Review: THE SOUND OF GLASS by Karen White

September 21, 2015 / drbethnolan / 1 Comment

This one was a Net Galley pick and I had it for a while before I actually got to start reading it!

Here is the description of it from Net Galley:

The New York Times bestselling author of A Long Time Gone now explores a Southern family’s buried history, which will change the life of the woman who unearths it, secret by shattering secret.

It has been two years since the death of Merritt Heyward’s husband, Cal, when she receives unexpected news—Cal’s family home in Beaufort, South Carolina, bequeathed by Cal’s reclusive grandmother, now belongs to Merritt.

Charting the course of an uncertain life—and feeling guilt from her husband’s tragic death—Merritt travels from her home in Maine to Beaufort, where the secrets of Cal’s unspoken-of past reside among the pluff mud and jasmine of the ancestral Heyward home on the Bluff. This unknown legacy, now Merritt’s, will change and define her as she navigates her new life—a new life complicated by the arrival of her too young stepmother and ten-year-old half-brother.

Soon, in this house of strangers, Merritt is forced into unraveling the Heyward family past as she faces her own fears and finds the healing she needs in the salt air of the Low Country.

Me again!

I have to say that at first I really didn’t care for the character of Merritt. She was rather immature and certainly self-centered and rather unkind. That said, over time she grew on me. Yes, I could see where this was going. Yes, the brother-in-law is super nice and handsome. Yes, Merritt is hiding secrets which have to be revealed in order for her to heal. But, once again, there was an underlying theme of self-forgiveness and if you read me you know that that is one of my favorite themes in literature (well – in life, too).

So if you like a story of a woman finding herself that is full of fun characters (I loved that mother-in-law!), then you should pick this one up.

Thanks to Net Galley and Penguin for my review e-copy!

YA Review: Suicide Notes from Beautiful Girls by Lynn Weingarten

September 6, 2015April 18, 2019 / drbethnolan / Leave a comment

I first heard about this novel while I was at BEA this past spring. It sounded intriguing, but, due to schedules and long lines, I didn’t get a chance to meet Ms. Weingarten or get a copy, so I purchased one for my kindle when it released in July.

SUICIDE NOTES FROM BEAUTIFUL GIRLS is one of those haunting, compelling reads that picks you up and then drops you, leaving you panting and somewhat bewildered. I LOVED this type of book when I was a teen (actually I still love it!).

June and Delia used to be the very best of friends, from the time they were in grade school until recently in high school, when they’ve grown apart. Then it is announced that Delia has died — apparently from suicide, killing herself by burning to death in her father’s shed. June is troubled by this. She doesn’t believe that Delia did this, and she’s haunted by the fact that Delia had reached out to her shortly before her death, but June had ignored her, choosing to be with her boyfriend instead.

What did happen to Delia? Who is involved? And why does it seem like a lot of people know much more than they are telling? June is determined to find out.

I have to admit — when I picked up this book and began to read it, I didn’t stop for a break until I was halfway through. It pulled me in and I just couldn’t stop reading. This was also the type of story that stays with you long after the last page.

Due to language and sexual content, I’d say it’s for older YA readers.

Review: THE CHILD GARDEN by Catriona McPherson

September 5, 2015April 18, 2019 / drbethnolan / 3 Comments

I received this one from Net Galley and Midnight Ink Publishing several weeks ago and read it in two days. If you know me, you know I love anything that is a mystery and I adore all things British. This was a great combination of the two!

In this story, single mother Gloria Harkness lives a quiet life as a registrar in a small town and rents a home (owned by an elderly woman) which is next to a nursing facility where her disabled son lives. One night an old classmate shows up and beings up some long forgotten/buried past secrets involving a classmate’s suicide. The site of their alternative school is where the nursing facility is now. Introverted Gloria is drawn into a whole web of intrigue and secrets when they discover lots of other classmates have died somewhat mysteriously (accidents and suicides) – including one right on the property – and that perhaps it all ties back to what happened that fateful night when several students went on a camp-out at school.

