Monthly Book Review: November 2023

It's the most wonderful time of the year. Unless of course it's not ... I love Christmas but am keenly aware that for some it is a very difficult season. If you're reading this, I hope you have the love and support you need regardless of your current "spirit". 

I started reading Violeta by Isabel Allende and Frances Riddle but just couldn't slog through it. I gave it about 4-5 hours then decided life's too short to read bland books. I loved Allende's The Japanese Lover (10/10) and liked Long Petal (7/10) so this was super disappointing.

The Golden Couple by Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen was right up my alley. Avery Chambers is the anti-therapist. She's developed an unorthodox method for helping people overcome their issues in 10 sessions and she gets all up in their business to accomplish this. Enter the Bishop's, the "golden couple" who ostensibly need Avery's help to get past Marissa Bishop's infidelity. The story follows the couple's sessions, Avery's inner dialogue and backstory as well as Marissa's backstory. Nuanced and juicy with great characters and surprising twists. Definitely in the year's top 10!

Pineapple Street by Jenny Jackson is about three women - Georgiana, the spoiled younger sister living off her trust fund; Darley, the older sister who didn't sign a prenup and is madly in love with her husband; Sasha, married to Georgiana and Darley's brother Cord and definitely not part of the 1%. The Stockton's are old money rich and the siblings' parents, especially mother Tilda are used to things being a certain way. The Stockton's are very close (though as the story unfolds, they don't really know each other) and Sasha very much feels like an outsider. All three women face their own challenges in their journeys to discover who they are and what wealth means to them. Very good, explored progressive ideas without getting too deep or preachy. I loved this excerpt from Sasha when describing her family as compared to her husband's ~

"Her own family was a restaurant booth - you could always scoot over and make space for one more. Cord's family was a table with chairs and those chairs were bolted to the floor."

I loaded up with Audible's recent 50% off sale so my TBR list has gotten VERY long.

• Sparks Like Stars by Nadia Hashimi
• Blue Love: Blue Valley High by MJ Fields 
• Malibu Rising by Taylor Jenkins Reid
• Pachinko by Min Jin Lee
• Mary Jane by Jessica Anya Blau
• Strange Weather in Tokyo by Hiromi Kawakami
• Hamnet by Maggie O'Farrell
• City of Girls by Elizabeth Gilbert
• The Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth George Speare
• Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver
• Lucy by the Sea by Elizabeth Strout
• The Rachel Incident by Caroline O'Donoghue

Monthly Book Review: October 2023

As predicted, there was no September book review. We took a two-week road trip from MN / WI to the Blue Ridge Parkway starting in NC and driving north. We toured the Biltmore Estate, the National D-Day Museum, Appomattox Court House and Monticello. We fit a lot in and stayed in a new place almost every night. It exposed differing travel preferences between my husband and I so suffice to say we will not likely undertake that ambitious of a trip again. My main takeaway is that the Parkway is a must-see - I loved the mountains, exposure to new places and people, and general comradery amongst fellow road trippers.

Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus definitely lived up to the hype. I wanted to be sure and read this before the Apple TV limited series came out and I finished just in the nick of time. Elizabeth Zott is a science geek lacking social skills (so probably on the spectrum) living in a midcentury male-dominated profession (let's face it, the world was male-dominated in the midcentury). She's no-nonsense, ambitious and curious - my favorite type of person! The story is quirky, funny and educational. Elizabeth grows up with a lack of love, boundaries and structure, she eventually finds a like-minded genius scientist and a dog named six-thirty with whom she can settle down in their unconventional version of normal. Then life throws some curveballs, and she ends up with a TV cooking show because of the complex and nutritious school lunches she makes for her daughter. The banter between Elizabeth and Walter, the other single parent at her daughter's school who happens to run a TV station, caused numerous laugh-out-loud moments. The TV series veers a bit from the book but so far very enjoyable. 

I was excited to read Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia while on my recent Mexican vacation. The premise is an independent socialite from Mexico City, Noemie, is dispensed by her father to see if her cousin, Catalina, is being taken advantage of financially by her new husband's family. Noemie finds Catalina in a web of odd family dynamics and a house with wallpaper that moves. Sadly, it was like wading through sludge - I wanted to like it and stuck through to the end, but honestly it was a huge waste of time. The narration was bland, the characters lacked depth and the story line was convoluted and drawn out. Maybe the upcoming Hulu limited series will be better than the book.

