The Thirteenth Tale
All of my friends have said "oh mi god! You must read this book!" Read up to 2/3 of it an just couldn't get into it. Not my cup of tea
Princess Elizabeth's Spy
Finally able to write a review!
Maggie Hope is assigned to be a tutor for the young princess and she quickly realizes that this is hardly a fluff assignment. More than an hour math tutoring session will be needed for this mission!
We read of smart women on both good and bad sides and we see that Princess Elizabeth is spunkier than we might have thought :-)
The rest of my review can be found here.
The Midwife of Venice
At the heart of this book is a very simple story--two people doing everything they can to reunite. For that I simply loved this book. But the setting and the characters involved in this story face incredible environmental and social challenges. The reader gets a full glimpse of what it was like being an ostracized Jew in Venice in the 16th century as the Plague starts to take over the population. We get a fairly accurate history lesson by paying close attention to the setting and the social constraints alone. The rest of my review can be found here.
City of Ash
Interesting book told through many points of view. About an event I knew very little about, as well. The rest of my review can be found here.
Insurgent
I tend to like the main character's thought process in light of the events that occurred in the previous book. There were times when this thoughtfulness, however, got a little annoying. The rest of my review can be found here.
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Mr. Churchill's Secretary
If I could I would have given this a 4.5. Loved this spunky smart-as-hell heroine and very much look forward to more from this series!
for more, please go here: http://stitchingmystressaway.com/blog/?p=852
Blue Asylum
http://stitchingmystressaway.com/blog/?p=827 - General Book Reviewhttp://stitchingmystressaway.com/blog/?p=841 - Historical Context, because I'm a history nerd
Her Royal Spyness
Think of Bridget Jones, with a Royal Title, in Edwardian England and you'll have Lady Georgiana. Very light, funny and quirky mystery. Looking forward to reading the rest of these mysteries!
http://stitchingmystressaway.com/blog/?p=780
Mockingjay
If I could, I'd give the whole series a 5-star rating but this book would get 3.5. I enjoyed this book and I actually like how it ended but I didn't like the path it took to get there. I read to be taken for a ride but this felt like a bumpy roller coaster that didn't know its direction.
The Joy Luck Club
Absolutely Beautiful! I was struck by this paragraph close to the end:"And now at the airport, after shaking hands with everybody, waving good-bye, I think about all the different ways we leave people in this world. Cheerily waving good-bye to some at airports, knowing we'll never see each other again. Leaving others on the side of the road, hoping that we will. Finding my mother in my father's story and saying good-bye before I have a chance to know her better." (page 286)
We Two: Victoria and Albert: Rulers, Partners, Rivals
Somewhat dense at times but still a very interesting read. very well researched
SPOILER ALERT!
When We Were Strangers
This book took some time to get going for be but once it did, i thoroughly enjoyed it. I found myself conflicted from time to time with it though. It seemed there were times reading it when I couldn't help but just want something GOOD to happen to her. Then again, being an immigrant in a new country can't ever be easy. It certainly wasn't for single women in the 1880s in America so I had to tell myself that it was probably more realistic than anything. People took advantage of immigrants. Sisters came over here looking for siblings, sometimes not finding them.
I couldn't help but think of my own family's experience as I was reading this book. My grandmother's mother came to the US either in the late 1800s or very early 1900s from Slovakia to Ellis Island. Couldn't help but think of their own struggles as I read of Irma's.