Review: When We Left Cuba

When We Left Cuba by Chanel Cleeton
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I have so many feels about this one. First of all Beatriz just seemed to be able to do it all. I feel deeply in love with her strength and desire. As strong as she was, she was just that stubborn and able to hold grudges. I had no idea when I started this book that I was pretty much going with Beatriz to stare down Castro and the communist government right in the face and while I was with her I would hope that she found that peace she needed, be it with her Nick or some other. I knew how the Cuban part would end, but I found myself rooting that some of these plans would be successful. I was scared at times for everyone's safety. I was thrilled that nothing in the book was predictable and grateful to Ms. Cleeton for creating a world that is sort of magical around a world where evil is everywhere.

I was SOOOO happy with the way things ended in the book. It was pretty much just what I needed Beatriz to have in life.

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Review: The Girl Who Came Home

The Girl Who Came Home by Hazel Gaynor
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

While this book is full of non-fiction facts, it also is full of fiction, BUT I did have a fun journey. Being a Titanic buff, I was not expecting everything to be true, but I was expecting a good story and I think I got that. This story takes place, obviously in 1912, but also 1982. The 1982 storyline was wonderful. I just adored the Grace character and her connection to the 1912 Titanic sailing. I think this is a nice book for someone looking to learn about the Titanic, or just wants to enjoy a quick story.

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Review: Big Eyes: The Screenplay

Big Eyes: The Screenplay by Scott Alexander
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I adored this book. It was the screenplay for the film so if you liked the film, you will like this. I have only seen the film once, but I believe it is the true screenplay of the movie.

If you are not familiar with the movie, it is based on a true story. Margaret is a single mom trying to make ends meet and she meets Walter. Walter sweeps her off her feet and keeps her from losing her daughter in a custody battle. Walter loves that she can paint because he is a painter too. He has ideas that they sell their painting together. He arranges for a "show" to sell their paintings. Folks are only interested in the "Big Eye" paintings of children that Maggie had done. Walter though tell everyone that he did them. Here is where it all starts to get good. I won't spoil it for you in case you have never heard of the tale, but it is a true story and very sad.



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Review: Victoria & Albert: A Royal Love Affair

Victoria & Albert: A Royal Love Affair by Daisy Goodwin
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This was not at all what I wanted in a book. I didn't see it in the title, but this is more a companion book to the series. I was expecting a book like Victoria, a story. I was expecting a look into the marriage of V & A. I guess I got that, but I didn't get the story I wanted. I do know a bit about the marriage thanks to reading other books and I find their relationship fascinating. This book told me about the actors in the series, behind the scenes, about the screenplay and a bit of the story. It was more a compilation of essays. I just couldn't get into this book at all.

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Review: Victoria

Victoria by Daisy Goodwin
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is not the best book on Victoria I have read (that would be Jean Plaidy), but it is a very good second. I enjoyed it very much. It is exactly like everything I have read about Victoria. She was a bit of humbug in some ways and totally determined to have her way in everything, at times impulsive and hard-headed, but she loved her people. She loved her Kingdom deeply. I like how the book ended the way it did, it very much left many openings for the future of other books because until recently Victoria did have the longest reign ever.

I have no idea how it compares to the show because I have not seen the show, but the book was very good.



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Review: The Romanov Empress: A Novel of Tsarina Maria Feodorovna

The Romanov Empress: A Novel of Tsarina Maria Feodorovna by C.W. Gortner
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

First of all, I have read many books about the Romanovs, but it has always been Nicky and Alix and their children. It has always talked about the murders and of course Rasputin. This book took me to a place I have never ventured, Nicky's mom. I adored Minnie's relationship with Sasha. I thought they were a great match, especially considering how their match came about. There were many things I didn't like about Minnie...and also many things I did not like about Alicky. This book brought another spin on why the events in 1919 happened as they did. This has always been a situation I have asked, "what if" and this book brought more questions on my "what if" theories.



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Review: Bus Stop

Bus Stop by William Inge
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This was the play version of the movie. I knew most of the dialogue because I have seen the movie soooo many times. I thought it was brilliantly written. I can see why it was made into the movie. It is about a 1 hour 45-minute read, but quite enjoyable.

