To Have and To Hoax

Finished February 15

To Have and To Hoax by Martha Waters

This Regency romance is the first in a series called The Regency Vows. I've read others in the series and enjoyed them: To Marry and To Meddle (#3) and To Swoon and to Spar (#4). The series is set around a group of young upperclass adults in Regency England, many titled. 

Here, we have Lady Violet Grey, who married Lord James Audley five years earlier, and we see how they met and came to marry in the early part of this novel. Their first year together was passionate and tumultuous as they fought and made up multiple times, but when a secret about how they met is exposed, the fight became a rupture, and the two have not been intimate since. 

One of the issues was a gift that James' father made to him upon his marriage of a country estate that is also a centre for horse breeding. James was determined to make a success of it, and he claimed it was for Violet, but she worried constantly about the risks he took riding untrained horses and about the time he spent on paperwork. She sees that he is trying to prove to his father that he runs the estate better than his father did. 

Now, she is having tea with two of her good friends when she gets an urgent message from one of her husband's friends (a man who is also the brother of one of her friends) telling her that James has fallen from a horse and is unconscious and possibly badly injured. Violet immediately takes action, taking her carriage out to the estate, but she meets her husband, much recovered, and his friends on their way back to London and is infuriated that she wasn't sent an updated message. 

James hadn't realized that a message had been sent, and his friend had forgotten, but the damage is done, and Violet is determined to get revenge. She decides to fake an illness, but she must find someone willing to act as a doctor to back her up, and things start to get very messy. 

Violet and James have a mutual attraction that has not gone away, and both have remained loyal to each other despite their emotional distancing. As each realizes what the other knows about Violet's plan, they do interact more and fight more, but the also notice the attraction. Instead of talking to each other about the reasons for their estrangement, they each take further action, until talking becomes very necessary. 

A fun read. 

The Deep

Finished February 14

The Deep by Mary Swan

This novella was originally published as a short story that won the O. Henry Prize, and is told through a series of short chapters that have a variety of narrators. The central characters are twin sisters, Esther and Ruth, who leave their North American home to volunteer in Europe during World War I. The narrators include teachers, school friends, family members, and acquaintances. 

The twins, throughout their lives referred to themselves as one, always saying 'we' and acting and speaking together. Their birth had a detrimental effect on the health of their mother, and although she lived for several years beyond the birth, she was confined to bed, and there is a sense that the twins are blamed for this by both their father and their older brothers, but more so their older brothers. 

As the war ends, and the women prepare to leave France, there is a situation where they acted as separate individuals, with both recognizing that and being unsure how to deal with it. It is obviously disturbing to both of them, and we see their actions following this. 

When We Were Young and Brave

Finished February 11

When We Were Young and Brave by Hazel Gaynor

This historical fiction novel was inspired by real events. The story is framed by one of the narrators, Nancy, looking back at this time from 1975. Near the end of the book, the framing is completed with a more full explanation of what happened to the various characters after their time in China ended. 

The main story begins in December 1941, with Elspeth Kent, one of the teachers at the Chefoo Mission School considering resigning and returning to her home in England. She came to China after her fiancé was killed in a mining accident and she couldn't see how to move on there without him. But her plans are thwarted with Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor and their declaration of war against the United States, the United Kingdom, and other Allied countries. 

Among the students at the school is Nancy Plummer, along with her older brother, and Nancy's friends who include an American girl named Dorothy (nicknamed Sprout as she is tall and thin) and Joan (nicknamed Mouse because she is small and quiet). The girls are part of a Brownie troop and studying to move up to Girl Guides. Elspeth and another teacher, Minnie, lead the girls in this endeavour. 

When the Japanese arrive to occupy the school, the headmaster is taken away, the Chinese servants are sent away, and the soldiers label everything the property of the Japanese emperor. When Minnie tries to make a stand, she is beaten with a pole by one of the soldiers, and Elspeth tries to intervene drawing attention to herself. We watch as the situation evolves over the years. 

Without the servants, the teachers and students must cook and clean and the teachers try to manage morale. Elspeth and Minnie use the Girl Guide teachings and badge earning to get the girls to work and treat the situation optimistically. After a year, the group is moved across town to another school, which has been abandoned for some time. There, they have to make the spaces they are billeted in liveable, and consider safety and continue teaching. The headmaster is back by now and is a great leader in this and the future situations. 

When they are moved again, it is farther away, to an internment camp near Weihsien, where they are the most recent additions. They find support from some of the other prisoners, who have organized a library, and a system of work responsibilities. 

With two narrators, Elspeth and Nancy, we get different viewpoints from different levels of understanding the situation. The author did a lot of research, trying to talk to survivors from Japanese prisoners and using real examples, such as the presence of the Olympic runner Eric Liddell in the camp. 

I found the story interesting and believable and liked the nuances of the people, with both bad and good people among their Japanese captors. I also enjoyed the use of the Girl Guide training and expectations to motivate the young girls and keep up their morale.  

The Fiercest Joy

Finished February 9

The Fiercest Joy by Shana Abé

This is the third novel in The Sweetest Dark, a historical fantasy series. I also noted that it tied in with the Drákon series by the same author, in an interesting way. 

Eleanore (Lora) Jones is in her final year as a scholarship student at the prestigious Iverson School for girls, and torn between two drákon men she loves, brothers Aubrey and Armand. This year there is also another scholarship girl at the school, and it would appear that she is a drákon as well, going under the name Smith. She cannot apparently turn into a dragon, but she has other skills. The three can't help wonder what she is doing there and whether she is putting them at risk. 

