Review: It Happened One Christmas Eve by Jenn McKinlay

It Happened One Christmas Eve
 by Jenn McKinlay

Publisher: Dreamscape Media

Pages: 121

Format: audiobook

Buy the Book: Amazon

Goodreads:  Claire Macintosh is about to get engaged to a man she doesn't love at the holiday gala she is hosting as director of the Museum of Literature. Her mother, Hildy Macintosh, has made it clear that if the museum is to continue to receive the enormous donations from the family trust that Hildy has approved all these years then Claire will marry the man Hildy has chosen for her and start to produce some grandbabies. At forty and single, Claire feels she has no choice. But when the horse and carriage arrive at the gala with the driver dressed as Santa to deliver Claire's engagement ring, she just can't go through with it. She hijacks the horse and carriage with Santa still on board and escapes!

Reporter Sam Carpenter thought he was being so clever convincing his friend to let him step in as Santa so he could get up close and personal to the subject of his upcoming magazine expose. He is completely unprepared for the events that unfold and finds himself dashing through Central Park with a runaway would be fiancé. Now the only way to save his story is to broker a deal with Claire Macintosh. In exchange for his help in getting her to her cottage in Maine by Christmas Eve, she'll grant him an exclusive interview. As their journey takes a series of unexpected twists, turns, and misadventures, both Claire and Sam realize that there's more than their careers on the line. And it's going to take a Christmas miracle to find their happily ever after.

Kritters Thoughts:  Claire is on the cusp of an engagement that would set her life down a very certain path when all of the sudden she decides to take a different route.  A man who has been on the perimeter of her life now becomes a main character as Sam Carpenter a reporter who has written about her and her family helps her escape and this book is their adventure.  

I love all those road trip adventure books, but only every so often.  It was fun to combine that sub genre with a little Christmas cheer.  I think what helped this book the most was their lack of funds and the inability to get them, so forced some creativity for them to get to their destination.  Of course, this was an easy enemies to lovers romance where I felt like the enemies part was believable and their romance wasn't too quick as they had some history leading into this adventure.    

This was a great audiobook read while driving during the lead-up to the holidays and then while decorating the house.    

Rating: absolutely loved it and want a sequel

Disclosure of Material Connection:  I received one copy of this book free of charge from Netgalley.  I was not required to write a positive review in exchange for receipt of the book; rather, the opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Review: We Must Not Think of Ourselves by Lauren Grodstein

We Must Not Think of Ourselves

Lauren Grodstein 

Publisher: Algonquin Books

Pages: 304

Format: eARC

Buy the Book: Amazon

Goodreads: On a November day in 1940, Adam Paskow becomes a prisoner in the Warsaw Ghetto, where the Jews of the city are cut off from their former lives and held captive by Nazi guards, and await an uncertain fate. Weeks later, he is approached by a mysterious figure with a surprising request: Will he join a secret group of archivists working to preserve the truth of what is happening inside these walls? Adam agrees and begins taking testimonies from his students, friends, and neighbors. He learns about their childhoods and their daydreams, their passions and their fears, their desperate strategies for safety and survival. The stories form a portrait of endurance in a world where no choices are good ones.

One of the people Adam interviews is his flatmate Sala Wiskoff, who is stoic, determined, and funny—and married with two children. Over the months of their confinement, in the presence of her family, Adam and Sala fall in love. As they desperately carve out intimacy, their relationship feels both impossible and vital, their connection keeping them alive. But when Adam discovers a possible escape from the Ghetto, he is faced with an unbearable choice: Whom can he save, and at what cost?

Kritters Thoughts:  A historical fiction set in the time period of World War II, but thankfully we are not inside a concentration camp, but conditions are close in this Warsaw Ghetto.  A teacher, Adam Paskow is living in an apartment with two other families as they are just trying to survive until this war ends.  Adam is asked to document the lives of those living in the Warsaw Ghetto and recording the big and the small of life inside in hopes that it can be shared when all is said and done.  

While I do read a lot of historical fiction, I tend to limit my reading of World War II books because it all just seems so sad and while I am not denying the horror of it, I don't want to read too much of it.  This one sounded interesting from the synopsis and it lived up to my wonder of how this author would share this community at this time.  I loved how Grodstein made me feel the humanity of these characters, they weren't just a number in a war, but instead we learned of their back stories and I liked reading the mundane of the day to day survival of it all. 

