Miss Austen by Gill Hornby

Cassandra Austen has outlived her famous sister by many years and has become the curator of her legacy.  Now at the end of her life, she knows there are incrementing letters left that she must destroy.  She visits the home of her late fiancé Tom Fowles family, to search for the letters.  Will she find the letters and what secrets is she trying to keep?

 Miss Austen had an interesting make-up.  It was set in Cassandra’s older years and we get to know several of the next generation of the Fowles and Austen family.  Cassandra would read Jane’s letters or her own and then there would be a flash back to that moment in time.  It was an interesting way to get to know everyone and I felt like this novel fleshed out Cassandra’s psyche.  It is very much Cassandra’s novel with Jane as an elusive character.  It did give a great explanation for the years that Jane was not writing.

 It took until the end of the novel to learn why the letters had to be destroyed as there were no major revelations.  It was letters that told of “Jane’s distress and Cassy’s dismay.” Cassandra seemed overly protective of Jane and wanted to ensure the future did not see that she like to pick on the characteristics of people just as she does in her novels.  I don’t think I realized before this novel that there was a third Lloyd sister.  Mary was married to the oldest Austen son, James, and Martha was their loyal friend and future wife of Frank.  I didn’t realize there was a third sister, Elizabeth, that was married to Tom Fowles’s older brother.  This older brother, Fulwar Craven, was the Vicar of Kintbury.  At his death, Cassandra has arrived at his home to look through letters that were sent to his wife Elizabeth.  The connections were very interesting to me and I was glad there was a description of them at the start of the novel.

 Favorite Quotes:

“For whoever looked at an elderly lady and saw the young heroine she once was?”

 “Cassandra was the executor of her sister’s estate:  the keeper of her flame; the protector of her legacy.  In the time that was left to her, she was determined to find and destroy any evidence that might compromise Jane’s reputation.  It was simply imperative that those letters did not fall into the wrong hands.”

 Overall, this is a slow gentle tale that finally gives us Cassandra’s story and interesting thoughts to ponder on Jane herself.

 Book Source:  Kewaunee Public Library.  Thank-you.

Mr. Pembroke’s Ward by Ashley J. Barner and Jennifer Sanders

Hugh Pembroke’s good friend Lord Carstairs has died suddenly.  He has entrusted his friend Mr. Pembroke with the guardianship of his daughter, Lettie.  Lettie was born to Lord Carstairs while he was in Antigua and secretly married to her mother, who was an enslaved woman.  Lord Carstairs father, the Viscount, is enraged to discover this secret marriage, and wants to ensure that Lettie is not acknowledged and is not allowed to inherit. As Mr. Pembroke and Lettie settle into their new life, they befriend their neighbors, the Nibleys, and their governess Aoife Donnelly.  What is Miss Donnelly’s secret?  Will Lettie be safe from her Grandfather?  Will she ever see her mother again?  What secret is Mr. Pembroke keeping?

 I liked that the story in Mr. Pembroke’s Ward included the story of slavery in the Regency world.  Lord Carstairs married an enslaved woman and freed her, but their biracial daughter is not wanted by her paternal grandfather.  I thought this was very sad and even more sad

was the fact that Mrs. Carstairs is a freed woman left on the estate working essentially as an enslaved woman.  I wanted to know even more about this storyline.  There is a bit a white savor moment with Mr. Pembroke helping Mrs. Carstairs and the slaves left on the estate, but I thought she seemed like a strong woman herself.  I really want a novel with her and Lord Carstairs’s romance.

 I’ll admit, I thought this was going to be a typical Regency romance between Mr. Pembroke and Miss Donnelly, but I was thrown for a loop when Mr. Pembroke is revealed to be a Werewolf.  I missed the part where there was paranormal in this novel.  I was not sure about this at first, but then I enjoyed the slight bit of paranormal in the novel.  I thought the strongest part of the story was the relationship between Mr. Pembroke and his ward Lettie.  I really liked how he was able to build a family throughout the novel.

 Overall, Mr. Pembroke’s Ward is an interesting supernatural Regency romance with a look into slavery in the West Indies at the time, and a biracial romance.  I liked this unique story.

 Book Source:  Review Copy from author Jennifer Sanders.  Thank-you!

Catherine House by Elisabeth Thomas

Ines is alone and scared after a mysterious incident her senior year of high school.  Luckily, she has been accepted into the prestigious Catherine House.  It’s a school of higher learning with a three-year plan.  Part of this plan is cutting off contact with the outside world including your family and wearing the same clothes as everyone else.  Ines at first feels adrift at the school, but she makes friends and starts to realize that things are not quite right at the school.  There is a mysterious program, Plasm, that was ridiculed on the outside world and dismissed as a hoax, but Ines discovers it is still alive and active at Catherine House.  What is this mysterious Plasm curriculum and how does it impact the students?

 

I’ll admit the book was a bit slow for me at first.  You are following the prospective of Ines who is drunk and confused a lot at the start of the book.  Luckily, she settles down, makes friends, and starts to investigate.  Ines was running from something in her past that is alluded to, but not fully fleshed out.  I wish we would have learned more about that. It did stay consistent with the rest of the story and the confused thoughts of Ines.  I appreciated that this was the freshman class of 1996, which was the year I graduated from high school and started college.  There were a few references to music and CD players, but once at Catherine House, students are not allowed those luxuries.  It was also strange as you started getting into what was going on at this prestigious school of learning, it was very cult like and creepy.  I liked it.

 SPOILER ALERT:

Let’s talk about that ending.  I thought the ending was quite good.  Ines discovers that Catherine House is looking for lost souls like herself to use as part of the overall experiment.  They basically get plugged into the system and stay static in body and without thought.  Ines seems to be heading to that fate, but luckily through help from her friends she is able to escape to the outside.  What will happen to Ines now?  It’s interesting to think about.  Will the experiments ever be stopped at Catherine House?  Would she ever go back and set Baby free?

