What I"m Reading Wednesday - June 5

 I always have a few books going and this is what I'm reading this week and what I think of my reads.

Print Book:

The House on Biscayne Bay by Chanel Cleeton - I have just started this so no opinion yet but I'm really looking forward to it.

Ebook:

The Paris Widow by Kimberly Belle - I'm almost done with this one and have been enjoying it.  It's definitely proven to be a fast read.

Slow Read:

Lost on Planet China by J. Maarten Troost - I was inspired by Kathryn over at Book Date to add a slow read into my day.  I've been reading about 20 minutes a day and it has become one of the things I really look forward to.  I've found this has been helpful for tackling books I've been reluctant or intimidated to pick up for whatever reason.  I haven't read much of this one but so far I've been enjoying it.  

Audio Book: 

The Whispered Word by Ellery Adams - I loved the first book in this cozyish mysery series though I read it awhile ago.  So far I'm really enjoying this one and am so glad to be getting back to the world Ellery Adams created.

What are you reading today?

My Summer Reading Retreat Reading List

 So I'm not really doing a reading retreat but the past month or so has been kind of rough.  Nothing particularly terrible but just a lot of little things that have left me feeling drained with not much left in the reserve tank.  One of the podcasts I listen to was talking about a reading retreat and while the one they were talking about was more hanging out with readers and listening to different bookish discussions I kind of latched onto the idea.  Now my personal idea of a reading retreat is more of a cozy room with a stack of books and nothing to do but read (and maybe nap) for a little while.  If I was having my very own summer reading retreat I would bring these 10 books. 

1.  Steeped in Stories: Timeless Children's Stories to Refresh Our Tired Souls by Mitali Perkins - I love middle grade fiction and I'm curious to see what books I might have missed and what this author has to say about them.

2.  The Paradise Problem by Christina Lauren - I really enjoyed another book by this author and something light and fun looks like perfect reading retreat reading.

3.  Looking for Love in All the Haunted Places by Claire Kann - I love ghost-y books and this looks like a fun read.

4.  The Self-Care Year: Reflect and Recharge With Simple Seasonal Rituals by Alison Davies - I'm curious about this one and would love to incorporate some traditions and self-care into my day to day life.

5.  One Perfect Couple by Ruth Ware - I love a good creepy mystery and I've really enjoyed almost everything I've read by this author.

6.  The House on Biscayne Bay by Chanel Cleeton - This looks Gothic-y and creepy and seriously entertaining.  

7.  Every Single Secret by Christina Dodd - The previous books in this series have been a bit of escapist fun and this one doesn't look any different which makes it perfect for a reading retreat.  

8.  Leave Me Alone, I'm Reading: Finding and Losing Myself in Books by Maureen Corrigan - A reading retreat wouldn't be complete without a book about books right?

9.  The Body Under the Piano by Marthe Jocelyn - Since I'm reading a book about classic middle grade books I feel like I should throw in a middle grade mystery and this one with a serious nodd to Agatha Christie seems perfect!

10. My Life with Bob: Flawed Heroine Keeps Book of Books, Plot Ensues by Pamela Paul - So apparently my reading retreat has two bookish books!

Now I'm going to go curl up on the couch with a cold drink and a good book.  What books would you choose for your reading retreat?

Olive You to Death - Cozy Mystery Review

 Goodreads: Olive You to Death (A Tourist Trap Mystery #16) by Lynn Cahoon

Rating: Liked It! (3.5 Stars)
Source:   Publisher

Description:  In the coastal town of South Cove, June is tourist season—and wedding season. Unfortunately, Jill Gardner’s own wedding has been delayed. But that just gives her more time to search for a missing bride—and a killer . . .

Things are looking up for the owner of Coffee, Books, and More—Jill’s finally getting her MBA, and though her wedding to police detective Greg is postponed a few months, she still has plenty to celebrate. A girls’ weekend in Santa Barbara is just the ticket. But back in South Cove, someone else’s big day has become a big problem. Antiques dealer Josh Thomas and Mandy Jensen were planning a small private ceremony under an olive tree on the historic Jensen farm—until Mandy went missing . . .

