A Brilliant Night of Stars and Ice by Rebecca Connolly

 "It's the Titanic, sir," (First Officer) Dean interrupted, his voice nearing a frantic pace and pitch. "We've just received an urgent distress message. She's struck ice and is sinking fast. She requires immediate assistance."

(Captain Rostron's) eyes darted to the chart, marking his position in relation to the Titanic with a stub of a pencil. They were not as close as he would like to be, not nearly close enough, but he wasn't about to let that stop him.  Other boats would have heard the call and replied to her message as well, so all he had to do was get his ship there as fast as he could and be prepared for whatever they might face.

"...we must have order, discipline, and quietness, and we must avoid all confusion. We must be better sailors, better crew, and better men than we have ever been."  

I'm sure the story of Titanic is familiar to everyone. But what about Capt. Arthur Rostron and the valiant crew of the Carpathia who took extreme and heroic efforts to go to her rescue as fast as they could? They are the ones who pulled the 705 survivors from the icy sea that night. Rebecca Connolly tells their story in this compelling and poignant novel. I was familiar with Carpathia's name, but knew nothing of her Captain and the decisive actions he took that fateful night. He was truly a remarkable man...though he would tell you he just did what anyone else would have done in his situation. Connolly also weaves in the story of Kate Connolly, an Irish lass and third class passenger on the Titanic who managed to survive. I liked reading their contrasting perspectives of that night. Altogether, this was an amazing novel. I loved it. 

My rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Top Ten Tuesday

 

Top Ten Tuesday is a fun weekly meme hosted by Jana at That Artsy Reader Girl.

This week's theme is a fun one:  BOOKS SET IN PLACES ON MY BUCKET LIST.

The hardest part for me was narrowing my list down to just 10 titles because there are SO many places in the world I want to visit someday. But here are my top 10:

1. A Thousand Days in Venice by Malena de Blasi

2. A Street in Marrakech by Elizabeth Warnock Fernea

3. Easter Island by Jennifer Vanderbes

4. The Dubrovnik Book Club by Eva Glyn

5. A Castaway in Cornwall by Julie Klassen

6. The Orkney Scroll by Lyn Hamilton

7. The Welsh Girl by Peter Ho Davies

(Wales is high on my bucket list, but I couldn't find any good book titles with the word Wales in them, so I had to go with Welsh instead.)

8. The Highgate Cemetery Murder by Irina Shapiro

9. Cry of the Kalahari by Mark & Delia Owens

10. The Forgotten Bookshop in Paris by Daisy Wood

(I've actually already been to Paris, but I really want to go back, so that's why it's still on my bucket list.)

Happy Reading!

Her Last Breath by Taylor Adams

 Two women. 

A remote cave system.

One stranger.

A struggle for survival. 

Secrets...and a lie.

The plot:  As kids, Tess and Allie were best friends. Now, Allie travels the world as a successful travel influencer and Tess works as her part-time assistant. Allie is adventurous and fearless. Tess is more of an introvert. But she's also a survivor. Going caving together is supposed to help them reconnect. But then a stranger follows them into the cave, threatening them. And when Allie gets shot, Tess finds herself alone and on the run, going deeper and deeper underground, with the man following close behind. 

My thoughts:  This book is part survival story, part psychological thriller. And it's very entertaining. The chapters alternate between Tess's harrowing experiences underground, and her time in the hospital where she recounts what happened to her and Allie to a police detective. Which lessened the suspense a little, because you know right from page 40 that she survives her ordeal. But the cave scenes are intense. And there are several surprises along the way. I guessed one of the big plot twists early on, though there were moments later on that I started to doubt my suspicions. I liked that Adams kept me guessing. And the ending was great! 

My rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Happy Reading!

Randomness...

I won another book from Goodreads! Strange Animals by Jarod K. Anderson. Haven't read it yet, but it looks good, doesn't it? 

I've been learning to make wire jewelry with my niece; I'm not very good at it yet, but it's a lot of fun, and next week we're going to learn how to grow Bonsai trees! 

