So many books . . . so little time.
I love to read, don’t you? My bookshelves overflow and my To Be Read piles keep growing. Like many of you, I also love to hear what my friends are reading and get tips on great new books. So I thought it might be fun, now and then, to share with you what I’ve been reading. Maybe we’ll be reading the same books, or maybe you’ll see a new one you’d like to try. Here’s what I’ve been reading lately:
My Latest Reads
Quintland Sisters
Rainy summer days at our mountain cabin as a kid took me to a cabinet full of old magazines and books. I can remember one scrapbook in particular that often drew my attention. Made most likely by my grandmother, the book was a collection of articles, postcards and pictures featuring the Dionne quintuplets. I was fascinated by these five identical girls and their story. They were featured in all sorts of ads for things from a bygone era like cod liver oil and Karo syrup. Looking at their story, to me, was like getting a glimpse into my mom and aunts’ childhood. Their brown hair and brown eyes and the clothes they wore reminded me of pictures I’d seen of my mom and her sisters in family albums. Maybe the reason my grandmother kept that scrapbook was the fact those five little girls were so close in age to her own girls. When I saw this book, my mind immediately went to that old scrapbook. I love historical fiction based on true events, so I had to give this one a try. The story is written from the perspective of fictional Emma Tripany, a 17-year-old midwife assistant who witnessed the birth of the quints and went on to care for them during their first five years. Set against the backdrop of the depression and a coming world war, the story was both fascinating and tragic. The ending was not at all what I expected, but in some ways fitting to the ending that played out in true life for the quintuplets themselves.
What I liked about the book: I like the way the story was told through a series of journal entries, letters and real life newspaper articles from the time. In many ways I felt like I was living the story right along with the main character, Emma Trimpany.
The Alice Network
When two people from totally different areas of the country and circles in my life recommend the same book to me in the space of a week, well, I tend to sit up and take notice. Though it took me a while to get my hands on the book after waiting on my local library’s hold list twice (long story, don’t need to go there) I’m very glad I did. The Alice Network was a real-life, all-female spy ring that operated during WWI in France. That premise alone had me hooked. Quinn’s novel opens in the aftermath of WWII with a young girl in search of her cousin who was lost in the war. Her quest leads her to one of the former members of the Alice Network and their stories intertwine in a trek across France in search of answers and revenge. If you like stories that are all butterflies and roses, this one may not be for you. The horrors and atrocities of two world wars are clearly presented throughout the book, but the pursuit of justice and the inner strength displayed by both heroines kept me riveted to the story.
What I love about the book: The characters. Pure and simple, Quinn does an excellent job of creating living, breathing characters to populate this story—some endearing, some repelling, but all well-developed and believable. Also, hope. I can deal with reading about the atrocities of life when there is hope and redemption and the promise of justice mixed in. And, finally, fiction based on historical truth. Though Eve is fictional, Louise de Bettignies and her network of spies are not. Theirs is a story of courage and resiliency that deserves to be told. What’s not to love about that?
The Lacemaker
When I was 8 my family took a three-month cross country trip in a camper. Obviously I have lots of memories connected to that trip, but my favorite was a day spent in Williamsburg, Virginia. I’ve been a history nut my whole life and the experience of stepping back in time to one of my favorite historical periods was the highlight of my young life. For years after that, I daydreamed of living in Colonial Williamsburg as one of the milliners or candle makers. I know. Grand aspirations. right? So when one of my favorite authors set her next book in Williamsburg at the cusp of the Revolutionary War, well, of course, I bought it. How could I not? And, as always, with Laura Frantz, I was not disappointed.
It’s easy after the fact, to know which side to pick when your world is plummeting toward war, but what if you’re living it in real time? That’s the question Lady Elizabeth (Liberty) and young plantation owner Noble Rynallt must each answer as the life they’ve known erupts in revolution.
What I love about the book: 1) being transported into my very favorite time period in American history; 2) the emotions Frantz evokes through setting—the fear, destruction and despair found both in Williamsburg and aboard the British warship juxtaposed against the serenity, peace and hope found at Noble’s plantation homes, Ty Mawr and Ty Bryn.
