Marsha by Tourmaline (eARC/ebook)
Happy reading,
Dorothea 💜
Saturday, April 12, 2025
REVIEW - Where the Rivers Merge
Where the Rivers Merge by Mary Alice Monroe (eARC/ebook)
OVERVIEW
This was my first book by Mary Alice Monroe. I absolutely adored this book which according to the Author's Notes is the first book in a two-part series. I could not be more thrilled and eagerly await the next book.
I have always loved the South Carolina low country's customs, heritage, and history. This book is set in that same low country where many of my ancestral lines originated.
Also, this is my fiftieth book this year! What a wonderful one to pick for the halfway point in my reading goal for the year!
OVERALL REVIEW: 5.0 stars.
Writing: 5.0 stars
The writing was beyond beautiful. Mary Alice is exceptional at capturing the nuanced dialogue of the two time periods in South Carolina. Her descriptions of the region's land, food, dress, and food are incredible. I could use my imagination to capture my five senses being tickled where the story is told.
I also loved the charming and descriptive poetry at the beginning of the five parts of the book: Homecoming, Halcyon Days, The Charleston Years, The War Years, and The Wedding. Additionally, each chapter had flora, fauna, or other issues important to the low country.
Character development: 5.0 stars
The character development was excellent! The main characters were: Rawlins, Sloane, Heyward, Lesesne, and Eliza Rivers. The Rivers family-owned, Mayfield, plantation/rice farm in South Carolina is always in difficult times.
Wilton (Mayfield's overseer) and Covey (Wilton's daughter) are secondary characters. Tripp and Hugh, family friends, play substantial roles in this novel.
The tertiary character is Mayfield itself - the land and house.
There were many characters as usual for historical fiction novels.
Storyline: 5.0 stars
The dual storyline centers around Eliza from her childhood to marriage (1900-1926). The second storyline is in 1988 when she is retiring and telling her life story to her granddaughter and great-niece. Perfect!
The locations were: South Carolina low-country including Beaufort and Charleston, and the ACE Basin (Ashepoo, Combahee, and Edisto Basin).
Memorable/Informative: 5.0 stars
The issue of primogeniture rears its ugly head in the first timeline. If you were the second son or a daughter, you usually received little to nothing as an inheritance and had to marry for land, money, or social status.
Book cover: 5.0 stars
Gorgeous!
Book title: 5.0 stars
Perfect!
HIGHLY recommend
Book Club Girl
NetGalley eARC/ebook
Where the Rivers Merge by Mary Alice Monroe
352 pages
William Morrow
FUTURE release date: 5/13/2025
INFORMATIONAL LINKS
TRIGGER WARNING: Pregnancy, racism, gun violence, war, segregation
Happy reading,
Dorothea 💜
Friday, April 11, 2025
REVIEW - Source Code (audiobook)
Source Code by Bill Gates (audiobook)
OVERVIEW
This audiobook was lovely for the first two-thirds of the book. Bill (AKA Trey by his family) shared about his supportive and loving family including generations of grandparents. He had an All-American upbringing with understanding parents who knew he was different and helped him become who he is today.
Then it dissolved into bits, bites, and chips, OH MY! Once the technical information about early personal computing started, it was boring.
I really liked this audiobook and wanted to love it. But, it just missed the mark for me with all the technical jargon.
OVERALL REVIEW: 4.5 stars
Writing: 5.0 stars
The writing by Bill was strong. He included anecdotes about his family, childhood, and friends that explained why Bill is Bill.
Narration: 5.0 stars
The narration is by Wil Wheaton who is always incredible! This is a book that I recommend as an audiobook!
Bill did the forward, prologue, and epilogue. He does not have the best voice for narration or the smoothest delivery. It was a brilliant choice to have Wil Wheaton narrate and bring this audiobook to life!
Character Arc: 4.0 stars
I thoroughly enjoyed Bill discussing his childhood in Seattle. He and his sisters had the advantage of college-educated parents in the 1960s who were forward-thinking and progressive. Bill was able to explore his interests which eventually turned into Microsoft due to his privilege of being middle-class, white, and male. This memoir covers his grandparents/parents, childhood, high school and college years, and the nascent Microsoft in New Mexico before landing in Seattle.
Once Bill began programming at Harvard, it was over my head. I didn't understand the programming, but I did appreciate his hard work, creativity, and intelligence.
The programming part of the book is for "nerds" like my husband who knew the history discussed. Since it was so niche-driven, maybe it could have been "dumbed down" for programming illiterates like me. Just a thought.
Memorable: 4.0 stars
The stories that Bill tells about his adventures with his sisters are hysterical. The tornado and rollerskating over the sprinkler were two of my favorites.
Bill was very close to his Grandmother (Grammy) and his parents. He learned the importance of service, work ethic, curiosity, and generosity from all of them. This explains his long-term friendships, strong family ties, and the creation of his foundation.
