Against the Currant

Finished February 24

Against the Currant by Olivia Matthews

I heard about this book from one of my students and decided to try it. It is the first in a series of cosy mysteries set around a Grenadian bakery in Brooklyn, New York. The main character, Lyndsay Murray is just opening Spice Isle Bakery with her family. While she is the majority owner, her parents and grandmother also own part of it, and her older brother Dev, a lawyer, is eager to help out. He's even taken some time off to be there for the first week. Many community members are eager to see one of their own launch a new business, but the owner of another bakery, a few blocks away, isn't pleased. 

Claudio Fabrizi, owner of a bakery named for himself, as well as many pieces of real estate, has threatened Lyndsay repeatedly, and while she isn't one for confrontations, she isn't backing down on her dream. When he turns up at her soft opening and threatens her yet again, she ends up in a very public argument. 

Lyndsay doesn't even understand what his problem is, her bakery carries traditional West Indian fare that his doesn't, so they don't attract the same customers. But when Claudio is found dead the following morning, Lyndsay's public facedown with him means that the police have their eye on her. If she wants to salvage her reputation and get off of the police radar, she has to find the real killer on her own. 

This is definitely a new culture for me, and I enjoyed learning about it here. There are even a couple of recipes at the back of the book. 

The series holds promise, from Lyndsay's kickboxing routine to her strong family support, with many interesting characters, I can see this developing in interesting ways. 

Plan B

Finished February 23

Plan B by S.J.D. Peterson

This gay romance novel was a book I picked up at a library conference a few years back and I decided to read it now to meet the February portion for Novelist's reading challenge, which is a LGBTQIA+ romance. 

Danny Marshall, the main character is at college and sharing a dorm room with his longtime best friend Bo. Danny has ambitions to act professionally and always takes time with his appearance. As the two are getting ready for a frat party that Bo wants to go to, as a young woman he likes will be there, Danny takes time perfecting his makeup and hair, and chooses a vintage Stones tee along with jeans and boots. His look is often androgynous, and he doesn't mind getting attention. At the party, Bo soon finds Katie and likes this woman his friend is interested in. What he doesn't like is the attitude of her brother Lance, a man he's already had a tense encounter with as he grabbed a drink. 

Danny has very supportive parents, who are both professionals in the theatre world, and he loves art, theatre, and almost all that goes with it. Although he doesn't have dancing skills. Lance is at university on a football scholarship and has dreams of the NFL. 

After Lance apologizes for his behaviour, he says he wants to get to know him better, and Danny finds himself Lance's first experiment in a male-male relationship. Danny is attracted, but doesn't know if he wants to be in a secret relationship. 

This is a novel of attraction and Lance's fear of the fallout of being out is a big part of the story. His reaction to Danny is a little bit of a surprise for him, and he is at an age where he is discovering who he is in many ways, not just sexually. Danny knows who he is and has for years, but is still at the age where relationships are new, and the strength of his attraction and feelings add to the story in a big way. 

I enjoyed the novel, and could feel for the main characters. 

We Loved It All

Finished February 23

We Loved It All: A Memory of Life by Lydia Millet

This is the first nonfiction book by the author and is very hard to classify as it includes so many different things. While Millet has written several works of fiction, she has also had a long career at the Center for Biological Diversity, advocating for wildlife and climate change preparedness. 

This book mixes her personal memories with scientific facts, vignettes of animal and plant interactions with humans, and thoughts about life in general. 

The book is split into three sections, and she works to show our connections to others' experiences, and to life beyond the human. You can feel her emotions around many of these elements. Paragraphs within sections jump from the personal to the other elements, and sometimes feel like an expression of a stream of consciousness, with one thought leading to another. 

There are many things here that reminded me of my own memories of interactions with nature, and that revived knowledge I forgot that I had. There are also times where she taught me something new. This is a book that is hard to rush through, that one needs to sit with, and take time to examine one's reactions and thoughts. 

The Memory Stones

Finished February 18

The Memory Stones by Caroline Brothers

This book begins in Argentina in 1976, as one family enjoys its summer holidays in Tigre. Osvaldo Ferrero is a doctor, his wife Yolanda a teacher. Their oldest daughter, Julieta lives with her husband and children in Miami, and their younger daughter Graciela, is nineteen, in college, and in love with her boyfriend Jose. Shortly after this, the military stages a coup. People begin to disappear. When Osvaldo miscalculates a cartoon he draws for an entertainment weekly, he finds himself a target and must make a sudden and difficult decision. Soon after this Jose is kidnapped, and Graciela goes into hiding. They were both involved in literacy projects for the poor. Then Graciela goes missing as well. 

