The concept of "We'll Prescribe You a Cat" by Syou Ishida is charming. Somewhere in Kyoto, there is a mysterious clinic in an alley that treats patients by letting them borrow a cat. The clinic is impossible for most people to find, and the door is difficult to open. The clinic staff members bear a striking resemblance to the staff at a nearby veterinary office.

The novel consists of five chapters--almost short stories--that are connected via their relationship to the clinic. Each chapter is named for the cat or cats that are prescribed. But there is little connection between the chapters, and some mysteries are never explained. For example, why does the clinic exist? How did it come about? There are hints, but no resolution.

As a cat lover, I was bothered by the descriptions of patients carrying cats around in carriers all day, or the cats sliding in carriers as they were moved. There was also talk of euthanizing one of the prescribed cats after it was returned, but fortunately, the patient adopted it.

I wanted the story to have a more consistent storyline, even though I liked that the patients learned from the cats and their experiences positively impacted their lives.

The true story of Lydia Latrobe Roosevelt and her husband, inventor and steamboat pioneer Nicholas Roosevelt, is fascinating. However, I found myself distracted by the very modern points of view the author gave Lydia.

Despite facing numerous challenges, such as a dangerous boat journey along the Mississippi River, including navigating through the Falls of the Ohio, potential attacks from Native Americans, and a destructive earthquake and its aftershocks, just after giving birth to her second child and taking care of a toddler, Lydia frequently reflects on her significance in history. In Chapter 19, she writes, "I am part of this history, this wild adventure. Will anyone remember that I was? Are women never remembered unless they happened to have been a queen?" This seems far-fetched. I'd expect her to focus on survival, not worry about being excluded from history books because she's a woman.

In addition, Lydia comes across as a modern woman who is an equal partner in her marriage and muses about the roles we assign men and women. I know there were feminists in the early nineteenth century, but I don't think their thoughts about women's rights were as nuanced as today's. For example, after a crew member apologizes for using the word "hell" in front of her, she muses to herself, "What a shame that men cannot simply be themselves in front of women!"

There were several unresolved storylines, too. For example, Lydia worries about food and fuel shortages, but the steamboat floats past earthquake-destroyed settlements for several days without running out of food or fuel.

The story was interesting, but I expect more realistic details about cultural attitudes and roles than I found here.

Imagine reading the innermost thoughts of a cleaning woman as she sweeps and dusts an office building under the embrace of darkness. At first, her thoughts and actions appear mundane. However, it quickly becomes evident that she is actively searching through desks, gaining access to employees' computers, and reorganizing office items, all while pretending to "help" the company. Creepy, eh?

As the story unfolds, the main character's delusion becomes more pronounced, blurring the lines between reality and her distorted perception. With each page, I was left questioning the authenticity of the events, creating a sense of unease and anticipation for a shocking twist that could turn everything upside down. Except there was no shocking twist. The book was disappointing.

I learned about Frances Perkins when I took a women's studies class in college (many years ago!). However, I had no idea of all the things she did for the country. This novel is based on Perkins' life, with some artistic license when documentary evidence was missing or when it served to move the story along more efficiently. It's very easy to read and left me proud of this powerful but humble woman.

This was a fun tale about the unlikely relationship between a young woman (Tanner) and a much older woman (Louise). I enjoyed the story a lot, and it was a fairly quick read. Although the novel seemed to be plot-driven, the author developed the characters nicely. Tanner had to drop out of college when she lost her soccer scholarship after breaking her leg. Louise needed a caregiver after breaking her hip (or so her adult children believed). Of course, their relationship got off to a rocky start, but they found common ground and learned to appreciate each other as the story progressed. I highly recommend this book.

By the time I enrolled in college, I had read all of Agatha Christie's books. I loved them. This book, a fictional look at a real event in Agatha Christie's life, was quite good. The author wrote the story in a way that was as interesting as a "real" Agatha Christie and offered a believable backstory to her disappearance.

