I was not familiar with the myth of Hades and Persephone or the real life story of Monster in the garden, but I found myself absorbed reading IN THE GARDEN OF MONSTERS (MIRA). I've read Crystal King's prior books and I've always learned something. King has a passion for art, food and history, as do I, so I was excited to dive into her new book.

It's post WWII, Italy where Julia, a woman well-educated in history and art, but with no memory of her past is invited to be Salvador Dali's muse, Persephone, one of the creatures in the stone garden. Dali's behavior intensifies, on the verge of obsession as shadows from the garden appear and become unwelcoming. Julia finds herself on the verge of losing her mind and wonders if she truly is the queen of the underground.

There's a lot I didn't include in my review, because you must read IN THE GARDEN OF MONSTERS yourself. It's a wonderful, but not easy read. I found myself referring to reference books and other tomes to understand the story. I believe it is worth the effort.

I've read and enjoyed Rhys Bowen's previous novels and was thrilled to receive an advance copy of her new one, THE ROSE ARBOR (LakeUnion). First of all, I was excited to read a novel with two strong female protagonists.

Liz Houghton is a failing journalist searching for a scoop that'll get her taken seriously and out of writing obituaries. A young girl disappears and Liz sees reporting on it as a chance to get into the newsroom. She'll have to do it on her own time and with her own money. It turns out her best friend, Marise is the lead detective assigned to the case. Liz finds herself drawn to a small village, Dorset, where three girls disappeared in the evacuation of WWII. One was found murdered near a train line, the other two were never found. As Liz digs deeper, she learns Dorset is in ruins. The military took it over and forced the towns' people to move during WWII.

THE ROSE ARBOR is a historical mystery with a heavy government and military influence. The characters are well-developed and the plot hooks from the start. I couldn't wait to read the next page, culminating in a satisfied end. I'm looking forward to Bowen's next novel.

HELP WANTED (W.W.Norton) captures what it's like to work in a big box store, like a Target or Walmart. It probably won't be everyone's cup of tea, but give it a chance. HELP WANTED reminded me of Seinfeld in the way that it's about ordinary people doing ordinary things and providing laughs. There are plenty of characters working together in ridiculous situations to deliver comedy.

Because HELP WANTED is about workers working long hours, and being treated unfairly by mean bosses, I'm sure many readers will relate. The numerous diverse group of characters are well-developed, complex, and each has their own baggage and mishegas.

HELPED WANTED will be published March 5th by W.W.Norton.

Thank you BookBrowse for providing an early copy to review.

WE MUST NOT THINK OF OURSELVES (AlgonquinBooks) by Lauren Grodstein is a thought-provoking eyewitness account of WWII. It's based on diaries that can be found in the Oneg Shabbat Archives in Warsaw. I was not aware of this particular story and it left me speechless.

Adam Poskow was a 40-year-old childless widow and professor who was sent to the Warsaw ghetto by his Catholic father-in-law. Poskow keeps diaries of other people living in the ghetto, so their memories and dreams are preserved and not forgotten.

He documents the horrors of living in the ghetto. He writes a first person uncompromising narrative about the people who have to beg for food, have mental breakdowns, are killed in the streets by Nazis for no reason and see their bodies for food and passports. But despite this treatment some people are hopeful and dream of escaping their Nazis imprisonment to another country.

WE MUST NOT THINK OF OURSELVES is a difficult emotional read. Despite Grodstein's outstanding storytelling and brilliant writing, I still can't even imagine experiencing what these people did. It explains the importance of this novel because we must never forget the Nazis killed six-million Jews during WWII.

NEVER AGAIN.

MERCURY PICTURES PRESENTS (Hogarth) by Anthony Marra is brilliant on so many levels. It's hilarious one moment, then turns serious, all the while presenting multi-dimensional, complex characters within a complicated novel. .

It's 1940s pre-war Europe: Immigrants are fleeing the continent on the cusp of WWII. Maria and her mother escape Italy's dictator, Benito Mussolini for America. They leave behind her father and a neighborhood boy who are imprisoned. In Los Angeles, Maria gets a job at Mercury Pictures Studio as an associate producer, working for studio founder, Artie Feldman, an eccentric man who believes women can work during these sexist times. Maria tries to forget her past but reminders are around every corner. She interacts with other recent immigrants, many who are also dealing with the guilt of leaving her father behind and the ever-present memories of what once was home.

