Dork Diaries 14: Tales From a Not-So-Best Friend Forever

Dork Diaries 14 Tales From a Not-So-Best Friend Forever by Rachel Renee Russell    320 pages

Cute story,  I didn't realize it was an ongoing series.    Even though I came in to this series on the 14th book, it was still easy to keep up with the characters and what their current issues are.   Nikki's band has been hired as the opening act for hugely famous boy band Bad Boyz!   The girls are so stoked to do the tour and meet the guys, however, there is a glitch in their joy.  Nikki's nemesis and on good days frenemy,  MacKenzie Hollister's wealthy father has gotten her an in and turns out she will be tagging along with them acting as tour coordinator of venues and pretty much all else related to securing hotels, travel and taking care of details for both bands.   MacKenzie thought it would be an easy gig with little to no work involved and basically a free ride/vacation  what a rude awakening for her when she realized they actually expected her to work and the Bad Boyz are assuming she has the tour all planned out and everything taken care of.   What?????????   A funny fun ride with romance, lots of tween quizzes to see which Bad Boy would be the one for you in all manner of scenarios, cute book definetly geared for the tween set but fun none the less for an easy read on a day with time on your hands.   I would recommend this one to anyone looking to get an idea of current tween life in the age of cellphones and excellerated technology.   It is a new world to those of us from the previous century and a lol romp for 21st centurions (insert smiley face emoji).

Happy Gut

Happy Gut: The Cleansing Program to Help You Lose Weight, Gain Energy, and Eliminate Pain by  Vincent Pedre, M.D.   432 pages

Are you foggy minded at times?   Feel bloated and out of sorts?    Are you constantly tired and just can't seem to catch up on sleep and when sleep does come it isn't restful and you don't sleep through the night?    Ever been diagnosed with chronic pain and you have given up and accepted you will always have pain to endure in your life?  Then this book is for you.    Very readable and down to earth.  Dr. Pedre spells things out in simple language and tells you how to feel better - all medical maladies start in your gut and once you watch what you are putting in to your gut - you are going to feel better.   Corn and wheat are two of the biggest culprits terrorizing the American diet and making so many Americans fat and sluggish because one or both of these ingredients are hid in so many of the processed foods we eat you can be ingesting them without a clue they are there unless you know their many a.k.a. names.   Dr. Pedre makes so much sense in his discussions on the benefits of giving your body a break and releasing it from these toxic two followed by their sidekick dairy.   After reading this book you will never look at what you are putting into your body the same way, again.  Excellent book.   As soon as kids can read they should start learning what he has to say about cleansing their bodies so they serve them well throughout their lives and it is good all the way to octogenarians and beyond because it is never too late to heal yourself.   Great book.   I'm taking his grocery shopping list with me to the store on my next trip to pick up the good for you foods and to be mindful of what to avoid.   Well done, Dr. Pedre!   Keep up the good work teaching us.

Caught Up

Caught Up by Shannon Holmes    200 pages

Sometimes life delivers you your dreams that is what happened to Dixyn Greene - o.k. her man is a hustler but he provides a fabulous lifestyle - beautiful house, designer clothes, nice car, money and the celebrity lifestyle it is all good till it isn't.   Then, Dixyn is faced with a life of lemons when her man is taken away to prison and she and her daughter are left to fend for themselves.   Not privy to all his business she soon finds bills arriving and having to hide from the repo man.   Life gets pretty rough till she figures out it is time to come out and start turning those lemons into some fine lemonade.   Her man's hustle had nothing on hers and she proves herself a savvy business woman in her own right.   Lots of action, lots of betrayal - hey, a girls gotta do what a girls gotta do to survive streetlife and it is all about who has the biggest cojones to do what must be done to keep the troops in line and keep the money flowing.  This lady has got it goin' on.    For lovers of urban fiction - this is another excellent story I recommend it to all mature young adults and all adults who like tasty fiction with a lot going on.

This Is Not a Love Scene: A Novel

This Is Not A Love Scene: A Novel by S. C. Megale   320 pages

The lead character is in a wheelchair which lends an interesting point of view to the entire story.   Very realistic and very real explanations of muscular dystrophy and how a person learns to cope and make the best of life while experiencing it.    Very well told with a great attitude on the part of the narrator - the person with m.d.    She is a strong presence and an aspiring film maker who responds like a young adult woman would when crushing on her leading man and sharing all her hopes, fears and fantasies with her best friend.  Not waiting for the future to define her she jumps for what she wants and if it can't be love who says it has to be?   Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar and sometimes...well....that is o.k., too.    A coming of age and out into the real world though her parents would love to smother her with over protection.   Good story.   I would recommend this story to folks dealing with afflictions because it inspires and to those who feel less than because it uplifts and blows away all those dark clouds trying to crowd out your sun.   Some of the adult content might be a stretch for the younger set but mature young adults could handle it and it is a good story in and of itself so adults will get a kick out of it, too.

