Miss Dreamsville and the Collier County Women's Literary Society by Amy Hill Hearth

A nostalgic look back to when women stayed home and men went to work.

Jackie Hart and her family moved from Boston to a town in Florida that was definitely old fashioned.  You will meet Jackie and you will also meet an unmarried librarian, an unmarried lady who secretly writes sex novels for a publisher in New York, a divorced woman who works in the Post Office, a woman just out of jail for killing her husband, a maid, and an eccentric male. This group met once a week for a book club which they call The Collier County Women's Literary Society.

The characters are all quite diverse but warm and caring.  Out of the blue, one of the book club members decides to do a late night radio show, and the entire town is in an uproar trying to figure out who it is especially since her name is none other than Miss Dreamsville.

This book was so fun, and took you back to a different lifestyle that our mothers probably were a part of.....well, at least my mother. :).  It was a simpler life but also one that was strict.

It isn't a book I normally read, but I did enjoy it.....a nice light read and change of pace.  It will make you laugh, but it will also make you wonder if it really would be a time period where you want to live. 

The characters were all different and showed that “different” is what makes the world go round.  How could it all work out if we were all the same?  The characters worked together perfectly in the book.  It did get a little dramatic at times, but overall a fun read and one that makes note that all of us are different yet all of us are the same.  4/5

This book was given to me free of charge by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Abdication by Juliet Nicolson

 

Abdication has such wonderful descriptions of characters as well as scenes, that you can actually see the detail of each…..so many incredible words put together to make a great picture of the scene, character, or comment.

You will follow boat trips across the ocean carrying two different women from different locations but both ending in London and meeting by chance.  You will meet May, Sam, Evangeline, Wallis, and other family members and friends that are weaved into a beautiful, historical story with delightful characters.

You will learn of life in London in the early 1930's as a person in the "big" house or as a person who works for the "big" house.  If you enjoy this time period and hearing the escapades of both sides, you will thoroughly enjoy Abdication with all its properness of privileged English families as well as the poverty that abounds.  You will definitely learn of British Society and their customs and, of course, the British Royalty.

The book does get a little confusing with so many characters, but it all comes together in this appealing book.   The ending pages also bring out the start of the horrors and hatreds of the beginning of WWII as well as the story of King Edward VIII.   

I enjoyed this historical book.  4/5

This book was given to me free of charge by the publisher in return for an honest review.

 

The Roots of the Olive Tree by Courtney Miller Santo

 

Olives, Olive Oil, longevity.....sounds like it could be true to me.  The Keller women had worked in the olive orchards for generations, and Anna, who was 112, claimed the longevity was because of the family's "love" of the olives....this book is filled with generations of women and family life.  What a magnificent book with a powerful, thoughtful ending.

A lot of life's lessons were taught under and in the olive trees.  Anna told her great, great grandchild, Erin, that "roots" are important whether they belonged to a tree or to a family. The olive garden was everything to Anna, and she wanted her family to know how important it actually had been. 

You will meet five generations of Keller women with the sixth on the way.  Each woman was remarkable.  Anna was the oldest at 112, Elizabeth was 90, Callie was in her sixties, Deb was in prison for murder, and Erin in her late 20's shows up pregnant at the family home of Hill House.

You will become attached to these women, specifically Anna who began it all and held it all together.  The other women take care of Anna, not that she needs any care, and they take care of each other. They are proud of their longevity and, of course, their olive orchards. The book was very well written and made me think about the power if you can call it that of olive oil....could that tiny fruit be the answer to living a long, healthy life or is it simply one's genes?  

Besides enjoying the female characters, you will enjoy Dr. Hashmi who was doing research on the Keller family to see what the secret of their longevity was.   Each woman had a wonderful story with Anna of course being the reason they all were there and the reason they were the person they had become.  Anna was my favorite....she had a great story from her childhood that was retold from generation to generation.  

You will follow each character and her place in the circle of life.  You will not be bored with their stories.  The author takes you deep into each woman's life with wonderful descriptions and flashbacks along with tears and hugs.   You will find out if their longevity really is from olive oil or from something that has been kept secret for over 100 years.  What a beautiful story....a splendid family saga that is uniquely told.

The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry by Rachel Joyce

Who would think that taking a 500-mile walk would bring all one's emotions to a head and invite self-reflection as well as regret?

Harold Fry never knew that a letter from an old friend would elicit so many emotions, and he never would have thought he would do what he was doing or how he was doing the 500-mile walk to his friend Queenie who was dying of cancer.

As you are reading about Harold's walking and his promise, you are probably asking yourself this question as I did: Why in the world is he continuing on this journey when it is becoming impossible to walk and to fulfill his promise.  I would have accepted any ride that was offered. :) Harold did meet a number of interesting people, though, and his wife who was left at home was making friendships and regretting that she and Harold had never had a deep relationship. 

The adjective, MARVELOUS, on the ARC's book cover undeniably describes this book.  Additional adjectives such as SPECTACULAR and SPLENDID would also be revealing terms. The author made this mundane topic of a 500-mile walk to see a friend not mundane at all.  Ms. Joyce had beautiful descriptions of landscapes, feelings, conversations, and thoughts about friendship and family.  She drew you right into the book from page one.  

