Free All Along by Stephen Drury Smith and Catherine Ellis

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This is a book that can be read cover to cover or can be read in sections, picking and choosing by the particular civil rights' activist's story you are interested in reading. It is a new, "inside" look at the lives of some historic figures within the Civil Rights Movement in America. I especially loved the insights and life of James Baldwin. He is of course, more in the spotlight recently, thanks to the film adaptation of his novel "If Beale Street Could Talk" as shown by Barry Jenkins brilliance. I loved feeling that this background insight into how he felt about growing up and into the radical shift in thinking about race in America during his lifetime. He retreated to France for a large portion of his life but did feel the drive to be involved in this fight as well. At his funeral, Toni Morrison was quoted as saying, "You made American English honest - genuinely international." I find Baldwin to be a fascinating author of the times, being both an African American man and openly gay as well. A truly unique combination at the time. The timeline of this compilation is well done. It is incredible to remember, or I should say, be reminded that these racially motivated battles were not that long ago. They occurred within many people's lifetimes, or at least a family member's lifetime. And yet we wonder why there is still so much racial injustice, prejudice, racism, etc.? Events such as these need to be generations removed from families before true healing really occurs across the board. It can occur. I pray that it will. #FreeAllAlong #NetGalley

The Memory House by Rachel Hauck

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I enjoyed the dual storylines in this novel as well as the characters. I haven't read anything by this author previously so this was a pleasant reading surprise. Being from Florida, and from Florida State University specifically, I especially enjoyed this storyline. In glancing through some of the other reviews, I noticed that most of the reviewers are longtime readers and fans of Rachel Hauck. Coming into this fresh, without a prior experience with this author gave me a different take than most. I would say that although I liked this reading experience, it is a good story, there were some aspects that seemed contrived and too obvious as plot points for my taste. Other than that, I enjoyed the plot of each storyline and the setting/environment. I would consider reading other books by this author. #TheMemoryHouse #NetGalley

The Printed Letter Bookshop by Katherine Reay

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This book was a tough read for me right now due to the emotional topics within it. I adore bookshops, I mean who that would volunteer to do NG reviews doesn't? But, with a funeral and wills and the taking over of the deceased business.....it was all a bit much given that I am dealing with a lot of that in my real life at the moment. I'm not sure I want my reading life to reflect the same.

WIth that being said, I think the author handles these topics well and my mindset is certainly no knock on her ability. This was a solid book, but probably would have been more enjoyable to me at a different point. I may need to give it another try in a couple of years.

#ThePrintedLetterBookshop #NetGalley

It’s Not Supposed To Be This Way by Lysa TerKeurst

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The premise of this book is quite interesting. As I was reading of the trials Lysa had experienced, it brought to mind of when I had the pleasure and honor of attending a Mass by Pope John Paul II. I am reminded of one of his core beliefs that largely led how he approached his latter years of life. He believed that God’s purpose for human suffering, whether it is physical or mental, is to allow us time to grow closer to God. It’s easy to believe in God and your religion when things are going well but to go through suffering forces you to allow Jesus to carry the burden and for you as a flawed human to accept that. Lysa does a good job of continuing this message. 

#ItsNotSupposedToBeThisWay #NetGalley

Looker by Laura Sims

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This book reminded me of the novel "You" which was also not very enjoyable. I didn't like the characters from "You" and this was even worse. Maybe it is just my preference, but clearly I do not like protagonists that are so unlikable and nonredeemable in any way. I seriously tried to find something positive about this main character but could not do it. She was awful. By the end, I didn't care if bad things happened to her or by her. 
Clearly this author can write but this story was not for me.

