Dear Eliza by Andrea J. Stein

 

How do you remember people you’ve lost in your life?  I like to reread old letters from my grandmothers that I received in the past.  It’s fun to “hear” their voices again.  I also love looking at old pictures. 

In Dear Eliza, Eliza Levinger receives a letter ten years after her mother died of cancer that rocks her world.  Her mother, Laura, had given the letter to her sister, Claude, to give to Eliza after her father’s death.  In it, she discovers a shocking revelation.  It rocks Eliza’s world, and she has to deal with the fallout.  How will she move forward with this new knowledge?  What is holding her back in life?

My thoughts on this novel:

·       I greatly enjoyed this book and all the characters.  I loved Eliza, her brother Scott, sister-in-law Maren, best friend Mo, and her brother Scott’s life long best friend Josh.  I enjoyed their friendships, relationships, and wanted to read more about them. I was sad when this book ended as I wanted to spend more time in their world.

·       I loved the friends to lovers, slow burn, and kind of second chance romance between Eliza and Josh.  I loved how supportive Josh was to Eliza, but wondered why he wasn’t there during her time of need after Eliza’s mother’s death.  Josh and Eliza had wonderful interactions.

·       This novel deals with grief in many ways.  After Laura’s death when Eliza was 16, Eliza was floundering with no help.  Her father married not long afterwards, and Eliza did not have a good relationship with her stepmother Carol.  Eliza never was able to properly grieve.  Her relationship with her father never was the same and was distant.  When he dies, Eliza feels terrible for what was and what could have been.

·       Although Laura was not alive in this novel, she made me angry.  I didn’t like the bombshell that she had her sister give to Eliza right after her father’s death.  It was a time of intense grief and not a time for Eliza to have to deal with a whole new set of problems.  I wish she would have left positive messages that Eliza could have gotten after her death.  I guess if I were Eliza, I would have liked to know what Laura had to say, but there could have been a better time for it.

·       I liked the New York City setting.

·       I like how Eliza was able to reset her life after the news.  She realized that her relationships were not the best with her family or in her love life.  I like how she was able to make a change for the better.

·       I want to talk about this book more, but I don’t want to give away the details and ruin it for anyone else.  I think this would be a great book club selection. I would also like to watch a movie based on this novel.

Overall, Dear Eliza by Andrea J. Stein is a beautifully written novel of self-discovery, grief, love, forgiveness, family and starting over again.  I enjoyed this novel, and I can’t wait to see what Stein writes next!

Book Source:  Review copy from author Andrea J. Stein. Thank-you!  Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Ordeal by Innocence by Agatha Christie

Title:  Ordeal by Innocence

Author:  Agatha Christie

Narrated by:  Hugh Fraser

Publisher: HarperAudio

Length: Approximately 7 hours and 5 minutes

Source: Checked out with Libby through the Kewaunee Public Library.  Thank-you!

Have you watched any Agatha Christie adaptations?  I have enjoyed the different adaptations on PBS, and the new Kenneth Branaugh movies, but I still have many film versions to enjoy.  I have not watched an adaptation of Ordeal by Innocence.  Do you have any recommendations for a good version?

I read Ordeal by Innocence by Agatha Christie this past month for #ReadChristie2024.  #ReadChristie2024 has a theme this year of through the decades.  January – March were books written by Agatha Christie in the 1920’s, April through June were books written by Agatha Christie in the 1930’s, and July through September were books written by Agatha Christie in the 1940s and 1950s.   Ordeal by Innocence was published in 1958 and was my September selection.

A young man, Jacko, threatened his mother for money.  Afterwords, his mother was found murdered and he was found on a train carrying a large sum of money.  Jacko died in prison but is found afterwards to be innocent.  If Jacko is innocent, who is the real killer?

My thoughts on this novel:

·       It is discovered that the mother had adopted five children and loved them more than her husband.  Jacko was the “black sheep” of the family, so it was easy to believe he was the killer.  It seemed that there were a lot of cruel theories on adoptees and their parents in this time period in which this book was written. 

·       Mentions of Sputnik put this novel firmly in the 1950s time period.

·       I liked that the geologist, Dr. Calgary, seeks justice for Jacko.  Dr. Calgary was a witness and could prove Jacko’s innocence, but he was in an accident and had his memory lost for a time due to a concussion.  He then went to Antarctica to explore and missed the murder trial.  He was not a strong lead investigator, however, and seemed to repeat his thoughts a lot.

