Do Tell

Do Tell - Lyndsay Lynch
Genre: Historical

If you are fascinated by 1940s Hollywood: the movies, the glamor, and perhaps, most of all, the gossip Lyndsay Lynch’s debut novel Do Tell is for you. Not a book for the starry eyed, this book is an often cynical look at the era - at the inside lives of the stars and the studios that own them. 

The narrator Edie O’Dare is brutally honest - as she finishes out her contract at a major studio and transitions to writing a gossip column. She walks a tightrope - needing to maintain access to the studio and the stars to have something to write and writing copy that will keep her editors and readership reading. The throughline is the story of a young actress who has the temerity to accuse a leading man of sexual assault. Edie has to make several decisions along the way that impact the case dramatically. I’m not sure I loved her, but found myself admiring her nonetheless. 

Lynch does an excellent job of keeping me interested in a cast of characters who are not overly likeable. She does an excellent job of recreating the uphill fight of women of the era. I celebrate the victories even if we don’t admire how they are achieved. I feel the frustrations and the sadness - even if we feel some might be deserved. Her setting is the best! She captures for her readers the fashion, the language, the physical settings and the culture of the time. 

As a new retiree - reflecting more than I like on my career and my future impact, I appreciated very much how Lynch created Edie as a character who is unflinching in her reflection. Her honesty is a lesson. Maybe someday I will have the courage to reflect as does Edie and embrace the choices good and bad. Professor Emiritus Terry Mitchell of the University of Washington suggests that reflection is critical for a rewarding retirement. He suggest you consider “what brings you pleasure” and “what is meaningful.” Perhaps I will find that courage. His article “The Retirement Process: A Psychological and Emotional Journey” is worth a read if you are like me :-)

Thanks to NetGalley for providing a review copy.

The Little Village of Book Lovers

The Little Village of Book Lovers - Nina George

Genre: Hmmm… 

If you love to read and believe in the power of books - this is a must read. If you want to believe in the power of love - also a must read. Nina George - author also of The Little Paris Bookshop - advocates beautifully for the power of stories to shape the lives of readers who read books. She lays the groundwork for this idea in The Little Paris Bookshop, and this librarian/literature teacher was dazzled - the way George intertwines this idea in The Little Village of Book Lovers with love and the fates and hate who are CHARACTERS no less is just stunning. 

To summarize this title feels silly to me. How to recapture in a few words the intricacies of what George does, in fact, seem a bit impossible. She begins with an orphaned baby, a sentient olive tree, an overwhelmed love, and a family. She creates within the new father this unexpected urge to read and to surround himself with readers and more importantly to surround his daughter with readers. His daughter sees lights that no one else can, and the child struggles to figure them out -she reads, studies, and talks to others. The whole village becomes involved as she learns what it means to love and be loved. 

So you don’t know that you need to read Nina George until you do. The characters are marvelously developed as is the plot. The fantasy elements blend seamlessly with those that are more “realistic.” I am not naturally drawn to fantasy but loved this title.

I suppose part of my love is that the title so fully supports my life’s loves and work. I have always believed in the power of reading - reading, becoming a literature and the importance of libraries - serving on the public library board, getting my MSLS, becoming a school librarian, and serving on the board again. George puts into words more eloquently than I ever could or will the power of reading to shape the reader. Beautiful. 

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Ladies of the Lake

Ladies of the Lake
Cathy Gohlke
Genre: Historical Fiction/Christian
Narrated by: Stephanie Richardson

Anne Shirley fans - her spirit, the locations, the friendships, the dramas: this book is a good fit for you. Gohlke must love her too. Ladies of the Lake is the story of four kindred spirits - Addie, Dot, Ruth, and Susannah (I listened if I got the spellings wrong!) After Addie is orphaned at a young age, her half brother Lemuel packs her off the boarding school - where she and the other girls become fast friends, standing against the mean brood of older girls and working through the highs and lows of maturing into young ladies in the early 1900s. We learn their story through the adult voices of Addie (now Rosaline) and Dot. We know that with the backdrop of WWI and the Halifax explosion  looming along with the jealousy that comes with young love, some tragedy has destroyed the bond shared by the girls. We  yearn for some resolution for them because Gohlke has created characters and a world with whom we quickly fall in love.

Not because they are so classically lovable, but because they are so complex. Faced with difficult decisions, Addie and Dot both disappoint the reader on occasion. Gohlke portrays their humanity so effectively that we find ourselves hurting with them and rooting for them. Stephanie Richardson captures their spirits in such a lovely way contributing to their relatability. She also evokes that spirit of Anne Shirley in her performance - just reminding me of the many Annes whom I have loved over the years. L.M. Montgomery is featured as a correspondent to budding writer Addie. If, like me, you love Montgomery’s characters you will want to get to know Addie and Dot and their friends.

