The Seasonal Reading Challenge discussion

The Masterpiece – Fiona Davis – 3***
In this work of historical fiction, Davis turns her attention to another New York City landmark: Grand Central Terminal. I really wish Davis had focused more on the building’s historic past, the many reasons it achieved landmark status, and the fight to save it -or- on the feminist issue of unrecognized artists (or other contributors) due to gender bias. Trying to do both resulted in a work that didn’t fully explore either theme. It was a pretty fast read, and I kept turning pages, but I was left with a “Is that all?” feeling.
LINK to my full review

Finished: - 3*

Reading:
The Frank Bennett Adirondack Mountain Mystery Series: Books 1-3 - Kindle
All This I Will Give to You - Kindle
An Equal Music
The Witch Elm

The Kindest Lie – Nancy Johnson – 3***
There’s a good premise here and some interesting family dynamics. Johnson captured my attention early and kept me turning pages. I wanted to know what would happen to these people and how their stories would play out, but I thought Johnson relied too much on the secrets and failed to make sense of the present. Ruth is supposed to be this brilliant scientist and yet she behaves just as impulsively as Midnight, the young white boy she befriends. This is Johnson’s debut novel, and I think a little more work (and editing) might have made this a very memorable work.
LINK to my full review

Finished From Dead to Worse and starting Second Wave: Acorna's Children

Finished Second Wave: Acorna's Children and starting Winds of Fate

Finished: - 4*

Reading:
The Frank Bennett Adirondack Mountain Mystery Series: Books 1-3 - Kindle
All This I Will Give to You - Kindle
The Witch Elm - Library
Arsenic and Adobo - Library
The Toll-Gate - Ebook

Something Wicked This Way Comes – Ray Bradbury – 5*****
Bradbury was a master of suspense and sci-fi. Here he turns his imagination loose on every child’s dream – and nightmare. Who doesn’t love to be scared on a carnival ride? Like the best roller coaster, Bradbury S-L-O-W-L-Y drew me up the incline of suspense, dropped me into terror, and then evened out to let me catch my breath, only to realize there was another, steeper, incline ahead. When, finally, the ride was over I was giddy with relief … and wanted to “go again!”
LINK to my full review

Started Nature Girl - Library

Book Concierge wrote: "

Something Wicked This Way Comes
– Ray Bradbury – 5*****
Bradbury was a master of suspense and sci-fi. Here he turns his imagination loose on ..."

Book Concierge, I love Ray Bradbury, and this book has been on my TBR for a while. Looks like I will need to make it a higher priority.

Finished: - 4*

Reading:
The Frank Bennett Adirondack Mountain Mystery Series: Books 1-3 - Kindle
All This I Will Give to You - Kindle
Arsenic and Adobo - Library
The Toll-Gate - Ebook
Night of the Living Deed - Library

The Last Thing He Told Me – Laura Dave – 3.5***
A book-club friend once said that she dislikes thrillers because she dislikes being manipulated. I am beginning to feel that way about thrillers, too. However … This is a fast-paced, intriguing book. There are several twists and turns that kept me turning pages long after I should have stopped to do other necessary things. Yes, there were some things that bothered me. A few threads that were left hanging. A few inconsistencies that an editor should have caught. As thrillers go, this is pretty good.
LINK to my full review

Finished - 4*

Mansfield Park – Jane Austen – 4****
Ah, but I love spending time with Austen. Fanny is perhaps the ideal heroine, and reportedly Austen’s own favorite among her heroines. She is intelligent and thoughtful, pretty and graceful, keeps her own counsel, is modest and principled, and still has a loving heart. There is a certain predictable pattern to Austen’s novels, and this one is no exception. Our heroine will remain true to herself, and love will triumph.
LINK to my full review

Finished Winds of Fate and started Tricky Twenty-Two

Finished:
. I finished book 1 in this set and gave it 4*. I am putting this set aside for now to concentrate on other books.
- 4*

Reading:
All This I Will Give to You - Kindle
Night Vision - Library
The Assassin's Curse - Library
The Four Winds - Audiobook
Just Desserts - Library
The Toll-Gate - Ebook

