A blog dedicated to my opinion on books

Friday, December 29, 2017

My Top 5 Books of 2017

It's the last Friday of 2017 and I thought it'd be nice to do a bit of a round up. Based on my moon ratings, these reviews were my top 5:

1. Death By Petticoat: American History Myths Debunked by Mary Miley Theobald


Several myths repeated by history teachers and museum docents are debunked. 





2. The Color of Our Sky by Amita Trasi


Tara returns to Bombay after years living in America, determined to find the young girl her father had taken in from a village and whom she had befriended when she was younger. The girl, Mukta, had been kidnapped from their apartment and Tara had believed her dead until paperwork she discovered after her father’s death proved otherwise. She wants to find the girl who was like a sister to her…and who she may have wronged. 


Mukta grows up the daughter of a temple prostitute, destined to become one herself. Her mother tries to free her from that life and so Mukta is sent to Bombay to have a chance at something better. She finds friendship and possibilities with Tara until she is kidnapped one night. As she is forced into being essentially a sex slave, she thinks of the joy she had just being a child with Tara and finds the strength to persevere. 




3. In the Light of the Garden by Heather Burch

After the death of her beloved grandfather, Charity Baxter inherits his mansion on an island in the Florida Keys as well as his pottery making business. She decides to stay and starts to make a life for herself, forming a little family with her neighbor, Dalton, her great-uncle and a young runaway named Daisy. All need healing in some way. Will they find it in Charity’s garden—especially the weeping willow on her property? 


4. From Sand to Ash by Amy Harmon

Eva Rosselli and Angelo Bianco have known each other since children. As they grew up, they grew closer—but Angelo has always been destined for the priesthood, the only profession considered for him since he had a deformed leg, so their love was never meant to be. The situation became worse as fascism took hold in Italy and Adolf Hitler rose to power in Germany, for Eva and her family are Jewish. Angelo is ordained and uses the power of the Church to help save Jewish people in Italy as the Nazis take over. As Angelo does everything he can to protect Eva, she does everything she can to resist the Nazis. They play a dangerous game with the Nazis…and each other.


5. The Saturday Evening Girls Club by Jane Healey

Set in Boston at the turn of the last century, the book follows four young immigrants as they try to realize their American dream while dealing with parents who hold onto the traditions of the Old World. Caprice wants to own her own shop and be a successful businesswoman while her father wants her to marry a nice Sicilian boy and have babies. Ada is pursuing her education, attending college while hiding it from her strict Russian Jewish father. Thea is caught between the customs of America and her family’s wish for her to use a matchmaker for marriage. And Maria watches her mother waste away as her father drinks away what little money they have, vowing to have a better life than that. Their lives all converge at the Saturday Evening Girls Club, a weekly meeting for immigrant girls to gain knowledge and experience in this Brave New World. 


So those were my top 5 books of 2017. I can't wait to see what 2018 brings!

Happy New Year! 

Friday, December 15, 2017

“The Saturday Evening Girls Club” by Jane Healey

Title: The Saturday Evening Girls Club
Author: Jane Healey
Publisher: Lake Union Publishing
Year:  2017
Genre(s):  historical fiction, historical romance, coming-of-age
Part of a Series: No
Rating: 


Friday, December 8, 2017

“A Strange Companion” by Lisa Manterfield

Title: A Strange Companion
Author: Lisa Manterfield
Publisher: Steel Rose Press
Year:  2017
Genre(s):  contemporary, drama, spiritual
Part of a Series: No
Rating: 




Friday, October 13, 2017

“Love and Gravity” by Samantha Sotto

Title: Love and Gravity
Author: Samantha Sotto
Publisher: Ballantine Books
Year:  2017
Genre(s):  romance, historical fiction, sci-fi
Part of a Series: No
Rating:



Friday, September 29, 2017

"The Color of Our Sky" by Amita Trasi

Title: The Color of Our Sky
Author: Amita Trasi

Publisher: HarperCollins
Year:  2017
Genre(s):  contemporary fiction, women’s fiction, coming-of-age
Part of a Series: No
Rating: 





Friday, September 8, 2017

"Regina Rising" by Wendy Toliver

Title: Regina Rising
Author: Wendy Toliver
Publisher: Kingswell Teen
Year:  2017

Genre(s):  young adult, coming-of-age
Part of a Series: Complicated. Is a tie-in novel for a TV series.  
Rating: 


Friday, August 11, 2017

"Say Goodbye for Now" by Catherine Ryan Hyde

Title: Say Goodbye for Now
Author: Catherine Ryan Hyde
Publisher: Lake Union Publishing
Year:  2016

Genre(s):  historical fiction, coming-of-age, romantic-ish
Part of a Series: No
Rating: 


