"Insomnia" by Sarah Pinborough

In Insomnia by Sarah Pinborough, Emma's 40th birthday is coming soon.  She has been dreading this day for a long time.  Why? you ask.  You will have to read the book to find out!  I thought this book was very good.  Emma is a great character and I never knew what was going to happen next!  I loved the ending too!  (Gerard's review, 5++ stars)  

Insomnia by Sarah Pinborough left me in a fog sort of.  The story line was so far out that I felt I wasted my time reading it.  The whole plot is about whether Emma is crazy and paranoid or not.  This book has an elaborate storyline that I felt moved too slowly.  I felt sorry for Emma but didn't think much of her husband.  There is some good action near the end and things do pick up so I didn't hate it.  I didn't really like the ending all that much, but was okay with it and glad everything was explained.  I do think it would make for an interesting book club discussion.  (Karen's review, 3 stars)

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"The Lady's Mine" by Francine Rivers is a Great Read!

The Lady's Mine by Francine Rivers is an excellent read about a Boston woman being sent to a little mining town out west to claim her uncle's inheritance.  She causes quite the stir when she restarts publishing the newspaper her uncle wrote in spite of being old she was a woman and shouldn't do it.  Just like she pursued starting up a mining operation at the mine she inherited.  Although she is determined never to marry, several men would like to change her mind about that!  

I enjoyed this book very much!  It is well written and moves along with a good mix of action, interesting characters, humor, mystery and romance.  Some lines made me laugh out loud!  It addresses the issue of women's rights and shows how people can bring about change to a community.  I had a hard time putting it down and always looked forward to getting back to it.  This has clean language and no raunchy love scenes.  It even has questions at the end for book club discussions.  I highly recommend this one! (Karen's review, 5 stars)

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"The Good Father" by Diane Chamberlain

The Good Father by Diane Chamberlain centers on Travis and his 4-yr-old daughter, Bella.  Robin was very sickly and fragile when he got her pregnant and did not want the baby so Travis got full custody.  When his mother's house burns to the ground, he finds himself and Bella homeless.  Then he loses his job and moves to Raleigh to follow a job lead.  He meets a woman at a coffee shop, Erin, who is still grieving over the loss of her child but hits it off with Bella.  His job is not what he thought it would be and finds himself mixed up with drug dealers.  He left Bella with Erin while he went to work, but didn't come back!  What will Erin do with Bella?  Will Travis get out alive and see his daughter again?  What about Robin?  These are all questions answered when you read the book.

I enjoyed this book, although it started off a bit slow.  It really has three story lines about the three main characters, Travis, Erin and Robin.  This book looks at parenting and grieving.  This would be a good book for a book club to discuss.  It has discussion questions in the back.
(Karen's review, 4 stars)

Teaser from page 8:  The only thing was, she might be too good.  The kind of person who'd call the cops on me.  I just had to trust her not to.

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"Modern Girls" by Jennifer S. Brown (Mother/Daughter Book)

Modern Girls by Jennifer S. Brown is about some Jewish immigrant families in New York during the great depression.   The story is told from alternating views of Rosa, the mother, Dottie, her daughter who finds herself in a predicament.  Both mother and daughter get pregnant.  Rosa is 42 years old and Dottie isn't married, but has been seeing Abe for three years, waiting for him to save up enough money to rent their own place when they get married.  Abe is a virtuous Jew and Dottie knows the baby is not his, but a handsome, wealthy, playboy journalist named Willie Klein is the father.  Gossip is spreading throughout her neighborhood, her mother had saved up money for her to go to college, and Dottie is desperate to get Abe to think the baby is his.  She really wants to keep the baby, but her mother has made an appointment to have it "taken care of."  Will she be able to have her happily ever after ending with Abe?  Will she get the abortion?  Will she end up marrying Willie?  How will Rosa be able to help her daughter?

This book kept my interest, and I did like Dottie in spite of her big mistake.  I also liked her mother although she had some secrets of her own!   I also enjoyed Dottie's brothers and thought Willie and Abe were interesting characters.  I liked how they were pretty much opposites and yet Dottie liked them both.  I would have liked more of the story as it has an open-ended ending.  I think this would make a good book club read since there's much that could be discussed.
(Karen's review, 4 stars)

Teaser from page 21:  Abe would work at the store during the day.  Ma would watch the kids for a few hours, and I'd continue at the insurance company.  The picture was dreamy and I smiled before remembering I had botched it all up.