TBR List

• Violeta by Isabel Allende, Frances Riddle
• Sparks Like Stars by Nadia Hashimi
• The Golden Couple by Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen 
• Blue Love: Blue Valley High by MJ Fields 
• Malibu Rising by Taylor Jenkins Reid
• Pachinko by Min Jin Lee
• Mary Jane by Jessica Anya Blau
• Pineapple Street by Jenny Jackson
• Strange Weather in Tokyo by Hiromi Kawakami

Monthly Book Review: August 2023

Another four books AND a radio program - reading badass! Summer is effectively over and currently on a two-week roadtrip to North Carolina & Virginia so I think the streak is likely over.

The Lions of Fifth Avenue by Fiona Davis is a historical fictional novel that tackles women’s societal roles in 1913 and 1983. Sadie is the granddaughter of the Lyons who once lived in the New York Public Library (the lions from the title is a play on this and reference to the famed figures in front of the Library). Laura Lyons is a dutiful wife and mother who longs for so much more. Sadie doesn’t know much about Laura other than what she published - Laura mysteriously left her family and moved to London as a relative recluse. Their stories intersect when Sadie is a curator at the Library and books start to go missing; ironically the same thing occurred in 1913. A good, not great read. 

Counterfeit by Kirstin Chen was super entertaining. The story toggles between Ava Wong and her one-time college roommate Winnie. Ava is being interrogated about her relationship with Winnie and how she got caught up in a Chinese counterfeit purse ring. Winnie is narrating her side of the story. Who to believe? Is one, the other or both just as fake as their bags? Good or bad, I did buy counterfeit bags 20 yrs ago - and may have done so recently but not intentionally, but it was nowhere near the scale two were operating on.

Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman was a BBC Radio show with an all-star cast (Benedict Cumberbatch, Natalie Dormer and James McAvoy to name a few). This fantasy story follows Richard and Door in London Below to determine who killed Door’s father and who has hired hunters to find them. Loved this - great escape and excellent narration. 

The Guest by Emma Cline was on a lot of summer reading lists. It follows Alex, a young grifter, and her late summer escapades across Long Island. I really disliked it - total waste of time and I should have quit it but kept thinking it would get better. Spoiler: it didn’t, at least not for me. 

The Nature of Fragile Things by Susan Meissner is set with a backdrop of the 1906 San Francisco earthquake. Sophie is an Irish immigrant and “mail order” bride with a tragic past. She marries Martin, a widower who is supposedly a traveling insurance risk assessor, and grows to love his young daughter, Kat.  One day before the earthquake Sophie receives a call from pregnant Belinda Bigelow and learns she may not really be married and Martin may not be who he says he is. The women’s lives are in danger as Martin may be responsible for murder, fraud and bigamy. The story follows Sophie’s quest for the truth - for her as well as for Kat. I loved the generosity of the women involved and the satisfying ending. 

TBR List

• Sparks Like Stars by Nadia Hashimi
• The Golden Couple by Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen 
• Blue Love: Blue Valley High by MJ Fields 
• Malibu Rising by Taylor Jenkins Reid
• Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus
• Pachinko by Min Jin Lee

Monthly Book Review: July 2023

Four books again this month - on a roll!

Hello Beautiful by Ann Napolitano is by the same author who wrote Dear Edward. They have similar themes - finding oneself among tragedy and "family" being what and who you make of it, not just what you were born into. A very layered story of William, born in a family where he isn't seen or loved, but basketball becomes the touchstone for all his future relationships. He moves from Boston to Chicago for college and finds a place in the Padavano family of strong women and a warm and unmotivated father. All four sisters impact his life and he theirs profoundly. But nothing is a straight line. Not as good as Edward, but definitely satisfying.

The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett is about identical twin sisters, Desiree and Stella, from a small town in Louisiana. All members of the town are light-skinned black, so light they could pass as white. The sisters move to New Orleans where Stella vanishes one day. Years later, Desiree returns to her hometown with her daughter, Jude, who is so dark it causes a stir. Eventually Jude ventures out on her own to California, where one night she sees a woman who looks exactly like her mother. It couldn't be, could it?! And this woman's daughter is definitely white. A tale of becoming comfortable in your own skin. Literally. This showed a lot of promise, but it never resolved the sisters' break up nor deep connection between the two families I longed for. It was so-so.

