Posted on by Meghan G

Summer 2019 Reading Recap

Since I haven’t been keeping up with my monthly reads I thought I would recap what I have read over the summer.  It is hard to believe that summer is nearly over.  Though as someone who lives in the south the cooler weather of Fall probably won’t make its way here until mid October.

From May to July, I have read 15 books.  This might be my most productive summer, in terms of reading, that I have ever had.  Usually Fall and Winter dominate when it comes to the amount of books I manage to get through the most during the year, but for whatever reason the past few months I’ve found more time to pick up a book or two.  Also managing to squeeze in a few audibooks does help to up my reading count.

So here it is! What I’ve read lately:

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I managed to read more nonfiction than I have in the past.  In fact, 2019 might be the year of nonfiction for me, especially since I read 4 of them in the past 3 months alone.  As for my favorite, I would have to go with Storm Glass by Jeff Wheeler.  It is the first in a series, and I’ve had to pace myself so I don’t go through it too quickly.

I think I managed to do quite well in reading a large variety of books.  Though I think being able to read this many in a such a short amount of time for me probably won’t be how I finish out the year.

Happy Reading,

Meghan

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Posted on by Meghan G

Shadow of the Storm: Book Review

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“There will be times when there is nothing you can do but survive, to place one foot after the other into the driving rain.” 
― Connilyn Cossette, Shadow of the Storm

Title:  Shadow of the Storm

Series: Out of Egypt Series

Author:  Connilyn Cossette

Publish Date:  October 18th, 2016

Reading Format:  Kindle Book

Goodreads Summary: 

Having escaped Egypt with the other Hebrews during the Exodus, Shira is now living in freedom at the foot of Mt. Sinai, upon which rests the fiery glowing Cloud containing the shekinah glory of God. When the people disobey Yahweh and build a golden idol, the ensuing chaos gives Shira an unexpected opportunity to learn the arts of midwifery. Although her mother wishes for her to continue in the family weaving trade, Shira’s gifts shine brightest when she assists with deliveries. In defiance of her mother, Shira pursues her heart’s calling to become an apprentice midwife.

When a delivery goes horribly wrong, Shira finds herself bound to a man who betrayed her, the caretaker of three young children, and the target of a vengeful woman whose husband was killed by Shira’s people, the Levites. As contention between the Hebrew tribes and the foreigners fans the flames of another dangerous rebellion, Shira will come face-to-face with the heartbreak of her past that she has kept hidden for so long. How can she let go of all that has defined her to accept the love she’s denied herself and embrace who she truly is?

Review:

Connilynn Cossette has become a favorite author of mine over the past few years.  I love that she focuses on Biblical fiction, and her ability to tell a story about women from so long ago that can still feel relevant today.  I have enjoyed her Out of Egypt Series and have finally concluded it after unknowingly reading the books out of order.  (I accidentally read the 3rd book first before knowing it was the final book in the series. Oops!)

Shadow of the Storm is my favorite of the trilogy.  I found Shira’s story to be the most moving to me of the three, but that might have been because I felt like I was reading this book at the exact time I needed to.  You know what I mean?  Have you ever opened a book and knowing this is exactly what you needed for the mood or life moment you are in?  This was definitely it for me!

It had been almost two years since I read the 1st book, Counted with the Stars, in the fall of 2017.  I wasn’t sure if I would remember too much, but it wasn’t too hard to recall Shira and Kiya’s adventures from before.  In this book Shira is the main character this time around and it is set at the base of Mount Sinai, where the Hebrews resided for 1 year following their exodus from Egypt.  Having grown up hearing and reading the biblical stories of Moses and the Israelites exodus to the promise land, I always find Biblical fiction so fascinating.  It seems to feel in the blanks a bit about what daily life would have been like and give more detail to the bigger picture.

Much like the other 2 books, Shadow of the Storm is filled with a lot of action and drama with an overarching love story. The story lines can fill like they follow a specific pattern in each book, but each story feels different and unique without feeling like a been-there-done-that plot line.

If your looking for a historical fiction novel that isn’t set in World War II then I would suggest checking out this series.  As a fellow lover of historical fiction, reading a time period not set between 1936-1945 has helped me not to burnout in my reading life and enter into a book slump.

