The Kafka Studies Department by Francis Levy - Guest Review

The Kafka Studies Department by Francis Levy

Illustrations by Hallie Cohen

112 pages

Published September 2023 by Heliotrope Books

Publisher's Summary:

From Francis Levy, author of Seven Days in Rio, which The New York Times called “a fever dream of a novel,” comes The Kafka Studies Department, a highly original collection of short, parable-like stories infused with dark humor, intellect, and insight about the human condition. While the book’s style is deceptively simple and aphoristic, it carries a hallucinatory moral message. A prism of interconnected and intertwined tales, inspired by Kafka, the stories examine feckless central characters who are far from likable, but always recognizable and wildly human.

My Thoughts - Well, Actually, The Big Guy's Thoughts: 

This book arrived in my house a couple of weeks ago and The Big Guy immediately picked it up - I think the cover intrigued him initially. Always thinking that another point of view is a good idea to break things up, I figured I'd let him read this one and share his thoughts. Without further ado, I give you The Big 

Guy's Thoughts: 

This little Diddy is a short 109 pages of short stories.  At first they appear fairly divergent, but later they come together, especially with the main character of Spector.  

I really like Francis Levy's writing style, like I am told, Kafka wrote about many bizarre situations with many strange characters and this assortment is evidently similar.  I have always liked fictional tales with a different perspective with somewhat eccentric characters doing strange things, so I am in my element.  

There are many bad things happening to many of the main characters, many who deserve it and some situations that even if not happily ever after are neutral in calamity.  But for some reason, I don't feel bad for the characters either because they are a-holes or you just don't feel much for them either way.  

The writing style is dark comedy like a Cohen Brothers show or movie, so even if there is death and destruction in many of the stories they have a light and airy feel to them. His stories have a late 1960s early1970s feel to them like Richard Braughtigan or Kurt Vonnegut.

An easy quick read you can knock you in a couple of hours, but I catch myself wanting to reread it again right away as in any good short story there is a lot packed into few pages.  Not much in the way of violence except for violent thoughts, but certainly quite a few sexual references and probably best for readers over 18.  

I catch myself wanting to read some Kafka now. 

White and Faded: Restoring Beauty in Your Home and Life by Janet Parrella-Van Den Berg

White and Faded: Restoring Beauty in Your Home and Life by Janet Parrella-Van Den Berg

Published September 2023 by Nelson, Thomas Inc. 

208 pages

Source: my copy courtesy of the publisher, through TLC Book Tours, in exchange for an honest review

Publisher's Summary: 

The only thing more beautiful than home transformation is personal transformation. Bring new life into your home and your soul through the gorgeous photography, inspiring story, and creative design ideas from Janet Parrella-Van Den Berg, founder of popular UK brand White & Faded. Journey through these hope-filled pages, and discover the hidden beauty in your own home and life.

In White & Faded, Janet Parrella-Van Den Berg takes you on a stunning photographic tour through her restored English homes as she invites you into her personal journey of restoring her own sense of value and purpose—and reveals how you can do the same.

So what is White & Faded? As Janet explains, she loves white things as a culmination of all colors and a representation of new mercies. And she loves faded things, such as cast-aside furniture, as a reminder that even what is painful or imperfect can be repurposed to reveal hidden beauty. Janet gives insights into both the literal and metaphorical aspects of white and faded as she draws on her decades of experience to offer:

• Full-color photography of restored English country homes, including a 1767 Georgian rectory in Kent and a home originally built in 1500
• Practical restoration tips—from large-scale homes to smaller antiques
• Fresh decorative ideas you can adapt to your own style, home, and season of life
• Fun inspiration—from antique to modern—ideal for fans of HGTV and Magnolia Network
• Inspiration to incorporate a touch of seasonal charm throughout the year
• How to make white work with kids and pets
• Janet's own remarkable story of trauma, love, and rediscovered identity

How will you create a place in your life where you feel loved, find healing, and discover new treasures? Sometimes seeing the past through new eyes gives hope for the future—and looking ahead can be a beautiful way to come home.

My Thoughts: 

I've been working with TLC Book Tours for a decade, perhaps, and still there are glitches. I received this book for what I understood to be an Instagram post. But they didn't know I had an Instagram so were surprised when I didn't post here on my designated day. So this book is getting both. Here's what I had to say on Instagram: 

I have always dreamed of an all-white house and Leo me some chippy, worn, well-loved furniture [as, by now, all of you know] so I was excited to receive White and Faded through TLC Book Tours. Even my husband was impressed - wish I had had it years ago when I was trying to convince him to go all white! The photography is beautiful and the way Janet Parrella-Van den Berg ties the choices she's made in her home to the events of her life is lovely.

Seriously, this book was sitting on my (not white) coffee table and The Big Guy picked it up and browsed through it, as he will with any of the books I have sitting around. I expected some comment about how impractical all-white is, or how he could never live without color. Instead, he remarked on how pretty the rooms were, how calming it felt. If I would have had this book twenty years ago, would my house look entirely different? Maybe. Maybe not. 

But with my daughter finally getting her things out of our basement, we will finally be able to make that space our own. I'm pretty sure that I'm going to be able to use this book to create a bright, calm, clean space like the ones in this book, a space for which my heart has been aching for decades. For that, I'll be forever grateful to Parrella-Van Den Berg for showing my husband that all-white doesn't have to mean boring or impractical.

The Book of Maps by Ernest Thompson * Guest Review

The Book of Maps by Ernest Thompson 

480 pages 

Published October 2022 by Global Collective Publishers

Source: my copy courtesy of the publisher, through TLC Book Tours, in exchange for an honest review

Publisher's Summary: 

In the summer of 2002, Brendan Tibbet, a filmmaker whose luck has run low, takes his ten-year-old son Brenlyn on a raucous road trip across America. Following a 1930s travel guide Brendan purchased at a yard sale, the two-week trek from LA to New Hampshire covers 16 states, hitting the iconic stops along the way, Yosemite, the Great Salt Lake, Yellowstone and Mt. Rushmore and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, replete with wild exploits both hilarious and perilous, but it’s the interior journey that is enlightening, deeply poignant and life-changing. 

Brendan assures the boy that each state will be an adventure, and on the second day proves it, seeing the kid washed away in fast-moving rapids, then foolishly putting them both in danger by refusing to back down to the massive black bear invading their campsite. That’s Brendan, impetuous and foolhardy, inciting trouble wherever he goes, a man with demons and bubbling angst. But neither of those missteps, or the many and scarier ones to follow, can begin to compare to the threatening storm cloud hanging over the expedition: the father’s struggle to find the perfect, worst time to reveal to his son the news that will break his heart and affect everything to follow. 