The Midnight Library Matt Haig was recommended by my bestie and will definitely be in my top 10 for the year (if not top 5). "The only way to live is to learn". Nora Seed is a woman who cannot catch a break - she's lost her mom, her main job, her side job, and her cat. What next?! Nora is stuck between worlds and in the Midnight Library she can check out lives unlived - try out who she would have been had she made different choices along the way. Who hasn't imagined "what if?". The audiobook narrator is actress Carey Mulligan and I could listen to her narrate a cereal box. A MUST read, especially anyone who feels that the world would be better off without them in it. A++

Well Met by Jen DeLuca is a bit trite and predictable. I thought I might need a palette cleanser, but it was a bit too soapy for me. It also turned rated R in a nanosecond - I'm not a prude, but it happened three-quarters of the way through and seemed unnecessary by that point. Likely a decent beach read. 

TBR List

• The Lions of Fifth Avenue by Fiona Davis
• Counterfeit by Kirstin Chen
• The Nature of Fragile Things by Susan Meissner
• Sparks Like Stars by Nadia Hashimi
• Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman
• The Golden Couple by Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen 
• Blue Love: Blue Valley High by MJ Fields 

Monthly Book Review: June 2023

Four books this month!! and quite a variety. In order of most to least favorite - 

One Night on the Island by Josie Silver is about finding oneself where you least expect it. Cleo is a London dating columnist (think Sex and the City) sent by her editor to a remote island to self-partner (a term coined by Emma Watson). Cleo sees one other passenger on the boat taking her to the island. Turns out both Mack and Cleo are on Salvation Island for solitude yet stuck in the same lodge due to a reservation mix-up. Amidst the tension, they find a way to tolerate each other. Cleo finds warmth and belonging amongst the islanders. Mack starts to come to terms with the fact that life is not turning out how he designed. Warm, romantic and fun. Loved - A++

Thank You for Listening by Julia Whelan is the latest book by one of my favorite audiobook narrators. The story follows Sewanee (or "Swan" for short), a former actress who is now an audiobook narrator. There's a lot going on here, but it all works. A freak accident caused her to lose one eye and the related guilt/shame impacts all her decisions. She has a close relationship with her grandmother for whom she feels protective and responsible, especially since her father is a bit of a flake, She has a one-night stand with a charming Scotsman that she can't forget. She's given an amazing opportunity to narrate a romance book with the #1 male romance narrator, Brock - a genre she started out in but now hates. The anonymous banter between Swan and Brock is witty and sexy. The behind-the-scenes peek at the audiobook industry is fascinating. The only thing that felt a bit forced was the best friend relationship. A+

The Last Train to Key West by Chanel Cleeton follows three women in 1935. Three stories in one about Helen, a heavily pregnant local waitress, Elizabeth, a New York socialite whose family lost everything, and Mirta, a Cuban newly wed to a man with a reputation in New York and Florida. The Labor Day hurricane of 1935 (the strongest to ever hit the United States) is the ticking timebomb that drives the intersection between the women. This was an easy, good read.

Search by Michelle Huneven was recommended by a church friend. This is about a search committee at a Universalist Unitarian Church in California. According to Wikipedia, UUs " assert no creed, but instead are united by their shared search for spiritual growth". Search details the long, intense process of searching for a new minister and the snarkiness that accompanies a diverse panel of stakeholders with their own failings and biases. I didn't love the interspersion of food (main character is a restaurant reviewer) - fell flat for me, like she was trying too hard - I don't recall a single dish. I did love the back-and-forth amongst characters regarding what they were looking for in a minister and why, as well as the main character's introspection about her own biases. 

TBR List

• Hello Beautiful by Ann Napolitano
• The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett
• Well Met by Jen DeLuca
• Fifth Avenue by Fiona Davis
• Counterfeit by Kirstin Chen
• The Nature of Fragile Things by Susan Meissner
• Sparks Like Stars by Nadia Hashimi
• Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman
• Maud Martha by Gwendolyn Brooks
• The Golden Couple by Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen 
• Blue Love: Blue Valley High by MJ Fields 
  

Monthly Book Review: May 2023

May was not my best reading month - two books that were meh.

