Amanda Eyre Ward - The Lifeguards

Austin's Zilker Park neighborhood is a wonderland of greenbelt trails, live music, and moms who drink a few too many margaritas. Whitney, Annette, and Liza have grown thick as thieves as they have raised their children together for fifteen years. While each of them has their own set of values and backgrounds, they share the belief that they can shelter their children from an increasingly dangerous world. The women's three teenaged sons are about to begin a carefree summer as lifeguards. Whitney, Annette, and Liza's friendship is unbreakable--as safe as the neighborhood where they've raised their sweet little boys.
Or so they think.
One night, the three women have been enjoying happy hour when their boys come back on bicycles from a late-night dip in their favorite swimming hole. The boys share a secret--news that will shatter the perfect world their mothers have so painstakingly created.
Combining three mothers' points of view in a powerful narrative tale with commentary from entertaining neighborhood listservs, secret text messages, and police reports, The Lifeguards is both a story about the secrets we tell to protect the ones we love and a riveting novel of suspense filled with half-truths and betrayals, fierce love and complicated friendships, and the loss of innocence on one hot summer night.

Comment: I cannot remember why this book was in the pile for the past two years, perhaps related to the mix of cozy vibes and light mystery...

In a well established neighborhood in Austin, we meet three friends, Liza, Annette and Whitney, as they go on through her days in the follow up of a crime which happened nearby. A young woman was found dead but the reasons aren't clear, although it seems their sons Charlie, Bobcat and Xavier, respectively, were in the area at the time the woman apparently died. While this situation brings surprising fears and reactions which might have been overlooked before, each woman also needs to deal with personal issues related to who they are and to their roles in their families. Is this too much for them to bear? How will their friendship resist all the surprises?

This is the first book by the author that I try and, therefore, I had no way to compare to other things by her, but I will be honest and say that there were times this story reminded me of Big little Lies by Liane Moriarty, only in the sense we have the POVs of different characters and they are dealing with a secretive situation while dealing with personal issues, some of which feel very bland and almost silly. This gave the story a cozy feel, actually, and I felt easily invested in learning more about the protagonists.

An interesting fact is that while we get to know what each protagonist is thinking, only Liza's is in first person. Perhaps because she was the most necessary protagonist? Perhaps because we are meant to root more for her and her difficulties? We also have two or three times small chapters, let's call them that, from the boys' POVs, which is helpful to understand their personalities, and to give us a better setting to the events that led to their presence near the spot where the woman died.

The three friends have some things in common but their inner thoughts hide a lot more than they let the others see. Are they really friends, then? I liked these differences between them and knowing about what they fear, about their backgrounds and their family dynamics made for a very rewarding read, that is true. In fact, if the story had been a straight woman's fiction without as much attention to the secondary investigation, perhaps I'd have liked this for the women's journeys alone.

Still, in a way, I cannot say the combination of things didn't work, because for the most part, it did. I was really into the plot and even having the police detective Salvatore and his family dramas, as well as the potential of his character in relation to one of the female protagonists, was another good feature. Everything seemed intriguing, but then the author added two or three more elements and that is where things started to feel they were losing focus.

I think what disappointed me in this book was, ultimately, the execution of the last chapters. To be fair, the resolution of the dead woman's case wasn't a big factor for me because the events are understandable and I was more focused on other things. But these things, namely some issues related to the protagonist's lives and situations they had to deal with, seemed to lead to a climax, a high point and then it all fizzled out. The author hints at possibilities and then, that was it! An epilogue follows, some things I could infer, but the majority of loose threads remains exactly so! I mean, in another type of book, fine, but here, after all the build up, that was frustrating.

Thus, I've finished with a slightly disappointing feel, because I wanted better and/or more suitable choices for the end, considering what the premise promised. I also think that most characters were interesting but many were also under used, such was the potential.

Anyway, this had its good moments, but what a pity the author didn't go in a different direction at the end.

Grade: 6/10

Louise Penny - The Cruelest Month

It's Easter, and on a glorious Spring day in peaceful Three Pines, someone waits for night to fall. They plan to raise the dead??? When Chief Inspector Gamache of the Surete du Quebec arrives the next morning, he faces an unusual crime scene. A s??ance in an old abandoned house has gone horrifically wrong and someone has been seemingly frightened to death. In indyllic Three Pines, terrible secrets lie buried, and even Gamache has something to hide. One of his own team is about to betray him. But how far will they go to ensure Gamache's downfall?

Comment: This is the third installment in the Inspector Armand Gamache series, following the investigations of this inspector and his team in a Quebec area, mostly in Three Pines, a charming village but where murder happens with frequency.

In this third adventure, a woman dies while being part of a seance. At first it seems she simply died due to an intense fright, but evidence reveals she had been drugged and now it's up to inspector Gamache to discover who would have hated this woman so much to the point of finding such a way to kill her. At the same time, something is going on back on the Sureté, and inspector Gamache is facing vile attacks in the newspapers, seemingly still connected to the Arnot case, exposed by Gamache. In this game of cat and mouse, who will prevail?