Entertaining: 4.0 stars
There were many sad, funny, and introspective stories in the audiobook.
But again, I just pushed through the technical parts I didn't understand to enjoy this book.
Book cover: 5.0 stars
Perfect.
Book title: 5.0 stars
On point!
STRONG recommend
STATISTICS
Los Angeles Public Library (LAPL) borrow: audiobook
Source Code by Bill Gates
Random House Audio
11 hours, 41 minutes
Release date of 2/4/2025
INFORMATIONAL LINKS
TRIGGER WARNINGS
Mild cursing, death, death of a child, death of a parent
Happy reading,
Dorothea 💜
Wednesday, April 9, 2025
My next eARC/ebook is ...
Where The Rivers Merge by Mary Alice Monroe (eARC/ebook)
Happy reading,
Dorothea 💜
REVIEW - The Girls of Good Fortune (eArc/eBook)
The Girls of Good Fortune by Kristina McMorris (eARC/ebook)
OVERVIEW
This is the second book I have read by Kristina McMorris. But, this book touched me deeply as it was about Chinese immigrants in 1800s Oregon.
My husband is an ABC (American-born Chinese) and our daughter is a hapa (half in Hawaiian). My father-in-law (and my daughter's "Ye Ye" (father's father)), fought in WWII in the U.S. Army in Sicily. My husband and I would never have met without his sacrifice to come to an unknown land in search of a better life for his family. We are almost all immigrants to our beloved country even though mine came from Europe primarily in search of religious freedom and/or land many generations ago. My daughter is the culmination of her ancestors' wildest dreams on both sides!
Kristina mentions the beautiful book, hapa.me, by Kip Fulbeck as an inspiration for this novel. My daughter and I attended a hapa author's panel at the Japanese American National Museum in Little Tokyo (Los Angeles) in 2018. The panel was moderated by Kip and included Jamie Ford, Amy Hill, and Velina Hasu Houston who generously answered a very personal question posed by my daughter. My daughter's picture was even included as part of the ongoing exhibit!
So, yes, this novel is very personal to me and my family!
OVERALL REVIEW: 5.0 stars.
Writing: 5.0 stars
The writing was just so beautiful. I was touched by the addition of Cantonese throughout the novel which added a lovely touch.
Even though some of the language was horrific, it reflected the time and was racist and xenophobic. Sadly some of the language is still in use today. When will we learn from our mistakes?
Character development: 5.0 stars
The character development was excellent. The main character was Celia Hart Chung (hapa; daughter of a Chinese missionary family's caucasian daughter and a Cantonese father). Celia transforms from hiding her ancestry and "passing" as white to being a proud Chinese woman! Brava!
The secondary characters were the Bettencourt family (Celia's initial employer), Marie (a Chinese brothel madam and Celia's employer), Lettie (Cecilia's sex worker friend), and Owen (kidnapping victim).
The tertiary characters are Celia's parents, the city of Portland, and horrific historical events. There was also another character who will not be elaborated on to avoid spoilers.
There were two types of throw-away characters: those with a storyline impact or those for added interest.
Storyline: 5.0 stars
Celia works for the Portland mayor's family and then falls out of favor. She is then sent to work for a brothel madam as a housekeeper. Along the way, Celia discovers horrible things happening in Portland and the surrounding areas. She tries to correct these egregious wrongs but is "shanghaied" in the Portland tunnels with Owen. They are taken away on a ship bound for San Francisco. There is much more, but NO spoiler zone here!
The locations were: Portland, Oregon, and San Francisco, California.
Memorable/Informative: 5.0 stars
This was a deep and dark historical fiction novel at times. It was difficult to read and horrifying to realize that so much of this happened only about 150 years ago in our country. But, if we only learn about hearts, flowers, and unicorns, we will not learn from our past!
This novel was a necessary read as two Chinese massacres occurred in cities near where I now live (Pasadena and Los Angeles). Appalling!
Book cover: 5.0 stars
Gorgeous!
Book title: 5.0 stars
Perfect!
HIGHLY recommend
NetGalley eARC/ebook
The Girls of Good Fortune by Kristina McMorris
400 pages
Sourcebooks Landmark
FUTURE release date: 5/20/2025
INFORMATIONAL LINKS
TRIGGER WARNING: Sexual content, pregnancy, adoption, xenophobia, racism, sex workers, murder, violence
Happy reading,
Dorothea 💜
Monday, April 7, 2025
REVIEW - Careless People (audiobook)
Careless People by Sarah Wynn-Williams (audiobook)
OVERVIEW
This audiobook was mind-blowing about Facebook (now META)! Yes, I realize this book is only from the author's viewpoint, but I believe her. #MeToo
So much of what Sarah discusses all sorts of issues from work calls on her maternity leave, work travel while almost full-term pregnant, personal questions by male colleagues, and sexual harassment rings true. Ask any woman over thirty if she has experienced any of these issues and sexual harassment will be the top issue. Sexual harassment is alive and well in corporate America, sadly. I don't have the answers to address this, but having ethics in human resources is a start.