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"The Secret Keeper" by Kate Morton

The Secret Keeper by Kate Morton is a murder mystery, but not a who did it, but why did they?  On her younger brother's birthday, teen Laurel is hiding in her tree house and is the only one who sees her mother actually kill the strange man who came that knew her name.  She tells the cops what she saw, but not that her mother knew who he was.  It was concluded that her mom acted in self-defense because he was going to harm the baby brother who she was holding.  Years later, when Laurel was in her 50s and her mother was dying, Laurel decides to look into that event more closely to find out who that man was and why her mother killed him with the birthday knife they always used to cut the birthday cakes.  Through a long journey through photos, World War II letters, and a visit to London Laurel finally discovers the truth. 

This story was really good; however, it seemed to take forever to get at it and finally arrive at the end.  I enjoyed story most when it was back during World War in London, showing the mother's background before marrying Laurel's father, Stephen.  I just found it hard to believe that Laurel was never that curious about her mother's background until she was dying.  I know, that's where the title comes in, but I thought it was far-fetched that Laurel would bother doing all that research instead of just asking her mother straight out.  I did not care for how the author went into so much detail describing scenery and jumping between all different years back and forth.  I loved the surprise ending.  This book really picked up around page 400.  I really enjoyed the last 80 pages or so--it saved the book for me.  It includes some discussion questions in the back for book clubs to use.
(Karen's review, 3 stars)

Teaser from page 28:  Both sisters turned towards her mighty indignation, and therefore neither noticed Dorothy's sharp intake of breath, the look of anguish that crossed her face at the mention of Vivien's name.  By the time the three Nicolsen sisters had gathered at their mother's side, Dorothy appeared to be sleeping calmly, her features giving no hint that she'd left behind the hospital, her weary body, and her grown daughters, slipping through time to the dark night of 1941.

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"Joey--How a blind rescue horse helped others learn to see" by Jennifer Marshall Bleakley

Joey by Jennifer Marshall Bleakley is a true story which makes this so much better!  Kim believes in three things:  God, kids, horses.  She has a vision of putting hurting special needs kids with horses on a designated area, but that will take a lot of land and a lot of money!  Those are two things Kim is in short supply of so Kim puts her trust in God to provide. One horse she gets is Joey, a blind horse who was mistreated.  Can she take on a special needs horse too?

I thought this book was outstanding!  It is told very well and the women in this book are remarkable!  I fell in love with Joey!  Do not miss this one!   I'd recommend this for a book club.
(Gerard's review, 5++ stars)

Teaser from page 217:  Cindy's hand covered her mouth and tears streamed down her cheeks.  Sarah didn't notice her, not yet.  She was transfixed, basking in this sacred moment in which the little girl with no voice spoke up for the horse with no eyes.

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"Where The Crawdads Sing" by Delia Owens -- WOW!

Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens is the coming of age story of Kya, a lonely, abandoned, abused girl who lived in a Marsh in North Carolina. It is a murder mystery and a love story as well. This is an amazing emotional read that starts out slow but picks up as it goes along. It has much sadness but some high points are mixed in. In a way, it is a rags to riches story. There were a lot of heartbreaking events and yet Kya proved to be very strong, overcoming great obstacles with very little help from others. She was definitely a “lone wolf” until as a teenager, the loneliness caused her to make some poor choices.

All I can say is WOW, what a book! This is well written and reminded me of To Kill a Mocking Bird. It includes lots of information about nature and is a remarkable story about how a girl who only attended school one day in her whole life, became a well-recognized author. I especially liked the courthouse cat, Sunday Justice, who befriended Kya. I would recommend this as a book club read because of the many issues it raises.
(Karen’s review 2/15/19, 5 stars)

Gerard's review, 2/18/19:
In Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens, Kya is the last one left of her family.  First her mom left, then her brother and sisters left.  Her pa was the last to leave, but she found a way to survive in their shack in the marsh.  Two young men came into her life during her teen years.  When an incident happens though, Kya is once again all alone and her fate is in other people's hands.