Friday, July 28, 2017

"From Sand and Ash" by Amy Harmon

Title: From Sand and Ash
Author: Amy Harmon
Publisher: Lake Union Publishing
Year:  2016

Genre(s):  contemporary, romance, coming-of-age
Part of a Series: No
Rating: 

Friday, July 7, 2017

"Welcome to Last Chance" by Hope Ramsay

Title: Welcome to Last Chance
Author: Hope Ramsay
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Genre(s):  contemporary, romance, coming-of-age

Year:  2011
Part of a Series: Yes, book 1
Rating: 

Friday, June 23, 2017

"In the Light of the Garden" by Heather Burch

Title: In the Light of the Garden
Author: Heather Burch
Publisher: Lake Union Publishing

Year: 2017
Genre(s):  contemporary fiction, romance, coming-of-age

Part of a Series: No
Rating: 




Friday, May 26, 2017

"Secrets of Nanreath Hall" by Alix Rickloff

Title: Secrets of Nanreath Hall
Author: Alix Rickloff
Publisher: William Morrow Paperbacks
Year: 2016
Genre(s):  historical fiction, romance, coming-of-age
Part of a Series: No
Rating: 

Friday, May 5, 2017

"Death By Petticoat: American History Myths Debunked" by Mary Miley Theobald

Title: Death by Petticoat: American History Myths Debunked
Author: Mary Miley Theobald
Publisher: Andrew McMeel Publishing
Year: 2012
Genre(s):  non-fiction, history

Part of a Series: No
Rating: 




Friday, April 21, 2017

"Emerald Knight" by Michelle K. Pillow

Title:  Emerald Knight
Author: Michelle K. Pillow
Publisher: Createspace Independent Publishing Platform
Year: 2011
Genre(s):  historical fiction, historical romance,
Part of a Series: No
Rating: 


Friday, March 24, 2017

"Once Upon Now" by Various Authors

Title:  Once Upon Now
Author: Various
Publisher: Gallery Books
Year: 2016
Genre(s):  fiction, romance, fantasy, fairy tales
Part of a Series: No
Rating: 




Friday, February 24, 2017

"All the Good Parts" by Loretta Nyhan

Title: All The Good Parts
Author: Loretta Nyhan
Publisher: Lake Union Publishing
Year: 2016
Genre(s): fiction, women’s literature, some romance
Part of a Series: No
Rating: 




Friday, February 10, 2017

"Lost Amongst the Living" by Simone St. James

Title:  Lost Amongst the Living
Author: Simone St. James
Publisher: NAL
Year: 2016
Genre(s):  fiction, historical fiction, historical romance, romance

Part of a Series: No
Rating: 




Friday, January 27, 2017

"Sorry Not Sorry" by Naya Rivera

Title:  Sorry Not Sorry: Dreams, Mistakes, and Growing Up
Author: Naya Rivera
Publisher: Tarcherperigee
Year: 2016
Genre(s):  non-fiction, memoir
Part of a Series: No
Rating: 





Friday, January 20, 2017

"Dot Complicated" by Randi Zuckerberg

Title:  Dot Complicated: Untangling Our Wired Lives
Author: Randi Zuckerberg
Publisher: HarperOne
Year: 2013
Genre(s):  non-fiction, memoir
Part of a Series: No
Rating: 




Why I read it: I saw Randi Zuckerberg give a presentation and decided to give it a read.

Summary: Randi Zuckerberg talks about her personal journey with Facebook and imparts lessons she’s learned as technology has engulfed our lives.

Review: As a Millennial who came of age amongst a major technology boom, I truly appreciated this book. If I ever have my own bookcase in my office, I’d put this book on it.

Randi discusses her past as well as her experiences working for Facebook. She talks about being on the forefront of a technological advancement and of the doors it opened for her. All of these are mixed in with her observations and studies about how technology has changed everyone’s lives.

Throughout the book, she offers tips for how to integrate technology in one’s life and how someone can use it to advance themselves in this new world. She also explains how technology can take over one’s life and offers tips to help prevent that, to not miss out because we’re too attached to technology.

She has a great voice and it matches how charismatic she is as a speaker. However she also balances her own anecdotal evidence with more scientific ones. So it is a more balanced view of technology.

Bottom line: A good book for people interested in how to use technology and not misuse it in their lives.

Sex: Nope.

Moonlight Musing

Has technology taken over your life? 

Friday, January 13, 2017

"The Rose Garden" by Susanna Kearsley

Title:  The Rose Garden
Author: Susanna Kearsley
Publisher: Allison & Busby
Year: 2011
Genre(s):  Historical fiction, fantasy, romance
Part of a Series: No
Rating: