Celia's bookshelf: all en-US Mon, 14 Apr 2025 15:17:16 -0700 60 Celia's bookshelf: all 144 41 /images/layout/goodreads_logo_144.jpg The Lost English Girl 61273767 The acclaimed author of The Light Over London weaves an epic saga of love, motherhood, and betrayal set against World War II.

Liverpool, 1935: Raised in a strict Catholic family, Viv Byrne knows what’s expected of her: marry a Catholic man from her working-class neighborhood and have his children. However, when she finds herself pregnant after a fling with Joshua Levinson, a Jewish man with dreams of becoming a famous Jazz musician, Viv knows that a swift wedding is the only answer. Her only solace is that marrying Joshua will mean escaping her strict mother’s scrutiny. But when Joshua makes a life-changing choice on their wedding day, Viv is forced once again into the arms of her disapproving family.

Five years later and on the eve of World War II, Viv is faced with the impossible choice to evacuate her young daughter, Maggie, to the countryside estate of the affluent Thompson family. In New York City, Joshua gives up his failing musical career to serve in the Royal Air Force, fight for his country, and try to piece together his feelings about the family, wife, and daughter he left behind at nineteen. However, tragedy strikes when Viv learns that the countryside safe haven she sent her daughter to wasn’t immune from the horrors of war. It is only years later, with Joshua’s help, that Viv learns the secrets of their shared past and what it will take to put a family back together again.

Telling the harrowing story of England’s many evacuated children, bestselling author Julia Kelly’s The Lost English Girl explores how one simple choice can change the course of a life, and what we are willing to forgive to find a way back to the ones we love and thought lost.]]> 416 Julia Kelly 1982171707 Celia 0 currently-reading 4.03 2023 The Lost English Girl
author: Julia Kelly
name: Celia
average rating: 4.03
book published: 2023
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/04/14
shelves: currently-reading
review:

]]> Maggie-Now 14893
With characteristic warmth, compelling insight, and easy, conversational prose, Betty Smith's Maggie-Now poignantly illuminates one woman's struggles and successes as she grapples with timeless questions of desire, duty, self-sacrifice, and the quest for fulfillment. Maggie-Now is an unforgettable masterpiece from one of the twentieth century's greatest talents.]]> 437 Betty Smith 0892440546 Celia 4 3.89 1958 Maggie-Now
author: Betty Smith
name: Celia
average rating: 3.89
book published: 1958
rating: 4
read at: 2025/04/12
date added: 2025/04/14
shelves: families, fiction, historical-fiction, audio-books
review:
I will preface this review by stating clearly that A Tree Grows in Brooklyn was one of the very first adult books I ever read as a young girl, highly recommended by my mom. I ended up rereading that book two more times, at different points in my adult life. It is definitely in my top 20 all-time favorite novels. I never realized that Betty Smith had written other books and so I was pleasantly surprised to listen to Maggie Now on Audible. For some reason Ĺ·±¦ÓéŔÖ does not offer that as an addition. I liked Maggie-Now very much. It is an epic story set at the turn of the century (1890's). I loved all of the characters and how Betty Smith wove the plot from Maggie's father's beginnings in Ireland to her own adult life in Brooklyn. The one thing that I found so difficult and yet, so endearing was the fact that she put up with her Claude and was so selfless. It takes all kinds of women, I understand that, but Maggie- Now is a better woman than I could ever be. The story is warm and dear and aggravating all at the same time, but it gives you such a slice of what life was like back then. Smith even treats the Catholic Church with respect, thank goodness.
]]> Britt-Marie Was Here 30753704
But hidden inside the socially awkward, fussy busybody is a woman who has more imagination, bigger dreams, and a warmer heart that anyone around her realizes.

When Britt-Marie walks out on her cheating husband and has to fend for herself in the miserable backwater town of Borg—of which the kindest thing one can say is that it has a road going through it—she finds work as the caretaker of a soon-to-be demolished recreation center. The fastidious Britt-Marie soon finds herself being drawn into the daily doings of her fellow citizens, an odd assortment of miscreants, drunkards, layabouts. Most alarming of all, she’s given the impossible task of leading the supremely untalented children’s soccer team to victory. In this small town of misfits, can Britt-Marie find a place where she truly belongs?

Funny and moving, sweet and inspiring, Britt-Marie Was Here celebrates the importance of community and connection in a world that can feel isolating.

The New York Times bestselling author of A Man Called Ove and My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She’s Sorry “returns with this heartwarming story about a woman rediscovering herself after a personal crisis� fans of Backman will find another winner in these pages.”]]> 324 Fredrik Backman 1501142542 Celia 0 to-read 4.12 2014 Britt-Marie Was Here
author: Fredrik Backman
name: Celia
average rating: 4.12
book published: 2014
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/04/10
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Mary Pages: An Atheist's Journey to the Mother of God]]> 221103393
These pages contain the strange, raw, and epiphany-filled stories that led to Read’s dramatic nine-month conversion from atheism to Catholicism. Focusing not only on Read’s life but also on the lives of others who, knowingly or unknowingly, encountered the Virgin, this literary memoir is a testimony of how a Mother patiently brought one child home to her Son—and slowly revealed her own heart.]]> Sally Read 1685782612 Celia 5 4.09 The Mary Pages: An Atheist's Journey to the Mother of God
author: Sally Read
name: Celia
average rating: 4.09
book published:
rating: 5
read at: 2025/03/29
date added: 2025/04/09
shelves: literary-memoir, catholic, art-history
review:
I did NOT read this on Kindle but have a hardback copy from Word on Fire Press. This is the third book I have read by Sally Read, and she just keeps getting better and better. This book is a beautiful "literary memoir" that brings us along on her journey from atheism to a deep love of our Blessed Mother and the Catholic Faith. Sally uses the various images of Mary throughout the ages, and how Mary was always beckoning her to "Do whatever He tells you". She is an award-winning poet, and her writing is stunning. Thank you, Sally Read, for an intelligent and moving memoir.
]]> Women of Magdalene 1845412 288 Rosemary Poole-Carter 1601640145 Celia 0 currently-reading 3.80 2007 Women of Magdalene
author: Rosemary Poole-Carter
name: Celia
average rating: 3.80
book published: 2007
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/04/09
shelves: currently-reading
review:

]]> Black Narcissus 566993
But all too soon, the isolation, the ghosts and lurid history, and the literally breathtaking beauty of this high, lonely place in the Asian mountains begin to take a serious toll on Sister Clodagh and her fellow nuns. And their burdens may prove too heavy to bear, exposing a vulnerable humanity that threatens to undermine the best intentions of the purest hearts.]]> 224 Rumer Godden 0330324705 Celia 0 currently-reading 3.78 1939 Black Narcissus
author: Rumer Godden
name: Celia
average rating: 3.78
book published: 1939
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/04/09
shelves: currently-reading
review:

]]> Familia 126423172
As the fact checker for a popular magazine, Gabby DiMarco believes in absolute, verifiable Truths—until they throw the facts of her own life into question. The genealogy test she took as research for an article has yielded a baffling result: Gabby has a sister—one who’s been desperately trying to find her. Except, as Gabby’s beloved parents would confirm if they were still alive, that’s impossible.

Isabella Ruiz can still picture the face of her baby sister, who disappeared from the streets of San Juan twenty-five years ago. Isabella, an artist, has fought hard for the stable home and loving marriage she has today—yet the longing to find Marianna has never left. At last, she’s found a match, and Gabby has agreed to come to Puerto Rico.

But Gabby, as defensive and cautious as Isabella is impulsive, offers no happy reunion. She insists there’s been a mistake. And Isabella realizes that even if this woman is her sister, she may not want to be.

With nothing—or perhaps so much—in common, Gabby and Isabella set out to find the truth, though it means risking everything they’ve known for an uncertain future—and a past that harbors yet more surprises . . .]]> 320 Lauren E. Rico 1496744640 Celia 3 4.05 2023 Familia
author: Lauren E. Rico
name: Celia
average rating: 4.05
book published: 2023
rating: 3
read at: 2025/04/08
date added: 2025/04/09
shelves: fiction, families, hispanic, cc-book-club-pick, mystery
review:
This is another book that goes back and forth between the past and present day. It is the story of a family in Puerto Rico that is forever changed when the baby sister is kidnapped and has all but disappeared. It is a cold case, and Isabella, the older sister, (she was 5 when Marianna was kidnapped) has never stopped looking for her. The story is told from different character's viewpoints, and from Today, and That Day. Gabby is a young woman living in New York who happens to take a DNA test for a study, and here we go. The writing is basic, the story moves quickly, but for me it is just an average ho-hum story until the last couple of chapters. Here is where the author did her best writing. (PS: a lot of bad language which did not endear the book to me).
]]> What the Light Touches 205837990 Acclaimed author Xavier Bosch weaves an emotional tale of love and intrigue in this novel about a woman on the cusp of middle age, her beloved grandma, and a strange houseguest who changes everything.

Seventeen-year-old Margaux doesn’t realize one photo could change the course of her life. But in German-occupied Paris of 1940, nothing makes sense anymore. Margaux fears the worst when her lover is arrested. And when her photo appears in Nazi propaganda, her family’s reputation—and prospects—suffer the consequences.

In 2008, Margaux moves into a retirement home, and her granddaughter Barbara comes to live in her Paris apartment. Eager to escape unhappy circumstances, Barbara works remotely for a publishing company and rents out a room in “Mamie� Margaux’s apartment to help pay the bills.

One day, Barbara finds a stranger on her couch. Roger, who’s a curious photographer, uncovers shocking secrets about Barbara’s family. And when a snowstorm triggers a lockdown, he opens the door to tempting new possibilities.

A bestseller at the 2023 Sant Jordi Book Fair in its original Catalan, Bosch’s sweeping novel alternates between the two timelines, offering sustenance for historical fiction readers, WWII enthusiasts, and romantics alike.]]> 414 Xavier Bosch 1662520824 Celia 3 4.05 2023 What the Light Touches
author: Xavier Bosch
name: Celia
average rating: 4.05
book published: 2023
rating: 3
read at: 2025/03/20
date added: 2025/04/08
shelves: fiction, historical-fiction, france, romance, wwii-era
review:
This was a very interesting story. It is another story that moves back and forth between the present and the past. This story takes place in Paris and moves between present day and World War Two. This book is translated from Catalan and it's just a fascinating story. Margaux who is in a nursing home now had a remarkable life just before the Nazis' invaded Paris. Margaux's granddaughter Barbara lives in her grandmother's apartment and has a roommate who is a photographer. In a very snowy and cold Paris winter Barbara and Roger start to get to know each other from a picture of Barbara's grandmother taken in 1940. A clever storyline and interesting characters.
]]> Surviving Savannah 57037475
It was called "The Titanic of the South." The luxury steamship sank in 1838 with Savannah's elite on board; through time, their fates were forgotten - until the wreck was found, and now their story is finally being told in this breathtaking novel from the New York Times best-selling author of Becoming Mrs. Lewis

When Savannah history professor Everly Winthrop is asked to guest-curate a new museum collection focusing on artifacts recovered from the steamship Pulaski, she's shocked. The ship sank after a boiler explosion in 1838, and the wreckage was just discovered, 180 years later. Everly can't resist the opportunity to try to solve some of the mysteries and myths surrounding the devastating night of its sinking.

Everly's research leads her to the astounding history of a family of eleven who boarded the Pulaski together, and the extraordinary stories of two women from this family: a known survivor, Augusta Longstreet, and her niece, Lilly Forsyth, who was never found, along with her child. These aristocratic women were part of Savannah's society, but when the ship exploded, each was faced with difficult and heartbreaking decisions. This is a moving and powerful exploration of what women will do to endure in the face of tragedy, the role fate plays, and the myriad ways we survive the surviving.]]> Patti Callahan Henry Celia 3 3.91 2021 Surviving Savannah
author: Patti Callahan Henry
name: Celia
average rating: 3.91
book published: 2021
rating: 3
read at: 2025/03/15
date added: 2025/04/08
shelves: families, fiction, historical-fiction
review:
So actually, I would give this book three and a half stars because I really enjoyed the narrative from the 1830s, but the present-day story became a little tedious for me. This is the story of a ship that sank off the coast of North Carolina in the late 1830s, and the present-day storyline was about a young woman who is asked to curate a museum exhibition about this shipwreck because the wreckage was finally found. The characters from the 1830s especially Lily Forsyth and Augusta Longstreet were extremely interesting. The author describes their survival and losses as they coped for those harrowing hours at sea with no rescue in sight. But the drama of Everly the woman who is to curate this museum exhibit was just a bit over the top for me. It was an interesting read and a slightly tedious read. I never could really get into Everly character and her mother and sister.
]]> The Mystery of Mrs. Christie 54508524 Marie Benedict, the beloved New York Times bestselling author of The Only Woman in the Room, uncovers the untold story of Agatha Christie’s mysterious eleven day disappearance.

In December 1926, Agatha Christie goes missing. Investigators find her empty car on the edge of a deep, gloomy pond, the only clues some tire tracks nearby and a fur coat left in the car—strange for a frigid night. Her husband and daughter have no knowledge of her whereabouts, and England unleashes an unprecedented manhunt to find the up-and-coming mystery author. Eleven days later, she reappears, just as mysteriously as she disappeared, claiming amnesia and providing no explanations for her time away.

The puzzle of those missing eleven days has persisted. With her trademark exploration into the shadows of history, acclaimed author Marie Benedict brings us into the world of Agatha Christie, imagining why such a brilliant woman would find herself at the center of such a murky story.

What is real, and what is mystery? What role did her unfaithful husband play, and what was he not telling investigators?

A master storyteller whose clever mind may never be matched, Agatha Christie’s untold history offers perhaps her greatest mystery of all.]]> 292 Marie Benedict 149268273X Celia 0 to-read 3.94 2020 The Mystery of Mrs. Christie
author: Marie Benedict
name: Celia
average rating: 3.94
book published: 2020
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/03/22
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Book Club for Troublesome Women]]> 216052751 Four dissatisfied sixties-era housewives form a book club turned sisterhood that will hold fast amid the turmoil of a rapidly changing world and alter the course of each of their lives.

By early 1960s standards, Margaret Ryan, Viv Buschetti, and Bitsy Cobb, suburban housewives in a brand-new "planned community" in Northern Virginia, appear to have it all. The fact that "all" doesn't feel like enough leaves them feeling confused and guilty, certain the fault must lie with them. Things begin to change when they form a book club with Charlotte Gustafson--the eccentric and artsy "new neighbor" from Manhattan--and read Betty Friedan's just-released book, The Feminine Mystique.

Controversial and groundbreaking, the book struck a chord with an entire generation of women, helping them realize that they weren't alone in their dissatisfactions, or their longings, lifting their eyes to new horizons of possibility and achievement. Margaret, Charlotte, Bitsy, and Viv are among them. But is it really the book that alters the lives of these four very different women? Or is it the bond of sisterhood that helps them find courage to confront the past, navigate turmoil in a rapidly changing world, and see themselves in a new and limitless light?]]> 384 Marie Bostwick 1400344743 Celia 0 to-read 4.14 2025 The Book Club for Troublesome Women
author: Marie Bostwick
name: Celia
average rating: 4.14
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/03/15
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Sworn to Silence (Kate Burkholder, #1)]]> 6115138 321 Linda Castillo 0312374976 Celia 0 to-read 4.02 2009 Sworn to Silence (Kate Burkholder, #1)
author: Linda Castillo
name: Celia
average rating: 4.02
book published: 2009
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/03/15
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Her Last Breath (Kate Burkholder, #5)]]> 16044965
A rainy night, an Amish father returning home with his three children, a speeding car hurtling toward them out of nowhere.

What at first seems like a tragic, but routine car accident suddenly takes on a more sinister cast as evidence emerges that nothing about the crash is accidental. But who would want to kill an Amish deacon and two of his children? He leaves behind a grieving widow and a young boy who clings to life in the intensive care wing of a hospital, unable to communicate. He may be the only one who knows what happened that night. Desperate to find out who killed her best friend's husband and why, Kate begins to suspect she is not looking for a reckless drunk, but instead is on the trail of a cold blooded killer amid the residents of Painter's Mill. It is a search that takes her on a chilling journey into the darkest reaches of the human heart and makes her question everything she has ever believed about the Amish culture into which she was born.]]> 320 Linda Castillo 0312658575 Celia 4 4.14 2014 Her Last Breath (Kate Burkholder, #5)
author: Linda Castillo
name: Celia
average rating: 4.14
book published: 2014
rating: 4
read at: 2025/03/08
date added: 2025/03/11
shelves: fiction, crime-fiction, amish, cc-book-club-pick
review:
This book surprised me. It was a book club selection, and I didn't have high hopes, but this was a page turner and was quite well written. I didn't realize it was a series, and this is #5 in the series. I may have to read the first one to see how this character, a female police chief who left the Amish to live in the "real" world, got her start. The story begins with a horrific crash, an Amish horse-drawn wagon and a high-speed car on a dark road. And then the usual twists and turns. The ending was a bit far-fetched for my tastes, but all in all a very good, quick read.
]]> All We Were Promised 222175354 A housemaid with a dangerous family secret conspires with a wealthy young abolitionist to help an enslaved girl escape, in volatile pre-Civil War Philadelphia.

The rebel . . . the socialite . . . and the fugitive. Together, they will risk everything for one another in this “beguiling story of friendship, deception, and women crossing boundaries in the name of freedom� (Lisa Wingate, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Book of Lost Friends).

Philadelphia, 1837. After Charlotte escaped from the crumbling White Oaks plantation down South, she’d expected freedom to feel different from her former life as an enslaved housemaid. After all, Philadelphia is supposed to be the birthplace of American liberty. Instead, she’s locked away playing servant to her white-passing father, as they both attempt to hide their identities from slavecatchers who would destroy their new lives.

