The Bereaved

In 1859, Martha was newly widowed and quickly made aware that her husband had put their children under the stewardship of a predatory man. Rather than stay and have this man abuse her and her children, she packs up the children and flees to New York City to start a life on their own. She underestimated the difficulties of starting over with no financial backing. When Martha finally finds a job, it is for a man who is no better than the one she fled, and it doesn’t pay enough to both house and feed her family of five.

Eventually, Martha discovers The Home for the Friendless, an aid organization that helps feed, house, and educate children in need. When desperation gets to the extreme, Martha takes her children there so that they can get some help and food while she works on a new plan for their survival. When visiting day comes around, Martha finds that all four of her children have been sent to homes in other states and will not return to New York. Now Martha has to make another new plan, but this time, it means finding her children and bringing them home.

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Orphan Train stories have been around for decades. This is not the first one I’ve read, but this one hit differently, and I think that is because The Bereaved is written from the parent’s perspective. So many of these stories are told from the children’s point of view, and I found it refreshing to read from the other side. Writing from the mother’s point of view brought more emotion to the story, which helped draw me in. As a mother, I cannot even imagine the intense emotion that would come from being in Martha’s position. Just the betrayal alone of having this aid organization essentially steal my children instead of doing what they promised. That emotion came out in telling the story from Martha’s point of view.

Much of this time in our history is still kept secretive. Yes, there was a lot going on in our country then, but we need to tell more of these stories. I would love to see more exposure to this time and these issues in books to learn what happened. Using the mother’s perspective in this book is a great start.

The Last Carolina Girl

The Last Carolina Girl had me hooked from page one. It is a phenomenal read about a history the United States tries to forget. This book touches on a medical history of our country that doesn’t get talked about enough. When we hear the word “eugenics,” we think about Nazi Germany in the 1930s and 1940s, but it was happening here too.

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Leah is orphaned at age 14, and her world collapses. She is sent to a home where she hopes to be accepted, only to have her world cave in even more. It turns out she has walked into a home filled with old rivalries and petty grudges. She is living with the physical embodiment of “Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned.” Leah is regularly punished, not for her behavior, but for her parents’ choices that other people disagree with. Leah ends up with physical scars from someone looking for revenge for their unhealed emotional scars. Thankfully, someone from her past comes to her rescue and shows her what a true family can be.

This book broke my heart. As a woman, a human, and an American, this book saddened me deep into my soul.

Women and their bodies need to be respected. There is absolutely no reason for a woman’s body to be controlled by anyone other than herself. And like in this story, those who are trying to take control of a woman’s body are people who are petty and trying to hurt others as a means of making themselves feel better.

The Couple in the Photo

If not for having to go to work, I could have read The Couple in the Photo in one sitting. The writing holds your attention and keeps you turning pages.

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Lucy, Adam, Cora, and Scott are two couples that have been best friends for years. They are so close and inseparable enough that an outsider would think that they’re family. One day at work, Lucy is looking through pictures of a co-worker’s recent vacation and sees Scott in one of them. But Scott is with a woman, and that woman is not Cora.

Within a few days of seeing this picture, Lucy learns that the woman in the photo with Scott has gone missing. Fearing that her friend is involved, she tries to find out what has happened to this woman and if Scott is somehow to blame. The more Lucy digs, the more answers she gets, but these answers are to questions she never asked. And the more of these answers she uncovers, the cracks of her happy life become exposed, cracks that she never knew were there.

Lucy is one hell of a character. I’d love a sequel just about her life after this book. Lucy wears her heart on her sleeve. She does everything because making others feel loved and cared for brings her joy. So when all of this happens, and she begins to question the happy life she has built, she can’t help but mentally spiral while asking herself how she missed the signs of unhappiness going on in her family.

Here in Avalon

I read Here in Avalon in December thanks to an advanced copy sent to me. I have been thinking about this book since then. I have been rolling over everything that happened in the book for almost two months now, and I still have no idea what to think about this book. 

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I didn’t love the book, but I didn’t hate it. Something about it kept me reading through to the end, and something still has me thinking about the book, but I have no clue what that is. Honestly, I’m not even sure I understand the plot point, and part of me wonders if that’s how the author intended it to be.

Have you ever felt like this after reading a book? Do you have one that you couldn’t put down, but at the end, you couldn’t even process what you’ve read? 

I am absolutely recommending this book to everyone because it wasn’t bad and because I want to know your thoughts. 

