My Daughters of the American Revolution chapter has a book club which meets quarterly. This quarter we read the historical fiction book A Girl Called Samson. This book was amazing. It brought me right into the times, which is what good historical fiction should do. The plot and characters were so good, I don’t even care that Harmon embellished and changed history a little (a lot). The love story was beautiful and rich, and is what kept me reading. Deborah is my new hero and I want to learn so much more about the real person. I was sad the book ended.
From one Five Star Read immediately into another. Warrior Girl Unearthed was a very powerful read that opened my mind to a different view of museums. I will never walk into a museum and see Native artifacts and not be angry now. This book had so many powerful themes from museums holding artifacts to missing Indigenous women, and I think this book is an important read for everyone. Warning: you will cry. I have since bought one of the books mentioned in this one, so stay tuned for that review later this year.
Liz Cheney is the complete opposite of my political leanings. I do not support her policies in anyway. However, I had heard a lot of people on my side praise her book, and so I picked it up. And they were right. This is an important read about Trump’s attempted coup and the insurrection on January 6, 2021. It discusses the Republican Party’s fall and corruption and choosing a man over the Constitution. I think it’s an important read for all political leanings. I may not agree with her political standings, but I have so much respect for Cheney now.
Creepy Gothic haunted house? Yes please! Last year my book club read a haunted house book, and it was probably one of my most disappointing reads of the year. This book is everything I had hoped the other one to be. In less than 300 pages, T. Kingfisher built an atmosphere and creepy story that had a really good payoff in the end. If you want to be creeped out and really have no idea what is going to happen, this is the book for you.
Billed as a modern retelling of Twelfth Night, I would argue that that is a generous description. While I really enjoyed parts of the story, I felt some of it was overly long and drug out. I loved the last quarter of the book though. The last quarter bumped the book from three to four stars.
I had high hopes for this book. High hopes. It sounded amazing. And reading the book, I was loving it. A great mystery, good pacing. The main mystery was very Jon Benet Ramsey-esque, but I was willing to overlook it. However. That ending. The ending has made me so angry, it has canceled every good feeling I had for the book leading up to it. I don’t think I will ever recommend this book to anyone, based on that ending. If you want to read it, just know, you’re going to be disappointed by the end. Such a let down.
Not going to say much about this one. It’s a joint memoir by Nick Offerman and Megan Mullally. And it is hilarious and also a great insight into their amazing relationship. They certainly are #couplegoals. I honestly had no idea there was such a huge age gap between them. You would never know looking at them. Or listening to them. If you’re a fan of theirs, run, don’t walk, to get this book. And read it on audio. You won’t regret it.
I read an ARC of this book and reviewed it here.
A Christmas romance in February? Why not? I think my opinion of this book was definitely swayed by its setting: Ireland, my new favorite place in the world. But I also really, really enjoy a fake dating trope. Like a lot. I thought the story was really cute, and romance readers it doesn’t have a third act breakup, so if you don’t like those, there you go! The characters also were very good at communicating which was nice.
Stephanie Caffrey, Author 