Night of the Mallrats by Nicolina Torres

 

Title:  Night of the Mallrats

Author:  Nicolina Torres

Narrated by:  Jeremy Carlisle Parker, William DeMeritt, Emma Lysy, Charles Constant, Chris Patton, Craig Jessen, Jade Wheeler, Roman Howell, Rosemary Cline, Aaron Landon

Publisher: Harper Perennial

Length: Approximately 11 hours and 23 minutes

Source: Thank you, Partner @bibliolifestyle @harperperennial for the physical book review copy.  Audiobook purchased from Audible.

Did you visit malls as a teen?  Do you still have a mall you shop at?  My mom worked at an eye doctor at our local mall, and I would spend the day there as a teen while Mom worked in the 1990s.  I loved it. That mall is in sad shape today, but my local mall in Northeast Wisconsin is doing great.

Beechnut Mall is about to be torn down in 2024.  A group of five friends reunite and break into the mall to have one last adventure to remember their youth in the 1990s at the malls peak.  They also hope to find clues to the disappearance in 1994 of their friend Beth at the mall and the murder of her boyfriend Ezra on that exact night.  They suddenly find themselves in the past, witnessing the events of the day Beth disappeared in 1994.  Will they finally find out what happened to Beth?

My thoughts on this book:

·       I LOVED the on-point references to the stores of the malls in the 1990s, movies, music, and books.  I loved and read R.L. Stine and Christopher Pike teen horror novels.  I enjoy hearing them referenced and titles that I read and enjoyed.  Reading this book brought me back to that place in time.  I was the exact age of the characters in 1994 so it made this an especially fun read.

·       Jane Austen was also referenced several times.

·       The audiobook had great multicast narration to tell the story including interviews.  I liked that it also showed on the audiobook who the narrator was of each section.

·       The genres were mystery, thriller, time travel, horror, 90’s nostalgia, and LGBTQIA+.

·       It had a dual timeline between 1994 and 2024.

·       There was a sad statement how 1994 was a more innocent time for the characters’ lives as it was before Columbine, 9/11, endless wars, etc.  It made me sad realizing it was a true statement.

·       I liked how the characters are looking back as adults at their teenage choices and realizing they didn’t always make good ones.  Life also did not turn out for them the way they thought it would when they were in high school.

·       All the characters had secrets.

·       The ending surprised me as I kept thinking everything did it.  I’m still thinking about it.

Overall, Night of the Mallrats by Nicolina Torres was a fun time travel mystery with some elements of horror.  This book was made for you if you grew up in the 1990s or are a fan of the era. 

Falling for You by Natasha Madison

 

Title:  Falling for You

Author:  Natasha Madison

Narrated by:  Teddy Hamilton, Samantha Brentmoor

Publisher: Blackstone Publishing

Length: Approximately 8 hours and 4 minutes

Source: Thank you, Partner @bibliolifestyle @blackstonepublishing for the physical book review copy.  Audiobook purchased from Audible.

How are the fall colors where you live?  We are starting to get color now in Northeast Wisconsin and it is beautiful on my drives.

Collins and Theo shared a passionate one-night stand which ended when Theo snuck away while Collins slept.  Two months later, Collins discovers she is pregnant. She runs into Theo again and discovers his identify. When she breaks the news of her pregnancy to him, will Theo decide to stay or go?  Can Collins move on from her family’s criminal and neglectful past?

My thoughts on this audiobook:

·       This is the first book in a new series.  I am looking forward to the rest of this series!

·       This book was delightful on audiobook.  There were two different narrators, for the dual first-person narration of both Collins and Theo.  The female narrator did voices for all the different characters.  They were both expressive narrators.  I loved it!

·       The genres for this book were contemporary romance, small town romance, accidental pregnancy, and mystery.

·       I felt bad that Collins was saddled with a bad family, and it was hard to move on from it.

·       This romance was spicey almost immediately with short scenes of spice throughout the novel.

·       There were two epilogues to this story, and I would have read more.  I was sad for it to end.

·       There was a bit of a mystery solved at the end of the book, but the mystery of who shot Sierra at the beginning of the book was never solved.  Did I miss something?

·       Theo develops from a player to a great romantic partner.  I loved how he pampered and cared for Collins.  I liked the growth of both characters throughout the novel.

Overall, Falling for You by Natasha Madison was an engaging contemporary romance with great characters.  It was excellent on audiobook.  I look forward to seeing the characters again as more books come out in this series.

