Books Read in June 2020

No, I didn't read all these. But I did read seven books in June and I will tell you about them shortly.  First, I'd like to point out one of my favorite decorative pieces that my husband gave me a couple of Christmasses ago.

This piece is by Houston Llew, an artist who paints with powdered glass on copper. The piece is about the size and shape of a book, and has a quote by George M. Martin on the sides that says "A reader lives a thousand lives". I just love this and enjoy looking at it on my bookshelf. Houston has a huge selection of these 'Spiritiles" (as he calls them) and each one has a gorgeous painting and an appropriate quote. They make such personal and unique gifts.

Ok, let's get to the books I read in June. It was a decent reading month. I like to read "lighter" books in the summer and be entertained. Most of them are in that category. Seven books, and some of them were excellent. Super long post today, so grab yourself a beverage and settle in.

This Must Be the Place by Maggie O'Farrell was surprisingly good.  I did not care for the first book of hers that I read (I am, I am, I am), so I went into this with misgivings.  I was very pleasantly surprised and enjoyed this complicated family drama immensely.  Daniel Sullivan is traveling in a remote area of Ireland when he comes to the aid of a beautiful woman with car trouble.  It turns out Claudette is a very famous international film star who has disappeared from the public and now lives as a recluse in Ireland.  Daniel and Claudette fall in love and enter into an idyllic reclusive life.  We soon find out that Daniel has a secret that could unravel everything he has built with Claudette.  Each chapter in the book is from the point of view of a different character, and the story is not told chronologically.  The author writes beautifully and the story was very compelling.  For a book that I wasn't sure I even wanted to read, I was pretty blown away.  Five stars.

The Dollhouse by Fiona Davis.  Sigh.  I enjoyed a previous book by Fiona Davis called "The Address". That being said, I had a lot of problems with this book.  The story is set in the 1950s in the famous Barbizon Hotel for Women in New York City.  So many famous women lived there over time- Sylvia Plath, Candace Bergen, Grace Kelly, Liza Minelli, and many more. The author just didn't use the setting effectively enough for me.     The plot seemed forced and the main characters were thoroughly unlikeable. The book is told in two timelines, the early 1950s and 2016. Rose, the 2016 journalist, uses very underhanded and questionable methods to get her story, and no amount of sympathy for her bad romantic break up excuses her actions. The 1950's main protagonists were equally problematic. Darby was completely spineless and Esme was a lying schemer. Not nearly enough history and background were devoted to the Barbizon Hotel, which was a shame. Many of you may really enjoy this book, so do read the reviews on Amazon and GoodReads.  I just didn't think it was written well. Two and a half stars.

The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett.  This was a very complex book. It is the story of twin sisters who choose very different paths in life. They grow up in a small town whose claim to fame is a population of extremely light-skinned black people. The girls run away as teenagers and even as they both rebel against the mores of their Southern town, they do it in polar opposite ways. The story focuses on the lives the sisters each chose and how their choices affected their daughters. The book is a family saga, yet addresses the topics of race, discrimination against those who look different, "passing" as white, the secrets we keep, family loyalty, and the choices we make. I think this was an important book. Highly recommend. Four+  stars.

How to Walk Away by Katherine Center. I always enjoy books by this author. Katherine Center's main characters struggle with big issues and generally triumph in the end and become stronger more evolved people. Margaret is about to launch herself into a glorious future: a fabulous dream job, a new engagement, and nothing but good things to come. In one instant everything is turned on its head and nothing she planned for is going to happen. The secondary characters in this book are so well-drafted you will feel as if you know them. There is an estranged sister who re-appears into Margaret's life, a difficult (to put it mildly) mother, a supportive and loving dad, a complete sap of a fiancé, and a very intriguing Scottish physical therapist. You will root for Margaret, cry with her, cheer when she triumphs and be completely satisfied with this wonderful book. It gave me all the feelings. Five stars for me.

Big Summer by Jennifer Weiner.  I really enjoyed this book. It was a lot meatier than I was expecting. I went into it thinking it would be a rom-com, but was mistaken. It was part contemporary fiction and part mystery, which I did not anticipate at all. Daphne is a plus-size Instagram influencer who is making a name for herself and gaining loads of followers. She has not seen her "frenemy" Drue since a massive quarrel they had years ago while in college. Suddenly Drue reappears in Daphne's life and of all things, asks her to be her bridesmaid. Drue's inability to keep friends for long has evidently come home to roost and she has absolutely no one else she can ask to be in her wedding party. The author does a great job of portraying Daphne and her body insecurities, the role of social media in our lives, and the power of old friendships. This is a light read, sort of soap opera-ish, but I enjoyed it and found it a great choice for summer reading. Four stars.

Sea Wife by Amity Gaige.  Do you ever read books that have an interesting premise, but the characters are so annoying you want to pinch them?  Here's the set up:  Juliet was working on her PhD dissertation when she became pregnant with her first child. The birth of her baby, followed in a few years by a second child, seriously put a damper on her finishing her degree.  Besides moping over that and doing nothing about it, she is suffering from serious depression. Her husband Michael works for a large insurance company and makes enough money to move the family to a gorgeous big home in suburban Connecticut. And no one is satisfied with this. Michael's dream is to own a sailboat and sail all around the world.  He manages to acquire a 40-foot boat and proceeds to take his depressed wife and their 7-year-old and 2-year-old toddler to sail between Central America and the Caribbean for a year.  For. a. year. That's it, just the four of them on a boat in the middle of the ocean.  The chapters alternate from Juliet's mopey point of view and her husband's captain's log.  If you think this crazy idea to sail the seven seas with two unstable grown-ups and two little kids makes everything better you would be wrong.  Just barely three stars for me.

Nothing to See Here by Kevin Wilson.  Lillian and Maddie were roommates at an exclusive boarding school when they were kids.  Lillian unfairly gets expelled due to a scandal and finds her life completely unravels.  Now in her 20s, she is living a dead-end life working at a big box store and living in her mother's attic.  Maddie, who has reached a level of wealth and success in her life that few attain, reaches out and tells Lillian she has a job for her.  Lillian travels to Maddie's vast estate to see what that job is all about.  It turns out Maddie's husband is a senator with aspirations to become president.  He has two children from his first marriage who need a nanny.  The problem is, the children have a very unusual disability.  When agitated, they spontaneously combust.  As in burst into flames.  Now hear me out.   First of all, when the kids combust, they aren't hurt or burned.  Things around them get pretty scorched, but they are always ok.  But it's pretty awkward, right?  I know this sounds like the most ridiculous and far fetched theme for a book ever, but it was done really well.  Obviously there are much deeper themes beneath the surface of the plot premise.  Lillian's life is basically ruined by the school event from her past.  She has no friends, no relationships, a terrible mother and nothing to look forward to.  These two strange kids can't be around anyone and in fact have to live in a specially constructed house with a gazillion sprinklers on the ceiling.  The three main characters come together in a way that is touching, poignant and meaningful.  I was so surprised by this book and actually went from laughing out loud to feeling very moved.  If you want something very different, give this one a try.  Seriously!  Four stars.

So that's it for June.  Thanks for sticking with me to the end!