It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

This meme is hosted by Kathryn at Reading Date.

Books I completed this past three weeks are:

Plum Rains by Andromeda Romano-Lax
Second Wind by Nathaniel Philbrick
The Summer List by Amy Mason Doan
The Art of Inheriting Secrets by Barbara O'Neal
Leave No Trace by Mindy Mejia
Paper Is White by Hilary Zaid
Hotel Silence by Audur Ava Olafsdottir
The Vain Conversation by Anthony Grooms
The Beauty of the End by Debbie Howells

Bookmarks are still living in the middle of:

A Manual For Cleaning Women by Lucia Berlin
Country of Red Azaleas by Domnica Radulescu
A Hard and Heavy Thing by Matthew J. Hefti
Paint Your Wife by Lloyd Jones
The Company They Kept edited by Robert B. Silvers and Barbara Epstein
No One Can Pronounce My Name by Rakesh Satyal
Thousand-Miler by Melanie Radzicki McManus
Dear Fang, With Love by Rufi Thorpe
America's First Daughter by Stephanie Dray and Laura Kamoie
Hope Has Two Daughters by Monia Mazigh
After the Bloom by Leslie Shimotakahara
Metis Beach by Claudine Bourbonnais
Smoke by Dan Vyleta
Coco Chanel by Lisa Chaney
The Amazing Story of the Man Who Cycled from India to Europe for Love by Per J. Andersson
The New York Time Footsteps by various authors
The Resurrection of Joan Ashby by Cherise Wolas
Mean by Myriam Gurba
The Widow Nash by Jamie Harrison
The Wangs Vs. the World by Jade Chang
The Bottom of the Sky by Rodrigo Fresan
One House Over by Mary Monroe
Burntown by Jennifer McMahon
Everything She Didn't Say by Jane Kirkpatrick
The Girl Who Never Read Noam Chomsky by Jana Casale
The Child Finder by Rene Denfeld
The Widows of Malabar Hill by Sujata Massey

Reviews posted this week:

The Summer List by Amy Mason Doan
The Art of Inheriting Secrets by Barbara O'Neal
The Hounds of Spring by Lucy Andrews Cummin
Dates from Hell and Other Places by Elyse Russo
The War That Saved My Life by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley

Books still needing to have reviews written (as opposed to the ones that are simply awaiting posting):

This Far Isn't Far Enough by Lynn Sloan
Paper Boats by Dee Lestari
Mothers of Sparta by Dawn Davies
A Handful of Happiness by Massimo Vacchetta and Antonella Tomaselli
Swimming with Elephants by Sarah Bamford Seidelmann
Visible Empire by Hannah Pittard
The Garden of Small Beginnings by Abbi Waxman
Love Hate and Other Filters by Samira Ahmed
A Song for the River by Philip Connors
In the Shadow of 10,000 Hills by Jennifer Haupt
Beautiful Music by Michael Zadoorian
Still Life with Monkey by Katharine Weber
America for Beginners by Leah Franqui
Vanishing Twins by Lea Dieterich
Tenemental by Vikki Warner
Meet Me at the Museum by Anne Youngson
The Lido by Libby Page
The Invisible Valley by Su Wei
The Last Equation of Isaac Severy by Nova Jacobs
The Showrunner by Kim Mortishugu
I Found My Tribe by Ruth Fitzmaurice
Paris by the Book by Liam Callanan
Terra Nullius by Clare G. Coleman
Christmas in July by Alan Michael Parker
Nothing Forgotten by Jessica Levine
Housegirl by Michael Donkor
Wildwood by Elinor Florence
All Day at the Movies by Fiona Kidman
Weedeater by Robert Gipe
The Mannequin Makers by Craig Cliff
Chemistry by Weike Wang
The Summer Wives by Beatriz Williams
Come Back to the Swamp by Laura Morrison
The Animal Gazer by Edgardo Franzosini
Melmoth by Sarah Perry
Sound by Bella Bathurst
Celine by Peter Heller
In Every Moment We Are Still Alive by Tom Malmquist
The Tattooist of Auschwitz by Heather Morris
You'll Always Have Tara by Leah Marie Brown
The Taster by V.S. Alexander
Dear Mrs. Bird by AJ Pearce
Calypso by David Sedaris
A House Among the Trees by Julia Glass
Postcards from the Canyon by Lisa Gitlin
The Family Fang by Kevin Wilson
Sycamore by Bryn Chancellor
The Home for Unwanted Girls by Joanna Goodman
As Wide As the Sky by Jessica Pack
Indian Horse by Richard Wagamese
Merely a Marriage by Jo Beverley
Plum Rains by Andromeda Romano-Lax
Second Wind by Nathaniel Philbrick
Leave No Trace by Mindy Mejia
Paper Is White by Hilary Zaid
Hotel Silence by Audur Ava Olafsdottir
The Vain Conversation by Anthony Grooms
The Beauty of the End by Debbie Howells

