Breathe To Read

Breathe To Read

Wednesday, May 31, 2023

Book: The Nature Of Secrets

 Book: The Nature Of Secrets

Author: Debra Webb

Pages: 347


This is my 48th read of the year

This is the second book in the Finley O'Sullivan series.  Finley and her partner Jack have a new case.  Ellen Winthrop's husband is dead and she has become the prime suspect for his murder.  Finley and Jack set out to prove her innocense and discover who actually killed her husband.  At the same time, Finley continues to try and figure out if her husband was who he says he was before he was killed.  As she chases down leads with the help of her friend, Matt, she is worried she is going to discover that her husband had a dark past that got him killed.

This was a pretty good book.  I enjoyed the first one enough I wanted to see how the second was.  Mostly because the first ended with a cliff hanger about her husband.  This book wraps that story line up for the most part.  I understand there is a 3rd book and I expect it will come up again,but the big mystery has been revealed in this book.  The writing isn't top quality, but it kept me entertained.  I will be reading the third book when it comes out later this year. 

Stars:3



Monday, May 29, 2023

Book: The Midwife's Confession

 Book: The Midwife's Confession

Author: Diane Chamberlain

Pages: 432


This is my 47th read for the year

This is the story of three friends - Emerson, Tara, and Noelle.  When Noelle commits suicide, she leaves her friends realing with the "why".  They cannot believe they missed the signs that Noelle was in trouble.  She wasn't married, but she was devoted to her friends and to her baby program she started when she was a midwife.  As Tara dn Noelle start to sort through Noelle's house they discover that their friend was harboring a lot of secrets that she shared with only other person.  And that person is dead.  In the end, Tara and Emerson's lives are changed forever by what they discover.

This was a pretty good book.  I have read a few of Chamberlain's books- a good fall back for me when I don't have something else to listen to as I do endless projects at our house.  It is easy to figure out where her mysteries are going, but it doesn't make the book less enjoyable for me.  They are prety well written, and I usually end up liking most of the characters.  It is a good summer read so check it out

Stars: 4



Wednesday, May 24, 2023

Book: A Song For A New Day

 Book: A Song For A New Day

Author: Sarah Pinsker

Pages: 384


This is my 46th read for the year

This is the story about Luce and Rosemary.  The book starts with Luce in the past and Rosemary in the future, and soon their paths cross.  In Luce's past, a pandemic is about to start.  A pox of some sort is killing people and it drives people indoors.  No one is allowed to gather in large groups, and working from home becomes the norm.  Rosemary is a young woman who is working for a large company, from home because that is what she believe is the only choice she has.  When she gets a chance to switch jobs and actually go outdoors and meet people she isn't sure what to think.  At first she is terrified of being so close to people, but soon she discovers what she has been missing.  Her new company wants her to search for bands to bring to their virtual platform.  She "discovers" Luce and her band and when she reports the find back to her new job, things take a change that Rosemary cannot undo.  The story unfolds with Luce who is trying to find her way as a musician in this new world and Rosemary trying to find where she belongs.

This was an okay book.  I was looking for a dystopian novel to listen to and found this available at the library.  I would say this is a light dystopian.  Meaning that most of the story was about the musicians and the music and the bands.  It barely covered the pandemic and what happened.  Didn't really unfold how the world came to be the way it was.  So it didn't really fulfill for me the whole "dystopain" genre based on that.  

Iwill say - this was written in 2019- another author who wrote about a pandemic that drove people into a virtual world - without knowing what was coming.  Also - if you really love bands and stories about them - this book is for you.

Stars: 3


Saturday, May 20, 2023

Book: Erotic Stories for Punjabi Widows

 Book: Erotic Stories for Punjabi Widows

Author: Balli Kaur Jaswal

Pages: 320


This is my 45th read for the year

This is the story of Nikki.  A young woman who left law school and started working at a pub.  Her parents were so disappointed in her choice to leave school to work at a local pub.  After her father's death, her sister tells her that her mother is going to need more financial support, so Nikki takes a job teaching creative writing at a local community center in a close knit Punjabi community.  Nikki, who has tried hard to make herself more Western in her London home, and distance herself from her Sikh past, suddenly finds herself teachers Punjabi Widows and women how to write.  The women were told this class would teach them basic literacy and so Nikki sets out to teach them the basics.  One day one of the women finds a book of sexy stories and the class takes on a whole new meaning for Nikki and the students.  What develops are friendships and laughter and Nikki discovers that under their dupattas are women who have passions and desires.  The women and Nikki must keep the class a secret from the more conservative people of the community, espeically the men.  But words spreads quickly in this community and soon the class is overrun by Punjabi women all wanting to share their stories and learn to write for themselves.

