Minna and Kaija's story is alternately told by both sisters, witches who approach their talents from opposite sides. Minna embraces her talents and wishes to punish all who have harmed her family, particularly those who burned her mother as a witch. Kaija wants to escape their forest solitude and live a life of perceived normalcy in a village. A betrayal and a curse fracture the relationship between the sisters resulting in a chain of tragic events that may or may not restore their feelings of love and sisterhood.

I liked this book for its unique story and characters, and the questions it raises about the use or abuse of power and the strength of sisterly bonds. I think it could be listed as a YA title because it's protagonists seem to me to be not quite adults. I'll be ordering it for my library's collection since we have many patrons who enjoy a good witch book!
Thanks to BookBrowse and Sourcebooks for providing me with an ARC for this title. It was an interesting and thoughtful read.

The Secret Book of Flora Lea by Patti Callahan Henry begins in WWII with the evacuation of London’s children to escape the Blitz. Hazel and Flora are among the evacuees, leaving their mother and traveling to the safety of a small village in the North.

To help ease her younger sister’s fears and homesickness, Hazel tells Flora tales of their imaginary place – a secret place she has created for them and them alone. Her belief in their fantasy world comforts Flora and allows the little girl to begin to settle into her new home and life. Then the unthinkable happens, Flora disappears and is never found.

Moving forward to the 1960’s, Hazel, still suffering from guilt and grief over Flora’s disappearance, encounters illustrations from a published children’s book. The book’s tale is eerily like those Hazel told Flora during the war, yet no one but the girls knew of their imaginary world of Whisperwood. Hazel begins a search for answers, desperate to discover the book’s author and how she knows of Whisperwood. Could the author be the long-lost Flora?

I found myself cheering for Hazel as she encountered dead ends and blocked attempts during her search for the book’s origins, and I admired her determination as she tried to find answers to what happened to Flora.
A quietly suspenseful book, The Secret Book of Flora Lea is a welcome addition to the current list of published World War II fiction. The story of London’s evacuated children during the Blitz is not well known in the U.S., and I think Henry’s book should be read by any fan of this genre. It would be excellent as a book club choice, and I’m grateful to NetGalley and Atria Books for providing a copy to review.

Paulette Jiles’s new book Chenneville is as well-written and absorbing as her previous novels. Jiles takes the reader to post-Civil War Missouri where John Chenneville has returned to his family farm still damaged from an almost lethal head injury. He finds the farm empty of all but one old retainer who tells him his mother has gone and his sister and her family have been brutally murdered.

From this point on, what could have been a typical tale of Western vengeance becomes a much more complex journey for justice and healing thanks to Jiles’s compelling and richly detailed writing. John’s hunt for the killer of his sister’s family takes him far from home and introduces many characters; some kind, some slippery, and some intent on harming him. All have been touched by the War and its aftereffects.

Chenneville is without a doubt the best book I have read this year. From the first page I was pulled into John’s story and the vivid portrayal of the post-Civil War West. I would recommend this title to anyone who appreciates Western tales with well-developed characters and rich, descriptive writing. I will be recommending it to friends and library patrons upon its publication.

Many thanks to NetGalley and William Morrow for the chance to read this exceptional book.

In Victorian England, women are mysteriously growing wings; large, angel-like wings. This "miracle" causes an uproar in London, and the lives of an ambitious surgeon, his artist wife, a budding journalist, and two affected women are changed forever.

I was drawn into this book from the very first page. The writing is perfect - Liz Hyder pulls you in until you feel as though you are experiencing everything first hand. Then her writing has the story racing along so you feel you don't have time to put it down or you will miss something. It's also a book that stays with you long after you've finished it because there is so much to think about: women's roles in Victorian England, Victorian medicine and science, religion, the nature of talents and gifts are just a few. I've been recommending it to many reading friends. An excellent choice for book clubs.

The Mostly True Story of Tanner and Louise by Colleen Oakley is absolutely one of my favorite books from 2022! Tanner and Louise, plus all the minor characters involved with them, are so well written I felt like they were real people by the end of the book! Oakley's writing is superb, and the story she tells is a different take on the "female buddy book". I was laughing out loud one minute at the dialogue and events, and then crying a few paragraphs later when a character said something poignant. The story also has twists and turns and gradual reveals that kept me reading "just one more page". I have been recommending this book to all of my reading friends, and have added it to my list of book club choices for 2023.

I found this book to be a very compelling read. Having read many novels based on WWI, I had never read any dealing with the subjects raised in this title. I won't mention those that are spoilers, but I honestly had never thought about who was responsible for retrieving the thousands of soldiers lost in the war. Gray's descriptions of Mackenzie and his men and their heartbreaking job of finding bodies after the war was well written and added much to the atmosphere of the story.
The story itself was quite good, although I was surprised at the amount of freedom Amy managed to have considering the times. I found it hard to believe that she was able to travel to the places she did, alone, in 1919.

Fortunately, Gray's style and story was good enough I could overlook that and read, almost without stopping, to the climactic ending!

I think the moving back and forth between years and characters was handled very well and added suspense to the mysteries of Edward's disappearance and the discovery at Two Storm Wood.

All in all, a great read.

Having visited the Morgan Library and Museum on my last visit to NYC, I was interested to learn more about the amazing woman who worked to build such a wonderful collection and exhibit it to the public. While I was not a fan of the writing style, I did enjoy reading about Bella da Costa Greene's life and accomplishments. Reading The Personal Librarian will bring this extraordinary woman to life for those unfamiliar with her and her story.