Longing to break away, Charlotte befriends Nell, a budding abolitionist from one of Philadelphia’s wealthiest Black families. Just as Charlotte starts to envision a future, a familiar face from her past reappears: Evie, her friend from White Oaks, has been brought to the city by the plantation mistress, and she’s desperate to escape. But as Charlotte and Nell conspire to rescue her, in a city engulfed by race riots and attacks on abolitionists, they soon discover that fighting for Evie’s freedom may cost them their own.]]> 384 Ashton Lattimore 0593600177 Celia 0 to-read 4.11 2024 All We Were Promised
author: Ashton Lattimore
name: Celia
average rating: 4.11
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/03/02
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Into the Deep: An Unlikely Catholic Conversion]]> 42756119 202 Abigail Rine Favale 1532605021 Celia 0 to-read 4.53 Into the Deep: An Unlikely Catholic Conversion
author: Abigail Rine Favale
name: Celia
average rating: 4.53
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/02/26
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[A Postcard from the Volcano: A Novel of Pre-War Germany]]> 6385787 520 Lucy Beckett 1586172697 Celia 4 fiction, historical-fiction 4.23 2009 A Postcard from the Volcano: A Novel of Pre-War Germany
author: Lucy Beckett
name: Celia
average rating: 4.23
book published: 2009
rating: 4
read at: 2025/02/19
date added: 2025/02/24
shelves: fiction, historical-fiction
review:
Oh my goodness, what an amazing piece of literature. This story setting, Germany, from 1914-1933, and the characters- Max, his best friend Adam, the wonderful teacher Fischer, Prussian pride, all come together to tell this tale that breaks your heart in the end. Lucy Beckett does an incredible job interweaving politics, religion, music, and nationalism into a story that must be read slowly and savored. There were many events throughout the story that are subtle reminders of our own chaotic world. There were so many times that I hadn't realized what was going on in Eastern Europe, and all the different philosophies that influenced young people at the time. As an aside, Max lives in Breslau, and that is where Edith Stein was from, (St. Theresa Benedicta of the Cross) at exactly that same time period. A very enriching read.
]]> The Women 193752824 An intimate portrait of coming of age in a dangerous time and an epic tale of a nation divided.

Women can be heroes. When twenty-year-old nursing student Frances “Frankie� McGrath hears these words, it is a revelation. Raised in the sun-drenched, idyllic world of Southern California and sheltered by her conservative parents, she has always prided herself on doing the right thing. But in 1965, the world is changing, and she suddenly dares to imagine a different future for herself. When her brother ships out to serve in Vietnam, she joins the Army Nurse Corps and follows his path.

As green and inexperienced as the men sent to Vietnam to fight, Frankie is over- whelmed by the chaos and destruction of war. Each day is a gamble of life and death, hope and betrayal; friendships run deep and can be shattered in an instant. In war, she meets—and becomes one of—the lucky, the brave, the broken, and the lost.

But war is just the beginning for Frankie and her veteran friends. The real battle lies in coming home to a changed and divided America, to angry protesters, and to a country that wants to forget Vietnam.

The Women is the story of one woman gone to war, but it shines a light on all women who put themselves in harm’s way and whose sacrifice and commitment to their country has too often been forgotten. A novel about deep friendships and bold patriotism, The Women is a richly drawn story with a memorable heroine whose idealism and courage under fire will come to define an era.]]> 15 Kristin Hannah 1250317959 Celia 3 4.52 2024 The Women
author: Kristin Hannah
name: Celia
average rating: 4.52
book published: 2024
rating: 3
read at: 2025/02/15
date added: 2025/02/24
shelves: fiction, historical-fiction, viet-nam-war
review:
This was a good story, not a great story in my opinion, and not great literature. The Vietnam era was an extremely difficult time, and as a teen, I could not bear watching the nightly news. I have avoided all movies about this war, and yet I love war movies, and I love history. Vietnam was a horror, and so many of the Vets were treated horrendously. I have worked with some of these men, and go to church with some of these men, and they are heroes. All that is besides the point. So, why only three stars? There were a few problems that made me cringe. Frankie's family was so not realistic to me. But then again, I grew up in a blue-collar neighborhood in a pretty rough city. Her parents were portrayed as caricatures, not actual characters. The romantic plots were extremely cliched, and I expected more from Kristin Hannah. Parts of the in- country scenes rang true and were page-turners. Her camaraderie with the other nurses, her two friends, also rang true. And it was pretty basic writing. I'm glad so many women loved the book. I was not one of them.
]]> Becoming Madam Secretary 221754311 She took on titans, battled generals, and changed the world as we know it�

New York Times bestselling author Stephanie Dray returns with a captivating and dramatic new novel about an American heroine Frances Perkins.

Raised on tales of her revolutionary ancestors, Frances Perkins arrives in New York City at the turn of the century, armed with her trusty parasol and an unyielding determination to make a difference.

When she’s not working with children in the crowded tenements in Hell’s Kitchen, Frances throws herself into the social scene in Greenwich Village, befriending an eclectic group of politicians, artists, and activists, including the millionaire socialite Mary Harriman Rumsey, the flirtatious budding author Sinclair Lewis, and the brilliant but troubled reformer Paul Wilson, with whom she falls deeply in love.

But when Frances meets a young lawyer named Franklin Delano Roosevelt at a tea dance, sparks fly in all the wrong directions. She thinks he’s a rich, arrogant dilettante who gets by on a handsome face and a famous name. He thinks she’s a priggish bluestocking and insufferable do-gooder. Neither knows it yet, but over the next twenty years, they will form a historic partnership that will carry them both to the White House.

Frances is destined to rise in a political world dominated by men, facing down the Great Depression as FDR’s most trusted lieutenant—even as she struggles to balance the demands of a public career with marriage and motherhood. And when vicious political attacks mount and personal tragedies threaten to derail her ambitions, she must decide what she’s willing to do—and what she’s willing to sacrifice—to save a nation.]]> 544 Stephanie Dray 0593437071 Celia 0 to-read 4.44 2024 Becoming Madam Secretary
author: Stephanie Dray
name: Celia
average rating: 4.44
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/02/20
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[It is Finished: A 40-Day Pilgrimage Back to the Cross]]> 180352076 Tetelestai, "It is finished."

Jesus' final words on the Cross have impacted us for eternity. With His death and resurrection, He finished the work of our salvation. But our transformation continues. In his vibrant, storytelling tone, Charles Martin takes us on a journey to the Cross to examine how the Holy Spirit is now at work in us as we are continually being made "perfectly perfect."

As we gaze upon the Cross, it becomes a mirror that reflects our true selves and a magnifier that enlarges our view of who we are. Though we may be tempted to look away as we come face-to-face with shame, anger, lust, or pride. When we truly examine ourselves through the Cross, we see the sin that Christ died to redeem.

"The foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength." (1 Corinthians 1:25)

But we have been given the Holy Spirit, which is His power in us, and has removed the offense of the Cross. As we look to the Cross, we no longer see condemnation but hope as He transforms us to be more like Him.]]> 337 Charles Martin 1400338832 Celia 0 to-read 4.71 2024 It is Finished: A 40-Day Pilgrimage Back to the Cross
author: Charles Martin
name: Celia
average rating: 4.71
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/02/19
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Don't Let Him In 220160814 Three women are connected by one man in this kaleidoscopic thriller.

Restauranteur Paddy Swann was the life of the party until the day a man pushed him in the path of an oncoming train, leaving his twenty-something daughter Ash and wife Nina devastated. Shortly after Paddy’s funeral, the two women receive a surprise in the mail: a note and package from Nick Ratcliffe, an old friend of Paddy’s, and a nondescript lighter that once belonged to him decades ago. This unexpected gift draws Nick and Nina closer together—much to Ash’s dismay.

Martha is a small-town florist with dreams of expansion. She lives with her second husband Al, her baby, and two sons from her prior marriage. But they never seem to have any money, and with his constant traveling for work, she feels like a single parent—especially when an emergency makes her realize something needs to change.

But Nick and Al may not be who they say they are, leading these three women on a shocking collision course, wishing they had heeded a warning: Don’t let him in.]]> 368 Lisa Jewell 1668033879 Celia 0 to-read 4.00 2025 Don't Let Him In
author: Lisa Jewell
name: Celia
average rating: 4.00
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/02/19
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Wake of Malice 216745724
Can Hugh and Freddie save their employment—and their skins—as the grotesque violence intensifies? Or will they and the rest of the village of Doolin be consumed by dark powers lurking within the mysterious landscape of Ireland?]]> 370 Eleanor Bourg Nicholson Celia 0 to-read 4.54 Wake of Malice
author: Eleanor Bourg Nicholson
name: Celia
average rating: 4.54
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/02/15
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Dying For Revenge (The Lady Doc Murders #1)]]> 30237909 300 Barbara Golder Celia 0 to-read 4.25 Dying For Revenge (The Lady Doc Murders #1)
author: Barbara Golder
name: Celia
average rating: 4.25
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/02/15
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> The Awakening of Miss Prim 18774984
When Miss Prim, an independent, accomplished young woman, reads an ad in the newspaper seeking a feminine spirit to work as a librarian in the lush countryside of France, she finds herself compelled to apply. Little does she know what kind of world she is about to step into.
Miss Prim dutifully accepts the job and begins organizing her employer's vast library. A knowledgeable, mysterious gentleman with very specific opinions about life, he challenges Miss Prim's seemingly unshakeable disposition. And as she becomes familiar with the other townspeople, she begins to realize that the surprising lifestyle of the town awakens amazement, perplexity, and even disdain in her. For in this tiny corner of the world, a flourishing colony of exiles have settled into a simple, rural existence, living around great literature, intellectual discussions, family, and sweet indulgences. Their peculiar and unconventional ways slowly test Miss Prim's most intimate ideas and fears as well as her most profound convictions. She quickly comes to realize that her advanced degrees did little to prepare her for the lessons she's being taught the least of which is a lesson in love.

Set against a backdrop of steaming cups of tea, freshly baked cakes, warm fires, and lovely company, The Awakening of Miss Prim is a delightful, thought-provoking, and sensitive novel that gives rise to theories about love and companionship, education, and the beauty of every passing moment.]]> 259 Natalia SanmartĂ­n Fenollera 1476734240 Celia 0 to-read 3.65 2013 The Awakening of Miss Prim
author: Natalia SanmartĂ­n Fenollera
name: Celia
average rating: 3.65
book published: 2013
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/02/15
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Shelterwood 220817706
1990. Law enforcement ranger Valerie Boren-Odell arrives at Horsethief Trail National Park seeking a quiet place to raise her son. But no sooner has Valerie reported for duty than a teenage hiker goes missing and the long-hidden burial site of three children is discovered in a cave. Val’s quest to uncover the truth wins an ally among the Choctaw Nation’s Tribal Police but soon collides with the deadly legacy of the land itself.

1909. Eleven-year-old Olive Radley knows that her stepfather is a threat to the two Choctaw girls boarded in their home. When the older girl disappears, Ollie flees, taking six-year-old Nessa with her. Together they begin a perilous journey to the remote Winding Stair Mountains, the territory of outlaws, treasure hunters, and desperate men. Along the way, they form an unlikely band with other children struggling to get by on their own.

In this gripping novel, Lisa Wingate traces the story of children abandoned by the law and the battle to see justice done. Amid times of deep conflict over who owns the land and its riches, Ollie and Val each leave behind one life in search of another.]]> 384 Lisa Wingate 0593726529 Celia 0 to-read 3.91 2024 Shelterwood
author: Lisa Wingate
name: Celia
average rating: 3.91
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/02/02
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Beneath the Same Stars 40852143 "Perhaps every woman will lie for the man she lies with." � Sarah Wakefield

August 18, 1862 On the Sioux reservation in southwestern Minnesota, Indians desperate for food and freedom rise up against whites in the region. Sarah Wakefield, the wife of a physician, is taken captive with her two babies. Their fate falls into the hands of the warrior Ćaske, with whom she has slim acquaintance. As war rages, little does she know how entwined their lives will become.


Beneath the Same StarsĚýis the gripping story of two people, caught between worlds, who are willing to do almost anything to defend those they care about—including each other. But the drama is bigger than themselves. Tragic forces have been set in motion....


Inspired by actual events surrounding the U.S. Dakota War.]]> 330 Phyllis Cole-Dai Celia 4 4.16 2018 Beneath the Same Stars
author: Phyllis Cole-Dai
name: Celia
average rating: 4.16
book published: 2018
rating: 4
read at: 2025/01/17
date added: 2025/01/23
shelves: fiction, historical-fiction, civil-war-era, native-american, western
review:
This was a very interesting story, and the main character, Sarah, is someone I will not forget. The time is 1862, the middle of the Civil War, but this setting is in Sioux country in Minnesota. Sarah's husband is the doctor for the soldiers stationed there, and for the Indians. Sarah sees injustice and thievery among the government men in charge and stands up for the Sioux. Her husband is not happy. As the Sioux are being starved, Sarah and her two children are kidnaped during the U.S. Dakota War. I thought I had learned a lot about the west, but this story was news to me. Very interesting and disturbing.
]]> Chenneville 199430838
Consumed with grief, driven by vengeance, a man undertakes an unrelenting odyssey across the lawless post–Civil War frontier seeking redemption in this fearless novel from the award-winning and New York Times bestselling author of News of the World.

Union soldier John Chenneville suffered a traumatic head wound in battle. His recovery took the better part of a year as he struggled to regain his senses and mobility. By the time he returned home, the Civil War was over, but tragedy awaited. John’s beloved sister and her family had been brutally murdered.

Their killer goes by many names. He fought for the North in the late unpleasantness, and wore a badge in the name of the law. But the man John knows as A. J. Dodd is little more than a rabid animal, slaughtering without reason or remorse, needing to be put down.

Traveling through the unforgiving landscape of a shattered nation in the midst of Reconstruction, John braves winter storms and confronts desperate people in pursuit of his quarry. Untethered, single-minded in purpose, he will not be deterred. Not by the U.S. Marshal who threatens to arrest him for murder should he succeed. And not by Victoria Reavis, the telegraphist aiding him in his death-driven quest, yet hoping he’ll choose to embrace a life with her instead.

And as he trails Dodd deep into Texas, John accepts that this final reckoning between them may cost him more than all he’s already lost…]]> Paulette Jiles Celia 5 4.30 2023 Chenneville
author: Paulette Jiles
name: Celia
average rating: 4.30
book published: 2023
rating: 5
read at: 2025/01/10
date added: 2025/01/21
shelves: fiction, historical-fiction, mystery, civil-war-era, civil-war-fiction, western
review:
Oh my gosh, Jiles has done it again. She has written a book and created characters that I love! She writes as if she lived in that time period, quite authentic. John Chenneville will be a character I will never forget. The story begins with John, a Civil War officer, recuperating in a hospital suffering from a head wound, and from partial amnesia. He doesn't remember much, but bits and pieces of his past. When he finally gets home, he finds out that his dear sister, her husband and baby were murdered, and the law did not do anything about it. So, he knows he has to make a full recovery and go after this murderer. I eagerly await her next book! The narrator on this audio book is incredible.
]]> The Keeper of Hidden Books 198993146
A heartwarming story about the power of books to bring us together, inspired by the true story of the underground library in WWII Warsaw, by the New York Times bestselling author of The Last Bookshop in London.

All her life, Zofia has found comfort in two things during times of hardship: books and her best friend, Janina. But no one could have imagined the horrors of the Nazi occupation in Warsaw. As the bombs rain down and Hitler’s forces loot and destroy the city, Zofia finds that now books are also in need of saving.

With the death count rising and persecution intensifying, Zofia jumps to action to save her friend and salvage whatever books she can from the wreckage, hiding them away, and even starting a clandestine book club. She and her dearest friend never surrender their love of reading, even when Janina is forced into the newly formed ghetto.

But the closer Warsaw creeps toward liberation, the more dangerous life becomes for the women and their families—and escape may not be possible for everyone. As the destruction rages around them, Zofia must fight to save her friend and preserve her culture and community using the only weapon they have left—literature.]]> Madeline Martin Celia 3 fiction 3.86 2023 The Keeper of Hidden Books
author: Madeline Martin
name: Celia
average rating: 3.86
book published: 2023
rating: 3
read at: 2024/12/28
date added: 2025/01/21
shelves: fiction
review:
This is a very interesting story and history of Poland just before and during the outbreak of WWII. As a retired school librarian, I am fascinated by the history of how a few brave men and women tried to save the history and culture of Poland while also trying to survive being occupied by the Nazis. I really loved Martin's other "book" story about war-torn London, but even though this book has a great set of characters, strained relationships between mothers and daughters, and romance amidst the horror, it was not up to the same level as The Last Bookshop in London. It is good historical fiction.
]]> <![CDATA[The Word is Murder (Hawthorne & Horowitz #1)]]> 41154275
One bright spring morning in London, Diana Cowper � the wealthy mother of a famous actor - enters a funeral parlor. She is there to plan her own service.

Six hours later she is found dead, strangled with a curtain cord in her own home.

Enter disgraced police detective Daniel Hawthorne, a brilliant, eccentric investigator who’s as quick with an insult as he is to crack a case. Hawthorne needs a ghost writer to document his life; a Watson to his Holmes. He chooses Anthony Horowitz.

Drawn in against his will, Horowitz soon finds himself a the center of a story he cannot control. Hawthorne is brusque, temperamental and annoying but even so his latest case with its many twists and turns proves irresistible. The writer and the detective form an unusual partnership. At the same time, it soon becomes clear that Hawthorne is hiding some dark secrets of his own.