Yolanda is beside herself. As she discovers the Grandmothers, she is drawn to them, especially when information leads to the idea that Graciela may have been pregnant when she disappeared. 

As Oswaldo and Yolanda search for information about their daughter, they face more tragedies, and struggles. 

This is a story centred on one family among many in Argentina that had family members that disappeared under the Junta. It brings to life the emotions, the desperation, and the grief surrounding this difficult period of Argentinian history that makes it relatable to all readers.

The characters of Yolanda and Oswaldo in particular are drawn with depth and complexity, and the changing viewpoints give us access to the different lives people led during this time. 

Taking us beyond the borders of Argentina to Europe and Mexico, and beyond the time of the Junta to the present day, we see the broad and long term effects on this family. 

A definite winner that would also be a great book club read. 

See It, Dream It, Do It

Finished February 17

See It, Dream It, Do It: How 25 People Just Like You Found Their Dream Jobs by Colleen Nelson and Kathie MacIsaac with illustrations by Scot Rictchie

This book is similar to their previous career information book, If You Can Dream It, You Can Do It. The careers covered here are:

* Fitness Trainer / Coach

* Skydiving Instructor

* Ranch Owner / Equine Therapist

* Architect

* Teacher / Basketball Coach

* Palaeontologist

* Radio Host / Multimedia Journalist

* Cave Microbiologist

* Forensic Artist

* Ambassador of Canada to Iceland

* Private Investigator

* Park Ranger

* Heavy Equipment Technician

* Stand-Up Comedian / Actor

* Pilot

* Travel Company Owner

* Psychologist

* Charter Captain

* Community Advocate / Mentor & Coodinator

* Midwife

* YouTube Content Creator / Former LEGO Designer

* Cybersecurity Analyst

* Electrical Engineer

* Funeral Director

* Ballet Dancer

Most of the people profiled have some connection with Canada, which is helpful. Looking to our own country for inspiration in terms of jobs is a way to see yourself within your own community. 

As in their other book, they also list some jobs that are related, and briefly feature another person who is successful in a related job. 

Exposure to such a variety of possibilities opens children's eyes to the wide range of things they can consider for their future. 

The Cemetery of Untold Stories

Finished February 17

The Cemetery of Untold Stories by Julia Alvarez

This novel is set mostly in the Dominican Republic. Alva Cruz emigrated to the United States as a child with her parents and three sisters, but often visited her home country. She is a well-known author and has been having a writer's block recently. When her father passes away, she and her sisters divide up the properties he owned with Alma agreeing to a large property beside a dump. She intends to use it as a graveyard for her unfinished works. After organizing them, she engages with a local sculptor to create sculptures for each work that will sit above their resting place. 

Alva finds that she can still hear her stories, even as they revise themselves, as well as hearing other stories. 

The construction of her fenced cemetery and sculpture garden attracts local interest, and Alva ends up hiring one of the locals, Filomena, to be the groundskeeper. She also asks her to spend time at each burial site and listen. 

Filomena can also hear the stories, and she spends most of her time at two of the graves. One has the story of Bienvenida Trujillo, the second wife of the dictator El Jefe. Another is the story of a Dominican doctor named Manuel Cruz, who fought with partisans and emigrated to the United States. 

As we learn these stories, we also learn the stories of Alma, and of Filomena and her sister Perla. 

This is a novel that flows beautifully, with stories weaving themselves into each other and giving us a sense of the country and its people. 

Chocolate Chip Cookie Murder

Finished February 11

Chocolate Chip Cookie Murder by Joanne Fluke

This is the first in a series of cosy mysteries set in a small town in Minnesota called Lake Eden. Hannah Swensen has moved back home after her father's death, and started a shop called the Cookie Jar, where she sells all types of cookies and squares as well as beverages. She also has a young employee, Lisa, who stayed after high school to look after her father who has Alzheimer's. 

Hannah's mother keeps setting her up with any possible eligible man, which Hannah deals with kindly. She's not really interested in any companion other than her cat Moishe. The latest man offered up is Norman Rhodes, who has recently moved back to town after his father's death and taken over his father's dentistry practice. He seems nice, if a little boring. 

As the book begins, Hannah is off to work, passing a few regulars on her way, including her neighbour Phil, who works at a local manufacturing company; Ron, the dairy delivery driver on the route that comes to her store; and Claire, owner of the fashion boutique next door to the Cookie Jar. 

As we begin to get to know the townspeople including Hannah's sister Andrea, and her husband Bill, a police officer, we see how everyone is connected in a variety of ways.