Bo has kidnapped the lady of his dreams, Cherie (he calls her Cherry). She is trying to escape with the aid of the people that work in the bus stop where the bus was stranded due to road conditions ahead. Grace, the bus stop owner, may have had an affair with the driver, the sheriff may have assisted Cherie in getting some assistance and the cowboy may have been put in his place. Oh, but there will be a good ending to the tale. If you have seen the film you can figure it out, but if you have not, why not read the screenplay and then go see Miss Monroe in one of her finest roles.



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Review: Dead Presidents: An American Adventure into the Strange Deaths and Surprising Afterlives of Our Nation's Leaders

Dead Presidents: An American Adventure into the Strange Deaths and Surprising Afterlives of Our Nation's Leaders by Brady Carlson
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I thought this book was OUTSTANDING!!! I am one of those Presidential geeks that would love to visit every single Presidential site in America. I am very aware that I will never obtain it, so this was wonderful to hear about some of the dead Presidents that I find fascinating. Carlson evens mentions some places that I have been and he added new facts to what I saw (mainly because I was herded through places at a fast pace). What a brilliant idea to visit all these Presidential places of the dead leaders and then write about them.

Simply awesome!

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Review: Granny Gets Fancy

Granny Gets Fancy by Harper Lin
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I received this book in exchange for my honest review.

And I would love to give it to you. Granny has a boyfriend, Octavian. They decide to get all dressed up and head to the country club where, as you would expect, a murder will take place. Granny/Barbara has to interview all the fancy folks of Cheerville to see exactly who committed the crime.

I do think you can read this as a stand-alone book, but I don't know why you would want to do so. Just read them all. They are all great for a vacation where you want some time by yourself, but you probably can't carve out too much time.

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Review: The Beantown Girls

The Beantown Girls by Jane Healey
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I did the audiobook version of the Kindle book (what do I call that?). I was thinking while listening that the book wasn't perfectly written, but it was written perfectly enough for me to get sucked into the storylines and have a hard time NOT finishing it faster. I thought it had nice storylines of the Red Cross girls and their lives. Some were about love, some death, some promise and all of the girls had hope. We fall the Red Cross Clubmobile girls from their training to their post-war lives. I adored how these girls that met in carefree college find themselves in the middle of the fighting in WWII.

The narrator was easy to understand, she had a soothing voice and I loved how she read the men parts as a man, in a deep voice.

Very nice.

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Review: American Princess: A Novel of First Daughter Alice Roosevelt

American Princess: A Novel of First Daughter Alice Roosevelt by Stephanie Marie Thornton
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Historical fiction about Presidents is sometimes hard for me, so while I longed to read this I was nervous since it would mention my beloved TR. I didn't keep that nervous feeling for long. The picture that Ms. Thornton painted of Alice was exquisite. Alice has always been known to have been a devil may care lady (I would have loved to have met her) and it was perfectly portrayed here. I did see spots that history was embellished, but it was done wonderfully. I wanted to be able to jump into the pages of this book and live right there alongside Alice. I loved every part of this tale.

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Review: Daisy Jones & The Six

Daisy Jones & The Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This was a fantastic book! It was like an episode of VH1 Behind the Music. A band that had it all, being interviewed in the present about the past. How they became who they were, the songs that made them legends and the drugs that made them forget some of what happened.

I really wish I could have read this at one sitting because it was "unputdownable". I was so invested in every single character just like they were real rock stars that I grew up listening to on the radio and they now appear on the classic radio station. I sing along with the songs just as if I was 16 again. I mean it was THAT good.

This book is for every rock fan.

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Review: The Actor's Life: A Survival Guide

The Actor's Life: A Survival Guide by Jenna Fischer
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Kind of out of my realm of knowledge because this is more a guide to being an actor. I do think she would have great tips for anyone trying to be in the business.

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Review: Comfort Food Shortcuts: An "In the Kitchen with David" Cookbook from QVC's Resident Foodie

Comfort Food Shortcuts: An "In the Kitchen with David" Cookbook from QVC's Resident Foodie by David Venable
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is exactly what I expected from my favorite QVC personality. A well done, well-organized book with beautiful photos. Knowing David, I knew that things were going to be simple, fun, and full of shortcuts. I will make quite a few of the recipes in this book, however; my boys are picky so I will have to do a little editing (I know it stinks). I think the mac n cheese recipe is going to be divine!!!!! Trust me, David knows his mac n cheese.



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Review: The Beautiful Strangers

The Beautiful Strangers by Camille Di Maio
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

WOW just WOW!!

I was interested in this book because of the grand cover. Then I saw it would be set at the place where Some Like it Hot was filmed and that Marilyn Monroe was going to have a small part...this book was a no brainer for me.

