You'll love this one...!! A book club & more discussion

I’m not sure if we will start right now. I’m checking in with a few others in our buddy read. I’m sure we will do it sometime in July.

Towards the end of July would be best for me - after the 21st.

Okay. That would work better for me as well.

That's fine with me.

It's okay with me

Okay for me too.

Picked up my book from the library and am planning on starting it Tuesday or Wednesday.

Yay!!! The final book. I got a coworker started on the series. I gave him Seven for a Secret and told him the first book was on Hoopla. So he started with Seven for a Secret. I can’t believe he started in the middle of the series. It is like some law for me, I have to read the first book first. I mean now he has no idea why we hate certain people.

Jannene wrote: "Yay!!! The final book. I got a coworker started on the series. I gave him Seven for a Secret and told him the first book was on Hoopla. So he started with Seven for a Secret. I can’t believe he sta..."

Never never start a series without reading the first.. sacrilege!

Are we starting?

I’m planning on starting tomorrow. Well, I guess technically it’s later today. I’m off to bed now though.

I plan on starting tomorrow. I think Dom already started. ;)

Jannene wrote: "I plan on starting tomorrow. I think Dom already started. ;)"

L'm on chapter 2, I listened for only 25 minutes while I took a small walk

As soon as I finish my group read book tonight, I will start.
Who is the narrator of the audio book, Dom?

Cherie wrote: "As soon as I finish my group read book tonight, I will start.
Who is the narrator of the audio book, Dom?"

Kirby Heyborne, so far he's good.

Okay, I’m starting now!

My library does not have the third book in either audio or ebook. They might have a hard cover copy. Good thing I bought it. 😊

I guess I’m not done with Sherlock Holmes yet though. They had her book of SH short stories in audiobook. Narrated by Simon Vance! My man!!! ❤️

I also downloaded the 2nd book in the Mary Russell and Sherlock Holmes series. Narrated by Jenny Sterlin. Awesome! 👍🏻

I am enjoying the third book more than second book which is very good. I am finding it fascinating the origin of several words that we/I use and this book seems to have more history which I love in my "historical" fiction.

chapters 1 - 4 (view spoiler)[ All the characters are back which means of course hopefully resolutions in the third book. I'm saddened that it seems Mercy is losing her mind, but that clears the path for Timothy and Elena. I think Mercy will have a bigger role though. Val of course is fabulously bad and I thoroughly enjoyed how he handled McGlynn. Symmes is dangerous and I don't think we have seen the last of him - a new person to hate. (hide spoiler)]
chapters 5 - 9 (view spoiler)[ I really like Sally Woods, but I think there is more going on then we know. Even though it is revealed that she was sleeping with Symmes I think she was doing that to protect someone or something. I don't think she is responsible for the fires. My money is on Silkie Marsh. I love that Val threw in his hat and is going to run against Symmes. I just hope nothing happens to Jim. (hide spoiler)]

The book is keeping me up reading which hasn't happened in awhile :)

I got through the prologue and chapter 1 and 2.
(view spoiler)[ It hardly feels like we left Tim in the previous book, does it? When he thought he saw Mercy, it made my heart ache for him too. I know he is setting us up for something awful to happen with all of the hero talk, but the threats to burn down the outsourcing sewing places is awful. That Tammny guy taking Val to that "house" was so bad! (hide spoiler)]

Cherie wrote: "I got through the prologue and chapter 1 and 2.
[spoilers removed]"

I just can't believe how horrible it was to live during that time if you didn't have money.

chapters 10 - 13 (view spoiler)[ Ok a lot of people not being honest in this section. I'm still trying to work out the relationship between Sally Woods and Ellie Abell. I think there is more going on. My guess -and it could be way off - is that Sally and Ellie were/are in love, but I can't figure out who is responsible for the fires. I don't think it was either of them. I'm actually beginning to suspect that it might be Symmes. I also think there is more to Dunla Duffy - did she witness something, but can't articulate what it is she knows? Questions, questions questions. (hide spoiler)]

Jayme wrote: "Cherie wrote: "I got through the prologue and chapter 1 and 2.
[spoilers removed]"

I just can't believe how horrible it was to live during that time if you didn't have money."

I agree. The poverty is just unbelievable. The filth and living conditions is what gets to me the most though. I feel the same way when I read about living in London during this time frame. It is always so horrifying to think about how filthy and polluted the rivers were.

