REVIEW: Before Dorothy by Hazel Gaynor

 

Synopsis

The greatest journey is the one you least expect…Kansas 1932

When news reaches Kansas that her beloved sister has tragically died, Emily Gale must become a mother overnight. Her sister’s orphaned child, Dorothy, desperately needs a home.

But Emily doubts her ability to fill her sister’s shoes; her life on the barren Kansas prairies is no place for a child.

On the unforgiving plains, Emily's courage is endlessly tested. The prolonged drought and relentless dust storms threaten to destroy everything – including her home and her marriage.

Can Emily overcome her grief and let Dorothy heal her heart?

From the promise of Chicago in the 1920s to the harsh beauty of the Kansas prairie during the dust bowl of the 1930s, this is a story of family, duty and one woman’s journey of self-discovery.

Format 352 pages, Paperback
Published June 17, 2025 by Berkley
ISBN 9780593440339

About the Author

Hazel Gaynor is an award-winning New York Times and internationally bestselling author of historical novels which explore the defining events of the 20th century. A recipient of the 2015 RNA Historical Novel award and the 2024 Audie award for Best Fiction Narrator, she was also shortlisted for the 2019 HWA Gold Crown, and the Irish Book Awards in 2017, 2020 and 2023.

Hazel’s co-written historical novels with Heather Webb have all been published to critical acclaim, winning or being shortlisted for several international awards.

She is a regular speaker at literary festivals, co-founder of The Inspiration Project, and programmed and hosted a series of Historia Live events in association with Dublin UNESCO City of Literature in 2024. Her work is translated into 20 languages and published in twenty-seven territories to date. Her latest novel, Before Dorothy, the imagine life story of Dorothy’s Aunt Em from The Wizard of Oz, will be published in June 2025.

Hazel lives in Ireland with her family.

For more information, visit www.hazelgaynor.com

where you can also sign up for her newsletter.

My Thoughts

Hazel Gaynor's Before Dorothy is a pleasant, well-intentioned read for anyone who has ever wondered about life before L. Frank Baum's beloved classic. The premise is genuinely appealing: this novel takes us back to the sun-scorched Kansas prairie to tell the story of Emily-- the woman who would become Auntie Em-- and the circumstances that shaped her long before a young girl named Dorothy ever tumbled into Oz. 

The novel's greatest strength is Emily herself. Tracing her journey from a lighthearted shop girl with big dreams living in the city to the hardened but loving and dignified aunt we glimpse in Baum's pages is the book's central reward. Unfortunately, Emily's sister Annie, who figures meaningfully in the earlier narrative, comes across as cold and emotionally remote in ways that feel underdeveloped rather than intriguingly complex. She functions more as an obstacle than a fully realized character, and the relationship between the sisters quickly fizzles out. Dorothy's husband Henry is a bright spot — warm, grounded, and genuinely likable in a way that makes the Gale household feel real and lived-in. He is the kind of steady, decent character who anchors a story without demanding too much attention.

That said, Before Dorothy left me wanting more. Somewhat ironically for a novel with Dorothy's name in the title, Dorothy herself remains a bit of a hazy figure. She passes through scenes rather than inhabiting them, often feeling as more of a gossamer apparition than someone of real substance. The Dorothy from The Wizard of Oz is spirited and forthright and makes her presence felt. I also found myself baffled over the way that Dorothy communicated like someone much older than her mere eight years and kept trying to calculate to determine whether a wide span of time had passed without me realizing it and aged Dorothy into maturity.  To be fair, this is Emily's story, and perhaps the author's intent was always to keep Dorothy at the periphery-- but readers hoping for deeper insight into the girl from Kansas may come away a little disappointed. This is Emily's story.

The setting and drawing of life on the Kansas prairie left me wanting more. Prairie life during the Dust Bowl era is rich territory full of hardship, community, and grit that could have lent the story tremendous texture. Instead, the details of life in the Dust Bowl feel somewhat sketched in — present enough to establish atmosphere, but not immersive enough to truly transport the reader. The dust, the drought, the grinding daily reality of survival on those wide-open plains — all of it could have been rendered with far more weight.

Five words: inventive, underperforming, gritty, grounded, adequate

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My final word: None of this makes Before Dorothy a bad book. It is engaging, moves at a comfortable pace, and offers genuine warmth in its best moments. But one finishes it with the nagging sense that the novel could have gone deeper-- into its landscape, its characters, and the harder edges of the world it depicts. As it stands, it is an enjoyable if somewhat surface-level glance into the life of our beloved Auntie Em. For fans of the original, there can be real pleasure in exploring this backstory, and Gaynor deserves credit for finding a fresh angle on an American treasure, but this could have been so much more.

