Murder at an Irish Bakery (An Irish Village Mystery Book 9) by Carlene O’Connor – #BookReview – #TuesdayBookBlog @KensingtonCozies

Book Blurb:

The picturesque village of Kilbane in County Cork, Ireland, is the perfect backdrop for a baking contest—until someone serves up a show-stopping murder that only Garda Siobhan O’Sullivan can solve.

In Kilbane, opinions are plentiful and rarely in alignment. But there’s one thing everyone does agree on—the bakery in the old flour mill, just outside town, is the best in County Cork, well worth the short drive and the long lines. No wonder they’re about to be featured on a reality baking show.

All six contestants in the show are coming to Kilbane to participate, and the town is simmering with excitement. Aside from munching on free samples, the locals—including Siobhan—get a chance to appear in the opening shots. As for the competitors themselves, not all are as sweet as their confections. There are shenanigans on the first day of filming that put everyone on edge, but that’s nothing compared to day two, when the first round ends and the top contestant is found face-down in her signature pie.
The producers decide to continue filming while Siobhan and her husband, Garda Macdara Flannery, sift through the suspects. Was this a case of rivalry turned lethal, or are their other motives hidden in the mix? And can they uncover the truth before another baker is eliminated—permanently . . .

My Review:

It’s so nice to revisit the atmospheric Irish Village again where I can enjoy the countryside and people. I always look forward to the author’s sense of humor, spicing the dialogue, particularly between herself and Macdara with wit and couple spark.

“Drop the attitude and answer the question,” Macdara said. Siobhán’s insides warmed up. She was going to bring him breakfast in bed for the rest of his life. Or at least once.”

This addition to the series is perfect for foodies in that there is to be a reality baking show just outside the town of Kilbane where the locals are expecting to sample the specialties of the contestants of a show held in the old flour mill. More than that, they are expecting to rub elbows with the well-known top contestant soon to release a memoir.

Garda Siobhán O’Sullivan is just slightly distracted by all the delightful smells, the beauty of the confections, and the heavenly tastes she manages to wrangle. And there is another distraction—that of a sugar protestor “sugar kills!” Not until the second day when a very suspicious “accident” happens to the lead contestant does it begin to look as if they have a murderous baker in the group, although to be fair, there are the judges as well as the camera crew.

Garda O’Sullivan must decide if she should shut it down (and watch her suspects split) or keep it going and risk another fatal mishap. Garda Flannery joins the fray and they begin bouncing off all the possible scenarios, which at first flush doesn’t seem to get them very far.

It seems Garda O’Sullivan is still leading the posse with speculation but defers somewhat to hubby than she has before—building consensus. It’s easy to draw your own assumptions among the theories, but not so the culprit this time so I just let it roll out to the conclusion and reveal.

I began this series with Book 4 and have read each now, including Book 8 Murder on an Irish Farm, and Book 7, Murder in an Irish Bookshop; one of my favorite go-to series. Currently on pre-order for a February 2023 release and recommended.

I received a complimentary review copy of this book from the author and publisher through @NetGalley that in no way influenced this review. These are my honest thoughts.

Rosepoint Rating: Four point Five Stars

Book Details:

Genre: Cozy Culinary Mysteries, International Mystery & Crime
Publisher: Kensington Cozies
ASIN: B0B358YLW7
Print Length: 304 pages
Publication Date: February 21, 2023
Source: Publisher and NetGalley

Title Link(s):

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo

The Author: Carlene O’Connor comes from a long line of Irish storytellers. Her great-grandmother emigrated from Ireland to America during the Troubles, and the stories have been flowing ever since. Of all the places across the pond she’s wandered, she fell most in love with a walled town in County Limerick and was inspired to create the town of Kilbane, County Cork. Carlene currently divides her time between New York and the Emerald Isle.

http://www.carleneoconnor.com

Ninety-Nine Fire Hoops: A Memoir by Allison Hong Merrill – #Audiobook Review – Asian & Asian Americans Biographies

Book Blurb:

Allison Hong is not your typical 15-year-old Taiwanese girl. Unwilling to bend to the conditioning of her Chinese culture, which demands that women submit to men’s will, she disobeys her father’s demand to stay in their faith tradition, Buddhism, and instead joins the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Then, six years later, she drops out of college to serve a mission—a decision for which her father disowns her.
After serving her mission in Taiwan, 22-year-old Allison marries her Chinese-speaking American boyfriend, Cameron Chastain. But 16 months later, Allison returns home to their Texas apartment and is shocked to discover that, in her two-hour absence, Cameron has taken all the money, moved out, and filed for divorce. Desperate for love and acceptance, Allison moves to Utah and enlists in an imaginary, unforgiving dating war against the bachelorettes at Brigham Young University, where the rules don’t make sense—and winning isn’t what she thought it would be.