My first read of Lauren Grodstein and will by no means by my last.  I would love to read her two previous novels and then I surely hope for more in the future.  This is a book I will recommend to readers who haven't read a lot of World War II AND for those who feel they have read it all!  

Rating: definitely a good read, but can't read two in a row

Ebook 2023 Challenge: 7 out of 100

Disclosure of Material Connection:  I received one copy of this book free of charge from Algonquin books.  I was not required to write a positive review in exchange for receipt of the book; rather, the opinions expressed in this review are my own.

October

source

The first month this year, where I felt like reading took a front seat and I spent a lot of time reading - a COVID diagnosis and lots of time curled up with books was the to do list for this month! 

1. Faking Christmas by Kerry Winfrey

2. Tris and Izzie by Mette Ivie Harrison

3. Ignorance by Michele Roberts

4. Distant Sons by Tim Johnston

5. And Again by Jessica Chiarella

6. Young Queens by Leah Redmond Chang

7. The Second Home by Christina Clancy

8. Anthony Bourdain Remembered by CNN

9. Actually the Comma Goes Here by Lucy Crisps

10. The Takeaway Man by Meryl Ain

Total pages read, clicked and flipped: 3,179

Where Have I Been Reading?:

Ohio

France

Wisconsin

Chicago, IL

Cape Cod, Massachusetts

New York City, NY

Review: And Again by Jessica Chiarella

And Again

by Jessica Chiarella

Publisher: Touchstone

Pages: 320

Format: book

Buy the Book: Amazon

Goodreads:  Would you live your life differently if you were given a second chance? Hannah, David, Connie, and Linda—four terminally ill patients—have been selected for the SUBlife pilot program, which will grant them brand-new, genetically perfect bodies that are exact copies of their former selves—without a single imperfection. Blemishes, scars, freckles, and wrinkles have all disappeared, their fingerprints are different, their vision is impeccable, and most importantly, their illnesses have been cured.

But the fresh start they’ve been given is anything but perfect. Without their old bodies, their new physical identities have been lost. Hannah, an artistic prodigy, has to relearn how to hold a brush; David, a Congressman, grapples with his old habits; Connie, an actress whose stunning looks are restored after a protracted illness, tries to navigate an industry obsessed with physical beauty; and Linda, who spent eight years paralyzed after a car accident, now struggles to reconnect with a family that seems to have built a new life without her. As each tries to re-enter their previous lives and relationships they are faced with the how much of your identity rests not just in your mind, but in your heart, your body?

Kritters Thoughts:  Four people were all dealing with something that made their lives debilitating until the SUBlife program came into their lives.  Hannah, David, Connie and Linda were barely living with cancer, paralysis and AIDS and this program gave each of them a new body to live in and a big life do over.  How will they all react to this reset?

I love a book that allows each character to tell their story from their point of view.  The author gave each Hannah, David, Connie and Linda chapters throughout the book that were fantastically labeled!  I always wonder going into these books if I will favor one and dislike another, but thankfully I actually enjoyed each of their journeys and loved reading each person's point of view.  There are some sexy scenes, so if you are sensitive to that kind of reading, I would be aware before going in.  

I feel like this book is sort of dystopian with a program where you can get a new body that has been aged to match your current age and matches your DNA, but not full dystopian with a full new world order, so if you have hesitated diving into this genre, this book could be one to read before trying others.  

I always love to look up an author after I finish and I was sad to see there was only one other book published in 2021 (that I haven't read) and then nothing else.  I hope there is something in the works! 

Rating: definitely a good read, but can't read two in a row

Disclosure of Material Connection:  I received one copy of this book free of charge from Touchstone.  I was not required to write a positive review in exchange for receipt of the book; rather, the opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Review: Girl on Trial by Kathleen Fine

Girl on Trial

by Kathleen Fine

Publisher: CamCat Books

Pages: 336

Format: eARC

Buy the Book: Amazon

Goodreads: Does doing one bad thing make you a bad person?

Sixteen-year-old Emily Keller, known by the media as Keller the Killer, is accused of causing the deaths of four family members, including young children. Emily is one of the youngest females to be accused of a crime so heinous, making this the nation’s biggest trial of the year. But what really happened that fateful night―and who’s responsible―is anything but straightforward.

Living in a trailer park in Baltimore with her twin brother and alcoholic mother, Emily’s life hasn’t been easy. She’s had to grow up fast, and like any teen, has made questionable decisions in a desperate attempt to fit in with her peers. Will her mistakes amount to a guilty verdict and a life in prison? It’s up to the jury to decide.

