I haven’t stopped reading even if I became a terrible reviewer and a dropped off the face of the earth book blogger. Still every time I finish a book that I loved – or despised – every book that has made me really think – I keep writing tiny reviews in my head. So maybe it is time to come back to this space? I miss talking about books!
Because of all going on in the world since March of 2020 my book selections have been heavily romance, fantasy and memoir. Last year I took a suggestion from my husband and read Don Winslow’s excellent The Power of the Dog – after which I resolved to definitely read only romance and celebrity memoirs for a year! I’m finally recovering from all those deaths and feeling ready to pick up a bit more depth and there are too many books to choose from! My recent favorites have been Nora Goes Off Script and I’m Glad My Mom Died. Then there was Legends and Lattes which was basically a hug in book form. Or You Made a Fool of Death with Your Beauty which was WOW. Just a bit more sexy than a hug while also so touching in talking about grief and loneliness and moving on.
I finally finally read my book club choice from the summer of 2020 – Such a Fun Age and loved every minute. And I just finished reading Lessons in Chemistry and am still trying to resolve my thoughts on this. I’ve fallen in love with audiobooks like Olga Dies Dreaming and at the same time found some like Friends Lovers and the Big Terrible Thing so self congratulatory I basically gave up at the introduction.
I’ve even been reading books I should have been reviewing! When you need happy reading I definitely think you should pick up Lana Harper’s Thistle Grove Books: Payback’s a Witch, From Bad to Cursed and Back in a Spell – you have time to read all three before In Charm’s Way comes out this fall! The romances are sweet, the magic is exciting and each book gave me a little bit more than I was expecting. Definitely books I’d read again for fun.
So what should I pick up now -before I run to the library to FINALLY get my copy of Spare? What great books have you been waiting to talk about?
My BIL wrote a book! This is such an amazing accomplishment I came out of blog retirement to ask him about it. Maybe this will be so fun that I’ll come back for more book talk… Meanwhile you should definitely check Jeff’s book out here: and maybe also bug him for a signed copy!
1. Tell us about Waking the Shadows? Where does the title come from? Waking the Shadows is the story of Samantha Cooper, a 15-year-old girl orphaned after the Civil War. Samantha lives with her uncle, whose traumatic experiences of the war have left him unwilling to share any details about the life and death of Samantha’s father, whom she barely remembers. Samantha has all but resigned herself to the fact that she will never know what happened to her family, when a new schoolteacher, Miss Juliet Howe enters her life and pushes Samantha to discover the truth of her past. When I started writing the book, I didn’t think the target audience was young adults, but it was clear by the time I finished the final draft that I had written a coming-of-age story that worked for young adult and adult audiences.
Creating titles has always been my kryptonite, so it should come as no surprise that my original working title, “Finding Samantha,” was super lame. My wife Holly and I came up with the title, Waking the Shadows while on a walk. The idea for that title harkens back to a Halloween program I wrote while employed at Pamplin Historical Park and the National Museum of the Civil War Soldier. My hope is that Waking the Shadows points people towards the theme of the book – that knowing a sad or tragic history is better than knowing nothing at all. The shadows are there. We may as well acknowledge them.
2. What inspired you to write a novel? I’ve always wanted to write a novel. I’ve started several, none of which went further than the first few chapters, aside from the book I wrote in 5th grade about a character named Detective Dominike (yes, that’s how I spelled “Dominic”). Really, my only goal when I started the project was to finish the book. Everything that’s come after the completion of the first draft – the editing, publishing, selling a few copies – is just icing on the cake. The idea for Waking the Shadows came from two places. First, I wanted to write a story that helps people connect with history on an emotional level. Specifically, I wanted readers to understand that the effects of the war extend well beyond 1865. The historical timeline of the Civil War ends in 1865, but its impact lasts far longer, as seen through my characters. Second, I started writing the book around the time the first Confederate monuments were being taken down. As a public historian, part of me was sad to see them go because they provide opportunities for people like me to do historical interpretation. They were an opportunity to talk about the Lost Cause Myth, segregation, and racism. That being said, I also understood that A) most people don’t see the monuments the way I do, and B) the monuments don’t just exist in their historical moment, they exist in their current community, and having monuments to the Confederacy on courthouse lawns and public parks is inappropriate. Those two thoughts produced the theme of this book. Namely, the impact of the war lasts well beyond Appomattox, up to and including today, and that we should both recognize the good and bad of our past and take responsibility for choosing our own future.
