Lady with Chains

Finished December 1

Lady with Chains by Roch Carrier, translated by Sheila Fischman

This is a novel that is a combination of two stories. One is the story of the unnamed lady of the title. It is not said in so many words, but my impression was that the lady was one of the nobility imprisoned during the French Revolution, that then found herself on the docks and brought onto a ship to the new world. She does seem to be a lady that was imprisoned and mistreated, and then unexpectedly freed and placed on a ship to Quebec. 

The second story is of Virginie, a young woman of Quebec who meets Victor, a soldier, at a dance. He plans to claim a piece of land and build a house on it, to marry and have children, and to live a good life. Virginie agrees to marry him, and finds herself making her way through a blizzard to the cabin he's built, and things go horribly wrong on the journey. Virginie finds herself plotting revenge against Victor, intending to poison him. She waits through the winter and intentionally doesn't speak to her husband at all, but keeps her plan in her mind. She finds herself strengthened by the idea of the Lady with Chains, who persevered despite the terrible things that happened to her. 

It is a strange novel, with a flavour of the wilderness of Canada, as well as some of the bureaucracy, and there are surprises along the way. 

One Perfect Couple

Finished November 18

One Perfect Couple by Ruth Ware

The main character here is Lyla, a vaccine scientist who has been dating her actor boyfriend Nico for nearly three years. Lyla has been working short-term contracts for quite a while and her current one isn't going well as she has been unable to replicate the results of a former researcher. Nico has also been unable to find steady work.

One day Nico proposes that they compete on a new reality show called One Perfect Couple, which is sort of a combination of Survivor and The Bachelor. There isn't a lot of lead time on the project, but Lyla eventually agrees to make Nico happy. She arranges to do the write-up for her research while on the trip, since she is pretty much finished the lab work. 

The setting for the show is a resort that is being built on a small island a long boat ride from Jakarta. The couples begin to get to know each other on the boat ride, and Lyla finds herself coached by the others on how to act for the cameras and not look awkward.

Before the ship gets to the island all the participants are required to give up their devices, so as not to give away any information about the show. 

The other couples are a mix of actors and influencers except Joel, who is a college teacher. The pair ups are Joel and Romi, Dan and Santana, Bayer and Angel, and Conor and Zana. 

There is a lot of information that Lyla wasn't privy to, due to the and Nico being added last minute. This definitely affects the way things unfold. There is some drama between the participants and the resort isn't anywhere near ready for people to stay. The staff is non existent and the food offered to the couples very limited. When a storm hits the island on the first night things begin to go downhill quick. Soon, instead of people helping each other survive it seems that someone is determined to be the last one left. 

Full of suspense and with interesting characters, this is a real page-turner. 

Always You and Me

Finished November 2

Always You and Me by Dani Atkins

This romance novel has a lot of surprises as the plot unwinds. The story moves around in time, but the chapter headings clearly indicate this. The story opens as Lily is with her husband Adam in hospice and we learn why he is there and the story of his illness and death.

It then jumps forward a year and we see Lily thinking about one of the promises that she made to Adam that she still hasn't followed up on, tracking down her former best friend Josh, hearing his story, and mending their friendship. Lily was very hurt by Josh's action of ending their friendship on the eve of her wedding with Adam, and we gradually learn details of what happened around that time. Since then he's disappeared from her life, and she hasn't even heard anything about him. She's not even sure where to start.

The book jumps back in time then to the beginning of Josh and Lily's friendship and the way that Lily bridged Josh's walls to become an important person in his life. As we see their history unfold, we see the special relationship that they had. 

We also see how Adam came into Lily's life and into her heart, and how special their relationship was. As the real story of these relationships and the rift in Lily's friendship is explained, we see the choices that these people made and the ones that Lily and Josh face now.

A moving novel. 

It Happened One Christmas

Finished January 16

It Happened One Christmas by Chantel Guertin

This novel is a Christmas romance, set in a small Canadian town in Quebec. Zoey Andrews is a woman who loves Christmas even though she doesn't get to celebrate a typical Christmas herself. Zoey works for Epic Productions, one of the biggest producers of romance movies, especially holiday romance movies. She's been working her way up in the company and is all set to direct and produce her own movie, one that is inspired by a cherished childhood memory of a Christmas spent in a small Quebec town. 

