The Women

The Women by Kristin Hannah, 471 pages

Just about everyone is familiar with the horrors associated with the Vietnam War — confusion, guerilla warfare, Agent Orange, napalm, prisoners of war kept for years in the "Hanoi Hilton," PTSD, antiwar protests that often got violent, etc. But for the most part, when we think about Vietnam veterans, we think about the soldiers and airmen. 

The Women turns the focus on one of the 10,000 female combat nurses who also went to Vietnam and saved the lives of many of those who came through their operating rooms. Inspired by her older brother (who proudly signed up and shipped out before being killed in action), Frances "Frankie" McGrath took her nursing degree to the front, unaware of the pain and destruction that awaited her. But as she spends time in country, she finds her purpose, thriving under pressure and helping anyone who needs medical attention. Upon returning home, however, she's mentally and emotionally adrift, grief-stricken by those she's lost, out of touch with her pre-war life, and boxed out by her parents and the VA.

It's obvious by now that Hannah knows how to write stellar historical fiction novels (The Nightingale, The Four Winds, etc), and this is no exception. She has a dedication to accuracy that's commendable, and does an excellent job shining a light on an overlooked aspect of the Vietnam War. A fantastic novel, and highly recommended to fans of historical fiction.

Maisie Dobbs; Birds of a Feather; Pardonable Lies

 Maisie Dobbs by Jacqueline Winspear (2003) 301 pages

I plunged into the first three books of the Maisie Dobbs mystery series. In the first book, Maisie Dobbs, named after the protagonist, the story begins in 1929, with Maisie opening her own business, "M. Dobbs. Trade and Personal Investigations." Her first client asks for Maisie to find out whether his wife is cheating on him or not. It becomes clear that Maisie is not just interested in doing a job, but in enhancing the lives of the people she works for. She follows the wife and also gets to know her. The story also jumps back in time to 1910 and traces Maisie's life from the time when she and her father were grieving her mother's death. Her father becomes concerned about his daughter and finds her a place to live and work in the house of a wealthy family that he delivers groceries to. While their separation is difficult for them both, Maisies's life trajectory is altered. She eventually becomes educated and later becomes a nurse in France during WWI.

Birds of a Feather by Jacqueline Winspear (2004) 311 pages

In Birds of a Feather, Maisie is tasked with finding Charlotte, the daughter of a wealthy entrepreneur, the owner of upscale grocery stores. She learns that three of the girls that Charlotte used to hang around have recently died. Maisie needs to figure out whether Charlotte fled because she thinks she is in danger, or if Charlotte fled because she is a murderer.

We learn a bit more about Detective Inspector Stratton, who sometimes butts heads with Maisie, but who also seems interested in a having relationship with her. Another suitor is Andrew Dene, a doctor who was also mentored by Maisie's mentor, Maurice.

Pardonable Lies by Jacqueline Winspear (2005) 342 pages

In Pardonable Lies, Maisie juggles several tasks: A well-regarded British barrister wants Maisie to help him honor the deathbed wish of his wife, to find out whether their son, Ralph, had really died in the war. It would seem that the barrister would prefer that his son were dead, based on the strained relationship they had had. Also related to war, a college friend of Maisie's‒Priscilla‒who lost all three of her brothers in the war, asks Maisie to find out where her brother Peter died, because that information was never turned over to the family. In a third case, Maisie is looking for justice for Avril, an abused thirteen-year-old whose stepfather handed her over to a man who brought her to London to work as a prostitute. When that man died, Avril was accused of his murder. While Maisie's assistant Billy finds out information about Avril's family, Maisie goes to France to investigate the war deaths, and to also confront her own war demons from nursing near the battlefields and sustaining injuries. Maisie is also feeling somewhat estranged from her mentor, Maurice Blanche, finding it hard to know whether she can trust him anymore.

I enjoyed all these stories, which show Maisie's poor background and her evolution into a different kind of investigator as tutored by her mentor, Maurice Blanche and by Khan, a man from Ceylon, who teaches meditation.

The Dead Cat Tail Assassins

The Dead Cat Tail Assassins by P. Djeli Clark, 224 pages

Eveen is an undead assassin who has no memory of her life, but is slowly working off years of tribute to her patron goddess, abiding by the three unbreakable rules of assassins: a contract must be just, you can't kill anyone who isn't contracted, and once you take a contract, you have to carry it out. But when Eveen takes a contract that involves killing someone who evokes impossible memories, she has to reevaluate exactly what "unbreakable" means while simultaneously solving the mystery of who this woman is and keeping them both alive long enough to sort it out.

This was a ridiculously fun book, with excellent worldbuilding and intriguing characters. Of course, that could describe any of Clark's books, so I'm not particularly surprised by this. It's well worth the short time it'll take to read through this one.