I have been lucky enough to visit both Prince Edward Island - where I did all of the Anne of Green Gables and L.M. Montgomery sites and Halifax where I learned of the explosion at the museums there. Gohlke is faithful to the spirit and history of these locations. If you love history and setting, you will want to dive into this book. The plot is engaging and suspenseful as the reader moves back and forth from past to present. Gohlke expertly offers details throughout and cleverly maintains some secrets until the very end. If you have lived long enough to appreciate the intricacies of maintaining friendships over time, you will want to walk through the journey of these four friends with them. The lessons of both friendship and faith are beautifully rendered. I am inspired to value my friendships more intensely and to respect my faith more fully. 

Thanks to NetGalley for and advance copy to read for this review.

The Favor

The Favor- Adele Griffin (audiobook)
Genre: Contemporary Adult Fiction

What an interesting and at times suspenseful look at adult friendship - in The Favor Adele Griffin (with Kristen Sieh as our narrator) takes us on a complex journey with Nora and Evelyn from the moment they meet in I’ll Have Seconds - a vintage retail store. Nora, who works there, finds just what Evelyn is looking for and more so it seems a friendship is born. The friendship immediately became awkward for me when Evelyn talks Nora into selling her some vintage books with an offer she can’t refuse. Here was a woman accustomed to getting what she wanted and a woman who was just a bit starstruck giving in. I was slightly uncomfortable with this dynamic throughout the novel (and to be fair to this reader, Nora’s husband is too). The women stay in touch, often in the form of Evelyn needing Nora’s help as a stylist and a personal assistant - often intruding into Nora’s personal life.

We learn that Nora and her husband are in significant debt largely due to their infertility journey. They are just keeping finances under control and have just one embryo left on which their hopes for a family of their dreams rest. The tension in their city apartment is palpable. When Evelyn offers to be a surrogate - at a really good financial deal, it almost feels too good to be true.

And that is where Griffin excels for me. I was on edge the entire time I was listening. Is Evelyn for real? Would Nora’s marriage survive the friendship? Would Evelyn carry the baby to term and let her go? Griffin does an excellent job of creating and maintaining these tensions. I also appreciated her look at the “influencer” lifestyle and exploring its impact on Evelyn’s pregnancy and Nora’s experience. This culture has become so prevalent, and I’m not sure we always think through the consequences of it for creators and for consumers. And, as with the relationships, Griffin doesn’t offer easy solutions here either. She doesn’t provide an easy answer. Neither does she resolve the friendship issues that ultimately develop between Nora and Evelyn easily. Nora’s struggle becomes the reader’s struggle, and again I was 100% engaged the entire time. The ending (spoiler free) does provide a twist, and not the one I expected. 

How Can I Help You?

How Can I Help You - Laura Sims

Mystery & Suspense

I have been faced with many of the stereotypes that surround librarians in my time in the library. From questions like, “why did you have to go to school to do this?” to suggestions that the entirety of my job involved reading books and talking about them to the notion that we live to shush. So when I see a cover that has a flaming book card, the librarian rebel that I consider myself to be is drawn in pretty quickly. What could be happening?

I was equally intrigued by the title of this book. Quite quickly I was given a disturbing glimpse into the mind of a serial killer and the author who studies her- not perhaps, your typical librarians. Margo has started her new journey in the library as a result of fleeing her career as a nurse. Because, in an effort to “help” her patients she often hurries their deaths, and she gets caught one too many times.  Patricia feels she has failed as a writer and leaves a stale relationship behind hoping to forge a new life as a reference librarian. Quite the pair - and when they become connected become even more so. Patricia figures out Margo’s secret past and decides that perhaps her writing career isn’t over after all. 

So, initially, I questioned why Sims was just “giving” us everything - I couldn’t imagine being surprised. And yet, no spoilers, I was. The revelations just sort of creeped up on me. And when I say creeped, I mean creepy as well. Margo’s drive to kill was much more fully developed (sent me to google some things). Patricia’s fascination with her as a writer was explored as well. Suffice it to say, I was surprised more than once. Having just completed another suspense book that explored the mind of a writer (The Woman in the Library by Sulari Gentill), I was interested to see where this one might take me. First, I thought, I guess I don’t have it in me to be an actual writer. I don’t have the drive that Patricia has. As her fascination with her story grew, I thought, maybe, it was OK that I don’t. I am definitely intrigued to find more books about writers who are writing. 

I started with librarians - ended with writers and would definitely recommend How Can I Help You to readers of suspense, no matter their profession, with the caveat that for me it was a slow burn. (Again, no spoilers, but no pun intended.) Thank you to NetGalley for allowing me to evaluate the book.