Husbands and Lovers by Beatriz Williams

Husbands and Lovers My Rating: 4.7

New England, 2022 Three years ago, single mother Mallory Dunne received the telephone call every parent dreads—her ten-year-old son, Sam, had been airlifted from summer camp with acute poisoning from a toxic death cap mushroom, leaving him fighting for his life. Now, searching for the donor kidney that will give her son a chance for a normal life, Mallory’s forced to confront two harrowing secrets from her past: her mother’s adoption from an infamous Irish orphanage in 1952, and her own all-consuming summer romance fourteen years earlier with her childhood best friend, Monk Adams— one of the world’s most beloved singer-songwriters—a fairy tale cut short by a devastating betrayal. 

Cairo, 1951 After suffering tragedy beyond comprehension in the war, Hungarian refugee Hannah Ainsworth has forged a respectable new life for herself—marriage to a wealthy British diplomat with a coveted posting in glamorous Cairo. But a fateful encounter with the enigmatic manager of a hotel bristling with spies leads to a passionate affair that will reawaken Hannah’s longing for everything she once lost. As revolution simmers in the Egyptian streets, a pregnant Hannah finds herself snared in a game of intrigue between two men . . . and an act of sacrifice that will echo down the generations.

At first, I was a little worried this was going to turn into a fluffy romance without much depth. Thankfully, it didn’t go there — or at least it stopped just short. Instead, the book offered two strong and engaging storylines that kept me hooked. Overall, it was a very enjoyable read, and I appreciated that it had more substance than I initially expected. Very enjoyable.

The All Of It by Jeanette Haien

 The All Of It My Rating: 3.0

While fishing in an Irish salmon stream one rainy morning, Father Declan de Loughry reflects on the recent deathbed confession of his parishioner, Kevin Dennehy. I won’t reveal the spoiler, but Kevin’s widow, Enda, shares the deeper story of her life — finally confiding "the all of it."

Haien’s novel is a quiet, intimate exploration of conversations and moral dilemmas. If you go into it expecting a fast-moving plot or deep character arcs, you might be disappointed. The All of It is, at its heart, about two people grappling with secrets, faith, and forgiveness in a series of thoughtful, sometimes meandering conversations.

The beauty of the novel lies in its quietness — the rainy Irish setting, the slow unfolding of Enda’s story, and the way Father Declan wrestles internally with what he hears. It's not a novel of action; it’s a novel of reflection. 

Readers who enjoy a contemplative, dialogue-driven story will find much to appreciate here. I really enjoyed the writing but wasn't invested in the characters. Those looking for a more traditional narrative structure, or a strong sense of character development, may find themselves wanting more. Still, Haien’s careful prose and the novel’s meditative tone make it a memorable (if understated) read. Haien’s intimate novel of conversations and dilemmas

The Warmth of Other Suns by Isabel Wilkerson

The Warmth of Other Suns  My Rating: 3.7

Wilkerson presents a definitive and dramatic account of one of the great untold stories of American history: the Great Migration of six million Black citizens who fled the South for the North and West in search of a better life, from World War I to 1970. 

Wilkerson tells this interwoven story through the lives of three protagonists: Ida Mae Gladney, a sharecropper’s wife, who in 1937 fled Mississippi for Chicago; sharp and quick-tempered George Starling, who in 1945 fled Florida for Harlem, and Robert Foster, a surgeon who left Louisiana in 1953 in hopes of making it in California. 

Wilkerson captures their first treacherous cross-country journeys by car and train and their new lives in colonies in the New World. This captures an “unrecognized immigration” within our own land. 

While I respect the significance of this Pulitzer Prize-winning novel and acknowledge the importance of the story it tells, I found the execution lacking in key areas.

Although the core story is powerful and deeply important, the book would have benefited greatly from stronger editing. It wandered into too many side storylines, many of which pulled focus away from the three main characters — characters I wanted to know more deeply. Instead of rich character development, the narrative often got bogged down in excessive backstory, repetition, and meandering detours.

At several points, I found myself slipping into “skim mode,” wishing the story had been told with more conciseness and clarity.

There's no doubt that the events portrayed are horrific and should never be forgotten, but I believe that a more streamlined and focused approach could have made the novel even more impactful. 

Assassin's Fate (Fitz and the Fool #3) by Robin Hobb

Assassin's Fate 

My Rating:  5.0

Fitz’s young daughter, Bee, has been kidnapped by the Servants, a secret society whose members not only dream of possible futures but use their prophecies to add to their wealth and influence. Bee plays a crucial part in these dreams—but just what part remains uncertain. 

