end. I‘m glad I finally read this book. I understand that there are more in this series which I‘ll most likely read.

Another book club read. It just wasn‘t for me. Maybe because I did it as an audio book? Maybe because I wasn‘t interested in the topic? Maybe I wasn‘t able to fully comprehend it due to current events? Either way, it was very well written and narrated. I did learn a thing or 2 about the unionization of coal mining. Just too many old western type shoot outs for me.

This book was very good. It was almost a 5 star for me. Almost. While I really liked it, it felt like something was missing at the end. I do love the way the author included a timeline at the top of the chapters. This really helped me to keep track. I also love that the story takes place in the Adirondacks, as I‘ve spent time there. Not sure that this book deserved all of the hype, but I‘d still recommend it.

Well, this read was certainly a tear jerker. It definitely isn‘t the book I thought it‘d be when I picked it up. I‘ll admit, it was slow at times and I learned way more about open heart surgery and heart transplants than I‘ll ever need to know. The story may have been about the physical heart, but it was also about the heart‘s ability to love. I‘ve had this book on my TBR for so long. I‘m happy I finally took the time to read it. It was very good

To anyone who found this book slow at first, and wondered where in the heck it was going- you‘re not alone.I‘m so glad I stuck with it, as it‘s now up there as one of my favorites. Many of the characters will live in my heart forever. I could not put this book down once I reached the halfway point. As a bonus, the story contains recipes, many of which I plan on trying. I highly recommend this book!!

This was a very good book! It involves a dual timeline and went back and forth between biblical times and the 1950s. I usually prefer one timeline story over the other; but in this case, I loved them both. Without any spoilers, I can‘t believe the similarities in events that took place in the 2 periods. I did a mix between a physical and audio book. The narrators were wonderful! I highly recommend this book.

After a chapter or so, it became apparent that I was reading a YA book. I don‘t read that genre often, so I wasn‘t sure I‘d like this novel. It turns out that I did. It had a simple story line with simple characters. It was a bit of a love story. It was both happy and sad (mostly sad really). I decided to read this book because I like the author. This wasn‘t her best work, in my opinion, but it kept me reading.

After a chapter or so, it became apparent that I was reading a YA book. I don‘t read that genre often, so I wasn‘t sure I‘d like this novel. It turns out that I did. It had a simple story line with simple characters. It was a bit of a love story. It was both happy and sad (mostly sad really). I decided to read this book because I like the author. This wasn‘t her best work, in my opinion, but it kept me reading.

This book had many stories within the story. There was the story about the female thief, the female cop, the little runaway girl of Indian heritage and her dog, the female shopkeeper, and the female restaurant owner. The common theme is strong females. Most of the men characters weren‘t good people. I read this book for a bookclub I belong to. It‘s pretty good!

Yet another spooky read for the spooky season! While this wasn‘t one of my favorite books, I love that much of it took place in Edinburgh, Scotland. The area fascinates me. I was lucky enough to have visited it years ago. The story went back and forth between 2 periods, one in the 1500s and one modern day. I can tell that a lot of research went into writing this book.

What a fitting read for the spooky season! Warning, this book is very risqué. If you don‘t like that sort of thing, don‘t read it. I love the way the author blended romance with horror with drama. I also loved the gothic feel of this book. I‘ve always loved New Orleans and the fact that this story took place there is a huge plus for me. I don‘t think I‘d have survived the phantasma games!