This is a fast-paced novel that keeps you guessing! I just loved the character of Gloria. Her devotion to her son was so touching. You could feel how she had her personal existence and she really wasn’t looking to go public and be out in the spotlight. I also loved the “only in England” elements — Gloria has a large rock in the backyard that is a “rocking stone” and it must be rocked regularly. Clearly this type of thing/tradition only exists in the U.K. and I loved it!

This is what I’d call a “thoughtful mystery”. I enjoyed it!

Thank you for my review e-copy! It publishes on September 8.

Review: NO ONE NEEDS TO KNOW by Kevin O’Brien

August 11, 2015April 19, 2019 / drbethnolan / Leave a comment

If you read me regularly, you know I love a good mystery! I had never read Kevin O’Brien before but this one looked intriguing — a talented chef is being tormented by someone from her past, a movie is being made about a Manson-like murder, people are dying in accidents and a ghost is being blamed, and it all ties together in this fast-paced, twisty murder mystery!

Here’s the description from Net Galley:

A SECRET WORTH KILLING FOR…
In July 1970, actress Elaina Styles was slain in her rented Seattle mansion along with her husband and their son’s nanny. When the baby’s remains were found buried in a shallow grave close to a hippie commune, police moved in—only to find all its members already dead in a grisly mass suicide.

AGAIN…
Now, decades later, a film about the murders is shooting at the mansion. On-set caterer Laurie Trotter ignores gossip that the production is cursed. But then people start dying…

AND AGAIN…
As Laurie digs deep into what happened all those years ago, the truth emerges more twisted than any whispered rumor, as a legacy of brutal vengeance reaches its terrifying climax…

Me again!!

This was one of those books that I just couldn’t put down! Poor Laurie has enough problems – she’s a single mom and young widow, who’s trying to put a major mistake in her past behind her, when she starts being stalked by a guy she had a relationship with. Heading off to Seattle to work with a caterer seems like a great idea until the stalkers seem to have followed her and her new boss appears to be covering up some serious stuff. Secrets abound in this novel – just when you think you’ve figured it out, it changes. Throughout, though, I really liked the character of Laurie who was tough but not perfect. There were lots of side characters who were interesting, too – I particularly liked all her neighbors.

I really can’t say much more without giving too much away — but if you like a fun, fast, mystery/thriller, pick up a copy of NO ONE NEEDS TO KNOW!

Thank you, Net Galley and Kensington Books, for my review e-copy!

CIRCLING THE SUN by Paula McLain

July 18, 2015July 3, 2015 / drbethnolan / 2 Comments

Publishing at the end of the month (July 28, 2015) is a really fantastic novel about female aviator Beryl Markham: Paula McLain’s CIRCLING THE SUN.

I first heard of Beryl Markham when I read her memoir, WEST WITH THE NIGHT. I was going through a “female aviator phase” and was reading about Anne Lindbergh (my personal hero – don’t get me started!), Amelia Earhart, and Beryl Markham. I had not heard of Beryl before, but found her absolutely fascinating! Beryl was English, but grew up in Kenya in the early years of the 1900’s. Her mother deserted her and her father and returned to England. Beryl was a wild child: precocious, tough, and in love with the land and culture of Africa. Nothing stopped her. Again and again she pushed against the restrictions against women. She became a noted horse trainer (first female). She became a bush pilot. She actually is the first female aviator to fly across the Atlantic east to west. A very personal side of Beryl is shown in this novel – her loves, her triumphs, her foibles. The love triangle with her, Karen von Blixen (Out of Africa author), and Denys Finch Hatten is portrayed in depth here. In all, you come to know Beryl Markham intimately.

I loved McLain’s earlier work, THE PARIS WIFE, and loved this novel, too. These characters came alive and are still with me, weeks after I finished the novel. They are so interesting – so real – so human. Don’t miss this one.

And if you like it, read Beryl’s own WEST WITH THE NIGHT.