New York Times bestselling author of Magpie Murders and Moriarty, Anthony Horowitz has yet again brilliantly reinvented the classic crime novel, this time writing a fictional version of himself as the Watson to a modern-day Holmes.

A masterful and tricky mystery that springs many surprises, The Word is Murder is Anthony Horowitz at his very best.]]> 390 Anthony Horowitz 0062676806 Celia 4 3.91 2017 The Word is Murder (Hawthorne & Horowitz #1)
author: Anthony Horowitz
name: Celia
average rating: 3.91
book published: 2017
rating: 4
read at: 2024/12/15
date added: 2025/01/21
shelves: cc-book-club-pick, england, fiction, crime-fiction
review:
I have watched many British shows that Anthony Horowitz has written for and enjoyed them immensely. They are well-scripted and intriguing, to say the least. I read the synopsis of this title when looking for an interesting read for my book club. I enjoyed it, laughing out loud at times, and shaking my head. I love the fact that he put himself in a book as a character, (and I enjoyed The Moonflower Mysteries on PBS, too). I will be reading the next book in this series. Refreshing and a page turner.
]]> <![CDATA[Sister, Soldier, Surgeon: The Life and Courage of Sister Deirdre Byrne, M.D.]]> 219703972
If the apostles had remained hidden in the Upper Room, we would never have a Church today. Similarly, Sister’s inspirational life serves as a call to emerge from the safety of the Upper Room and enter the public square to courageously infuse culture with an unapologetic defense of Christ’s beauty, truth, and goodness.

Whether saving lives on battlefields or outside the doors of abortion clinics, this exciting narrative offers a rare glimpse into the life of a contemporary heroine who dedicates herself to care of the poor, love of God and country, and an unwavering defense of the unborn. These exhilarating pages

Sister’s journey in discerning and living her vocational calling and her personal vow of
providing free and loving medical care to the poorHer heroic national keynote address that took the nation by storm and embodied the
essence of courageously living one’s faith in the public squareThe moral prescriptions required for remaining in the state of grace and attaining eternal
lifeThe impactful way Sister proposes Christ to everyone she meets with fearless abandon and
determined love
Sr. Dede ministered at Ground Zero on September 11, served as St. Mother Teresa’s personal physician, was deployed as a surgeon to Afghanistan for Operation Enduring Freedom, facilitated the rescue of citizens hiding from the Taliban, and travels regularly to the war-torn Nuba Mountains in Sudan to provide life-saving medical care to inhabitants under siege.

Dubbed “the Mother Teresa of D.C.,� Sr. Dede continues to provide medical care to the marginalized from her convent basement clinic and administer the abortion pill reversal procedure that has resulted in the delivery of more than a dozen healthy babies. At home and abroad, she spreads her message of love and her exhortations for remaining in the state of grace so that we might all attain our eternal end � eternity with God in Heaven.]]> 288 Leisa Marie Carzon Celia 0 to-read 4.38 Sister, Soldier, Surgeon: The Life and Courage of Sister Deirdre Byrne, M.D.
author: Leisa Marie Carzon
name: Celia
average rating: 4.38
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/12/21
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Lioness Lost (Chronicles of Ariella)]]> 219878484
When investigative reporter, Ariella "Ari" Dalton, wakes on the morning of November 29, 2021, she has no idea that the course of her life is about to change forever.

Assigned to cover a grisly murder case in her local town, Ari works to uncover the truth, but quickly finds herself deep within the macabre and violent world of a Satanic gang that holds a dark secret. Collaborating with an elite FBI squad led by the very handsome—and very Catholic—Supervisory Special Agent Jesse Sandoval, her investigations will lead her to question her own spiritual and religious beliefs.

As the stakes get higher and Ari finds herself inexplicably drawn to Jesse, her beloved grandmother decides to reveal the history of Ariella's lineage in an effort to help guide her granddaughter. Beautifully interwoven within the story of Ari is that of Ella Ward, another Ariella living during the Gilded Age of the late nineteenth century. As one Ariella fights to discover the truth about the murder case, another Ariella will help lead her down the path to find the truth of who she was meant to be.
The first in the new fiction series written by New Age and the occult expert, Susan Brinkmann, will not only open the reader's eyes to the true nature of the spiritual movements of our day, but will also open their hearts to the glory of Christianity, the critical role of women in the Church, and the Truth that sets us free.]]> 304 Susan Brinkmann 163582561X Celia 0 to-read 3.64 Lioness Lost (Chronicles of Ariella)
author: Susan Brinkmann
name: Celia
average rating: 3.64
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/12/13
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Becoming Madam Secretary 177178698 She took on titans, battled generals, and changed the world as we know it�

New York Times bestselling author Stephanie Dray returns with a captivating and dramatic new novel about an American heroine Frances Perkins.

Raised on tales of her revolutionary ancestors, Frances Perkins arrives in New York City at the turn of the century, armed with her trusty parasol and an unyielding determination to make a difference.

When she’s not working with children in the crowded tenements in Hell’s Kitchen, Frances throws herself into the social scene in Greenwich Village, befriending an eclectic group of politicians, artists, and activists, including the millionaire socialite Mary Harriman Rumsey, the flirtatious budding author Sinclair Lewis, and the brilliant but troubled reformer Paul Wilson, with whom she falls deeply in love.

But when Frances meets a young lawyer named Franklin Delano Roosevelt at a tea dance, sparks fly in all the wrong directions. She thinks he’s a rich, arrogant dilettante who gets by on a handsome face and a famous name. He thinks she’s a priggish bluestocking and insufferable do-gooder. Neither knows it yet, but over the next twenty years, they will form a historic partnership that will carry them both to the White House.

Frances is destined to rise in a political world dominated by men, facing down the Great Depression as FDR’s most trusted lieutenant—even as she struggles to balance the demands of a public career with marriage and motherhood. And when vicious political attacks mount and personal tragedies threaten to derail her ambitions, she must decide what she’s willing to do—and what she’s willing to sacrifice—to save a nation.]]> 544 Stephanie Dray 0593437063 Celia 0 to-read 4.66 2024 Becoming Madam Secretary
author: Stephanie Dray
name: Celia
average rating: 4.66
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/12/01
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Second Life of Mirielle West]]> 58627027 Based on little-known history, this stunning novel of courage, resilience, and reinvention set in 1920s Lousiana and Los Angeles will stay with you long after turning the last page. One hundred years after the forced quarantine of leper patients at Carville Hospital, this timely story will strike a chord with readers of Fiona Davis, Tracey Lange, and Marie Benedict.

1920s Los Angeles: Socialite Mirielle West’s days are crowded with shopping, luncheons, and prepping for the myriad glittering parties she attends with her actor husband, Charlie. She’s been too busy to even notice the small patch of pale skin on the back of her hand. Other than an occasional over-indulgence in gin and champagne, which helps to numb the pain of recent tragedy, Mirielle is the picture of health. But her doctor insists on more tests, and Mirielle reluctantly agrees.

The diagnosis—leprosy—is devastating and unthinkable. Changing her name to shield Charlie and their two young children, Mirielle is exiled to rural Louisiana for what she hopes will be a swift cure. But the hospital at Carville turns out to be as much a prison as a place of healing. Deaths far outnumber the discharges, and many patients have languished for years. Some are badly afflicted, others relatively unscathed. For all, the disease’s stigma is just as insidious as its physical progress.

At first, Mirielle keeps her distance from other residents, unwilling to accept her new reality. Gradually she begins to find both a community and a purpose at Carville, helping the nurses and doctors while eagerly anticipating her return home. But even that wish is tinged with uncertainty. How can she bridge the divide between the woman, wife, and mother she was, and the stranger she has become? And what price is she willing to pay to protect the ones she loves?]]> Amanda Skenandore Celia 4 4.05 2021 The Second Life of Mirielle West
author: Amanda Skenandore
name: Celia
average rating: 4.05
book published: 2021
rating: 4
read at: 2024/11/16
date added: 2024/11/20
shelves: audio-books, fiction, historical-fiction
review:
I love when you read a book and learn about something you had not been aware of in history and in your own country. Mirielle West is a wife and mother in Los Angeles during the peak of the silent movie era. Her husband, Charlie is an actor, they have two children, and it appears that they are living the dream. Mirielle may drink a bit too much, but she is enduring a tragedy in her life, so who could blame her? After burning her hand and a trip to the family doctor, everything changes for Marielle. She is diagnosed with leprosy and is made to be incarcerated (in a way) in a hospital in rural Louisiana with other leprosy patients. Mirielle is not sweet or caring, or selfless. Rather, she is selfish and rude and totally self-pitying. At first she is repulsed by the conditions of many of the patients but gradually learns (a little) to think of others. This is a fascinating story, with some great characters, and it made me think about how I would have dealt with her situation. The ending was quite abrupt, not sure why the author did that.
]]> The Pale Blue Eye 414488
At a loss for answers and desperate to avoid any negative publicity, the Academy calls on the services of a local civilian, Augustus Landor, a former police detective who acquired some renown during his years in New York City before retiring to the Hudson Highlands for his health. Now a widower, and restless in his seclusion, Landor agrees to take on the case. As he questions the dead man's acquaintances, he finds an eager assistant in a moody, intriguing young cadet with a penchant for drink, two volumes of poetry to his name, and a murky past that changes from telling to telling. The cadet's name? Edgar Allan Poe.

Impressed with Poe's astute powers of observation, Landor is convinced that the poet may prove useful -- if he can stay sober long enough to put his keen reasoning skills to the task. Working in close contact, the two men -- separated by years but alike in intelligence -- develop a surprisingly deep rapport as their investigation takes them into a hidden world of secret societies, ritual sacrifices, and more bodies. Soon, however, the macabre murders and Landor's own buried secrets threaten to tear the two men and their newly formed friendship apart.]]> 412 Louis Bayard 0060733985 Celia 5 3.76 2006 The Pale Blue Eye
author: Louis Bayard
name: Celia
average rating: 3.76
book published: 2006
rating: 5
read at: 2024/11/12
date added: 2024/11/20
shelves: fiction, historical-fiction, mystery, suspense
review:
This book was amazing! What an incredible writer Louis Bayard is, and I waited so long to finally read this! A murder mystery at the Point (West Point). Bayard really gets into the time period by his use of language, (the year is 1830) and one of the main characters is a very young Edgar Allan Poe. The story is driven by the retired police detective, Augustus Landor, who is called in because of his renown as a police detective in New York City. One murder turns into two, and the Academy is in somewhat of a turmoil. Bayard's writing never caved in, but stayed true to the era, and believe me, a cold icy night in November on those cliffs looking over the Hudson gave me chills. A cast of characters, a plot that dips and turns, and I could not put this book down.
]]> <![CDATA[Lowcountry Boil (A Liz Talbot Mystery, #1)]]> 63189361 362 Susan M. Boyer Celia 0 to-read 4.25 2012 Lowcountry Boil (A Liz Talbot Mystery, #1)
author: Susan M. Boyer
name: Celia
average rating: 4.25
book published: 2012
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/11/02
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Hello Beautiful 207599286 Can love make a broken person whole?

William Waters grew up in a house silenced by tragedy, where his parents could hardly bear to look at him, much less love him—so when he meets the spirited and ambitious Julia Padavano in his freshman year of college, it's as if the world has lit up around him. With Julia comes her family, as she and her three sisters are inseparable: Sylvie, the family's dreamer, is happiest with her nose in a book; Cecelia is a free-spirited artist; and Emeline patiently takes care of them all. With the Padavanos, William experiences a newfound contentment; every moment in their house is filled with loving chaos.

But then darkness from William's past surfaces, jeopardizing not only Julia's carefully orchestrated plans for their future but the sisters' unshakeable devotion to one another. The result is a catastrophic family rift that changes their lives for generations. Will the loyalty that once rooted them be strong enough to draw them back together when it matters most?

An exquisite homage to Louisa May Alcott's timeless classic Little Women, Hello Beautiful is a profoundly moving portrait of what is possible when we choose to love someone not in spite of who they are, but because of it.]]> 387 Ann Napolitano 0593243730 Celia 0 to-read 4.05 2023 Hello Beautiful
author: Ann Napolitano
name: Celia
average rating: 4.05
book published: 2023
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/11/01
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> The Murderess 205837555 From #1 New York Times bestselling author Laurie Notaro comes a haunting true-crime novel about Winnie Ruth Judd, one of the twentieth century’s most notorious and enigmatic killers.

It’s October 1931. When Winnie Ruth Judd arrives at the Los Angeles train station from Phoenix, her shipping trunks catch the attention of a suspicious porter. By the time they’re pried open, revealing the dismembered bodies of two women inside, Ruth has disappeared into the crowd.

The search for, and eventual apprehension of, the Trunk Murderess quickly becomes a headline-making sensation. Even the Phoenix murder house is a sideshow attraction. The one question on everyone’s How could a twenty-six-year-old reverend’s daughter and doctor’s wife—petite, pretty, well educated, and poised—commit such a heinous act on two people she’d called “my dearest friends in the world�? Everyone has their theories and judgments, but no one knows the whole truth.

What unfolds in this gripping work of true-crime fiction is a collision of jealousy, drug addiction, insanity, rage, and inescapable choices. At its heart, a condemned and tragic mystery woman whose trial—and its shocking twists—will make history.]]> 367 Laurie Notaro 1662512198 Celia 0 to-read 3.94 2024 The Murderess
author: Laurie Notaro
name: Celia
average rating: 3.94
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/10/30
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> The Last Exchange 199797225 " The Last Exchange is somehow equal parts page-turner, heart-breaker, and hope-dealer. Another brilliantly written novel by Charles Martin." --Annie F. Downs

Gripping suspense meets heartfelt emotion in this standalone novel from New York Times bestselling author Charles Martin. Everyone in her life has only taken from her. So she's not quite sure how to handle it when her new body guard will go to any lengths to protect her and shield her--even from herself. Is this what love actually looks like? For fans of Before We Were Strangers by Renée Carlino and One True Loves by Taylor Jenkins Reid.

When MacThomas Pockets finished his last tour as part of the Scottish Special Forces, he was hired to consult for a film director to finesse some scenes that weren't working. In a twist he never saw coming, he ended up moving to L.A. to work as the bodyguard for movie star Maybe Joe Sue.

It didn't take long for Pockets to realize there were two Joe The Joe Sue the public saw with her perfect life and her Hollywood husband. And the private Joe the one with the traumatic youth that no amount of pills could cover up, who desperately wanted a child of her own.

Even after their paths diverged, he continued to track Joe Sue's life. Only a few would notice when the bottom fell out. But he did. And that's when he stepped in.

In The Last Exchange , you'll find a compelling love story alongside a thought-provoking and soul-searching dilemma as one man seeks to answer the How far would you go--really--to save someone you love? What if you'd get nothing in return? In the masterful hands of New York Times bestselling author Charles Martin, finding the answer will take listeners on an intense and heart-wrenching journey to the very end.]]> Charles Martin Celia 4 fiction, suspense, thriller 3.93 The Last Exchange
author: Charles Martin
name: Celia
average rating: 3.93
book published:
rating: 4
read at: 2024/10/29
date added: 2024/10/30
shelves: fiction, suspense, thriller
review:
My second book by Charles Martin, and this is a very good read, indeed. A different kind of a storyline, focusing on a famous actress and her dedicated bodyguard, Pockets. I have to admit, I loved the character of Pockets. He is noble, brave and selfless. Joe Sue, the other main character, is a woman who is broken in many ways, and is hellbent on destroying herself. The book moves from before and after, and it definitely held my interest. I am so glad I have discovered Martin's books. I plan on reading more of his work.
]]> Then She Was Gone 35297426 She was fifteen, her mother's golden girl. She had her whole life ahead of her. And then, in the blink of an eye, Ellie was gone.

NOW
It’s been ten years since Ellie disappeared, but Laurel has never given up hope of finding her daughter.

And then one day a charming and charismatic stranger called Floyd walks into a café and sweeps Laurel off her feet.

Before too long she’s staying the night at this house and being introduced to his nine year old daughter.

Poppy is precocious and pretty - and meeting her completely takes Laurel's breath away.

Because Poppy is the spitting image of Ellie when she was that age. And now all those unanswered questions that have haunted Laurel come flooding back.

What happened to Ellie? Where did she go?

Who still has secrets to hide?]]> 359 Lisa Jewell 1501154648 Celia 4 4.02 2017 Then She Was Gone
author: Lisa Jewell
name: Celia
average rating: 4.02
book published: 2017
rating: 4
read at: 2024/10/26
date added: 2024/10/27
shelves: cc-book-club-pick, fiction, thriller, mystery
review:
Wow, this is such a weird novel. It is fast paced, a real page-turner, but some of the characters are really creepy. A young teen goes missing, her mother Laurel is devasted. Then after 10 years, a broken marriage, strained relationships with her remaining two children, Laurel meets a man in a coffee shop that will turn her world upside down. Short chapters that make you say, "Ok, one more chapter and then I'll put it down".
]]> Intermezzo 208931300 An exquisitely moving story about grief, love, and family—but especially love—from the global phenomenon Sally Rooney.

Aside from the fact that they are brothers, Peter and Ivan Koubek seem to have little in common.

Peter is a Dublin lawyer in his thirties—successful, competent, and apparently unassailable. But in the wake of their father’s death, he’s medicating himself to sleep and struggling to manage his relationships with two very different women—his enduring first love, Sylvia, and Naomi, a college student for whom life is one long joke.

Ivan is a twenty-two-year-old competitive chess player. He has always seen himself as socially awkward, a loner, the antithesis of his glib elder brother. Now, in the early weeks of his bereavement, Ivan meets Margaret, an older woman emerging from her own turbulent past, and their lives become rapidly and intensely intertwined.