There is no doubt whatsoever that Louise Penny found her groove and her place with this series. Although this is only the 3rd book in 20 or something, I can already tell this will be consistently engaging and with plenty of food for thought. The author includes notes in some installment telling the reader about how the success of her career came in late, but it it totally worth it and these books are police mysteries but also studies on human nature and I have to agree.

It is true the base of the books has been a murder and how the police investigates. But unlike stories where what matters is the whys and hows, in here the real importance is on the psychology of the assassin and what happened to make someone do something like this. I really like thrillers/ crime stories where the key elements are psychological/philosophical and not how many people die or how terribly. However, I can see how this might sound a little repetitive and, perhaps, boring, to other readers.

The plot of this book is divided into two themes. Inspector Gamache needs to investigate the case and needs to deal with the personal issues at work. This second theme has been going on since book #1 and has had a good enough resolution but things weren't completely solved, i think, and there's room to keep up the subject, although I will be honest to say that, while this does add interesting clues on human behavior and layers to some characters, it also distracts from the main plot, which I think is more captivating. I understand why the author feels this matters too, but... I hope it won't be highlighted as much in future books.

The process of reading these books is great, in the sense that I keep wanting to turn the pages and see what is next in terms of investigation and who will be interviewed after, and what kind of specific dialogue they will have which is supposed to give us clues. The exercise of seeing each character sharing stuff and then the reader having to read between the lines is quite engaging. The author's talent shines in this, because often little things or more philosophical things are included in poetry, culture history and geography hints/content and I just love having these things as an educational plus.

The case seems complicated but, of course, once everything is presented and explained at the end, and the pieces fit, all makes sense in an almost too simplistic way. The real wonder is, as I've said, the psychology of what made the killer do this, and how incredible it is to see that sometimes something that seems ridiculous or vital is seen in a totally opposed way by someone else. We humans are, indeed, complex and fascinating.

Some twists pertaining to personal issues probably will surprise some readers but I will confess I wasn't amazed by what we learn here about some characters. I don't know if it having read too many books and recognizing some red herrings, but I only felt happy my suspicions were matched. Still, it is always fun to see how some things surprise the characters. Let's see what the author will do in the following book regarding the new things we learned here.

Grade: 8/10

Catherine McKenzie - Forgotten

An endearing story of discovery and transformation...
Emma Tupper is a dedicated lawyer with a bright future. But, shattered by her mother’s death, she fulfills her dying wish by embarking on a month-long trip to Africa. There she falls ill, and spends six months trapped in a remote village thanks to a devastating earthquake. On her eventual return home Emma discovers that her friends, boyfriend, and colleagues thought she was dead and that life has moved on without her. As she struggles to recreate her old life, throwing herself into solving a big case for a client and trying to reclaim her beloved apartment from the handsome photographer who’s taken over her lease, everyone around her thinks she should take the opportunity to change. But is she willing to sacrifice the job, relationships and everything else she worked so hard to build?
Forgotten is the story of one young women’s life, broken down, reconstructed, and forever altered – a modern twist on the classic tale of discovering who we really are when everything that brings meaning to our lives is lost.

Comment: I've had this book in the pile for years, likely due to some recommendation or something, and now I've finally added it to my monthly lists, but the result wasn't as great as I hoped for.

Emma Tupper is a lawyer who is almost at the point of becoming partner, but sadly she looses her mother and one of her last wishes is for Emma to travel to Africa, since she had never been able to do the same. Emma agrees, at some expanse of her career, but nothing goes according to plan because while there, she becomes ill, left abandoned by her guides and on top of it there's an earthquake on the country and many are killed or missing, which includes Emma. For months, she could not contact anyone back home, in spite of the help of another British couple, and when the airport finally re opens, Emma is able to go back home, although her attempts at contacting her friends aren't successful. Everything becomes dire when she arrives and her apartment now belongs to someone else, and her car is gone. Everyone assumed she had died in Africa! What new life is waiting for Emma, then?

What an incredible premise, even if it's not as original as it seems to me! I was so eager to see how Emma would cope with the changes in her life, as well as how those around her would now react to the fact she is back and for six months all of those who knew her assumed she had died. Psychologically, this would certainly be the key element in this book, I thought!

Well, not really. I'm so sad over this because the story ended up being very dull and never really touched the things I wanted, such as how characters would now interact with Emma after going on with their lives thinking she was dead, especially her close friends and at work. These things were mentioned and we see some of it going on but it's all so superficially done and without real emotional impact. I felt I could be reading about anything else because no character had any depth.

Unfortunately for me, the writing was not very captivating and that obviously affected my lack of enjoyment. Besides, Emma is the protagonist and narrator of the story but to be honest, I never warmed up to her nor did I particularly feel she was someone to root for or to sympathize with, although she had gone through something that should have affected her a lot more than she let on. At first, I assumed, the point was to stress out how people react differently to trauma and that her apparent numbness would evolve to something else, but no. She remains aloof despite the things piling up around her.

At some point she talks to a police officer regarding some bureaucratic stuff and he advises her to seek a psychologist to deal with this whole thing, if only to help her with dealing with those who thought she had died, for certainly they would not be the same people she left, but even such a key scenes led nowhere! Nothing really happens to make an impact on the story. I think the author used this tactic a lot, declarations or advises given which might lead to some important moment, and then nothing.

