19 February 2023
Review: The Spectacular
My 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
************************************************************************************
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.
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
-
Pink is not one of my top 3 favorite colors, but it is exciting. It can be pale and drab, or bold and fierceful. It can be pastel and calm...
-
For the first challenge of 2012 I decided to go with the colors from my very favorite color challenge, CR84FN. I have been doing their chal...
-
I don't know if you are like me or not, but I got through phases with the actors I watch. Most recently I was watching Gene Kelly and M...