For two grieving brothers and the people they love, this is a new interlude—a period of desire, despair, and possibility; a chance to find out how much one life might hold inside itself without breaking.]]> 454 Sally Rooney 0374602638 Celia 0 to-read 3.87 2024 Intermezzo
author: Sally Rooney
name: Celia
average rating: 3.87
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/10/26
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> The Abolitionist's Daughter 209194364 Ěý
On a Mississippi morning in 1859, Emily Matthews begs her father to save a slave, Nathan, about to be auctioned away from his family. Judge Matthews is an abolitionist who runs an illegal school for his slaves, hoping to eventually set them free. One, a woman named Ginny, has become Emily’s companion and often her conscience—and understands all too well the hazards an educated slave must face. Yet even Ginny could not predict the tangled, tragic string of events set in motion as Nathan’s family arrives at the Matthews farm.
Ěý
A young doctor, Charles Slate, tends to injured Nathan and begins to court Emily, finally persuading her to become his wife. But their union is disrupted by a fatal clash and a lie that will tear two families apart. As Civil War erupts, Emily, Ginny, and Emily’s stoic mother-in-law, Adeline, each face devastating losses. Emily—sheltered all her life—is especially unprepared for the hardships to come. Struggling to survive in this raw, shifting new world, Emily will discover untapped inner strength, an unlikely love, and the courage to confront deep, painful truths.
Ěý
“McPhail’s first novel sheds light on an often unrecognized part of Civil War history . . . For fans of Charles Frazier’s enduring Cold Mountain .�
� Booklist]]> 352 Diane C. McPhail 1496750969 Celia 0 to-read 3.56 2019 The Abolitionist's Daughter
author: Diane C. McPhail
name: Celia
average rating: 3.56
book published: 2019
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/10/25
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> A Fugue in Time 17248724 Quoted from the author.]]> 224 Rumer Godden 184408857X Celia 4 3.57 1945 A Fugue in Time
author: Rumer Godden
name: Celia
average rating: 3.57
book published: 1945
rating: 4
read at: 2024/09/14
date added: 2024/10/06
shelves: fiction, historical-fiction, british-lit, families
review:
I am a big Rumer Godden fan, and this one did not disappoint. It was a bit difficult to follow, until I got the hang of it. This is the story of the Dane family, and it moves seamlessly through five generations. When an American woman, a young servicewoman in the US Army, comes to London during WWII, she becomes wrapped up in the history of a house and her own family. Very British, very good.
]]> When Crickets Cry 201471766 Southern Living)

A man with a painful past. A child with a doubtful future. And a shared journey toward healing for both their hearts.

It begins on the shaded town square in a sleepy Southern town. A spirited seven-year-old has a brisk business at her lemonade stand. But the little girl’s pretty yellow dress can’t quite hide the ugly scar on her chest.

Her latest customer, a bearded stranger, drains his cup and heads to his car, his mind on a boat he's restoring at a nearby lake. The stranger understands more about the scar than he wants to admit. And the beat-up bread truck careening around the corner with its radio blaring is about to change the trajectory of both their lives.

Before it's over, they'll both know there are painful reasons why crickets cry...and that miracles lurk around unexpected corners.

Praise for When Crickets Cry:

“A testament to the power of words - from Shakespeare and Longfellow to Ezekiel - to heal and empower humanity.� (Lynne Thomas, retail manager, Jekyll Books at the Old Infirmary)

“If you read any book this year, this is the one.� (Coffee Time Romance)

“Martin's writing is gifted and blessed and insightful. His prose captures the essence of the story with beauty and sensitivity. I look forward to reading more of his work, past and future.� (Once upon a Romance)

A Southern Living Book of the Month selection

Stand-alone novel (approx. 85,000 words)

Includes discussion questions for book clubs

Also by Charles The Water Keeper, The Mountain Between Us, Send Down the Rain, and Chasing Fireflies.]]> Charles Martin Celia 4 audio-books, fiction ]]> 4.03 2006 When Crickets Cry
author: Charles Martin
name: Celia
average rating: 4.03
book published: 2006
rating: 4
read at: 2024/09/28
date added: 2024/10/06
shelves: audio-books, fiction
review:
This is a very good story. For starters, I had no idea who this author was, but he sure told a tale that kept me turning the pages. Well, there may have been a bit too many details on the heart, and all the things that can go wrong, but all in all it is a "heart-warming" tale. The story of a little girl who sells lemonade to help defray the cost of her heart surgeries, and the story of a man who is hiding his own heart. The cast of characters all touched my heart.

]]> The Echo of Old Books 62060282
With no trace of how these mysterious books came into the world, Ashlyn is caught up in a decades-old literary mystery, beckoned by two hearts in ruins, whoever they were, wherever they are. Determined to learn the truth behind the doomed lovers� tale, she reads on, following a trail of broken promises and seemingly unforgivable betrayals. The more Ashlyn learns about Hemi and Belle, the nearer she comes to bringing closure to their love story—and to the unfinished chapters of her own life.]]> 443 Barbara Davis 1662511604 Celia 0 to-read 4.08 2023 The Echo of Old Books
author: Barbara Davis
name: Celia
average rating: 4.08
book published: 2023
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/10/01
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Unwritten 15791114
When someone wants to be lost, a home tucked among the Ten Thousand Islands off the Florida coast is a good place to live. A couple decent boats, and a deep knowledge of fishing and a man can get by without ever having to talk to another soul. It's a nice enough existence, until the one person who ties him to the world of the living, the reason he's still among them even if only on the fringes, asks him for help.

Father Steady Capri knows quite a bit about helping others. But he is afraid Katie Quinn's problems may be beyond his abilities. Katie is a world-famous actress with an all too familiar story. Fame seems to have driven her to self-destruct. Steady knows the true cause of her desire to end her life is buried too deeply for him to reach. But there is one person who still may be able to save her from herself.

He will show her an alternate escape, a way to write a new life. But Katie still must confront her past before she can find peace. Ultimately, he will need to leave his secluded home and sacrifice the serenity he's found to help her. From the Florida coast, they will travel to the French countryside where they will discover the unwritten story of both their pasts and their future.]]> 330 Charles Martin 1455503959 Celia 0 to-read 4.19 2013 Unwritten
author: Charles Martin
name: Celia
average rating: 4.19
book published: 2013
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/09/26
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Seen the Glory: A Novel of the Battle of Gettysburg]]> 6666376
� Brilliant raised by their abolitionist father on martha’s Vineyard, eighteen-year-old Luke and sixteenyear- old Thomas Chandler volunteer for the union. They join the Army of the Potomac in Virginia and take part in the long march north in June, 1863, to intercept General Lee. Luke writes home to rose, their black Cape Verdean housekeeper, with whom he shares a secret that Thomas discovers on the eve of the Battle of Gettysburg. The truth enrages Thomas and causes a rift between the brothers. When the battle is over, only one will survive.

� A classic in the Seen the Glory re-creates the Civil War experience as vividly as the classic novel The Killer Angels. The soldiers of the storied 20th massachusetts regiment, the sullen Southerners they march past, the hopeful freedmen and worried slaves, the terrified residents of Gettysburg, the battle-hardened Confederate soldiers are all rendered with brilliant realism and historical accuracy.]]> 433 John Hough Jr. 141659387X Celia 0 to-read 4.40 2009 Seen the Glory: A Novel of the Battle of Gettysburg
author: John Hough Jr.
name: Celia
average rating: 4.40
book published: 2009
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/09/24
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> North Woods 214642600
This magisterial and highly inventive novel from Pulitzer Prize finalist Daniel Mason brims with love and madness, humor and hope. Following the cycles of history, nature, and even language, North Woods shows the myriad, magical ways in which we’re connected to our environment, to history, and to one another. It is not just an unforgettable novel about secrets and destinies, but a way of looking at the world that asks the timeless question: How do we live on, even after we’re gone?]]> 374 Daniel Mason 0593597044 Celia 0 to-read 4.13 2023 North Woods
author: Daniel Mason
name: Celia
average rating: 4.13
book published: 2023
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/09/16
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Lady Tan's Circle of Women 199798221
According to Confucius, “an educated woman is a worthless woman,� but Tan Yunxian—born into an elite family, yet haunted by death, separations, and loneliness—is being raised by her grandparents to be of use. Her grandmother is one of only a handful of female doctors in China, and she teaches Yunxian the pillars of Chinese medicine, the Four Examinations—looking, listening, touching, and asking—something a man can never do with a female patient.

From a young age, Yunxian learns about women’s illnesses, many of which relate to childbearing, alongside a young midwife-in-training, Meiling. The two girls find fast friendship and a mutual purpose—despite the prohibition that a doctor should never touch blood while a midwife comes in frequent contact with it—and they vow to be forever friends, sharing in each other’s joys and struggles. No mud, no lotus , they tell from adversity beauty can bloom.

But when Yunxian is sent into an arranged marriage, her mother-in-law forbids her from seeing Meiling and from helping the women and girls in the household. Yunxian is to act like a proper wife—embroider bound-foot slippers, recite poetry, give birth to sons, and stay forever within the walls of the family compound, the Garden of Fragrant Delights.

How might a woman like Yunxian break free of these traditions and lead a life of such importance that many of her remedies are still used five centuries later? How might the power of friendship support or complicate these efforts? A captivating story of women helping each other, Lady Tan’s Circle of Women is a triumphant reimagining of the life of one person who was remarkable in the Ming dynasty and would be considered remarkable today.]]> 368 Lisa See 1982117095 Celia 5 4.29 2023 Lady Tan's Circle of Women
author: Lisa See
name: Celia
average rating: 4.29
book published: 2023
rating: 5
read at: 2024/09/02
date added: 2024/09/03
shelves: cultural-china, fiction, historical-fiction
review:
I do not give that many 5-star ratings, but Lisa See did an outstanding job in the writing of this book. It is a saga based on a true story of a woman physician in 15th century China, and I loved every minute of it. (Even the disgusting parts). Tan Yunxian is one of the most memorable characters I have come across in all my many years of reading. She is a girl born in a country where girls are considered worthless, but she has the good fortune to be raised by her grandparents who are famous physicians, and they both teach her, especially her grandmother, the art of medicine. She is a woman after my own heart, because I have always sought out women doctors. Some have been wonderful. Great story of women helping women, women betraying women, women being there for other women. (You get the picture). An amazing picture of China in the 1400's. Epic!
]]> Lady Tan's Circle Of Women 63853181
The latest historical novel from New York Times bestselling author Lisa See, inspired by the true story of a woman physician from 15th-century China—perfect for fans of See’s classic Snow Flower and the Secret Fan and TheIsland of Sea Women.

According to Confucius, “an educated woman is a worthless woman,� but Tan Yunxian—born into an elite family, yet haunted by death, separations, and loneliness—is being raised by her grandparents to be of use. Her grandmother is one of only a handful of female doctors in China, and she teaches Yunxian the pillars of Chinese medicine, the Four Examinations—looking, listening, touching, and asking—something a man can never do with a female patient.

From a young age, Yunxian learns about women’s illnesses, many of which relate to childbearing, alongside a young midwife-in-training, Meiling. The two girls find fast friendship and a mutual purpose—despite the prohibition that a doctor should never touch blood while a midwife comes in frequent contact with it—and they vow to be forever friends, sharing in each other’s joys and struggles. No mud, no lotus, they tell themselves: from adversity beauty can bloom.

But when Yunxian is sent into an arranged marriage, her mother-in-law forbids her from seeing Meiling and from helping the women and girls in the household. Yunxian is to act like a proper wife—embroider bound-foot slippers, pluck instruments, recite poetry, give birth to sons, and stay forever within the walls of the family compound, the Garden of Fragrant Delights.

How might a woman like Yunxian break free of these traditions, go on to treat women and girls from every level of society, and lead a life of such importance that many of her remedies are still used five centuries later? How might the power of friendship support or complicate these efforts? Lady Tan’s Circle of Women is a captivating story of women helping other women. It is also a triumphant reimagining of the life of a woman who was remarkable in the Ming dynasty and would be considered remarkable today.]]> Lisa See 1398526096 Celia 0 to-read 4.05 2023 Lady Tan's Circle Of Women
author: Lisa See
name: Celia
average rating: 4.05
book published: 2023
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/09/03
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> To Crown with Liberty 204858811
In revolutionary France, the Old World is dying; the quest for liberty, fraternity, and equality has become a nightmare where the price of dissent is blood. In the wilderness of Spanish Louisiana, a new civilization is beginning to emerge—but in this budding New World, the slave trade perpetuates the systems of oppression that sparked the revolution. Caught between old and new, scarred by trauma and grief, will Alix ever find a home where she can truly be free?

To Crown with LibertyĚýis a historical novel based on riveting legends from George Washington Cable’sĚýStrange True Stories of LouisianaĚý(1888).]]> 324 Karen Ullo Celia 0 to-read 4.59 2024 To Crown with Liberty
author: Karen Ullo
name: Celia
average rating: 4.59
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/09/01
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> All the Glimmering Stars 123252117 Inspired by a true story, two teens kidnapped by an African warlord find salvation through love in a powerful and healing historical novel from the #1 bestselling author of Beneath a Scarlet Sky and The Last Green Valley.

Anthony Opoka and Florence Okori are coming of age in Uganda in the 1990s. Outstanding students, they believe in being good humans before they are kidnapped and forced into the fanatical Lord’s Resistance Army.

In a legion of young recruits, no one gets closer than Anthony to powerful messianic warlord Joseph Kony and his darkest secrets. To stay sane as he spirals through chaos, Anthony clings to his childhood lessons about being a good human. Florence’s upbringing grounds her, too, helping her keep her dreams alive even as she’s pulled deeper into the insanity of Kony’s war.

At the lowest points of their lives, certain they’ll never go home, Anthony and Florence meet by chance, fall in love, and begin to dream of surviving their captivity. They devote their lives to helping their fellow child soldiers escape bondage and return to their families and redemption by following the stars.

By turns tender, shocking, moving, desperate, and ultimately triumphant, Florence and Anthony’s story is an epic drama of humanity, a life-affirming tale, and an experience readers will never forget.]]> 475 Mark T. Sullivan 1542038103 Celia 0 to-read 4.63 2024 All the Glimmering Stars
author: Mark T. Sullivan
name: Celia
average rating: 4.63
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/08/27
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[A Secret in the Keys (Coconut Key, #1)]]> 56924961 The last thing Beck Foster wants to do is attend a party for her estranged aunt in the Florida Keys. One month earlier, Beck’s seemingly ideal existence imploded when her husband of thirty-four years announced he was leaving her. Now, so she has to sell her house, get a job, and somehow put her broken heart and life back together. She can’t do all that if she runs off to visit a woman she barely remembers.

Or can she?

Accompanied by her grown daughter who also longs for an escape, Beck heads to Coconut Key, where she’d lived the earliest years of her life. There, she forges a life-changing relationship with a woman she never really understood, dips her toes into the waters of a new romance, and begins the process of starting over.

But when a secret kept for nearly fifty years comes crashing down on them, all of Beck’s dreams are once again threatened. Can she forgive the lies that have shaped her life, or will the past ruin her chance at a new beginning in Coconut Key?]]> 276 Hope Holloway Celia 4 4.54 A Secret in the Keys (Coconut Key, #1)
author: Hope Holloway
name: Celia
average rating: 4.54
book published:
rating: 4
read at: 2024/08/22
date added: 2024/08/27
shelves: florida-setting, fiction, families
review:
I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed this book. This is not cheesy chic-lit. Hope Holloway's writing rings true, nothing forced. The main character, Beck, is not a character that would normally appeal to me, (somewhat wealthy, husband has an affair) but she is believable. Even her adult daughters come across as real people. Lovely, Beck's aunt, is an older woman with a deep sorrow, and the setting is on Coconut Key (fictional) in the Keys. I will actually read the next book in the series.
]]> The Confessions of X 25331320
She met Augustine in Carthage when she was just seventeen years old. She was the daughter of a tile-layer. He was a student and the heir to a fortune. They fell in love, despite her lower station and Augustine’s dreams of greatness. Their passion was strong, but the only position in his life that was available to her was as his concubine. When Augustine’s ambition and family compelled him to disown his relationship with the her, X was thrust into a devastating reality as she was torn from her son and sent away to her native Africa.

A reflection of what it means to love and lose, this novel paints a gripping and raw portrait of ancient culture, appealing to historical fiction fans while deftly exploring one woman’s search for identity and happiness within very limited circumstances]]> 304 Suzanne M. Wolfe 0718039610 Celia 4 4.02 2016 The Confessions of X
author: Suzanne M. Wolfe
name: Celia
average rating: 4.02
book published: 2016
rating: 4
read at: 2024/08/23
date added: 2024/08/27
shelves: fiction, historical-fiction, historical-romance
review:
This is a very interesting and well written historical fiction about St. Augustine way before he was a saint, and the woman who was his concubine. It is told from her perspective, and the language is rich, the story flows and I was captivated. It is so amazing to me that her name has been lost to history, but Ms. Wolfe does an amazing job of imagining who she was and what she was like and why Augustine fell in love with her. Of course, St. Monica is interwoven in this story, and I must say, is portrayed with dignity and honesty. I am so glad to have found this story, and I finished it just before we (Catholics) celebrate the feasts of St. Monica and her son, St. Augustine.
]]> Horse 60341528
A discarded painting in a junk pile, a skeleton in an attic, and the greatest racehorse in American history: from these strands, a Pulitzer Prize winner braids a sweeping story of spirit, obsession, and injustice across American history

Kentucky, 1850. An enslaved groom named Jarret and a bay foal forge a bond of understanding that will carry the horse to record-setting victories across the South. When the nation erupts in civil war, an itinerant young artist who has made his name on paintings of the racehorse takes up arms for the Union. On a perilous night, he reunites with the stallion and his groom, very far from the glamor of any racetrack.