Let it Snow

Let It Snow by Nancy Thayer     272 pages

A good story of shopkeepers who stay year round in Nantucket and their interplay and roots with townspeople and tourists.   The story takes place around Christmas and of course wouldn't you know there is a scrooge involved wanting to buy up the town!  Secret love affairs aplenty.    Crabby snitches turn kittenish and mild-mannered shy folks step forward, step up and get things done.   Who says a gal can't find lasting love with a rich man?    Cute, sweet story very Debbie Macomber style writing.    A very charming love story amid a town on the sea at Christmas.

Make It Scream, Make It Burn: Essays by Leslie Jamison

Make It Scream, Make It Burn:  Essays by Leslie Jamison      272 pages

I loved the stories told her served up as essays.    The reader will be captivated by the telling as well as the actual topics like 52 Blue, the whale who's songs carry through the ocean waters of his travels at such loud decibels, the other whales avoid him so the author portrays him as being the loneliest whale in the world and elicits sympathy for this dear creature who tries so hard to find a friend or mate but whom other like creatures find so off-putting they do not venture to know him.    Leslie Jamison takes the reader along with her so seamlessly that you go from topic to topic to topic like caramel topping on an ice cream sunday, so smooth and good and you love the taste and feel of her words in your mind.   They search out something within the reader, a deep emotional center an empathy that is so strong it is tangible,  whether eloping in Las Vegas, describing the past lives of children alive today who cry real tears as they relay memories and names of friends killed during WWII, etc.    She reminds me a little of Joan Didion, someone who can start off in one place and end up miles away in story genre and you aren't tired from the trip but enjoyed the ride.   That is this book.   Try it, you will enjoy the ride.    I recommend this book of lovely stories to anyone old enough to read and old enough to want to experience serenity.                   

Don't Let Go by Harlan Coben

Don't Let Go by Harlan Coben    416 pages

The memory of the murder of his brother and his brother's girlfriend back in their highschool days still haunts Detective Napoleon Dumas.    The murders were never solved though there were several suspects and several conspiracy theories.   And why did the love of Napoleon's life just disappear that night?   Did she have something to do with it?   Could she, too, be a victim of some deranged murderer?   How could things be so right then go so wrong all in one night?   Is is a simple twist of fate or did some cold hearted killer be to blame?   Fifteen years later, Napoleon is still asking questions, still searching for the answer to a mystery that only leads to more questions.   Good story.   You won't see the twist(s) coming.    I would especially recommend this book to fans of the book/film "Gone Girl" and anyone who loves a little suspense with their murders.   Good story.

The Lightning Queen

The Lightning Queen by Laura Resau       336 pages

This story says it is for Juveniles however, I found the story to be meaty enough to be an Adult Fiction story, too.    Gypsies bring their caravan through a rural village in Mexico.    They speak different languages but learn to communicate with one another.    The Gypsies trade fortune telling and the showing of films (movies) for food and it is a win-win for both sides.   Teo's family is getting over the drowning death of his younger sister and the distraction of the Gypsies coming in seems a Godsend.    Teo's grandfather is the village healer and he is teaching Teo his trade.   Teo has a special gift of his own he is able to find common ground with animals and has the ability to understand and be understood by all animals, his closest being those with some deformity or maladie.   The story is an accumulation of many true stories gathered by the author from rural Mexico.    The Tarot reader in the tribe, the Mistress of Destiny foretells that Teo and his new Gypsy friend, Esma will be friends for life and this is the tale of where and how their lives intertwine throughout the years.    A lovely story.  I would recommend this book to young children and adults it is that good.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       

The Marco Effect: A Department Q Novel

The Marco Effect:   A Department Q Novel by Jussi Adler-Olsen   512 pages

Marco is a good boy.   An avid reader, though in secret because his Gypsy family doesn't see the need to go to school and doesn't trust anyone outside their own "family."   Uncle Zola rules the family with an iron hand and isn't above any treachery when it comes to stealing, conning and making money, even murder is not off limits to this violent man.      Many underhanded and clandestine events occur and when the family turns against 15 year old Marco and Marco becomes privy to where a body is buried things heat up throughout the rest of the story to its final climactic twist.  No one is safe not even in their own homes and in a John Wick 3 thriller ordeal surprises and twists abound.     A good book that will hold your interest throughout.   I would recommend this book highly to mystery lovers, especially murder mystery lovers, and all who find interpol police work fascinating.    There is a hodge podge of nations and killers brought in to find Marco.   Jussi Adler-Olsen tells a great story.

