Murder at Cottonwood Creek by Clara McKenna

 

Do you prefer standalones or series?  I enjoy both, but always love when I find a new series to enjoy like the Stella and Lyndy Mystery series.

British Lyndy, Viscount Lyndhurst, and his American wife Stella, Lady Lyndhurst, have traveled to Montana to visit Lyndy’s father, Lord Atherly, who is working on a paleontology dig on the horse ranch of Stella’s mother and stepfather.  Soon after their arrival, a death amongst the dig team occurs and things spiral after that.  Will Stella and Lyndy be able to solve this mystery?

My thoughts on this novel:

·       This is the seventh book in the series.  It can be read as a standalone, but I recommend reading this delightful series.

·       This is a cozy mystery.

·       I’ve always found paleontology fascinating, and I loved the setting of this story in 1906 Montana during the search for fossils.

·       Stella and Lyndy are a great couple.  It was fun with this new setting in America to have Lyndy out of his element in this book rather than Stella in England.

·       There were a lot of red herrings in this mystery, and I was surprised by the ending.

·       I enjoyed that Stella got to enjoy time with her mother and getting to know her.  Stella was raised by her father and didn’t really know her mother.

·       It was also nice that Lyndy’s abrasive mom was not in America, but she still put the pressure on to have a child from afar.

·       This was a fun read.

·       Interesting author’s note on the end with tidbits and sources on the real history during this time period.

Overall, Murder at Cottonwood Creek by Clara McKenna was a fun cozy historical mystery with great characters.

Book Source:  Thank-you to author Clara McKenna for a review copy of this novel. 

 

Murder at Donwell Abbey by Vanessa Kelly (Austenprose PR Book Tour)

 

What is a book that you couldn’t put down?  I couldn’t put down Murder at Donwell Abbey by Vanessa Kelly!

Emma Knightley is surprised to discover that her reclusive father is engaged . . . to the always talkative Miss Bates!  While hosting an engagement party for the couple, a person is discovered dead.  Did they fall out of an upper story window or were they pushed?   Emma is on the case to solve this crime.

My thoughts on the novel:

·       This is the second novel in the Emma Knightley mystery series.  You can read this novel as a standalone, but I think it adds to the story to read both books.

·       This was a delightful mystery that was very readable.  I read it quickly and didn’t want it down.

·       I loved that the characters from Jane Austen’s Emma have their stories continued in this novel.

·       The characters are true to Austen’s creations.

·       Emma is a good sleuth with her eye for detail and for knowing everyone’s business.  She doesn’t leave things alone until she gets an answer.

·       I liked that Miss Bates becomes Emma’s mystery solving assistant.  This character was fleshed out more in this novel while remaining true to the original.

·       Emma and Mr. Knightley (George) make such a cute couple.  I enjoyed their interactions.

·       There were plenty of red herrings in this mystery to keep one guessing.  It had a great climax and conclusion.

·       It was a witty and fun book.  I enjoyed the reference for “excellent boiled potatoes’ that I felt was an Easter egg for Austen fans (in particular fans of the 2005 Pride and Prejudice adaptation).

·       This is a historical cozy mystery set during the Regency period.

·       It is a clean read.

·       This story is set during the Christmas season.

Overall, Murder at Donwell Abbey by Vanessa Kelly was a very entertaining cozy historical mystery novel and a great continuation of Emma by Jane Austen.

Book Source:  Thank-you to @vanessakellyauthor @kensingtonbooks @austenprose for a review copy of this novel as part of the Austenprose PR Book Tour. 

Mr. Rochester by Sarah Shoemaker

 

Title:  Mr. Rochester

Author:  Sarah Shoemaker

Narrated by:  Simon Shepherd

Publisher: Hachette Audio

Length: Approximately 16 hours and 43 minutes

Source: Purchased from Audible.com

Who is your favorite literary hero? 

Edward Fairfax Rochester is a second son.  His mother dies when he is young, and his absentee father sends him off to school at the age of eight.  He has to make his way in the world and learn what he can.  Will he ever return to his beloved Thornfield Hall?

My thoughts on this novel:

·       I read Mr. Rochester by Sarah Shoemaker for the October JASNA Book Club meeting. All of book club seemed to enjoy this well written novel and it provided good discussion comparing it to our other read, the original Jane Eyre.  Mr. Mason’s characterization seemed to be the main difference between the two books.

·       This novel was the story of Mr. Rochester’s life from childhood through adulthood.  It reminded me of Jane Eyre or a Dickens novel.

·       I kept wondering would a father really send a very young son away and not see him for a decade?  I know Victorian times were different, but it seemed odd.  Rochester was an unloved child just like Jane Eyre.