All Adults Here by Emma Straub seemed promising, especially with a quirky beginning, but it just didn't jell for me. Astrid witnesses a terrible accident one morning - a school bus kills someone she doesn't particularly like on the way to the hair salon. Turns out there was an incident years prior with one of her sons that biased Astrid against the woman. With her death, Astrid starts thinking about what kind of parent she's been and her own legacy. I was looking forward to more depth on unpacking this as well as parenting adult children (something I've found challenging myself). However, there are so many characters - Astrid's partner, her daughter who is about to be an unwed mother, two sons, one of which is an actor with a 13 yo daughter with her own incident so sent packing to Astrid's, daughters-in-law, the daughter's former high school flame and a rekindled female relationship. And reflections on Astrid's first husband who died. That's a lot of relationships to manage and it all gets watered down for me. I may have been looking for too much so perhaps a good light read if that's what you expect.

I was really looking forward to In Five Years by Rebecca Serle. Serle wrote One Italian Summer, one of my top 10 reads of 2022. Like Adults, this starts out promising - a story of friendship and fate. Dannie is a high-power NYC attorney with a plan and timetable for everything ... career, marriage, family. Bella, Dannie's childhood best friend, is more laid-back, glamorous and artsy. One night Dannie has a dream so vivid and clear that is five years in the future, but she doesn't recognize the apartment or the guy in her life; she just knows that she's happy. She revisits the dream several times but is unable to recreate the magic. Fast forward four years when she meets THE guy - and it's Bella's new boyfriend. I expected it to get juicy from there ... unfortunately it does not. Another potential light summer read; I guess I'm looking for deep thoughts and nuanced perspectives in my books.

Thanks to a couple of Audible sales I've loaded up my to-be-read list - better get cracking!

TBR List

• The Last Train to Key West by Chanel Cleeton
• One Night on the Island by Josie Silver
• Thank You for Listening by Julia Whelan
• Search by Michelle Huneven
• Hello Beautiful by Ann Napolitano
• The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett
• Well Met by Jen DeLuca
• Fifth Avenue by Fiona Davis
• Counterfeit by Kirstin Chen
• The Nature of Fragile Things by Susan Meissner
• Sparks Like Stars by Nadia Hashimi
• Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman
• Maud Martha by Gwendolyn Brooks
• Blue Love: Blue Valley High - Senior Year by MJ Fields

Monthly Book Review: April 2023

Happy May Day! I vaguely remember dancing around a maypole as a child, but not sure what it's all about so Wikipedia to the rescue -

May Day is a European festival of ancient origins marking the beginning of summer, usually celebrated on 1 May, around halfway between the spring equinox and summer solstice.

So there you have it, but let's reflect on April for this review. I read 2.5 books - .5 because I discovered a book started late last year but never finished as I was organizing my Audible account. Yay!

Two books deal with memory, highlighting Alzheimer’s/dementia family members, and the third is billed as a mystery/thriller. Hmmm...

The Villa by Rachel Hawkins is about best friends (more like frenemies) who vacation at an Italian villa with a legendary past. There was a murder in the 70's among a group of vacationing friends while two (or three) try to make an album. The stories bounce between the vacationing girlfriends and the 70's group consisting of two stepsisters, their mercurial musician (married) boyfriends and a drug dealing musician wannabe. I found this to be really predictable and trying too hard to be a Kate Morton story. There was a small twist I didn't see coming that was interesting, but not enough to redeem the entire book for me. And the end presents a did-she-or-didn't she scenario that I just didn't care enough to think it through. I give it a C.

Wish You Were Here by Jodi Picoult was like two stories in one. The first half follows Diana, a New Yorker who takes a trip to the Galapagos Islands just as the world is shutting down for COVID. There she is forced to relax and just be, and predictably she forges a relationship with a rough-around-the-edges local man and his angsty daughter. I really enjoyed this half ... the switch to the second half seemed like a record scratch. I was miffed at first, but like many of Picoult's books you're supposed to wrestle with the everyday dilemmas. I don't want to give to much away, but the second half has Diana questioning reality, reconciling with her past, and deciding if the plan she had for her future is relevant.

