REVIEW - The Beach at Summerly

 OVERVIEW

This is probably about my 11th or 12th book by Beatriz Williams. She writes very unique historical fiction about periods of time that are "orphaned" or not written about much. The hot time period, WWII, has been the big time period in historical fiction lately.  

This novel takes a different tack and writes about post-WWII which was a very scary time for the world. There was so much going on between the West and the Soviet Union including McCarthyism, nuclear bomb proliferation, and the rise of intense spying. Most of us here in the United States don't know much about it and I include myself in that uninformed group. 

The plot of this novel is mainly about two families on an island in Long Island Sound. The rich, mainlander Peabody family and the local Winthrop family with a symbiotic relationship between the two families. The main character, Emilia AKA Cricket, is lifelong friends with the Peabody boys who live in the large manor house. Cricket's father works as a caretaker for the manor house and the Winthrop family lives in the caretaker house.  

Of course, there is mystery, intrigue, and drama, OH MY!! Yes, there are many secrets including former military members, as well as the KGB, CIA, and the FBI!! Oh, and don't forget about the secrets about the mainlander "Families" as well as the local families along with the secrets between them all. Who doesn't like drama???

Again, I don't do spoilers so I don't want to give too many hints at all!! 

REVIEW: 4.5 stars

Writing: 4.5 stars

The Beach at Summerly was a typical Beatriz Williams historical fiction novel. She writes so descriptively and beautifully yet her books are so easy to read. Perfect to read at the beach or by the pool!

The novel takes place in two post-WWII time periods 1946 and 1954. 

There is so much mystery and some lovely plot twists which I really loved!! I did not figure out some of the spoilers which is a sign of a good book to me!

Character development: 4.5 stars

The main characters are Cricket and Olive, a relation, to the mainlander Peabody family. Olive spends the summer in the manor guest house with her three children while Cricket works for Olive taking care of the three children. 

Then all of the twists and turns start after the main characters are introduced. But, we get to know the main characters Cricket and Olive very well especially with the two time periods. There are supporting characters of the Peabody and Winthrop families. All of these secondary characters are fully revealed and in some cases additional reveals in very unique ways. 

Also, the island plays a tertiary role in the novel. Without the dichotomy of the mainlander and local families, there would not be drama!

Storyline: 4.5 stars

This was an obviously well-researched novel as Beatriz Williams does a great job in that area. Since it was fiction, I definitely want to learn more about this post-WWII era as I can see that there is so much that I obviously don't know! 

Book cover: 4.0 stars

It was okay and conveyed the topic of the novel.

Book title: 4.0 stars 

Yes, the beach at Summerly was what it was REALLY about!!

Gut feeling: 4.0 stars

I always like Beatriz Williams's novels so I wasn't disappointed. 

Suggestions: 

A map of the island would have been fun!

Highly RECOMMEND

INFORMATION/LINKS

The Beach at Summerly by Beatriz Williams 

368 pages

5 days to read it (I couldn't put it down this afternoon)

Read it as a LAPL ebook

Release date of 06/27/2023

https://beatrizwilliams.com/

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5451625156

https://www.harpercollins.com/collections/william-morrow

https://lapl.overdrive.com/

Happy reading,

Dorothea 💜

My next read is...

The Beach at Summerly by Beatriz Williams

Happy reading,

Dorothea 💜

 

DNF - Everybody's Favorite

I will not be finishing Everybody's Favorite by Lillian Stone. I am definitely NOT the correct demographic for this book due to my age. The correct target demographic would be women in their 30s. 

Happy reading,

Dorothea 💜

My next read is...

Everybody's Favorite by Lillian Stone

Happy reading,

Dorothea 💜

 

REVIEW - No Time Like the Future AUDIOBOOK

 

OVERVIEW

This book is a very personal memoir by Michael J. Fox. It is his third book and his most recent. I cannot compare it to his first two books as I have not read them yet. This memoir was completed right as the pandemic was casting its ugliness across the world.

Since I recently was approved to do a "smell test" for Parkinson's Disease funded by the Michael J. Fox Foundation, I was curious about Michael J. Fox - the person. This book really takes off in his later years and has some flashbacks, but it was the more current events in his life that he was discussing. 

As I said in my Goodreads review, it was a lovely book about a lovely man. He is brutally honest about his two major surgeries that happen in the book timeline including the long, long rehabilitation that he went through. But, he is grateful for it all and has a very positive attitude for someone who is living life during this Covid time, but even more so for someone who has Parkinson's Disease (PD). Michael is a person who HAS Parkinson's Disease - he is not defined by it. Yes, it does impact his life, but his attitude is wonderful. He is living his best life with gratefulness, positivity, and optimism. 

