The Roaring Days of Zora Lily: A Novel
by Noelle Salazar
Superb Seattle Stylist's Story (9/10/2023)
The Roaring Days of Zora Lily is a terrific read, especially for fans of historical fiction. The main character, Zora Lily, is an engaging heroine and the supporting characters, members of her family and friends Rosa and Jessie are equally likable. The reader shares Zora's journey from poverty to fulfilling her dream of owning her own dress shop featuring her own designs. We see life from the tenements of Seattle to the glitz and glamour of Hollywood during the Twenties. Throughout her struggles, Zora relies on her inner strength and sense of purpose to guide her. I heartily recommend this book.
Pieces of Blue
by Holly Goldberg Sloan
Great Beach Read (2/4/2023)
I would recommend Pieces of Blue as a great "beach read". I enjoyed reading it, though it does have a somewhat familiar story - Mom and kids have to start a new life after Dad is gone. But the setting in Hawaii adds a great deal to the story. I learned a bit about Hawaiian geography and culture. I liked the characters a lot, especially the children. Each of the children, Olivia, Carlos (Carl) and Sene have different personalities and it was interesting to see things from their point of view. There was quite a bit of back story so the reader can understand how they came to be where they were. All in all it was a very good read.
Metropolis: A Novel
by B. A. Shapiro
Entertaining Story (3/31/2022)
The Metropolis is, the somewhat familiar story, of a group of disparate people whose lives intersect at a storage facility called The Metropolis. I enjoyed the book and found it moved right along. To me, the characters were not all that original. The "mystery " in the book comes in the last third of the book, and much of the first parts are a lot of description. The book does touch briefly on some immigration issues and "white privilege". If you are looking for something that is a lighter read, this book may be for you.
The Fields: A Novel
by Erin Young
Not so thrilling thriller (10/17/2021)
This book was okay. I read a lot of mysteries and suspense and was hoping for something original and fresh. The Fields was neither of these. You knew who the "bad guy" was almost in the first chapter. Riley's backstory is so commonplace now in books about female police officers and detectives. Also, many of the relationships in the book seemed to fit the same old stereotypes-the resentful male police officers, the bad brother. I did like the characters of Riley and Logan. I enjoyed reading and learning about some of the issues in agriculture today. I will be honest, I was disappointed in this book. I had hoped for so much more.
The Lost Apothecary: A Novel
by Sarah Penner
Riveting Read (8/25/2020)
The first page piqued my interest and the rest of the book continued to hold my attention. The chapters set in 18th century London seem well researched with their descriptions of the people, houses and social gatherings of the times. I found the information on poisons fascinating. I found Nella and Eliza to be much more compelling characters than Caroline. They exhibited intelligence, ingenuity and courage in dealing with the troubles that came their way. Nella, coping with the loss of her child and faithless lover, chose to stand up for other wronged women by using her knowledge of natural poisons to eliminate the offending men. Eliza, a 12 year old maid, chose to stay with Nella and be her helper when disaster was hours away. Caroline was a little too much the stereotypical wronged woman who, within 4 days, solves a 200 year old mystery, stands up to her husband for the first time and then gets accepted at Cambridge. That was all a little too unbelievable to me. There are several twists and turns in the plot that I did not see coming. These, along with the ending helped make The Lost Apothecary a page-turner.
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