Lora Terrill

February 2022–Part Two

March 1, 2022

Thank you for joining me here! I hope you enjoy this series and I’d love to hear from you about what you are reading these days.

Book #1:

The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman (Length: 363 pages). I have had this mystery on my TBR for a while and it was worth the wait. This is the first in a series (of 3 so far) and from what I’m hearing in the book podcasts I listen to, the others are even better than this one, so I’m excited to check them out. This novel is set in a luxury retirement village in a small town in England. A group of retirees gets together (on Thursdays) to review and try to solve cold cases. This novel features 1 cold-case murder and 2 murders which occur in present day. The cases are interesting enough (albeit simple) but the characters are the draw here, including the police detectives. I laughed out loud in a few places and kept smiling throughout. There are some serious issues tackled here, but there’s a whole lot of heart, which, along with quality writing, will keep me reading further.

Book #2:

Truth or Beard by Penny Reid (Length: 392 pages). This is the first in a series of 8 (!) rom-com books featuring the Winston Brothers, a family of six brothers who live in TN and are bikers, mechanics, outlaws, et al. This particular novel features Jessica, a high school calculus teacher and Duane Winston, an auto mechanic who has an identical twin. Having grown up together they have a love-hate relationship, so that’s the basis for their romantic chemistry. There is a TON of open-door romance, a little bit of relationship confusion (again, just TALK to one another) and there are some dark edges here. Scary biker bars, with bikers doing and dealing drugs while abusing and sharing their “biker babes”. This isn’t really what I look for in a rom-com at all, but this series has a lot of fans so I may not be the target audience here. I did really enjoy the brother Cletus (a nerd on the spectrum) as well as the relationship among the brothers. The writing is of decent quality and if you like an edgier rom-com this may be right up your alley. I, for one, won’t be continuing on with the series.

Book #3:

The Secret to Hummingbird Cake by Celest Fletcher McHale (Length: 299 pages). I have had this book on my Kindle forever, and picked it up because I thought it was a light-hearted romance. It is NOT. This is actually a tear-jerker story about a friendship among a trio of girls who grew up in a small town in Louisiana. The writing is very strong with well-developed characters. It is a teensy bit emotionally manipulative (I can’t tell you why because it would give too much away) but overall it’s a good read (if you don’t mind a few tears).

Book #4:

Dories Ho! by Matt and Karen Smith (Length: 265 pages). I’m obsessed with this travel series, and I will be sad when I read the last book. This book is the second book in this couple’s self-published series (with at least 3 editing errors). This travelogue is written solely by the acerbic-witted husband Matt, and is about the couple’s six-day raft journey down the Colorado River in the Grand Canyon, with several other couples. This is very detailed (which I love) and very funny, just like the first in the series. Lots of interesting factoids and historical details are sprinkled throughout. (In fact, all the couples on the trip read the non-fiction book The Emerald Mile, which prompted me to pick it up–look for my review of that book next month). I read this book in one day because I literally couldn’t put it down.

Book #5:

The Monk of Mokha by Dave Eggers (Length: 353 pages). I listened to this fantastic non-fiction book, as it was recommended to listen to. However, it appears it’s a great read as well, if that’s your preference. This is a riveting account of Mokhtar Alkhanshali, a young Yemeni immigrant to CA who single-handedly creates a thriving coffee export business from Yemen to the US. I really enjoyed hearing about how coffee is grown, and I enjoyed following along on Mokhtar’s heart-stopping journeys in Yemen, which was in the middle of a civil war. Mokhtar was kidnapped by the Houthi rebels at one point, and the audiobook was as exciting as a movie at that point. This book is well-written, propulsive as well as continually optimistic . . . Mokhtar refused to give up on his (ludicrous) dreams. I highly recommend this one!

February 2022–Part One

February 14, 2022

Thank you for joining me here! I hope you enjoy this series and I’d love to hear from you about what you are reading these days.

