A Half-Baked Murder by Emily GeorgeMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
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Welcome to my altered journey through life. You never know if I will be into home improvements, knee deep in a good book, on an Alaskan cruise or just being silly. I hope this blog will give you tips, tricks, ideas and books to add to your TBR list. Thanks for stopping by.
Showing posts with label Fiction. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Fiction. Show all posts
19 February 2023
Review: The Spectacular
The Spectacular by Fiona DavisMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
I wish I could give this one 10 stars! Fiona Davis is near the top of my MUST-READ list these days. I have loved every book she has written. If you are not familiar with Ms. Davis, you should be. Every book she writes is set in a NYC landmark and features some type of drama along with that landmark, which often becomes a character too. The Spectacular is set in Radio City Music Hall, where Marion has just landed a job as a Rockette. Marion's family doesn't agree with her decision to dance and there is a bomber loose in the city. The Big Apple bomber has been terrorizing New York for 16 years, and I will not spoil anything about what he does or if he is caught. What you need to know is that this book is just like the title states.....SPECTACULAR!!!
This will be my monthly book pick for June.
View all my reviews
29 January 2023
February Book Pick
Not a WWII book, I am trying so hard to get out of that genre...this one interested me the second I saw the cover. As a matter of a fact, I didn't even read the synopsis, I just started reading and I am glad that I did. Obviously, it features Memphis, TN in some way, but what you can't tell by the cover is this book covers a couple of generations of a family. I just adore these kinds of books that will take us through the lives of a family over the years. Even though there are many characters, I believe Joan is the main one. You see things happen to Joan when she is a child and then see her become an adult that uses art to hopefully change lives.
When I finished the book I read about it, I now see it is a debut novel (exceptionally well done, I must add) and the author said it was the type of fairy tale she wanted to read as a child. Actually, I am going to quote the synopsis from Goodreads because it is written much better than I could.
Inspired by the author's own family history, Memphis--the Black fairy tale she always wanted to read--explores the complexity of what we pass down, not only in our families, but in our country: police brutality and justice, powerlessness and freedom, fate and forgiveness, doubt and faith, sacrifice and love.
This book is perfect for now!!! So far, it is my favorite book of the year (book #12).
23 December 2022
First Read with Michelle book pick of 2023
If you are returning to my book pick list, thank you for coming back. If you are new to Read with Michelle, thanks for stopping by and I hope you find some inspiration. Whichever category that you belong to, please be sure to return to my Facebook page and share your thoughts on this book, or any book for that matter, sharing is caring!!! Near the last day of every month, I would love it if you would share all your books that you read that month, whether it is one book or twelve, please just share your love of books!!!
Imagine reading about an icon before she was a household name? We all know her name, Jackie Kennedy, but do we know how she became "Jackie Kennedy"?
*If you are looking for a way to sum up your 2022 reading life, I have created a list here. I find it fun to rate the books I have read in a top ten list and other random facts. I have been making top ten lists since 1996 and it is fun to look back on some of these books and smile at the memory or wonder why did I choose that one?
*If you are looking for a challenge in 2023, here is my reading challenge. I encourage you to be creative with the prompts and remember to read what you like. If you don't like a category, change it!!!
*Follow me on Goodreads if you want to learn about books that are soon to be published, I read a lot of fiction books before they hit your shelves and many of them will end up as a monthly book pick before the year is over.
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Now for January's book pick. I was looking for something fresh and different and NOT a World War II book. What I found was a book about a future First Lady that I found unique and worthy of a share.
Jacqueline Bouvier wasn't sure what she wanted to do outside of spending a year in Paris. Somehow she convinced her mother to let her go to school in Paris for her junior year of college. It would be a year that Jackie would experience freedom from her home life and what was expected and she could just be Jackie. While she is discovering her path, she is traveling through a countryside that still felt the sting of WWII. You will see the characters weave in and out of areas still feeling the destruction from the Occupation and see the strength of Parisians during the rebuilding. I couldn't just quit the WWII books that easily :).
It was nice to see a Jackie that I didn't know, a carefree young woman discovering who she wants to be and experiencing love with Paris as a backdrop.
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Thanks again for stopping by, I hope you will enjoy this year's monthly books. There are many on this year's that are simply spectacular!!! I will try to publish the next pick around the 20th of each month, just in case you want to read the book during that month, but feel free to skip around, mix it up, and do your own thing. Come back and share what you thought on the blog or the Facebook page, Read with Michelle.
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18 December 2022
25 November 2022
December book pick
When I was a high schooler, I did enjoy the required reading of The Scarlett Letter. I have probably read it 10 or 15 times over the last 35 years. This book attracted me because of the cover, and then I found out it was about the inspiration behind the telling of The Scarlett Letter.
Isobel married for what she thought was love, to a man she thought she would love forever. He was going to provide everything she needed and he dabbled in medicine. Isobel was a brilliant seamstress, almost witch-like with the needle she was which was fitting as she was descended from witches.
I won't tell you how she and her husband arrived in Salem, but they did. They lived in a little cottage in a town that once murdered "witches". Here is where Isobel meets Nathaniel Hawthorne and the sparks fly, the townspeople mention witchcraft and a book is born.
That's it, I will tell you no more.....just read this, it is a scandalous tale in so many ways, and beautifully written. The cover is equally attractive....look at this gorgeous thing!!
November Book Pick
It is no secret that I am a big fan of Gill Paul. I think I have loved every book she has written. My favorite is still the one about Wallis Simpson and Diana Spencer, The Other Woman's Husband, but I think this one might be my second favorite. I simply love to read about this time period, the Jazz Age. This book is about four women, three of which are writers, and one is an actress, that forges a deep friendship over a game of bridge.
They each have different experiences with romance and careers, but their lives still intertwine at every intersection and with every relationship. Three of the women have their lives more together than Dorothy Parker does, and they seem to always be there to help her in the latest crisis. Dorothy is pretty much all about sex, booze, and jazz, and every once in a while she puts together some brilliant writing.
I could not help thinking the whole time I was reading this, if Dorothy really lived this hard, I just can't imagine how she ever wrote a thing.
Oh, one more thing, one of the girls in this novel, in real life co-founded The New Yorker. I found that fascinating. ENJOY!!
20 November 2022
20 September 2022
October book pick
Good day to you all,
I am so excited to bring my October book to you, I read this book many months ago and found it thrilling!!! Actually, today, September 20, is the publication day for this book!
It is by Susan Ella MacNeal, the author of the Maggie Hope book series (if you have not read Maggie's books and like WWII fiction, check them out). Susan Ella has written a stand-alone book this time around that kept me on my toes and had me constantly turning the corner and seeing a new surprise.
The book starts out in a controversial way, the daughter, Veronica is caught up in some drama with a married man. Mom, Violet, sees they have no choice but to relocate to California to start a new life in every way imaginable. Once WWII breaks out, each of the women gets caught up in espionage involving the war effort.
Here is my review on NetGalley....
I am going to tell you one thing that you must know, if you have not read one of Susan Ella MacNeal's novels, you must remedy that soon. Every book that she writes is full of intrigue and moments where I go "NO, that can't happen!!". This book is NOT part of the Maggie Hope series, this one is about a mother and daughter who have to leave their life in New York for a new life in California. Almost immediately they become entangled in a web of Nazi sympathizers and have to figure out a way to bring them down, and enter the spying. I was not happy I had to go to work because I would have loved to finish this book in one sitting. This is perfect for an afternoon by the pool or an excellent road trip accompaniment.
10 September 2022
20 August 2022
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