“That’s all magic is, really: the space between what you have and what you need.”

I started this just after it was published but had to step away from it because I was in a reading rut at the time. But I grabbed it when it was an Audible Daily Deal a few months ago because I knew I’d love it when the time was right for me. And I did!

Set in the late 1800s, three sisters are reunited in New Salem. They join up with the local suffragette movement and use their witchy ways to fight for women’s rights. They learn that witches throughout the centuries have been passing on their spells to their children through the nursery rhymes and lullabies that we all know so well, so the words are accessible to all of us but the magic only appears when we desperately need it.

“I don’t remember. Three words, so simple, yet so duplicitous. What is memory anyways? Echoes of reality, twisted and molded into what we want to believe. What we want to remember. Our brains allow us grace to cope with trauma. They give us space to heal, to come to terms with our actions, our fears.”

I love to hate thrillers and really wanted to hate this one, but I couldn’t stop listening to it. I was certain I’d dislike it when I realized what was happening: an exclusive wedding on a secluded island (how many times has that been done lately?) and a young artist marrying into one of America’s wealthiest families (extreme wealth makes me want to gag). This was prime for me to disdainfully push aside and say, thrillers aren’t thrilling.

Well, I was wrong. I loved how this was structured and Ellison’s propulsive plot. This story was told from many perspectives, including the groom’s dead first wife. We start in Nashville, where Claire Hunter is preparing to marry Jack Compton, one of America’s wealthiest bachelors. They’re marrying on his family’s island in Italy, which just happened to be one of Cesar’s old stomping grounds.

The villa is opulent and full of history, including the mysterious deaths of women over the centuries. The island, the Comptons, and even Claire are full of secrets that slowly unfold throughout this novel. I’m calling it a perfect summer read!

“I’m a simple man who was brought up by a complicated man. So I have mannerisms and so on. Vocabulary. People can be misled.”

This was my second effort with Jack. I love the Gilead series and was so excited to read a story that focused solely on Jack, who is one of the most complicated and tragic characters in American literature. I had a really hard time getting into this in print, but I jumped at the opportunity for the audio version when I saw there was no wait on Libby.

This tells how Jack and Della’s relationship began. Biracial marriages were illegal back then and it was dangerous for them to even be together. I’m still not sure why Della chose to “marry” him nor do I understand Jack’s psyche. If anything, I’m even more impatient with him than I was before.

This book is full of beautiful sentences and staggering thoughts, but I found it much slower and harder to sink into than the first three in the series. Because of this, I’m only giving it 3 stars. But if anyone was disappointed in the print version, I’d encourage you to try the audio version – the narrator is excellent and sometimes it helps to simply be told a story.

“People usually consider walking on water or in thin air a miracle. But I think the real miracle is not to walk either on water or in thin air, but to walk on earth. Every day we are engaged in a miracle which we don’t even recognize: a blue sky, white clouds, green leaves, the black, curious eyes of a child—our own two eyes. All is a miracle.”

I wrote a lot about this book in a recent blog post. I still agree that this is the best book on meditation and mindfulness that I’ve read. It’s full of practical (yes, practical!) advice for practicing mindfulness in your everyday life, whether you’re a business person with a packed daily schedule or a harried stay at home mom. When we’re able to find meaning in what we do, peace and joy follows.

“As you will see, mindfulness practice does not need to be another “add-on.” Its beauty lies in the fact that it can be fully and easily integrated into every act of our daily living, reminding us to live the present moment fully.”

This was my morning contemplative read after finishing The Miracle of Mindfulness and I have to say – it wasn’t super helpful. Many of the mindfulness exercises were also included in the previous book so a lot of the Buddhist perspective felt repetitive. And the health perspective was common sense information that most of us are familiar with. And still – the reminders are all helpful and – hopefully – I can finally start the process of mindful eating! I’ll be leaving this in my nearby Little Free Library for a neighbor to find.

Some things, say the wise ones who know everything,
are not living. I say,
you live your life your way and leave me alone.

This collection by Mary Oliver, published in 2005, was perfect for slow reading, just before scooting down into my bed.

Now he left his chestnut colored throat
and delivers such a cantering praise –
for what?
For the early morning, the taste of the spider,

for his small cup of life
that he drinks from every day, knowing it will refill.

What a thought to fall asleep to! When I think of Mary Oliver, I think of hope, gratitude, and joy, which is exactly where I want to be putting my focus.

We were excited to get the sixth book in The Last Firehawk series from the library and join the battle to save Perodia and all of our friends! Thorn and his spies managed to worm their way into Valor Wood which everyone bravely defended. And luckily – there are still more books in the series after this one!

“The landscape itself is important. This is a liminal zone, between land and water, sea and sky.”

This might be my favorite Ruth Galloway yet! Ruth’s archeological crew finds a body on the saltmarsh that turns out to be a young girl who went missing on the day of Charles and Diana’s wedding in the early 80s. The discovery of her body reopens the cold case and brings to light creepy letters that DCI Nelson had been receiving that were similar to the first mystery Nelson and Ruth worked on together.

I adore Ruth’s slightly rundown cottage by the sea – the hope of a glimpse of it might be the main reason why I read these books! (slight exaggeration.) Griffiths has done an amazing job fleshing out these characters and making them feel like my friends. I am so intrigued by Ruth and Nelson’s relationship!

“Don’t clever people read crime novels?’ asks Edwin, making a list of murder mysteries in his head, starting with Macbeth and including Dickens, Dostoevsky, Charlotte Brontë and Wilkie Collins. He’s a particular fan of The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins.”

This is the second book in the Harbinder Kaur series. Harbinder is a 30-something detective who lives with her parents above the store they own. They are Sikh and have all of those stereotypical expectations for Harbinder and don’t know that she’s secretly gay. Her familial relationships play into this series really well and I enjoy her interactions with them.

This mystery was a really clever and bookish one. Peggy Smith, a woman living in an assisted living home (called sheltered living in the UK, apparently), suddenly dies. A business card with her name and Murder Consultant is found among her things. One of the carers who worked with Peggy is immediately suspicious and approaches the police, which brings Harbinder onto the case and three unlikely friends together. Soon, someone is murdering writers who have acknowledged Peggy in their books. What are they trying to hide? Who was Peggy? And what is a murder consultant??

This book is described as a modern day Miss Marple and perfect for fans of Anthony Horowitz – and I totally agree. Elly Griffiths is in very good company with this one!

The Lantern Men was an amazing addition to this series! It's distinctly creepy with a certain Hannibal Lecter-esque feeling. It centers around a group of artists who run a retreat center. One of the men is arrested and convicted of murdering two young girls and Nelson is certain he’s responsible for the death of more. As always, Ruth is twisted up in this investigation in the strangest ways and is crucial to uncovering the truth.

I don’t want to say much about Ruth’s personal life in this blurb because I know some of my blogging friends haven’t made it to this book yet… but, there are BIG changes that surprised me from start to finish. There’s one more published book after this and I’m a little nervous that it will be the last… what will I do without Ruth??