Trigger Warnings:

Miscarriage

My Rating:

(rounded up from 3.75 stars)

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The Cerebral Girl is a middle-aged blogger just digging her way out from under a mountain of books in the deep south of Florida.

I received a copy of this book to review through BookBrowse and the publisher in exchange for my honest opinion. I was not financially compensated in any way, and the opinions expressed are my own and based on my observations while reading this novel.   

Blogiesta

 

Today I had planned on attending the local annual reading festival. However, after a late night and a few months of feeling "off", I decided I would rather stay home and focus on blog-related items than walking around in the hot sun. I decided that I needed an old-fashioned "blogiesta". I'm going to spend the day reading, writing reviews, and focusing on blog-related catch-up. On my list of "what I'd like to get through today":

• Write a review of Before Dorothy
• Write a review of Best Offer Wins
• Organize my thoughts on the blog
• Read at least 100 pages of Sky Full of Elephants
• Listen to a couple of chapters of Prequel on audio
• Review books out on Netgalley
• Schedule upcoming books to read
• Update reviews on Goodreads, BookBrowse, Netgalley

We'll see how much I get through while what I really feel like doing is "siesta-ing".

REVIEW: The Secret Lives of Murderers' Wives by Elizabeth Arnott

Synopsis

A remarkable trio whose lives were cracked wide open by their husbands’ crimes unite to catch a serial killer in this dazzlingly captivating novel.

Beverley, Elsie, and Margot are not your average housewives. They are all wives of convicted killers. During the sun-drenched summer of 1966, the three women form an unlikely friendship after the discoveries of their husbands’ brutal crimes. With their exes—some of California’s most infamous serial killers—dead or behind bars, they are attempting to forge a new future for themselves.

Headstrong Beverley compulsively tries to maintain control of everything around her, all while raising two children. Bookish Elsie fights day in and day out for the chance to make a name for herself in the newsroom, working among men who sneer at her career goals. Glamorous Margot refuses to take anything seriously and devotes all her energy to upholding the appearance that everything is fine—anything to quell the shame from her husband’s deceit.

They know people look at them and think only one thing: How could they not have known, when their husbands were right under their noses, committing horrific crimes? How much guilt is theirs to carry? And yet when a string of killings hits the news, the three women—underestimated, overlooked, shrewd—decide to get to work.  After all, who better to catch a killer than those who have shared their lives and homes with one?

At once a riveting portrayal of shattered trust and a story of gripping suspense, The Secret Lives of Murderers' Wives is a testament to the intricacies of women’s lives and how the deep bonds of female friendship can empower, uplift, and lead us to endure.

Format 320 pages, Hardcover
Expected publication March 3, 2026 by Berkley
ISBN 9780593952993

My Thoughts

The Secret Lives of Murderers’ Wives opens with a compelling setup. Beverley, Margot, and Elsie share little in common: Beverley is a single mother with striking blond good looks and a driving need to control her environment; Margot is fiery and pragmatic, a woman who clawed her way up from nothing only to lose everything; and Elsie is principled, bookish, and determined to build a career in a male-dominated world. Their lives converge in the summer of 1966 for one grim reason—they were all married to serial killers.

Only they understand what it’s like to question your own judgment, to replay every memory wondering how you could have missed the truth. They know the weight of suspicious glances from neighbors, the isolation, the paranoia, and the way danger seems to lurk everywhere once your life has been shattered and proven to have a dark and dangerous side you were oblivious to.

When a new serial killer emerges, the women become convinced there’s no one better suited to find him than themselves—the women who loved, lived with, and trusted men capable of unspeakable violence.

It’s an intriguing premise, and initially it feels as though it might offer a fresh perspective on the crime genre. Unfortunately, the author rarely pushes the concept beyond its surface potential.

The characters are serviceable but not particularly memorable. While their backstories suggest emotional complexity, these threads are only lightly explored. The pacing drags through repetitive stretches, then abruptly rushes through moments that should have carried far more emotional weight and depth. The mystery itself is competently constructed, but experienced crime readers will likely anticipate the twists well before they arrive.

Arnott’s prose is readable, though largely unremarkable, and the dialogue sometimes feels stiff rather than natural. There are glimpses of deeper themes—guilt, loyalty, denial, and the question of complicity—but they never fully coalesce into something solid.

Five words: promising, absurd, disappointing, shallow, lacking

Buy Now:

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My final word: Overall, I found The Secret Lives of Murderers’ Wives to be an adequate crime novel that does what it sets out to do, but little more. It’s an easy, undemanding read for genre fans, yet it struggles to distinguish itself in a crowded field. The development falls short, the ending feels rushed, and by the final chapters the plot veers into territory that feels more preposterous than provocative. Fine for passing the time—but not a story that lingers once the last page is turned.