Jane Austen: A Life by Claire Tomalin

 

Title:  Jane Austen:  A Life

Author:  Claire Tomalin

Narrated by:  Danielle Cohen

Publisher: Echo Point Books & Media, LLC

Length: Approximately 13 hours and 45 minutes

Source: Purchased from Audible.

What person would you like to read a biography about?

Claire Tomalin writes a complete biography of famous author Jane Austen.  This biography shows that contrary to what the family published after her death, Austen did have a lot going on with her life with constantly moving.  She also interacted with a variety of interesting family members, neighbors, and family friends.  She was able to take her study of humanity to write wonderful novels that still delight the masses today.

My thoughts on this book:

·       This was an August pick for the JASNA Northwoods Book Club.

·       Tomalin suggested that Henry Austen may have been an inspiration for both Wickham and Henry Tilney.  It was interesting to think about.

·       This was very interesting to listen to on audiobook.

·       I had read this great biography of Jane Austen twenty plus years ago.  It was great to reread it again after all of this time.

·       I would classify this read as nonfiction, biography, Jane Austen, and audiobook.

·       There was more detail on Austen’s neighbors in this book than I needed.

·       This is a great book for readers who want to know more about Austen.  It gives a good understanding of Jane Austen’s world which I find helpful when reading her works.

·       I was sad again that most of Austen’s letters were destroyed.  We could learn so much more about her life if they still existed.

·       I liked the literary analysis of Austen’s works.

·       The author does speculate on parts of Austen’s life, especially her younger years.

Overall, Jane Austen:  A Life by Claire Tomalin is a very readable biography that gives a great overview of a beloved author and her world.

 

The Things We Leave Unfinished by Rebecca Yarros

 

Title:  The Things We Leave Unfinished

Author:  Rebecca Yarros

Narrated by:  Tim Paige, Carly Robins

Publisher: Tantor Audio

Length: Approximately 14 hours and 32 minutes

Source: Checked out from Libby through the Kewaunee Public Library

What is a book that you would recommend as a good book club read?

Georgia Stanton has just gone through a brutal divorce.  Back home in Colorado, she is going through her best-selling author Great Grandma Scarlett’s estate and learns that author Noah Harrison has been signed by the publisher to finish Scarlett’s unfinished manuscript.  Georgia thinks Noah is arrogant and not the right man for the job.  As they read Scarlett’s manuscript and letters, sparks fly between them, and they fight how to end the novel.  It’s based on Scarlett’s real WWII romance with a pilot which did not end happily.  Should Noah end the book with the sad real ending or the happy ending that were the trademark of Scarlett’s romance novels?

My thoughts on this novel:

·       This was the August selection for the Rogue Book Club.  We all read this book and enjoyed it.  It prompted a good discussion. 

·       It was an engaging audiobook with great narrators.

·       I enjoyed both the contemporary and WWII romance.

·       I loved Jameson and Scarlett’s romance.  Scarlett wants to marry the man she loves and not the man her parents want her to marry to save the family estate   Can you really move on when your one great love is killed in WWII? 

·       Noah was able to help Georgia move on from her terrible divorce and to truly heal.

·       Scarlett and Constance were sisters who were always there for each other.

·       I would classify this novel as historical fiction, historical romance, dual timeline, and contemporary.

Overall, The Things We Leave Unfinished by Rebecca Yarros was a compelling historical and contemporary dual timeline novel.

Little Women & Good Wives by Louisa May Alcott

 

Title:  Little Women

Author:  Louisa May Alcott

Narrated by:  Jennifer Woodward

Publisher: Saga Egmont

Length: Approximately 10 hours and 11 minutes

Source: Checked out from Hoopla through the Kewaunee Public Library

 

Title:  Good Wives

Author:  Louisa May Alcott

Narrated by:  Lorelei King

Publisher: Audible Studios

Length: Approximately 9 hours and 11 minutes

Source: Purchased from Audible.

What is a positive book that improves your mood when you read it?  Little Women is just such a book for me.

Little Women is the story of the trials and tribulations of the four March sisters.  Meg is the eldest and is beautiful and caring. Jo is independent and fearless, Beth is musical and timid, and Amy is artistic and vain.  The country is in the midst of the Civil War and their father is gone having joined the Union war effort.  The girls and their mother, Marmee, and housekeeper, Hannah, work to keep their household going and to help their community.