When Lora gives into her intuition one night and engages in a coastal battle, she encounters another dragon, and feels threatened by his presence. 

Soon after that two drakon people, brother and sister, arrive at the school, claiming to have been searching for Eleanore for years. They intend to take her to join her family. But Eleanore is still unsure and since she is now engaged, she insists that her fiancé come as well. 

Meanwhile Aubrey is researching Lora's past with a clue from a memory of hers, by searching for ship passenger lists near the time of her birth. He and Armand have also shared historical letters regarding their family with both her and Miss Smith. 

This tale has lots of dramatic moments and suspense as well as moments of strong emotion. It wraps up this series nicely, while still offering possibilities for future books.  

Yellowhead Blues

Finished February 7

Yellowhead Blues by R.E. Donald

This is the fifth book in the Hunter Rayne Highway Mystery series, and is set along the B.C. portion of the Yellowhead highway. Hunter is a retired RCMP officer that now works as a long-haul truck driver. He is on his way to Edmonton with a load when a man who has stopped coming the other way flags him down and asks for help catching a loose horse. The man, Leon, is a horse trainer and breeder coming from a cattle penning competition at Teepee Creek. He stopped when he saw a loose horse and then stopped Hunter before trying to catch it. The horse was scared and had blood on it. 

They managed to catch it and used Leon's dog Blue to track the trail back to where the horse came from, finding a badly injured man sitting with his back against the tree. He was near death and the two men, with no cell reception, decided to carry him on one of the horses back to the highway. 

Bianca Morrison, a RCMP Constable, was the first officer on the scene, shortly after the ambulance arrived. Bianca is from Quebec, and has felt isolated as a female officer. She hopes that she will get a chance to participate in this case. 

A couple days later Hunter gets a call from Leon, who has been arrested for the murder of the man they found. Hunter is pretty sure Leon is innocent, but he'd had an interaction with the man before, so there is history. As Hunter digs deeper into the circumstances surrounding the crime, he asks Bianca for help and gets his dispatcher El to find some of the people he wants to talk to as well. 

I found this mystery quite interesting, with lots of possible suspects. I liked seeing Hunter's personal circumstances, as well as learning of Bianca's experiences with the RCMP. Leon's dog Blue was an active player, and an engaging dog as well. 

A Detective at Death's Door

Finished February 6

A Detective at Death's Door by H.R.F. Keating

This is the fifth book in the Harriet Martens mystery series, but the first in the series that I've read. Harriet is a Detective Superintendent for the Greater Birchester Police, and as the book begins, she awakens in a hospital with some memory loss, wondering how she got there. As she fades in and out of consciousness she overhears her husband John and a doctor discussing her close call with death. 

She learns that she has been poisoned with aconitine, a derivative of the wolfsbane plant, and part of her survival is due to the face that John Piddock had been reading an Agatha Christie novel with the same poisoning and forced her to vomit as soon as he returned to her side. The two were enjoying a hot day by the pool at the Majestic Insurance Company Sports and Social Club, with the insurance company being John's employer. She'd been drinking Campari and soda and fallen asleep as John went to the bathroom. When he returned she awoke and saw him coming toward her and picked up her drink and took a swallow, to find that it didn't taste right. 

One of her colleagues, DS Pat Murphy is in charge of her case and eager to speak to her as soon as she's well enough, which is days later. She becomes eager to get home and despite her still weak condition, John agrees as long as she follows the conditions he sets. She agrees, and she does try, but her instinct to solve the case gets her out of bed long before she should and sets back her recovery. When she hears that there have been more poisoning victims after her, and they didn't survive, she becomes determined to try to stop the killer. She reaches out to people who might help, grasping at straws as she trusts her instincts and as she goes against the new London-based police officer who has taken over the case. 

Harriet is a strong-willed woman, with a good marriage and a strong reputation at her workplace. She is not about to let her health set her back, but she isn't in control of that and finds that, if she doesn't want to suffer a fatal setback, she must take better care of herself. 

I enjoyed this mystery, both the skills that Harriet displayed as she followed the case and the plot overall. A very interesting read.

The Gingerbread Bakery

Finished February 2

The Gingerbread Bakery by Laurie Gilmore

This is the fifth book in the Dream Harbor series, but the first one I've read. The main characters here are Annie Andrews, who is the owner of Gingerbread Bakery, and Mac Sullivan, the owner of Sullivan's Pub, which he bought from his parents. 

The two have known each other most of their lives. Annie took a dislike to Mac from elementary school, when he bullied her best friend Logan. Her opinion of him hasn't improved. But when they finished high school, most of their contemporaries went on to college and in November they encountered each other at a local event. Mac bought some of Annie's cookies from her home-based business, and then arranged to meet her again. They found themselves spending time together and beginning a friendship. Something happened to change that, but we don't find out what until later in the book. Now, Mac has been back in Dream Harbor for three years, and Annie has been avoiding him every chance she gets. With Logan getting married to Jeanie, a more recent addition to the town, they find themselves both part of the wedding party and forced to spend time with each other. When a small crisis arises days before the wedding, and Annie determined to keep Logan from worrying, she finds Mac is the one who helps, and doesn't give up. Not only does he help with the crisis, but he also forces Annie to deal with the past and the events that drove them apart.

A Christmas season romance with a small town setting and even some kittens. 