Warnings:

Violence, smoking

My Rating:

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The Cerebral Girl is a middle-aged blogger just digging her way out from under a mountain of books in the deep south of Florida.

I received a copy of this book to review through BookBrowse in exchange for my honest opinion. I was not financially compensated in any way, and the opinions expressed are my own and based on my observations while reading this novel. 

REVIEW: The Lilac People by Milo Todd

Synopsis

For readers of All the Light We Cannot See and In Memoriam, a moving and deeply humane story about a trans man who must relinquish the freedoms of prewar Berlin to survive first the Nazis then the Allies while protecting the ones he loves.

In 1932 Berlin, Bertie, a trans man, and his friends spend carefree nights at the Eldorado Club, the epicenter of Berlin's thriving queer community. An employee of the renowned Dr. Magnus Hirschfeld at the Institute of Sexual Science, Bertie works to improve queer rights in Germany and beyond, but everything changes when Hitler rises to power. The institute is raided, the Eldorado is shuttered, and queer people are rounded up. Bertie barely escapes with his girlfriend, Sofie, to a nearby farm. There they take on the identities of an elderly couple and live for more than a decade in isolation.

In the final days of the war, with their freedom in sight, Bertie and Sofie find a young trans man collapsed on their property, still dressed in Holocaust prison clothes. They vow to protect him—not from the Nazis, but from the Allied forces who are arresting queer prisoners while liberating the rest of the country. Ironically, as the Allies' vise grip closes on Bertie and his family, their only salvation becomes fleeing to the United States.

Brimming with hope, resilience, and the enduring power of community, The Lilac People tells an extraordinary story inspired by real events and recovers an occluded moment of trans history.

Format 303 pages, Hardcover
Published April 29, 2025 by Counterpoint
ISBN 9781640097032 (ISBN10: 1640097031)


About the Author

Milo Todd is a Massachusetts Cultural Council grantee and a Lambda Literary Fellow. His work has appeared in Slice Magazine and elsewhere. He is co-editor in chief of Foglifter Journal and teaches creative writing to queer and trans adults.

Learn more about the author


My Thoughts

The Lilac People is a powerful, haunting novel based on real events, offering a fictionalized account of the persecution of the LGBTQ community during the rise of the Nazi regime in 1930s Germany. After roughly fifteen years of unprecedented freedom—following centuries of oppression—the community once again finds itself in grave danger as fascism tightens its grip.

At the heart of the story is Bertie, a trans man working at Berlin’s famed Institute of Sexual Science under Dr. Magnus Hirschfeld, a pioneering sexologist and advocate. When he isn’t assisting at the Institute, Bertie spends his nights at the Eldorado Club—dancing, drinking, and commiserating with friends in a space where the LGBTQ community can finally breathe. But as the Nazis gain power, those safe spaces dissolve, and the people who once lived openly and vibrantly become direct targets of hatred and violence.

Though the author adjusts the real-world timeline, the narrative centers on Bertie and his girlfriend Sofie as they flee following a brutal attack on the Institute during the Night of the Long Knives. The chaos and terror of that event—during which as many as a thousand were murdered and many more arrested or sent to Dachau—is vividly rendered. The pair take refuge on a rural farm, eventually adopting the identities of its former residents in a desperate bid for survival.

The novel also confronts a lesser-known and devastating truth: liberation from the concentration camps did not bring freedom for everyone. American forces, too, sought out and arrested gay and trans individuals, continuing the persecution long after the camps were liberated. It is a sobering reminder of how deeply rooted these injustices are—and how shamefully they were perpetuated by even the liberators.

Todd writes with empathy and nuance, crafting characters who feel real, vulnerable, and deeply human. Through Bertie, Sofie, and later Karl, readers gain a clearer understanding of the pain, fear, resilience, and hope experienced by many in the LGBTQ community during this era.

Five words: shameful, heartbreaking, haunting, illuminating, tender

Buy Now:
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Barnes and Noble
Books-a-Million
Amazon

My final word: I found The Lilac People both enlightening and emotionally gripping. It illuminated a part of Nazi history I had not previously known, and it left me reflecting on humanity’s capacity for cruelty—and our responsibility to do better. The story lingers long after the final page, leaving me hopeful that we can still pull ourselves out of the moral tailspin we so often seem caught in, even as I worry about whether we will.

Warnings/Triggers:

Violence, depictions of sexual assault and exploitation, smoking, drinking, genocide

My Rating: 

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The Cerebral Girl is a middle-aged blogger just digging her way out from under a mountain of books in the deep south of Florida.

I received a copy of this book to review through BookBrowse in exchange for my honest opinion. I was not financially compensated in any way, and the opinions expressed are my own and based on my observations while reading this novel. 