When Ron is late and Hannah checks the alley to see if he's close, she finds his truck, and him dead in it. As she helps Bill follow the clues, often a step ahead of him, we find ourselves caring about the different characters whose lives are affected by this death. When another body is found, things get more tense in town. 

I enjoyed getting to know the characters, which I'm sure will reappear and get more depth as the series continues. The introduction of a new detective to the force brings anticipation for future books, on both the mystery and romance fronts. 

And as with most food based cosy mysteries, there are lots of recipes included here.

The Sweetness of Water

Finished February 10

The Sweetness of Water by Nathan Harris

This historical fiction novel is set just after the end of the United States Civil War. George Walker and his wife Isabelle have a farm a little way outside of a small southern town called Old Ox. George often walks his land and the forest that is part of it, partly searching for a creature his father told him of, and partly to think. Towards the end of the day, one he spent wandering, he comes across two middle-aged black men. Their names are Prentiss and Landry and they were recently owned by Ted Morton, George's neighbour. The two men decided to leave once they were emancipated, but haven't got any idea of the outside world or where to head. George has a burden of sadness on him, one that he soon shares with Isabelle, and the two reconsider their future plans. George determines to clear and farm some of his land, and he approaches the two black men to offer them work helping him. When George offers them work, they are grateful to be able to earn some to take them away and into a new life. But George's actions cause issues with others that resent the loss of their traditional social order. 

Trust grows between George, Prentiss, Landry, and soon Isabelle as well, and another family member who has seen things in the war that changed him. 

When a tragedy happens to this group, it becomes a larger issue, one that both destroys friendships and creates new ones. The trust between them becomes something more, and while there is hope, more tragedies happen in the town and this household. 

I found this novel moving and thought-provoking. Crimes lead to insults, and insults become crimes. An engaging debut novel that won attention from celebrity book clubs and was longlisted for the Booker. 

Friday Black

Finished February 10

Friday Black: Stories by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah

This dark collection of stories had me both wanting more and needing to take breaks from reading. This is the debut collection for the author, and draws on his own experiences as a black man in the United States for some of his themes. The collection contains twelve stories, with some characters reappearing in other tales. 

The first story, The Finkelstein 5, draws on racism, white privilege, miscarriage of justice, and frustration at all these societal flaws. The second tale, Things My Mother Said, touches on poverty and religion. The third, The Era takes us further into dystopia with revisionist history, genetic selection, and bullying. Lark Street deals with abortion, relationships, and the onus on women. The Hospital Where has elements of pain and wonder set around healthcare and the things we do for our dreams. Zimmerland makes racism and violence a form of entertainment where there are no consequences. Friday Black takes us to a surreal dystopian version of Black Friday sales, where bodies are swept to the sides as sales take precedence. The Lion & The Spider takes African folklore, family responsibility, and takes us to the backroom of retail. Light Spitter has elements on incel culture, school shootings, and trying to change outcomes. How to Sell a Jacket As Told by Iceking brings us back to the characters and world of Friday Black on a less dark day. The following story, In Retail, is in the same world, but from a different point of view. The final story, Through the Flash, is set in a world where the days reset over and over, death and violence are ever present, and the characters are aware of it, and hope for a glitch in the system. 

These are dark stories, offering little hope for the future, but also stories that are gripping and captivating. Many of them relate to the world even more today than when they were written. 

Say You'll Be Mine

Finished February 9

Say You'll Be Mine by Naina Kumar

This romance is very engaging. The narration does vary between the two main characters. The main female character, Meghna Raman, is a Dallas-area middle grade English teacher who has long aspired to write plays, and is working with her students to do the school's first production, My Fair Lady. Her parents and brother are all engineers and, in the eyes of her mother, engineering is the only profession worth doing. Meghna has received the speech on this many times, but her mother launches a new one now, convincing her to marry an engineer. Meghna's parents are a love match, and they've never proposed any introduction before, but she finds herself faced with an arranged marriage proposal, a rishta, now. Perhaps it is because she is nearing thirty without a serious relationship. 

Karthik is a mechanical engineer working in New York City for a large engineering firm. He likes his work, but has pushed off serious relationships and any discussion of them for years. He has finally made a deal with his mother to meet marriage possibilities for a certain time period on condition that if he doesn't find someone she won't bring it up again. And Karthik has no intention of finding someone. He has seen his parents' marriage and has no desire for anything like theirs in terms of a relationship. He has been trying to be as little like his father for most of his life. That's partially why he chose engineering instead of medicine, with his father teaching at NYCU medical school. 

The meeting, at Meghna's parents' house goes well, except for Karthik telling her that he has no intention of marrying anyone when the two of them have their one-on-one. Yet he finds himself telling his mother he needs time to think about her as a potential wife instead of just saying no. And then he digs himself in deeper yet. 

