The Glass Ocean

                     Beatriz Williams, Lauren Willig, Karen White
                                     (Historical Fiction)

2 time periods,  3 women.
Sarah , in 2013, is researching her family history for a new novel she is trying to write.  Her great-great-grandfather was a steward on the Lusitania.  She finds a connection with a family named Langford and travels to England to meet John Langford , whose great-great-grandfather was also on the Lusitania.  They start digging in the family archives and discover some hidden family secrets.

In 1915, we meet Tess and Caroline, who are both on board the Lusitania.  Caroline is a first-class passenger who is questioning her marriage  and Tess is second-class passenger who is a thief trying to steal something from Caroline. 

There is intrigue, espionage, and romance in this novel.   However,  I find it difficult to classify it as a true historical fiction.  For me,  I need more historical facts than the time and place in which a novel takes place.  Also,   I do not enjoy romantic love stories, which this book had too much of. 
But still an enjoyable read. 

The Woman in the Window by A. J. Finn

Debut Novel

Once Upon a Book Club
January 2018

Accolades to A.J. Finn for an astounding debut.  We become acquainted with alcoholic, agoraphobic, Anna, and from the onset we are absorbed with finding the answers to this alluring mystery.

You will become agoraphobic yourself, as you will not want to put this book down to leave the house.  Finn's past and present plot lines keep the reader riveted; often times holding your breath as the Hitchockian drama plays out. 

Now excuse me as I go refill my wineglass...

Quotes:  "...check the clock on the wall: 10:10, a waxed mustache on its face."

"Outside, a light snow began to shake down, frail little kamikaze flakes smiting themselves against the windows."

"I'd been prepared to share the whole story, to decant myself..." [pretty creative writing as she is an alcoholic, get it??]

Okay, so I may not have finished my A to Z Challenge....yet!  BUT, I (Couscous) did reach a milestone on our blog!  I've hit 100 books of my toppling book pile!!!!  Woot! Woot!

You Suck (A Love Story) by Christopher Moore

Guilty Pleasure

2018 A to Z Challenge - Y

I had limited "Y" books on my shelf, so was glad that I had this one to get back to quirky and fun, Christopher Moore!  This is the 2nd in his vampire love story trilogy.  A far cry from Twilight or Anne Rice novels!

It did have his offbeat wit but I didn't enjoy nearly as much as some of his other books (Fluke, Stupidest Angel) which truly do make me laugh out loud.  This one only garnered a few chuckles from me.

I will have to read the 3rd one though (Bite Me) to find out what happens to Tommy, Jody, Abby Normal and the Animals!

Quotes:  "Will my brain always be like this? I mean, will I get any smarter, or is that stuck in time, too?  Well, yeah, but that's because you're a man, not because you're a vampire."

"You're the one with almost an MBA,...You should know what to do.  They don't cover what to do with a dead hooker,...That's a whole different program.  Political science,  I think."

                              The Bat  -  Jo Nesbo

                                      Series

I chose this book because I heard a lot about the book "The Snowman" by Jo Nesbo and since it was part of a series,  I had to start with the first book of the series.   Unfortunately,  I was a little disappointed but I am intrigued with Harry Hole and will continue with the series.

Anyway,  we first meet Harry Hole, a detective from Norway, in Australia.  He was sent there to help solve the murders of several young blond girls.  It is a good mystery "who-done-it" with maybe too much Australian folk-lore used as fill-in.   And maybe because I don't know much about Australia, I was lost quite a few times.  There was also a lot of back information on Harry,  sort of like we needed to get to know Harry real quick.  But like I said,  I am intrigued by Harry and will read the next in this series called,  "The Cockroaches". 

                               

And......we have a DRAGON!!!

Bookworm successfully completed the 2018 A to Z Challenge!!  Reading all 26 books in 9 months!!!!

Way to go!!!!  Couscous is right behind her.

Stay tuned as we gear up to tackle next year's challenge!!!

UPDATE:  Couscous finished the Challenge!!  With a couple weeks to spare!!!

            The Virgin Blue - Tracy Chevalier
                      Historical Fiction

This was Tracy Chevalier's first novel.  It is considered historical fiction because it mentions the religious wars in France in the 1600's.

 The story is told in 2 voices,  one of Isabelle Tournier who is suspected of witchcraft because of her red hair and her belief in the Virgin Mary during those 1600's religious wars.

The second voice is Ella Turner, who goes to France with her husband and discovers her family ancestors and a connection to the Tourniers of the 1600's.

To me, this novel was more of  literary fiction than historical .  I enjoyed the first half to two-thirds of the book,  but was put off by the way the book wrapped up at the end.

This was also my last book to read in the "A to Z Reading Challenge by GingerMom..   This was a fun way to read book off of my bookshelves.   Thanks to GingerMom and the #2018atozchallenge

        Last Girl Seen  -  Nina Laurin
                            DEBUT

This was not the shocking, psychological thriller that I was hoping for.
It was a good book and kept me turning the pages to find out what would happen next.

Lainey was kidnapped 13 years ago at the age of 10.   Now another girl has disappeared.  The girl's parents reach out to Lainey because they think it is the same man who took Lainey 13 years ago.

