Time for another look at December/January books for this month. A challenge hosted by Deb, Sue, Donna and Jo for all of us readers to share our love of books and be inspired to read more through the recommendations. I have found many new books by reading as many posts as I can.
I managed four books this last month, a record for me actually. The first three are all a bit tragic, but were still so enjoyable if that’s possible and I highly recommend them.
A story of three sisters. A tale full of grief and secrets. “When Nell’s father makes a deathbed declaration that hints at a long-held secret, it reignites feelings of isolation that have plagued her for years. Her suspicions about the family’s past only deepen when her mother, Annie, who is losing her memories to dementia, starts making cryptic comments of her own. ” – Goodreads
I enjoyed this story and tried to work out several times what the secret might be. I didn’t guess correctly at all. I would have liked another few pages at the end to see how things went! 4/5
Another tragic one! Not as raw as the first book though. A very strange story indeed and there were some very unpleasant characters in this book. There is a song that is repeated over and over in this book and it drove me a little bit mad. There is a twist in this book as well, kind of easy to spot but still keeps you guessing. Many themes run through this book, grief, loneliness, sexual abuse, bee keeping to name but a few. 4/5
I think this book will be in my top ten favourites of 2022 already. I absolutely loved this book as tragic as it was! Set in a small town in Massachusetts in the late 1950’s through to the 1960’s it centres on Dahlia and Louie, foster parents and their long term foster children. The story is told from the points of view of Dahlia, Zaidie, Jimmy and Agnes. Although tragic there is such heartfelt warmth throughout this story. My favourite character would definitely be Agnes. Patry Francis writes with such depth you can imagine yourself right there alongside these characters. 5/5
Finally getting away from tragedies I ripped through this book in a few days. It is our Book Club book for February but I started early! Such a fun book but also very amoral I suppose. Obviously I can’t condone what Patience did, but who knows if I had the gumption and confidence she had whether I would have done the same. It’s not a long story but very rewarding. 4/5