As Bee is dragged by her sadistic captors across half the world, Fitz and the Fool, believing her dead, embark on a mission of revenge that will take them to the distant island where the Servants reside—a place the Fool once called home and later called prison. It was a hell the Fool escaped, maimed and blinded, swearing never to return. 

For all his injuries, however, the Fool is not as helpless as he seems. He is a dreamer too, able to shape the future. And though Fitz is no longer the peerless assassin of his youth, he remains a man to be reckoned with—deadly with blades and poison, and adept in Farseer magic. And their goal is simple: to make sure not a single Servant survives their scourge.

Robin Hobb is solely responsible for me spending the past few months utterly consumed by her world. I found myself waking up in the middle of the night thinking about her characters—sometimes even reaching for my Kindle to read “just a few pages” before going back to sleep. Her writing is that immersive.

She made me fall deeply in love with so many characters, only to ruthlessly destroy them (emotionally, physically... sometimes both). And the dread—oh, the dread! That creeping sense of doom she so masterfully builds had me bracing for impact constantly, and yet I couldn’t stop reading.

Now that I’ve finished the series, I find myself in the dreaded book limbo—missing the characters, the world, the emotional rollercoaster... and honestly? I wouldn’t change a single minute of it. If you’re ready to be completely wrecked—in the best possible way—this series is worth every page.

Fool's Quest (Fitz and the Fool #2) by Robin Hobb

 My Rating: 5.0

The harrowing adventures of FitzChivalry Farseer and his enigmatic friend the Fool continue in Robin Hobb’s triumphant follow-up to Fool’s Assassin. But Fool’s Quest is more than just a sequel. With the artistry and imagination her fans have come to expect, Hobb builds masterfully on all that has gone before, revealing devastating secrets and shocking conspiracies that cast a dark shadow over the history of Fitz and his world—a shadow that now stretches to darken all future hope. 

 Long ago, Fitz and the Fool changed the world, bringing back the magic of dragons and securing both the Farseer succession and the stability of the kingdom. Or so they thought. But now the Fool is near death, maimed by mysterious pale-skinned figures whose plans for world domination hinge upon the powers the Fool may share with Fitz’s own daughter. 

Distracted by the Fool’s perilous health, and swept up against his will in the intrigues of the royal court, Fitz lets down his guard . . . and in a horrible instant, his world is undone and his beloved daughter stolen away by those who would use her as they had once sought to use the Fool—as a weapon. 

But FitzChivalry Farseer is not without weapons of his own. An ancient magic still lives in his veins. And though he may have let his skills as royal assassin diminish over the years, such things, once learned, are not so easily forgotten. 

Now enemies and friends alike are about to learn that nothing is more dangerous than a man who has nothing left to lose.

Hobb can build suspense like no one else. I loved, loved, loved this book so much but don't want to write about it to prevent spoilers. Just read it. I am so sad their is only one more book in this series but also can't wait to read it next!  

HomeSeeking by Karissa Chen

My Rating: 4.0

Haiwen is buying bananas at a 99 Ranch Market in Los Angeles when he looks up and sees Suchi, his Suchi, for the first time in sixty years. To recently widowed Haiwen it feels like a second chance, but Suchi has only survived by refusing to look back. 

Suchi was seven when she first met Haiwen in their Shanghai neighborhood, drawn by the sound of his violin. Their childhood friendship blossomed into soul-deep love, but when Haiwen secretly enlisted in the Nationalist army in 1947 to save his brother from the draft, she was left with just his violin and a note: Forgive me. 

Homeseeking follows the separated lovers through six decades of tumultuous Chinese history as war, famine, and opportunity take them separately to the song halls of Hong Kong, the military encampments of Taiwan, the bustling streets of New York, and sunny California, telling Haiwen’s story from the present to the past while tracing Suchi’s from her childhood to the present, meeting in the crucible of their lives. Throughout, Haiwen holds his memories close while Suchi forces herself to look only forward, neither losing sight of the home they hold in their hearts. At once epic and intimate, Homeseeking is a story of family, sacrifice, and loyalty, and of the power of love to endure beyond distance, beyond time.

This book had promise and i liked the premise of starting from current day and going back from Haiwen's (Howard's) perspecitve and then working forward from Suchi's (Sue's) perspective, I really enjoyed the first portion of this book, especially the perspective of Howard. As the book progressed, I found that I cared less and less about the characters (particularly Suchi) and what happened to them. 

Fool's Assassin (Fitz & The Fool Book 1) by Robin Hobb

 My Rating: 4.9

Tom Badgerlock has been living peaceably in the manor house at Withywoods with his beloved wife Molly these many years, the estate a reward to his family for loyal service to the crown. 

