A Splendid Ruin by Megan Chance

May 15, 2021

A Splendid Ruin by Megan Chance

Penniless and orphaned, May Kimble is alone in the world until an unknown relative reaches out to her from San Francisco, inviting her to come and live with their family. May travels across the country to meet the family that she hitherto had not known existed. She is quickly swept into the glamorous lifestyle of the Sullivans. But she soon becomes aware that things aren't as they appear on the surface: her aunt wanders around in a laudanum haze, her cousin Goldie sneaks out of the mansion at night, and her uncle is obsessed with pursuing wealth at all costs. And then the 1906 earthquake hits San Francisco. As May unravels the sinister plot that surrounds her, she vows to take revenge.

Initially, May is the traditional TSTL (Too Stupid To Live) heroine so often seen in romance novels, but she grows, and by the end of the book, is a much more developed character. Good revenge story, loved the descriptions of turn-of-the-century San Francisco. Will appeal to fans of historical fiction.

Union Square Park in San Francisco before the 1906 earthquake

San Francisco 1906 post-earthquake

Carrie Soto is Back by Taylor Jenkins Reid

August 15, 2022

Carrie Soto is Back by Taylor Jenkins Reid

For years, Carrie Soto was the G.O.A.T. of women's tennis. But then a younger player came and knocked her off her pedestal by beating her record of tournament wins. At near-40 years old, Carrie decides to make a comeback to reclaim what she considers to be her rightful place. But it's harder than she thinks it will be - the younger players have new strategies and stronger bodies. Carrie's father Javier, a country club tennis pro who was her coach during her early years of competition, is along for the ride, is along for the ride, coaching both her and Carrie's playing partner and sometime boyfriend Bode.

I wanted to love this as much as I loved Daily Jones and the Six, or the Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, but I didn't. Carrie and Bode are loosely based on Chris Evert and Jimmy Connors, two professional tennis players of the 1970's who also had a well-publicized dating relationship. Connors was famous for throwing his racquet and having tantrums on the court when he didn't agree with the umpire's call. Real-life Evert seemed to be more personable than Carrie is.

Too much about tennis matches and training for tennis and psyching out other tennis players - and well, I found myself skimming the sections about tennis, which meant I easily finished the book in one day. I thought the storyline was predictable. Another annoying thing was having Carrie and her father converse in Spanish most of the time. I know enough Spanish that this wasn't an issue for me but many readers are not going to want to stop and look up the words to figure out what the conversation is about.

Overall disappointing for me, although I think hardcore TJR fans will love it. Characters from previous books (such as Mick Riva and Broderick the surfer) are mentioned. I didn't also love her previous book Malibu Rising (about a super-beautiful super-model who is the super-surfer of the world). As least Carrie isn't drop-dead gorgeous - there is another tennis player who gets that title.

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

The Galaxy and the Ground Within by Becky Chambers

May 11, 2021

The Galaxy and the Ground Within by Becky Chambers

The planet Gora is totally unremarkable. It has no air, no water, no plants or wildlife. But its location at the crossroads of several galactic wormholes that connect the galaxy have made Gora the equivalent of a galactic truck stop. It's a place to refuel, pick up some snacks and supplies, get a transit permit, and stretch your legs (if you have legs).

Several vessels are docked at the Five Hop One Stop when a technology glitch forces three travelers from different species to remain on the planet for longer than they had planned. During their wait for the malfunction to be corrected, they are forced to confront questions about who they are, where have they been, and where are they going, as well as their feelings about alien species.

This is the fourth and final book in the Wayfarers series, and I'm really sorry to see it end. The first and fourth books are the best in the series. I look forward to reading the new series that Becky Chambers has planned.

Per Becky Chambers, a galactic wormhole is a shortcut from one part of the galaxy to another

And They Called It Camelot by Stephanie Marie Thornton

May 7, 2021

And They Called It Camelot by Stephanie Marie Thornton

Who doesn't love a good book about royalty? For many people (including my dad), the Kennedy family was American royalty. Jacqueline and John Kennedy appeared to have a perfect marriage and a fairy tale life, but it was all a smoke screen.

Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy Onassis was one of the most famous and recognizable women on the planet. Unfortunately, most people remember her as the blood-spattered wife of a murdered American president. But there was much more to Jackie than those pictures from November 1963.

From a young age, Jackie was groomed to attract a famous and/or wealthy husband. She was a debutante from a wealthy family, and her friends and social network brought her into the world of John Kennedy. Jackie narrates her own story, beginning with how she met John and was expected to assimilate into the Kennedy clan, to fall in line with the family mythology.

While she was First Lady, she renovated the White House and gave the first televised tour of the most famous house in the world. She hosted gala events and met royalty and world leaders. But Jackie had more than her share of heartbreak and tragedy, from her miscarriages and the death of a child, to her husband's poor health and rampant sexual habits (neither of which were ever talked about in the press), to seeing her husband murdered in front of her.

There are wonderful tidbits about clothing and jewelry, as well as events that Jackie attended that keep the reader flipping over to Google for more information and photos. 

There are hints that Robert Kennedy and Jackie had a thing for each other even before John's death. Like John, Robert also had a number of extra-marital liaisons. A lot of what the Kennedy brothers and their pals got up to would not pass the scrutiny of today's social media and #MeToo movement.

This fictional biography is well-researched and beautifully written. Highly recommended for anyone who enjoys historical fiction.

The Splendid and the Vile by Erik Larson

May 3, 2021

The Splendid and the Vile: a Saga of Churchill, Family, and Defiance During the Blitz by Erik Larson

On Winston Churchill's first day as prime minister, Adolph Hitler invaded Poland. It only got worse from there: for the next 12 months, Hitler's Luftwaffe systematically bombed England almost every night, killing 45,000 Britons. It was particularly bad on the nights when there was a full moon. Churchill held the country together and gave the British hope.

Usually we hear about how Churchill was respected and loved, but he was both admired and reviled by the British. This is also a family saga about Churchill's wife Clementine, his son Randolph and his unhappy wife Pamela, Pamela's American lover, and the youngest Churchill daughter Mary, who chafed under her parents' refusal to let her play a more active role in the war.

Erik Larson writes wonderful narrative nonfiction that is far from traditional history books. Never dry, always fascinating.

Chequers, Churchill's country home

Who Speaks for the Damned by C. S. Harris

April 26, 2021

Who Speaks for the Damned by C. S. Harris

June 1814 - Napoleon has finally been defeated, and the Prince Regent invites the royal families from Austria, Russia, and the German/Prussian states to a celebration in London. But the festivities are marred by the discovery of a corpse in a popular tea garden. Unbelievably, the body is that of a nobleman believed to have been dead for many years. Sebastian St. Cyr, Viscount Devlin is drawn into the investigation by his valet Jules who was acquainted with the dead man. Why did the nobleman return to England after all these years? Who is the child who accompanied him, and where is the child now?

C. S. Harris presents a multi-layered story that incorporates history, politics, and real people with fictional characters and events. This is the 15th book in the Sebastian St. Cyr series, and although I have enjoyed all of the books, this one is one of the best in the series. Really good mystery.

The Prince Regent

Complicit by Winnie M. Li

August 11, 2022

Complicit by Winnie M. Li

Sarah Lai has adored movies since she was a child. When the opportunity to work for a fledgling production company comes her way, she jumps at the chance. Chafing at doing grunt work, Sarah longs for a chance to be more involved in the film company. She gets her break when a script from a new director needs tweaking. She edits and improves the script, then is promoted to Associate Producer to work on the director's second film - in Hollywood. As an Asian American, Sarah feels like an outsider in the industry and works hard to prove that she deserves to be there. But she is unprepared for the drugs, alcohol and party lifestyle that pervade the Los Angeles film industry.

Winnie M. Li gives us a story pulled from current headlines. While you may feel that you know the story, unless you work in the industry, you don't know about the sordid underside of movie making. Li's main character Sarah is right in the thick of everything and gives a great picture of the "glamorous" film industry. Wonderful writing, will keep you turning the pages.

The red carpet, the ultimate goal of any filmmaker

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