I left my Nook at home today, so no reading at work.

Cherie wrote: "My library does not have the third book in either audio or ebook. They might have a hard cover copy. Good thing I bought it. 😊

I guess I’m not done with Sherlock Holmes yet though. They had her bo..."

Simon Vance is amazing! Just saying.

Re: chapters 1-4 (view spoiler)[Yes, I'm glad to see all our old familiar characters are back in this one. So far, though, no Miss Marsh. I'm assuming she'll be around later as that whole situation has to get resolved somehow before we leave the series.

I'm not sure about Mercy being back. It seems like Tim is finally sort of settled in his own mind that they're not meant to be despite how he feels, and now here she is popping up again and with problems he'll feel obligated to fix.

This one has started out a little slow for me, but I think that has a lot to do with setting up the history of the time. I can't even imagine living as a woman when you were so restricted. I know the same could be said about lots of other groups as well, but the female thing hits close to home.

I'll be interested to see exactly what's going on with Sims. He seems like a really bad guy. Maybe he and Miss Marsh can cross paths somehow and do each other in. That would save everyone a lot of trouble. (hide spoiler)]

OMG!!! Up all night finishing the book.

Chapters 14-20 (view spoiler)[ I knew Symmes was behind the fires, but I am still pondering who is doing his dirty work. I know it isn't Sally Woods or Ellie Abell. I think they are being set-up. What a selfish, greedy, despicable creep he is. I am feeling very concerned for Val. He seems to be at the breaking point and his banter with his brother Tim is very hurtful. I really don't understand why Mercy went into the Old Brewery with Wilde. This is the second time we have met "the witch." She is important, but how?
I thought it very interesting the bits about the police brutality. Made me think about how the police are viewed today. It's sometimes very hard to overcome history.
Poor Jim!!! He is I think my favorite character and I feel so bad for him. I never thought about how painful it would be to be tarred and feathered. Symmes will pay - especially when Val finds out.
I found it fascinating how dishonest and raucous the voting was. They also use to get the names of the people who died that year in the wards and would have people vote as the deceased. Unbelievable. (hide spoiler)]
Chapters 21-25 (view spoiler)[ So glad Symmes is dead, but I think it will haunt Val. You knew it had to come down to a fire, but didn't think it would be Silkie Marshes establishment. I liked how there was a reconciliation of sorts between her and Tim. She is still evil, but she does have a wicked honorable code. Tammany Hall ran New York City for decades, but that was a surprise how deep their involvement was.
And of course the witch being Symmes mother!! I usually have things worked out, but that took me by surprise.
How valiant of Tim to take care of Mercy - he can't let her go. (hide spoiler)]
Epilogue (view spoiler)[ All the ends are tied up neatly and people are happy - finally. Even Tim because he has Mercy whatever their love looks like - he was true. (hide spoiler)]
Great story!!!

Sigh. I haven’t started. It has been one rough week.

I finished the book. Great ending for the series

(view spoiler)[ It started pretty slow and had a hard time getting into but then the pace got better. I think for this one I had a hard time with the language. Marsh was back and even though she's an evil person she redempt herself a little in this one I agree with you Jaime, I like Jim and what happened to him was not fair. The Witch was a surpeise didn't expect that for moment. Mercy, I knew something was up and to finally reveal she has a mental illness we got an answer. Women's rights was so hard during those times and still resonates in our time, we till have to fight to be equal with men and it's still hard.
This series had great characters and were well developed. I can see this series being turned into a tv series one day (hide spoiler)]

Wow! Jayme and Dom, you guys are on it this week. I need to catch up so I can read your spoilers, but so far I'm only on chapter 10.

Tricia wrote: "Wow! Jayme and Dom, you guys are on it this week. I need to catch up so I can read your spoilers, but so far I'm only on chapter 10."

L'm on sick leave, so plenty of time to read!
You guys take your time, there's no rush.

Jannene wrote: "Sigh. I haven’t started. It has been one rough week."

Oh, don't feel bad. I'm still at the beginning of chapter 3.

I'm through chapter 13. (view spoiler)[ I agree with Jayme that their is more going on between Sally and Ellie than we currently know. Then there's that mention of a pregnancy that no one seems to want to talk about. And who is the witch that Dunla keeps mentioning. I know she was in the prologue, but we don't know her name or anything yet, right? Could she be someone we've met?