Ernest Thompson’s debut novel is a skillful, magical piece of 20th-century fin de siècle writing depicting a United States that, even in the aftermath of 9-11, seems almost innocent contrasted to the horrors and divisions, racism and rage challenging us now. The Book of Maps, with its powerful father-son relationship and one man’s relentless albeit unintentional quest to evolve into the better angel we all aspire to be, will capture the imagination of readers and leave them wanting to relive this mad, irresistibly moving, ridiculously funny, reflective and inspiring cross-country odyssey again and again.

Guest Review:

My husband loves travel novels so I knew this was one of him when it was offered to me for review. Here are his thoughts: 

The Book of Maps, appears to be, from its cover, a normal travel story between a father and his son; but it ends up going many different directions along the way.  Not quite as nuts as Hunter S Thompson's Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas; but plenty of excitement, fun and danger, especially if you are a parent.  

Other travel stories I've enjoyed include Blue Highways and a number of Paul Theroux books that were high on my list.  The Flashman Chronicles would, I think,  would be considered a strong contender for some of my favorite travel tales and of course a good many of Mark Twain's stories.  

The first thing you notice is that Ernest Thompson has tremendous control of the English language.  It takes a bit of getting used to at first, as his prose is pretty thick with his ability to use All of the English Language.  But from the guy that wrote On Golden Pond, Thompson has great credentials, a strong grip on the human condition and the ability to create, build and expand relationships. 

I presume the story comes, at least somewhat, from personal experience as Brenden and his son Brenlyn take us on a journey across the US from Southern California up to his home in New Hampshire.  Lurking in the background is his crumbling marriage to Lynsay, that Brenden is slowly figuring out was destined to fail from the beginning.  But the couple still have love, however incompatible.  However, like is often the case in a break-up, they have a boy in the middle of it all. Brenden is going to take Brenlyn on a last big trip with using the Book of Maps as a bible.  Brenden knows he is going to miss his son a great deal, not being around all of the time and being located across the country.  

Brenden has had some strong success in his past but that's gone a bit dormant; on this trip he is beginning to hash some of this out.  When Brenden gets back, and after weeks with his son where he knows this is the end of a normal family life,k we really don't know where Brenden is going to be in his life.  Will he become a lazy drunk that circles the drain and dies lonely or will he get is mojo back and find some of the success he had early in life?  

Of course, the other obvious element of the story is the question of what will become of the relationship between Brenden and Brenlyn.  Early in the trip there is quite a bit of strife between the two; but they begin to find some common ground.  Will they stay close after this long strange trip together or does Brenlyn find out things about his father that pull them further apart? Brenden has to spring the concept of divorce on him at some point along or at the end of the trip.  When they separate will they have developed a bond that will last a lifetime and carry them forward or just visit once in the summer and over the holidays?  

The Book of Maps is a very well written story, a nice read the flows well, has deep character building of characters who you care about and plenty of good and bad surprises along the way.  Like on On Golden Pond, the story and characters feel real and the reader is convinced that the encounters along the way could be and may well have happened and they most people can relate to these slices of life.  I really enjoyed the ride along.  

Thanks, Big Guy!

About The Author:

Ernest Thompson has written numerous films, plays and songs, and has worked extensively as an actor and director. In addition to his Oscar for On Golden Pond, Ernest’s work has won two Golden Globes, a Writers Guild Award, a Broadway Drama Guild Award and been nominated for a Tony, an Emmy and a British Academy Award. His plays have been seen in theaters around the world, his most enduring, On Golden Pond, translated into 30 languages and presented in more than 40 countries. He currently is developing Cries of Valor in Defiance, depicting life in the pandemic and, with his writer wife Kerrin Thompson, has established Rescind Recidivism, a prison writing program designed to give inmates a chance to feel creative as well as human, capable and worthy.

Rise of the Black Quarterback: What It Means for America by Jason Reid

Rise of the Black Quarterback: What is Means for America by Jason Reid

288 pages

Published August 2022 by Andscape

Source: my copy courtesy of the publisher, through TLC Book Tours, in exchange for an honest review

Publisher's Summary: 

In September 2019, ESPN's The Undefeated website (now Andscape) began a season-long series of articles on the emergence of Black quarterbacks in the NFL. The first article in the series was Jason Reid's enormously popular, "Welcome to the Year of the Black Quarterback." The series culminated with an hour-long television program in February 2020, hosted by Reid himself. The Rise of the Black Quarterback: What It Means for America will expand on Reid's piece—as well as the entire series—and chronicle the shameful history of the treatment of Black players in the NFL and the breakout careers of a thrilling new generation of Black quarterbacks. Intimate portraits of Colin Kaepernick, Patrick Mahomes, Lamar Jackson, and Kyler Murray feature prominently in the book, as well as the careers and legacy of beloved NFL players such as Doug Williams and trailblazing pioneers Marlin Briscoe and Eldridge Dickey. Reid delves deeply into the culture war ignited by Kaepernick's peaceful protest that shone a light on systemic oppression and police brutality. Fascinating and timely, this page-turning account will rivet fans of sports, cultural commentary, and Black history in America.

My Thoughts: 

You all know how much I love football. Every year, at the start of the season, I vow to myself that I'll read a book about it. I mean, I already own a couple, so it shouldn't have taken TLC Book Tours offering one up to me for me to get around to it. But it did. And then I missed my review date. <Insert emoji of shaking head> 

Fritz Pollard one of the first black players and became the first black coach of a professional football team; two years later, he became the first black quarterback. It took sixty-eight years for their to be another black coach. 

Pollard is only one of the black pioneers in professional football who Reid profiles. He also touches on George Taliaferro and Marlin Briscoe, who was pulled in as quarterback in 1968 when the Denver Bronco's quarterback was injured. He started five games and did well...then was let go at the end of the season. 

Reid also profiles black quarterbacks from historically black colleges including James Harris and Doug Williams who both went on to have illustrious careers in the NFL. Williams was the first black quarterback to start in a Super Bowl game. 