Review: The War That Saved My Life by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley

There are two wonderful independent bookstores within (somewhat) reasonable driving distance of me. One is quite a bit further than the other so I don't get to it as often but I love the store and the owner so I try to make the trip when I can. If the owner is there, we chat and I like to ask her what books I shouldn't miss. (I do the same at the other store as well, because bookstore owners are invaluable for recommendations, of course.) Since I have a bit of a book problem (ie I buy far more than I should), I can be difficult to recommend to and often the recommendations are just on the knife's edge of what I like to read regularly. The last time I was in, the big recommendation was for a middle grade novel set during WWII. I admit I wrinkled my nose. I almost never read middle grade now that my kids are older and I am feeling worn out with WWII books. But I was told that everyone in the store had read it and raved about it. So I figured I'd take a chance on it and if it wasn't for me, well, I have a niece and nephews at about the right age to pass it along to. I will definitely be passing Kimberly Brubaker Bradley's The War That Saved My Life along to them but not because it wasn't for me. I'll be passing it along because it is a wonderfully written and engaging look at a very different facet of the war and I think they will thoroughly enjoy it. They have other aunts so I have to try and win favorite aunt status somehow, right? And how better than by passing along a book I'm sure they'll love.

Ada is a young girl living in London with her mother and her younger brother. She was born with a club foot and her mother is ashamed of and disgusted by her child's disfigurement, abusing her, despising her, keeping her indoors away from other people and children, not enrolling her in school, refusing to have the condition treated, and using Ada to do chores around their small flat. Ada cannot walk due to the severity of twisting but she has an active and agile mind and she yearns to go outside and to be around other people.  An incredibly determined child, she eventually teaches herself to walk despite the terrible pain it causes. Her brother Jamie is good to Ada and when World War II starts and London children are evacuated to the countryside, he helps conspire for Ada to go too, even though she's not enrolled in school so not technically on the evacuation lists. Ending up in Kent, the children are billeted with an emotionally distant and uncommunicative woman named Susan who owns a pony that Ada learns to ride. Under Susan's care, Ada really starts to blossom and come into her own.  Susan too starts to thaw with these children around.

It is strange to think of something so terrible as the war as being beneficial to anyone but for Ada and for Susan, it is. This is a wonderful tale of coming to appreciate and value yourself, to make connections to others, and to learn to love or love again. The characters here are beautifully drawn and Ada's mother is scarily real. It might be hard for a middle grade reader to read about the terrible way that Ada is treated but the payoff in the end is so worthwhile. The story moves along at a good pace, with enough action beyond Ada's emotional maturation to keep kids turning the pages and the valuable lessons are not overt enough to be off-putting. A really great read, I look forward to seeing what my niblings think of it.

