Seeing Red

Finished May 14

Seeing Red by Dana Dratch

This is the second book in the A Red Herring Mystery series set around journalist Alex Vlodnachek in New York City. Alex works freelance and she has a new contract covering the leave for one of the city's most read advice columnists. Her new neighbour Ian Sterling who runs a B&B seems to be interested in her on a personal level, and her brother Nick, currently living with her is getting his new bakery business on its feet. When Nick's bakery business is shut down because the kitchen in the house they share doesn't meet commercial standards, she encourages him to approach Ian about using the kitchen at the B&B, and Ian is more than accommodating. 

But then Ian's father goes missing, and Alex wakes up one morning to find a baby in a carseat on her kitchen table. She and Nick don't know who would have broken into their home to do this, but decide to wait and see before involving the authorities. They shop for baby needs and try to keep up with his care, and even come up with a temporary name for him, JB (short for James Bond). But their other responsibilities are still there, and so Nick gets Baba, their grandmother, to come and help with JB. With the advice columnist now camped out on Alex's couch, they have a houseful, and Lucy the dog is involved with all of it. 

As Alex tries to help Ian find out what is happening with his missing father, other people go missing and bodies start appearing in Ian's basement chest freezer. 

I love the crazy antics, the humour, and the moxie of Alex. This was just as good as the first book, and I'm glad I found this fun mystery series. 

Casually Yours

Finished March 23

Casually Yours by Vivian Jia Lac

This debut by Toronto writer Vivian Jia Lac is a winner. Set partly in Manhattan and partly in Oregon, the main character is only child Dani Tsai. Dani grew up in small town Silverpine, Oregon, in a house she and her father moved to after her mother returned to Taiwan to pursue her artistic career. Next door lived the Trans, a warm and rambunctious family who ran a local pharmacy. Their son Parker was the same age as Dani and the two became unlikely best friends. Parker was popular at school, always into sports, and became a local football star in high school. Dani was bookish, artistic, introverted, and has a passion for the idea of parallel worlds. Their families spent holidays together from the Fourth of July to Thanksgiving. Parker's mom, Cô Tran, was like a mother to her, much appreciated with the absence of her own mother. Parker's older brother Nathan went to university in Philadelphia and ended up settling there.

When they went to college, they went in opposite directions: Parker to the University of Oregon on a scholarship and later to San Francisco, and Dani to New York City. They stayed in touch until Christmas their sophomore year. Parker was supposed to come to New York for Christmas, but didn't show and basically ghosted her, refusing to respond to her, or even discuss what happened and why. 

Dani works for a magazine, Adagio, as a copy editor, but often writes freelance articles for it and other publications as well. She gets along with her co-workers for the most part and, as the book opens is looking forward to an interview for an online publication, for a contract 18-month position travelling through Asia, something her boss has already approved as a side gig as long as she meets her deadlines. 

After the dinner interview goes drastically wrong, Dani runs into Parker, in town for work as a sports marketing specialist, and the two reconnect. He even invites her to a gala his company is co-sponsoring that weekend. There, the evening takes a turn neither one planned for. 

Their casual relationship takes off from there. Regular meetups at his hotel suite and soon more. But whether it will last past his current New York-based assignment or not is unclear, and insecurities abound.

 I enjoyed the connection between the two characters, built from their past friendship, but with added passion. Shared memories, plus now secrets that just they know. Lac is great at characterization, and her dialogue is perfect. I got a good sense of even the less major characters of friends and family. A definite winner and an author I'll be looking for again. 

Confessions of a Red Herring

Finished March 9

Confessions of a Red Herring by Dana Dratch

This is the first in a series called A Red Herring Mystery. The main character, Alex Vlodnachek, is a newpaper reporter, but she recently changed jobs to be a public relations representative for a company that had been chasing her for a while. She doesn't feel entirely comfortable in the corporate environment, especially the with internal politics. When her boss expects her to prostitute herself to a potential client, she refuses and argues with him. Because it was offsite, at a dinner late Friday evening, she is upset enough to call in sick on Monday. On Tuesday, she discovers not only that the man she confronted was killed on Sunday, but she is the main suspect. She also learns that the company says that she was fired by the company on Friday, but that was never communicated to her. 

With all the evidence stacking up against her, and misinformation from the company limiting her options, she decides that she must solve the case herself. Calling on friends and relatives for help she digs into government records and even goes undercover. There is a lot of humour here, with the situations that she gets herself into, and the conversations that take place. The addition of a destructive, but adorable puppy adds to the fun.