Company Town

Finished January 31

Company Town by Madeline Ashby

This science fiction novel is set in the near future on a city-sized oil rig called New Arcadia located off Canada's east coast. New Arcadia has recently been bought by a family-owned corporation called Lynch Ltd. The rig consists of five towers, each built in a different time period, with the oldest housing some of the poorest of the city's citizens. The main character Go Jung-hwa (Hwa) is one of these. She was born to a Korean-Canadian mother who didn't want her, and with Sturge-Weber, a rare disease that means she has a large birthmark and is more susceptible to certain conditions like seizures. Hwa is also on of the few people in New Arcadia that has no technological enhancements. She is an expert in tae kwon do, and works as security for the United Sex Workers of Canada, of which her mother Sunny is one. Hwa also had an older brother she was close to that died when the Old Rig exploded a few years ago. She is close to many of the sex workers and respects her union representative Séverine. She is given an assignment to watch over two union men who will be attending the official handover of the city to the new owners. 

When there is an incident at the handover, Hwa tries to get a better view of the situation and ends up meeting Daniel Siofra, a high level employee of the new owners who uses technology to affect the mood of groups of people. He is impressed with her skills and wants her to train Joel, the youngest son of the new owner and also act as his bodyguard during the day. Hwa doesn't want the job as she is loyal to her employer and the women she protects, but she is given now choice. As Daniel tells her when she protests "I'll find something you want and give it to you." She will be well-paid and she does set up her own apartment, but stays in Tower One. She also attends school with Joel, offering her a chance to further her education. 

When Joel is attacked and her friends start being murdered in violent ways, Hwa isn't sure who she can trust and who has ulterior motives, maybe for her, and maybe for the whole city. 

This is suspenseful and intriguing and I really cared about Hwa and what happened to her. Daniel appears to like her and support her, and she begins to feel something for him, but doesn't know if she can trust that feeling, or him.

Ashby has created characters with depth and personality, and I particularly liked her choice to give Hwa a Newfoundland accent. Great read. 

The Glitter Scene

Finished January 28

The Glitter Scene by Monika Fagerholm, translated from Swedish by Katarina E. Tucker

This literary mystery novel is told out of chronological order and from a variety of viewpoints. 

The story starts with the most recent time period, from 2004 to 2006. Johanna lives with her aunt Solveig in a house outside of town. When a girl a little older than her Ulla, tells her of a tragedy nearly forty years earlier, where an American girl died and then her boyfriend killed himself, she is intrigued and wonders where her parents, who were children at the time, fit into the story. She knows her father, Solveig's brother, is dead, but she doesn't know who her mother is. 

We then jump back in time to a story about a mask and some shoes, with the intriguing subtitle "an entirely different story, or maybe not?" and a second story about a girl who pretends she is a wild child from far away. We see Solveig and her twin sister Rita, girls who plan to become swimming stars; a brother and sister, Tom and Maj-Gun Maalamaa; Solveig and Rita's brother Bengt; their cousin Bjorn; and Doris, a girl looking for a more welcoming home than the one she was born into.

From there we move to 1989 when Maj-Gun and another local girl Suzette are in their late twenties and still unsure of their futures. When the two girls reconnect, a friendship of a sort is formed, but Suzette has secrets she doesn't want to share. 

This is a complex read, with interactions between locals and a wealthier group of people who move into a new, gated development that has repercussions. 

Somewhere Among

Finished January 28

Somewhere Among by Annie Donwerth-Chikamatsu

This children's novel is narrated by eleven-year-old Ema. As the story opens Ema and her parents are taking taxi from their small apartment to the other side of Tokyo where her father's parents live. Ema's mother is from the United States and teaches English at a college. She's having a difficult pregnancy, so the plan is to live with her Obaachan (grandmother) and Jiichan (grandfather) so that her mother can rest. This means that Ema can't go to her usual school as it is too far away. 

At first her Papa tries to stay there as well, but the commute to his work is too long and he gets too tired. It is June, shortly before the normal school year ends, so Ema will get tutored by her Obaachan until she starts at the new school in September. Ema is a pretty good kid, and she's excited to have a sibling, so she tries to not worry her mother over things. Usually in the summer she goes with her mother to visit her California grandparents, Nana and Grandpa Bob, but this year she will miss that, so she talks to them on the phone and writes to them. 

The novel is told in a series of poems, with each one dated. We see how Ema has some trouble adjusting to living with her grandparents. Her Obaachan runs the house and has rules and expectations, so Ema finds her a little cold, but she is close to her Jiichan and they spend time together. 

By the time school starts, he finds her a used bicycle to go back and forth with and he fills in her mother's duties on the Mama Patrol that watches out for the kids safety going to and from school. But this novel also takes place in 2001, and when the planes hit the towers in New York City, Ema is unable to prevent her mother from learning the news. 

I really liked Ema and understood her feelings of not fitting in due to her mixed heritage. Changing schools is hard and she also has to deal with a bully, something she hasn't encountered before and tries to hide from her mother. 

This is a book that draws you in with the character and the poetry format means that a reader can take their time as they go through the book. 

The Midnight Land I: The Flight

Finished January 23

The Midnight Land I: The Flight by E.P. Clark

This is the first book in a high fantasy series that is inspired by Russian folk tales, literature, geography, and language. The series is called The Zemnian.  The land of Zem is a matrilineal society where the women hold positions of power and influence and the men are seeing as strong and good-looking, but not as intelligent.  Clark has built a complex world that has a court that is gossipy and full of plots. The Tsarina and her court live in Krasnograd, in a building called the kremlin,a generic term for castle. Her younger half-sister, Krasnaslava Tsarinovna (Slava) is a woman with the skill of deep empathy. She can feel other's emotions and sometimes even their thoughts. Her role at court is to attend and give advice which sometimes encourages mercy to the wrongdoer. She finds her life tedious and the feeling of being constantly bombarded with the emotions of others tiring. 

