QUICK REVIEWS pt. V

Hello my lovely readers! It's time for another round of Quick Reviews! 

We Don't Talk about Carol by Kristen L. Berry
A dedicated journalist unearths a generations-old family secret—and a connection to a string of missing girls that hits way too close to home.

*This was a great debut! A little long and the author definitely could've cut half of the fertility plot out, but enjoyable nonetheless. I'm glad there's finally a book out that addresses the plight of missing Black girls. 4 out of 5 stars

The Ghostwriter by Julie Clark
In June 1975, the Taylor family shatters when two out of their three teenagers are found dead. The only surviving sibling, Vincent, never shakes the rumors that he was the one who killed them. Now, decades later, his daughter, Olivia, comes back to serve as his ghostwriter for his last book and uncover the truth of what happened that night.

*Decent read. Not terrible, not great. Pretty average. 3 out of 5 stars

199 Cemeteries to See Before You Die by Loren Rhoads

Hello my lovely readers! Two of my interests are combined into one book. Let's get into it!

SYNOPSIS

More than 3.5 million tourists flock to Paris's Père Lachaise cemetery each year. They are lured there, and to many cemeteries around the world, by a combination of natural beauty, ornate tombstones and crypts, notable residents, vivid history, and even wildlife. Many also visit Mount Koya cemetery in Japan, where 10,000 lanterns illuminate the forest setting, or graveside in Oaxaca, Mexico to witness Day of the Dead fiestas. Savannah's Bonaventure Cemetery has gorgeous night tours of the Southern Gothic tombstones under moss-covered trees that is one of the most popular draws of the city.

199 Cemeteries to See Before You Die features these unforgettable cemeteries, along with 196 more, seen in more than 300 photographs. In this bucket list of travel musts, author Loren Rhoads, who hosts the popular Cemetery Travel blog, details the history and features that make each destination unique. Throughout will be profiles of famous people buried there, striking memorials by noted artists, and unusual elements, such as the hand carved wood grave markers in the Merry Cemetery in Romania.

The Mother Next Door by Tara Laskowski

 

Hello my lovely readers!

I was in a reading slump much of April, but audiobooks came to the rescue! I listened to this one exclusively on Libby. Let's get into it.

SUMMARY
Teresa has moved back to her college hometown because her husband got a job at the local high school as vice principal.

It's here on the cul-de-sac of Ivy Pines Drive that she encounters the Ivy Five...well the Ivy Four now. What happened to the last member? Why does no one talk about her?

The annual Halloween block party is the pinnacle of the year for this neighborhood and this year's party should be the best yet. But the women, including Teresa begin receiving anonymous messages that threatens to expose the quiet neighborhood's dark past--and the lengths they've gone to hide it.

Secrets begin to seep out and the women realize, Ivy Pines Drive will never be the same.

Rest in Pieces: The Curious Fates of Famous Corpses by Bess Lovejoy

 

Hello my lovely readers!

For my second career, I want to be a funeral director. Death has always fascinated me and I was really excited to read this book. I was holding my breath though, because the last book that I read on death was AWFUL. (I'm looking at you, All the Living and the Dead) But this book? It was amazing. Let's get into it!

SUMMARY

Everyone dies. No one can escape that. But for some of the most influential figures in history, death marked the start of a new adventure.

Some of these famous corpses have been stolen, sold, frozen, impersonated, stuffed and even stored in a lawyer's office. Their body parts have gone on voyages that crisscross the globe and stretch the imagination.

Counterfeiters tried to steal Lincoln's corpse. Einstein's brain went on an cross-country road trip. And after Lord Horatio Nelson died, his sailors submerged him in brandy...and drank it. Rest in Pieces by Bess Lovejoy connects the lives of the famous dead to the hilarious and horrifying adventures of their corpses and traces the evolution of cultural attitudes toward death.

Red Comet: The Short Life and Blazing Art of Sylvia Plath by Heather Clark

 Hello my lovely readers!

Wow. What an exhaustive journey into the life of Sylvia Plath. An absolutely amazing tribute and celebration into her life. Red Comet: The Short Life and Blazing Art of Sylvia Plath  by Heather Clark...let's get into it!

The Wild Girls by Phoebe Morgan

 

Hello my lovely readers!

I got through this book pretty quickly thanks to Scribd, but I'm still three books behind schedule of my 100 book reading goal. Oof.

Yes, I am using Scribd (or other audio book alternatives) as a supplement when I'm not able to sit down and physically read a book. I never thought I'd do it, but it's super helpful when I'm trying to meet this goal. However, I'm really against paying for audio books, so.....you know how that goes. 😉

BACKGROUND
Wild Girls by Phoebe Morgan...I picked this up while I was in Los Angeles last summer for a work conference. A college friend and I went to The Last Bookstore in downtown LA before going out to dinner. The bookstore was closing when we got there, but I still managed to get three books and this was one of them.

Let's get into it!

All The Living and the Dead by Hayley Campbell

 

Hello my lovely readers!

Greetings from Ireland! My husband and I are having a fantastic time here and it feels good to be back in this country after 13 YEARS of having last been here. Here's just a few photos of the beautiful Ireland from when I was here in 2010 and now...

Can you tell in which photos I was a 21-year-old college student? 

Anyway, I brought this book All The Living and the Dead by Hayley Campbell after hearing about it on NPR. I am very interested in all things death, death related, mourning....everything. So when I heard the interview with the author, I couldn't wait to get my hands on it.

Sadly, I was very disappointed in this book. Let's get into it.

56 Days by Catherine Ryan Howard

 

Hello my lovely readers!

The COVID-19 novels are coming! 56 Days by Catherine Ryan Howard is a prime example of it. I'd been itching to read a novel or just fiction in general. I've been so into my history books and non-fiction, that I needed something different. I know that the second to last book I reviewed was a novel (The Color of Justice), but I was left underwhelmed with it.

I'm actually very selective with my fiction. I honestly can't give you any criteria that I have, but it has to be a book that has an interesting plot and will keep me reading...and maybe be a little offbeat. Two memorable fiction novels I read in the past were The Woman in Valencia  and Adele.  They were superb. However, 56 Days....was just kind of middle of the road for me. Let's just jump right into it.

SUMMARY
56 days ago two people meet in a Dublin supermarket queue. This is just as COVID-19 was first detected in Ireland. 

35 days ago, Ciara and Oliver move in together after a whirlwind relationship and so that COVID lockdown restrictions won't keep them apart. No one knows they've moved in together.
Now, detectives find a badly decomposed body. So what happened? Did one of them commit the perfect crime?