The Art of Racing in the Rain

The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein     352 pages

If you like the books in the Dog's Purpose Series, you will like this one, too.   Told from the point of view of Enzo, the dog owned by a married couple and their daughter.   His master is a race car driver and his mistress undergoes so many changes throughout that later affect the child in the story.   Every one is striving to do what makes sense to them but everyone interprets everybody else's actions differently according to their own scale of right and wrong except Enzo who gets it and sees everyones motivations, frustrations and the good and bad in people.    Such a moving story you will laugh and cry over this one.   A charming story that you will be glad you experienced.   I highly recommend this one.   A good intuit on human behavior.   Excellent book.

Handsome Johnny: The LIfe and Death of Johnny Rosselli: Gentleman Gangster, Hollywood Producer, CIA Assassin

Handsome Johnny:The Life and Death of Johnny Rosselli: Gentleman Gangster,  Hollywood Producer, CIA Assassin by Lee Server      544 pages

If you are a fan of gangster biographies, you will not be disappointed.  This true story of the life of Handsome Johnny Rosselli tells the stories, names names - JFK, Sinatra, Joe Kennedy, Sr., mobsters all across the United States and goings on behind the scenes in other countries as well.   The author reveals how Rosselli was recruited by the CIA to assassinate Castro.    So many things come out and no one is shielded behind a veil, Lee Server puts it all out for everybody to see and read.   This book is historical, and action packed as well as biographical.    I enjoyed it from beginning to end.   It is like watching Good Fellas, Casino, the Godfather, every epic gangster/mob film you have ever experienced only with words painting the images in your mind.   Great book.    Fascinating Sopranos like view into the inner dealings behind what life as a made man is like.   I highly recommend this book to anyone with interest into the workings of the likes of John Gotti types.    Fascinating stuff here.  And many reveals!   

Beowulf

Beowulf by Santiago Garcia and David Rubin, 189 pages

This graphic adaptation of the epic poem generally avoids the banal postmodern revisionism of other adaptations, reducing the story down to the essential confrontations between four monsters - Grendel, his mother, a dragon, and the great Geat himself.  The art is stylized, the colors muddy, the overall effect undeniably ugly - which, however, both suits the brutal directness of the narrative and emphasizes the fleshy substance of the monsters, which are here portrayed not as elusive magic fairies but as viscerally real beasts, perhaps more real than some men.

Rossetti

Rossetti: His Life and Works by Evelyn Waugh, 227 pages

In this biographical study Evelyn Waugh seeks to understand both Dante Gabriel Rossetti's success and his failure.  The former, he concludes, demands a spiritual aesthetics that transcends formal analysis, while the latter is best explained by the artist's personal tragedies and character flaws.  Rossetti spent his career pursuing an ideal of the feminine, but was sabotaged by his own indiscipline and irresponsibility.

Rossetti was Waugh's first full-length book, but if his development is certainly not complete the voice is already unmistakable his.  Especially delightful are his account of Rossetti and Whistler's shared mania for blue china and the ethics of reviewing the books of one's friends, although equally characteristic is his vivid description of his subject's isolation, paranoia, and despair.

A Hustler's Queen by Saundra

A Hustler's Queen by Saundra    304 pages

Keep your friends close and your enemies closer.    Every time Precious Cummings thinks things are one way and life is good she gets beat down and has to fight her way back up to the top.    She is nobody's fool and certainly no one to play with.    That sweet innocent thing she has going on is only part of her personality.   Cross her and see a side you aren't expecting.   So many twists and who to trust?   Seems like everybody has their own game going on and the man she truly loves runs the biggest hustle of all and the streets are greedy and anxious to take his place.   Great book.   So much goes on you will not be able to put this book down until the end and even then you won't want the story to stop.   Again adult situations so this one is for the mature young adult through every age.   Such a good story.   Well done Saundra.

Baby Mama by Nichelle Genovese

Baby Mama by Nichelle Genovese  Book 1 in the Baby Mama series    304 pages

Michelle came up as a beautiful young black woman and found out her looks could help her get the men and the material things, money, beautiful expensive jewelry, clothes and furs and rides that made other people's eyes pop out and mouths drop open in shock and awe.  Unfortunately, some of the men from her past don't want to stay there and now that her life has settled down, she has found love and her child is the light of her life vindictive people are out to snatch her happiness from her.   Beware the toes you step on today!   Excellent book.   POWERFUL.    Adult situations so let's keep this one for the mature high schoolers on up.   Good series.   I recommend it for lovers of urban stories.