It is also hinted at that Emma will use this situation to think about her life and what she wants for the future. I feel this didn't really developed as is assumed, because she doesn't really change much in her life, and is even able to get her old job back, more or less. What lesson did Emma learn? I think the changes in her life were all easily sequenced and dealt with in ways that didn't really cause a difference in her way of thinking and of living. Sure, we see scenes in which things change for her, but not in ways I feel such a premise might led to, somehow.

There is some romance content but this was also very superficial. Then, at some point, we see Emma give a lot of attention to her job and stuff pertained to it and I don't think the author really highlighted this in relation to what it meant for Emma's way of processing what happened. If that was ever the goal, i mean. Although, otherwise, why bother? If this was meant to be that important, then I think the plot really was poorly planned and the story badly executed. I've finished without much sadness over the fact it was done. Reading this book was fine, but not emotional, and I will not remember it in the future, I bet.

Grade: 5/10

Lucy Foley - The Guest List

On an island off the windswept Irish coast, guests gather for the wedding of the year – the marriage of Jules Keegan and Will Slater.
Old friends.
Past grudges.
Happy families.
Hidden jealousies.
Thirteen guests.
One body.
The wedding cake has barely been cut when one of the guests is found dead. And as a storm unleashes its fury on the island, everyone is trapped.
All have a secret. All have a motive.
One guest won’t leave this wedding alive . . .

Comment: This book has been in the pile for years and I think I've added it because several friends had liked it and I got curious over such a majority of positive opinions.

Jules Keegan and Will Slater are a hit couple and are about to be married in an island, something very recent but very exclusive, managed by the couple Aoife and Freddy. Several guests will travel for the big day but a few will arrive earlier and all expect the best wedding ever. The problem is that everyone has some kind of secret which they don't others to know about, even if it means to stop someone from speaking out, but at what price? Who is being honest and who isn't, and who should be trusted?

After such hype and good opinions, I confess I expected something great, especially when the book is also described as "the perfect whodunit" in the cover. This even won a GR award and that made me even more curious but to be honest, now that I've finished, the sentence that comes to mind, and that I probably will keep from this book, is the following, thought be a character at some point: "they're like children without their parents present".

The thing is, for me this story felt rather weak because all the characters behaved incredibly bad and most of the time they acted like children without supervision. Were those adults really doing silly things as if they were still in school without any kind of consideration for others and for what they were supposed to be doing there? I cannot see the appeal. I also think the fact that every character is despicable or isn't likable made me find this story very annoying. 

The plot is set on a huge amount of resentment and bad decisions the characters did at some point in their lives. It also depends on many coincidences fitting in at the end, when all the secrets that matter are revealed to the reader. I think some transitions were interesting, namely how the characters really connected, but at the same time, what they were hiding wasn't really shocking, but mostly abhorrent in terms of morals and respect for others.

When we finally have the clues linked and the identity of the victim and of the killer known, I wasn't very surprised. Not that some things weren't well done, they were, like the real reason why the setting is the island, that was a good twist, but the real impact of these things and why they should matter in regards to how the story had been presented and developed lost strength and I think that happened due to the narrative choices.

The story is told in first person by five different characters, and then we have a few chapters in third person just to help with the tension in between key moments. The whole thing happens in three days, which means a huge part of the story is shared by the characters' inner thoughts. We get to know a bit more about the bride Jules, the best man Johhno, the bridesmaid Olivia, the guest Hannah and the wedding planner Aoife, but to me this didn't work. Yes, usually first person works great in thrillers but here not really, since everyone was awful and I didn't feel really invested in rooting for anyone.

I think the very last explanation for why the killer murdered the victim was a good one, psychologically speaking, but until then there had been so many annoying things that, I don't know, it all just fizzled out for me. It's hard to imagine real people would act and think the way these characters did and that they would have friends! Anyway... I wasn't fully convinced.

Grade: 5/10

C. L. Beaumont - The Sea Ain't Mine Alone

For James Campbell, winning the 1976 International Surf Competition is the ticket to his future. It's his chance to finally reclaim his life, move on from the war, and make a living doing the only thing that keeps him from walking away from it all. But his best laid plans are upended completely when two-time Billabong Pipeline Masters Champion Danny Moore steps up next to James on the starting line. Danny is a young, mysterious, unbeatable big wave surfer. He's man that nobody on the surf circuit can stop whispering about. For the first time since being shipped back home from Vietnam, James is captivated. That first fleeting moment turns the tide for both men, setting them on a path that crosses oceans and defies all odds.

Comment: I saw this book being recommended and I got curious about it and that is why I read it now, at last.

It's 1976 and Jimmy Campbell is about to participate in an international surf competition, hoping to win it and to improve his life, especially after having returned from Vietnam with no prospects. He wasn't counting on Danny Moore, a young guy who has won many competitions and who has the reputation of being arrogant and a know-it-all. However, Danny doesn't win this time and Jimmy has the impression he might have let him win, actually, but when they finally have a conversation, something seems to change between them. Could it be that these two, seemingly lost souls, have finally found the person that complements them?

I became curious about this book for the romance, because to be fair, I don't know much about surf nor do I think I'd really want to, although I can appreciate the idea of it and why so many people cherish and live for it.