Book #1:

Dear Bob and Sue by Matt and Karen Smith (Length: 389 pages). I LOVE this book!! It’s a self-published travel memoir of sorts, organized as an epistolary memoir of one couple’s journey to visit all 58 National Parks. The couple is middle-aged, have been married forever, and are not overly adventurous . . . they love to hike and then have a beer in the hotel bar afterwards. This book is geared toward checking off each park and telling their friends Bob and Sue about all of their adventures. What I enjoyed most about this book is their tone . . . they tease one another a bit (Bob about Sue’s use of adjectives for things that are cute and whimsical, and Sue about Bob’s anal-retentive packing lists and his puns) and they remind me of my parents and how they relate to one another. There are lots of specific details about each park (I added a few hikes to my personal travel bucket list) and some LOL moments. I’ve already purchased one of the next 3 they’ve written. I will say that these books are self-published so there are a few grammatical/spelling errors (at least 3 that I found) but honestly, I’m finding way too many errors in books published by the big houses so that isn’t a deterrent to me.

Book #2:

The Year of Less by Cait Flanders (Length: 200 pages). I listened to this book on my commute, partly for inspiration to shop less in solidarity with a good friend who has given up unnecessary shopping in 2022. The author is very inspiring in what she managed to do (pare down her possessions to 40% of what she owned as well as save a boatload of money by giving up her daily latte, not buy new clothes, etc), but the tone of this book is a bit too whiny for my personal taste. To be fair, she is an addict (a recovering alcoholic) and her addictive personality permeates into every aspect of her life, so her navel gazing here is for a reason–her “whys” are very important to her. Me, not so much–I just need to quit Amazon. This is worth a library check out . . . I’d skip the audiobook.

Book #3:

The Girl in His Shadow by Audrey Blake (Length: 386 pages). This historical fiction novel is set in London in 1845 and 1846 and is based on an amalgamation of various females in medicine during that time period. This particular novel focuses on a female surgeon, who is the ward of an esteemed surgeon and professor, but given that it’s illegal for women to practice medicine, she operates in secret. This is a fascinating story with incredibly specific details of surgeries and medical discoveries (such as operating with patients under the influence of ether). The writing is very strong, with excellent character development. There is a romance of sorts but it’s not cheesy in the slightest. I couldn’t put this one down!

January 2022–Part Two

February 1, 2022

Thank you for joining me here! I hope you enjoy this series and I’d love to hear from you about what you are reading these days.

Book #1:

I Feel Bad About My Neck by Nora Ephron (Length: 160 pages). This is a book of essay about middle-age, geared toward women (obviously, because what man ever worries about neck wrinkles?!). I feel like I read this about 10 years ago and it didn’t hit the same as it does today. This is way funnier and more meaningful now that I’m in the target audience. I adore her writing (of screenplays mostly) and it makes me want to re-watch all of her movies again. This collection focuses on aging, but also on friendship and the joys of living in New York City. Worth a library checkout and would be a great gift for any female friend of a certain age. 😉

Book #2:

The Royal Treatment by Melanie Summers (Length: 281 pages). I’ve had this on my Kindle for a while and turned to it because I was in the mood for something light after a difficult week. This is the first in a trilogy and is billed as a romantic comedy. Better written than most in this genre in terms of dialogue and plot, I really enjoyed reading about how an anti-Royals blogger is invited to stay at the castle by Prince Arthur of “Avonia” for a 2-month period. Prince Arthur wants to change the blogger’s mind so his family can keep the throne against the changing tide of public opinion. The Kindle editing sucks so be forewarned if that sort of thing bugs you, but it’s absolutely worth a read if you’re in the mood for a well-written, light-hearted romance.

Book #3:

State of Terror by Hillary Rodham Clinton and Louise Penny (Length: 506 pages). I was VERY nervous to start this book as Louise Penny is my all-time favorite literary mystery author, and I was afraid it wouldn’t live up to the hype. I’ve never been so glad to be wrong. I ADORED this book. The plot is incredibly fast-paced and very exciting, and of course, it’s very well-written (how could it not be?). The subject matter seems to be very insider baseball regarding the Secretary of State position, so it’s obvious Hillary was drawing very heavily on her past experiences. The main character in this novel reminds me of the TV Madam Secretary and that’s a good thing. This novel sets it up for a sequel or series and I’m here for it. Do NOT miss the Acknowledgments in the end. (I shouldn’t have to say this but Trumpers will HATE this book as the “former” President in this book is clearly modeled after a similarly intellectually challenged leader.)

