Books, Books, Books, and a Cat

 I'm a little in awe of this novel.  I had read a book previously about a woman who had gone undercover at a lunatic asylum but this book took it to a whole new level.  The fact that this book was based on many real life events added to the impact of this novel. The story is told in two different time periods.  The first is Emily's story in 1961.  Emily is a journalist who really does not want to get married and leave her working life behind.  She decides to take a huge risk and go undercover at the local woman's prison to find out if the conditions there are really as bad as an anonymous letter claims.  Emily is easily admitted but soon realizes that things are much worse than she ever imagined.   The second story follows Rachel in 1996.  Rachel is a cop who finds a body in an unmarked grave.  Rachel is determined to find out who that body is but while she is investigating the reader gets flashbacks to Rachel's earlier life.  ...

  3.5 stars- This was a super sweet and short novel.  There was amazing life advice as well as a heartwarming story.  This was the third in the series but you don't have to read the other two to enjoy this novel.  There were some nods to the other novels but this one can be read in isolation.  Set in Japan, there were some references that I didn't really understand but I appreciate expanding my horizons. I did find some parts confusing as I was unfamiliar with names of different places, people, and things mentioned, but this is my cultural ignorance. The story centered around a mother, daughter, and the father.  There was an interesting story.  The point of view changed for each character and I felt that really worked for the story because I truly understood each character better.  The advice in the book was important and I feel like this book helped remind me about what is important in life.  Thank you to Ballantine Books and NetGalley for t...

  3.5 Stars- This book had me hooked in that I had to find out what was going to happen.   Three friends go on a girls getaway to hike in the wilderness in Washington State.  However the area that they are in is a known area where a serial killer has been to stalk.  When one of the friends, Stephanie,  gets injured they must try to find a place to rest and get help.  They come across an isolated cabin but need to take their chances.  The three friends must band together before things go from bad to worse.  First of all I loved the fact that we had three friends that were very close friends.  I have found that my friendships in life have fallen in this pattern.  I also enjoyed the thriller aspect in that I truly never knew what was going to happen and who was the real bad guy.  The novel was completely narrated from Jade’s point of view and as she was kind of the odd one out I really felt for her.  However I did not like ho...

  4.5 Stars- This was such a fun book that really had it all.  There was mystery, action, romance, and even a little historical fiction. Maeve and Therese are sisters who have both just lost their mom.  The two sisters don't get along and one wish that their mom had was for them to travel to Ireland together and hopefully reconcile. However, upon her death they find out that their mom's money was all scammed away.  Both Maeve and Therese need money and find out that a painting that their family has always had may be worth a significant amount. To sell it they need to trace its origins and that means traveling to Ireland.  Once in Ireland, the sisters embark on a journey that has them meeting interesting people, falling in love, figuring out their family history, and solving a mystery involving a crime. This was an excellent story and one that I wanted to keep reading as new events kept unfolding.  I really enjoyed the mystery that Maeve and Therese had to f...

 This book was not at all what I was expecting.  I was blown away with just how powerful this story was. This novel is told from two time periods.  The first is 1957 and the second is 1964.  Both focus on Aria, an orphan, who has come to  Chateau Marmont to live with her aunt.  Her aunt is a former Hollywood starlet who knows longer acts.  Something happened to her aunt.  Aria befriends two other actresses who become like sisters to her.  Through it all Aria only wants to blend in becoming a recluse herself with her only education the Chateau Marmont.  All that changes when the hotel is bought by a new owner who also happens to be a famous singer.  Things take a turn for Aria and she will have to decide what path she will take.  Aria is a fascinating character and one that I was drawn too.  I enjoyed the back and forth in the two timelines as we learned what she was like as a child and then what she was like as a young adu...

 3.5 Stars- An interesting start to a new series all about witches. Witch Season is about a hidden world that features witches as they navigate a world that doesn't know that witches are around them. There are several different points of view in this book but the main character is Katherine.   She was an unsettled witch who hurt some other people when she came into her magic and was adopted into the LA coven where she found other witches who would accept her and train her.  Sylvia, who is the leader of the coven, became like a mother to her.  Sylvia, however, has her own complicated past.  The Noctis Coven does not like Sylvia and wants her overthrown so they send in their son, Silas.  Silas needs to find a way to remove her but he does not expect to develop feelings for Katherine.  This begins a complicated scenario with many different secrets and histories being unraveled.  There were many parts to this book that caught my attention but I w...

 3.5 Stars- This story did a great job blending a natural threat with a human one and turning it into a twisty thrilling mystery.  Told from multiple perspectives, this is a story about a family, reeling from the loss of their father as they try to hold on to the family farm in rural Texas.  Verdacorp is trying to buy the McKenna's farm but Ellen, the mother, is refusing to sell.  Many of their neighbors have already sold to the corporation after facing struggles and losses with their farms.  Now several houses have been broken into. Trouble is definitely brewing and many of the families left are still in danger.  The McKenna family must come together to stay safe and protect their land from the upcoming storm and other nefarious people. There were many aspects of this book that drew me in.  There was an underlying sense of tension due to the storm.  I wasn't sure if I would like all of the different perspectives that the book gave of the differen...

 This was a cozy paranormal mystery set around Halloween time.   This is book 2 in the series and now Ravensea Castle is being used as the setting for an episode of Britain's Got Ghosts.  Nora is hoping that all of this promotion will help their struggling Bed and Breakfast.  To add to the chaos of the filming,  professor Tweedy has convinced Nora and Tamsyn's dad to hunt for a treasure that may have been buried by the Vikings many years ago.  The treasure could be worth millions and the professor has convinced their dad to split it fifty/fifty if found. News of the treasure reaches the ears of others staying at the castle and now people are going places they shouldn't.  To make things worse someone's life is threatened and another person winds up dead. Oh, and there really are ghosts at this castle.   This story definitely had potential.  I was at a disadvantage because I had not read the first one in the series. I did enjoy elemen...

  You cannot help but fall in love with a Sarah Addison Allen novel! Five out of Five Stars! There is a house that over the generations has been filled with mysterious women who seem to know all there is about everyone in the town.  They use that knowledge to intimidate.  Willamena wants freedom from that lineage and wants to find her true love as well as an escape from a life already laid out for her.  Only things do not go as planned.  The story flash-forwards 5o years and the focus is on her granddaughter, Bailey.  Will Bailey break the long held tradition of the house and the generations of women who have ruled Hen Town? What I love most about Sarah Addison Allen stories is the magical touches that blend seamlessly with an intriguing story.  There were multiple character perspectives and each one added to a story that I did not want to put down.  I was most fascinated with the ghost aspect of this story.  There are mystery elements, surpr...