My Review:

When I got a request from the narrator of this memoir, I had to accept the request to listen to the audiobook. As mentioned in my response to her, the CE and I spent a little more than eighteen months on Taiwan in Taipei back in the late 60s (during the ‘Nam conflict). The CE was in the Navy at the time but his rank did not afford base housing, so we lived in the community (experiencing two typhoons while there). (Also, I met a young Taiwanese girl who asked if I would help her with her conversational English. I did.)

Living on the economy, we saw first hand the lifestyle, noted the patriarchal society. The women worked tirelessly whether at home or in the rice paddies. A difficult existence. Still, reading much of the abuse by the author’s father, much less by her own mother as well, was difficult. I couldn’t imagine a world where my own mother would be so hateful to me.
Allison is abandoned in Texas by a missionary she had met in Taiwan through the outreach program of the Church of the Latter-Day Saints. While Cameron was basically putting in his time, however, Allison took the teachings to heart and relied heavily on the Elders for guidance and wisdom—even against her own family—a saving grace.

So having established a connection to her local LDS church in Texas and left with no recourse, little English and less money, she turned for help to the only sanctuary she had.

I must mention the chorus of proverbs mentioned throughout the narrative, ancient Chinese sayings, pearls of wisdom that were greatly enjoyed. Allison’s thoughts though many times reminded me of just how different the cultures are, unwritten rules almost unfathomable to Westerners. Her biggest stumbling block to immersion into American society was understanding a culture so perplexing, so alien to her own.

In the meantime, Allison managed a divorce and the beginning of social activity which also served to examine a philosophy strange to my own when she juggles men attracted to her. While being blown away by her resilience, intelligence, and fortitude, there were times when some of her attitudes and values clashed with my own.

Smart as she is, however, she managed to not only succeed in classes but well enough to garner additional post-graduate studies.

I had a little difficulty with the somewhat unusual delivery of the narration but the style of writing and revelation of painful memories created waves of emotion from shock to anger. Descriptions of the people of Taiwan brought back a lot of memories—also poignant—as was this triumphant memoir.

I received a complimentary review copy of this audiobook from Kathleen Li (thanks for the contact, Kathy). These are my honest thoughts.

Book Details:

Genre: Asian & Asian Americans Biographies, Biographies of Religious Figures
Publisher: Allison Hong Merrill
ASIN: B0BDNZ7Q78
Listening Length: 9 hrs 26 mins
Narrator: Kathleen Li
Publication Date: September 9, 2022
Source: Request from narrator
Title Links: Nine-Nine Fire Hoops [Amazon]
Barnes & Noble
Kobo

Rosepoint Publishing: Four point Five Stars

The Author: Allison was born and raised in Taiwan and arrived in the U.S. at age twenty-two as a university student. That’s when she realized her school English wasn’t much help when asking for directions on the street or opening a bank account. By recording each of the classes she took––including physical education––and reviewing the tape every night for a year, she eventually learned English well enough to earn an MFA in Writing from Vermont College of Fine Arts. But please excuse her if she misuses the verb tenses or mixes up the genders in third-person pronouns when she speaks. It’s no secret––English is a hard language to learn.
Allison writes in both Chinese and English, both fiction and creative nonfiction, which means she spends a lot of time looking up words on Dictionary.com. She is a Pushcart Prize nominee and her work has won both national and international awards, including National Championship in the Life Story Writing Contest (Taipei, Taiwan), Grand Prize in the 2019 MAST People of Earth writing contest, the inaugural winner of Sandra Carpenter Prize for Creative Nonfiction, first-place in the 2019 Segullah Journal writing contest, and first-place in the 2020 Opossum Prize. Her work appears in both national and international publications. Her memoir, Ninety-Nine Fire Hoops, is forthcoming from She Writes Press, on September 21, 2021.
Allison is an instructor at Sotrymakers Writer’s Conference. Aside from writing, she also models and acts for print and film. But her greatest joy is sharing her life with her husband and their three sons. Visit her at http://www.allisonhongmerrill.com where you can sign up for her extremely short monthly email.

Narrator: Kathleen Li has narrated 40+ audiobooks on Audible and is expanding into other types of VO work, including audio dramas, animation, dubbing and corporate VO. Her voice is warm, engaging and empathetic.