New York City, 1954. Martha Jackson, a gallery owner celebrated for taking risks on edgy contemporary painters, becomes obsessed with a nineteenth-century equestrian oil painting of mysterious provenance.

Washington, DC, 2019. Jess, a Smithsonian scientist from Australia, and Theo, a Nigerian-American art historian, find themselves unexpectedly connected through their shared interest in the horse—one studying the stallion’s bones for clues to his power and endurance, the other uncovering the lost history of the unsung Black horsemen who were critical to his racing success.

Based on the remarkable true story of the record-breaking thoroughbred Lexington, Horse is a novel of art and science, love and obsession, and our unfinished reckoning with racism.]]> 15 Geraldine Brooks Celia 3 4.26 2022 Horse
author: Geraldine Brooks
name: Celia
average rating: 4.26
book published: 2022
rating: 3
read at: 2024/08/21
date added: 2024/08/26
shelves: audio-books, civil-war-era, fiction, historical-fiction
review:
This book has won many awards, but I must say that I was a little disappointed in the storyline. It is the story of a famous racehorse from Kentucky, and the people who surrounded this horse. It also moves back and forth from the past to the 21st century. I enjoyed the historical chapters, but the modern chapters were very predictable. Yes, Jarret was the trainer of Lexington, the famous horse, and he was a slave. The racing scenes were well done and truly exciting. But as the story moves to Washington DC in 2019, what might have been very interesting becomes mired in political correctness and predictability.
]]> Let Us Descend 87556695
“â€Let us descend,â€� the poet now began, â€and enter this blind world.’â€� â€� Inferno, Dante Alighieri

Let Us Descend is a reimagining of American slavery, as beautifully rendered as it is heart-wrenching. Searching, harrowing, replete with transcendent love, the novel is a journey from the rice fields of the Carolinas to the slave markets of New Orleans and into the fearsome heart of a Louisiana sugar plantation.

Annis, sold south by the white enslaver who fathered her, is the reader’s guide through this hellscape. As she struggles through the miles-long march, Annis turns inward, seeking comfort from memories of her mother and stories of her African warrior grandmother. Throughout, she opens herself to a world beyond this world, one teeming with of earth and water, of myth and history; spirits who nurture and give, and those who manipulate and take. While Ward leads readers through the descent, this, her fourth novel, is ultimately a story of rebirth and reclamation.

From one of the most singularly brilliant and beloved writers of her generation, this miracle of a novel inscribes Black American grief and joy into the very land—the rich but unforgiving forests, swamps, and rivers of the American South. Let Us Descend is Jesmyn Ward’s most magnificent novel yet, a masterwork for the ages.]]> 305 Jesmyn Ward 198210449X Celia 0 to-read 3.68 2023 Let Us Descend
author: Jesmyn Ward
name: Celia
average rating: 3.68
book published: 2023
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/08/21
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Time of the Child 201608156
Doctor Jack Troy was born and raised in Faha, but his responsibilities for the sick and his care for the dying mean he has always been set apart from the town. His eldest daughter, Ronnie, has grown up in her father's shadow, and remains there, having missed one chance at love � and passed up another offer of marriage from an unsuitable man.

But in the Advent season of 1962, as the town readies itself for Christmas, Ronnie and Doctor Troy's lives are turned upside down when a baby is left in their care. As the winter passes, father and daughter's lives, the understanding of their family, and their role in their community are changed forever.

Set over the course of one December in the same village as Williams' beloved This Is Happiness, Time of the Child is a tender return to Faha for readers who know its charms, and a heartwarming welcome to new readers entering for the very first time.]]> 304 Niall Williams 1639734201 Celia 0 to-read 4.16 2024 Time of the Child
author: Niall Williams
name: Celia
average rating: 4.16
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/08/21
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Murder on the Orient Express (Hercule Poirot, #10)]]> 29433742
What more can a mystery addict desire than a much-loathed murder victim found aboard the luxurious Orient Express with multiple stab wounds, thirteen likely suspects, an incomparably brilliant detective in Hercule Poirot, and the most ingenious crime ever conceived?]]> 7 Agatha Christie Celia 4 4.13 1934 Murder on the Orient Express (Hercule Poirot, #10)
author: Agatha Christie
name: Celia
average rating: 4.13
book published: 1934
rating: 4
read at: 2024/08/01
date added: 2024/08/10
shelves: audio-books, crime-fiction, fiction, historical-fiction
review:
This was so delicious! I have seen a few Christie mysteries on screen, but this was the first one I have ever read (or listened to). It was delightful. Kenneth Branaugh was the reader, and he was marvelous. I actually burst out laughing as I walked or biked listening to this. I know I will be reading more of Ms. Christie's books in the future. By the way, it had me guessing until the end.
]]> The Irish Matchmaker 182093638
Cattle farmer Donal Bunratty is in desperate need of a wife after loss left him to handle the farm and raise his daughter on his own. Shy and lacking the finer social graces, he agrees to attend the matchmaking festival to appease his daughter. But when he arrives, it's not any of the other merrymakers that catch his eye but rather his matchmaker--who clearly has eyes for someone else.

CatrĂ­ona will have to put all her expertise to work to make a match that could change her life forever. Will her plan succeed? Or will love have its own way?]]> 320 Jennifer Deibel 0800744853 Celia 3 4.11 2024 The Irish Matchmaker
author: Jennifer Deibel
name: Celia
average rating: 4.11
book published: 2024
rating: 3
read at: 2024/08/01
date added: 2024/08/10
shelves: fiction, historical-fiction, historical-romance, irish, cc-book-club-pick
review:
Catriona is a matchmaker in a small town in Ireland at the beginning of the early 1900's. She is looking for lover herself but limits herself by seeking a rich aristocrat. Donal Bunratty also comes to town looking for a wife, although somewhat reluctantly. He is a widower, and his young daughter needs a mom. This story follows along with a predictable plot line. The writing has many Gaelic words and expressions sprinkled throughout, I guess for some of kind of effect?? I guess the title says it all.
]]> We Burn Daylight 201102273 An epic novel of star-crossed lovers set in a doomsday cult on the Texas prairie that asks: what would you sacrifice for the person you love?

Waco, Texas 1993. People from all walks of life have arrived to follow the Lamb’s gospel—signing over savings and pensions, selling their homes and shedding marriages. They’ve come here to worship at the feet of a former landscaper turned prophet who is preparing for the End Times with a staggering cache of weapons. Jaye’s mother is one of his newest and most devout followers, though Jaye herself has suspicions about the Lamb’s methods—and his motives.

Roy is the youngest son of the local sheriff; a 14 year old boy with a heart of gold and a nose for trouble who falls for Jaye without knowing of her mother’s attachment to the man who is currently making his father’s life hell. The two teenagers are drawn to each other immediately and completely, but their love may have dire consequences for their families. The Lamb has plans for them all—especially Jaye—and as his preaching and scheming move them closer and closer to unthinkable violence, Roy risks everything to save Jaye.

Based on the true events that unfolded thirty years ago during the siege of the Branch Davidian compound, Bret Anthony Johnston’s We Burn Daylight is an unforgettable love story, a heart-pounding literary page turner, and a profound exploration of faith, family, and what it means to truly be saved.]]> 352 Bret Anthony Johnston 0399590129 Celia 0 to-read 3.80 2024 We Burn Daylight
author: Bret Anthony Johnston
name: Celia
average rating: 3.80
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/08/01
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Big Trouble on Sullivan's Island (Carolina Tales, #1)]]> 121961987

Can this charming do-gooder carry the day?



Charleston, SC. Hadley Cooper has a big heart. So when the easy-going private investigator gets a request from a new friend to stake out her husband’s extramarital activities, she immediately begins surveillance. And when her client is discovered dead on her kitchen floor, the Southern spitfire is certain the cheater is the culprit� even though he has the perfect alibi: Hadley herself.

Flustered since she observed the cad four hours away in Greenville at the time of the murder, the determined PI desperately searches for clues to tie him to the crime. But with her policeman ex-boyfriend arrests a handy suspect, Hadley fears a guilty man is about to walk free.

Can this Palmetto-State sleuth make an impossible connection to prevent a miscarriage of justice?

With dry wit and delightful dialogue, Susan M. Boyer delivers an eccentric, vegan gumshoe sure to appeal to any fan of Southern women’s fiction. With her merry band of sassy friends, Hadley Cooper is a Lowcountry detective you won’t soon forget.

Big Trouble on Sullivan’s Island is the engaging first book in the Carolina Tales series. If you like strong heroines, quirky sisterhoods, and a plenty of Southern charm, then you’ll love Susan M. Boyer’s wonderful whodunit.

Read Big Trouble on Sullivan’s Island and take a trip to the lush Lowcountry today! ]]> 312 Susan M. Boyer 1959023152 Celia 0 to-read 4.08 2023 Big Trouble on Sullivan's Island (Carolina Tales, #1)
author: Susan M. Boyer
name: Celia
average rating: 4.08
book published: 2023
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/07/25
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> The Crash 216223609 The nightmare she’s running from is nothing compared to where she’s headed.

Tegan is eight months pregnant, alone, and desperately wants to put her crumbling life in the rearview mirror. So she hits the road, planning to stay with her brother until she can figure out her next move. But she doesn’t realize she’s heading straight into a blizzard.

She never arrives at her destination.

Stranded in rural Maine with a dead car and broken ankle, Tegan worries she’s made a terrible mistake. Then a miracle she is rescued by a couple who offers her a room in their warm cabin until the snow clears.

But something isn’t right. Tegan believed she was waiting out the storm, but as time ticks by, she comes to realize she is in grave danger. This safe haven isn’t what she thought it was, and staying here may have been her most deadly mistake yet.

And now she must do whatever it takes to save herself—and her unborn child.

A gut-wrenching story of motherhood, survival, and twisted expectations, #1 New York Times bestselling author Freida McFadden delivers a snowbound thriller that will chill you to the bone.
]]> 384 Freida McFadden 1464227322 Celia 0 to-read 3.71 2025 The Crash
author: Freida McFadden
name: Celia
average rating: 3.71
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/07/25
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> The Aviator's Wife 18339626 In the spirit of Loving Frank and The Paris Wife, acclaimed novelist Melanie Benjamin pulls back the curtain on the marriage of one of America’s most extraordinary couples: Charles Lindbergh and Anne Morrow Lindbergh.

When Anne Morrow, a shy college senior with hidden literary aspirations, travels to Mexico City to spend Christmas with her family, she meets Colonel Charles Lindbergh, fresh off his celebrated 1927 solo flight across the Atlantic. Enthralled by Charles’s assurance and fame, Anne is certain the aviator has scarcely noticed her. But she is wrong. Charles sees in Anne a kindred spirit, a fellow adventurer, and her world will be changed forever. The two marry in a headline-making wedding. In the years that follow, Anne becomes the first licensed female glider pilot in the United States. But despite this and other major achievements, she is viewed merely as the aviator’s wife. The fairy-tale life she once longed for will bring heartbreak and hardships, ultimately pushing her to reconcile her need for love and her desire for independence, and to embrace, at last, life’s infinite possibilities for change and happiness.

Look for special features inside. Join the Random House Reader’s Circle for author chats and more.]]> 448 Melanie Benjamin 0345528689 Celia 5 fiction, historical-fiction 3.94 2013 The Aviator's Wife
author: Melanie Benjamin
name: Celia
average rating: 3.94
book published: 2013
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2024/07/25
shelves: fiction, historical-fiction
review:
This is a wonderful read! It is well-written, well-researched and a realistic picture of what Anne Morrow Lindbergh went through as she navigated her life with Charles. I first met Anne when I read her book, Gift from the Sea, a collection of essays that delve into the many facets of a woman's life. From that book, I had no idea what her life had been like as the wife of Lucky Lindy. I also knew about the kidnapping and the sympathy for Nazi Germany, but Ms. Benjamin adds so many more layers to Anne's life as a mother, a wife and a celebrity. It is far from a pretty picture. The writing made the disappointments of Anne's life very poignant and moved me to tears more than once. I am highly recommending this book to those who love great historical fiction.
]]> The Aviator's Wife 13642950 In the spirit of Loving Frank and The Paris Wife, acclaimed novelist Melanie Benjamin pulls back the curtain on the marriage of one of America’s most extraordinary couples: Charles Lindbergh and Anne Morrow Lindbergh.

When Anne Morrow, a shy college senior with hidden literary aspirations, travels to Mexico City to spend Christmas with her family, she meets Colonel Charles Lindbergh, fresh off his celebrated 1927 solo flight across the Atlantic. Enthralled by Charles’s assurance and fame, Anne is certain the aviator has scarcely noticed her. But she is wrong. Charles sees in Anne a kindred spirit, a fellow adventurer, and her world will be changed forever. The two marry in a headline-making wedding. In the years that follow, Anne becomes the first licensed female glider pilot in the United States. But despite this and other major achievements, she is viewed merely as the aviator’s wife. The fairy-tale life she once longed for will bring heartbreak and hardships, ultimately pushing her to reconcile her need for love and her desire for independence, and to embrace, at last, life’s infinite possibilities for change and happiness.

Look for special features inside. Join the Random House Reader’s Circle for author chats and more.]]> 416 Melanie Benjamin 0345528670 Celia 5 3.88 2013 The Aviator's Wife
author: Melanie Benjamin
name: Celia
average rating: 3.88
book published: 2013
rating: 5
read at: 2024/07/24
date added: 2024/07/25
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Overcoming the Evil Within: The Reality of Sin and the Transforming Power of God's Grace and Mercy]]> 53556240 135 Fr. Wade Menezes Celia 4 4.66 Overcoming the Evil Within: The Reality of Sin and the Transforming Power of God's Grace and Mercy
author: Fr. Wade Menezes
name: Celia
average rating: 4.66
book published:
rating: 4
read at: 2024/07/15
date added: 2024/07/20
shelves: catholic, non-fiction, religion, spiritual-wisdom
review:
This is only showing on Ĺ·±¦ÓéŔÖ as a Kindle edition, but I read it in paperback format. This is published by EWTN. And so, Fr. Wade beautifully explains the reality of sin. If you don't believe in sin, just look at the first words of Jesus and St. john the Baptist in the Gospels: "Repent, for the kingdom of Heaven is at hand." I have heard Fr. Wade preach at my parish mission back in 2022. He is an amazing speaker and priest, and in reading this book I can hear him speaking these words. The title says it all.
]]> The Outlaw Noble Salt 195511946 From New York Times bestselling author Amy Harmon comes a sweepingly romantic tale of risk, redemption, and what happens when America’s most famous outlaw falls in love.

When infamous outlaw Butch Cassidy decides to go straight, he discovers that too many of the powerful men he crossed won’t let bygones be bygones. To have a chance at a new life, he’ll have to become someone else entirely.

A brief, fateful encounter with the celebrated singer Jane Touissant on the eve of his escape offers a glimpse of what might have been, but Butch disappears, leaving her behind, until their paths unexpectedly converge again in Paris.

Despite having discovered his true identity, Jane trusts the outlaw and enlists his protection on her upcoming American tour. Although Butch is reluctant to agree, fearing his sordid past may put the woman and her young son in danger, the salvation she offers is too hard to resist.

As they set forth on their journey, Butch’s past and Jane’s secrets put them at risk from threats far greater than the law, and this legend of the American West will have to decide what matters most—his life, his legacy, or the woman he loves.]]> 364 Amy Harmon 1662514441 Celia 5 4.41 2024 The Outlaw Noble Salt
author: Amy Harmon
name: Celia
average rating: 4.41
book published: 2024
rating: 5
read at: 2024/07/17
date added: 2024/07/20
shelves: fiction, historical-fiction, historical-romance, western
review:
To preface this review, please be aware that I love cowboy and westerns. Love them. So, for me, this story was amazing. But honestly, it's so well done that even if you aren't partial to the Old West, you will still enjoy it. Noble Salt, aka Butch Cassidy as we have never seen him portrayed. Sundance and Butch's brother Van also are involved in this tale. This is a story of a man who made a lot of mistakes, but in his heart, he had a noble spirit. He falls in love with a famous singer, and the story begins. This is a love story that will break your heart and restore it again. The writing is wonderful, the story moves so quickly that I began slowing it down towards the end. Thank you, Amy Harmon. I love Noble Salt!
]]> <![CDATA[Mother Angelica: Her Grand Silence: The Last Years and Living Legacy]]> 29779177 In a moving, dramatic conclusion to his four New York Times bestselling Mother Angelica books, Raymond Arroyo completes the saga of this singular nun with his most intimate book yet. Ěý For more than a decade, the beloved, wise cracking nun who founded EWTN, the world’s largest religious media empire, was confined to her cell at Our Lady of the Angels Monastery in Hanceville, Alabama. Though Mother Angelica is still seen and heard by millions each week in reruns on seven continents, the private drama within her monastery, her personal supernatural encounters, and the prolonged suffering she endured has remained hidden. Until now. ĚýRevealed for the first time is the personal request Mother made of God—which sheds light on her long silence. Here are Mother Angelica’s spiritual battles in her cell—including encounters with the devil—and the unrevealed episodes of hilarity and inspiration. From playing possum (to avoid undesirable visitors to her room), to undertaking a secret trip to the far East, to blessing her nuns as they leave her care to create new monasteries, Mother Angelica’s spunky spirit shines through the narrative. Ěý Mother Angelica Her Grand Silence, the touching, climactic coda to the Mother Angelica canon also offers readers the personal testimonies of people around the world who were spiritually transformed by Mother during her long public absence. And for the first time, the author writes movingly of his personal relationship with Mother—the highs and the lows.]]> 231 Raymond Arroyo 0770437257 Celia 0 to-read 4.58 Mother Angelica: Her Grand Silence: The Last Years and Living Legacy
author: Raymond Arroyo
name: Celia
average rating: 4.58
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/07/19
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Mother Angelica's Guide to the Spiritual Life]]> 58913700
In her typical entertaining but uncompromising style, Mother Angelica reminds you that salvation is won at a great price. You’ll learn why following Christ is often so difficult, and you’ll discover the simple ways you can begin even now to make progress in the most vexing areas of your life.

