The Default World by Naomi Kanakia

June 1, 2025

The Default World by Naomi Kanakia

Jhanvi is a trans woman living in San Francisco. Unfortunately she is very masculine looking: over six feet tall, broad shouldered, muscular, swarthy, with a prominent jaw and brow bone. Jhanvi knows she is going to need some serious surgery and drug therapy in order to successfully present as a woman. She learns that some major tech companies have insurance that will cover gender correction surgery, so she starts hatching a scheme to find someone to marry her. Some of her San Francisco acquaintances live in a communal house known as the Fun Haus and earn a lot of money, so her backup plan is to figure out a way to con them out of some of it.

The main character is a transgendered woman who wants to complete her transition who is unfortunately morally bankrupt. That doesn't have anything to do with her gender or her sexuality - she's just a shady person who will use anyone. She doesn't have a job (because even though she graduated from Stanford, working is boring), so she decides to try to scam one of her acquaintances (who graduated from Stanford with her, have good well-paying jobs, and work long hours) into marrying her for their medical insurance - she doesn't care if it's a man or a woman. The people she's living with aren't much better. Unnecessarily complicated, with unsympathetic characters. I did feel sorry for Jhanvi at a few points, like when she catches sight of herself in a mirror and thinks, I'm a man in a dress, I look like a man in a dress. BTW, the default world is what the rest of us call the real world. It's the people and place where, if you need help, people actually help you, stand by you, and support you. They are your real family and community - but there are rules, values, morals, principles, and goals attached to them.. Not sure who if anyone I would recommend this to.

Many thanks to Edelweiss and the publisher for providing an eARC for review.

Bruce Jenner who became Caitlyn Jenner, one of the best known trans women in the world

City in Ruins by Don Winslow

June 1, 2025

City in Ruins by Don Winslow

After leaving Hollywood, Danny Ryan has landed in Las Vegas. He is now a multi-millionaire, a legitimate businessman developing luxury hotels. But his past is never far behind, and it finally catches up with him.

Winslow concludes his saga of Danny Ryan with its combination of Greek tragedy and the Godfather. Not my favorite book in the trilogy, but Winslow wrote a conclusion to the series that wound in all the various threads and characters. Themes include moral ambiguity, revenge, crime and punishment, fathers and sons, honor, and the importance of family, whether they are your biological family or your chosen family. Although Winslow does some recapping, you really need to read the first two books to appreciate this one. The audio version is excellent. Winslow has announced that this will be his final novel. We'll see. Recommended for readers who enjoy the crime fiction of Michael Connelly, John Sandford, and Lee Child.

The Riviera, one of the oldest hotels in Las Vegas

Oye by Melissa Mogollon

May 31. 2025

Oye by Melissa Mogollon

With Hurricane Irma bearing down on Miami, Luciana's family is in a panic: Luciana's grandmother, her Abue, refuses to evacuate. Normally Luciana is relegated to the sidelines and everyone ignores her, but now that her sister Mari is away at college, Luciana is pulled into the family drama. Luciana is just trying to graduate from high school and figure out her sexuality. Meanwhile, Luciana's mother is treating their evacuation like a family road trip. But then Abue receives a devastating medical diagnosis and comes to live with them, taking over Luciana's bedroom.

This was like eavesdropping on a really long phone conversation. The story is told through a series of mostly one-sided phone calls between Luciana and her older sister. While I enjoyed it, I can see where some readers would be put off by the format. There are some parts that are hilarious - the family saga is like a telenovella, entertaining if somewhat confusing at times. Luciana's grandmother is great - even though she has been diagnosed with cancer, her main concern is getting her roots touched up and keeping in contact with her boyfriends while she is in the hospital, while at the same time keeping her nosy sister out of her life. The audiobook is excellent. Recommended for readers who like quirky contemporary novels.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an eARC for review.

Coram House by Bailey Seybolt

May 28, 2025

Coram House by Bailey Seybolt

Coram House was an orphanage run by nuns, closed down after decades of abuse were uncovered. Alex Kelley is a struggling writer who has accepted a job to ghostwrite a true crime book about the orphanage and the children who lived there. She is hoping the book will restart her career and that the income will help her get back on her feet. The only real downside that she can see is having to move to Vermont in January. But when she starts researching the story, she discovers a very different tale than she was expecting.