The Girl Who Lived Twice by David Lagercrantz

The Girl Who Lived Twice by David Lagercrantz     448 pages

I thoroughly enjoy this series.   Lisbeth Salander is an amazing character and I love the fact that she is this dark avenging angel for the mistreated.  Even angels need friends and Mikael Blomkvist is the best bff a person could want.    I recommend this series to anyone wanting to get involved with a good storyline and well thought out characters and situations.   Always full of plot twists and surprises, a good book to curl up with a cup of hot tea and a blanket on a cold day.   The overcast weather outside will add to the sensation of cold and ice you pick up from the stories, set in Sweden and other locations generally in icy locales.   I recommend this series but begin at the beginning or you might find yourself lost when tying facts to the background of the characters.  Bravo David Lagercrantz.    Another best seller under your belt.

A Hand To Guide Me: Legends and Leaders Celebrate the People Who Shaped Their Lives by Denzel Washington

A Hand To Guide Me:  Legends and Leaders Celebrate the People Who Shaped Their Lives by Denzel Washington   272pgs

Excellent book.  Celebrities, Political Figures, Sports Champions, CEOs, etc. come together in this book to sing the praises of mentors in their lives who's help was beyond measure in aiding them to find the right path, to  overcome whatever struggles they were going through and to find their way by perservering.   Many of the people in the book thank their local Boys and Girls Clubs for sharing their time and concern during deeply troubling times in their lives and helping them to find the right path, giving them a needed hand up and proving no one has to go it alone. So many inspiring stories showing help comes from many different places and often from unexpected ones.   Family, friends, teachers, coaches, co-workers, bosses, even strangers can share that bon mot that can change a life,  get through to a mind that seemingly couldn't be changed and that can sink into a heart hardened by circumstances then melted by example.    Definetly worth the read.   I highly recommend it to young readers on up through the aged.   Inspiration is ageless.   

The Worst Gig: From Psycho Fans to Stage Riots, Famous Musicians Tell All by Jon Niccum

Th











The Worst Gig: From Psycho Fans to Stage Riots, Famous Musicians Tell All by Jon Niccum
 240 pages

 Excellent Book mostly about Alternative Rock stars, some Punk a few of the more well known musicians but all the stories are worthwhile and interesting.    While we have an idea of what groups go through getting to gigs, going on stage, getting through their sets, etc. trust me you will learn a lot more about what life on the road is like and the struggles, obstacles, and obsessive fans that are out there laying in wait both the good and the bad.    Gives you a real feel for the true musicians life and oh yeah there are a few lyao moments thrown in for good measure.    I would recommend this book to anyone interested rock music and what it takes to walk that walk.

Shining Path

The Shining Path: Love, Madness, and Revolution in the Andes by Orin Starn and Miguel La Serna, 355 pages

On Christmas Eve, 1980, a group of rebels invaded the home of a well-off sugar farmer in a remote canyon in the Peruvian Andes.  The guerrillas dragged the landowner to a nearby chapel where they tortured him to death, leaving "Long Live the People's War" spray-painted on a farmhouse wall.  He was the first to die in that war, launched a few months earlier by a sect of Maoist revolutionaries calling themselves the Peruvian Communist Party but invariably referred to in the foreign press by the more romantic name Shining Path.  Their barbaric struggle would drag on for over a decade and leave over 70000 dead, roughly half killed by the Shining Path themselves, the other half split between the regular army and village militias.  

It is difficult to write a history of a guerrilla insurgency, which by its very nature is fluid and avoids decisive battles.  It is even more difficult without reliable sources from within the movement.  Starn and La Serna attempt to overcome these difficulties, and paint a broader picture of Peru in the last decades of the twentieth century, by concentrating on the personal stories of those touched by the conflict, from slum activist Maria Elena Moyano to novelist and presidential candidate Mario Vargas Llosa to policeman Marco Miyashiro to peasant militiaman Narciso Sulca.  As a result, those who expect either a thorough history or an exploration of the inner workings of the insurrection are likely to be disappointed.  They are unlikely to be bored, or to soon forget some of the unexpected people and places introduced.

Paris Never Leaves You

 

Paris Never Leaves You by Ellen Feldman  368 pages

Ages ago, I read author Ellen Feldman’s “Lucy,” and it was a wonderful read.  I’m sorry to say tht I haven’t read any of her five books since then, but I plan to rectify that soon. In this, her sixth, novel, Feldman deals with a form of PTSD as invoked by the title.  Charlotte can never forget what happened in Paris during the Nazi Occupation. Her daughter, Vivi, was barely a toddler, but the events of those extraordinary times also seem to prey on her.