As a Chinese-American, she is familiar with Mandarin and Taiwanese pronunciations, as well as British, French, Japanese and Southern. Because of her audiobook experience, she is skilled at varying character voices, tone and pacing in VO.

Chinese character attributes: Top – Dragon
Botton left – Love

Fries and Alibis: Paranormal Cozy Mystery by Trixie Silvertale – #BookReview – #TuesdayBookBlog

Mitzy Moon Mysteries Book 1

Book Blurb:

A gift that’s too good to be true. A murder she didn’t commit. A barista in a latte trouble…

Mitzy Moon believes she’s an orphan, so she’s dumbstruck when a special delivery to her low-rent apartment reveals a family. But her shock turns to awe when she discovers her grandmother left her a fortune and a bookshop of rare tomes brimming with magic.

No sooner does she set foot in the quirky village of Pin Cherry Harbor to claim her inheritance, than the handsome sheriff catches her standing over a corpse. Desperate to prove her innocence, she’s forced to accept help from her granny’s entitled cat and a spirit from beyond the grave.

Can Mitzy and her otherworldly helpers uncover the real killer before the long, sexy arm of the law hauls her to jail?

Fries and Alibis is the first book in the hilarious paranormal cozy mystery series, Mitzy Moon Mysteries. If you like amateur sleuths, small town intrigue, and a dash of the supernatural, then you’ll love Trixie Silvertale’s twisty whodunit.

My Review:

For Mizithra Moon (Mitzy), an early twenty-somethings circumstances couldn’t get much worse. She’s a barista behind on her rent and not eating well. She was orphaned young and bounced from one foster parent to another. She’s learned to tough it out—she’s had to—(“…corollary to the first rule of foster care: never show weakness)” but present circumstances are really getting on her nerves.

When she gets the word that she’s inherited a bookshop (AND money!) from a grandmother she didn’t know she had, it’s hard to believe but doesn’t take a second to pack her few items and hit the road for Pin Cherry Harbor. She’s learned to keep it light.

Pin Cherry Harbor will introduce Mitzy to a whole cadre of characters—most of which the reader will love: Silas the attorney, Odell the owner of Myrtle’s Diner, Twiggy the bookstore “manager,” Pyewacket the caracal (her grandmother’s pet), and shockingly enough, her said deceased grandmother (Ghost-ma). Yes, of course, there is the touch of romance, “Sheriff Too Hot To Handle” Erick.

dance “…leave room for the holy spirit” respectable partners hold.”

Yes, I love the cat—well, sorta kitty—an African lynx. Mitzy is the quintessential feisty female, keeps her thoughts and emotions buried, sketchy history. The town description, location, and people all evoke that great small homey town vibe. Good people, iffy climate location at the northern end of the Great Lakes.

I’m a fan of paranormal mysteries and I don’t think this is a typical cozy. Local law enforcement immediately tags her as a suspect in a murder though—really? Scratching my head trying to find one real reason they’d even look at her twice. I also had a little problem believing the character of Mitzy could so quickly love her long-lost dad, though maybe that’s good as it provides a subplot.

The snarky, snappy dialogue was at times a little over the top—geared toward a younger audience—and I quickly tired of her skinny jeans. With that said, I enjoyed the character-driven well-paced narrative. There was a fascination with the storyline that kept this reader reading and looking for the next in the series following the expected conclusion.

I received a complimentary review copy of this book from the author and publisher that in no way influenced this review. These are my honest thoughts.

Rosepoint Rating: Four Stars

Book Details:

Genre: Amateur Sleuth Mysteries, Ghost Mysteries, Cozy Animal Mystery
Publisher: Sittin’ On A Goldmine Publications LLC
ISBN: ‎1734022108
ASIN: B07XB6MG8G
Print Length: 302 pages
Publication Date: October 29, 2019
Source: Author and Publisher

Title Link(s):

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo

The Author: USA TODAY Bestselling author Trixie Silvertale grew up reading an endless supply of Lilian Jackson Braun, Hardy Boys, and Nancy Drew novels. She loves the amateur sleuths in cozy mysteries and is obsessed with all things paranormal. Those two passions unite in her Mitzy Moon Mysteries, and she’s thrilled to write them and share them with you.

When she’s not consumed by writing, she bakes to fuel her creative engine and tends to her herb garden.

