Here are eight book reviews- all of them pretty decent!
Summary: A memoir about race--women who are African-descended, French and Swiss, indigenous and immigrant, whose fathers are a mystery, and how mixed-race people continue to shape this nation, as they always have.
Rating: A-. I enjoyed this book. Straight does a great job of telling the story of her and her ex-husband's female ancestors- from completely different walks of life but experiencing similar struggles. She ties it all together in her daughters' lives and how the stories will empower them to go forward.
Book #29- Killing Monica by Candace Bushnell
Summary: PJ “Pandy” Wallis created her fictional alter ego, Monica—think Carrie Bradshaw on steroids—in four bestselling novels and the movies that followed. The problem is that her newest book is not about Monica. It’s about Pandy’s ancestor Lady Wallis Wallis, who arrived in America in 1775—and, according to Pandy’s agent and suspiciously intimate confidant, Henry, historical fiction is a hard sell, so her editor has turned it down. As Pandy ponders whether to give in and write another Monica book, she relives her career.
Rating: B-. This was exactly what I expected it to be- fluff. It was pretty good fluff, though. A fast summer brainless read.
Book #30- Afterlife by Julia Alvarez
Summary: Antonia Vega, the immigrant writer at the center of Afterlife, has had the rug pulled out from under her. She has just retired from the college where she taught English when her beloved husband, Sam, suddenly dies. And then more jolts: her bighearted but unstable sister disappears, and Antonia returns home one evening to find a pregnant, undocumented teenager on her doorstep. Antonia has always sought direction in the literature she loves—lines from her favorite authors play in her head like a soundtrack—but now she finds that the world demands more of her than words.
Rating: A. Unlike the previous book, this was anything but fluff. At the beginning, when I read that the main character was recently widowed, I thought to myself that this was going to be a depressing read. While it did have hints of sadness, it was a well told story with random humorous moments. It was several years since Alvarez's last book and this was worth the wait!
Book #31- Hello, Summer by Mary Kay Andrews
Summary: Conley Hawkins left her family’s small town newspaper, The Silver Bay Beacon, in the rearview mirror years ago. Now a star reporter for a big-city paper, Conley is exactly where she wants to be and is about to take a fancy new position in Washington, D.C. Or so she thinks. When the new job goes up in smoke, Conley finds herself right back where she started, working for her sister, who is trying to keep The Silver Bay Beacon afloat—and she doesn’t exactly have warm feelings for Conley. Soon she is given the unenviable task of overseeing the local gossip column, “Hello, Summer.” Then Conley witnesses an accident that ends in the death of a local congressman—a beloved war hero with a shady past. The more she digs into the story, the more dangerous it gets. As an old heartbreaker causes trouble and a new flame ignites, it soon looks like their sleepy beach town is the most scandalous hotspot of the summer.
Rating: A-. And...we're back to fluff. I consider MKA to be "good" fluff...if that makes sense. This was a fun summer novel, as hers generally are. Love the backdrops she uses of Georgia and Florida. Good beach read.
Book #32- Deadly Appraisal by Jane Cleland
Summary: Josie Prescott is settling into her new life in New Hampshire. Her antiques business is thriving, she’s beginning to make some close friends, and her relationship with the local police chief is becoming more interesting. With so much suddenly to lose, Josie can’t help but worry when murder invades her seemingly quiet community. Josie is sponsoring the Portsmouth Women’s Guild Annual Black and Gold Gala and is looking forward to receiving a kindly worded thank-you for her efforts. Instead, the Guild representative, Maisy Gaylor, dies a horrible death in the midst of the banquet. Who could have wanted to kill earnest, drab little Maisy?
Rating: B. This is the second in this cozy mystery series. While the storytelling is just OK, I like reading the series because it's set a stone's throw from where I live (at least I think it is...it's a made up town on the seacoast of NH) and I recognize some of the real landmarks/towns that Cleland mentions.
Book #33- The Beginner's Guide to Essential Oils by Christina Anthis
Summary: Explore the many modern applications of essential oils, from herbal medicine to aromatherapy to natural beauty. Discover profiles detailing the aromas and therapeutic actions of 30 favorite essential oils.
Rating: B-. I'm intrigued by essential oils so thought I'd do some reading. The book was certainly helpful in explaining what types of oils you should use to dilute certain essential oils and how to apply it/diffuse it and which are appropriate for which malady. Not sure I'm ready to make the investment just yet but reading about it was a good start.
Book #34- Forever Girl by Alexander McCall Smith
Summary: Clover has loved James for as long as she can remember, since before she knew what what love was. But fate seems determined to keep them apart. As children, Clover and James played beside a turquoise sea under cloudless skies, their Caribbean island home a place of pleasure and privilege, of lush lawns and tennis parties. In such a paradise nothing should obstruct the kind of happiness Clover dreams of, except that, as she discovers, true love is often harder than paradise allows for.
Rating: A. I loved the setting of the Cayman Islands (having been there a few times on cruises, I know how beautiful it is.) I also love Alexander McCall Smith's No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series, so I was a little skeptical that I might like this standalone as much...but I did! (Oh, and I doubt I'll be able to replicate this formatting again, so enjoy it while it lasts...)
Book #35- Here Today, Gone Tamale by Rebecca Adler
Summary: In this all-new culinary cozy mystery series, reporter turned Tex-Mex waitress Josie Callahan is about to go from serving queso to solving cases… After losing her newspaper job in Austin and having her former fiancé unfriend her on Facebook, Josie Callahan scoops up her Chihuahua, Lenny, and slinks back to Broken Boot, Texas. When a local jewelry designer is found strangled outside her aunt & uncle's Mexican restaurant after a tamale-making party, Josie’s reporter instincts kick in. As suspects pile up and alibis crack faster than taco shells, Josie needs to wrap up this case tighter than her tía’s tortillas—before another victim calls for the check…
Rating: B+. I've been looking for a new mystery series and this was is pretty decent (of course, the Tex-Mex recipes in the back help...)