Thus, to me, the fact these characters are "professional surfers", even though they still have to have other jobs to really make a living, is really only a way to an interesting setting and to see them in an environment that includes a lot of water, beaches and sand stuff. It sounds great but since I'm not a fan of going to the beach, this is enough for things to seem different from my usual preferences. There is a lot of surf elements but the most specific details passed me by, in fact.

The story is set in 1976 but apart from a few references, I really can't say the historical setting was that obvious. Perhaps the beach scenes and the majorly focused situations on the subject of surfing made me feel things are quite concentrated without much room to compare with other elements one would link with an historical vibe. For instance, the descriptions of places, everyday routines and social aspects could be seen in any other period from the 1970s on, which doesn't have to be bad, but...if the point was to stress out the historical stage and how that would have affected the guys' relationship, I conclude this wasn't really necessary, considering their backgrounds. I guess, it suited the Vietnam allusion.

The true interest of this book is the romance, I think, and in a way it might be because it's seen as forbidden. Being gay in the 1970s wasn't as now, but these two manage to find themselves in a very solid relationship, for all purposes, as soon as their feelings become acknowledged. Until this happens, I think the tension was done quite well and I was always wondering when would it happen that they kissed or that they could tell each other that they saw them as more than just a competitor and then a friend.

I also think the author has a very poetic way of presenting things, of wording certain scenes and descriptions and the mix of all of this made for a very emotional reading. Also, with such a theme at such a time period, it's not surprising that both Jimmy and Danny didn't have a good past when it comes to how their families dealt with things, mostly Danny's. Added to the fact they had to deal with depression and some self harm thoughts, this could have been quite sad to read, but I think the author found some balance later on, once they get at the same point, feelings wise.

To me, apart from some plot choices, what didn't work as easily was how long it took to develop certain things in detriment of others. Some situations dragged, while others happened in a way that seemed rushed and this made me feel the heartfelt /poignant moments lost some momentum here and there. It was also a little disappointing that we didn't have more about the Oahu island and native communities, considering the setting was mostly there.

All in all, this was interesting, romantic enough for I also have the feeling it could have been a lot stronger, overall.

Grade: 7/10

TBR Challenge: Julie Klassen - The Secret of Pembrooke Park

Abigail Foster fears she will end up a spinster, especially as she has little dowry to improve her charms and the one man she thought might marry her--a longtime friend--has fallen for her younger, prettier sister.
When financial problems force her family to sell their London home, a strange solicitor arrives with an astounding offer: the use of a distant manor house abandoned for eighteen years. The Fosters journey to imposing Pembrooke Park and are startled to find it entombed as it was abruptly left: tea cups encrusted with dry tea, moth-eaten clothes in wardrobes, a doll's house left mid-play . . .
The handsome local curate welcomes them, but though he and his family seem to know something about the manor's past, the only information they offer Abigail is a warning: Beware trespassers who may be drawn by rumors that Pembrooke contains a secret room filled
with treasure.
Hoping to improve her family's financial situation, Abigail surreptitiously searches for the hidden room, but the arrival of anonymous letters addressed to her, with clues about the room and the past, bring discoveries even more startling. As secrets come to light, will Abigail find the treasure and love she seeks...or very real danger?

Comment: August is here and I, for one, can't wait for it to end. I'm not a fan of hot weather ( I was born in the wrong country for certain) and at work, this is the busy season, so.... anyway, the theme for this hot month at the TBR Challenge is "backlist banger" and I've picked an author whose work I have enjoyed and of whom I still have several books in the pile to read.

Abigail Foster and her family have had a terrible blow because some of her father's investments have proven to be disastrous and now they need to downsize and Abigail is in charge of dealing with the finances. They find a promising house away from London due to a specific connection but it seems the house and the family members who were there before hid some secrets in the propriety. However, Abigail enjoys this new challenge and even makes friendships with their neighbors, namely the young parson, and things seem to go well, until a new person shows up claiming to be a direct descendant from the house's owners. As things muddle up, Abigail's mother and more attractive younger sister arrive too, and Abigail sees herself in a confusing situation...

I have read several books by this author by now and I have liked many of them while others weren't as great for me, in the sense of comparing them all. The author writes Christian fiction but this isn't the element that makes me like a book less, although it did affect some reader's opinions. To me, the biggest flaw has been the focus on negative/sad aspects, probably to highlight the Christian content. Sometimes this doesn't bother me because the narrative is incredibly captivating. Other times, it only makes the story feel a little boring.

I think this book falls into that slot, as opposed to the ones I gave higher marks to, because it just drags. At some point the central plot point, related to the family who used to live at Pembrooke Park, simply drags and drags and I started thinking to myself "when will this be solved" which is not a good indication, because the same story could have had less 60 or 70 pages and we would loose nothing about it. Some more editing would have helped, I think.

The whole thing is related to a supposed treasure the previous owner hid or wanted to keep protected. Things get to a point I could see right away what treasure it was, but by then all the moves had been in play and the characters kept doing things that instead of looking consistent to what would be an obvious step, just delayed concluding something. I wanted to yell at them to hurry up, because I wanted to finish the book and start my next one.

