The Lovers - John Connolly
                  Series

The is the 8th in the Charlie Parker series and I could not put it down.
We learn about Charlie's past, about his father, and about the dark shadows that seem to be hunting him. 
 I was really struggling with books 6 and 7 and was wondering if I wanted to continue with the series but this book brought back my interest in Charlie Parker.  So I will put   "The Whispers", book number 9 next on my TBR. 

Goodreads Summary:
Charlie Parker is a lost soul. Deprived of his private investigator's license and under scrutiny by the police, Parker takes a job in a Portland bar. But he uses his enforced retirement to begin a different kind of investigation: an examination of his own past and an inquiry into the death of his father, who took his own life after apparently shooting dead two unarmed teenagers. It's a search that will eventually lead Parker to question all that he believed about his beloved parents, and about himself.But there are other forces at work: a troubled young woman who is running from an unseen threat, one that has already taken the life of her boyfriend; and a journalist-turned-writer named Mickey Wallace, who is conducting an investigation of his own. And haunting the shadows, as they have done throughout Parker's life, are two figures: a man and a woman who seem driven to bring an end to Charlie Parker's existence.

Haunting, lyrical, and impossible to put down, "The Lovers" is John Connolly at his best.

              The Ice Queen  - Alice Hoffman
                          Oldest on TBR

Alice Hoffman is an author that I like some of her books and just can't get into others.  This one I just couldn't get into.  I liked how it started,  couldn't really get into the middle,  but liked how it wrapped up at the end.

A young girl makes a wish and it comes true,  her mother never comes home. The young girl then becomes obsessed with death.  So basically be careful what you wish for .  And be happy with what you have when you have it.

She also gets struck by lightning and meets another person who had also been struck and how that changes their lives. Goodreads gives a better summary. 

Goodreads summary:
From the bestselling author of Practical Magic, a miraculous, enthralling tale of a woman who is struck by lightning, and finds her frozen heart is suddenly burning.

Be careful what you wish for. A small town librarian lives a quiet life without much excitement. One day, she mutters an idle wish and, while standing in her house, is struck by lightning. But instead of ending her life, this cataclysmic event sparks it into a new beginning.

She goes in search of Lazarus Jones, a fellow survivor who was struck dead, then simply got up and walked away. Perhaps this stranger who has seen death face to face can teach her to live without fear. When she finds him, he is her opposite, a burning man whose breath can boil water and whose touch scorches. As an obsessive love affair begins between them, both are forced to hide their most dangerous secrets—what turned one to ice and the other to fire.

A magical story of passion, loss, and renewal, The Ice Queen is Alice Hoffman at her electrifying best.

The Two Gentlemen of Verona by William Shakespeare

Shakespeare Project 2020

I have to say this was not one of my favorites. I heard it appropriately described as a soap opera! While I was unfamiliar with it, I was surprised to learn that I actually had heard parts of it from the movie, Shakespeare in Love! 

So we have Proteus and Valentine - the ultimate bromance:

Act II, Scene 4

Valentine: I knew him as myself; for from our infancy

We have convers'd and spent our hours together.

But Proteus violates the Bro Code when he turns down Valentine's offer to go on a (bro)adtrip to Milan stating that he is madly in love with Julia and can't leave her.

Though Proteus' dad thinks he's too young to settle down and should explore the world so he sends him off to join Valentine.

Meanwhile Valentine (who once scoffed at love) has fallen madly in love with Silvia (though his servant sees him just as foolish as Valentine once thought Proteus).

Act II, Scene 1
Valentine: Why, how know you that I am in love?

Speed (Valentine's servant): Marry, by these special marks:... to relish a love-song, like a robin redbreast; to walk alone, like one that had the pestilence; to sigh, like a school-boy that had lost his A B C; to weep, like a young wench that had buried her grandam; to fast, like one that takes diet...

now you are metamorphis'd with a mistress, that, when I look on you, I can hardly think you my master.

***
Speed:...you, being in love, cannot see to put on your hose.

Valentine: Belike, boy, then you are in love; for last morning you could not see to wipe my shoes.

Speed: True, sir; I was in love with my bed.

***

Speed:...'Tis dinner time.

Valentine: I have din'd.
Speed: ...though the chameleon Love can feed on the air, I am one that am nourish'd by my victuals, and would fain have meat.