*This book will be published Aug. 6, 2024.

Uncommon Measures

 Uncommon Measures, by Natalie Hodges, 224 pgs, 2022

A great piece of memoir writing that tracks the author's failed dreams of becoming a first-rate, solo violinist alongside some of the most recent scientific breakthroughs as they apply to music and our perception of time. Hodges recounts her struggle with performance anxiety, practicing difficult classical pieces over and over again, only to miss notes during the execution. She also touches on her Asian-American heritage growing up with a "tiger" mom, dancing Tango to unlearn her fear of performance, and ultimately accepting that the grand musician's dream she once held for herself must go unrealized. Along the way, she introduces us to several scientific studies regarding how the musicians brain operates during times of improvisation, how entrainment works to help us move to a beat and how unburdening your mind from the physics of time allows people to enter a "flow state." Of interest to anyone inclined towards classical music, performance, or even sports--a heartfelt and vulnerable work that covers an often unviewed aspect of the artist life. 

Listen to this playlist of all of the music mentioned throughout the book.

Dominoes

Dominoes by Phoebe McIntosh, 288 pages

Layla McKinnon has always thought it was just a funny quirk that she and her fiancé, Andy, have the same last name — she's biracial and grew up in North London, he's from an upper-middleclass family with deep Scottish roots. But when she sees a documentary just a few weeks before their wedding day, Layla discovers that Andy's ancestors may have enslaved her ancestors. The revelation sends Layla into a tailspin, causing her to re-evaluate everything from her lack of genealogical knowledge to her upcoming nuptials. 

The premise of this book set it up to potentially veer into sappy cheese or dark and gritty (or, if the author really mishandled it, way too light and quirky). Instead, McIntosh walked that very fine line, and created a book that's an enjoyable, engrossing read that also addresses colorism, the generational impact of slavery, and privilege head on in the context of Layla's life. I was impressed, and highly recommend this one.

The Fox Wife

 The Fox Wife by Yangsze Choo, 390 pages.

This novel follows two protagonists in Manchuria at the start of the twentieth century. Bao is a detective in a time before private detectives are really a thing that exist, but he's been able to hear lies since he was a small child, and using this power to solve people's problems brings him great satisfaction. He is especially intrigued when a girl is found frozen to death in an alley and people say it is the work of foxes, a subject that has fascinated him his whole life. Snow is a fox spirit (a traditionally trickstery spirit who consumes qi to live) on the hunt for her child's murderer. Their separate searches often overlap across Manchuria at the end of the Qing dynasty, and together the reader can put together answers to a whole slew of questions. 

I quite enjoyed this book, although I definitely have some criticisms. The setting was really interesting, and I think Choo did an excellent job making this story feel very rooted into it's setting while also keeping it accessible to people who don't know all that much about Chinese history. I also really like both of the protagonists, and I really enjoyed watching them interact with the world. Unfortunately, even when the protagonists eventually meet it never really feels like the two stories come together, which is puzzling since the plots definitely do. The perspectives shift every chapter, and I found it, without fail, jarring. I believe it is because it feels like the two protagonists are in different genres despite having very similar plots. Despite sometimes feeling like I was reading two books squished together, I still really liked it, and found it fun to put together the information gathered across different plots. I would recommend this book, especially to fans of historical mysteries and classic detective readers who don't mind a splash of fantasy.

My Life in Pieces

 

My Life in Pieces: An Alternative Biography by Simon Callow 320 pp.

Actor and author Simon Callow provides an overview of his life and work in theaters, movies, and authoring articles, critiques, and books. It is part memoir and part anthology of his writings and sometimes seems jumbled as a result. His beginnings in the theater were not as an actor but in the workings and accounting in the box office, first at the Old Vic when Laurence Olivier was running things, and later at other venues. Watching the actors and the process of producing plays made Callow decide he wanted to act and he began to study acting. It was during that period when he became active in the gay liberation movement. He also began writing, generally about the theater and was frequently published in periodicals involving theater, film, and actors. Directing soon followed. While not as well known in the U.S., Callow has become a fixture in British theater earning a CBE for his service to acting. As I said, this book is a mixture of his life and his writings but, while mostly linear in time frame, still feels disjointed. Callow read the audiobook.

The Eyes Are the Best Part

The Eyes Are the Best Part by Monika Kim, 288 pages

Korean American college student Ji-won is still dealing with the aftermath of her father abruptly abandoning his family when her mom gets a new boyfriend. George is white, brash, and casually racist, but Ji-won's mom seems to love him, so what choice does Ji-won have but to go along with it? Meanwhile, Ji-won's struggling at college, as she's lonely and doesn't have the great grades she's used to from high school. As George's rudeness escalates, Ji-won's mental state deteriorates to the point that she becomes fixated on his bright blue eyes and all of the hatred they represent to her.

