VictoriaPL's Reading Rehab in 2023

Hello there! Yes, it's me, VictoriaPL. I know I've been missing. The last few years in healthcare have been... challenging. In the last month or so it's been getting better in my department. I've even managed to read a few books, which felt so very good! Almost like my old self. This last week I got to thinking about re-joining the group. Not in a big flashy way, not with categories or even lists. Just a log of what I manage. No promises.
It feels like I haven't written a review in at least the last two years. I might try and do reviews of my last two or three books to try and get back in the swing of things.
To those of you who don't know me from before - I read WWII, Sci-Fi, Thriller, Gothic Fiction, Magical Realism, Classics, Space and Astronaut biographies and some Non-Fiction.

Welcome back, Victoria! I hope you never again have to face a health care challenge like the one just experienced.

Welcome back, Victoria!

You're here!

Welcome, Victoria. I will be interested to see what you read especially in sci-fi and magical realism.

Welcome back, Victoria.

Good to see you back. Hope you have a good reading year.

Welcome back! Hope things at work continue to improve. Happy year of reading and everything else.

I hope that 2023 brings you good health and good reading.

It's good to see you back.

>2 VivienneR: >3 rabbitprincess: >4 RidgewayGirl: >5 Zozette: >6 DeltaQueen50: >7 dudes22: >8 majkia: >9 Tess_W: >10 pamelad:
Thanks everyone! Merry Christmas! 🎄

It is great to see your thread here, Victoria! Wishing you a wonderful year of reading in 2023.

Welcome back! Happy reading in 2023!

Great to see your familiar face (well, username) back on LT!

I'm glad to see you back with us and hope you do some reading in 23 that brings you joy!

>12 lkernagh: >13 JayneCM: >14 christina_reads: >15 clue: Thanks so much!

My husband recently took me book shopping for my birthday and in a moment of nostalgia, I bought a vintage copy of Victoria Holt's The Shivering Sands. And let me tell you, it was the best birthday present I gave myself. I truly, thoroughly, enjoyed it and I've had a book-hangover from it all week. I've read at least one of Holt's books when I was younger but I have no idea which one it might have been. I know that I won't forget this one! I actually tried to slow the experience down and just revel in it for awhile. Perhaps my favorite book this year.
Let me paint the picture for you. An old family manse, sitting on an ocean-side cliff, overlooking several galleons half-sunk in the quicksand. The family? Just a shell of a man, grieving the suicide of his wife, the death of his golden boy at the hands of his other son, and the few family-relations who remain. There's the auntie who paints and predicts the future, the vicar's wife who tries to create the future she wants for her family, oh, and the ghost. That's right. No one knows if the spirit is one of the lost family or of the Roman remains recently found on the estate. And into this framework steps our heroine, not necessarily a governess but a music teacher and she has her own secrets. Like the battle between the ocean and the sands, each interlude between the family and the pianist reveals more tragedy and more treasure.
If you enjoy Gothic romance and Byronic heroes, do yourself a favor and read The Shivering Sands.

>17 VictoriaPL: You hit me with a BB! Haven't read Holt for years--nostalgia is calling me!

>17 VictoriaPL: Haven’t heard that name in decades, but I remember my mother reading lots of Victoria Holt when I was very small.

>17 VictoriaPL: I know I have at least one Victoria Holt in a box somewhere, a relict from my teenage years. I'll have to look for it. I think it's Seven for a Secret.

>18 Tess_W: I hope you enjoy it!
>19 KeithChaffee: she was a very prolific writer. 200 books under several pen names.
>20 RidgewayGirl: back in your Jane Eyre phase? 😊

Welcome back, and I wish you success in 2023!

>17 VictoriaPL: - I'm almost positive I read her sometime in the past - the name is familiar. But I guess I didn't realize how prolific she was. Who know now what I read.

One of the tshirts I’ve been wanting went on end-of-year discount, so I bought it. It has a Wuthering Heights quote on the shoulder and I was looking forward to receiving it. It came in the post today along with a surprise from RidgewayGirl - a Wuthering Heights candle! I love when things sync like that! Again, thank you Kay! 💗

Glad to give you a little more Wuthering Heights in your life! Hope it smells good.

I originally requested Those of Us About to Die from the LT Early Readers' selection for only one reason.... I like the movie Gladiator. I really, really like everything about it and have seen it countless times. I thought, oh, a gladiator book... right on!
The premise of the book is the culmination of a week of Games, held to celebrate the emperor Nero, which features Gladiators and other fighters, charioteers, animal hunts and prisoners to be publicly executed. The book sets up the event, then goes back and gives you the history of all the major players and then at the end, puts them all together in the arena. Sounds good.
From a technical standpoint... this copy is not marked an ARC nor does it have any of the disclaimers about being a pre-edit copy, however I found multiple instances of missing / wrong words in sentences. Things that spellchecker is not going to find. The book needed an editor. For instance "Nero did have a bang hanging from his shoulder. But there was no money in it." Or, "Rufus summoned Jurissa to his office. He met outside the door."
From a stylist standpoint... Some books wax on poetically about a character's features, Edward's sparkly skin, etc, but this is not that. Instead, it's almost devoid of description. Jurissa puts on the traditional Amazon robe. Great, what does that look like? How am I to keep an image of her in my head?
Also, a word about content. The book has a warning about the brutality and gore and sex. Okay. However, it also has scenes of spirituality and prayer. I cannot see how the readers who enjoy the rape and gore scenes are going to stick through the faith scenes. And likewise, anyone who likes the Christian scenes is not going to enjoy the brutality scenes. The book has a very specific niche reader and I am not it.

>17 VictoriaPL: I devoured my mum's Victoria Holt, Georgette Heyer and Jean Plaidy books when I was a teen. I really need to reread some of them.

Victoria's here! Hi and welcome back! I can only imagine the stress and difficulties those who are in the healthcare profession have faced in the last three years. As a patient and a visitor at the hospital during this time, I saw firsthand how hard everyone was working to care for everyone, especially many times with limited staff and resources. I hope you have a good reading year!

>27 JayneCM: the nice thing about vintage copies is that they have that vintage pulp smell. I love that smell.

>28 lsh63: Thank you so much for your kind words. The first weeks of January are some of our busiest weeks so I’m not sure how much I’ll finish.

I read many a Victoria Holt (and Phyllis Whitney) book back in the 1970s! Wishing you a great year of reading! Are you headed this way anytime soon?

>17 VictoriaPL: Last year I read The Mistress of Mellyn, my first Victoria Holt and a very good gothic, so have added The Shivering Sands to the wish list.

>30 mstrust: thanks! Happy New Year!
>31 thornton37814: thanks! Not that I know of. We're going to Israel in June, so not much travel planned until then.
>32 pamelad: I hope that you enjoy it!

>1 VictoriaPL: Thank you for all you did during the pandemic. Health care workers never get enough support.
>17 VictoriaPL: I loved Victoria Holt when I was in high school, I may have to locate one at a book sale and reread it.
Good luck with your reading in 2023

>34 lowelibrary: thank you. Hope to have a review soon depending on how busy we are this week

Happy New Year, and I hope you have a wonderful year filled with many great books, and hopefully some opportunities to recharge!

Welcome back and I hope you have a good reading year.

>36 MissBrangwen: >37 hailelib: thank you
Worked from 6am to 11pm last night. Too exhausted to read or review. Maybe tonight. Might have a book haul if my last two books arrive today like they are scheduled to.

Wow, that's a long day! I surprised you have the energy to type.