3. How much research did you have to do? Why did you choose fiction over nonfiction when this is your area of interest? The historical details in the book are accurate, though not specific, which was intentional. I purposely did not write any details that put characters in a specific location, or battle, or regiment, mostly because I wanted readers invested in the story, not the historical details. However, this also had the happy side effect that I didn’t have to do much historical research for this book. Had I written a story where characters were in a specific place, then I would have to find out details like, what the weather, where was the regiment, what did the regiment do, and so on. By being vague on the details I saved myself some work. The historical details that are included in the book reflect years of study and research into the Civil War generally. This general knowledge was enough to make the book historically accurate. The primary accounts I use in the text, which are all outlined in the End Notes, are fairly common and well-known accounts, so I didn’t have to dig too deeply. I chose fiction because I think narrative is an effective way to engage people in history. One can write narrative non-fiction too, but I’m more interested in connecting people emotionally and fiction is a great vehicle for that. I love reading non-fiction, but feel my best contribution to the field is taking what I learn from non-fiction and translating it to a story that anyone, including people who don’t even know the Civil War is, can appreciate.
4. Did you know how the book was going to turn out? Or can you answer that without spoilers? I knew the theme of the book from the very beginning. I knew what underlying message I wanted to communicate. But, there was a fairly significant plot change that I arrived at about halfway through the first draft, which I can’t share without giving away a major component of the story.
5. Are there any favorite books or authors that inspired you? What are you reading now? The book that first piqued my interest in the Civil War is Harold Keith’s Rifles for Watie, which was written decades ago. I think I read it when I was in third grade and I’ve been hooked on the Civil War ever since. For more contemporary authors, I think Michael Saharra and Ralph Peters write traditional, military-focused Civil War historical fiction very well. I think my book is more closely aligned to the way Robert Hicks (Widow of the South, A Separate Country) approaches historical fiction, though our writing styles and audience are very different. Stephen Ambrose and Winston Groom set a high bar for good narrative non-fiction. My favorite storytellers, however, are Neil Gaiman and Fredrik Backman. They don’t write historical fiction, but I love the way they craft their stories. I’m currently reading some Civil War non-fiction that may help me with my next novel. I’m currently in the midst of Richard Sommers’ “Richmond Redeemed,” which is a very dense, traditional non-fiction campaign study. It’s level of detail nearly makes it a reference book, rather than a cover-to-cover read, so I’m looking forward to reading something superfluous when I finally finish this text.
6. We hear talk of a possible second book? Will it be a sequel? Still Civil War related? Give us more detail! I’m considering writing another book. It too will be set during the Civil War. I know what theme I want to write about, and I know what historical subject and event I want to write about, but I haven’t quite figured out the plot structure yet. Unlike Waking the Shadows, this book will be set in the midst of a specific time and place and feature real people and the historian in me isn’t ok with manipulating what actually happened to suit the structure I have in mind. Thus, I have to do more research and read books like Richmond Redeemed to make sure I get my facts right. I don’t want people who know their Civil War to read the book and find distracting errors. If I know it was raining on a particular day, then I want my book to reflect that. I hate when details that are objectively wrong end up in books and movies. All that being said, unless I sell about a million more copies of Waking the Shadows, I’ll have to keep my day job, so a second book is still way out on the horizon. Maybe around the time George R. R. Martin finishes his next Game of Thrones book I’ll be ready to publish a second book.
7. Where can we buy your book and have it signed? You can currently purchase my book through Amazon, or from me personally, if you find yourself in the greater Des Moines area. There’s an e-book and print version on Amazon and if you’re a Kindle Unlimited subscriber, you can download the e-book for free. I’m happy to sign any book that is put in front of me, so folks can either find me, or mail me a copy to sign (just give me return postage and an address). I’m still waiting for my self-appointed Vice President of Marketing to find money in the budget for a full-fledged book tour. Apparently, my list of travel demands are “unreasonable” and “absurd.”