When the production assistant in charge of getting location permits confuses her choice of Chelsea, Quebec with Chelsea, New York, Zoey is determined to do whatever it takes to get the permits herself. She is scared that if she lets this chance slip through her fingers, she won't get another one. She's also recently dumped by her boyfriend and her Christmas vacation plans have fallen through, so she has the time available. So, of course, she jumps on a plane to Ottawa, and heads out to the town of Chelsea.

Unfortunately, the weather isn't on her side, with a big storm predicted to hit the area in the next few days, 

The town is as good as her memories of it, so when she finds the perfect Christmas tree farm for part of her story, she isn't about to let the grumpy owner of the farm, who is as annoying as he is sexy get in her way. 

I could barely put this book down, as it grabbed me right from the beginning with Zoey's earnest drive to get what she wanted combined with the nostalgia that inspired it. The book gradually reveals the main characters' stories, and the town is charming. 

The weather was believable, the storm, the conditions, and the determination of people to find a way to their goals. 

P.S. there's also an adorable dog. 

Three Holidays and a Wedding

Finished January 15

Three Holidays and a Wedding by Uzma Jalaluddin and Marisa Stapley

This holiday novel begins in Denver as, nearing the end of December, people are travelling for the holidays. The year is 2000 and Hanukkah, Christmas, and Ramadan are all happening near the same time. This means more people are travelling, and travelling by air in the winter in North America is always taking the chance that weather will cause delays. 

Maryam Aziz is herding herding her parents and grandfather, and a vast amount of carry-on luggage toward their gate. Her younger sister, a doctor working with Doctors without Borders, has chosen this time to get married, and the group is travelling to Toronto for the wedding. Her sister Saima has just flown in, and is meeting them at the gate. Maryam is the one who is always tasked with organizing things, and, in this case, she has worked with Saima's future in-laws to organize the entire wedding, and the travel plans for her closest family members. She is tired and a little bit annoyed at feeling taken for granted.

Anna Gibson has been dating Nick, a wealthy man she met at a fundraiser for a few months, after bonding over their roots in Toronto. She is travelling to spend the Christmas with his family, but sometimes feels that he doesn't really listen to her or want to hear her thoughts and dreams.

It is the weather that foils all their plans, and they find themselves landing at a small airport outside of Ottawa instead of at their destination. It is near the town of Snow Falls, a very Christmassy, yet surprisingly diverse small town, where they find themselves welcomed. 

As they work to figure out a way to get to their planned destination, they also find things to do, a time outside of their normal busy lives to ponder what they really want, and insight into the shared traditions across all three religions. 

This is a feel-good novel of hope, friendship, and romance. It has second chances for some, a fresh start for others, and newly formed bonds made stronger through shared experiences. 

A great and uplifting read by two skilled Canadian writers.

A Kiss for Christmas

Finished September 6

A Kiss for Christmas by Melody Grace

This book is a collection of four novellas: Holiday Kisses, Unwrapped, Unexpectedly Yours, and Meant to Be. All take place during the Christmas season, in various parts of the U.S. They are all part of either the Beachwood Bay series or the Sweetbriar Cove series, but can be read as standalones. 

Holiday Kisses is #5 in the Sweetbriar Cove series. Taking place in Sweetbriar Cove, on Cape Cod this story has British director/screenwriter Dash Everett planning to hole up in one of the cabins at the local inn to try to break through a writing block as he writes a screenplay. The cabin is more rustic than he expected, with no electrical power, and only a fireplace for warmth. But he has access to the main building and Ellie Lucas is a big draw to spend time there. Ellie and her family have been running the inn for a long time, and this Christmas season Ellie is holding down the fort while other family members vacation. Sweetbriar Cove has a Christmas festival that attracts tourists at a traditionally quiet time of the year. The book opens with a meet-cute when Ellie is on a ladder doing some seasonal decorating and Dash opens the door into the ladder and then catches her when she falls. As he gradually gets into the holiday mood, Ellie also dares to look at a world beyond her hometown. She is one of those people who likes to help everyone around her and is often an early volunteer in any community project, so there is a pull for her to stay where she is comfortable and openly appreciated. 