And as a trigger warning to some who may chose to read this, Shira does have a traumatic event in her past that makes her uncomfortable around men.  You may want to research further before deciding to read if you are sensitive to certain themes.

Rating:

4 out of 5 stars

Posted on by Meghan G

My Dear Hamilton: Book Review

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“I was someone before I met Alexander Hamilton. Not someone famous or important or with a learned philosophical understanding of all that was at stake in our revolution. Not a warrior or a philosopher or statesman. But I was a patriot.” –Stephanie Dray and Laura Kamoie, My Dear Hamilton

Title: My Dear Hamilton

Authors:  Stephanie Dray and Laura Kamoie

Genre: Historical Fiction

Publish Date:  April 3rd, 2018

Reading Format: Paperback

Summary:

 My Dear Hamilton follows the life of Eliza Hamilton.  The book is a fictional biographical look at one of America’s founding Mothers and wife of Alexander Hamilton.

Review:

 I was highly anticipating this book when I saw that it was coming out in the Spring of this year.  I actually wasn’t waiting in anticipation because of the whole Hamilton craze that is happening right now, but rather because I loved the authors first book together America’s First Daughter.  And I’ll just go ahead and say that My Dear Hamilton did not disappoint.

The book is all told from Eliza’s perspective and it begins during the American revolution, and before she meets her husband Alexander Hamilton, and moves through the different stages of her life up to her later years.  Before I read this book there wasn’t a whole lot I knew about Eliza Hamilton other than who her famous husband was.  My Dear Hamilton changed all that for me.  Even though this is a fictional book, Stephanie Dray and Laura Kamoie did such a wonderful job with their research. The novel entwines the tragic and beautiful parts of Eliza and Alexander’s love story quite well.  And delves into them as both a couple and individuals so that Eliza shines throughout the story rather than being diminished to the background of Alexander’s life,  which is why I chose the quote from the book above.  During each of my reviews I try to use a quote under the cover of the book to showcase the story.  Kind of like a small highlight to lure you into the book review.  This particular quote stood out to me more than the others I have chosen in the past and I think that is in large part to the fact that Eliza Hamilton as a character has stood out to me the most this year in my reading.  She was a profound woman who existed in a time that history likes to write out, so I’m grateful that My Dear Hamilton tries to rectify that by not only making Eliza the main character but also by taking the time to research her and the other women during the Revolution.

I highly recommend reading My Dear Hamilton as well as their other book America’s First Daughter.

Rating:  4 out of 5 Stars

 

Happy Reading,

Meghan

Posted on by Meghan G

The Address: Book Review

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Title:  The Address

Author:  Fiona Davis

Publish Date:  August 1, 2017

Genre:  Historical Fiction

Reading Format:  Hardback Book

Summary:

Told in the perspective of two different characters, The Address follows Sarah Smythe in 1884 as she is given the opportunity to become the lady managerette of The Dakota in New York City after a chance encounter with the architect Theodore Camden at her former job in London.

The other perspective follows Bailey Camden in 1985, who fresh out of rehab is given the chance to start a new by her “cousin” Melinda to renovate her apartment, the former home of Melinda’s great grandfather Theodore Camden.  Bailey, who’s own grandfather was the ward to Theodore, has always known the rumor that surrounds Melinda’s apartment; which is that the famed architect was murdered by a former servant of the Dakota, Sarah Smythe.  But Bailey soon begins to uncover the truth behind that tale.

Review:

One of the reasons I’ve hesitated to write some book reviews as of lately is that I haven’t really been enjoying some of the books I’ve been reading in the past few months.  I feel as though most of these books have so much potential to be great but end up falling flat in the end.  I also don’t love writing negative reviews.  I find them unpleasant to write and never like trashing something someone has spent a lot of their time on creating.  However if I want to keep my blog going I’ll have to write reviews that are both good and bad, and I always want to be honest about how I feel about the things I read.  So with all that said The Address was not my favorite Historical fiction book.

For starters I don’t love dual timelines. I find that if they aren’t written well I can get the characters mixed up or find it hard to follow.  Also Bailey’s story wasn’t really interesting to me.  I realize that she is used to uncover the mystery surrounding Theodore Camden’s death, but I could have done without her all together and purely had a story that only was told through the eyes of Sarah.