So when he contacts Meghna with a proposal to move ahead with a fake relationship, he has to find something that they both get out of it. And Meghna has a secret that only her best friend Ankita knows that might be the motivation she needs. 

As their story unfolds, it seems that there are more secrets, from Karthik, Ankita, and parents on both sides. 

I liked learning more about some aspects of Indian culture as well as seeing this plot unfold. The characters of Meghna and Karthik are ones with some depth, and we see their vulnerabilities as well as their strengths. I also liked the character of Paul, an intern at Karthik's company. 

I had trouble putting the book down as I needed to see how things worked out. 

The House on Mango Street

Finished February 6

The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros

The copy of this that I read is the 25th anniversary edition, which has a foreword by the author reflecting on the work, as well as where she is now. I think that it added a lot to what I felt as I read the book. 

The book has short chapters that are connected vignettes around the street in Chicago, where the girl narrator, Esperanza Cordero, lives, called Mango Street. The house she lives in is the first home that her family has of their own, not an apartment, that they can change as they wish to. She has siblings and extended family, friends and neighbours, who all appear in their own way in this book. 

Esperanza learns things, about herself, her community, and about life, especially about growing up. I'm glad that I finally took the time to read this short book, and see through the eyes of this observant young girl. 

Rose Addams

Finished February 5

Rose Addams by Margie Taylor

Rose Addams is in her early sixties and working at a Vancouver area public library. She's a woman who enjoys her work, and takes an interest in her children's lives. On her way home one day in late August, her daughter Morgan calls and asks her to call back when she gets home. Morgan, who lives in Toronto with her fiancé Ian, and is nearing the final portion of her Ph.D. dissertation tells her that the engagement is off.

A few days later, she on her way to work when a young man she's seen sitting outside the nearby grocery store approaches her and tells her how he knows her. Rose is surprised and saddened. This reminds her of the early days of motherhood and how her and her husband Charles had handled an earlier childcare challenge in their lives. 

When she arrives home, she has more surprises in store. Her husband Charles, just a few years older than her, informs her that he has retired from his job as a university professor, and chair of his department. He tells her that it is due to a conversation that he had with an undergraduate student around student expectations. She is surprised and disappointed that he made such a big decision without even talking about it with her first. She is further surprised by a call from Morgan saying that she is coming home in a few days, just after the Labour Day weekend. 

As Rose and Charles host a dinner party the following evening with friends and colleagues, and he announces his retirement, the guests are surprised and dismayed. They include another professor and friend, Garnet, and his newest paramour a young graduate student, Lauren; the department secretary Bernadette and her brother Richard; and Rose's best friend Marie, a children's author, and her accountant husband Jeff. Bernadette is particularly dismayed and surprised, but Garnet is also disappointed that he wasn't consulted about the move, since he originally took Charles under his wing when Charles joined the department as a young professor. 

Rose likes Morgan's partner Ian, but is less enamored of her son Jason's partner Lee, who she feels judges her. She hasn't spent much time with Lee though, and not everyone see what Rose feels. 

As Rose deals with all these changes, and more, she questions her own feelings, second guesses her impulses, and finds herself dealing with a future she didn't imagine. 

I really enjoyed this book, and many of the issues that Rose is faced with felt very real and relatable. A book from a Canadian writer new to me, that I will definitely look out for. 

The Bordeaux Book Club

Finished February 5

The Bordeaux Book Club by Gillian Harvey

This novel follows a group of mostly British ex-pats living in or near Bordeaux, France. Leah and her husband Nathan working in journalism before giving it up to live a dream life of owning and living off a small farm. The life is not as the dream, with the vegetables they grow not doing well, and Leah working part-time as a copy editor to help sustain them. Their daughter, Scarlett, now fourteen has thrived, easily learning the language and making friends. Now she is into her teen years where she spends a lot of time in her room and seems to resent her parents, particularly Leah. 

Leah has made a friend of a slightly older woman named Grace. Grace has thoroughly involved herself in the community, running a variety of clubs, and helping those who need it. Now she is starting an English book club, and convinces Leah to join. Along with Leah are George, a man who works construction and who has come over for a few months to work on a house for a man he's worked for before; Monica, who has an infant daughter, and whose husband, Peter, is a pilot who is often away for long periods of time; and Alfie, a young man in his twenties who is in college and living with his mother. 

They start with classics, with the first read being Great Expectations by Charles Dickens, which Grace has chosen and has enough copies in her home library to provide one for everyone. Going forward, they will take turns picking books. 

