Tag: book reviews

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Legends & Lattes

Legends & Lattes by Travis Baldree started out as a self-published novel and was so successful that it was picked up by a traditional publisher and is currently being translated into 9 languages.  I’m not sure how it got on my radar, but I’m so glad it did!

📜Summary📜

Worn out after decades of packing steel and raising hell, Viv the orc barbarian cashes out of the warrior’s life with one final score. A forgotten legend, a fabled artifact, and an unreasonable amount of hope lead her to the streets of Thune, where she plans to open the first coffee shop the city has ever seen.

However, her dreams of a fresh start pulling shots instead of swinging swords are hardly a sure bet. Old frenemies and Thune’s shady underbelly may just upset her plans. To finally build something that will last, Viv will need some new partners and a different kind of resolve.

A hot cup of fantasy slice-of-life with a dollop of romantic froth.

💬My Thoughts💬

I absolutely loved this book!  Everything was on point – the characters, the setting, the friendships that develop, the slow burn romance, the twists and turns of the plot.  I enjoyed following Viv as she left the life of an adventurer and began a new life as an entrepreneur, and I especially liked how she was able to create a community for herself and develop strong relationships with a trusted few.

Reading this book took me back to my teens and twenties when I lived for fantasy and science fiction. If you like cozy or slice-of-life fantasy, I highly recommend giving Legends & Lattes a read.

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The Curious Charms of Arthur Pepper

The Curious Charms of Arthur Pepper was Phaedra Patrick’s debut novel, published in 2016. I have read several of her more recent books and was interested to go back and read the ones I had missed. I’m glad I started with this one because it was quite enjoyable.

Arthur Pepper’s wife passed away a year ago, and he has continued living with the same mundane routines he always had. On the anniversary of her death, however, he finds a mysterious gold charm bracelet among her things and embarks on a quest to find out where each of these charms came from.

As he follows the clues he uncovers, he learns a lot about the woman his wife was before they met and is himself taken on a journey of hope, healing, and self-discovery.

I found this to be a sweet and engaging story. I sympathized with Arthur as he stepped way out of his comfort zone, and I enjoyed meeting all of the quirky characters along the way. Some of them were quite ridiculous, but Patrick somehow makes them work. I also liked how Arthur’s relationship with his children changed and grew throughout the book. 

I highly recommend this book, and this author. I still have a few books of hers to catch up on, and I am very much looking forward to them.

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The Color of Compromise

The Color of Compromise: The Truth About the American Church’s Complicity in Racism by Jemar Tisby

This was an intense and compelling read. Tisby takes us through the history of racism in America and highlights the ways that the church has participated in and contributed to the problem during each period. 

Each time progress has been made, there has been a corresponding backlash either outright opposing the forward movement or simply failing to be supportive. After slavery was abolished, we saw the introduction of the KKK and Jim Crow laws. After the Civil Rights Act was passed, we saw segregation academies established and white communities resisting residential desegregation. 

Tisby goes on to discuss the organizing of the religious right at the end of the twentieth century and the rise of law-and-order politics. He also delves into the more recent responses to the black lives matter movement and the 2016 presidential election. 

In the last chapter, titled “The Fierce Urgency of Now,” Tisby offers practical ways to address racial injustice in America. He presents solutions that go beyond the conventional advice to focus on the relational aspects of race and instead combat the structures and institutions of racial inequality in our country.

I cannot recommend this book highly enough. The combination of historical overview with practical strategies for implementing racial justice in our churches and communities is incredibly powerful.

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Bonded in Death

Is anyone else in love with the In Death series by J.D. Robb?  No matter what else I am reading, I always jump on these books the moment my Libby hold becomes available.  I can hardly believe Bonded in Death is book #60 and they are still SO good!

I love the diverse cast of characters, the futuristic New York City setting, and the crime solving storylines.  If you haven’t read any of these books, maybe this summary will entice you to give one a try:

“His passport read Giovanni Rossi. But decades ago, during the Urban Wars, he was part of a small, secret organization called The Twelve. Responding to an urgent summons from an old compatriot, he landed in New York and eased into the waiting car. And died within minutes…”

Lieutenant Eve Dallas finds the Rossi case frustrating. She’s got an elderly victim who’d just arrived from Rome; a widow who knows nothing about why he’d left; an as-yet unidentifiable weapon; and zero results on facial recognition. But when she finds a connection to the Urban Wars of the 2020s, she thinks Summerset—fiercely loyal, if somewhat grouchy, major-domo and the man who’d rescued her husband from the Dublin streets—may know something from his stint as a medic in Europe back then.

