The Astral Library by Kate Quinn
Goodreads blurb: From New York Times bestselling author Kate Quinn comes a gorgeously written fantastical adventure which poses the question: Have you ever wished you could live inside a book? Welcome to the Astral Library, where books are not just objects, but doors to new worlds, new lives, and new futures.
Alexandria “Alix” Watson has learned one lesson from her barren childhood in the foster-care system: unlike people, books will never let you down. Working three dead-end jobs to make ends meet and knowing college is a pipe dream, Alix takes nightly refuge in the high-vaulted reading room at the Boston Public Library, escaping into her favorite fantasy novels and dreaming of far-off lands. Until the day she stumbles through a hidden door and meets the Librarian: the ageless, acerbic guardian of a hidden library where the desperate and the lost escape to new lives…inside their favorite books.
The Librarian takes a dazzled Alix under her wing, but before she can escape into the pages of her new life, a shadowy enemy emerges to threaten everyone the Astral Library has ever helped protect. Aided by a dashing costume-shop owner, Alix and the Librarian flee through the Regency drawing rooms of Jane Austen to the back alleys of Sherlock Holmes and the champagne-soaked parties of The Great Gatsby as danger draws inexorably closer. But who does their enemy really wish to destroy—Alix, the Librarian, or the Library itself?
my take: 3.75 out of 5. I really liked the concept, a magical library where you can go live in your favorite story? brilliant (also the fact that there is one for art was such a good complement) My first question whilst reading this book was which book would i go hide in? I still don’t think I have the answer and the limitation that it could only be in books of public domain made it way harder. Who would have thought in the span of two months I would be reading two books, from authors I’ve really liked, about jumping into books and living in their stories? I definitely liked this book much more than the book witch but there was still something in the execution that was lacking for me. It was a fun first attempt at Fantasy from Kate Quinn but I miss her historical fiction what can I say this was just not as engaging to me as some of her past that I have loved. I do have to say I’m all in in her concept of fighting a Coalition of righteous men!
Keeper of Lost Children by Sadeqa Johnson
Goodreads Blurb: In this new novel from the New York Times bestselling author of The House of Eve, one American woman’s vision in post WWII Germany will tie together three people in an unexpected way.
Lost in the streets and smoldering rubble of Occupied Germany, Ethel Gathers, the proud wife of an American soldier spots a gaggle of mixed-race children following a nun. Desperate to conceive her own family, she feels compelled to follow them to learn their story.
Ozzie Philips volunteers for the army in 1948, eager to break barriers for Black soldiers. Despite his best efforts, he finds the racism he encountered at home in Philadelphia has followed him overseas. He finds solace in the arms of Jelka, a German woman struggling with the lack of resources and even joy in her destroyed country.
In 1965, Sophia Clark discovers she’s been given an opportunity to integrate a prestigious boarding school in Maryland and leave behind her spiteful parents and the grueling demands. In a chance meeting with a fellow classmate, she discovers a secret that upends her world.
Toggling between the lives of these three individuals, Keeper of Lost Children explores how one woman’s vision will change the course of countless lives, and demonstrates that love in its myriad of forms—familial, parental, and forbidden, even love of self—can be transcendent.
This is an ARC review thanks to a gift from the publisher.
my take: 4.25 out of 5. A beautiful historical fiction, written in three interconnected stories (although for me one was much superior than the other three), of something I was absolutely not aware had happened. Emotional, engaging and rough all at the same time. Since you had three stories you knew they somewhat had to interconnect, so some things might have been more predictable but I kind of loved the fact that some of it was not. A great read for historical fiction lovers.
Brighter than Before by Courtney Walsh
Goodreads blurb: In her forties, newly single in the Windy City, and reeling from a major life shake-up, Claire Karadec finds a reset in the most unlikely of places–a dating profile set up by her adult daughter. From New York Times bestselling author Courtney Walsh comes a refreshing, lighthearted, sweet novel, perfect for fans of Annabel Monaghan and Sarah Adams.