·       I thought his work at the mill had shades of Bronte’s novel, Shirley.

·       He had a lonely life when so many people died young in the Victorian age.

·       Mr. Rochester is astonished by slavery, but still used it to make a profit.

·       I liked that this wasn’t just a retelling of Jane Eyre through Mr. Rochester’s POV.  Most of the novel is his life before he meets Jane and then events of the novel through Mr. Rochester’s time.

·       I didn’t like that the mind games he played with Jane.

·       I did enjoy that a new character, Gerald, who was not in the original novel, was seamlessly added to the story in a way that adds to the drama and furthered the action.

·       Rochester was a good guy in this novel and his actions for locking Bertha away are explained.

 

Overall, Mr. Rochester by Sarah Shoemaker was an excellent retelling and a must read for any fans of Jane Eyre.

Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte

 

Title:  Jane Eyre

Author:  Charlotte Bronte

Narrated by:  Thandiwe Newton

Publisher: Audible Studios

Length: Approximately 19 hours and 10 minutes

Source: Purchased from Audible.com

What classic have you read more than once?

Jane Eyre is the story of a young woman in Victorian times; from her unloved childhood, time in a boarding school and first job outside the school as a governess at the mysterious Thornfield Hall.  Will she find herself and love?

My thoughts on this novel:

·       I read this book in October for the JASNA Northwoods Book Club.  We had a great discussion on this book.

·       I first read this as a teen and have read it multiple times since then.  It is a classic book.  I will continue to reread and love it throughout my life.

·       This was a great audiobook version.  Thandiwe Newton had good characterization for all the characters.

·       Poor Jane.  Her childhood and the complete lack at love make me so sad.  Her parents died when she was an infant.  Her uncle took her in and loved her, but he died when she was one.  His widow could not love Jane and treated her terribly.

·       I did not like the way Mr. Rochester treated Jane and played games with her.

·       I do like how independent Jane is and how by the time she returns to Mr. Rocester, she has her own independent means.

·       I’ll admit, I always forget how much of the book is set with the Rivers family.  I like that she split her inheritance fairly.

·       Why is St. John pronounced Sin-Gin?  I have wandered this through many adaptations and this audiobook.

·       I love Gothic romance and all the mysterious happenings at Thornfield Hall. 

·       Mr. Rochester for all his faults, does treat Jane like an equal and usually talks honestly to her.

·       It is horrible when St. John proposes to her with absolutely no love for Jane, but the want for a useful partner for his missionary trip.  I’m glad Jane said no!

·       What is your favorite adaptation? One of my favorites is the 2006 miniseries starring Toby Stephens.  Why is Rochester always hot in adaptations even though he is described as not good looking in the novel?

Favorite Quotes:

“I am no bird; and no net ensnares me: I am a free human being with an independent will.”

“Reader, I married him.”

“Do you think, because I am poor, obscure, plain and little, I am soulless and heartless? You think wrong! - I have as much soul as you, - and full as much heart! And if God had gifted me with some beauty and much wealth, I should have made it as hard for you to leave me, as it is now for me to leave you!”

Overall, Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte is a masterfully written classic with one of the best heroines in literature.

 

Influence by Ruth Mitchell

 

What classic novel would you like to be retold in a modern-day setting?

April Rain was a superstar singer when she fell in love with a surfer boy one summer.  Her father and agent persuaded her to break things off with Freddy.  Five years later, Freddy is a superstar while April is a “has been” that has focused on college rather than her career. Freddy has moved next door for the summer.  Freddy and April are assigned to write a duet for the marriage of April’s sister and Freddy’s best friend.  Will these two find a second chance at romance?

My thoughts on this novel:

·       This was a great modern-day retelling of Persuasion by Jane Austen. It was true to the original characters with a good contemporary story that made sense.

·       The story is a romantic comedy.

·       It is told through a dual point of view and is a second chance romance.  I liked that Freddy and April narrated the book and I enjoyed getting Freddy’s point of view, which you do not get in the original novel.

·       I read this delightful book back in September.

·       This is the first in a series of modern-day retellings of Jane Austen’s novels and I can’t wait to read the rest.

·       The story was clever, funny, and romantic.  I enjoyed the witty banter.

·       I loved April’s Dad.  He was a washed-up actor who is very into himself.  It was so true to the original character!  The author did a great job of modernizing all the characters. 

·       I loved the romance between Freddy and April.

·       I also enjoyed that April was the inspiration for many of Freddy’s songs.

·       This book is set in California.

·       The story was very engaging, and I read it quickly.

·       This would make a great movie!

·       It was a clean read.

Overall, Influence by Ruth Mitchell is a very engaging, witty, and romantic retelling of Persuasion by Jane Austen.