Is this a case of a runaway bride—or a guilty groom? Greg zeroes in on Josh but finds him so annoying that he quietly asks Jill’s help in keeping his number-one suspect distracted. She knows that Josh is searching for something else besides his fiancée—a bank robber’s buried gold bullion. And when the professor he’d been discussing it with turns up dead, she can’t help wondering if what looked like cold feet was actually cold-blooded murder . . .

Genre: Mystery - Cozy

Why I Picked This Book:  I've been reading this series since the beginning and I always look forward to seeing what Jill and Greg are up to.

My Impression:  This is a series I always enjoy but isn't up on my favorite list right now.  The writing style is easy and fast paced and I love the bookish element as well as the relationships within the community.  

I didn't feel like this was the strongest mystery in the series.  Jill is far more focused on finishing up her MBA than the running the bookstore and spends a lot of time running here there and everywhere.  I wish Mandy had been a slightly more established character before this book as the whole situation with Josh and her family felt a bit out of left field.  I did like getting to know Josh a bit better and seeing a more vulnerable side to him.   I also enjoyed Jackie's storyline in the book.  She is usually one of my least favorite character but I really enjoyed how everything worked out there.  Jill's best friend Amy is a whole other story though.  

The mystery was entertaining and I loved the treasure hunt element.  There is a bit of a scattered feeling to the book so I didn't feel like everything full came together at the end.  This is a good light mystery if you're looking for a quick read.

Would I Read More of this Series/Author? Yes.  While this isn't necessarily my favorite cozy mystery series it is one I always enjoy.

Would I Recommend this Book?  If you are a cozy reader I definitely recommend this series but

I don't think I would recommend jumping in with this book.  There are a lot of relationships that wouldn't make much sense if you start out here.

* I received this book in exchange for an honest review.  As always my opinions and impressions are completely my own. *

The Emperor of All Maladies - Nonfiction Review

Goodreads:   The Emperor of All Maladies: A Biorgraphy Of Cancer by Siddhartha Mukherjee

Rating:  Really Liked It! (4.5 Stars)
Source:   Borrowed froma friend

Description:  The Emperor of All Maladies is a magnificent, profoundly humane “biography” of cancer - from its first documented appearances thousands of years ago through the epic battles in the twentieth century to cure, control, and conquer it to a radical new understanding of its essence.

Physician, researcher, and award-winning science writer, Siddhartha Mukherjee examines cancer with a cellular biologist’s precision, a historian’s perspective, and a biographer’s passion. The result is an astonishingly lucid and eloquent chronicle of a disease humans have lived with - and perished from - for more than five thousand years.

The story of cancer is a story of human ingenuity, resilience, and perseverance, but also of hubris, paternalism, and misperception. Mukherjee recounts centuries of discoveries, setbacks, victories, and deaths, told through the eyes of his predecessors and peers, training their wits against an infinitely resourceful adversary that, just three decades ago, was thought to be easily vanquished in an all-out “war against cancer.”

The book reads like a literary thriller with cancer as the protagonist. From the Persian Queen Atossa, whose Greek slave cut off her malignant breast, to the nineteenth-century recipients of primitive radiation and chemotherapy to Mukherjee’s own leukemia patient, Carla, The Emperor of All Maladies is about the people who have soldiered through fiercely demanding regimens in order to survive—and to increase our understanding of this iconic disease.

Riveting, urgent, and surprising, The Emperor of All Maladies provides a fascinating glimpse into the future of cancer treatments. It is an illuminating book that provides hope and clarity to those seeking to demystify cancer.

Genre: Nonfiction

Why I Picked This Book:  It was highly recommended by a friend so I decided to give it a try.  

My Impression:  I feel like the subtitle is a bit of a misnomer.  This book isn't so much a biography of cancer but more of a biography of the fight against cancer.  My son is a year out from his treatment of Leukemia with all signs pointing positive so I am sure my personal experiences have shaped my impression of this book.

For the most part I found this book absolutely fascinating.   I was especially interested in the evolution of treatment for childhood cancers which a lot of the book does center around but the author does cover multiple types of cancer as treatment options and theories progress.  The battle between theories, researchers, and oncologists was interesting and I found it interesting to see how each theory impacted the evolution of treatment.  The origin of several common chemotherapy drugs was also fascinating.  My son was especially interested in where 6MP came from which is a pill he took every day for almost two and a half years.