Claire did not plan to end up mid-forties with a daughter studying in London and the unfortunate discovery that her husband is not the man she thought he was. In fact, he’s the exact opposite of a faithful, loyal, kind, and good-hearted spouse. And the discovery of his real nature and lack of remorse leads her to do what she never thought she would–divorce him.
After a year of wallowing before hitting rock bottom . . . in public, unfortunately, Claire realizes she needs to finally answer the question her therapist asked her all those months “What do you really want?” It was a question she couldn’t answer then, but now she knows it’s time to figure it out.
It’s the turning point that leads Claire to change her life. And not just a little–a lot. She sells her house in Denver and moves to the city that’s always had her heart–Chicago.
With the help of nosy neighbors, new friends, and a daughter who sets her up on a dating site from across the ocean, Claire begins to answer that big, important question by figuring out what she wants and how to live life on her own terms.
This is an ARC review thanks to a gift from the publisher. Book comes out on July 10th
My take: 4 out of 5. A totally adorable adult second chance romance that is sweet and life affirming. I great book about building a life post divorce and hitting your stride later in life. Also bonus points for a very interesting Male lead and a lot of baked goods and food!
In Her Defense by Philippa Malicka
Goodreads blurb: As a sensational celebrity libel trial unfolds, a young woman at the periphery secretly wields the power to make or break the case. But with her own hidden past, will she dare to speak up?
A REESE WITHERSPOON BOOK CLUB SELECTION!
Everyone is watching. Only one person knows the truth.
The whole country has been riveted by the Beloved TV star and national treasure Anna Finbow, standing in court, accusing her daughter’s therapist Jean Guest of brainwashing her daughter Mary for her own financial gain. Jean insists Mary’s traumatic memories arise from her upbringing and her time studying at a prestigious art school in Rome; wounds only Jean’s therapy can heal. But as the trial unfolds, it’s Augusta “Gus” Bird, Anna’s former employee—a seemingly insignificant bystander, a nobody—who holds the key to unraveling the tangled web of lies and deceit.
What really happened to Mary in Rome? And if her memories can’t be trusted, how will they ever uncover the truth behind her estrangement? Twisty and propulsive, In Her Defense is a compulsively readable debut for fans of Lucy Foley and Laura Dave.
my take: 3 out of 5. This was a weird courtroom thriller whose ending just landed absolutely flat. The problem was that I Wasn’t even that engaged through the whole story, so the flat ending was just a really disappointing moment. The story was not engaging enough to justify it. Its one of those books where there is not one redeemable character, they are all very flawed, complicated and confusing.
How to Read a Book by Monica Wood
Goodreads blurb: A charming, deeply moving novel about second chances, unlikely friendships, and the life-changing power of sharing stories.
Our Reasons meet us in the morning and whisper to us at night. Mine is an innocent, unsuspecting, eternally sixty-one-year-old woman named Lorraine Daigle…
Violet Powell, a twenty-two-year-old from rural Abbott Falls, Maine, is being released from prison after serving twenty-two months for a drunk-driving crash that killed a local kindergarten teacher. Harriet Larson, a retired English teacher who runs the prison book club, is facing the unsettling prospect of an empty nest. Frank Daigle, a retired machinist, hasn’t yet come to grips with the complications of his marriage to the woman Violet killed.
When the three encounter each other one morning in a bookstore in Portland—Violet to buy the novel she was reading in the prison book club before her release, Harriet to choose the next title for the women who remain, and Frank to dispatch his duties as the store handyman—their lives begin to intersect in transformative ways.
How to Read a Book is an unsparingly honest and profoundly hopeful story about letting go of guilt, seizing second chances, and the power of books to change our lives. With the heart, wit, grace, and depth of understanding that has characterized her work, Monica Wood illuminates the decisions that define a life and the kindnesses that make life worth living. .
My take: 4.25 out of 5. This was a recommendation by one of my fellow book club members, I had not heard of this book before but Im glad she brough it into our lives because its adorable. I Love the story of forgiveness an how to move on, it was warm and fuzzy. I also loved the concept that they were doing a book club in jail. I loved it up to the ending – I get it but it was a bit abrupt I kind of wanted more. A side observation how can can both their kids be this bratty, I dont know who was worse.
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