Finally received my birthday/Christmas presents to myself. 1st book stack of 2023! Mostly WWII but not completely… Now to find room on my TBR shelves.

Black City
The Longest Echo
When We Meet Again
All My Love Detrick
A Rose for the Resistance
The Prisoner's Wife
The Lost Letter
The Forest of Vanishing Stars
The Beautiful Ones

Great haul, Victoria! I haven't read any of them so I will be watching for your reviews. (Understanding that you may not get to any of these books for some time)

The Sisters of Auschwitz: The true story of two Jewish Sisters' Resistance in the Heart of Nazi territory by Roxane van Iperen

(I don't really consider telling you that they were captured by the Nazis to be a spoiler as the title of the book tells you they went to Auschwitz... but be warned I'm not going to bother with the spoiler html, m'kay?)

When reading about WWII, there are so many places to pick from, geographically. I am most drawn to Paris and Amsterdam. The Dutch Jews were hit so hard by the Nazis, it's estimated three-quarters of the population were wiped out.

Amsterdam is where we are with the story of the Brilleslijper family: sisters Janny and Lien, their husbands, their brother and their parents - all were outspoken against the Nazi regime and all were targets due to their activities. They fed people who couldn't get food, hid everyone who asked and even ran an underground press. The sisters would hide the Resistance newspapers under the babies in the pram. Janny even once faked labor to get out of an interrogation. They were a very brave family.

Eventually the pressure from the authorities became too much. Friends impressed upon them the urgency to find a new situation and so the entire family moved into a country house named The High Nest in March 1943. There were some Nazi sympathizers near but enough forest and grounds to insulate them from prying eyes. The owners of the house knew of five individuals officially in residence but unofficially there were usually twenty to twenty-five people living there. Contacts gave the family extra ration cards and they tried to conceal how much food they bought, even establishing two different milk runs. Some keen-eyed shopkeepers cottoned on but kept their mouths shut. Their brother Jaap built in cabinetry or false walls in most rooms as hiding spots and he even did a small underground tunnel but never took that very far.

It was a "Jew Hunter" that found them. Janny and Lien were highly sought after and the man received an extra bounty for the capture. The families were broken up but the sisters were kept together and they passed through several camps: Westerbork, Bergen-Belsen and Auschwitz. Along the way they became friendly with another pair of Dutch sisters, Margot and Anne Frank, and their mother Edith. The four girls looked out for each other, sharing food and a bunk. Janny and Lien were there until the very end for Margot and Anne and gave them as much dignity in death as they could manage. And that's not saying much. Janny and Lien almost did not survive. They were terribly ill for a very, very long time after the liberation.

I had not read an account of anyone who had been with the Frank family in the camps and that was very interesting. The camp section of the telling is very bleak. Very graphic about lice and bodies, disease and lost of spirit. It's not necessarily fun reading but it is very educational and I think it's important to know history. I'm glad I read it but am not likely to re-read. Would recommend if you are interested in the subject matter.

>40 VictoriaPL: Great haul!

I'm listening to The Librarian Spy by Madeline Martin right now. It's WW2 era.

>42 VictoriaPL:

My local library actually has that and I've added it to my wishlist.

>40 VictoriaPL: There is nothing more fun than unpacking a big stack of books! Have fun finding places on your bookshelves for them!

>43 thornton37814: oh! I'll have to look for it!
>44 hailelib: I look forward to your thoughts!
>45 RidgewayGirl: you've seen my TBR shelves! LOL

>42 VictoriaPL: That book is on my TBR and I have thoughts of completing it this year!

>47 Tess_W: Excellent! I hope that you enjoy it!

>40 VictoriaPL: There's nothing so wonderful as a stack of new books. I hope the new year gives you plenty of time and energy to enjoy them!

Bought a trio of books today

Sunflowers: a novel of Vincent van Gogh
Spirit of Steamboat: a Longmire story
Ophelia

I wish I was there to encourage you to buy even more books!

>51 RidgewayGirl: I bought a book for you but you can't have it yet, LOL

>52 VictoriaPL: Ooooh!

>50 VictoriaPL: put the Van Gogh on my WL!

>54 Tess_W: I've read before in non-fiction accounts about the prostitute that lived with him for awhile that also modeled for him but this is written as from her perspective. I thought it might be interesting. Reading next month.

>50 VictoriaPL: Sunflowers is going on my wishlist too!

>56 VivienneR: looks like I’ve started something, LOL

>64 lsh63: I really enjoyed The Librarian Spy so I hope you get a chance to read or listen to it.

Well, it has been an interesting week.
I applied for a different position at work, interviewed for it, accepted an offer and gave a two week notice to my current team. All sorts of feels but mostly positive.
I did manage to finish a book and I’ll review that soon.
Hope everyone has a great weekend!

Congratulations on the new job, Victoria!

Congrats on the new job!

Congrats on your new job, I hope it means less overwork for you!

>59 VictoriaPL: I hope the transition to a new position goes smoothly and that you enjoy the new challege.

Hi Victoria, I hope you enjoy your new job!

Congratulations on the new job!

I hope your new job goes really well!

Congratulations on your new job!

Thanks everyone! It will mean no crazy 16-18hr shifts and I’m really excited about that!

I hope the new job goes well!

>68 VictoriaPL: That sounds really good! Congrats!

Congratulations on the new job and the end to the long shifts.

Congrats!.....That means more time for reading???!!!

Thanks everyone! >72 Tess_W: Yes! and for other hobbies that have fallen to the wayside.

The Spirit of Steamboat: A Longmire Story by Craig Johnson

It's Christmas Eve and Sheriff Walt Longmire is enjoying his annual re-read of A Christmas Carol when a woman walks into his office. She's no ghost but she is from his past, from another Christmas Eve, when she and Walt experienced a miracle. It involves a blizzard, a WWII bomber and the half-drunk crusty former-sheriff of Absaroka county, Lucian Connally.

I love the Longmire series and I had no idea this novella was out there until I saw it in the post-holiday markdown bin at my local used bookstore. It was short read, something a little different from the normal, which must have been fun for Mr. Johnson to write. Just so you know, there's no Henry or Vic or Cady in this story - so if you read Longmire for them this one might not appeal. I enjoyed spending more time with Lucian.

Camouflage by Joe Haldeman

Two alien beings emerge from the ocean waves, both taking on new forms and learning new language, melding into this society called humanity. Decades pass, the changeling and the chameleon experience lifetime after lifetime - becoming male, female and even animal. They amass a wealth of knowledge and experiences. It's been so long though, that they've forgotten about whatever they started as. That is, until an announcement comes about the discovery of an alien ship. It kindles a memory and sparks a desire to relearn who they are and where they came from.

I love Joe Haldeman's science fiction. I trust him enough that even though I don't read a great deal of sci-fi, if I see one of his books I'll pick it up. He has a way of conveying what could be a difficult or technical concept in a way that feels so simple and every day. I never feel that he's overtaxing my suspension of disbelief even when he's writing some very out-there stuff. I had no problem at all envisioning these shape-shifters and how they functioned. My difficulty came from keeping them apart. They took on so many identities that I had trouble remembering who was who. Much like the difficulty I had keeping Edmund's alter-egos in The Count of Monte Cristo straight. I did enjoy it and would probably benefit from a second reading at some point, but not right away.

Karin Slaughter posted that she has a 25% off discount code for a US preorder on Barnes & Noble for AFTER THAT NIGHT good for today on BN.com. It's the forthcoming Will Trent book. The code is PREORDER25 - thought that I would share.

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/after-that-night-karin-slaughter/1142858649?ean...

