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Cathyloves2read

Cathyloves2read

Joined July 2019

F*ck off. I‘m reading.
review
Cathyloves2read
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Pickpick

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.

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Cathyloves2read
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Pickpick

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.

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Cathyloves2read
The House of Eve | Sadeqa Johnson
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Pickpick

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.

TheBookHippie I agree. I loved both and had similar feelings. 1w
9 likes1 comment
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Cathyloves2read
This Time Next Year | Sophie Cousens
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Mehso-so

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.

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Cathyloves2read
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Pickpick

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.

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Cathyloves2read
Just for the Summer | Abby Jimenez
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Pickpick

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.

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Cathyloves2read
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Mehso-so

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.

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Cathyloves2read
Desolation Mountain: A Novel | William Kent Krueger
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Pickpick

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.

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Cathyloves2read
The Storyteller | Jodi Picoult
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Pickpick

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 pop many stories within this story were 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.

11 likes1 stack add
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Cathyloves2read
Apples Never Fall | Liane Moriarty
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Pickpick

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

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Cathyloves2read
The Maid | Nita Prose
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Pickpick

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.

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Cathyloves2read
Rednecks: A Novel | Taylor Brown
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Mehso-so

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.

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Cathyloves2read
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Pickpick

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.

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Cathyloves2read
When Crickets Cry | Charles Martin
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Pickpick

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

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Cathyloves2read
Briar Club | Kate Quinn
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Pickpick

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!!

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Cathyloves2read
The Seventh Veil of Salome | Silvia Moreno-Garcia
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Pickpick

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.

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Cathyloves2read
Slammed (Slammed, #1) | Colleen Hoover
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Mehso-so

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.

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Cathyloves2read
Slammed (Slammed, #1) | Colleen Hoover
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Mehso-so

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.

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Cathyloves2read
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Pickpick

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!

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Cathyloves2read
The Book of Witching | C. J. Cooke
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Mehso-so

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.

8 likes1 stack add
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Cathyloves2read
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Pickpick

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!

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Cathyloves2read
Murder Road | Simone St. James
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Pickpick

This was our book club‘s October pick. Perfect read for the season. Simone St. James is always good for a creepy read. This one kept me interested from beginning to end. I love a good ghost story, and this fit the bill!! This isn‘t the first book I‘ve read by this author, and it won‘t be the last. I‘m not sure if I‘d ever take a ride on “Murder Road”. I don‘t want to meet the “Lost Girl”!

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Cathyloves2read
We Were the Lucky Ones | Georgia Hunter
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Mehso-so

Being an historical fiction buff, I‘ve read a lot of books on this topic. This book was as good, if not better, than the others I‘ve read. I read it In anticipation of watching the series on Hulu. I don‘t know if I‘d have otherwise read it. I can‘t say I didn‘t like it, as it was very good. I think I‘ve just read too many books about this era.

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Cathyloves2read
The Kindest Lie: A Novel | Nancy Johnson
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Pickpick

I had no idea what I was getting into when I picked up this book. It was a hand me down from my mom. Turns out, it‘s a story about race and class. I wasn‘t sure I wanted to continue to read it at first, but I kept going and am glad that I did. It wasn‘t an action packed book, it just was a story about life. I enjoyed getting to know the characters. All in all, this was a very good debut novel.

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Cathyloves2read
The House on Biscayne Bay | Chanel Cleeton
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Mehso-so

After just arriving home from a very hot week at Disney World, the first sentence of this book made sense. “I cannot for the life of me imagine why anyone would want to live in Florida.” However, the mansion in this novel sounded absolutely beautiful, and definitely took on a life of its own. It definitely wasn‘t one of the more interesting books I‘ve read. I‘m not really into mysteries.

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Cathyloves2read
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Pickpick



This book started out slow for me, but I‘m so glad I stuck with it. What a story! I‘ve found that Kate Quinn‘s books are always good. I had never heard of the Ukrainian Lady Death. She sure lead a crazy life as a sniper. She is someone I‘d definitely want on my side during conflict. This is the second book I‘ve read recently that touched on FDR and Eleanor. I enjoy their story as well. I recommend this book.

13 likes1 stack add
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Cathyloves2read
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Mehso-so

This is one of those books that I‘ve been trying to get to forever. I started it years ago, and just finally finished it. I found it to be very sentimental. Everyone probably knows someone like Elsa‘s grandma, who did so much for Elsa out of love. I found the portions (and there were many of them) about the fairy tales to be a little much. I think I would have gotten the point with less. I am glad to have finally finished this book.

