Book Life Rambles

  Swan Song by Elin Hilderbrand ⭐⭐⭐⭐ From G👀dreads: After thirty-five years serving as the Chief of Police on the island of Nantucket, Ed Kapenash's heart can no longer take the stress. But his plans to retire are thwarted when, with only three days left to serve, he receives a phone call. A 22-million-dollar summer home, recently purchased by the flashy new couple in town, the Richardsons, has burned to the ground. The Richardsons are far from hurt—in fact, they're out on the water, throwing a lavish party on their yacht—but when news of the fire reaches them, they discover that their personal assistant has vanished. The Chief is well-acquainted with the Richardsons, and his daughter is best friends with the now-missing girl, leaving him no choice but to postpone his retirement and take on the double case. Genre: Fiction, Romance, Mystery, Chick Lit This one is EH's last in her Nantucket series. Who knows?  Could be like a Farewell Tour and come back for more.    ...

Lady Tan's Circle of Women by Lisa See ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Google An elite woman who becomes a physician in spite of societal restrictions during China's Ming Dynasty. An immersive historical novel inspired by the true story of a woman physician in 15th-century China. 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. Another 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. Female doctors were primarily for women's health issues. We've come a long way baby... Genre: Historical Fiction, Asian Literature ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ I'd give it more than five stars if I could. It took a long time to get this one through Libby but it was definitely worth the wa...

Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt *DNF* Unpopular Opinion: I don't always put the DNFs in my blog but this one is so wildly popular I'm putting it here to express my opinion on it. It's a great reminder that not every book is for everyone. We all have different likes and dislikes, same as art, food, music, etc. Google A heartwarming story about an unlikely friendship between a giant Pacific octopus named Marcellus and a widowed aquarium janitor named Tova. The novel explores themes of grief, loss, finding connections, and the power of human and animal bonds. Tova, haunted by the disappearance of her son decades earlier, forms a unique relationship with Marcellus, who uses his intelligence to help her piece together the truth. G👀dreads After Tova Sullivan's husband died, she began working the night shift at the Sowell Bay Aquarium, mopping floors and tidying up. Keeping busy has always helped her cope, which she's been doing since her eighteen-year-old ...

Six Days in Bombay by Alka Josh ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Amazon: When renowned painter Mira Novak arrives at Wadia hospital in Bombay after a miscarriage, she's expected to make a quick recovery, and her nurse, Sona, is excited to learn more about the vivacious artist who shares her half-Indian identity. Sona, yearning for a larger life, finds herself carried away by Mira's stories of her travels and exploits and is shocked by accounts of the many lovers the painter has left scattered throughout Europe. When Mira dies quite suddenly and mysteriously, Sona falls under suspicion, and her quiet life is upended. Goodreads: This sweeping novel follows a young Anglo-Indian nurse who embarks on a journey from her home in Bombay, through Prague, Florence, Paris, and London, to uncover a mystery and prove her innocence after a famous painter dies in her care. Another review said  it's a little slow until the 30% mark and then it takes off and never slows down .  I'm not one to muddle through waiti...

  At the Coffee Shop of Curiosities by Heather Webber G👀dreads A mysterious letter. An offer taken. And the chance to move forward. When Ava Harrison receives a letter containing an unusual job listing one month after the sudden death of her ex-boyfriend, she thinks she’s being haunted. The listing—a job as a live-in caretaker for a peculiar old man and his cranky cat in Driftwood, Alabama—is the perfect chance to start a new life. A normal life. Ava has always been too fearful to even travel, so no one’s more surprised than she is when she throws caution to the wind and drives to the distant beachside town. On the surface, Maggie Mae Brightwell is a bundle of energy as she runs Magpie’s, Driftwood’s coffee and curiosity shop, where there’s magic to be found in pairing the old with the new. But lurking under her cheerful exterior is a painful truth—keeping busy is the best way to distract herself from the lingering loss of her mama and her worries about her aging father. No one kn...