Visit her online at: www:TrixieSilvertale.com

#TuesdayBookBlog

Beartown Series—Beartown Book 1 and The Winners Book 3 by Fredrik Backman – #audiobook – #BookReview – #TBT

Beartown Series Books 1 and 3

I had the opportunity to download the ebook of The Winners on NetGalley after I discovered Beartown, the audiobook at my local library on the advice of Lynne of Fictionophile who thought I’d appreciate the former better having read the first in the series. Of course, The Winners at 684 pages would have been a daunting read for me, so I turned it over to the CE who burns through books like he does sweets. I really thought the CE would love it. We all came away with wildly different views of the series.

Beartown

Best Literature & Fiction

Book Blurb:

2018 Audie Award Finalist for Fiction

The number-one New York Times best-selling author of A Man Called Ove returns with a dazzling, profound novel about a small town with a big dream – and the price required to make it come true.

People say Beartown is finished. A tiny community nestled deep in the forest, it is slowly losing ground to the ever encroaching trees. But down by the lake stands an old ice rink, built generations ago by the working men who founded this town. And in that ice rink is the reason people in Beartown believe tomorrow will be better than today. Their junior ice hockey team is about to compete in the national semifinals, and they actually have a shot at winning. All the hopes and dreams of this place now rest on the shoulders of a handful of teenage boys.

Being responsible for the hopes of an entire town is a heavy burden, and the semifinal match is the catalyst for a violent act that will leave a young girl traumatized and a town in turmoil. Accusations are made, and, like ripples on a pond, they travel through all of Beartown, leaving no resident unaffected.

Beartown explores the hopes that bring a small community together, the secrets that tear it apart, and the courage it takes for an individual to go against the grain. In this story of a small forest town, Fredrik Backman has found the entire world.

My Review:

My first experience with a Backman novel and perhaps this might not have been the best choice. Genre is clearly noted as being sports fiction and this is definitely outside of my normal reading choices. As others have noted, however, it is a great deal more—my problem was in having the patience sufficient to get through the heavily weighted ice hockey game descriptions; game strategy, players, coaches, parents, rivalry, and ethics.

Of course, I loved that it is located in a tiny community in a deeply forested area of Sweden where one of the names of the major characters is Andersson since my grandmother was 100% Swedish and we still have distant relatives located there about six miles from the North Sea (if I’ve remembered it correctly. In the US, the family dropped the extra “S” that denoted the family name as Anders sons).

It is the crushing isolation and the economic loss killing the little town that seems to force the only claim to fame it possesses—a junior ice hockey team extremely good at winning. Some of these kids are so good they are recruited to professional hockey. Too much weight on the shoulders of teenagers, however, builds the tension that eventually threatens to bury the last of their hopes.

It isn’t until two-thirds (or more) into the narrative that something tragic occurs that drives the plot slightly off the sports rail, much of it spent in chanting, “Beartown, Beartown, Beartown!”

The boys are a mix of low to well-to-do with the well-to-do kid one of the stars of the team and the nastiest of the group. The boy who wins my heart is the smallest (and fastest), Amat.

An emotional look at parenting, teenage angst, friendships, disloyalty, deadly rivalries, and the need to be accepted. I could understand the decisions made while at the same time railed at the loss it reflected.

I downloaded the audiobook from my local library that in no way influenced this review. These are my honest thoughts.

Rosepoint Rating: Four Stars

Book Details:

Genre: Sports Fiction, Small Town & Rural Fiction
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio
Narrator: Marin Ireland
ASIN: B06XHMLMT4
Print Length: 13 hrs 11 mins
Publication Date: April 25, 2017
Source: Local Library
Title Link: Beartown [Amazon]

↔ ↔ ↔ ↔↔ ↔ ↔ ↔↔ ↔ ↔ ↔↔ ↔ ↔ ↔↔ ↔ ↔ ↔↔ ↔ ↔ ↔↔ ↔ ↔ ↔↔ ↔

The Winners: A Novel

in Sports Fiction

Book Blurb:

A breathtaking new novel from the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Anxious People and A Man Called Ove, The Winners returns to the close-knit, resilient community of Beartown for a story about first loves, second chances, and last goodbyes.

Over the course of two weeks, everything in Beartown will change.

Maya Andersson and Benji Ovich, two young people who left in search of a life far from the forest town, come home and joyfully reunite with their closest childhood friends. There is a new sense of optimism and purpose in the town, embodied in the impressive new ice rink that has been built down by the lake.

