Clover Blue - Eldonna Edwards
              Newest on TR

Clove Blue is an 11 year old boy living in a commune in the 1960's.  To really simplify the story, Blue begins to have questions concerning is birth parents, his real name, and other things about his true identity.   All of these questions cause problems for the leader, Gogi.

This is a nice coming-of-age story set in the freedom and openness of commune living.  A place where everything is share and secrets are not kept.   Well, except maybe just a couple.

Goodreads::

Part coming-of-age tale, part love story, part mystery, Clover Blue tenderly explores an unconventional but no less complex family that resonates with our deep-rooted yearning for home.

  A Thousand Roads Home - Carmel Harrington

       Newest on my tbr - OUBC -Sept 2019

A sweet, heart-warming tale about friendships and second chances.

Ruth and her son lose their apartment and end up homeless.  They are able to live in a hotel  while waiting for a place in government housing with other people in similar situations. 

Then we have Tom, a sad old guy who lives on the streets by choice because of his deep grief.  Tom becomes friends with Ruth's son and all of their lives begin to change.   Wonderful characters and a feel-good story. 

Goodreads says it so much better:::

‘Where is home?’ DJ asked.
‘Wherever the people you love are.’ Ruth replied.

Single mother, Ruth, and her son, DJ, have never truly fitted in, but that didn’t matter, so long as they were together. When their home comes under threat, their quiet life will change forever.

DJ meets Tom, a man who ten years ago walked out of his house and never looked back. Ruth, DJ and Tom have all felt like outsiders. Burdened with grief and insecurities, they are not living their best lives. But together, these three ordinary people will do an extraordinary thing…

  Shatter   -  Michael Robotham
                "R" - author

This book could also be my guilty pleasure.  I enjoy a good suspense thriller and I found this to be one.

Joe O'Loughlin, who can be found in 2 other books by Mr. Robotham,  is a psychology professor who has been called to a bridge where a young woman is threatening suicide.  He is not able to save her because someone is talking to her on her cell phone and telling her to jump.  She says to Joe, "You don't understand".   Oh,  and she was naked!!!!  How can someone have so much control over someone just by talking to them on the phone? 

Joe gets more involved and by doing so will he be putting his own family at risk??   Then there is a second suicide, or is it?   As I said,  good suspense!!

Goodreads::
 Joe is shattered by the suicide and haunted by his failure to save the woman, until her teenage daughter finds him and reveals that her mother would never have committed suicide—not like that. She was terrified of heights. Compelled to investigate, Joe is soon obsessed with discovering who was on the other end of the phone. What could have driven her to commit such a desperate act? Whose voice? What evil?

Having devoted his career to repairing damaged minds, Joe must now confront an adversary who tears them apart: a man who searches for the cracks in a person’s psyche and claws his fingers inside, destroying what makes them whole

The Night Olivia Fell by Christina McDonald

Debut
2019 A to Z Challenge - "N"

A captivating read, alternating between 2 voices: present day Abi and the past told by Olivia.  Everyone we meet is a potential suspect!!  Well written suspense (though not a complete surprise when the whodunit was revealed), and a emotional journey of a single mother/daughter relationship.

Summary from Goodreads: In the small hours of the morning, Abi Knight is startled awake by the phone call no mother ever wants to get: her teenage daughter Olivia has fallen off a bridge. Not only is Olivia brain dead, she’s pregnant and must remain on life support to keep her baby alive. And then Abi sees the angry bruises circling Olivia’s wrists.   When the police unexpectedly rule Olivia’s fall an accident, Abi decides to find out what really happened that night. Heartbroken and grieving, she unravels the threads of her daughter’s life. Was Olivia’s fall an accident? Or something far more sinister?

Quotes: "There was never a guarantee you wouldn't lose those you loved."

"...when you start to heal you can start living again."

"Trust, I'd learned, was the greatest gift you could give, the greatest gift to receive.  The belief that a person wouldn't betray you required [a] strength and confidence..."

    Victory for the Shipyard Girls --- Nancy Revell

@AtoZChallenge2019 - "V"

This is the 5th book in the series "Shipyard Girls',    not a good time to jump into this series. 

I met 5 women who are working in a shipyard in England during WWII.   Rosie, Helen, Gloria, Hannah and Pearl.   There was a lot of backstory on each one of them that I missed by reading the 5th book in this series.  I think these would be good chick-lit books, but really need to start at the beginning.  There will be lots of life drama and situations.