This is a pretty good book!  Kya is a great character and I enjoyed how she got along so well by herself.  More action though would have been nice, but the pacing of this book made up for that.  (5 stars)

Teaser from page 16: “If anybody comes, don’t go in the house. They can get ya there. Run deep in the marsh, hide in the bushes. Always cover yo’ tracks; I learned ya how. And ya can hide from Pa, too.”

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"What Alice Forgot" by Liane Moriarty (We Both Liked This!)

In What Alice Forgot by Liane Moriarty, Alice is 29, loves her husband and is expecting a baby--life is good!  She has a fall at the gym though and has to go to the hospital.  At the hospital, she finds out she is 39 and has three kids but is getting a divorce!  What is going on?  Has she really lost the last ten years?

I enjoyed this book very much!  Alice was interesting and for sure funny!  It kept my interest throughout.
(Gerard's review, 5++ stars)

Karen's review:
What Alice Forgot by Liane Moriarty is a thought provoking contemporary fiction book about amnesia.  At age 39, Alice hit her head hard on the handlebars when she fell in her spin class and lost the last ten years of memory.  She forgot she had three children, forgot she was very involved in their school, forgot all the changes her and her husband made to their home, forgot her best friend, and forgot she and her husband were now separated!   Her husband, Nick, loves his kids and was a good husband but what happened?  Alice forgot and is anxious to reconcile and have Nick come back home.  What happens when she finally remembers?  Will their family reunite or will Alice and Nick go their separate ways?

This is a very interesting, thought provoking and fun read.  Makes you think what has changed in your own life in the past ten years.  This book mostly covers the week after Alice's fall but then jumps ahead at the end about ten years into the future.  I loved the humor in this and would have given it 5 stars except I did not care about the sister's infertility story line and all her miscarriages.  I thought that part was quite boring and the book would have been better if it just focused on Alice and her family.  I really enjoyed Nick and her children!  This book actually looks at love from several different perspectives:  lost love, dating love, marriage love through the ups and downs, late-in-life love, and unexpected love.  We both think this would be a great book for a book club.  It has some questions in the back.  (4 stars)

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"The Kommandant's Girl" by Pam Jenoff (We Both Liked This One!)

The Kommandant’s Girl by Pam Jenoff is a very interesting story about a Jewish girl, Emma, doing whatever she needs to do to survive the Nazi rule. Emma is just 19 and recently married to Jacob, a leader in the resistance movement, at the start of the book. When Jacob leaves Emma alone to work on dangerous missions for the resistance, Emma goes to live with her parents, but finds that they have been taken away to a Jewish ghetto. She follows them but with the help of the resistance, escapes to her husband’s Aunt’s house who she then lives with. When the aunt throws a dinner party for high ranking political officials, Emma takes on a whole new identity and begins to work for the Kommandant at Nazi headquarters. Will she ever be reunited with her husband? Will the Rabbi’s little boy who lives with her survive? Will he ever know about his Jewish heritage?

This book is about Emma’s journey and raises some moral and ethical questions. I liked this book and was not disappointed. The double life that Emma found herself in was very interesting and I also liked both the Kommandant and Jacob. I could easily see how Emma could be unfaithful to her husband under the circumstances. It was fun trying to figure out who Emma could trust. It would be a good one for a book club to discuss. There is lots of aspects to discuss. I highly recommend this one! I read this book because I liked The Orphan’s Tale by this author so wanted to try another one by her. (Karen's review 5/2/17, 5 stars)

Gerard's review 4/29/17:
In The Kommandant's Girl by Pam Jenoff, Emma is a newly married woman when the Nazi's take over Poland.  Her husband goes underground to fight the takeover.  Emma wants to help too, but when circumstances give her a chance to do her part, it is very dangerous.  One false move means death for her and those she loves!

This is good stuff!  The story line is very good and I felt the tension grow.  The characters are very believable too.  (5+ stars)

We both also liked The Orphan's Tale by this author.

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This is linked up to Mama Kat's Writer's Workshop in response to the book review prompt.  