Find them at an indie near you (I am an Indie Bound Affiliate):

Shop Indie Bookstores

Thank you, Net Galley and Random House Ballantine, for my review copy!

Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tour for MAUD’S LINE by Margaret Verble

July 16, 2015July 14, 2015 / drbethnolan / 5 Comments

Today I am part of the virtual book tour for Margaret Verble’s new book: MAUD’S LINE, a story of a Native American teen and her family during the Depression. Here’s what HFVBT has to say:

Publication Date: July 14, 2015
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Formats: eBook, Hardcover
ISBN-10: 0544470192
Pages: 304

Genre: Historical Fiction

A debut novel chronicling the life and loves of a headstrong, earthy, and magnetic heroine

Eastern Oklahoma, 1928. Eighteen-year-old Maud Nail lives with her rogue father and sensitive brother on one of the allotments parceled out by the U.S. Government to the Cherokees when their land was confiscated for Oklahoma’s statehood. Maud’s days are filled with hard work and simple pleasures, but often marked by violence and tragedy, a fact that she accepts with determined practicality. Her prospects for a better life are slim, but when a newcomer with good looks and books rides down her section line, she takes notice. Soon she finds herself facing a series of high-stakes decisions that will determine her future and those of her loved ones.

Maud’s Line is accessible, sensuous, and vivid. It will sit on the bookshelf alongside novels by Jim Harrison, Louise Erdrich, Sherman Alexie, and other beloved chroniclers of the American West and its people.

AMAZON | BARNES & NOBLE (NOOK) | BOOK DEPOSITORY | INDIEBOUND

PRAISE FOR MAUD’S LINE

“Maud is refreshingly open and honest about her own sexuality though conscious of her place as a woman in a sexist society, always careful not to insult the intelligence or manhood of her male friends and relations. Verble writes in a simple style that matches the hardscrabble setting and plainspoken characters. Verble, herself a member of the Cherokee Nation, tells a compelling story peopled with flawed yet sympathetic characters, sharing insights into Cherokee society on the parcels of land allotted to them after the Trail of Tears.” —Kirkus

“Writing as though Daniel Woodrell nods over one shoulder and the spirit of Willa Cather over the other, Margaret Verble gives us Maud, a gun-toting, book-loving, dream-chasing young woman whose often agonizing dilemmas can only be countered by sheer strength of heart.” —Malcolm Brooks, author of Painted Horses

“I want to live with Maud in a little farm in a little valley under the shadow of a mountain wall. Maud’s Line is an absolutely wonderful novel and Margaret Verble can drop you from great heights and still easily pick you up. I will read anything she writes, with enthusiasm.” —Jim Harrison, author of Dalva, Legends of the Fall, and The Big Seven

“Margaret Verble gives us a gorgeous window onto the Cherokee world in Oklahoma, 1927. Verble’s voice is utterly authentic, tender and funny, vivid and smart, and she creates a living community – the Nail family, Maud herself, her father, Mustard, and brother, Lovely, and the brothers Blue and Early, the quiet, tender-mouthed mare Leaf, and the big landscape of the bottoms – the land given to the Cherokees after the Trail of Tears. Beyond the allotments, it opens up into the wild, which is more or less what Verble does with this narrative. A wonderful debut novel.” —Roxana Robinson, author of Sparta

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

MARGARET VERBLE, an enrolled member of the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma, has set her novel on her family’s allotment land. She currently lives in Lexington, Kentucky, and Old Windsor, England.

This book was so interesting to me. I haven’t read too many novels from the Native American perspective that take place in the 20th century beyond the work of Louise Erdrich (whom I love!). I loved the character of Maud. She was strong and smart and driven. She was very in touch with her sexuality and not embarrassed by it. She certainly faced a large amount of trials and never gave up. I found the information about living on allotted land at that time interesting. Clearly Maud was in a world that was male dominated and the laws favored men for land ownership. At the end, Maud must decide what path to take in life and what is important to her — how her family and community play a role in her identity and what she wants in life.

