Toll-Gate Review on Austenprose Today as part of the Georgette Heyer Celebration!

I am excited to be a part of 'Celebrating Georgette Heyer' this month on Austenprose. Today I am a guest reviewer of The Toll-Gate as part of the celebration.

Originally published in 1954, The Toll-Gate is a regency novel by Georgette Heyer. Unlike the other books I’ve read by Heyer, The Toll-Gate is not so much a regency romance as a regency mystery with a bit of romance. The novel is set in 1817 in the Peak District, which is an upland area in north central England mainly in Derbyshire (which is also the setting for many scenes in Pride and Prejudice).

Captain Jack Staple is on his way to visit a friend, when he discovers a toll-gate untended except for a small boy. He quickly discovers a mystery in the disappearance of the boy’s father and decides to pretend to be a mysterious cousin to the boy to investigate the case.

For the rest, please check out my review on Austenprose. Also tune in to Austenprose for a chance to win a copy of The Toll-Gate. I must admit that this is the only Georgette Heyer novel that I've read that I didn't care for particularly. Don't let this turn you off - I have loved all of her other novels. Have you read The Toll-Gate? What did you think?

Stay tuned for another guest blog on Austenprose about Sprig Muslin on Sunday!

The Swan Thieves by Elizabeth Kostova (Audiobook)

The Swan Thieves is a journey of love and discovery through two different centuries. Psychiatrist Andrew Marlow has a patient that both fascinates and frustrates. Robert Oliver is a famous painter that seemingly attacks a painting at random one day at the National Gallery of Art. He refuses to talk after the incident and is entrusted to Dr. Marlow’s care.

Marlow becomes obsessed with determining Oliver’s motivation. With a patient that won’t speak, Marlow talks to the women in Oliver’s life, his ex-wife Kate and former lover Mary and slowly begins to piece together Oliver’s life. But the real mystery is - who is the beautiful, unexplained woman that appears in Oliver’s paintings? Why does Oliver keep painting her obsessively and where can Marlow find her?

Adding to the mystery, Oliver has a packet of old letters written in French between two painters, Beatrice de Cleval and her mentor/uncle-in-law Olivier Vignot. Marlow has the letters translated and slowly tries to determine how the letters have affected Oliver. Beatrice and Olivier Vignot’s story is quite poignant and is told through different letters sprinkled throughout the course of the novel. I especially loved how Beatrice was a woman painter during the great Impressionist movement in France that was dominated by men.

Andrew Marlow uncovers the mystery by unraveling the different layers through the course of the novel and finds love along the way for himself.

I enjoyed this audiobook. I leisurely listened to it all summer. It was a great mystery told through many tiers. The book often reminded me of another great novel, Possession by A.S. Byatt. I like novels that make you think and that are more attune to a leisurely stroll rather than a quick sprint. It’s nice to read a novel that is so unique and different than the typical run of the mill novel. The ending was very satisfying.

The aspect I liked the best about the audiobook is that the different viewpoints are told through many different narrators. I feel this really brings the book to life. Treat Williams read Dr. Andrew Marlowe, Anne Heche read Kate Oliver, Sarah Zimmerman read Beatrice de Clerval Vignot, Erin Cottrell read Mar Bertison, and John Rafter Lee read Olivier Vignot. I really liked the distinct voices. It is also funny that the book centers on the silent Robert Oliver who does not have a voice of his own.

The only aspect of the novel I didn’t like is that sometimes I thought Dr. Marlow was a bit too obsessed with Robert Oliver’s case. But there wouldn’t be a novel without the obsession!
I read Elizabeth Kostova’s first novel The Historian years ago when it first was published and loved it. I have read many unflattering reviews of The Swan Thieves in comparison to The Historian. The two novels are very different. I would suggest if you’ve read The Historian to not read The Swan Thieves with expectations for the same story. The Swan Thieves is its own unique story that is more of a walk compared to the sprint of The Historian. It’s a walk I thoroughly enjoyed listening too.

Book Source: Review Copy from Hachette Book Group. Thank-you!

Small Town Girl by LaVyrle Spencer

Tess McPhail is a superstar country singer that has returned to her small town after 18-years of making it to the big time in order to care for her mother, Mary. Mary will be having hip surgery and Tess’ older sisters have decided it is her turn to care for Mary.