When the daughter of a smaller kingdom within Zem, Olga Vasilisovna comes to the Tsarina to ask for funds to go to the Midnight Land, beyond the trees and map what she can, Slava finds herself asking to go along on this journey and receiving permission. Slava's father was a warrior from the land of the Steppes, and she is proud of that heritage even though she herself has never been outside the city. 

Olga helps Slava get together a suitable wardrobe, including trousers, and picks a horse from the royal stable for her to start the trip out on. 

As they journey, Slava finds the experience enlightening, as well as physically demanding. It takes her some time to overcome the pain from being on a horse all day, and being able to keep up with the rest of the group. At first the vast forest they travel through scares her, and staying in the barricaded shelters spaced along the roads feels odd. She is gradually accepted by the men with conversations between Olga, her men and Slava happening as they ride. But when she convinces the men to spare an elk they came across instead of getting fresh venison, she feels an outsider again. Slava dreams of the elk and when the group gets lost, Slava leads them in following the elk back to the main road. This example of her ability to talk to animal spirits causes curiosity and discussion about the different animal and tree spirits that exist. 

When, after visits to other small kingdoms within Zem they reach a small village near the treeline, and must switch from horses to dogsled, Slava finds that her presence is helpful for a reason she hadn't expected. As they travel and Slava's skills grow, she dreams and talks to various animal spirits, but also of the tree spirits (leshiye) who seem to want something from her, at least until they fully understand her skill. This is a tasking journey, where the group encounters a variety of dangers from weather to wolves to thieves, and sometimes Slava is placed in a leadership role. 

The novel ends with the group in Lesnograd, the capital of Olga's kingdom, where she hopes to ask her mother's sorceresses for help in understanding Slava's gifts. But there they find a very different situation than expected, and new dangers await. 

I really enjoyed this world, and the plot. Clark has done a lot of work building this world, and it shows. I've bought the rest of the series and look forward to following the story as it unfolds. 

Slava is an interesting character whose empathy makes connections with others, and whose growth gives her strength as she better understands what she is capable of. I also liked Olga and her rebellious nature where she has spurned the husband her mother arranged for her and taken one of her men, who is thoughtful and caring as her partner. 

The element of nature is strong here too, and important to the story. 

The Weekend Crashers

Finished January 16

The Weekend Crashers by Jamie Brenner

This women's fiction novel has three female characters that we follow over the course of a few days. Maggie Hodges is in her 40s, raised her adult daughter as a single mom, and works at a clothing store in New York City. She started the job when her daughter was young, and stayed. The owner, an older woman named Elaine, is a woman that has invested in a variety of businesses.

Piper Hodges, 23, daughter of Maggie has been working as a model since being discovered by a reputable agent. Piper lives with her boyfriend Ethan, and has paused her college education to focus on modelling. 

Belinda Yarrow owns a small hotel in small town Pennsylvania with her husband of 35 years, Max, something they bought into decades ago after a crisis in their marriage.

All three of these women are knitters. Belinda runs knitting retreats on a regular basis, with some people coming regularly. Elaine grew up in the town Belinda's hotel is in and told Maggie about the retreat.

As the book opens, Piper is doing a show in New York City, and Maggie has scored a ticket. For unknown reasons, as Piper is walking onto the runway, she faints and collapses. 

We can see Piper is less enthused about her modelling career than her mother is. Piper has other interests, and hasn't made big money so far, and she finds herself feeling relieved that this may end her career. Maggie is worried about her daughter in many ways, including that she is in a serious relationship at such a young age. This may be because Maggie herself got pregnant with Piper when she was quite young and gave up her college education to be a responsible mom. She wants Piper to have more options.

Maggie brings up the knitting retreat as a way to take Piper's mind off her mishap and have some mother daughter time. 

Belinda's husband has booked another group into the hotel on the same weekend as the retreat, a bachelor's party where the focus is on outdoor expertise and survival skills. They've also had an offer from a chain to buy the hotel and Max is eager to move to another stage of life. Belinda isn't so sure. 

As we see the possibilities for people who truly care about each other want different things in life, we also see how throwing two disparate groups of people together by change can create interesting situations. 

I think I liked Belinda best of the characters, perhaps because she is closest to me in age, I found her insightful, thoughtful, and good at her job. She isn't as good at communicating her own wants and isn't always diplomatic when she does.

Each women grows in some way during this weekend and its aftermath, and many of the men face issues of change as well. I enjoyed the read. 

The Ghostly Grounds: Murder and Breakfast

Finished January 11

The Ghostly Grounds: Murder and Breakfast by Sophie Love

This is the first book in a paranormal cosy mystery series called Canine Casper Cosy Mystery. Marie Fortune, a woman in her late thirties, has been working in an upscale dog grooming salon in Boston and as the book opens, she finally loses her cool at the attitude of the clients and her boss, and quits. She reflects on the life she is living and her long-harboured dream of running a bed and breakfast on the coast of Maine. This was a dream inspired and encouraged by her Great Aunt June, whom she spent summer childhoods with in Maine. She worries over what she will do next and when she invites her boyfriend Chris over to tell him, she finds evidence that he's been involved with someone other than her and finds herself ending that relationship as well. As soon as he leaves, she gets a call from a police officer telling her that her Great Aunt June has died.

