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Reading wednesday

    Reading Wednesday

    Book Review Go As A River by Shelley Read

    March 26, 2025
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    This is a beautiful coming of age story set in the high mountains of Colorado post WWII. Here is my book review Go As A River by Shelley Read

    Love

    Love grows in many ways; between people, for the land, for family, for nature, for a way of life. At the heart of this story is love.

    Read introduces us to Victoria -Torie- a 17 year old girl. Following the death of her mother Torie is thrust into the role of running the household on her family’s peach farm in rural Iola Colorado. There is no way you can read this book and not fall in love with the protagonist Victoria, with her naivety, optimism and unbridled love for so many things.

    Wil

    Torie will meet Wil one random day on the street corner, and her life will be changed forever. Their short but intense love story will redirect Victoria’s life and the lives of her remaining family; father and brother. When Torie looses Wil, she will re chart her life with the resolution and will of an entire army on her solo journey into the future.

    Iola

    Based on events surrounding the real-life town of Iola Colorado, and the flooding and destruction of the town when a dam was built on the river in the 1960’s. Go As A River uses this event to showcase the determination and strength of one woman in the face of loss of everything she has ever loved.

    Book Review Go As A River by Shelley Read

    *****Five stars for Go As A River. Thank you for reading my book review Go As a River by Shelley Read.

    See last week’s book review The Briar Club by Kate Quinn.

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    Go As A River by Shelley Read
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    Reading Wednesday

    Book Review The Briar Club by Kate Quinn

    March 19, 2025
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    I have read A LOT of Kate Quinn books.  I love her strong female characters who often are factual women from history.  I loved The Huntress and The Rose Code and others.  So I was excited for another story.  Here is my book review The Briar Club by Kate Quinn.

    Audible

    I listened to this book on Audible, as I have some of Quinn’s other novels.  Her books are always read by Saskia Maarleveld, who I think is excellent.  But despite how much I have loved past books, this one fell short for me.

    Quinn takes us the 1950’s, a women’s boarding house in Washington DC.  A collection of interesting and diverse characters living in the house.  When the story begins, we find the scene of a murder.  Is it one of the women? But which one?

    Whodunit?

    The book then jumps to each of the diverse group of women and we learn their back stories;

    Secretive Grace – who spearheads a weekly gathering for the women; proper English born Flis waiting for the return of her husband; Nora who loathes her family and get’s tangled up with a local gangster;  baseball star Beatrice recovering from an injury and figuring out what is next for her; and Arlene who everybody hates because of her sugar coated exterior and venomous ways.

    Who might have killed someone is the question throughout the book…and who is the victim?  All will be told in the end, with lots of twists and turns throughout.

    Definitely not my favorite Kate Quinn but a good read nonetheless.  ***Three stars for The Briar Club by Kate Quinn. 

    Thank you for reading my book review The Briar Club by Kate Quinn.  See last week’s book review Boy With Wings by Mark Mustian.

    We are so grateful when you share and comment on our book reviews.  Thank you.

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    Reading Wednesday

    Book Review Boy With Wings by Mark Mustian

    March 12, 2025
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    This book was introduced to me by Jackie Karnath with Books Forward. I have been lucky to receive several books in the past from Jackie, and this one might be my favorite. A beautifiul, touching, emotional story of what it means to be different. Here is my book review Boy with Wings by Mark Mustian.

    Publish Date March 15, 2025

    I held this review until publish week for this remarkable novel by Mark Mustian. Boy with Wings publishes March 15th. Mustian is known for his international best seller The Gendarme. After reading Boy with Wings I will definitely now read Mustian’s other work.

    Freak

    This is a story about an unlikely hero. Just a boy. A boy born with an abnormality to a single mother in the south in the early part of the 20th century. When anyone who was not white or “normal” was dehumanized, hunted, condemned and chastized. Johnny Cruel lives this life.

    From birth Johnny is called a devil child, due to an unusual growth on his back that looks like wings. His mother tries to protect him best she can, even going so far as to fake his death before running away with him. But she dies and leaves little Johnny alone and frieghtened.

    Mama Lo will try to help him and love him, but as a black women in the south she has little influence. Eventually Johnny will be sold to a freak show, where he will live for many years, amongst the other freaks and oddities. He will grow to manhood, find love, and lose it all.

    Hiding

    Johnny spends his life hiding his “wings”, trying to hold down a job, and always running from a strange one-armed man who won’t let him be. Is this man the father Johnny has never met?