Tess secretly resents having to give up her busy career to return to small town living. She is also hurt that her mother doesn’t seem to value the gifts that Tess sends and will not let her build her a new house. She almost finds herself a stranger with her mother after so many years. They don’t really understand one another. Tess dutifully helps her mother through surgery and stays for four weeks to help her get back on her feet, literally.

Tess has two older sisters, Judy and Renee. Judy is a hairstylist and has great resentment for Tess and her fame. It doesn’t help that Tess thinks that Judy has let herself go and could stand to lose a few pounds. Renee and Tess get along great, but Renee is busy helping her daughter prepare for her wedding.

Her first night in town, Mary’s neighbor, Kenny Kronek, stops by with salt for the softener. He walks right in and annoys Tess by ignoring her presence. Kenny remembers Tess as a stuck-up high school girl, and Tess remembers Kenny as a klutzy nerd. The two clash at first, but slowly Tess sees how Kenny is an important part of her family’s life and she also loves Kenny’s daughter Casey. Casey has an amazing voice and Tess is determined to help start her career.

Will Tess be able to change her life to keep her family at the heart while maintaining her high profile career? Will Tess be able to find love . . . with the boy next door?
Truthfully I thought this novel was okay, but not the greatest. I feel bad as it is the September FLICKS book club selection and I know a couple people in my book club love this book. I just didn’t fall in love with the romance in this novel.

SPOILER ALERT

Tess’s hatred for Kenny at the beginning of the novel felt forced and I didn’t really like them together. I really didn’t like how Kenny has had a girlfriend for eight years, Faith, and she seems to be a wonderful woman. But although Kenny and Casey love her and she is an important part of their life, they seem to have no problem throwing her away for Tess. I did like how Kenny was able to put his business on the back burner to be a part of Tess’s life. I guess overall I didn’t feel the chemistry between the two leads that I would expect in a romance novel. I also am not a country music fan, but I don’t think that lessoned my enjoyment of the novel.

SPOILER END

Overall, I thought Small Town Girl was an okay novel. I did enjoy reading it, but didn’t love it. I much preferred Spencer’s Bittersweet to this novel. Am I the only person who didn’t love this book? What are your thoughts if you have read it?

Book Source: The Kewaunee Public Library

The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas

My friend Laura Hivala recommended The Count of Monte Cristo to me many years ago. I bought it upon her recommendation and it sat neglected on my shelf until this year when I finally picked it up for The Classics Challenge. Laura told me that this was her favorite book for many reasons, but the main one was how she loved how the Count of Monte Cristo slowly and methodically plots and enacts his revenge. I enjoyed the same aspect of the novel, and was also surprised at how this “classic” is a real page turner. Sadly Laura passed away earlier this year at the age of 32. It would have been great to discuss this book with her as we discussed so many books in the past.

Edmund Dantes is living a blessed life. After the unfortunate death of his captain, Edmund takes over control of his ship the Pharaon and sails it back successfully to his homeport of Marseilles. Awaiting Edmund is his beautiful fiancée Mercedes and his beloved father. The owner of the ship, Monsieur Morrel, respects Edmund and his hard work and promotes him to captain. Upon his promotion, Edmund is finally able to marry Mercedes and they have a betrothal breakfast to celebrate the upcoming marriage.

Jealousy eats away at Fernand Mondego, Danglars, and Gaspard Caderhousse. Fernand is Mercedes’ cousin and is in love with her. It tears him apart to see her so happy with Dantes. Danglars is the supercargo of the Pharaon and would like to be the captain rather than Dantes. Caderhousse is Dante’s father’s creditor. Although he has been paid back, he is rather a mean-spirited man. The three plot together the evening before the betrothal breakfast and their plotting leads to the arrest of Edmund during his betrothal feast.

Edmund is brought before Monsieur de Villefort on charges that he is assisting Napoleon on his return from Elba. De Villefort is about to release Edmund when he discovers that the letter that Dantes was unsuspectingly carrying, was meant for de Villefort’s father, Noirtier, a known adherent of Napoleon. In order to preserve his own family name and status, de Villefort has Dantes thrown into the notorious prison, the Chateau d’If.