Naturally she goes to the small Maine town June lived in for the funeral, and finds that June has left her the large house she lived in there and the property it was on, which includes beachfront. Marie can't help but see this as an opportunity to live her dream. She also finds another surprise waiting for her there, as was promised in the note June left for her. It turns out to be a dog, and Marie is happy to take it on as well. 

As she uses the last of her savings to do needed renovations to the house to make it work as a bed and breakfast she leaves in place the gothic touches that June decorated the house with as they seem to fit the place, and despite the fact that the house has a reputation for being haunted Marie doesn't really notice anything like that. But one of her first visitors seems to see something and before she knows it, she finds believers and nonbelievers making bookings hoping to either see something or disprove that there is anything haunting about the house. 

When one of those visitors dies soon after leaving the house, she finds herself under suspicion for the death, and questioning the activities that have been occurring at the house. 

A fun read, with touches of humour and romance. 

The Treasure Keeper

Finished January 10

The Treasure Keeper by Shana Abé

This is the fourth book in the Drákon series, a historical fantasy series I've been reading completely out of order. The main character here is Zoe Lane. Zoe is the daughter of a seamstress in the English town of Darkfrith, a drákon town hidden from discovery by humans. When she was a child she used to play with Rhys Langford, the son of the head of the town. Rhys disappeared months ago, and men sent after haven't returned either. One of them is Zoe's fiancé, and she doesn't like sitting around waiting. 
Zoe, like many of the more recently born women in the community doesn't have the ability to shapeshift to either smoke or a dragon, let alone both, but she does have two gifts that no one knows about. One is the ability to become invisible. the other is the power to feel other's emotions, and often see their thoughts. 
Using her first power, she escapes Darkfrith and follows the trail to Paris, the last place her fiancé wrote her from. She bases herself out of a room in an abandoned royal residence, and frequents cafés listening to others' emotions and trying to find the men who have been hunting dragons, men known as the sanf inimicus.  
However Zoe is also finding herself seeing Rhys and she doesn't understand why. She is sure he must be dead, but she can talk to him and he seems to be the same as the man she knew. She believes that she is talking to his soul and that she can therefore talk to the dead. 
When his presence saves her from a confrontation with someone working for the sanf inimicus, she is taken aback, but very thankful. When a clue leads her to drákon men hunting the same people as herself, she asks to join, but is refused. She is hesitant to reveal her gifts, but may have to do so to be successful in her hunt. 
I really enjoyed this novel, cheering Zoe on as she revealed herself as a strong woman, and willing to learn how to take best advantage of the gifts she has been given.

Regreen

Finished January 8

Regreen: New Canadian Ecological Poetry edited by Adam Dickinson and Madhur Anand

The anthology is one I've owned for a while, but only got to reading late last year. As with most poetry I read, it is something I tend to take my time with, reading a poem to two at a time, and thinking about what the poem says.

There are thirty-five poets represented here with the number of poem from each ranging from one to eight. Most are short, a page or two. 

Both editors wrote informative introductions that I found helpful. Besides both of them being poets, Madhur was at the time of this book, the Canada Research Chair in Global Ecological Change at the University of Guelph. I think this brings an interesting consideration to the collection.

The poems are divided into three sections: a triumph of tubers; pristine modernity, the dreams; and a leaf that looks like a mouth. The all have some relation to the environment, sometimes nature-based, sometimes to do with man's activities that affect nature. There is joy and there is regret. There is also hope.

Running for My Life

Finished January 5

Running for My Life: One Lost Boy's Journey from the Killing Fields of Sudan to the Olympic Games by Lopez Lomong with Mark Tabb

This autobiography takes us from Lopepe's (Lopez's) kidnapping from his parents at an outdoor church service near his Sudanese home when he was six years old to his life at the time of publication (2012). When the rebels attacked the church congregation, his mother held him close, but the chose him anyway and threw him in the back of a truck with other children. By luck, none of his siblings had come with him and his parents that day. His brother planned to take them to a later service. Three older boys who said they knew his older brother took him under their wing and protected him as best they could on the truck journey and in camp once they arrived. 

While the older boys were soon forced to train as soldiers, the younger ones like Lopez remained in their tent prison all the time. The older boys planned an escape during the night and took him with them. Lopez was already known as a fast runner, and this escape was a real test of both his swiftness and his endurance. The boys made it to the Kenyan border and were taken into a refugee camp, and Lopez never knew the exact identity or what became of his saviours. In camp, Lopez attended classes and ran the perimeter of the camp to earn his right to play football (soccer) and to keep himself busy. He grew to a leadership position in his group and ensured fairness and responsibility for the members. They gathered and shared food and made sure it lasted. 

There was always a dream among the boys to find a life in the West. At one point, Lopez was lucky enough to get to see Michael Johnson run in the Olympics on a staff member's television and this became his dream. When he was sixteen, he was chosen for adoption in the United States and found his new family. Lopez had blocked thoughts of his family from the beginning of his time in the camp, convincing himself that they were dead so that he would be able to move on. This was how he came to be eligible for adoption. 

It took him some time to get used to his new life and we see him go through adjusting to having dependable access to food, to having a bedroom to himself, to learn about electricity and running water that was part of his new home. He called his adoptive parents Mom and Dad right away though and trusted them completely. 

As they soon realized his running skills, he was connected with a coach, and his new parents sought out other boys from the camp who had settled nearby and ensured he had contact with them. They ensured he had academic support to catch up with his schooling, and that he plan for the future. 