This is a really fantastic twist on psychological horror, seeing the villain's descent into madness from her own point of view. It's also a great example of social horror, seeing how all of the microaggressions affect Ji-won's mental state. As you could expect from the title and cover (which will likely be fueling my nightmares for months to come), there's a bit of cannibalism in this book, and while it's not something you want to read while eating, it wasn't nearly as stomach-churning as I feared it would be. I was pleasantly surprised by this one!

This book will be published June 25, 2024.

People of the Wolf

People of the Wolf (North America's Forgotten Past #1) by Kathleen O'Neal Gear and W. Michael Gear, dramatized by a full cast (1990) 448 pages

Hoopla has a fully dramatized GraphicAudio version split into two halves. There is music and sound effects throughout. I've read other historical fiction about ancient people of pre-history. This one is much more about mysticism, destiny, and dreams than the day to day survival of early humans using the plants and animals available to them. It is about migration patterns and reminded me of a PBS Nova program that looked at Ice Age Footprints. Archeologists are finding that humans came across to the Americas much earlier than previously thought. The story mainly concerns two brothers who compete to lead their people, their tribe. One brother is power hungry and wants to fight to destroy the "Others," who are maybe Neanderthals, or maybe just another tribe of Homo Sapiens. Classic dark versus light theme. The good brother has a dream of the wolf spirit leading the people South past the great ice. He doesn't want the responsibility of being a dreamer for the people at first. He eventually learns from an experienced dreamer named Heron about the oneness of life. I don't think I'll continue the series. It wasn't as good as the series that starts with The Clan of the Cave Bear. But it wasn't terrible either.

A Surfeit of Lampreys

 A Surfeit of Lampreys by Ngaio Marsh 336 pp.

The Lampreys in this story are not the dangerous eel-like fish with the toothed, sucking mouth. Marsh has created the Lamprey family, an eccentric brood that has no sense of money management or social graces. The family includes dotty family members and those who are outright mad. Soon after the arrival of a young friend from New Zealand, Charles Lamprey and his wife Charlot are trying to convince Charles' brother, Lord Wutherwood to give them money to get them out of yet another financial crisis - something the Lord has done before. However, the meeting does not go as planned and Lord Wutherwood is found dead in the elevator after meeting with his brother. Inspector Roderick Alleyn takes on the investigation and is incessantly thwarted by the Lamprey offspring who do everything in their power to confuse the facts and lead the Inspector astray. Eccentricity and madness do not thwart Alleyn and he once again manages to solve the crime. This episode seemed to drag and, more than once, I found myself dozing off while reading it.

Moon Over Soho

 

Moon Over Soho (Rivers of London series #2) by Ben Aaronovitch  375 pp.

Peter Grant returns as a London Police Constable / Sorcerer's Apprentice in this second magical installment of the series. This time his investigations turn to the deaths of jazz musicians dropping dead but carrying supernatural signs which show the deaths are magical instead of natural. In the mean time Peter has a new "girlfriend" who is also supernatural but doesn't realize it. While Peter's magical teacher recovers from injuries sustained at the end of the first book, he has to do most of the investigating alone with his limited magical skills. Constable Lesley May, Peter Grant's love interest in the previous book is recovering from the extreme disfiguring injuries she sustained in book one. Because she cannot actively investigate she instead is analyzing old records from Oxford to help with the investigation. To add to the mysterious, magical crimes, a creature Grant calls "The Pale Lady" is killing men she mutilates with her vagina dentata. With all the dangerous supernatural creatures there is quite a bit of grotesque goriness but it is all integral to the story. I have to read the next one to find out how the wizard Thomas Nightingale and Constable May are getting along.

Tangled Up in You

Tangled Up in You by Christina Lauren, 320 pages

Ren has lived a VERY sheltered life on an off-the-grid farm in Idaho. She's 22 and she's never stepped foot in a school or used the internet or even eaten a burrito, though she has read a lot, and taught herself multiple languages and high-level STEM concepts. So when she heads to college, she's naïve but excited, despite the strict rules her parents have laid out. One of the first people she meets is Fitz, a charming and good-looking senior who seemingly has it all — a perfect academic record, a rich family, and a reputation as a fun-loving ladies' man. But Ren's academic prowess threatens Fitz's plans, and when a class project leads to a shocking discovery for Ren, the pair find themselves thrown together on a cross-country road trip.