Review: Dates from Hell and Other Places by Elyse Russo

This is a collection of “mostly funny” short poems about the men the author dated, some only once, some for the span of a brief relationship, and why they were not for her before she found her Mr. Right (the last two poems in the book). As for what I thought of the book, the poems, and the simple line drawings, I’m going to fall back on the fact that my mother has always said if I don’t have anything nice to say, not to say it, and leave it at that.

Waiting on Wednesday

This meme was hosted by Breaking the Spine and is meant to highlight some great pre-publication books we all can't wait to get our grubby little mitts on. I'm choosing to continue the tradition even though she has stopped.

The Shortest Way Home by Miriam Parker.

The book is being released by Dutton on July 31, 2018.

Amazon says this about the book: Hannah is finally about to have everything she ever wanted. With a high-paying job, a Manhattan apartment, and a boyfriend about to propose, all she and Ethan have to do is make it through the last couple of weeks of grad school.

But when, on a romantic weekend trip to Sonoma, Hannah is spontaneously offered a marketing job at a family-run winery and doesn't immediately refuse, their meticulously planned forever threatens to come crashing down. And then Hannah impulsively does the unthinkable - she takes a leap of faith.

Abandoning your dream job and life shouldn't feel this good. But this new reality certainly seems like a dream come true--a picturesque cottage overlooking a vineyard; new friends with their own inspiring plans; and William, the handsome son of the winery owners who captures Hannah's heart only to leave for the very city she let go.

Soon, the mission to rescue the failing winery becomes a mission to rescue Hannah from the life she thought she wanted. Crackling with humor and heart, The Shortest Way Home is the journey of one woman shedding expectations in order to claim her own happy ending.

Review: The Hounds of Spring by Lucy Andrews Cummin

We could all do worse than to spend our days with dogs. They are so much less complicated than people. I almost always enjoy books with dogs so I was intrigued to read a book set entirely during one day in the life of a dog walker. Lucy Andrews Cummin has created wonderful characters, both canine and human, in her novel, The Hounds of Spring.

Poppy Starkweather was once a candidate for a PhD in literature. Now she walks dogs as she tries to figure out what she wants to do with her life. She's happy in a long-term relationship but not sure she's ready for marriage, at least until she has an idea of where her life should go. She enjoys the dogs she walks and the human beings who own them but this wasn't meant to be her long term job. On the day that the novel covers, she starts her day as usual but things start to spiral out of control as each of the important people in her life need her to be present for them. In juggling her dog commitments and trying to squeeze in the needs of her loved ones, she also has to find the time and the balance to attend to herself.  This is not an easy task as her formerly well-organized schedule falls to pieces with each additional thing that creeps into her day. She wants to be with her boyfriend as he hears potentially serious health news at the doctor. She wants to pick her brother up from the airport and take him to her mother's. She wants to take one of her old clients to the shelter to choose a new dog and to the pet store for supplies.

Watching Poppy take care of everyone around her, dog and human, lets the reader see into her nurturing heart while also highlighting her insecurities about her choices and her life. Brief glimpses of the past flash through the narrative, helping to draw a full picture of Poppy. Cummin manages to draw all of her characters with only a few words and yet they are all fully realized. Since the novel is set during the span of one day, it is broken into chapters labelled morning, afternoon, evening, and night, taking Poppy through this unusual twenty-four hours. The writing is spare and lovely and both the dogs and people in Poppy’s life are wonderful to spend time with. Poppy is a gentle character who does a lot of soul searching. People who like quiet, character driven reads will appreciate the beauty, connection, and compassion here and dog lovers will be especially pleased with this slight novel brimming with heart. Definitely worth a read.

Thanks to LibraryThing Early Reviewers for sending me a copy of this book to review.

