Friday Fives - May TBR

 

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. Since this is the first Friday in May, I'm planning my January TBR.  Here are 5 books I plan on reading in May. 

1.  You Can Tell Me by Melinda Leigh - I've been wanting to read this author for ages and this is the beginning of a new series and looks like a fun fast paced read.

2.  Year One by Nora Roberts - I'm going back and reading the Nora Roberts books that I've missed.  She's done a number of trilogies that were a bit more fantasy than appealed to me at the time.  I'm looking forward to giving these a try.

3.  Mrs. Jeffries on the Trail by Emily Brightwell - This is the next book in the Mrs. Jeffries series.  I really loved the most recent books of the series and have been enjoying reading the beginning of the series.  I'm really liking seeing the characters develop.

4.  The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion Vol 1 by Beth Brower - I've heard raves about this book series and I can no longer resist!  

5.  All Creatures Great and Small by James Herriott - I read this book literally decades ago and have been wanting to reread it.  May is my birthday month so this is one of my presents to myself!

What are you hoping to read in May?

Books from the Backlog - The Secret to Southern Charm

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 Secret to Southern Charm by Kristy Woodson Harvey

Blurb:  Leaving fans “practically [begging] for a sequel” (Bookpage), critically acclaimed author Kristy Woodson Harvey returns with the second novel in her beloved Peachtree Bluff series, featuring a trio of sisters and their mother who discover a truth that will change not only the way they see themselves, but also how they fit together as a family.
After finding out her military husband is missing in action, middle sister Sloane’s world crumbles as her worst nightmare comes true. She can barely climb out of bed, much less summon the strength to be the parent her children deserve.

Her mother, Ansley, provides a much-needed respite as she puts her personal life on hold to help Sloane and her grandchildren wade through their new grief-stricken lives. But between caring for her own aging mother, her daughters, and her grandchildren, Ansley’s private worry is that secrets from her past will come to light.

But when Sloane’s sisters, Caroline and Emerson, remind Sloane that no matter what, she promised her husband she would carry on for their young sons, Sloane finds the support and courage she needs to chase her biggest dreams—and face her deepest fears. Taking a cue from her middle daughter, Ansley takes her own leap of faith and realizes that, after all this time, she might finally be able to have it all.

Why It Needs to Come Off the Shelf:  I read the first book in this series back in 2024 and couldn't wait to read the next book.  So I bought it - and then promptly put it aside and forgot about it.  With the temperatures warming up it looks like the perfect time to pull this one off the shelf.

Ms. Mebel Goes Back to the Chopping Block - Fiction Review

Goodreads:  Ms. Mebel Goes Back to the Chopping Block by Jesse Q Sutanto

Rating: Really Liked It (4 Stars)
Source:   Publisher

Description:  Retirement should mean long-awaited trips to the sapphire waters of Santorini or careening down a sand dune in Dubai. For sixty-three-year-old Mebel, retirement means her husband of more than forty years announcing that he's leaving her for their private chef. Mebel isn’t sure who's the bigger loss.

Not to worry, Mebel has the perfect plan: she’s going to win back her husband. No one knows what he needs better than her—after all, she's been anticipating his needs their whole marriage. And if he wants a wife who can cook (why else would he leave her for a chef?), she will simply go to cooking school. Luckily, class at the renowned Saint Honoré School of Culinary Arts in France starts in just four days!

However, Mebel quickly realizes that her culinary school is not in illustrious Paris but rather in England—and some small village outside of Oxford no less. Despite the less-than-warm welcome from her much younger classmates, Mebel manages to befriend Gemma, the breakout star of the program, who offers to help Mebel on their first day. When Gemma stops showing up to class, Mebel knows she must figure out what—or who—caused her friend’s sudden disappearance. After all, Mebel may not know the first thing about how to cut a potato, but she certainly knows how to identify a fraud, and there’s definitely something fishy going on.

Genre: Fiction 

Why I Picked This Book:  I loved the Vera Wong books by this author and I can't resist a main character starting over kind of story.

My Impression:    I enjoyed this read. Sutanto has the ability to make the most flawed characters sympathetic and thoroughly likable.  I loved reading about Mebel's journey with learning to cook as well as understanding the different place she has ended up in with a culture so very much different from her own.

I think the book suffers a bit in comparison to the Vera Wong series.  Mebel has a surface level similarity to Vera.  She's completely sure in her own opinions and not afraid to use the age card to guilt people into doing what she wants.  However, there's no mystery here so the focus especially at the beginning is very much on Mebel.  While I grew to love Mebel as the book went on at the beginning it took me a bit to warm to her and to get involved in the book.  