“…the reliability of memory and how it fails us … The Japanese believe that it takes three generations to forget. Those who experience a trauma pass that along to their children and their grandchildren, and then the memory fades. To the survivors of a tragedy, that’s unthinkable. What’s the point of living through something terrible if you cannot convey the lessons you’ve learned? Since nothing will ever replace all you’ve lost, the only way to make meaning is to make sure no one else goes through what you did. Memories are the safeguards we use to keep from making the same mistakes.”

The found half-finished book is Vacationland by Meg Mitchell Moore. This was a slow burn and my favorite of the three. Set in Owl’s Head, Maine

“You aren’t owed anything, not really. Because the universe doesn’t work like that, the universe doesn’t make everything even for us”.

TBR List

• All Adults Here by Emma Straub
• One Night on the Island by Josie Silver
• The Last Train to Key West by Chanel Cleeton
• Thank You for Listening by Julia Whelan
• Search by Michelle Huneven

Monthly Book Review: March 2023

March was an excellent reading month! My neighbor recommended The All-Girl Filling Station’s Last Reunion by Fannie Flagg and it was delightful. Sookie Simmons is a middle aged woman from coastal Alabama with a complicated relationship with her eccentric, over-the-top mother. She consternates over a registered letter - though lengthy, that whole bit had me hooked (nothing good comes by registered mail … it may be another lawsuit against her mother) then discovers she is related to the Jurdabralinski’s of Pulaski, Wisconsin. The alternating storylines of Sookie and other Point Clear, AL characters vs. WWII life for the Jurdabralinski’s provides the perfect yin-yang tension. I loved learning about the Women’s Airforce Service Pilots (WASPs). Flagg also wrote Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Café so that gives you good frame of reference for the delightful quirkiness this book celebrates.

Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt will for sure be in my top 10 reads of the year. The story alternates between Marcellus, a giant Pacific octopus in the Sowell Bay, WA aquarium, Tovah Sullivan, a widow who cleans at the aquarium, and Cameron Cassmore, a young man from Modesto, CA needing meaning and purpose. The intersection of their stories is clever and heartwarming. This is billed as a recommendation for those who loved A Man Called Ove and I completely agree with that comparison.

TBR List

• Wish You Were Here by Jodi Picoult
• Vacationland by Meg Mitchell Moore
• All Adults Here by Emma Straub
• One Night on the Island by Josie Silver
• The Last Train to Key West by Chanel Cleeton
• The Villa by Rachel Hawkins
• Thank You for Listening by Julia Whelan
• The Joy of X by Steven Strogatz

Monthly Book Review: February 2023

Late and only one book. A VERY long book at that. I was drawn to The Magnificent Lives of Marjorie Post by Allison Pataki because I loved her other books, The Accidental Empress about Sisi of Austria and The Traitor's Wife about Benedict Arnold's wife. This one completely missed the mark - not sure if it was Pataki's writing or the subject. I never fell in love with Marjorie - she just flitted from one privileged circumstance to another, albeit she seems to have been very charitable. Both Marjorie and Pataki think she’s a pretty big deal. Her early life was painstakingly detailed and the last 30 plus years were whizzed through. Here are the highlights —Marjorie Merriweather Post was the designer and original inhabitant of Mar-a-Lago, the now infamous home of Donald Trump. She was the only child of C.W. Post, inventor of Grape Nuts and other Post cereals. Her first husband was Ed Close (grandfather of actress Glenn Close through his second marriage) and her second husband was E.F. Hutton. With Hutton, Post became General Foods and acquired a number of brands, including Birds Eye Frozen Foods (at Marjorie's insistence), Maxwell House and Jello-O. Her third husband was Democrat diplomat Joseph Davies, and they acquired significant Russian art pieces while Joe was ambassador to the Soviet Union. She married and divorced a fourth time and had three daughters (actress Dina Merrill was the youngest). Sprinkle in a few references to the yacht Sea Cloud, one husband calling her "mumsy" and A LOT of famous names casually mentioned, and I've saved you 14 hours and 30 minutes. You're welcome. One thing I did appreciate was how business minded she was and that it was a shame she spent most of her life as the woman behind a man vs the CEO and president she should have been.

TBR List

• Vacationland by Meg Mitchell Moore
• Wish You Were Here by Jodi Picoult
• All Adults Here by Emma Straub
• Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt
• The All-Girl Filling Station’s Last Reunion by Fannie Flagg
• The Joy of X by Steven Strogatz

Monthly Book Review: January 2023

Three books this month and a bonus because it turns out I read two in December and forgot to review one of them. Classic “better late than never”.