When Summerset learns of the crime, his shock and grief are clear—because, as he eventually reveals, he himself was one of The Twelve. It’s not a part of his past he likes to revisit. But now he must—not only to assist Eve’s investigation, but because a cryptic message from the killer has boasted that others of The Twelve have also died. Summerset is one of those who remain—and the murderous mission is yet to be fully accomplished…

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The Banned Books Club

The Banned Books Club by Brenda Novak

Summary:

Despite their strained relationship, when Gia Rossi’s sister, Margot, begs her to come home to Wakefield, Iowa, to help with their ailing mother, Gia knows she has no choice. After her rebellious and at-times-tumultuous teen years, Gia left town with little reason to look back. But she knows Margot’s borne the brunt of their mother’s care and now it’s Gia’s turn to help, even if it means opening old wounds.

As expected, Gia’s homecoming is far from welcome. There’s the Banned Books Club she started after the PTA overzealously slashed the high school reading list, which is right where she left it. But there is also Mr. Hart, her former favorite teacher. The one who was fired after Gia publicly and painfully accused him of sexual misconduct. The one who prompted Gia to leave behind a very conflicted town the minute she turned eighteen. The one person she hoped never to see again.

When Margot leaves town without explanation, Gia sees the cracks in her sister’s “perfect” life for the first time and plans to offer support. But as the town, including members of the book club, takes sides between Gia and Mr. Hart, everything gets harder. Fortunately, she learns that there are people she can depend on. And by standing up for the truth, she finds love and a future in the town she thought had rejected her.

My Thoughts:

I have to admit I picked up this book primarily because of the title and didn’t read too much about it ahead of time.  I love books about books and assumed that’s what this was.  As I was reading the book, I kept waiting for more about the banned books or the book club, but those didn’t show up very much at all.

The themes of this book actually include some topics I usually avoid when picking something to read, namely sexual assault and domestic verbal abuse. I did feel that the story was building for a long time before much happened to move things along, but I liked the main character enough to want to know how things would work out for her.

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What I’m Reading – March 2025

What I’m Reading Now

I am currently reading The Curious Charms of Arthur Pepper by Phaedra Patrick. This was published in 2016 and is part of my 25 in 2025 challenge to read some of the backlist books on my TBR. It was also her debut novel. I just started it but I like it so far.

What I Recently Finished

Fiction

  • Lawyers and Lattes: Happily Ever After in Devon by Rebecca Paulinyi – I found this author during a stuff your Kindle day a year or so ago and liked the free book enough to want to get this one. This book was entertaining enough that I have added book three to my TBR.
  • The London Flat: Second Chances by Juliet Gauvin – I had enjoyed the first book in this series, which I got during a stuff your Kindle day a while back, but this one fell flat for me. I didn’t find the plot believable.
  • Hope in a Jar by Beth Harbison – Fun read! The action flips between the present day and the characters’ time in junior high and high school. I actually liked the chapters from the past better than the present; the author does a good job writing the younger characters. The present-day plot felt a bit childish to me, like the characters hadn’t really grown up since high school, which perhaps was the point.
  • What We Keep by Elizabeth Berg – I didn’t love it, even though Elizabeth Berg is one of my favorite writers. It started out good, but I just lost interest partway through.
  • Bonded in Death by J.D. Robb – I have been a longtime fan of the In Death series, and this book delivered on all fronts. I loved it!
  • Crime Scene by Jonathan Kellerman and Jesse Kellerman – I am a big fan of Jonathan Kellerman’s Alex Delaware series, so I had high hopes for this collaboration with his son Jesse. I thought it was alright, but it didn’t pull me in like the Delaware books do. I couldn’t really relate to the main character, or any of the characters, very much, and I didn’t find the storyline very compelling.
  • The Banned Books Club by Brenda Novak – I am still mulling over this one and plan to write a review soon. I gave it three stars for now.
  • Open Season by Jonathan Kellerman – I usually love the books in the Alex Delaware series, but this one didn’t hold my interest very well. The main draw of the series is that Delaware is a psychologist, and the crimes usually involve some psychological twists and turns. This one felt like more straightforward police work to me.

Nonfiction

  • The Color of Compromise: The Truth about the American Church’s Complicity in Racism by Jemar Tisby – This book was so intense. I am still processing it and plan to write a full review soon.

What I Added to my TBR

  • Not Quite by the Book by Julie Hatcher – my Amazon First Reads pick for February
  • The Fall Risk by Abby Jimenez – bonus short story from Amazon First Reads
  • A Good Indian Girl by Mansi Shah – a recent release from this author I discovered last year
  • More Days at the Morisaki Bookshop by Satoshi Yagisawa – a sequel that I want to read
  • Feeling the Fireworks: Starting Over in Devon by Rebecca Paulinyi – #3 in the South West series
  • Twisted by Jonathan Kellerman – #2 in the Petra Connor series, I have #1 on my 25 in 2025 list

TBR Stats

  • I currently have 152 books on my TBR
  • Of those, 20 are nonfiction and 132 are fiction
  • I have finished 6 of my 25 in 2025 challenge

If you’re on Goodreads, feel free to add me as a friend. I’m always looking for new recommendations!

