This Week in Reading - July 14

It's Sunday Post time!  This is hosted by the awesome Caffeinated Book Reviewer and gives us all a chance to recap our week.

What I Got:

The Bookish Life of Nina Hill by Abbi Waxman - I've been wanting to read this author since her last few books but I couldn't pass up this one.  (Audible)

Under Currents by Nora Roberts - I've actually taken a pass on Roberts' most recent books but this one sounds good and I've been enjoying romantic suspense in audio.  (Audible)

Molded 4 Murder by J.C. Eaton - I love this series and honestly I didn't even read the blurb.  (NetGalley)

Currently:

Reading: No More Time by Suzanne M. Trauth and Mrs. McGinty's Dead by Agatha Christie

Listening: I finally finished Suddenly One Summer by Julie James and am just starting What We Find by Robyn Carr

Watching:  Still not much other than an occasional crime show.

Off the Blog:

Nothing new.  More rental house madness but the end (fingers crossed) is in sight.  We are heading down to Birmingham for a post wedding party this weekend.  More physical therapy but the end is in sight there as well. 

On another note I'm unofficially doing the Modern Mrs. Darcy Reading challenge this year and one of the categories is to read a book recommended by someone with great taste so could you recommend a book?  Any genre, old, new, whatever - what is a book that you always recommend?

On the Blog:

What Happened:

Monday:  A Family of Strangers - Fiction Review
Tuesday:  Top Ten Tuesday - How to Tell If You're a Character in a ...
Wednesday:  Ten Years a Nomad - Nonfiction Review
Thursday:  Books from the Backlog - Little Street Bakery
Friday:  Friday Fives - Top 5 Favorite Reads of 2019 So Far
Saturday: The Forgotten Room - Historical Fiction Review

What's Coming Up:

Monday:  Layover - Mystery Review
Tuesday:  Top Ten Tuesday - Ten Auto-Buy Authors
Wednesday: The Pawful Truth - Cozy Mystery Review
Thursday: Books from the Backlog
Friday: Friday Fives
Saturday: TBD

Have a great week and happy reading!

The Forgotten Room - Historical Fiction Review

Goodreads:  The Forgotten Room by Karen White, Lauren Willig, and Beatriz Williams

Rating: Good
Source:  Library

Description: 1945: When the critically wounded Captain Cooper Ravenal is brought to a private hospital on Manhattan’s Upper East Side, young Dr. Kate Schuyler is drawn into a complex mystery that connects three generations of women in her family to a single extraordinary room in a Gilded Age mansion.
Who is the woman in Captain Ravenel's portrait miniature who looks so much like Kate? And why is she wearing the ruby pendant handed down to Kate by her mother? In their pursuit of answers, they find themselves drawn into the turbulent stories of Gilded Age Olive Van Alen, driven from riches to rags, who hired out as a servant in the very house her father designed, and Jazz Age Lucy Young, who came from Brooklyn to Manhattan in pursuit of the father she had never known. But are Kate and Cooper ready for the secrets that will be revealed in the Forgotten Room?

The Forgotten Room, set in alternating time periods, is a sumptuous feast of a novel brought to vivid life by three brilliant storytellers.

Genre: Fiction - Historical

Why I Picked This Book:  I loved the premise of this and have enjoyed books by all three authors so this seemed like a must read.

My Impression:  Three women - all searching for something, all connected to a society mansion, a ruby necklace and a miniature portrait.  I was fascinated by all the links and connections and the stories of each of the women.  Olive, Lucy, and Kate each have their own story to tell and each have their own mysteries that they want to solve.  Of the three I found Lucy's the least compelling though I liked her very much and found one of the answers she found very sweet.  I was most interested in Kate's story and would have liked more about her.  She's tough and very smart and more than a bit lonely.  I liked Olive the least though I found her story fascinating.  She's a little immature and while I can understand her desperation she definitely hasn't much thought much about how she's going to implement her plan.

I was impressed with how well the stories fit together.  With each chapter the POV changed but while each character had a distinct voice at no point did the book feel incoherent or jumbled.  If the front cover didn't state that this was a collaboration of 3 authors I don't think I would have realized it from the seamless execution.

While I enjoyed the stories I wanted a bit more.  A little more character development and a bit more expansion on just how events played out.  I think I wanted the end spelled out for me a little more too.

Would I Read More of this Series/Author?  I'd read books by any of these authors again - especially Beatriz Williams.

Would I Recommend this Book?  If you enjoy historical fiction then I think you'd enjoy this book.

Friday Fives - Top Five Favorite Books of 2019 So Far

I'm taking a bit of a break from my usual Friday Linkups to try something a little different.  Michelle over at Because Reading is Better Than Real Life   used to do a Five on Fridays that I always enjoyed and I've seen a few other variations on the theme.  As well I'm in a list making kind of mood so I thought I'd give start making random five lists.  Sometimes they'll be bookish other weeks not so much.  Since it's just over halfway through the year I thought I'd take a look back at my reading and pull the 5 books I enjoying reading the most this year.  Since this is kind of casual and unofficial I'm counting rereads which I normally don't do but I'm feeling a bit rebellious. 