ETA: this code appears to be valid for any pre-order not just for this one title!

Rocket Ranch The Nuts and Bolts of the Apollo Moon Program at Kennedy Space Center
by Jonathan Ward

I first met Jonathan when he came in to town on a book tour for Bringing Columbia Home and we've kept in touch here and there. I wanted to read more of his back catalog so he made me a deal on Rocket Ranch and Countdown to a Moon Launch, signed them, and shipped them to me. These two were originally one book but ended up as two during the editing / publishing process.

I grew up on the SpaceCoast of Florida, my Mom worked out at the Cape for a bit on the Shuttle program, so I've always had a fascination with our Space Program. I've read a lot of astronaut biographies, Apollo books and general NASA history. That said, I still learned several things about Cape Canaveral and the building of the Kennedy Space Center that I did not know.
The book gave me such a clearer understanding about the launch pads and the VAB. So many details that were fascinating. In a few places the book was over my head technically (which is not hard to do) but those times were always followed up with a lovely anecdote that helped me along. The book contained so many stories from the everyday workers, the pad rats and such, which were enjoyable and I loved that there were a plethora of photos - most of them in color. I am looking forward to "part 2".

Today is NASA's Day of Remembrance and as I looked at a photo of the Apollo 1 crew, I was thinking about this book and the chapter on the pad fire. I've read so much about it before but this book brought it home to me in a different way. I thought about those workers out at the Cape. How it affected those who serviced that capsule and rocket, who were manning the consoles running that 'plugs out' test when the fire started, those men who burned themselves during the attempted rescue and those who had to see terrible things during the investigation. Never forget.

I think it's so wonderful that you kept in touch with him!

Victoria's War by Catherine A Hamilton

The story focuses on a group of fictional Polish women, based on true stories, who were transported by the Germans to be slave labor in factories and homes during WWII. The main character, Victoria Darski, ends up working for a family who owns a bakery. She is able to befriend the family's deaf daughter but is also routinely beaten by the father and son, the later loaning her out to a brothel. Still, Victoria finds a way to resist, small acts to help others who did not land in a situation as decent as hers.

So a WWII book with my name in the title.. yes, I put it my cart without even processing a second thought about it. Highly readable, only took two or three small sessions to finish it off. Sometimes a word or phase pushed me out of the story. One character tells Victoria that if things go 'sideways', she'll look out for her. That's quite a modern expression. Also, it was quite jarring how the father and brother could be so loving with the deaf child, who was less than the Aryan ideal but also be so brutal to Victoria, because she was less than the Aryan ideal. I know, people's actions did not make much sense during that time but it still it didn't quite mesh. I still enjoyed it.

>78 RidgewayGirl: I would not have met him if you hadn't invited me to the signing! I do miss our author adventures!

A Ship Possessed by Alton Gansky

Amazon blurb:The USS Triggerfish--an American World War II submarine--has come home over fifty years after she was presumed lost in the Atlantic. Now her dark gray hulk lies embedded in the sand of a San Diego beach, her conning tower barely above the breaking surf. The submarine is in the wrong ocean, her crew is missing . . . And her half-century absence is a mystery that's about to deepen. For the Triggerfish has returned, but she has not returned alone. Something is inside her -- something unexpected and terrible. To J. D. Stanton, retired Navy captain and historian, falls the task of solving the mystery surrounding a ship possessed. What he is about to encounter will challenge his training, his wits, and his faith. Complicating his mission is a ruthless madman bent on obtaining a secret artifact stolen from the highest levels of the Nazi regime. And poised in the middle is a young woman, a lieutenant who must contend with invisible forces she never knew existed. A Ship Possessed is a story of faith, courage, and determination in the face of unexpected and unknown evil.

I found this paperback in a used bookstore in North Carolina, in a mixed fiction box on the floor. It was the cover that drew me in. I am a sucker for a submarine story. The Hunt for Red October, Crimson Tide, Below, U851... I have watched so many. But it was the mention of Nazis that sealed the deal. I was also intrigued that it was printed by Zondervan publishing house. Of all the Christian Fiction genres, I do enjoy action and thriller the most, so I decided to give it a chance. It really surprised me how much I enjoyed the story. I remarked to myself several times how well I thought it was written, how much I was engaged with it and where was that bloody Nazi? He finally showed up, as all madmen do. I will look for more Gansky to read!

JANUARY RECAP

The Shivering Sands by Victoria Holt
Those of Us About to Die by Michael Woodhead (LTER)
The Sisters of Auschwitz by Roxane van Iperen
Spirit of Steamboat by Craig Johnson
Camouflage by Joe Haldeman
Rocket Ranch by Jonathan H Ward
Victoria's War by Catherine A Hamilton
A Ship Possessed by Alton Gansky

Whew! I think I had a great reading month - considering January is the most difficult time for my work - and I changed jobs the last week of the month, LOL. It's been a rollercoaster. I'm so pleased that I have managed to get back into the "habit" of not only reading consistently but also posting in a timely fashion. Thanks to all who stopped by and kept me company!

For February I will be doing my usual - chick lit and romance reads. I should have saved Shivering Sands but I just could not resist it.
Hope you all had a great month!

A great reading month! Have fun with your February reads!

>81 VictoriaPL: Isn't it wonderful when a random impulse purchase turns out to be really good?

Congratulations on the job change -- hope the new role is going well! And I look forward to your February romance/chick lit picks. :)

>81 VictoriaPL: thanks Christina!

Hi Victoria, just stopping by to see what you've been up to. Thank you for telling me about the Will Trent series, I'm going to definitely look into it. I hope the job is going well for you and that you are also doing well.

It's good to see you back in your reading groove!

Congratulations on a great reading month! The Shivering Sands is very tempting.

Congrats on the new job! >42 VictoriaPL: I've added this one to my wishlist. I hadn't read about anyone who saw the Frank women in the camps until last month. Parallel Journeys follows Helen Waterford through the war. She was a German Jew in Amsterdam and she ended up in the same camp with the Frank women. She knew them by sight, but they were not close.

>89 cbl_tn: thanks! Oh! I'll look out for that one!

I have not been following (until now!). Congrats on the new job. Have you started yet?

>91 LibraryCin: yes, I started this week!

>92 VictoriaPL: I could say I hope it's going well, but it's probably too early to really determine if you'll enjoy it or not!

Brontë's Mistress by Finola Austin

"And this tutor, he-" He saved me and destroyed me all at once, taught me I could still feel so I could discover that I needed more than him.

That quote tells you much about the woman that Branwell Brontë destroyed himself over - Lydia Gisborne Robinson. This telling shows her moving from a cold and distant marriage into a fiery passion, the extravagant energy that exemplified everything that we know of Branwell's disposition. But Lydia was older and in a different place in her life. Having just lost her youngest child and her mother, she suffers the difficulties of her remaining children, who are all teenagers. With no one in the house who caters to her needs, she finds herself looking elsewhere. Will this new adoration, this exultation from a man not much older than her own children be enough to satisfy her vanity?
Though it is not actually confirmed if their relationship was actually physical, or simply emotional, we do know that after he was dismissed from the house, Branwell never recovered. Like many creatives he felt deeply and he loved wildly and he took to self-medicating in excess. Another sad end for another Brontë sibling.
If you enjoy the Brontë sisters' works then you might give this one a try. Austin sprinkles little homages here and there that will make you feel at home. I enjoyed the telling of the tale but it does not lead me to any good feelings for Lydia. I suppose I should read other material about her in order to form a balanced opinion. It does make me even more curious to visit the Parsonage someday and to see the family library, including those things written by Branwell.