8. Finally, what’s your favorite U2 album?U2 is near or at the top of the most overrated bands in rock history. I guess I would have to say their 18 Singles album is their best work. At least on that album you’re getting a few good songs since it’s their greatest hits.
Ignore Jeff’s obvious foolishness when it comes to U2 albums (Achtung Baby obviously is their best album) and go check out his book!
Expected publication: March 10th 2020 by Atria Books
Source: ARC Received from Publisher
From Goodreads…
Where do you see yourself in five years?
When Type-A Manhattan lawyer Dannie Cohan is asked this question at the most important interview of her career, she has a meticulously crafted answer at the ready. Later, after nailing her interview and accepting her boyfriend’s marriage proposal, Dannie goes to sleep knowing she is right on track to achieve her five-year plan.
But when she wakes up, she’s suddenly in a different apartment, with a different ring on her finger, and beside a very different man. The television news is on in the background, and she can just make out the scrolling date. It’s the same night—December 15—but 2025, five years in the future.
After a very intense, shocking hour, Dannie wakes again, at the brink of midnight, back in 2020. She can’t shake what has happened. It certainly felt much more than merely a dream, but she isn’t the kind of person who believes in visions. That nonsense is only charming coming from free-spirited types, like her lifelong best friend, Bella. Determined to ignore the odd experience, she files it away in the back of her mind.
That is, until four-and-a-half years later, when by chance Dannie meets the very same man from her long-ago vision.
Here I come after not having reviewed a book in – well a really long while – and this is of course the hardest kind of review to write. I really enjoyed this book but am afraid to say too much because what happened over the five years in the story was nothing I expected and I cannot bear the thought of giving something away! I loved Dannie, even when I was frustrated by her, and I loved that friendship was at the core of this book. I’ve been reading a lot of romance, which is delightful, but there is something so wonderful about reading about great girlfriends.
I flew through the second half of this book because I wanted so badly to know what was going to happen when Dannie woke up in 2025. I was shocked that nothing I predicted was was happened in the end! I will have to go back and read this again one day so I can relax a bit while reading.
I was similarly moved by Serle’s last book, The Dinner List. I still think about the tears that book pulled out of me!
When you’re ready for a book that will make you feel all of the emotions and make you ignore life to read Rebecca Serle definitely my recommendation. So don’t look anymore into what might happen to Dannie and her fiance or her mystery man and just get reading!
Thank you so much Atria Books for this advance copy in exchange for an honest opinion!
When Sabrina Nielsen arrives at her thirtieth birthday dinner she finds at the table not just her best friend, but also her favorite professor from college, her father, her ex-fiance, Tobias, and Audrey Hepburn.
At one point or another, we’ve all been asked to name five people, living or dead, with whom we’d like to have dinner. Why do we choose the people we do? And what if that dinner was to actually happen? These are the questions Sabrina contends with in Rebecca Serle’s utterly captivating novel, The Dinner List, a story imbued with the same delightful magical realism as Sliding Doors, and The Rosie Project.
As the appetizers are served, wine poured, and dinner table conversation begins, it becomes clear that there’s a reason these six people have been gathered together, and as Rebecca Serle masterfully traces Sabrina’s love affair with Tobias and her coming of age in New York City, The Dinner List grapples with the definition of romance, the expectations of love, and how we navigate our way through it to happiness. Oh, and of course, wisdom from Audrey Hepburn.
Who among us would pass up dinner with Audrey Hepburn? I know I could not miss that chance, so I was ready for this book the minute I read the description. I was expecting a fluffier more “chick lit” book than this really was. I found The Dinner List to be a book about love and loss, about growing up and friendship, and about what we learn to love from our parents. I loved this book so much. I laughed, I cried – I actually ignored my kid while I was riding the train with her so I could read it – something that has never happened.
Even though the night was of course magical – hello Audrey – it didn’t have so much whimsy as magical realism can. Not like reading Sarah Addison Allen for example. If magical realism isn’t your jam I wouldn’t let that steer you away. We move back and forth from the dinner party to Sabrina’s time with each guest. We see her falling in love, realizing she’s an adult and learning to say goodbye. I really did cry when the party ended and this will be a book I read again.