Yes, this book spills a lot of tea. Mark Zuckerberg and Sheryl Sandberg do not come out well at all. History will judge them for their actions/inactions.
OVERALL REVIEW: 4.0 stars
Writing: 4.0 stars
The writing by Sarah was good, but not great literature. It was not meant to be that, but to get the true story of Facebook out there.
She succeeded. I constantly had my jaw drop by the unbelievably ignorant and money-driven decisions at the expense of lives. Un-freaking-believable!
Narration: 4.0 stars
The narration is by Sarah, the author, which is my preference. My only issue was not understanding, at times, her New Zealand accent.
Character Arc: 4.0 stars
Holy crap on a cracker. The author actively seeks to work at Facebook in global public policy as she sees the impact social media will have. But, she has no idea the quagmire she is stepping into. It is all about money, money, money; work, work, work. Yes, start-ups are like this. But, Facebook was established at this point.
Sarah gives some background on her life experiences before Facebook and then starts sharing her chronological time working there until her firing.
Memorable: 4.0 stars
The focus on "What Mark or Sheryl wants, Mark or Sheryl gets" at Facebook was ridiculous. They had many advisors who were experts in their fields, but they always seemed to know more. The issues with China, Myanmar, and the U.S. elections are troubling.
Social media has become too powerful without any checks and balances. We need strong controls now, especially for young people ages 13-25. It is unbelievable that children and young adults are being exploited with targeted advertising. Disgusting!
I was one of those people who didn't buy into Sheryl Sandberg's "Lean In" manifesto. From what Sarah indicates, I had good instincts in this regard.
Some of the stories that Sarah shared made my blood boil! I only wish that she had left sooner before her health was affected.
Entertaining: 4.0 stars
At times, the stories that Sarah shared were funny!
Book cover: 5.0 stars
Perfect.
Book title: 5.0 stars
On point!
DEFINITE recommend
STATISTICS
Los Angeles Public Library (LAPL) borrow: audiobook
Careless People by Sarah Wynn-Williams
Macmillan Audio
13 hours, 16 minutes
Release date of 3/10/2025
INFORMATIONAL LINKS
TRIGGER WARNINGS
Sexual harassment, pregnancy, medical content, blood, cursing
Happy reading,
Dorothea 💜
Saturday, April 5, 2025
My next eARC/ebook is...
The Girls of Good Fortune by Kristina McMorris (eArc/eBook)
Happy reading,
Dorothea 💜
REVIEW - The Wandering Season
The Wandering Season by Aimie K. Runyan (eBook)
OVERVIEW
This book was lovely, fun, and thought-provoking! I loved how the author introduced Ancestry-type DNA tests into the story. With the advent of low-cost tests, I have personally heard my share of "surprise" relatives!
It was just what I needed during a few challenging days - I could escape into the main character's life! This was also my first novel by Aimie and it won't be my last!
The premise was terrific, but I must be careful not to spoil several plot twists. However, the novel delivered and fired on all cylinders!!
OVERALL REVIEW: 5.0 stars.
Writing: 5.0 stars
The writing was just so lovely. It reflected the time and place of the story without being heavy-handed or tiresome. The beautifully written descriptions of clothes, food, and locations were well done!
I now have even more places that I want to visit! Adding to my bucket list!
Character development: 5.0 stars
The character development was perfect! The main characters were: Veronica (food sourcing contractor), Avery (Veronica's younger sister), and Stephanie (Veronica's best friend).
The secondary characters were: Veronica's mom and dad, Niall (Veronica's friend), and Caitlin (Niall's sister and Veronica's friend).
The tertiary characters are the DNA test There were also a few other characters, but listing them here would be spoilers in this no-spoiler zone.
There were a few other throw-away characters, but they were not incredibly important to the storyline.
Storyline: 5.0 stars
So Avery gives her family DNA tests for Christmas. Of course, there is a plot twist. Veronica then takes an extended vacation to Europe gifted by her parents, Avery, and Stephanie. There are many stories behind the trip, but again spoilers!
The locations were: Denver, New York, Ireland, France, Italy, and Denmark!
Memorable/Informative: 5.0 stars
I thoroughly loved learning about the incredible food, places, and clothes that Veronica enjoyed on her trip. Sadly, I'm jealous of Veronica's travels!
Interestingly, the author and I share some similar DNA ancestreal locations which is always fun!
Book cover: 4.5 stars
Pretty!
Book title: 5.0 stars
Excellent!
HIGHLY recommend
Los Angeles Public Library (LAPL) borrow: eBook
The Wandering Season by Aimie K. Runyan
400 pages
Harper Muse
Release date: 4/1/2025
INFORMATIONAL LINKS
TRIGGER WARNING: Sexual content, cursing, misogyny, abandonment
Happy reading,
Dorothea 💜
Thursday, April 3, 2025
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