This is a great story with an interesting dynamic - young vs old, East vs West, rich vs poor - all with a touch of humor and a bit of grace.  Once I got into it I thoroughly enjoyed it and am looking foward to reading more from her.  If you're finding this a bit of a slow start or not loving Mebel give it a bit longer.  I don't think you'll regret it.  

Would I Read More of this Series/Author?  Yes!  I've enjoyed everything I've read by this author and am looking forward to reading more.

Would I Recommend this Book?  Absolutely though I do recommend a little patience at the beginning.

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

Top Ten Tuesday - Ten Books from Previous Spring TBRs That I Still Haven't Read

Today I'm linking up with Top Ten Tuesday hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl which is all about lists.  Since lists are one of my favorite things this is one of my favorite linkups!  Today's topic is a Freebie.  When I made my Spring TBR for this year I started wondering just how many books on previous Spring TBRs I have yet to read.   I figured I could easily get 10 books off my lists from the last 10 years.  However, once I started looking it turns out I apparently crush Spring TBRs so I went with Spring related TBRs that I have yet to read.

Spring TBR

1. Kills Well With Others by Deanna Raybourn (2025)

2.  Looking for Love in All the Haunted Places by Claire Kann (2025)

3.  Bitter Spirits by Jenn Bennett (2020)

4.  Be Afraid by Mary Burton (2015)

5.  The Body in the Birches by Katherine Hall Page (2015)

Spring Reading Retreat - 2025

6.  A Morbid Taste for Bones by Ellis Peters

7.  The Stormy Petrel by Mary Stewart

8.  Christa Comes Out of Her Shell by Abbi Waxman

Springy Covers on My TBR - 2023

9.  The Glass Kitchen by Linda Francis Lee

10.  The Forever Girl by Jill Shalvis

Do you have any books from Spring-y TBRs that you haven't gotten to quite yet?

The Island Club - Fiction Review

Goodreads: The Island Club by Nicola Harrison

Rating: Really Liked It (4 Stars)
Source:   Publisher

Description:  1956: On idyllic Balboa Island, just off the California coast, life seems peaceful and welcoming. But when the lives of three women begin to unravel in shockingly different ways, an unlikely friendship―and the game of tennis―may be the only thing that can save them.

Milly Kinkaid's plan to fix her crumbling marriage seems to be falling apart before it even begins. She believed that moving her young family from Hollywood to Balboa Island might entice her increasingly distant husband to come home earlier after work. Instead, he's barely coming home at all.

Society matriarch Sylvia Johnson and her husband have been pillars of their community for decades, and have just recently begun a new business venture: The Island Club, a place for members to swim, play tennis and dine in style. But when she learns that he has been risking their financial security and putting their family's future in grave danger, she's not only poised to lose the club, but the entire community she holds dear.

Meanwhile, standoffish loner Adele Lambert's entire world is on the brink of being destroyed if the dark secrets of her past and her hidden identity is revealed. Twenty years ago, she ran from a shameful scandal and left behind the only thing she ever loved. Now, terrified that the anonymity she's spent decades guarding will be exposed, but desperate to stay afloat, she risks everything to return to the game that brought her to her knees all those years before.

Set against the sun-drenched beaches of Balboa Island, with its prim and proper 1950s facade, The Island Club is a story of love, loneliness and the lies we tell ourselves―and what can be gained when the truth is finally revealed.

Genre: Fiction 

Why I Picked This Book:  I've read another book by this author and enjoyed it - plus the blurb really appealed to me.

My Impression:  This author has the fantastic ability to really make settings and characters come to life.  I could visualize the island and the club and all the characters who made up the world of the book.  I didn't always like the characters.  They made decisions that didn't make sense or their reactions were emotional and sometimes a little petty (or in some cases way more than a little).  But Sylvia, Milly, and Adele all felt like real people.  

The story was at times frustrating, at times sad but always real.  All three women are somewhat powerless in steering their lives but are all doing the best they can with mixed results.  Sylvia's situation and her husband's attitude especially were absolutely maddening even though I was very much rooting for her.  I connected the most with Milly but was interested in all the characters.

This was interesting and very readable book with characters that feel very real and a world that comes alive.  The story isn't always easy but it's always interesting.  This is an author I'm looking forward to reading more from.  

Would I Read More of this Series/Author?  Yes!  I've enjoyed both books I've read by her and am looking forward to reading more of her books.

Would I Recommend this Book?  I would - especially if you enjoy reading stories of women's lives.  

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

A Caribbean Mystery - Classic Mystery Review

Goodreads:  A Caribbean Mystery by Agatha Christie

Rating: Really Liked It! (4.5 Stars)
Source:   Purchased

Description:   There is no rest or relaxation for Miss Marple. Agatha Christie's most appealing sleuth returns in this classic baffler of a vacation-turned-deadly.