Reid moves on to look at today's group of superstar black quarterbacks, including Patrick Mahomes, Kyler Murray, Russell Wilson, and Lamar Jackson, four of the best currently playing. Even so, there remains a paucity of black quarterbacks in a league with 32 teams, especially when you take into account the percentage of black players, overall, in the NFL. Those that play still face racism, both overt and more subtle. Reid says that the unwillingness of teams to hire black quarterbacks sends a message that black men are not as intelligent, not inspiring, or not good leaders. 

Reid is a good writer (he is after all, a professional sports writer) and gives a good overall accounting of what it has taken to get to the point where the young black quarterbacks can get the respect...and money...they deserve (well, insofar as any player deserves the amount of money NFL players make). It's a good read, especially this time of year, and a fine lead in to looking deeper into the racist history of my favorite sport. 

Thanks to TLC Book Tours for including me on this tour (and my deep apologies for not getting this posted on time!). 

Winter's Reckoning by Adele Holmes, M. D.

Winter's Reckoning by Adele Holmes, M.D.

256 pages

Published August 2022 by She Write Press

Source: my copy courtesy of the publisher, in exchange for an honest review, through TLC Book Tours

Publisher's Summary: 

Forty-six-year-old Madeline Fairbanks has no use for ideas like "separation of the races" or "men as the superior sex." There are many in her dying Southern Appalachian town who are upset by her socially progressive views, but for years--partly due to her late husband's still-powerful influence, and partly due to her skill as a healer in a remote town with no doctor of its own--folks have been willing to turn a blind eye to her "transgressions." Even Maddie's decision to take on a Black apprentice, Ren Morgan, goes largely unchallenged by her white neighbors, though it's certainly grumbled about. But when a charismatic and power-hungry new reverend blows into town in 1917 and begins to preach about the importance of racial segregation, the long-idle local KKK chapter fires back into action--and places Maddie and her friends in Jamesville's Black community squarely in their sights. Maddie had better stop intermingling with Black folks, discontinue her herbalistic "witchcraft," and leave town immediately, they threaten, or they'll lynch Ren's father, Daniel. Faced with this decision, Maddie is terrified . . . and torn. Will she bow to their demands and walk away--or will she fight to keep the home she's built in Jamestown and protect the future of the people she loves, both Black and white?

My Thoughts: 

Remember Sunday when I was lamenting that I had missed my review date for this book? So I raced through it only to discover today that it was meant to be an Instagram post that I missed. Seriously the easiest thing to do and I missed it. Which all goes to tell you something about my state of mind. And also something about why my review is what it is. 

The notes about Adele Holmes call this book Southern gothic. According to Wikipedia, Southern Gothic includes "storytelling of deeply flawed, disturbing or eccentric characters who may be involved in hoodoo, decayed or derelict settings, grotesque situations, and other sinister events relating to or stemming from poverty, alienation, crime, or violence." Let's see how this book fits that: 

    Deeply flawed character?                                     Check

    Eccentric character?                                             Check and check

    Characters who may be involved in hoodoo?      This one does talk about hoodoo, so check

    Decayed settings?                                                 A town that's dying, so, again, check

    Events stemming from poverty?                          Check

    Events stemming from violence?                         Check 

    Events stemming from alienation?                       Check

    Sinister events?                                                    Check and check

I'd say that publisher bit is spot on, according to the Wikipedia definition. But this is also the story of strong women, so often lacking in Southern Gothic fiction. 

Maddie comes from a long line of healers; but, after not being able to save her only son, Maddie doubts she has inherited the full gifts of her ancestors. Still, she believes, despite the ignorance of so many around her, that she is called to care for all of the people of her valley and to pass along her knowledge to her granddaughter, Hannah, and her friend, Ren. And she believes that those people have come to accept her, after more than 20 years in the valley. That is until Carl Howard, the new "reverend" finds that the best way to get people (ok, the men) to follow him is to play to their deepest fears, which turn out to be "uppity" women and black people. That puts Maddie and Ren in danger, although neither of them sees Carl for exactly what he is until their friendship is torn apart. 

This book was a slow build for me, taking nearly 100 pages to really begin to draw me into it. After that, it  was nonstop action with a blizzard, a hermit, a killing, blackmail, and a murder plot. This one might have worked a little better with less going on. But most of the time while I was reading it, I couldn't help but think how much my mom would have enjoyed this book, with her ability to focus on the good and overlook the shortcomings of historical fiction that features strong female characters. The Mom Stamp of Approval is always a good thing!

 

The Door-Man by Peter M. Wheelwright

The Door-Man by Peter M. Wheelwright

388 Pages

Published February 2022 by Fomite

Publisher's Summary: 

In 1917, during the construction of a large reservoir in the Catskill hamlet of Gilboa, New York, a young paleontologist named Winifred Goldring identified fossils from an ancient forest flooded millions of years ago when the earth’s botanical explosion of oxygen opened a path for the evolution of humankind. However, the reservoir water was needed for NYC, and the fossils were buried once again during the flooding of the doomed town.

A mix of fact and fiction, The Door-Man follows three generations of interwoven families who share a deep wound from Gilboa’s last days. The story is told by Winifred’s grandson, a disaffected NYC doorman working near the Central Park Reservoir during its decommissioning in 1993.

The brief and provisional nature of one’s life on earth – and the nested histories of the places, people and events that give it meaning – engender a reckoning within the tangled roots and fragile bonds of family.

My Thoughts:

“I am only a door-man, one of many along Central Park West. No one suspects that it is my considered choice.”

Piedmont Livingston Kinsolver calls himself the third, although his father was not Piedmont, just Livingston, and his grandfather was not really Piedmont but Bramlett. And that is just the beginning of where the family tree that Wheelwright has included comes in handy. Within the first fifty pages I'd probably referenced that tree almost as many times, trying to keep track of the players and their relationships. Which ought to give you a good idea that this book is not one that readers will race through; you'll need to pay attention - to the characters, to the movements in time, to the history and the true facts, to the science. 

The oldest fossilized trees
in the world in present-day
Gilboa

Besides finding myself going again and again to that family tree, I also found myself going again and again to the internet to verify which of Wheelwright's details were fact and which were fiction. Was it true that in 1917 The Star-Spangled Banner was still, more than 100 years after it was written, still largely unknown? Yes, indeed - Woodrow Wilson had only the year before signed an executive order declaring it the national anthem. Did the city of New York flood the town of Gilboa, despite having better options for moving water from the mountains to the city, covering up evidence of the earliest plants and animals on the planet? Yes, it did. And that's where Wheelwright's novel took it's beginning. 