I truly think that Michael and I would have a lot of fun together - he is MY kind of people.

PLEASE note that reviewing memoirs and autobiographies is difficult in my current blog format. I may need to consider something different for these types of reviews in the future.

REVIEW: 4.5 stars

Writing: 4.5 stars

No Time Like the Future was a nicely written book. I am not sure if Michael J. Fox had a ghostwriter, but his personality totally came through in the audiobook. Also, he narrated the audiobook which is so much more powerful than a professional narrator in a memoir. 

Character development: 4.5 stars

With a memoir, there really is no character development, per se. But, Michael really gets into the nitty gritty of his disease, surgeries, and rehabilitation including his support team. 

Storyline: 4.5 stars

As this was a memoir, it IS based on a true story - HIS. It was well done and followed a nice arc.

Book cover: 4.0 stars

I liked it very much - clean and simple.

Book title: 5.0 stars 

Such a great play on words. I loved it.

Gut feeling: 4.0 stars

For some reason, I felt that I would like this memoir and Michael J. Fox. I was right! 

Highly RECOMMEND

INFORMATION/LINKS

No Time Like the Future by Michael J. Fox 

5 hours, 59 minutes

9 days to read it (I listened to a few chapters a night)

Read it as a LAPL (Los Angeles Public Library) ebook

Release date of 11/17/2020

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_J._Fox

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5672208971

https://us.macmillan.com/

https://lapl.overdrive.com/

Happy reading,

Dorothea 💜

Amazon Prime Day 2023

Well, I don't know about YOU, but Amazon Prime Day 2023 was a HUGE bust for me! I was hoping to get some Kindle book deals, but there was nothing that interested me, unfortunately. It is after 10:00 pm on the second day (the sale ends at midnight) so it is highly unlikely that a big book dealio will post in the next two hours. 

Also, since I now use NetGalley and the LAPL for most of my books, it has to be a BIG favorite author to purchase a book. Since I read so many books each year, it used to cost me a small fortune to read my annual book reads.

Additionally, I felt so obligated to finish books that weren't working for me. I had PAID for the book and I was going to FINISH it!! So I ended up finishing a lot of books that were not a good fit for me. 

Now, if I am NOT really into a specific book, there is no problem to return it. There WILL always be someone else who will enjoy the particular book!!

Life is too short to read books that are not a perfect fit for you!!

Happy reading,

Dorothea 💜

My next read is ...

 How to Say Babylon by Safiya Sinclair

Happy reading,

Dorothea 💜

DNF - Flirting with Danger

I will not be finishing Flirting with Danger by Janet Wallach. This just wasn't the right book for me at this time!

Happy reading,

Dorothea 💜

REVIEW - The Spectacular

OVERVIEW

This book was AMAZING!! I knew absolutely nothing about the Rockettes, Radio City Music Hall, New York City, or New York City history. This is the second book in a row that I knew NOTHING about the premise of the book. YES!! Fiona Davis delivered a strong, interesting, and well-written novel!!

I was so happy to continue reading historical fiction! The premise of this novel is the story of a Rockette and her unfortunate involvement in the murder spree of a bomber in NYC. The main characters were Marion, a Rockette; Peter, a psychiatry resident; and New York City. There are a lot of secondary characters including Marion's family, Peter and Marion's friends, and the Roxette organization. It was a historical novel that had it all including a big mystery, romance, and family dynamics!! I love it!

Since the story primarily takes place in 1956 (there are some flashbacks to 1992), the societal issues that were foisted upon women and the somewhat negative view of Rockettes by some were very integral to the novel. There were some men who were way beyond their time seeing women as equals, but they were in the vast minority. Additionally, the strength and power of strong female relationships and friendships were hugely featured which I loved! I thoroughly enjoyed the description of the Rockettes, costuming, and dancing as I have never attended one of their shows. It sounds AMAZINGLY wonderful. 

I loved the descriptions of some of the historically important dancers and choreographers who I was somewhat familiar with and how they impacted dance and choreography from 1956 until now. This was the beginning of the era of major productions on Broadway and an important point in dance and choreography!!

This was a really great read. Now, I want to deep dive more into the dancers/choreographers of that time period!! It is such fascinating stuff!

REVIEW: 4.5 stars

Writing: 4.5 stars

The Spectacular was a well-written historical novel with beautiful descriptions of New York City, the Rockettes, and all of the locations within the book. Fiona Davis wrote a strong and powerful book with so many layers of interest that I will be thinking about this novel for a long time. This is another well-researched historical novel and it really shows, but the descriptions and details did not bog down the ease of reading. So well done!