Unwrapped is #2.5 in the Beachwood Bay series. Lacey James is on her way home to Beachwood Bay for her best friend Jules' wedding. But she is cutting it fine when her flight runs into a wicked storm and is diverted. During the flight she sat next to Jules' ex-boyfriend Daniel Sullivan and the two connected more than they had previously, with Daniel really seeing Lacey for herself. When the flight to Atlanta is diverted, she pours out her panic to him, and when they finally find a room available, there is only one and they find themselves sharing it, and so much more. Daniel is determined to get Lacey to the wedding in time, and, as a smart problem solver finds a way to make it happen. 

Unexpectedly Yours is #6 in the Beachwood Bay series. For this one, only a small part of the story is set in Beachwood Bay. Sophie Young has had a desire for a romantic weekend in New York City at Christmas for years, including a list of all the things she wants to do with her boyfriend. He's supposed to meet her there, but when she arrives, he isn't there. And then she gets the call telling her that he isn't coming. She's angry and disappointed, and alone on Christmas Eve. She decides she can't stay in her room, and goes down to the hotel bar for a drink. She overhears the man at the next table, Austin Kelly trying to find someone in his little black book to spend the holiday with after his flight home to Europe was cancelled. So when he tries his line on her, she calls him on it. Austin is in a well-known rock band and used to having women do anything to be with him, so he finds that her not realizing who he is and treating him like a regular guy is refreshing. He is surprised and intrigued by this woman, and offers to make her stay in NYC a fun one, taking her to his favourite places and many on her list. As they spend time together, they find themselves more and more attracted to each other, but an unexpected visitor throws everything off, and Sophie goes to her friend's place in Beachwood Bay for comfort. Maybe New Year's will bring magic to both of them after all.

Meant to Be is #1 in the Sweetbriar Cove series. Poppy Somerville has just cancelled her wedding plans as she realizes that she doesn't want to spend the rest of her life with this man. She runs to her aunt's house in Sweetbriar Cove, a house where she spent many a childhood summer and has fond memories of. Poppy has become a writer of romance novels, but lately she's had a bad case of writer's block and she hopes this time away by herself will provide inspiration. When she finds Cooper Nicholson working on the house next door, she is first bothered by the noise, and then by the realization that this man is the same person as the boy that constantly teased her in those long ago summers. Cooper has been burnt before in a relationship and has a lack of confidence in the idea that any woman would want him, especially one from a big urban city. But as the two spend more time near each other and begin talking, they find they have more in common than they thought, including a definite attraction. 

A great introduction for me to this author and some hot romance too. Very enjoyable. 

Storm

Finished September 25 

Storm by George R. Stewart, introduction by Nathaniel Rich

I loved this book. I got it through my subscription to the New York Review of Books, and before I read it attended (virtually) an interview with Nathaniel Rich that was enlightening. 

This novel was originally published in 1941, and was very popular at the time. Stewart lived in California for many years and experienced many of northern California's storms. To research this book, he did a lot of research, much of it primary, meeting with the men (as most of them were men at the time) working on the roads and the rails, and at the airport and in the weather office, learning how it all worked, learning meteorology and geography and so much else that he uses in this book.

The storm of the title is a major storm, but not a hurricane or typhoon. The characters that interact with it here are mostly in northern California and Nevada, but he talks about effects across the continent and from the other side of the Pacific where the storm originates. 

I learned a lot about the way roads were cleared, the control systems around water, and weather. Stewart has one character, the Junior Meteorologist, fresh out of school and with a lean towards the science of weather, naming the storms he sees. At the time of initial publication, storms like hurricanes weren't given names as they are now, and this book was an inspiration to that practice beginning, which I found kind of neat. As this particular storm is given the name Maria (pronounced Mar-I-ah) by the meteorologist, I was reminded of the song "They Call the Wind Maria" and wondered if there was a connection, so I looked it up, and indeed that song was inspired by this book. 

