Bookworm has reached another milestone!!  200 books off her Toppling Book Pile!!! While she's certainly read more than 200 books since the inception of our blog, she has posted 200 book reviews here on our blog!  Congrats!!!

    The Book of Two Ways - Jodi Picoult                                                            (                           (Newest)   

#monopolychallenge -  Community Chest - favorite author

I am sorry to say that this was a disappointing book for me. I enjoy Ms.Picoult's writing but this one seemed to be written for a different audience. A more educated audience in the science of Egyptology.  It was interesting to learn about the history of Egypt and hieroglyphics but it really went over my head most of the time.

Then the love story aspect ,  really Jodi.  Way to romancey  for me..  Then the death doula part, while interesting ,was difficult for me because of my mom's death not to long ago.   There is Ms. Picoult's signature twist at the end, more confusing that thought provoking.

Goodreads:

Everything changes in a single moment for Dawn Edelstein. She's on a plane when the flight attendant makes an announcement: prepare for a crash landing. She braces herself as thoughts flash through her mind. The shocking thing is, the thoughts are not of her husband, but a man she last saw fifteen years ago: Wyatt Armstrong.

Dawn, miraculously, survives the crash, but so do all the doubts that have suddenly been raised. She has led a good life. Back in Boston, there is her husband, Brian, her beloved daughter, and her work as a death doula, where she helps ease the transition between life and death for patients in hospice.

 

 The Black Angel by John Connolly

Monopoly Book Challenge - Pacific Avenue - A book by an author whose first or last initial can be found in "PACIFIC"
Series

After reading as far as I could in the Lady Darby series I returned to the John Connolly series starring Charlie Parker. This is a series that Bookworm and I started during our road trips, primarily on the 20+ hour drive to Florida every year. We no longer do that trip and well, with the pandemic we are doing no trips, sadly.

This one (5th in the series) was a struggle with the supernatural forces of good and evil. Supernatural/paranormal is not a fav of mine, so its a good thing I still like Charlie Parker and his snarky sense of humor.

There was also a ton of research on, well on a lot of things including the Book of Enoch and the origin of demons and fallen angels, and the Sedlec Ossuary (which I did find fascinatingly creepy!) 

Overall I felt a little lost and overwhelmed with all the details and the supernatural aspects. Here's hoping the 6th book in the series is better!

Summary from Goodreads: When a young woman disappears from the streets of New York City, ties of friendship and blood inevitably draw ingenious, tortured detective Charlie Parker into the search. Soon he discovers links to a church of bones in Eastern Europe, a 1944 slaughter at a French monastery, and to the myth of an object known as the Black Angel -- considered by evil men to be beyond priceless. But the Black Angel is not a legend. It is real. It lives. It dreams. And the mystery of its existence may contain the secret of Parker's own origins.

    The Whisperers - John Connolly                                                                                                     SERIES  

#monopolychallange - Chance - Book with rating higher than 3.0 on Goodreads

This is the 9th in the Charlie Parker series.  I enjoy Charlie and his cases but I do not always enjoy his dealings with the dark spirits of the netherworld .   Anyway.......

Charlie is hired to keep an eye on a guy who may be hurting his girlfriend and other suspicious things about him.  There have also been several suicides of the local veterans that just don't add up.  

Mr. Connolly touches on PTSD, antiquities, smuggling, and of course the dark entities from the netherworld.  Oh,  and The Collector stops in for a visit.  He is a nemesis from previous books. 

Goodreads:

""'Oh, little one, ' he whispered, as he gently stroked her cheek, the first time he had touched her in fifteen years. 'What have they done to you? What have they done to us all?' ""In his latest dark and chilling Charlie Parker thriller, New York Times bestselling author John Connolly takes us to the border between Maine and Canada. It is there, in the vast and porous Great North Woods, that a dangerous smuggling operation is taking place, run by a group of disenchanted former soldiers, newly returned from Iraq. Illicit goods--drugs, cash, weapons, even people--are changing hands. And something else has changed hands. Something ancient and powerful and evil.

      The Island - Heather Graham                     (Oldest on TBR)

#monopolychallenge - Waterworks - on or near water

A nice, easy suspenseful book.

On a weekend camping trip to a nearby island, Beth finds a skull, but when she takes her brother back to show him, it has disappeared.  He questions that it was even a real skull.   Beth becomes very suspicious of all of the other people on the island. Some of the people she knows and some are strangers to her.

After the weekend and Beth is back home on the coast of Florida, someone is stalking her and threatening her to keep quiet about the skull.  