Review: The Art of Inheriting Secrets by Barbara O'Neal

When I was younger, I used to imagine that I was really an English Lady. Spoiler alert: I'm not. In fact, if you believe in previous lives, I probably wasn't an English Lady then either; I'm more likely to have been a scullery maid. But how cool would it be to suddenly and completely unexpectedly inherit an ancient English title, especially in this day and age? That is just one of the surprising things that happens to Olivia Shaw in Barbara O'Neal's newest novel, The Art of Inheriting Secrets.

When Olivia Shaw's mother dies, Olivia is stunned to find out that she is now the Countess of Rosemere and the possessor of a venerable but crumbling manor home and estate in England. Still on a leave of absence from her editorial job at a renowned food magazine after a terrible car accident and grieving the loss of her beloved mother, Olivia heads to England to try and uncover the mystery surrounding her mother and where she came from as well as to decide what to do with her unexpected inheritance. When she gets to the small village where Rosemere Priory is situated, she finds conflicting responses to her presence from the locals and starts to uncover more secrets than she could ever have imagined. As she is grappling with who she can trust while she determines whether she should restore the once gorgeous priory or sell it, she is also faced with more personal issues: her fresh grief over her loss of her mother, an attraction to a handsome British Indian man in the village whose family has long been connected to hers, and the hard, sad decision that her long term relationship with her fiance no longer feeds her soul the way it should.

The novel has an almost fairy tale feel to it with the falling down manor house, an air of menace surrounding the secrets, and obstacles to the love story. Olivia must overcome doubts in order to have any chance of success and to triumph over the unscrupulous people who are looking to take advantage of her and her family's long abandonment of the property. This is the story of restoration, not just of a house but of confidence. It is a tale of looking to the future, acknowledging the bad in the past but taking the good forward and building a new life. It is about second chances, family skeletons, and uncovering secrets but also of keeping the secrets that are important to keep. It is a tale of love, hidden and forbidden but also of love coming to light. The story is engaging and keeps the reader turning pages for sure, curious as to how Olivia is going to handle each curve ball thrown her way. The love story threatens to overwhelm the rest of the story but in the end all of the threads wind together tightly and in a most satisfying way. There were a few minor bits that didn't fulfill expectations, such as the several mentions of how hard it was going to be to get restoration and renovation work past Mrs. Hortense Stonebridge on the local council since the house was a Grade I listed property but nothing ever came of this. But over all, this was a quick and enjoyable read that will certainly please readers of women's fiction.

For more information about Barbara O'Neal and the book, check out her webpage, read her blog, like her on Facebook, and follow her on Twitter or Instagram. Check out the book's Goodreads page, follow the rest of the blog tour, or look at the reviews for others' thoughts and opinions on the book.
Thanks to Lisa from TLC Book Tours and Lake Union for sending me a copy of the book for review.

Waiting on Wednesday

This meme was hosted by Breaking the Spine and is meant to highlight some great pre-publication books we all can't wait to get our grubby little mitts on. I'm choosing to continue the tradition even though she has stopped.

Nothing Good Can Come From This by Kristi Coulter.

The book is being released by MCD x FSG Originals on August 7, 2018.

Amazon says this about the book: Kristi Coulter inspired and incensed the internet when she wrote about what happened when she stopped drinking. Nothing Good Can Come from This is her debut--a frank, funny, and feminist essay collection by a keen-eyed observer no longer numbed into complacency.

When Kristi stopped drinking, she started noticing things. Like when you give up a debilitating habit, it leaves a space, one that can’t easily be filled by mocktails or ice cream or sex or crafting. And when you cancel Rosé Season for yourself, you’re left with just Summer, and that’s when you notice that the women around you are tanked―that alcohol is the oil in the motors that keeps them purring when they could be making other kinds of noise.

In her sharp, incisive debut essay collection, Coulter reveals a portrait of a life in transition. By turns hilarious and heartrending, Nothing Good Can Come from This introduces a fierce new voice to fans of Sloane Crosley, David Sedaris, and Cheryl Strayed―perfect for anyone who has ever stood in the middle of a so-called perfect life and looked for an escape hatch.