Books, Books, Books, and a Cat

I love a good library so I will be honest that I don't really understand the controversy in this book about not wanting a library built.  In this cozy mystery, a house is built into a library but many people oppose it.  To make matters worse, while planning a murder mystery dinner and escape room, someone is really murdered.  Tempest works with her fellow murder mystery players to figure out who is the killer and why did it happen.  I was given this book to read by the publisher and I have not read the three books before this.  However, the author did a great job explaining the back story so I never felt lost in the story.  I do think I would have better appreciated this story if I had read the first three books.  This was a perfectly fine mystery.  I did not figure out who the killer was so job well done by the author.  However, I just didn't love this story.  There was a slight hint of a romance between Tempest and Gideon but it didn't...

Zarna Garg's memoir was a really great read.  I especially enjoyed reading about her life in India.  It felt like I was reading a really good fiction book.  I couldn't believe all of the things she went through.  I also found her life in India to be incredibly fascinating.  I had never heard of Zarna before I read this book and before I finished this book I had already gone on social media to find her comedy routine.  She is an incredible woman!  What really sets her apart in my mind is that she went through so much, had a family, and did not find her passion until she was in her forties.  I find that so inspiring especially because I am in my forties and I can't imagine starting over with my career.   This memoir was entertaining as well as informative.  I did not know all that was involved in arranged marriages or India marriage ceremonies.  I also learned about schools in New York City.  I had no idea just how cutthroat...

  This was a wild ride!   Claire goes to her fiance's work one day and finds that he no longer works there.  She starts to realize that he has a double life and many aspects of their relationship have been hidden from her.  While she is spiraling about her relationship the novel flashbacks to her life with her mother.  This was the part of the book that had me practically in tears as I read about what a difficult life Claire has had to deal with.  This was a solid thriller, although I did guess the twist pretty early in.  It still made for an interesting read.  The book flowed easily and kept me engaged the entire time.  Claire was a dynamic character and I enjoyed reading about her life.  The flashbacks really helped to explain why she acted in the way that she did.  I look forward to reading more by this author. 

 I loved the premise of this novel.  An extreme game of hide and seek on a remote island at a derelict, abandoned resort. Of course things are not as they seem and each character has their own secrets they are hiding.  The novel alternated between different points of view to give the reader background on each of the characters.  The main character was Adele.  She is now a single mother with two teenagers.  Her husband ran off stealing money and leaving Adele to deal with the fall out of his betrayal as well as an investigation by the FBI.  She is desperate for money so when her son convinces her to join this extreme hide and seek game she agrees.  She has tried to reinvent herself and knows this could be good for her influencer business as well as help her kids financially. What Adele doesn't count on is that the game is run by Maverick whose business is not going well. He is dealing with big scandals from the past games.  Things are not what...

  This is an alternate history novel based on the idea that the British did not give up control of India. Told in ten chapters showing important moments in Kalki's life, it shows her fight to help liberate India. This novel was very political and I'll be honest, that this really wasn't the novel for me. I did find it difficult to read at times. There was an interesting twist at the end which did redeem it a little for me. I also thought the message was good but I did struggle a little to push through and read this. I thought the author did a great job and probably very realistic of what life would have been like in more modern times under British control. It also delved into the caste system and that impact on India. Although this was not my cup of tea, I think those that enjoy books about India and alternate histories would find this an interesting read.

This story was something right out of the movies and the fact that it is all true is mind blowing. I love tales of women doing the extraordinary and the first part of this book did not disappoint.  What Kitty and Etta did to help British soldiers escape occupied France during WWII was heroic.  However what happened to both of them was incredibly tragic.  What's worse is what happened with the memoir that Etta wrote.  I thought the author did a great job giving both sides of the story but my heart broke for Kitty and what she had to endure.  I also need to mention that this book does go into some detail about the horrors of war and what happened when the Russians liberated France.  It was very hard to read.  Although I enjoyed reading about Kitty and Etta's life there were many times when the book was just too verbose.  I appreciate the detail but there were times when there was just too much and the book would have flowed better if it was more con...