Kritters Thoughts:  Before I dive into my review, I want to give some content warnings, this book has some tough scenes to read that involve inappropriate relationships, drugs, and alcohol.  While I don't have kids this age in my house, I could see if you do that this may be difficult for you to read and I do have them in my life and this made me think twice about making sure that I and the other adults in their lives are aware of what they are doing and who with!  

Emily Keller is sixteen years old and she did some things and some things were done to her and because of a sequence of events she finds herself in a courtroom with murder being spoken.  The book bounces between her trial and going back in time to before the main event and up to it.  Thankfully the book is clearly edited, so the reader knows when and where they are and can easily follow the timelines.  

This was not an easy read and I had to stop a few moments to gather myself because I felt so much for Emily for the childhood and life that she was building and how hard it was with what she was given.  Her childhood was so different from mine and I couldn't imagine trying to start life the way she did.  I wish she had the opportunity for more attentive parents that could possibly have interjected and prevented her from so many of the events and it was hard to watch the dominos fall knowing that she would end up in a courtroom.  

A hard, difficult read where when I finished I knew I needed to switch genres and read something completely different, but I was glad I read it.  A debut novel that I would encourage to read, but with the content warnings given above.  I hope Kathleen Fine has another idea up her sleeve, because the way she pulled this story together was so good and I would love to read another by her.  

Rating: definitely a good read, but can't read two in a row

Ebook 2023 Challenge: 6 out of 100

Disclosure of Material Connection:  I received one copy of this book free of charge from Partner in Crime Tours.  I was not required to write a positive review in exchange for receipt of the book; rather, the opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Review: The Second Home by Christina Clancy

The Second Home

by Christina Clancy 

Publisher: St. Martin's Press

Pages: 341

Format: ARC

Buy the Book: Amazon

Goodreads:  Some places never leave you...

After a disastrous summer spent at her family’s home on Cape Cod when she is seventeen, Ann Gordon is very happy to never visit Wellfleet again. If only she’d stayed in Wisconsin, she might never have met Anthony Shaw, and she would have held onto the future she’d so carefully planned for herself. Instead, Ann ends up harboring a devastating secret that strains her relationship with her parents, sends her sister Poppy to every corner of the world chasing waves (and her next fling), and leaves her adopted brother Michael estranged from the family.

Now, fifteen years later, her parents have died, and Ann and Poppy are left to decide the fate of the beach house that’s been in the Gordon family for generations. For Ann, the once-beloved house is forever tainted with bad memories. And while Poppy loves the old saltbox on Drummer Cove, owning a house means settling, and she’s not sure she’s ready to stay in one place.

Just when the sisters decide to sell, Michael re-enters their lives with a legitimate claim to a third of the estate. He wants the house. But more than that, he wants to set the record straight about what happened that long-ago summer that changed all of their lives forever. As the siblings reunite after years apart, their old secrets and lies, longings and losses, are pulled to the surface. Is the house the one thing that can still bring them together––or will it tear them apart, once and for all?

Kritters Thoughts:  Three siblings enjoyed a few summers on the Cape at a family home until one summer when a few events splintered the family and they were all forever changed.  The parents of this family have passed and the three siblings must now reconcile to make big decisions about the original family home and The Second Home.  

I may say this often on this blog, but it is the truth, I love it when authors put multiple points of view in one book and I love it even more when it is clearly edited, so the reader knows who is taking the lead in each chapter to tell their side of things!  Ann, Poppy and Michael each get moments to tell the story and I loved seeing the events unfold through each of their eyes.  Without spoiling too much, this book definitely has some hard scenes to read, but I think the author did such a great job taking these characters through some stuff and out the other side!  

This was another book that has been on my shelves for a long time and I was excited to dive deep into the TBR and read this one and hope to read her other backlist - Shoulder Season very soon!

Rating: definitely a good read, but can't read two in a row

Disclosure of Material Connection:  I received one copy of this book free of charge from St. Martin's Press.  I was not required to write a positive review in exchange for receipt of the book; rather, the opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Review: Distant Sons by Tim Johnston

Distant Sons

by Tim Johnston 

Publisher: Algonquin

Pages: 400

Format: eARC

Buy the Book: Amazon

Goodreads: What if?