You will find that this read is very profound and thought-provoking. Nothing but praise for this remarkable book....the characters and the storyline are exceptional.   

The book is also a tribute to the decency of the human race for their concern and their support of a cause a fellow human being believed in.  This book is also an inspiring emotional ride...have tissues handy and be prepared to be thinking about your own life....the regrets as well as the pleasures.  5/5

I received this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. 

The Book of Tomorrow by Cecelia Ahern

Instead of rags to riches, Tamara Goodwin and her mother went from riches to rags.  After Mr. Goodwin committed suicide they were penniless and went from a huge house to a small cottage that Tamara and her mother had to share with relatives.

Enduring her uncle's crude ways, tolerating her aunt's constant cooking and hovering, having no friends around, having nothing to do in this small town, and dealing with her mother's silence was not how Tamara wanted her days to be.  Her aunt and uncle were quite bizarre and seemed to be hiding something.  What it was Tamara had no idea.  Everything was hush hush and Rosaleen seemed to hide behind her huge tables of food and Arthur said nothing about anything.  Tamara wasn't a pleasant young lady to begin with, and this situation didn't improve her mood.

As mean as she was, Tamara was quite funny....always joking about things.  She also kept looking back at her life and wondering if it really had been better when she was rich.   There was a lot of introspection, and the characters' lives were paralleled with inanimate objects and thoughts.  Tamara actually met interesting people in the town and discovered a history of the castle.

The main focus of the book was based on a diary Tamara found in a mobile library that stopped in "Hicksville" once a week.  The diary was quite interesting as well as shocking because of the content.  The content contained something hard to believe.   She would read the diary every day and the next day it would be filled with pages of even more interest.

The book was skillfully written....the author has a great style.  You can actually see the grimaces on the character's faces simply because of the wonderful description; you can also feel Tamara's frustration, and Rosaleen's fear of something.

The book was imaginative, creative, and a book that was difficult to put down.....a marvelous read.  It also was magical and a little out of the ordinary.  Being out of the ordinary made it unique, enjoyable, and appealing.   I liked the characters for the most part, but they were an odd bunch, especially Rosaleen with her odd ideas and her secret ways of dealing with situations and people.

I would consider THE BOOK OF TOMORROW a light read but with undercurrents of secrets, revenge, and jealousy along with a web of deceit and all of it being nicely tied up in the surprise ending. 5/5

This book was given to me free of charge by the publisher in return for an honest review.

 

The Ropewalk by John Knauf

This book is phenomenal in all respects...the depth of the author's thoughts and writing, the storyline, the history, and the eeriness of the plot will keep you up late into the night and will also have you checking to ensure your home is securely locked to keep out any shuffling feet, make you more aware of noises that happen in the middle of the night, and it may even have you checking under your bed for uninvited guests.

An old rope factory turned into a dorm and one that is empty except for Egan, Margaret, Sonya, and unrecognizable sounds is the setting for this suspenseful, marvelously written book.

The two adult characters and one child are stuck in a dorm during a winter storm right before Christmas break.  Margaret and Sonya are waiting for a ride home for the holidays, and Egan is trying to do research for his book.  The trio connects and not much gets done except visiting, breakfasts, dinners, and trying to find out what the sounds are in the old place that keeps Margaret awake at night.  Egan's "need to know" will become your "need to know" about everything that is occurring.


Mr. Knauf is talented in all literary aspects.  His writing is exquisite and very detailed.   You will become quite attached to all three characters and their “sound” search and also to Egan's research.  The historical research will keep your interest if nothing else.  Finding an abandoned, ancient village and exploring the dorm and its many hidden rooms was so well described in Mr. Knauf's exceptional style that you will want to jump in and help find the treasures. 

This book was a mystery as well...something to be solved in the present and something to be discovered from the past.  The author's exceptional writing style brings you close to the story and close to the feelings of the characters and allows  you to become so absorbed in the story, you will be thinking about the book even when you aren’t able to read it.  You will grab any spare moment you can to continue on this remarkable journey that Mr. Kanuf brought to his readers.

It is a long book, but it does not get tedious because of the gifted author and his intriguing story.  The 500-page book is definitely worth taking the time to absorb, learn, and enjoy.  I can't say enough and give enough praise to Mr. Kanuf for his book.

The Ropewalk has something for everyone....suspense, mystery, history, questioning, love, an extremely brilliant, thought-provoking ending, and most of all an outstanding read that will stay with you long after you turn the last page.   A very engaging, captivating read.  5/5

This book was given to me free of charge by the author in exchange for an honest review.

 

 

Summer Sale from Author Lauren Carr

Mystery Writer Lauren Carr is having a summer sale of her Mac Faraday mysteries.  

Don't miss out!!

 I have read them all...check out my reviews!!

Take Mac Faraday on Vacation With You!! 

 Summer Special on 

The Mac Faraday Mysteries

on  Amazon for the Month of  August

August 1-5: It's Murder, My Son: FREE! FREE! FREE!

After August 5, It's Murder, My Son will be on sale for 99 cents (Regular Price: $2.99)

Old Loves Die Hard & Shades of Murder: On Sale for 99 cents!
Regular Price: $2.99


From August 1-5, you can purchase
all three Mac Faraday Mysteries for less than $2.00!

 
Sale Ends Labor Day!