The book is broken up into twelve days, the life of the storm. For each day, we are told a variety of short narratives, some historical, some meteorological, some philosophical, and some about the people who interacted with the storm and what they faced. We see many of these people over and over through the narrative, with some appearing every day and other just a few. There are also those who appear only once. Besides the people, we also have some wildlife, including a coyote and a boar. These animals have the storm touch their lives as well in differing ways.

Highly recommended.

The Remedy for Love

Finished August 27
The Remedy for Love by Bill Roorbach

This story starts off very low key and intensifies quickly. Eric is a lawyer in a small town in western Maine, with his own small practice. His interest is in environmental law, but there isn't a lot of work in that area available to him, so he does what work more common. As the book opens he is in a grocery store picking up some things for a dinner he has planned for his wife from whom he is separated. When they separated, they agreed to meet monthly to reexamine things and see if their situation changed. He wants to make it special and has bought things that he knows she likes. Ahead of him in line is a young woman who seems to be struggling. She doesn't have enough money to pay for what she has chosen, and she seems unkempt and needing a wash.
After some time, he pays for what she can't afford, and after purchasing his own items and returning to his car, sees her walking down the road with her heavy bags. A storm is predicted, and it is already starting to snow, so he slows beside her and offers her a lift. She accepts readily. He tries to start conversations with her, but she isn't very forthcoming, and wants to be dropped off along the highway in a remote area. She says she is living in a cabin by the river, but that is quite the walk. He drops her, but then finds himself coming back and following her, helping to carry her purchases to her destination, more than a mile through the woods. Once there, he sees that she isn't set up for the coming storm and insists on getting more wood for her small stove, the only source of heat she has. He gets a few things for her, and then leaves. Once back at his car, his concern and guilt, and other emotions return and he impulsively returns to the cabin with all of his purchases as well, offering them to her for no discernible reason, and surprising her in a vulnerable position.
He truly is a well meaning man with no ulterior motives, but he knows that she has legitimate concerns about his interest. So when he gets back to the road and his car is gone and he too is not dressed for the storm, he ends up back at her cabin.
As we watch the two people in the cabin grow more comfortable with each other and reveal more about themselves, we also see the loss that each has gone through and how it has affected them, making them put up false fronts for the sake of privacy and ego. The storm is a real force here, almost a character itself as it comes in and continues to affect them for more than a day. These two people are both vulnerable and sad, and they respond to each other in meaningful ways.
A very good read.

The Castle in the Sea

Finished October 9
The Castle in the Sea by Mardi McConnochie

This is the second book in the series that began with The Flooded Earth. The boat the children are on has hit a storm as the book begins, and the sea is very rough. Annalie is safety conscious and makes everyone put on their life vest, and they struggle to put the sails down, but the mast is damaged before they complete it and two people have gone overboard. Annalie is torn over what to do, but sticks with the boat. After the seas calm she goes searching, and we see the story from both her and her brother Will's point of view. With pirates in the waters, the Admiralty still searching hard for them, and their options limited, the four struggle on, still searching for Annalie and Will's father Spinner.
This is a story of resilience and determination as the four children use the resources and skills they have as they deal with new and often frightening situations. The terrible strength of water arises more than once here, and they learn to look for solutions that are not always the obvious ones. I enjoyed seeing the characters develop further. Pod comes out of his shell and Essie shows new determination. Annalie surprises the others with the things she is able to stay calm in the face of. Looking forward to the third book.