Two years have passed since the events that no one wants to think about. Everyone has tried to move on, but there’s something about this place that prevents it. The destruction caused by a ferocious late-summer storm reignites the old rivalry between Beartown and the neighboring town of Hed, a rivalry which has always been fought through their ice hockey teams.

Maya’s parents, Peter and Kira, are caught up in an investigation of the hockey club’s murky finances, and Amat—once the star of the Beartown team—has lost his way after an injury and a failed attempt to get drafted into the NHL. Simmering tensions between the two towns turn into acts of intimidation and then violence. All the while, a fourteen-year-old boy grows increasingly alienated from this hockey-obsessed community and is determined to take revenge on the people he holds responsible for his beloved sister’s death. He has a pistol and a plan that will leave Beartown with a loss that is almost more that it can stand.

As it beautifully captures all the complexities of daily life and explores questions of friendship, loyalty, loss, and identity, this emotion-packed novel asks us to reconsider what it means to win, what it means to lose, and what it means to forgive.

His Review:

Beartown and Hed have had a rivalry as long as anyone could remember. There are two hockey teams and the competition is manic. There have been players good enough to advance to the NHL but that is not the deciding advantage in the area. Even a losing season is overlooked as long as the losers beat the neighboring town’s hockey team.

Remoteness in a seemingly endless forest captures the young people in a never-ending rivalry as well. Dates between the towns’ young people almost require a secret encounter rather than a public display. The town fathers are hyper in their protection of the team and the efforts to recruit the best players from each town.

The seclusion fosters paranoia between the towns as well. Closely guarded practices and team meetings engender the best in spy craft. Knowing the other teams’ strengths and game plans insures that the other team will be on top at the end of the season.

The schism that exists creates a continuous rivalry that permeates the fabric of the community and the end result is competition that can at times turn deadly. This author has spun a fantastical story which drove me to stop reading early because of the hate engendered between the young people in the towns.

I found the narrative disturbing in so many ways and felt a deep sadness for the inhabitants of both of the cities. It was so difficult to read the hate engendered between the young people of the two towns, I failed to complete the entire novel. Crushing theme of isolation failure, humanity. 3 stars – CE Williams

Many thanks to Atria Books and NetGalley for providing me with the opportunity to read and review this book.

Rosepoint Publishing: Three Stars

Book Details:

Genre: Sports Fiction, Small Town & Rural Fiction
Publisher: Atria Books
ASIN: B09R2J1DXF
Print Length: 684 pages
Publication Date: September 27, 2022
Source: Publisher and NetGalley
Title Links: The Winners [Amazon-US]
Amazon-UK
Barnes & Noble
Kobo

The Author: Fredrik Backman is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of A Man Called Ove, My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She’s Sorry, Britt-Marie Was Here, Beartown, Us Against You, and two novellas, And Every Morning the Way Home Gets Longer and Longer and The Deal of a Lifetime, as well as one work of nonfiction, Things My Son Needs to Know About the World. His books are published in more than forty countries. His next novel, Anxious People, will be published in September 2020. He lives in Stockholm, Sweden, with his wife and two children. Connect with him on Facebook and Twitter @BackmanLand or on Instagram @Backmansk.

The CE and I

#ThrowbackThursday

Where Coyotes Howl by Sandra Dallas – #BookReview – #women’shistoricalfiction

Rosepoint Publishing: Five Stars

Book Blurb:

Except for the way they loved each other, they were just ordinary, everyday folks. Just ordinary.

1916. The two-street town of Wallace is not exactly what Ellen Webster had in mind when she accepted a teaching position in Wyoming, but within a year’s time she’s fallen in love—both with the High Plains and with a handsome cowboy named Charlie Bacon. Life is not easy in the flat, brown corner of the state where winter blizzards are unforgiving and the summer heat relentless. But Ellen and Charlie face it all together, their relationship growing stronger with each shared success, and each deeply felt tragedy.

Ellen finds purpose in her work as a rancher’s wife and in her bonds with other women settled on the prairie. Not all of them are so lucky as to have loving husbands, not all came to Wallace willingly, and not all of them can survive the cruel seasons. But they look out for each other, share their secrets, and help one another in times of need. And the needs are great and constant. The only city to speak of, Cheyenne, is miles away, making it akin to the Wild West in rural Wallace. In the end, it is not the trials Ellen and Charlie face together that makes them remarkable, but their love for one another that endures through it all.

His Review:

Ellen Webster spent her college years in Chicago. She felt worldly after school and saw an advertisement for a teaching position in Wallace, Wyoming. She was gratified that the local townsfolk offered her the job and went to Wallace with her hopes high. She was going to enjoy the woody wilds of Wyoming.

