Book Review: I, Spy by L.M. Kemp

 

"I, Spy” is by L.M. Kemp. I found the premise of this book to be extremely interesting and the characters rather enjoyable. I also liked the intersection of the former world (being a spy) meeting up with the current world (being a Mum) and trying to both balance the two worlds, yet also deal with motherhood’s requirements and looking out for a child - yet also trying to do both a good job at her former job (which she’s sucked back into). I found the daughter Rosie, to be a really good usage of a child (just the right enough balance of cute and annoying - because, let’s be honest, all kids at that age can be both). The twists and turns were predictable, which was a bit disappointing for me, but it was an okay ride. The pacing was fast at the beginning - but then it slowed down for a bit of time, making me crave some bits of faster action. Overall, an interesting idea with interesting characters. Three stars

Book Review: Hiding In Plain Sight - Marion Kummerow

 

“Hiding in Plain Sight” is by Marion Kummerow. This book is part of a series, but can be read as a stand-alone, though I’d recommend reading either one of the series that this character, Roxy, is part of for deeper background information. I had read one of the series, where Roxy was a minor character, but I think - for me - reading the series about her would’ve made this book a lot richer. However, Ms. Kummerow does a good job getting the reader up to speed on who Roxy is (including her past) and how’s she surviving in post WWII Germany. Ms. Kummerow always does her historical research and, once again, that shines through in this book - but for once, for me this book rather lay there as there wasn’t anything new historically for me to learn (something I always want from a historical fiction book). This book felt a bit predictable and while it was a good read, it wasn’t as gripping as some of her other books. I did like that Roxy’s story had closure and it was clear that post-WWII Germany had some prejudices to deal with (was the British officer a bit over the top? Maybe, but I’m sure he did face some discrimination based upon his accent and appearance). Overall, for me, this was a quick read, but having not read the series about Roxy, I felt like I was missing some details that could have made this story deeper and richer. Three stars.

Book Review: The Anniversary - Alex Finlay

 

“The Anniversary” is by Alex Finlay. Let me start with the positives - I flew through this book in one night - so, once again, the writing and storyline was engaging. I cannot say that I really cared about the main characters, but I did want to know what happened to them. Also, what a creepy storyline! The negative is that this book had one of the tropes I’m realizing that I really really dislike. Also this book reminded me of another book I’d read (this is regarding who did it) … which I found disappointing as, to me, it felt like a copy (granted, slightly different twist, but …). So, for the longest time, this was going to be a solid four star read … but then the last twist knocked it down to a three. However, all that being said, when there’s a new book by this author, oh, sign me up to read it or borrow it from the library … though I won’t start it after 9 PM next time. :-) Three stars.

Book Review: City of Girls - Elizabeth Gilbert

  

Don’t ask AI to choose a book for you to read even after giving it all the information it wanted. This was “a five star prediction … a perfect fit” and well, AI is going to need a bit more something before it rules us all. But, seriously, I think Elizabeth Gilbert & I just view the world differently. The first part of this book was fine - until it dawned on me that I really and honestly disliked the main character (nothing was ever her fault) & while eventually she matured - I didn’t care. Also why such a long, winded, and insane letter to write to a person - 400 pages of background that didn’t answer the question until the end - and even then it was a letdown. Not a good selection, AI. 2 stars.

Book Review: Wed or Alive - Portia MacIntosh

  

"Wed or Alive" is a rom-com by Portia MacIntosh. If you've read Ms. MacIntosh's previous books, you have a good idea how this book is going to not only unfold, but you know that Ms. MacIntosh will have some good zingers and fun characters. This book follows Whitney as she tries to get a book published (her great friend JJ is her agent) and also deal with her best friend, Andy, getting married - very quickly. For a while I thought that this book was going to go in one direction (which didn't make a lot of sense thanks to the cover) but then - presto - it switched directions (huzzah!). JJ was a crack-up (think Samantha Jones from $ex in the City) and while I don't really see either of the two couples lasting forever, the epilogue proved me wrong. A fun, fast read with enjoyable characters. Four stars.

Book Review: The Devil's Half Acre - Kristen Green

 

I received an e-ARC version of this book from NetGalley and the publisher.

“The Devil’s Half Acre” is by Kristen Green. It’s a non-fiction story about the part Richmond, Virginia had in the role of slavery. Yes, my summary differs from the publisher’s summary, but - let me be honest - this is a difficult book for me to review!

If I could give a rating based upon the amount of historical research Ms. Green did for this book, I would - and it would be a very high five stars. She lists an extensive amount of articles and books she used for background material. She also consulted genealogical records to track movement - so, she did a great job of due diligence. However, because so little is known about Mary Lumpkin, while she’s a common thread in this story, so much is guesswork about her life. There are some facts however - she was an enslaved woman (at the time a young teenager) forced to bear children of Robert Lumpkin, who owned and ran Lumpkin’s Jail in Richmond, VA. Mary outlived Robert Lumpkin and she inherited the land Lumpkin’s Jail had been on (Robert died after the Civil War ended) and, she offered the land and buildings up to become a school, eventually becoming Virginia Union University.

For me, sadly, where the overall book falls short is in the overall structure of the book. For instance, a lot of time is spent at the beginning with the author discussing her word choices and why she made those choices. There are ways to do this that don’t take nearly 30 pages to explain to the reader. Because so little is known about Mary Lumpkin, the author uses a lot of qualifiers “maybe Mary Lumpkin did this,” “Maybe Mary Lumpkin and Person_name discussed this,” and the etc. So much is unknown - including why she left Virginia and moved to Ohio (the author makes some guesses - but I would’ve preferred a straight “Mary moved there and lived with PersonX, but there’s no documentation saying why she made that choice.”). Mary is always referred to as “Mary Lumpkin,” which I found a bit awkward to read after a number of pages. Yes, that’s a stylistic choice, but since Mary seemed to be the only Mary in the book, it became annoying. The author had a message to convey with this book - and she delivers it, but at times for me it became mired down in political correctness, “these people good, these people bad,” and leaps in time (example: beginning a discussion occurring in 1840, then including historical information from the 1790s, then jumping to the 1930s before returning to the 1850s) that made it difficult to always keep track of what was happening when.

As a side note, if you have read the historical fiction book "The Yellow Wife," by Sadeqa Johnson, the main character, Pheby Brown, is based upon Mary Lumpkin.

Book Review: The Last Assignment - Erika Robuck

  

 I received an eARC of this book from NetGalley and the publisher, for which I thank them.

“The Last Assignment” is a historical fiction book by Erika Robuck. I will admit, I’d never heard of Dickey Chapelle before - no reason I should’ve known about her, but wow do I wish I had heard of her before reading this book. Ms. Chapelle lead a very interesting life - from covering the end of WWII through conflicts in Europe to going to Cuba to cover the rebels (Castro brothers & Che) to reporting and photographing the early(ish) years of the Vietnam War. Ms. Chapelle was a correspondent, photographer and writer - not always publishing her work (due to her editors thinking some of her photos were too graphic - though sometimes the military did keep her photos for their records). This book was well written - engaging from about the beginning - and well researched - I did like where Ms. Robuck explained where she condensed things, changed timelines for a better fit, and gave her resources. I’ve recommended this book already to two people. If you liked “The Women” (Kristin Hannah’s book), you may want to read this one as a companion book (though the two books are very different in what they cover). A strong recommend to read from me and this is one book I'd read again, thus the five star rating.