Finished Tricky Twenty-Two and reading Home from the Sea

Finished: - 4*

Life Among the Savages – Shirley Jackson – 3***
This collection of essays / vignettes is about Jackson and her family’s 1953 move to a small town in Vermont, where she and her husband settled into a large house and proceeded to fill it with children and books, a dog, two cats, and “literally thousands of socks.” I’ve read two of Jackson’s classic “horror” tales previously, so, I knew she was a talented writer. But I had no idea she had such a wicked sense of humor!
LINK to my full review

The Thirteen Problems – Agatha Christie – 3***
This is a collection of short stories. The Tuesday Murder Club is a group of friends, including Miss Jane Marple, who regularly meet and take turns relating an interesting murder case they are aware of, but without revealing the culprit. The club members try to guess who committed the crime. Of course, Miss Marple is always right.
LINK to my full review

Finished:
- 4*

To be finished later today:
Just Desserts

Reading:
All This I Will Give to You - Kindle
Night Vision - Library
The Four Winds - Audiobook
The Black Box - Ebook

Reading for my Read My Age challenge: Birthright: The Book of Man (Birthright #2 of 15) (1982) by Mike Resnick; and Three Weeks With My Brother (2004) by Nicholas and Micah Sparks.

Finished:
- 3.5*

Currently reading Winter's Tale (1983) by Mark Helprin as well.

The Deal Of a Lifetime –Fredrick Bachman – 1*
DNFd the audio after about 30 pages. NOT, the feel-good story I was hoping for from the cover. Then picked up the text and finished it quickly. Still didn’t like it, but I’d give it 1 star
LINK to my full review

Finished Home from the Sea and starting Plum Lucky

Reading:
All This I Will Give to You - Kindle
Night Vision - Library
The Four Winds - Audiobook
The Black Box - Ebook
The Killer of Little Shepherds: A True Crime Story and the Birth of Forensic Science - Library
The Queen's Fool - Own
Agony of the Leaves - Library

Finished: - 4*, - 3*

Reading:
All This I Will Give to You - Kindle
The Four Winds - Audiobook
The Black Box - Ebook
The Killer of Little Shepherds: A True Crime Story and the Birth of Forensic Science - Library
The Queen's Fool - Own
Wicked Business - Library

Evan Help Us – Rhys Bowen – 3***
Book two in the Constable Evans series has Evan looking into two seemingly unrelated deaths. I like Constable Evans, but this one dragged a little. Still I enjoy spending time with the colorful residents of Llanfair.
LINK to my full review

Finished Home from the Sea, Tricky Twenty-Two, and Plum Lucky. Started The Hills Have Spies

The View From Penthouse B – Elinor Lipman – 3.5*** rounded up
Two sisters and a handsome, cupcake-baking young man share a Greenwich Village apartment and support one another’s efforts to get back into life. What a charming comedy of manners, reminiscent of Jane Austen, but updated to the 21st century. The scenarios and the characters are believable and relatable. Their dialogue sparkles. I love how they support and encourage one another through thick and thin, and many complications relationship wise. Just delightful fun.
LINK to my full review

Finished: - 4*, - 5*

Reading:
The Black Box - Ebook
The Killer of Little Shepherds: A True Crime Story and the Birth of Forensic Science - Library
The Queen's Fool - Own
Wicked Business - Library
The Grief of Stones - Library
Ghosts - Library
The Dressmaker's Gift - Kindle

A Cowboy For Christmas – Lori Wilde – 2.5**
Okay, it’s an Avon Romance and I was expecting something predictable and heart-warming, not great literature. This had a lovely premise: a struggling, young widow with a toddler, meets her late husband’s estranged brother and the sparks fly. But there’s a very weak subplot involving Lissy’s mother-in-law; this tortured character just tortured me every time she appeared on the page, and the book lost a ½ star as a result. That’s not to say that I won’t get back on the horse and try another of Wilde’s cowboy romances in the future.
LINK to my full review

