This is the story of three generations of the Chen Family. The first part is told by Lily who was born in the US on Long Island, NY. Lily starts out as an unpaid intern in 1999 and meets Matthew who wines and dines her. Matthew is an heir to a huge pharmaceutical company. Lily’s parents were scientists who fled Mao’s Cultural Revolution. She falls in love with Matthew and they marry, but something is not right.
She discovers a devastating secret. It was a game changer.

In the second part 2021 we meet Nick, Lily and Matthew’s son. He is living on in isolated island in Washington State, with his mother. Lily divorced Matthew and ran as far as she could from him and his family. Nick never knew his father. He does a DNA test to find his father. He finally connects with him. He discovers that he looks exactly like his father. He can’t understand why his mother kept him from his father all these years. Matthew what's to be part of Nick’s life. Can Nick adjust to Matthew’s life style?
Part three is May’s story. She tells of her life in China during the Revolution. How she became a bio genetics scientist.

She did extensively research which she brought with her when she escaped from China. May is Lily’s mother. Nick has never met her. He was told she was dead. This was the most interesting part of the book it brings the other two stories together. This is the compelling story filled with secrets. It was very well written. I just would have liked to have known more. What happened to Matthew and Lily? This book is about race, science, relationships and betrayal. May’s story was the heart of the book as it pulled it all together.

This is a heartfelt story of a young woman trying to make a better life for her children.
Ciara Fay is dealing with emotional and verbal abuse very day of her life. She has finally had it. Her home is not a safe place for her two young daughters. She grabs the clothes on the outside clothes line and packs a few things and hurriedly gets her children in the car before they are discovered missing. But where will she go she has no plan. She has little money and no one to help her. Her mother and sister live in England.
On the outside her husband Ryan, looks like the perfect husband and doting father., but on the inside he is abusive and controlling. He keeps Ciara in isolation from her family and friends.

Ciara tries to flee to England to visit her mother and sister but is stopped by security as there are blocks on the children’s passports. She cannot bring them out of Ireland.
With no place to go Ciara experiences the broken housing system in Ireland. They sleep in the car until they find an emergency hotel room to go to. Ciara hopes this is temporary and she can get a rental very soon. She is on a list for housing but no one ever calls. Meanwhile Ryan finds her and threatens her if she doesn’t return his children to him.

This is an emotional read to say the least. It was heart pounding. Roisin O’Donnell does a marvelous job portraying the fear and hopelessness of the situation. I was cheering Ciara on the whole time. This is a book you will not be able to put down.
In the author’s acknowledgements she states “to anyone trapped in a place that doesn’t feel like home, and anyone who has asked the question why don’t you just leave. This is the book for you. “

Wonderful book club read

A compelling debut novel. This is the story of twin sisters, born in Russia. Daughters of a famed prima ballerina, who has an untimely death. Their mother‘s friend takes the girls in. They are raised to be ballerinas. They enter the Vaganova Ballet hoping to follow in their mother’s footsteps.

They both want to dance with Kirov and tour America. A new law is enforced by the Kremlin, not allowing family members to travel abroad at the same time for fear of deflection. The Kirov can only choose one sister. Who will they choose and who will remain in Russia? Maya and Natasha have always been very close. Their relationship is tested as one sister betrays the other.

This is the heartbreaking story of sisters love and betrayal. It is a captivating novel with vivid descriptions of the Soviet Union and the United States relationship during the Cold War. I loved learning all about the history of ballet. A heart wrenching story.

Loved this story. This is a beautifully written heartfelt novel. It is written in three timelines.

1900 Eva is a teacher who is offered the opportunity to travel to Hartford University for the summer. It is part of a cultural exchange program. Eva has been trying to write a novel for years.

1966 Pilar is a librarian during the Castro era. Life is not safe there. Her husband is arrested and Pilar fears for her life. A neighbor fleeing Cuba gives her a book to return to its author.

2024 Margo is hired to find a book written over 120 years ago, which is missing. This is story is all about one book.

These three storylines are intriguing woven together. This is a book I could not put down. I learned so much about Cuba. I have previously read some of this authors other books and have enjoyed them all. Her writing is compelling. If you enjoy Historical Fiction you will enjoy this book.

This is a beautifully written story of Semiramis, a motherless child who becomes Queen of the Assyrian Empire. Semiramis becomes an orphan, when her mother takes her own life. She is adopted by a shepherd, Simmas, but is mistreated. Eventually Semiramis grows into a young woman and decides to leave the village, before she is forced into marriage.

Semiramis meets Onnes and finds a way for a better life. Onnes is the illegitimate half brother of King Ninus .She quickly marries Onnes. Semiramis convinces Onnes to train her as a warrior. This is unheard of, but she must fight for what she wants.
The writing of this book was breathtaking, with vivid descriptions of time and place.
I was transported to another world.

The characters were well developed. I loved Semiramis love hate relationships with Onnes and King Ninus. There was love, loyalty and betrayal. This book was intriguingly woven with facts and myths. It is a captivating read you won’t be able to put down, Don’t miss it.

Thanksgiving 1954, Briarwood House, Washington D.C. “If these walls could talk well, they are certainly listening.” Briarwood house is an old boarding house for women only. It has seen three wars, ten presidents, and countless tenants. But never a murder.
There are a cast of characters, all with a story to tell and their own secrets.
Grace March is the newest tenant and the heart of the story. She hosts dinner parties every Thursday night in her tiny room. All these women have are hot plates to cook with.