Some situations related to the mystery of the treasure and to what happened to the previous owners seemed to become more confusing as things went along. At some point I confess I no longer cared for this, because I knew it would be easily solved, and the explanations in the end proved me right. I suppose that for books that mix different genres, some elements always seem to be presented better than others.

I liked the heroine and her sense of self, her awareness of why certain things didn't happen easily for her. I thought the obvious contrast to her more flirtatious sister would be used later on in a more effective manner, but nothing happened in the way I imagined. Still, I liked her for being quiet, considerate, thoughtful and for understanding her surroundings. I also liked the romance and the person she ends up with. The romance is certainly on the sweet and demure side but I think the author manage to portray their compatibility well.

The end of the story is not very surprising but I liked how some loose threads were put together and I liked knowing that the characters I wanted to find their happy end, did so. I place this book in the middle of the pack, in my personal list of what I've read by the author until now. I do appreciate the consistency and the ideas but sometimes I also wish the author would be more daring in what should happen, plot wise, and less keen on dragging gloomy stuff.

Grade: 6/10

Melissa Ferguson - Meet Me in the Margins

Savannah Cade is a low-level editor at Pennington Publishing, a prestigious publisher producing only the highest of highbrow titles. And while editing the latest edition of The Anthology of Medieval Didactic Poetry may be her day job, she has two secrets she’s hiding.
One: She’s writing a romance novel.
Two: She’s discovered the Book Nook—a secret room in the publishing house where she finds inspiration for her “lowbrow” hobby.
After leaving her manuscript behind one afternoon, she returns to the nook only to discover someone has written notes in the margins. Savannah’s first response to the criticism is defensive, but events transpire that force her to admit that she needs the help of this shadowy editor after all. As the notes take a turn for the romantic, and as Savannah’s madcap life gets more complicated than ever, she uses the process of elimination to identify her mysterious editor—only to discover that what she truly wants and what she should want just might not be the same. Melissa Ferguson’s latest—a love letter to books, readers, and romance—will leave fans laughing out loud and swooning in the same breath.

Comment: I think I've decided to read this book after seeing some positive opinions, plus it would feature a story with content related to books and those are usually something that I enjoy.

Savannah Cade comes from a family of overachievers but she doesn't seem to be able to accomplish as much as easily. She works for a publishing house that hasn't been doing very well to stay competitive and the owner's ideas about what type of books to provide also limits them a lot. In the meantime, Savannah wants to be a writer and she has a sort of deal with an editor from a romance publisher but her manuscript wasn't up to par. She promised to deliver the perfect corrections but will she have enough time to meet a deadline? Thankfully, it seems that a secret editor found the hiding place of her manuscript and is helping her out. The question is, who is this man, Sam her co worker with whom she can't make enough eye contact or Will, the owner's son who came to help the company improve?

As so often happens with books we want to like, I think the idea of this one was extremely promising and seemed to mix several things I thought would mesh well, such as the couple who would fall in love through words without knowing while in a book related setting. I mean, pretty great idea, but to me, sadly, the execution wasn't as optimal.

This is my first attempt with this author's work so perhaps I have not chosen the best one, but I really imagined the story to be a little more consistent and objective. This is actually rather funny because the heroine, Savannah, is writing a book, and one of the criticism she is given is that her story feels to be all over the place sometimes. I don't think this happened here that much, but it certainly came to mind in several moments. There are many situations to keep track of and not all felt they were important for the plot's development.

I liked Savannah as a heroine because she is a likable and friendly person, has her dreams, does everything she can to do things properly, but her family dynamics tell us that she isn't seen by who she is, and that some people always find flaws in her. I've figured this would be a topic to explore and that was true, namely because Savannah wants her manuscript to work, and in that process she gets to interact with a secret helper  - who, by the way, is very obvious - and that starts off a reaction in the way she sees herself.

In terms of romance, I cannot say this is incredible, things meet the necessary goals. However, I must say that the way this element plays out, along with the whole book improvement thing, feels very contrived most of the time. The way they exchange messages in the manuscript pages, and never meet each other in the process and Savannah even assumes someone else was doing it instead of the person we all know who is... well, there were times this was a bit cringe. I don't think this was working out sometimes.

The book related content, the information about publishers and editors and how things work, seemed realistic enough when compared with things I've read in other books with similar content. But since most scenes where this type of content would be concluded would also contain silly stuff, my attention was easily lost about this too.

As expected, the end is very fluffy and cute and all the doubts we saw the characters have throughout the novel become solved. If I think about the several elements on their own, I cannot say that this was a very balanced story or that those things were placed together in a way that was being delivered well most of the time. I liked some things, I think some scenes were well done, true, but thinking about the big picture, I don't think this was that well accomplished. Sadly, I think that this will be a forgettable story to me.