What Souls Are Made Of: A Wuthering Heights remix by Tasha Suri

We go and sit with Isabella. The sugared tea is sweet on my tongue, and the cakes sweeter. I think of the first night I was carried into this parlor with a dog bite on my leg and was offered a little slice of a current scone by Edgar, his hands trembling. And how - how I put it onto my tongue, and it was like a vow I had made, a fairy thing. I had eaten here, and tasted sweetness, tasted what it meant to be rich, and now I could never run again for the craving of it, even it if would one day strike me dead.

Then I'll come back to the Heights, Cathy. Only then. I'll come back broken and twisted, wealthy and vicious. I'll come back and break Hindley better than he could ever have broken me. I'll come back and I won't be low any more. I won't be beneath you. But my love for you won't be this soft thing that fills me up and bleeds more than a heart ever could. It'll be cold waves, drowning me. And drowning you.

If this series of remixed classics by Feiwel & Friends is written as well as this one is than I will need another shelf for my TBR. Such gorgeous writing. This retelling solidly gives Heathcliff an Indian ancestry and also monkeys with Hindley's and Catherine's backstory as well. It informs some of the pain and trauma that all of them have going on. The timeline is following Heathcliff's departure but before Cathy becomes Mrs Linton. I think many who have problems with the original tale will like the changes that have been made for this one. I really enjoyed it and read it all in one sitting - simply captivating for a WH fangirl like myself.

Next will be (in no particular order):

The Beautiful Ones
Ophelia
Sunflowers

>94 VictoriaPL:
>95 VictoriaPL:

I'm a Bronte lover. These go on my TBR list!

>97 Tess_W: me too. 😊
I hope that you enjoy them!

Ophelia by Lisa Klein

The court ladies, with their bright plumage and twittering voices, were like so many birds in a gilded cage. I was the plain robin among them, longing for freedom and unable to sing for the bars around me.

I am a person who hates Shakespeare and loves Shakespeare. The original text is just impossible for me, I struggle with the Old English and I don't have the patience for footnotes. I also do not enjoy the play format - it wasn't written to be read but to be seen and heard. That was the key to Shakespeare for me. It was Leonardo DiCaprio who taught me to love Romeo & Juliet, Heath Ledger for The Taming of the Shrew and Daisy Ridley who unlocked Hamlet for me. Is it "authentic"? No. And I'm okay with that.
I saw this sitting on a shelf in my local used bookstore and put it in my cart after reading a page or three. It's that kind of easily digested "King James lite" dialogue that still sounds formal but you don't trip over any of the words. I really enjoyed this retelling. Obviously it is expanded and Ophelia is the main character and not a minor character, as in Hamlet. Several things happen in the book that don't happen in the play, most notably the HEA - which I personally enjoyed very much. Very appropriate for Valentine's week reads. I'll be looking for more by Klein.

>99 VictoriaPL: Sounds great...but what is HEA?

>100 Tess_W: It's short for Happily Ever After, the traditional ending of a romance novel. (There can also be an HFN, Happy For Now, where the couple isn't necessarily getting married but is happily together at the end of the story).

>100 Tess_W: sorry Tess and >101 christina_reads: thank you Christina!

>101 christina_reads: >102 VictoriaPL: TY!

Black City by Elizabeth Richards

Amazon blurb: In a city where humans and Darklings are now separated by a high wall and tensions between the two races still simmer after a terrible war, sixteen-year-olds Ash Fisher, a half-blood Darkling, and Natalie Buchanan, a human and the daughter of the Emissary, meet and do the unthinkable--they fall in love. Bonded by a mysterious connection that causes Ash's long-dormant heart to beat, Ash and Natalie first deny and then struggle to fight their forbidden feelings for each other, knowing if they're caught, they'll be executed--but their feelings are too strong.
When Ash and Natalie then find themselves at the center of a deadly conspiracy that threatens to pull the humans and Darklings back into war, they must make hard choices that could result in both their deaths.

Human/vampire story lines are my jam. Bring in YA Dystopia and boom - You have yourself a winner! Right? Am I right?!? Well, not exactly. I should have liked this more. I wanted to like this more! There were moments were I was like - yes! But most of the time it was - meh. Like most modern dystopia, there's a lot going on and you can feel the cogs turning. For my tastes, it has too many love triangles. Maybe I'm just getting old. I won't be reading the rest of the trilogy (yes, of course it's a trilogy).

Just received my LT ER book for the month and I’m trying to keep my rating up. Might interrupt my romance/chick lit reads to fit it in.

Code Name Edelweiss by Stephanie Landsem

Lemme guess. WWII?

>106 RidgewayGirl: how’d you guess?!? 😂

>99 VictoriaPL: Ophelia is a BB for me! And I've also added Lady Macbeth's Daughter by the same author. Thank you, Victoria!

>108 VivienneR: thanks for visiting and I hope that you enjoy them!

Code Name Edelweiss by Stephanie Landsem

Book received from the LibraryThing Early Reviewers program.

Liesl Weiss grew up on the MGM lot. She knows everything happening with the Studio - or thought that she did, until one day she is fired from the secretarial pool. How will she support her two children? Lucky for Liesl, someone does recognize her worth. She quickly becomes involved with The Friends of New Germany - to type letters and keep files, to become invaluable to their membership. For Liesl Weiss is otherwise known as Edelwiess, the newest operative standing between Tinseltown and the new Nazi threat. But Liesl can't thwart their terrible schemes all alone. Can she uncover the other secret agent she's heard rumors about before it's too late?

Mr. Lewis regarded me with utmost seriousness. "Let me ask you a question - a very important question. And please, it is most imperative that you answer honestly."
I agreed to that request. It was the least I could do after lying about Mrs. Porter.
He lowered his chin and his dark eyes met mine. "How do you feel," he said slowly and carefully, "about Adolf Hitler?"

I really enjoy WWII genre fiction and Jane Thynne's Clara Vine series, which features Nazis, espionage and Germany's UFA Studios, is one of my favorites. I was so excited when the LTER program sent me a copy of Code Name Edelweiss. I have not read a WWII book set on American soil and I welcomed something new. I really liked the Hollywood locale and I enjoyed the characters. It's very easy to like Liesl, she's pretty and poor, brave and vulnerable. She's a responsible young mother who fights to make her community safe for her children, her family and her friends.
If this type of genre is your cup of tea, make room at your table for Code Name Edelweiss.

>110 VictoriaPL: I'm also a fan of WWII historical fiction, so this will definitely get a spot on my ever growing wish-list!

>111 Tess_W: I have so many WWII books to read. They take up an entire shelf on my TBR bookcase. I'm trying to do others genres in between so it’s not everything that I read, LOL

>112 VictoriaPL: My Master's and PhD work was on WWII, the Holocaust specifically. Every student that knew of my studies always bought me WWII books for Christmas! I literally have 157 (according to LT) tagged WWII to read!

>113 Tess_W: I never get tired of it.

Yep. Every time I see a book set during WWII, I think to myself, "I wonder if Victoria would like that." Jo Baker has a new book coming out set during WWII. Maybe a tandem read? It's called The Midnight News.

>99 VictoriaPL: I too have mixed feelings about Shakespeare. When I was in high school, I didn't enjoy Shakespeare because of the barrier the language created, but I appreciate the timeless themes, and I really love Shakespeare retellings, when they're done well.

>115 RidgewayGirl: LOL, thank you for thinking of me, dear friend. Yes! Yes to any tandem read with you.

>116 mathgirl40: Do you have a favorite Shakespeare retelling? I think I am brave enough for more!

