I fell in love with this book the more I read. I have something in common with two of the women - I am older and I was disenchanted with my job and recently retired. I also fell in love with the English countryside as it was described in the book. It takes place mostly on the canals of England and made me want to take a boat trip of my own.

The story was interesting and I loved seeing the women grow and develop as they traveled. The inclusion of the younger couple was interesting as well although I do not want to hear more of their story.

I think this book will be excellent for book clubs with enough variety of characters for everyone to find a favorite. It was a quick read for me but that may have been because I was so fond of everyone and wanted to see how things ended.

I love historical fiction! That said, I really did not enjoy this book. I was planning on giving it two stars but gave it a third for the author's prose and evident knowledge of what she is writing about. I did not think the characters were as fleshed out as I want them to be and had a difficult time liking them at all. Then there is the sudden insertion of Greek sentences, with no translation. One of the characters is learning Greek but the random sentences meant nothing to me. Then for whatever reason, there would be included 4 or 5 numbered sentences. Were these thoughts of one of the main characters? Was it instructions from the editor to the author? I have no idea. The author did write beautifully about the sea and I especially enjoyed the inclusion of the dolphins and whales which ran along side the ship. Maybe I just do not appreciate the style of this author, but I won't be picking up any more of her books to read.

I loved this book from the beginning, but I am probably biased because of my love for cats. They are so intelligent and yes, loving, and I have been blessed to share my life and home with many over the years. The cat in this book, Nana, is similar to my cats with the attitude but different in the love of travel. Every time I have taken a cat in the car, you would think it was being executed. I laughed, cried and loved this book so much. Sharing the travels with this duo is a wonderful way to spend an afternoon or two.

It isn't often that a book makes me want to take a trip, but Next Year in Havana is one of those. The author has written such a compelling book that made me laugh and cry and in the end, very glad that I read it. The story of the Perez sisters and their family in the last days before Castro takes over Cuba is amazing and heart wrenching to read. Elisa's granddaughter Marisol, travels to Cuba in 2017 to complete one last act of love for her grandmother and at the same time, to get answers to questions she has wondered about for many years. She stays with Elisa's childhood girlfriend, Ana Rodriguez, and her family and slowly the story of the Perez sisters is discovered.

Mixing the current timeline with the past is a fairly common method of writing these days but in this case it works beautifully. At times I feel like I am in Havana during the 1958 revolution; at others I am visiting in 2017 and seeing the beauty that was Cuba in the past. I want to cry not only for Elisa and Pablo, but for the people and country of Cuba that has had to go through the struggles brought on by communism.

Next Year in Havana is a moving, heartfelt book of a love between two people and a love for their land. I highly recommend it. It makes me hope that one day travel between the US and Cuba will be the norm and I can visit this beautiful and haunting country.

This is a very good book about mother-daughter dynamics and what happens when someone loses themselves in dementia or Alzheimer s I am an only child and my mother is a widow so this story was very close to home for me. My mother has not shown signs of dementia yet but my maternal grandmother passed from Alzheimer's when she was 93. I found the writing slightly strange and while it didn't make reading the book difficult, it was somewhat annoying to me so that is why I gave it a 4. Seeing how Clara grows up an grows closer to her mother throughout the book redeemed her character to me. I also enjoyed Chris and his unconditional love and ability to take life as it came. I think this would be a great book club book although it might be difficult for some to read if they have family members with this debilitating disease. .

This book is not an easy read, but that is one of the reasons I like it so much. It made me think, cry, feel shame and feel hope for Elma and Nan. The subject matter is difficult at times but Ms. Henderson handles it with a sure hand and does not sensationalize her story with cheap language and terms. This would be a wonderful book club book with all of the strong characters but it is a long book and might be better for those clubs that meet every 2-3 months. At times I felt like the human race is just too brutal as a whole, but then something would happen to give me hope again for the goodness of men to overcome all of the evil.