Sarah’s story also takes a weird turn.  It is almost as though the author came across some interesting history during the time period and decided to add it in, but she speeds through it so quickly I wonder if it was even worth telling the story that way.  In my opinion Fiona Davis could have found a better way to tell this part by going a different path.  But what do I know?

By the last one hundred pages I was ready to stop reading The Address all together.  I had more or less figured out how it would end and had almost completely skimmed all the Bailey chapters to get to the end as soon as possible.

I feel that if I’m going to read a Historical Fictional novel I would prefer it stuck to one time period instead of two.  I know it is possible to have a dual timeline that works, for example The Wedding Dress that I read back in February did a nice job.  And my all time favorite novel The Nightingale also does a nice job, but it only touches on a more present time period all of three times and mainly focuses on past.  I guess what I’m trying to say is the author of The Address just didn’t have writing style I was looking for, and I know it could have been better.

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

Happy Reading,

Meghan

 

Posted on by Meghan G

At Water’s Edge: Book Review

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“In all its beautiful, tragic fragility, there was still life.”
― Sara Gruen, At the Water’s Edge

Title: At Water’s Edge

Author:  Sara Gruen

Publish Date:  March 31, 2015

Genre:  Historical Fiction

Reading Format:  Paperback

Summary:

Maddie is married to Ellis, who comes from a very wealthy family.  Maddie and Ellis financially depend upon Ellis’ parents until Ellis drunkenly embarrasses his father at a New Year’s Eve party and finds himself and his wife cutoff from the family fortune.  Determined to defy his father, Ellis decides to do the one thing his dad could not which is to find the Loch Ness monster.

With the help of their best friend Hank, Maddie and Ellis set out to Scotland in 1943 to find the monster.

Review:

If you place any book in Scotland I’ll probably read it, especially a Historical Fiction novel.  At Water’s Edge has both those elements and was an easy purchase to make.  Finding the time to read it was a whole other story as it only took two years to finally pick the book up after I had bought it.

My first impression when I had finished reading At Water’s Edge, was the author Sara Gruen does not have a fondness for husbands.  This might be a slight spoiler to the novel, but Ellis is anything but a good husband (or person for that matter).  And I make that comment because she also wrote Water for Elephants and the husband in that book was also an awful person.  Though I’ll confess I haven’t read Water for Elephants, but I have committed the cardinal sin of seeing the movie without reading the book and in the movie the husband is a horrible person. So with that assessment I can conclude husbands in Sara Gruen novels equal not good people.

After making that assessment (and small tangent), I found that At Water’s Edge was entertaining but not overall satisfying.  3/4 of the book is mostly build up to the climax of the story and then it quickly wraps up everything, which left me feeling a bit confused and as though I had been cheated out of the plot line. Sort of.  Though I suppose it was set up that way because you are following along with Maddie and she is really naive and then suddenly enlightened by the end.  Which is how I felt as the story unfolded.

The story line is also a little odd and I’m not just talking about the fact that three rather wealthy Americans decided to hunt for the Lock Ness monster, but that they would be allowed to go to Scotland while a giant war is happening in the first place.  At Water’s Edge is set in 1943, so literally smack dab in the middle of World War II, and they manage to be allowed to cross the Atlantic to go to Scotland.  Call be crazy, but wealthy or not, there is no way any private citizens were permitted to travel to Europe during this time. Let alone be willing to do it. Though *gasp* I could be wrong.

There is also the fact that Ellis and Hank aren’t serving in the military during this time because Ellis is colorblind and Hank is flat footed.  Both men claim to be ashamed of the fact they can’t serve and are embarrassed by those who shame them for it.  So logically why not go to the front lines of the war, obviously they’ll be super supportive of you….Oh wait! They aren’t.  I just feel as though the author wanted the drama of the War but the story would have been better suited for about 10 years after, or it just should have been a World War II focused book.

Honestly At Water’s Edge was not really what I expected.  It is one of the better books I have read this year so far, but that isn’t really saying much because I have truly read some duds this year.  The writing as a whole was pretty good and I like Sara Gruen’s writing, I just wasn’t fond of some of the plot holes that show up along the way.  I think if you are looking for a book set in Scotland there are so many others you could choose from, so maybe pass on this one if you have another book in mind.

Rating: 3.5 stars out of 5

Happy Reading,

Meghan