Grade: 6/10

Nguyen Phan Qué Mai - Dust Child

In 1969, sisters Trang and Quỳnh, desperate to help their parents pay off debts, leave their rural village and become “bar girls” in Sài Gòn, drinking, flirting (and more) with American GIs in return for money. As the war moves closer to the city, the once-innocent Trang gets swept up in an irresistible romance with a young and charming American helicopter pilot, Dan. Decades later, Dan returns to Việt Nam with his wife, Linda, hoping to find a way to heal from his PTSD and, unbeknownst to her, reckon with secrets from his past.
At the same time, Phong—the son of a Black American soldier and a Vietnamese woman—embarks on a search to find both his parents and a way out of Việt Nam. Abandoned in front of an orphanage, Phong grew up being called “the dust of life,” “Black American imperialist,” and “child of the enemy,” and he dreams of a better life for himself and his family in the U.S.
Past and present converge as these characters come together to confront decisions made during a time of war—decisions that force them to look deep within and find common ground across race, generation, culture, and language. Suspenseful, poetic, and perfect for readers of Min Jin Lee’s Pachinko or Yaa Gyasi’s Homegoing, Dust Child tells an unforgettable and immersive story of how those who inherited tragedy can redefine their destinies through love, hard-earned wisdom, compassion, courage, and joy.

Comment: I was given this book last year, whether for my birthday or for Christmas and, well, as always, better late than never!

In 1969, sisters Trang and Quynh leave their village to work in a bar in Saigon (now Ho Chi Minh) so that they could earn more money and help their parents paying debts. However, this bar is only a step away from a brothel and while they feel uncomfortable, they still accept what it entails, since they have no option.

In 2016, Phong is an orphan whose father was clearly an African American soldier and he has the dream to travel to the US and, perhaps, have a better life with his family. This isn't easy,especially when he knows nothing of his origins.

This same year, Dan is traveling to Vietnam to try to get closure, for he was also a soldier whose life was deeply affected by the war and by Kim, the woman he met at a bar and who he left, pregnant, although now he wants to find her and his child...

The lives of these people will somehow mix, but will the truth of their existences be easy to accept?

This is the first book I try by this Vietnamese author. I actually had another book by her, her debut The Mountains Sing, but since a friend gave me this one, and it fit a prompt in a challenge I'm doing (precisely, reading a gifted book), I've decided to start with it. As indicated by the accolades, it was "powerful and heartbreaking" but to me it lacked a certain strategic emotional impact.

The story is divided into three main characters' POV, in third person, but the really strong impact of the emotions and the difficulties all of these people faced seemed a little detached from what was being told. In a way, this helped me cope and accept the events, but at the same time, it felt like a missed opportunity and the terrible things everyone dealt with weren't as harrowing as I imagined.

Perhaps having different timelines and focus on more than one protagonist made me feel distracted but jumping from Trang (mostly) and then Phong and then Dan made the flow break somehow. Still, their individual tribulations all had merit and offered food for thought. Of course I cannot really describe the necessary details without some spoilers, but it's not hard to infer stuff from the main subjects each character seems to personify.

Dan is dealing with PTSD and guilt over leaving a pregnant woman behind, although he had a girlfriend back home. This situations repeated itself with a large number of soldiers and while I could sympathize with Dan, bearing in mind the circumstances, I also felt annoyed by him and his American entitlement. I can imagine many others behaved properly and really developed feelings for Vietnamese women, but I confess it is much easier to imagine a majority of those who didn't do "the right thing".

Phong really made me sad, he is the son of a Vietnamese woman and an American soldier, Black at that. This means that it was even more obvious how discriminated and bullied he was by other children and adults later on. The world has not improved, I supposed. It was also very heartbreaking o see how Phong didn't have much chances in life but he was still a good man, in spite of youth mistakes. I think his character was my favorite and I felt sorry that while his discoveries led him into a satisfying closure, not  every detail was as rewarding.

Trang was, probably, the most complex character. I cannot envision the life real people like her actually went through and how it must have affected the way they saw themselves. This was, for me, the really heartbreaking part of the novel, the way her journey went through. Perhaps a different writing style would have added drama and sadness to how Trang lived though the hard choices, which would have elevated the novel, I bet, but this way I could maintain my control on how much to suffer..

The author included a note explaining the inspiration for the novel and I got the feeling that this would have led her to write a better non fiction than a novel, but at the same time, this was a much stronger story than others out there, so... I also liked knowing more about cultural and social aspects regarding Vietnam, of course, mainly when it came to the time period of he late 60s. However, to be fair, this was not the focus, I'd say.

In the end, what really stayed with me is that everyone who might see representation in any of the characters in this book probably feels this could be avoided. Wars are never solution to anything. Why can't humans learn?

Grade: 8/10

Joel Dicker - The Disappearance of Stephanie Mailer

In the summer of 1994, the quiet seaside town of Orphea reels from the discovery of two brutal murders.
Confounding their superiors, two young police officers, Jesse Rosenberg and Derek Scott crack the case and arrest the murderer, earning themselves handsome promotions and the lasting respect of their colleagues.
But twenty years later, just as he is on the point of taking early retirement, Rosenberg is approached by Stephanie Mailer, a journalist who believes he made a mistake back in 1994 and that the real murderer is still out there, perhaps ready to strike again. Before she can give any more details however, Stephanie Mailer mysteriously disappears without trace, and Rosenberg and Scott are forced to confront the awful possibility that her suspicions might have been proved horribly true.
What happened to Stephanie Mailer?
What did she know?
And what really happened in Orphea all those years ago?

Comment: One more book by Joel Dicker I had in the pile to read. Since I have enjoyed other thrillers by him (more than two other books which are not mainly crime investigations), I had confidence I'd like this one too.

