Review: The Broken Girls by Simone St. James

The Broken Girls by Simone St. JamesPublished: 03/20/2018
Publisher: Penguin Publishing Group
Genre: Literary Fiction / Mystery
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As mentioned in my review of The Lake House by Kate Morton, I love a book that alternates between the past and the present. When it's done well, the stories will seamlessly fuse together at the end, bridging the gap between the generations in unexpected ways. The Broken Girls by Simone St. James follows this pattern and is a wonderful mystery told between 1950 and 2014.

Idlewild is an all-girls school for the girls that no one wants. In 1950, four friends are doing the best they can to make it day to day, each dealing with their own private tragedy and horror. But the students and teachers aren't the only ones at the school - rumor has it that Idlewild is haunted.

Fast-forward to 2014, where Fiona is still trying to cope with the murder of her older sister twenty years before. Fiona is connected to Idlewild because her sister's body was dumped on the sports field at the school. Fiona learns that the property has been purchased by an elderly widow with no obvious connection to the school and plans have been put in place for the restoration of the school. Finding new purpose, Fiona decides to write a journal article on the history of the school and the restoration.

The title The Broken Girls couldn't be more perfect for this novel because all of the women in the story are broken in some way. They don't have to stay that way, though. Woven through the story is the hope that what is broken can be put back together, the breaks healing over time. The friendship of the girls in 1950 gives them new strength and healing occurs as they share their individual stories and take their power back. Fiona hopes to find healing as she confronts the past and finds new connections with her father in the present.

The spooky tale of the haunted Idlewild campus stays in the background of the events, present in both the present and the past. The ghost known as Mary Hand is just one element driving the storyline and connecting the characters. Simone St. James does an amazing job of creating connections over the generations and moving the story forward. She does a masterful job of giving the reader just enough information to answer the present question while posing five more. I ended up reading late into the night, promising myself it was "just one more chapter" until I finished the book.

The mysteries of The Broken Girls will grab you from the very beginning. The prologue is one of the best I've ever read - it starts things off with a bang and forges an instant investment in the outcome of the lives of the characters. I've read a LOT of mysteries in my life and this quickly became one of my very favorites. I had NO IDEA how the book would end or how the past and present would be connected, and I was very pleased with the outcome. Truly, I had no idea how Simone St. James would tie things together.

I enjoyed this book so much that I immediately bought another...and another...and another. As of the writing of this post, I just finished a fifth book by St. James, which only leaves one other that I haven't read. I'll need to savor it. I can't wait to see what else Simone St. James comes up with. She's a talented author with a gift for telling a story that the reader cannot help but become invested in the characters. The characters themselves are flawed and beautiful with their own vivid personalities.

I hope you enjoy The Broken Girls by Simone St. James as much as I did! For more on the author, check out her website.

Review: The Lake House by Kate Morton

The Lake House by Kate Morton
Publisher: Atria Books
Publication Date:10/20/2015
Genre: Literary Fiction / Mystery
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Living on her family's idyllic lakeside estate in Cornwall, England, Alice Edevane is a bright, inquisitive, innocent, and precociously talented sixteen-year-old who loves to write stories. But the mysteries she pens are no match for the one her family is about to endure...
One midsummer's eve, after a beautiful party drawing hundreds of guests to the estate has ended, the Edevanes discover that their youngest child, eleven-month-old Theo, has vanished without a trace. What follows is a tragedy that tears the family apart in ways they never imagined.
Decades later, Alice is living in London, having enjoyed a long successful career as an author. Theo's case has never been solved. though Alice still harbors suspicion as to the culprit. Miles away, Sadie Sparrow, a young detective in the London police force, is staying at her grandfather's house in Cornwall. While out walking one day, she stumbles upon the old estate - now crumbling and covered with vines, clearly abandoned long ago. Her curiosity is sparked, setting off a series of events that will bring her and Alice together and reveal shocking truths about a past long gone...yet more present than ever.
A lush, atmospheric tale of intertwined destinies, this latest novel from a masterful storyteller is an enthralling, thoroughly satisfying read. {Goodreads}

I dearly love a book that alternates between the past and present, and Kate Morton is the master. She gives you just enough information to keep to story moving forward and keep you wanting more. Just when you think you are about to get the clue that will break the case, you are sent back in time or flung into the future and hanging on for more!  The past and present story lines are seamlessly blended together at the end to give you the answers you've been looking for with a lovely twist thrown in for fun.