MERCURY PICTURES PRESENTS reveals the lives of so many people in Europe and in America struggling to get by as war rages on. While reading you might want to keep notes to stay connected. This novel is historical fiction at its finest. The plot, lessons of war, intelligent characters and the wonderful writing by Anthony Marra will keep you feverishly flipping pages to the end. At first I thought this would make a fabulous movie, but I don't think Hollywood could achieve the same quality of story. Well perhaps, if produced by Steven Spielberg or Martin Scorsese.

Thank you BookBrowse for the opportunity to read this for an honest review.

THIS IS SALVAGED (WWNorton) is pulitzer prize winning author, Vauhini Vara's collection of short stories. Each is an intense look at grief and trying to find hope in the darkest hours. Several times, Vara's stories felt like a punch to the stomach. These are her's honest and accurate observations of human nature. There were times I wanted to shut the book, and I think you will too, but stick with it. THIS IS SALVAGED is a collection of stories you soon won't forget.

Victorian, with a wrap around porch, a sprawling lawn and a real turret. Margaret and her husband, Hall believe they have found their dream home. Its somewhere they can put down the roots they didn't grow up with.

They aren't concerned when the realtor tells them about the multiple murders that have happened in the house. Margaret believes it's 150 years old, so of course the house would have a history. It's not long after they move in, that they discover there are other "occupants" that want them out, especially in September. The walls drip blood, ghosts of former inhabitants cause trouble and forget about going down into the basement.

THE SEPTEMBER HOUSE (Berkley) is marketed as a horror story, but it's too funny and exaggerated to fill that genre. I believe if you go into THE SEPTEMBER HOUSE expecting horror, you'll be disappointed.

I'm so glad that I got to read an advanced copy of THE ALL-AMERICAN(Norton). The heart-rending, rollercoaster story made me sad, while the dark comedy had me chuckling. It's smart, complex and its surprising to learn THE ALL-AMERICAN is author, Joe Milan's debut novel.

Bucky Yi knows nothing about Korea. He's a high-school running back hoping to play in college living in Washington state. But when a small altercation puts him on the government's radar, it's discovered Bucky is not a US citizen and he's deported back to Korea. He knows nothing about Korea. Bucky can't say let along spell his name.

Through a series of mishaps caused by him and others, he quickly realizes he's not going back to the US anytime soon. This realization has Bucky test his own emotional, physical and mental strength. Eventually, he steps up and learns to appreciate Korea and all it has to offer.

I don't want to write anymore because it is so original, unique and enjoyable. I don't fully understand why it is labeled a YA book, because I believe Bucky's story can resonate with everyone.

Thanks to BookBrowse and Norton for providing this book for an honest review.

THE CRITIC'S DAUGHTER: A Memoir (WWNorton) is a unique portrait of a father-daughter relationship. Priscilla Gilman grew up the daughter of Richard Gilman, a famous mercurial writer and theatre critic. The Gilman's lived on the upper west side and they were constantly entertaining the rich and famous artists from the threatre and literary world.

At ten years old, Priscilla's mother, Lynn Nesbit, a successful literary agent left the marriage. We are immersed into the complexity of being a little girl. She gets to see her father as a tortured soul. She is kind to him in her memoir, sharing a full palette of the man he was he was, including his struggles with his sexuality.

Priscilla's story is honest, raw and courageous. It is one of loss and love, as well as grief and forgiveness. I've read so many memoirs about mother-daughter relationships. This was fresh and different.

Thank you WWNorton and BookBrowse for a copy of THE CRITIC'S DAUGHTER to read and review.

A dual narrative epic saga spanning 100-years of Russian history, THE LAST RUSSIAN DOLL by Kristen Loesch hooked me from the start. At first the idea of reading about Russian history wasn't my cup of tea, but the prose, the plot, story and complex characters took me into another world which was fascinating.

The first narrative starts in 1915 with the rising of the Bolsheviks and 1917 Revolution. The second begins in 1991 London and moves to present day Russia. There's a mystery that our protagonist must solve. What she uncovers is a devastating family history that spans the 1917 Revolution, the siege of Leningrad, Stalin's purges, and beyond.