The novel opens in Paris, in 1944. Charlotte and other Jews are ripping the stars from their clothing.  Paris had been liberated and with it the camps. But the opening scene turns frightful when an angry mob attacks a woman known as a collaborator.

The scene then shifts to New York, 1954 (I love dueling timeline!). Charlotte is a book editor at the prestigious  publishing house of Gibbon & Field. The “Field” is none other than Horace Field, one of Charlotte and Vivi’s sponsors, which allowed them to come to America.

A letter, not the first, has arrived at Charlotte’s desk. She’s on her way to a meeting and slips it into the trash. Readers don’t know who it is from and Charlotte’s apprehension regarding opening it foreshadows the fear she feels that her past is about to come for its revenge.

One of the things that I admired most about this novel was the seemless transition between Charlotte’s life as a bookseller in Occupied Paris to her contemporary circumstances without using chapter breaks.

In Paris, Charlotte is managing a bookstore with ther friend and the store owner, Simeone. Many think they are sisters, but they are not. One afternoon a Nazi officer comes into the bookstore, just browsing. Fear races through Charlotte’s veins, but she manages to stay calm.  That officer’s arrival will have implications in her life forever.

I don’t want to give too much away, and I was surpised that there was no synopsis on the book’s cover. But as Feldman weaves her story, she drops little bombshells ar just the right time to make this reader sit up straighter and stay up way past her bedtime. Even when I thought the book was going to plateau, another little bomb oes off, and I’m up even later. Therefore, “Paris Never Leaves You” receives 6 out of 5 stars in Julie’s world.

Saving Washington

Saving Washington: The Forgotten Story of the Maryland 400 and The Battle of Brooklyn  by Chris Formant  320 pages

I was attracted to this fragment of forgotten history because of the first line on the dust jacket: “Somewhere deep beneath the bustling streets of Brooklyn, New York, lie the remains of perhaps the most important citizen soldiers in American history; the heroic men from Baltimore, Maryland, who held back superior British forces long enough to preserve the Continental Army and save the life of General George Washington.” After reading it, I expected a story about finding the graves, how they were exhumed and relocated to a place of honor. This is not that story.

The time is 1776. Baltimore teenager Joshua Bolton and his BFF, Ben Wright, watch as the British Army does its best to make the American Colonists’ lives so hard that they would give up that idiotic notion of independence and return to a civilized way of life. As the boys watched the tyranny, they knew that they had to do something. When the call went out for new recruits for the 1^st Maryland Regiment, they boys enlisted.

I know this is historical/biographical fiction, but I was surprised that a black man, even a freed man, was allowed to join the fight.  I need to brush up on this aspect of American history, obviously.

The story illustrates the hardships of the citizen-soldiers, and what they were up against. At first I was surprised that Josh and Ben were teenagers, but then again, I’m not sure we really know how many young adults fought alongside their adult counterparts. A lot I imagine.

The language of the book makes it obvious early on that it is written for young adults. On the downside, I didn’t feel the tension of the situations that the boys got themselves into until the Battle of Brooklyn was underway. I never felt that they were in any real danger.  But that’s the point of view of a middle-age female.

I think young adult readers will enjoy this book. I like that it tells a tale of forgotten heroes, that we all need to know more about.

“Saving Washington: The Forgotten Story of the Maryland 400 and The Battle of Brooklyn” receives 4 out of 5 stars in Julie’s world.

Zoey and Sassafras: Grumplets and Pests; Book 7

Zoey and Sassafras: Grumplets and Pests---Book 7 by Asia Citro; illustrations by Marion Lindsay  96 pages

The latest Zoey and Sassafras (and I hope not the last) story brings back most of the characters that we have seen in the previous six books. 

The story opens with Zoey and her cat, Sassafras, “desperately hoping we’ll hear our barn doorbell.”  That doorbell isn’t a regular doorbell!  It means that a magical creature need help, and Zoey and Sassafras love to use science to help their old and new friends.

Bugs have invaded Zoey’s mom’s kale garden. They are everywhere and there are so many of them that Zoey fears they will never be able to get rid of them. Their old friend, Pip, is hanging out near the garden, but he’s rather grumpy today. He isn’t much help, but Zoey’s mom helps figure out what kinds of pests have moved in.

As Zoey and Sassafras make their way through the woods, encountering all their old friends---the merhourses, Gorp and friends, Tiny and friends--- everyone is grumpy. Zoey realizes that  something else is happening in the forest. Using her scientific background, and help from Pip, she discovers that Grumplets are behind the bad moods. And together they make a plan to banish the grumpiness.