This was a fun book.  I listened to it after a recommendation from a friend that it would make a great audiobook and she was correct.  I think that is what made this book for me.  Hearing the voices of these women and some of the more hilarious lines were made best by listening to the reader.    I liked Nikki and the other women in the class and enjoyed listening to their banter and heartfelt stories as the book progressed.  Warning: the book has some sexually explicit material that is used as a catalyst for empowering women.  This is not my normal type of book.  I steer clear from the overly sexualized books. However - these stories were a minor part of the book and there to tell a larger one, so they didn't bother me.  

I would say if you decide to check this out, make it the audio.  You won't regret it.

Stars: 4.5


Friday, May 19, 2023

Book: The Last House On The Street

 Book: The Last House On The Street

Author: Diane Chamberlain

Pages: 352


This is my 44th read of the year

This is the story of two women-Ellie Hockley and Kayla Carter.  The timeline shifts from 1965 to 2010 as the two women's stories are woven together until their paths meet.  Ellie - a young woman in the 1960s who is trying to find her place in the world   She decides she wants to spend the summer canvasing for civil rights in North Carolina and help black citizens register to vote.  Against her family's wishes she joins Scope and finds quite quickly that a white girl from the south is going to be in danger at every turn when it comes to the task of working with black citizens.  She puts herself - and everyone around her - in danger but refuses to give up something she cares deeply about.  She falls for a fellow volunteer and soon discovers how her neighbors and friends in North Carolina truly feel about this movement.

Kayla in 2010 has just recently lost her husband to a tragic accident.  She and her husband designed and built their new house and Kayla is unsure about moving into it without him.  Her dad encourages her to do this for her young daughter and use it as a way to move forward.  When Kayla moves in, strange things start to happen and someone is trying to frighten her into moving away.  She eventually meets Ellie who has returned to this small town to help care for her ailing mother and brother and together they discover the truth of what has haunted this small town in North Carolina for so many years.

This was a pretty good book.  No real surprises were revealed at the end - it was pretty easy to figure out what happened and who caused it.  But it was still a good read.  I liked Ellie and Kayla and you felt the hate that surrounded them from the people who wanted to block people from registering to vote.  Chamberlains books are easy reads and cozy mysteries, and I will probably keep reading her novels in the future.

Stars: 4


Tuesday, May 16, 2023

Book: Spare

 Book: Spare

Author: Prince Harry

Pages: 416


This is my 43rd read for the year

This is Prince Harry's story in his own words.  Starting from right around the time his mother was killed to right after the Queen dies, he recounts his life as a royal and the time since he left the family.  He talks about his time traveling the world, being a part of the British army, and getting married to Megan Markle and how that changed everything.

This book was a bit of a slog.  I read it because I was curious about the hype.  I should have passed on it.  The entire royal family sounds like a group of petulant children who get mad if they don't get their way.  For as much as Harry craves "privacy"- since he was let go from the family finances, he sure has done a good job being as public as possible so he can make a living. (living the way he was used to as a royal).  He actually mentions in the book being surprised when his dad cut him off financailly.  And honestly - the whole family sounds horrible from Harry's perspective.  The only people he speaks kindly of are his mother, and his grandmother - but only on occasion.  

Skip it.  I should have.

Stars: 2




Friday, May 12, 2023

Book: Skin

 Book: Skin

Author: Liam Brown

Pages: 272


This is my 42nd book for the year

This is a story about Angela. A virus has swept the world driving everyone indoors. The virus is carried by contact and skin cells, so no one can be together withou a protective suit.  Even that is dangerous.  People can't even be together in the same house - their houses all retrofitted so they can exist solely on their own-their only way of communication is online.  Their food is government issued and brought to them in secure locations once a week.  

For five years what remains of the human race has existed behind closed doors. Talks of a cure have long stopped.  People just exist on their own - squirreled away wondering if they will ever see another person ever again. For Angela. her husband and two kids-their communciation levels have long since broken down withou the ability to see each other.  Her daughter Amber - a sulky teenager barely talks to her parents.  Charlie - their younger son has become a monster in his own right. Angela - who has joined the neighborhood watch goes out in her suit one night and discovers a man - no suit, no protection - existing and not sick.  Not knowing what to make of him, she realizes she needs to find out who he is and if he could be the key to ending this nightmare.

This was a pretty good book. It was short, but the author packed a lot into the pages.  It was written in 2019 which is eerie - it was a premonition to our own pandemic.  It is well written and a well thought out dystopian.  I did not care for Angela's husband - his character was awful. As was her son Charlie.  But they are small parts of this story, so it didn't distract from the story.

I found this novel by accident while perusing a used book store and I am read I found it.