Listing the guests at my fantasy dinner party is a favorite game of mine. My husband and I fight about who would be worth the invitation or not. As of right now my fantasy dinner party guests are: Lucrezia Borgia, Madeleine Albright, Neil Gaiman and my dad. Fascinating conversation all around I am sure! I’d bring my husband as an honorable mention. Tell me who you’d invite to your party?
Thank you Shelf Awareness and Flatiron Books for this advanced copy in exchange for an honest opinion!
Publication: September 4th 2018 by Wednesday Books
Hardcover, 320 pages
Source: E-ARC from NetGalley
Sadie hasn’t had an easy life. Growing up on her own, she’s been raising her sister Mattie in an isolated small town, trying her best to provide a normal life and keep their heads above water.
But when Mattie is found dead, Sadie’s entire world crumbles. After a somewhat botched police investigation, Sadie is determined to bring her sister’s killer to justice and hits the road following a few meagre clues to find him.
When West McCray—a radio personality working on a segment about small, forgotten towns in America—overhears Sadie’s story at a local gas station, he becomes obsessed with finding the missing girl. He starts his own podcast as he tracks Sadie’s journey, trying to figure out what happened, hoping to find her before it’s too late.
Whenever I look at a Courtney Summers book I think why haven’t I read all of her books yet? Then I remember how All the Rage basically gutted me and how I haven’t been ready to go through that again. And now comes Sadie. Sadie is the kind of girl that goes missing all the time sadly. Not enough of us care when it happens. Sadie disappears after her younger sister’s violent murder, and a podcast host is convinced by their surrogate grandmother to try to find her. I struggle with reading books about dead girls because sometimes the real world is sad enough and because I don’t want to think about a world that might hurt my own girls. Or my sister! But this was well worth my reading fears because Sadie is fierce and brave and I loved her. I started slowly but once I got into Sadie’s hunt for her sister’s killer I could not put this book down.
Summers makes you feel Sadie’s pain and her anger. You also worry for her and I physically cringed away from my kindle while reading at the truths I feared would come out. I thought the change from podcast narration to Sadie’s point of view was a really cool way to tell the story and unravel her mystery. I love that Macmillan actually put out a podcast – The Girls – to accompany the book. I am terrible at podcasts but I am going to have to listen to this even knowing how it ends. The ending wasn’t what I wanted it to be- but it was a perfect ending. I almost wish I had started listening first. I’m afraid to say too much and give something away so I’ll just say I loved Sadie and you should read it.
I’ll just be collecting the rest of Courtney Summers’ books to read when I’m feeling brave. Any recommendations on what to try first?
#FindSadie
Thank you NetGalley and Wednesday Books for this advance copy in exchange for an honest opinion!
I am reading the news in short snippets these days because unless it’s about Serena Williams or maybe Prince Louis’ christening it all gives me panic attacks. I’ve been reading fiction voraciously to escape (and a few nonfic too) and The Chicago Public Library is giving me everything. Here’s a list of what I’ve been loving – other than reading Goodnight Moon on repeat.
In every generation on the island of Fennbirn, a set of triplets is born—three queens, all equal heirs to the crown and each possessor of a coveted magic. Mirabella is a fierce elemental, able to spark hungry flames or vicious storms at the snap of her fingers. Katharine is a poisoner, one who can ingest the deadliest poisons without so much as a stomachache. Arsinoe, a naturalist, is said to have the ability to bloom the reddest rose and control the fiercest of lions.
But becoming the Queen Crowned isn’t solely a matter of royal birth. Each sister has to fight for it. And it’s not just a game of win or lose…it’s life or death. The night the sisters turn sixteen, the battle begins.
The last queen standing gets the crown.
I mean I’ve never wanted to kill my sister (I swear Holly!) but that doesn’t mean this build up to battles to the death between triplets isn’t fun to read about. These sisters are separated at a young age knowing that when they come back together two will die for one to become queen. That’s a lot to live with! The magic is cool, the scheming from all sides is great and I feel like the battles to come will be epic.
I would have liked more about the history of the island and the queens – but I feel like there must be depth still to come. I thought this was a duology but it turns out there are 4 books planned. As, as I’m so slow, the sequel, One Dark Throne, is also out and it was equally creepy and violent. Things definitely did not go the way I expected for these sisters and my feelings totally changed about them. I can’t want to see what happens next!