    Despite his own problems Johnny attempts to save a young black man who is about to be lynched. This will set in motion a series of incidents that will, eventually bring Johnny face to face with his real father…a powerful man who wants Johnny dead.

    Captivating

    I was glued to this book and could not put it down. I loved all the characters, especially Johnny. Mustian has a delicious writing style and I embraced every beautiful word. So many characters pass through Johnny’s life, each well developed and believable.

    Book Review Boy With Wings by Mark Mustian

    This is one of the best books I’ve read this year. Masterful storytelling with true emotion and fraility. A tale of human nature and the desire to be accepted and loved, and the hard truths of how difficult that can be.

    *****Five stars for Boy with Wings by Mark Mustian. Definitely get your hands on this book.

    Thank you for reading my book review Boy with Wings by Mark Mustian. See last week’s book review The Extraordinary Life of Sam Hell.

    We love it when you share and comment about our book reviews. Thank you.

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    Reading Wednesday

    Book Review The Extraordinary Life of Sam Hell by Robert Dugoni

    March 5, 2025
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    What a great feel good novel.  This is a story of being different.  Being bullied because of it. And finding a way through it all to succeed and be happy. Here is my book review The Extraordinary Life of Sam Hell.

    Sam Hill

    Sam is a tiny child born with red pupils.  Kids call him Devil Boy and Sam Hell.  His affliction, known as ocular albinism is said by his mom to be “God’s will”, and with her faith and his father’s guidance Sam tries to persevere is solitary childhood.  

    Sam’s mother refuses to allow the local Catholic school to deny Sam admission.  The nun says his “difference” would be a distraction.  But Sam’s mother, a devout Catholic and supporter of the church goes to the local television station.  Sam is admitted.  But finds few friends.

    Until another young boy arrives who is also different.  Ernie Cantwell is the only African American in Sam’s class and the two boys are drawn to each through their loneliness and their differences.  Ernie will go on to great success in sports and eventually Sam will succeed as an eye doctor.

    Different

    But Sam will be handed tragedy, one he can’t find a way through.  He will turn his back on everything and everyone and travel to far off places to serve as an eye doctor to those in need.  As he runs as far away from his pain, he encounters a young boy with ocular albinism.  For the first time in decades, Sam removes his brown contact lenses and shares his own red “Devil Boy” eyes – giving the child hope.  

    Sam embraces his own differences, accepts what has defined his life, and finds his way home.

    “There comes a day in every man’s life when he stops looking forward and starts looking back.”

    *****Five stars for The Extraordinary Life of Sam Hell by Robert Dougoni

    Thank you for reading my book review The Extraordinary Life of Sam Hell by Robert Dougoni.  See last week’s book review The Secret Life of Sunflowers by Dana Martan

    We appreciate it when you comment and share our book reviews.  Thank you.

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    Reading Wednesday

    Book Review The Echo of Old Books by Barbara Davis

    February 12, 2025
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    This book is one of my book club reads for 2025. I enjoyed the way the story is presented and found it to be an easy ready. Here is my book review The Echo of Old Books by Barbara Davis.

    Books

    Although I read much of my books on Kindle due to my travel life, I love a real book. The feel and smell of a book…particularly an old book – wonderful. So does Ashlyn Greer, the protagonist in The Echo of Old Books. Ashlyn had a unhappy childhood, and her escape was a rare book store where she spent hours. As an adult, she now owns and manages this little gem of a shop. It’s here where she has realizes she has a special touch with books. She can feel “echoes” in the books about the previous owners.

    A Discovery

    Ashlyn discovers two beautifully bound old books that seem to be a pair, but the books have no author. She can’t find a publish date either. Only two interesting inscriptions. Ashlyn begins a long and difficult search for more information about these unusual books that are giving her unusual vibe. Eventually she reaches out to the man who donated the books to the rare book shop. Eathan, the son of the owner of the books, is hesitant to get involved. He is busy on deadline for his own book he is writing. Eventually Eathan’s interest is peeked, as Ashlyn tells him about the characters in these books – Belle and Hemi. Together Ashlyn and Eathan begin to discover the true identities of Belle and Hemi.

    True Love

    This novel is both a mystery and a love story as we learn more about Belle and Hemi. A series of misunderstandings and malicious intent kept them from being together. This discovery also brings Eathan and Ashlyn closer. Soon they realize this love story research ha as become more than just about the mysterious Belle and Hemi.