Book #4:

The Letter Keeper by Charles Martin (Length: 313 pages). Ugh. I got sucked into this sequel to Martin’s previous novel, The Water Keeper, which I’ve reviewed here previously. Murphy Shepherd is a vigilante commando/tracker of trafficked kids, and this sequel delves more into his (unbelievable) back story as well as his attempts to settle down with his new wife and their three “daughters”. I do think Martin is a great writer as his plots are fast-moving and his writing produces some beautiful gems, but man, I hate feeling like my emotions are being manipulated, and he does that here for sure. The plot is as fast driven as the last one, so you HAVE to keep reading, but don’t fall into any of the plot holes. (For example, why aren’t there surveillance cameras in the delivery bay?) This novel ends on a cliffhanger as well, which is super-annoying. Someone stop me before I get sucked into reading another Charles Martin (I’ve read almost a dozen so there’s a sucker born every minute). 😉

Book #5:

The Christmas Book Shop by Jenny Colgan (Length: 335 pages). I adore Jenny Colgan’s writing and will read anything she writes. This novel is a book about books and a bookshop so sign me right up! Colgan’s trademark witty banter, deeper than is typical for the genre character development, and fun plots are all present in this novel. When Carmen is laid off from her dead-end retail job in a smaller town in Scotland, her bossy lawyer sister finds her a job in her client’s bookshop in Edinburgh. As the shop is about to go under thanks to decades of mismanagement by the absent-minded elderly owner, Carmen has to put her organizational skills and her book-selling charm to use. Will she rescue this failing business, meet a handsome suitor and mend ties with her sister? A must read to find out!

January 2022

January 16, 2022

Thank you for joining me here! I hope you enjoy this series and I’d love to hear from you about what you are reading these days.

Book #1:

The Ten Thousand Doors of January by Alix E. Harrow (Length: 385 pages). What a story! This is a fantasy/mystery that’s beautifully written. It’s about a girl named January Scaller who is an almost-orphan as her father Yule Ian (Julian) travels the world obtaining treasures for his boss, the ultra-wealthy Cornelius Locke. January lives with Mr. Locke in his sprawling Vermont estate. This book contains tales within the main story about magical doors to magical worlds. The novel lags a bit in the middle but overall, it’s a fantastic read with lots of twists and turns, that will transport you to magical places. Absolutely worth a read!

Book #2:

Beneath a Scarlet Sky by Mark Sullivan (Length: 525 pages). This is my book club’s January pick, and boy, am I disappointed! This is a fictionalized account based on the true story of an Italian boy, Pino Lella, who becomes a spy for the Italian Resistance during World War II, and personally helped several Jewish citizens escape over the border to Switzerland, and then as a personal driver for General Lerner (a Nazi), passed on German secrets to the Allies. The story is very captivating, and the plot of this book is an absolute page-turner. But the writing . . . ugh. The writing is very stilted and juvenile, as if a high schooler wrote this, which is odd because the author is award-winning and is very prolific (at least 18 novels). Moreover, this novel had a bit of a Forrest Gump feel for me as the coincidences are entirely unbelievable at times (which I won’t enumerate here as they’d spoil the plot). Overall, it’s worth a read for the story, but perhaps lower your expectations regarding the quality of writing. A movie based on this book and Pino’s story is currently in development, and I’ll absolutely watch that.

Book #3:

Applied Electro-Magnetism by Susannah Nix (Length: 256 pages). This is a romance and is the perfect palate-cleanser between heavier books. It’s one of six books in a series entitled Chemistry Lessons which features women in science as the protagonists, which I love. Nix is a good writer, with better-than-usual character development for romance novels, and she definitely can write a strong female lead with nerdy tendencies (my favorite type as I’m the same). This particular novel features a business road trip with two co-workers who don’t care for each other, so it’s the enemies to lovers trope. The author writes about their travelling from buying snacks at the airport, to stopping at the famous Buccee’s convenience store in Texas, and I always enjoy reading those types of real-life details. Again, the author’s writing is strong enough that I’ll definitely continue to read more of this series. (The books seem to end up in the daily Kindle deals too, so watch out for those if you can’t find these at your library.)