Sorry I'm Late, I Didn't Want to Come by Jessica Pan (audioBOOK)
Happy reading,
Dorothea 💜
Thursday, February 20, 2025
Switching from audioBOOK to eBOOK
The Girls Who Stepped Out of Line by Mari K. Eder
Hi, everyone!
I am really enjoying this audioBOOK! But with all the interesting WWII women (yes, I know), I want to enjoy and savor it as an eBOOK. So I will return this audioBOOK to the library and check it out as an eBOOK later. It is a fascinating book and I have only read about two women.
This is another example of why I love my local Los Angeles Public Library! If you don't have a library card, get one as you are missing out!!
Happy reading,
Dorothea 💜
Wednesday, February 19, 2025
My next ebook is...
The Medici Return (Cotton Malone Series #19) by Steve Berry
Hello, everyone!
As I indicated in my earlier post yesterday LINK, this highly-anticipated book for me became available yesterday as a Los Angeles Public Library (LAPL) hold!!
So I am still pausing my Isabel Allende ARC to dive into this book!
Happy reading!
Dorothea 💜
REVIEW - The Dressmakers of London (eBOOK)
The Dressmakers of London by Julia Kelly (eBOOK)
OVERVIEW
What a lovely book! It is my sixth read book of Julia's recently published seven historical fiction and mystery historical fiction novels.
Yes, dear blog reader, you may say I previously swore off WWII books FOREVER! Well, exceptions are going to be made for books that interest me and for authors that I love reading. This book met 2 of 2!! Winner, winner, chicken dinner!
I was so lucky to receive this book from the library the day it was released!! Don't forget to use your library card - it is good for more than books! Off soapbox, now!
TRIGGER WARNING: Death of a parent, war, infidelity, toxic relationships
OVERALL REVIEW: 5.0 stars
Writing: 5.0 stars
As always, Julia writes so incredibly beautifully. Her prose is filled with gorgeous descriptions of the beautiful clothing in this novel. The clothing sounded amazing even with the rationing.
Julia researched WWII clothing and clothing rationing as compared to current times. In the Author's Note, the incredible differences in quantity and quality of clothing from the 1940s to now are shocking. On a personal note, my daughter and I are purchasing better-made and sustainable clothing that we can tailor and wear for longer. The fast fashion clothing trend just isn't working for us anymore!
Character development: 5.0 stars
The main characters are Sylvia (older sister), Izzie (younger sister), Miss Reid (seamstress), and William (barrister and friend of the sisters).
The secondary characters are Hugo (Sylvia's husband), Jack (Izzie's friend), Claire (Sylvia's friend), Maggie (Sylvia/Izzie's mother), and the dressmaker shop, Mrs. Shelton's Fashions.
The tertiary characters are Sylvia's high-society friends, Izzie's WAAF (Women's Auxiliary Air Force) friends, and WWII.
I loved that Julia used letters between the characters which was the best way to communicate back then. It also allowed the characters to more fully develop who they were versus what they showed to others. The letters were so touching and perfect.
Many minor characters also helped bring this lovely novel to life.
Storyline: 5.0 stars
The basic premise is that Maggie dies leaving her dressmaker shop to her two daughters, Sylvia and Izzie who are estranged. Then Izzie is conscripted into the WAAF leaving Sylvia to run the dressmaker shop. The sisters write letters to one another and other characters which adds such a beautiful touch to this novel.
The main locations were primarily London with some time spent in other cities in England.
Memorable/Informative: 5.0 stars
I knew there was rationing in England and the U.S. during WWII as my dad spoke of ration books and "brownouts". He was around seven at the end of WWII and lived on the West Coast where the threat of attack was real.
But, I had no idea how difficult it was regarding clothing, especially for women. The annual reduction in ration coupons until 1949 must have been incredibly challenging to manage.
I also had no idea how bad the classicism was in England during WWII. But, unfortunately, we have the same type of elitism here in the U.S., unfortunately.
Book cover: 5.0 stars
So pretty!
Book title: 5.0 stars
Excellent!
HIGHLY recommend
Los Angeles Public Library (LAPL) borrowed (eBOOK)
The Dressmakers of London by Julia Kelly
430 pages
Gallery Books
Release date of 2/18/2025
INFORMATIONAL LINKS
Los Angeles Public Library (LAPL)
Happy reading,
Dorothea 💜
Tuesday, February 18, 2025
My next eBOOK is...
The Dressmakers of London by Julia Kelly (eBOOK)
Hello, everyone!
As I indicated in my earlier post today LINK, this highly-anticipated book for me, just became available as a Los Angeles Public Library (LAPL) hold!!
So I am pausing my Isabel Allende ARC to dive into this book!
Happy reading!
Dorothea 💜
When It Rains It Pours with HOLDS!
The Dressmakers of London by Julia Kelly (eBOOK)
The Medici Return (Cotton Malone #19) by Steve Berry (eBOOK)
Hi, everyone!
So not surprisingly on "Publishing Day Tuesday" two books on my Los Angeles Public Library (LAPL) hold list became available TODAY!!