·       This book centers on the Argyle family, getting to know the characters, how they interacted, and whether any of them are involved in the murder.  It was a very dysfunctional family.

·       This is a standalone mystery.

·       Hugh Fraser was an excellent narrator as usual. 

·       I didn’t connect with this story as much as I have with other Christie novels.  I didn’t really like any of the characters.  I didn’t like how Rachel Argyle had taken the children from their families.  The adult children seemed very angry and whiney.  The resolution was just rather blah to me.  I was surprised to read that this was one of Christie’s favorite books that she wrote in the 1950s.   

My favorite quote, “How can I go on living here and suspecting everybody?  Justice is, after all, in the hands of men and men are fallible.  He felt lost without his hatred – lost and afraid.

Overall, Ordeal by Innocence was an interesting mystery, but not my favorite Christie novel.

A Murder is Announced by Agatha Christie

What’s the last series you finished?  I’m still working on Agatha Christie’s Miss Marple series.  I am not reading them in order, but I hope to finish this series one of these days.  A Murder is Announced is book four in the Miss Marple series.

I read A Murder is Announced by Agatha Christie in August for #ReadChristie2024.  #ReadChristie2024 has a theme this year of through the decades.  January – March were books written by Agatha Christie in the 1920’s, April through June were books written by Agatha Christie in the 1930’s, and July through September were books written by Agatha Christie in the 1940s and 1950s.  A Murder is Announced was published in 1950.

An ad appears in a local paper stating, “a murder is announced and will take place on Friday October 28^th at Little Paddocks at 6:30 P.M.”  This piques the curiosity of many locals and they gather at Little Paddocks at the date and time.  Most believe this to be a “game.”  At 6:30 P.M., the lights go out and shots are heard.  A guest is found murdered.  Luckily, Miss Marple happens to be vacationing nearby and soon is helping the investigators.  Will Miss Marple be able to solve the crime?

My thoughts on this novel:

·       Emilia Fox was a great narrator who was able to act out very different voices for a variety of characters.

·       There are many items in this book that set it right after WWII.  Miss Marple talks about bombs falling in London during the war.  There is also discussion of food rationing.

·       Miss Marple also doesn’t like how England is changing due to the refugees in England.  One character, Mitzi, is a refugee.  She mentions concentration camps, and she didn’t seem to be treated well in the book.  This was a book of its time and there were racist statements.

·       I was fooled again by red herrings and did not guess the ending of this one.  The murder mystery was great and perfectly plotted.

·       Agatha Christie writes great characters with faults and foibles that are a part of human nature.

·       Miss Marple arrives about 30% into the book and is active in the investigation.  I like this much better than other Miss Marple books where she doesn’t show up until the end and doesn’t have much to do with the investigation. 

·       I liked Inspector Craddock, the lead detective in the case.

Overall, A Murder is Announced is another great mystery by Agatha Christie.  I liked the unique premise and the characters.

When the Sea Came Alive: An Oral History of D-Day by Garrett M. Graff

 

Title: When the Sea Came Alive:  An Oral History of D-Day

Author:  Garrett M. Graff

Narrated by:  Edoardo Ballerini, Garrett M. Graff, full cast

Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio

Length: Approximately 19 hours and 42 minutes

Source: Review Copy from Simon & Schuster Audio.  Thank you!

Do you like audiobooks?  My friend Laura Hivala got me into reading audiobooks.  I love them.  They make long drives go so much more quickly.  One of my favorite audiobooks from the past few years was The Only Plane in the Sky:  An Oral History September 11, 2001, by Garrett M. Graff.  It was a profound book.  It was a wonderful audiobook experience hearing the oral history told through a cast of characters.  I was excited that author Garrett M. Graff has written a new oral history, this time focusing on D-Day.

In When the Sea Came Alive, Graff has used a wide variety of sources to put together a full comprehensive look at D-Day told through the point of view of those that were there and those that planned the day.  The book starts in the months following up to D-Day and then gives a detailed account of the day and what followed.  D-Day was June 6, 1944, and was the day the allied forces invaded Europe and turned the tide of WWII.  How was such a large military operation able to surprise the Nazis? 