Maid by Stephanie Land

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I was impressed with Stephanie Land's ability and openness to show what life is like for the working poor. While this book may not completely acknowledge the difficulties that POC might experience given similar circumstances, I'm not certain it would be fair to expect her to do this. She does the job of telling her story and her personal experience. She does this well, anything outside of this would be not telling her own story. Certainly an eye-opening account of poverty in America. #Maid #NetGalley

The Fifth Risk by Michael Lewis

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“And so you might have good reason to pray for a tornado, whether it comes in the shape of swirling winds, or a politician. You imagine the thing doing the damage that you would like to see done, and no more. It’s what you fail to imagine that kills you.” Michael Lewis A thoughtful exploration of how the Trump Administration approached and still appears to approach the Executive Branch of US government. When taxpayers thought, let’s get a businessman to run the country because he knows how to run a business, what could go wrong? Absolutely stunning to see how little we as Americans, generally, know about each Office within our government and what it is responsible for doing. And how important many of these things are in our daily lives and yet those doing them cannot launch a PR campaign to educate us on their importance. This book is eye-opening for anyone who needs some understanding as to the conflicts of interest at play in choices made for high level leadership positions and how this impacts all of us. This really increased my insight into why decisions are getting made or ignored in various departments. Overall, my takeaway is that we as Americans have an obligation to educate ourselves on our government, good and bad. We need to understand how it works, why it works and when things fail or succeed. And we should expect our government to be more transparent about both success and failure. We are the taxpayers and therefore the stakeholders in this “business” and we should be active participants in the process and what we expect from it.

The Trial of Lizzie Borden by Cara Robertson

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This book is a highly readable account of the case against Lizzie Borden and her famous story. This is told from the perspective of the author, who is a lawyer by training and therefore, more attuned to the subtleties of how a prosecution occurs. For anyone with an interest in true crime and historical crime, this is a great choice.

Highly recommend.

#TheTrialOfLizzieBorden #NetGalley

After The Rising by Orna Ross

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If you like historical fiction and a mystery in a dual timeline, this book is for you.

The protagonist set off in a search for the history of why the events in her family are as they are and discovers a mystery beyond her imagination. This allows the reader to delve into the events of the past, through the eyes of a family saga and learn about life in this time period, 

This is a riveting and thought-provoking book and is a page-turner. I am looking forward to book two.

Solid read.

#NetGalley

Watcher In The Woods by Kelley Armstrong

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I read the blurb on this book when I requested it, not realizing that it was the fourth in the Rockton series. This made it a little more challenging to follow characters and places that had obviously been introduced previously. However, with that being said, it was still a solid read and captivating. I loved the story-line. One of the characters had so many characteristics of me that it was hard not to think that Kelley is actually by neighbor. 

I will definitely pick up the prior books in this series and wish that I had started with those, or at least the first one.

Thanks to Kelley Armstrong, NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the digital copy and then for the follow-up physical copy of this book.. It was a pleasure to read. I can't wait to see what she does next.

#WatcherInTheWoods #NetGalley

It All Comes Back To You by Beth Duke

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This book is a sweet, lovely Southern tale. It is good timing for me. I am currently caring for my aging grandmother in a nursing facility who is equally mentally sharp and southern. This was a delightful read. We are also both readers so this is a poignant book from that standpoint as well.
Living in a small southern town, it is fun to read a book with this setting. I appreciate the language and the dialogue. 

Beautiful cover as well!

#ItAllComesBackToYou #NetGalley

She Wants It by Jill Soloway

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I was immediately drawn to this book because it talks about a topic that is both relevant into today's social conversation and mostly unclear to the majority of Americans. For instance, recently, the issue came up that someone is trying to make it a requirement that women at 18 register for the draft just as men do,. The argument being that it is unconstitutional to do only the men. I would then argue that this is the exact reason why it is also unconstitutional to ban transgender people from serving in the military. How would that be any different? A person is a person, right? 
So, I do think understanding each other from a deeper sense is important in these sorts of questions, I am not certain that this book does it exactly how I would want it done. I feel like I have a little too much information into someone specific's personal life as opposed to a more general understanding of the issues at hand. 
With that being said, I think it is a start. And for that, I applaud the effort.