My thoughts on this novel:

·       This was great on audiobook and both narrators were very expressive and a joy to listen to. The first audiobook that I listened to ended at the middle of what I think of as Little Women.  I had to go and get Good Wives separately to finish the story as the girls grow older and marry.  This is originally how the books were published, but most modern editions have both books packaged together as Little Women.

·       This book was the July pick for the Back to the Classics Book Club at the Kewaunee Public library.  We enjoyed it.  It’s an overall happy book which we discussed at book club is rare for a classic novel. We watched and enjoyed the 2019 adaptation of the novel.

·       As an adult with every reread, I am struck by Marmee’s talk with Jo on how she has a bad temper and how as an adult, she has had to work hard to keep her calm appearance and keep her anger in. It is so interesting and it provides such a depth to Marmee’s character.  She is a great mother who supported her daughters to become great women.

·       I loved how the sisters had their disagreements as all sisters do, but they support and love each other.

·       Amy and Jo spar but are a lot alike.  They are both passionate about their art and want a different life than the traditional pathway of marriage for females at the time.

·       I’ve read this book many times in my life, and I have loved it every time.

·       This novel is based on Louisa May Alcott’s real life and family.  At times now, I get real life and the novel confused. 

·       I loved how they help the immigrant Hummel family and give them their Christmas dinner.  The Hummels are a poor fatherless German Immigrant family.  I love the Christian message of helping the “stranger” in our midst.

 

Overall, Little Women by Louisa May Alcott is an uplifting and timeless classic that is well worth a read, or multiple reads.

Daughters of the Sun and Moon by Lisa See

Title:  Daughters of the Sun and Moon

Author:  Lisa See 

Narrated by:  Jennifer Lim, Quanna Luo Masterson, Emily Woo Zeller, Lisa See

Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio

Length: Approximately 14 hours and 31 minutes 

Source: Thank-you to @simon.audio #SimonAudioInfluence for the audiobook review copy.

Who is an auto read author for you?  Lisa See is an auto read author for me. I always love her riveting historical fiction.

In 1870, three different Chinese women arrived in Los Angeles.  Chinese women were scarce at that time, and all three were arriving into very different situations.  Dove is a pampered daughter with bound feet and is coming to be the second wife to a wealthy merchant.  Petal is the daughter of peasants who have sold her into a life of prostitution to try to avoid starvation.  Moon is married to a traditional doctor of Chinese medicine and is joining him.  All three women are hailed as beauties.  As they get settled into their new lives, turmoil occurs due to waring factions between rival gangs and anti-Chinese sentiments.  Will all three women survive, and can they thrive?

My thoughts on this novel:

• I had never heard of the 1871 massacre in Los Angeles.  It was horrifying to learn about it.  It was a race riot against Chinese immigrants.  Have we as an immigrant nation learned from our mistakes or are we doomed to repeat them?

• I love Lisa See’s novels and how she highlights unique to me parts of women’s history.

• This was great on audiobook.  There were different narrators for the three different women and their viewpoints.

• I was also horrified to learn that slavery continued after it was outlawed by the Emancipation Proclamation.  Young Chinese women were sold by their families in China to be shipped to the United States to either be wives or women of the night.

• The story is told through a dual timeline between 1870 and 1920.  In 1920, they are looking back at memories.

• The women had to live through so much.  I was glad they had each other and their friendship to make it through.

• Moon loved her husband and longs for a child.

• Dove is an ornament for her old husband, but when she is kidnapped, she finds her inner strength.

• I loved how Petal started growing herbs and trying to plan for a life outside of prostitution.

• There is a great author’s note at the end of the novel with the detailed history.  I was moved by the reading of the names of all of those killed in the massacre.

Overall, Daughters of the Sun and Moon by Lisa See was a riveting historical fiction novel with compelling characters set during a place and time that I learned a lot about.  I highly recommend this novel and audiobook.

A Founding Mother by Stephanie Dray and Laura Kamoie

 

Title:  A Founding Mother

Author:  Stephanie Dray and Laura Kamoie

Narrated by:  Cassandra Campbell

Publisher: William Morrow

Length: Approximately 17 hours and 20 minutes

Source: Audiobook from NetGalley and physical book review copy from William Morrow Books.  Thank-you!

What is your ultimate go-to reading snack or beverage?