Goodreads:  On a weekend vacation Beth Anderson is unnerved when a stroll on the beach reveals what appears to be a skull. As a stranger approaches, Beth panics and covers the evidence. But when she later returns to the beach, the skull is gone.

Determined to find solid evidence to bring to the police, Beth digs deeper into the mystery of the skull and everywhere she goes, Keith Henson, the stranger from the beach, seems to appear. He claims to be keeping an eye on her safety, but Beth senses other motives. Then a body washes ashore, and Beth begins to think she needs more help than she bargained for. Because investigating is a dangerous game, and someone wants to stop Beth from playing.

 

 How the Penguins Saved Veronica by Hazel Prior

Monopoly Book Challenge - Water Works - Read a book which takes place on/near the water.
Once Upon a Book Club - June 2020
Newest Book on TBR

Cute, cute story!! Its rare to have the protagonist of a novel be an octogenarian, but if they are like Veronica then we need more of them!!

This book makes you want to have a penguin, or at the very least do what you can to save them!!

Summary from Goodreads: A curmudgeonly but charming old woman, her estranged grandson, and a colony of penguins proves it's never too late to be the person you want to be.

     A Stroke of Malice - Anna Lee Huber                                                                                          (Series)

#monopolychallenge - B&O RR - 50 years in the past

How nice to have a series where you feel like you are catching up with old friends.!!

Lady Darby and Sebastian Gage take us on another adventure, in Scotland this time.  We attend a Twelfth Night Party, tour the underground tunnels of a castle and find a semi-decomposed body in the crypt.  And so the adventure begins!

Ms Huber does a great job with  the descriptions of the castle and clothing from this time period. 

Goodreads::Lady Kiera Darby and her husband Sebastian Gage are looking forward to relaxing with new friends at an exciting yearly soiree, but they soon learn that murder never takes a holiday in the latest riveting installment in this national bestselling series.

Scotland 1832. After enjoying a delightful holiday with her family, Lady Kiera Darby is looking forward to finishing her new friend, the Duchess of Bowmont's portrait, as well as attending the duchess' annual Twelfth Night party. Though she normally avoids such fashionable events, Kiera trusts the attention will not be focused on her, but rather her notorious hostess and her family. But upon their arrival at the opulent Scottish estate, Kiera and her husband and fellow investigative partner, Sebastian Gage, swiftly deduce that all is not merry in the duke's household. The family appears to be under a great strain, and someone seems determined to cause mayhem among the guests with a series of forged notes.

 

 At the Edge of the Orchard by Tracy Chevalier

Monopoly Book Challenge - Indiana Avenue - Book in which a character is a farmer, gardener or gardens as a hobby.
Historical Fiction

I selected this book for the Monopoly Book Challenge as it was touted to be a historical fiction about Johnny Appleseed. John Chapman (a/k/a Johnny Appleseed) does make an appearance, but he is not a central figure in the book. I would say that it was more a book about the historical figure of William Lobb. Even so, it fit the challenge with orchards, gardens, tree planting, farming, etc.

I struggled at first as the early characters of James and Sadie Goodenough were so unlikeable, but I stuck with it and I'm glad I did. As we went from Black Swamp, Ohio to California. From apple trees in the midwest to the redwoods and sequoias of the west.

There was even some suspensefulness written in.  Exactly Why was Robert running from Ohio???

        Miss Benson's Beetle - Rachel Joyce                                                                                    ( Newest on  TBR)

#monopolychallenge - New York Ave - mostly orange cover

Part adventure - Miss Benson goes to an island on the other side of the world to find an illusive gold beetle.

Part mystery - Who is Enid Pretty and what is she running from?

Part suspense - Who is the man who seems to be following these 2 women.

Goodreads:   It is 1950. London is still reeling from World War II, and Margery Benson, a schoolteacher and spinster, is trying to get through life, surviving on scraps. One day, she reaches her breaking point, abandoning her job and small existence to set out on an expedition to the other side of the world in search of her childhood obsession: an insect that may or may not exist--the golden beetle of New Caledonia. When she advertises for an assistant to accompany her, the woman she ends up with is the last person she had in mind. Fun-loving Enid Pretty in her tight-fitting pink suit and pom-pom sandals seems to attract trouble wherever she goes. But together these two British women find themselves drawn into a cross-ocean adventure that exceeds all expectations and delivers something neither of them expected to find: the transformative power of friendship.

 The Gap of Time by Jeanette Winterson

Monopoly Book Challenge - States Avenue - Mostly Black Cover

As I still have a few of the Hogarth Shakespeare adaptations to complete, I was pleased that this fit the Monopoly Book Challenge.

