Thank you Netgalley and Joffe Books for providing me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
The Manor House Murder was a fun and cozy mystery. Set in the English countryside during a church conference, the internal politics of a seemingly pious group of people is put on full display. With a large cast of characters, the author opens windows into each person and shows the internal struggle within even the most devout among us. This was a quick and fun mystery!

This was a great introduction to Montessori methods. I debated whether to buy the book or the kindle edition and am so glad that I decided on a physical copy. It is aesthetically pleasing with simple charts, beautiful pictures, and pleasant feeling pages. I loved this!

This was an engaging novel. Sepetys is such a great storyteller and does incredible research for all of her work. This story was compelling and the love story was moving. It's set in the 50s in Madrid. At the time, Spain is under the terrible rule of the dictator General Franco and Sepetys shows us the glitz and glitter on the surface - fancy hotels welcoming Americans - and the struggle and desperation just underneath. I would easily recommend this to any reader of historical fiction, with the reminder that it is Young Adult fiction, so it's style is different than adult fiction. And that comes with many benefits, including making it a swift read!

A page turner that made for a very fast read. But I need to stop reading thrillers because I don't find them thrilling. Books like these are such conundrums for me - they are compulsively readable, yet not enjoyable. How can that be?

How do I even rate this book? I'm hovering somewhere between 3 and 4 stars, but for the first half of this book I was certain I was going to give it 5. I still think this novel was a love letter to Ravenclaws - it had SO MUCH to be giddy over. There were so many references and allusions that I felt like I was on an Easter Egg hunt. It was rich with the coziest descriptions, observations, and bookish delights. How many times did I squeal and say to my husband, "this book was written just for me!"?? Not to mention the cocktails. So many amazing cocktails!

But the second half of the book didn't work so well for me. The world that Morgenstern built was complicated and amazing -- I will have to reread this in a few years to really feel like I understand it. But because it was so complex, I felt a little lost about who was supposed to be who. And what everyone was doing. And who's the villain again? Where are they going? What's the goal?

So I loved this for all of the amazing details but wasn't wild about the quest. But maybe if I read it again I would actually understand what in the world was going on?

Notice that I haven't even described the plot of this story because I don't think I have the ability to do that. This book is totally worth the effort if you want to get lost in some other world. But if you're looking for an EASY escape, then this probably isn't what you're looking for right now.

Thank you to Netgalley and Doubleday Books for sending me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Ariel Lawhon has outdone herself with this one. This novel is about Nancy Wake, a woman with many different identities who was integral to the French Resistance's fight against Nazi Germany. Lawhon's interpretation of Wake's life made for compulsive reading. I spent most of the book on the edge of my seat anxious about what was going to happen next. Nancy Wake was someone I'd like to be friends with - smart, funny, bawdy, and unabashedly feminine even in inconceivable circumstances. Ms. Wake would be proud to see her story in this novel.

I'm so glad that I finally read this collections of short stories and I'm looking forward to reading the second in the series later this year. The stories were so sad, but what kept me going was their honesty. Strout seems to be gifted at finding those little nuggets of truth and doubt in all of us. Life is short, friends! Our lives change in an instant.

I love Anne more and more each time I read these books! She brings such a fresh perspective to every situation and the landscapes LM Montgomery painted were just lovely. I've written a bit more about this on my blog today: https://katiegilley.com/2020/01/08/wednesday-round-up-1-8-20/

Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this book. The first half was difficult to get through, but I really loved Mary Pearl - smart, determined, and tough. She was a feminist in a world that had no road map for feminism. The second half of this novel left me breathless and on the edge of my seat - I could hardly read fast enough.

Mary Pearl, a young woman living in the Arizona Territory, leaves behind all that she knows to go to art school in Illinois. It's a whole new world for her and she doesn't quite fit in while wearing her riding skirts and carrying her pistols around. As she slowly makes friends, she learns how to quiet the tendencies that served her so well in the rough desert of the Southwest. But when Mary Pearl is summoned back home in a panic and learns that her brothers have been kidnapped, she quickly finds herself again and shows that she's as tough as they come.

This was a story about family, home, and trusting ourselves that I won't forget anytime soon.

This book was full of heartache and honesty. It's the story of three generations of African Americans and inherited trauma. Mother/daughter relationships in their full and painful glory. It's a good reminder to all of us mothers out there - our children are their own people and we must love them for who they are, not who we want them to be. Life is short and it's for loving.