My thoughts on this novel:

·       We listened to this audiobook driving on our vacation this year.  My husband, myself, and my two sons enjoyed it.  My oldest 18-year-old son really likes learning about D-Day and The Longest Day is his favorite movie.

·       It was very effective having the firsthand accounts told by a wide cast of characters.  It gives you a depth for how horrifying it was to be on the ground and how much courage it took for the allied soldiers to push on.

·       I loved the moments of compassion when a soldier passes by and really looks at the enemy.  He noted how young they looked and wondered about the parents or wife waiting for the now dead soldier at home.

·       It was surreal when Lord Lovat marched around with a bagpiper following him on D-Day.

·       The first section was a great lead up to D-Day and the planning involved.  It was very informative.  I also thought it was interesting that African American soldiers found more acceptance in England than they did in the United States.

·       Once the invasion started, the story seemed to unfold in real time through the eyes of the soldiers.  It was intense.

·       Graff did a masterful job of putting all these threads of first-person accounts together to make one compelling narrative.

Overall, When the Sea Came Alive is a compelling narrative and excellent audiobook.  It’s a must read for any fan history or anyone that wants to learn more about one of the most important dates in history.

Of Gold and Shadows by Michelle Griep (Austenprose PR Book Tour)

Have you ever seen any Egyptian artifacts?  I have seen them in museums in Chicago and Kalamazoo, and I find them fascinating.

Edmund Price has returned to England from India and is a very eligible bachelor.  He has acquired a collection from Egypt and has hired an Egyptologist to sort and catalogue the collection.  He is surprised when Ami Dalton, a beautiful female Egyptologist shows up to do the job.  She is a professor’s daughter and knows her stuff.  Within the collection is a cursed golden griffin.  When mysterious things start to happen around the estate, is it a curse or something else?

My thoughts on this novel:

·       I loved the strong female lead, Ami Dalton, doing what is considered to be a man’s job, in a world where men do not value her mind.  I love that Edmund respected her for her mind.

·       Ami also spends her evenings as the “shadow broker” to rescue antiques from the black market and return them to museums.  She like a female Victorian Indiana Jones.

·       The chemistry between Ami and Edmund felt real and palpable.  I liked their banter.

·       This novel was full of mystery and intrigue.  It kept me interested and engaged with the plot.

·       The secondary characters were interesting.  I especially enjoyed Phineas, the gardener, and his sage wisdom.

·       This was a forced proximity romance and a clean read.

·       There are great historical notes at the end of the novel that explain in detail some of the terminology.  My favorite is that “excelsior” is a fancy word for using curly wood shavings for packing antiques.

·       There are great questions included that could be used for a book club.

·       The sneak peak of the next books was fantastic.  I can’t wait to read it!

Overall, Of Gold and Shadows by Michelle Griep is an engaging historical romance and suspense novel set in Victorian England.  I loved the Egyptian artifact angle of the story.

Book Source:  Review copy from Bethany House as part of the Austenprose PR Book Tour. Thank-you!  Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

BOOK DESCRIPTION

The shadows hold secrets darker than they ever imagined. . . .

In 1888 Victorian England, Ami Dalton navigates a clandestine dual life. By day, she strives to establish herself as a respected Egyptologist, overcoming the gender biases that permeate academia. But with a heart for saving black-market artifacts from falling into the wrong hands, she is most often disguised as her alter ego, the Shadow Broker.

After eight years in India, Oxford's most eligible bachelor, Edmund Price, has come out of the shadows to run for Parliament and is in search of an Egyptologist to value a newly acquired collection. Expecting a renowned Oxford professor, Edmund instead finds himself entangled with Ami, the professor's determined daughter. As they delve into the treasures, their connection deepens, but trouble emerges when a golden griffin--rumored to bear the curse of Amentuk--surfaces, and they're left to wonder if the curse really is at play, or if something more nefarious is hiding among the shadows. . . .

AUTHOR BIO

Michelle Griep has been writing since she first discovered blank wall space and Crayolas. She is a Christy Award-winning author of historical romances that both intrigue and evoke a smile. She's an Anglophile at heart, and you'll most often find her partaking of a proper cream tea while scheming up her next novel . . . but it's probably easier to find her at MichelleGriep.com.