I enjoyed the modern depictions of the characters from The Winter's Tale, but I could have done without some of the erotica and the overly crass language. Though, in adapting the often bawdy Shakespeare and a tale of a jealous husband I can see why an author would choose this route.

I did particularly like Winterson's take on how Hermione's (MiMi) broken heart effects her.

Quotes: "He was interested in everything, attentive to people, genuinely kind and entirely present when he was present. But he was never sorry to close the door at night or to be alone."

"...the point of time was that it would end - if it went on forever then it wouldn't be time, would it?"

"He doesn't take a photo or a video because he wants to remember - by which he means he wants to misremember because the moment is made up of what the camera can't capture."

"It takes so little time to change a lifetime and it takes a lifetime to understand the change."

"...if you put aside "And They All Lived Happily Ever After", which isn't an ending, but a coda."

 Fever by Mary Beth Keane

New Author

I was hesitant about reading this book about Typhoid Mary while living through a historic pandemic, as I didn't want to add to the anxiety, despair, depression that this year+ long pandemic has wrought. But it was actually interesting to read it during this time.

I had of course heard of the term "Typhoid Mary" but I knew nothing about the real woman. While I appreciated learning about Mary and discovering (or re-discovering) some of the history of NYC (sanitation,  General Slocum disaster, Triangle Shirtwaist Fire, etc.), I do wish the author had spent less time developing the fictionalized love interest, Alfred.

Overall the book was just so-so for me. I do have another book by Ms. Keane (Ask Again, Yes) that has gotten many good reviews. I hope to enjoy it better.

            This I Know - Eldonna Edwards                                                                                   (Guilty Pleasure)

#monoplybookchallenge - Electric Co.- Daytime scene on cover

Coming-of-age story with a slight religious theme.

Grace Carter is a young girl with a gift.  She can sense people's pasts and future's.  Grace knows that it is a gift from God and she calls it "The Knowing". Her father on the other hand, a pastor at the local church, feels that the devil is in Grace. Grace has to balance between helping people with her gift and hiding her gift.

This was a nice, easy read.

Goodreads:  

Eleven-year-old Grace Carter has a talent for hiding things. She's had plenty of practice, burying thoughts and feelings that might anger her strict Evangelical pastor father, and concealing the deep intuition she carries inside. The Knowing, as Grace calls it, offers glimpses of people's pasts and futures. It enables her to see into the depth of her mother's sadness, and even allows Grace to talk to Isaac, her twin brother who died at birth. To her wise, loving Aunt Pearl, the Knowing is a family gift; to her daddy, it's close to witchcraft.

Grace can't see into someone's thoughts without their permission. But it doesn't take her special talent to know that her small community is harboring its share of secrets. A young girl has gone missing. Within Grace's own family too, the cracks are widening, as her sisters Hope, Joy, and Chastity enjoy the normal life that eludes Grace. It's Grace's kinship with other outsiders that keeps her afloat--Lyle, a gentle, homeless man, and Lola, a free-spirited new girl at school. But when her mother lapses into deep depression after bringing home a new baby, Grace will face a life-changing choice--ignore her gift and become the obedient daughter her father demands, or find the courage to make herself heard, even if it means standing apart 

 The Book of Lost Friends - Lisa Wingate                                                                                    (Historical Fiction) 

#Monopoly Book Challenge - Chance - Recommended Book

This story takes place during 2 different time lines. 

One in 1875, after the war but when it was a still difficult time for the people freed from slavery. We meet Hannie, Juneau Jane, & Miss Lavania on a journey to find some stolen inheritance. 

The second timeline is 1987 with a young teacher, Miss Silva who wants to teach the local poor kids about their own history and the importance of keeping the people from the past alive in our hearts.

As with Ms. Wingate's first book,"Before We Were Yours", she brings her characters alive and I found myself in awe of the bravery of the women I met in this book.

Goodreads:Lisa Wingate brings to life stories from actual "Lost Friends" advertisements that appeared in Southern newspapers after the Civil War, as freed slaves desperately searched for loved ones who had been sold off.

Louisiana, 1875 In the tumultuous aftermath of Reconstruction, three young women set off as unwilling companions on a perilous quest: Lavinia, the pampered heir to a now-destitute plantation; Juneau Jane, her illegitimate free-born Creole half-sister; and Hannie, Lavinia's former slave. Each carries private wounds and powerful secrets as they head for Texas, following dangerous roads rife with ruthless vigilantes and soldiers still fighting a war lost a decade before. For Lavinia and Juneau Jane, the journey is one of inheritance and financial desperation, but for Hannie, torn from her mother and eight siblings before slavery's end, the pilgrimage westward reignites an agonizing question: Could her long-lost family still be out there? Beyond the swamps lie the seemingly limitless frontiers of Texas and, improbably, hope.