If We Were Villains is a book about obsession and seemingly complete immersion in the study and performance of theater, namely Shakespeare. Seven senior theater majors study, live and perform together in a world of their own. One of them has just completed serving time for a crime that he may or may not have committed and the retiring lead detective wants to understand what actually happened. This book is a murder mystery but it also is a study in obsession and tragedy. I thoroughly enjoyed the characters and the mystery kept me guessing until the reveal. This is a remarkable debut novel and I can't wait to hear more from M.L. Rio.

I read this book in one sitting it was so intriguing that I kept telling myself 'just a little more' and before I knew it, I was done. I enjoyed this book and the twists and turns had me guessing wrong until the very end which is what a good mystery should do. I felt like the switching back and forth between the two points of view was a good way to tell this story and it added to the intensity of the book. I'm still not sure that that the problem with Toby was necessary to this story but it seemed personal to the writer so I'm sure that is why it was included. I would recommend this for a book club as it was interesting and a fast read for me and kept me guessing till the end. I don't think comparing this novel to "Gone Girl" is performing a good service to this book as I thought it was a better one.

I enjoyed this book and read it very quickly, in about 3 days. It kept my attention and I was interested enough in the characters to find out what happened to them. The one character I did not like, was Laurence's sister. I'm still not quite sure why she acted the way she did all these years later and to me, she came across as a spoiled, self-centered brat. This story did have some interesting theories and I feel like it brought the age-old problem of race relations out in the open. I did feel like the wife was somewhat timid although I guess that was normal in the time period this took place in. It just seemed like there was a lot of dancing around issues that would have been out in the open now. All in all, I enjoyed the book and think it would be excellent for book clubs to read. The only reason I gave it four stars instead of five is that I felt like some of the story kind of dragged on at times.

I loved this book from the very beginning. The prose itself is astounding especially with the descriptions of nature. I grew up in south Mississippi and it took me back to my youth. The tender description of Jane's deformity was well done without being graphic and crass. I especially appreciate that in a story as I get tired of so many writers resorting to curses and debasing words. Brad Watson is not like that and the tender love story (because it is a love story to Jane) is well done. I believe book clubs will appreciate and enjoy this book. I have not read other books by Mr. Watson but I will remedy that soon.

The prose in this book is so soothing; like a warm blanket on a cold winter day it wraps you up. I particularly loved the way Ms. Hay described Australia and the area where the book took place. I have always wanted to visit that country and this book just expanded my desire. The story is interesting but to me it was a little slow and I felt like there was a lot of repetition. It seemed as if everyone was underwater moving in slow motion. I enjoyed the book and my favorite character was Frank because I felt like he was the one that showed the most emotion and feeling. All in all a good book but not a great one despite the excellent prose.

As beautiful as the prose is in this book, I found it difficult to read because the story itself it so depressing. The four main characters, Callum, Ava, the bounty hunter and Revier, all contribute to the central story in the book and are all I feel, important to the outcome of the book. The writing by Mr. Brown made me feel like I was along for the ride, following along behind Sherman's cursed troops as they left their scar across the South. Yes, I am Southern, born and bred and yes, it does anger me that Sherman felt he had to destroy innocent women and children this way. Maybe that is what made this book so difficult to read. I'm afraid there was little redeeming about Callum and Ava - they were simply trying to survive the best they knew how and circumstances left them little choice at times.

The subject matter made this a hard book to read for me but I'm glad I stuck with it. After hearing from the fortune teller than one of them would not make it to the end, and finding out which one that was, it almost did me in.

I'm not sure I could recommend this as a book club book but it would probably spur a good bit of discussion.

"...I know there may be universes out there where I made different choices that led me somewhere else, led me to someone else. And my heart breaks for ever version of me that didn't end up with you." And cue the tears.

Usually I don't like the books that go back and forth from one story line to another in alternating chapters. I feel confused, trying to keep track of who said what, in what universe to whom and what secrets does which character know. But in this case, it really worked for me. I didn't want to like Hannah when I first met her, thinking her some kind of whiny slacker but she really grew on me as she grew through these very different life experiences. I adored her friend Gabby and their friendship. I don't have a friend like this in my life but I wish I did. I've been through a lot of health issues lately and I could feel Hannah's frustrations as I have felt those same ones. I wish the book had been a little longer to give us more insight into how the women coped together on their own but I did really enjoy the book. I think this would be a very good book for a book club to read as there would be a lot for them to discuss. I will be looking for more books by this author.