TLC BOOK TOURS AND REVIEW: The Last Letter of Rachel Ellsworth by Barbara O'Neal

Synopsis

Two women overcoming past traumas embark on a healing journey across continents in a novel about friendship, family, and rediscovery by the USA Today bestselling author of When We Believed in Mermaids.

Recently and abruptly divorced Veronica Barrington is anxious for a new direction when she answers a listing for a travel companion. It’s from Mariah Ellsworth, a young woman adjusting to an injury that ended her Olympic career. She’s also grieving her mother, Rachel, a lauded food writer, and Mariah aims to trace the steps of her mother’s final, unfinished project so she can heal and also honor the woman she misses.

Veronica seizes on the opportunity to experience with Mariah the culture, traditions, and intoxicating aromas of Parsi cafés throughout London, Paris, Morocco, and India. Accompanied by a former war photographer who has a wounded history of his own, and with just Rachel’s letters to guide them, the quest is a chance to not only close a chapter in life but also begin a new one.

Following the letters one by one—each a clue to an illuminating mystery—Veronica and Mariah must face the painful and beautiful challenges of freeing themselves from the dark shadows of the past. Together, far from home, they can find the light.

Format 377 pages, Paperback
Published July 29, 2025 by Lake Union Publishing
ISBN 9781662514937 (ISBN10: 166251493X)

About the Author

Barbara O’Neal is the author of more than a dozen award-winning, bestselling novels, including the runaway bestseller, When We Believed in Mermaids, which has been published in 21 countries and spent many months on both the most sold and most read Amazon Charts, as well as the Wall Street Journal, USA Today, and Washington Post bestseller lists. Barbara is an avid traveler and passionate cook, and discovered the Oregon coast on a pandemic-era trip with her husband. She now lives on that rocky, moody coast in a quirky beach house and writes her books from a room overlooking the sea. She lives with her British husband, who has promised to never lose his accent, and their cats and dogs.

Learn more about the author


My Thoughts

The Last Letter of Rachel Ellsworth was my introduction to Barbara O’Neal’s writing, and I was immediately swept away by the story she crafted. This beautifully layered novel follows two women at very different phases of their lives—each with her own ambitions, wounds, and desires—who find themselves unexpectedly intertwined as they work to rebuild the broken pieces of their worlds.

Veronica is reeling after a painful divorce that cost her nearly everything she cherished. With her grown children busy forging their own paths, she is left searching for purpose and a sense of direction. In this vulnerable moment, she stumbles across a wanted ad seeking a travel companion and assistant. Answering it leads her to Mariah, a young former Olympic champion skier trying to outrun trauma of her own.

Mariah, still grieving the loss of both her mother and her athletic career in the same devastating moment, feels unmoored and unsure of how to begin again. She chooses to start by finishing her mother’s book on Parisian cafes across Europe. When a family emergency prevents her aunt from accompanying her, Mariah needs someone who can help with both the physical demands of travel and the day-to-day tasks of organizing notes and keeping the project moving forward.

Joining them is Henry, a longtime family friend who has been a steady father figure in Mariah’s life—and who carries his own emotional scars. Sparks soon begin to fly between him and Veronica. As they journey together, Mariah’s aunt sends Veronica a series of letters written by Mariah’s mother, Rachel, during her youthful travels across Europe, Asia, and North Africa. These letters become a trail of clues, drawing the trio along Rachel’s footsteps and deepening the mystery of what happened all those years ago.

Their travels through London, Paris, Morocco, and India strengthen their bonds and begin to heal long-held wounds. Mariah and Veronica both slowly reclaim parts of themselves they feared were lost forever—Mariah finding comfort in Veronica’s nurturing presence, and Veronica rediscovering her own vitality in the bustle of unfamiliar cities, new flavors, and the sensory richness of Parisian cafes.

Five words: stimulating, vulnerable, mysterious, heartfelt, layered

Buy Now:
Indiebound

My final word: I truly loved this book! O’Neal’s writing moves me in a way few authors do. Her descriptions of Morocco and India—rich with color, scent, and texture—made me want to cook alongside the characters. Bun maska, fragrant lassis and biryanis, quiche, chai, even fruits less common in the U.S. like tamarind—I wanted to taste everything right along with them. The characters felt real and well developed (even if Mariah could be abrasive at times), and their emotional arcs were satisfying and heartfelt.

I’m already eager to dive into more of Barbara O’Neal’s work. This book was a delight from beginning to end.

Warnings and Triggers:

Depicts a shooting and minor sexual situations

My Rating:

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The Cerebral Girl is a middle-aged blogger just digging her way out from under a mountain of books in the deep south of Florida.

I received a copy of this book to review through TLC Book Tours and the publisher, in exchange for my honest opinion. I was not financially compensated in any way, and the opinions expressed are my own and based on my observations while reading this novel.