As they discuss the books and their thoughts, they share a lot with each other, from pasts to dreams of the future and secrets about the present. Even though they only meet once a month, they become close friends, and are there for each other when some of them struggle with deeply personal issues and change.

I really enjoyed this novel. All the characters are interesting, yet we really see depth for Leah and Grace. We grow to understand what brought Grace to where she is now, and why she behaves the way that she does. And we see Leah struggle with her marriage and her daughter, working her way through deep emotions and fears. A very enjoyable read. 

All the Beauty in the World

Finished February 2

All the Beauty in the World: A Museum Guard's Adventures in Life, Loss and Art by Patrick Bringley, illustrated by Maya McMahon

This memoir is both fascinating and informative. The author left a job at the New Yorker magazine after the death of his older brother Tom, and applied to be a guard at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. He worked their for ten years, during which time he worked through his grief, made friends, learned about art, watched people, and learned to be present in his life. 

He includes a plan of the museum's public spaces, and structures his book around them as he works in different sections of the building, and even in one of the satellite buildings the museum has. 

He talks about the art, and lists the art he refers to at the back of the book. He doesn't include pictures of the art, but there are drawings that relate to his words, done by illustrator, Maya McMahon. These drawings give a sense of the art that intrigues. 

Patrick's words are sometimes emotional, and centered on his work at the museum. There are a few references to his family beyond Tom, but it is the art that we see him engaging with, and his fellow guards as they hand off from one position to another, share work, and share experiences. They are from many cultural backgrounds, and this comes into his story as well. 

This was a book I received through a subscription from English bookstore Mr. B's Emporium, and I loved it. 

February Reviews for the 18th Annual Canadian Reading Challenge

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The Return

Finished January 31

The Return by Noelle Adams

This second chance romance is set in a small town where everybody knows everybody else's business. Ria Phillips is a business success story. She took her family's flower shop and used social media, luck, and some help from friends to take it to another level. She is respected for that. She's also known as the girl that got left by her high school sweetheart, and that defines her in a different way. She's dated a little, but never had the chemistry she had with Jacob Worth, grandson of one of the wealthiest men in town. Jacob's grandfather lives in a large house, on a large neglected plot of land, and owns the block of buildings that Ria's flower shop is in. 

Jacob left town suddenly, with little explanation, despite having college plans with Ria. He went to the west coast and found work in the fishing industry there. He's kept in touch with his grandfather, but not with Ria or other old friends. Old Mr. Worth is declining quickly, and Jacob is back in town, at least for a while. 

Ria seems like a good entrepreneur with the smarts to keep her business afloat, with help from a couple of friends, but she is pretty inexperienced in the romance area, and, while she still feels the attraction to Jacob the man, she is determined not to just fall back into their relationship. There's a matter of trust, and even when she learns his reasons, she doesn't totally understand his silence toward her. Jacob can see his errors of the past, and didn't intend to start anything, but he too feels something still. 

I found the characters lacked depth, and any growth they had between the past and present is left unexplained. The writing is fine, but not compelling. 

This is the first in a series set around the flower shop and one hopes that subsequent books take us deeper into the characters, who could be quite interesting if we knew them better. 

Breakaway

Finished January 27

Breakaway by Catherine Gayle

This is the first book in a series around a hockey team based in Portland Oregon, called the Portland Storm. The male central character here is Eric "Zee" Zellinger, and he is the captain of the team. One of his lifelong best friends, Brenden, is on the development team in the AHL affiliated with the Portland Storm. He's had a few injuries that set him back, but is hoping to get moved up to the NHL team. Brenden's little sister Dana is also a strong hockey player, but back when she was playing for her college team she was attacked after a game and gang raped. 

Dana has been undergoing therapy for a few years, but still has issues with men and physical contact. She is beginning to lose hope for a normal future relationship, but when her therapist suggests a sex therapist, she gets an idea. She can't handle a stranger for this, but she thinks of Eric, someone she's always trusted and decides to show up in person and ask him to do this for her. 

The idea is to gradually increase physical contact, moving towards intimacy. Eric is shocked but he's also a person who's cared deeply for Dana for years, and wants to help her. He also finds himself attracted to the woman she is now. 

Due to the storyline, you can see the tropes here: slow burn, friends to lovers, and brother's best friend.

The book steps away from the classic romance to deal with trauma, PTSD, and panic attacks, all of which it portrays well. As a Canadian, I grew up knowing hockey, and I enjoyed that aspect of the book as well. 

The only factual critique I have is the scene on the ice with the Zamboni. I KNOW that for safety reasons, when a Zamboni is on the ice, no people are on the ice. So that bothered me a little. 

Otherwise, an interesting read, and satisfying romance.