OK, there's the summary. The easier way to describe this book, however, is as Tangled fanfic set in modern-day America. The whole story is there, down to our heroine's affinity for animals and specific plot points from the animated Disney movie. And if that's what you're looking for, that's great. I wasn't particularly looking for that (I went into it thinking it was more of a Rapunzel-based story than a retelling of a Disney movie), so I was a bit disappointed, as I wanted slightly more original and three-dimensional characters. But aside from some quibbles about the road trip (that first leg where they left at 6 a.m. was only a three-hour drive and included no sightseeing, yet they arrived at dinnertime?), the book was fine. Nothing to write home about, but also a quick easy read.

This book will be published June 25, 2024.

Someone You Can Build a Nest In

Someone You Can Build a Nest In by John Wiswell, 320 pages

Shesheshen is minding her own business at home when a trio of home invaders break in, intent on killing her. The thing is that they're monster hunters and Shesheshen is, by most definitions of the word, a monster. She's a shapeshifting creature that, yes fine, eats humans when needed (though she tries to only eat the bad ones who are hurting others), but really all she wants is love. After scaring off two of the monster hunters (and eating the other one), Shesheshen is wounded, alone, and temporarily human-shaped when she is discovered by a traveling botanist named Homily, who treats her with the first kindness Shesheshen has ever experienced. And now Shesheshen is conflicted — she's falling in love with Homily, despite the fact that Homily's family is dead set on killing Shesheshen. She's not sure how she can keep Homily in her life while still killing off those who would kill her.

I love the idea of a fantasy novel from the monster's point of view, and for the most part, Wiswell nails it. Shesheshen is pretty gross, but she's also a very three-dimensional, sympathetic character, and it's easy to take her side in the conflict that dominates this book. Where the book falters, however, is in the plot, particularly toward the end of the book, where it wanders off into the weeds a bit, with several potential stopping points that aren't. I'd still happily recommend this to anyone who has felt like an outsider (and is OK with reading about copious bodily fluids).

Finally, look at that cover. It's definitely an early frontrunner for best of the year!

This book will be published April 2, 2024. 

The Starless Sea

 The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern, 512 pages.

When he was a child Zachary Ezra Rawlins, the son of the fortune teller, saw a painted door in an alley that looked so real he thought he could have opened it, but he didn't try, so this is not where his story starts. Years later he is a graduate student who has always believed just a little bit in magic when a strange book in the university library starts him on a journey to an even stranger place. Zachary end up in a Harbor on the Starless Sea, a place of stories whose own story has been ending for decades. Zachary has a part to play in the story of this strange place, but it is so clouded in symbols and fate that it's impossible to know what it is except by exploring and letting the narrative take him.

This was a reread and I liked it at least as much the second time, which is saying a lot for a book that instantly became a favorite as soon as I read it. The whole story feels like a riddle, but it's also so deeply atmospheric it feels like a warm hug and coming home (helped by that fact that this is way up at the top for me of dream fantasy settings to actually live in). The fact that I already knew where all the puzzle pieces would end up eventually made it easier to appreciate how they all fit together along the way, which only helped me understand how beautifully crafted this book is more. Speaking of which, Morgenstern has some of the most beautiful prose I've ever read. I think it may be a little bit elaborate and flowery for some people, but for me it's unmatched. It is hard to describe this book thoroughly, because it is very intricate and heavily atmospheric, so I will just have to recommend people read it for themselves.

Anger is a Gift

 

Anger is a Gift by Mark Oshiro 463 pp.

It's not often a book gives me a strong, visceral reaction but this one hit me hard. The story is one we have seen too often in the news: police overstepping their boundaries, causing death to the innocent African-Americans. The story centers around a high school student named Moss who, when he was younger, saw his father gunned down by an officer and suffers from PTSD as a result. His father's crime was being a known protester against injustice who just happened to be shopping. When the Oakland high school in a rundown building with no money for books or other services, enters into a contract with the police department to make things "safer" the first thing that happens is the serious injury of a previously injured student by "malfunctioning" metal detectors. A student walk-out turns into a violent travesty with the police injuring and ultimately killing a teen, a young man who is Moss's first real boyfriend. Further demonstrations also turn violent and eventually the Oakland mayor and police chief back down somewhat - after a white girl is killed by police. Events in this book are sickening because they are going on in too many places in this country, Reading this book brought back the same feelings I had as a junior high student when I read Kristen Hunter's The Soul Brothers and Sister Lou. Just the idea that we still need books about racial injustice against young people over fifty years later is sickening. When will it ever end? This is one of the books I will be discussing with high school students as part of the Great Stories Grant. 