Vika Andreyeva can summon the snow and turn ash into gold. Nikolai Karimov can see through walls and conjure bridges out of thin air. They are enchanters—the only two in Russia—and with the Ottoman Empire and the Kazakhs threatening, the Tsar needs a powerful enchanter by his side.
And so he initiates the Crown’s Game, an ancient duel of magical skill—the greatest test an enchanter will ever know. The victor becomes the Imperial Enchanter and the Tsar’s most respected adviser. The defeated is sentenced to death.
Raised on tiny Ovchinin Island her whole life, Vika is eager for the chance to show off her talent in the grand capital of Saint Petersburg. But can she kill another enchanter—even when his magic calls to her like nothing else ever has?
For Nikolai, an orphan, the Crown’s Game is the chance of a lifetime. But his deadly opponent is a force to be reckoned with—beautiful, whip smart, imaginative—and he can’t stop thinking about her.
And when Pasha, Nikolai’s best friend and heir to the throne, also starts to fall for the mysterious enchantress, Nikolai must defeat the girl they both love… or be killed himself.
As long-buried secrets emerge, threatening the future of the empire, it becomes dangerously clear… the Crown’s Game is not one to lose.
Between this gorgeous cover and this description I was dying to get my hands onto The Crowns Game – Imperial Russia and magic AND romance? Yes please. I was really sad that this wasn’t the magical and romantic book I wanted it to be. Yes, the magic was really cool at times, but at the heart of it this was two magicians dueling – and nowhere near as cool as the Night Circus. The romance was just kind of meh here and the love triangle boring too. I might pick up the sequel if I came across it on a library shelf – but this isn’t one to seek out I’d say. If you want a Russian story and not dueling magicians go for The Bear and The Nightingale (which I need to review)!
Dr. Nikhil ‘Nic’ Joshi had it all—marriage, career, purpose. Until, while working for Doctors Without Borders in a Mumbai slum, his wife, Jen, discovered a black market organ transplant ring. Before she could expose the truth, Jen was killed.
Two years after the tragedy, Nic is a cruise ship doctor who spends his days treating seasickness and sunburn and his nights in a boozy haze. On one of those blurry evenings on deck, Nic meets a woman who makes a startling claim: she received Jen’s heart in a transplant and has a message for him. Nic wants to discount Jess Koirala’sstory as absurd, but there’s something about her reckless desperation that resonates despite his doubts.
Jess has spent years working her way out of a nightmarish life in Calcutta and into a respectable Bollywood dance troupe. Now she faces losing the one thing that matters—her young son, Joy. She needs to uncover the secrets Jen risked everything for; but the unforeseen bond that results between her and Nic is both a lifeline and a perilous complication.
I give Sonali Dev a ton of credit just for the premise of this book. It is extremely brave to start out by murdering a character that was so great in your last book – The Bollywood Bride. I think it was pretty brave to make Jen a less than perfect character. Jen’s perspective is told in very brief snippets of her journal entries and she’s not all warm and fuzzy as one might expect a newlywed to be. This this contrasted sharply with Nic’s crushing grief and memories of his beloved – again a really bold route for a romance. So we find Nic trying to drink himself to death on a cruise ship 2 years after her murder when Jess comes and tries to snap him into action to find Jen’s killers in India.
Honestly the truth of Jess’s story was pretty easy to figure out and once I knew what was coming I just couldn’t get past it. Also as much as I liked Jess, to be truthful I didn’t want Nic to get past it either! The poor guy was suffering enough and I was anticipating some painful moments when he found out why she was really there. That kept me from feeling all the love between Nic and Jess the way I was meant to. Based on the other reviews I’ve seen though I’m in the minority here – maybe maybe I just need lighter overall when I’m feeling like a romance? Romance reading is an total escape for me so I need happy. This was busy with sexy romance, mystery, and past heartbreaks and other readers are loving it.
I do hope Dev continues with the Bollywood books in the way that I’m guessing because I like her characters and I like seeing the interaction between books. I will absolutely read whatever she writes next! I’m going to have to reread The Bollywood Affair though to get back to my own original Sonali Dev love affair.