Dantes endures a terrible imprisonment, but after a few years, a priest named Faria accidently digs his way into Edmund’s cell. The two become friends and the priest educates Dantes. They hatch an escape plan together and Faria tells Edmund about the location of an immense treasure. After Faria’s death, Edmund has to brave the escape alone. He finds the treasure and reinvents himself as the Count of Monte Cristo.

After 14-years of being unjustly imprisoned, the Count of Monte Cristo researches to find out why exactly he was imprisoned. Once he rewards the man who tried to help him, his old boss M. Morrel, the Count begins upon a plan that will take many years to punish those responsible for his imprisonment. He centers his revenge upon Fernand, Danglars, and de Villefort, all who have gone on to lead very successful lives.

As I stated above, I found The Count of Monte Cristo to be a real page-turner. The first part of the novel which centered upon the imprisonment, escape, and finding of treasure was a fantastic adventure story. The rest of the novel was gripping in a different way as one tried to determine exactly how the Count of Monte Cristo expected to exact his revenge. There were also stories of love and other adventures that centered on the next generation that was born to the villains and heroes during the course of the story. I loved the many characters and was often unable to stop reading in order to find out what was going to happen next in the story.

Although this novel was a book of revenge, the Count of Monte Cristo was also shown at many times to be capable of being able to forgive. I liked this and that he was a really well rounded character. He often took a back-seat to the other characters and their stories during the second half of the novel, but he was the one that was driving the plot.

The one part of the novel that troubled me was that the Count of Monte Cristo owned a slave, Haydee, who is also a part of the plan of revenge. We are first introduced to her when the Count makes some off-color jokes that he does not need a mistress as he has his own slave. Later on though, it is discovered that Haydee is treated like a daughter and that she loves the Count like a father. Still later on it is discovered that Haydee loves the Count more than as a daughter and wants to spend her life with him although she is young enough to be his daughter. I didn’t like the fact that the Count owned a slave and his relationship with her had a certain “ick” factor. I would have rather had him rekindle his romance with Mercedes once the path was cleared.

Overall, it is easy to see why this book has remained a classic through the years. The Count of Monte Cristo is an exciting adventure story, a romance, and a tale of revenge and forgiveness that will keep you up through the night.

Alexandre Dumas himself was an interesting man. Dumas was the son of a general, who himself was the son of a Frenchman and an African woman from the Caribbean. I think it is rather astonishing that I didn’t learn that Dumas was part African until the last few years. To be such a successful writer in France during a time when Africans were enslaved in America is a great story. Dumas actually didn’t do all of his writing himself and employed a stable of writers to help him out as his works were in such high demand. He most likely did write The Count of Monte Cristo. He led a rather extravagant life and built himself his own Chateau de Monte Cristo and eventually had to fell to Belgium to escape his creditors. He died in debt, but his stories have lived on through generations.

I have enjoyed The Man in the Iron Mask by Dumas as well, but I have yet to read his seminal work, The Three Musketeers. Is The Three Musketeers as good as The Count of Monte Cristo? Any opinions?

Book Source: I purchased this book either at Borders or Barnes and Noble many years ago.

Celebrating Georgette Heyer at Austenprose

I am a bit behind the times (I blame our vacation the first week of August up to Houghton for our 10-year college reunion and a ton of work this past week), but Laurel Ann of Austenprose is hosting a wonderful month-long celebration of Georgette Heyer. During the celebration there will be 34 reviews of the Heyer romance novels as well as giveaways of each of these novels. I will be doing guest reviews of The Toll-Gate this Friday August 20th and Sprig Muslin on Sunday August 22nd.

I love Georgette Heyer. Her regency romance novels are wonderful and the next best thing to reading a Jane Austen novel. Heyer's novels are detailed to the period and are often quite humorous. I highly recommend them and am really excited about the Heyer celebration!

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson

I have been meaning to read The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo for the past two years or so. Finally this summer with casting of the American movie and discussion of the novel reaching fever pitch, I decided it was time to finally pick up the novel and see what all of the fuss was about.

The book is a riveting read that I had a hard time putting down. I spent half of the night reading it on our camping trip instead of sleeping. And I’m pregnant and I like to sleep!