Goodreads says::


With the war showing no sign of abating, Helen is thriving in her role as shipyard manager. But at home the return of her father brings a shocking discovery that tears her family apart.

Gloria is shouldering the burden of a terrible secret. If the truth comes out there could be dire consequences, and it will take all her resolve to resist the pressure around her.

Meanwhile Rosie is throwing herself into her work, taking on as many shifts as she can. Anything to keep her mind off the fact that she hasn’t heard from her sweetheart in months…

With life in the shipyards tougher than ever, will the strength of their friendship see them through to victory?

the Ice Queen by Alice Hoffman

Guilty Pleasure
2019 A to Z Challenge - "Q"

An old school fairy tale including the ever afters; what makes them happily ever after?  I suppose, like real life, its more perspective than anything else.

There was a little bit of repetition in this tale, but not enough to annoy, just enough to notice.  Nonetheless, I felt connected to the story yet I can't exactly say why.  Maybe because I just needed reminding to live in the now; to not wish for more or less, to just be present.

Summary from Goodreads: Be careful what you wish for. A small town librarian lives a quiet life without much excitement. One day, while standing in her house, she 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. Will Lazarus prove to be the talisman that restores her to girlhood innocence and possibility?

Quotes:  "People expected certain things of me: assistance, silence, comfort."

"Our house was littered with books...far too many for her to ever finish."

"In every fairy tale the right way was the difficult path, the one that led over boulders, through brambles, across a field of fire."

"'I don't want to hurt you,'...That's what they all said, and then they went ahead and did anyway."

"...love and why it mattered.  It was an idea,...nothing real, nothing lasting, nothing to live or die for."

"Happily ever after doesn't mean happy forever."

    The Sugar Queen -- Sarah Addison Allen

#2019AtoZChallenge - "Q"
MonthMotif - October - Tricks and Trades

This story is a bit of a love story, new friendships and some magic thrown in.  Cute chick - lit book.

Josey's life is a bit boring.  She live with her mother, answering her every beck and call as Josey waits for the mailman,  the hi-light of her day. Josey has a secret crush on him)
She hides sweets and romance novels in her closet where she escapes to each night.   One night, when she goes to her closet,  she finds Della Lee hiding in her closet.!!!!    So while Josey tries to get Della Lee out of her closet,  and out of her hidden sweet stash,   Della Lee helps Josey to get out of her shell.

Goodreads::

Twenty-seven-year-old Josey is sure of three things: winter in her North Carolina hometown is her favorite season; she's a sorry excuse for a Southern belle; and sweets are best eaten in the privacy of her hidden closet. For while Josey has settled into an uneventful life in her mother's house, her one consolation is the stockpile of sugary treats and paperback romances she escapes to each night ...Until she finds her closet harboring none other than local waitress Della Lee Baker, a tough-talking, tender-hearted woman who is one part nemesis - and two parts fairy godmother 

the Magician's Lie by Greer Macallister

New Author
2019 October Motif - Tricks and Trades

What an intriguing book.  I enjoyed everything about it.  The back and forth from Arden's interrogation in the police station to her back story; the historical aspects of the first female magician, Adelaide, the construction of the NYC public library, the Iroquois Theater; and the whodunit of the dead husband.  I look forward to reading more of Macallister's historical mystery/fiction novels!

Summary from Goodreads: a debut novel in which the country’s most notorious female illusionist stands accused of her husband's murder --and she has only one night to convince a small-town policeman of her innocence.


Quotes: "now you know one of my weaknesses.  I believe the things people tell me."

"Days that change your life don't always feel momentous."

"Sorting the wheat from the chaff was more effort than I cared to expend."

"...despite the differences between men and women, they came apart just the same way under a blade."

"It's amazing how well you can know someone, how much you can love them, and still not really know what it is they're thinking."

    The Turn of the Key - Ruth Ware
                 Guilty Pleasure

#2019AtoZChallenge - "T"


                 
Good ghost story.  I could only read it during the day because of the happenings in the book.  Rowan is accused of murder and the story is told through a letter to her lawyer

Rowan takes on a job as a nanny for 4 girls....,2 young ones, a baby and 1 away at school.  On the day she arrives for her first day,  Rowan is told that both parents have to go out of town for a couple of weeks.  Rowan , who has really only work at a day care facility, has no real experience being an in-house nanny.   Right away the 2 young girls run away and Rowan finds them in a very strange & locked up garden,  and they tell her about the last 4 nannies, who all left after being there for very short times. 
 