Another fun story for the team of Citro and Lindsay that makes science fun for kids!  “Zoey and Sassafras: Grumplets and Pests---Book 7” receives  5 out of 5 stars in Julie’s world.

Cartier's Hope

Cartier's Hope  by M.J.Rose  336 pages

M. J. Rose has written twenty previous novels, and this one may be her best one yet. This time she takes us back to 1910 -1911 New York and the Gilded Age. She writes about the Suffrage Movement, pay equality, treatment equality, betrayal, undercover journalism and the world’s most famous, and most cursed, diamond, the Hope Diamond. Plus a little romance is thrown in for good measure.

Although the Hope Diamond now resides in National Gem and Mineral Collection at the National Museum of Natural History in Washington, D. C., it was originally housed at New York’s Cartier Jewelry Story in New York. I’ve seen in on display, and it is stunning. I can’t imagine wearing it, much less owning it. Last time I checked the gem was valued at $350 million.

But I digress. While this novel revolves around the Hope, it is a story of one a courageous young women, Vera Garland, who turns her nose up at the high society into which she was born, much to her mother’s chagrin. She wants to make a difference in the world, and she has dedicated her life to trying to right some of the worlds’ wrongs by becoming a journalist.

Writing under the pen name of Vee Swann, Vera has disguised her natural beauty and taken an apartment in the less-than-wealthy area, not all that far from where her family currently resides. Vera/Vee is taking a break. While writing a story, she became attached to one of the people she was writing about and it ended tragically.  She is also reeling from the recent deaths of her beloved Uncle Percy, her mother’s brother, and her adored father, the only person who truly understood her and encouraged her to follow her dreams.

Holed up in her late father’s penthouse high above the store he founded, Vera/Vee is nursing her wounds. In the library, she discovers her father’s deepest secret. I can’t say much more, but Vera believes her father to have been blackmailed.  She plans to get her revenge by using the one thing all of New York is talking about: the Hope Diamond.

The only complaint I have about this intriguing and captivating novel is that, sometimes, when author Rose was providing backstory on the diamond, it was a little much. I thoroughly enjoyed this novel. Therefore,  “Cartier’s Hope” receives 6 out of 5 stars in Julie’s world.

Lady Clementine

Lady Clementine by Marie Benedict 336 pages

Fans of Melanie Benjamin’s “The Aviator’s Wife” and Paula McClain’s “A Paris Wife” are going to love Marie Benedict’s latest novel, “Lady Clementine.”

Clementine is the wife of former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill. One of the many things I learned about is that the pronunciation of her name rhymes with “Josephine.”

When Clemmie and Winston first meet, it is love at first sight. She becomes his “Cat” and he her “Pug,” and they refer to their children as their “kittens.” It is a sweet love story set among the backdrop of two world wars and countless other strifes. They marry in 1908.

Readers will get to know a Winston Churchill as we have never known him before: sensitive, insecure, a neglected child that lurks below the surface, a man who depends on his wife in so many ways, especially politics. In the political arena, Clemmie often reminded me of Mary Todd Lincoln. It was heartbreaking to read. Clemmie shares those same traits and experiences. He suffered from fatherly neglect and an overprotective mother; she from motherly neglect and and absent father. And if the rumors were true, the father she barely saw wasn’t her father at all. But when they are with each other, they find they can be their true selves.

Winston admires Clemmie for her assertiveness, her willingness to speak her mind and to learn about the politics he so greatly enjoys. The novel is written in first person from Clementine’s point of view, but Winston is rarelu out of the picture. it is truly a novel about the woman behind the man.

We watch Clemmie struggle with her alcoholic and promiscous mother, with her own motherhood as she lacks maternal instincts, with the ups and downs of her most unusual marriage, the death of a child, Winston’s adoration of his mother, her need to prove herself worthy in everything she does, and the feelings of failure that haunt her.

A remarkable story of a remarkable woman that history, or at least American-told history, has chosen to virtually forget. That’s a shame. Therefore,  “Lady Clementine” receives 6 out of 5 stars in Julie’s world.

Imperfect Women

Imperfect Women by Araminta Hall   334 pages   I read a galley - due out June 2020

How can I resist a story that begins with a quote from Cat's Eye by Margaret Atwood? Considering I've read that book 10+ times, I figured that was a good sign for this book.