Of course, Silky Marsh is back. I kind of expected that though. Didn't you just want to throttle her when she made that veiled threat against Bird? She's so slimy! I think something drastic is going to happen to her soon though. Maybe her place will get set on fire or something. Tim's right, though, that would be terrible even for her but especially for the women who work in her establishment.

These books are taking on a lot of the social and political issues of the day. The first one was focused on immigration, the second on slavery and its far-reaching consequences, and this one on the rights of women. I appreciate that the author doesn't shy away from tough topics.

Oh yeah, and we're starting to see that Tim's landlady might want their relationship to become more than it is. I have no idea what's going to happen with that, but I vote for her over Mercy. (hide spoiler)]

Jannene, I'm sorry you're having a rough time. I hope things get better soon. Hang in there and let us know if we can do anything to help.

I hope things start looking better for you too, Jannene.

I finished chapter three and four. Whew! Chapter three was exciting and tense but chapter four was a kick in the head!
Ch 3 (view spoiler)[ It is so hard to tell what is going to happen when Val is involved. He did it again though, and saved their bacon, but at what cost? I really feel sorry for Matsell. I’m pretty sure he did not mean the natural kind of retirement that one looks foreword to at the end of a long career, when he mentioned the forests of New Jersey, did he? Was Tim being dim? I am pretty sure New Jersey is where the bodies are buried. (hide spoiler)]

Ch 4 (view spoiler)[ I was just getting comfortable with Tim and Elena in the kitchen and enjoying the banter when Tim opened the door. That was just strange! Mercy was strange! (hide spoiler)]

I’m going back to Bee Season. I need to finish it in the next two days, if I can.

I fell off the wagon again and jumped into another series. I didn’t mean to, but I couldn’t stop myself either. I think I have it under control now. I didn’t do anything all weekend but read and sleep. Good thing I did laundry Friday night. At least I have clean clothes to go to work in tomorrow.

Thanks all. I didn’t do much of anything over the weekend except read Gone for Good for my work book club.

I did do the cleaning around the house and laundry. I will start this one today. I am partly dreading it because it is the end of the series. Sigh. Silly.

I finished the book.

Don't read these spoilers until you're finished!
The witch: (view spoiler)[I did not figure this one out at all! I couldn't believe it when it was revealed that she was Sims's mother. Who knew? I feel bad for her though. She was an old woman who doted on her son despite the fact that she'd given him up as a baby, and he was a creep even to her. It had nothing to do with proving she was related to him; he just saw an expedient way to get his dirty work done. (hide spoiler)]

Tim and Val: (view spoiler)[I'm glad they seem to be getting along as well as ever. I still think they've got a long way to go and probably their relationship will never be perfect, but they are who they are and both seem to have learned to live with each other. (hide spoiler)]

The title: (view spoiler)[The Fatal Flame, which fire do we think it refers to? I'm thinking the one in 1845 which started this whole series off. It wasn't physically fatal to any of the main characters, of course, but it was fatal to the life Tim had arranged for himself and to the future he had planned. I think, in a lot of ways though, the fire turned out to be a catalyst to getting him into a better place even if he didn't think so at the time. (hide spoiler)]

Mercy: (view spoiler)[I should have seen this end coming. Her dad obviously suffered from some sort of mental deficiency, and her letters from London in the second book were none to plain. I didn't want Mercy and Tim to end up together, but now I'm not sure what they are. It was the only part of the series that I don't think was resolved as neatly as I would have liked. Although, having said that, I do realize that life is messy and things aren't always cut and dry. I'm glad for Mercy's sake that he has remained steady for her. (hide spoiler)]

Over all, I liked this one. It had some interesting historical points, and as with the others in the series, I learned a lot. I enjoyed the characters and their all too human relationships with each other.

I know what you mean, Jannene. There have been many times that I put off reading a last book in a series because I did not want it all to end. I am not really feeling it with this one. I think I am more interested in seeing what the author is going to do with the characters and where it will all end with Tim and his brother.

I made it through chapter five and six tonight but it took me a while to do it. I kept reading with my eyes closed and gave up.

I finished chapter 1.

I am just on my way home but I thought I would come and list my progress. I had some free time at work, and got a little reading done. It does not happen often enough, but I will not complain. I am happy to be busy, just not dumped on, which happens more often than not.

