Review: Love and Other Consolation Prizes

Love and Other Consolation Prizes by Jamie Ford
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

They say "don't cry because it's over, smile because it happened", but that is very hard. I was sucked into the book and could NOT let go. Ernest is a character you fall in love with the second he appears. You want to hug him in the first chapter. Then when he goes to America you want to hug him again. The World's Fair will make your mouth drop because of the things Ernest experiences there and how a simple fair will change the course of his life forever. He will meet Fahn and Maisie in this new life and form bonds that will take him to the "present" day portion of the novel which is the early 60's. He will never break the bond form with these 2 little girls.

What I took away....Jamie can take dark places in the world and explain how it was and show that there can be good in unpleasant things. What Jamie does with his pen is explore good and ugly and takes the reader right with him. I have a couple of reasons why he is my favorite present day author.
1. He introduces me to parts of America (Seattle past) I didn't know existed, but I should have.
2. He makes me care about his characters and ache when they hurt and rejoice when they prosper.

Today begins the day that I start longing for his next book. Thank you Jamie.

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Review: The Radium Girls: The Dark Story of America's Shining Women

The Radium Girls: The Dark Story of America's Shining Women by Kate Moore
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I had to get this book a second time. It has haunted me a bit to know what happened to these girls and that USRC discovered what the effects of Radium could do and they covered it up. They lied in court and to medical professionals, all the while, the girl's bodies were falling apart or riddled with disease. The painful deaths the girls encountered were hard to read about because you knew it was true. The devotion of Tom Donohue is astounding ...what a wonderful husband, of course, his wife, Katherine is one of the bravest women I have ever read about. If you have not read this book, you should. It moved me like Henrietta Lacks. A must read.

I came back in 2018 because this book was still haunting me. I had to read it again. I still think it is one of the best books of 2017.

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Review: Tiny Little Thing

Tiny Little Thing by Beatriz Williams
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

So far this is my favorite Beatriz books. I love Tiny and Pepper. I loved how they fixed up a car together and how Tiny realizes that she doesn't have a perfect life. She is living just for status, with a man who prefers the company of others which could ruin his career in the day and age the story takes place. Cap (Caspian) is incredible. I love every part about him. He is just the dude you want to come into stories like this.

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Review: Pop-Up Truck and Peril

Pop-Up Truck and Peril by Harper Lin
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I love Harper Lin's books...they are fast, engaging and funny. In Pop up Truck and Peril, Amelia's best friend Christine asks her to move the truck to her work for a few days because a co worker has been murdered and the police do have a suspect....only Christine can't believe the suspect would do it. Amelia is on the job selling her treats and solving crime and getting herself into trouble...with the police and the real murderer.

In Amelia's personal life, her ex is getting married and causing drama with their kids. Amelia has to learn how to handle this without making her ex look bad to his kids and keep her sanity.

This is a perfect series to download and take on vacation with you. I don't think you have to read the previous 5 to get the story, but why would you do that? They are all so fun.

I received a free copy in exchange for my honest review.

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Review: The Secret Wife

The Secret Wife by Gill Paul
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I discovered Gill Paul last year and I like her style a lot. She has done quite a few Titanic books and I am trying hard to read them all. I discovered this book because I was trying to get a hold of Another Woman's Husband (also by Gill). I thought I would give it a whirl. This one tells a story we are familiar with Tsar Nicholas and Tsarina Alexandria of Russia. We all know they were murdered, along with their children, during the Bolsheviks revolution of Russia in 1917. We have heard that Anatasia might have lived. Well, this story chooses to let another daughter live. Her body is discovered in modern-day after the love of her life dies of old age. It is believed she was murdered and hidden in a shallow grave but upon further inspection, she died of natural causes. What they don't know is that she escaped the murder and lived with her lover as man and wife until her natural life was over. She had changed her name as had her husband. It is a sweet story and does make you long to believe that those children could have lived.

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Review: Camino Island

Camino Island by John Grisham
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I have been on hold for this book forever. I didn't read what it was about, I just know I read every Grisham book. This one blew me away from the start. F Scott Fitzgerald! I love him! His manuscripts in the hands of crooks! I was sucked in and blown away. I had NO idea where this novel was going to end up, every time I thought I did something else happened to make me say "what".

I enjoy almost every Grisham book, but I do believe this one ranks up there near "The Firm" for me. EXCELLENT!

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Review: The German Girl

The German Girl by Armando Lucas Correa
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

My friend made me read this and I am so glad that she did! This book travels from 2014 with Anna to 1939 with Hannah and follows the lives of the Rosenthal's/Rosen's. The story traveled to Havana, which I loved. Having just gotten back from Havana and visited many of the places from the book....everything was so visible in my mind. The story was sad, so sad, but such an important tale to tell. I had never heard about the ship St. Louis and had no idea what happened to those people. It's another story from (pre) WWII that people should know. Thank you sir for telling this history along with adding some characters that we would want to know more about and enjoy spending time with (we would also be sad right alongside them).

A wonderful book.

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