My favorite character was Nora, a policeman‘s daughter in love with a gangster. Bea was a delight learning about the all women baseball team she was on. Each chapter is devoted to one of the characters. This book focuses on the friendship these women had and how they became a family. There are many issues of the 1950s, including McCarthy politics and the changing roles of women.

This book is well written and researched. I also loved the recipes. A captivating story.

This is a beautifully story. It is set in 1930’s in Pottstown, Pennsylvania in a dilapidated neighborhood called Chicken Hil. Jewish immigrants and Afro Americans live there together.

The story starts in 1972 when a skeleton is found in an old well along with a mezuzah . Whose body did this skeleton belong to and what happened?

This book has a cast of characters which I felt at times was hard to keep up with.
The heart of the story is Chona a Jewish woman who owns the Heaven and Earth Grocery store. She encourages her husband to have black performances at his theater for the black people to enjoy. This community gets along very well with one another.
This is a compelling story of race, ethics and a strong sense of community. These people stood together when things went wrong and helped one another
Very well written book.

This is the story of three generations of very strong women. This is a complicated story, the characters are well developed each with their own story to tell. Is a thought-provoking novel that will get you thinking about motherhood. Would you follow the path? Perfect book for book clubs.

Lila Is abandoned by her mother who is put into an institution when Lila is a young child. She is left in the care of her abusive father and grandmother.
Later, she is told by her father that her mother has died. Lila never saw her mother after she was institutionalized.
Lila becomes a journalist. She marries her college sweetheart, and has three children. She wants a career, and is not around much for her children. Grace, her youngest child resents this very much and wishes she would spend more time at home. Grace writes a book about her mother and investigates about what happened to her grandmother Zelda.

This is a beautifully written book about family dynamics. It is at times humorous and emotional. Highly recommended.

Thank you NetGalley, Random House for this invitation to read this arc copy of this book. I truly enjoyed it.

I haven’t read many books by Rhys Bowen but this one was very intriguing. It is very well written in two time lines. A tale of mystery, suspense and secrets that kept me turning the pages.

1968 London, Liz Houghton is a newspaper reporter, when a young girl goes missing.
This could be her big chance of getting back to the newsroom after being assigned as an obituary writer. Her roommate Melissa is a police officer. If she could just get the scoop she could redeem herself. She follows Melissa to the village Tydeham, which was requisitioned by the military during WWII and left in ruins.
They discover that during this time children were evacuated from this area. Three children also went missing. One was murdered, the other two were never found.
Is there a connection to the current case? While walking through the ruins Liz has memories of being in this village before. But why, she never lived near this place.
She questions her parents but they have no answers. Liz needs to seek the truth.
I love this multilayered story filled with mystery and suspense that kept me guessing. This was a very enjoyable read. I look forward to reading more novels by Rhys Bowen.

This book is inspired by the real diary of midwife Martha Ballard in the 18th century in Hallowell, Maine. She kept a diary of recorded births and deaths and daily activities.
In 1789 Martha as a trained midwife is summoned to examine a body and determine cause of death, of a body found in the frozen Kennebec River. She determines that the body was battered and bruised with broken bones and a mark around the neck. She proclaims that this body was murdered. As she is doing her examination she is dismissed by a doctor. His opinion of the death of Joshua Burgess is accidental drowning.

There is a trial that takes place which Martha must attend but only in the presence of her husband. Martha’s diary has notes of a rape that the deceased may have been involved. Women had no real say in anything then. Martha wanted to seek the truth and find justice no matter what.

Martha’s story is intriguingly woven. It is a gripping tale filled with historical facts and fiction. This is a book you will not be able to put down.
Highly recommended.

The author notes at the end of the book are not to be missed.
Also: Martha Ballard is the great aunt of Clara Barton, founder of the American Red Cross. She is also the great-great grandmother of Mary Hobart one of the first female physicians.

This is a heartwarming story of Woody Nickle’s adventure. He is now 105 years old and is writing about his adventure when he was 17. There was a hurricane in 1938 in the north east. Giraffes were on board a ship to be transported to the San Diego zoo. Two giraffes survived this horrific voyage.

This book is fictional tale based on a true event. There are very interesting characters as they travel the Lee Highway from town to town from New York to California. The giraffes were welcomed by the people in each town as newspapers, documented their arrival.
This is a wonderful story that will stay with you for a very long time.

Highly recommended.

Another wonderful novel from Susan Meissner. This book is about a topic I knew little about, Eugenics. It was shocking to discover during WWII what Hitler was doing to the young children and to realize that this was happening in the U.S.
This novel was written in two story lines.

Rosie California, 1930’s . Rosie was a young girl who lived in a home on a vineyard with her parents until their sudden death. Celine and Truman owned the vineyard and took her in giving a job as a maid. Rosie had a special gift as did her mother of seeing colors in her mind when words were spoken. Her mother told Rosie never to tell anyone about her gift. All went well until Rosie at the age of seventeen became pregnant. Rosie is forced to leave the vineyard and becomes institutionalized because of her gift. She fights to keep her baby and to leave this horrid place.

Helen sister of Truman has lived in Europe all through WWII. She was living in Vienna and saw first hand what Hitler was doing. When she returns to the U. S. She discovers what happened to Rosie and tries to find her and what happened to the baby.

A captivating story.