Stephanie Mailer is a reporter who shows up at the retirement party for officer Jesse Rosenberg telling him that, in 1994, he and his partner caught the wrong man, guilty of killing four people. She tells him that the truth was always in front of them and they didn't investigate properly. Stephanie Mailer disappears that same day and that propels Jesse and partner Derek, who has been on desk duty, to reopen the investigation. As things move long, they start noticing that there are more things that seem to be linked to that old case than they imagined, as clues that were overlooked before, now take a new meaning. But happened, what made the killer scared that he or she felt they had to kill again?

This was a very rewarding story to read. It might not be perfect because there were some transitions here and there that seemed forced and around half way a few details were presented in such a way that coincidence is a weak word to describe things, but one thing is true: it was a real roller coaster of entertainment to read this story.

The plot is centered on the investigation happening in the present but there are a few scenes spread throughout the book in which we can see something from the POV of the protagonist, in the past. I'm glad this wasn't "flashback style" because I tire very easily of that method, and this way I could sense I was not being too distracted by going back and forth. Besides, I really like it when we, the reader, can follow up the clues on the now as the characters do, instead of just having that information as a given while the characters are in the dark.

I also think the author must have watched a lot of movies because I could see a couple of references to scenes I remember seeing in a movie; perhaps there were more and I didn't recognize them. This said, I think the plot was constructed in a very ingenious way, there are twists and red herrings around all the time, and while the chapters didn't all end in surprises or shocking news, I've felt that going forward was always going to tell me something new, something for me to think about.

What an imagination it must have required to sequence the events in a reliable way, to add details and make them (mostly) work out with what we had read before... the author really did a good job creating the plot. I never suspected the killer was that person, and I'd have preferred for someone else to be guilty, but I think it made sense, psychologically speaking. It was also fun to be able to see how some little things mattered a lot more than seemed obvious when certain things were introduced.

The characters were all very intriguing but not in the sense that they were all keeping secrets. I mean, of course they did that, but their personalities were what was really fun to look for. I also liked the fact that everyone had layers but only one character or two, clearly antagonists, were really "bad people" and all the others had more to them than just a label we could give them. It was really a relief to think these characters were not all secretly hiding terrible stuff or something. Some were simply people trying their best.

Perhaps, this is not the most incredible plot ever, but it was very satisfying to read and I was rooting for the characters we are suppose to root for, namely the police officers investigating, to succeed. The title is, perhaps, a little unsuitable because the main focus isn't exactly on Stephanie's disappearance, but on how it is connected to the initial crime. Still, entertaining. I'm looking for to read more thrillers by the author.

Grade: 8/10

Heidi Swain - The Book-Lovers Retreat

Sometimes a book grabs you by the heart and grows to mean everything to you. That’s what Hope Falls is to friends Emily, Rachel and Tori. So, when they get the chance to spend a whole summer at the cottage in Lakeside where the film adaptation was located, they know it is going to be the holiday of a lifetime.
Spending six weeks away will give them a chance to re-evaluate their life choices. For Emily to decide which way her career will go – the safe route, or the more risky creative option? And for Rachel to decide whether to move in with her partner Jeremy. Then Tori has to drop out at the last moment, and her space is offered to another Hope Falls afficionado, Alex.
But when Alex turns out not to be who they expected, the holiday takes an unforeseen turn. And as the summer develops, so does their friendship. Could this be where they uncover their future selves, find love in all its forms and where their lives will change course forever…?

Comment: I decided to add this book to my TBR because it would feature characters who love reading. This month it fits a prompt in a challenge I'm reading, so...

Rachel, Emily and Tory are friends who have always loved everything connected to the book Hope Falls, centered in a group of three friends, just like them. They have also loved the movie based on the book and have planned for months the trip to the cottage where the movie was done. The place is very requested there is a waiting list as well, which means that when Tory tells them her father will no longer give her money as he has always done, they fear they cannot go. However, a solution is presented by the cottage's owner, perhaps they can accept a third person to help with the expanses, since Tory cannot go. They accept and that is how Alex takes Tory's place, but.... a surprise is definitely waiting for them. Will the three enjoy staying there as much as they dreamed?

This is the first book I try by the author, so I had no solid expectations except for a pre-conceived idea based on the author's prolific work and the cute covers of the books. I imagined the books would be more chick lit and not as much woman's fiction, but it seems that is precisely the mix.

The premise is interesting and starts off with a fictional excerpt of the fake book Hope Falls but I must not be paying enough attention because then the action jumped from characters Rosie, Laurie and Heather to others, whose names were Emily, Tory and Rachel and I admit I was very confused. Thankfully, this didn't last long and I quickly got on track  with what the story really was about, which is how the three friends deal with their holiday, so longed for and the unexpected that comes with it. 

Of course, another element is how each main character - Rachel, Emily and Alex - face personal issues and what it means to process many things in their lives has any importance to how much they enjoy the holiday or not. Certainly, there is plenty of stuff to compare with the reasons they claim the fake book is so special and we can infer the lesson to be that: life might imitate life but a person's journey is always personal and not really simple to see in a book.