Even close friends have secrets. That's what Eleanor and Mary are learning since the death of their best friend, Nancy. From the outside, Nancy's life looked like it was prefect. However, the investigation into her death is revealing some dark secrets and it's clear now that maybe Mary and Eleanor didn't know Nancy as well as they thought. And maybe they don't know each other, or themselves, very well either.

This is an immersive, gripping psychological suspense story but it's also an exploration into friendship, guilt, and the decisions that friends can make that alter their relationships forever. At the heart of the story, of course, is the mystery of who killed Nancy. With alternating viewpoints, the author uses sharp insights (and sometimes, biting humor) to explore the complex friendship between these three women. The steady pace, combined with interesting (and not always likeable, but compelling) characters, makes for a fantastic read.

For LibraryReads: Even close friends have secrets. That's what Eleanor and Mary are learning since the death of their best friend, Nancy. From the outside, Nancy's life looked like it was prefect. However, the investigation into her death is revealing some dark secrets and it's clear now that maybe Mary and Eleanor didn't know Nancy as well as they thought. And maybe they don't know each other, or themselves, very well either.

Good for readers who like Liane Moriarty and Fiona Barton. Also for readers who enjoy The Robber Bride and/or Cat's Eye by Margaret Atwood.

Painted Glories

Painted Glories: The Brancacci Chapel in Renaissance Florence by Nicholas A Eckstein, 208 pages

The frescoes painted by Masolino and Masaccio in the Brancacci chapel of Florence's Santa Maria del Carmine have been drawing admirers since they were painted in the early fifteenth century, although, as Nicholas Eckstein relates, their intended influence was not merely aesthetic, but simultaneously devotional, memorial, and didactic, shaped in both their conception and reception by a continually changing social and religious context.  Most notably, Eckstein contends, the chapel was transformed after Florence's defeat of a Milanese army in 1440, a victory that was attributed to the intercession of Sts Peter and Paul and the Florentine Carmelite Bl Andrea Corsini.

Little documentation of the creation of the Brancacci chapel has survived down to the present, leaving a number of intriguing mysteries which Eckstein attempts to solve with a combination of careful deduction and informed speculation.  The result is a vibrant portrait of Florence in the midst of the Renaissance.  If there is a major flaw to the book, it is that the focus sometimes seems lost, so that the art begins to disappear behind the history.

The Lying Room

The Lying Room by Nicci French   417 pages

Neve was just having a mid-life fling, a small indiscretion that should have been a secret. However, when Neve pays a a visit to her lover, Saul, she finds him dead in his apartment. And not just dead, but brutally murdered.  After scrubbing all traces of her existence from the apartment, Neve thinks her life can return to normal . . . but did she forget something in the apartment?  Once the investigation into Saul's murder starts, it's clear that Neve's network of lies is about to unravel. It's also clear that as she tells more lies, that something dangerous is at play and it could have been that it was supposed to be her that was murdered, not Saul.

This psychological thriller starts with the discovery of a murder, and the pace is steady throughout the story. Neve is a great example of a realistic character who gets into something with not much intention, but then finds herself caught up in lie after lie.  The whole time that Neve is trying to stay one step ahead of the investigation, it becomes clear that things are become more and more complicated. Her troubled daughter, Mabel, is clearly involved in something with Saul -- did she kill him?  Did Neve's husband find out about the affair?  There are some interesting twists and turns here that keep the story interesting until the very end.

SLPL team December totals

Happy New Year!   In December:

5 people 

read 42 books

for a total of 22859 pages!!

Shirley J. had a grand total of 20 books, but Regina C. outdid her on pages, logging a whopping 11,898 pages for the entire Wheel of Time series!

Onwards to a new year!

Heartbreak of a Hustler's Wife

Heartbreak of a Hustler's Wife by Nikki Turner    224 pages

Des a pastor, whaaaaaaat?    Yeah, you have got to read this book in the Hustler's Wife series.   Yes,  Des becomes a pastor preaching from the pulpit!   When Des sees how high on the hog pastors are living tax free he thinks that is a better, safe racket than pumping drugs into the neighborhood and sets up his own churnch.    Yarni as first lady of the church prays desperately and daily that God moves on Des' heart to truly become a preacher and teacher of the gospels.   Des is a wonderful preacher and he truly touches the hearts of his congregation who hang on his every word.   Yarnie wants so much Des to be touched by God so that his heart and soul belong to the Lord so much so that every word, every prayer, every teaching he shares is sent straight to him from God's heavenly presence.   Then somebody robs the church and the congregation prompting Des to promise to reimburse everyone who lost something during the stick up while contemplating his retaliation on the offender or offenders,    Nothing is ever easy and the street never forgets nor forgives no matter how far back, how long ago nor how far you have come since then.   You can be in a crowd and still become a victim.   Be careful the toes you step on today they could be attached to the lunatic waiting in the shadows one day.    Great book.    I love this series.   I like Yarnie.    I don't always like all the things Yarnie does, but, dang, she sure knows how to keep on keeping on.    I highly recommend this series.    Excellent story line.   Situations, language and explicit talk about everything, sorry kiddies, again I have to say this one is for adults but as soon as you grow up read it. (Wink, wink!)

