A wonderful book about mothers and daughters, their complicated relationships and how easy it is to misunderstand each other. Three generation of women, Harriet, who has died had written a series of six best selling books, there is a rumor that a seventh exists. Professors, scholars and book, aficionados the world over are anxiously waiting for it to surface.

Eleanor her daughter who has made many mistakes, holding tight to her daughter Tilton after letting Ruth run away at sixteen. Interesting characters all the story is told by each character in alternating chapters. It is Harriet's story that I loved the most, of course her story is from the missing seventh book. Even the side characters are diverse and add much to the story. Some of these characters and places throughout the novel actually existed.

I could tell, how much the author loved these characters and it helped me love them too. Flawed for sure but all hoping for something better. Loved Tilton and her unique perspective of the world and her family. By books end I felt as if I had melted and I am very glad I read this book.

The novels of the Jazz Age have such a special atmosphere if done well. This age produced so many fine writers and artists whose works endure even now. Gerald and Sara Murphy are a couple I had read about in other novels but really didn't know very much about. In this novel, Klaussmann centers on this time period by focusing on their relationship, their friends, their struggles and the wonderful time they had at Villa America in the French Rivera.

The Murphy's were friends, were well liked by Dom Passos, Hemingway, Pauline and Hadley, the Fitzgeralds, Cole Porter Picasso and many others. All are included in this book. The book starts with Gerald's and Sara's childhood, and moves on to their marriage, their family and why they built Villa America. There they were golden, happy, loved, threw parties, made trips, attended the bull fight and running of the bulls with the Hemingways and tried to be the best they could be. I am always amazed at the prodigious amount of alcohol they all drank.

This book is well and atmospherically written. A time of excess, of divorces and changing relationships, yet the Murphy's stayed together and raised their family. So much of it is based on real people and things that happened to them and with them. The Gerald's time in the sun would come to an end, domestic heartbreaks would send them away from Villa America, never to return. The ending of the book is one I loved, though some may not, I thought it was brilliant. An authors note, detailing where facts were sourced and what was real and what was fiction is included. Like all good books this book will lead me to three others, one Tender is the Night, is apparently modeled after and dedicated to the Murphys. Also a few nonfiction books mentioned by the author in the afterword. Recommend for all fans of this time period, the Great Gatsby and any of the others mentioned in my review. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and am sorry it ended.

Isabel Moore, a young woman in her early forties, trying to pick up the piece after her best friend's death, her husbands leaving and her daughters new not very nice attitude towards her. Very appealing characters, very accessible writing. Isabel tends to think things she should say and doesn't, and tends to say things in circumstances she shouldn't. She is so very real, flawed and vulnerable.

Her comments and thoughts, some of which I quoted in my updates, are at times absurdly amusing at other times sadly funny. Many of the lines in this book are brilliant, one wants to keep reading to see what she will say, think or do next. Plus, I really wanted things to work out for her.

This is a book about friendships, marriage, mother and daughter relationships and wanting a happy or at least a start at a happy ever ending. A very quick flowing story about events that could happen to anyone and the ways we sabotage ourselves, even with our best intentions.

ARC from publisher.

Hard to believe I could find a novel about the London Blitz and WWII both heartwarming and at times ironically humorous. But I did and much of this is due to the author and her wonderful characterizations. I quickly fell in love with ten year old Noel, a precocious boy of unknown origins who was being raised by his suffragette and eccentric godmother, Mattie.

Eventually he will be one of the children evacuated and taken in by a woman named Vee, who sees this as an opportunity to make some money.
What is wonderful about this novel is how they characters change and grow throughout the novel, some for the better some for the worst. Yes, there are bombs falling, deaths and accidents, thievery and lost people but for the most part, Noel and Vee, their exploits, and their growth, propel this novel.

Wonderful story about two people who find each other in an unusual time and in unusual circumstances.

