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!

Top Ten Tuesday

🍀 Happy St. Patrick's Day! 🍀

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

In honor of it being March 17th, today's theme is GREEN BOOK COVERS.

Here are 10 books from off my own shelves with lovely green covers: 

My Lucky Charm by Courtney Walsh

A Judgement of Powers by Benedict Jacka

The Geographer's Guide to Romance by India Holton

The Detective Wins the Witch by Kristen Painter

This Green Hell by Greig Beck

Kilt to Order by Susannah Nix

The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini

Well Met by Jen DeLuca

Shadowland by Adam Wright

Gone Too Deep by Katie Ruggle

Have you read any of these?

🍀 Happy Reading! 🍀

Haiku Reviews...

 

Seeing Other People by Emily Wibberley & Austin Siegemund-Broka

Two ghosts. Two hauntings.

Morgan wants hers gone; Sawyer doesn't.

What do the ghosts want?

Romance.... 322 pages .... 5/5 stars.

(So many poignant moments as Sawyer copes with tragic loss and grief, and finds new life, hope and love. He and Morgan are so good together.)

Hail Marry by Martha Keyes

He saves her life; she

saves his football dream by offering

a marriage of convenience.

Romance .... 337 pages .... 4.5/5 stars.

(A cute and clean rom-com with one of my favorite romance tropes.)

First Sign of Danger by Kelley Armstrong

Hikers. Miners. Spies?

Two murders put Haven's Rock

on high alert.

Mystery .... 337 pages .... 4/5 stars.

(Another excellent mystery; I really love Casey Duncan and her husband, Eric Dalton, and their cute Newfie, Storm. And Haven's Rock, hidden somewhere in the heart of the Yukon, is such a great setting.)

Happy Reading!

March's Bookish Art...

 

Ulisse Caputo -- Leisure Hours

"There's no better escape from life than into a book."

--Heather Webber, South of the Buttonwood Tree

The World Beneath by Rebecca Cantrell

 

The plot in brief: Joe Tesla is a successful multi-millionaire tech genius who helped develop some cutting-edge facial recognition software. 181 days ago, a severe case of agoraphobia drove him underground. Now he spends his days exploring the subterranean world beneath New York City with his psychiatric service dog, Edison. Then on one such exploration, in an abandoned tunnel, he discovers a walled-up train car, two long dead skeletons, a murdered soldier, and some long buried secrets that will put his own life in danger.

My thoughts:  I first heard about this series from Cath @ Read-Warbler, and I'm glad I was able to get a copy of this first Joe Tesla novel from my library because it's a very fun read. Joe Tesla is an intelligent and engaging character; I liked him a lot. I also loved the labyrinth of New York subway tunnels setting, the old Victorian manor built beneath Grand Central Station where he lives, and his cute dog, Edison. There's good tension and lots of action, and an entertaining plot. And the ending sets the stage for the next Joe Tesla book, The Tesla Legacy, which I can't wait to check out. 

My rating:  ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Happy Reading!