The Lake House brings together the past of a mystery writer protecting a secret and the present of a detective constable trying to salvage her career and future. Both women are trying to reconcile with the consequences of their actions and assumptions. They have many similarities and yet are so different. Both of the women have stories that tug at your heartstrings and help you understand why they won't give up - in the tenacity to solve a mystery and determination to keep their secrets close.

It took me awhile to warm up to Sadie. She seems to think she's above certain consequences and has to come to terms with a broken past. her personality is such that you have the urge to reach through the pages to give her a good shake. As she gains some distance from her actions in another case that resulted in her suspension, Sadie is able to get her feet back under her and move forward as she comes to terms with her past.

I want to be like Alice when I'm elderly. She's a spit-fire woman who has high expectations of herself and everyone around her. Like Sadie, she is wrestling with a painful past and is carrying a burden than what one person can manage. As Alice and Sadie develop a relationship, they help each other come to terms with the skeletons in their closets and move into bright futures.

I had several moments while I was reading when I paused to take in Morton's writing. Her style is amazing and so enjoyable - it's a perfect example of why I love to read so much.

Review: The Martian by Andy Weir

The Martian by Andy Weir
Publisher: Crown
Publication Date: 02-11-2014 (First Published 2011)
Genre: Science Fiction
Source: Personal Library
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Six days ago, Astronaut Mark Watney became one of the first people to walk on Mars. Now he's sure he'll be the first person to die there.
After a dust storm nearly kills him and forces his crew to evacuate the planet while thinking him dead, Mark finds himself stranded on Mars' surface, completely alone, with no way to signal Earth that he's alive. And even if he could get word out, his supplies would be gone years before a rescue could arrive. Chances are, though, Mark won't have time to starve to death. The damaged machinery, unforgiving environment or plain-old "human error" are much more likely to kill him first.
But Mark's not ready to quit. Armed with nothing but his ingenuity and his engineering skills - and a gallows sense of humor that proves to be his greatest source of strength - he embarks on a dogged quest to stay alive, using his botany enterprise to grow food and even hatching a mad plan to contact NASA back on Earth. As he overcomes one seemingly insurmountable obstacle after the next, Mark begins to let himself believe he might make it off the planet alive.
But Mars has plenty of surprises in store for him yet. {Goodreads}

You know what is the most amazing thing about this book? That it came about because Andy Weir was trying to think through what it would take to carry out a Mars mission FOR FUN. You know what I do for fun?  I crochet and watch Netflix. Actually, lately I've been watching The Martian over and over and over. But that's for another blog post. Today we're talking about the book.

Mark Watney is one of the best characters I've read in a long time. He has intelligence and confidence in his intelligence, which allows to to survive alone on a desolate planet. He's cynical and sarcastic and has a fantastic sense of humor. Watney uses ingenuity to push through in the face of unbelievable odds. This is true science fiction. Watney uses science to work through each obstacle systematically. He work one problem and then moves on to the next. It's both how he works and thinks on a any given day and how he manages to stay sane.

Andy Weir has a great writing style and has created fantastic characters. What I love about The Martian is that it's a smart book. The science and space travel is explained in a way that is not dumbed down, but the reader doesn't need an engineering degree to understand it, either. Weir doesn't bog you down with the details. In addition to the science and survival, the book has incredible depth of emotion. Weir is able to portray the emotional impact the situation has on people on Earth, on Watney, and on the crew that left him behind. This is a huge credit to Weir's writing talent.