River Sing Me Home (Berkley) by Eleanor Shearer is inspired by the true stories of the brave woman who went looking for their stolen children after the abolition of slavery in 1834. It's hard to believe it's a debut novel, because Shearer's prose and narrative are so powerful and complex. River Sing Me Home is the story of Rachel, a woman slave who has given birth repeatedly and had five children survive only to be taken away and sold.

The British King declares the Emancipation Act effectively ending slavery, but the plantation owners announce they are now apprentices and have to work on the plantation for six more years. It's at this point Rachel decides to run and search for her five children. She doesn't know if any of them are alive, but she is driven by the fact, a mother cannot be free without knowing what has become of her children.

She begins her dangerous journey in Barbados, then on a river deep in the forest of British Guiana and finally across the sea to Trinidad. She's always aware that she is technically not free, she's being hunted and if found can be taken back as a slave at any time.

River Sing Me Home is Rachel's extraordinary story to find out what happened to Mary Grace, Micah, Thomas Augustus, Cherry Jane and Mercy. It is the deeply brutal and moving story of the astonishing lengths a mother will go to find her children... and her freedom.

I love reading historical fiction, respect history and I'm grateful to have learned about this time in the past. From the beginning of the book I was thrust into Rachel's dangerous journey. River Sing Me Home is a fearless, hopeful, and loving read. I often found myself holding my breath during her search. Thank you BookBrowse, Netgalley and Berkley for providing an early copy of this novel, which will be published January 31st, 2023.

Rachel survives WWII in Berlin hiding with her painter, mother as an U-boat girl, but once she arrives in New York City, surviving doesn't mean she's left the horrors of war behind. Her mother doesn't survive, but in Berlin Rachel finds herself under the control of a Jewess, who is called "The Angel of Death," because she turns Jews over to the Nazis. Their arrangement saves Rachel. David R. Gillham once again looks back at WWII for his new novel, SHADOWS of BERLIN (Sourcebooks). For Rachel, a displaced Jew, the past is as close as the present.

Rachel arrives in New York City with her Uncle Fritz who survived the war doing "what he had to do to survive." Once in America, Rachel marries Aaron, "a nice boy from Flatbush," who has no idea what she has experienced in Berlin. She sees a psychiatrist weekly, which Aaron reminds her is costing them a lot of money. Aaron's family warmly accepts her into the family but doesn't understand what she has faced and often find themselves walking on eggshells.

Rachel does her best to try and become an "American Housewife," but she is unable to outrun her guilt. It's when her Uncle discovers one of her mother's paintings in a pawn shop that the memories begin to terrorize her,
forcing Rachel to face what choices she made to survive.

SHADOWS of BERLIN takes us from cafes in Berlin to manic 1950's Manhattan where one is constantly on the move. It's all about trying to find the peace and forgiveness you don't believe you deserve to survive a new chapter in your life. Rachel is completely broken down in order to take baby steps towards her future. SHADOWS of BERLIN is about guilt and forgiveness, love and loss and the long lasting memories and shadows of the dead which remain with the living.

In sections, this is a difficult novel to read, but not to be missed.

"Ever since my mom died, I cry in H Mart. H Mart is a supermarket chain that specializes in Asian Food."

Michelle Zauner honors the life and memory of her late cancer stricken mother and their mercurial relationship, in her memoir, CRYING IN H MART (Knopf). She works through grief by learning how to cook Korean food, which helps her cope and connect with her Korean heritage.

Zauner's is half Korean and the founding member of the band, Japanese Breakfast, which has received two Grammy nominations. Her mother was Korean and her father American. CRYING IN H MART straddles the journey of a complex young woman and the two cultures she grows up in. She was raised in the predominantly white neighborhood of Eugene, Oregon, where she says she was slowly "suffocating from boredom." After college, she left for New York City to pursue her artistic ambitions.

She returns to Eugene when her mother starts to experience the effects of chemotherapy. Zauner's early relationship with her mother was fraught with misunderstandings, arguing and only when her mother gets sick does she struggle to be a good daughter. By learning to cook Korean food, Zauner attempts to uncover the positive moments with her mother, instead of just focusing on the sick woman.