Nephew Raymond West has given his favourite aunt a vacation at a beautiful resort in the Caribbean. While there she encounters an old wind-bag. One of his stories is about meeting a murderer. He has a snapshot. Suddenly he hesitates, and gets flustered. By the next morning he is dead, seemingly of natural causes. Miss Marple has doubts.

And well she should.

Genre: Mystery - Classic

Why I Picked This Book:  This was the April pick for the Read Christie 2026 Challenge and it is one I was especially looking forward to as I don't remember the last time I read it.

My Impression: I always forget just how much I love this book.  This is Miss Marple is at her best.  She should be out of her element at a resort on a Caribbean island, but Miss Marple is always a wonderful observer of human nature and a resort is peak people watching.  Her thoughts on each of the other characters was at time funny but always incredibly accurate.  I also really enjoyed how restless she's feeling at the beginning of the book as there's nothing to do.  I'm sure her nephew would be appalled by that thought.

The mystery is an intriguing one.  It's a bit of a locked door as well as a death that could easily be natural causes.  The solution is a good one though the thought processes getting there can be a little muddy at times.  The cast of characters all have their own dramas which add to the interest and the good pace of the book.  

While I wouldn't say this is one of Christie's best written books it is a fun read with excellent pacing and an entertaining cast of characters.  On a fun sidenote - if you're a fan of BBC's Death in Paradise the town in that show Honore is a nod to the island in this book St. Honore.  

Would I Read More of this Series/Author?  Of course!  I'm looking forward to May's book which is The Labours of Hercules for the category of Best Short Story Collection.  I'm not sure it's my favorite short story collection but it is a lot of fun and one I'm looking forward to revisiting.  

Would I Recommend this Book? Absolutely!  This is one of her best later books and a thoroughly enjoyable read.  It's a fantastic appearance by Miss Marple.  

Friday Fives - Five Quick 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.  Murder in the Crypt by Irina Shapiro - I love a good historical mystery and the premise of this one (English constable/American army surgeon who is also heir to title and manor solve crimes) so I couldn't resist giving this one a listen.  I liked this one pretty well.  The mystery was an interesting one with a pretty good twist as well as a solid motive.  The main characters complimented each other and were able to explore different avenues of investigation.  What kept it from being a winner for me was there was just too much description which slowed the pace and kept me from really being pulled into the story.  My Rating: Liked It (3 Stars)

2.  The House on Blackberry Hill by Donna Alward - This was a reread for me though it had been so long it barely counted as I remembered just about nothing.  Overall, I enjoyed it.  I really liked the story of the house and the Foster family and I also liked Tom's family.  I would have liked more ghosts and more focus on the house but it is a romance and not a ghost story so the focus makes sense.  I never really warmed to Abby and Tom as it seemed like neither was really ready for a serious relationship.  I did like the community and it was a quick enjoyable read but not one that I will probably reread.  My Rating: Liked It! (3.5 Stars)

3.  The Blackout Murders by Anna Elliott and Charles Veley - This was so fun!  This is set during World War II in a small English village.  Newly widowed (and American) Evie has recently inherited her grandmother's cottage/tea shop and has come to Crofter's Green to heal.  When the local air raid warden is found dead she is drawn into the investigation and the village itself.  I loved all the characters and was completely caught up in the mystery.  This is a series I'm really looking forward to continuing (and is the only reason I haven't canceled my Audible account as it's on Audible Plus).  My Rating: Really Liked It (4 Stars)

4.  The Golden Hour by Beatriz Williams - I really wanted to love this one.  I was excited at the inside look at the fairly recently abdicated Duke of Windsor and I loved the World War II Bahamas setting.  Unfortunately, it just wasn't a favorite.  I didn't warm to any of the characters and there were so many different storylines I never felt really connected to any of them.  This probably would 3.5 Stars but I really didn't like the ending.  There was a major twist that was never fully explained and a major plot point that was only partially resolved with very little explanation.  I was left feeling pretty unsatisfied and with more questions than answers.  My Rating: Just Okay (2.5 Stars)

5.  The Dead Sea Cipher by Elizabeth Peters - Peters' standalone books are a lot of fun.  Are they realistic?  Not in the slightest and they're a bit formulaic as well but they are always a fun read.  This book takes place in 1960s (maybe 1970s?) Beirut and features solo traveler Dinah van der Lyn who is shocked to hear a murder happen in the hotel room next door to hers.  Next follows an adventure full of hidden agendas, misunderstandings, and secrets all with the goal of uncovering lost biblical scrolls.  My Rating: Liked It! (3.5 Stars)