What if Sean Courtland’s old Chevy truck had broken down somewhere else? What if he’d never met Denise Givens, a waitress at a local tavern in the Wisconsin town where he lands? Or Dan Young, another young man like Sean drifting through, having fled Minnesota for reasons unknown? Instead, together Sean and Dan pick up carpentry and plumbing work for an old man named Marion Devereaux, and Sean gets drawn into the lives of Denise and her father—and of the townspeople, all haunted by the disappearance of three young boys decades ago, in the 1970s.

As the paths of these characters converge, observing them all is Detective Corinne Viegas, a woman whose drive to seek justice comes from her father's own failure to find those boys and the violence once done to her sister. And over the course of just a few weeks, an irreversible chain of events is set in motion that culminates in shattering violence, and the revelation of long-buried truths.

Kritters Thoughts:   In 2018, Sean Courtland has truck problems which find him a small Wisconsin town where he is able to find work to keep him there for a bit.  From there dominos start falling and many events happen from there.  At the same time, woven throughout the book are storylines that happen in 1975, 76, and 77, where young boys go missing and there are no clues to their whereabouts.  This one had a large cast of characters, some of whom show up in both timelines, so I took notes to keep everyone straight!  

Sean Courtland is our main character and he is a young man who has lived a life already and has maybe been through a thing or two.  When he ends up in this small town in Wisconsin, he is able to find a job at the Devereaux home helping him with some construction.  Then another encounter with a woman at a bar puts him on the radar of the local PD.  And another with Dan Young will change the course of his life.  

While I enjoyed this book, for me it took a while for the action to begin and it was hard for me to keep the motivation to keep reading.  The character development of Sean Courtland was a large part of my continuing to read because I wanted to find out where his story would go and where he would end up.  So if you are a reader who likes the slow burn where the author builds up the setting and the characters then this book is just for you.       

Rating: definitely a good read, but can't read two in a row

Ebook 2023 Challenge: 7 out of 100

Disclosure of Material Connection:  I received one copy of this book free of charge from Algonquin books.  I was not required to write a positive review in exchange for receipt of the book; rather, the opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Review: Ignorance by Michele Roberts

Ignorance

by Michele Roberts

Publisher: Bloomsbury

Pages: 240

Format: book

Buy the Book: Amazon

Goodreads:  After every war, there are stories that are locked away like bluebottles in drawers and kept silent. But sometimes the past can return: in the smell of carbolic soap, in whispers darting through a village after mass, in the colour of an undelivered letter.

Jeanne Nerin and Marie-Angèle Baudry grow up, side by side yet apart, in the village of Ste Madeleine. Marie-Angèle is the daughter of the grocer, inflated with ideas of her own piety and rightful place in society. Jeanne's mother washes clothes for a living. She used to be a Jew until this became too dangerous. Jeanne does not think twice about grasping the slender chances life throws at her. Marie-Angèle does not grasp; she aspires to a future of comfort and influence.

When war falls out of the sky, along with it tumbles a new, grown-up world. The village must think on its feet, play its part in a game for which no one knows the rules. Not even the dubious hero with 'business contacts' who sweeps Marie-Angèle off her feet. Not even the reclusive artist living alone with his sensual, red canvases. In these uncertain times, the enemy may be hiding in your garden shed and the truth is all too easily buried under a pyramid of recriminations.

Kritters Thoughts:  A unique historical fiction book that is told through multiple women as they try to survive World War II and its impact on the French people. While more than two women take turns telling this story, there are two main women who have very different lives and survive the war in very different ways. Without spoiling, it was so hard to read one woman's and think she was thriving and then see events happening in the other and see another side of the coin. They both were doing what they could to endure the war and it was heartbreaking to read it all. Without quotation marks and dates, this book was hard to read as I didn't quite know easily that these women were sharing their stories, but were at different moments in time during the war. Each woman had an experience and without even stepping foot in a concentration camp, this book was hard to read to see what women went through at this time. This book was stark both in its physical editing and the description of the time and place.

Rating: enjoyable, but didn't leave me wanting more

Disclosure of Material Connection:  I received one copy of this book free of charge from Netgalley.  I was not required to write a positive review in exchange for receipt of the book; rather, the opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Review: The Hamilton Affair by Elizabeth Cobbs

The Hamilton Affair

by Elizabeth Cobbs

Publisher: Arcade Publishing

Pages: 408

Format: ARC

Buy the Book: Amazon

Goodreads:  Hamilton was a bastard son, raised on the Caribbean island of St. Croix. He went to America to pursue his education. Along the way he became one of the American Revolution’s most dashing—and unlikely—heroes. Adored by Washington, hated by Jefferson, Hamilton was a lightning rod: the most controversial leader of the American Revolution.