Louisiana, 1987 For first-year teacher Benedetta Silva, a subsidized job at a poor rural school seems like the ticket to canceling her hefty student debt--until she lands in a tiny, out-of-step Mississippi River town. Augustine, Louisiana, seems suspicious of new ideas and new people, and Benny can scarcely comprehend the lives of her poverty-stricken students. But amid the gnarled oaks and run-down plantation homes lies the century-old history of three young women, a long-ago journey, and a hidden book that could change everything.

 Triangle by Katharine Weber

Monopoly Book Challenge - Oriental Avenue - Book with a mostly white cover
Oldest book on TBR

I'm torn about how I feel about this book. The historical event it is based on was unknown to me before we got this book. The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire in 1911 was the deadliest industrial disaster of NYC and led to much needed legislation for factory safety standards. It is horrific and important history. 

The author has a personal connection to the factory as her paternal grandmother worked at the factory in 1909, but I also think it was a way for the author to talk about another tragedy that took place in NYC - 9/11 (book was published in 2006).

The story read well and there were some interesting subplots, but there was significant repetition. I understand the purpose of the repetition and I cannot say much without giving away "the hidden story in Esther's recollections of the tragedy", but as a reader this became trite.

Fortunately this was not a long book and the importance of the historical background overcame the redundancy.

Quotes: "He wasn't afraid of dying so much as he was afraid of not living long enough."

"It just seems like human nature, if you have a choice. You take the chance, even if it isn't any kind of real chance, because you can. You jump and you hope."

 Bookworm and I are embarking on a new reading challenge for 2021!!!

The Book Monopoly Challenge!!!  (Check out the "rules" below)

Book Monopoly Challenge!
(A Dice Roller can be found here https://www.random.org/dice/?fbclid=IwAR1gXqmp0_Wn6OvQqdLKtkRmJYvBB740D3_3TidZoUrc3fanqAk-sbs2QzY)

GO - Everyone starts here.

MEDITERRANEAN AVENUE: Read a book with a mostly purple cover OR a book whose title starts with M OR a book set in the Mediterranean OR a book by an author whose first and last initials can be found in “MEDITERRANEAN”

COMMMUNITY CHEST #1: Read a book by one of your favorite authors.

BALTIC AVENUE: Read a book with a mostly purple cover OR a book whose title starts with B OR a book set in/near water (Baltic Sea) OR a book by an author whose first and last initials can be found in “BALTICAVENUE”

INCOME TAX: Go to your Goodreads TBR list; read one of the first 10 books listed.

READING RAILROAD: Read a book with a train on the cover or in the story or with an X in the title or author’s name OR a book by an author whose first and last names begin with the same letter, for example Michael Morpurgo or Cleo Coyle

ORIENTAL AVENUE: Read a book with a mostly white cover OR a book whose title starts with O OR a book set in the Orient OR a book by an author whose first or last initial can be found in “ORIENTAL”

CHANCE #1: Read a book recommended by a friend/family member/co-worker.

VERMONT AVENUE: Read a book with a mostly white cover OR a book whose title starts with V OR a book set in one of the New England states (Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont) OR a book by an author whose first and last initials can be found in “VERMONTAVENUE”

CONNECTICUT AVENUE: Read a book with a mostly white cover OR a book whose title starts with C OR a book whose title (no sub-titles) includes at least one set of double letters, in consecutive order OR a book by an author whose first and last initials can be found in “CONNECTICUT”

VISITING JAIL: Roll the die again, move forward and do the task for that property.

ST. CHARLES PLACE: Read a book with a mostly black cover OR a book whose title starts with S OR a book in which a character is a member of royalty OR a book by an author whose first and last initials can be found in “CHARLESPLACE”

ELECTRIC COMPANY: Read a book with a daytime scene on the cover OR a book set at least 50 years in the future OR a “light and fluffy” book.

STATES AVENUE: Read a book with a mostly black cover OR a book whose title starts with S OR a book set in the state in which you currently live (for our international friends, a book set in the country in which you live) OR a book by an author whose first or last initial can be found in “STATES”

VIRGINIA AVENUE: Read a book with a mostly black cover OR a book whose title starts with V OR a book set in one of the South Atlantic states (Florida, Georgia, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, West Virginia, Delaware) OR a book by an author whose first and last initials can be found in “VIRGINIAAVENUE”

PENNSYLVANIA RAILROAD: Read a book with at least two generations of the same family OR a book set in a place you’d like to visit OR a book in which a character’s career is essential to the story.

