September and October Book Recommendations

I have read some wonderful books during September and October, and I am so excited to share my favorites with you.  Grab yourself a cup of tea or coffee and settle in for a long post.

My reading lately seems to be leaning towards coming of age stories, which is a genre I have always enjoyed. This Tender Land by William Kent Krueger was a five-star read for me.  The book is a coming of age story about four children who escape from a nightmarish orphanage for Native American kids in the 1930s.  They take a canoe down the river to what they hope will be freedom from abuse and a brighter future.  Along the way, they meet many strange and outlandish people, some of whom mean them no good.  Life lessons are learned along the way, and I found myself gasping in dismay and shouting with encouragement as I turned the pages.  This book is reminiscent of Huckleberry Finn, which I also loved.  I highly recommend this one.

One for the Blackbird, One for the Crow by Olivia Hawker was a marvelous book.  You can read it for free if you have an Amazon Prime membership, and I strongly urge you to take advantage of it.  Set on the Wyoming frontier in the 1850s, the story has a very far fetched premise but was hugely entertaining and thought-provoking.  In the middle of nowhere, far from any towns or other people, there are two neighboring families.  In the first few pages, the husband of one family shoots the husband of the other family dead. He turns himself in to the sheriff in the nearest town, over 20 miles away and gets sent to jail for two years.  Why the light sentence?  Let's just say he had his reasons for committing the crime.  The circumstances leave behind the two men's wives and their children.  The women are filled with rage and remorse, respectively, but know they need to band together in order to survive the harsh winter and not lose everything, including their children.  Talk about conflict!  Can the two women work together in order to hold their lives together?  Oh my, this was a nail biter.

A Single Thread by Tracy Chevalier (author of The Girl With the Pearl Earring) is a book I picked up when I was in London this September.  The American cover is different from the one shown above, so search by title if you are looking for it.  I have loved the author's other books and couldn't wait to dive into this one.  Set in England, after WWI, this story features a spinster named Violet, who is one of the "surplus women" left after the War, when so many men had died and there literally were not enough partners for all the women left behind.  She lives with her demanding and difficult mother and yearns for a more independent life for herself. Violet gathers all her courage and moves to the town of Winchester where she finds work as a poorly paid typist. In her free time, she meets up with a group of women who are embroidering kneeling pillows for the cathedral.  There is lots of sewing going on and much discussion of embroidery stitches in this book.  You will also learn about bell ringing at cathedrals, and see how Violet finds herself in the new life she has chosen.  I enjoyed this book but found it rather slow going and low key.  I recommend it if you like a book that is more character-driven than plot-driven.

Ooooh, was this one ever perfect for Halloween week!  How about that gorgeous cover, too?  This book is only $4.99 for the Kindle edition on Amazon and is a real bargain. The Familiars by Stacey Halls is set in 1612 in Lancaster England.  The main character is a wealthy noblewoman named Fleetwood Shuttleworth (really, is not that one of the best character names ever?) who is expecting a baby when the book begins.  She has had several miscarriages and is fearful that this pregnancy will end in the same way.  She finds herself a midwife named Alice that she likes and trusts and finds that her health is improving under the woman's care.  The only problem is, the local magistrate is on a witch hunt and has included women healers in his frenzied accusations and roundups. Fleetwood is determined to prove her midwife's innocence and give birth to a healthy baby with her assistance before time runs out. Lots of action and suspense in this book, as well as the overriding question:  Can Alice really be trusted?

Another gorgeous cover.  The Garden of Lost and Found by Harriet Evans was just so good. Another bargain right now on Amazon: $5.99 for the Kindle edition.  Set in 1919 in England.  Liddy Horner is shocked to find her artist husband burning his best-known painting "The Garden of Lost and Found" in the garden of their home, Nightingale House.  His fame and fortune were largely the result of this nationally beloved work and it is incomprehensible that he would do such a thing.  The story is told over three generations, and by the end, you will understand the artist's motives and actions.  Poignant, engrossing, mysterious and captivating.   I loved it.

Two books by the same author.  If you enjoy what I call "women's fiction" you will love Mary Ellen Taylor, if you aren't already familiar with her.  Winter Cottage and Spring House both are set in the same place and have many of the same characters.  The two residences in the book titles are being renovated after being unexpectedly inherited by one of the characters.  Lots of description, forays back into the past and the lives of the previous owners, and some romance.  Sweet, easy reads.

Last but not least The Dutch House by Ann Patchett.  I have already reviewed this one, but can't help but mention it again.  Wonderful book.  One of the best I've read this year for sure.

As always, I hope you enjoyed my book reviews and if you end up reading any of them, Happy Reading!