1.  Dead Wake by Erik Larson - I've been wanting to read Erik Larson's books for years and have always been fascinated by the sinking of the Lusitania.  I found this fascinating and am looking forward to reading more from him.

2.  The Printed Letter Bookshop by Katherine Reay - This was one of those perfect books at the perfect time.  I loved the characters and the bookshop and just everything about it. 

3.  Dark Witch by Nora Roberts - I read this one right when it came out but was a little meh about it.  I picked it up on Audible during a sale and decided to relisten to it and thoroughly enjoyed it.  I went on to listen to rest of the trilogy and really enjoyed it.

4.  The Labors of Hercules by Agatha Christie - I love Agatha Christie and I love her short stories.  This is a Hercules Poirot collection and the setup is so fun and it's got a great variety of stories.  It's light and refreshing and I really enjoyed reading it again.

5.  Flowers in the Rain and Other Stories by Rosamunde Pilcher - This is a short story collection that I forget about for months on end and then occasionally just have to reread it.  Pilcher passed away earlier this year and I knew I had to reread this collection.  It's sweet and endearing and so incredibly Pilcher.

What are some of your favorite books so far this year?

Books from the Backlog - Little Beach Street Bakery

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!  This week's book is Little Beach Street Bakery by Jenny Colgan.

Goodreads:  Little Beach Street Bakery by Jenny Colgan

Blurb:  Amid the ruins of her latest relationship, Polly Waterford moves far away to the sleepy seaside resort of Polbearne, where she lives in a small, lonely flat above an abandoned shop.

To distract her from her troubles, Polly throws herself into her favorite hobby: making bread. But her relaxing weekend diversion quickly develops into a passion. As she pours her emotions into kneading and pounding the dough, each loaf becomes better than the last. Soon, Polly is working her magic with nuts and seeds, olives and chorizo, and the local honey-courtesy of a handsome local beekeeper. Drawing on reserves of determination and creativity Polly never knew she had, she bakes and bakes . . . and discovers a bright new life where she least expected it.

Why It Needs to Come Off the Shelf:  I do want to read it but I also discovered that the Romance Package (or whatever they're calling it now) on Audible has the 2nd one so I need to read this one so I can listen to that one.

Ten Years a Nomad - Nonfiction Review

Goodreads:  Ten Years a Nomad: A Traveler's Journey Home by Matthew Kepnes

Rating: Just Okay
Source: Publisher

Description:  New York Times bestselling author of How to Travel the World on $50 a Day, Matthew Kepnes knows what it feels like to get the travel bug. After meeting some travelers on a trip to Thailand in 2005, he realized that living life meant more than simply meeting society's traditional milestones, such as buying a car, paying a mortgage, and moving up the career ladder. Inspired by them, he set off for a year-long trip around the world before he started his career. He finally came home after ten years. Over 500,000 miles, 1,000 hostels, and 90 different countries later, Matt has compiled his favorite stories, experiences, and insights into this travel manifesto. Filled with the color and perspective that only hindsight and self-reflection can offer, these stories get to the real questions at the heart of wanderlust. Travel questions that transcend the basic "how-to," and plumb the depths of what drives us to travel — and what extended travel around the world can teach us about life, ourselves, and our place in the world.
Ten Years a Nomad is for travel junkies, the travel-curious, and anyone interested in what you can learn about the world when you don’t have a cable bill for a decade or spend a month not wearing shoes living on the beach in Thailand.

Genre: Nonfiction - Memoir

Why I Picked This Book:  I'm fascinated by lives that are completely different from my own and that I really don't have a desire to replicate.  No part of me wants to stay in hostels and wander around the world for ten years (especially the whole month of no shoes part) but I'm fascinated by those that do live like that.

My Impression:  I don't think I read the blurb closely enough because I was expecting stories about what it was like to travel the world for 10 years and how the author tackled practical challenges of traveling without really a plan or budget.  I wasn't expecting quite so much insight and self-reflection.  And there is a lot of self-reflection and a whole bunch of talking about the psychology behind travel and our desire to travel or not travel.  It started feeling a bit repetitive early on and that didn't get better.  I ended up feeling like the author was just trying to justify his own choices and I wanted to reach through the book and tell him to relax and just live his life which he kept talking about doing exactly that. 

The travel stories were interesting when we eventually got around to them.   While no part of me will be staying in a hostel in a room with six other strangers I did find reading about the experience interesting.  I also liked just the snapshots of all the different areas all over the world.  It was definitely intriguing to get a glimpse of the road less traveled.  Unfortunately, the balance seemed to skew far more towards the author explaining his choices which had the book falling a bit flat for me.

Would I Read More of this Series/Author?  I'd probably be interested in an article or blog post from him but I doubt I'll be picking up a book again.

