The Underground Library by Jennifer Ryan

Amy   

historical fiction

It’s 1939 and 19-year old Sophie gets the chance to seek safety in England but has to leave her Jewish sister and father behind in Germany. Meanwhile, Juliet is a small-town British woman beginning an important job in London as a library director, allowing her to escape her rigid parents’ expectations. And Katie, who works in Juliet’s new library, has a bright future ahead of her when she discovers all her careful plans have been upended.

The Underground Library is the fourth novel I’ve read by Jennifer Ryan and it felt different than the others. While she always focuses on the WWII time period in Britain, particularly on the people left behind to find a way to live at home, this one felt much more gritty to me. The protagonists were truly dealing with devastating situations. The first chapter about Sophie having to leave her family in an effort to find safety was so heartbreaking to read. I don’t recall feeling so emotional after reading one chapter of a book before!

All three women had hurdles, two of them were particularly difficult. I knew things would turn out for the best but I was still invested in hearing their tales. They were all equally riveting. And, once again, Ryan taught me about aspects of WWII which were previously unknown to me. I loved learning about the Underground Library in the subway station! And I always find it interesting to hear the stories about the women left to manage their families’ lives while the men are fighting battles away from home. While women were given more opportunities since the men were away fighting, they still had uphill battles to gain any sort of freedom.

This novel moved me through the entire range of emotions. It was up and down, happy and sad, tragic and wondrous, dangerous and safe. It was about the importance of a support network and friends. I really enjoyed it and would like to thank NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read it before publication next month.

The Dead Romantics by Ashley Poston

 Lynnie

contemporary fantasy

Florence Day is a ghostwriter for a successful, older romance author. After a terrible breakup, Florence has lost her belief in "happily ever after" and finds herself unable to write. Up against a deadline, Florence gets a phone call telling her that her father, owner of the local funeral parlor and the most important man in her life, has died. So she gets on a plane to return to her hometown for the first time in 10 years. But Florence hasn't been home because she, like her father, sees ghosts. And now her new editor, in all his ghostly glory, is knocking on her door... 

The Dead Romantics was a lot cuter in theory than in execution. I knew that I would have issues with this book when, within the first few chapters, the main character, Florence, used multiple nicknames for Waffle House, only to end up calling it by it's regular name for rest of the book. (Why bother with the nicknames?) Still, I was intrigued by the premise of Ashley Poston's book, so I kept reading.

There are things to like in this book- the story is sweet, most of the characters are charming, and I enjoyed the interaction between the Day family members. But I also found so much of the book to be ridiculous - the town so small that no one needs a car, they can just walk everywhere (how quaint!), years worth of bullying can be brushed aside in moments, and the ghostly love story had an obvious outcome in my opinion.

The biggest crime in my opinion, though, was that I simply didn't like Florence. Spineless and selfish is a strange personality combination but she somehow managed to pull it off in a way that showed her to generally be a brat. When things get tough, Florence flees and lets someone else take care of everything and I don't have a lot of patience for people (or characters) like that.

So, I would say, if you need a quick read for your vacation, this will work. But there are better books out there worth your time. 

 

 

 

 

When Women Were Dragons by Kelly Barnhill

Amy  

fantasy, historical fiction

In April 1955, over 600,000 women turned into dragons, fleeing their dissatisfactory lives and, in many cases, destroying the people and places who made them feel miserable, unappreciated, undervalued, and unhappy. Alex lost her aunt (and her uncle) during the Mass Dragoning of 1955 and she relays her experiences of being raised during this ordeal and how it affected her life. Interspersed between Alex’s story sections are excerpts from a doctor who has researched and written a book about dragoning, news clips, and transcriptions from political inquisitions.

When Women Were Dragons was fascinating in the way it treated dragoning as if it actually happened. There was eyewitness testimony, scientific findings, video evidence, and Alex’s personal experiences and observations. People, mostly women, finally got tired of living under restrictions and limitations and burst free to live life on their own terms. Kelly Barnhill imagined women turning into dragons to metaphorically highlight feminism, racism, transgenderism, and otherism.