The Beautiful Ones by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

"You are going to break one of us, and it will not be me," she said, and he almost caught her wrist, but she pulled away - she always pulled away - and left him alone.

"Do you think you can put your heart in a box of iron and throw away the key? Do you think that is the best way to live? Keep your damn heart in a box and let nothing touch it!" she exclaimed.
Ready to depart, now that she had said her piece, she whirled away from him. Her chest burned with ardent sorrow, but at least she was glad she was not weeping.
"No, I do not think it is possible, because you are in there already!" he yelled back.

Oh my! I chose this book for my Valentine's Day read and I was not disappointed. I first heard about it from a booktuber. I have watched over two dozen review videos by this person and she is usually very negative (but constructive) about the books that she reads. In fact, she is so well known for her contriteness that, being accused of never liking any novels, she had to make a list of ones that she did like. And this one, this one made the list. In fact, she fairly glowed when she spoke of it. She didn't say the premise of the book at all but I didn't need her to because of the amazing change in her disposition. She could not stop smiling and squeeing and said that it gave her the feeling of her all-time favorite movie, 1995's Pride and Prejudice. Well, I am quite the fan of that film as well. Quite. So on that statement alone, not even knowing the plot or promise of the book, I ordered a copy. And if you are a fan of P&P, you should do the same.
It's like P&P, Sanditon, Wuthering Heights, Jane Eyre, Little Women, North and South, Poldark and even some of the similar modern books like the Pink Carnation series. It is everything right from all those books, simply fantastic. I loved every minute I spent with it and I want to read it all over again - right now.

>110 VictoriaPL: I’m more interested in WWII fiction that was written at the time, or by people who lived through it. Do you read that as well?

>119 pamelad: I have read some! Do you have some book bullets to throw my way?

Alone in Berlin by Hans Fallada, Caught by Henry Green, Life and Fate by Vasily Grossman. A Chelsea Concerto by Frances Faviell is non-fiction.

Thinking of some crime novels.

Murder by Matchlight by E C R Lorac
Green for Danger by Christianna Brand

More non-crime.

Volumes 2, 3 and 4 of Doris Lessing's Children of Violence series. You might as well read volume 1 as well!
Suite Francaise by Irene Nemirovsky

>121 pamelad: Alone in Berlin keeps taking me to Every Man Dies Alone, which I have a copy of on my TBR.
Are they the same?

>121 pamelad: Yes. Same book.

>123 pamelad: excellent. Thank you for the recommendations!

A pleasure!

>118 VictoriaPL: Well, okay! This author has been on my radar for a while, but I had her in my "probably not for me" mental category. But if this book is going to give me P&P feels, it needs to go on the list!

ETA: In fact, it was already on my TBR list! Must be a sign to move it closer to the top!

>126 christina_reads: I cannot wait to hear your thoughts on it Christina!

>118 VictoriaPL: I read Mexican Gothic by the same author last year and enjoyed it tremendously. Have we found another author we both like? Do you want my copy?

>128 RidgewayGirl: I remember Mexican Gothic making a splash but I don't think it really registered on my radar. I wouldn't turn it down.

It was one of the books I bought when we met at M. Judson when they were only allowing people in with appointments.

>130 RidgewayGirl: I remember seeing it during our trip to Raleigh too.

Love in a Time of War by Suzanne Elizabeth Anderson

I turned to my sister and saw the rage that filled her eyes.
She leaned over and whispered in my ear. "First you take the man that I love and then you take my prize. I will never forgive you."
But she did in time. I gave up poetry after that contest. And I gave up Deszo."

Budapest. The Germans have just arrived and the Russians are on their way. Twin sisters Anna and Natalie are sheltering their half-Jewish niece in their apartment while looking for a better solution. There are no more trains allowed past the border. The greengrocer is thinking of turning them in to get the Nazis off her back and there is little food. It's a desperate time, for all involved. One sister teeters on the edge of reality, leaving the other to try and solve the situation on her own. They turn to the one man who might be able to help. The one man who has loved them both. Deszo.

So, yes, it's a love triangle - but - it's not YA and it's a standalone so you don't have to read an entire trilogy for the conclusion! Best WWII book ever? No, but not the worst either. An enjoyable few hours in a genre that I adore, I'll take it. An interesting contemplation of jealousy, what-ifs and familial love.

Hi Victoria,
So good to see you back posting and reading again. I hope the job continues to go well for you.

>133 lsh63: thanks Lisa! I appreciate that so much!

The Mermaid and Mrs Hancock by Imogen Hermes Gowar

Amazon blurb One September evening in 1785, Jonah Hancock hears an urgent knocking on his front door near the docks of London. The captain of one of Jonah’s trading vessels is waiting eagerly on the front step, bearing shocking news. On a voyage to the Far East, he sold the Jonah’s ship for something rare and far more precious: a mermaid. Jonah is stunned—the object the captain presents him is brown and wizened, as small as an infant, with vicious teeth and claws, and a torso that ends in the tail of a fish. It is also dead.
As gossip spreads through the docks, coffee shops, parlors and brothels, all of London is curious to see this marvel in Jonah Hancock’s possession. Thrust from his ordinary existence, somber Jonah finds himself moving from the city’s seedy underbelly to the finest drawing rooms of high society. At an opulent party, he makes the acquaintance of the coquettish Angelica Neal, the most desirable woman he has ever laid eyes on—and a shrewd courtesan of great accomplishment. This meeting sparks a perilous liaison that steers both their lives onto a dangerous new course as they come to realize that priceless things often come at the greatest cost.

For some reason during the first two-thirds of this story, I had a Forever Amber vibe from it. The writing was good so I had no trouble staying with it, but I still didn't feel 'invested' in the novel. The last third really gripped me though. The plot was unexpected but some how 'right' and that made me feel interested to know how it would resolve. It's not a best-ever read for me but it was enjoyable and I'm glad that I came across it.

The Prisoner's Wife by Maggie Brooks

Bill is a British POW who quickly falls in love with the family's daughter while assigned to a Czechoslovakian farm. Izzy, convinced that she will always love Bill more than anyone else, finds a priest willing to secretly marry them. With the Red Army on their way, Bill and Izzy have a tough decision to make. If he leaves her behind, she'll have no protection from the Russians but if she comes with back with him to the camp, she has no protection under the Geneva Convention either. Izzy decides to enter the camp, assuming an identity as a shell-shocked, mute POW named Cousins. It's not too long before Bill discovers he cannot keep Izzy 's secret alone and after consulting a trusted block master, a few men are enlisted to help the couple. They make sure she is never left alone with a guard, they shield her as much as possible in the latrine and they shave their own beards so that her hairless chin does not make her conspicuous. In return, Izzy is fiercely loyal to her protectors, encouraging their spirits, tending to their wounds and searching out provisions. While on assignment at a quarry, Izzy and these men become family and their bond is further tested during a grueling forced march back to Germany ahead of the Russians.
Though the fine details have been made up for the book, the story of Bill and Izzy is a true one - told to the author by a man who heard about them in the camp. I have read a lot of WWII books, many inspired by true stories, but I've never read one about a woman passing in a man's camp. I enjoyed Izzy quite a bit. She's young and naive and has to grow up quickly but she's also practical in a farm-girl way. I liked how at times she would really lean-in to her alter-ego Cousins, and trying to act like she thought that he would act gave her the strength to keep going.

I’m intrigued by The Beautiful Ones. I added it to my library wishlist.

>137 japaul22: I look forward to hearing your thoughts on it! Thanks for visiting!