Inspired by a true story (St. Joseph's Orphanage in Vermont) and a pretty quick read. Highly atmospheric from the creepy orphanage complete with graveyard that an entrepreneur is redoing as luxury housing (I mean, seriously??) to the shifty locals to the dark Vermont winter. Good plotting that makes you wonder who the real monster is. The main character was the drawback for me - she is all kinds of stupid. Of course, if she acted like a rational person, there wouldn't be a novel ("oh, sure, I'll come alone out to your isolated house and not tell anyone where I'm going, even though you've already threatened me with bodily harm and are suspected of killing at least one person."). I do prefer my main characters a little brighter, although some readers will appreciate her imperfections. Themes include the downside of true crime writing, child abuse, pedophilia in the church, blackmail, and murder, so be warned if these subjects are triggers for you.

Many thanks to Edelweiss and the publisher for providing an eARC for review.

St. Joseph's Orphanage, Burlington, VT

All the Colors of the Dark by Chris Whitaker

May 22, 2025

All the Colors of the Dark by Chris Whitaker

Patch McCauley (whose real name is Joseph) is a 13 year old living in a small Missouri town with his mother Ivy. His best friend is Saint, who live with her grandmother Norma, a bus driver in the town. Patch has only one eye and has always been obsessed by pirates since he wears an eye patch over his missing eye. Nothing much happens in their town until one morning on his way to school, Patch sees a man attempting to abduct his schoolmate Misty. Misty gets away but all the police can find of Patch is his missing eye patch and a lot of blood.

Disappointing. It took me forever to slog through this. This is another of those love it or hate it books. I heard that it meandered around a lot and that it was more literary fiction than mystery, which is fine with me if I know what to expect. I loved the first hundred or so pages, thought the characters were great, but it lost me when the two kids were locked in the basement. The center section of the book just drags, and it's way too long. I skimmed the last 2/3 of the book and then read the ending. Didn't miss much. I came to hate most of the characters, too. It's like the author had ideas for a couple of different storylines and decided to just jumble them together. An editor should have cut out a couple of hundred pages and made it a better book. Reminded me of Demon Copperhead, which everyone else loved and I didn't. I should know by now that whenever a book is selected by a celebrity or TV book club, I'm probably going to hate it. But at least those book clubs get people who otherwise never read a book, to pick one up. Can't get those hours back.

The House of Doors by Tan Twan Eng

May 20, 2025

The House of Doors by Tan Twan Eng

Leslie Hamlyn and her husband Robert have lived in Penang in Malaya (now Malaysia) for 15 years, the entire time they have been married. But now Robert is ill and wants to move to South Africa for the drier climate. Before they leave Malaya, their old friend Somerset Maugham (Willie, to his friends) and his secretary Gerald came to stay with them for a few weeks. Willie is hiding the fact that he has made poor investments and is in desperate financial straits and needs to publish a new book as soon as possible, while Leslie and Gerald are hiding their own secrets.

I read the author's previous book, The Garden of Evening Mists, and loved it. To my surprise, I loved this one just as much. It was exactly what I was in the mood for. Set between the two world wars, he story was inspired by Maugham's short story The Letter, which he later turned into a successful play that was adapted for film. Themes include race, gender, sexuality, colonialism, love, betrayal, and redemption. Recommended for readers who enjoy historical fiction.

W. Somerset Maugham

The Cardinal: A Novel of Love and Power by Alison Weir

May 20, 2025

The Cardinal: A Novel of Love and Power by Alison Weir

A novel based on the life of Cardinal Thomas Wolsey, Lord Chancellor, cardinal of York, and chaplain to Henry VIII. Wolsey was easily the most powerful man in England, also one of the richest. Henry was poorly prepared to become king, kept almost in seclusion by his father Henry VII who worried over losing his only remaining son and heir, and deliberately prevented him from learning about the duties of statecraft (I think his father feared he would blab to his hinky friends about state secrets). Consequently, when Henry became king at 18, he was far more interested in cutting loose and having fun, and naturally his closest friends wielded the worst possible influence over him. Wolsey grabbed the reigns of state with both hands, attending council meetings in Henry's place and then giving him the Cliff's Notes version of the proceedings, making sure to sugarcoat the more unpalatable parts, even giving up the love of his life to keep his position at Henry's chief councillor.

Things were great for Wolsey, until they weren't. Unable to bring about a divorce for Henry so he could marry Anne Boleyn, Wolsey's star rapidly descended until it crashed. I love Alison Weir's books, her historical fiction as well as her nonfiction. They are always well-researched and based on historical fact, yet highly readable. Highly recommended for readers who enjoy well-written historical fiction about the Tudor era.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an eARC for review.

Cardinal Thomas Wolsey