Proteus arrives in Milan, reunites with his bro, Valentine, meets Silvia and immediately falls in love with her completely dismissing his love for Julia and begins to plot how he will steal her from his best bud!

Act II, Scene 4

Proteus: Even as one heat another heat expels

Or as one nail by strength drives out another,

So the remembrance of my former love

Is by a newer object quite forgotten....

Methinks my zeal to Valentine is cold,

And that I love him not as I was wont.

O! but I love his lady too too much,

And that's the reason I love him so little.

Meanwhile Julia has no clue of Proteus' deceit and she decides to disguise herself as a page boy and surprise him in Milan:

Act II, Scene 7

Julia: But truer stars did govern Proteus' birth;

His words are bonds, his oaths are oracles,

His love sincere, his thoughts immaculate,

His tears pure messengers sent from his heart,

His heart as far from fraud as heaven from earth.

Julia arrives in Milan disguised only to find herself being Proteus' wing-man to win over Silvia! Yet, Silvia is disgusted by Proteus and wants nothing to do with him:

Act IV, Scene 2

Silvia: You have your wish; my will is even this,

That presently you hie you home to bed.

Thou subtle, perjur'd, false, disloyal man,

Think'st thou I am so shallow, so conceitless,

To be seduced by thy flattery

That hast deceiv'd so many with thy vows?

When Proteus gets mad and tries to force himself on Silvia, Valentine comes out of the shadows to stop him and admonishes his pal:

Act V, Scene 4

Valentine: ...Who should be trusted, when one's own right hand

Is perjured to the bosom? Proteus,

I am sorry I must never trust thee more,

But count the world a stranger for thy sake.

The private wound is deepest. O time most accurst!

'Mongst all foes that a friend should be the worst!

Proteus begs forgiveness, which Valentine grants immediately and offers up Silvia (seriously?!?)

Act V, Scene 4

Valentine: All that was mine in Silvia I give thee.

But then Julia reveals herself, and Proteus professes his love for her:

Act V, Scene 4

Proteus:...O heaven, were man

But constant, he were perfect! That one error

Fills him with faults; makes him run through all th' sins:

Inconstancy falls off ere it begins.

What is in Silvia's face but I may spy

More fresh in Julia's with a constant eye?

And then they have a duel wedding!

Yeah, basically a soap opera!

Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare

Shakespeare 2020 Project

Friends, readers, bloggers, lend me your eyes and ears; I come to review Julius Caesar!

This was a WS play I had not read before, but was familiar with the well-known lines of "Friends, Romans, countrymen..." "Beware the ides of March" and "Et tu Brute?" Beyond that I knew little of the history of Caesar or WS's take on it.

I surprisingly discovered another famous line:

Act 1, Scene 2

Cassius: The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars,

But in ourselves, that we are underlings.

Recognize it? Yup, John Green's book and the movie The Fault in Our Stars.

Since Caesar is killed off (oops! Spoiler!) fairly early (Act III,Scene 1) the play is actually more about Brutus. A complicated character who believes he is doing the wrong thing for the right reasons (patriotism), egged on by his brother(in-law) Cassius who is in it all for the wrong reasons (envy).

Brutus considers the actions the conspirators are going to take against Caesar and why:

Act II, Scene 1

Brutus: Th' abuse of greatness is, when it disjoins

Remorse from power;...

Meanwhile Cassius is simply envious of Caesar and self-absorbed.

Cassius: How many ages hence

Shall this our lofty scene be acted over...

(Turns out many Cassius, many times over!!)

But Brutus and Cassius don't always see eye to eye and get into a sibling style spat:

Act IV, Scene 3

Cassius: You love me not.

Brutus: I do not like your faults.

Cassius: A friendly eye could never see such faults.

Brutus: A flatterer's would not, though they do appear

As huge as high Olympus.

And while the women, Portia and Calpurnia have small roles, they speak volumes. Calpurnia's vision could have changed history if Caesar had only listened to her. 

And Portia laments women's limitations and lack of equality and respect:

Act II, Scene 4

Portia: I have a man's mind, but a woman's might...

Act II, Scene 1

Portia (to Brutus): Within the bond of marriage...

Is it excepted I should know no secrets

That appertain to you? Am I your self

But, as it were, in sort or limitation?

To keep with you at meals, comfort your bed,

And talk to you sometimes? Dwell I but in the suburbs

Of your good pleasure? If it be no more,

Portia is Brutus' harlot, not his wife.