The train stopped in the middle of a prairie town barely two blocks long. The school house was one room with kindergarten through 9^th grade being taught. The desolate area was a solid horizon with no trees. What a disappointment! Most teachers stayed for one or two months maximum, but Ellen is determined to stay the entire year per her contract. The students are helpful and respectful.

The town comes to meet the new school teacher and a handsome cowboy catches her eye. It is love at first sight and they are soon married. The cowboy’s name is Charlie Bacon, nicknamed Fatback. He is smitten instantly and they are married with the whole town in attendance. Ellen has never known such happiness.

A one-bedroom shack is their new home on the windswept landscape and sagebrush and creosote are their constant companions. The wind blows relentlessly but the two lovers are determined to stick it out together. Coyotes howl every night and although desolate there is never a dull moment. With the new home, the young couple decides to start a family together. Ellen is happy with Charlie but misses her Illinois home with the green and trees.

The couple is well-liked and the neighbors work to make the new school teacher happy in the community. Like most pioneer communities’ danger and demise are often an integral part of everyday life. This book paints a portrait of pioneer life at its’ most basic. Only the strong of mind and spirit can survive. Enjoy! 5 stars – CE Williams

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with the opportunity to read and review this book.

Book Details:

Genre: Women’s Historical Fiction, Westerns
Publisher: St Martin’s Press
ASIN: B09Y46M1LS
Print Length: 320 pages
Publication Date: April 18, 2023
Source: Publisher and NetGalley
Title Link: Where Coyotes Howl [Amazon]
Barnes & Noble
Kobo

The Author: Sandra Dallas, dubbed “a quintessential American voice” in Vogue Magazine, is the author of over a dozen novels, including Prayers for Sale and Tallgrass, many translated into a dozen languages and optioned for films. Six-time winner of the Willa Award and four-time winner of the Spur Award, Dallas was a Business Week reporter for 25 years covering the Rocky Mountain region, and began writing fiction in 1990. She has two daughters and lives with her husband in Denver and Georgetown, Colorado.

Website http://sandradallas.com/

Enjoy Your Sunday!

Many Are Invited by Dennis Cuesta – #BookReview – #psychologicalliteraryfiction

Book Blurb:

A housewarming party ends in tragedy. . . Steve Galanos, a native Midwesterner, reflects on his time in Northern California during the 1990s, a time when the two-digit year emerged as the Y2K problem, the burgeoning Internet fueled the expansion of the New Economy, the dot-com bubble created unseen prosperity and real estate frenzies. Yet it’s a housewarming party, held in late 1999, that affects him the most.

At the request of John Goertz, a group of technology managers and executives gather in a conference room. Listening to the presentation is Steve Galanos, who is suspicious of Goertz’s approach and the dramatic way he describes the problem. Goertz tries to convince his audience that a disaster awaits them unless they immediately address the two-digit year in the company’s distributed systems and compiled code. It’s 1994, well before anyone has heard of the term, Y2K.

A promotion to run the newly-created year 2000 compliance program earns John more skepticism and envy from Steve, yet the two have much in common and soon become good friends. A few years later, John leaves for a startup and their lives trend in different directions.

By the time John cashes out from a successful IPO, gets married, and buys a house in Los Gatos, his friendship with Steve has waned. It’s at John’s housewarming party where latent animosity and lingering distrust finally come to a head.

His Review:

In the late 1990’s the whole world was wrestling with “the Y2K” problem. Seems the computers automatically were setting dates but provision had not been made for the upcoming change from 19.. to 20..! Staff were thrown together in groups whose sole purpose was to wrestle with the change and the problem that computers were not set up or programmed for the change.

Lauren and Mary are two very attractive ladies who work in the computer industry. Lauren is over six feet and seen as a goddess who is untouchable! All of the guys silently wish to possess her. Meanwhile, corporate powers that be are designating teams of programmers whose sole purpose is to design programs and prepare for the upcoming date changes.

John and the main support character have set up a system of ranking very attractive ladies as Swedes. Lauren is titled Swede 8 and is considered unapproachable. Of course, as men are known to do; they plot the means necessary to breach the barrier and become emotionally involved with Lauren. Her friend Mary is pretty but does not have a “Swede Rating” and appears on the outside of the attraction scramble.

