Clear by Carys Davies

 My Rating: 1.5

John, an impoverished Scottish minister, has accepted a job evicting the lone remaining occupant of an island north of Scotland—Ivar, who has been living alone for decades, with only the animals and the sea for company. Though his wife, Mary, has serious misgivings about the errand, he decides to go anyway, setting in motion a chain of events that neither he nor Mary could have predicted. Shortly after John reaches the island, he falls down a cliff and is found, unconscious and badly injured, by Ivar who takes him home and tends to his wounds. The two men do not speak a common language, but as John builds a dictionary of Ivar’s world, they learn to communicate and, as Ivar sees himself for the first time in decades reflected through the eyes of another person, they build a fragile, unusual connection.

This was VERY slow and boring. I hate when a woke Liberal agenda gets inserted into a book and this did it when I was very far into the book. The only reason I am rating it as high as I did is that I enjoy learning something new about history but definitely do NOT recommend this book

Hush Little Baby by Suzanne

 My Rating: 4.8

If I stay, he will kill me. If I leave, he'll destroy Addie and Drew.Jillian Kane appears to have it all - a successful career, a gorgeous home, a loving husband, and two wonderful children. The reality behind closed doors is something else entirely. For nine years, she has hid the bruises and the truth of her abusive marriage in order to protect Addie and Drew, knowing that if she left, Gordon would destroy her and destroy them.When she flees in an act of desperation, her worst nightmare is realized and she finds herself on the run with her two young children, no money, and no plan. With Gordon in hot pursuit, there is only one inescapable certainty: No matter where she goes, he will find her. Kill her. And take her children.A riveting page-turner, HUSH LITTLE BABY exposes the shame and terror of domestic violence as well as the disturbing role manipulation and sabotage can play in the high-stakes game of child custody. Suspenseful and unforgettably moving, it's a novel about the unbreakable bonds of family and the astounding, terrifying devotion of a mother's love.

This was VERY well told. You never know where there will domestic abuse. That Gordon was a cop made her even more vulnerable. The game of cat and mouse had me hooked as I waited to see how it would play out. Will definitely read more by this author.

I Dared To Call Him Father by Bilquis Sheikh

 My Rating: 4.7

I Dared to Call Him Father is the fascinating true story of Bilquis Sheikh, a prominent Muslim woman living in Pakistan. Her unusual journey to a personal relationship with God turned her world upside down-and put her life in danger.

This is an unusual conversion story but I thoroughly enjoyed her faith, her sense of when she was close to God or not and figuring out why. It as beautifully told and showed her faith in such a wonderful way.

Killing The Mob by Bill O'Reilly

 My Rating: 4.5

Tracing the brutal history of 20th Century organized crime in the United States, and the history of the most notorious mob family members bosses. Covering the period from the 1930s to the 1980s, this covers the prohibition-busting bank robbers of the Depression Era, such as John Dillinger, Bonnie & Clyde, Pretty Boy Floyd and Baby-Face Nelson. In addition, the authors highlight the creation of the Mafia Commission, the power struggles within the “Five Families,” the growth of the FBI under J. Edgar Hoover, the mob battles to control Cuba, Las Vegas and Hollywood, as well as the personal war between the U.S. Attorney General Bobby Kennedy and legendary Teamsters boss Jimmy Hoffa.

I felt like I was listening to a graphic version of the Sopranos. It was crazy how they blackmailed the Kenndy family and felt they had immunity from their crimes. Very interesting detailed account that Mark really enjoyed and I did as well despite feeling that it went on a bit too long and milked some of the stories.

None of this is True by Lisa Jewell

My Rating: 4.6

Alix Summer is famous for her true crime podcasts. Alix is out celebrating her 44th birthday when she crosses path with Josie Fair who is her birthday twin, born in the same day and year. 

A few days later, Alix and Josie bump into each other again, this time outside Alix’s children’s school. Josie has been listening to Alix’s podcasts and thinks she might be an interesting subject for her series. She is, she tells Alix, on the cusp of great changes in her life.