Captain Marvel (2019-)

 Captain Marvel, Vols. 1-10 by Kelly Thompson with art by various artists (2019-2023) 1240 pages

All ten volumes are available on Hoopla. I appreciated the consistency of Thompson as the writer. Some of the artists' styles I liked more than others, but they all had great expressive moments. These are all fresh stories, not repeats of Marvel movie plots. We begin as Carol Danvers returns to Earth from outer space. She's been in a long-term relationship with James "Rhodey" Rhodes aka War Machine. Her best friend is Jessica Drew aka Spider-Woman. And she is mentoring a new young hero Jennifer Takeda aka Hazmat. Whenever this core group of hero friends is facing super threats or personal trauma the comics are very enjoyable. Other heroes from the Avengers, from the Guardians, and from the X-Men make guest appearances. I love whenever Kamala Khan aka Ms. Marvel shows up. Carol knows that her greatest weakness is facing magic users, but unfortunately I thought the volumes that involve magic (Vols. 2 & 6) are generally not as good. I liked the introduction of Lauri-Ell, the Kree half-sister of Carol. She becomes a great member of the core group. The energy being Binary, created by Captain Marvel also starts off with a lot of promise, but then is not developed as deeply as I wished. Overall, these are consistently good adventures.

The Last Girl Left

The Last Girl Left by A.M. Strong & Sonya Sargent, 333 pages

Five years ago, Tessa Montgomery was on vacation with three friends on a remote island when they were attacked. Tessa's three friends were murdered, and while she was left for dead, Tessa managed to survive. While the assailant was killed in a shootout afterward, Tessa is still living the nightmare, unable to leave her sister's house and taking a baseball bat everywhere with her. But after Tessa nearly attacks her sister's cat, she realizes she needs to do something drastic to get past this paralyzing fear. So she does the most drastic thing she can and rents the same vacation home where her friends were murdered and she was attacked, determined to stay for a full month. But Tessa hasn't been there long when odd things start happening, setting setting her even more on edge than she was before.

This wasn't the worst book I've read, but it was far from the best. I had trouble buying Tessa's decision to return to the scene of the crime (and alone and for a whole month), as well as the fact that she thought nobody in the town recognized her when she returned (seriously, there are about 5 residents and nothing else has happened in this town...and she has a giant scar on her face). Honestly, the main reason I didn't stop reading was because I was afraid that a particularly cliched twist was coming (thankfully, it didn't). Doesn't mean it was worth it though.

A Love Song for Ricki Wilde

A Love Song for Ricki Wilde by Tia Williams, 342 pages

Ricki Wilde is the youngest of four sisters, the daughters of a business tycoon. Her sisters are all successful with wealthy husbands and designer clothes, while Ricki has a love for vintage clothing and floral arranging. When she announces her decision to open up her own floral shop, Ricki's parents all but disown her and it's only by the grace of a kind 96-year-old woman that Ricki is able to establish a business in Harlem. However, once she moves to Harlem, Ricki begins repeatedly encountering a mysterious stranger with whom she has immediate chemistry, despite his old-fashioned ways.

I'll admit that's an odd way to describe a romance novel, but this is definitely romance, as it's spicy and focused on the developing relationship between Ricki and Breeze. I don't want to spoil anything, but I'll note that there's a pretty critical fantasy element to this book too, so if you want you romance novels to be believable (or as believable as romance novels ever get), this might not be the right book for you. However, I thought this was fantastic, and I'll definitely be reading more of Tia Williams in the future (her Seven Days in June was also exquisite). Recommended for fans of Casey McQuiston's One Last Stop, and anyone with a love for vintage clothes and the Harlem Renaissance.

How To Change

How To Change: The Science of Getting from Where You Are to Where You Want to Be by Katy Milkman 2021 (249 pages)

Katy Milkman, an economist/engineer/behavioral scientist, works with a huge team of people worldwide who are trained in varying sciences: economics, medicine, law, psychology, neuroscience, computer science, etc. This book is a fascinating reference on how to make changes in our lives, from saving more for retirement to establishing better fitness habits and more. Milkman has written up the results of their research in a very user-friendly way. The book is filled with great tips based on the research they have performed while working with large companies to help nudge their employees to make better choices.

In the book, I learned that Milkman also hosts a podcast called Choiceology. I listened to an episode that deals with "sludge," a way that companies make it hard to navigate to get to your goals. For example, while companies make it quite easy to make a purchase, they can make it difficult to cancel purchases or close accounts. Milkman and her guests gave information on how to handle these types of situations.

I wholeheartedly recommend reading and/or listening to Milkman.

Everything I Learned, I Learned in a Chinese Restaurant

 

Everything I Learned, I Learned in a Chinese Restaurant by Curtis Chin  291 pp.

This memoir is exactly what the title says. Curtis Chin was one of many children in a family that ran one of the best Chinese restaurants in Detroit's old Chinatown His father was the son of Chinese immigrants. His mother was a Chinese bride who came from Hong Kong to marry at the age of 17. Curtis navigates the not always easy mix of Chinese and American cultures while growing up. Along the way he realizes he is also gay and that adds more pressure to the mix. In spite of his efforts to break free from his often stifling family, his strong connections remain through high school and college at the University of Michigan. This is a very introspective book. You won't find an abundance of action. Just a gay kid trying to navigate his life and make it to adulthood on the hard streets of Detroit, cushioned by a strong family connections and chapters named like menu items. It wasn't what I was expecting, not that I know what that was, but it served the author's purpose. 