Don't read this book if you are hungry! The descriptions of the recipes and bake offs will leave you wanting to head out to the nearest bakery. This book is about the contest for the newest Mrs. Eaden and the five contestants chosen to compete for the prize. I enjoyed the story of Kathleen Eaden that was interspersed with the stories of the contestants - although some stories did not seem as complete as others. The writing was good and I would have loved for some recipes to be included as these were British delicacies and I have no idea what they might be. I would love to know what an apple hedgehog is! The ending seemed somewhat obvious to me but also was the one I would have chosen myself. All in all I thought this was an excellent book and would recommend it for book clubs and those who love cooking, food and stories about the part of our lives we keep hidden and the part we show to the world.

I have mixed feelings about this book so I will give it an average rating rather than a good rating. The type of murder made it difficult for me to read, but not knowing who did the murder kept me going. I felt like the story could have been told in a shorter, less repetitive way - it seemed like the main character spent a lot of her time in reflection and meditation that could have been skipped. And I never understood why it was so easy for her to follow some strangers and essentially throw over her husband of 20 years. But the central premise of the book with the concept of no rain except in certain areas of the country was interesting. It would have been more interesting to me if we could have known what these scattered areas had in common. And once the mystery was solved, the main character then gave up on the land? That seemed odd to me too. I guess this just wasn't my type of book overall.

First Frost is another good entry about the world of the Waverly women of Bascom, North Carolina. I love their wonderful garden and apple tree. This time the story is about the time of year right before the apple tree blooms, or the first frost of the year. It is also about family, belonging and finding your true self. I enjoyed this story and found it very easy to read. And the ending left us with several questions that sets up nicely for some follow up books to tell us what happens with Sydney, Claire and Bay. All in all, a very pleasant read.

This book was very interesting in the telling of the Rapunzel fairy tale and where it came from. I was lost in the story telling and felt like I was in the tower with Margherita as she became more and more despondant while locked away. The only problem I had with this book is the constant changing of timelines and stories along the way; I sometimes was lost as to who was narrating the story at that time. I think if the author put the name of the main character doing the narrating at the top of her chapters, it would be a little easier to follow rather than putting the place and year. All around, an enjoyable read.

BookBrowse Note: There are very subtle illustrations at each chapter heading and within chapters where the narrator/protagonist changes (e.g. a rose for Charlotte-Rose).

Having enjoyed Ms. Goodwin's first book I was excited to read this latest one, The Fortune Hunter. I enjoyed this one as well although not quite as much. I think it is because I viewed several of the main characters as selfish and self-centered with not many redeeming qualities. It is hard to make someone come alive on paper and Ms. Goodwin does a commendable job of that but the Empress was not one of my favorites. I think that some of the description of her life was to try and make her a little more sympathetic but I found her tedious and quite selfish and spoiled. I did enjoy the book, especially Charlotte and her photography hobby quite a bit and wish we had more information about her and her brother. All in all though this was a good read and a quick one for me so the story kept me interested enough to continue to the end.

I love historical fiction and that is my choice to read most of the time. I had such hopes for this book and while it did provide some historical information, mostly it read as a romance novel. It could have used less characters and have more detail on the few that were most relevant. When I saw the list of characters at the front of the book I was concerned that this would be the case. I wish I had liked this book more than I did.

I love reading historical fiction and was eager to read about Venice. I was able to visualize the city perfectly based on the descriptions and story of the author. She was also able to bring alive a horrid time in history when the plague was taking the lives of so many - it was done with a delicate hand and not too graphic, yet you understood the seriousness and stealth of the disease. I do wish the author had spent a little more time on the interactions between the main characters and developed their relationship with each other more. It was my first book by this author but it won't be my last.