We Both Liked "What Was Mine" by Helen Klein Ross

What Was Mine by Helen Klein Ross is fantastic!  Lucy has been trying to have a baby, but it is a no go.  One day she sees a baby alone at a store and takes it!  The next day, she makes up her mind to return the baby to its mother, but she decides otherwise and keeps it, raising the baby girl as her own.  This story is told by a bunch of people that were affected by this decision, which really adds to the story.   I was hooked from page one all the way through!  This page turner is told very well and I liked the ending too, although not everyone may agree.  Read it for yourself to see what you think.
(Gerard's review, 5++ stars)

Karen's review, 5 stars:
What Was Mine by Helen Klein Ross is an interesting contemporary fiction story about Madelyn whose baby, Natalie, is kidnapped by Lucy, a woman who wants a baby but can’t conceive. Lucy raises Natalie as her own, changing her name to Mia. Mia is raised with love and given the best education, never suspecting Lucy is not her real mother until she gets a friend request on Facebook from Madelyn.

This book tugged at my heart and kept me turning pages to find out how Mia feels about her abduction and finding her real family, what will become of Lucy and will Mia keep her bond with Lucy or bond with her real mother? This book shows how good people can make mistakes that affect many lives for years to come. I found myself liking Lucy better than Madelyn even though Madelyn was the victim and suffered a major loss because of Lucy. I never heard of restitution justice until reading this book. I thought the ending was incredible but left me wanting more! I think this would be a great book club read and highly recommend it to anyone who likes good contemporary fiction.


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Shared this review at Mama Kat's Writer's Workshop.

We Both Liked "The Silent Sister" by Diane Chamberlain (Updated)

In The Silent Sister, Riley believes her older sister killed herself as a teenager.  Twenty years later she finds evidence that this is not true.  As Riley seeks the truth, she will be hit with some things that will shake all the truths she did believe.  

This book rocks!  It's all good but as slowly the secrets and lies come out into the open you as a reader are wowed.  LOVED IT A LOT!
(Gerard's review 3/26/15 5++ stars)

The Silent Sister starts out a bit slow with Riley getting her father's house ready to sell after his death.  Boy, did this bring back memories for me though having gone through this process with my dad.  I could certainly identify with her through this process.  The story picks up when Riley believes her older sister may not have committed suicide many years ago but may actually be alive somewhere and begins her search.

During this time, the author gives us a look at what's been happening with Lisa, Riley's older sister, who is a fugitive because she was charged with murder and faked her death to avoid prison when she was 17.  I couldn't help pulling for Lisa even though her younger brother, Danny, thought she should pay for what she did--not only for committing murder but also for ruining their family.
 
I realize you may think I've given spoilers here, but I haven't.  There are lots of surprises in this book and I loved how the author developed them gradually.  This book is not only about family secrets, but about the extent parents go to protect their children and how one event can tear a family apart.  I really liked this book which was no surprise to me because I also liked The Secret Life of Cee Cee Wilkes and Necessary Lies, and The Midwife's Confession by Diane Chamberlain.  If you like stories about family drama and lots of twists and turns, you'll enjoy this one, I'm sure!  I'd certainly recommend this one for a book club read. 
(Karen's review 3/23/15, 5 stars)

Have you read this one? What did you think of it? If you reviewed this too, feel free to share your link to your review in the comments. Happy Reading!

"The Inheritance" by Tamera Alexander (Christian Historical Fiction)

The Inheritance by Tamera Alexander takes place in Colorado during the late 1800s.  McKenna and Robert Ashford, older sister and 14-yr-old brother, move to Colorado to live with their cousin until they can get a fresh start when they cannot make the payments on their home and livery business their parents left them.  When they get to Colorado, they find things are not at all what they expected.  McKenna soon finds herself struggling to be a mother to her cousin’s little girl, Emma, when her cousin died in childbirth shortly after McKenna and Robert arrived. 

This is a good Christian historical fiction novel about a rocky relationship between a sister and her rebellious brother whom she feels sorry for and responsible for.  I liked the main character and of course the predictable ending that is characteristic of Christian fiction.  The story line with Robert and the U.S Marshall added an interesting dimension to the book.  It has discussion questions in the back for book club use.  