The story was very neat it weaves in and out the early 20th century and 1958. Kate Morgan longs to do more than just work in her family's restaurant, but her circumstances prevent her from doing anything about it. That is until she has a conversation with her grandpa about a Beautiful Stranger. After this conversation Kate will embark on a journey she longed to take but never thought she would.

In the past, we met another Kate Morgan that was murdered. She is a ghost that hangs around the hotel that is really the main character of this book and I love how the book ends on August 5, 1962.

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Review: American Duchess: A Novel of Consuelo Vanderbilt

American Duchess: A Novel of Consuelo Vanderbilt by Karen Harper
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

First of all, I have seen photos of Consuelo and she was a vision of loveliness. I was super excited to get this book because of the photos I had seen because I knew nothing about her. When I read the book, I did not like the mother. A typical woman that pushes her child into something that she doesn't want to do (marriage) for status and a title. A common move in those times, but I still hate it. Time seemed to move at a regular pace after the marriage but escalated after that. I am not sure I liked that part and I believe that is what kept me from granting a 5-star rating. Time was moving with the pace of the book and then all of the sudden we skipped to 10 years ahead.

Other than that part, I enjoyed this book. I enjoyed how a Duchess can get out of a loveless marriage and find that true lifelong, fated love. I LOVED the Winston Churchill parts. I loved everything about him, to me he was a secondary character after the Duchess and I enjoyed every second we got to spend with him. Ivor was my third favorite character.

This book didn't blow me away, but it was nice.

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Review: That Woman: The Life of Wallis Simpson, Duchess of Windsor

That Woman: The Life of Wallis Simpson, Duchess of Windsor by Anne Sebba
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I try to read every book that I can on Wallis. I am not sure why she fascinates me so much, but she does. Ever since I was a little girl I wondered how a King could give up all for a woman? How much love did he have? It must have been some love story. Well this book goes more in depth to Wallis's early years and the courtship, but also the abdication. I very much enjoyed the parts on how the whole abdication and wedding occured in real life. I found the part from wedding to death to be too swift, but otherwise a perfect books.

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Review: Film Stars Don't Die in Liverpool: A True Love Story

Film Stars Don't Die in Liverpool: A True Love Story by Peter Turner
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I like Gloria Graham in the picture show, and I have never seen this film, but the Gloria I know is seductive, funny, perky...this lady was sad and sick. I felt so sorry for her. She was also alone! It was just a sad tale for me. I can't say I enjoyed it and can't say I didn't. All I can say is I have wanted to read it for some time and now I have.

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Review: The Wartime Sisters

The Wartime Sisters by Lynda Cohen Loigman
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

In looking at the cover and the title and then reading the text, I was very surprised at this read (I rarely read the synopsis). Right out of the gate I expected it to be as I had envisioned, not that there was anything wrong with that, but I LOVED how it became something else indeed. You could almost feel the jealousy coming from Ruth. Millie seemed so sweet and cute and pretty like Baby Jane was in Whatever happened to Baby Jane. Ok, she didn't end that way, but I like the analogy at the start. I admit that I didn't like the Millie character at first, but then when that pivot happens in the action, I liked her a lot. There were a few sub characters that I wasn't sure added anything to the plot, but they ended up adding a lot to the plot and they added an aspect that I thought was very unique.

I ended up giving this 5 stars because of the surprise factor. I also liked how things twisted around. It wasn't my typical WWII read, it was a bit more....and I liked that.

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Review: The Girl They Left Behind

The Girl They Left Behind by Roxanne Veletzos
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This book started out fantastic! I was sucked right into the story with the hope of no release. Then I got some questions (some of which I never had answered) and thought that I didn't really like the book. I kept reading and fell madly in love with the last little bit. I was just a big ball of emotion by the end.

I hate to give away to much of the plot, but what happens is Natalia's parents have to go into hiding because they are Jewish and they cannot take their little girl. They leave her and she is adopted by a wealthy family. Then the tables turn and communism takes over and the family loses their wealth and standing. We will meet many character that weave in and out (very quickly at times) of the family's life. The family will experience many different situations in our quick journey with them, but the theme is there "FAMILY". Being together is what they all long for, what they all need to keep going no matter what happens to their social status or the diminishing amount of food on the table...none of that matters as long as they are together.

Natalia has no control over her life in any way at any time in this book. I am not sure I like that part, but I very much like how the book ended.

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