SPOILER END

Favorite Quote:

“But what if the space between this world and eternity wasn’t a happy place?  What if it was infinitely lonely and sad?”

Overall, Catherine House was a unique suspense novel with a flawed narrator.  I liked the concept and thought the ending gave one a lot to think about.

Book Source:  Review Copy from William Morrow.  Thank-you!

The German Heiress by Anika Scott

Is there a way to move on after World War II if you were part of the Nazi war machine?

 Clara Falkenberg was young, beautiful, and had a head for business.  She ran her family’s ironworks during World War II and was called the “Iron Fraulein” in the Nazi propaganda. Clara escaped before the end of the war and has been living under an assumed name.

  She finally returns to her hometown to try to track down her best friend Elisa and Elisa’s son Willy.  She is tracked along the way by a British officer who wants to see her in jail for her war crimes.  Will Clara find Elisa and Willy?  What secrets will she uncover?  Can she move on from what happened during the war?

 The German Heiress was a fast-paced suspense novel and I very much enjoyed it.  I liked the shades of grey that the plot involved.  Clara was part of the Nazi regime and she did use forced labor from other countries.  She did know it was wrong and tried to help when

she could, but was it enough?  Is she a criminal?  This is something that has fascinated me for years.  We had a local gentleman that was a guard for a very short period of time in a concentration camp and they were trying to extradite him when he was in his 90’s.  At what point should people be accountable for their actions?  Can you ever be forgiven?  I liked that Clara was a strong female lead and that this story was set after World War II in Germany, which is a time period that is not often covered in historical fiction novels.

 Overall, The German Heiress was a compelling suspense and historical fiction novel with a strong female lead and an interesting moral quandary.

 Book Source:  Review Copy from William Morrow.  Thank-you!

Becoming by Michelle Obama

Title:  Becoming

Author: Michelle Obama

Read by:  Michelle Obama

Publisher: Penguin Random House Audio Publishing Group

Length: Approximately 19 hours and 10 minutes

Source: Overdrive through the Kewaunee Public Library 

Who is an inspirational figure in your life?  What put you on the path to where you are now?  Michelle Obama did not think growing up on the South side of Chicago that she would be one day be the first lady of the United States living in the White House.  Although she had a high school counselor who thought she had dreams too big to reach, she luckily had a supportive family that helped her to achieve her dreams.  Why would a high school counselor tell someone that they CAN’T do something?  Unfortunately, I heard this again in the current audiobook I’m listening to (Olympic Pride, American Prejudice).

I have been wanting to listen to this audiobook for quite some time and it was finally readily available in my library system.  I really liked listening to Michelle Obama read her audiobook herself.  She spoke with a conversational tone that made me feel like I was talking to a friend about her life.  Michelle wrote about her childhood, her marriage, children, career, and years in the White House.  I really loved her frank discussion on being a working mother and the choices that she has had to make.  As a fellow working mother, it was very relatable.  I too went down to part time after I had kids for six years and I also have had to reevaluate what I want to do in life and where I can make the most impact. You always get pushed to the highest paid jobs, but will they make the most difference in life?  I loved not only her story of meeting and falling in love with Barack, but how they had to work on making their marriage work.

As an engineer in the wastewater and water field, I LOVED that Michelle Obama’s father was a water operator at a water utility.  That was fantastic.  Obama’s childhood in South Chicago was relatable and similar to my upbringing with a big family in rural Michigan.

I love that Obama has made it her life mission to help to inspire people, especially young women, to be able to move beyond their circumstances and work towards their dreams.  It was inspiring to me.  “For every door that’s been opened to me, I’ve tried to open my door to others. And here is what I have to say, finally: Let’s invite one another in. Maybe then we can begin to fear less, to make fewer wrong assumptions, to let go of the biases and stereotypes that unnecessarily divide us. Maybe we can better embrace the ways we are the same. It’s not about being perfect. It’s not about where you get yourself in the end. There’s power in allowing yourself to be known and heard, in owning your unique story, in using your authentic voice. And there’s grace in being willing to know and hear others. This, for me, is how we become.”

“His money went largely toward books, which to him were like sacred objects, providing ballast for his mind.” I loved learning that Barack Obama is an obsessive reader just like me.  I also loved learning about how thoughtful his is in making decisions and working toward the good of all mankind.

I do have to admit that it all seemed relatable up to the point when Obama learned her daughter’s BMI was creeping up and she needed to figure out how to eat heathier with a packed schedule.  I thought – I’m in that exact same predicament.  But then she solved it by hiring a chef to come in a couple times a week and make healthy meals.  I laughed out loud!  I wish there would have been some tips on how to make it work if you don’t hire a chef and have limited time.

I have been obsessed with first lady biographies / autobiographies since I was a child.  I enjoy reading them and learning about all of our first ladies.  From the last few, I really enjoyed this one and Laura Bush’s book, Spoken from the Heart.  They were both relatable and made me feel like I would like to go to a BBQ with them and their families.  I tried to read Hilary Clinton’s autobiography when it first came out and could not get into it.  Unlike Bush and Obama’s books, it did not seem personable, but more of a political book to thank people and prove points.

I watched the Netflix Documentary Becoming while I was listening to this audiobook and I loved it.  It had highlights that were in the book but had other information that was not in the book. It also put faces to the names I was hearing about in the book and I really liked that.

Overall, Becoming was not only a great autobiography of a first lady, but a great book about finding your place in the world and inspiring others.  I really enjoyed it and the audiobook was a joy to listen to.