>136 VictoriaPL: Added to my WL!

>139 Tess_W: I hope you enjoy it!

The Woman in the Library by Sulari Gentill

Ned Kelly award winning author Sulari Gentill sets this mystery-within-a-mystery in motion with a deceptively simple, Dear Hannah, What are you writing? pulling us into the ornate reading room at the Boston Public Library.
The tranquility is shattered by a woman's terrified scream. Security guards take charge immediately, instructing everyone inside to stay put until the threat is identified and contained. While they wait for the all-clear, four strangers, who'd happened to sit at the same table, pass the time in conversation and friendships are struck. Each has his or her own reasons for being in the reading room that morning--it just happens that one is a murderer.

A modern "locked-room" mystery. A story-within-a-story. A writer and her beta reader - one who might go way too far to give his favorite writer some inspo. So self-aware. I loved it. I loooooooved it. Where have I been? I have to read everything by Sulari Gentill now.

FEBRUARY RECAP

Brontë's Mistress by Finola Austin
What Souls Are Made Of A Wuthering Heights Remix by Tasha Suri
Ophelia by Lisa Klein
Black City - Elizabeth Richards
Code Name Edelweiss by Stephanie Landsem (LTER)
The Beautiful Ones by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
Love in a Time of War by Suzanne Elizabeth Anderson
The Mermaid and Mrs Hancock by Imogen Hermes Gowar
The Prisoner's Wife by Maggie Brookes
The Woman in the Library by Sulari Gentill

So impressed by how many books I read in this shortest month of the year! Had some really good reads. My favorite was The Beautiful Ones. Least favorite Black City.
There's not a plan for March, just taking it as it goes. Starting things off with Stardust by Joseph Kanon and liking it so far!

>141 VictoriaPL: - That's a BB for me!

>141 VictoriaPL: Well I can't resist that glowing review!

>143 dudes22: >144 christina_reads: I can't wait to see your thoughts!

What a great reading month for you! You're back in the groove. I'm eager to see what you think of Stardust since it's sitting on my tbr. I love his books about Berlin during and after WWII, but I wasn't sure about one set in Los Angeles.

>146 RidgewayGirl: I am really impressed with it so far. It really sucked me in last night. I picked it because I’m interested on post-war Hollywood. I have another around here somewhere, let me find it…

Congratulations on a great month of reading. I'm adding The Woman in the Library to my wish list.

Fixed the touchstone that went to The Woman in White.

>148 pamelad: Thanks! LOL. I know, it pulled Woman in White for me too! I hope that you enjoy it!

My husband and I are considering selling our home and we had a realtor come over to meet with us. He said, it’s a great house and you don't need to do anything.. accept… too many books. Just box and store them until after the showings. 😂

>150 VictoriaPL: Of course!

Hi Victoria, you are having a stellar reading year so far. I am adding The Woman in the Library to my list as well. I have had The Mermaid and Mrs. Hancock on my library list for a very long time - need to push that one up a little!

I remember when I had to pack up all my books when we were selling our house. Personally, I think a lot of books in a house looks good.

Stardust by Joseph Kanon

Ben Collier, on leave from the Army, is back stateside to see his brother, Daniel, who has attempted suicide. On the down-low, Ben is also tasked with finding a Hollywood studio to partner with in producing a film using footage of the concentration camps. He comes from a film family and he knows the industry, the people, but in California nobody is interested in Nazis, they're too preoccupied with the Red Threat. As Ben learns more than he wants to of studio politics, communism and rag journalism, it becomes most important to solve the mystery of his brother's trouble and to stay out of trouble himself.

I have such a book hangover from this one. Kanon is never going to work for you if you need to know the color of the starlet's gown, the name of her lippie color or the brand of her heels. You're going to have to fill all that in using your imagination. But Kanon is excellent at telling you what she whispered in the leading man's ear as she exited the car and that's so juicy it's worth the effort. He does so much with dialogue, particularly in a one-on-one scene. I noticed a page or two that was completely dialogue with no tags, no description, no scenery - just rapid fire back-and-forth - because the pace of the scene needed that.
The dynamic between Ben and Liesl, Daniel's wife, just broke my heart. Family stuff is so hard. The studio politics were interesting to me but to be honest, I zoned on the Communist bits. If you're interested in Hollywood studios during the 40s, or in Kanon's work, I recommend it to you.

>153 VictoriaPL: Okay, I'll move this to my read-soon pile. I really like Kanon's novels.

I have a couple of Joseph Kanon books on my shelves, including this one, I think I am going to enjoy this author.

>154 RidgewayGirl:, >155 DeltaQueen50: I like Kanon too. I need to look at his other books. Looking forward to your thoughts!

I adore Kanon's work :) And meanwhile, I've taken a bb for The Woman in the Library--that sounds like a lot of fun!

Yep, you got me too with The Woman in the Library.

>157 whitewavedarling:, >158 mstrust:. Maybe I should have suggested it for a group read. LOL

>153 VictoriaPL: A BB for me!

>160 Tess_W: Thanks for visiting, Tess! I hope that you enjoy it.

Ocean Girl by Jane Buehler
Library Thing Early Reviewers Program

B&N Blurb: Muri was resigned to being the tenth bride of the king of the merfolk-until he disappeared on land. Now she has mere days to find him among the treacherous fairies and dim-witted humans before the throne is forfeit and his menacing rival takes control of the merkingdom.
Her first shimmering glimpse of a human in a boat is so captivating, his fishing net almost ensnares her. But once on shore, she discovers that the fairies are kind, and the humans intelligent. And the man who almost caught her-a fish-catcher named Jack-is utterly handsome.
Muri needs to warn the mermaids that the merking won't be returning-he's lying drunk in the village park, unable to shift to merman form. But she hesitates to leave the village. Muri wants to learn more of this place where humans and fairies help each other, women and men are equals, and rulers are chosen by everyone. And she wants to spend more time with Jack.
But the merking's rival is coming for her. He'll threaten the whole village to force her to return home. To keep Jack safe, she'll have to leave him.

I'm not really a true Romance reader. I'm more a Women's Lit reader but I requested this LTER offering because I like mermaid stories. So that will inform my perspective in giving this review, just know I'm not the intended audience. The love scenes were so highly detailed and blow-by-blow that the other scenes were paltry by comparison. I understand this is probably true to form for that genre and so I don't really count it as a negative but I will say that I found that change in detail from one scene to the other jarring and it took me out of the story.
Some of the writing got on my nerves. For example "The merpeople had stopped visiting the land villages when she was a merchild. But she had learned about them from other merpeople. How was she ever going to survive among them long enough to complete her mission - to find the missing merking?" People do not talk or think that way. Ridiculous. Also, the much-mentioned Merman Patriarchy got on my nerves. I read fiction to escape reality, I don't need politics brought into my fairy tales, thank you very much.
What did I like about it? I liked the physicality of a merperson gaining their legs and what happens if they are out of the water for too long. I liked the interaction of the fairies and the mermaids. I liked the Happily Ever After.
Can't say I recommend it but I enjoyed the opportunity to read it.

Wow, you have read so many amazing novels since I last visited your thread in the beginning of the year! I took a handful of BBs: The Woman in the Library, The Beautiful Ones, Ophelia, What Souls Are Made Of and Brontë's Mistress. My WL is impossibly long, so I don't know when I will get to them, but I am excited nevertheless.

Good luck with your new job and with selling the house!

>163 MissBrangwen: Thanks and enjoy the books!

