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Reviews by Elizabeth of Silver's Reviews

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The Sun Down Motel
by Simone St. James

The Sun Down Motel (11/3/2019)

Carly left college for a "few" days so she could head to Fell, New York, to see if she could find anything out about how her Aunt Viv died or where she might be.

Viv disappeared from The Sun Down Motel where she worked in 1982 and was never found.

When Carly arrived and …more

Red Letter Days
by Sarah-Jane Stratford

Red Letter Days (9/29/2019)

Phoebe was finally making some money for her scripts and getting well known, but then for some reason she was tagged as being a communist by the government and blacklisted by the playwrights.

Phoebe had no idea what she did to be tagged, but she decided to leave the country …more

The Invention of Wings
by Sue Monk Kidd

Elizabeth of Silver's Reviews (9/11/2019)

Sarah Grimke and Handful were complete opposites in the society of the 1800's.

Sarah was the daughter of a plantation owner, and Handful was her maid. Both were strong women regardless of their station in life.

Sarah didn't want to have a maid, and Handful didn't want to be a …more

Never Let You Go
by Chevy Stevens

Elizabeth of Silver's Reviews (9/11/2019)

You can't wear that, I saw you smiling at that man, you don't need to leave the house.

Those things happened to Lindsey as her marriage progressed. Andrew was so sweet and caring especially during her pregnancy, but it got worse every day.? She was afraid of her husband, …more

That Night
by Chevy Stevens

Elizabeth of Silver's Reviews (9/11/2019)

Bullying and prison life were the main themes in THAT NIGHT.

The main character, Toni, had been bullied in high school because she was not in the "in" crowd. This bullying influenced her life in a negative way. Toni was very disliked by a group of girls in high school, and …more they kept after her for no other reason than to be mean.

Being accused of murdering her sweet sister and having the folks that bullied her testify that she always lied about things definitely didn't help her defense. She and her boyfriend were accused of the murder even though they were innocent and victims themselves and were sent to prison for 15 years.

Prison wasn't any better for Toni. Prison seemed like an extension of her high school problems.

THAT NIGHT is the second book I read by Chevy Stevens. To me it was not as good as the other book I read, but it did send a very powerful message?.

As I was reading, I was truly frightened which most likely was the author's purpose in getting across the points of the damaging and horrible aspects of bullying.

I really wasn't pulled in because of the beginning pages, but I kept coming back to learn about bullying and the repercussions of how it ruins a person's life. Stevens did a great deal of research and did a marvelous job of having the reader feel the fear caused by the bullying.

To me Ms. Steven's was unquestionably raising the awareness of bullying and excellently conveyed it in her book.

The book was very frightening as I was visualizing the scenes and thinking about what reaction I would have had in a bullying situation. If you have been bullied, you won't want to read this book; it will bring back too many unsettling memories. I never was bullied, but I was very shaken upon seeing how people act and the cruel things they do.

My rating is mainly affected by the first 200 pages that only talked of high school antics and their jealousy of each other. If you can get past the first 200 pages of high school drama and adolescent problems, the final pages are quite good.

I would have given the book a 2/5 because of the beginning pages, but I am changing the rating to a 3/5.

This rating is changed mainly because the ending pages were excellent as the true story of the murder became revealed and because bullying needs to be addressed. The public's awareness of bullying needs to be more in the open and needs to make the public realize this issue does exist and is a major social problem.

This book was given to me free of charge and without compensation by the publisher in return for an honest review. (less)

The House Girl
by Tara Conklin

Elizabeth of Silver's Reviews (9/11/2019)

From 1852 to 2004....from one artist to another....from a farm in Virginia to the hustle and bustle of New York City.

THE HOUSE GIRL flawlessly switches between these two time periods telling of the life of Josephine, a slave girl, Lina, a New York City attorney, and Lina's …more father, Oscar, an artist. The book leads you through the life of Josephine as she struggles with her decision to "run, it leads you through the life of Lina who is researching families who may benefit from wrong doing during the period of slavery in the United States, and it leads you through the life of Oscar trying to make amends through his artwork.

The most significant question, though, along with finding descendants is that of who really did create the paintings found in Lu Anne Bell's home? Was it really Lu Anne or was it Josephine? Corresponding with this painting mystery and the mystery of Josephine's descendants is that of Lina's mother...what really did happen to her when Lina was only four?

You will get caught up in both stories because of the great detail Ms. Conklin uses and because of the research. I love "digging" for historical information. As you switch between the two stories, you will ask yourself to choose which life you were more interested in....Lina's or Josephine's....it may be difficult to choose since both were appealing and drew you in, but for me Josephine's story wins hands down for interest.

It took a few chapters, but you will become so involved, it becomes difficult to stop reading....you want to know what will become of the characters and the answer to the mysteries.

Each character comes alive with the vivid detail Ms. Conklin uses, and she puts their feelings out in the open...you can feel the tension, the pain, the frustration, the longing, and the fleeting happiness they experience. I really enjoyed this book because of the history and the research and of course the detailed descriptions of the characters.

The historical aspect and the fact-finding kept me up late. It is very interesting how the farm's kitchen records, crop records, and births and deaths of every person including the slaves was kept. I thoroughly enjoy these types of findings. I also wonder how these records were not destroyed and who would have thought to preserve them. Such foresight....something to be grateful for.

Don't miss this book especially if you are a historical fiction buff. This book pulls you in and will cause you to pause and reflect on the human race and have you wondering about the reasons why we do what we do, have you wondering what the reasons are that lead us to make the choices we make, and have you wondering about the reason we turned out to be the person we are. 5/5

This book was given to me without compensation by the publisher in return for an honest review. (less)

Ordinary Grace
by William Kent Krueger

Excellent - don't miss reading this book (9/3/2019)

Frankie and Jake were brothers with Frankie being the braver of the two but not necessarily the ethical one. ORDINARY GRACE takes place when times were simpler but when problems still occurred in families and towns.

This specific summer in Frankie and Jake's life had …more

Tamarack County
by William Kent Krueger

Elizabeth of Silver's Reviews (9/3/2019)

Murders, children coming back home, folks getting run off the road, revenge for a 20-year-old murder, and many unusual things happening in the bitter cold county of Tamarack in Northern Minnesota.

What was happening in this town that usually was a quiet place to be? No one …more

This Tender Land: A Novel
by William Kent Krueger

Marvelous (9/3/2019)

The Lincoln School, an orphanage with horrible caregivers who beat the children and subjected them to even worse daily working conditions, is where we meet Odie, Albert, Mose, and then Emmy.

The three friends had to get away, and they had their chance one night.

We follow …more

The Perfect Son
by Lauren North

You most likely won't guess the ending (8/19/2019)

We meet Tess in the hospital after she had an accident at her son's birthday party and after coping with the death of her husband a few weeks ago.

Something is going on since her husband’s death, and Tess doesn’t know what it is. All she knows is that she is happy she has …more

The Oysterville Sewing Circle
by Susan Wiggs

A Must Read (8/14/2019)

Caroline never thought she would be returning to her childhood home of Oysterville and definitely not with two children that weren't her own.

Caroline had wanted to leave as badly as any young person and head to New York City. Caroline did make it big in New York until a …more

The Winemaker's Wife
by Kristin Harmel

Do Not Miss Reading This Book (8/13/2019)

France, wine, WWII, present day, and love - all of this wrapped into one amazing, difficult-to-put-down read.

We meet Inez, Celine, Michel, Thor, Liv, and Liv's French grandmother, Edith, as the story moves back and forth in time.

We find out about the lives of the winemakers …more