The Lighthouse Keeper's Daughter

Finished May 29
The Lighthouse Keeper's Daughter by Hazel Gaynor

This historical fiction novel follows two women one hundred years apart. In 1838, in Northumberland along the coast of England, Grace Darling lives with her parents and younger brother in a lighthouse. Her father is a lighthouse keeper, and her brother will take on the role after him. Meanwhile Grace does a lot of the work of the lighthouse to assist. When a bad storm hits while her brother is on the mainland, and Grace spots a wreck on a nearby island, she and her father row out to save any survivors. One of the survivors is Sarah Dawson, who was on the ship headed to visit her brother George Emmerson, an artist. Grace has met George briefly, but felt a connection with him that surprised her.
Grace's role in the rescue brings her attention and notoriety, none of which she wants. She is compelled into answering letters, sitting for portraits and other unwanted tasks, until a local lord and his wife take her under their wing and protect her from some of the less savoury attentions.
In 1938, Matilda Emmerson is sent from England to Rhode Island to stay with a distant family member she's never heard of before, Harriet Flaherty, a lighthouse keeper. Matilda has become pregnant and her parents are trying to hide this from the society they move in.
Gradually Matilda and Harriet grow close and Harriet shares with her some of the family history, including that of the locket that Matilda wears around her neck, and the book of instructions on keeping a lighthouse.
I liked the parallels of the two women's stories, and the connections made over the years.

Kingdom of the Blind

Finished January 15
Kingdom of the Blind by Louise Penny, read by Robert Bathurst

I've always enjoyed this mysteries, for the inclusion of the personal life of the characters, and for the complex story they tell. Here, Armand is under suspension from his role as head of the Surete of Quebec for his actions in the previous book. Jean-Guy was also under suspension, but his has been lifted and he is now acting in Armand's role. Isabel, injured in the last book, is still on leave.
As the book opens, Armand is off to a meeting he has been summoned to by a letter. But the letterhead has the name of a dead man, and the contents of the letter give no indication as to the purpose of the meeting. Armand is intrigued, but wary.
When he arrives at the house, about twenty minutes away from Three Pines, he finds one car. Before he can enter the building, another car arrives, that of Myrna. They find that they have received the same letter. A third person arrives, a young man with a unique style, that they don't know.
The three of them soon discover that they have been named liquidators (executors) in the will of a woman they've never met, Bertha Baumgartner. They have some time to think about it before accepting, and as a snowstorm is moving in quickly, they find themselves all in the village of Three Pines. As the story of the Baumgartners and their odd inheritance history is revealed, they also find that there are some in the village that have met Bertha, as her preferred title, the Baroness.
This is but one of the stories of this novel. Although Armand is on suspension, he is still trying to track down the missing drug shipment from the previous novel. His drive to recover the missing carfentanil is a noble one, but he crosses some ethical lines as he does so. One of them involves a young cadet that he previously was close to, who has now put her future on the line in a misguided action.
This novel has a lot of twists and turns, reveals and secrets. Some I guessed at, other I did not. The book ends with some interesting changes to the lives of ongoing characters, and I will be interested to see where these changes take them.

Blue Lightning

Finished May 1
Blue Lightning by Ann Cleeves

This mystery featuring Jimmy Perez of the Shetland police, takes place on Jimmy's home island of Fair Isle. Jimmy is visiting his parents with his fiance Fran. It is her introduction both to the island and to his parents. The weather is gearing up for a storm as they arrive, and the flight in is a bumpy one.
A lighthouse station at the north end of the island has automated and been renovated into a field centre for studying birds and plants. The head of station is Angela, with her husband Maurice doing most of the administrative work. Angela's assistant is Ben, and the cook and housekeeper for the centre is Jane. This is not a busy time for bird watchers, but there are four staying at the centre as this novel begins, two men and a married couple. Maurice's youngest daughter from his first marriage, Poppy, is also there.
Jimmy's parents have planned a party celebrating his engagement, and booked the field centre with Jane catering as the venue. The party goes well, but when a woman is found dead at the field centre the next morning, and the storm has hit in earnest, Jimmy finds himself investigating alone, something he isn't entirely comfortable with. It seems like the suspects are limited to those at the centre itself, but Angela's past behaviour and competitiveness have Jimmy looking into many motivations to make sense of the crime. When a second body is found, he knows that the killer is desperate and he must move quickly to prevent further deaths.
This is the fourth book in the series and seeing Jimmy back in his home island is interesting. I like both him and Fran as characters, and found the island fascinating.