The Library Book by Susan Orlean

On April 29, 1986 the "Central" main branch of the Los Angeles Library burned. It was a loss of the equivalent of 15 branch libraries. "The greatest loss to any public library in the history of the United States." The 200 librarians who worked there had lost 400,000 books and had to figure out how to save the 700,000 damaged books that could be retrieved from the building. There were other losses. Three-quarters of their microfilm melted, all of their art books were a loss and twenty-thousand photographs became unidentifiable due to water removing the labels. But more so, the people who worked at the library and those who visited it weekly, some even daily, had no place to come. They were a community displaced but not dispirited. People donated their personal books, children sold lemonade, bodegas sold t-shirts, and TV land held a telethon - to raise funds for books!

The debate about whether to rebuild, to move, or even what to replace was a huge question. And as the book continues, you find out the LA Library has always been a quagmire of debate and decision... and delight. It is a fascinating history. In fact, I think I enjoyed the telling of the librarians more than the recounting of the library itself. They were amazing people, so ahead of their time. They were asking questions early on about what a library's place is and what else it can, or should be, that really benefited their patrons.

Susan Orlean is one of those authors who I just read their books, no questions asked. I don't read the flap, I don't question the price on it, I just add it to the pile. She is always worth it. If you are a library patron or a book person, I highly recommend this one.

I worked in that building for almost 30 years after it reopened in 1993; several of my former co-workers are among Orlean's interview subjects in the book.

>166 KeithChaffee: Wow! That's amazing! Was reading the book weird for you?

It was a little odd. I arrived at the library in 1990, a few years after the fire, and there was a very clear divide between staff who had been there when it happened and those who hadn't, a "well, of course you wouldn't understand, you weren't here" attitude that was a weird cross of pride and survivor's guilt. That had finally faded by the time the book came out, but all of those reminiscences took me right back to that era of my life. And I didn't know most of the early LAPL history that Orlean talks about, so I found all of that very interesting.

>165 VictoriaPL: This book in particular, and that author, in general, goes on my "list!"

>168 KeithChaffee: I could not imagine 1000 woman marching to keep a librarian in the head librarian position. That's remarkable, especially during that era.

>169 Tess_W: Tess, I absolutely adored The Orchid Thief. When I think of myself as “not a non-fiction reader”, I think of Orlean and a few others that have helped me to widen my scope.

Sunflowers: a novel of Vincent van Gogh by Sheramy Bundrick

There is was. The painting I'd been waiting to see, propped against a windowsill, framed in the afternoon light. The sunflowers.
Blazing sunflowers that should have looked forlorn and sad, plucked from the earth where they'd grown, trapped inside an earthenware jug. But they didn't. They writhed with life, the yellow so passionate, so untamed - oh, I wanted to touch that painting. I wanted to run my fingers over the canvas and savor its texture, every peak and valley of paint, every swirl and dash. Caress every line, every curve where his hand had been, trace the blue letters of his name.
I thought I knew this man who talked with me and made love with me, but I didn't. I knew his body and something of his mind, nothing of his soul. Here was his soul, here, and here; in every painting in this room he'd left pieces of his spirit. Soun bèu esperit, his beautiful spirit, as we say in Provençal. This was no ordinary vase of flowers. The sunflowers were his voice, and for the first time since the day we met, I started to truly listen.

I had chosen this book for one of my Valentine's week reads, I'm sure you can see why, but I decided to save it for March in honor of Vincent's birthday instead. I'm a few days early but I just devoured this book and I couldn't slow down. I enjoyed the story that Bundrick spun. That said, I realize that I'm a pushover, I've only found one van Gogh book to be unreadable (that was Lust for Life). I think I let myself be swept up in the romance because I wanted Vincent to have had such a deep relationship, a kinship, a love, in his life. He struggled so hard with his mental health.

Vincent had a few long-term relationships with prostitutes. He could pay for their time and whether there was "business", or not, he could use them for models. Looking at his body of work we see many portraits but it seems, in reality, not many wanted to sit for the mad red-headed foreigner. He did several of his doctor, his landlord, etc. This story is all fictional, save for verifiable locales, known doctors, etc and our protagonist's name. Vincent really did present his severed ear to a prostitute named Rachel but the police report that was taken doesn't record her full name. In 2042, when the police roster that has all the prostitutes registered to Madam Virginie's house is unsealed, we might learn more.

Anyway, if you like literary fiction or just like van Gogh, I do recommend it.

>171 VictoriaPL: I'm glad to see your remarks on this, I've had it on my to read list for years. My problem with books on Van Gogh is I often think the writer has come to the subject with preconceived ideas that their book supports rather than writing from research and scholarship.

I was in Boston probably twenty years or so ago when the MFA had an exhibit of Van Gogh's drawings. I remember it so well because the drawings were all of people he knew and it was so personal, so quiet and so affecting. I can't think of any other exhibit I've seen that gave me the feeling of the artist as a person in the way this one did.

>172 clue: I bet that was a lovely exhibit. Not too long ago we had a small one in Columbia SC. One of these days I hope to make it to Paris and Amsterdam to see more of his works.

The Library Book happens to be nearly at the top of my TBR pile, so I'll get to it soon, but I was glad to see your review and rec. I love books about books and libraries.
>168 KeithChaffee: Really interesting comments!

>171 VictoriaPL: On my TBR......so many books, so little time!

>174 mstrust: >175 Tess_W: Excellent! Looking forward to your thoughts!

Only the River Runs Free by Bodie and Brock Thoene
The Galaway Chronicles Book One

Amazon: Struggling under grinding poverty and a greedy overlord, Ballynockanor is the story of a thousand Irish Villages where an English usurper is despised by his Irish tenants. When a stranger crosses the river and enters the village on Christmas Eve, Molly proclaims that he is the herald of freedom and change. Is this quiet man the spark that will stroke the fires of Irish nationalism and bring freedom in a troubled time? Or will he bring the destruction of an entire way of life?

This one felt like a cup of Christy mixed in a bowl of Pride and Prejudice with just a dash of Outlander thrown in.
I have been working my way through the Thoenes' Zion series. I think I've read 8? of those so far. But I've been taking a break from it. This one was squirreled away on my TBR and I thought March would be a good time to read it as any.
I think the Thoenes write some of the better "Christian Fiction" out there. I liked this one very much, even better than the Zion series. The story line felt nice and self-contained and I don't really have the desire to continue on with the series. Another series is the last thing that I need. But I do feel that I will come back and re-read it at some point.

MARCH RECAP

Stardust by Joseph Kanon
Ocean Girl by Jane Buehler (LTER)
The Library Book by Susan Orlean
Sunflowers by Sheramy Bundrick
Only the River Runs Free by Bodie and Brock Thoene

Well, I pegged March about right. I had set out 6 books to read and completed 5. I'm a third through the sixth one. Spring is so tough, there are a million distractions. It was a good reading month though - the only book I did not really enjoy was my LTER selection.
No definite plan for April reads. Currently reading Logan: a Trilogy by William F Nolan.

>178 VictoriaPL: Still a good month though. Don't stop reading now that you're on a roll!

>179 RidgewayGirl: Nope, ever onward!

Logan: a Trilogy by William F Nolan
(Logan's Run, Logan's World and Logan's Search)

Most people know of Logan's Run, even if just the name. I consider myself somewhat versed in sci-fi but I wasn't aware that there were sequels - Logan's World, which takes place a decade later, and Logan's Search which is at least a year after that.
Like any trilogy, it has its issues. I always think the first book in any trilogy is the strongest. The writer's passion is greatest, the world-building has a certain energy and a BIG GOAL is achieved. Usually for me, the second book is weakest because you find out the victory in the first book was only minor and there are much BIGGER things to worry about and all these new people and places to remember. But I actually liked Logan's World quite a bit. The weakest link in this series is definitely the third installment.
Logan, similar to Bond, doesn't age well. Several moments I cringed so hard and just turned the page. I tried to enjoy it for what it was, that early dystopia that was formative for so much of the sci-fi that I treasure. I would love to see a modern re-working of it.

