The Dream Daughter - Diane Chamberlain
             (Guilty Pleasure)

Touching and  un-putdownable (I think I just made that word up!)   It was not what I was expecting at all.
All I can really say is I could not stop reading this story about the lengths a mother will go for her daughter. 

Reads like suspense thriller but also a mixture of genres.

Goodread 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.

Cymbeline by William Shakespeare

Shakespeare Project 2020

Classified as a tragedy/comedy/romance, this is another obscure Shakespeare play that is improperly titled as it isn't about King Cymbeline as much as it is about his daughter, Imogen.

Against the wishes of her father the King and the evil-stepmother, Imogen secretly marries Posthumus rather than her step-brother Cloten. When the King discovers this he banishes Posthumus, so the 2 exchange tokens until they can be together again. She gives him a family ring and he gives her a bracelet - 

I.1 Posthumus: "It is a manacle of love; I'll place it

Upon this fairest prisoner."

 Cloten is a pompous mama's boy who cannot understand why Imogen spurns him in favor of Posthumus.

IV.1 Cloten:..."I mean, the lines of my body

are as well drawn as his; no less young, more strong, not

beneath him in fortunes, beyond him in the advantage of

the time, above him in birth, alike conversant in general

services, and more remarkable in single oppositions. Yet

this imperceiverant thing loves him in my despite."

Yet, there are those who will cater to Cloten:

I.2. First Lord: "Sir, as I told you always, her beauty and her 

brain go not together; she's a good sign, but I have seen small reflection of her wit."

When Iachimo (a sly Roman lord), in an attempt to win a bet with Posthumus that he can seduce Imogen, realizes Imogen is faithful; he steals her bracelet while she sleeps to show proof of her infidelity to Posthumus. As in Othello, the woman is not believed, and in this case does not even get to give her side of the story

II.4 Posthumus:"...I am sure

She would not lose it. Her attendants are 

All sworn and honourable - they induc'd to steal it!

And by a stranger! No, he hath enjoye'd her.

The cognizance of her incontinency

Is this: she hath bought the name of whore thus dearly."

Though Imogen does commit the ultimate sin of not using a bookmark!!

II.2 Imogen: "I have read three hours then. Mine eyes are weak;

Fold down the leaf where I have left. To bed."

Yet we must have some patience with our heroine as she is love sick.

IV.2 Imogen: "...I am ill, but your being by me

Cannot amend me; society is no comfort

To one not sociable."

When King Cymbeline (oh yeah, the guy the play is named after?) learns that his Queen is dead, he laments that we all must die

V.5. Cymbeline: "...By med'cine life may be prolong'd, yet death

Will seize the doctor too...."

As in Pericles, this tragic-comedy ends on a high note with lovers reunited, peace between warring nations and forgiveness to the wrong-doers.

V.5 Posthumus: "...The pow'r that I have on you is to spare you;

The malice towards you to forgive you. Live,

And deal with others better."

 A Beautiful Blue Death - Charles Finch
               Newest on TBR

I am enjoying getting to know Charles Lennox, amateur detective. He is on another murder case at the request of his long time friend, Lady Grey.  I wonder, if in up coming novels,  Charles and Lady Grey become more than friends.  I must read on!!

This is the first in the series but Mr. Finch wrote to prequels later in the series, one of which I have read.  Very enjoyable.

Goodreads summary:

One of Jane's former servants, Prudence Smith, is dead -- an apparent suicide. But Lenox suspects something far more sinister: murder, by a rare and deadly poison. The house where the girl worked is full of suspects, and though Prudence dabbled with the hearts of more than a few men, Lenox is baffled by an elusive lack of motive in the girl's death.

When another body turns up during the London season's most fashionable ball, Lenox must untangle a web of loyalties and animosities. Was it jealousy that killed Prudence? Or was it something else entirely, something that Lenox alone can uncover before the killer strikes again -- disturbingly close to home?

 A Separate Peace  - John Knowles
      Oldest on TBR

The friendship of 2 boys at a boarding school is changed when there is an incident happens.  This is also a time of innocence for these 16 and 17 year old boys as they face the possibility of WWII.

I liked some of the author's prose but feel that the story may be dated.  Not sure if today's teenage boys would relate to the events in the book.

Goodreads summary:
 An American classic and great bestseller for over thirty years, A Separate Peace is timeless in its description of adolescence during a period when the entire country was losing its innocence to the second world war.

Set at a boys boarding school in New England during the early years of World War II, A Separate Peace is a harrowing and luminous parable of the dark side of adolescence. Gene is a lonely, introverted intellectual. Phineas is a handsome, taunting, daredevil athlete. What happens between the two friends one summer, like the war itself, banishes the innocence of these boys and their world.

