The Bookbinder's Secret: one book's secret and one woman's journey to discover it

The Bookbinder’s Secret by A.D. Bell is a story of how one book tells a secret and one woman’s journey to discover it. Lillian “Lily” Delaney is an apprentice to a master bookbinder in Oxford in 1901 and feels trapped. Trapped by her father’s failing bookshop. Trapped by still being an apprentice. When she is given a burned book by a book collector, where she finds something hidden binding, a letter speaking of love, fortune, and murder. Lilly is pulled into a mystery of young lovers, forbidden love, and discovers there are more books with more hidden secrets. She quickly becomes obsessed with the story and that obsession becomes dangerous. She discovers someone is looking for the same books and is ready to kill for them. As she searches, sinister forces are closing in and her life begins to fall apart, she must decide if the truth is worth her life. 

The Bookbinder’s Secret is a slow moving train at first as Lilly discovers the hidden letter. As she innocently searches for the truth, she doesn’t realize she is being watched until it is too late. The train speeds up and I was hooked as Lilly is determined to find the truth, find the individuals in the letter, solve the mystery and restore her life as best she can. I loved the look into bookbinding and the cutthroat business of book collecting. The pieces to the mystery were intriguing as well. There is a cast of unsavory characters whom Lilly must trust despite the danger she is in and the reveal of who is behind it all was a shocker! Overall, I enjoyed this story and when I closed the book I sat in awe at the twists and turns. If you enjoy historical fiction with a mystery, I highly recommend The Bookbinder’s Secret. 

The Bookbinder’s Secret is available in hardcover, eBook and audiobook

All Our Beautiful Goodbyes: a love story filled with tragedy but has a smidge of hope for a happily aver after

All Our Beautiful Goodbyes by Julianne MacLean is a story of a love that couldn’t find the right time to bloom. In 1946, World War II is over and Emma Clarkson dreamed of leaving her island home and attending university. Sable Island is the only home she has ever known and yet she dreams of life beyond the sand dunes and the herds of wild horses. When a shipwreck occurs off shore, the handsome British sea captain has Emma rethinking her dreams. She falls deeply in love with Oliver Harris; however it is a love that cannot be. Oliver returns to the sea and Emma vows to forget him and finds love again when a handsome veterinarian arrives on the island. In 1995, Joanna Griffin is mourning the death of her beloved grandmother and is shocked to learn that her grandfather once loved a young woman named Emma and she is determined to solve the mystery of her grandfather’s past and the events that have separated them. 

Julianne MacLean is a master at tragic stories with twists and turns, adding a smidge of hope for a happily over after. All Our Beautiful Goodbyes is such a tale. Set in the remote beauty of Sable Island, off the coast of Nova Scotia and known as the Graveyard of the Atlantic, readers will be sucked into the love story of Emma as falls in love and feels the pain of loss and the sting of betrayal. I didn’t know about Sable Island and its role as a rescue station, watching for shipwrecks and its current role as a sanctuary for the wild horses that call it home. Ms. MacLean’s description of the island really brought it to life, I could sense the coldness and isolation of the island. The story starts out a bit slow but it picks up as Emma starts her rollercoaster journey to chase her dreams. I kept turning pages, in the hopes she would get her happily ever after. Overall, I enjoyed this story. I recommend All Our Beautiful Goodbyes. 

All Our Beautiful Goodbyes is available in paperback, eBook and audiobook

Why We Read: one reader's exploration of the power of books in our lives

Why We Read: On Bookworms, Libraries and Just One More Page before Lights Out by Shannon Reed. It has been asked of every bookworm: Why do you read so much? What is so great about ink and pages? Why are you crying so hard at a fictional story, for functional people? Shannon Reed, a longtime teacher, lifelong reader and a New Yorker contributor, writes to make the case as to why readers read in a collection of stories about reading for escape, reading to learn, to find love, and encounter new worlds are among the many, many reasons. She shares stories from her life as a reader, as a teacher, a student and later a professor. From the varied novels she cherished and the ones she didn’t, trips to libraries and introducing classic novels to a new generation, Ms Reed writes to take readers on a tour through the world of literature and celebrates the beloved books which bring comfort, tears and transformation. 

I was excited to read a book on books and bookworms, expecting a hilarious exploration of the joys of reading and the books that changed our lives in a “whip-smart, laugh-out-loud funny collection.” Unfortunately, that is not what I got. It wasn’t a deep dive into the transformative power of reading. Ms. Reed came across as condescending and smug as she writes. I feel that as an Academic overshadows her personal connection to books and her fellow bookworms. She had an “I know better” attitude. At one point, she talks about not writing to authors as they are busy writing and they don’t want to  interact with readers. I found this weird and untrue. Granted some authors may agree with this statement. However, many authors I have interacted with, online and in emails, love hearing from readers. Her humor fell flat for me. I didn’t laugh, I rolled my eyes, cringed at certain statements. I could see where she was trying to be funny but it wasn’t working for me. I do not recommend Why We Read. It should be titled Why I Read. 

Why We Read: On Bookworms, Libraries and Just One More Page before Lights Out

Is available in hardcover, paperback, eBook and audiobook

The Seven Days of Christmas: can the magic and hope of the season bring two hearts back together?

The Seven Days of Christmas is a novella book in the Emerson Pass Historical series by Tess Thompson. After the events of The Problem Child, Flynn Barnes and his wife , Shannon, and their idyllic marriage seemingly has been destroyed by a dangerous secret. Shannon is unsure if she can trust him again. With Christmas and Cymbeline’s wedding fast approaching, the Barnes children band together to help Flynn gain Shannon’s trust and win her heart again by using each of the final seven days featuring one grand gesture after another. Flynn fears it is too late. The Barnes family knows how to stick together no matter what but also know that the Christmas season is a time for love, joy and hope. Can Flynn and Shannon find a way back to each other and be stronger than ever? Will Emerson Pass’s favorite tomboy be as magical as the Christmas season? 