ST. JAMES PLACE: Read a book with a mostly orange cover OR a book whose title starts with J or P OR a book set in Europe OR a book by an author whose first or last initial can be found in “STJAMES”

COMMUNITY CHEST #2: Read a book in your favorite genre.

TENNESSEE AVENUE: Read a book with a mostly orange cover OR a book whose title starts with T OR a book with a character in the music industry OR a book by an author whose name includes two sets of repeated letters (do NOT have to be consecutive – example: Livia Washburn has two Is and two As)

NEW YORK AVENUE: Read a book with a mostly orange cover OR a book whose title starts with N or Y OR a book set in a large city OR a book by an author whose first and last initials can be found in “NEWYORKAVENUE”

FREE PARKING: Read any book of your choice.

KENTUCKY AVENUE: Read a book with a mostly red cover OR a book whose title starts with K or A OR a book in which horses can be found OR a book by an author whose first or last initial can be found in “KENTUCKY”

CHANCE #2: Read a book by one of your favorite authors (NOT the same author as the previous Chance space, if you’re lucky enough to have landed on that earlier in the game)

INDIANA AVENUE: Read a book with a mostly red cover OR a book whose title starts with I OR a book in which a character is a farmer, gardener or gardens as a hobby OR a book by an author whose first and last initials can be found in “INDIANAAVENUE”

ILLINOIS AVENUE: Read a book with a mostly red cover OR a book whose title starts with A OR a book about a US president or other world leader (fiction or non-fiction) OR a book by an author whose name includes at least one set of consecutive double letters (examples: Steve BeRRy, DeBBie Macomber, Orson ScoTT Card)

B&O RAILROAD: Read a book set at least 50 years in the past OR a book by an author whose first or last name begins with B or O OR a book set in Maryland, Ohio, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Indiana or Illinois (states the B&O went through).

ATLANTIC AVENUE: Read a book with a mostly yellow cover OR a book whose title has at least two words that begin with the same letter (Example: Buried in Buttercream) OR a book set on an island in the Atlantic Ocean (see below) OR a book by an author whose first or last initial can be found in “ATLANTIC”
Use this list for the island option: Islands in the Atlantic Ocean

VENTNOR AVENUE: Read a book with a mostly yellow cover OR a book whose title starts with V or A OR a book in which a character behaves in a “yellow” (cowardly) fashion OR a book by an author whose first and last initials can be found in “VENTNORAVENUE”

WATER WORKS: Read a book which takes place on/near the water OR a book with a happy ending

MARVIN GARDENS: Read a book with a mostly yellow cover OR a book whose title starts with M or G OR a book with a garden or plant/s on the cover OR a book by an author whose first or last initial can be found in “GARDENS”

GO TO JAIL: Roll the die again; move backwards that many spaces, and complete the task for that space.

PACIFIC AVENUE: Read a book with a mostly green cover OR a book whose title starts with a P OR a book which takes place on an island in the Pacific Ocean (see link below) OR a book by an author whose first or last initial can be found in “PACIFIC”
Use this list for the island option: Islands in the Pacific Ocean

NORTH CAROLINA AVENUE: Read a book with a mostly green cover OR a book whose title starts with an N or C OR a book in which grilling or food plays an important role OR a book by an author whose first and last initials can be found in “NORTHCAROLINA”

COMMUNITY CHEST #3: Read any book from the CCC Bookshelf (found at the bottom of the group’s main page).

PENNSYLVANIA AVENUE: Read a book with a mostly green cover OR a book whose title starts with a P or A OR a book which involves a trip of some kind OR a book by an author whose first orlast initial can be found in “PENNSYLVANIA”

SHORT LINE RAILROAD: Read the shortest book on your TBR list (or the shortest you can obtain) OR a book with the word “SHORT” or “LINE” in the title OR a book with a line on the cover (just a plain, straight line).

CHANCE #3: Read a book with a Goodreads rating higher than 3.0.

PARK PLACE: Read a book with a mostly blue cover OR a book whose title starts with P, A, R or K OR a book in which at least one character is wealthy OR a book by an author whose first or last initial can be found in “PLACE”

LUXURY TAX: Go to your Goodreads TBR list and read one of the first 75 books listed.

BOARDWALK: Read a book with a mostly blue cover OR a book whose title starts with B or W ORa book in which most of the plot happens on/near a beach or vacation spot OR a book by an author whose first and last initials can be found in “BOARDWALK”