Book Source:  Thank-you to @literally.ruth.mitchell @austenprose for a review copy of this novel as part of the Austenprose PR Book Tour. 

 

Venetia by Georgette Heyer

 

Title:  Venetia

Author:  Georgette Heyer

Narrated by:  Gemma Whelan

Publisher: Penguin Audio

Length: Approximately 11 hours and 46 minutes

Source: Checked out through Amazon Music with physical book purchased years ago at Walmart.

What author do you think deserves more adaptations of their work?  I feel like Georgette Heyer’s works are ripe for development into movies or miniseries.  With the love of Regency shows such as Bridgerton and all the Jane Austen adaptations, why are Heyer’s works not being adapted?

Venetia is twenty-five years old, beautiful, smart, and independent.  At her father’s death, she cares for the estate and her younger brother as she waits for her older brother to return from Europe.  Venetia wants to marry for love but starts to believe she will be a spinster.  Her neighbor, Lord Jasper Damerel, returns to the neighborhood after a long absence and sparks fly between the two.  Damerel is a known rake.  Can a rake and a respectable woman find love?

My thoughts on this book:

·       Venetia by Georgette Heyer was the What the Dickens July Book Club pick.  I read most of it in July but finished it up in September.  There was a good discussion on Facebook on the novel, but sadly, the book club is on hold right now.

·       The audiobook was a delight to listen too.  Gemma Whelan was a good narrator.

·       All the characters were wonderfully written.  I like how Damerel and Venetia both defied expectations.

·       Damerel isn’t just a rake, but a well-educated man who’s respects Venetia for her mind and truly enjoys spending time with her disabled, but intelligent brother, Aubrey.

·       Venetia doesn’t fall for Damerel’s seduction, but instead has witty discussions with him and truly befriends him.  I love how she cares for Aubrey.

·       I loved Aubrey – he cracked me up!  He had a dry humor, was intelligent, and just said things bluntly they way that they were.

·       Venetia’s older brother, Conrad, sends home his new young bride, Charlotte, but she brings her mother, Mrs. Scorrier.  What a villain!  She makes life a terrible trial for Venetia and Aubrey.

·       Venetia bluntly talks about orgies at the end – I was confused.  Did they have a different meaning in Regency times?  I looked I up and it meant a wild and drunken party.

·       Wow – what a surprise at the end.  I didn’t see it coming.  It did allow the two main characters to get together.

  Overall, Venetia by Georgette Heyer is a delightful Regency romance with great characters. 

Greenlights by Matthew McConaughey

 

Title:  Greenlights

Author:  Matthew McConaughey

Narrated by:  Matthew McConaughey

Publisher: Macmillan Audio

Length: Approximately 6 hours and 51 minutes

Source: Checked out through Amazon Music with physical book checked out from the Kewaunee Public Library.

What public figure would you like to read more about?

Actor Matthew McConaughey has kept diaries for most of his life.  He sat down, reviewed them, and wrote this unique memoir on his life from childhood, through marriage and becoming a father.

My thoughts on this novel:

·       Greenlights was the October selection for the Page-turners Book Club at the Kewaunee Public Library.  I had to miss the meeting due to work but did get the book read.

·       The audiobook is read by Matthew McConaughey himself which I really liked.  He has a distinctive way of talking and I always enjoy when memoirs are read by the author themselves.

·       McConaughey had a crazy childhood. His parents divorced each other twice and married each other three times.  There was a lot of violence in his childhood home.

·       The memoir tells his story in a unique way including vignettes, poetry, words of wisdom/bumper stickers, etc.

·       This memoir was a little too personal at times.  He freely talks about his wet dreams and masturbation, and I really didn’t want to know about that.

·       I liked the details on his movies.  I would have liked even more discussion of his movies.

·       It was interesting how he used to live in a camper and traveled cross country in it for years.  He had many adventures.

·       This memoir as very funny.

·       He didn’t talk much about the time right before the book was published.

·       McConaughey also had a lot of self-help tips.  I didn’t like them as much as the personal stories of his life.

·       The greenlights are the title are things that move you forward in life.

Overall, Greenlights by Matthew McConaughey was an interesting memoir about a great actor.  I was entertained, but it’s not a book for everyone.ctor.  I was entertained, but it’s not a book for everyone.

Dear America, Notes of an Undocumented Citizen by Jose Antonio Vargas

 

What is a current topic that you would like to learn more about?  With immigration constantly in the news, I thought it was a great time to read Dear American, Notes of an Undocumented Citizen by Jose Antonio Vargas.

Jose Antonio Vargas was sent by his mother from the Philippines to America to live with this Grandfather at the age of twelve.  He later discovers that he is not a legal immigrant and that there is no pathway for him to become a legal citizen.  In this memoir, he details his journey.