The Seven Days of Christmas is a quick and enjoyable read. Flynn is a stubborn man who made a horrible choice and wants to wallow in the aftermath in the implosion of his life. Shannon is a woman scorned, newly postpartum and experiencing a roller coaster of emotions. It seemed to be a tall order for Flynn to win back Shannon’s trust and love. I thoroughly enjoyed Flynn as he worked through the issues he caused and sought forgiveness from not only Shannon but the people of Emerson Pass. The grand gestures were sweet and I loved seeing Shannon’s heart melt again for Flynn. I also enjoyed Cymbeline’s wedding and the events surrounding it. Overall, I loved this short read and I am looking forward to the rest of the series. If you have enjoyed the Emerson Pass Historical series, I recommend The Seven Days of Christmas. 

The Seven Days of Christmas is available in paperback, eBook and audiobook

Tom Paine's War: the man and the pamphlet that gave a voice to the American Revolution

Tom Paine’s War: The Words that Rallied a Nation and the Founder of Our Time by Jack Kelly. The Declaration of Independence is often seen as the American Revolution’s defining document. However, one man’s words in two essays which would appeal to Americans and fuel their fighting spirit. Thomas Paine was a recent immigrant and self-taught writer who saw beyond the simple fight against taxes and representation. His pamphlet “Common Sense” convinced Americans that the king had no divine right to rule over them and they could rule themselves which led to the Declaration of Independence. Paine would also enlist in the militia and witness the army defeats. It would be as he walked with the retreating troops that he wrote “The American Crisis,” which became the rallying cry to fight another day. 

As the 250th anniversary of the American Revolution is approaching, Tom Paine’s War is an eye opening exploration into one man’s contribution to the founding of the nation. While I was aware of “Common Sense,” as I read and studied it in school and in college; however,  I knew very little about the man who wrote it, especially his life after the war. Tom Paine’s War is more than a biography of Thomas Paine. It is a intertwining of one man’s arrival to a country already fighting and his observations helped put into words what Americans were feeling and willing to fight for with the details of the battles won and lost. Overall, I found Tom Paine’s War to be insightful and intriguing. If you enjoy American history, I highly recommend Tom Paine’s War. 

Tom Paine’s War: The Words that Rallied a Nation and the Founder of Our Time 

is available in hardcover, eBook and audiobook

Skylark: the secrets of the past are hidden deep under the streets of Paris

Skylark by Paula McLain is a story of Paris and the secrets it holds above and below its streets. In 1664, Alouette Voland is the daughter of a master dyer at the famed Gobelin Tapestry Works. She dreams of creating her own masterpiece and escaping her circumstances. When her father is imprisoned, her efforts to save him leads to her own confinement in the Salpêtrière asylum, notorious for its cruel treatment of the women. Despite the grimness, Alouette finds a group of allies and a possibility of a life she only dreamed about. In 1939, Kristof Larson is a medical student at the beginning of his psychiatric residency in Paris. He befriends his Jewish neighbors who fled Poland. When Nazi forces take over the city, Kristof realizes he is the only hope for the family’s survival with his work as a doctor being put at risk. 

Paula McLain is a new author to me. I enjoy dual timeline stories and Skylark is descriptive as a “mesmerizing tale” where “a woman’s quest for autistic freedom intertwines with a doctor’s dangerous mission” and reveals “a story of courage and resistance that transcends time.” Sounds great, right? The story is beautifully descriptively written; however the story is slow going. As I read, the individual timelines were great as Alouette and Kristof stood in defiance to the power of the day but the connection between the two was very vague and almost non-existent. Overall, the stories were interesting and they could have been their own books and I would have loved them. Skylark wasn’t the dual timeline story that I expected. I enjoyed Alouette and Kristoff’s stories; however, I do not think a dual timeline story was needed to tell their journeys. If you are a fan of Ms. McLain, you may enjoy Skylark. 

Skylark is available in hardcover, eBook and audiobook

The Problem Child: a childhood rivals to lovers historical romance

The Problem Child is the fourth book in the Emerson Pass Historical series by Tess Thompson. Cymbeline Barnes has always felt the problem child. A restless soul who dreams of life beyond her hometown and yet can’t seem to get her feet moving. As a child, she declared Viktor Olofsson her arch enemy and did everything she could to best him at anything. However, when he saves her beloved littler sister, she starts to see him a little differently. More of a hero and not so much an adversary. Viktor Olofsson has cared for Cymbeline from the moment they met. No matter what he does to break through the ice around her heart. When another woman arrives in Emerson Pass, Viktor starts to spend time with her, Cymbeline finds herself unsettled by the idea that Viktor would no longer be there. She starts to wonder if maybe her dream come true could be right in front of her instead of in the far off distance. 

The Emerson Pass Historical series is a historical romance with childhood rivals to lovers, a fiercely independent woman and a quiet devoted hero and drama that will keep you on your toes. I have loved the Barnes family since book one and I have looked forward to each book as a Barnes child gets  their love story. Cymbeline is a woman ahead of her time. Caught between the social expectations and the desires of her heart. Viktor is a man who knows who he wants but is willing to let her fly away if it meant that she would be happy. As events bring them closer and closer, I could see Cymbeline’s fighting to keep Viktor as her rival; however, she clearly sees that is no longer the case. Overall, I enjoyed this story and I am looking forward to the rest of the Emerson Pass Historical series. If you enjoy clean historical romances, you will enjoy the Emerson Pass Historicals and The Problem Child.   

The Problem Child is available in hardcover, paperback, eBook and audiobook