The Tale of the Ring: a Kaddish: a personal memoir of the Holocaust
by Frank Stiffel

Back of book blurb Drawn from the secret diary he protected throughout his harrowing existence in the Warsaw Ghetto, Treblinka and Auschwitz, Frank Stiffel recreates the horror and miracle of that life - with unprecedented honesty.

Meh. Not the worst Holocaust memoir I've read but not my favorite either. I struggled keeping interest in it.

"I was lonely. I could see all of them in my mind: Father and Mother, Pola, Adam, Wanda, Stefan, and Bronek - all my friends, all the people who were the background for the panorama of my life. I would see them laughing and crying, arguing and agreeing, accepting and refusing - and all of them slowing disappearing into an abyss. I knew that there was no meeting again. I had witnessed the demise of millions, but not one ghost had crossed my road. They were all gone forever, and there I was standing between the world that is and the world that was. My past, the factor that adds depth to human life, had been erased, and without it I found myself a pathetic flat figure pasted against the background of a two-dimensional society."

Sir Stalwart: Book One of the King's Daggers by Dave Duncan

I would not consider myself a huge reader of the Fantasy genre. I do read it but it's not my main go-to. If I had to say, Dave Duncan's The Guided Chain is definitely in my top-five Fantasy novels. I hold a serious affection for that book and I admire the world-building and magic system of the larger King's Blades series. This book (first of a new series) is a juniorization of the previous. Having nothing against the YA genre, I dived in. At least it was a fast read and I have sated my completist tendencies. Moving on...

The Book Eaters by Sunyi Dean

In short, she had lived a charmed life in a beautiful home, kept safe and happy from a twisted world beyond the manor boundries. That much she could verify not only from her uncles and the things her brothers said but from the books she'd stolen to read: full of dreams, heartbreak, hideous crime, darkness, stress. All of that she had been spared. Jane Eyre living in poverty, embroiled in her tempestuous affairs? That would not be Devon.

I don't read paranormal fiction like I used to but I absolutely devoured this. A secret society of beings that exists, literally, on books. Fascinating. Of course there are problems. In this modern day and age, it has to be the patriarchal society and the subjugation of women, right? I get so tired of the same rigamarole. The things that saved this read for me was the world building and the writing - both were intensely satisfying. I will have to watch out for more of Dean's oeuvre.

A Rose for the Resistance by Angela K. Couch

With her father in a German POW camp and her home in Ste Mere Eglise, France, under Nazi occupation, Rosalie Barrieau will do anything to keep her younger brother safe. . .even from his desire to join the French resistance. Until she falls into the debt of a German solder―one who delivers a wounded British pilot to her door. Though not sure what to make of her German ally, Rosalie is thrust deep into the heart of the local underground. As tensions build toward the allied invasion of Normandy, she must decide how much she is willing to risk for freedom.

The back blurb of this book begins, in large typeface, I might add "A French woman and a German soldier form a truce" and there it is... the hook. I'm such a easy catch. I just adore a WWII romance. The plot is already so well known it's almost irrelevant. I am there for the scenery, the journey, the color. Well, I guess there are worse vices out there.
I enjoy when characters struggle to find their way, when they learn from their mistakes and when they resolve to do the "right' thing in hard situations. I thought the pacing was really good and I liked all of the characters, though I would have enjoyed a little more of the mother.

The Nazis Next Door: How America Became a Safe Haven for Hitler's Men by Eric Lichtblau

Yet now here was Allen Dulles sharing a fireside Scotch with Himmler's former chief of staff. To begin talks so abruptly with high-level Nazis was an astounding pivot. Even before Germany's ultimate surrender, the fear of all things Nazi was cooling quickly in the minds of American military and intelligence officials. As Hitler's war machine began to stall, the Nazis faded as the dominant threat they once were, and American officials were already beginning to plot how they would contain their new rival- the Soviets... perhaps America could tell the good Nazis from the bad, the thinking went, and turn the reformed ones to its advantage against the Soviets in what was to become a new cold war.

Having read so much of NASA history and also of WWII, I thought I had known of the crux of the issue of bringing over German scientists to America post-WWII. What I learned from this book was that it wasn't just scientists. There were thousands of former Nazis who burrowed into the European networks to spy for the CIA and then were rewarded by living out the rest of their lives in American suburbs. They founded German leagues, helped bring over more Germans and in many ways controlled their parts of communities. Such is immigration. Every population brings it's own challenges. Italians who brought over Mafia connections and established the Families here, etc.

And I do agree that many Nazis, men who really did participate in very bad things, perhaps did take advantage of their situation to get out of Europe. I'm sure any of us would do the same, if the opportunity presented. And it was, which is something to hold our government accountable for, should that be possible.

As for the famed Nazi scientists brought over in Project Paperclip, DeVito had heard all the justification from Washington for importing them to America to keep pace with Russia's technological advances. The World War II veteran bristled at the notion that the Nazi scientists were somehow essential to national security. "If they were so brillant," DeVito demanded, "how come they lost the war? We didn't need these people. We could have gotten to the moon without them, and this country would be better off."

You're all caught up on your reviews!

187 actually, no. A few more, LOL

>186 VictoriaPL: The Nazis Next Door sounds really interesting, so I've added it to my wish list. RebeccaNYC wrote a thoughtful review and supplied this link https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TjDEsGZLbio to Tom Lehrer's song about Werner von Braun.

>189 pamelad:
I had not heard that before, thanks!
The passages from this book on von Braun were very clear that he saw the conditions of the workers in his factory on a daily basis and that he had witnessed executions of several by hanging. He very much minimized the story when he came over, not that many in the US space program were vocal about it.

Victoria, I'm loving The Midnight News. I have been forced to set it aside, but will definitely finish tonight. The angst of it all!

>191 RidgewayGirl: I am about half way through it.

Oh, how did I miss The Midnight News? Adding it to my wishlist now!

>193 VivienneR: it's quite good!

>191 RidgewayGirl:, >192 VictoriaPL:, >193 VivienneR: Kay, Victoria, and Vivienne, all of you should take credit for the BB for The Midnight News. I tagged it at the library, they purchased it and it was readily available for me to download just a few minutes ago!

>195 lsh63: Lisa, I can't wait to find out what you make of it. It's a five star read for me. But one constant of my friendship with Victoria is that we rarely love the same books.

>195 lsh63: wow! Lisa, I wish my library would buy books I wanted, LOL.

>196 RidgewayGirl: sometimes we do Kay!

>197 VictoriaPL: That was a fast purchase, but then it's a new book so the odds were pretty good. I also saw where the library also purchased some of her other books as well. I also got a notice for a book I recommended a couple of years ago that I had given up hope of the library obtaining it or the price going down. The library purchased it and I was first in line for it. The book is The Women of the Copper Country, which I think was published in 2019.

Hi Victoria, just checking in to report tha I absolutely loved The Midnight News!

>199 lsh63: I’m so glad, Lisa! I aim to work on my reviews tonight.

I'm behind on threads, and I see you are behind on posting. That works well. The C-N faculty book club had interesting discussions on The Book Eaters. It's not my genre so I didn't enjoy the book that much, but the discussions were fun.