(Karen's review, 4 stars)

 

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"The SEARCH" by Suzanne Woods Fisher is abouth Family Secrets

There's a dog and cat in this one!

The Search by Suzanne Woods Fisher is the third book in her Lancaster County Secrets series that is another good read!  It is about young love, forgiveness, grief, God’s sovereignty and new beginnings.  This is a story about an Amish man, Jonah and his daughter, Bess who believes her grandmother when she says “good things take time.”  Her grandmother, Bertha, has a rose farm and has a knack for knowing everyone’s business and getting her way.  She was my favorite character in this book.  Lainey is an Englisher, raised in the foster care system but who has returned to the community and decides she wants to join the Amish church.  Her and Bertha both have a big secret.  When Bess goes to live with her grandmother for the summer, she learns many things.  

I enjoyed this book with the humor, the big dog, the window into Amish living, the romance, the heartwarming plot and the fantastic ending!   The first two books in this series are The CHOICE and The WAITING.

(Karen's review, 4 stars)

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"The WAITING" by Suzanne Woods Fisher--A Beautiful Amish Romance

The WAITING by Suzanne Woods Fisher topped The CHOICE!  In The Waiting, Jorie King, the main character who helps her grandparents on their Amish horse farm and agrees to teach school finally finds love.  This is a great story that focuses on one particular Amish family, the Zooks.  The oldest, Cal is left with his young daughter, Maggie and his three brothers--Ben, Matthew, and Ephraim when his beloved wife dies of Cancer.  Cal stepped up to run the family farm when their parents died.  Issues in this book include life struggles, family issues, faith, education, judging others, relationships and coming of age.

I absolutely loved this book and look forward to reading more by this wonderful author.  The romance is clean, the Christian theme runs throughout without being preachy and it's thought provoking.  I cheered out loud at a couple parts--once when Cal through Ben's medications into the garbage and when the test results came back for Jorie's 8th graders.  Ephraim was my favorite character. 
(Karen's review, 5 stars)

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"The Choice" by Suzanne Woods Fisher is Very Good Christian Romance

The Choice, the first in the “Secrets in Lancaster” series by Suzanne Woods Fisher is about romance in an Amish community along with Englishers.  This is an enjoyable read with a love triangle and some hard times that work out for good.  It is a story of faith,  mercy and forgiveness with several interesting characters and a bit of humor.  As an Amish girl, Carry must choose to run off with Sol as he pursues a professional baseball career as a pitcher, an Amish boy who has not yet been baptized that she is in love with or stay and take care of her brother when her father dies, remaining faithful to the Amish ways.  She wants him to stay but he does not want to miss his opportunity for more.

I particularly liked the way the author followed the lives of several different people and didn’t just focus all on the main character and her relationships.  This book touches on many different aspects of Amish life and I look forward to reading others by this author.  This would be a good Book Club read and has discussion questions in the back.    I recommend this to anyone who enjoys  clean romances or  Amish stories.  (I read this on my Kindle so no cat pictured, sorry!)

(Karen's review, 5 stars)

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"The Prayer Box" by Lisa Wingate is Inspirational!

The Prayer Box by Lisa Wingate is a well-woven inspirational fiction novel about Tandi, a struggling single mom of a young boy and a teen girl, who is trying to put her life back together and become a strong person.  The whole book is about her attempt to trust people again and build healthy relationships.  When her landlady, Iola Anne, dies in the house across from the cottage Tandy rents, Tandy finally gets to know the woman by reading her collection of letters to God found in prayer boxes  as she helps clean up her house and take care of her cat.  Iola’s life is instrumental in encouraging Tandy.  As Tandy seeks to find her own self-worth, she finds herself taking a lead in a community project—saving Iola’s house from being torn down. 

This book is very inspirational and shows how beneficial it can be to keep a prayer box .  I loved Iola because she was like an angel to so many people, often helping others anonymously without expecting anything in return, or any publicity.  The book moved along a bit slowly as Tandi’s journey to self-esteem unfolds.  It would be a great beach read since it takes place near the water and also could be good for a book club.  There are discussion questions in the back.  

(Karen's review, 4 stars) 

 
Check out the author's website at www.Lisawingate.com where she gives lots of suggestions for using and making prayer boxes.

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