Mother Angelica will inspire you to enter willingly and confidently into the battle for virtue while she offers time-tested methods for overcoming your fears and anxieties. She’ll identify the many common flaws and obstacles to spiritual growth and share with you the strategies the saints employed to conquer their temptations. You’ll also learn:

How to conquer nervousness, self-doubt, and timidity

How to deal with tension involving a loved one

Why not all anger is intrinsically wrong

Ways you can avoid dwelling on past missteps

Why we all have genuine identifiable weaknesses

Techniques for profiting from criticism � and for avoiding situations that bring it about

How to know if someone is bringing out your best or least favorable qualities

Why uncertainty is different from doubt

How hang-ups over past mistakes can thwart future growth

The four essential duties of all parents

How to evaluate your spiritual growth with humility and objectivity]]> 160 Mother Angelica 1682782301 Celia 0 to-read 4.47 Mother Angelica's Guide to the Spiritual Life
author: Mother Angelica
name: Celia
average rating: 4.47
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/07/19
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Mother Angelica's Quick Guide to the Sacraments]]> 34484725 280 Mother Angelica 1682780066 Celia 0 to-read 4.33 Mother Angelica's Quick Guide to the Sacraments
author: Mother Angelica
name: Celia
average rating: 4.33
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/07/19
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Final Vows: Murder, Madness, and Twisted Justice in California]]> 63242417 Ěý
When Carol Montecalvo began writing to a man in prison through a program at her church, she considered it her Christian duty. But the letters soon became her lifeline, something she actually looked forward to sending and receiving. She fell in love with the man behind the letters and just before Dan was released, they wed in the prison chapel. Their marriage lasted nine years, until the fateful night when Dan stoically called 911 to report his wife’s murder.
Ěý
With a half-million dollar insurance policy riding on his wife’s death, and a string of adulterous affairs in his past, Dan is the most obvious suspect. But is this former felon really guilty? Or could he actually be a grieving widower, in the wrong place at the wrong time?
Ěý
In this powerful true crime account of the gruesome murder and sensational trial that followed, New York Times –bestselling author Karen Kingsbury weaves an emotional story that leaves readers guessing until the final, harrowing conclusion.]]> 268 Karen Kingsbury 0795300131 Celia 3 3.86 1992 Final Vows: Murder, Madness, and Twisted Justice in California
author: Karen Kingsbury
name: Celia
average rating: 3.86
book published: 1992
rating: 3
read at: 2024/07/05
date added: 2024/07/07
shelves: audio-books, non-fiction, true-crime-fiction
review:
This story was interesting, and it did keep me guessing. This is a true story based on a crime in California back in the 1980's. The marriage between Dan Montecalvo, an ex-con and his wife Carol, ends one night in murder. Carol is shot three times by an intruder and does not survive. Dan is shot too, but it's not as bad and he survives. The story is revealed to the reader as if you are reading newspaper reports, or watching a true crime show on TV. Evidence, witnesses, mistakes, dedicated detectives and dedicated lawyers are all presented in this story that keeps you guessing until the very end.
]]> The Titanic Sisters 54648681 “The enchanting saga of two Irish sisters…This new chapter ofĚýTitanicĚýlore is worth plunging into.â€� —Publishers Weekly From the acclaimed author ofĚýThe Girls of Ennismore comes a captivating and extraordinary tale of perseverance and bravery. This touching saga of sisterhood—perfect for fans of Fiona Davis and Marie Benedict—follows two young Irish women yearning for independence and adventure, as they set sail on RMS Titanic—the “ship of dreams”—only to be faced with the tragedy of that fabled maiden voyageâ€� Ěý Delia Sweeney has always been unlike her older sister—fair and delicate compared to tall, statuesque Nora, whose hair is as dark as Donegal turf. In other ways too, the sisters are leagues apart. Nora is her mother’s darling, favored at every turn, and expected to marry into wealth. Delia, constantly slighted, finds a measure of happiness helping her da on the farm. The rest of the time, she reads about far-off places that seem sure to remain a fantasy. Until the day a letter arrives from America . . . A distant relative has provided the means for Delia and Nora to go to New York. Delia will be a lowly maid in a modest household, while Nora will be governess for a well-to-do family. In Queenstown, Cork, they board the Titanic, a majestic new ocean liner making its maiden voyage. Any hope Delia carried that she and her sister might become closer during the trip soon vanishes. For there are far greater perils to contend with as the ship makes its way across the Atlantic . . . Ěý In the wake of that fateful journey, Delia makes an impulsive choice—and takes Nora’s place as governess. Her decision sparks an adventure that leads her from Fifth Avenue to Dallas, Texas, where oilfields bring unimagined riches to some, despair to others. Delia grows close to her vulnerable young charge, and to the girl’s father. But her deception will have repercussions impossible to foresee, even as it brings happiness within reach for the first time . . . ĚýĚý Ěý]]> 368 Patricia Falvey 1496732561 Celia 3 3.62 2019 The Titanic Sisters
author: Patricia Falvey
name: Celia
average rating: 3.62
book published: 2019
rating: 3
read at: 2024/07/07
date added: 2024/07/07
shelves: cc-book-club-pick, fiction, historical-romance, historical-fiction
review:
This is a story of two Irish sisters, very different, who end up traveling to America on the Titanic. Nora is a selfish young woman who has been groomed by her Ma to find and marry a rich man. Delia has been mentally abused by that same Ma to think she is cursed and worth nothing. After the Titanic disaster, Nora is presumed dead, and when Delia disembarks in New York, for whatever the reason, she assumes her sister's identity, and goes to work as a governess in her sister's place. To me, the story seemed quite contrived. Yes, it is a story of a dysfunctional relationship between sisters, and discovering who you really are in this life. The writing is simple and basic, and the story was disappointing for me.
]]> Afterlives 52744975
Another young man returns at the same time. Hamza was not stolen for the war, but sold into it; he has grown up at the right hand of an officer whose protection has marked him life. With nothing but the clothes on his back, he seeks only work and security � and the love of the beautiful Afiya.

As fate knots these young people together, as they live and work and fall in love, the shadow of a new war on another continent lengthens and darkens, ready to snatch them up and carry them away…]]> 288 Abdulrazak Gurnah Celia 0 to-read 3.72 2020 Afterlives
author: Abdulrazak Gurnah
name: Celia
average rating: 3.72
book published: 2020
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/07/07
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> The Mermaid from Jeju 49050944 In the tradition of Yangsze Choo's Night Tiger and Min Jin Lee's Pachinko comes a magical saga that explores what it really means to love.

In the aftermath of World War II, Goh Junja is a girl just coming into her own. She is the latest successful deep sea diver in a family of strong haenyeo. Confident she is a woman now, Junja urges her mother to allow her to make the Goh family's annual trip to Mt. Halla, where they trade abalone and other sea delicacies for pork. Junja, a sea village girl, has never been to the mountains, where it smells like mushrooms and earth, and it is there she falls in love with a mountain boy Yang Suwol, who rescues her after a particularly harrowing journey. But when Junja returns one day later, it is just in time to see her mother take her last breath, beaten by the waves during a dive she was taking in Junja's place.

Spiraling in grief, Junja sees her younger siblings sent to live with their estranged father, Suwol is gone, the ghost of her mother haunts their home--from the meticulously tended herb garden that has now begun to sprout weeds, to the field where their bed sheets are beaten. She has only her grandmother and herself. But the world moves on without Junja.

The political climate is perilous. Still reeling from Japan's forced withdrawal from the peninsula, Korea is forced to accommodate the rapid establishment of US troops, and her grandmother, who lived through the Japanese invasion that led to Korea's occupation understands the signs of danger all too well. When Suwol is arrested for working with and harboring communists, and the perils of post-WWII overtake her homelands, Junja must learn to navigate a tumultuous world unlike anything she's ever known.]]> 304 Sumi Hahn Celia 0 to-read 3.83 2020 The Mermaid from Jeju
author: Sumi Hahn
name: Celia
average rating: 3.83
book published: 2020
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/07/07
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> The Plum Tree 13333093
“Bloom where you’re planted,� is the advice Christine Bolz receives from her beloved Oma. But seventeen-year-old domestic Christine knows there is a whole world waiting beyond her small German village. It’s a world she’s begun to glimpse through music, books—and through Isaac Bauerman, the cultured son of the wealthy Jewish family she works for.

Yet the future she and Isaac dream of sharing faces greater challenges than their difference in stations. In the fall of 1938, Germany is changing rapidly under Hitler’s regime. Anti-Jewish posters are everywhere, dissenting talk is silenced, and a new law forbids Christine from returning to her job—and from having any relationship with Isaac. In the months and years that follow, Christine will confront the Gestapo’s wrath and the horrors of Dachau, desperate to be with the man she loves, to survive—and finally, to speak out.

Set against the backdrop of the German home front, this is an unforgettable novel of courage and resolve, of the inhumanity of war, and the heartbreak and hope left in its wake.]]> 387 Ellen Marie Wiseman 0758278438 Celia 0 to-read 4.03 2012 The Plum Tree
author: Ellen Marie Wiseman
name: Celia
average rating: 4.03
book published: 2012
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/07/03
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> The Consequence of Anna 199280824 The Instant #1 BESTSELLER, reminiscent of The Thorn Birds, The Light Between Oceans, and Lady Chatterley’s Lover. Poignant, heartbreaking, and unforgettable. Inspired by a TRUE STORY . . .

Nominated for a PULITZER PRIZE . . . Soon to be a MAJOR MOTION PICTURE.

“An intense and emotional read!� � Rhys Bowen, New York Times bestselling author of In Farleigh Field and The Tuscan Child

"SHAMED BE THE WOMAN WHO ALLOWETH SUCH A SIN!"

Set against the sprawling backdrop of 1930s Australia, Anna May Shahan is a wild child raised on a lush farm by the sea, always barefoot and playing in her neighbor’s secret garden. Her Aboriginal nanny teaches her the ways of the land, and she grows up to be a quirky, eccentric, and sweet woman. But she is not without her demons, as she struggles with bizarre behaviors and a haunting, dark side.

Soon after marriage, Anna inherits Sugar Alexandria, her family’s sheep station, and she and her Irish husband James lead a simple, hardworking life. That is until Anna’s beautiful widowed cousin Lottie returns from London after being absent for over a decade. Lottie confesses to Anna her heart’s greatest desire to have a child, and Anna, in fear of losing her beloved cousin again, seeks to grant her wish by means of her own husband. What happens next brings devastating consequences for them all.

A literary achievement and the most emotionally gripping book of the year, The Consequence of Anna is a complex historical family saga, intertwined with the haunting mystery of Anna’s mental illness and the secrets, lies, and revelations revealed through the hidden passions of Lottie and James. Layered with lush romance, obsessive love, the strong bond of female friendship, and the frightening effects of altruistic intentions gone wrong, this provocative and powerful allegory cuts through rules and boundaries and proves the old adage that no good deed goes unpunished!]]> 568 Kate Birkin Celia 5 This tale is a tragedy of Biblical proportions, and so many lives are entangled in its web. The writing is well done, and I particularly liked the small illustrations and the author's frequent use of extraordinary vocabulary. By the way, the book is nominated for a Pulitzer. ]]> 3.81 2023 The Consequence of Anna
author: Kate Birkin
name: Celia
average rating: 3.81
book published: 2023
rating: 5
read at: 2024/06/27
date added: 2024/06/28
shelves: cultural-australia, fiction, historical-fiction
review:
Wow. This book simply swept me up into the pages, and it was awfully hard to put it down. It is truly a saga, with 1930's Australia as the backdrop. Three unforgettable characters, and my favorite was James Shehan. James is a true man of integrity. I was cheering for him all the way. Anna is a beautiful "sheila" but has some major issues. She hallucinates and hears the voices of her deceased mother and twin sister. She also has some serious personality flaws. And then, there is Rose, or "Lottie".
This tale is a tragedy of Biblical proportions, and so many lives are entangled in its web. The writing is well done, and I particularly liked the small illustrations and the author's frequent use of extraordinary vocabulary. By the way, the book is nominated for a Pulitzer.
]]> The Mighty Red 199793431
Gary Geist, a terrified young man set to inherit two farms, is desperate to marry Kismet Poe, an impulsive, lapsed Goth who can't read her future but seems to resolve his.

Hugo, a gentle red-haired, home-schooled giant, is also in love with Kismet. He’s determined to steal her and is eager to be a home wrecker.

Kismet's mother, Crystal, hauls sugar beets for Gary's family, and on her nightly runs, tunes into the darkness of late-night radio, sees visions of guardian angels, and worries for the future, her daughter’s and her own.

Human time, deep time, Red River time, the half-life of herbicides and pesticides, and the elegance of time represented in fracking core samples from unimaginable depths, is set against the speed of climate change, the depletion of natural resources, and the sudden economic meltdown of 2008-2009. How much does a dress cost? A used car? A package of cinnamon rolls? Can you see the shape of your soul in the everchanging clouds? Your personal salvation in the giant expanse of sky? These are the questions the people of the Red River Valley of the North wrestle with every day.

The Mighty Red is a novel of tender humor, disturbance, and hallucinatory mourning. It is about on-the-job pains and immeasurable satisfactions, a turbulent landscape, and eating the native weeds growing in your backyard. It is about ordinary people who dream, grow up, fall in love, struggle, endure tragedy, carry bitter secrets; men and women both complicated and contradictory, flawed and decent, lonely and hopeful. It is about a starkly beautiful prairie community whose members must cope with devastating consequences as powerful forces upend them. As with every book this great modern master writes, The Mighty Red is about our tattered bond with the earth, and about love in all of its absurdity and splendor.

A new novel by Louise Erdrich is a major literary event; gorgeous and heartrending, The Mighty Red is a triumph.]]> 384 Louise Erdrich 0063277050 Celia 0 to-read 3.78 2024 The Mighty Red
author: Louise Erdrich
name: Celia
average rating: 3.78
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/06/25
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> The Glassmaker 202167720
It is 1486 and Venice is a wealthy, opulent center for trade. Orsola Rosso is the eldest daughter in a family of glassblowers in Murano, the island revered for the craft. As a woman, she is not meant to work with glass—but she has the hands for it, the heart, and a vision. When her father dies, she teaches herself to make beads in secret, and her work supports the Rosso family fortunes.

Skipping like a stone through the centuries, in a Venice where time moves as slowly as molten glass, we follow Orsola and her family as they live through creative triumph and heartbreaking loss, from a plague devastating Venice to Continental soldiers stripping its palazzos bare, from the domination of Murano and its maestros to the transformation of the city of trade into a city of tourists. In every era, the Rosso women ensure that their work, and their bonds, endure.

Chevalier is a master of her own craft, and The Glassmaker is as inventive as it is a mesmerizing portrait of a woman, a family, and a city that are as everlasting as their glass.]]> 416 Tracy Chevalier 0525558276 Celia 0 to-read 3.86 2024 The Glassmaker
author: Tracy Chevalier
name: Celia
average rating: 3.86
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/06/20
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Glory Over Everything 30753847 New York Times bestseller from the author of the beloved book club favorite The Kitchen House is a heart racing story about a man’s treacherous journey through the twists and turns of the Underground Railroad on a mission to save the boy he swore to protect. Glory Over Everything is “gripping…breathless until the end� (Kirkus Reviews).

The year is 1830 and Jamie Pyke, a celebrated silversmith and notorious ladies� man, is keeping a deadly secret. Passing as a wealthy white aristocrat in Philadelphian society, Jamie is now living a life he could never have imagined years before when he was a runaway slave, son of a southern black slave and her master. But Jamie’s carefully constructed world is threatened when he discovers that his married socialite lover, Caroline, is pregnant and his beloved servant Pan, to whose father Jamie owes his own freedom, has been captured and sold into slavery in the South.

Fleeing the consequences of his deceptions, Jamie embarks on a trip to a North Carolina plantation to save Pan from the life he himself barely escaped as a boy. With the help of a fearless slave, Sukey, who has taken the terrified young boy under her wing, Jamie navigates their way, racing against time and their ruthless pursuers through the Virginia backwoods, the Underground Railroad, and the treacherous Great Dismal Swamp.

“Kathleen Grissom is a first-rate storyteller…she observes with an unwavering but kind eye, and she bestows upon the reader, amid terrible secrets and sin, a gift of mercy: the belief that hope can triumph over hell� (Richmond Times Dispatch). Glory Over Everything is an emotionally rewarding and epic novel “filled with romance, villains, violence, courage, compassion…and suspense.� (Florida Courier).]]> 400 Kathleen Grissom 1476748454 Celia 0 to-read 4.36 2016 Glory Over Everything
author: Kathleen Grissom
name: Celia
average rating: 4.36
book published: 2016
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/06/13
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Angels Walking (Angels Walking, #1)]]> 20821619
One-time national baseball hero Tyler Ames lost everyone he loves on a quest to make it to the big leagues. Then, just when things seem to be turning around, Tyler hits rock bottom. Across the country, Tyler’s only love, Sami Dawson, has moved on.

