A Crafty Christmas

Finished September 19

A Crafty Christmas by Mollie Cox Bryan

This is the fourth novel in a series set around a group of scrapbooking friends in small-town Cumberland Creek, Virginia. In this novel, one of them, Sheila, has won a scrapbooking themed trip for herself and two friends on a cruise of the Caribbean. The trip takes place in mid-December and the novel begins with Sheila tripping over a body as she does her customer morning run on deck. She soon discovers it was a woman she'd been friendly with and who had been talking about hiring Sheila as a designer for her scrapbooking company. 

Sheila's friends Vera and Paige are on the cruise with her, and Vera had brought along her new boyfriend Eric, while Paige brought her pastry-chef son Randy. Randy has had some experience crafting before and is intrigued by a variety of elements of cruise ship life. Eric is a lawyer and relative newcomer to the group that they haven't entirely warmed up to yet. 

When the authorities discover that the victim was poisoned and become aware that Sheila had met with her recently, Sheila becomes a potential suspect in the case. When Sheila is on the scene of a second dead body as it is discovered, this becomes more of a threat. Thus the group begins to gather information to find the real killer before more deaths happen. Part of this is working with the friends and family back home, such as Vera's mother Beatrice and the crafting group member Annie. 

When odd occurrences begin happening back home in Virginia, the group begins to wonder if they are connected. 

This is a cozy mystery with lots of references to crafting and the specifics of the Christmas season. It also includes lots of references to delicious food from the gourmet offerings on the ship to the Christmas backing in both locations. 

The is a short section at the end with crafting terminology and Christmas scrapbooking ideas. 

I enjoyed the group problem-solving and the side stories around various of the characters. 

The Library of Borrowed Hearts

Finished September 17

The Library of Borrowed Hearts by Lucy Gilmore

This contemporary novel is set in small town Washington state, where main character Chloe Sampson had to give up her dreams to leave college to look after her younger siblings when her mother abandoned the family. Chloe loves her siblings and is close to them all, and loves her work at the local library, where she works with best friend Pepper. When she finds a book in the library's basement with messages between two people written inside, she finds herself drawn into this historical mystery. She wants to know the story of the two young lovers who used the book as a way to leave messages for each other. 

Her grouchy hermit of a neighbour Jasper Holmes also takes an interest in the book, and this draws her and her family into his life. 

When Chloe finds that this isn't the only book the couple used, she finds herself on a search for other books. She also finds herself looking for clues to the identity of the young people in question. She finds the identity of the young man first, but struggles to figure out who the young woman is. When a young man enters her life through the escapades of one of her brothers, she finds herself opening herself up to new dreams. 

I enjoyed this book-centred novel, and the story of both the historical lovers and the current day characters. Chloe's siblings are interesting, particularly her brother Aloysius (aka Noodle) who has his own struggles. The book offers up plot surprises and new opportunities for many of the characters. Very enjoyable. 

Play Nice

Finished September 16

Play Nice by Rachel Harrison

This creepy horror novel is narrated by Clio, the youngest of three daughters, with Leda being the eldest and Daphne the middle daughter. Clio is in her late twenties and works as a stylist and fashion influencer in New York City. Her parents divorced when she was young and her mother bought a house that is the origin of the creepiness in the novel. 

Her mother Alexandra believed that there was something living in the house that was evil, and her actions surrounding this belief caused her to lose custody of the three girls. Following that Alexandra moved in with a new partner in the city, and wrote a book about the house and its evil presence and how she experienced that. The girls agree to not read the book, and Clio hasn't until she finds a portion of it in the house, with annotations by her mom addressed to her. 

Alexandra died of a heart attack when visiting the house, and Clio is the only one to go to the funeral. Her older sisters have more traumatic memories of their time in the house, so Clio volunteers to fix and update the house to prepare it for sale, with the idea of using this redecoration/renovation as content for her socials. She also hopes that it will make the home get more money when it sells. She is a natural when it comes to design and an eye for what looks good, and she really puts labour into the job. 