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Cathyloves2read
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Pickpick

What a cute story! I smiled almost throughout. Parts of it seemed a little “golden girlish” to me, but I think that was probably the author‘s plan. I read about beautiful Goldie celebrating her 80th birthday while I celebrate my 60th. It makes me realize that I have plenty of life left. It was a very quick read that I‘d recommend to anyone who needs a lift.

LiteraryinPA Aww, that sounds delightful! 3mo
10 likes1 stack add1 comment
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Cathyloves2read
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Pickpick

I so want to visit the magical world that is portrayed in this book! Magical is a perfect word to describe this story. Unicorns, mermaids, palaces, queens, etc. As with the real world, there is also evil. This magical book is also a love story. I‘ll admit that parts of it seemed slow to me, but I‘m still rounding up my rating. Such a good story.

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Cathyloves2read
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Pickpick

I love books about circuses,carnivals, medical shows, etc.I can see the colors as I read.I also tend to like the characters in these types of books. They‘re generally very sincere and lovable. Most of the characters in this book lived up to my expectations. Of course,there‘s always the villain.This is the first story I were read about the 1900 Galveston hurricane. That section of the book was also very interesting.All in all, this was a great read

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Cathyloves2read
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Pickpick

OMG-READ THIS BOOK!! The writing style took some getting used to, but once it clicked in, I couldn‘t put this book down. I didn‘t want it to end. I laughed out loud at times, especially at young Charlotte‘s witty comments. I also cried. I sang along with songs mentioned in the story. (While Mona Lisa‘s and Mad Hatters…). There was so much LOVE between these pages. “And I thank the Lord there‘s people out there like you…”, author Chris Whitaker!

BarbaraBB Very much looking forward to it! 3mo
9 likes1 comment
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Cathyloves2read
Bright Young Women | Jessica (Author) Knoll
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Mehso-so

I heard many good things about this book. It was a bit of a disappointment for me. I didn‘t find it all that interesting. It basically tells the Ted Bundy story from the victims point of view. I can see this book being made into an either a movie or a series, although I think it‘s been done before. Maybe that‘s why I didn‘t find this story all that riveting.

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Cathyloves2read
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Pickpick

I enjoyed almost everything about this book. It was a great story that made me really think about the many aspects of life. Honestly, the end was a bit of a letdown. I was hoping it would go in another direction. It left me wanting more. I need to know what ends up happening to the protagonist. Does she end up finding love? Maybe there will be a sequel.

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Cathyloves2read
America | Mike Bond
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Mehso-so

This book isn‘t quite what I thought it would be. I expected more sex, drugs and rock & roll. The story jumped from topic to topic very quickly. The author made his political views very evident, but there were times that he delved so deeply into issues that I became lost. I did like this book enough to continue on with the series, hoping it gets better. I also plan to read books on other topics written by this author.

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Cathyloves2read
The River We Remember: A Novel | William Kent Krueger
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Pickpick

This story kept me guessing until the end. As with all of William Kent Kruger‘s books, it was beautifully written. Nobody can describe a landscape or piece of nature like he can. I did get lost in the amount of characters in the story. So many made it hard to keep track of. As with most (or all) of this authors books, there is a Native American tie in. I end up learning so much about their history when I read these books.

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Cathyloves2read
The Last Girl | Joe Hart
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Mehso-so

This wasn‘t a badly written book, it just wasn‘t for me. A woman in a dystopian world who is trying to escape from her captors who are holding her in hopes of her coming pregnant. Seems it‘s been done before. This book was part one of a series which I most likely won‘t continue.

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Cathyloves2read
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Mehso-so

It seemed to me that this story took a long time to go much of anywhere. Things just seemed to move very slowly. I do love reading and learning about the old historic buildings of NYC. I especially enjoyed learning about the public library that I‘d love to visit someday. I am a member of the library online, which is the best I can do for now. I found this book to be just “middle of the road”. I‘ve read and liked other books by this author better.

13 likes1 stack add
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Cathyloves2read
White Ivy: A Novel | Susie Yang
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Mehso-so

I found this book at the dollar tree. The story started out good. By the middle, I wondered where it was going. By the end, I thought what the heck? The female protagonist was consistently a horrible person from beginning to end. This wasn‘t a bad book, but I wouldn‘t recommend it. I guess you get what you pay for.

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Cathyloves2read
Nineteen Steps | Millie Bobby Brown
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Pickpick

Such a good story, even if it was a little predictable. I‘m trying to determine if the trampling in the subway vacation site actually happened. Either way, it was a horrific part of the story. The characters were all likable, and the female protagonist was very strong. I read this book as part of the Goodreads 52 week challenge- written by a ghostwriter. I may have not run across it otherwise, but am glad that I did.