Finished: - 4*

How To Walk Away – Katherine Center – 3.5***
There are many kinds of “happily ever after…” I’d read one book by Center previously and I wasn’t all that impressed. So, I wasn’t expecting much more than a contemporary romance with possibly “relevant issues” for today’s woman thrown in. I was pleasantly surprised that my expectations were exceeded. Margaret’s journey is what kept me interested. She has many downs, and a few ups, but ultimately, she takes charge of her life in a way that is totally believable and had me cheering her on.
LINK to my full review

Finished The Hills Have Spies and reading Letters from Skye

Finished: - 2*, - 3*, - 2*

Reading:
Winter Counts - Library
The Queen's Fool - Own
Lowcountry Bombshell - Library
The Grief of Stones - Library
An Apple for the Creature - Library
The Dressmaker's Gift - Kindle

Finished Letters from Skye and starting Going Rogue

Finished: - 4*, - 4*

A Royal Pain – Rhys Bowen – 3***
Book two in Her Royal Spyness cozy mystery series, has Lady Georgiana Rannoch (Georgie to her friends) hosting a Bavarian princess as part of Her Majesty’s plan to get the Prince of Wales interested in a more suitable partner than that awful American woman. I like Georgie as a character, and love her grandfather, as well as her best friend, Belinda. But the plot here didn’t really capture my attention. Still, it did give an added dimension to Darcy O’Mara. He may be more than just an unreliable rogue…
LINK to my full review

The Christmas Bookshop – Jenny Colgan – 3***
This was a delightful rom-com. The city of Edinburgh is described as a virtual living Christmas card during this season, with fairy lights and snow and decorations, and all the shopkeepers on the street hosting parties. Our down-on-her-luck heroine will meet two promising romantic leads: a famous bestselling author and a bedraggled college professor. Of course, there’s a hugely successful attorney sister Carmen feels inferior to, and the additional drama of the “mean-girl” nanny. But never fear, this holiday romance will deliver on the promise of an HEA ending.
LINK to my full review

Finished - 4*

Finished: - 3*

Reading:
Winter Counts - Library
The Dressmaker's Gift - Kindle
Murder of a Stacked Librarian - Library
Board Stiff - Library
The Glass Key - Library
C is for Corpse - Library

Things My Son Needs To Know About the World – Fredrik Backman – 3***
In this collection of essays, Backman speaks directly to his infant / toddler son about life and being a man. He covers such subjects as bullies, getting your child to eat, being careful, the importance of best friends, and love. It’s tender and funny and entertaining.
LINK to my full review

Finished Going Rogue and starting Until Forever

Finished: - 4*, - 4*

Reading:
The Dressmaker's Gift - Kindle
Murder of a Stacked Librarian - Library
Board Stiff - Library
The Glass Key - Library

Get a Life, Chloe Brown – Talia Hilbert – 3***
I was drawn to the book because of the promise of a heroine who faces some significant challenges. I did get that, and some other serious issues, along with the typical rom-com tropes, but the book fell flat for me. I really liked Chloe and totally understood both her insecurities and her desire to break out and DO things. I also liked Red, the super of her apartment building with tattoos, a leather jacket and a motorbike, who promises to help her with her list. The chemistry between the two seemed genuine and I liked their banter. But the graphic sex scenes which just turned me off. I’m still willing to try another book by Hibbert, but I’m in no hurry to do so.
LINK to my full review

Finished: - 3*, - 3*

Reading:
The Dressmaker's Gift - Kindle
The Glass Key - Library
X Marks the Scot - Library

Finished: - 3*

Reading:
The Dressmaker's Gift - Kindle
The Glass Key - Library
Quick Study - Library
The Wisdom of Father Brown - Ebook
Nine Perfect Strangers - Audiobook
Old Man's War - Library

Eight Perfect Hours – Lia Louis – 3***
Sam and Noelle meet when both are stranded in their cars during a blizzard. When the weather clears they part, strangers still and not expecting to see one another again. But you wouldn’t have a romance if they didn’t keep bumping into one another. It’s a fairly predictable story line and a fast read. NOT a holiday book, though, despite the cover’s promise. There are some serious issues these characters must deal with on the road to HEA.
LINK to my full review