I love reading memoirs and Zauner's touched my heart. Her mother died when Mauner was twenty-five, so her teen years of acting out are fresh in her mind. I could relate to many of her stories. She courageously bares the wounds of caretaking and losing her mother. I knew absolutely nothing about Korean food or culture before reading CRYING IN H MART, and believe I'm better for the exposure.

CRYING IN H MART is being produced as a film by Orion Pictures.

Leo "Big" Chao and his wife, Winnie opened their Americanized Chinese food restaurant thirty-five years ago in the small town of Haven, Wisconsin. Leo and Winnie have three sons Dagou, Ming and James in Lan Samantha Chang's new novel, THE FAMILY CHAO (WWNorton). Over the years there have been many changes in the family. Leo is hated by everyone in town for being a narcissist and capitalist who takes great pleasure in screwing people over. He has embraced the promise of American achievement, while exploiting his sons and wife's labor. Winnie has enough so she leaves Leo and becomes a nun at the Spiritual House. Leo's shocked Winnie leaves but he has been having so many affairs it's amazing she hasn't left sooner.

Dagou and his father hate the other, but they're very much alike. Dagou has an enhanced sexual appetite. He's been engaged to Katherine for ten years, while having an affair with Brenda. Ming has left Haven for the big city and his life is all about making money, which he's very good at. James is pre-med at college and trying to find his way in life.

The family gathers for their yearly Christmas dinner, and it ends up like no other. Leo is found frozen in the restaurant freezer, authorities suspect murder and everyone is a suspect. But it's Dagou that the prosecutor arrests for his father's murder.

Yes, a lot is going on, but Lan Samantha Chang's novel hits on many significant subjects. How a small town never fully accepts someone different. It's a study of the hardships, sacrifices and prejudices experienced by immigrants. It's a comedy and tragedy and each character has their own story of humor and suffering.

I found it clever and appreciated the inside jokes. THE FAMILY CHAO is called a modern day, BROTHERS KARAMASOV by Dostoesky, which I've never read, so we'll have to trust the PR notes.

It's a fun and unique murder mystery like you've never before.

Bestselling author, Kristin Harmel shares another message of hope within the darkness of WWII in her new novel, The Forest of Vanishing Stars (GalleryBooks).

"The forest knew no difference between race, religion or gender."

In 1922, two year-old Inge Juttner, daughter of a Nazi Commander is stolen as she sleeps by an old woman called Jerusza. She renames Inge Yona. She lives in the forest for twenty years under Jerusza's control. She is educated in how to survive and live well in the forest in all seasons and from books, Jerusza steals from towns, but Yona never meets another person. She is raised not to trust people and to stay safe in the forest. Jerusza dies, but not before instilling in Yona's mind that dark days are ahead.

Yona meets a group of Jews escaping from the ghettos and realizes her destiny is to help them live and survive. The escapees don't have any of the skills to survive the winter and they become her family.

"Home is not a place, but the people you choose to love."

Soon the group is growing and Yona fears for all of their lives.

The Forest of Vanishing Stars is based on true events. Kristin has done a great deal of research and she shares her sources with readers at the end of the book in "Author's Notes." In 2020, Kristin interviewed Aron (Bell) Bielski who was one of the Jews who survived the Nazis by living in the forest. Aron's entire family was killed and to this day he suffers from survivor's guilt.

The Forest of Vanishing Stars has everything you could hope for in a novel. It's brilliantly written, suspenseful, has some romance, along emotions of fear, pain and love. It is also very hopeful. The light will always be stronger than darkness.

Carrot Quinn's memoir, THE SUNSET ROUTE is one of the most brilliant books I've read. For Carrot to write so poetically while revealing such desperation, it's not an easy book to absorb. Carrot grows up in Alaska with a schizophrenic mentally-ill mother who speaks to the Virgin Mary, a brother and has no father. She's neglected, hungry more often than not, living moment to moment, surviving. She leaves Alaska at fourteen years old after her mother attempts to strangle her.

At that point, Carrot makes her way to Portland, falls into a counter culture existence living in punk houses, eating from dumpsters, shoplifting and traveling the country by rail. Carrot is introduced to the memoir, Pilgrim at Tinker Creek by Annie Dillard which gently leads her to embracing nature, feeling one with the trees and water. This memoir is her bible throughout the story. She lives in forests, homeless camps, exists out of society.