Stars: 4



Thursday, May 11, 2023

Book: The Silent Sister

 Book: The Silent Sister

Author: Diane Chamberlain

Pages: 368


This is my 41st read for the year

This is the story about Riley.  Her father has just died and she has returned to his house to sort out his final wishes.  Her mother died years ago,and her elder brother - a man who never fully recovered from a childhood tragedy and his time in a war- isn't much help so she finds herself sorting through her father's belongings alone.  Going through her father's belongings brings up a past where her eldest sister had committed suicide at the age of 17 and destroyed their family forever.  However, as Riley starts to weed through her father's things and talk to her father's friends, she finds that the past isn't at all what it seems.

This was a pretty good book.  You quickly figure out what the big secrets are pretty early in the book, but the story was still enjoyable.  I listened to this book, and the narrator did a good job.  Riley is a bit of a petulant child at the age of 25, and I found her quick anger and hot and cold attitude toward people a bit immature for her age.  The story unfolds nicely as it goes back and forth between Riley in the present and the story of her long lost sister in the past.  While I would like to say there is a big mystery to be solved here - there just isn't.  But it was an enjoyable story for a summer read.

Stars: 3.5


Book: Finlay Donovan is Killing It

 Book: Finley Donovan Is Killing It

Author: Elle Cosimano

Pages: 384


This is my 40th read for the year

This is the story of Finlay Donovan.  A struggling novelist who has recently gone through a divorce after she discovered her husband was cheating on her with their real estate agent.  Now she and her two kids are trying to figure out how to make ends meet so that her ex-husband doesn't try to get full custody.  While meeting with her editor to discuss her next book, a woman at a nearby table mistakes book talk with real life crime and asks  Finlay to kill her husband for her.  This sends Finlay and her family on a path she never expected to be on -one that includes a real life murder investigation.

This was an okay book.  I listened to it to pass the time doing yard work, and it was fine for this task.  Finlay, well, she is no Jessica Fletcher.  She makes really terrible decisions to the point of frustration.  Although maybe I am trying to give this story too much credit. Maybe Finlay is more like how any of us would be if we were suddenly asked to commit a crime.  We would probably do just as terribly.  It is a light mystery.  A cute story, which, honestly - I don't always love cute.  They are always just okay for me.  

A quick beach read that will pass the time?  Yes.  Good literature?  No

Stars: 3




Tuesday, May 9, 2023

Book: In The Lives Of Puppets

 Book: In The Lives of Puppets

Author: TJ Klune

Pages: 432


This is my 39th read for the year

This is the story of Victor Lawson and his makeshift family.  The story his father, Gio, always told him is that one day someone brought him to to their home in the trees, and said "please take care of our little boy".  And Gio - an inventor andriod - raised him as his own.  In their makeshift family is a nurse machine (Nurse Rachet) with a sadistic side, and a tiny little sweet robot vacuum named Rambo.  They are hidden from danger until one day Victor finds a robot in the scrap yard that still seems to have some power.  Victor brings the robot back to their hideaway, and sets to working on him, calling him "Hap".  When Gio finds out, he worries that this machine that looks very familiar to him will alert robots from Gio's former life to their whereabouts.

When the unthinkable happens, Victor will stop at nothing to get his father back with them safely.  He, Hap, Nurse Rachet, and Rambo setout for the City of Electric Dreams to find Gio, and discover a dark secrety that changes Victor's life forever.

This was a great book.  I am a  huge TJ Klune fan - he is a superb writer.  I was so excited about this book to be released and it did not disappoint.  My favorite characters are the Nurse and Rambo - they are laugh out loud funny almost the enitre book.  The story moves at a good pace, and it has a satisfying ending.  The secret of the book is not hard to figure out, but it doesn't distract from the wonderful story telling that Klune is a master of.

I would almost say his books border on almost too sweet in some places, but it is never enough to deter me from wanting to read everything this man writes.  

Stars: 5 


Saturday, May 6, 2023

Book: The Lost And Found Bookshop

 Book: The Lost And Found Bookshop

Author: Susa Wiggs

Pages: 384


This is the 38th read for the year

This is the story of Natalie Harper.  A tragedy has drawn her back home to care for her grandfather and her mother's bookshop.  The bookshop, she finds, is heavy in debt and in need of desparate repairs.  Her grandfather refuses to sell it, so Natalie sets out to try and save it.  Her grandfather is ailing - in the early throws of dementia - and she thinks that it mall might be too much.  Thanks to a handy man named Peach and a popular book author, she feels there might just be a chance.

This wasn't a great book. I listened to it, and probably should have stopped and moved on, but thought the fluff might be just what I needed while I did yard work.  However - the story just wasn't good.  It was most like a bad Hallmark movie.  There were more than necessary plot lines, and very little about the bookshop itself.  It felt like the author was trying to take too many paths in this book - love, loss, saving a bookshop, romance, tragedy, disease.....just pick a few.  I know- all of those things are life on a daily basis, but I never really felt attached to one story line or the characters because of all the different paths that were thrown in one book.  

Stars:2