Even though Julius Caesar is a tragedy, WS can still have fun with word play:

Act 1, Scene 1

Second Citizen: ...I am but, as you would say, a cobbler.

***

Second Citizen: A trade, sir, that I hope I may use with a safe conscience, which is indeed, sir, a mender of bad soles.

***

Second Citizen: Nay, I beseech you, sir, be not out with me; yet, if you be out, sir, I can mend you.

Marullus: What mean'st thou by that? Mend me, thou saucy fellow!

Second Citizen: Why, sir, cobble you.

***

Flavius:...Why dost thou lead these men about the streets?

Second Citizen: Truly, sir, to wear out their shoes, to get myself into more work.

The final exchange between Brutus and Cassius seems fitting for these times of quarantine and self-isolation:

Act V, Scene 1

Brutus:...If we do meet again, why, we shall smile;...

Cassius:...If we do meet again, we'll smile indeed;...

King Richard the Third by William Shakespeare

Shakespeare 2020 Project

We all love a good villain and Richard is just that! 

He tells us from the very outset of the play his evil intentions:

1.1

Richard (Duke of Gloucester):...therefore, since I cannot prove a lover...

I am determined to prove a villain

And hate the idle pleasures of these days.

Plots have I laid, inductions dangerous,

By drunken prophecies, libels and dreams,...

and he reminds us throughout that he won't stop until he gains the crown and destroys anyone who may take it from him

4.2

King Richard:...I must be married to my brother's daughter,

Or else my kingdom stands on brittle glass.

Murder her brothers, and then marry her!

Uncertain way of gain! But I am in

So far in blood that sin will pluck on sin

Tear-falling pity dwells not in this eye.

Richard feigns religious devotion to win favor:

3.7

Buckingham: Two props of virtue for a Christian prince,

To stay him from the fall of vanity;

And, see, a book of prayer in his hand,

True ornaments to know a holy man.

And destroys those who show even a twinge of disloyalty:

4.2 (King Richard tells Buckingham to kill the 2 young princes and Buckingham wavers)

King Richard: The deep-revolting witty Buckingham

No more shall be the neighbor to my counsels.

Hath he so long held out with me, untir'd,

And stops he now for breath? Well, be it so.

Its hard not to compare Richard's manipulations, bullying and deceit to politics of today, which says much about Will's staying power and the relevancy of his works.

The verbal sparring between Anne and Richard and later Elizabeth and Richard is particularly entertaining though disappointingly ending in both women falling for his false charms despite the destruction he has brought to their families:

1.2
Anne: Foul devil...hence and trouble us not;
For thou hast made the happy earth thy hell,...
...heav'n, with lightning strike the murd'rer dead;
Or, earth, gape open wide and eat him quick,...
*
Anne: Oh wonderful, when devils tell the truth!
Richard (Duke of Gloucester): More wonderful when angels are so angry.
Vouchsafe, divine perfection of a woman,
Of these supposed crimes to give me leave
By circumstance but to acquit myself.
Anne: Vouchsafe, diffus'd infection of a man,
Of these known evils but to give me leave
By circumstance to accuse thy cursed self.
Richard (Duke of Gloucester): Fairer than tongue can name thee, let me have
Some patient leisure to excuse myself.
Anne: Fouler than heart can think thee, thou canst make
No excuse current but to hang thyself.
Richard (Duke of Gloucester): By such despair I should accuse myself.
Anne: And by despairing shalt thou stand excused...
*
Anne: Dost grant me, hedgehog? Then, God grant me too
Thou mayst be damned for the the wicked deed!
*
Richard (Duke of Gloucester): ...For he was fitter for that place [Heaven] than earth.
Anne: And thou unfit for any place but hell.
Richard (Duke of Gloucester): Yes, one place else, if you will hear me name it.
Anne: Some dungeon.
Richard (Duke of Gloucester): Your bed-chamber.

Richard's mother even laments his evil character:
2.2
Duchess: I have bewept a worthy husband's death,
And liv'd with looking on his images:
But now two mirrors of his princely semblance
Are crack'd in pieces by malignant death,
And I for comfort have but one false glass,
That grieves me when I see my shame in him.
*
4.1
Duchess: O ill-dispersing wind of misery!
O my accursed womb, the bed of death!
A cockatrice hast thou hatch'd to the world,
Whose unavoided eye is murderous.