The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo is a mystery set in Sweden. Mikael Blomkvist is a financial journalist that has found himself convicted wrongly of libel and is trying to figure out how to salvage his career. At this point, a mysterious elder of a rich Swedish business empire, Henrik Vanger offers Mikael a substantial amount of money and information to redeem himself if Mikael will assist with the forty-year old mystery of Henrik’s Great Niece Harriet’s disappearance. Mikael soon finds himself wrapped up in the secrets of the Vanger family and on the trail of a killer.

Lisbeth Salander is a 24-year old social misfit that is a genius at finding out information about people. She joins Mikael on his search and the two are unstoppable. Lisbeth has her own set of values and it would behoove one to not to wrong her.

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo had a lot of sexual violence in it, which I usually do not like to read about. But somehow the story and the characters made the story so compelling that I couldn’t stop reading it. Mikael and Lisbeth are unique characters unlike anything else I’ve read. I love Lisbeth’s punk attitude and her ability to survive and come out on top of any situation. Mikael’s ability to be a crusader and to try to right the wrongs of this world was very appealing, although his casual love affairs annoyed me at times. The setting in Sweden was also unique and intriguing in its own right. I love reading books that are set in different places.

SPOILER ALERT!! The only thing I disliked was that Mikael and Lisbeth became casual lovers. I thought they worked better as a team that respected one another, but didn’t cross that boundary. I did like that it was Lisbeth’s decision, but still, I didn’t like it over all. SPOILER END.

I have been thinking a lot about this book since I finished it. It is disturbing to think how scary the world is for a woman alone trying to make her way in the world.

Overall, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is a non-stop, unique thriller that will keep you up into the night. I highly recommend it, but do want to put it out there that it has disturbing scenes of sexual violence in the novel.

Book Source: The Kewaunee Public Library

Alone: Orphaned on the Ocean by Richard Logan PhD and Tere Duperrault Fassbender

Alone is a riveting true story of one young girl’s survival against seemingly insurmountable odds.

Green Bay Optician Arthur Duperrault saved money to take his family (wife Jean, 14-year old son Brian, 11-year old daughter Terry Jo, and seven-year old daughter Renee) on an adventure of a lifetime. In the fall of 1961, the family chartered a cruise around the Caribbean on the Bluebell with Captain Julian Harvey and his wife, Dene. The week long cruise is ideal until the fateful end. Captain Harvey is rescued with the body of little Renee and no other survivors are found. As Harvey tried to explain the tragic “accident” at an inquest, surprising news comes in that Terry Jo has been found alive after four days alone at sea. Harvey leaves the inquest and commits suicide in his motel room. What happened on the fateful cruise? How did Terry Jo survive and how did she reclaim her life?

This book was an interesting and horrifying true crime mystery. It gave the background of all of the participants. I especially loved that the book couldn’t describe Green Bay without a paragraph devoted to the beloved Green Bay Packers. Julian Harvey, the handsome captain, was also found out to be much more than he appeared to be. The mystery will never be truly solved, but I thought the theory of what happened was good.

My favorite chapter was the afterward by Tere Duperrault Fassbender where she describes her current life and how she fell in love with her husband. It was difficult to read about all of the troubles Fassbender had since the murder of her family, but it was also uplifting that she was finally able to get the help that she needed and to have the support of a wonderful husband and children.

Fassbender is actually a resident of my small town of Kewaunee, Wisconsin. I wonder if I see her in the Piggly Wiggly when I am shopping. It would be fun to sit down with her at one of my book clubs and talk about this book, but I am too chicken to track her down and ask. One of my book club members had first heard of this book and told us about it. I also read an article in our local paper about it. It was interesting as she is a resident of my town, but it is a good book on its own. It seems like a story that could only be fiction, but unfortunately it is not. I am too young to have heard this story in the national news, but I think it would be interesting for both those who know about it and those who do not. My husband really liked the forward by Les Stroud, aka “Survivorman.”

Overall, Alone is a fascinating, disturbing true story that I will always remember and will provide much discussion for our book club!

Book Source: The Kewaunee Public Library

Fly Away Home by Jennifer Weiner

Jennifer Weiner is one of my favorite authors. Her characters are living, breathing creations that I can relate to and imagine having a conversation over coffee with them. I started reading her books five or six years ago with Good in Bed and I eagerly await each new novel.