Now how to develop a story around that that is not just a work of historical fiction. Enter the multi-generational, sweeping history of those earliest plants to the end of the reservoir that caused them to be erased from view. As I was reading I kept thinking of Richard Powers' The Overstory, with its interlaced stories and emphasis on science. As I did with that one, I did sometimes find the science (and, more specifically, the places it takes Wheelwright once it goes there) a little distracting. But it's also important to know the science to understand why what happened was such a tragedy and why the flooding of Gilboa did to it's residents echoed through the generations. 

Wheelwright slowly reveals family secrets as he covers themes including eminent domain, natural history, family, power, and atonement. His settings are vivid, his characters interesting and unique. The Door-Man isn't, as I said, a quick read, but if you're willing to take the time, you'll enjoy getting immersed in the story. 

Thanks to the ladies at TLC Book Tours for including me in this tour. For other opinions, check out the full tour here. 

About Peter M. Wheelwright 

Peter is a writer, architect, and educator. He is Emeritus Professor at The New School, Parsons School of Design in New York City, where he taught design and wrote on matters of environmental philosophy, design theory, and social practices in the built and natural worlds. Peter comes from a family of writers with an abiding affection for the natural world. His uncle Peter Matthiessen was a three time National Book Award winner, and his brother Jeff Wheelwright is a writer of environmental non-fiction. Educated at Trinity College where he studied painting and sculpture, he went on to receive his Master in Architecture from Princeton University. As an architect, his design work has been widely published in both the national and international press. The Kaleidoscope House, a modernist dollhouse designed in collaboration with artist Laurie Simmons is in the Collection of Architecture and Design at the Museum of Modern Art. You can find Peter on his website , Instagram, and Twitter.

The Cartographer's Secret by Tea Cooper

The Cartographer's Secret by Tea Cooper

400 Pages

Published November 2021

Source: my copy courtesy of the publisher, through TLC Book Tours, in exchange for an honest review

Publisher's Summary:

The Hunter Valley, 1880—Evie Ludgrove loves to chart the landscape around her home—hardly surprising since she grew up in the shadow of her father’s obsession with the great Australian explorer Dr. Ludwig Leichhardt. So when an advertisement appears in The Bulletin magazine offering a thousand-pound reward for proof of where Leichhardt met his fate, Evie is determined to use her father’s papers to unravel the secret. But when Evie sets out to prove her theory, she vanishes without a trace, leaving behind a mystery that haunts her family for thirty years. 

1911—Letitia Rawlings arrives at the family estate in her Ford Model T to inform her great-aunt Olivia of a loss in their family. But Letitia is also escaping her own problems—her brother’s sudden death, her mother’s scheming, and her dissatisfaction with the life planned out for her. So when Letitia discovers a beautifully illustrated map that might hold a clue to the fate of her missing aunt, Evie Ludgrove, she sets out to discover the truth. But all is not as it seems, and Letitia begins to realize that solving the mystery of her family’s past could offer as much peril as redemption.

My Thoughts: 

Earlier this year I read and reviewed Cooper's The Girl In The Painting and enjoyed it so much that I didn't need to know anything more about this one than the author's name to know that I would read and review it. 

I've told you before that I'm not very good about reading Afterwards and Author's Notes when I've finished a book but recently I've been finding that I'm gaining a greater appreciation for the story by doing so. Cooper reveals that she's always had a interest in maps, especially after she found out that many early cartographers were women. Liking to set her books in Australia led her to the true story of Dr. Ludwig Leichhardt. And thus began her story of a how a young woman, interested in mapmaking, resolves to find the truth between Leichhardt's disappearance. 

Like The Girl In The Painting, Cooper sets her story primarily in the Australian outback and the setting comes alive in her hands. Even before I looked up Yellow Rock to see if there was such a place, I pictured it very much as it's seen here. It's not the only similarity these books have - both have mysteries to be solved, young women who won't be stopped by the conventions of the day, and family at the core of the story. It is the story of love, grief, loss, guilt, secrets, and the things that bind a family together and those that tear a family apart. It's also the story of three women who defy expectations to live their lives in ways that they choose. 

Unlike most dual story lines set in different time periods, there is a direct link between the two stories and not a lot of time between them. It feels much more natural that these stories should tie together then the usual dual storylines and I find that much more enjoyable in a book than when a modern day storyline is used simply as a means to tell an historical story from a modern perspective. 

My only quibbles with the book were that sometimes it could feel repetitive, occasionally it got a bit unnecessarily confusing, and there is a romance that I didn't feel was necessary. Otherwise, it was a book that pulled me through, made me care about the characters, and feel like I was immersed in the setting. 

Thanks to the ladies of TLC Book Tours for including me on this tour. 

About the Author Tea Cooper is an established Australian author of historical fiction. In a past life she was a teacher, a journalist, and a farmer. These days she haunts museums and indulges her passion for storytelling. She is the winner of two Daphne du Maurier Awards and the bestselling author of several novels, including The Horse Thief, The Cedar Cutter, The Currency Lass, and The Naturalist’s Daughter.

How I'm Spending My Afterlife by Spencer Fleury

How I'm Spending My Afterlife by Spencer Fleury

Published September 2021 by Woodhall Press

Source: my copy courtesy of the publisher, through TLC Book Tours, in exchange for an honest review

Publisher's Summary:

After you’re gone, what will they say about you? Alton Carver is about to find out. Alton’s got a problem: he’s under federal investigation for embezzling and securities fraud. Instead of spending the next three to five years behind bars, he’s got a plan: stage his own death, take the money he stole and light out for Central America, leaving behind wife Nicole and daughter Clara. But when he sticks around town long enough to watch his own funeral, he makes the unpleasant discovery that the life he’s leaving behind isn’t the life he thought he had. When he overhears the way his former colleagues talk about him now that he’s “gone,” Alton is forced to reconsider his self-image as a respected and admired pillar of the legal community. Then the shock of seeing Nicole in the arms of another man leads Alton to postpone his plan to run for the border. What comes next is a slow-burn train wreck, a tale of self-deception, revenge and bad decisions.

My Thoughts: 

Somewhere I read this book described as a thriller. I definitely wouldn't define it as a thriller. To my way of thinking, How I'm Spending My Afterlife is a dark comedy. 