Jupiter seen from NASA's Juno spacecraft on 08-27-16

I enjoyed reading it and felt like I learned something while I was having fun. I'm fascinate by Andy Weir's brain and can't wait to read more of his writing.

Oh, I'm also fangirling NASA now. Seriously, how amazing is this picture of Jupiter?

Review: Chocolate Chip Cookie Murder by Joanne Fluke

Chocolate Chip Cookie Murder (Hannah Swensen #1) by Joanne Fluke
Publisher: Kensington
Publication Date: 09-01-2006
Genre: Cozy Mystery
Source: Personal Collection
Goodreads ~ Barnes and Noble ~ Amazon
Hannah already has her hands full trying to dodge her mother's attempts to marry her off while running The Cookie Jar, Lake Eden's most popular bakery. But once Ron LaSalle, the beloved delivery man from the Cozy Cow Dairy, is found murdered in her bakery with Hannah's famous Chocolate Chip Crunchies scattered around him, her life jut can't get any worse. Determined not to let her cookies get a bad reputation, she sets out to track down a killer. But if she doesn't watch her back, Hannah's sweet life may get burned to a crisp. {Amazon}

I think we all have books that we turn to when life is hectic and we just need a little break. They aren't overly violent or sexual, they're just fun to read. Chocolate Chip Cookie Murder is one of those books. It's what I would have called "comfort reading" until I discovered the name for its genre: cozy mystery!

Cozy mysteries recall the likes of Agatha Christie and show a gentler side of crime fighting. They are the ones you see that involve a group of quilters, or even a cat, solving crimes. In Chocolate Chip Cookie Murder, the main sleuth, Hannah Swensen, is a baker. The book even includes cookie recipes! I'll let you know how they are when I try some out. :)

Hannah Swensen is a wonderfully relate-able character for me. She's in her early 30's, single, takes great pride in her role as Aunt Hannah, and talks to her cat, Moishe, as though he's human. There's some dating (which can be brutal, as any single thirty-something knows) but it isn't the main focus of her life. Hannah's main focus is her business, her family, and solving whatever murder has fallen into her lap.

I love a good mystery. I flew through the Rizzoli and Isles series by Tess Gerrtisen, but more than one of the books had me going to bed with the hall light on. Not so with Joanne Fluke's writing. There was suspense, but nothing that kept me up late at night. The relationships were realistic, the characters were delightful, and the writing was good. The book was absolutely delightful and I can't wait to read the rest of them! I feel like these will be perfect books to read when I'm back in school in the fall. I nice dose of brain candy - something that keeps my interest, has a little intrigue, and gives me a break from the reading I have for class. Perfect!

If you have ever spent any time watching a movie or show on Hallmark Movies and Mysteries channel, then this sounds awfully familiar. It should. The Hannah Swensen book series has also become a move series on Hallmark: the Murder She Baked series. The cozy mystery books are also cozy mystery movies! They are equally delightful and I highly recommend them.

Have you read any cozy mysteries? What are your favorites?

You're Never Too Old to Fangirl

A wee TARDIS

I feel like I should give a little imformation about this new blog of mine and why I started it. I'm a self-proclaimed fangirl about many things. I have more copies of Anne of Green Gables than I can count, all things Harry Potter have a prominent place in my home, and you should see my Doctor Who  Lego TARDIS. It's magnificent. I've been known to flail and squee on a regular basis, and even occasionally in public. So when I started a blog where I would review the books I read and post about all these things that I love so dearly, the tagline "You're Never Too Old to Fangirl" was perfect! As I thought about it more, I decided to see what the internet has to say about fangirls these days.

Urban Dictionary is not at all complimentary of the modern fangirl. The most popular definition says a fangirl is "a rabid creed of human female who is obsessed with either a fictional character or an actor." I'm sorry, internet, but my fangirling extends far beyond a single character or actor. A less extreme definition is "a female fan who can laugh at their own passion for their particular interest (or even obsession)." While I'm not overly thrilled with either option, the 2nd is far better than the first.