Since I have not started the most recent Isabel Allende eARC, I will pause it until I read the two above books which I have been anxiously awaiting to read!!
As an avid reader, I go where the books take me!
Happy reading,
Dorothea 💜
Monday, February 17, 2025
My next audioBOOK is...
The Girls Who Stepped Out of Line by Meri K. Eder (audioBOOK)
Happy reading,
Dorothea 💜
REVIEW - The Time of My Life (audioBOOK)
The Time of My Life by Patrick Swayze (audioBOOK)
OVERVIEW
This was a memoir written and read by Patrick Swayze with some participation in the reading by his wife, Lisa Niemi. I truly adored Patrick in many movies including one with the line, "Nobody puts Baby in the corner".
This is an incredibly sad memoir especially as it was released just after Patrick's passing. It was sometimes very raw and personal; other times it wasn't - it was very inconsistent. I think that there was a missed opportunity to discuss his pancreatic cancer diagnosis, symptoms, and treatment which could have raised awareness.
I really wanted to love this memoir, but I only liked it which is fine!
TRIGGER ALERT: Foul language, smoking, mental illness, suicide, terminal illness, domestic violence, death of a parent
OVERALL REVIEW: 4.0 stars
Writing: 4.0 stars
The writing was good, but not exceptional.
I am unsure if Patrick utilized a ghostwriter, but if he didn't - good job!
Narration: 4.5 stars
Patrick narrates beautifully and laughs at himself throughout the book. He sounded tired at various times during the reading. However, throughout his life, he always pushed himself through pain, and this book was no exception.
Character Arc: 4.0 stars
The audiobook is fairly chronological but somewhat superficial.
But I wanted more. I wanted more about his childhood and meeting Lisa as well as his cancer diagnosis.
Memorable: 4.0 stars
Patrick had to deal with a lot of physical pain in his life from a knee injury playing football his senior year of high school, to breaking both legs while filming a movie, to his ultimate fight against cancer. Patrick had emotional pain as well with depression and imposter syndrome plus he lost his father young and his older sister died by suicide.
My heart broke for Patrick and Lisa. When I checked Wikipedia for Patrick, it was good to see Lisa is remarried and seems happy again.
Entertaining: 4.0 stars
This book wasn't entertaining, per se. It was more informative about his life, but we were not fully let into it.
It wasn't full of anecdotes, funny stories, or lots of spilled celebrity tea (there was some). It was dark and sad especially when Patrick read about how hard it was to get a foothold in the entertainment industry.
Book cover: 4.5 stars
Lovely.
Book title: 5.0 stars
A great double entendre.
DEFINITE recommend
STATISTICS
Los Angeles Public Library (LAPL) borrow (audiobook)
The Time of My Life by Patrick Swayze
Simon & Schuster Audio
5 hours, 30 minutes
Release date of 9/29/2029
INFORMATIONAL LINKS
Happy reading,
Dorothea 💜
Sunday, February 16, 2025
My next eARC/eBOOK is...
My Name is Emilia del Valle by Isabel Allende (eARC/eBOOK)
Happy reading,
Dorothea 💜
REVIEW - The Fall Risk (eARC/eBOOK)
The Fall Risk by Abby Jimenez (eARC/eBOOK)
OVERVIEW
This was a free short story offered by Amazon First Reads for February 2025. Since I have never read anything by Abby Jimenez, this was an easy way to start!!
I really enjoyed this short story about a difficult topic - stalking. But the author made it not so difficult with some fun characters!
Now looking for the rest of Abby's books to add to my TBR list!
TRIGGER WARNING: Stalking, violence, incest, physical injury, infidelity
OVERALL REVIEW: 5.0 stars
Writing: 5.0 stars
Abby is an easy to read and fun writer. It was a perfect read after my very scholarly previous book.
Character development: 5.0 stars
The two main characters are Charlotte (the frightened stalkee) and Seth (the injured foot arborist) who are neighbors.
There are a lot of secondary characters including Izzy (Charlotte's friend), Gabe (Seth's friend), and John (the apartment property manager).
The tertiary characters were the hysterical ladies from the California Poppy Retirement home and George (the stalker).
Storyline: 5.0 stars
This short story is about two neighbors forced to spend Valentine's weekend together because their apartment stairs are erroneously removed.
NOTE: If you don't think this storyline could happen, it happened to me in my first apartment. The only difference was the banister was removed on a steep set of stairs and the only way to my apartment.
The main location is Burbank, California.
Memorable/Informative: 5.0 stars
For me, the girl power of Charlotte and Izzy was awesome! Put a sock on your baseball bat - read this short story to find out why!
Book cover: 4.0 stars
Nice.
Book title: 5.0 stars
Perfect - double entendre!
HIGHLY recommend
BOOK INFORMATION
Amazon First Reads
The Fall Risk by Abby Jimenez
82 pages
Amazon Original Stories
FUTURE release date of 3/1/2025
INFORMATIONAL LINKS
Happy reading,
Dorothea 💜
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