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Cathyloves2read
The Violin Conspiracy | Brendan Slocumb
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Pickpick

Another great book! Very educational and informative, especially regarding the lack of minorities in classical music. This book sends a powerful message. The authors note was even great. I was dismayed to hear that the author experienced much of the discrimination that he wrote about personally. That is most likely what made the story so realistic. I couldn‘t wait to find out what happened to the violin!! I highly recommend this book.

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Cathyloves2read
The Lion Women of Tehran | Marjan Kamali
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Pickpick

What a beautiful book! It‘s a story about strong woman in Iran who had a very strong friendship. It‘s about forgiveness and love. I learned a lot about life in Iran and about how it changed for the worse over the years. I sympathize with the strong women who live there, for whom freedom is just a dream. Reading this book reminded me of how fortunate am to be free. I highly recommend this book and gave it 5 ⭐️s.

Bookwormjillk I loved this one too 5mo
17 likes2 stack adds1 comment
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Cathyloves2read
Holly: A Novel | Stephen King
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Considering I have the opposite political views and the opposite views regarding Covid than Mr. King, I really liked this book. It would have been a 5 ⭐️ if it didn‘t talk down to those who think like I do. That being said, I couldn‘t wait to see how it would all pull together at the end. I like almost every book written by Stephen King. This book wasn‘t an exception.

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Cathyloves2read
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Pickpick

I never in a million years thought I‘d love a book about a western gunslinger. Was I wrong!! This story even made me grow fond of Butch Cassidy. Of course, I always envision Robert Redford‘s blue eyes when I think of him. This book is definitely a 5 ⭐️ read for me. It helped me learn a lot a lot the Wild West and the people who lived back in that era.

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Cathyloves2read
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Mehso-so

While this was a good story, it didn‘t move fast enough for me at times. I read a lot of historical fiction. This book just seemed more “historical” to me. It just didn‘t pull me in the way many other books do. That being said, I did find it to be well written. I did learn a lot about the role that the city of Philadelphia played in abolition. There were many things I didn‘t know before I read this book.

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Cathyloves2read
Creation Lake: A Novel | Rachel Kushner
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Mehso-so

Thank you, Goodreads, for this ARC. The best part about this book is that I learned a lot about the stars, the sea and early prehistoric life. I found the story very hard to follow. I‘m not sure who the American “spy” was out to get. I‘m also not sure why she was perusing them. Things just got very complicated at times, for me anyhow.

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Cathyloves2read
Last Letter | Rebecca Yarros
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Pickpick

I didn‘t know this book was a romance novel when I selected it. I‘m usually not into romance, but this story was good. It was certainly a tear jerker. I read this book because it fit a prompt in a book challenge that I participate in, otherwise I might not have picked it up. I‘m glad to be in the challenge because it broadens my horizons.

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Cathyloves2read
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Pickpick

This is the 2nd book I‘ve read by this author. It was very good!I like how it was told from two perspectives,one of which was a fig tree.I like when I learn while reading.I learned a lot about nature and trees with this book.This story tells that there is prejudice in all cultures.The characters had to fight to overcome prejudice in order to stay together.Unfortunately, this book also told of intolerance that didn‘t end well.I recommend this book

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Cathyloves2read
Becoming Madam Secretary | Stephanie Dray
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Pickpick

This was a very good book about an exceptionally strong woman. I know I wouldn‘t have made some of the choices that she did, especially when it came to work/life balance. I would always choose my family first, but there is no right or wrong. I loved learning about Francis Perkins and about FDR. I‘d never heard of Miss Perkins before, and was surprised to learn that she had so much to do with the development of our social security system.

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Cathyloves2read
The Teacher | Freida McFadden
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After reading this book, I can‘t decide which character was more evil. I started out feeling one way, and then another, and another, and so on. This story had so many twists and turns, more than most. This is the first book I‘ve read by this author. It won‘t be my last. Thrillers aren‘t my normal genre, but this psychological thriller drew me in from the start. I did the audio version. The narrator was excellent.

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Cathyloves2read
All the Glimmering Stars | Mark Sullivan
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I will never forget this story. Anthony and Florence (Betty) will stay with me forever. Before reading this book, I had never heard of the Lords Resistance Army (LRA). I also wasn‘t aware of kidnapped child soldiers who were made to fight for the LRA. This book brought me to tears a few times as I read. The authors note at the end was very informative. God bless the children who had to endure the horrors described in this book.