Abigail Adams was the second first lady of the United States and the mother to another president.  She married John Adams when she was young, and she raised their young family often alone as John worked towards American independence.  Through their correspondence, Abigail let John know what her thoughts where on issues including the importance to her of the rights of women.  How will their relationship survive the stress of loss, war, separation and financial woes?

My thoughts on this novel:

·       I read this book in July to celebrate the 250^th birthday of the United States of America.

·       In order for John Adams to do what he did for our country; he needed a strong woman behind him to talk through his ideas and who kept the home and family going when he couldn’t be there.

·       The loneliness of John being gone for so long would be hard.  Their kid were also left for years without their parents.  It makes me wonder what impact it had on their children.

·       Alcoholism ran in the family, and it was divesting for Abigail to see the impact on her children.  It made this family very relatable.

·       It was gruesome that Nabby had her breast removed because she had breast cancer . . . without anesthesia!

·       I love the cover and beautiful dress.

·       This was a July 2026 Reese book club pick.

·       I loved learning more about Abigail Adams.

·       This was great on audiobook with a fabulous narrator that I always enjoy - Cassandra Campbell.

·       The book takes place from 1760 to 1814.

·       This is a biographical historical fiction book. 

·       The book is told from Abigail’s perspective.

·       It was sad that John Adams and Thomas Jefferson went from being friends to enemies that Abigail got caught up in it as well.

·       Abigail did get some adventures traveling with John after they had so many separations.

·       There was a great and very detailed author’s note at the end on the real history behind the book.

Overall, A Founding Mother by Stephanie Dray and Laura Kamoie was a fascinating historical fiction look into the life of Abigail Adams.

The Anxious Generation by Jonathan Haidt

 

Title:  The Anxious Generation:  How the Great Rewiring of Childhood is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness

Author:  Jonathan Haidt

Narrated by:  Sean Pratt, Jonathan Haidt

Publisher: Penguin Audio

Length: Approximately 10 hours and 32 minutes

Source: Audiobook checked out from Libby through the Kewaunee Public Library.  Physical book purchased from Amazon.com

What book is a “must read” that you would recommend?

We are in a public health crisis right now as youth mental health has collapsed.  My own small town has been rocked by teen suicide.  How did we get to this point in our society?  Author Jonathan Haidt digs into the numbers and details.  At the same time that we as society started to overprotect our kids, we allowed them no protection to the online world.  The online world responded by using methods to get kids addicted to apps, video games, and p&^n.  This book details what happened and how we can try to change this trajectory.

My thoughts on this book:

·       A friend highly recommend this nonfiction book to me last year and I finally got to reading it in July. 

·       I highly recommend that all parents of teenage or younger children read this book.  It’s important information on how teens today have a much different experience growing up than we did, which is impacting their mental health.

·       I listened to this on audiobook which was great and kept me fully engaged.  I did end up purchasing the physical copy so that I could see the graphs that were referenced in the audiobook.

·       I was hoping for tips on what to do if your child is already swept into the anxiety caused by social media and having their own phone, but there wasn’t much there.  Pandora’s box has been opened and there is no shutting it.

·       The book did have good tips for schools, society planners, etc. and good tips if you have not yet given your child a phone.

·       The book goes into the throw away line of “well parents shouldn’t let their kids have phones” which I often hear grandparent aged adults say. Not letting kids have phones indefinitely can caused them to be shamed at school for not having one.  It’s more about what is the appropriate age and that they should not be being used in schools.  It’s also easy for kids to work around limits set by adults. 

·       The author and his research have been in the news this summer with court cases against social media.

·       This book has inspired me in several ways.

Overall, The Anxious Generation by Jonathan Haidt is a must read and the book I have been recommending to other since I have read it. 

 

An Inconvenient Widow by Lois Romano

 

Title:  An Inconvenient Widow

Author:  Lois Romano

Narrated by:  Cassandra Campbell

Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio

Length: Approximately 15 hours and 28 minutes

Source: Thank-you to  @simon.audio #SimonAudioInfluence for the audiobook review copy and #HistoryBuffsBookClub @History_In_Five  for the physical copy.

Do you have a favorite first lady or woman in history that you like to read about?  I have enjoyed reading about the First Ladies of the United States of America since I was a kid.

Mary Todd grew up as a part of Southern aristocracy in Kentucky with a keen interest in politics.  She had a goal to marry a future president and she was key in pushing Abraham Lincoln to greatness.  After his assassination, she was vilified in her widowhood and committed to an asylum by her own son. Who was this complicated “brilliant and flawed” woman?