But whether it is the stories from her mother's book, the noises she isn't used to in the house, or whether there really is something paranormal going on, Clio begins to be affected by the situation, particularly when staying at the house as she works on it. 

This is a compelling read, with a strong, independent woman at the centre who approaches the situation with logic and practicality. She does accept help, and hires specialists, aware that she doesn't know how to do what needs to be done herself. Her relationships aren't deep except with her family, partly due to her independent attitude. I liked her and appreciated how she could step back and analyse what happened at different points to seek out different reasons for things. 

This is great suspense, psychological suspense with some physical elements to add creepiness to the horror. A book that is hard to put down. 

Awaken

Finished September 9

Awaken by Skye Malone

This novel is the first in a series of paranormal teen romance books. The main character is Chloe Kowalski, a girl in her senior year of high school who has grown up in Kansas, but has always longed for the Pacific Ocean. Her parents are very strict in many respects, but more so when it comes to water. She's not allowed to even go to a swimming pool or a lake, and has never taken swimming lessons. Their only explanation is that water is dangerous and carries diseases. When her best friend Bailey invites her to her father's beach house with Bailey's older (cute) stepbrothers, Noah and Maddox, she is eager to go, but again her parents refuse. So Chloe climbs out her window and goes anyway. 

She finds the ocean compelling, and feels a tingle when she puts her feet into it. A merman named Zeke is nearby and notice the strange reaction as well. But he isn't the only one.

After a scary boating experience, Chloe's parents arrive to fetch her home, but she still is drawn back, looking for an opportunity to run away. 

When girls similar in appearance to Skye begin to go missing, the whole oceanside community is scared of what's going on, and Chloe finds herself questioning her reality, her situation, and who might want to kill her just for existing. 

How to Get a Girlfriend (When You're a Terrifying Monster)

Finished September 7

How to Get a Girlfriend (When You're a Terrifying Monster) by Marie Cardno

This novella was a fun read. Sian is a human witch, determined to discover the magic she is sure exists in a dimension that humans have visited, and obtained some small amount of data on. The trouble is that no human has survived a visit. Sian and her co-worker have a plan and she is sure she can gather data. 

Trillin is a tiny breakaway piece of consciousness from the Endless, with the Endless making up the entirety of the dimension she exists in. Trillin has placed herself in an out-of-the way spot to avoid drawing the Endless' attention, but it also happens to be by the place that Sian's portal to the dimension is located. As Trillin observes Sian's preliminary steps into and out of the dimension, she is drawn to her and tries to model her form to appeal to Sian. Unfortunately, tentacles keep appearing on her form despite her best efforts. When the two eventually connect to each other as they have mutual attraction, Sian begins to realize the true nature of the Endless and how it operates, including how it gains knowledge through the bits that break off and are reabsorbed as well as through other absorptions. 

As they try to keep knowledge from the Endless and keep Trillin as herself, they also find themselves running into other dangers. I enjoyed the inner thoughts of both main characters as they considered each other, and seeing the romance begin to develop. The book ends on a bit of a cliffhanger, leading into the next book in the series. 

Akin

Finished September 7

Akin by Emma Donoghue

This heartwarming story is narrated by Noah, a retired chemistry professor. He has just retired in anticipation of his eightieth birthday. He has survived the loss of his parents, his wife, and most recently, his little sister Fernande. It was Fernande who helped him through his previous losses, sorting through the belongings and organizing things, so her loss is even more deeply felt. 

He has some money set aside and decided to use it to travel back to Nice, France, where he was born. His mother Margot had stayed there with her father, a well-known photographer, while her husband travelled ahead to New York. Then the war started, and when things were getting more difficult in 1942 she sent Noah (then Noe) to America. He has some memories of the city, their apartment, and his grandfather, and wants to visit the city and his grandfather's grave. 