I finished up in chapter nine, a few pages away from chapter ten. It feels like the story has picked up the pace since chapter seven. Chapter nine is really long, but Faye is really showing off her writing skills here. Some great lines. (view spoiler)[I want to talk about James and Val (hide spoiler)]

If I get a chance this evening, I will do some spoilers on 5 thru 9.

Tricia wrote: "I finished the book.

Don't read these spoilers until you're finished!
The witch: [spoilers removed]

Tim and Val: [spoilers removed]

The title: [spoilers removed]

Mercy: [spoilers removed]

Ove..."

Tricia I totally agree (view spoiler)[ I did not figure out the witch at all, so that was actually an interesting surprise. I think the end relationship between Mercy and Tim is how it should have ended. He's not going to take advantage of a woman who is slowly losing her mind, but he's going to stay devoted. Love is weird that way. It made me like him more. :) (hide spoiler)]

Jannene wrote: "I finished chapter 1."

Yaaa Jannene!!

How are you doing Jannene?

I am in chapter 12. At least I can read some of the spoilers now. I need to, because I feel like I do not understand anything that is going on.

I just confessed to Dom. I have been having a rough two weeks and work so I come home exhausted. I haven’t done much reading. I have just been listening to some music.

I finally got the audiobook yesterday since I clearly wasn’t making progress on the paperback. I gotten to chapter 6 now.

Surprised it has been 3 years since where the last book ended.

Awesome! I do not have access to the audiobook, but I am glad you do, if it makes your reading time less stressful and more enjoyable.

Chapter 4 again (view spoiler)[ I was SO wanting for more of Tim and Elena when the Rap-rap-rap. began! What did you think of that and then Mercy? "My Past and Present had just collided like freight trains on a single track." I thought it wonderful how Faye wrote Tim all thunderstruck and gasping like a fish, and Elena took over the questions. Do you think all of that stuff Mercy said about the tempests and all meant that she was happy to be rich? Tim and Elena think she is loosing it. I don't know. It felt right. She was tired. She wanted to see Tim. Did she see more of Tim and Elena than they could have supposed? (hide spoiler)]

Chapter 5 (view spoiler)[re-reading it again. I am not sure I understand Miss Woods but I liked what Tim thought. "There was such a candid way about her, easy leaning posture and sweetly unkempt hair, that it was almost possible to forget that Sally Woods was dressed like a man. Almost. But I suspected I liked her anyhow." She is educated and does not care what anyone thinks. I like her too. Can we say that she hates Robert Symmes three times fast? Like Tim, I cannot see her as a fire starter either. Oh - I missed that before. Symmes had set the copper stars on her. I wonder what they did to her but it does not take much imagination, does it. Is that why she is so reluctant to talk? (hide spoiler)]

Cherie wrote: "How are you doing Jannene?

I am in chapter 12. At least I can read some of the spoilers now. I need to, because I feel like I do not understand anything that is going on."

I kind of felt that way too at the start of this one. I don't know if there was a lot of historical info that threw me off the plot or what. I think it gets better though.

Jannene, glad the audio book is helping. Still, though, I'm so sorry things have been rough for you. Do what you need to do to get through it. If that's listening to music, go for it. We'll be here when things get easier; so take your time.

Chapter 6 (view spoiler)[ It is so sad, that even now, Tim feels that his life was ruined by the fire of 1845 and that he still resents having to be a copper star policeman. The stroll up Broadway sounds disgusting, but what a melting pot on Nassau! The definitions and classes of ladies make my blood boil. Seems like everyone blames Sally for the strike failure, but the fire? Wonderful of Mr. Piest to go into the burned house and spare Tim. I wonder who wrote the note that the starving girl held in her hand? (hide spoiler)]

Jannene wrote: "I just confessed to Dom. I have been having a rough two weeks and work so I come home exhausted. I haven’t done much reading. I have just been listening to some music...."

Take care of yourself, Jannene. I'm glad you mentioned something here so that we can send you virtual hugs. HUGS!

Cherie wrote: "Chapter 6 [spoilers removed]"

I think (view spoiler)[ Mr. Piest is maybe my favorite character in this whole series. He's so solid and almost understated, but he always does what's right with compassion but without a lot of fuss. (hide spoiler)]