Great debut novel! Thank you for making me part of the tour and for my review e-copy!

You, too, can follow the tour:

BLOG TOUR SCHEDULE

Monday, July 13
Review & Giveaway at Broken Teepee

Tuesday, July 14
Guest Post at Mina’s Bookshelf
Spotlight at A Literary Vacation

Wednesday, July 15
Review at A Book Geek

Thursday, July 16
Review at Beth’s Book Nook Blog

Friday, July 17
Excerpt & Giveaway at Teddy Rose Book Review Plus More

Saturday, July 18
Review at Queen of All She Reads

Monday, July 20
Review at Book Nerd

Tuesday, July 21
Guest Post at Just One More Chapter

Wednesday, July 22
Interview & Excerpt at The Old Shelter
Excerpt & Giveaway at CelticLady’s Reviews

Thursday, July 23
Review & Giveaway at Unshelfish
Spotlight at Layered Pages

Friday, July 24
Spotlight & Giveaway at Passages to the Past

Litfuse Blog Tour for BEYOND THE ASHES by Karen Barnett and Giveaway!

July 11, 2015July 7, 2015 / drbethnolan / Leave a comment

I’m happy today to take part in the blog tour for Karen Barnett’s second story in her Golden Gate Chronicles series: BEYOND THE ASHES.

Here’s the synopsis from Litfuse:

About the book:
Beyond the Ashes (Abingdon Press, June 2015)Where better to rebuild and face one’s fears than in 1906 San Francisco, a city rising from the ashes?

Ruby Marshall, a young widow, is certain she’ll discover new purpose assisting her brother Robert with his cancer research, but she doesn’t anticipate finding new love.

Dr. Gerald Larkspur dreams of filling his empty home with family, but he’d always hoped it would be a wife and children. In the aftermath of the great earthquake, the rooms are overflowing with extended family and friends left homeless by the disaster. When Robert’s widowed sister arrives, the close quarters seem close indeed.

Ruby and Gerald’s fledgling romance is put at risk when Gerald develops symptoms of the very disease they’re striving to cure. Together they must ask—is it worth a second chance at love when time might be short?

Purchase a copy: http://bit.ly/1IGu1bg

About the author:

Karen Barnett is the author of Beyond the Ashes, Out of the Ruins, and Mistaken. Named the 2013 Writer of Promise by Oregon Christian Writers, Karen lives in Albany, Oregon, with her husband and two kids. When she’s not writing novels, she loves speaking at women’s events, libraries, and book clubs.

Find Karen online: website, Twitter, Facebook

If you read me, you know I love historical fiction. Plus I grew up in the Bay Area, so stories taking place in San Francisco are always a draw for me! This story had a lot of background in it about conditions after the big quake and medical issues at the time. I found the whole subplot about cancer and cancer treatment – just a hundred years ago – quite fascinating, too.

There were a lot of characters in this book, with the main ones being Ruby, her brother Robert, and his friend and fellow doctor Gerald. I did find the first half of the book a tad slow. There was a lot of build up to Ruby and Gerald’s feelings for each other. Then it seemed like the second half of the book flew! There were a few other subplots (such as one about the abuse of young Asian girls), along with Ruby and Gerald’s relationship, the upcoming wedding of Robert, Gerald’s illness, and an ill-timed diphtheria outbreak! The Christian element in this book is what I call a “light touch”. Ruby and Gerald – and another key character who was a minster – are people of faith and they let that faith guide them.

Recommended to those who enjoy historical fiction!

Here’s a chance to win a copy of your own: Giveaway!

Thank you for making me part of the tour and for my review e-copy!

You, too, can follow the tour:

Blog Tour Schedule:

Review: ABSOLUTELY TRUE LIES by Rachel Stuhler

July 1, 2015April 20, 2019 / drbethnolan / Leave a comment

The fine folks at Touchstone (Simon and Schuster) kindly sent me a review copy of ABSOLUTELY TRUE LIES several weeks ago. I love, love, love stories about Hollywood and celebrities (I find them fun). This one centers on a young woman who is hired (rather haphazardly) to be the ghostwriter of a famous teen star’s autobiography.