With extra plot lines with a new British neighbour, her youngest brother taking up residence in her guest room, and even a visit from her traditional grandmother, there's constant action. There is also depth to the major characters, and we them grow and make important life decisions. I will definitely look for more books in this series. 

Room on the Sea

Finished March 1

Room on the Sea: Three Novellas by André Aciman

This was my first encounter with this author and I really enjoyed these novella. I think my favourite is the title one. 

The first novella in the book is The Man from Peru. It is set in coastal Italy, at a hotel in a small town. 

A group of American, friends from college, is there, meeting ten years after graduating. One of them was unable to attend, but the others are letting him know about the good time they are having. They've noticed an older man by himself, along with other fellow guests, and some of them have been making unkind comments about them and guesses about their lives. 

On of the Americans, Mark, has a shoulder injury that is bothering him and the older man stops at their table and holds his shoulder for a moment while telling him it might help and the shoulder appears healed. The man, Raul, reveals that his family used to vacation here regularly when he was a child, and he offers other predictions and advice that proves to be true. He seems to have an interest in one of them, Margot, even though she is the most catty of the women, and gets her to spend some time alone with him. The outcome is interesting and unexpected, but fits with the other strange stories he has.

The second novella is Room on the Sea, and takes place mostly in New York City. Two people in their sixties are both attending the courthouse for jury duty. They begin a friendship, going for lunch together, meeting for coffee before jury duty, wandering the streets and visiting art galleries. As they share details of their lives, they also befriend an Italian-born barista at the coffee shop and his stories of Naples get to be part of their story as well. This is an interesting look at the serendipity of relationships and how we as people change over our lives as well.

The third novella is Mariana and is also set in Italy. The title character is attending an art school, and she is drawn to a man already there as a student when she arrives. They have a short relationship, and he moves on, but she finds herself unable to get over him. Her actions draw attention and she learns more about herself and the other women he has spent time with.

The Bridesmaid

Finished October 28

The Bridesmaid by Cate Quinn

This is a dark novel, as seems to be common for this author. The suspense builds as we move through the book, especially when we move from the beginning New York City location to the island of Elysium, a privately owned island off the coast of Colombia. In a hotel in New York, where Adrianna Kensington is gathering with her bridesmaid before a final dress fitting, one of the bridesmaid's is found hanging in a ballroom, posed in a bridal gown, with other gowns hanging beside her. The bridesmaid was an investigative journalist working on a story about the bride's kidnapping, which occurred at her 21st birthday party on Elysium. She was found locked in the estate's panic room three days after going missing, and the case is still unsolved.

Holly, a forensic expert who was mentored by the dead bridesmaid, is brought in by the police and Adriana's fiancé to help with the new murder case. She has also been cast as the replacement bridesmaid to avoid too many people being told her real purpose. As her assistant, a senior police officer accompanies her. 

The original bridesmaids were all former students at the private Kensington School, owned by Adriana's family. The school began on Elysium, later moving to New York. 

As Holly works her way deeper into the case, she also works her way into the family history, and what is currently happening on the island. It also seems that the murder case and kidnapping case are linked in some way. 

I liked the character of Holly who has lots of tricks up her sleeve, but who is also emotional about the loss of her friend. Her police partner is key to her success, calming her down if needed and helping her focus on each situation.  

The Doorman

Finished October 25

The Doorman by Chris Pavone

This novel is a slow build, giving background on the three main characters: the doorman of the Bohemia, a historical luxury apartment building in Manhattan, Chicky Diaz, a widower with two adult daughters, who is still trying to pay off his late wife's medical bills; Emily Longworth, who lives in the penthouse suite at the Bohemia with her husband and two young children and who is facing recent revelations about the sources of her despised husband's income and questioning what she is willing to live with; and Julian Sonnenberg, an art dealer who lives on a lower floor with his wife and teenage daughter, and who is facing both a career and a personal crisis. 

On a larger level, a Black man has recently been killed by the police, resulting in demonstrations and outbursts of violence. Most of the staff of the building are black and are unsettled by the news. 

With Chicky's personal situation facing increasing pressure, along with the wider unease in the city, he opts to bring a gun he has just purchased along to his night shift at the building. 