In the end Richard endures his own karma
5.2
Blunt: He hath no friends but what are friends for fear,
Which in his dearest need will fly from him.

Some interesting fun facts about King Richard III:
Rumor has it that the English nursery rhyme Humpty Dumpty may have been about Richard III who was deformed from spinal scoliosis and "fell" when he was killed on the battle field.

In 2012 King Richard III's remains were discovered underneath a parking lot in Leicester, which was the former site of the Greyfriars church where he was unceremoniously buried in 1485.

        The Last Letter from Juliet
                 Melanie Hudson                                                                                   New Author

If you like Historical Romance, you will enjoy this book.  It was a little too romance-y for me but I did enjoy the history about the female pilots in England during WWII. 

The chapters are either told by Katherine in present day or  Katherine's reading of Juliet's memoirs.   I enjoyed Juliet's telling of her pilot days.

Goodreads says::

A story of love not a story of a war

A daring WWII pilot who grew up among the clouds, Juliet Caron’s life was one of courage, adventure – and a love torn apart by war. Every nook of her Cornish cottage is alive with memories just waiting to be discovered.

Katherine Henderson has escaped to Cornwall for Christmas, but she soon finds there is more to her holiday cottage than meets the eye. And on the eve of Juliet’s 100th birthday, Katherine is enlisted to make an old lady’s final Christmas wish come true…

Darkness, My Old Friend - Lisa Unger
              "U" Author
#monthlykeywordmarch

This was not a "gripping" thriller for me.  It was a good story , a little predictable at times but certainly kept my interest. 

In the 2nd book in the Hollows series,  we meet up with Jones Cooper who is now a retired cop. The book hints at something that happened in "Fragile", the first in the series but I did not remember what that was so I was a little lost at times.

We also are reintroduced to Eloise Montgomery, the local psychic.  She visits Jones and lists his help in an old case, a woman who disappeared 25 years ago.  It is slow moving but the character and story line are developed well.  I would suggest reading "Fragile" first, though. 

Goodreads  summary::

New York Times bestselling author Lisa Unger returns to The Hollows in this "gripping psychological thriller" (Publishers Weekly) that uses the fears found in everyday life to keep readers up all night. "This is one book that will have you racing to the last page, only to have you wishing the ride wasn’t over.” (Michael Connelly, #1 New York Times bestselling author)

After giving up his post at the Hollows Police Department, Jones Cooper is at loose ends. He is having trouble facing a horrible event from his past and finding a second act. He's in therapy. Then, on a brisk October morning, he has a visitor. Eloise Montgomery, the psychic who plays a key role in Fragile, comes to him with predictions about his future, some of them dire.

The Dream Daughter by Diane Chamberlain

2020 Key Word Challenge - March (Dream, Day, In, House, Luck, Friend)
Newest Book on TBR

Well, I know the meaning behind the title...the story invades your dreams and you find yourself getting up at 1:00 a.m. to read for the next 2 hours to finish the story!

There's little I can say about this book without spoiling it, so I'll just tell you to read it. While I was irritated at one point in the book (for those who've read it: the end of Part One? How could Hunter not know? C'mon!), but I understand how it allows the plot to evolve and what a plot it is!

This genre-spanning novel reads like a suspense thriller while it asks you to suspend reality for just a moment.

Goodreads Summary: When Caroline Sears receives the news that her unborn baby girl has a heart defect, she is devastated. It is 1970 and there seems to be little that can be done. But her brother-in-law, a physicist, tells her that perhaps there is. Hunter appeared in their lives just a few years before—and his appearance was as mysterious as his past. With no family, no friends, and a background shrouded in secrets, Hunter embraced the Sears family and never looked back.

Now, Hunter is telling her that something can be done about her baby's heart. Something that will shatter every preconceived notion that Caroline has. Something that will require a kind of strength and courage that Caroline never knew existed. Something that will mean a mind-bending leap of faith on Caroline's part.

And all for the love of her unborn child.

              Black Chalk  by  Christopher Yates
                                 Debut

I could not wait to finish this one.   I was intrigued by the premise of 6 college students playing some sort of psychological mind game but it turned out to be a stupid game of truth or dare.  So the entire book is about these kids thinking of the most embarrassing and humiliating stunts for their friends to do.  And of course the stunts get worse with every round of the game.  Anyway,  it was not an enjoyable read for me .   Sorry.