As a debut, this book shows a lot of promise. Fleury's writing is clever and humorous and he somehow manages to make you like Alton who is, truth be told, a very unlikable chap. He's the kind of guy who drives a Porsche then feels entitled to park it in two spaces. He buys the best bicycle and the gear for it then never puts more than a mile on it. He buys a vintage sport car but tires of the idea of fixing it up before he's done a thing to it. And he definitely, stole three million dollars and committed insurance fraud to cover it up. All of this might add up to a guy you can't stand but Alton is so lacking in self-awareness that you begin to feel a little bit sorry for him, especially when you find out that his wife's been cheating on him with a complete sleaze ball. Yes, he'd been a terrible husband but she wasn't that great a wife or mother. And Alton is a really great dad who always made time for his daughter even when he didn't do that for his wife. He adores his daughter and she adores him; kids are great judges of character, right? 

What didn't work as well for me was the pacing of the book. While the book moves back and forth between Alton's narration and Nicole's, we spend a good majority of the book in Alton's head. Unfortunately, while we're there, not much more happens than Alton feeling sorry for himself while he justifies what he's doing. I would have liked to see more fleshing out of the characters, more action instead - something that moved the story forward. 

That said, I raced through the parts that dragged because I just knew that this was going to end badly and I wanted to know just how. We know that both Alton and Nicole are "talking" to someone as we read their sides of the story and I really wanted to see who that was and why they were talking to those people. I couldn't help but hope that some kindly grandparent would show up at the last second to rescue little Clara   just as her parents were hauled off to jail. Forty pages from the end, I still wasn't sure how this was going to play out and I loved that Fleury could keep me guessing. 

As I said, a promising, if flawed debut that has enough going for it to convince me to read Fleury's followup. 

Thanks to the ladies at TLC Book Tours for including me on this tour. For other opinions about this book, check out the full tour: 

Monday, October 11th: Books and Bindings

Tuesday, October 12th: @books_and_biceps9155

Thursday, October 14th: @shopcoffeekids

Friday, October 15th: @oomilyreads

Monday, October 18th: @annoying_sidekick_thoughts

Wednesday, October 20th: @whimsyreadswithshelby

Friday, October 22nd: @thebookishalix

Monday, October 15th: @bluntscissorsbookreviews

Wednesday, October 27th: @bathtubbookworm

Monday, November 1st: @jessicamap

Wednesday, November 3rd: Girl Who Reads

Thursday, November 4th: @hooked.by.books

About the author: 

Spencer Fleury has worked as a sailor, copywriter, record store clerk and economics professor, among other disreputable professions. His work has been nominated for the Pushcart Prize and has previously appeared in outlets including Utne Reader, Ascent, and the anthology City by City: Dispatches from the American Metropolis. This is his first novel. He lives in San Francisco.

Deer Season by Erin Flanagan

Deer Season by Erin Flanagan

Published September 2021 by University of Nebraska Press

Publisher's Summary:

It’s the opening weekend of deer season in Gunthrum, Nebraska, in 1985, and Alma Costagan’s intellectually disabled farmhand, Hal Bullard, has gone hunting with some of the locals, leaving her in a huff. That same weekend, a teenage girl goes missing, and Hal returns with a flimsy story about the blood in his truck and a dent near the headlight. When the situation escalates from that of a missing girl to something more sinister, Alma and her husband are forced to confront what Hal might be capable of, as rumors fly and townspeople see Hal’s violent past in a new light. 

A drama about the complicated relationships connecting the residents of a small-town farming community, Deer Season explores troubling questions about how far people will go to safeguard the ones they love and what it means to be a family.

My Thoughts: 

You know I was one of the first people the ladies at TLC Book Tours thought of when they were asked to host a tour for a book set in Nebraska. And you know I didn't hesitate to say "yes" when they asked me if I'd review it. But after it arrived, I began to worry. What if it was one of those books that makes all of the people in Nebraska look bad? What if I really didn't care for it? I wasn't entirely sure it was the right book at the right time for me, even after I'd started it. Then I realized that the University Press had published the book and they have never steered me wrong yet. So I pressed on, convinced that this would be a book worth reading. I was so right and by page 50, I was racing through this book even though it is a slow-build of a book, focused as it is on its characters. 

Alma Costagan is right up there with Olive Kitteridge as one of my all-time favorite characters who make it hard to like them but then you find yourself so attached to them. 

Alma met Clyle in college; he'd grown up in Gunthrum but she was a city girl. When they married, they never had any intention of living on a farm. But life doesn't always give you what you're expecting. When Clyle's father dies and his mother falls ill, Clyle and Alma move back to his parents' farm to care for it while she's still alive. But after she passed, first one thing and then another kept them just a while longer. Soon Alma realized that Clyle was really happy as a farmer and she agreed to become a farmer's wife and give up her career as a social worker because she loved him that much. But life in a small town in tough for newcomers and Alma, to be honest, didn't make it any easier for people to like her. That disappointment heaped on the disappointment of not having a family began to wear on the Costagan's relationship. 

One thing they did still agree on was that they would both do whatever it took to protect Hal, who they had taken under their wing when his father was imprisoned and his mother left town. Still, when Hal comes up early from a hunting trip with blood in his truck and throughout his house, telling them that he had shot a deer but made a mess of it trying to dress it, they both had suspicions about his story. When they find out that Peggy Ahern, a girl that Hal had a crush on, had gone missing, they both defended Hal from the inevitable town gossip even as they began to wonder what Hal might be capable of doing, even accidentally and what they might be willing to do to protect him. 

That's the suspense piece of this novel. But at it's heart, this is less a suspense novel than it is a work of literary fiction. It's a book about relationships - between spouses, between parents and children, between siblings, between neighbors. It's also a book about the secrets we keep, the dreams we hold tight to our chests, communication, guilt, and, yes, what it means to live in a small town where, even if you don't know absolutely everyone, you know enough of them so that, sooner or later, everyone knows your business even if they don't really know you.

“The list of what one person would never understand about another went on and on.”

This is an impressive novel, particularly when you consider that it is Flanagan's debut. I felt like I knew these people. Of course, I especially enjoyed the references to places I'm familiar with, including the town I was born in. But living in Nebraska is not a prerequisite for enjoying this book; I highly recommend it. 

Thanks to the ladies of TLC Book Tours for thinking of me for this book. For other, less biased reviews, check out the full tour here. 

Purchase Links:  University of Nebraska Press | Amazon | IndieBound 

About Erin Flanagan:

 Erin Flanagan is a professor at Wright State University. She is the author of two short story collections, The Usual Mistakes (Nebraska, 2005) and It’s Not Going to Kill You, and Other Stories(Bison Books, 2013). 