There isn't much I can say about the plot that would surprise any reader, for that isn't the goal here. In fact, for anyone who has read other woman's fiction books, this is rather predictable. The sequence of events, since the main characters meet at the cottage and how their days go on after that follow very obvious patterns and the end is also calculable for this type of story. The supposed lessons aren't really special, and in part I suppose it has to do with the writing, which I've found to be competent but not really remarkable.

The real interest here sets on the characters, and how their personal little journeys seem impactful or not, depending on how much we like them. Rachel is a sweet woman who has a controlling boyfriend. This is obvious to everyone but her, so her story is centered on whether she realizes this or not. Clearly she does by the end, I don't think this surprises anyone, but considering the amount of time it takes, when she does see that feels rather anticlimactic.

Emily was more complex, mostly because the story is told only through her POV. She is debating on accepting a boring job or trying to start a patchwork business and her thoughts on this felt realistic. However, at first, she felt a little selfish in regards to her feelings about the cottage and expectations she had, even though I understand why she would act like that, and it took me some to warm up to her. Her dealings with Alex also seemed a little too hard to see positively and I did not buy into how their relationship evolved.

In the end, everything happens in a way we might consider as being positive and what a book in the genre requires. All the expectations were met but, honestly, nothing about it will likely be easily remembered.

Grade: 6/10

Gregory Ashe - Triangulation

After a recent case with a treacherous client, North and Shaw are ready to go back to work building Borealis Investigations. They’re also ready to go back to dodging their feelings for each other, with neither man ready to deal with the powerful emotions the Matty Fennmore case stirred up. Everything is getting back to normal when their secretary asks for help: her girlfriend’s boss has gone missing.
Shep Collins runs a halfway house for LGBTQ kids and is a prominent figure in St. Louis’s gay community. When he disappears, however, dark truths begin to emerge about Shep’s past: his string of failed relationships, a problem with disappearing money, and his work, years before, as one of the foremost proponents of conversion therapy.
When Shep’s body turns up at the halfway house, the search for a missing person becomes the search for a murderer.
As North and Shaw probe for answers, they find that they are not the only ones who have come looking for the truth about Shep Collins. Their investigation puts them at odds with the police who are working the same case, and in that conflict, North and Shaw find threads leading back to the West End Slasher—the serial killer who almost took Shaw’s life in an alley seven years before. As the web of an ancient conspiracy comes to light, Shaw is driven to find answers, and North faces what might be his last chance to tell Shaw how he really feels.

Comment: This is the second installment in the Borealis Investigations trilogy. I thought the first book to be rather average and too focused on elements I wasn't as fond of but I had hopes this one would improve on them.

Shaw and North are back to their regular work, even though the effects of the case they just solved are still being felt by them, in how they are dealing with each other. Then, while each one of them comes to terms with how they really feel about the other, a new case comes along. Their secretary Pari asks for help when her girlfriend's boss Shep goes missing and they learn he manages a youth house for LGBT kids, but in the past he had worked for a group that did "conversion therapy". Thinking this might be connected, they look into everyone who knew Shep and the more they learn, the more complicated everything becomes. While investigating, they also find a clue connecting this case to the one that caused Shaw to have been the surviving victim of a serial killer. What is going on, and what will come next?

I liked this story a little more than the first, overall, but I will grade it the same anyway because the element I wish I could see improved wasn't, which is how the personal relationship between the characters is portrayed. I get it that this author probably imagines countless ways for the characters to deal with serious and deep emotions, but I think this is dragged too much and the constant verbal battle between them is more often tiring than amusing for me.

In fact, while things change and we get to see how their feelings for one another keep demanding their attention, and the need to deal with them as things progress in all aspects of their lives adds up the drama, it also becomes difficult to see why North and Shaw cannot simply have a conversation, especially since they both learn stuff that should give them the impulse to do it. But no, the aim here is to drag on the drama, the tension and to make them suffer before they feel stable in becoming a couple.

If things between them had been presented in another way, perhaps this would not distract me this much, but the banter between them and the things they deal with, and what we learn from their inner monologues makes me think they should be in therapy and not looking to become boyfriends. I know the next book is the final one, so I think we will have closure and an HEA, but the road there didn't have to be this complicated, I think.

Regarding the plot, the story was quite interesting, actually. I liked the case they were investigating and the way the clues started to fit, especially when the method seems to be the following: Shaw and North are given a case with someone telling them about it in their own way, and then an idea here, an idea there, it turns out that the version they had wasn't not the full truth. If not for the constant bantering between the main characters, which I find too distracting in inopportune moments, I think the development of the investigation would be even better.

While the central case is being exploited, another situation is ongoing, which I've noticed here more than in the first book. So, one of the reasons for the guys to have started their investigation agency is partly caused by an experience Shaw had in the past, with a guy who targeted gays, and killed them, as it happened to someone Shaw had a date with once. Shaw is still dealing with the trauma of all that, and it seems things were not as solved as it seemed. Thus, in this book, we got to have some scenes about it and I think it will also be a key element in the last book.

This book had good things, and others were a little too much for me, both for exaggerated elements or the lack of consistency in them. I'm still curious to see the guys reach a stable life together so I'll finish the trilogy.

Grade: 6/10