THE SUNSET ROUTE has a running theme of loneliness, isolation and grief. Carrot believes she is "unlovable trash" and is constantly trying to connect with another human. When she does, it is short lived and she ends up disappointed. Her description of hopping trains, meeting other hobos, living an alternative lifestyle is all interesting, but unsettling at best.

Towards the end she hasn't seen her mother in eighteen years and feels shame wondering if she should be taking care of her. She learns her mother is alive, and searches for her in Alaska, always a step behind. At the end of the memoir, she discovers long distance hiking making the 10,000 mile trip between Mexico and Canada three times. "I am new, clean and empty as the wind."

THE SUNSET ROUTE left me rattled after reading Carrot's journey and grateful for my own existence.

While reading Virginia Feito's novel, MRS. MARCH (Liveright/WWNorton) I felt as if I was being sucked into the mind of a 42 year-old woman suffering from early dementia. And while it was uncomfortable and sad, I couldn't stop reading. Feito's novel is a study between madness and death. It's a dark psychological drama that will creep you out. At least, it creeped me out.

Mrs. March is the wife of a successful author. She starts to begin seeing herself in the main character of her husband's new bestselling novel and begins performing as that character in real life and losing herself at the same time. Mrs. March not only finds herself between the pages of the book, but discovering secrets of her past, as well as tracking down a killer.

Feito's writing is brilliant and her characters are so complex and well developed. The whole novel is set in the wealthy New York City "Book World" which is quite a treat to read about.

MRS. MARCH is soon to be a motion picture with Blumhouse, starring Elizabeth Moss, of "Mad Men" fame.

I've read a plethora of novels set during WWII. Tracey Enerson Wood's new novel, THE WAR NURSE (SourceBooks) offers a story about WWI based on nurse, Miss Julia Stimson, whose true story was lost until now.

Superintendent nurse, Stimson has one month to recruit, train and create policies and procedures for sixty-five nurses to be stationed at the Red Cross base camp in Rouen, France. Stimson finds herself caring and protective of her girls who will be close to the front, sacrificing their time with no return date set. American Expeditionary Forces Base Hospital 21, is a former racetrack set up to care for five hundred, but soon they are facing thirteen hundred patients. The novel focuses on the bravery and courage these nurses showed. Reading about the gases that were used against our troops and its effects on humans was cringe worthy.

Soldiers start coming into camp with a mysterious influenza-like disease causing coughing spasms. At first, those cases are dismissed as troops just trying to get out of going to the front, but with Stimson's leadership they realize there is a contagious influenza. It's the beginning of the pandemic of 1917-1918, which will go on to kill five-million people around the world. She fights to get an area set up just for those infected, most likely saving lives.

While reading Wood's novel, I couldn't help but recognize the similarity of the reaction to this misunderstood disease in 1918, to COVID-19 today. Wood gives readers some relief from the atrocities of war, by highlighting personal relationships. Readers will find a strong female character in Julia Stinson and once again, be reminded of the importance of nurses in the field of medicine.

I'm sure most of you are unfamiliar with the person written about in THE PERSONAL LIBRARIAN (Berkley) by authors, Marie Benedict and Victoria Christopher Murray. She happens to be one of the most interesting people I've ever read about, and I believe you will find her intriguing too.

In 1905, at the age of twenty-one, Belle da Costa Green was hired by financier, steel, railroad and electric power magnate, J.P. Morgan to become his personal librarian for the collection he wanted to build. He entrusted her completely, to negotiate for and buy millions of dollars worth of manuscripts, books and art for Morgan. She told Morgan, who was willing to pay any price for important works, that her goal was to make his library "pre-eminent, especially for incunabula, manuscripts, bindings and the classics." Acquiring rare and valuable items was a way wealthy families showed off their status. Belle was immediately welcomed into New York society and was soon mingling with Astors, Vanderbilts, Carnegies and other members of the "swells."

But from the very beginning, Belle had a secret. It was a secret that if discovered would crumble down and destroy her and her family, who she provided for. I'm not going to give away the secret, but the whole story is true, with some literary license, and truly amazing.

Belle was a trailblazer as a single, successful career woman in the early in the early 1900's. THE PERSONAL LIBRARIAN deals family, sacrifice, truth and lies. A definite must read.