Character development: 4.5 stars

There were a lot of unimportant characters in this book due to the scope of the places involved, but the primary characters of Marion, Peter, and New York City were fully developed. They were fictional characters (except New York City), but I could picture them all which makes the books so much enjoyable. 

The many characters were needed for the story to make sense. Marion was a Rockette and Peter was a psychiatry resident which involved a lot of people. Of course, New York City was highlighted and it was done beautifully. So the main characters were fully explored which is what I enjoy in ANY novel, period. This is my kind of book!

Storyline: 4.5 stars

As this was historical fiction, the storyline was loosely based on a true story  Even though the basic storyline is based on a historical incident and fictional characters were developed around it, it was fascinating! I knew absolutely ZERO about this historical incident.

Book cover: 4.0 stars

Very pretty!

Book title: 5.0 stars 

Perfection! The book title is right on point!

Gut feeling: 4.0 stars

I felt that I would like it, but I loved it! 

Definite RECOMMEND

INFORMATION/LINKS

The Spectacular by Fiona Davis 

368 pages

3 days to read it (I inhaled about half of it today)

Read it as a LAPL (Los Angeles Public Library) ebook

Release date of 06/13/2023

https://www.fionadavisbooks.com/

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5616401536

https://www.penguin.com/dutton-overview/

https://lapl.overdrive.com/

Happy reading,

Dorothea 💜

REVIEW - The Mitford Affair

 

OVERVIEW

This is the third book by Marie Benedict that I have read and I have enjoyed all of them. This one was special because I had heard the name of the six Mitford sisters and that they were English, but that was it. So I went into this historical novel with NO back story which is the way that I like it!!

I have read a lot of contemporary fiction lately so it was great to go back to my absolute favorite genre of historical fiction!! There were six sisters and a brother in the Mitford Family. The main characters are Nancy, Diana, Unity, and Hitler - yes, Hitler!! Secondary characters are fascism and the looming threat of war!

The Mitford family dynamic was very dysfunctional with favorite children being a huge issue by pitting the siblings against each other. The siblings naturally settled into paired sets with one leftover who became the outlier. Additionally, the family had a title and land so the children were expected to marry well (i.e.: someone with money and power) and that added to the chaos in the family. Additionally, the family was political as the father was a member of the House of Lords. The majority of the novel takes place in Germany and England pre-WWII. It was fascinating to see how the Treaty of Versailles really caused all of the mess that created the perfect vacuum for Hitler to rise to power. But, fascinatingly, he had followers in England as well. 

There was some name-dropping (most of the Lords and Ladies were meaningless names to me), but there were a few biggies and they were integral to the plot. They were not just there to add color, but were important to the whole storyline!

This was a great historical novel as it makes me want to learn more! That is the sign of a well-written story!

REVIEW: 4.5 stars

Writing: 4.0 stars

The Mitford Affair was a well-written novel. Marie Benedict seems to become a better and stronger writer with each book that I have read of hers. This was also well-edited. I really liked that it wasn't overly populated with SAT words that I had to constantly look up and ruin the flow of the story. There were some German words sprinkled throughout, but most of them could be figured out through the context. It was obvious that this book was well-researched and it showed!!

Character development: 4.5 stars

This novel had a lot of characters, but the four main characters Nancy, Diana, and Unity Mitford have historical information such as letters and published books while the other main character Adolph Hitler has massive amounts of historical information. 

Unfortunately, the Mitford parents created the dynamic that allowed Unity to become obsessed with Hitler's power and charisma which then pulled Nancy and Diana into this Nazi chaos finally ending in a stunning finale. 

Even the secondary characters of fascism and the threat of war were fully fleshed out as well as the tertiary characters of the rest of the family. 

Storyline: 4.5 stars

Truth is stranger than fiction, for sure! Even though the basic storyline is based on historical truth, it was mind-blowing. The difference that this family could have had in history could have been catastrophic as they were well-connected socially and politically. I was gob-smacked (to steal a Mitfordism).

Book cover: 5.0 stars

Gorgeous!

Book title: 4.5 stars 

It was RIGHT on the money!

Gut feeling: 4.0 stars

I knew that I would like it, but I was thrilled that I loved it! 

Definite RECOMMEND

INFORMATION/LINKS

The Mitford Affair by Marie Benedict 

377 pages

5 days to read it (I had a hard time putting it down today)

Read it as a LAPL (Los Angeles Public Library) ebook

Release date of 01/17/2023

https://www.authormariebenedict.com/

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5656747437

https://www.sourcebooks.com/

https://lapl.overdrive.com/

Happy reading,

Dorothea 💜

My next book in the MULTIPLE July read is...

 The Spectacular by Fiona Davis

Happy reading,

Dorothea 💜