The problem with these types of competitions is the fact that the women do not realize their position in the scheme of things. Our hero secretly would like to be attached to Lauren but decides to settle for Mary. Mary is the much smarter of the two and has plans of her own. John has decided that Mary is the one for him and throws the whole system into an uproar. The entire affair turns deadly.

This novel might be more appropriate for the late teen/early college years than adult. The struggle between the “rich and entitled” and the “poor and struggling” was a page directly out of my high school years! I identified with the struggling hero of the story while secretly thinking he was being such a putz! Only my opinion, however, and you might very well see it differently. 3.5 stars – CE Williams

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with the opportunity to read and review this book.

Rosepoint Publishing: Three point Five Stars

Book Details:

Genre: Psychological Literary Fiction
Publisher: Celestial Eyes Press
ASIN: B0BB9Q7PQQ
Print Length: 254 pages
Publication Date: October 6, 2022
Source: Publisher and NetGalley
Title Links: Many Are Invited [Amazon]
Barnes & Noble
Kobo

A native of California, Dennis Cuesta attended the University of Michigan and remained in the Upper Midwest during his early career. Stuck in Manistique is his first novel. Dennis and his wife did get stuck in Manistique once, long ago. The interrupted trip served as inspiration for the novel.

2022 CE Williams – V Williams

Have a great Sunday!

The Keepsake by Julie Brooks – #BookReview – #mysteryromance

“A thrilling dual-time novel of long-buried family secrets.”

Book Blurb:

Saturday: Pot-au-feu for luncheon. Father willed away inheritance. Betrayed by Edward.

1832. The morning after her father’s funeral, Prudence Merryfield wakes to the liberating thought that this is the first day of her new life. At thirty-five and unmarried, she is now mistress of her own fate. But a cruel revelation at the reading of her father’s will forces Prudence to realise that taking only the most drastic action will set her free.

Present day. Eliza is gifted a family heirloom by her aunt – a Georgian pocketbook, belonging to her ancestor, Prudence Merryfield, whose existence reverberates through the lives of generations of Eliza’s family, the Ambroses. Intrigued by what she reads inside, Eliza is drawn more and more into the infamous ‘Merryfield Mystery’. What happened to Prudence who so bravely dared to defy convention two hundred years ago – then disappeared?

His Review:

In the early part of the 1830s, Prudence Merryfield was blessed with a wealthy childhood but alas her mother died when she was young. She stayed with her father into her early thirties to provide comfort and family to him in his twilight years. When he died, Prudence expected to be the pilot of her own ship and able to do as she pleased.

Society in the 1800s, however, did not provide for much self-determination for young women. Her father entrusted a group of trustees to administer her substantial estate. The primary trustee is Edward Ambrose who decided that she should receive a substantial allowance each year from the trust. He guarded the trust and the property with an iron fist. Wherever Prudence went, Edward was sure to magically appear to monitor her travels.

A young orphaned waif named Bessie is found hiding in one of the hedgerows of the property’s lanes and is taken in by Prudence. She becomes the handmaid and personal servant for Prudence and is never far from Prudence’s side. Prudence decides she is too constricted by the ever-present Edward and decides to escape aboard a ship to the south Pacific for adventure and freedom. This is a mistake as the ship she and Bessie are on meets with an accident and sinks near a small South Pacific island. The marooned ladies are on separate islands and must integrate with the islanders or perish.

The author developed a very imaginative and engrossing narrative using the discovery of an heirloom to envelope the MC into a dual-time novel. The characters are believable and sympathetic. Edward Ambrose is an opportunist who places himself in control of Prudence’s fortune and properties and does his best to corral this young lady. The book enlightens the reader about the plight of the women of the 1800s and early 1900s. Treachery was rampant as men thirsted for the riches they could not obtain lawfully. Enjoy the adventure! 4.5 stars – CE Williams

Many thanks to the author and NetGalley for providing me with the opportunity to read and review this book.

Rosepoint Publishing: Four point Five Stars

Book Details:

Genre: 1714-1837 History of UK, Marriage & Divorce Fiction, Mystery Romance
ASIN: B09MQB7W7Y
Print Length: 386 pages
Publication Date: September 29, 2022
Source: Publisher and NetGalley
Title Links: The Keepsake [Amazon]
Kobo

Julie Brooks - author — Julie Brooks – author

The Author: I’m so excited to be launching The Secrets of Bridgewater Bay with Headline Review. I love reading historical fiction and I love a mystery so I’m doubly pleased to bring you both in this new story. The Secrets of Bridgewater Bay is inspired by my love of the stunning coastline of south-west Victoria, Australia, and the similarly wild coastline of North Devon, UK. Set largely in these two regions in the early twentieth century and one hundred years later, it’s a story of betrayal, redemption and family secrets. I hope you like it.