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Days at the Morisaki Bookshop

Although Days at the Morisaki Bookshop came out in 2010, I only recently became aware of it and was drawn to the charming cover and the blurb on the back.  It is the debut novel from Japanese author Satoshi Yagisawa and was translated into English by Eric Ozawa.

I really liked this short novel. My favorite part was seeing Takako develop a love for books and for reading, but I also enjoyed seeing her settle into the community of her temporary home and make friends. I was also fond of several other characters, especially Tomo and Wada.

I wasn’t a big fan of the Aunt Momoko character, but I did come to understand her better as the story progressed.  I also found the prose to be a bit choppy at times, but I don’t know how much of that can be attributed to the translation since I can’t read it in the original language.

Have you read any Japanese literature?  What do you recommend?

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Mini Book Reviews

Here are quick reviews of the books I have read so far this month…

⭐⭐⭐

Lawyers and Lattes by Rebecca Paulinyi – I found this author during a stuff your Kindle day a year or so ago and liked the free book enough to want to get this one. This book was entertaining enough that I have added book three to my TBR.

⭐⭐

The London Flat by Juliet Gauvin – I had enjoyed the first book in this series, which I got during a stuff your Kindle day a while back, but this one fell flat for me. I didn’t find the characters’ actions believable.

⭐⭐⭐

Hope in a Jar by Beth Harbison – Fun read! The action flips between the present day and the characters’ time in junior high and high school. I actually liked the chapters from the past better than the present; the author does a good job writing the younger characters. The present-day plot felt a bit childish to me, like the characters hadn’t really grown up since high school, which perhaps was the point of the story.

⭐⭐⭐

What We Keep by Elizabeth Berg – I didn’t love it, even though Elizabeth Berg is one of my favorite writers. It started out good, but I just lost interest partway through.

What are you reading now?

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The Taste of Ginger

I have read a few reviews of The Taste of Ginger, and they vary wildly in their response to the book.  I am on the positive side of the question, giving this debut novel by Mansi Shah 5 stars.

What I most appreciated about this book was following Preeti on her journey to understand more about herself and where she came from so that she can figure out who she wants to be. She is a first-generation immigrant to America from India, having been brought over by her parents as a child.

When the story begins, she is a thirty-year old lawyer just out of a failed relationship with a white American man.  She has a troubled relationship with her parents, especially her mother, but then a family emergency calls her to India and forces her to examine her beliefs and feelings about her family and the different cultures they have lived in.

As she sits on the plane taking her to India and thinks back over her life in America, she realizes, “Fitting in meant letting go of who I was and becoming someone new.” I can relate to that so much as an autistic woman.  I am always watching the behaviors and customs of those around me so that I can attempt to fit into different environments.

About halfway through, after Preeti learns something she didn’t know about her mother, we hear the sentence that contains the title of the book.  Her auntie tells her, “A monkey does not know the taste of ginger,” which is explained to mean, “you cannot appreciate that which you do not know.” She goes on to say, “One thing is certain; you don’t understand her life, and she doesn’t understand yours. Until you both start trying the ginger, you never will.”

I won’t say more about what happens other than to say this a turning point for Preeti. I can attest that, in my own life, gaining an understanding of my mother made a big difference in my relationship with her and in how I felt about myself as a person.

As you can tell, this was a very personal book for me. I focused here on Preeti’s relationship with her mother, but there are several other significant topics covered in this book, and I really enjoyed many of the characters as well as the detailed descriptions of places and events.  Highly recommend!

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The Silo Series

I can still remember the incredible feeling of reading the first story from Wool.  Howey is masterful at unfolding the details in a way that keeps you hanging on every word.  

This is what I posted on Goodreads after reading Wool back in December 2016:

Wow, wow, wow! This blew me away! I read good things about the first story and downloaded it on my new Kindle. Once I read it, I couldn’t get the whole collection fast enough, and I am so glad I did!!

If you are a fan of dystopian fiction, you will love this set of stories. Each one is as good as the one before it and will keep you turning the pages as fast as you can to see what happens next.

Absolute must read, in my opinion!!

There are three books in the Silo series – Wool, Shift, and Dust.  Both Wool and Shift were originally released as short stories/novellas and were later gathered into books.  There is also a thriving fanfiction community writing in the Silo world.

More recently, Silo has been made into a streaming series on Apple TV.  There are currently two seasons out and two more planned.  I have watched the first season and thought they did a really good job of adapting it to the screen, although I still recommend reading the books first if you can.

Have you read or watched any of the Silo series?