The novel is an ode to women and an anthem to their power, perseverance, and never-ending fight for equality. It is also meant to show how people who are different from what is expected by society have a difficult time being accepted, valued, and cherished. It was extremely creative but I do feel it took its message to the extreme by the end. There was only one decent man in the entire novel—the doctor who took dragoning seriously and made it his life work to understand the dragon transitions. I’m sure there will be good discussions at Book Club. But I wonder how the man in our book club will feel about it. The book wasn’t about bashing men but it certainly didn’t show them in even a dimly favorable light.

There were some very serious outrages committed in this novel which enraged me. For example, there was the story about Alex being reprimanded for being too smart and taking away top spots from the boys. And there was parental abandonment. My heart went out to Alex. She was raised in a time when mothers failed to inform their daughters about upcoming female health concerns and ambitious girls were forcefully kept away from opportunities. Alex was left to figure things out on her own. I was infuriated about her unfair situations. And, of course, I always get upset with stories about poor parenting.

Sadly, the cover-up of scientific evidence and facts as well as governmental denial of reality felt so relatable to some of the worst failings that took place during COVID pandemic. 

The audiobook was narrated by Kimberly Farr (as the main narrator) and Mark Bramhall (reading all the doctor’s segments and other interspersed fact-based information.)  I enjoyed Farr’s acting a lot. She had a bit of a vocal repertoire for different characters too.  Bramhall did his sections well.  They tended to require formality and he did that perfectly. He didn’t have to stretch much outside of the point of view he was reading. However, they both read pretty slowly so I had to speed up the audiobook a bit. I’ll give them an A- as a team.

   

The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches by Sangu Mandanna

Amy     

Lynnie 

fantasy

Mika is a 30-something year old witch. She belongs to a “club” of other British witches which is led by an old witch, Primrose, who has been setting all the rules for the other witches in an effort to keep them undiscovered and safe.  Since it is a fact that all witches become orphaned, Primrose finds foster parents for the younger witches and keeps an eye on them. This all sounds like a good thing but the reality is that Mika has grown up feeling very alone, never being able to bond properly with people, and never being loved.  However, Ian and his unusual family is seeking a witch to help with three undiscovered, reckless young witches under his care and he has, surprisingly, suspected that Mika is a witch and asked her to live with them to tutor the children in witchcraft.

Amy's Review

Based on the quirky cover illustration of The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches, I went in hoping it would not be another typical witch novel about wronged women of the past. And, thankfully, it wasn't. Sangu Mandanna's tale was creative and set in the present day with fun, diverse characters. It was a cute story and I was happy to pick up the book at night to spend time in Mika’s world. The resolutions were predictable from a mile away and one of the kids spoke too maturely for her age, but it was light reading and never took itself seriously. The concept of nice vs. kind rang a chord for me. This novel is about love, family, and belonging.

I both read the book on Kindle and listened to the audiobook, alternating whenever one type of media was better for me. The audiobook narrator, Samara MacLaren, did a nice job with a variety of different accents and voices. I’ll give her an A-.

Lynnie's Review

This is a very quick, cute book. 

When Mika meets the residents of Nowhere House, she is both charmed and terrified. Now that she is with people who see her and accept her and her powers, will she be able to accept herself and their companionship?

There are no surprises in The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches. The end is obvious from the moment you begin, but the joy is in the journey. Getting to know these lovely, quirky characters is a delight, and it's impossible not to wish the best for all of them. This is a great book for a rainy day when you just want something easy and fun.

Graphic Novels - The Human Target, Vol 2; Saga, Vol 10; and Runaways, Vol 6

The Human Target Vol. 2 by Tom King and Greg Smallwood

 

Lynnie      

 

I loved everything about this from start to finish.

This was a beautiful series and I thoroughly enjoyed both Tom King's writing and Greg Smallwood's gorgeous artwork. This was the first DC Black Label series that I read and I was not disappointed.

Christopher Chance's days are numbered. In the second half of this series he solves his own murder, accepts his fate, and falls in love...all of which are bittersweet as he only has a few days left to live. The inevitable ending meanders a bit, as if King and Smallwood were reluctant to let Chance go and, really, who can blame them. I was sad to see the series end as well. 

 

Saga, Volume 10 by Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples

Lynnie         

It's been... a while since I've ventured into the universe of Saga. When Volume 9 (issue #54) ended I was still buying these issue by issue and I'm not going to lie, #54 was a heartbreaker! I honestly wasn't sure I would continue. Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples took some time away from Saga and so did I, but I finally decided it was time to come back.

It was easy to jump back in to Alana and Hazel (& Squire's) world, but I missed Marko. Frankly, I'm not sure Alana is particularly interesting without him. It appears it will just be more of the cycle of being hunted and running from more enemies and now with kids! Will I read volume 11? Probably. But I'm not in a big hurry. I still love the artwork but I don't have an urgent need to find out what happens next.

 

 

Runaways, Volume 6 by Rainbow Rowell and Andres Genolet

 

Lynnie     

 

I really enjoyed getting back into the Runaways and I'm super disappointed to learn that this is where the story ends because there are a lot of threads left here that have not been tied up. This issue was particularly wonderful despite some comic shenanigans and I wish Rowell had been given a bit more time to tie up some of those dangling storylines.

I enjoyed the stories (Gib in high school, Wolverine, Nico coming clean about her staff, and some others), but I hate that there are so many questions left at the end. I think if there hadn't been such an abrupt end, I would've given it a higher rating, but ultimately I left disappointed. 

 

 

Horse by Geraldine Brooks

 

Amy  

historical fiction

-Theo is an art history PhD student in Georgetown in 2019 when he finds an intriguing painting of a horse in a donation heap on the street.
-Jess works at the Smithsonian Museum Support Center in 2019 and is helping a visiting horse expert study the bones of a horse stored at the Smithsonian.
-Jarret is a young slave in Lexington, KY, in the 1850s who has a natural ability with getting horses ready for the races and a special connection with a horse born on his farm.
-Thomas is an artist hired by Jarret’s owner to paint his horses.

The individual stories belonging to these people each include a relationship to Lexington, the greatest race horse of the nineteenth century.  Horse ties all of their stories together, painting a full picture of this particular horse as well as horse-racing history in general. 

Told from changing viewpoints of the four main characters mentioned above as well as a few other characters, Jarret’s story was my favorite and he was the heart of the novel. He was endearing and smart, benefited from his father’s love and guidance, and made the most of the opportunities he was given. This novel, while definitely about horses, was equally about American race issues from slavery in Kentucky through present-day Washington, DC.

Having read several other Geraldine Brooks novels and knowing that she is a fabulous researcher, this one felt clunkier than her others. With the multiple viewpoints, only one of the characters was well-known and several dropped off without closure. I also realized (after I’d finished reading) that this book happens to be personal for Brooks. She is a horse rider herself. Like Brooks, her character, Jess, is an Australian living in America who ends up returning to Australia. Brooks’ adopted son is black and has helped her understand the contemporary black experience. So I see where some of her writing choices in this novel came from. I also believe the timeline of events in Horse are the most recent of her novels I’ve read. So, maybe, this is the first novel where she’s had the chance to write about things that are more personal.

Having said all that, I enjoyed it. I learned a lot. And I liked the inclusion of art in the story as well as the research and technology that were used to tie the present to the past.

I both listened to the audiobook and read the novel on my Kindle.  The audiobook had five narrators. I couldn’t tell you who read which part(s) and none of them wowed me enough to make me feel like diving in to find out. Therefore, I won’t name them here. I do agree with the production’s decision to utilize several different narrators. Some were better than others. I’ll just give the entire production a B+.