Thank you Kensington and NetGalley for this advance copy in exchange for an honest review!
Twenty-five-year-old Cassie Danvers is holed up in her family’s crumbling mansion in rural St. Jude, Ohio, mourning the loss of the woman who raised her—her grandmother, June. But a knock on the door forces her out of isolation. Cassie has been named the sole heir to legendary matinee idol Jack Montgomery’s vast fortune. How did Jack Montgomery know her name? Could he have crossed paths with her grandmother all those years ago? What other shocking secrets could June’s once-stately mansion hold?
Soon Jack’s famous daughters come knocking, determined to wrestle Cassie away from the inheritance they feel is their due. Together, they all come to discover the true reasons for June’s silence about that long-ago summer, when Hollywood came to town, and June and Jack’s lives were forever altered by murder, blackmail, and betrayal.
I absolutely loved Miranda Beverly-Whittemore’s last book, Bittersweet, a dark and kind of gothic summer romance and mystery. I couldn’t wait to dive into more family secrets in June. I’m always fascinated by a plot with a mysterious will. When it’s the will of a movie star with a fortune – even better!
When we meet Cassie she’s living alone in her grandparents mansion in rural Ohio. She’s inherited the home after her beloved grandmother’s death and she’s holed up and letting the world pass her by. I admit I was a bit frustrated with Cassie at first. I wanted her to do something – anything! So it was much easier to be drawn back into the past to the story of the young and beautiful June, Jack the movie star, and Lindie the girl across the street. As I became more caught up in the past it helped me to become more interested in Cassie’s modern mystery and I was glad when Cassie started getting caught up in the past as well. I liked getting June’s story through Lindie rather than June herself. Lindie was quite the observer and I think gave a much richer perspective than June would have.
This was a slow burn, but Beverly-Whittemore ended in directions that I didn’t expect at all with both the past and modern stories. What I really loved was the personality that the old house had. Not in a creepy haunted house way at all – more a romantic and mystical presence. This is definitely a good book to sit and finish the summer with!
Thank you Blogging for Books for this advance copy in exchange for an honest review!
Expected publication: June 28th 2016 by Simon & Schuster
Source: e-ARC from publisher via NetGalley
Megan Miranda’s novel is a nail-biting, breathtaking story about the disappearances of two young women—a decade apart—told in reverse.
It’s been ten years since Nicolette Farrell left her rural hometown after her best friend, Corinne, disappeared from Cooley Ridge without a trace. Back again to tie up loose ends and care for her ailing father, Nic is soon plunged into a shocking drama that reawakens Corinne’s case and breaks open old wounds long since stitched.
The decade-old investigation focused on Nic, her brother Daniel, boyfriend Tyler, and Corinne’s boyfriend Jackson. Since then, only Nic has left Cooley Ridge. Daniel and his wife, Laura, are expecting a baby; Jackson works at the town bar; and Tyler is dating Annaleise Carter, Nic’s younger neighbor and the group’s alibi the night Corinne disappeared. Then, within days of Nic’s return, Annaleise goes missing.
Told backwards—Day 15 to Day 1—from the time Annaleise goes missing, Nic works to unravel the truth about her younger neighbor’s disappearance, revealing shocking truths about her friends, her family, and what really happened to Corinne that night ten years ago.
When I heard this was a mystery told in reverse I was really unsure how I’d feel about it. I have to say that this book was basically a mind fuck. We start in the present as Nicolette returns to her rural home town of Cooley Ridge to help convince her ill father to sell her childhood home. She leaves her fiancé behind and he’s unaware that Nicolette will be facing down both memories of her high school best friend’s disappearance and her physical high school boyfriend who she’s never really said goodbye to.
We then go two weeks into the future when there’s been another disappearance and Nicolette is being told to run – I won’t tell you who from. The book goes through each day and then flashes back again. This was such a great way to tell a mystery! I thought that I had everything figured out as Nic flashed back through each day – and I was always wrong! I loved how Miranda was able to drop clues that made so much sense in the end but totally threw me off as I was reading.
If you need a summer thriller this is it! Suspenseful and well written – definitely one to read at the beach!
Thank you Simon & Schuster and NetGalley for this advance copy in exchange for an honest opinion!
Gun In Act One 