A fangirl is much more than a "rabid" screaming teenage female (or male - there are fanboys, too). To me a fangirl is a female with varying, albeit at times intense, interests who is confident enough to share that enthusiasm with abandon. Although perceived as ridiculous most of the time, any person whose life has been significantly impacted by a book series, anime, movie, etc, will tell you the importance of that life-changing interest. The result can be anything from sparking creativity and passion to helping someone deal with mental or physical illness. Maureen Johnson didn't start #YASaves for nothing! (Here is a blog post by Kiera Cass that gives some background on how YA Saves got started.)

I think this one is self-explanatory. 

John Green (Nerdfighters FTW) responded beautifully to the use of "nerd" as an insult in one of his Vlogbrothers videos, and I think it applies here as well.

Nerds like us are allowed to be unironically enthusiastic about stuff...Nerds are allowed to love stuff, like jump-up-and-down-in-the-chair-can't-control-yourself love it. People who call people 'nerds,' mostly what they're saying is "You like stuff," which is not a good insult at all. Like, "You are too enthusiastic about the miracle of human consciousness."

So, let's be fangirls, fanboys, and nerds, and be excited about life!

Review: My Lady Jane

My Lady Jane by Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton, and Jodi Meadows
Published: 06-07-2019
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
Genre: Young Adult Historical Fiction (emphasis on fiction)
Source: Personal Library
Goodreads ~ Amazon ~ Barnes and Noble
The comical, fantastical, romantical, (not) entirely true story of Lady Jane Grey. In My Lady Jane, coauthors Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton, and Jodi Meadows have created a one-of-a-kind fantasy in the tradition of The Princess Bride, featuring a reluctant king, an even more reluctant queen, a noble steed, and only a passing resemblance to actual history - because sometimes history needs a little help.
At sixteen, Lady Jane Grey is about to be married off to a stranger and caught up in a conspiracy to rob her cousin, King Edward, of his throne. But those trifling problems aren't for Jane to worry about. Jane gets to be Queen of England.
Like that could go wrong.
{Synopsis from Barnes and Noble website}

My Lady Jane was such a joy to read! The writing is clever and smart, the story is playful, and the characters have amazing personality. Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton, and Jodi Meadows have done an amazing job of making sure the writing flows through all the chapters and the reader forgets that the book has multiple authors. Interjections from the authors throughout the book add its laugh out loud humor and the banter between the characters is just fabulous.

The story takes place during the reign of King Edward Tudor, prior to the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, and sexism in society abounds. Jane values her independence and commands respect from others as she works to have her voice heard. To say the forced marriage between Jane and G (please, for the sake of all things holy, don't call him Gifford) was strained would be putting it mildly. Before the relationship can develop beyond irritation and potential loathing, respect for one another must emerge. A prominent theme in the book is this shift in the views of male characters as they realize that women have just as much ability to rule and lead as men - some of them being much better suited to the leadership role.

In the past, I've noticed that while I'm completely wrapped up in the romance happening in what I'm reading, when I put the book down I realize it was actually quite nauseating. Not so in My Lady Jane. I think this says a lot about the views of the authors and their desire to give Jane Grey more power and  a better ending than the history books report. She is not a wilting flower but any means. Jane has earned a place as a favorite literary character.

I'm definitely going to be fangirling over My Lady Jane for quite some time. The retelling of the reign of Jane Grey introduces humor into what was originally a very sad tale and even includes a little fantasy. It's going to be very difficult for me to restrain myself from running up to all of my friends and yelling, "OMG MY LADY JANE is AMAZING, go read it RIGHT NOW." I visited the website for the book and discovered that today, July 9, marks the beginning of Jane Grey's 9 day reign as queen. Each day will have new content on the website and online events to celebrate Jane Grey. Make sure you visit the site to join in on the fun!

Have you read My Lady Jane yet? What were your favorite parts? If you haven't read it, what one earth are you waiting for?! (It's been out a whole month! What have you been doing with your time?)