Holly Gracin is out of luck and out of a job when she gets a phone call from a friend of her uncle about a writing project. The next thing she knows, she is the ghost writer for a famous teen pop star and part of the inner circle of the entertainer’s daily life. But nothing is easy for poor Holly, and she finds herself chasing after Daisy and her entourage and often in the spotlight herself (not in a flattering way either!). Holly has to figure out a few things about her own life’s direction, too.

I just loved this book, which was laugh-out-loud funny. Holly’s “voice” and her humor come through strongly, yet you can tell that she is a good person at heart – and not incredibly mature herself either. Poor Daisy is a bit of a puppet, held by those who make money off of her. Stuhler used her own experiences as a Hollywood ghost writer as inspiration for the novel. I found it to be a quick read – I enjoyed it so much I didn’t want to put it down. This is Stuhler’s first novel, and I’m sure there will be more.

It looks like this may be just the first of number of Holly Gracin stories. I look forward to the next!

Review: THE MAPMAKER’S CHILDREN by Sarah McCoy

May 2, 2015April 10, 2015 / drbethnolan / 1 Comment

Every now and then a book comes along that is to touching and so beautifully done that it makes you want to hold it close to you and weep. This is how I felt about Sarah McCoy’s THE MAPMAKER’S CHILDREN.

In this novel, modern day Eden moves to an old house in New Charleston, W.V. Her story parallels another story of that house in a different time: as a stop on the Underground Railroad. Sarah Brown is the daughter of abolitionist John Brown and she makes maps for slaves moving north to seek freedom. Sarah is a complex character and struggles with her own physical and emotional limitations while bravely working to bring families to freedom. Eden, meanwhile, is struggling to come to terms with her relationship with her husband and the trials they have faced with infertility. Eden finds a doll’s head under the kitchen floorboards which starts her on a quest to find out more about the house. Add in a precocious young neighbor and a cute puppy, and Eden reaches the point where she must decide whether she will embrace life, or continue to live in self-doubt.

I just loved this book. I always love Sarah’s writing and this was no exception. She has an amazing ability to capture setting so that you feel the time and place; she captures character as well and you feel you really know these people. Eden’s and Sarah’s stories are woven together seamlessly.

Highly recommended! Sarah will be at the Concord Bookshop on May 7 and my calendar is marked!

Thank you, Net Galley and Crown Books, for my review copy!!

Find this book at an indie near you – it publishes in early May. (I am an Indie Bound affiliate):

Find it at an Indie!

Review: THE STORIED LIFE OF A. J. FIKRY by Gabrielle Zevin

April 18, 2015April 18, 2015 / drbethnolan / 2 Comments

My dear friend Amy (of momadvice.com) knows how much I love to read. She recommended this book to me and told me she was sure I’d love it. I bought it for our trip in March and read it on the plane.

THE STORIED LIFE OF A. J. FIKRY tells the story of Mr. A. J. Fikry, a sad and somewhat cranky bookshop owner on a small island off Massachusetts. The story starts when he is trying to deal with the untimely loss of his wife in an accident and having a rare book stolen. Then one day a baby is left in his store (with a note written to him from the mother) and he needs to decide what he will do with the little one. Peppered throughout each section of the book, which continues throughout Fikry’s life, are quotes from famous novels that Mr. Fikry has chosen for the various points of his life and how his existence ties in to them.

Oh my goodness, I loved this book. I just loved the story, the characters, the way A.J. changed over time, and the way it all tied in to literature. I cried at the end.

Highly recommended! Thank you, Amy, for the recommendation. I read it on the plane home and couldn’t put it down.

You can find it at an indie near you: (I am an Indie Bound affiliate)

Find it at an Indie!