A series of small miracles leads Tyler to a maintenance job at a retirement home and a friendship with Virginia Hutcheson, an elderly woman with Alzheimer’s, who strangely might have the answers he so desperately seeks.

A team of Angels Walking takes on the mission to see hope restored for Tyler, Sami, and Virginia. Can the small and seemingly insignificant actions of the unseen bring healing and redemption? Can the words of a stranger restore lost love? Every journey begins with a step.

It is time for the mission to begin.

Read Angels Walking, the first book of #1 New York Times bestselling novelist Karen Kingsbury's new series.]]> 384 Karen Kingsbury 1451687478 Celia 3 contemporary, fiction 4.21 2014 Angels Walking (Angels Walking, #1)
author: Karen Kingsbury
name: Celia
average rating: 4.21
book published: 2014
rating: 3
read at: 2024/06/09
date added: 2024/06/12
shelves: contemporary, fiction
review:
My book club selected this book for June, and I have never read this author, and so I was pleasantly surprised. The story is good, and the characters are solid and believable. The main character is Tyler, a AA baseball player who was a wonder in Little League and HS and had a full ride to UCLA. Unfortunately, he makes some bad choices. Now, he has come to the end of the line with a really bad shoulder injury, and nowhere to go. He ends up living in his car. Thank goodness for those people that we know or just meet, and they end up praying for a miracle. The story moves along quickly and kept me interested until the end.
]]> <![CDATA[Chasing Sunsets (Angels Walking, #2)]]> 22609428 The moment was ending—Mary Catherine could sense it. She took a half step back and looked at him one last time, memorizing his face. "If..." Tears filled her eyes and she had to blink to see him clearly. "If I was going to love someone...it would be you."

From #1 New York Times bestselling author Karen Kingsbury comes the second novel in the Angels Walking series about divine intervention and the trials and triumphs of life: the dramatic story of a woman desperate to find deeper meaning in her life.

Growing up in a comfortable home, Mary Catherine wanted for nothing. Though she loves her wealthy parents, their lifestyle never appealed to her. Instead, Mary Catherine pursues meaning through charity work, giving away a part of herself but never giving away her heart.

Now Mary Catherine lives in Los Angeles with her roommate, Sami, and volunteers at a local youth center with baseball coach Tyler Ames and LA Dodgers pitcher Marcus Dillinger. Despite Mary Catherine's intention to stay single, she finds herself drawing close to Marcus, and their budding romance offers an exciting life she's never dreamed of. That is, until she receives devastating news from her doctor. News that alters her future and forces her to make a rash decision.

Inspirational and moving, Chasing Sunsets is the story of one woman's deep longings of the soul, and the sacrifices she's willing to make in search of healing.]]> 316 Karen Kingsbury 1451687508 Celia 0 to-read 4.34 2015 Chasing Sunsets (Angels Walking, #2)
author: Karen Kingsbury
name: Celia
average rating: 4.34
book published: 2015
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/06/12
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Too Small a World: The Life of Mother Frances Cabrini]]> 208580196
Theodore Maynard traces Cabrini's journey from her humble beginnings in northern Italy to her pioneering mission across the United States serving the poor and the sick on a massive scale. Between her work with immigrants (in New York, Denver, Chicago, Seattle, New Orleans, and beyond), her building of schools, orphanages, and hospitals, and her founding of the Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, Mother Cabrini's entrepreneurial work would change the course of American history, marking it with Christ's mercy.

Maynard draws his material directly from the official files for Cabrini's canonization, from her letters, and from interviews with Missionary Sisters who were close to her. What emerges from this complex portrait is a woman of boundless compassion, courage, and energy, whose legacy continues to inspire people around the world today.

"If anybody could effect the impossible," writes Theodore Maynard, "it was this Italian nun."]]> 373 Theodore Maynard 1621647048 Celia 5 4.54 Too Small a World: The Life of Mother Frances Cabrini
author: Theodore Maynard
name: Celia
average rating: 4.54
book published:
rating: 5
read at: 2024/06/10
date added: 2024/06/12
shelves: biography, catholic, history, women-in-spirituality
review:
Francesca Cabrini was born in Italy in 1850 and grew up as a frail and sickly child after almost drowning. But oh, my goodness, what an incredible woman she grew up to be. I originally read a bio of her a few years ago, but this year the movie Cabrini came out, and I was a bit disappointed in the storyline because they never showed her deep faith in God and her love for His work. Ignatius Press reissued this book that originally was published back in 1945. I am so glad. This is a wonderfully researched biography. And Mother Cabrini's life is one that every woman, every Catholic and Christian should read about. She accomplished more for poor immigrants not only in our country, but in South America, Central America and Europe. In an era where there were no planes, she went to the ends of the earth to ease the plight of the poor and spread the Gospel message. She is my hero! Pray for me, Mother Cabrini.
]]> Go as a River 62060302 A sweeping, heart-stopping epic of a young woman's journey to becoming, set against the harsh beauty of mid-century Colorado

On a cool autumn day in 1948, Victoria Nash delivers late-season peaches from her family's farm set amid the wild beauty of Colorado. As she heads into her village, a disheveled stranger stops to ask her the way. How she chooses to answer will unknowingly alter the course of both their young lives.

So begins the mesmerizing story of split-second choices and courageous acts that propel Victoria away from the only home she has ever known and towards a reckoning with loss, hope and her own untapped strength.

Gathering all the pieces of her small and extraordinary existence, spinning through the eddies of desire, heartbreak and betrayal, she will arrive at a single rocky decision that will change her life forever.

Go as a River is a heart-wrenching coming-of-age story and a drama of enthralling power. Combining unforgettable characters and a breathtaking natural setting, it is a sweeping story of survival and becoming, of the deepest mysteries of love, truth and fate.]]> 10 Shelley Read Celia 4 4.19 2023 Go as a River
author: Shelley Read
name: Celia
average rating: 4.19
book published: 2023
rating: 4
read at: 2024/06/09
date added: 2024/06/12
shelves: fiction, historical-fiction, families
review:
I wasn't sure how to take this book, at first. I listened to this, and I was turned off by the narrator. And the writing was very descriptive, almost to the point that I felt the author was too exaggerated and I began to think this book was not for me. But then, the story became very interesting, and I was able to look past the flaws and become absorbed in Victoria's story. The setting is rural Colorado in the late 40's and 50's, and I swear, I could almost smell and taste the peaches. This is Victoria's story of growing up and making decisions that would affect the rest of her life. It is the story of family and their flaws and love. Very interesting, and I'm glad I stuck with it.
]]> <![CDATA[The Demon of Unrest: A Saga of Hubris, Heartbreak, and Heroism at the Dawn of the Civil War]]> 195668125
On November 6, 1860, Abraham Lincoln became the fluky victor in a tight race for president. The country was bitterly at odds; Southern extremists were moving ever closer to destroying the Union, with one state after another seceding and Lincoln powerless to stop them. Slavery fueled the conflict, but somehow the passions of North and South came to focus on a lonely federal fortress in Charleston: Fort Sumter.
Ěý
Master storyteller Erik Larson offers a gripping account of the chaotic months between Lincoln’s election and the Confederacy’s shelling of Sumter—a period marked by tragic errors and miscommunications, enflamed egos and craven ambitions, personal tragedies and betrayals. Lincoln himself wrote that the trials of these five months were “so great that, could I have anticipated them, I would not have believed it possible to survive them.�
Ěý
At the heart of this suspense-filled narrative are Major Robert Anderson, Sumter’s commander and a former slave owner sympathetic to the South but loyal to the Union; Edmund Ruffin, a vain and bloodthirsty radical who stirs secessionist ardor at every opportunity; and Mary Boykin Chesnut, wife of a prominent planter, conflicted over both marriage and slavery and seeing parallels between both. In the middle of it all is the overwhelmed Lincoln, battling with his duplicitous Secretary of State, William Seward, as he tries desperately to avert a war that he fears is inevitable—one that will eventually kill 750,000 Americans.
Ěý
Drawing on diaries, secret communiques, slave ledgers, and plantation records, Larson gives us a political horror story that captures the forces that led America to the brink—a dark reminder that we often don’t see a cataclysm coming until it’s too late.]]> 880 Erik Larson 0593861833 Celia 0 to-read 4.14 2024 The Demon of Unrest: A Saga of Hubris, Heartbreak, and Heroism at the Dawn of the Civil War
author: Erik Larson
name: Celia
average rating: 4.14
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/06/12
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> The Blue Hour 207252770
Once home to Vanessa: A famous artist whose notoriously unfaithful husband disappeared twenty years ago.

Now home to Grace: A solitary creature of the tides, content in her own isolation.

But when a shocking discovery is made in an art gallery far away in London, a visitor comes calling.

And the secrets of Eris threaten to emerge . . .

A masterful novel that is as page-turning as it is unsettling, The Blue Hour recalls the sophisticated suspense of Shirley Jackson and Patricia Highsmith, and cements Hawkins’s place among the very best of our most nuanced and stylish storytellers.]]> 320 Paula Hawkins 0063396521 Celia 0 to-read 3.27 2024 The Blue Hour
author: Paula Hawkins
name: Celia
average rating: 3.27
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/05/26
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Nola's Black Dove 211155875 What Kirkus Review says about Nola's Black Dove, "A gusty, fearless protagonist (nicknamed Crow) leads a novel that challenges the absurdity of segregation laws...Martinez's legal drama, based on a real (1956 racial reclassification) case in Louisiana, has an imperfect protagonist in Crow, whose Cajun roots and legal career make the story a lively love letter to the local culture and damning indictment of the era's racial policies. The author's wry sensibility regarding the legal system's corruption is amusing and illuminating, while the absurdity of Dove's specific case is described in a matter-of-fact, common-sense way...but the unexpected conclusion feels authentic."

With echoes of To Kill a Mockingbird and Where the Crawdads Sing, Martinez's latest work, 'Nola's Black Dove,' whisks readers away to an idyllic, verdant island, rich with the fragrance of blossoms, the sound of waves, and the vibrant tapestry of Cajun culture, nestled on the marshy edges of Louisiana's coast. It also transports the reader to a New Orleans courtroom, steeped in grandeur and history, and illuminates the intricacies of race and class biases. The book deftly tackles weighty social issues with a light, straightforward touch.


In 1957, Noel "Crow" Corbin was a troubled, rebellious Cajun mob attorney. He found himself in a case that would test his limits and send ripples through Louisiana's biased legal system. His client, a Black couple, wants to adopt a mixed-race child living in a Black orphanage, but her birth certificate states she's White.

The biased Jim Crow laws forbid interracial adoptions. Although the child is obviously Black, she is caught in an absurd legal limbo. Racist politicians and an unfair legal system are unsympathetic and unyielding to change the birth certificate of the orphan. His mission is to change the child's race from White to Black to give the child a loving family she never had. Along the arduous journey, he battles with the segregationist, unjust laws, his demons and finds lost love. The novel vividly captures the energy of the French Quarter's and the Cajun's joie de vivre. It is the sequel to the author's book, Cajun Crow and the Mockingbird.

Fans of Martinez's other novels will love Nola's Black Dove.
























































]]> 316 Jimmie Martinez Celia 0 to-read 4.25 Nola's Black Dove
author: Jimmie Martinez
name: Celia
average rating: 4.25
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/05/26
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> The Volcano Daughters 202468410 A saucy, searingly original debut about two sisters raised in the shadow of El Salvador’s brutal dictator, El Gran Pendejo, and their flight from genocide, which takes them from Hollywood to Paris to cannery row, each followed by a chorus of furies, the ghosts of their murdered friends, who aren’t yet done telling their stories.

El Salvador, 1923. Graciela grows up on a volcano in a community of indigenous women indentured to coffee plantations owned by the country’s wealthiest, until a messenger from the Capital comes to claim at nine years old she’s been chosen to be an oracle for a rising dictator—a sinister, violent man wedded to the occult. She’ll help foresee the future of the country.Ěý Ěý Ěý

In the Capital she meets Consuelo, the sister she’s never known, stolen away from their home before Graciela was born. The two are a small fortress within the dictator’s regime, but they’re no match for El Gran Pendejo’s cruelty. Years pass and terror rises as the economy flatlines, and Graciela comes to understand the horrific vision that she’s unwittingly helped shape just as genocide strikes the community that raised her. She and Consuelo barely escape, each believing the other to be dead. They run, crossing the globe, reinventing their lives, and ultimately reconnecting at the least likely moment.Ěý Ěý Ěý

Endlessly surprising, vividly imaginative, bursting with lush life, The Volcano Daughters charts, through the stories of these sisters and the ghosts they carry with them, a new history and mythology of El Salvador, fiercely bringing forth voices that have been calling out for generations.]]> 368 Gina MarĂ­a Balibrera 0593317238 Celia 0 to-read 3.51 2024 The Volcano Daughters
author: Gina MarĂ­a Balibrera
name: Celia
average rating: 3.51
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/05/26
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> The Secret Life of Sunflowers 61613291 A gripping, inspiring novel based on the true story of Johanna Bonger, Vincent van Gogh's sister-in-law.

When Hollywood auctioneer Emsley Wilson finds her famous grandmother's diary while cleaning out her New York brownstone, the pages are full of surprises. The first surprise is, the diary isn't her grandmother's. It belongs to Johanna Bonger, Vincent van Gogh's sister-in-law.

Johanna inherited Vincent van Gogh's paintings. They were all she had, and they weren't worth anything. She was a 28 year old widow with a baby in the 1800s, without any means of supporting herself, living in Paris where she barely spoke the language. Yet she managed to introduce Vincent's legacy to the world.

The inspiration couldn't come at a better time for Emsley. With her business failing, an unexpected love turning up in her life, and family secrets unraveling, can she find answers in the past?]]> 356 Marta Molnar 1940627486 Celia 0 to-read 4.10 The Secret Life of Sunflowers
author: Marta Molnar
name: Celia
average rating: 4.10
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/05/19
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Camino Island (Camino Island, #1)]]> 34121119 #1 NEW YORK TIMES BEST SELLER � “A delightfully lighthearted caper ... [a] fast-moving, entertaining tale.”—Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

A gang of thieves stage a daring heist from a secure vault deep below Princeton University’s Firestone Library. Their loot is priceless, but Princeton has insured it for twenty-five million dollars.

Bruce Cable owns a popular bookstore in the sleepy resort town of Santa Rosa on Camino Island in Florida. He makes his real money, though, as a prominent dealer in rare books. Very few people know that he occasionally dabbles in the black market of stolen books and manuscripts.

Mercer Mann is a young novelist with a severe case of writer’s block who has recently been laid off from her teaching position. She is approached by an elegant, mysterious woman working for an even more mysterious company. A generous offer of money convinces Mercer to go undercover and infiltrate Bruce Cable’s circle of literary friends, ideally getting close enough to him to learn his secrets.

But eventually Mercer learns far too much, and there’s trouble in paradise as only John Grisham can deliver it.]]> 290 John Grisham 0385543026 Celia 3 3.69 2017 Camino Island (Camino Island, #1)
author: John Grisham
name: Celia
average rating: 3.69
book published: 2017
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 2024/05/19
shelves: crime-fiction, fiction, florida
review:

]]> Brooklyn 6411014 Hauntingly beautiful and heartbreaking, Colm TĂłibĂ­n's sixth novel, Brooklyn, is set in Brooklyn and Ireland in the early 1950s, when one young woman crosses the ocean to make a new life for herself.

Eilis Lacey has come of age in small-town Ireland in the years following World War Two. Though skilled at bookkeeping, she cannot find a job in the miserable Irish economy. When an Irish priest from Brooklyn offers to sponsor Eilis in America--to live and work in a Brooklyn neighborhood "just like Ireland"--she decides she must go, leaving her fragile mother and her charismatic sister behind.

Eilis finds work in a department store on Fulton Street, and when she least expects it, finds love. Tony, a blond Italian from a big family, slowly wins her over with patient charm. He takes Eilis to Coney Island and Ebbets Field, and home to dinner in the two-room apartment he shares with his brothers and parents. He talks of having children who are Dodgers fans. But just as Eilis begins to fall in love with Tony, devastating news from Ireland threatens the promise of her future.]]> 272 Colm TĂłibĂ­n Celia 4 3.93 2009 Brooklyn
author: Colm TĂłibĂ­n
name: Celia
average rating: 3.93
book published: 2009
rating: 4
read at: 2024/05/17
date added: 2024/05/19
shelves: fiction, historical-fiction, irish
review:
I saw this movie a while back, but my goodness, the movie didn't leave as much an impression as the book. Is it great writing? I don't think so, and yet the narrative kept me reading. The story takes place in the 1950's, in both Ireland and in Brooklyn. Eilis is the younger sister of Rose and seems at first not to have much ambition. But Rose and a young priest visiting from New York get Eilis to travel to Brooklyn to work. She falls in love with Tony, and he seems to be the perfect boyfriend. When Eilis gets bad news from Ireland, she knows she has to make a trip home, which leads to much confusion for her and Tony. I liked Tony's character, but for the life of me, Eilis seems distant, and just really strange. And then, just like that, the novel ends. What happens??
]]> Tom Lake 75428822
In this beautiful and moving novel about family, love, and growing up, Ann Patchett once again proves herself one of America’s finest writers.

“Patchett leads us to a truth that feels like life rather than literature.”�The Guardian

In the spring of 2020, Lara’s three daughters return to the family's orchard in Northern Michigan. While picking cherries, they beg their mother to tell them the story of Peter Duke, a famous actor with whom she shared both a stage and a romance years before at a theater company called Tom Lake. As Lara recalls the past, her daughters examine their own lives and relationship with their mother, and are forced to reconsider the world and everything they thought they knew.