But behind the facade of respectable middle-age lies a turbulent and violent past. For Tom Badgerlock is actually FitzChivalry Farseer, bastard scion of the Farseer line, convicted user of Beast-magic, and assassin. A man who has risked much for his king and lost more… 

On a shelf in his den sits a triptych carved in memory stone of a man, a wolf and a fool. Once, these three were inseparable friends: Fitz, Nighteyes and the Fool. But one is long dead, and one long-missing. 

Then one Winterfest night a messenger arrives to seek out Fitz, but mysteriously disappears, leaving nothing but a blood-trail. What was the message? Who was the sender? And what has happened to the messenger? 

Suddenly Fitz's violent old life erupts into the peace of his new world, and nothing and no one is safe.

I can't even capture how amazing Robin Hobb's writing and story is. She has completely pulled me into the cozy castle world of Withywoods and made me fall in love with Fitz, The Fool and Bee. I never want this series to end but also can't wait to start the next book.

Blood of Dragons (Volume 4 of the Rain Wild Chronicles) by Robin Hobb

My Rating: 4.6

The dragons and their dedicated band of keepers have at last found the lost city of Kelsingra. The magical creatures have learned to use their wings and are growing into their regal inheritance. Their humans, too, are changing. As the mystical bonds with their dragons deepen, Thymara, Tats, Rapskal, and even Sedric, the unlikeliest of keepers, have begun transforming into beautiful Elderlings raked with exquisite features that complement and reflect the dragons they serve. But while the humans have scoured the empty streets and enormous buildings of Kelsingra, they cannot find the mythical silver wells the dragons need to stay health and survive. With enemies encroaching, the keepers must risk "memory walking"- immersing themselves in the dangerously addictive memories of long-deceased Elderlings - to uncover clues necessary to their survival. And time is of the essence, for the legendary Tintaglia, long feared dead, has returned, wounded in a battle with humans hunting dragon blood and scales. She is weakening and only the hidden silver can revive her. If Tintaglia dies, so, too, will the ancient memories she carries - a devastating loss that will ensure the dragons' extinction.

This book had the Rain Wild series come together for me. I would almost miss it except, I know that my beloved Fitz and The Fool are waiting for me next. I never thought fantasy would appeal to me but, I absolutely LOVE this series and highly recommend. 

Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future by Ashlee Vance

My Rating: 4.6

Elon Musk, the entrepreneur and innovator behind SpaceX, Tesla, and SolarCity, sold one of his internet companies, PayPal, for $1.5 billion. Ashlee Vance captures the full spectacle and arc of the genius's life and work, from his tumultuous upbringing in South Africa and flight to the United States to his dramatic technical innovations and entrepreneurial pursuits. Vance uses Musk's story to explore one of the pressing questions of our age: can the nation of inventors and creators who led the modern world for a century still compete in an age of fierce global competition? He argues that Musk is an amalgam of legendary inventors and industrialists including Thomas Edison, Henry Ford, Howard Hughes, and Steve Jobs. More than any other entrepreneur today, Musk has dedicated his energies and his own vast fortune to inventing a future that is as rich and far-reaching as the visionaries of the golden age of science-fiction fantasy

There are things I like about Musk and things I do NOT like about him. I wanted to understand him more so got this audio book for us to listen to. I finished the book admiring him and being leery of him. He is brilliant and cut throat, genius and scary. I am just as divided in my feelings for him as most people who know him intimately. You do have to admire many things about him while also recognizing his many negative traits. Interesting read.

All The Broken Places by John Boyne

 My Rating: 4.9

Ninety-one-year-old Gretel Fernsby has lived in the same well-to-do mansion block in London for decades. She lives a quiet, comfortable life, despite her deeply disturbing, dark past. She doesn't talk about her escape from Nazi Germany at age 12. She doesn't talk about the grim post-war years in France with her mother. Most of all, she doesn't talk about her father, who was the commandant of one of the Reich's most notorious extermination camps.

Then, a new family moves into the apartment below her. In spite of herself, Gretel can't help but begin a friendship with the little boy, Henry, though his presence brings back memories she would rather forget. One night, she witnesses a disturbing, violent argument between Henry's beautiful mother and his arrogant father, one that threatens Gretel's hard-won, self-contained existence.

All The Broken Places moves back and forth in time between Gretel's girlhood in Germany to present-day London as a woman whose life has been haunted by the past. Now, Gretel faces a similar crossroads to one she encountered long ago. Back then, she denied her own complicity, but now, faced with a chance to interrogate her guilt, grief and remorse, she can choose to save a young boy. If she does, she will be forced to reveal the secrets she has spent a lifetime protecting. This time, she can make a different choice than before -- whatever the cost to herself....