What a wonderful use of language to express emotions and setting this author has. Sympathetic characters all, trying but failing to push back against cultural boundaries. Loved the first story, Mountains without numbers. There is something so melancholy and realistic about this one. Scenes like this are probably happening in dying towns all over America, people stuck in their lives remembering when their lives seemed much fuller.

Loved to Mr Mendoza, with his use of humor and magical realism, once again what is, is no more.

The sous chefs, I adored, so cliched and amusing. Done so well.
Water Museum, an apocalyptic of a world running out of water. Almost seems not to fit, but it does because once again something that is gone is mourned. What is not remembered proves frightening.

Such a wonderful collection.

On the surface, and of course from the title it seems like this would be a book about food. It is but also much, much more. We first get to know Eva as a baby and from there each chapter is narrated by a different character and highlights a different food. Almost more like connected narratives, than one continuing story. We learn about Eva, and her wonderful palate as well as her cooking talent from others, connected to her either loosely or personally. Found this to be a novel concept and construct.

This is a novel about friends, family and acquaintances, about loyalty and trying new things and ideas. I loved how this all came together, hearing about bits and pieces of Eva's life. I did not feel close to this character, but I did feel I knew her, what she stood for and whom she valued. The ending I thought tied everything and everybody together. Also liked that it was left somewhat open, not a typical cliched ending. Kept, I thought with the spirit of the book.

Well written, first novel about the ties that bind, the things that matter and the importance of the people who enter our lives, however fleetingly. Looking forward to seeing what this author tackles next.

Clayton Burroughs is the only member of his family not involved in its crime network. He instead became the Sheriff. His family had ruled Bull Mountain in Northern Georgia for generations first with moonshine, than marijuana and lastly meth. They are a hard people, not adverse to killing those who try to get in their way.

We learn something about each generation though most of the story takes place in the current one, with one brother dead and two facing off against each other. A surprise is thrown into the mix with the arrival of a federal agent, Agent Holly, and he will be the match that sets off the fire. He, though, has his own secrets, his own story.

This is a tightly structured book, each chapter narrated by a different character. It is suspenseful, intriguing and violent. A novel about fathers and sons, about money and expectations, retribution and revenge. If you have read Deliverance, you know not to wander around in the mountains, although this is set in a different place it reinforces that viewpoint.

Spoiler: I think this is the first book I have read that almost every character has either shot someone, been shot or been seriously maimed.

Robert is an Oakland cop who had been married to Suzy, a Vietnamese refugee for eight years, when following a night of domestic abuse, she leaves him. He finds out that she has married a man named Sonny who has broken her arm causing her once again to flee. He always found Suzy and her strange ways, reactions and emotional disturbances, difficult to understand. He goes to Las Vegas to seek her out and offer his help. His chance for atonement and understanding.

He finds more than he bargained for, but Suzy, this is not her Vietnamese name and her mysteries remain shrouded. A different kind of thriller, much action, the mystery of uncovering Suzy's past and some great characterizations. A glimpse into the seedier life of Las Vegas, it's casinos and its criminal enforcers. A more noirish, in your face style of book. I enjoyed this though, it was a change of pace from the normal run of serial killer thrillers. Maybe a bit like the late great Elmore Leonard type of no hold barred book.

Alice Pearse is a likable character, a character many of us can identify with. She is a mother to three young children, married and works three days a week at a magazine, reviewing books. That is until her husband finds out he did not make partner and wants to open his own law office, which means Alice must find a full time job until his own office is up and running.

She is offered what she thinks is a dream job, a new type of book store that offers first editions, e-books and other things in awesome setting. Until things change and her dream job morphs into something different.

This is a novel about books vs. e-books, her friend's independent bookstore versus a whole new reading experience. There are humorous bits, usually coming from the mouths of babes, (we all know kids say the darndest things),. A novel that asks the question, Is it ever possible to really have it all? To find out what Alice decides you need to read the novel. A lighter read, but one that deals with some important issues, issues relating to what is called the sandwich generation among others.