The Hazelbourne Ladies Motorcycle and Flying Club

The Hazelbourne Ladies Motorcycle and Flying Club by Helen Simonson, 432 pages

During the Great War, Constance managed the accounts and staff at a large estate in Surrey, but when the war ended and soldiers began returning home, she found herself brutally shifted into a position caring for Mrs. Fog, the elderly mother of the estate's mistress, as she recovered from influenza. It's in the capacity of this continued convalescence that Constance finds herself at a grand hotel in the seaside town of Hazelbourne, and, oddly enough, making friends with a group of women who turned their wartime motorcycle delivery skills into a quirky taxi service. But with more and more men coming back from the front, it's harder and harder for the women to maintain their jobs — or find new ones, as Constance learns as she prepares to leave Mrs. Fog.

This is an interesting, and generally lighthearted, look at the way women's lives changed after WWI, albeit in a very small slice of Britain. While I'm sure there will be gobs of fans of this book for that very reason, it wasn't really my cup of tea and there were a few elements of the last few chapters that felt out of sync with the rest of the book. Still, I'd recommend it for fans of historical fiction featuring women with moxie.

*This book will be published May 7, 2024.

Lex Talionis

 Lex Talionis by R.S.A. Garcia (2014) 354 pages

I read a science-fiction short story by R.S.A. Garcia that I liked well enough to seek out a full-length novel written by her. Lex Talionis is a fairly common title. It means Law of Revenge. This Lex Talionis is sci-fi noir. There are quite a few characters to keep track of, and the story leaps between locations and times. It is not impossible to follow, but it is challenging. The structure of the story doesn't always make sense, but it maintains a veil of mystery. Our main character is a genetically enhanced teenager. We meet her as she recovers in a hospital from major physical and mental abuse. She does not remember who she is, nor any of her background. She chooses to go by the name Lex until she recovers her memories. A doctor questionably falls in love with her, cops unenthusiastically begin investigating, and a strange alien creature shows up who is telepathically linked with her. There are flashbacks and flashforwards as the mystery of Lex is gradually revealed to the reader. The desert planet where she was raised brought to mind clips from the trailers of the new Dune movies. The hierarchical military culture is heavily based on revenge. The tv show Firefly also sprung to mind at times, although the show's humor was not present here. When we reach the point where we find out what led to her hospital stay, the sexual abuse is graphic and could be triggering. A tale of revenge can be satisfying, but only leads to more violence, and the end leaves a few mysteries unanswered.

The Half Moon

The Half Moon by Mary Beth Keane (2023) 293 pages

Malcolm and Jess have been married for 15 years. Their wedding was rushed because Jess became pregnant, but then she miscarried. The irony is that when they were ready to plan their family, it didn't happen, and it was only after years of fertility treatments that they reluctantly decided to stop trying. It was at that point that Malcolm was offered the opportunity to buy the bar he'd been working at for years, and he jumped at the chance to buy the rundown place, hoping to fix it up if/when funds became available. But between paying the former bar owner and repaying Jess's college and law school school loans, money was never easy; their savings had been depleted by the fertility treatments. 

With this as the set-up, the story starts with Malcolm living alone because Jess had moved out 4 months ago, and he has not heard from her. There is a huge snowstorm coming, he learns from good friends that Jess is back in town, but dating another man (a man who has three small children, a ready-made family), and there's a fight in his bar. Oh, and the former owner of the bar keeps sending out a goon to collect payments from Malcolm whenever Malcom's late to pay, which is frequent these days.

It's bleak. I wanted to stop reading, but there was something that kept me going. When the point of view switched to Jess's, a whole new dimension opened. The author wove in the reminder that there's always more than one way to look at a relationship. A few other sidebar issues become larger and add to the story. I felt rewarded for having stuck out the bleak portion of the novel.

 

You Should Be So Lucky

You Should be So Lucky by Cat Sebastian, 400 pages

When he learned on national TV that he was being traded to a struggling expansion team in New York, shortstop Eddie O'Leary let his emotions get the better of him and said some harsh things about his new team. So when the 1960 baseball season started, Eddie found himself getting the cold shoulder from the whole team, something that didn't help his loneliness in a new city or his batting average, as he hit the worst slump of his short career. Meanwhile, journalist Mark Bailey has been in a bit of a slump himself, as he's spent the last 18 months grieving the death of his longtime boyfriend, a lawyer whose political ambitions forced him to keep his relationship with Mark in the closet. But when Mark's editor assigns him to write a series of human interest stories about Eddie, they see something in each other that helps bring a bit more spark into both their lives.