 Lainey is a broken soul and takes pills just to get thru the day and to help ease the nightmares. So is she helping or hurting the missing girl's case. 

I did figure out one part of the story but there were several twists and turns that I did not see coming.   All in all, it was a good read.
           

A Fistful of Collars by Spencer Quinn

Series

Another Chet and Bernie; another tail of mystery told through Chet's eyes and nose.  Chet's not as funny the 5th time around with his surprising tail wagging and forgetfulness.

The redundancy of Chet often makes me zone out and actually miss some of the mystery plot line.  Basically I'll just be glad when I've finished this series (though #9 is being published next year (2019) after a 4 year hiatus - UGH!)

Red Sky in Morning by Paul Lynch

Debut Novel

2018 A to Z Challenge - R

This book took a little bit of getting used to at first.  Because of the prose, the lyrical writing style of Lynch, it is not a fast moving book and because I have lists and lists of books that I need to get to I probably jumped into this with an expectation of a quick read.  Once I settled down, Huppidy hah!, I found myself really enjoying Lynch's writing.

I found myself comparing it to what I remembered of On the Road by Jack Kerouac, but with the addition in Red Sky of a nasty villain that provides some suspense in the book.

It is worth reading the author's interview (found in the edition I read - 2013 ISBN9780316230261) as he explains the idea behind the book and some real life facts that I will not divulge as I do not want to give away the ending.

The book may not be for everyone, with the prose style it feels like the plot ambles along, there is some foul language and there are no quotation marks to set off speaking parts.  But for me, while it wasn't my favorite book, Lynch does have 2 other novels that I will considering reading in the future.

Quote:  "...he was auditioning ideas of talk man to man that would settle things."

"Evening loitered then draped itself upon the sky."

                Zorro  -  Isabel Allende

                   "Z" book  - #2018atozchallenge

Indians, Pirates, Gypsies,  Sword fights!! Oh, my!!!

Well, some of these did happen in this book,  but this is a story about Diego de la Vega as a young man.  We learn how his parents met, when Diego was born and what he was like as a child. We come to know why he was a warrior for the underdog and the helpless and how the persona  of Zorro came about.

We also visit Spain during the time the French were invading the country and where Diego sees more brutal injustices.

All in all, this was an enjoyable, but not adventuress, book. Isabel Allende is a talented author and I was able to travel back in time with her writing.                                   

                                                                     #2018atozchallenge                                                            (one more letter and I will have completed this challenge.  One book  title for each letter of the alphabet)                                                     

Now or Never by Elizabeth Adler

New Author

2018 A to Z Challenge - N

A classic hardened detective story, with the addition of a troubled and beautiful news crime journalist (think a less abrasive Nancy Grace).

Adler did a good job of keeping basically 3 plot lines flowing smoothly:  the hunt for a killer, the budding romance of our lead detective and the secretive past story of our news journalist.  The romance got a little more play than I would have liked, but overall they were nicely balanced.  Jumping from one plot line to another kept the reader turning the pages to see how each story would end and come together with the others.

While I may not seek out all 30+ of her novels, I do have 2 more on my shelf that I will read sooner rather than later.

The Underground River by Martha Conway

Historical Fiction

2018 A to Z Challenge - U

Like a calm river that can quickly turn rough, this book started slow but flowed along a strong current and the last 150 pages...what a ride!

I could relate to the main character, May; who learned of the horrors of slavery as she traveled the Ohio River (the dividing line between the North/South a/k/a Free/Slave states) who had empathy but like many now and then who acknowledge a societal problem but feel it is too large for their actions to make a difference so they do nothing; yet when forced to, would/could/should we act?

The Quickie by James Patterson and Michael Ledwidge

Guilty Pleasure

2018 A to Z Challenge - Q

I got away from reading James Patterson when he became such a prolific writer.  While he still writes a readable thriller, its more due to the formula of short chapters with cliffhangers that propels the reader to keep going versus a tightly wound plot or indepth characters.

This book was no different.  I only picked it up because I needed a "Q" title and I happened to have this.  There were parts I definitely saw coming and a few that I didn't and a few more that just didn't add up in a realistic fashion.  BUT...it was a Quick read and it accomplished my alphabet goal!

I'll be hard pressed to read any more of Patterson when there are so many other suspense thrillers that offer more in the way of character development while still providing heart-pounding thrills.
#2018AtoZChallenge

           Unorthodox -   Deborah Feldman

                      "U" - Author

I really wanted to like this book.  Two of my friends raved about it but unfortunately I did not end up liking it.

Deborah was a member of a sect of the Hasidic Jews in New York.   It was interesting to learn of their traditions and many of their rituals, of how Deborah was controlled by those traditions and the rules women had to follow.

Deborah questioned many of the rules of her faith . Why couldn't she learn English, why couldn't she read books and go to college.?  And why did she have to get married at the age of 17? Just to name a few.

For me, the writing style was immature and whiny at times.  She also left many unanswered questions of my own.  Maybe she should have waited a few more years before telling her story, as interesting as it was.

                                     #2018atozchallenge