Listen for the Lie by Amy Tintera ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐   Google A novel about Lucy Chase, who is accused of killing her best friend Savvy. Lucy, with amnesia about the night of the murder, is forced to confront her past when a true crime podcast reopens the case. The podcast, hosted by Ben Owens, digs into the cold case and Lucy is drawn back to her hometown to clear her name and find out the truth. G👀dreads Lucy and Savvy were the golden girls of their small Texas town: pretty, smart, and enviable. Lucy married a dream guy with a big ring and an even bigger new home. Savvy was the social butterfly loved by all and, if you believe the rumors, especially popular with the men in town. But after Lucy is found wandering the streets, covered in her best friend Savvy’s blood, everyone thinks she is a murderer. It’s been years since that horrible night, a night Lucy can’t remember anything about, and she has since moved to LA and started a new life. But now the phenomenally huge hit true crime podcast...

Vera Wong's Unsolicited Advise for Murderers by Jessie Q. Sutano   G👀dreads Sixty-year-old self-proclaimed tea expert Vera Wong enjoys nothing more than sipping a good cup of Wulong and doing some healthy ‘detective’ work on the internet (AKA checking up on her son to see if he’s dating anybody yet). But when Vera wakes up one morning to find a dead man in the middle of her tea shop, it’s going to take more than a strong Longjing to fix things. Knowing she’ll do a better job than the police possibly could – because nobody sniffs out a wrongdoing quite like a suspicious Chinese mother with time on her hands – Vera decides it’s down to her to catch the killer. Nobody spills the tea like this amateur sleuth. Genre: Fiction, Mystery, Thriller, Cozy, Humor ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ Meh.   I  generously   gave it 3 stars but only because I liked the Vera character. Nosey old tea shop lady with no filter.  I didn't care about any of the other characters and I didn't care who murdere...

Sylvia's Second Act by Hillary Yablon G👀dreads Her husband's cheating on her. She hates Boca. Sylvia is mad and she isn't going to take it anymore. She's moving back north, to the city of her dreams - with her best friend, Evie, in tow. Think a screwball comedy featuring a sophisticated Thelma and Louise with martinis in hand. When sixty-three-year-old Sylvia finds her husband in bed with the floozy of their Boca retirement community, she’s shocked and furious... at first. By the time her head stops spinning, Sylvia realizes that actually, this isn’t what she wants anymore anyway. So she enlists her best friend, the glamorous older widow Evie, to join her in setting up a new life in Manhattan. Sylvia’s ex-husband may have lost her life savings, but Sylvia and Evie are scrappy and determined, unopposed to pawning jewelry and roughing it in tiny apartments. And before long, Sylvia signs on to revive her decades-old wedding planning business with a former professional ...

How to Read a Book by Monica Wood G👀dreads A charming, deeply moving novel about second chances, unlikely friendships, and the life-changing power of sharing stories. Our Reasons meet us in the morning and whisper to us at night. Mine is an innocent, unsuspecting, eternally sixty-one-year-old woman named Lorraine Daigle… Violet Powell, a twenty-two-year-old from rural Abbott Falls, Maine, is being released from prison after serving twenty-two months for a drunk-driving crash that killed a local kindergarten teacher. Harriet Larson, a retired English teacher who runs the prison book club, is facing the unsettling prospect of an empty nest. Frank Daigle, a retired machinist, hasn’t yet come to grips with the complications of his marriage to the woman Violet killed. When the three encounter each other one morning in a bookstore in Portland—Violet to buy the novel she was reading in the prison book club before her release, Harriet to choose the next title for the women who remain, and Fra...

Midnight at the Blackbird Café by Heather Webber Goodreads Heather Webber's Midnight at the Blackbird Cafe is a captivating blend of magical realism, heartwarming romance, and small-town Southern charm. Nestled in the mountain shadows of Alabama lies the little town of Wicklow. It is here that Anna Kate has returned to bury her beloved Granny Zee, owner of the Blackbird Café. It was supposed to be a quick trip to close the café and settle her grandmother’s estate, but despite her best intentions to avoid forming ties or even getting to know her father’s side of the family, Anna Kate finds herself inexplicably drawn to the quirky Southern town her mother ran away from so many years ago, and the mysterious blackbird pie everybody can’t stop talking about. As the truth about her past slowly becomes clear, Anna Kate will need to decide if this lone blackbird will finally be able to take her broken wings and fly. Reviews said " uplifting story that leaves you feeling better than wh...