When it came to light that his family in Sudan was still alive, they encouraged contact and he has since worked to create a charitable foundation that helps his old community. 

As we see his drive and his empathy, we find a young man that has not only fulfilled his own dreams, but also helps other fulfill theirs. 

February Reviews for the19th Annual Canadian Reading Challenge

 This is where you add the links to book reviews that meet the requirements of this reading challenge.

The Last Thing He Told Me

Finished January 4

The Last Thing He Told Me by Laura Dave

This standalone suspense novel was recommended to me at the library when I asked about a book to meet a challenge. The challenge was a book published in the last five years that had been adapted into a movie or television show, and this was adapted into a television series.

The main character is Hannah Hall, a wood turner, and furniture maker. Hannah had lived in New York City until recently, when she married Owen Michaels, a coder that she met through one of her clients. After their marriage she moved onto the houseboat in Sausalito, where Owen lives with his sixteen-year-old daughter Bailey.  She made some missteps with Bailey at the beginning, but is trying to come to a better relationship. 

One day a kid from the sports team Owen coaches shows up at Hannah's door with a note that just says 'Protect Her.' Hannah knows that he means Bailey, but isn't sure what is going on until she finds that Owen's workplace was raided by the FBI for fraud. She can't believe that Owen would have anything to do with that, but why else would he disappear? When she picks up Bailey from school, she finds that he's left something for Bailey as well. 

As Hannah tries to make sense of things, she is visited by a Texas Ranger who offers help, and she begins to dig into Owen's past, finding that he isn't who he said he was. This is a mystery with some suspenseful moments, and Hannah ends up faced with a decision that is difficult on the surface. 

First Date: Divorce

Finished January 2

First Date: Divorce by Patricia McLinn

This book is the first book in the series The Wyoming Marriage Association. 

I've read books in three other series by this author and enjoyed them. I chose the book to meet a reading challenge left over from 2025. This book lets us see a variety of viewpoints. The main female character is K.D. Hamilton, a sheriff's deputy from Montana who has been trying to get her boss to let her do investigative work. K.D. was raised by a single mother after her father abandoned the family, and her mother remarried after K.D. left home. She is wary of relationships. She has been lent to the sheriff's office in Bardville, Wyoming and has just arrived at the ranch she was told to come to as the book begins. 

The main male character is Eric Larkin, a lawyer who has been living in Bardville for a short time, having moved there from Chicago after his divorce to be close to a couple of friends and have a fresh start. Along with him has come his assistant, a widowed friend of his mother's. The assistant is on the ball and trying to get Eric to be more social. Eric has kept to himself for the most part, except for his friends, the sheriff and a private investigator who is ex-FBI. 

The situation is a local business just outside of town, who is leasing a county-owned building and operating as a luxury retreat specializing in marriage counselling. A number of couple who stayed there left even more determined to split up, and they've all had one person who engaged a local lawyer for a divorce. Before renewing the lease, the county wants to ensure there isn't anything shady going on. 

K.D. and Eric will pose as a married couple who've been separated a while, but are attempting a reconciliation. Since Eric has kept to himself, no one in town outside of his friends is aware that he's divorced. There is a tight timeline, and they have to create a backstory complete with photographic evidence, so a few ranching women come together to stage wedding and other couple photographs. As K.D. gets involved, she learns more about Eric's ex and why they split. 

The mystery is pretty tame, but the romance has some sizzle. A fun read.

Roundup of Reading for 2025

 

Here are the numbers.

Total books read was 180.

Total pages read was 56,266.

Audience

Adult            169

Teen                  3

Children's         8

Genre/Subject (Note that some books have more than one genre

Fiction                164     of which 69 were part of a series

Mystery                  55

Romance                56

Literary                  21

Historical                26

Fantasy                   16

Science Fiction        2

Horror                      5

Western                    1

Nonfiction                    14

Biography/Memoir        9

Essays                            2

Travel                             1

History                           3

Social History                2

True Crime                     1

Science/Social Science   2

Arts and Crafts                1

Translated from another language to English: 12

From French        3

From Arabic         1

From Japanese     1

From Dutch          1

From German       2

From Italian          1

From Chinese       1

From Hindi           1

From Spanish        1

Setting (some books will have multiple settings)

Other world                    5

Other real world             4

Canada                         20 

United States                93

Europe                          61

Asia                              13

Latin America                9

Africa                             6

Australia / Pacific          6

Where I got the books

Library                        75

Owned                        94    of which 44 of the print ones got gifted elsewhere

Borrowed                      3

Temporary (Netgalley) 8 

Author Gender

Male                            35

Female                       140

Unclear                          1

Both                               2

Format

Graphic Novel                1

Large Print                     2

Regular Print

ebook                            58

License to Bite

Finished December 30

License to Bite by Carrie Pulkinen

This novel is the start of a series set in New Orleans. Ethan Deveraux has been a vampire for about 30 years, but he's mostly just holed up in his house occasionally venturing out to work a little for money to live on or as a sidekick to the vampire who converted him.

Jane Anderson is in town with her best friend. She works as a social influencer, a bit of a disappointment to her father, the governor of Texas, and to her brothers who all have college degrees and professional jobs. But they do all love her, and are worried about her in New Orleans during Mardi Gras.

And rightly so, as the girls get pretty drunk their first night and are escorted home by Ethan and his sire. Ethan is struck by something about her and thinks she might be his lost love reincarnated and he finds himself possessive of her.