This is a slow-burn romance novel that manages to portray grief and loneliness with care and kindness, and shows how the blossoming relationship helps (but doesn't 100% solve the problem). Also, I appreciated how Sebastian let the relationship flourish while still making it believable for the time in which the story is set. Too often, historical queer romances seem to ignore the social restrictions (or wave them off), which makes the premise hard to buy into, and given the stigma against LGBT professional athletes in the 1960s (and sadly, still today), a grand "hey, this is my boyfriend!" announcement would've pushed it into impossibility. But Sebastian is able to give Eddie and Mark their happily-ever-after in a way that seems very real and relatable. I totally loved this book and recommend it to anyone who enjoys slow-burn romances.

*This book will be published May 7, 2024.

The Museum of Ordinary People

 The Museum of Ordinary People by Mike Gayle (2023) 324 pages

Jess Baxter is a low-earning receptionist instead of the museum curator that she studied to be at college. She's been living with Guy, and it's clear that she's been bending to his life. After her mother died a year ago, we see via flashbacks the difficulty she had in going through her mother's house, clearing it out. She brought very little back to the apartment she shared with Guy because she knew that it wouldn't fit with his decor. She did, however, bring an old secondhand set of encyclopedias that her mother gave her at age 11, which represented her mother's wish for her future. When Guy decides to sell their apartment to buy a house, he wants the encyclopedias removed so that the apartment looks better for viewing.

Jess is ready to throw out the encyclopedias, when her best friend Luce discovers a Museum of Ordinary People that will take things like this and give them a home. When Jess brings the encyclopedias to the warehouse that the museum resides in, she meets the new owner, Alex, who just inherited the warehouse. Alex is not even aware of the museum's existence. Two employees that Alex also "inherited" show Alex and Jess the museum, and Jess finds herself completely drawn to it. She offers to transform the dusty warehouse spot into a better, more curated museum, and Alex gives her a chance to do it.

The story is quite good until later, when rather more conflict than I thought necessary was inserted. But by the end, I was again a fan.

The Guncle

The Guncle by Steven Rowley (2021) 324 pages

Patrick, a gay man who'd been a well-known actor, is asked to care for his young niece and nephew after their mother's death. Their father, Patrick's brother, is going into a 3-month-long rehab program for substance abuse that he fell into while his wife was dying of cancer. Patrick lives in Palm Springs where he moved after he couldn't find joy in acting any longer, after his partner died in a car accident. However, you'd never know the world of hurt residing in Patrick: his interactions with the children are quite entertaining. But he's also very cognizant that the children need to grieve for their mother.

I loved this story ‒ reading it was almost like watching a movie because the descriptions and dialogue are so well done. (And sure enough, I found out that a movie is in the works for this book.)

The Fake Mate

The Fake Mate by Lana Ferguson (2023) 367 pages

Medical doctors ‒ Mackenzie, a sparkly Emergency Room doctor, and Noah, who's a highly touted, but taciturn cardiac surgeon ‒ start a fake relationship for different reasons. Mackenzie wants to have her grandmother stop worrying that she's single. Noah needs to assuage the hospital's concern that he is an "alpha," a type of "shifter" that is in some cases a concern for safety. An "alpha" who is mated, though, is considered to be less volatile. 

Yes, shifting is going on in this story, which is somewhat fascinating, especially if you're curious as to what shifting means with regard to sexual activity.

These two very different characters work to keep their charade believable. The reader eventually learns more about what it means to be a shifter (alpha or omega), and what it means to be mated, which is different from merely having a sexual relationship. A fast and weird read.

Living with Music

 Living with Music: Ralph Ellison's Jazz Writings, Edited by Robert O' Meally, 336 pgs. 

    This was the second book in our Rhythm N' Books music book club. One of my favorite works by Ellison, and probably his most well known, is Invisible Man, which is a classic piece of African-American fiction and highly recommended reading. Ellison's prose is, as always, equal parts erudite and eloquent and no less so here. In Living with Music, the editor compiled a terse collection of 'some' of Ellison's writing related to music. I say 'some' because as a reader you might think this is a collection of jazz criticism or music analyses from Ellison ( as I was led to believe). But there are only a few essays which fit that description. 