ARC from publisher. (less)

I decided not to re-read TKAM, which I last read many, many years ago. Thought it would be better not to compare these two books, a first draft is not a prequel or a sequel. As for how this book came to light, as a reader that is not my job either. The book is out there now to be read or not.

I liked it a lot. Seeing Scout older, Addicus in his seventies was a bit strange but with it I went. Even in this unedited draft of her first manuscript, her love of Monroe County shines through, as do all her characters. Lee's sense of time and place is so very apparent and show in her writing. I loved her Uncle John in this one, such a very wise but eccentric man. Seeing Scouts growing pains, changes in her opinions and ability to articulate what it is she believes, was wonderful. At the end it got a bit preachy, but it clearly defined both her and Atticus's attitudes towards the South and its Black residents.

This book in no way changed the way I felt about Atticus, he is still a very wise man, in my opinion. Whether you agree with his opinions or not, they are easily understandable from his position and in keeping with his character. Since I did not live through this time, I feel I am unable to say if he was right or wrong.

A good novel that stands alone in its own right. I am left just wishing she had written more, it was and is a huge loss.

The subject of this novel is without doubt a sad one. But, it is much, much more. Not many novels can have you crying on one page and laughing on the next. Also the characters in this novel are wonderful, funny, flawed, trying to figure out who will take Rabbit's twelve yr, old daughter Juliet.

When Rabbit gives in to her strong pain killers and falls asleep, she dreams of her past. Her brother David, the boy she has loved since she was twelve, Johnny and the band. So it is also a beautiful love story and believe me it is not a mushy love story.

So yes it is sad but amazing nonetheless. It is all the things a life is, lived well, surrounded by so much love. I could have kept reading, loved her dreams and already miss all the characters. Read it and see.

In this heartbreaking story about redemption, forgiveness and past regrets, Wagamese writes a magnificent story. His descriptions of the lives of Franklin, his father and the old man are poignant, at times heartbreaking but show a deep and abiding love that though not always shown, was always there. There are very few characters in this story but the characters that are there are more than enough to fill these pages.

He uses words in a way that few can, his portrayal of the woods, and the trip Franklin undertakes in a last effort, out of duty to a father who was mostly absent, I found beyond compare. My feelings at the end of this book were certainly melancholy but also glad that Franklin had someone who loved him throughout his life. Though this is the first book I have read by this author, it certainly will not be my last.

I think the title says it all. My favorite things about this book was that you could tell how passionate the author was. Loved learning all the hidden little literary facts as well as places that many don't know. If I ever go to Paris I will definitely take this book with me.

Such an incredibly hard book to read, and yet a beautiful book too, on the true meaning of friendship. Written so tenderly, poignantly and with raw honesty. The characters run the gamut from those among us who are the most cruel, the most hateful and those who are able to offer a love that is profound, unconditional and where many of us probably fall, wanting to be netter than we are.

The characters are human, flawed, some almost too good to be true, and yet it is the moments we don't see, that we hear about that defines this book, in the thoughts of the characters, the empty spaces. How does one forgive one's own past, a place and upbringing that was not ones choice? Why do we hang on to a place, a state of mind, that causes us nothing but pain?

The writing is exemplary, the abuse scenes can be graphic, but offset by friendships that are amazing, love that is wonderful. I have read so many articles where critics and readers both decry, "Where are the published books that will later be considered a classic?" I think this one will, one of the best, most sincere, if painful books, I have read in a long time.

It is always tricky when writing a story with two very different time lines, usually I end up liking one way more than the other. In this case I likes them both and they complimented each other very well. Present day finds two sisters trying to regain a relationship to help their mother who is in a convalescent center, remembers very little and is fading fast. In one of her normal moments she asks her daughter to find a book that is in her sewing room. This starts a journey onto the past, back to the days of the samurai, and a very special woman who was a female warrior.

Interesting back stories, present and past, but this book is about relationships.
Sisters of blood, or sisters that you come to love and care for, protect and defend. And of course the relationships, so often complicated between mothers and daughters. The father in this book was a major piece of work and I really wished bad things for him, but maybe loneliness as he ages will ne his just punishment.