Two Saturdays ago I went with my sisters to see the funniest play: PETER PAN GOES WRONG! It's hilarious. I haven't laughed that hard since I saw their first play: THE PLAY GOES WRONG. If you ever get a chance to see either of these...GO! They're so entertaining. 

I have spring break coming up next week and I'm very much looking forward to having seven days free of work in which to hike, sleep in, read a slew of books, play some board games, catch a movie or two, craft, paint, and just have some needed fun. 

Other good things:  all the pink blossoms on the flowering plum trees in my neighborhood, the bright yellow forsythia bushes that are blooming, the morning songs of the robins in my backyard, warm sunshiny days, cool breezes at night, and the lovely light of spring. 

What I'm reading...

 

I actually just finished reading Gregg Hurwitz's latest Evan Smoak novel, Antihero. And I loved it. It's another action-packed book in this thrilling series. Evan's working with Joey and Candy in this one to make certain bad things right; Mia and Peter are back, too. I'm not going to say much else about it, only that for me this was another 5 star read. 

And I'm right in the middle of reading American Spring by Walter R. Borneman. It mostly focuses on the first six months of 1775 and the decisions and turning points that led to America's revolution. It's interesting and well-written and I'm enjoying it. I'm just not getting through it very fast. But I hope to finish it up soon, because I want to start reading Dolin's Rebels At Sea next month. 

And I just started reading Janice Hallett's The Killer Question. It's an epistolary mystery set in a pub in England and is told through texts, group messages, police interviews, and emails. It's pretty amusing so far, even though I have no idea where it's headed. I do know there will be a murder. The characters are pretty funny, especially how caught up they get in the pub's weekly Monday night quiz contest. If you want to read an excellent review of it, check out Helen's review. It's what made me want to check it out myself. 

So no reviews today. 

Just some good books and some happy reading. 

My Friends by Fredrik Backman

 "...his voice is both exultant and sad. Both happy and unhappy. Because it's that sort of story, with that sort of ending."

I was not planning on reading this book. It wasn't even on my TBR list. But then my co-worker, Leigh, raved about it, said I had to read it, even brought me her copy to borrow. So I very reluctantly took it home. But once I started it, I did not want it to end. It's the loveliest of books: poignant, heartbreaking at times, but heartwarming, too, lyrical, captivating, endearing, and utterly unforgettable. 

It's a book about four friends one very memorable summer, a painting that changes everyone, and a girl. And it's so much more! It's a coming of age book about friendship and love, art, life, desperation, hope, grief, beauty, laughter, daring to dream and finding family. 

It made me laugh.

And it made me cry.

There were parts so good I had to go back and read them a second time. I loved these characters and their profound friendships. I loved their triumphs and their struggles. Most of all, I loved the beautiful prose. There's truth and beauty in this book. And it will definitely be at the top of my favorites list this year.

"The world is full of miracles, but none greater than how far a young person can be carried by someone else's belief in them."

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Dark Objects by Simon Toyne

 

From the blurb:  "A glamorous woman is murdered in her ultra-luxurious and highly secure London mansion, and her husband goes missing. But according to public records, neither of them exists. The only leads police have are several items arranged around the woman's body, including a set of keys and a book called How to Process a Murder by Laughton Rees, an academic and forensic expert who does not work live cases. But the presence of her book at the scene draws her into this high-profile investigation working alongside DCI Tannahill Khan. As the dark objects found beside the body lead them closer to the victim's identity, a dangerous threat to Laughton and her daughter emerges." 

My thoughts:  Tantalizing and compelling. This mystery is a nice blend of police procedural and psychological thriller. And I really like DCI Tannahill Khan and Dr. Laughton Rees; it was fun seeing how they met and connected. Rees is a nicely complicated character who is still dealing with the traumatic death of her mother when she was younger. She's very smart and has some interesting quirks and OCD tendencies centering around the number three. And the mystery itself has some nice twists. I hope Toyne writes many more books with her and Khan. This is the first book in the series; I previously read the second book, The Clearing, last month, which is an equally good read.

My rating:  ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Happy Reading!