#SheWantsIt #NetGalley

Inferno Inside You by Peter Jobling

I Recommend This Book

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Strongly

This was a unique and beautiful book that was poetic in its retelling of Dante’s Inferno. The added bonus of amazing artwork was a pleasant surprise and really made me wish to see this in a physical copy, so I will be looking for that when it comes out. 
The book is broken up into the “Songs” of Dante’s original work and each was well done. I think some were more profoundly insightful than others, but that may have just been for me. And as with any reading, if you reread something at a different stage in your own life, your perspective changes and therefore, things that may have not been as memorable become more so. 
This is a book that requires you to be in the frame of mind for it, maybe more philosophical and poetically leaning to truly appreciate it. It certainly hit me at the right time so I enjoyed it and I am very glad that I had the NetGalley copy of it because I’m not certain that I would have thought to pick it up in a bookstore but I am so glad I did. 
I highly recommend this for the reader who wants a gorgeously illustrated and poetic book retelling of Dante’s Inferno.

#InfernoInsideYou #NetGalley 

The Atlas Of Reds And Blues by Devi S. Laskar

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Very well done and interesting voice of an Indian-American who was born and raised in small town southern America and how despite her upbringing, her experience was met with constant questions about her origins. I live in the rural south and would say that this portrayal is true for all people who are not originally from here, however, can only be magnified by anything that makes you stand apart from the norm. Whether that be race, religion, ethnicity, sexuality, etc. Just having a Yankee accent, and by that I mean, not of the region of the south you happen to be living in, although definitely the true north applies the most, will set you apart forever in the eyes of locals. Absolutely a skin color or ethnicity that is novel will be met with many questions and I felt like this author addressed this well. 
I appreciate books that require thought outside our silos and this had some features that felt right at home, made me laugh out loud because I recognized the comments, but also guided me to imagine how we interact with all people. Those who don't look the same or maybe have the same religious beliefs or ethnic backgrounds. Shouldn't we be respecting all people regardless? That feels universal.

Watcher In The Woods by Kelley Armstrong

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I read the blurb on this book when I requested it, not realizing that it was the fourth in the Rockton series. This made it a little more challenging to follow characters and places that had obviously been introduced previously. However, with that being said, it was still a solid read and captivating. I loved the story-line. One of the characters had so many characteristics of me that it was hard not to think that Kelley is actually by neighbor. I will definitely pick up the prior books in this series and wish that I had started with those, or at least the first one. Thanks to Kelley Armstrong, NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the digital copy and then for the follow-up physical copy of this book.. It was a pleasure to read. I can't wait to see what she does next. #WatcherInTheWoods #NetGalley

Dark Matters by John Kaniecki

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Each of the three tales within this book was a story unique unto itself, all told with a dark theme, but in vastly different ways.
First, there is the "Heretic" who was forced to face the question of what he believes in, even if it costs him his life. Is he willing to sacrifice his life for his deepest beliefs? Or does he give in to what those in power want to hear if it will save him?
The second story is an interesting and dark combination of what would happen if the Nazis were able to regain the same power they had during their rise in the 1940’s and Lord of the Flies. This is an edge of your seat story.
And my favorite, having worked in psychiatric facilities, is the third story: The Psychology of Lady Jane Perkins. This is a clever story of a young man who is a computer student at a university who is in a psychology course for school. He is in class one day and each student is given an assignment specific to them. He must visit a psychiatric facility and interview a patient. Like most people, he has questions and thoughts about what it is like inside a place like that. His imagination is running wild and then he enters the psychiatric wing....What does he think? Who is this patient? What are her secrets? Why was she chosen for him? What happens to the student after the encounter? Without giving too much away, there are twists and turns that keep this story moving. 
Great and thought provoking.

I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

We Should All Be Feminists by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

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Everything she writes is brilliant. I love this author. She handles the negativity around the word “feminist” with such class and style through her own experience as an educated and successful woman in a region where the men don’t even acknowledge women as fully human. 