Prairie Man: My Little House Life & Beyond by Dean Butler

 

Title: Prairie Man:  My Little House Life & Beyond

Author:  Dean Butler

Narrated by:  Dean Butler

Publisher: HighBridge, a division of Recorded Books

Length: Approximately 10 hours and 7 minutes

Source: Thank you @netgalley for the audiobook review copy.

Dean Butler was a young twenty-three-year-old man when he was cast in his iconic role as Almanzo Wilder on Little House on the Prairie.  On the 50^th anniversary of the debut of the show, Butler has written a memoir on his life, experiences as an actor, and details on starring in Little House. 

My thoughts on this book:

·       A little girl asked Dean Butler, “Do you have any regrets?”  That question as well as it being the 50^th anniversary of the debut of Little House on the Prairie were the two inspirations for Dean Butler to put together this memoir. 

·       Like Tom Selleck’s memoir, Butler’s memoir is honest, but good natured.  He doesn’t dish dirt on fellow actors or his first wife.

·       There were great intros from Alison Arngrim (Nellie Oleson) and Melissa Gilbert (Laura Ingalls Wilder) on how just a nice man Dean Butler was when he joined the Little House cast and how awkward it was for 5-year-old Melissa Gilbert to kiss a grown man in front of her mother.

·       This memoir includes information on the real history of Almanzo Wilder.

·       I felt at one with Butler’s pale complexion that burns and does not tan.  There is a funny story in the memoir about how make-up had to be used to make Butler appear tanned for another show.

·       I am a Little House super fan and I’ve also read the memoirs of Melissa Gilbert and Alison Angrim.  I saw Butler from afar at an appearance in Green Bay a decade ago or so.

·       I learned I have been saying Almanzo wrong my entire life.  I have always been saying it the way they said it on the show.

·       Dean Butler seemed like a good-hearted person I would like to know.

·       I liked the funny star-stricken moments Butler had with Madonna and his childhood hero, William Shatner.

·       Butler described a lot of movies and TV series that sounded interesting.  I want to watch them, especially Forever, but they are not available due to music licensing issues.

·       It’s hard to think about Butler being unable to find work for a period until he was cast as Buffy the Vampire Slayer’s father.  He also started to work behind the scenes.

·       Butler has starred on Broadway as Rapunzel’s Prince in Into the Wild and Tory in West Side Story.

·       Butler was engaged to Mary Hart, which I did not know.  His heart was broken when they broke up.   He didn’t discuss his first marriage, except to state that it was a disaster.  He did discuss finding new love with his current wife Katherine.

·       The history of how the show was made was also discussed.

·       Butler is at one with his TV legacy of being Almanzo Wilder.  He has leaned into it and produced documentaries on Laura Ingalls Wilder and Almanzo Wilder.

·       Dean Butler narrated the audiobook himself and it was excellent.

Overall, Prairie Man by Dean Butler is a wonderful memoir, perfect for any fan of Little House on the Prairie.  The audiobook narrated by Dean Butler, himself, was very engaging and interesting.

Lula Dean’s Little Library of Banned Books by Kirsten Miller

 

Do you have a favorite banned book?  A LOT of my favorite books have been banned at one time or another.  In honor of banned books week this past week, I’m finally posting a review of a book I read and loved in August.

Lula Dean has never read the books she wants to ban, but she has heard that they contain dangerous ideas.  She takes her outrage out by getting many, many books banned.  She becomes a local celebrity for “saving” the children.  She puts a little library of books she deems appropriate in front of her house.  Her lifelong nemesis, Beverly Underwood, has a daughter named Lindsay.  Lindsay goes to Lula Dean’s little library and puts banned books within the slip covers of the appropriate books.  What will the town readers think when they read the banned books?

My thoughts on this book:

·       Different characters in town read different banned books that open their eyes to a wider world view, and it changes their lives.

·       This was a well-crafted social satire novel.  It was very engaging and humorous.

·       I enjoyed all the different characters and subplots.

·       It was fun seeing what different books that have been banned in the US were found in the little library and how they changed lives.  For example, the wife of Nazi sympathizer reads a copy of The Diary of Anne Frank.

·       This book is very timely and deals with current issues.  Do not read this if you don’t like to read about politics.

·       The citizens of the small town have different politics, but they can explore their differing opinions and change their perspectives.

·       There is a great author’s note at the end that discusses her inspirations, being from the South herself.  There is also a list of the books named in the chapters and whether they are banned.

·       This book is very inclusive in the types of characters that live in the small town.

