more than letters on a line today

The Last Dance of the Debutante Julia Kelly 3.8 stars       A group of girls head into the Season, where their primary goal is to 'network' and find a suitable husband. Lily is doing it because her mother and grandmama were debutantes in their day. She's given up her schooling and her thoughts to attend University to maintain tradition and family expectations during this time. And that's when the tale expands, there is lots of tulle and descriptions of dresses, tea dances, exhausting balls and family secrets, but the story also weighs in on the changing roles for women and the breaking away from traditional ways.  Of course there's a scandal, as a reader you anticipate it early on but wait and wait for it to be officially revealed. Characters (human beings) don't change overnight so this gradual enlightenment, let's call it, worked for me. The slow movement of change is to be expected, there were a lot of rules to be broken and I thought that Lily and the ot...

  Things We Do in the Dark Jennifer Hillier 3.8  stars Pub date Jul 19, 2022 It starts with a lot of blood. And I was surprised/delighted to see the site of this blood was across from Kerry Park in Seattle where I have taken some pretty amazing photos! Enjoyable, quick-paced, chapters in different POVs and timelines. If this style is for you, then give this one a chance. I thought I would like it more based on the strength of reviews I've read of previous Hillier books, but I couldn't inch this one up to a 4 star.  This is my first read of a Hillier book, some predictable outcomes (check the trigger potential for family upbringing, abuse) but still worth reading to the end. Paris, Jimmy, Ruby, Drew and even Zoe with their yoga practise, age-difference, friendship, loyalty, love and...

The Book of Lost Names Kristin Harmel 4 stars for sure       A beautifully written and touching telling of the people who provided counterfeit documents (and life) to citizens escaping the war. This was a vivid description of the making of the documents and the making of people as many reinvented themselves to save others. The irony of self-preservation vs chosen selfless acts are interwoven in an emotional story that shows the wide scope of what fear and hatred can do. But also the goodness of people and what they sacrifice to remain that way. "She just wanted a place to sleep for the night where she wouldn't have to worry about the Germans taking the pieces of her away one at a time until there was nothing left of her at all." The Book of Lost Names is about the 'Book' which is the testimony of lives saved so that no one forgets who they were. (Can't say more, but you will discover the beauty behind it.) Eva, Remy, Pere Clement, Mamusia and Leo Traub lead th...

  Unnatural Ends Christopher Huang   3.8 stars Pub Date Jan 2023   1903 – A tower named Camelot, a play place for three adopted siblings.   ‘I knew a man who began by worshipping  with others before the altar,  but who grew fond of high and lonely places  to pray from…’ GK Chesteron   This quote alone sets the stage for the death of Sir Lawrence Linwood (1921) and the return of his three children to solve what turns out to be a murder and resolve their upbringing. Filled with plot twists and surprises it is a who-done-it that kept me engaged till the final pages. The descriptions of Alan, Roger and Caroline were detailed and vivid enough that you felt that you knew them, but each as well had their hidden sides. They were of course raised by Linwood and their mother, Rebecca. So you would expect nothing less in their complexity. A telling of a less than ideal family, about manipulation, deceipt, mores of the times, and un...

  The Club Ellery LLoyd 2.5 stars Home Group's exclusive newest club is the setting for those with lots to hide. This book by writing-duo team was confusing, complicated and a disappointment. There were so many characters I was reduced to taking notes, back stories that took half a page, and many unlikable people. In the end, did I really care? The answer is NO.  The writing was annoyingly filled with long sentences, tangents that made me forget about the initial intent and took a terrible length of time to get to the gist of the story. A mystery that could have been thrilling left me cold because I had to keep going back to my notes (who is that again?). Are there really that many people who have messed up their lives, want revenge, have a lose grip on reality? Brothers, Ned and Adam; Annie and Nikki and a host of other characters were so alarming in their reactions and awareness of each other that I could feel their pain as they floundered to keep up the pretense to be...

  The Runaway Orphans Pam Weaver 3.5 Stars Pub Date June 2022      The story unfolds with details of the child evacuation from London due to the war. The sadness of families torn apart has been told before but some children leave for other reasons. And this 'other' is the centrepiece of this book. There are many endearing characters, who learn to rely and care for each other while the war plays on as the backdrop. Reference to working conditions, female roles and strength of character, food shortages etc. are interwoven amidst the daily telling of life during those difficult times. Norah and Jim are open-hearted, Amelie and Linnet tell their emotional story and show their fierce bond, and many other characters do pull at your heartstrings. This was still an easy read in spite of the circumstances that were taking place. A good book for those who like the countryside, a community of characters who know each other and who also have some knowledge of the war, Dunkirk an...