My thoughts on this book:

·       Peers thought that Lincoln was smart but needed Mary to push him to achieve his heights.  This was forgotten after his death and Mary Todd Lincoln’s character was assassinated.

·       Lincoln died without a will, and the executor didn’t give Mary much to live on for two years.

·       Mary probably did have an undiagnosed mental problem, but a lot of her physical problems seemed to be due to undiagnosed diabetes.

·       In a time when women were not involved in politics, Mary had tenacity and a drive forward.

·       Did Mary have a compulsive shopping addition?  Her behaviors meet a modern-day diagnosis. She would swing between being very cheap to wildly overspending. She wanted to decorate the White House as befitted the presidency but didn’t realize the optics of how spending sprees would look with the country at war.  She also would accept what she thought were “gifts” from merchants only to get bills sent to the White House later.

·       She endorsed the Union cause, which is not what others said about her as she was from Kentucky and had half brothers that fought for the south.  She visited wounded soldiers, but this would not be discussed by the press and was not widely known for decades.  She found solace in comforting others.

·       It’s sad that Mary’s only remaining son, Robert, treated her the way he did.  He seemed to be focused on controlling Mary’s money.

·       This was riveting on audiobook with a great narrator.  The physical book has great pictures as well as detailed notes at the end.

·       It was interesting that Waukesha, Wisconsin was once a hotbed of spiritualism after the Civil War.  Mary spent a lot of time visiting Wisconsin and Waukesha after the war.

·       One of the saddest lines was that at the age of 52, Mary had lost three of her sons, her husband, and her parents.  Besides her estranged son Robert, she was alone in the world. 

Overall, An Inconvenient Widow by Lois Romano was a fascinating look into the life of Mary Todd Lincoln, in particular, on how she was treated after Abraham Lincoln’s assassination.  I was riveted by this book.

The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood

Title:  The Love Hypothesis

Author:  Ali Hazelwood

Narrated by:  Callie Dalton, Teddy Hamilton

Publisher: Penguin Audio

Length: Approximately 11 hours and 51 minutes

Source: Checked out from Audible through Amazon Music.

Olive Smith is a PhD student who has a personal reason for researching early methods of detection for pancreatic cancer as her mother died of it when Olive was just a teen.  She doesn’t have time for romance. When her best friend Anh falls for Jeremy, a guy she had been on a few casual dates with, she decides that she needs a fake relationship so that Anh can move happily forward with Jeremy. She kisses the first available man who happens to be Dr. Adam Carlson. While handsome, smart, and aloof, he is also known as a tyrant to the grad students.  Adam agrees to the scheme in order to convince the higher ups that he is not going to leave Stanford.  Will this fake relationship develop into something more?

My thoughts on this novel:

·       This was my pick for the September Rogue Book Club in anticipation of the new Prime movie.  We were looking for a light, fun read and this fit the bill.  Only three of us made it to book club this month, two out of three read it and loved it.  It had interesting points to talk about for a book club discussion a well.

·       I enjoyed the funny, witty banter.  I laughed out loud more than once while listening to this audiobook.  Great humor.

·       I was annoyed when Olive didn’t tell Adam the whole truth at times and kept things to herself.  Luckily, the truth all comes about on both sides by the end.

·       I loved the science and academia setting.  It was unique to the romance world.  I was an engineering grad student once upon a time and could relate to many items in this book.

·       This novel was very steamy towards the end of the novel with one very long spicy scene over two chapters.

·       The side characters were great in this novel.  I especially loved the romance between Malcom and Holden.

·       This book could be classified as fake dating, sunshine versus grumpy, and contemporary romance.

·       I loved their meet cute from years before when Adam inspired Olive.  She couldn’t see him with eye issues with her expired contacts.

·       I also loved that Adam supported Olive with feeling positive about herself and her research. Women are not represented well in STEM and there is an incident in this book that characterizes one reason why.

·       I did feel kind of icky about the professor and grad student dating, even if it wasn’t his grad student.  We had a professor that dated his own grad and undergrad students when I was in college, and it was very cringe.  When is it okay for a professor to date a student at his/her college?

Overall, The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood is a fun, witty, and delightful contemporary romance set in the academia and STEM world.  I laughed out loud and highly recommend it.  It also has enough teeth to provide many discussion points for a book club.