This book is interesting in that the characters travel to far-away places on a sailing vessel, and later, on a steamship. However, the story is disjointed and confusing. The first half of the book is about two half-sisters. The book is written in the third person and the viewpoint shifts between the two sisters. Although one sister—Kay—is 11 and the other—Thea—is near 30, their voices are indistinguishable. There are many unnecessary details, including a temper tantrum that the younger sister throws, after which she alludes to other problems with her temper that aren't illustrated in the book. I couldn't see what the temper tantrum had to do with the plot or with Kay's character development, possibly because there was so little character development.

At the end of part one, we find one character in a tuberculosis hospital (I'm being cagey so as not to spoil the plot). One character notes that, if the sick character is released from the hospital, it will mean that the hospital staff have given up and that character can no longer be treated. I figured that meant the character would die. Two pages later, the nurse tells Thea that they are discharging the sick character. Then we jump to part two, eleven years later, and the former tuberculosis patient is a healthy young adult, and we never find out how he recovered. And there's a new character who was born shortly after part one ended.

Part two involves another around-the-world boat trip, this time at Kay's instigation. Again, the ports of call are interesting, but the rest of the story is stilted. A red toothbrush that the character bought at Filene's in Boston makes an appearance three times in part two, and I can't figure out why we needed to know about it.

I'll admit I like character-driven novels, and this novel is very much plot-driven. I think it could be a decent book with a lot more editing, including both reworking the story and cutting parts that don't help the plot move forward.

I really enjoyed the first half of this book. The story is based on the author's interpretation of a famous photo taken during the Depression, and she weaves quite a tale around a similar fictional photo taken by a young journalist. There's romance, newsroom rivalry, and good character development. The second half of the book seemed more forced to me. It was more plot-driven and there was a lot of what I felt was gratuitous violence from mob figures. Overall, I enjoyed the book and would recommend it.

Sometimes I Lie is a fast-paced and exciting book. The story of a woman in a coma is told by flipping back and forth from "now" (during the coma) to "then" (a week before and up to the accident) and to a childhood diary from the more distant past. There are many plot twists... maybe a few too many for my taste. Although this is the author's first novel, it's very well-written and I am not surprised that a TV series is already in the works (according to a blurb on the ARC I received).

I was disappointed with this book. The plot was more important to the author than character development. I enjoyed the fact that many chapters of the book dealt with a book club, and I liked the parts about the daughter, but there were too many coincidences (or plot devices, really). The plot twist at the end of the book was predictable and I felt like it left me hanging with a lot of unanswered questions.

I understand that this book was based on actual research on reincarnation, but it still required some suspension of disbelief for me to read it. Not only was the story itself a little unbelievable, the characters seemed two-dimensional. The story was obviously plot-driven rather than being character-driven, and the plot was a little contrived.

I read the book several weeks ago, shortly after I received my advance copy, and was unable to write my review immediately due to the holidays and a work deadline. When I received a reminder email, I had to really stop and think hard to recall what the book was about. It just didn't do it for me.

I recently witnessed my father's illness and decline, and his (and my entire family's) experience with hospice. The Last Days of Rabbit Hayes was a very realistic and beautiful story about the end of a life, and how life goes on for the family. I enjoyed this book immensely and I highly recommend it.

I read this book in just a couple of days, which means that I liked it. I found myself wanting to know more about Lucy/Joseph's childhood, but the book begins when she's leaving home in her early 20s. There are allusions to past events (a riot Lucy's father was involved in) that are not developed or spelled out, which was frustrating. I found it interesting and a bit frustrating that the author spent a great deal of time describing certain parts of Lucy/Joseph's life, but left out details about other parts.

I prefer character-driven novels, so my impressions reflect that. I thought the writing was good, but the plot drove the story. Unfortunately the plot wasn't all that original. If you like a fast-paced suspense novel, this may be the book for you.

This book was okay, but it followed the typical mystery/thriller formula. I enjoyed the descriptions of Acker's Gap, though, and the characters were pretty well-developed.

Defending Jacob alternates between first person accounts from the point of view of Andy Barber, former assistant D.A., and the transcript of Andy’s grand jury testimony regarding – well, we’re not sure what the grand jury is investigating until the end of the book. Andy tells the story of defending his son, fourteen-year-old Jacob, who is accused of murdering a classmate.

I found it hard to put this book down. Despite being a thriller, it explores family connections, loyalty, and truth. I plan to read it a second time, which, for me, is a very rare reaction to a book.