Connect with Erin:  Website | Twitter

The Ocean In Winter by Elizabeth de Veer

The Ocean In Winter by Elizabeth de Veer

Published July 2021 by Blackstone Publishing

Source: my copy courtesy of the publisher, through TLC Book Tours, in exchange for an honest review

Publisher's Summary:

The lives of the three Emery sisters were changed forever when Alex, eleven at the time, found their mother drowned in the bathtub of their home. After their mother’s suicide, the girls’ father shut down emotionally, leaving Alex responsible for caring for Colleen, then eight, and little Riley, just four. Now the girls are grown and navigating different directions. Alex, a nurse, has been traveling in India and grieving her struggle to have a child; Colleen is the devoted mother of preteens in denial that her marriage is ending; and Riley has been leading what her sisters imagine to be the dream life of a successful model in New York City. Decades may have passed, but the unresolved trauma of their mother’s death still looms over them creating distance between the sisters.

Then on a March night, a storm rages near the coast of northeastern Massachusetts. Alex sits alone in an old farmhouse she inherited from a stranger. The lights are out because of the storm; then, an unexpected knock at the door. When Alex opens it, her beautiful younger sister stands before her. Riley has long been estranged from their family, prompting Colleen to hire the private investigator from whom they’d been awaiting news. Comforted by her unexpected presence, Alex holds back her nagging questions: How had Riley found her? Wouldn’t the dirt roads have been impassable in the storm? Why did Riley insist on disappearing back into the night?

After her mysterious visitation, Alex and Colleen are determined to reconcile with Riley and to face their painful past, but the closer they come to finding their missing sister, the more they fear they’ll only be left with Riley’s secrets. An unforgettable story about grief, love, and what it means to be haunted, The Ocean in Winter marks the debut of a remarkable new voice in fiction.

My Thoughts:

Twenty-five years after their mother committed suicide, Alex, Colleen, and Riley continue to struggle with the after effects of the event that changed their lives. Their father has become a recluse and something of a hoarder, requiring his girls to not only care for themselves but for him as well. 

Alex, who lives with the memory of finding her mother and seeing her dead, never marries but goes into a career where she continues to care for people. That is until she gets some news that rocks her world just as an opportunity to travel to India gives her the chance to finally do something entirely for herself. 

Colleen has been living the perfect life - great marriage, perfect house, two kids that she devotes her entire being to - until suddenly things aren't so perfect. Her husband has moved out, and fire leave Colleen and her children homeless, and she finds out her husband has found another woman. And her baby sister, Riley, has been out of touch for months. Desperate to try to pull her family back together, Colleen hires a private investigator to find Riley; but when he does, the news isn't good. 

Riley, who has no recollection of her mother, has become a famous model. But that lifestyle and her painful history have cause Riley to turn to drugs. A stint in rehab worked for a while but slowly Riley is unraveling again and this time there is no safety net. 

There's a lot going on here and de Veer touches on a lot of tough subjects - suicide, mental health, addiction, abuse, family dynamics, infertility, marriage. It felt like a bit more than was needed to make the book compelling and a supernatural elements that de Veer introduced didn't really work for me. But, overall, with the alternating first person narratives of the three sisters, this was a book that pulled me through it, wanting to know what secrets were still hidden and hoping that each of the sisters could find the peace they needed. De Veer does a terrific job of helping the reader to feel the cold and grey of the winter that mirrors what is happening in the sisters' lives. This is de Veer's debut novel; I'm looking forward to seeing where she goes from here.

Thanks to the ladies of TLC Book Tours for including me on this tour. For other opinions about this book, check out the full tour here. 

About Elizabeth de Veer:

 Elizabeth de Veer has a Master of Theological Studies from Harvard Divinity School and has been admitted to writing residencies at the Jentel Artist Residency, the Hambidge Center for Creative Arts and Sciences, and the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts. She is a member of several writing groups, including Grub Street Writers’ Collective of Boston, the Newburyport Writers’ Group, Sisters in Crime New England, and the New Hampshire Writers’ Project. She lives in a small town in Northeast Massachusetts with her husband, daughter, and labradoodle. 

To learn more, check out her web site at elizabethdeveer.com. Connect with Elizabeth:  Website | Facebook | Instagram

a winter night by Anne Leigh Parrish

a winter night by Anne Leigh Parrish

Published March 2021 by Unsolicited Press

Source: my copy courtesy of the publisher, through TLC Book Tours in exchange for an honest review

Publisher's Summary:

34-year-old Angie Dugan struggles with many things-anxiety, her career as a social worker in a retirement home, and her difficult family. Her biggest struggle, though, is finding love. When she meets Matt, she’s swept away by his attention. As issues from his past come up she wonders if she can trust him. Should she break it off, or give him another chance? In the end, all she can do is listen to her heart, and evaluate what she wants most.

My Thoughts:

Does this summary strike you as a romance? It seemed like one to me, albeit a bit heavier than the usual fare. Lately it seems like more and more people are turning to romance as the perfect read in these difficult times we've been experiencing and I thought that maybe, for that same reason, it was time I started giving that genre a shot. 

In looking into this book, I discovered that a winter night is not Parrish's first book about the Dugan family. An one earlier book deals with the early years of Angie and her siblings and what happens with their mother walks away from the family (to be fair, she does come back for the children); another deals with their mother after her second husband dies. It would have been interesting to pick this one up having had that background but it's not essential; Parrish fleshes out the family history to such a degree that it never occurred to me that I had missed something. 

Another thing I learned is that Parrish is not only an novelist but also a poet and it certain shows, especially in her descriptions (it's obviously winter in this book and I often found myself forgetting that it was summer while I was reading, despite the fact that I was wearing shorts, sitting under a fan). There are some real gems here: "To receive unconditional love is a gift. To be able to accept it is another, rarer gift." How true is that? 

Now, about the idea that this book falls into the roman genre - it doesn't. While Matt and Angie's relationship is certainly a key element of the book, this is absolutely a book about a 34-year-old woman growing and, finally, finding her place in life and relearning how to trust people. There are a lot of forces at play getting her to that point and it often felt, to me, like it was a bit too much. I think I wanted to either be getting that romance novel I was expecting or a story where the focus was more on Angie learning to accept the family and life she has. Between Matt and Angie, there is a lot of baggage to be unpacked her - both come from broken families; both families deal with addiction; there is infidelity, parent/child issues, care of the elderly, finding your purpose in life, living up to your potential. 