Overall, Lula Dean’s Little Library of Banned Books is a timely social satire that was a great read.

Book Source:  Review copy from NetGalley. Thank-you!  Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

A Happier Life by Kristy Woodson Harvey

 

Title: A Happier Life

Author:  Kristy Woodson Harvey

Narrated by:  Cassandra Campbell, Devon Sorvari, Fred Sanders

Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio

Length: Approximately 12 hours and 16 minutes

Source: Review Copy from Simon & Schuster Audio.  Thank you!

What could you do to have a happier life?  I loved a previous job, but the work hours prevented me from spending time with my family.  To have a happier life, I made a job change.

Keaton Smith loses her job due to personnel complications at work.  Work tip – don’t date your co-workers!  Her mother asks her to travel to Beaufort, North Carolina to clean out her grandmother’s house.  Her grandparents (Rebecca and Townsend) died in a car crash in 1976 and her mom and uncle shut up their house and never came back.  Did they really die in a car crash (their bodies were never found)? Will Keaton discover her place in life?

·       This was the July pick for the Brenda Novak Book Club.  I read it in August.  I enjoyed listening to Brenda Novak’s conversation with author Kristy Woodson Harvey about the book.

·       This novel was a good look into life and how decisions can impact your life and generations that follow you.

 

·       I had a hard time at first with the timeline and the ages of everyone.  The grandparents are my great-grandparents’ age and the main character is thirteen years younger than me.  It was explained later that they were older mothers.

·       It is mostly told from Keaton and Rebecca’s points of view, but some chapters are narrated by Townsend, especially from his journal.

·       The narrators were great, and this was a fun audiobook to listen to.

·       I love the story of a granddaughter discovering the story of her grandmother.

·       I enjoyed Rebecca “Becks” St. James’s chapters about being the perfect hostess, falling in love with Townsend, her troubled relationship with her mother, and becoming a mother.  I thought it was fun for their grandkids to find their journals and discover who they were.

·       The characters and community in Beaufort were excellent.

·       I loved when Keaton’s Mom told her that life is not like a Hallmark movie, and she shouldn’t leave the big city for a man.  I laughed out loud.

·       There was a great mystery in the story of what happened to the grandparents, although I did figure it out early on.

·       What makes a happier life?  Becks thinks she couldn’t have had a happier life and loves everything about her life.  Keaton is trying to figure out how to have a happier life.

·       I LOVED the 1970s-time capsule vintage house.

·       I want to host a Beck St. James perfect party.

·       It was interesting that the story was inspired by the mysterious disappearance of the author’s great aunt and uncle and her experience opening a house that had been closed for fifty years.

 

Overall, A Happier Life was a feel-good story with a great ending.  It was a perfect beach read.

The Summer Pact by Emily Giffin

 

What was your last summer read?  I finished up The Summer Pact earlier this month for my last summer book read of the year.

The Summer Pact is about four individuals that meet at college and form a lifelong friendship.  One when tragically dies, the others promise to always get together to help each other if any of the three of them are in a time of need.  When Hannah finds her fiancé in bed with another woman, she finds herself in crisis.  When the friends gather together to help out Hannah, will they all make changes to their own lives and move forward?

My thoughts on this novel:

·       I have enjoyed Emily Giffin’s books in the past and especially enjoyed Something Borrowed, Something Blue, and Baby Proof.  This one was not as good as her other novels.

·       The story was slow in the middle, and it took me a long time to finish it.

·       This novel is a look at friendship and the lengths we will go to for our friends.  It also delves into grief and how everyone deals with it differently and how friends can help.

·       The story is told through the three point of views of the three friends.  I didn’t feel like I liked or connected with the characters.

·       The romance came very late in the novel and then it seemed to be immediately tied up in the epilogue.   I did not feel the romantic connection between the love interests.

·       I really didn’t like the character Lainey.  She was an actress that acted very immature for a thirty something.  She needed more of a growth story to me.  I also didn’t like how she very obviously was an alcoholic, but her friends did not help her with this problem at all.

·       I thought we would get more of Summer’s story and her untimely death and there would be a bit of a mystery.  It just remained a sad unexplained traumatic death from their college days.

Overall, I was disappointed by The Summer Pact, but I will definitely try another Emily Giffin book.

Book Source:  Review copy from NetGalley. Thank-you!  Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.