There were times when the book got a bit into the weeds for me where it really focused on the really detailed bits and pieces regarding DNA, RNA, viruses and other more techincal aspects that I don't truly understand.  I much preferred the case studies and examples that were used throughout the bulk of the book.

My takeaway from this book as the mother of a cancer survivor is that I am incredibly grateful for all the scientists, doctors, researchers and patients who came before us who really pushed for progress in cancer treatment.  I'm also amazed with how fast treatment protocols have progressed as my son's treatment and projected outcome were so much better than they were when this book came out which was in 2010.  

Would I Read More of this Series/Author?  I would.  I found the author's style interesting and engaging and it was one of those books I couldn't resist telling people about as I read it.

Would I Recommend this Book? I would with some reservations.  While I found the book fascinating and absorbing I don't think I could have read it a year ago when the stress and worry was too fresh.  If you have had a personal cancer battle I would make sure you are in a steady place before picking up this book.  

Friday Fives - Five Short Reviews for Books I've Read Recently

I'm in a list making kind of mood so I thought I'd start making random five lists.  Sometimes they'll be bookish other weeks not so much. This week I'm sharing 5 quick reviews for books I've read recently.

1.  Just the Nicest Couple by Mary Kubica - Well this was a bit of a roller coaster!  I read another book by this author several months ago and really enjoyed it and just had to try another one.  This starts off like it's going to be a simple story - a man goes missing after an argument with his wife and a run in with a one of her friends.  However, nothing is how it seems.  I changed my mind about 10 times about where the story was going and still ended up surprised.  The start is a bit slow but this is a fun ride and the audio is very well done.  My Rating: Really Liked It (4 Stars)

2.  Other Birds by Sarah Addison Allen - Oh I loved this one.  Zoey has been an unwanted guest in her father and stepmother's home since her mother died so she is anxious to get to the condo her mother left her on a little island outside of Charleston, South Carolina.  She's looking for some kind of connection to her late mother but what she finds might be even better.  I loved all the characters and storylines and was fully captivated by the entire story and I was sad to leave The Dellawisp when I got to the last page.  I've enjoyed all of this author's books and found this one to lean a bit more heavily into magical realism then the books of hers that I had read in the past.  My Rating: Loved It (5 Stars)

3.  The Reaper Follows by Heather Graham - This is the final book in the Amy Larson/Hunter Forrest quartet.  The pair have been hunting a mastermind controlling a cult that is convinced the apocalypse is coming and is doing what it can to help it get there.  I really enjoy Heather Graham's books - they're a bit like a candy bar - not a huge amout of substance but oh so yummy!  I have found that she doesn't do well when she used the same characters in a series of books and this is a bit of the case here.  A good chunk of the book kind of read like a ballad to how great Amy was.  I guessed the bad guy pretty early but overall I enjoyed seeing it all unravel and just how Amy, Hunter, and Aidan saved the day.  This wasn't a stand out book but it was a fun end to a short series and I'll be reading more from Graham.  My Rating: Liked It! (3.5 Stars)

4.  Rainshadow Road by Lisa Kleypas - This was a reread for me but it has been awhile since I've read it.  Sam and Lucy are a nice couple with some realistic baggage that they manage to work through in ways that feel authentic.  I loved the end and how Sam handled it and I really loved that they communicated.  There is a situation that occurs early in the book that would usually be a cause for The Misunderstanding but it wasn't because the two characters talked about the situation.  That alone would make me love the book. The magic feels a bit odd at times and Lucy's gift seems seriously inconvenient at times - especially given that she works with glass.   That said, I really enjoyed this one and am glad I finally bought a copy because it's a delighful comfort reread.  My Rating: Really Liked It! (4.5 Stars)

5.  Forget What You Know by Christina Dodd - This book was absolutely bonkers - especially the end - in the most fun way.  There are secret identities, past secrets, treasure hunters, serial killers, stalkers, all set into the background of a small Northern California town hosting a garden festival.  Oh and there's also a bit of magic which really with everything else going on makes total sense.   I liked the characters and enjoyed seeing their journey.  It was a fun roller coaster with a bit of suspense and a bit of romance.  It's completely unbelievable but it was fun enough that I didn't really care.  My Rating: Really Liked It (4 Stars)

Books from the Backlog - The Body Under the Piano

 
Today I'm linking up with Carole from Carole's Random Life of Books for Books from the Backlog.  I really enjoy the chance to feature a book that's been hiding in the piles of books for far too long!