Goodreads :::  What she doesn’t know is that she’s stepping into a nightmare—one that will end with a child dead and herself in prison awaiting trial for murder.
She knows she’s made mistakes. She admits that she lied to obtain the post, and that her behavior toward the children wasn’t always ideal. She’s not innocent, by any means. But, she maintains, she’s not guilty—at least not of murder. Which means someone else is

The Last Time I Saw You by Liv Constantine

Newest Book on TBR
2019 A to Z Challenge - "Y"

To summarize in one word...disappointed.  I positively loved the debut, The Last Mrs. Parrish and was sooooooo looking forward to this new release by the sister writing duo of Liv Constantine.

Summary from Goodreads:  Dr. Kate English has it all. Not only is she the heiress to a large fortune; she has a gorgeous husband and daughter, a high-flying career, and a beautiful home anyone would envy.  But all that changes the night Kate’s mother, Lily, is found dead, brutally murdered in her own home. Heartbroken and distraught, Kate reaches out to her estranged best friend, Blaire Barrington, who rushes to her side for the funeral, where the years of distance between them are forgotten in a moment.   That evening, Kate’s grief turns to horror when she receives an anonymous text: You think you’re sad now, just wait. By the time I’m finished with you, you’ll wish you had been buried today. More than ever, Kate needs her old friend’s help.   Once Blaire decides to take the investigation into her own hands, it becomes clear that all is not as it seems in Baltimore high society. As infidelity, lies, and betrayals come to light, and tensions rise to a boiling point, she begins to alienate Kate’s friends and relatives with her relentless, accusatory questions, as she tries to find Lily’s killer. The murderer could be anyone—friend, neighbor, loved one. But whoever it is, it’s clear that Kate is next on their list. . .

Ooh, sounds good right?  While the writing was quick (I easily read this within a day or so), so it was easy to pick up and the tempo kept the pages flying, but it was terribly predictable and therefore, almost boring; the build up of suspense was rash and easily dismissed and the characters and their behaviors were so typical, rather trite.  At least it fit my "Y" Challenge spot!

The Seven Rules of Elvira Carr - Frances Maynard
                         Debut

#2019AtoZChallenge - "S"
#monthlymotif - Sept. - number

Poor Elvira!    Because of her "condition" she stills lives at home with her mother.  Elvira is 27 years old and is socially awkward, partly because her mother has always told her she is   So when Elvira's mother suffers a stroke and needs to go to an assisted living facility,  Elvira is left on her own for the very first time. 
    Elvira comes up with seven rules to help her cope with the ins and outs of  daily life.  Along the way she discovers some family secrets that even make the seven rules difficult to follow.

If you like "Eleanor Oliphant is Complete Fine,"  then you need to meet Elvira!!!

Goodreads says::
Elvira Carr believes in rules. She also strongly believes in crisp schedules, clear guidelines, and taking people at face value. Not that the twenty-seven-year-old sees many people. After several unfortunate incidents, her overbearing mother keeps her at home.

But when her mother has a stroke, Elvira is suddenly on her own. To help her navigate a world that is often puzzling, she draws up seven ironclad rules. Armed with these, a notebook full of questions, and guidance from a helpful neighbor, she takes charge of herself ― and realizes that something isn't quite right about the life she thought she knew.

She'll need all the courage, perseverance and curious charm she can muster to unravel the mystery of what happened to her family and to manager her own life, her way

The Prize Winner of Defiance, Ohio by Terry Ryan

"R" Author
2019 A to Z Challenge - "Z"

So we tweaked the A to Z Challenge on this one, as we didn't have any Z titled books in our library and to prevent having to buy a book to complete the Challenge, we allowed for X and Z (and maybe Y) to simply be in the title, anywhere in the title.

This was such a fun and enjoyable read and truly heartwarming to boot!  Interspersed within the family saga are many of Mrs. Ryan's contest entries, photos of the entry forms and family and publicity photos.

Summary from GoodReads: Evelyn Ryan, an enterprising woman who kept poverty at bay with wit, poetry, and perfect prose during the "contest era" of the 1950s and 1960s. Standing up to the church, her alcoholic husband, and antiquated ideas about women, Evelyn turned every financial challenge into an opportunity for innovation, all the while raising her six sons and four daughters with the belief that miracles are an everyday occurrence. Evelyn Ryan's story is told by her daughter Terry with an infectious joy that shows how a winning spirit and sense of humor can triumph over adversity every time.

Not only did Mrs. Ryan try to keep poverty at bay from her family of 10 children with her winning entries, but more importantly with her optimism, positivity and down right doggedness.  The book is as inspiring as it is entertaining.