Good book, probably my favorite by this author.

When she is found in a hospital camp in France without a memory she gives the nurses the name "Stella Bain. The Great War, 1916, camps in France and England, the horror of war and its effects on the psyches of those involved and a woman with a past that she must uncover. Though it will take a while, she will and this will lead to a court case and a new life, while making peace with her old.

This is when shell shock was first being talked about and studied, the talking cure proposed by Freud was beginning to be used in the treatment of this condition .What makes this book so different is that it recognizes the effects of shell shock on the nurses and the others in the camps who also saw horrible things and had to live with what they had seen. A woman had few choices in this time period and remembering that it is easy to understand some of the decisions she made in her life. The court case I am not sure about, not sure if a judge would have been as fair to a woman as this one was, but it might have helped that her husband was not at all a sympathetic person, thinking he was above even the dictates of the court.

A hopeful book about the rebuilding of a life, Shreve treats her characters with a tenderness and a gentleness and brings them to life. I think she must have liked her character Stella Bain quite a bit. I did too.

ARC from NetGalley.

There was just something about this book that was stylistically perfect. One of the most well constructed books I have ever read. The title is also perfect because things in this novel fall, airplanes fall, drug empires fall, an old zoo and estate that once belonged to Escobar falls into disrepair, a country falls victim to drugs and terror and lastly bodies that are shot fall soundlessly.

The prose is smooth, the setting and the realism that was Bogata in the 1970's. The history of a country destroyed by drugs, the way the people who lived through this period are forever effected is poignant The characters are original and well-rounded.

This novel also explores how memories can be triggered, whether they are reliable and how they can change and affect us later. Fate and death is explored in many different ways, as is friendship, relationships and love. Our very real need to love and understand.

Sometimes we read about the drug empires and their effects, but this book
showed how easy it is to fall in with one of these empires, their schemes that sound so simple at the time, but how seriously one can fall, costing them everything. Amazing story.

Not only is this an original concept but it is also a timely one. In the US, we have had the Snowden scandal, and many of us learned, though some of us had already suspected, that our government had been bugging its own citizens. Of course they claim it is for our own safety and that many terrorist attacks have been averted because of this program. Well what one thinks of that is neither here nor there, in this book Cooper finds himself working for a government agency that is charged with just such a task. Doing anything to keep the public safe, only safe for whom?

This is a suspenseful book, it really kept me turning the pages, wanting to find out how it was going to end. The Brilliants, are children born with unusual abilities. While there have always been savants, geniuses, now many more are being born than ever before. As usual, because it isn't understood, it is feared.

This book does make one think. When is it okay to bug your own citizens?
How does one know when they are being told the truth. Most of all, what can we do as regular people when we don't agree with what is happening?

First let me tell you what this wonderful little book looks like. It is about 9 x 6 in. and it is hardbound, no book jacket and on the front surrounded by a background of blue, there is a lovely red rose. The pages are thicker, so they do not tear easily. Loteria itself, is a Mexican game that is played somewhat like Bingo but using colorful cards and riddles and different patterns. Each chapter had a page with the picture of the card in beautiful colors. The presentation of this book is fantastic.

Luz is eleven yrs. old when we meet her, she is being held in a type of juvenile home, where they have given her a journal and told her to write her story, since she will not speak about what has happened. She uses the cards to tell things good and bad, that have happened to and in her family. This story is not linear, she goes back and forth depending on what card she pulls. Eventually we learn what happened in her family. This is a frank and honest telling, from a young girls viewpoint about the things that needed to stay in her family. Family does not ever tell on family. The one card representing the bottle is especially poignant. As she says, "We tell our own stories. At the end she is offered a choice and although we now know what happened, there is still one big mystery in which the reader needs to furnish his own answer.

Very realistic, will appeal to readers of Jessamyn Ward and Bonnie Jo Campbell and other cultural writers.