I was born in Brisbane, Australia, but have lived most of my life in Melbourne. I taught English and Drama in secondary schools before working as an editor of children’s magazines. Like many writers, I have been scribbling stories from an early age and feel confident to call myself an author.

I am represented by the Judith Murdoch Literary Agency in London, UK. To find out more, visit juliebrooksauthor.com and follow her on Instagram @juliebrooks_books.

Lucy by the Sea by Elizabeth Strout – #BookReview – #contemporaryliteraryfiction @RandomHouse

in Contemporary Literature Fiction

Book Blurb:

With her trademark spare, crystalline prose—a voice infused with “intimate, fragile, desperate humanness” (The Washington Post)—Elizabeth Strout turns her exquisitely tuned eye to the inner workings of the human heart, following the indomitable heroine of My Name Is Lucy Barton through the early days of the pandemic.

As a panicked world goes into lockdown, Lucy Barton is uprooted from her life in Manhattan and bundled away to a small town in Maine by her ex-husband and on-again, off-again friend, William. For the next several months, it’s just Lucy, William, and their complex past together in a little house nestled against the moody, swirling sea.

Rich with empathy and emotion, Lucy by the Sea vividly captures the fear and struggles that come with isolation, as well as the hope, peace, and possibilities that those long, quiet days can inspire. At the heart of this story are the deep human connections that unite us even when we’re apart—the pain of a beloved daughter’s suffering, the emptiness that comes from the death of a loved one, the promise of a new friendship, and the comfort of an old, enduring love.

His Review:

Can a loveless abusive childhood lay the cobblestones of life’s road in such a way that nothing changes for the individual? Elizabeth Strout’s character Lucy seems to have developed her character with this pattern in mind. Lucy’s mother was negative and abusive and she grew up defending herself by developing a mother in her own mind that she called her “good mother.” Her good mother was always caring and lent supportive encouragement to everything she did.

Lucy’s first husband William is a supportive man, a scientist, with a compassionate heart and protective attitude. With the advent of the Covid Pandemic, he encourages Lucy and him to escape to the clean air and trade winds upon a rocky point in Maine. The weather is always colder, the wind always blowing and the days less predictable. They have escaped New York City to become isolated in a desolate prison of their own making. How could she be happy in this desolation?

William and Lucy do not live together. His affairs early in their marriage had driven a wedge between them that could not easily be withdrawn. They shared a house but with separate bedrooms and an uneasy truce. All conversations are delicately planned which avoids the obvious elephant in the room. His marriage betrayal and additional indiscretions had led her to spread her own affair wings.

Elizabeth Strout is a very gifted writer who did not leave the central theme of her story throughout the read. She develops a character who is hell-bent on being unhappy throughout her life. This centralized dogma thoroughly confounded me as a reader. I have never read such a singularly minded character before. Lucy cannot accept any real progress or happiness in her life although she did have a happy second marriage with a man named David. But he died which added to her misery.

CE Williams Could anyone ever complete her as David had seemed to do? Her daughters grew up leading fairly accomplished lives but tended to avoid their mother. The reason was the negative aura surrounding her. Life becomes extremely tedious when every day seems to add more misery to an already dark existence. I kept having the beginning of that old Buck Owens song ring in my mind! “Gloom, despair, and agony on me, deep dark depression, excessive misery…” I believe Elizabeth Strout has developed a very dark and sensitive heroine confronting a noir-esque setting. 3.5 stars – CE Williams

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with the opportunity to read and review this book.

Rosepoint Publishing: Three point Five Stars

Book Details:

Genre: Contemporary Literary Fiction, Literary Sagas, Saga Fiction
Publisher: Random House
ASIN: B09VWWN5BJ
Print Length: 291 pages
Publication Date: September 20, 2022
Source: Publisher and NetGalley
Title Links: Lucy by the Sea [Amazon]
Barnes & Noble
Kobo

The Author: Elizabeth Strout is the author of the New York Times bestseller Olive Kitteridge, for which she was awarded the Pulitzer Prize; the national bestseller Abide with Me; and Amy and Isabelle, winner of the Los Angeles Times Art Seidenbaum Award and the Chicago Tribune Heartland Prize. She has also been a finalist for the PEN/Faulkner Award and the Orange Prize in London. She lives in Maine and New York City.