Pericles, Prince of Tyre by William Shakespeare

Shakespeare Project 2020

I really enjoyed this unknown (to me) and rarely performed play. While my edition classifies it as a tragedy, it is really a tragic-comedy. Spoiler: Not everyone dies at the end!

There are kings, shipwrecks, being buried alive at sea, attempted murder, pirates, a brothel, princesses, a nun and a happily-ever-after! Who could ask for anything more?

Pericles, after discovering while visiting a nearby country that there is an incestual relationship between the King Antiochus and his daughter, promises to stay silent

I.1 Pericles: "King, Few love to hear the sins they love to act;"

Knowing a bounty is on his head for having discovered the improper relationship Pericles sets sail to other lands. His first stop Tarsus which is struggling with famine:

I.4 Cleon (Governor): "One sorrow never comes but brings an heir

That may succeed as his inheritor;"

Pericles sets off again but his shipwrecked off the coast of Pentapolis where he assumes the role of a knight rather than the prince that he is:

II.3 Simonides: "Opinion's but a fool, that makes us scan

The outward habit by the inward man."

Here is where the Princess, Thaisa meets and falls for Pericles:

II.3 Thaisa: "All viands that I eat do seem unsavoury,

Wishing him my meat."

Hearing that the King Antiochus and his daughter are dead Pericles and his now wife, Thaisa set sail to return to Tyre but alas, another storm!

III.1 Pericles: "Thou god of this great vast, rebuke these surges,

Which wash both heaven and hell; and thou that hast

Upon the winds command, bind them in brass,

Having call'ed them from the deep! O, still

Thy deaf'ning dreadful thunders; gently quench

Thy nimble sulfurous flashes!...

...Thou stormest venomously;

Wilt thou spit all thyself?"

Upon Thaisa's death at sea (note: might want to double check for signs of life), Pericles drops his daughter, Marina, off at Tarsus with Cleon and his wife to raise. He vows not to cut his hair until she marries (remember this). Marina grows up to be very beautiful and Cleon's wife, Dionyza becomes jealous for her own daughter is getting no attention so she hires someone to murder Marina. 

IV.1 Dionyza: "Let not conscience,

Which is but cold, inflaming love in thy bosom,

Inflame too nicely; nor let pity, which

Even women have cast off, melt thee, but be

A soldier to thy purpose."

Marina pleads for her life:

IV.1 Marina: "I never spake bad word, nor did ill turn

To any living creature. Believe me, la,

I never kill'd a mouse, nor hurt a fly;

I trod upon a worm against my will,

But I wept for it...."

And she is captured by pirates only to be taken to Mytilene and sold to a brothel!!

Dionyza is unaware of the failed murder plot and to save face she commissions a monument as a memorial to Marina which Pericles visits when he returns after 14 years to be told his daughter his dead and he vows AGAIN to never cut his hair!

Thank goodness though, Pericles finds his daughter by chance when he visits Mytilene and then a dream tells him to venture to Ephesus where they are reunited with Thaisa (she survived her watery coffin when it arrived on the shore at the residence of a doctor) and they lived happily ever after!

Coal River by Ellen Marie Wiseman
             "W" author

A sad and distressing account of a small coal mining town in PA and one young woman who tries to make a difference.

Heartbreaking and a difficult read , mainly because of the racial tension that is happening in our world today.

Goodreads summary:

As a child, Emma Malloy left isolated Coal River, Pennsylvania, vowing never to return. Now, orphaned and penniless at nineteen, she accepts a train ticket from her aunt and uncle and travels back to the rough-hewn community. Treated like a servant by her relatives, Emma works for free in the company store. There, miners and their impoverished families must pay inflated prices for food, clothing, and tools, while those who owe money are turned away to starve.

Most heartrending of all are the breaker boys Emma sees around the village--young children who toil all day sorting coal amid treacherous machinery. Their soot-stained faces remind Emma of the little brother she lost long ago, and she begins leaving stolen food on families' doorsteps, and marking the miners' bills as paid.

Though Emma's actions draw ire from the mine owner and police captain, they lead to an alliance with a charismatic miner who offers to help her expose the truth. And as the lines blur between what is legal and what is just, Emma must risk everything to follow her conscience.

  The Words Between Us - Erin Bartels
                 New Author

#2020keywordchallenge - June -WORDS

Meet Robin, owner of a bookstore and lover of books.  Also meet younger Robin as a teenager when her parents are both arrested and she goes to live with her grandmother, a woman Robin has never met.  So a dual timeline,then and now.   A bit of a mystery, and a bit of a love story.  Nice easy read.