Amazing grace.

A Curse So Dark and Lonely by Brigid Kemmerer

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This was clearly one of the most impressive retellings I have ever read. The prose flowed beautifully and never caused me to stop and wonder if I had missed something. I fell for these characters and believed in their stories. I enjoyed the transitions from modern day to the alternative world of Prince Rhen. The interaction between Harper and this new environment was brilliant.
I read the author's notes at the end and just have to say that to have the protagonist, leading lady/Princess character have cerebral palsy was genius. And being a physician myself, I have worked with people with this diagnosis and did not ever feel that anything was unrealistic as to what she could do or couldn't do. Same is true for the ER doctor trying to take care of a situation outside of a hospital. The author handled these topics perfectly.

Highly recommend, even if retellings aren't normally your genre.

Thomas Wildus and The Book of Sorrows by JM Bergen

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I have to be the first to confess that when I saw the initial comparison to Harry Potter it put me off a bit. I would consider the HP series, in this modern genre, to be the "gold standard" and tough to live up to that sort of hype. So anything that falls short at all will automatically rate lower because the expectation is so high going into reading. Was I surprised?!? #ThomasWildusAndTheBookOfSorrows met my expectations and then some. It appeals to the HP reader without being an HP knock-off. Original ideas and magical elements kept it flowing and intriguing throughout.
The story follows a middle school boy and his friends who are smart and bookish making them the focus of the school bullies. Thomas has a diverse group of friends and a happy but challenging home life. His father died when he was a small child so it is just he and his mother at home. One day, Thomas stumbles upon a mysterious bookstore in his town that he had not seen before and the story really begins. He is drawn into the bookshop by his love for magic, a love he inherited from his father, and one of the few things he remembers his father discussing with him. He encounters characters within the bookshop that entice him into a world of possible magic and he cannot help himself but has to go for it. He is hooked.
This story is very well paced, with a slower start and then picking up steam towards a fantastic ending that leaves you ready for the sequel. The characters are unique. The magical elements are unique. The overall message is terrific. I highly recommend this to readers of all ages.
"You can call the light whenever you need it. It will be there for you always, to illuminate your path when the world grows dark."
#ThomasWildusAndTheBookOfSorrows #NetGalley

The Cruel Prince by Holly Black

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Holly Black does an excellent job with this book. The pacing of the book and the world-building was terrific. I adored the interaction between the characters and the features unique to the Faerie World. Humans, who are mortal, interact with the fey in this world in so many different ways. 
As someone new to reading fantasy novels, especially within the Faerie World, I loved this book as an introduction to that. I can't wait to read more.

The Dreamers by Karen Thompson Walker

Karen Thompson Walker is a beautiful writer who wove a complex story that incorporates a wide range of topics, both practical and ethical, about the impact a epidemic type illness would have on the people in a community exposed to it. Her handling of the various issues was spot on. 
The story is a narrative of a small college town in Southern California where a new and strange illness strikes a freshman dorm of a college. Initially the plot follows the path of possible spread of the unknown pathogen and then branches out to individual story lines of those directly and indirectly affected by the illness. In many ways this is an interesting look at how we might deal with a sudden infectious disease that could be contained if those powers in charge of public health actually used strong authority to reduce spread of disease. How far are we willing to go with restrictions? Who do we save if resources are limited? What would be the hazards and hardships that each character would face unique to their situation or common to all?

The other fascinating aspect of this book is involving the aspect of dreams. What do our dreams mean? How unique are they? Is the meaning the same for everyone? Do dreams reflect the current time, the past, the future or something else entirely? The variety of dreams and depth of impact of the dreams to an individual was most interesting to me. 
I give this book 4 stars - my main critique is that some of the story lines didn’t feel completed. I felt like I was left wanting to know more about how a character felt about decisions made or what another was doing next. 

Overall, I highly recommend this book.