Emily and her husband Whit, and Julien and his wife Jen are both at an art awards dinner. Emily is active in the arts world, both as a buyer and as a philanthropist. Julien and his business partner Ellington, a black man, have sold pieces to the Longworths. 

There has been information leaked recently about Whit Longworth's business activities and there have been protestors at the building he works at. He is considering his options. 

All three of the main characters, as well as some others, have secrets they'd rather not have widely known. They also have people who would relish in their bad luck. 

Both Emily and Julien have lived at the Bohemia for a while, Julien longer than Emily. Chicky has worked there for several decades. They have people they trust and people they don't. 

I really enjoyed this novel, as I have other of Pavone's books, both the plot and the characters. A great suspense novel with some unexpected situations. 

32 Days in May

Finished October 13

32 Days in May by Betty Corrello

This romance has an interesting twist to it. Nadia Fabiola has gone to her family's summer home in Evergreen on the Jersey Shore. She has had a life-changing diagnosis of lupus, and due to her symptoms has lost her job as an advertising director. She feels that she has lost control of her life and her body. Her mental health has suffered. She has recently begun working for one of her downstairs neighbours, Sophie, at her produce stand. She's also trying to keep her sister Liv and her parents from worrying about her.

When her rheumatologist asks her to show around his cousin, Marco, who will be house-sitting for him while his family is away, she is unsure. When she realizes that Marco the cousin is Marco Antoniou, the famous actor who has had his own setbacks, and is absolutely gorgeous, she agrees. Their first date is a crazy night, but it leads to an agreement to date each other for the rest of May, no strings attached. 

Nadia doesn't let Marco know about her lupus, and throws herself as much as she can into a normal life for the month. The two have great chemistry, but also connect in deeper ways. When the stress of some situations affects her health, she has to decide whether to come clean to him and take a risk on a real relationship.

Their dates take them not only to New York City, but also to Italy for Marco's commitments, and Nadia finds herself noting more hidden aspects of Marco. 

I enjoyed this read and the two main characters each trying to find fresh starts.

The Umbrella House

Finished October 5

The Umbrella House by Colleen Nelson

This children's book is not only entertaining, it also teaches a bit about American social history, a movement that I was not aware of previously. The Canadian author lived in New York City for a few years, and was interested in the real Umbrella House history and wove it into this story set in the present day. Umbrella House was an abandoned apartment building that the city took possession of, and tried to make unliveable for any squatters. The city filled the drain pipes with concrete, tore holes in the roof and created barricades to access. In 1988 people began living in the house regardless. They began fixing it up to be liveable, and at first used umbrellas to protect against the water coming in through the holes in the roof, giving the building its name. In 2010, they legalized the building as a low income coop. 

In this story, big developers threaten the building once again, and the book shows how housing has an impact on community. Many of the original tenants were artists and this book shows the impact of art as well.

I enjoyed the stories around the two middle grade kids at the center of this novel, both tenants of the building. Roxy lives with her grandmother, one of the original tenants, and her friend Scout lives with his two mothers, more recent tenants. They also run an e-newsletter about the community, with Roxy writing, and Scout doing graphic art. Part of their story is a competition involving a short video, and Scout has also had a teacher recommend a residential summer school to advance his art skills, which he can apply to for free attendance.

I liked the passion of both the kids and adults and the relatable story about affordable housing in urban areas, one I've seen friends and coworkers struggle with. 

A great read. 

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. 

Sweet Savage Death

Finished August 2

Sweet Savage Death by Jane Haddam

I was looking for a book to fit a challenge and found this older title in my library's offerings. I'm glad I did, I really enjoyed reading a book written in the early 1980s, without knowledge of all the technology, and I loved the humour of the author. The main character Patience (Pay) McKenna is a writer that writes both well-researched articles freelance and romances. 

Before the novel proper starts, there is a section called Fires of Love General Editorial Guidelines. This is typical for category romances at the time, where the publisher determines certain aspects of the book and a formula for the plotline. We will learn that this is a relatively new publishing line that Myrra, Pay, and many others have written for. This gives some insight into the area of the publishing world that this book is set around. 

As the novel begins Pay is at the funeral for a fellow romance writer, Myrra Agenworth, who had died as a result of a mugging. It was unusual that she was out walking her dog in the middle of the night, but the authorities didn't make much of that. Pay had liked Myrra and Myrra had taken her under her wing a bit, since all her own children were dead and her granddaughter lived overseas. Pay is sitting with a fellow romance author and friend, Phoebe Damereaux who has been very successful. They are noticing the other authors, the agents, and the editors who are also attending, and we get some background on the ones who will appear later in the novel, which is helpful. 