    The first half of the book starts out with jazz criticism--his essays about Charlie Christian and Charlie Parker are illuminating and useful in sussing out some of the major changes that were taking place in jazz at the time.  For the remainder of the book, the editor pulls excerpts from interviews with the author and music-related passages from some of his major works. That said, this collection, while useful in providing biographical touchstones for the author, seems like a title in search of a collection. However, there are some great insights into one of America's greatest authors. Ellison was named after Ralph Waldo Emerson and in many of the former's essays, you get a sense of American transcendentalism merging with the African American experience. I was surprised to learn about Ellison's negative perceptions of bebop, which took over the more traditional, danceable blues and jazz forms popular in the day. In fact, he despised it. Bebop at the time shook the music world because it was so different, but would go on to take it's rightful place in the canon. It reminded me of Nina Simone, who had similar opinions towards hip-hop as it was beginning to emerge as a popular genre. Both, geniuses in their right, would be wrong about the direction of the future of music. But this collection serves as an illuminating appendix to the work of a literary master and music lover who believed jazz belonged to everyone. 

The Heiress

The Heiress by Rachel Hawkins, 294 pages

When she was 3, Ruby McTavish, the daughter of the wealthiest family in North Carolina, disappeared in the woods outside her palatial home, Ashby House. Decades later, after four husbands died suspiciously early, Ruby herself has died, leaving Ashby House and her entire fortune to her adopted son, Camden. Naturally, Ruby's sister, Nelle, and Nelle's descendants aren't too excited about that, but until they manage to drag Camden back to North Carolina a decade after Ruby's death, there's not much they can do besides spew vitriol and shoot evil glares in his direction.

This book has all the elements of a gothic thriller with boatloads of secrets in a foreboding house and jealous snobbery galore. However, the execution just isn't there. The twists were predictable, and I never felt the adrenaline pumping or any innate sense of suspense. This could've been better.

Linked

 Linked by Gordon Korman 246 pp.

This was the last book for the Treehouse Book Club. I think this is an excellent story about middle schoolers learning about racism and intolerance first hand when swastikas begin appearing in their school. The vandalism also brings to light an incident in the town's history that many want to keep quiet. The kids step up to combat the problem by coming together in a project to tangibly show how large 6,000,000 (the number of Jews who died in the Holocaust) is by making paper chains with that many links. With the help of the town and people across the company and the world they reach their goal. When Link, the most popular kid in 7th grade and a known trouble maker learns he is of Jewish ancestry, it changes his life. Eventually the perpetrators of the vandalism are found with shocking results. The story is told from the points of view of several of the seventh grade students. A worthy read.

You Sexy Thing

You Sexy Thing by Cat Rambo, 292 pages

A few years ago, Niko achieved the near-impossible and exited the Holy Hive Mind military force without dying or having her brain absorbed into the hive. How'd she do it? She claimed artistic need (which is a recognized exception), and with the help of her crew, left to build the Last Chance, a gourmet restaurant on a distant space station. When an attack on the space station leaves Niko and her crew fleeing on a sentient spaceship (the titular You Sexy Thing, in fact) with a renowned restaurant critic in tow, they find themselves pulled into a complex revenge plot created by an old enemy.

I love a good space opera, and this book has all of the elements to create one: a diverse and quirky crew of aliens, a sentient spaceship that thinks its being stolen, a fight against an evil space pirate king (yes, really), and a captain with a desire to right a long-festering wrong. There were times when the plot seemed a bit rushed, as well as places where it seemed slow, and the omniscient point of view was a bit jarring at times. But all in all it was a fun book, and I'm looking forward to seeing what the Orcs & Aliens think of it on Monday.

(Also, if you can read this book without getting the song stuck in your head, you have a stronger mind than mine.)

The Book of Love

The Book of Love by Kelly Link, 628 pages

Almost a year after they went missing, teens Daniel, Laura, and Mo turn up in the classroom of their music teacher, Mr. Anabin, with a person none of them know, Bowie. They weren't just missing — they died, and everyone they loved grieved for their loss — but now they're magically back and Mr. Anabin (who is not at all the nerdy teacher he seems) uses his supernatural skills to retcon the entire community into believing that the trio was in Ireland on a music fellowship. Now that they've returned, however, Daniel, Laura, and Mo find themselves intrinsically intertwined with Anabin, a magical shapeshifting creature named Bogomil, and a tempestuous diva named Malo Mogge, all while fighting to stay among the living.

Any description of this book is going to pale in comparison to the complex web of guilt, magic, grief, death, love, and music that Link has woven in her first novel. The characters are compelling, the magical system confusing (but in the best possible way), and the motives of everyone uncertain in a way that propels the plot through all 600+ pages. I absolutely loved this book, and I wouldn't be surprised to see it on awards shortlists later this year.

February totals

According to the stats, we obviously spent our Leap Day reading.

Byron: 2 books/629 pages

Jan: 4 books/1063 pages

John: 2 books/548 pages

Kara: 15 books/4475 pages

Karen: 6 books/2263 pages

Regan: 12 books/3684 pages

TOTAL: 41 books/12,662 pages