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

Please report your finished books in this thread using your WoF name. Also tell us:

→ which name you selected
→ how your book fit the task
→ what you thought of it.

Please be analytical in your presentation, and not just that you liked it or didn't. We want to know details.

WoF Sharon Biskit

I read The Confession Club.

I chose this book because one of the main characters was named Iris which was one of the flowers from the list.

I have passed over it several times, but am so glad that I read it. It was a comfortable book and brought to mind the secrets that we as women often share with each other. There is something about being in a group of women that you know, and have known that creates a lasting bond. The snacks, treats and dinners that accompanied the meetings were not a main focus of the book at all, but brought forth the countless bookclubs, wrapping parties, teas, and Mother’s Day brunches that I have attended. It doesn’t matter what is served (although chocolate is usually always present,) it’s the camaraderie that happens when sharing a meal that is comfortable. Some of the confessions the ladies shared were minor and some were not. Iris was a sweetheart…or was she? That’s up to you, but I think she and I could be friends.

WoF Pragya

I read Kira-Kira by Cynthia Kadohata

The author name is Cynthia.

This was a quick, unputdownable read told from the perspective of a young girl. It was very touching and heartbreaking but also beautiful at the same time. So many themes going on, like, terminal illness, immigrant experiences, poverty etc. It's the story of two sisters but also so much more than that. There's culture and life, in general.

WoF Stacy SP

I chose the name Rose.

I read Alchemy and Rose for this one. It is Historical fiction. It takes place in 1866 during the New Zealand gold rush. The female MC is called Rose. I really liked the author’s writing style. It was an easy read, I thoroughly enjoyed this one.

WoF Cherie

I picked the name Veronica.
I read A Curious Beginning.
The name fit because the main character's name is Veronica Speedwell.

I had the book on my 1st in Series list and it was available from my library. I also had the title on my love the cover list. All seven books in the series have beautiful covers.

I really enjoyed getting to know Veronica and her male main character in the book, Stoker. Her story was different and she is a very different kind of woman in the Victorian England setting of 1887. She is smart and driven and knows what she wants to do and does not let things get in her way. Her friend, Stoker is a different kind of guy in all respects but totally suited to Veronica. I liked him very much too. I am looking forward to reading the next book in the series as soon as it becomes available.

WoF Name - Lanelle

I read The Mistaken Wife: A Novel by Rose Melikan. Rose is on the list of flowers.

My favorite genre is romantic suspense. If the romantic suspense is historical, that's even better. The Mary Finch series is in that genre. I know that the author took real life events and wrote the story around it, which made the book even more enjoyable. And, of course, since the book is the last in the series, (view spoiler)[ the guy gets the girl. Finally :) (hide spoiler)].

WoF Name - Odette

I picked the word 'rose' and read The Museum of Modern Love by Heather Rose.
The author's surname is Rose.

This book is written by Australian author Heather Rose is set in New York. The plot revolves around the 2010 performance art exhibit by Marina Abramovic at MOMA, The Artist is Present. Marine Abramovic is a Serbian conceptual and performance artist. Her work explores body art, endurance art and feminist art. In the exhiit she sat absolutely still for 7 hours a day and invited members of the public to sit opposite her and gaze into her eyes.

The fictional part is the imagined lives of people who attended and were affected by the performance. Not only those that sat opposite Marine but also those who watched those that did. They grow and evolve as a result of their observation and contemplation at the performance artist’s exhibit. Reading about the different characters and their lives, was very fascinating. I enjoyed reading this well written and thoughtful book.

WoF name: Kristie

I read A Perilous Undertaking, which is book 2 in the Veronica Speedwell series. I chose the name Veronica from the list, using the main character's name to fill the task.

I really enjoyed this book. It is very witty and I found it more humorous than the book I read for our humor theme this month. I read the first book in this series back in 2017, which is the same year this book was published. I loved that book and can't figure out why I waited so long to read this one. Fortunately, the hubby also loves this series, so I already own all of them and hope to read the next one very soon.

In this installment Veronica and her friend Stoker have to solve a murder in order to save an innocent man from being hung for it. There is a lot of background information given for our two MCs and there are some family tensions discussed. I loved the progression of Veronca and Stoker's relationship and I can't wait to read more of their adventures.

WofF TrudyAn

I read The Flicker of Old Dreams by Susan Henderson (from list: Susan).

This novel is set in a very small town in the US mid-west. It follows the fallout from a tragic accident at the local grain elevator when MC Mary was a girl. Mary, now a single woman working in the family mortuary as an embalmer, is lonely and ostracized.

I enjoyed this book very much. The story unfolded at just the right pace. The writing was atmospheric, with a strong storyline. It gave a wonderful sense of time and place. Overall, it was melancholy, but offered a feeling of hopefulness. Plus, I learned a bit about the embalming process.

WOF Tammy's Wall

I read Blackberry & Wild Rose
Obvious "Rose" in title.
I really liked this book. I found the characters interesting and there was some intrigue as well. Made me think about the plight of being born!

WoF - Sue Q

The name I selected was "Susan".

The book I chose was The Discovery of Flight and fits the tasks since the author's name is Susan Glickman ("Susan" in author's name)

I rarely rate books at 5 stars but maybe I was in the mood or the stars aligned because I really loved this book and gave it 5/5.