Pay and Phoebe go out for dinner together after the funeral, and then back to Phoebe's place. Pay doesn't get back to her apartment until after midnight, where she grabs her mail, and walks up the stairs to her third floor apartment. But then things go sideways. Her apartment is not only locked, but also bolted from inside. She goes for assistance, and when the police break down the door, they discover the body of Julie Simms, literary agent to many top romance authors. Despite her alibi, she is a suspect in this death, and Myrra's death is now being looked at again. As Pay decides she must figure out the real killer to save herself, she finds several people who could be responsible and doesn't know who to trust besides Phoebe. 

I found the writing refreshing and the plot intriguing. Pay is a woman who isn't intimidated easily, and she is smart with a wry sense of humour. I will look for more books in this series. And yes, she has a cat. 

Summer in the City

Finished May 7

Summer in the City by Alex Aster

This novel is centered on 27-year-old Elle, a screenwriter with a contract for a big-budget movie that has leased several locations in New York City. Elle used to live there, but left for Los Angeles several years ago for work. Just before she left she had a bad encounter with a man and she fed off that anger for a while in terms of creativity. She has had writers block for a while, and while she had hoped to avoid going to New York with a screenplay set there and due at the end of the summer she really should. 

She agreed to housesit an apartment that is undergoing renovations and oversee the renovations, while living there. It is a beautiful large apartment that has only her bedroom and bathroom finished, and only her bedroom furnished. She will end up spending a lot of time on the living room floor planning out her script. It also has amazing views of the city, and there are only two apartments on that floor. 

Elle likes to work in coffee shops, and soon finds a great coffee shop with the right vibe, great coffee, and luscious pastries. But then she discovers that her new neighbour is "Billionaire Bachelor" Parker Warren, the man who incited first lust and then hate after assumptions he made when they met two years earlier. He's been her muse ever since. 

This new encounter and subsequent meetings break her writer's block and she is inspired again. 

When he makes a deal with her to take her to every location her screenplay requires, with her being his fake date for the summer for events he has to attend, things begin to change. He provides appropriate clothing for the fancy events she attends, and soon gets her out running in the mornings with him. 

Elle's career is a secret as she writes her screenplays anonymously and we only discover why late in the novel. She was raised by her mother to be independent and not to be beholden to any man who might want to control her. Her mother died when she was in college and she misses her a lot. The only person that knows her identity as a screenwriter is her best friend and roommate Penelope, who also knows her history and about her previous encounter with Parker. 

As Elle finds herself deviating from her usual reclusive behaviour when she writes, she finds herself making new friends in the city. She also finds that she and Parker keep surprising each other with details about their lives, personalities, habits, and actions. 

This is a story of second chances, but also a story of control and reaction to that control. Neither Elle nor Parker is perfect and we see issues with both of them arise here. Elle has always wanted to be in control of her own life, not beholden to favours from anyone, and this has led to some of her problematic issues. I found it very interesting to see her come out of her shell. 

Fortunate Son

Finished March 1

Fortunate Son by Walter Mosley

I've read a few standalone books by Mosley, and I find they always have depth and make you think about the world in different ways. This one is no exception. 

When Tommy's mother Branwyn got pregnant with him, his father Elton wanted nothing to do with the situation. Branwyn managed on her own, and when Tommy was born with health issues, visited the ICU every day after work, hoping that he would survive. A doctor at the hospital, Minas Nolan, noticed her and began a courtship. He had recently had a son, Eric, and his wife had died in childbirth. His nanny Ayn did as well as she could but the child was inconsolable. When Branwyn and Eric meet, he is immediately calmed by her, and soon they become a small family. 

When tragedy comes to them, Tommy is separated from Eric, and though the two have a strong connection, they lose track of each other for years. 

Mosley shows how they class origins and the colour of their skin has a big effect on how they manage through life. Despite trauma and setbacks, Tommy gains the nickname Lucky, and feels that he is as well. Eric has a charmed life, and yet longs for something that he can't identify. 

When another tragedy brings the two back together again, they find more barriers between them and it is their found family members that each of them has gained along the way that help them find a way forward. 

This book explores social issues in America, particularly race and poverty, with the prejudices that underlie even the organizations that are supposed to support people. But it also explores outlook, and how each of us views the world we live in, and treats the people that we interact with along the way. A thought-provoking read. 

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. 

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. 

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. 

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. 

Chains

Finished January 20

Chains by Laurie Halse Anderson

This award-winning children's book is set from mid 1776 through to January 1777, and is told from the point of view of Isabel a black girl. She and her sister Ruth were owned by a woman, Mary, who had promised to free them on her death, but due to upheavals from the War of Independence, Mary's lawyer is away, and her heir quickly takes the girls and sells them to a loyalist couple, the Lockton's, from Charleston who are heading to their house in New York. 

Ruth is a bit simple, but a quiet and good girl, and Isabel is very protective of her. In New York, Isabel meets Curzon a young slave whose master Bellingham is in charge at the docks and suspects that they are loyalists, and will keep an eye on them. 

When Curzon asks Isabel to spy for them, she is at first wary, but pins her hopes on promises of freedom. Isabel is a smart girl, who can read and write, and knows how to keep her thoughts to herself, except in the case of her young sister. 

As we watch the changes in New York through her eyes as the war progresses, we see the bigger picture as well, and learn about the dealings of both the Americans who fight for freedom and the loyalists that want to remain king's subjects. Isabel struggles to understand the meaning of freedom to these men who use the word with such fervor, but still have slaves. 

As she continuously looks for ways to win her and Ruth's freedom, she finds herself torn between new loyalties and old. She undergoes cruelty and hardship as well as small kindnesses from a few. This is a tale that brings history to life as well as opening the young reader to human experiences foreign to them. It is the first book in a series.

A Big Storm Knocked It Down

Finished January 17

A Big Storm Knocked It Down by Laurie Colwin

This literary novel, published in 1993, is the last book Colwin wrote. It follows Jane Louise Parker, from just after her honeymoon through the next few years in her life. It has themes of friendship, family (including found family), and self awareness. 

Jane works for a small publishing firm in New York City, as a book designer. She has several co-workers that we see through her relationships with them: Sven, the art director; Adele, the department secretary; and publishing agents Dita and 

Jane's husband Teddy is a child of divorced parents, and he was raised by his mother, in a house in a small town in New Jersey that has been in the family for generations. Teddy is a chemist and product designer for a small company developing natural cleaning products. His best friend Peter is someone he has known from childhood, who now has an organic farm.

Jane has moved a lot as a child and has no real sense of belonging. Her mother has remarried, to a wealthy man, following Jane's father's death. Her best friend is Edie Steinhaus, her former college roommate. Edie is a caterer and pastry chef and an outlier in a family of male lawyers. Her business partner Mokie Frasier is a man she met at cooking school in Paris. He is tall, black, and also Edie's life partner, something her family tried to ignore. 

As we see Jane's life, we see her insecurities, her passions, and her relationships. With both of them having little in common with most of their family members, they have created a substitute family with Peter and his wife Beth, and Edie and Mokie. 

This is a character driven novel that lets us into Jane's life completely. I loved it. 

The Holiday Honeymoon Switch

Finished November 12

The Holiday Honeymoon Switch by Julia McKay

This fun holiday romance has a lot happening, and was a page-turner for me. On the evening before her wedding, Holly Beech's fiancé Matt tells her that he won't go through with the wedding, that they aren't really 'in love' with each other, and that he's met someone else. Holly is at her best friend, Ivy Casey's apartment getting ready for the wedding, and Ivy is left consoling her and feeling that she was right in her sense that Matt wasn't the right man for Holly. 

Holly can't bear to go to the luxury Hawaiian resort that her parents paid for, and since it is nonrefundable, she suggests that her and Ivy trade vacations. Ivy, a graphic designer, has an art vacation every year, where she uses her favourite oil pastels to create landscape pictures. Ivy has compartmentalized her art and makes it special for this time only. She has booked an eco-cabin in the Hudson Valley for this year. 

Both women are in for surprises when they arrive at their destinations. Holly finds the host of her cabin, who drops by to help her figure out some of the technology involved, is her high school academic rival Aiden. Ivy finds that someone else is already in the honeymoon suite at the Kauai resort, Matt and his new girlfriend. As she tries to find a place to stay in the popular season there, the extremely attractive bartender at the resort, Oliver, comes to her rescue. As both women weigh the decision to engage in a new relationship, they also must come to terms with their own issues, of confidence and routines. 

This is a novel of friendship, of unexpected love, and of taking chances. Thoroughly enjoyable.