This was a very unique psychological thriller plot and I enjoyed the twists BUT I found Alix's lack of backbone with Josie very irritating but, I guess if Alix had good boundaries, there wouldn't be a story so, just go with it!

The Hiding Place by Corrie Ten Boom

My Rating: 5.0

Corrie ten Boom was a Dutch watchmaker who became a heroine of the Resistance, a survivor of Hitler's concentration camps, and one of the most remarkable evangelists of the twentieth century. In World War II she and her family risked their lives to help Jews and underground workers escape from the Nazis, and for their work they were tested in the infamous Nazi death camps. Only Corrie among her family survived to tell the story of how faith ultimately triumphs over evil.

Oh to have faith like Corrie and her family. I think this should be a mandatory read for everyone - so we don't repeat history and so we know what it is like to stand up when there is injustice and wrong. The Ten Boom family unapologetically protected the Jews and didn't try to avoid the consequences of their actions. Wow.

Gone Tonight by Sarah Pekkanen

 My Rating: 4.6

Catherine Sterling thinks she knows her mother. Ruth Sterling is quiet, hardworking, and lives for her daughter. All her life, it's been just the two of them against the world. But now, Catherine is ready to spread her wings, move from home, and begin a new career. And Ruth Sterling will do anything to prevent that from happening.

Ruth Sterling thinks she knows her daughter. Catherine would never rebel, would never question anything about her mother's past or background. But when Ruth's desperate quest to keep her daughter by her side begins to reveal cracks in Ruth's carefully-constructed world, both mother and daughter begin a dance of deception.

This story is told in alternating chapters from the point of view of Ruth and her daughter Catherine. We get somewhat of a dual timeline with Ruth writing about the past in her journal. I enjoyed how this was laid out as well as that the chapters were short and easy to digest. So many secrets! Pekkanen tells a great mystery/thriller. It is told through flashbacks of Ruth's life and the present day where Catherine starts to unravel the truth - and this causes Catherine to question everything she thought she knew about her mother.

Having A Mary Heart In A Martha World by Joanna Weaver

My Rating: 4.8

With her fresh approach to the familiar Bible story, Joanna Weaver shows how all of us, Marys and Marthas alike, can draw closer to our Lord: deepening our devotion, strengthening our service, and doing both with less stress and greater joy.

I read this book as part of my Christian Women's Book Club. I enjoyed this book but felt that the author used too many analogies. I would resonate with an analogy at the beginning of the chapter and then she would have 3 or more other analogies throughout the chapter so that by the end of that chapter, I forgot the first one that had resonated with me. That being said, this book stayed with me long after I finished reading it and I have frequently reflected on some of the points that the author made, mainly that it is ok to be a Martha but no matter what we are doing, we need to have a Mary heart.

Standard Deviation by Katherine Heiny

 My Rating: 2.5

Graham divorced his first wife to marry his girlfriend Audra. Life with Audra can also be exhausting, constantly interrupted by chatty phone calls, picky-eater houseguests, and invitations to weddings of people he’s never met. Audra firmly believes that through the sheer force of her personality she can overcome the most socially challenging interactions, shepherding her son through awkward playdates and origami club, and even deciding to establish a friendship with Graham’s first wife, Elspeth. 

This was a difficult book for me. On one hand, I think the author is extremely talented. There were several points in the book where I was laughing out loud but, after a while, the characters grated on my nerves. The wife Audra was particularly annoying with her over exhuberance and making friends with absolutely everyone and even inviting them to live in their home. I ended up skimming the last portion of the book. Based off of this book, I don't think I would read more by this author.

