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Monthly Archives: June 2019

Review: I’ll Be Your Blue Sky

Posted on June 27, 2019 by GPL

I’ll Be Your Blue Sky
by Marisa De Los Santos
4 stars

Would you ever decide to not get married based on a conversation with a total stranger? This is what happens when Clare Hobbes runs into a mysterious elderly woman named Edith Herron, at the hotel in Virginia where she is to be married that afternoon and after talking with Edith decides to call off the wedding. Three weeks later, Clare learns that Edith has died and that she has inherited Edith’s old house called Blue Sky House along the Delaware coast. The story moves between Clare in present time and Edith’s difficult life in the 1950’s. Clare is surprised to find that the house has been vacant for years, but still has pictures of Edith and her beloved, long-dead husband Joseph on the walls. As she is exploring the house, Clare finds some boxes and mysterious ledgers and begins to research the history of this old inn learning of a decades-old dark secret. I felt this book was about making connections, looking at loss and about the family we have. Some parts of this book were sad and hard to read. This was #3 in the series (Love Walked In) but you don’t have to read them in order.  I didn’t!  Recommend.

Read-alikes

The Violets of March by Sarah Jio

Inheriting Edith by Zoe Fishman

She’s Come Undone by Wally Lamb

 

Posted in Books & More | Tags: Sheila H. | Leave a comment |

Media Mentions on Novelist

Posted on June 19, 2019 by GPL

Do you generally find book recommendations from TV or radio programs?  If so, then you may want to check out a new feature on Novelist!  We don’t have a non-fiction offering for Novelist at GPL, but this is a great tool for fiction books.  If you’d like to learn more about Novelist, feel free to stop by the Library and talk to one of our friendly librarians at the 2nd floor Help Desk.

Check out the new Media Mentions offering below:

If a title has Media Mentions, you will see them in two spots on the book’s detail page, as shown in the image below. The five most recent Media Mentions will appear to the right of the book jacket at the top of the page, and the complete list of mentions can be found on the More About This Book tab.

If you’ve already started a search and want to refine it further to see only titles with Media Mentions, you can narrow your results by choosing “Includes Media Mentions” under Additional Limiters on the left side of the search results page, as shown here:

You can find all Media Mentions or titles that have been featured on a specific program, via Advanced Search:

And finally, you can search for Media Mentions by using field code MM, like this, which would show you all the books that have been featured on any NPR program:

Posted in Books & More, News | Tags: novelist, recommendations | Leave a comment |

Review: Good Omens

Posted on June 15, 2019 by GPL

Good Omens
by Terry Pratchett & Neil Gaiman
4 stars

This book has been on my to-read list for years now.  When I heard Amazon Prime was coming out with a TV series, I knew now was the time to finally read Good Omens.  I’ve read other titles by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman and this one did not disappoint.

Good Omens follows an unlikely duo as an angel and a demon face the upcoming apocalypse.  The Anti-Christ has arrived on Earth and the four horseman have been summoned.  However, our protagonists would rather stop the foretold battle, and save Earth.   Filled with quirky characters and plenty of humor, this is a title I would definitely recommend.  Once you’ve finished reading the book, be sure to check out the TV series, which is also a lot of fun.

 

Read-alikes

Shades of Grey by Jasper Fforde

Sacre Bleu by Christopher Moore

Gil’s All Fright Diner by A. Lee  Martinez

Posted in Books & More | Tags: humor, Valerie H. | Leave a comment |

Review: Pride, Prejudice, and Other Flavors

Posted on June 12, 2019 by GPL

Pride, Prejudice, and Other Flavors
by Sonali Dev
4 stars

I greatly enjoyed Sonali Dev’s twist on Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice. Dev introduces to the aristocratic Raje family through the youngest daughter, Trisha. She is our Mr. Darcy in this gender flipped version with DJ Caine, a master chef from a poor background, playing Elizabeth’s role. Dev includes lots and humor and sweetness with the right mix of tart. Trisha, a talented surgeon, is set on saving DJ’s younger sister’s life after the sister is diagnosed with a brain tumor. An awkward first meeting between our protagonists, followed by (you guess it!) misunderstandings, roughly follow the original plot. I spent a little too much time trying to pick out who was whom from Pride and Prejudice, but I eventually focused more on Trisha and DJ’s own story. I’m looking forward to the next entry in Dev’s Raje family series…perhaps a new take on Sense and Sensibility is headed our way!

 

Read-alikes

The Hating Game by Sally Thorne

The Matchmaker’s List by Sonya Lalli

Unmarriageable by Soniah Kamal

 

Posted in Books & More | Tags: jane austen, retelling, Susan J. | Leave a comment |

Review: The Wisdom of Sally Red Shoes

Posted on June 9, 2019 by GPL

The Wisdom of Sally Red Shoes
by Ruth Hogan
4 stars

The Wisdom of Sally Red Shoes is a tale of unexpected friendships, second chances, and dark secrets with Hogan’s blend of eccentricity and joy throughout. Masha was once a spirited, independent woman with a rebellious streak. That changed one day twelve years ago and Masha has been unable to let go of her grief ever since. She finds solace in her local swimming pool and in the silent company of the souls at her local Victorian cemetery. It is at the cemetery that she meets Sally Red Shoes. Sally slowly allows Masha to start thinking about living again.

Hogan’s latest novel contains joy and heartbreak. As with her previous novel The Wisdom of Sally Red Shoes introduces a cast of wonderful characters, both ordinary and charmingly eccentric, who lead us through a moving exploration of the simple human connections that unite us all.

Ruth Hogan’s previous novel is The Keeper of Lost Things which was published in 2017.

Read-alikes

A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman

Mrs. Saint and the Defectives by Julie Lawson Timmer

Posted in Books & More | Tags: book review, josie m. | Leave a comment |
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Book Ratings

5 stars - All time favorite
4 stars - A must read
3 stars - Good, not great
2 stars - Not my style
1 star - Epic fail

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