    Book Review The Echo of Old Books by Barbara Davis

    A easy read with some fun twists and turns, though a bit predictable. The magic touch Ashlyn has with books seemed a bit contrived to me. I think the story could have progressed nicely without that somewhat silly addition.

    ****Four stars for The Echo of Old Books by Barbara Davis.

    Thanks for reading my book review The Echo of Old Books by Barbara Davis. See last week’s book review The Drowning Women by Robyn Harding.

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    Reading Wednesday

    Book Review The Drowning Woman by Robyn Harding

    February 5, 2025
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    The first book I read in the new year fell pretty flat for me…despite it having descent reviews. It was very predictable and I struggled to even see it to the end. All that said, I know it is right up the alley for many readers, particularly if you love books like The Girl on the Train, The Wife Upstairs and Nine Perfect Strangers. Here is my book review The Drowning Woman by Robyn Harding.

    Homeless

    Despite her wildly successful restaurant, Lee finds herself living in her car after the pandemic shuts down her restaurant. Running from a investor who is threatening her, Lee is working at a diner and trying to save enough to rent a tiny apartment. This is not how she thought her life would turn out. Then she meets a guy who seems genuinely interested in her…could this nice guy be real?

    Unlikely Friendship

    While sitting in her car one cold and rainy morning Lee notices a women walking on the beach. She seems to be crying and yelling and then she flings herself into the cold water. Despite herself, Lee can’t let this women commit suicide and she drags her out of the water and onto the beach. They have a bit of a heart to heart and Lee learns, despite the wealthy house Hazel lives in, she is essentially a prisoner there thanks to her overbearing husband.

    Lee thinks she will never see Hazel again, but the next morning Hazel shows up with pastries and hot coffee. Could this women really be interested in being friends with her?

    All is Not What it Seems

    When Hazel asks Lee to help her disappear to get away from her husband, Lee gets caught up in a twisting story, with characters she soon learns she should never have trusted and a wild ride ensues as Lee tries to keep herself out of jail and out of harms way.

    Book Review The Drowning Women by Robyn Harding

    I definitely saw this plot unfolding long before it did…I found the book predictable and not believable and I did not like the ending either. Sorry fans of female thrillers – but this one did not do it for me.

    ***Three stars for The Drowning Women by Robyn Harding.

    Thanks for reading my book review The Drowning Women by Robyn Harding. See last week’s book review My Friends by Hisham Matar.

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    Reading Wednesday

    Book Review My Friends by Hisham Matar

    January 29, 2025
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    I know right up front there are a collection of people who won’t like this book. And that’s okay. If you like something lighter and not political than maybe this isn’t for you. But I thought this was a beautiful story, astonishing, lyrical and profound. Here is my book review My Friends by Hisham Matar.

    Libya

    Hisham Matar is an American born British/Libyan with another book The Return, nominated for both the Booker Prize and the Pulitzer. I need to read that one. In My Friends Matar navigates the Libyan political scene under the Gaddafi regime and the life of a forced exiled Libyan man living in England.

    Read by the author, I was engrossed in this beautiful and difficult story that I listened to on Audible. The protagonist in the story, Khaled is also a writer, lover of poetry and a lover of the Libyan writer Hosam Zowa. Khaled hears a short story when he is just a boy in Benghazi by Zowa that will direct his entire life.

    United Kingdom

    Khaled will venture to Scotland for university, the pride of his father, mother and younger sister. Here he will meet another student and that relationship will change the projection of Khaled’s life when the two attend a protest at the Libyan Embassy in London. The events of that day, which Khaled barely survives, will keep him out of Libya and away from his family for decades to come.

    Friendship

    The heart of this beautiful book is about friends. How friendships can sustain us and also break our hearts. Khaled’s friends help him process the brutalities of the Gaddafi regime, even though they often disagree on what should happen in Libya. Khaled’s exile will test all aspects of his life; his complex feelings about his family still in Libya; how he sees his future as a Libyan man and the culture he was raised in; how his career unfolds; his love life; his personal regrets and fears and most of all his enduring yet multifaceted friendships.

    Book Review My Friends by Hisham Matar

    One of the best books I have listened to in a long time. I wonderful history lesson about Libya, a riveting tale of being in exile, and a beautiful story about the love of family, friends and country. I loved it.

    *****Five stars for My Friends by Hisham Matar.

    Thanks for reading my book review My Friends by Hisham Matar. See last week’s book review The God of the Woods by Liz Moore.

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