Kindred by Octavia E. Butler

My Rating: 4.9

In 1976 California, Dana is suddenly dizzy and then is dragged through time to antebellum Maryland to rescue a boy named Rufus, heir to a slaveowner’s plantation. When her returns to her apartment and her husband, she has only been gone minutes vs the hours she was back in time. She soon realizes the purpose of her summons to the past: protect Rufus to ensure his assault of her Black ancestor so that she may one day be born. As she endures the traumas of slavery and the soul-crushing normalization of savagery, Dana fights to keep her autonomy and return to the present. Dana not only experiences the cruelties of slavery on her skin but also grimly learns to accept it as a condition of her own existence in the present.

I don't know how I seem to be the last person to read this book but I absolutely LOVED it! I am glad I never heard about it with all the hype so I didn't go in to it with any expectations and just went with the storyline - which was enthralling. 

Weyward by Emilia Hart

My Rating: 4.7

Three generations of women all tied together over witch hunts. In current day, Kate is trying to understand her great-aunt's secret. In the 1940's Violet knows her long dead mother was rumored to have gone mad and Violet's father treats her as if she is the same as her mother. In the 1600's Altha is awaiting trial for the murder of a local farmer who was trampled to death by his cows as the townsfolk assume Altha, taught magic by her mother, caused this. 

I enjoyed this book and the connection between the three women/timelines. A good mix of historical fiction and fantasy. I enjoyed the writing and found it hard to believe when I discovered this was her debut novel. I would definitely read more by this author.

Long Island by Colm Toibin

My Rating: 4.2

This is a continuation of his first book Brooklyn. It starts 20 years later with Eilis answering the door of her home in Long Island. I don't like to write spoilers so can't share more details (and don't read other reviews as they all have spoilers!). 

This book continues with all of the characters from the first book. I have moved all over the world and, after the first couple of years in a place, I have made many wonderful friends and it has managed to feel like home so I found it frustrating that after 20 years, Eilis had no friends and put down no roots. The characters are written where you feel like you know them and yet you don't know them....you are even left with a desire to know them more. I think it is a testament to Toibin's amazing writing talents that I really enjoyed this book despite every character in it being dispicable. Not one of them makes good choices and I was so frustrated with all of them and their dysfunctional ways. That being said, I will absolutely read the next book that he will no doubt be writing baesd on how this one ended.

The Road from Belhaven by Margot Livesey

My Rating: 4.4

Lizzy is being raised by her Grandparents on their farm in Belhaven. As a small child, she sees 'pictures' and quickly realizes that they are glimpses of the future but, she can't change it. Lizzy falls in love with a man named Louis and follows him to Glasgow only to realize she can't change his heart. 

Lizzy makes several bad decisions which caused me to not feel as fondly for her as I did in the beginning of the book. Some of the pacing felt off - at times it felt very slow and at the end it was rushed. It also felt like the focus shifted from the first part of the book being about her sight and the second half of the book being about her trying to scrape the remnants of her poor decisions into a respectable life. It had some feeling of a YA novel but was enough to hold my attention. I did enjoy the writing and would read more by this author.

Lady Tan's Circle of Women

My Rating: 4.9

15th century China and Tan Yunxian is being raised by her grandparents. 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. 

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.

This book spans many decades and See's research shows in capturing the Chinese culture, foot binding and so many expectations of women. This is a beautiful quiet book with many complex characters. Don't rush the reading but savor and enjoy. Beautiful.

Brooklyn by Colm Toibin

My Rating: 4.8

In post WWII Ireland, and despite being skilled at bookkeeping, Eilis can't find a job. 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, This details Eilis having incredibly homesickness, getting to know her boarding house mates,  and when she least expects it, finds love. Tony, a blond Italian from a big family, slowly wins her over with patient charm. 

I normally like a plot driven book but, thanks to Toibin's gorgeous writing, this character driven book drew me in. Most of this takes place inside Eilis' mind so it is strange to realize that Toibin holds his characters at arms-length and, despite feeling so close to them, you realize you don't really know them at all. This novel is much deeper than it appears and will stay with me. I can't wait to read Long Island.