And I enjoyed my own trip down memory lane of growing up in Ohio and experiencing blizzards and "tickle hills".

Judge & Jury by James Patterson & Andrew Gross

Guilty Pleasure
2019 A to Z Challenge - "J"

Summary from jamespatterson.com: When a single mom and aspiring actress ends up on an important jury, she must team up with an FBI agent to hunt down a vicious and powerful mob boss.

Guilty pleasure or rather a reading palate cleanser this was (or as one reviewer called it literature junk food), but beyond that....It's much like watching an action flick.  You watch it for the anticipation of action you can foresee, the exhilaration of the chase, but not for any depth in character or for any thought-provoking subplot.

Patterson's books are quick and easy reads.  Short chapters, short succinct sentences - not quite a movie script, but close.  It wasn't a bad book (though there were some really far-fetched scenarios), it was a typical Patterson book and I guess I've gone beyond him.  Especially when there are other suspense/thriller writers that write with more depth and meaning.

I'm also not overly into legal thrillers, considering I work in the legal field it's not much of an escapism for me!  But this book was on my shelf and it fit my J challenge!

Kaaterskill Falls by Allegra Goodman

Oldest Book on TBR
2019 A to Z Challenge - "K"

While I appreciate the writing of Ms. Goodman - as one reviewer described this novel: relaxing.  I felt I was missing so much because the Jewish terminology, practices and history were not fleshed out and frankly, I didn't feel like putting that much work into researching it myself apart from the novel; so I feel other readers who are more familiar will get so much more out of this book than I did.  For example: in one paragraph were the terms "shul", "daven", "mechitzah", "bima", "drash".  Through context I was able to discern some of them, but not enough to form a complete picture in my mind.

Aside from that the novel reads well, slow but not drawn out and deals with the complexity of living a religious life and to what extent.

As an aside, I would love to visit the real location of Kaaterskill Falls in NY!

Summary from Goodreads:    The stories of three Orthodox Jewish families, each of whom is tugged between religious tradition and the secular world. The story takes place in the upstate New York town of Kaaterskill, summer Mecca for the tightly knit Kirshner sect. Model wife and mother Elizabeth Shulman pictures her community as a sort of Mont-Saint-Michel, an island both joined and separated from the outside world as if by rising and falling tides. Fascinated with what lies on the spiritual mainland, she hides behind the reassuring rhythms of religious observance, though she's inspired with a "desire, as intense as prayer," to create something all her own.

Despite her pious husband's doubts, she does, in the form of a store catering to Kaaterskill's "summer people"--a community Goodman brings memorably to life. The Shulmans' neighbor Andras Melish, a Hungarian who fled World War II and a vanished world of assimilated European Jewry, struggles to understand his young Argentinian wife Nina, whose need for tradition grows with each passing year. The ailing Rav Kirshner must decide which son will carry on in his shoes: dutiful but plodding Isaiah or his brilliant but secular brother Jeremy. Andras and Nina's daughter befriends an Arab girl, while Elizabeth and Isaac's daughter dreams in secret of Israel. Meanwhile, the town's year-round residents observe the Orthodox newcomers with bewilderment and occasional dismay.

Quotes:  "He hates that kind of superstition...he prefers doubt and skepticism to that kind of belief.  For the skeptic's questions may provide a ground for learning, but the ignorant believer cannot reason."

      The Long Flight Home - Alan Hlad
                 Historical Fiction

#colormotifchallenge- green  well, blue-green

I never knew that carrier pigeons, or homing pigeons, were used by the British in WWII.  This was an enjoyable and interesting read.  I wish the author had delved into the work of the homing pigeons a little more.

Susan and her grandfather raise homing pigeons in England. They are asked to volunteer their pigeons for the war effort, to have the pigeons bring back intelligence to the British.   Dutchess, Susan's pet pigeon, gets accidentally loaded onto the plane that will be dropping the pigeons over German- occupied France.  How many of the thousands of pigeons will actually make it back?

Ollie , an American , tries to sign up with the RAF, but runs across a nasty British officer and Susan's grandfather steps in to save Ollie from jail time.  So Ollie spends a few weeks at Susan's farm and gets to know her and her pigeons.    Then when Ollie gets caught behind enemy lines ( no, I am not going to tell you how that happened.),  Dutchess is able to get messages from Ollie to Susan./

A heart-warming story,  maybe more little love story than actual historical fiction.  I would love to know how the British were able to use any of the Intel that the pigeons were able to bring back.