It's a quick read, packed with plenty for a book club to discuss, and if you look at Goodreads reviews, and other reviews on this tour, you'll find this book is very well liked. But it's not a romance so don't go in thinking you're getting a love story. 

For other reviews, check out the full book tour here. Thanks to the ladies of TLC Book Tours for including me on this tour. 

About Anne Leigh Parrish:

Parrish is the author of seven previously published books of fiction: What Nell Dreams, a novella and Stories (Unsolicited Press, 2020); Maggie’s Ruse, a novel (Unsolicited Press, 2019); The Amendment, a novel, (Unsolicited Press, 2018); Women Within, a novel (Black Rose Writing, 2017); By The Wayside, stories (Unsolicited Press, 2017); What Is Found, What Is Lost, a novel (She Writes Press, 2014); Our Love Could Light The World, stories (She Writes Press, 2013); and All The Roads That Lead From Home, stories, (Press 53, 2011). She is the author of over forty-five published short stories, and numerous essays on the art and craft of writing. Learn more by visiting her website at www.anneleighparrish.com.

Backyard Guide To The Night Sky by Andrew Fazekas

Backyard Guide To The Night Sky by Andrew Fazekas

Published March 2019 by National Geographic

Source: my copy courtesy of the publisher, through TLC Book Tours, in exchange for an honest review

Publisher's Summary:

Explore the star-studded cosmos with this fully updated, user-friendly skywatcher's guide, filled with charts, graphics, photographs, and expert tips for viewing -- and understanding -- the wonders of space. 

Stargazing's too much fun to leave to astronomers. In these inviting pages, "Night Sky Guy" Andrew Fazekas takes an expert but easygoing approach that will delight would-be astronomers of all levels. Essential information, organized logically, brings the solar system, stars, and planets to life in your own backyard. Start with the easiest constellations and then "star-hop" across the night sky to find others nearby. Learn about the dark side of the moon, how to pick Mars out of a planetary lineup, and which kinds of stars twinkle in your favorite constellations. Hands-on tips and techniques for observing with the naked eye, binoculars, or a telescope help make the most out of sightings and astronomical phenomena such as eclipses and meteor showers. Photographs and graphics present key facts in an easy-to-understand format, explaining heavenly phenomena such as black holes, solar flares, and supernovas. Revised to make skywatching even easier for the whole family, this indispensable guide shines light on the night sky--truly one of the greatest shows on Earth!

My Thoughts:

My hubby accepted everyone's discarded National Geographic magazines and subscribed to it for years. Recently I convinced him it was time to get rid of the several hundred copies we've been storing. But the problem is that we can't just throw them away - they are just too high quality to just put in the trash so I'm working now to find a new home for them where they will be appreciated. 

National Geographic brings that same high quality to the books they publish. When I post reviews on Netgalley, they always ask "Would you buy this book for yourself or a friend?" The answer with this book is a resounding "yes," as it has been for all of the National Geographic books we've been reviewing this year. The photography is, as expected, spectacular, they are packed full of information, written so that they are accessible to most ages. They make terrific resource books that make readers want to learn more. 

Backyard Guide To The Night Sky covers much more than the expected sun, moon, and planets. Chapters include The Atmosphere, Comets and Meteors, Beyond The Solar System, and Beyond The Milky Way. It also teaches readers how to navigate the night sky and provides sky charts. I'm pretty stoked that this book has finally convinced my husband to pull the telescope he bought at least 15 years ago out of the basement! We're looking forward to trying it out this weekend and using the sky charts. According to the spring chart, we should be able to find Ursa Minor and Virgo. As I'm just finishing Andy Weir's latest book set in space, this book is the perfect nonfiction accompaniment to that. 

I really can't recommend these books for your family highly enough. This book, in particular, would make a great book for families - a wonderful learning tool for young people and an aide to an activity that the entire family can enjoy together. 

Thanks to the ladies of TLC Book Tours for including me on this tour. For other reviews, check out the full tour. 

Spark: How Genius Ignites, From Child Prodigies to Late Bloomers by Claudia Kalb

Spark: How Genius Ignites, From Child Prodigies to Late Bloomers by Claudia Kalb

Published April 2021 by National Geographic

Source: my copy courtesy of the publisher, through TLC Book Tours, in exchange for an honest review

Publisher's Summary:

Yo-Yo Ma's ear for music emerged not long after he learned to walk. By the age of seven, he was performing for President Kennedy; by fifteen he debuted at Carnegie Hall. Maya Angelou, by contrast, didn't write her iconic memoir, I Know Why the Cage Bird Sings, until she was 40. What propels some individuals to reach extraordinary creative heights in the earliest years of life while others discover their passions decades later? Are prodigies imbued with innate talent? How often are midlife inspirations triggered by propitious events, like Julia Child's first French meal at the age of 36? Do late bloomers reveal their talents because their skills require life experience and contemplation? 

Through engaging storytelling and intriguing historical and cutting-edge scientific research, best-selling author and acclaimed journalist Claudia Kalb explores these questions to uncover what makes a prodigy and what drives a late bloomer. In this series of linked biographies, Kalb follows the journeys of thirteen remarkable individuals—from Shirley Temple to Alexander Fleming to Eleanor Roosevelt to Bill Gates—to discover the secrets behind their talents. Each possessed a unique arc of inspiration. Each—through science, art, music, theater, and politics—reached extraordinary success at different stages of life. And each offers us a chance to explore the genesis—and experience—of genius.

My Thoughts:

I jumped onto this tour and when the book arrived I thought it looked interesting. Then, when it was suddenly time to read it, I found I didn't want to read it. I have no idea why not. But I figured perhaps I'd bounce around the book, reading a few of the chapters and call it good; I was a little put off when Kalb, in the introduction, suggested that the book should be read straight through. Who was she to tell me what to do? Yeah, I know, I was channeling my teenage self quite a lot there. Here's something you rarely heard me say when I was copping attitude, though. Kalb was right. 

Kalb first introduces readers to people who excelled early in life; then she moved onto those whose talents became clear when they were between 13-27 and finally she moves onto those whom she calls the "late bloomers." That order allows us to see that while many people seem to be born with genius, childhood prodigies don't necessarily show continued excellence in their fields; that for some, a certain amount of learning, encouragement, and an ego that has not yet been crushed result in extraordinary achievements; and for still others, life lessons learned and personal growth are essential to attaining full potential. Perhaps it's not too late, a reader may conclude. 