The Good Widow by Liz Fenton, Lisa Steinke - What if you found out your husband died in Hawaii, but you thought he was on a business trip in Kansas? And he wasn’t alone. I’d obsessively try to find out out what happened. Not sure I’d go with the other party’s significant other though. This drew me in right away and had a twist I didn’t see coming. Not top 10 worthy but a good read.

The Magnolia Palace by Fiona Davis - Based in NYC, it begins in the Gilded Age with a very young model for sculptures gracing buildings and mansions all over the city. The loss of her mother and a scandal leads Lillian to take refuge as a private secretary to the daughter of wealthy industrialist, Henry Clay Frick. Fast forward to 1966 where another model, Veronica, is stuck in the Frick mansion for a cold winter weekend with a young associate archivist. Veronica and Joshua follow a scavenger hunt laid out by Helen Frick 50 years prior. Here’s where it gets a bit sketchy for me - the scavenger hunt is somehow related to a diamond that went missing and Veronica is anxious to steal the diamond once found to secure a safe home for her impaired sister. Oh and there’s the mystery of Mr Frick’s death and Lillian’s potential involvement. Not as tidy as I would expect but a decent read.

Carrie Soto Is Back by Taylor Jenkins Reid was REALLY good and definitely lived up to the hype. This is the read to beat the rest of the year. Carrie is the hard-ass, retired greatest tennis player of all time. Her record is about to be beat. Can she make a comeback and stave off the next generation? I love her inner dialogue, the progressive timeline with training and matches, and the wonderful relationship with her father and coach Javier, also a former tennis great. This is my sixth Reid book - Daisy Jones & The Six is a hotly anticipated movie - and by far my favorite. I think Carrie would make for a hot must-see weekly streaming series.

The Idea of You by Robinne Lee - Solène is a thirty-nine year old mother taking her teenage daughter and friends to a boy band concert. What results is a steamy, complicated ride. “What if your teenager’s fantasy was your reality?” The audio book is read by the author and she has a very sultry voice. I hear this is being made into a movie with Anne Hathaway. 

TBR List

• The Magnificent Lives of Marjorie Post by Allison Pataki 
• Vacationland by Meg Mitchell Moore
• Wish You Were Here by Jodi Picoult
• All Adults Here by Emma Straub
• Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt
• The All-Girl Filling Station’s Last Reunion by Fannie Flagg
• The Joy of X by Steven Strogatz

Monthly Book Review: Nov/Dec 2022 + Year in Review

I went to create the December/year end post and discovered that I forgot to do a November post. Oops!

Only one book in November - We Were the Lucky Ones by Georgia Hunter, a true story about a Jewish family from Poland. Over 90% of Europe’s Jews were killed during WWII, but Lucky Ones chronicles the stories of the Kurc family who survived - parents Sol and Nechuma, their five children, Genek, Mila, Addy, Halina, their partners and Mila's young daughter, Felicia. I loved getting to know each one and what they had to do, where they had to go to survive and reunite - from Paris jazz clubs to Poland's ghettos, a Siberian gulag, and Rio de Janeiro. 

Only one book in December as well - A Woman of No Importance by Sonia Purnell. This is the true story of American Virginia Hall who fiercely fought for France's independence via espionage and sabotage. It was a tough read - long and like listening to a Netflix documentary (albeit a good one), but I really wanted to know more about the woman who defied convention and the patriarchy (as well as a disability - she was an amputee) to become the most highly decorated female civilian of WWII.

Year in Review

I read/listened to 30 books in 2022 and here are my top 10:

• The Lincoln Highway by Amor Towles
• The Last Think He Told Me by Laura Dave 
• Ask Again, Yes by Mary Beth Keane
• Castle of Water by Dane Huckelbridge
• The Good House by Ann Leary
• The Paris Apartment by Lucy Foley
• The Hunting Party by Lucy Foley
• Truths I Never Told You by Kelly Rimmer
• One Italian Summer by Rebecca Serle
• Our Darkest Night by Jennifer Robson

Would love to know what you thought of any of these and if any recommendations for 2023.

Happy New Year!