Fly Away Home is a novel that sounds like it is ripped from headlines. Sylvie Serfer Woodruff has changed herself over the years into the perfect politician’s wife. Her husband, Richard Woodruff, is a high powered senator from New York with dreams of being the president. They have two daughters, Diana and Lizzie. Diana is a doctor with a seemingly perfect life with her husband and son, if you don’t count that fact that she doesn’t love her husband. Lizzie is a troubled twenty-four year old recovering addict who is trying to find her way in the world.

All of their worlds are changed forever when it is discovered that Richard had an affair with a young staffer and helped her to get a job. Without Richard to take care of, Sylvie realizes that she has not been taking care of herself. Diana realizes that she is more like her father than she thinks . . . as she is having a torrid affair with a young intern. Lizzie finds purpose in life by taking care of Diana’s son Milo and then her father Richard, who is lost without Sylvie. The book explores what it is like to be the woman who stands behind the man confessing his extramarital affairs at the podium.

I wasn’t sure at first that I would like this book, as I have politician scandal fatigue, but I loved the focus and character development of the three women. The story wasn’t really about the scandal per say, but about how these women discovered or rediscovered themselves and were able to move on from their experiences.

I did have a hard time connecting with Diana. I understood her drive for perfection, but to marry someone you don’t love or feel attraction for just to be married is something I really don’t understand or have sympathy for. I like how she also had to hit rock bottom to start to understand herself again.

Sylvie reminded me a lot of my grandmother who was very focused on my grandfather and not on raising her child. This caused problems for poor Lizzie in the novel as well as Sylvie when Richard was suddenly out of the picture. Lizzie had a variety of problems, and I loved her growth to a mature young woman throughout the book and her ability to put the problems behind her.

I also loved reading Sylvie’s back story on how she and Richard got together in the first place and how their marriage evolved to the point it was at. I just wish the book could have continued on, I wanted to continue the journey with these characters!

While the story was serious, Weiner’s trademark humor was every apparent and you can see below in my favorite quotes:

When Sylvie’s mother Selma is talking about her sex life with her father, Sylvie thinks, “Somewhere in the world, there was surely a conversation taking place that she’d less enjoy hearing. Trouble was, she couldn’t imagine what that conversation might be.”

Later in that same conversation Selma says, “I just wanted you to know that you never know what’s going on in someone else’s marriage, behind someone else’s bedroom door. Nobody’s perfect.”

I laughed out loud at this quote, “If your grandmother wouldn’t recognize it, don’t eat it, her nutritionist had said. Well, too bad, nutritionist, because Selma’s grandma would have recognized Crisco just fine.”

Overall this was a great character study and a hard book to put down. It tackled serious issues, but was relatable and had plenty of humor. I highly recommend it.

Book Source: The Kewaunee Public Library

Lady Chatterley’s Lover by D.H. Lawrence

Lady Chatterley’s Lover is a beautifully written novel about a woman’s realization that she needs the physical part of her marriage as well as the spiritual and mental.

Constance (or Connie) Chatterley met and married her husband Clifford one month before he shipped over to Europe during WWI. During the war, Clifford was injured extensively causing him to be paralyzed waist down. After Clifford has healed, he and Constance move back to his country estate. There they work together on Clifford’s writings. They enjoy a good relationship, but Constance soon finds herself tired by the physical demands of caring for Clifford, and finds herself yearning for a child. Clifford tells Constance that he would also like a child and that he would be okay with Constance having another man’s child as long as she remained in love with him.

Almost against her will, Constance finds herself having a love affair with the gamekeeper, Mellors, at the Chatterley estate. She almost seems to dislike him as a person at first, but cannot help but being drawn to him physically. Interestingly, the problem that most people have against Mellors is his social class. He is from the working class, although he became a lieutenant while serving in the military in India and is a well read, well reasoned individual. Constance soon realizes that she loves Mellors, but they both have a spouse and are caught in an “impossible” situation. Mellors had joined the military to get away from his domineering wife, Bertha, but never divorced her. Constance has Clifford, a man who she finds herself drifting further away from every day. When Constance finds herself with child, will she stay on as Clifford’s wife and “Lady Chatterley” or will she leave it all to find love?