This is a fabulous book about grief, guilt and even hope.....and how people handle their circumstances. I wasn't aware that this was a sequel until I was well into the book and, I am glad. I loved Boy In The Striped Pajamas so much that I think that I wouldn't have been as receptive to this book if I had known it was a sequel. I absolutely loved Gretel in the present day and felt so horrible for young Gretel. As strange as this sounds with the heavy topic, this also had a light and enjoyable tone to it. Boyne did a beautiful job of the writing and doing justice to this sequel. 

City of Dragons (Volume 3 of the Rain Wild Chronicles) by Robin Hobb

My Rating: 4.6

A small group of weak, half-formed and unwanted dragons and their displaced human companions as they search for a legendary sanctuary, Kelsingra. Now, as the misfit band approaches its final destination, dragons and keepers alike face a challenge so insurmountable that it threatens to render their long, difficult odyssey utterly meaningless.

This series is building as are the characters - both humans and dragons alike. The ending had Sedric, Reyn and Malta back again and I can't wait for the next and final book in this Rain Wild series.

Dragon Haven (Volume 2 of the Rain Wild Chronicles) by Robin Hobb

My Rating: 4.5

As the fledgling dragons and their keepers forge a passage through the uncharted waters of the Rain Wild River, they are supported by the liveship Tarman, its captain, Leftrin, and Alise Finbok, who has escaped her cruel marriage in Bingtown. 

A vial of dragon blood can earn a man enough gold to last a lifetime: there may be some in the party who see the dragons as more valuable as body parts than whole and alive. But it is the Rain Wilds themselves – mysterious, unstable and ever perilous – that may provide the deadliest danger as they make their way towards the mythical haven of Kelsingra. The hazards of that journey will push them all to the very brink of survival.

Hobb has excellent character development but it can still be a slow slog. The Rain Wild Chronicles is my least favorite of the series so far but, still well worth my time. 

Mount Vernon The Love Story by Mary Higgins Clark

My Rating: 4.5

Published in 1969, the book was more recently discovered by a Washington family descendant and reissued as Mount Vernon Love Story. Dispelling the widespread belief that although George Washington married Martha Dandridge Custis, he reserved his true love for Sally Carey Fairfax, his best friend's wife, Mary Higgins Clark describes the Washington marriage as one full of tenderness and passion, as a bond between two people who shared their lives—even the bitter hardship of a winter in Valley Forge—in every way. In this author's skilled hands, the history, the love, and the man come fully and dramatically alive.

This was about George Washington, the man. There is no doubt that he loved Sally but, I also believe that George and Martha (Patsy) had a very deep loving relationship. This captured their marriage, the hardship of the children and their shared love for Mount Vernon. The only complaint I had with this book was that it felt disjointed with bouncing around in the timeline.

Dragon Keeper (Volume 1 of the Rain Wild Chronicles) by Robin Hobb

My Rating: 4.5

Too much time has passed since the powerful dragon Tintaglia helped the people of the Trader cities stave off an invasion of their enemies. The Traders have forgotten their promises, weary of the labor and expense of tending earthbound dragons who were hatched weak and deformed by a river turned toxic. If neglected, the creatures will rampage--or die--so it is decreed that they must move farther upriver toward Kelsingra, the mythical homeland whose location is locked deep within the dragons' uncertain ancestral memories. 

 Thymara, an unschooled forest girl, and Alise, wife of an unloving and wealthy Trader, are among the disparate group entrusted with escorting the dragons to their new home. And on an extraordinary odyssey with no promise of return, many lessons will be learned--as dragons and tenders alike experience hardships, betrayals . . . and joys beyond their wildest imaginings.

Unlike other books in this series, this one took me a while to get in to. Completely different characters and a new scene would be difficult enough but, after Fitz and the Fool well, that is an impossible act to follow. Once I got in to the book, I quite enjoyed the story of the dragons and the people who wanted to help them.

The Secret Sky: A Novel Of Forbidden Love In Afghanistan by Atia Abawi

 My Rating: 4.5

Fatima is a Hazara girl, raised to be obedient and dutiful. Samiullah is a Pashtun boy raised to defend the traditions of his tribe. They were not meant to fall in love. But they do. And the story that follows shows both the beauty and the violence in current-day Afghanistan as Fatima and Samiullah fight their families, their cultures and the Taliban to stay together. 

This book is based on the people the author met and the events she covered during her nearly five years in Afghanistan. I thought that she did an excellent job of making the reader reaize the conditions in Afghanistan today. Definitely worth a read.