Goodreads summary:
Robin Windsor has spent most of her life under an assumed name, running from her family's ignominious past. She thought she'd finally found sanctuary in her rather unremarkable used bookstore just up the street from the marina in River City, Michigan. But the store is struggling and the past is hot on her heels.

When she receives an eerily familiar book in the mail on the morning of her father's scheduled execution, Robin is thrown back to the long-lost summer she met Peter Flynt, the perfect boy who ruined everything. That book--a first edition Catcher in the Rye--is soon followed by the other books she shared with Peter nearly twenty years ago, with one arriving in the mail each day. But why would Peter be making contact after all these years? And why does she have a sinking feeling that she's about to be exposed all over again?

A Thousand Roads Home by Carmel Harrington

Once Upon a Book Club - September 2019
New Author

A heart-warming story about people on the fringe of society; those that don't fit into society's ever-changing definition of "normal". Outsiders who just want someone to care about them and to find someone that they can care for. A reminder for us not to judge someone by the clothes they wear, the tics they may have, or their circumstances. Everyone deserves to be treated with kindness and with a little understanding.

From the book jacket: Meet Tom. Or Dr. O'Grady, as he used to be called. When you pass him on the street, most people don't even give him a second glance. You see, Tom isn't living his best life. Burdened by grief, he's only got his loyal dog, Bette Davis, for company and a rucksack containing his whole world.

Then there's Ruth and her son, DJ, who no longer have a place to call home. But Ruth believes that you can change the world by helping one person at a time - and Tom needs her help...

Quotes: "'Laws and rules should be recognized as only an approximate guide to actions by the people. They are never meant to enslave us. Just a guide.'"

"'I really wanted her to give herself a different ending.'"

"'...And if you are lucky, when you fall in love that person loves you back in the exact same way. That's the best kind of love, one that is received and reciprocated.'"

Love's Labour's Lost by William Shakespeare

Shakespeare Project 2020

This was one of Shakespeare's earlier comedies  and I have to say I didn't much enjoy this one. I found the humor and word play lacking, but it could be because some of the references were for the Elizabethan crowd at the time (1500's-1600's)

This play is known for having the single longest word in all of the plays: honorificabilitudinitatibus. Which is translated to "the state of being able to achieve honours." 

This is said by Costard, the clown as he converses with the other comedic and wordy character, Holofernes, the school master. The preacher, Sir Nathaniel, in trying to impress, move, affect Holofernes:

V.1

"...Your reasons at dinner have been sharp and sententious; pleasant without

scurrility, witty without affection, audacious without

impudency, learned without opinion, and strange

without heresy...."

Berowne, a lord of the court, was by far the most outspoken of the 4 gents who swore off women for 3 years to study, until they learn that the Princess of France and her ladies are coming to the court. 

IV.3

"I will not love; if I do, hang me.

I' faith, I will not. O, but her eye! By this light, but for

her eye, I would not love her - yes, for her two eyes."

When he busts his buddies for reading and writing love notes, he tries to deny his own feelings of love for one of the ladies:

IV.3

"I am betrayed by keeping company

With men like you, men of inconstancy.

When shall you see me write a thing in rhyme?

Or groan for Joan? or spend a minute's time

In pruning me? When shall you hear that I

Will praise a hand, a foot, a face, an eye,

A gait, a state, a brow, a breast, a waist,

A leg, a limb..."

Berowne owns up to his own failings of their sequestered study group and tries to convince them instead the best way to learn is by studying women!

IV.3

"From women's eyes this doctrine I derive:

They are the ground, the books, the academes,

From whence doth spring the true Promethean fire."

There is a serious moment when the French Princess is informed that her father has died and she must return home. Berowne has a poignant line (though I'm taking this out of context):

V.2

"Honest plain words best pierce the ear of grief;..."

The play ends on a weird song of winter and spring sung by an owl and a cuckoo. And we gladly exeunt this play.

  As Death Draws Near - Anna Lee Huber
                   Series

Well, not my favorite caper of Lady Darby's.  The investigation into the murder of not one but two nuns seem very drawn out.  Maybe there was too much information about the conflict between the Irish Protestants and the Catholics.  Very good for history buffs but a little too much for me.

Goodreads::
June 1831. In the midst of their idyllic honeymoon in England’s Lake District, Kiera and Gage’s seclusion is soon interrupted by a missive from her new father-in-law. A deadly incident involving a distant relative of the Duke of Wellington has taken place at an abbey south of Dublin, Ireland, and he insists that Kiera and Gage look into the matter.

Intent on discovering what kind of monster could murder a woman of the cloth, the couple travel to Rathfarnham Abbey school. Soon a second nun is slain in broad daylight near a classroom full of young girls. With the sinful killer growing bolder, the mother superior would like to send the students home, but the growing civil unrest in Ireland would make the journey treacherous.