My thoughts on this book:

·       This is a book that all Americans should read.

·       Most Americans don’t realize that our immigration system is so broken that there is no “line” or easy or straightforward way to become a legal citizen.  If you grew up in the United States, but you weren’t here legally, you have to leave and go to another country for ten years to start the legal process.

·       Rhetoric that really bothers me is “my ancestors came here legally.”  I’ve noticed that most of the folks who say this have not actually researched how their ancestors came here or whether it was legal.  They are white, and they just assume it was legal.  They also minimize the fact that until the 1920s, you just had to show up, pay a minimal fee, and be healthy, which is not the process now.

·       I like how Vargas ponders that it is just fate where you are born.  You don’t work to be an American citizen if you are born here.  Why is there so much hate and anger against those born in different places?

·       I displayed my own bias while I read this book.  I thought that Jose Antonio Vargas was Hispanic by his name.  I didn’t think about how Spanish colonization in the Philippines resulted in Spanish names for the population.

·       It is hard to make it as an undocumented immigrant, but Vargas has people who cared about him and helped him out.  He has spent his life thinking that he can’t ever settle down because of his status.

·       He became a prominent journalist.

·       Jose Antonia Vargas is illegal, but the rest of his Filipino family came here legally.  It stinks that his grandfather and mother had him brought illegally as a child and put him in this legal limbo.

·       Illegal immigrants pay taxes, but don’t get any of the benefits.

·       It is good to read about people’s experiences as it helps to put things in perspective.

·       As a gay man, Jose Antonio Vargas would be persecuted in the Philippines.

·       Will we ever actually try to fix our immigration laws and the process to become a citizen? 

Overall, Dear America, Notes of an Undocumented Citizen by Jose Antonio Vargas is a book that all United States citizens should read for a good perspective on the broken immigration process in our country.

Favorite Quotes:

“What you done to earn your box? Besides being born at a certain place in a certain time, did you have to do anything at all?”

“I had to interrogate how laws are created, how illegality must be seen through the prism of who is defining what is legal and for whom.  I had to realize that throughout American history, legality has forever been a construct of power.”

“The Naturalization Act of 1790, our country’s first set of laws dealing with citizenship, said that an applicant had to be a ‘a free white person’ of ‘good moral character’ to be a US citizen.”

“Our country’s mainstream news organizations often fail to report basic facts about how much undocumented workers pay into a government that vilifies us. Whether because of ignorance or indifference, or both, failure to report these facts and provide context has perpetuated the myth of the ‘illegal’’ and who is taxing social services and taking away from ‘real Americans.’”

“According to the SSA itself, unauthorized workers have paid $100 billion into the fund over the past decade…Annually, undocumented workers pay $12 billion to the Social Security Trust Fund.”

“The mainstream media’s coverage of immigration is lackluster at best and irresponsibility at worst, promoting and sustaining stereotypes while spreading misinformation.”

“Between 1965 and 2015, new immigrants and their offspring accounted for 55 percent of US population growth, according to the Pew Research Center.”

Book Source:  Thank-you to #morrowpartner @deystreet for a review copy of this book. 

The Red Cottage by Hannah Linder (Austenprose PR Book Tour)

 

What color is your house or place of residence?  What color would you like it to be?  My house is a very light beige, almost white with white trim and dark green on different siding on the top of the house.  I would like a blue house, but I live in a house on the historic registry, so a color change is not in the future.

Meg Foxcroft lives with her Uncle in the apothecary and loves Tom McGwen.  They dream of living in their own cottage painted red.  After Meg is brutally attacked, she loses all her memories and wakes up in the arms of young Lord Cunningham.  Will she regain her memories? Why was she attacked?

My thoughts on this novel:

·       This novel had two tropes I enjoy, the amnesia and second chance romance tropes.

·       It was a clever mystery that was full of suspense.  I really wanted to know how this book would end!

·       I loved how Meg and Tom had to rediscover each other and their romance.  They had great chemistry. 

·       I liked that Tom remain devoted to Meg throughout the novel.

·       The story had a lot of twists and turns and started off with a bang.

·       It is set in 1818 Cornwell and has Gothic Regency vibes.

·       This was a clean read with a kisses only romance, but there was also sexual assault, prostitution, and violence as part of the storyline.

·       The story had a good ending that tied up all the storylines.

Overall, The Red Cottage by Hannah Linder was an engaging Regency romance and mystery with Gothic vibes.  I loved and really enjoyed this story!

Book Source:  Thank-you to @hannahlinderbooks @barbourbooks @austenprose for a review copy of this novel as part of the Austenprose PR Book Tour.