Tom Lake is a meditation on youthful love, married love, and the lives parents have led before their children were born. Both hopeful and elegiac, it explores what it means to be happy even when the world is falling apart. As in all of her novels, Ann Patchett combines compelling narrative artistry with piercing insights into family dynamics. The result is a rich and luminous story, told with profound intelligence and emotional subtlety, that demonstrates once again why she is one of the most revered and acclaimed literary talents working today.]]> 0 Ann Patchett 0063327554 Celia 4 families, fiction 4.00 2023 Tom Lake
author: Ann Patchett
name: Celia
average rating: 4.00
book published: 2023
rating: 4
read at: 2024/05/15
date added: 2024/05/19
shelves: families, fiction
review:
I enjoyed the richness of the storytelling and was doubly blessed to listen to Meryl Streep narrate this book. She was absolutely marvelous. The story is told in flashback, as a mother tells her three adult daughters (who are all together on their farm in Michigan because of Covid) the saga of her young adult life in summer stock and in LA. But most importantly to the daughters, about her love "affair" with Peter Duke, who is a famous movie star who has just come to a tragic ending. The characters are so well drawn, that it's easy to pick your favorites. There were two issues that tainted an otherwise wonderful story for me. And most of you, if you are adults of a certain age and belief, will know what I'm writing about when you get to those parts. Otherwise, just wonderfully written.
]]> Banyan Moon 179688977 Thao Thai 1529431980 Celia 0 to-read 3.90 2023 Banyan Moon
author: Thao Thai
name: Celia
average rating: 3.90
book published: 2023
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/05/13
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Queen of Sugar Hill: A Novel of Hattie McDaniel]]> 139506611 Bestselling author ReShonda Tate presents a fascinating fictional portrait of Hattie McDaniel, one of Hollywood’s most prolific but woefully underappreciated stars—and the first Black person ever to win an Oscar for her role as Mammy in the critically acclaimed film classic Gone With the Wind.

It was supposed to be the highlight of her career, the pinnacle for which she’d worked all her life. And as Hattie McDaniel took the stage in 1940 to claim an honor that would make her the first African-American woman to win an Academy Award, she tearfully took her place in history. Between personal triumphs and tragedies, heartbreaking losses, and severe setbacks, this historic night of winning best supporting actress for her role as the sassy Mammy in the controversial movie Gone With the Wind was going to be life-changing.

Or so she thought.

Months after winning the award, not only did the Oscar curse set in where Hattie couldn’t find work, but she found herself thrust in the middle of two worlds—Black and White—and not being welcomed in either. Whites only saw her as Mammy and Blacks detested the demeaning portrayal.

As the NAACP waged an all-out war against Hattie and actors like her, the emotionally conflicted actor found herself struggling daily. Through it all, Hattie continued her fight to pave a path for other Negro actors, while focusing on war efforts, fighting housing discrimination, and navigating four failed marriages. Luckily, she had a core group of friends to help her out—from Clark Gable to Louise Beavers to Ruby Berkley Goodwin and Dorothy Dandridge.

The Queen of Sugar Hill brings to life the powerful story of one woman who was driven by many passions—ambition, love, sex, family, friendship, and equality. In re-creating Hattie’s story, ReShonda Tate delivers an unforgettable novel of resilience, dedication, and determination—about what it takes to achieve your dreams—even when everything—and everyone—is against you.]]> 432 ReShonda Tate 006329107X Celia 3 3.83 2024 The Queen of Sugar Hill: A Novel of Hattie McDaniel
author: ReShonda Tate
name: Celia
average rating: 3.83
book published: 2024
rating: 3
read at: 2024/05/03
date added: 2024/05/03
shelves: biographical-fiction, historical-fiction, african-american
review:
I will preface this review by stating that I love old movies, and I have actually seen GWTW on the big screen at Radio City Music Hall. I love the book and I love the movie. Hattie McDaniel made history when she won best supporting actress as Mammy, the first African American to win an Oscar. But after winning that Oscar, her life was one controversy after another. I found the story to be rather interesting, and for those who don't know their history of race relations in this country, this is eye-opening in a very sad way. I thought the writing was a bit redundant, and there were a few things toward the end of Miss Hattie's life that just should not have been in the story. I think this would make an excellent book club selection.
]]> October in the Earth 122758699 310 Olivia Hawker 1662511108 Celia 3 fiction, historical-fiction 4.20 2023 October in the Earth
author: Olivia Hawker
name: Celia
average rating: 4.20
book published: 2023
rating: 3
read at: 2024/04/24
date added: 2024/05/03
shelves: fiction, historical-fiction
review:
This was a very interesting premise for a book...women riding the rails during the Great Depression. I found that storyline intriguing. I have read other books by this author, and she is a very good storyteller. Unfortunately for me, this story just did not work. Del is the wife of an up-and-coming preacher in Kentucky. As she sees her neighbors and the men and families that have left their homes and farms, she begins to question her situation in life. She and her husband want for nothing. What finally is the tipping point in her marriage and life is when she catches her husband in an awkward situation with a young girl from their congregation. Del plans her getaway and hitches a ride on the next freight train through town. Of course, she naturally meets another woman who takes her under her wing. And then it becomes "their" story. Hawker's writing style is wonderful, but for me, the storyline was a bit of a stretch.
]]> Good Night, Irene 199510443
This “powerful, uplifting, and deeply personalĚýnovelâ€� Ěý(Kristin Hannah, #1Ěý NYTĚý bestselling author ofĚý The Four Winds ), at onceĚý“a heart-wrenching wartime drama”Ě�(Christina Baker Kline, #1Ěý NYTĚý bestselling author ofĚý Orphan Train ) and “a moving and graceful tribute to heroic womenâ€� ( Publishers Weekly , starred review), asks the What if a friendship forged on the front lines of war defines a life forever?

In the tradition of Ěý The Nightingale Ěý and Ěý Transcription , this is a searing epic based on the magnificent and true story of courageousĚýRed Cross women. “Urrea’s touch is sure, his exuberance carries you through . . . He is a generous writer, not just in his approach to his craft but in the broader sense of what he feels necessary to capture about life itself.â€� â€� Financial Times In 1943, Irene Woodward abandons an abusive fiancĂ© in New York to enlist with the Red Cross and head to Europe. She makes fast friends in training with Dorothy Dunford, a towering Midwesterner with a ferocious wit. Together they are part of an elite group of women, nicknamed Donut Dollies, who command military vehicles called Clubmobiles at the front line, providing camaraderie and a taste of home that may be the only solace before troops head into battle.
ĚýĚýĚýĚýĚýĚýĚýĚýĚýĚýĚý
After D-Day, these two intrepid friends join the Allied soldiers streaming into France. Their time in Europe will see them embroiled in danger, from the Battle of the Bulge to the liberation of Buchenwald. Through her friendship with Dorothy, and a love affair with a courageous American fighter pilot named Hans, Irene learns to trust again. Her most fervent hope, which becomes more precarious by the day, is for all three of them to survive the war intact.
Ěý
Taking as inspiration his mother’s own Red Cross service, Luis Alberto Urrea has delivered an overlooked story of women’s heroism in World War II. With its affecting and uplifting portrait of friendship and valor in harrowing circumstances, Good Night, Irene powerfully demonstrates yet again that Urrea’s “gifts as a storyteller are prodigious� (NPR).]]> 432 Luis Alberto Urrea 0316265950 Celia 0 to-read 3.98 2023 Good Night, Irene
author: Luis Alberto Urrea
name: Celia
average rating: 3.98
book published: 2023
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/05/02
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Happiness Falls 205483574
Mia, the irreverent, hyperanalytical twenty-year-old daughter, has an explanation for everything—which is why she isn’t initially concerned when her father and younger brother Eugene don’t return from a walk in a nearby park. They must have lost their phone. Or stopped for an errand somewhere. But by the time Mia’s brother runs through the front door bloody and alone, it becomes clear that the father in this tight-knit family is missing and the only witness is Eugene, who has the rare genetic condition Angelman syndrome and cannot speak.

What follows is both a ticking-clock investigation into the whereabouts of a father and an emotionally rich portrait of a family whose most personal secrets just may be at the heart of his disappearance. Full of shocking twists and fascinating questions of love, language, and human connection, Happiness Falls is a mystery, a family drama, and a novel of profound philosophical inquiry. With all the powerful storytelling she brought to her award-winning debut, Miracle Creek, Angie Kim turns the missing-person story into something wholly original, creating an indelible tale of a family who must go to remarkable lengths to truly understand one another.]]> 416 Angie Kim 0593448227 Celia 0 to-read 3.71 2023 Happiness Falls
author: Angie Kim
name: Celia
average rating: 3.71
book published: 2023
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/05/01
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Henna Artist (The Jaipur Trilogy, #1)]]> 53288448 Vivid and compelling in its portrait of one woman’s struggle for fulfillment in a society pivoting between the traditional and the modern, The Henna Artist opens a door into a world that is at once lush and fascinating, stark and cruel.

Escaping from an abusive marriage, seventeen-year-old Lakshmi makes her way alone to the vibrant 1950s pink city of Jaipur. There she becomes the most highly requested henna artist—and confidante—to the wealthy women of the upper class. But trusted with the secrets of the wealthy, she can never reveal her own...

Known for her original designs and sage advice, Lakshmi must tread carefully to avoid the jealous gossips who could ruin her reputation and her livelihood. As she pursues her dream of an independent life, she is startled one day when she is confronted by her husband, who has tracked her down these many years later with a high-spirited young girl in tow—a sister Lakshmi never knew she had. Suddenly the caution that she has carefully cultivated as protection is threatened. Still she perseveres, applying her talents and lifting up those that surround her as she does.]]> 400 Alka Joshi 0778331474 Celia 0 to-read 4.20 2020 The Henna Artist (The Jaipur Trilogy, #1)
author: Alka Joshi
name: Celia
average rating: 4.20
book published: 2020
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/04/19
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Hello Beautiful 61771675
But then darkness from William’s past surfaces, jeopardizing not only Julia’s carefully orchestrated plans for their future, but the sisters� unshakeable devotion to one another. The result is a catastrophic family rift that changes their lives for generations. Will the loyalty that once rooted them be strong enough to draw them back together when it matters most?]]> 416 Ann Napolitano Celia 0 to-read 4.14 2023 Hello Beautiful
author: Ann Napolitano
name: Celia
average rating: 4.14
book published: 2023
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/04/08
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> The Good Left Undone 58065358 From Adriana Trigiani, "a master of visual and palpable detail" (The Washington Post), comes a lush, immersive novel about three generations of Tuscan artisans with one remarkable secret. Epic in scope and resplendent with the glorious themes of identity and belonging, The Good Left Undone unfolds in breathtaking turns.

Matelda, the Cabrelli family's matriarch, has always been brusque and opinionated. Now, as she faces the end of her life, she is determined to share a long-held secret with her family about her own mother's great love story: with her childhood friend, Silvio, and with dashing Scottish sea captain John Lawrie McVicars, the father Matelda never knew. . . .

In the halcyon past, Domenica Cabrelli thrives in the coastal town of Viareggio until her beloved home becomes unsafe when Italy teeters on the brink of World War II. Her journey takes her from the rocky shores of Marseille to the mystical beauty of Scotland to the dangers of wartime Liverpool--where Italian Scots are imprisoned without cause--as Domenica experiences love, loss, and grief while she longs for home. A hundred years later, her daughter, Matelda, and her granddaughter, Anina, face the same big questions about life and their family's legacy, while Matelda contemplates what is worth fighting for. But Matelda is running out of time, and the two timelines intersect and weave together in unexpected and heartbreaking ways that lead the family to shocking revelations and, ultimately, redemption.]]> 439 Adriana Trigiani 0593183320 Celia 4 3.90 2022 The Good Left Undone
author: Adriana Trigiani
name: Celia
average rating: 3.90
book published: 2022
rating: 4
read at: 2024/04/05
date added: 2024/04/08
shelves: families, fiction, historical-fiction, italy
review:
I enjoyed this story very much. There were a lot of characters, and it did jump between generations, and yet I found that I could not put it down. It is the story of Matelda in her old age and how she longs to share family stories with her children and grandchildren. She knows it's almost time for her to leave this life. Matelda comes across as a spunky and as a strong-willed woman, but it is her mother, Domenica, whose story I loved. The writing evokes the beauty, the food and the people of Italy which always touches my heart. I actually shed tears at the end of this book. It's not the Shoemaker's Wife, but it is a good story.
]]> The Invisible Hour 199798000
One June day when Mia Jacob can no longer see a way to survive, the power of words saves her. The Scarlet Letter was written almost two hundred years earlier, but it seems to tell the story of Mia’s mother, Ivy, and their life inside the Community—an oppressive cult in western Massachusetts where contact with the outside world is forbidden. But how could this be? How could Nathaniel Hawthorne have so perfectly captured the pain and loss that Mia carries inside her?

Through a journey of heartbreak, love, and time, Mia must abandon the rules she was raised with at the Community. As she does, she realizes that reading can transport you to other worlds or bring them to you, and that readers and writers affect one another in mysterious ways. She learns that time is more fluid than she can imagine, and that love is stronger than any chains that bind you.

As a girl Mia fell in love with a book. Now as a young woman she falls in love with a brilliant writer as she makes her way back in time. But what if Nathaniel Hawthorne never wrote The Scarlet Letter ? And what if Mia Jacob never found it on the day she planned to die?

From “the reigning queen of magical realism� (Kristin Hannah, New York Times bestselling author), this is the story of one woman’s dream. For a little while it came true.]]> 272 Alice Hoffman 1982175389 Celia 0 to-read 3.60 2023 The Invisible Hour
author: Alice Hoffman
name: Celia
average rating: 3.60
book published: 2023
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/04/05
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Becoming Madam Secretary 177192295 She took on titans, battled generals, and changed the world as we know it�

New York Times bestselling author Stephanie Dray returns with a captivating and dramatic new novel about an American heroine Frances Perkins.

Raised on tales of her revolutionary ancestors, Frances Perkins arrives in New York City at the turn of the century, armed with her trusty parasol and an unyielding determination to make a difference.

When she’s not working with children in the crowded tenements in Hell’s Kitchen, Frances throws herself into the social scene in Greenwich Village, befriending an eclectic group of politicians, artists, and activists, including the millionaire socialite Mary Harriman Rumsey, the flirtatious budding author Sinclair Lewis, and the brilliant but troubled reformer Paul Wilson, with whom she falls deeply in love.

But when Frances meets a young lawyer named Franklin Delano Roosevelt at a tea dance, sparks fly in all the wrong directions. She thinks he’s a rich, arrogant dilettante who gets by on a handsome face and a famous name. He thinks she’s a priggish bluestocking and insufferable do-gooder. Neither knows it yet, but over the next twenty years, they will form a historic partnership that will carry them both to the White House.

Frances is destined to rise in a political world dominated by men, facing down the Great Depression as FDR’s most trusted lieutenant—even as she struggles to balance the demands of a public career with marriage and motherhood. And when vicious political attacks mount and personal tragedies threaten to derail her ambitions, she must decide what she’s willing to do—and what she’s willing to sacrifice—to save a nation.]]> 528 Stephanie Dray 0593437055 Celia 0 to-read 4.36 2024 Becoming Madam Secretary
author: Stephanie Dray
name: Celia
average rating: 4.36
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/04/03
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Cemetery of Untold Stories]]> 195820829 Ěý
Alma Cruz, the celebrated writer at the heart of The Cemetery of Untold Stories , doesn’t want to end up like her friend, a novelist who fought so long and hard to finish a book that it threatened her sanity. So when Alma inherits a small plot of land in the Dominican Republic, her homeland, she has the beautiful idea of turning it into a place to bury her untold stories—literally. She creates a graveyard for the manuscript drafts and revisions, and the characters whose lives she tried and failed to bring to life and who still haunt her.
Ěý
Alma wants her characters to rest in peace. But they have other ideas, and the cemetery becomes a mysterious sanctuary for their true narratives. Filomena, a local woman hired as the groundskeeper, becomes a sympathetic listener as Alma’s characters unspool their secret tales. Among them: Bienvenida, the abandoned second wife of dictator Rafael Trujillo, consigned to oblivion by history, and Manuel Cruz, a doctor who fought in the Dominican underground and escaped to the United States.
Ěý
The characters defy their author: they talk back to her and talk to one another behind her back, rewriting and revising themselves. The Cemetery of Untold Stories asks: Whose stories get to be told, and whose buried? Finally, Alma finds the meaning she and her characters yearn for in the everlasting vitality of stories.
Ěý
Readers of Isabel Allende’s Violeta and Barbara Kingsolver’s Demon Copperhead will devour Alvarez’s extraordinary new novel about beauty and authenticity that reminds us the stories of our lives are never truly finished, even at the end.]]> 243 Julia Alvarez 1643753843 Celia 0 to-read 3.63 2024 The Cemetery of Untold Stories
author: Julia Alvarez
name: Celia
average rating: 3.63
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/04/03
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> The Wives: A Memoir 176443920
When her new husband joins an elite Army unit, Simone Gorrindo is uprooted from New York City and dropped into Columbus, Georgia. With her husband frequently deployed, Simone is left to find her place in this new world, alone—until she meets the wives.

Gorrindo gives us an intimate look into the inner lives of a remarkable group of women and a tender, unflinching portrait of a marriage. A love story, an unforgettable coming-of-age tale, and a bracing tour of the intractable divisions that plague our country today, The Wives offers a rare and powerful gift: a hopeful stitch in the fabric of a torn America.]]> 416 Simone Gorrindo 1982178493 Celia 0 to-read 3.73 2024 The Wives: A Memoir
author: Simone Gorrindo
name: Celia
average rating: 3.73
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/03/27
shelves: to-read
review:

]]>