She was the well-to-do daughter of one of New York’s most exalted families—feisty, adventurous, and loyal to a fault. When she met Alexander, she fell head over heels. She pursued him despite his illegitimacy, and loved him despite his infidelity. In 1816 (two centuries ago), she shamed Congress into supporting his seven orphaned children. Elizabeth Schuyler Hamilton started New York’s first orphanage. The only “founding mother” to truly embrace public service, she raised 160 children in addition to her own.

Kritters Thoughts:  Due to the little thing called the broadway show, Hamilton, I knew this story before opening the book, but I was excited to dive into a book based on this founding father's life because the book is always better!  I may have timed my reading to finish right before a trip to New York where I was hoping to see the show!  and I did!

What surprised me about this book was the set up.  I loved that we saw both Alexandria and Eliza as children and see their lives parallel until they meet.  Even though I knew the affair was coming, reading it and really seeing the ins and outs of it and the coverage being more detailed made me really think about Alexander Hamilton.  AND to read his reaction and how he didn't think about his family and instead was more concerned about the perception of himself - wow.  

I think this book is a great read for those who may have seen the show and know every word or maybe haven't seen it yet and just enjoy a historical fiction read.  This book complimented my new york trip and I loved that I timed my read with seeing the show and seeing the story in another art form was just great.   

Rating: absolutely loved it and want a sequel

Disclosure of Material Connection:  I received one copy of this book free of charge from Arcade Publshing.  I was not required to write a positive review in exchange for receipt of the book; rather, the opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Review: Faking Christmas by Kerry Winfrey

Faking Christmas

by Kerry Winfrey 

Publisher: Berkley

Pages: 286

Format: eARC

Buy the Book: Amazon

Goodreads:  Laurel Grant is playing house for the holidays--complete with a fake husband and kids--in this delightful, cozy rom-com by Kerry Winfrey.

Laurel Grant works as the social media manager for Buckeye State of Mind, an Ohio tourism magazine and website. She is most definitely not an owner of a farm...but one tiny misunderstanding leads her boss, Gilbert, to think she owns her twin sister Holly's farm just outside of Columbus. Laurel only handles the social media for the farm, but she's happy to keep her little white lie going if it means not getting fired.

And keep it going she must when Gilbert, recently dumped by his wife, invites himself over for the farm's big holiday dinner (as advertised on Meadow Rise Farm's Instagram, thanks to Laurel herself). Laurel immediately goes into panic mode to figure out how she can trick Gilbert into thinking she's basically the Martha Stewart of rural Ohio and keep her job in the process.

Laurel and Holly come up with a plan--all Laurel has to do is pretend to own the farm for one dinner. But when Laurel shows up at the farm, an unwelcome guest is there: Max Beckett, her nemesis since Holly's wedding. The annoyingly attractive man she hates will be posing as Laurel's husband just for the evening, but when a snowstorm traps them all for the entire weekend, Laurel is going to have to figure out how to survive with her job and dignity intact. Whatever the case, this promises to be the most eventful Christmas in ages...

Kritters Thoughts:  One of those Christmas books that has some romance, but what made me love this one more than most was the focus on Laurel's job and how much her job meant to her.  Laurel currently works at a magazine that focuses on living in Ohio and she loves handling the social media and writing a few articles, but she may not have secure the job in the most honest of ways having her boss believe that she lives that ideal country life on a farm making the perfect homemade meals when in fact she is living in an apartment with a roommate and can't cook and is single as can be.  When extenuating circumstances has them holed up in her twin's home (who lives that ideal life) she ends up having to live the lie while in front of an arch nemesis!  

With some enemies to lovers with a side of Christmas, this book was a fun ride.  This book had the romance formula intact, but I loved the inclusion of Laurel's boss and a job in jeopardy made the antics that much better.  I read this book before the holiday season began and it made me want to start pulling out the decor and maybe even start listening to some holiday music.  It also made me want to go find some more holiday reads and dive in! 

My first Kerry Winfrey romance and I was excited to learn that she has a backlist that I can dive into and enjoy some more fun easy romance stories.  