It's about two sisters and the book bounces between them. The older one has cerebral palsy and HER parts of the book sort of opened my eyes as to just how awesome people that are locked-in can be. She doesn't give her points of view on life... we only see her personality through a book she is writing by moving her eyes on the computer screen. Her little sister is the one that talks about her and how others treat her. It's really eye opening and beautiful.

WoF: Ashley

I chose the name Rose.
I read Roses of May. The name is in the title.

The book was ok. Didn’t love it, didn’t hate it. It is the second book in a series. The first book is The Butterfly Garden. I think I enjoyed the first book a bit more. The second book could definitely be read as a stand alone. The first book is referenced a bit but not needed to follow the story in the second book. There are two more books in the series. I will probably read them at some point.

WoF Katrisa

I chose rose and read Briar Rose. I had this one on my TBR for awhile because I like retellings. This one is a retelling of Sleeping Beauty. It was alright, but not great. But it may have been because right before this book I read House of Names which was a retelling of a greek myth and that one was just fantastic so it kinda made this book lose a bit of its shine.

WoF Jayme

I chose the name Violet. I read Violeta by Isabel Allende. It fits because Violeta is violet in Spanish (Janice approved).😀

The premise of the story is that an elderly woman who is turning 100 is writing a letter to someone she loves about her life. This wasn't my favorite Allende book. It was very vague - we don't know the country she is writing the history about, we don't know who she is writing to, and we don't ever really get a sense of the woman's character. It's just pieces of the history of an unknown country wrapped up in a woman's drama. i gave it 2 stars.

WoF Anusha

I chose the name, Susan. I read The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, in which one of the characters is named Susan. She is a friend of the main character, Juliet.

The story is mostly set on Guernsey Island, in 1946. Juliet is an author who receives letters from Guernsey and thinks of a possible book idea about writing about the life of people on the island during WWII. She travels to the island and forms a strong connection with the islanders. The whole story is described via letters.
I could not connect with any of the characters, I did not find the basis for their strong bond, esp the romance arc, maybe the reason could be the format (epistolary). The story and the characters were too surreal. I did not enjoy this, gave it 2 stars.

WoF margo

I listened to The Colour by Rose Tremain.

This was a story about an English couple who emigrated to New Zealand in mid 19th century. The plot was interesting, very realistic in its portrayal of the unexpected twists and life can take that we somehow survive. The characters were well drawn and believable. The only negative thing I can say is that the ending was very abrupt
. This was partly because of the editing of the audiobook which wasn't very well done although the narration was good. The story just kind of stopped in mid -flow which was a bit disappointing and caused it to lose a star in my estimation so it ended up as a 4 star read.

WoF Vicki

For the name Rose I listened to The Rose Code.

This is the 3rd Kate Quinn book I have read and I just love them. I love them enough I am thinking of trying out her older historical romance series, which is not my genre. There are 3 alternating POVs that were very distinct and each had an interesting story. I was never sorry to move on to the next because I enjoyed all three voices. I liked the emphasis on actual historical figures present such as the character Osla and Prince Philip. I liked seeing him as this studly romantic interest character as I had only known of him as an elderly man in the last 20 years of his life.

WoF Peggy

I picked Veronica and read How the Penguins Saved Veronica. Veronica is in the title and is also the name of the MC.

I really enjoyed the book. It was a sweet and heart-warming story of a cranky and head-strong old woman (but I couldn't help bcoming fond of her very quickly!) travelling to Antarctica to see penguins, and about her connecting to her grandson. I was in need of something simple but nice, and this book had really short chapters and was a pretty quick read, but exactly what I needed. I want to read the sequel too.

WoF Shirley

Like Jayme I read Violeta. Violeta is Violet in Spanish. The edition I read has violets on the cover.
Unlike Jayme I really liked the story, even though the main character Violeta is a fool with men🙄 and makes some very poor life-choices.
She fits a lot into her one hundred years and there is quite the parade of unique characters.

WoF - Janice

I chose Veronica (Speedwell)
I read A Perilous Undertaking
The main character is Vernonica Speedwell.
I really like this series. It's set in Victorian London and Veronica is a woman who lives her life on her own terms. There is a lot of inuendo and chemistry between Veronica and her partner, Stoker.

WoF: Emma

I chose Rose
I read Hamilton's Battalion: A Trio of Romances by Rose Lerner
This was a good book. It is three novellas by three different authors all focused on fictional people who found their happy ever after because of their connection with Hamilton and his legacy

WoF - Lynn
(just realised that I forgot to report!)

I chose Rose
I read Concrete Rose
Prequel to The Hate U Give and it didn't disappoint. A very real and powerful story.

WoF Grainne

I chose the lily
I read Lily and the Octopus

It is a bitter sweet tale of a man and his dog. It had me hooked from the very beginning. It is a beautiful book, the relationship between the two of them is tender and witty and delicate. One of my favorite reads this year.

WoF Gunit

I chose Lily and I read The Book of Cold Cases

This is a mystery with some paranormal elements in it. The story keeps jumping between different timelines, focusing on the lives of the 2 main characters, Beth & Shea. Beth was accused of being a serial killer in the 1970s and Shea is a crime blogger who is investigating the murders. Lily is Beth's sister.

"Rose" wins by far. :)

Badges have been posted. Please let me know if I've missed anyone.

That badge couldn't be more perfect, Janice! So cute.

Thank you for the badge! SUPER cute!