Would I Recommend this Book?  Probably not and definitely not without checking out his blog (Nomadic Matt) first.

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

Top Ten Tuesday - How to Tell if You're a Character in a ...

Today I'm linking up with Top Ten Tuesday hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl which is all about lists.  This week's Top Ten list is a character freebie so I thought I'd do how to tell if you're a character in a few of my favorite genres.  You never know when you're in a cozy mystery and it's best to be prepared!  So here are a few tips to help you tell if you're a character in a...

Cozy Mystery

1.  You own some kind of small retail store - it can be a bookstore, a clothing store, or a hobby store of some time.  It could also be a cafe or bakery.  Maybe an antique store or a bed and breakfast.  But whatever it is it needs to be small enough where you only have a couple of employees (who are cool with you running out on very short notice for hours on end) and a group of regular customers.

2.  You live in a small town that seems to have a fairly transient population.  There's always someone new who is moving to town to open another store, restaurant, or bed in breakfast of some kind. 

3.  You have an extreme sense of curiosity, very few boundaries, and no problem going up to acquaintances and asking them very personal questions.

Contemporary Romance

1. You have a very tight group of friends.  Like kind of strangely tight.  You're all single and very different and in totally different careers and have very different ideas on marriage and dating as a whole.  Bonus points if you all have different hair colors.

2.  You have just moved to a new town or apartment building and said new town/apartment building is full to the point of bursting with single guys in your approximate age range who are incredibly good looking and spend a massive amount of time in the gym without actually seeming to spend a massive amount of time at the gym.

3.  You know in some capacity an older woman who has no filter and no fear of announcing what she thinks to anyone in the vicinity.  She has no problem meddling and setting up situations to force you to be alone with one of the above guys.

Women's Fiction

1.  A parent has recently died (or grandparent or mentor) and they had an enormous dilapidated house that you must either live in for a certain amount of time or get cleaned out (or both)

2.  Some kind of workplace catastrophe has occurred and you have somehow lost your job, significant other (he was kind of a creep so no great loss), and sometimes even your house.  OR you've been married for a long time and thought everything was going fine if maybe not exciting until the husband shows up and announces that things are not only not fine but he's leaving and occasionally he'll have a mistress on the side.

3.  For whatever reason you are escaping (see above two reasons) to a beach on the east coast.  I'm not sure why one must go to the Eastern seaboard to recover but apparently it's a rule.

All of the Above:

You have a pet and not just any pet but a pet with a big personality who you discuss things with and who answers you in some way. This pet also gets into things or gets out or causes some kind of problem at very strategic moments.

What do you think are signs that you're in a book in a certain genre?

A Family of Strangers - Fiction Review

Goodreads: A Family of Strangers by Emilie Richards

Rating: Very Good
Source: Blog Tour

Description: All her life Ryan Gracey watched her perfect older sister from afar. Knowing she could never top Wendy’s achievements, she didn’t even try. Instead Ryan forged her own path while her family barely seemed to notice.
Now Wendy shares two little girls with her perfect husband while Ryan mourns the man she lost after a nearly fatal mistake in judgment. The sisters’ choices have taken them in different directions, which is why Ryan is stunned when Wendy calls, begging for her help. There’s been a murder—and Wendy believes she’ll be wrongfully accused.

While Wendy lies low, Ryan moves back to their hometown to care for the nieces she hardly knows. The sleuthing skills she’s refined as a true-crime podcaster quickly rise to the surface as she digs for answers with the help of an unexpected ally. Yet the trail of clues Wendy’s left behind lead to nothing but questions. Blood may be thicker than water, but what does Ryan owe a sister who, with every revelation, becomes more and more a stranger?

Is Wendy, who always seemed so perfect, just a perfect liar—or worse?

Genre: Fiction - Contemporary

Why I Picked This Book:  I love Richards' books and I really enjoyed that the main character is a true crime podcaster.

My Impression:  I've been reading Emilie Richards book for probably close to 20 years and every time I pick one up I know I'm in for an emotional and enjoyable read.  This lived up to my expectation with a little bit of a twist.  While I expect characters I immediately connect with I wasn't really expecting the touch of suspense which was quite a welcome surprise.  I loved Ryan's job and the references to investigating cold cases as she and her colleague tried to figure out just what was going on with Wendy. 

The emotional elements that I expect from Richards were still very much present as Ryan wrestled with her relationships with her parents, sister, and nieces.  I also enjoyed that Holly and Noelle weren't the perfect friendly children that are so often portrayed in fiction.  They have zero interest in making things easy for Ryan and something seems very much wrong with them. 

I've really enjoyed Richards' books in the past but I think this one was probably my favorite.  I absolutely loved the addition of the mystery and it kept me up late into the night completely wrapped up in the story.

Would I Read More of this Series/Author?  Absolutely!  I always enjoy Richards' books and I'm hoping we get a little suspense in future books too!

Would I Recommend this Book?  Definitely!  If you enjoy fiction with well developed characters and complicated relationships than this author is one you should definitely try.

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