Goodreads:  The Body Under the Piano by Marthe Jocelyn

Blurb:  Aggie Morton lives in a small town on the coast of England in 1902. Adventurous and imaginative but deeply shy, Aggie hasn't got much to do since the death of her beloved father . . . until the fateful day when she crosses paths with twelve-year-old Belgian immigrant Hector Perot and discovers a dead body on the floor of the Mermaid Dance Room! As the number of suspects grows and the murder threatens to tear the town apart, Aggie and her new friend will need every tool at their disposal -- including their insatiable curiosity, deductive skills and not a little help from their friends -- to solve the case before Aggie's beloved dance instructor is charged with a crime Aggie is sure she didn't commit.

Why It Needs to Come Off the Shelf:  I just finished another middle grade that I absolutely adored so I'm kind of wanting to keep that going - plus this one has an Agatha Christie connection.

The Year of Having Fun with Reading - Blood Red + The Grace of Wild Things

 

Goodreads:  Blood Red by Wendy Corsi Staub

Blurb:  From New York Times bestselling author Wendy Corsi Staub comes the first in a terrifying new series set in a small town with a sinister secret The razor's gleaming blade slices effortlessly through skin and tendon, and he relishes the final anguished moments of his prey. There's only one thing he prizes their long, silken strands of red hair. But these women are merely stand-ins . . . a prelude to his ultimate victim. Nestled in New York's Hudson Valley, Mundy's Landing is famous for its picturesque setting—and for a century-old string of gruesome unsolved murders. Rowan returned to her hometown years ago, fleeing a momentary mistake that could have destroyed her family. Life is good here. Peaceful. Until an anonymous gift brings Rowan's fears to life again. The town's violent history was just the beginning. Soon everyone in Mundy's Landing will know that the past cannot be forgotten or forgiven—not until every sin has been paid for, in blood.

My Thoughts:  I was expecting something light and fluffy with murders and that is not exactly what I got.  There are definitely murders but it's not the light fluffy romantic suspense that I expected but I enjoyed it.  Rowan is a happily married mother of 3 with one teenager still in the house.  The community she lives in has quite a lot of history including a historic unsolved crime that happened more than 100 years ago.  But while the current threat has roots in the past - but it is not nearly so long ago and connects to something that Rowan has inteneded to keep secret.  I did guess the who but I fully enjoyed the ride getting from beginning to reveal.  It's a bit darker and a bit slower paced than I expected but I've already ordered the next book in this series because the teaser fully caught me.  My Rating: Liked It! (3.5 Stars)

Goodreads:  The Grace of Wild Things by Heather Fawcett

Blurb:  Grace has never been good at anything except magic—not that anyone believes her. While other children are adopted from the orphanage, nobody wants Grace. So she decides to make a home for herself by running away and offering herself as an apprentice to the witch in the nearby woods. After all, who better to teach Grace to use her magic? Surely the witch can’t be that bad.
But the witch is that bad—she steals souls for spells and gobbles up hearts. So Grace offers a deal: If she can learn all 100½ spells in the witch’s grimoire, the witch will make Grace her apprentice. But if Grace fails, the witch can take her magic. The witch agrees, and soon an unexpected bond develops between them. But the spells are much harder than Grace expected, and when a monster from the witch’s past threatens the home Grace has built, she may have to sacrifice more than her magic to save it.

Inspired by Anne of Green Gables, this is a magical story of found family, loss, and the power of a girl’s imagination.

My Thoughts:  I really loved this book.  I'm a big Anne of Green Gables fan and was a little concerned when I saw the inspired part of the blurb but this was inspired in the best possible of ways.  Grace IS Anne with her love of poetry and her sense of wonder and her desire to love and be loved.  There's also a number of little Easter eggs sprinkled about that aren't distracting if you're not an Anne fan but add an extra little bit of glitter for you if you are.  I don't want to say too much about I don't want to spoil anything but if you are a fan of found families than this is a must read.  It will probably be on my favorite books of the year list.  My Rating: Loved It! (5 Stars)