Rating: definitely a good read, but can't read two in a row

Ebook 2023 Challenge: 6 out of 100

Disclosure of Material Connection:  I received one copy of this book free of charge from Berkley.  I was not required to write a positive review in exchange for receipt of the book; rather, the opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Review: Code Name Helene by Ariel Lawhon

Code Name Helene

by Ariel Lawhon

Publisher: Doubleday Books

Pages: 451

Format: eARC

Buy the Book: Amazon

Goodreads:  It is 1936 and Nancy Wake is an intrepid Australian expat living in Paris who has bluffed her way into a reporting job for Hearst newspaper when she meets the wealthy French industrialist Henri Fiocca. No sooner does Henri sweep Nancy off her feet and convince her to become Mrs. Fiocca than the Germans invade France and she takes yet another name: a code name.

As LUCIENNE CARLIER Nancy smuggles people and documents across the border. Her success and her remarkable ability to evade capture earns her the nickname THE WHITE MOUSE from the Gestapo. With a five million franc bounty on her head, Nancy is forced to escape France and leave Henri behind. When she enters training with the Special Operations Executives in Britain, her new comrades are instructed to call her HÉLÈNE. And finally, with mission in hand, Nancy is airdropped back into France as the deadly MADAM ANDRÉ, where she claims her place as one of the most powerful leaders in the French Resistance, armed with a ferocious wit, her signature red lipstick, and the ability to summon weapons straight from the Allied Forces.

But no one can protect Nancy if the enemy finds out these four women are one and the same, and the closer to liberation France gets, the more exposed she--and the people she loves--become.

Kritters Thoughts:  Based in truth on a real woman, Nancy Wake lead a heroic life contributing her entire life to fighting for justice for individuals and a group of people and this book was an epic tale that made me want to read more about this woman.  Nancy Wake took on many names and personas to survive the war and not only did she survive but she impacted the war and people who were also trying to survive.  

For me, the pacing of this book wasn't consistent and there were times where I felt as though it lagged a bit and it was hard for me to keep my attention focused on the book.  I think after finishing the book, I could say that there are a few parts that could have been edited out and the flow of the book would have been spot on.  

On the flip side, what I loved most about this book is seeing a woman take command of not only her life but gaining the respect of others and Nancy had the respect of a whole host of men who saw her as the commander of their unit.  Watching her take a skill and become a pro and then use it to outsmart the German army was very fun to read.  

My first Ariel Lawhon book and after reading this one, I would love to catch up on her backlist.  I love how she writes empowering women and shines a light on their story when they may have not made it into the traditional history books.    

Rating: definitely a good read, but can't read two in a row

Ebook 2023 Challenge: 5 out of 100

Disclosure of Material Connection:  I received one copy of this book free of charge from Netgalley.  I was not required to write a positive review in exchange for receipt of the book; rather, the opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Review: The Madwomen of Paris by Jennifer Cody Epstein

The Madwomen of Paris

by Jennifer Cody Epstein

Publisher: Ballantine

Pages: 400

Format: eARC

Buy the Book: Amazon

Goodreads: A young woman with amnesia falls under the influence of a powerful doctor in Paris’s notorious women’s asylum, where she must fight to reclaim dangerous memories—and even more perilously, her sanity—in this gripping historical novel inspired by true events, from the bestselling author of Wunderland.

“I didn’t see her the day she came to the asylum. Looking back, this sometimes strikes me as unlikely. Impossible, even, given how utterly her arrival would upend the already chaotic order of things at the Salpêtrière—not to mention change the course of my own life there.”

When Josephine arrives at the Salpêtrière she is covered in blood and badly bruised. Suffering from near-complete amnesia, she is diagnosed with what the Paris papers are calling “the epidemic of the age”: hysteria. It is a disease so baffling and widespread that Doctor Jean-Martine Charcot, the asylum’s famous director, devotes many of his popular public lectures to the malady. To Charcot’s delight, Josephine also proves extraordinarily susceptible to hypnosis, the tool he uses to unlock hysteria’s myriad (and often sensational) symptoms. Soon Charcot is regularly featuring Josephine on his stage, entrancing the young woman into fantastical acts and hallucinatory fits before enraptured audiences and eager newsmen—many of whom feature her on their paper’s front pages.