The Illusionist’s Apprentice, The Ringmaster’s Wife, The Lost Castle
I’ve been on a bit of a Kristy Cambron kick lately. I read The Butterfly and the Violin years ago, but hadn’t read any others until some Kindle deals on The Illusionist’s Apprentice and The Ringmaster’s Wife brought her back on my radar. Oh. My. Goodness. Once I’d devoured those two, I naturally had to buy her latest: The Lost Castle. Let me just say, those three books brought me hours of great reading. Here’s a rundown.
The Illusionist’s Apprentice—the Cambron stories I’ve read so far have all been split-time stories. In this one, the time is split between 1907 and the 1920s as we flashback to scenes from the main character’s childhood. FBI agent Elliott Matthews investigates a murder mystery with the help of an eccentric illusionist, Wren Lockhart, who once apprenticed with Houdini. The flashbacks from present to past supply clues along the way.
The Ringmaster’s Wife—this story splits between the stories of Mabel Ringling and Lady Rosamund (Rose), an earl’s daughter turned bare-back rider. The backdrop is circus life during the early 1900s. Both Mabel and Rose are independent women with the courage to chase their dreams in the face of overwhelming obstacles.
The Lost Castle—the great thing about split-time stories is you get two, or in this case three, stories in one. The connecting point of all three plots is a castle in France. The time periods take you from the French Revolution to World War II to present day. The great thing is I was totally engrossed in all three plots. Three strong women, three great romances and elements that wove all three together in the end.
What I love about these books: 1) great plots full of romance, betrayal and courage; 2) beautiful imagery—Cambron is a master of painting a picture with words whether it is the library/garden image in The illusionist’s Apprentice, a sea-side mansion in Florida or a hidden castle in France.
Nothing Daunted
I don’t always read fiction. Okay. 99% of the time, I read fiction. BUT, sometimes I don’t. Here’s one example. In January, when a fellow writer passed along this book to me, I was elated. Second to historical fiction (in my mind) is biography and this one tells the story two society girls who spent a year (1916/17) in the wilds of Colorado as schoolteachers. Just like one of the novels I’m writing! Well, not just like, but sort of like—enough alike that I was intrigued. Though not as quick a read as a novel, the book was well worth the time, full of interesting first-person accounts of life in the West and even some plot twists I never expected. (There was a kidnapping, y’all! AND a love triangle where everyone wins.) Not all of the chapters related to the year out West. Some of the earlier ones described the two girls’ trip abroad (also interesting), and later, some lengthy portions elaborated on the building of the Moffat Tunnel and coal mining (not as interesting).
What I love about this book: 1) the time period and setting with the pampered-East-meets- uncivilized-West theme; 2) first-person accounts of life in the early 1900s.
Montana Rose, The Husband Tree
Mary Connealy books are like grilled cheese and tomato soup on a cold day—comfortable and satisfying. That’s why when I want a quick reading escape, she’s my go-to author. So a few weeks back, when I was looking for just such a read, I came across Montana Rose on my Kindle and couldn’t remember for sure if I’d read it before. (When you get to a certain age, these things happen.) Several hundred pages in, there were enough vaguely familiar scenes that I was pretty sure I had, but not familiar enough for me to put down the book. (One of the perks of getting to that certain age is the old is often new again!) I wanted that happy ending for poor Cassie and her humble hero Red Dawson and wasn’t going to quit until I got it. Luckily for me, Connealy’s also good with happy endings. Once I had Cassie and Red settled, I decided I needed to read the next book in the series, The Husband Tree, which I definitely had NOT read before. Red and Cassie’s neighbor, Belle Tanner, with her tough exterior, soft heart, and string of no-good husbands, intrigued me. She and her daughters needed a happy ending too, so I was off on another escape into Wild West hilarity.
What I love about these books: 1) humor—pure and simple, Mary Connealy makes me laugh. It’s tongue-in-cheek sentences such as these that keep me coming back to her books again and again: “She was as dumb as a post, no offense to posts, which at least did what they were put on this earth to do without any surprises.” and “Then she strapped on a six-gun in case she met any varmints on the trail, or worse yet, men come a-courtin’—those two being equal in her mind.” 2) redemption—there’s a strong theme of wrong being made right running through each of these books. In fact, a thread that runs through both is the redemption of a man who was the villain in the first book. I’m planning to tackle book 3, Wildflower Bride, next to see that story completed.