Just days before he is due to leave, he is contacted by a social worker looking to place his grand-nephew, Michael, Fernande's grandson, with him on a temporary basis. Noah had known of the child, but his nephew Victor, Michael's father had been troubled and the family had only had sporadic contact with him. When he finds out that Victor has died, Michael's mother Amber is incarcerated, and his maternal grandmother who he had been living with has also just died, he realizes that he can't turn his back on the boy. That means that he will also take the boy with him on his trip. 

Michael is eleven, streetwise, and good at putting up a tough front, but he misses his parents and grandmother, and is worried about his situation. As the two get used to each other, Noah shows empathy and understanding and tries to respect Michael as a person, while Michael gets exposed to many new experiences. 

As they collaborate to figure out why Noah's mother kept several photographs from her years in Nice during the war, they find themselves learning together as well as from each other. 

This is a story that really draws you in, caring about both these characters as well as the minor characters that are in their lives. I really enjoyed how Noah had conversations with his late wife Joan in his head that felt very real, and added depth. 

The Summer of Yes

Finished September 2

The Summer of Yes by Courtney Walsh

This is a great summer novel, perfect for vacation reading. The main character is Kelsey Worthington. One day, on her way to work, after picking up her boss's coffee for a favour, she is hit by a car that jumped the curb. The next thing she knows is waking up in a hospital bed. She is lucky to not have more serious injuries than she does, and she begins to reconsider some of her life choices. 

When the other bed in her room is taken by legendary businesswoman Georgina Tate, she thinks of it as an opportunity. Not necessarily to further her career in publishing, but to get her out of her rut. 

As the women exchange advice, Georgina finds herself swept along in Kelsey's plans to have a summer of saying yes to opportunities. 

One of her first steps once she is out of the hospital is to reengage with her best friend, and then to take a leave of absence from her job to work on her own writing dreams. 

Georgina has focused her life on her business, leaving little room for the family that moved away from her years ago. Now that she is facing health issues, she too is thinking about her life and what she gave up in her quest for business success. 

This is a tale of second chances, risk-taking, and being open to what life offers you. A book that is full of emotions. 

The Truth According to Us

Finished August 30

The Truth According to Us by Annie Barrows

This is an historical novel set in the summer of 1938 in a small town, Macedonia, in West Virginia. Layla Beck is the daughter of a senator and niece of a man in charge of the Federal Writers' Project, one of the programs under the New Deal. She has refused to marry a man of her father's choosing, so he has cut her off financially and had her assigned to write a pamphlet on the history of Macedonia under the Federal Writers' Project. Layla has expectations of where she is being sent that are quite unlike the reality that she finds herself placed in. Layla's point of view is mostly shown through letters between her and her friends and family. 

She is boarding in the house of Jottie Romeyn, a woman with a strong personality whose household also includes two of her married sisters Minerva and Mae (except on the weekends when they visit their husbands), her nieces Willa, twelve, and Bird, as well as the girls' father Felix. Felix travels a lot for work and is only home occasionally. Willa is the main narrator in the book, and it opens with her and her aunt Jottie watching the town Decoration Day parade. Willa is observant and beginning to be interested in the nuances of the world of the adults in her life. At the parade, she watches as her aunt has encounters with two people she doesn't know, but notes. She has questions about them, her aunt, and her father, and begins to investigate. 

Meanwhile, as Layla arrives in town, she finds the various members of the household eager to help her in her research, as is the town librarian. She learns not only the stories that the town officials are eager to tell her, but also the lesser known stories, some of which contradict the official stories. 

We also see Jottie's point of view as she deals with a man from her past, Felix's expectations, and her own feelings. 

I really enjoyed seeing Willa discover the secrets of her family and community, Jottie bringing her own strong will to the fore for herself and those she cares about, and Layla discovering her own skills and asserting independence for herself. This novel deals with history that can sometimes be uncomfortable, but is also important to be able to deal with the world as it is for the characters. With the strong female characters, including Minerva and Mae, I enjoyed this novel immensely. 

September Reviews for the 19th Annual Canadian Reading Challenge

 

This is where you add your reviews for books meeting this challenge that you finished in September. Add a comment too! I can't believe we are two months in already.