Of course, I had some subjects I was particularly interesting in reading about: Maya Angelou, Yo-Yo Ma, Eleanor Roosevelt. Others I was tempted to skip over Isaac Newton, Bill Gates, Alexander Fleming. What was Kalb - ancient guy who discovered gravity, guy whose business ethics I question, and guy I thought I'd never heard of. Kalb made them all worth reading about and I learned a lot what made them tick and what made them special. Fleming? Yeah, he's the guy who accidentally discovered penicillin but who could not have discovered it if he had not put in the hard work before that and who could not have discovered it without working in the exact way that he worked. 

Kalb doesn't just talk about each of her subjects but explores the research behind what we call genius and what each person had that helped them to excel where so many other fail. Nature vs. nurture? Both, says Kalb. It's about being born into the right family — not necessarily the rich family but the family who encourages a child's passion and those who live the lives that model that passion (Picasso's father was an artist, Ma's parents were both involved in music). Many of these examples had incredible memories. Many were inherently creative. Some required hardship growing up to develop into the person they became. 

Thanks to the ladies at TLC Book Tours for including me on this tour. For other opinions, check out the full tour here. 

CLAUDIA KALB is an award-winning author and journalist who reports on a wide variety of health and science topics. She is the author of the New York Times bestseller Andy Warhol Was a Hoarder: Inside the Minds of History’s Great Personalities. A former senior writer at Newsweek who has also contributed to Smithsonian and Scientific American, Kalb has written cover stories for National Geographic that explore genius through the lens of biography, history, culture, and science. She lives in Alexandria, Virginia. Find out more about Claudia at her website, and follow her on Twitter and Instagram.

Why I Never Finished My Dissertation by Laura Foley

Why I Never Finished My Dissertation by Laura Foley
Published August 2019 by Headmistress Press
Source: my copy courtesy of the publisher, through TLC Book Tours, in exchange for an honest review

Publisher's Summary:
None.

My Thoughts: Six years ago I read and thoroughly enjoyed Laura Foley's Joy Street. It was a no brainer for me to pick up this volume when it was recommended to me. Like Joy Street, Why I Never Finished My Dissertation is a deeply personal collection. The first collection was focused on one aspect of her life but here Foley explores all aspects of her life, her first marriage at 19 to a man looking for his green card as she was looking to escape her privileged life, her second marriage to a much older man, mothering a mentally disabled daughter, becoming a grandmother, and finally finding real love in her forties. It is a life's journey.

Many of the poems are Foley's quiet reflections in moments alone. In others, the world comes crashing in, such as in Tehran Snow. While Foley's poetry is plain spoken and very approachable, she can also pack an emotional punch that hits you even when you see it coming, as in Visiting My Sister In The Mental Ward. Foley is capable of conveying so much in so few words, as she does in Motherhood:

Almost four, on a dare
from his bother,
he leaps from the raised silo floor
to the ground, ten feet down.
Due to birth my daughter soon -
my mouth's a wide-open O
as I watch his flight -
my hands an umbrella
around my big belly,
till he lands - on his feet
on soft summer grass,
and smiles up at me -
as I breathe, bracing myself
for whatever comes next.

If you're a mother, you can certainly relate to this poem, as you will be able to when you read Foley's poems about her daughter. They won't be the only poems that speak to you.

Thanks to the ladies at TLC Book Tours for including me on this tour. For other opinions, check out the full tour here.

About Laura Foley: Laura Foley is the author of six poetry collections, including Joy Street, Syringa and Night Ringing. Her poem “Gratitude List” won the Common Good Books poetry contest and was read by Garrison Keillor on The Writer’s Almanac. Her poem “Nine Ways of Looking at Light” won the Joe Gouveia Outermost Poetry Contest, judged by Marge Piercy. For more information on Laura’s work, please visit her website.

The Girl in the Painting by Tea Cooper

The Girl in the Painting by Tea Cooper

Published March 2021 by Thomas Nelson 

Source: courtesy of the publisher, through TLC Book Tours, in exchange for an honest review

Publisher's Summary:

Australia, 1906 Orphan Jane Piper is nine years old when philanthropist siblings Michael and Elizabeth Quinn take her into their home to further her schooling. The Quinns are no strangers to hardship— having arrived in Australia as penniless immigrants, they now care for others as lost as they once were. 

Despite Jane’s mysterious past, her remarkable aptitude for mathematics takes her far over the next seven years, and her relationship with Elizabeth and Michael flourishes as she plays an increasingly prominent part in their business. 

But when Elizabeth reacts in terror to an exhibition at the local gallery, Jane realizes no one knows Elizabeth after all—not even Elizabeth herself. As the past and the present converge and Elizabeth’s grasp on reality loosens, Jane sets out to unravel Elizabeth’s story before it is too late. 

From the gritty reality of the Australian goldfields to the grand institutions of Sydney, this compelling novel takes us on a mystery across continents and decades as both women finally discover a place to call home.

My Thoughts:

I read one word when I received the pitch for this book...Australia. I've told you before that we have several Australian families we count as friends. Because of them, I have a special fondness for that country. Book written by Australian authors, especially historical fiction books, aren't that easy to find so I was excited to have a chance to read one. 

This is a story of immigration to Australia and how those immigrants helped build the country...how they worked together and fought each other and became Australians. Cooper clearly sets the her story in Australia, describing the landscape and referencing landmarks; I always have an extra appreciation for a book that can do that, especially when I am so hoping for it. She's also used a number of historical events to place her story in a time and place. 

Cooper has crafted a book with multiple time and story lines. If you've been reading this blog long, you'll know that I often have problems with that but Cooper makes it work because all of the time lines revolve around the same core story line. Running throughout the timelines is the thread of a mystery but solving the mystery isn't the point of the book. Cooper includes the themes of prejudice, love, and honesty. At it's heart, thought, this is a book about the bonds of family and what makes a family. I loved that Cooper's leading ladies were intelligent, educated, and strong. 

This was just the book I needed right now, even though I couldn't help but keep thinking of my mom as I read it because I know she would have really enjoyed it. I was completely caught up in the story and couldn't put the book down. 

Thanks to the ladies from TLC Book Tours for including me on this tour. For other opinions about the book, check out the full tour here.

About Tea Cooper:

Tea Cooper is an Australian author of historical and contemporary fiction. In a past life she was a teacher, a journalist and a farmer. These days she haunts museums and indulges her passion for storytelling.

Connect with Tea

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