The Children's Blizzard

Finished May 12
The Children's Blizzard by David Laskin

This fascinating slice of history looks at one of the worst storms ever recorded. The most devastation from the storm occurred on January 12, 1888 over the Dakota Territory, Minnesota, Nebraska, and Iowa. and because the early part of the day had been warmer and nicer than many days previously. Deaths are estimated at between 250 and 500, and several survivors died later as a result of what happened to them in the storm. The name of the book is a reference to the large numbers of children who lost their lives, catching so many of them at school. Because of the warmer weather at the beginning of the day, many didn't have adequate clothing.
There is a small map included that shows the line of the storm across the area at three points in time: 6:00 a.m., 2:00 p.m. and 6:00 p.m.
The first chapter covers the immigrants to this area of the country, showing their origins, their reasons for leaving their home countries, and the journeys they took to get there. Laskin focuses on some of the families here, Some were Germans, Mennonites from the Ukraine, often referred to as Schweizers due to their original origins in Switzerland. One group consisted of 53 families from several villages near each other, that began their journey in 1874. Another large group of immigrants were from Norway. These came in smaller groups, sometimes just a couple of people, with more members of the family following later. I found this interesting as my own ethnic background includes both these cultures.
The second chapter looks at the earlier trials the settlers were afflicted with, from plagues of grasshoppers and disease to earlier blizzards. Particular mention is made of a series of blizzards from January through April 1873, the Snow Winter of 1880-1881, and the Winter of Blue Snow (1886-87). It makes mention of some of the effects like towering snow features and the ice crystals that plugged the nostrils of cattle, killing them. This chapter also sets the scene for this blizzard: the sun dogs during the day and snow overnight on January 11th, and the sunny, warm, calm, foggy morning of January 12th.
Chapter 3 looks at the weather, tracing the storms roots back to Canada, and looking at the weather processes that led to the blizzard. We understand the high pressure that caused a high-amplitude ridge that preceded the storm.
The fourth chapter looks at the weather office newly setup up in Saint Paul the fall of 1887, and we understand that the signal office was part of the military and thus subject to the bureaucracy of military orders and hierarchy. First lieutenant Thomas Mayhew Woodruff was the signal officer for the office, but the office was created due to pressure from local civilians led by Professor Payne of the local university and director of the Minnesota State Weather Service since its inception in 1883. The politics involved in receiving and dispersing weather data through specific communication channels through this local disagreement was one factor in the large loss of life.
Chapter 5 discusses the cold front itself, how it moved, and what weather systems led to it. We learn that the idea of cold and warm fronts wasn't really understood until after World War I.
Chapter 6 tells of the arrival of the storm. This tells the story of individuals and groups of people as the storm hit. It moved in very quickly, and with so many people either outside or away from home, particularly children and teachers at school, difficult decisions had to be made around whether to shelter in place or try for somewhere safer.
Chapter 7 tells us of the nature of the storm, the huge amounts of electricity in the air as the storm began, and the denseness and small size of the mix of shattered snow crystals, ice pellets and water droplets that made it almost impossible to see, breathe, or move forward against the storm.
Chapter 8 goes into detail on the physiological reactions of those caught out in the storm, the body's natural reaction to the cold, wind, and damp that it faced. Again, we are given the stories of individuals and shown how they were slowly overcome by the intense weather.
The ninth chapter leads us into the following day, January 13th where people ventured from their refuges, either to continue their journey home, or to venture out to find those who hadn't returned. Again this tells individual tales of amazing survival, sudden death after surviving the storm itself, and the terrible frostbite that affected many.
Following this we see the further progression of the storm as it continued south, moving down through Texas and Louisiana and on to Mexico, reaching farther than nearly any recorded storms have before or since.
An interesting feature of the aftermath is the media reaction, particularly its focus on women survivors, teachers that saved their students, or tried desperately to, young women who lost limbs to frostbite after getting stuck outside. Laskin shows us the funerals, the lost livestock, the changes to the weather service that resulted, and what was found in the spring thaw that year.
My copy of the book also had an interview with the author about how he came to write this history and reactions from readers who had family that lived through it.
A wonderful, emotional, and eye-opening read.