Upcoming Releases

I don’t know about you, but I love reading all of those articles out there about the best upcoming books. So, I’m taking some inspiration from those articles and giving you a list of and links to 8 books coming out this spring that I am really excited about.

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Slow Noodles, by Chantha Nguon–coming February 20th
A haunting and beautiful memoir from a Cambodian refugee who lost her country and her family during Pol Pot’s genocide in the 1970s but who finds hope by reclaiming the recipes she tasted in her mother’s kitchen.

Listen for the Lie, by Amy Tintera–Coming March 5th
Lucy’s best friend was murdered years ago, and Lucy coped with her grief by leaving town. Now, a true crime podcaster is digging into her friend’s case, and she is going to have to finally deal with what happened all those years ago.

The Swan’s Nest, by Laura McNeal–coming March 12th
A tender and engrossing historical novel about the unlikely love affair between two great 19th-century poets, Robert Browning and Elizabeth Barrett.

Jaded, by Ela Lee–coming March 19th
A young lawyer wakes up the morning after a work gala with no memory of how she got home the previous night and must figure out what, exactly, happened—and how much she’s willing to put up with to make her way to the top of the corporate ladder.

Off the Air, by Christina Estes–coming March 26th
A debut novel about the drama in journalism. When a talk show host dies suspiciously, a local journalist realizes that she conducted his last interview and feels compelled to help solve the mystery of his death.

The Sleepwalkers, by Scarlett Thomas–coming April 9th
A surprising and suspenseful modern gothic story following a couple running from secretive pasts and very present dangers while honeymooning on a Greek island.

Days of Wonder, by Caroline Leavitt–coming April 23rd
A tantalizing, courageous story about mothers and daughters, guilt and innocence, and the lengths we go for love.

Granite Harbor, by Peter Nichols–coming April 30th
A small town in Maine finds its detectives trying to stop a serial killer who is targeting the town’s teenagers.

Not only am I excited about these upcoming reads, but I have been lucky enough that the publishers and NetGalley have given me an advanced copy of each of them, which means that there will be a full review post of each of these books coming during their release weeks! So take a look at the links and their full descriptions, and let me know which ones you are looking forward to reading.

The Disappearance of Astrid Bricard

Astrid Bricard is an up-and-coming designer in New York City in the 1970s. Her work is fresh and amazing, but she cannot escape her mother’s larger-than-life shadow of being the muse of the house of Dior. Then, one day, Astrid just disappears into thin air while working in France.

Decades later, Astrid’s daughter Blythe is the keeper of her mother’s and grandmother’s legacies. As she begins a new fashion venture of her own, there is no escaping the generations before her; she is just confronting the unknowns and the questions that come from their ghosts, including the truth behind Astrid’s disappearance.

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The Disappearance of Astrid Bricard is a beautifully written historical fiction novel that weaves these women’s lives together wonderfully, but it is so much more than that. 

It is a story that runs deeper than 3 generations of women who all chose the fashion world. This is a story of identity, mental health, lessons in communication, family, self-worth, and so much more. This story is about understanding your value and worth, not just to the world but yourself. It is about making the hard choices because they are the best and right choices for yourself and for those you love the most. It is a novel dedicated to the sacrifices that women make while trying to do everything that society tells them to do: work, marry, be a good mom, and stay out of any situation that could seem scandalous, even if it is innocent. It is also about knowing that each story has multiple sides; putting them together is the only way to get the truth.

I was drawn into the story early on, but by the halfway mark, I was completely invested in each of their stories. I couldn’t put the book down because I was compelled to find out what was going to happen. I became so connected that I could feel, understand, and empathize with them, and I needed to know how things would all work out. And the ending gave each woman the conclusion they not only needed but what they deserved.

Freedom with Food and Fitness

Freedom with Food and Fitness was a great read. It was informational but not pushy. It was nice to read a book about nutrition that didn’t come across as shaming readers for having a tenuous relationship with food and exercise.