For Laure, a lonely asylum attendant assigned to Josephine’s care, Charcot’s diagnosis seems a godsend. A former hysteric herself, she knows better than most that life in the Salpêtrière’s Hysteria Ward is far easier than in its dreaded Lunacy division, from which few inmates ever return. But as Josephine’s fame as Charcot’s “star hysteric” grows, her memory starts to return—and with it, images of a horrific crime she believes she’s committed. Haunted by these visions, and helplessly trapped in Charcot’s hypnotic web, she starts spiraling into actual insanity. Desperate to save the girl she has grown to love, Laure plots their escape from the Salpêtrière and its doctors. First, though, she must confirm whether Joséphine is actually a madwoman, soon to be consigned to the Salpêtrière’s brutal Lunacy Ward—or a murderer, destined for the guillotine.

Kritters Thoughts:  Historical fiction is a genre that I fall back on especially during times when my attention span is having a hard time connecting and reading is difficult - diving into someone else's story and being swept into another time and place helps me escape the chatter of the here and now.  Going back in time to Paris when a woman had very little rights, even over her own healthcare (hmmm. . . .) women were sent to a psychiatric hospital for the smallest thing and then while there were being used a test subjects while doctors tried to figure out what was wrong with them!  

Laure graduated from the asylum having what I seem to be cured from hysteria, but doesn't have anywhere to go, so she ends up staying and becoming an attendant until a fateful day when Josephine arrives and they bond and change each other's lives forever.  It was both heartbreaking and insightful to read about what these women went through as they were battling their demons in these horrific conditions.  My favorite experience is when I am lead to search and find more about a subject or person based on my reading of a book and I wanted to read so much more about this doctor, this hospital and the people that passed through these kind of places.  

This was my second Jennifer Cody Epstein read and I have two of hers in the backlist that I want to read.  I would love to get caught up with her soon and hope for more from her in the future.  

 

Rating: definitely a good read, but can't read two in a row

Ebook 2023:  4 out of 100

Disclosure of Material Connection:  I received one copy of this book free of charge from Netgalley.  I was not required to write a positive review in exchange for receipt of the book; rather, the opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Review: A Good Man by PJ McIlvaine

A Good Man

by PJ McIlvaine 

Publisher: Bloodhound Books

Pages: 317

Format: eARC 

Buy the Book: Amazon 

Goodreads: Decades after a brutal childhood trauma, a famous novelist finds his life shattered once again, in this unsettling psychological mystery thriller.

After years of turmoil, Brooks Anderson is sober and has a stable life with his wife and two kids. He should be enjoying life, but the persistent nightmares and sleepwalking tell a different story.

As hard as he’s tried, Brooks can’t run away from the defining event of his life: the senseless murders of his mother and brother during a vacation in Montauk. An eight-year-old Brooks was the sole survivor of the carnage, which left him in a catatonic state. He buried his pain and eventually overcame his demons. Or so he believed.

Now an unscrupulous journalist is threatening to write about the deaths. Fearful that the truth will be twisted to suit sordid ends, Brooks decides to write his own book, despite the grave misgivings of his agent, wife, and father.

However, when the journalist is brutally killed, Brooks finds himself in the authorities’ crosshairs. To prove his innocence and exorcise the past, he digs deeper into his psyche and that fateful summer. His relentless pursuit of the truth soon leads Brooks down a slippery slope that challenges everything—and brings him face-to-face with the real monster of Montauk . . .

Kritters Thoughts:  What a mystery read where the bodies kept dropping chapter by chapter!  Brooks Anderson is about to write the book that he has had churning his entire life.  A traumatic event that happened when he was just a young boy has stayed with him and with the threat of someone else writing his story he decides now is the time.  

What a ride!  While I may have known from the very beginning the culprit and maybe a bit of the how, I was not disappointed to take the ride and see how it would all unfold.  It reminded me of my romance reads where you know where you will end up, but the ride is just as fun!  And still there were some twists and reveals that took me by surprise and I wanted to talk them through with someone immediately.  

I may be a little partial in that I tend to steer myself to read books with female main characters and ones that are near my age range, I still enjoyed reading Brooks' point of view and watching him contemplate where he was at in his life and what he wanted his legacy to be.  I hope PJ McIlvaine has more up their sleeve as the writing style and pacing were just right for me.  

Rating: definitely a good read, but can't read two in a row

Ebook 2023: 5 out of 100

Disclosure of Material Connection:  I received one copy of this book free of charge from Laura Marie Public Relations.  I was not required to write a positive review in exchange for receipt of the book; rather, the opinions expressed in this review are my own.