When her preoccupation with social media puts her in a deadly accident, Ethan finds himself making her a vampire to keep her from dying. As her sire, he must take responsibility for her learning the rules and the process she must follow to stay alive. That means registering her the next night and preparing her to get her license to bite. 

Jane is a rebel and a feminist. She's also a charmer, having watched her father in politics for years. She certainly doesn't like the term 'sire' and she doesn't like that the council consists only of old men. But she can work with that. 

The big threat is her fear of blood, making her pass out whenever she sees it. How in the world is she going to bite under testing? Especially with a representative of the world vampire council in town looking for infractions, eager to stake whoever slips up. 

This novel is humorous, fun, and a total enjoyment to read. Jane is smart, sexy, and ambitious. She has ideas for new revenue streams and is willing to use her clout to get things moving. And Ethan is ready to move on with his death, finding Jane both annoying and attractive. 

A December to Remember

Finished December 29

A December to Remember by Jenny Bayliss

Augustus Balthazar North, owner of North's Novelties and Curios in the village of Rowan Thorp has set off on his last adventure, dying in his van on an European mountain. He never really settled down, although he had charm enough to attract ladies and he never pretended to be anything he wasn't. Through his many liaisons he had three daughters, and they all spent a month every summer with him together.  

Maggie, the oldest lived in Rowan Thorp, her mother moving there to see if there was any long term relationship possible, and she ran a greengrocer that Maggie has now taken over. Simone's mother is very business-oriented and Simone is now a physiotherapist married to a therapist and the two are going through a rough patch after having several unsuccessful IVF tries. Star is a free spirit, similar to her mother, never settling down, growing up in a series of communes and in other group settings. She's just been evicted due to the actions of an ex-boyfriend. 

Augustus has set some strange conditions in his will, asking that his daughters work together to bring back the Winter Festival that the town used to have on the solstice. The other is that they find the 32 altered monopoly houses that Augustus has hidden in the shop. The shop has been around since the 1740s, with North's passing it down to the next generation, collecting interesting objects from all over.

The women hire Sotheby's to catalogue the items in the shop and possibly sell some of them at auction, and Sotheby's has sent a lovely young man who is very interested in Augustus' reputation as a collector, eager to see what treasures the shop holds. 

As the women look for the houses, research the festival which was held until several decades earlier, and get to know each other again, they also find community in Rowan Thorp, and find other reasons that the town is the place they want to call home. 

I really enjoyed all three sisters, who all have interesting lives that differ widely from each other, but are also good women. Each finds skills that contribute to their situation and that affect their personal lives in other long-term ways. There is humour, good will, and lots of good food as well.

A seasonal read that brings the feeling of joy and friendship out in a big way.

A delightful novel. 

A Dream of Death

Finished December 26

Dream of Death by Connie Berry

This is the first book in the Kate Hamilton Mysteries series. Kate is an antique dealer who lives in Ohio. She met her late husband at university there where he taught. He was from the Scottish island of Glenroth and Kate has visited a couple of times, but hasn't been back since his death three years ago. Their children are at university and she leads a busy life. 

When her sister-in-law Elenor calls her begging to her come she does, but it doesn't mean that she's comfortable about it. Her visitor coincides with the Tartan Ball, a late fall annual event. She's staying at the hotel that Elenor owned and ran, and where the ball takes place. 

Elenor doesn't fill her in completely about why she's asked her to come, but she has shown Kate a lovely historical casket, and given her a novel about a famous event on the island that a local historian has written, asking her to read it. 

At the ball a couple of announcements that Elenor makes don't go over very well with the locals, and Elenor ends up going back to her apartment in the hotel early. Kate is disturbed the next morning to find that Elenor is dead, and that her death was a copycat murder of one more than two centuries earlier, the woman the novel is about. 

With the local police dismissive of her ideas, Kate follows the clues that she sees through the eyes of someone who is aware of some history, but not a local herself. As she works out who she can trust, she finds herself confiding in the hotel's only other guest, a police investigator from England. 

I liked the historical aspect of the plot, as well as the information around antiques. This is in some ways a woman's story, both now and in the past, and Kate is a good observer. I'd definitely be interested in reading more in the series.

Live Fast

Finished December 24

Live Fast by Brigitte Giraud, translated by Cory Stockwell

This is an interesting novel as the author looks back on the accidental death of her partner, Claude, decades before. She recounts the chain of events that led up to the accident, and for each of them wonders what if something different had happened. It is something that I think anyone who has lost someone due to something that was preventable wonders, but seeing it all spelled out takes this to another level.

One can sense the loss that the death was, and how the present day event of leaving the house that the couple had just bought, but not yet moved to, would trigger this reflection. 

I was touched by the everyday events that she described and the way that small choices bring us to a different reality. 

An amazing read. 

You Belong with Me

Finished December 24

You Belong with Me by Mhairi McFarlane

This romance novel has a romance that we've come into at a critical moment and it deals with some interesting issues around communication, trust, and what happens when one of the pair is a celebrity. Edie is a woman who is good at her publicity job, but not as confident in her personal life. She tried to talk herself out of a relationship with famous actor Elliot Owen, but he shows up on her doorstep determined to make a relationship with her work. 

Edie had a recent experience where someone took advantage of her nature and compromised her, with Edie getting unfairly blamed for the situation. Since it involved co-workers, it spilled into issues at work, specifically bullying and mean girl attitudes. Her boss knew the truth and allowed her leeway to work from home, and recognizes her leadership potential. When she's assigned an employee from head office to report to her as a new satellite location manager, she's wary of what he's been told by her work bullies.