I really enjoyed this novel. Lady Chatterley’s Lover has a reputation as a “bad” and very sexual novel and I have always been curious to read it. It took the Classics Challenge for me to finally pull it off my shelf. Truthfully, compared to today’s racy romances, the language is no longer shocking or as detailed in the novel. It is shocking though thinking about a book with such frank scenes of sex being published in 1928. I think even more shocking and still unique to even today’s novels; the novel discusses a woman’s need for sexual satisfaction in detail. It was actually rather refreshing to read this as it was a unique and modern prospective even in today’s standards.

Besides being a “racy” novel, Lady Chatterley’s Lover also dealt a lot with class issues. Clifford takes a great interest in the coal mines on his estate and tries to get them to be run more efficiently. It was interesting how Clifford, his friends, and even Connie’s own sister Hilda, view everyone not in their social class as inferior beings. They are disgusted by the fact that Connie could be having relations with such a person although Mellors is an educated man. I also thought it was interesting that Clifford, the model for the aristocracy is a crippled man, while Mellors, the model for the working class individual is a strapping, educated fine figure of a man. I think that this novel is a case for why the aristocracy is a strange and wrong situation. To determine one’s worth in society based on the fact that one’s ancestors made a lot of many and may have somehow obtained a title, does not mean that you are a better individual than your gamekeeper.

Overall, I loved the lyrical pose, the overall storyline, and class discussion in Lady Chatterley’s Lover. Although in the past I have found myself usually disliking books of adultery (Madame Bovary and The Awakening to name two), I found myself drawn and understanding Connie’s predicament. I highly recommend this novel.

This is my second book for the 2010 Classics Challenge.

Book Source: I have an old used hardcover copy that I purchased either at a used book sale, antique store, or garage sale.

Lean Mean Thirteen, Fearless Fourteen, and Finger Lickin’ Fifteen by Janet Evanovich

I love the Stephanie Plum series with its fantastic characters, great love triangle, riveting mysteries, and laugh out loud moments. Whenever I need to pick up a book to relax too and give me a good laugh, I can’t go wrong with one of Evanovich’s Plum series. While I was down and out with morning sickness back in April and May, I caught up on the series (except for the between the novels books).

In Lean Mean Thirteen, Stephanie helps out Ranger by planting a bug on her slimy ex-husband, Dickie Orr. Dickie ends up missing shortly thereafter and Stephanie is a prime suspect. Dickie’s mysterious law partners all start looking for Dickie and unfortunately Stephanie. Stephanie also has found out that Dickie has reunited with her nemesis, Joyce Barnhart. My favorite laugh out loud moments of this book pertained to Stephanie’s take down of a skip and his problems with the cable company.

Life gets a bit crazy for Stephanie in Fearless Fourteen. She is hired by Ranger to help watching aging singer Brenda who is performing in Trenton. And as if she doesn’t have enough on her hands, she is taking care of a teenager named Zook whose mother has disappeared. Rumor has it that Zook may be her boyfriend Morelli’s illegitimate child. Poor Morelli has people in and out of his house constantly looking for a missing bank robbery lout that is rumored to be buried somewhere on his property. Lula may or may not be engaged to Tank, much to his dismay.

Lula witnesses the beheading of celebrity chef Stanley Chipotle in Finger Lickin’ Fifteen. Lula decides to track down the killers by entering a BBQ contest, with the problem being that she doesn’t really know how to cook. Grandma Mazur decides to help out and they are off on an adventure. Stephanie helps Ranger solve a string of mysterious break-ins at Rangeman security properties.

I enjoyed all three of these novels, mostly because I love the humor and the colorful characters so much. Stephanie is definitely my favorite with her quirky, yet everywoman ways. Lula is a close second though. The former “ho” always has hilarious lines and I love her self-confidence. Grandma Mazur is a pretty crazy grandma, but also laugh out loud funny. I love both of Stephanie’s love interests, man-of-mystery Ranger and the bad boy turned good, Joe Morelli. My only complaint is that after fifteen novels, Stephanie still finds herself in a love triangle and unable to commit. I would really like it if she would finally make her choice and move on in life as this series continues.

I read these three books for the Stephanie Plum Reading Challenge and I am really looking forward to reading the next in the series Sizzling Sixteen. I also still need to catch up on the “between the novels” books.

The good news is I have now officially reviewed all of the books I read while I was down and out with morning sickness. The bad news is I still have a pile of ARCs that I need to read and review. Hopefully I will get caught up soon!

Book Source: All three novels were from the Kewaunee Public Library.