Forever a Hustler's Wife

Forever A Hustler's Wife by Nikki Turner    288 pages

The sequel to a Hustler's Wife.  Another total thrill ride from Nikki Turner.   After all that happened in the first book Des is accused of killing his attorney.   Not that he didn't kill somebody, just not his attorney.    The police have him on circumstantial evidence but a crooked cop and a crack head conspire to stack the deck against Des and things are not looking good.      It helps to have an attorney for a wife and between Yarnie and the team she brings together all hell is literally about to break lose and Yarnie is about to find out how far away from the truth a little trust can take you.   A real surprise ending with divine intervention.    Another great book from Nikki Turner.   Another recommendation for adult readers, sorry kids!  Nikki Turner weaves another tale of murder, malice, greed, and how the street can twist it all together and the stories come out with tortured souls needing God's redemption.  Just keep the dollar signs out your eyes, pastor!   Great story.   Great series.

A Hustler's Wife

A Hustler's Wife by Nikki Turner     304 pages

An ongoing series featuring the character Yarnie, who is 15 years old and living in Richmond, Virginia which plays so much a part of the story with locations, businesses, streets, roads, etc. that Richmond is pretty much a character too.    Yarnie has had an upper class upbringing but oh those bad young men are so tantalizingly attractive, now aren't they.    Through a phone prank played by her best friend one night on the telephone while sleeping over at Yarnie's they end up talking to Des a drug dealers' name and number Yarnie's friend called out of the blue from a book of telephone numbers she stole from her brother.  Pranking him telling him she got his number from her brother because Yarnie had seen him and wanted to get to know him.   Yarnie is madly shaking her head, "Don't tell him that!   I don't know him!  I've never seen him!"   One thing leads to another and Yarnie ends up talking on the phone to Des.    He is impressed by her poise, class and confidence.  He makes it his business to see what this young lady looks like.   They do finally meet and Des is blown away by her charm and good looks.    She is nothing like any of the street hoochies he has been messing with.  Long story short, Des falls head over heels for her and she admits to him that she is only 15, he on the other hand is 7 years older than her.    Her life up till now has been pretty tame, she even calls her mother, Mommie.   This sweet young thing is about to find out what life with a street hustler is all about, and she is in for it all ride or die.     How Des finesses her mother to let him date her baby and how life changes for Yarnie after is certainly worth the read.    Nikki Turner knows how to keep her readers interested and on the edge of their seats.   Excellent story.   I highly recommend it to young adults on up - while the subject matter, the language and the descriptions are likely things mature teens know of - I still want to protect their thoughts and recommend this for adults on up. 

I Thought It Was Just Me (but it isn't): Making the Journey From "What Will People Think?" To "I Am Enough"

I Thought It Was Just Me (but it isn't):  Making the Journey From "What Will People Think?" to "I Am Enough" by Brene Brown      336 pages

All women and honestly all men should check this read out.    Brene Brown did a study on how women shame themselves and go through life constantly nit picking about every little imperfection they detect within themselves and blow it out of proportion to the point they don't feel they stack up to what is expected of them, belittling themselves inside while pasting a smile on their faces for the world to see.    With interviews of several of the women in the study and several conversations on just how the world can force unrealistic ideals on women that men in the same categories do not have to share.  Weight, gray hair, aging, career goals, perfect homemaker, perfect mom, perfect career.   Between role distinctions, media hype, peet pressure and even family expectations - ladies - what we don't put on ourselves as mega goals - the world puts upon us and we feel shame when we don't meet the expectations of everyone.   I call, "Who Says?"   "Who Says we have to do all that?"   Be happy in who you are because you are you and a most valued and talented individual.   Naysayers be damned.     And that is pretty much the message of this book brought out in the best possible ways, Brene Brown presents the womens condition and offers insight and strength for the struggle.  Excellent book.  Sistas unite.   We are wonderful as we are.   Women you will see yourself over and over throughout this book.   Men, really read and grasp what is being shared here and be the difference in the lives of all the women in your life.   Great book I highly recommend it to one and all as soon as you are old enough to understand what is being said here.   This book will make men better men through understanding and it will empower the women who read it.