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Reading about nutrition and fitness are things that I do regularly, but this book hit a bit differently for me. I found a lot of great notes to make about my eating habits, but I also found myself connecting food control goals and triggers to other areas of my life.
I have never been a dieting person, but the cycle of starting a venture, failing at it (or thinking that I have), and restarting a new venture with a clean slate mindset is something that I do with other aspects of my life, typically my writing career goals. I will begin a program for a new certificate or writing project, but when life kicks in. The momentum wanes, and it isn’t easy to keep going. Hence, it drops, and I inevitably feel like a failure. Then I make a new plan, start again, and the cycle continues.
As I dive into the new year and a new decade of life, all of this hits me quite strongly. It reinforces that it is time to focus on what feeds my life and soul, both in food and work. It is time to get rid of the intense, unfulfilling, frustrating things and focus on what satisfies and fulfills my life. So now it is time to treat my career projects like eating. Do what I want and what will feed my soul. And, also remember that if things get put on pause, it isn’t because I failed; it is because that is what my life and mental health need.
I had all of these deep thoughts about life because I chose to read another book about nutrition. That means that reading about food also gives us food for our thoughts.

Diva

I have read and enjoyed Daisy Goodwin’s books before, so I was excited for her newest book, Diva. It tells of Maria Callas, an opera Diva and long-time lover of Aristotle Onassis before his marriage to Jackie Kennedy. 

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My excitement turned to boredom by the 25% mark. It isn’t that she chose a poor subject, nor is it because of her writing. I think this time it is me. 

I have read hundreds of other books and authors since the last time I read Daisy Goodwin’s books, and I think I have outgrown her writing and style. I also was terribly disappointed in the adaptation of her book, Victoria, and I still hold a bad attitude towards it.

All this being said, I won’t write off her books forever, but right now, at this point in my life, it just doesn’t feed my soul to read her books. And while this was my first unfinished book of 2024, I foresee plenty of people devouring it.

Don’t Let Her Stay

One of our recent book club picks was Don’t Let Her Stay, by Nicola Sanders. It’s essentially a story of blending families together, which isn’t easy, especially when your husband and stepdaughter have mysterious secrets from their past that are surfacing and risking exposure.

I am an affiliate member with Amazon and  bookshop.org, so any purchases through this post’s links will give me a commission back. Check out the about page for more information on that and how I get my hands on these fantastic books.

Joanne knows how lucky she is. She has a wonderful husband, a gorgeous baby girl, and a beautiful house in the English countryside. Her life is like a dream, but when Richard’s twenty-year-old daughter Chloe turns up unexpectedly, she wonders if it’s a nightmare.

Chloe and Richard haven’t spoken in two years, but now Chloe wants to make peace. Richard is excited to reconnect with his older daughter and invites her to move in, claiming she’ll be a great help to have with her baby sister. Despite it seeming as though Chloe doesn’t like Joanne, it is a solution that helps everyone. As Richard and Chloe spend more time together, though, they both become secretive, behaving oddly towards Joanne. So when things begin happening that make Joanne feel as though she’s losing her mind, she wonders if her family history of mental illness has caught up to her. But she also wonders if something more sinister is happening. Did Chloe really come to reconnect, or was having her move in a terrible mistake?

The writing of this book is wonderfully engaging, enough so that it could be read in a day because you just keep turning pages. She has built some fantastically well-developed characters that you become attached to. The drama and interaction between the characters is incredible.

However…the psychological thriller part was missing for me. With all of the twists and turns (and there are a ton), there should have been at least one that surprised me, but instead, I figured them all out before they happened. Honestly, if her writing wasn’t as good as it is, I wouldn’t have finished it. Because she has such a captivating writing style, I stuck it out even without the thrill and suspense that I was hoping for.

2024 Reading Goals

The new year has arrived, and with it, it is time to decide what I want to achieve with my reading this year. I’ve had the same reading goal for a few years now: to read as diversely as possible throughout the year. And that will continue to be this year’s goal as well.

While I am working on my attempt to read books set in every country, I also hope to shake up the authors I read. I would love to find some authors who I have never heard of. And I am going to try to read more authors that I haven’t tried yet (I have a Jodi Picoult on my list for later this year, thanks to book club). I would also love to finish my checklist for all 50 states this year. I need about 11 yet, so send your recommendations, especially for the Dakotas.

So the next question is, what am I going to do this year to achieve these goals?

Well, I have joined a few more book clubs in my area. Yes, I know, years ago I wrote about not joining book clubs, but well, things have changed since then. I promise I’ll try to write about that change soon. By participating in 3 book clubs, with different types of members choosing the books in each, I am being introduced to books and authors I haven’t read before. I am also not shying away from books recommended to me by friends. While these suggestions might not be my usual things to read, one could turn out to be an amazing read for me.

I think that by opening up to additional suggestions and then actually reading them, my continual goal of diversifying my reading and thus educating my life is always achievable.

So, what are your goals for this year?