Edie also learns to deal with Elliot's agent and how she should deal with the publicity that news of her relationship will bring. Another interesting thing to deal with is his relationships with other cast, particularly those cast as significant others in an ongoing series. 

As Edie and Elliot learn more about each other and work out the new seriousness of their relationship, dealing with information leaks, crushes, and new opportunities puts strain on their long distance relationship.

A romance with a lot going on and some real issues at the heart of it. 

We Need No Wings

Finished December 19

We Need No Wings by Ann Dávila Cardinal

This novel really caught my attention and kept it. The main character is Tere Sanchez, an English professor at a New England university. She is currently on leave, almost a year after her husband was unexpectedly killed in an accident. She has been having a very hard time moving on. As the book opens, she is out looking after the garden that her husband loved so much when she found herself having a very unusual experience, she levitates. At first she thinks she might be going crazy, but after having more such experiences, and making some discrete inquires of an older aunt, she remembers that her family is said to be descended from the family of Saint Teresa of Avila, who was also known for levitation. 

On an impulse, she decides to travel to Spain, to Avila, and see what she can learn, both from the place and from a distant cousin who lives there. Her Puerto Rican Spanish will make it relatively easy to get along. 

She lets her son, who lives in California, as well as a university colleague who was a close friend of her husband, know that she's gone to Spain. Once in Avila, she starts by trying to find her relative, a task harder than she expected, and unexpectedly begins to make friends with some locals. The landlord at her apartment helps, as well as a young homeless man that she takes under her wing. When she decides to rent a bicycle, she also finds an friendship forming with the owner of the bike shop.

Her inquiries into Saint Teresa lead her to churches and museums, and give her insight into how women were treated then, and how little has changed in some ways. 

I loved this book and Tere's story of mid-life change. 

False Impressions

Finished December 16

False Impressions by Sandra Nikolai

This is the first book in a series featuring a ghostwriter and investigative crime journalist. Megan Scott and her husband Tom's marriage has been more stressful lately as their efforts to have children have been unsuccessful. Tom travels a lot for work, and is off on another trip as the novel begins.

Megan is starting a new project as a ghostwriter for investigative journalist Michael Elliott, and when they realize they knew each other years before, they begin to develop a friendship as well.

When Tom goes off for a retreat, Megan doesn't have any concerns until police arrive at her door telling her that he and his female companion are dead. The discovery of his infidelity at the same time as his death is confusing for Megan emotionally, and she relies heavily on Michael for support. 

It also puts her under suspicion for his murder, and the ties between her and the crime continue to grow. The police seem to have their minds already made up, and Michael and Megan begin their own investigation to find the truth. 

I enjoyed the premise of the novel and the plot. As the book began, some of the dialogue seemed stilted and awkward, but that improved as the book went on. While it took me a while to get truly interested, I was glad I stuck with it. A good read.

Baby Mine

Finished December 14

Baby Mine by Kennedy Fox

I picked this out of my free Kobo reads to meet a challenge and kept hoping it would get better and it just kept getting more cringy. Engineering student and part-time bartender Hunter is drawn to a woman Lennon that he sees while he's working at the bar. She's also a student, but not locally, and is there with friends. He means to ask for her number, but doesn't get another chance, and the next morning he finds that she came home with his roommate. As his roommate and Lennon get serious and then when Lennon finishes her degree and gets a teaching job nearby, she moves in the apartment, Hunter becomes a bigger and bigger jerk to try to keep her from being nice to him, which would make him want her more. Um, childish anyone?

Then his roommate dies in a motorcycle accident and the grief she is feeling, that he also shares, makes him change course and be pleasant, responsible, and caring. (He says, 'but he'd never have a relationship with her because she was with his friend') Sure. Her friends see possible coupledom and his friends warn him against what he's doing, so they see it too. 

Then she discovers that she's pregnant with the roommate's behaviour. What to do? This is where her background really comes in. She's from Utah and the middle of three daughters, all living near each other. Their parents, back in Utah, are a pastor and his wife, very conservative, didn't let the girls date in high school at all, think they are all still 'pure' and don't know that Lennon was living with her boyfriend. 

And no, these aren't spoilers. All but the religious background are part of the book description. It took me longer to get through than I'd thought it would and I almost quit a few times, but didn't want to waste the time I'd invested. This book is the first in a series and ends of a bit of drama that is unresolved. I'm just glad I'm done. There is a sequel should you be interested.

The plot is cringy, the writing isn't great. The dialogue is stilted. 

I Remember Beirut

Finished December 11

I Remember Beirut by Ziena Abirached

This graphic novel is a recollection of the author's memories from living in Beirut as a child during the Lebanese War. This is a collection of memories illustrated in simple yet bold black and white drawings. It includes maps that help bring the memories to life by showing the overall setting and urban geography of where she and her family lived. Because there are many memories of daily life from how they shopped and went to school, and the limited movement they did, I got a very good sense of what life was like for them.

The optimism she observed in the adults around here despite their situation comes through and I could see how her situation was normalized in this way. I also found it interesting how one memory leads to another, from the man who drove the neighbourhood kids to the closest stop the bus would come to to his one very long fingernail (with the illustration showing one of the ways he used it) to Florence Griffith Joyner's fingernails. This book flows wonderfully, and I found it insightful.

January Reviews for the 19th Annual Canadian Reading Challenge

 This is the place to add the links to reviews of books that fit this Reading Challenge that you finished in January 2026. I hope this new calendar year bring you reading joy.