Whaddya Meme? (07/20/24 edition)

 

Monday Book Love (07-08-24 edition)

 

Monday Book Love is a catch-all for all of those events where you share your latest acquisitions, events like:

What are You Reading?

Stacking the Shelves and Sunday Post both with Reading Reality

Mailbox Monday (now defunct)

Books that I got last week:

Beneath a Crescent Shadow by A.L. Sowards

After an arranged marriage, Konstantin and Suzana must find a way to meet the demands of a conquering Ottoman sultan amid a torrent of setbacks and dangers much closer to their Balkan home.

The Balkans, 1373

A devastating battle claimed the lives of Konstantin's father, uncle, and most of their Serb army, leaving him to rule as a vassal of the Ottoman sultan, a role he is wholly unprepared for. Between war, famine, and a persistent band of brigands, Konstantin is nearly bankrupt. He will need to find a wealthy bride to marry if he is to have any hope of saving his lands and securing his future.

A betrothal to Suzana, the daughter of a prosperous merchant, is soon arranged, and upon meeting her, Konstantin immediately feels hope that their marriage could someday grow into love. Yet, from the moment of Konstantin and Suzana's betrothal, enemies threaten their lives, outlaws prey on their lands, and the terrors of Suzana's abusive past haunt their fragile new relationship. As this onslaught of threats closes in, the two face challenges that will test their love, their faith, and their hope to save their people and win their freedom from the heavy weight of Ottoman oppression.

Southern Man by Greg Iles

Fifteen years after the events of the Natchez Burning trilogy, Penn Cage is alone. Nearly all his loved ones are dead, his old allies gone, and he carries a mortal secret that separates him from the world. But Penn’s exile comes to an end when a brawl at a Mississippi rap festival triggers a bloody mass shooting—one that nearly takes the life of his daughter Annie.

As the stunned cities of Natchez and Bienville reel, antebellum plantation homes continue to burn and the deadly attacks are claimed by a Black radical group as historic acts of justice. Panic sweeps through the tourist communities, driving them inexorably toward a race war.

But what might have been only a regional sideshow of the 2024 Presidential election explodes into national prominence, thanks to the stunning ascent of Robert E. Lee White, a Southern war hero who seizes the public imagination as a third-party candidate. Dubbed “the Tik-Tok Man,” and funded by an eccentric Mississippi billionaire, Bobby White rides the glory of his Special Forces record to an unprecedented run at the White House—one unseen since the campaign of H. Ross Perot.

To triumph over the national party machines, Bobby evolves a plan of unimaginable daring. One fateful autumn weekend, with White set to declare his candidacy in all fifty states, the forces polarizing America line up against one another: Black vs. white, states vs. the federal government, democracy vs. Fascism. Teaming with his fearless daughter (now a civil rights lawyer) and a former Black Panther who spent most of his life in Parchman Prison, Penn tears into Bobby White’s pursuit of the Presidency and ultimately risks a second Civil War to try to expose its motivation to the world, before the America of our Constitution slides into the abyss.

In Southern Man, Greg Iles returns to the riveting style and historic depth that made the Natchez Burning trilogy a searing masterpiece and hurls the narrative fifteen years forward into our current moment—where America itself teeters on the brink of anarchy.

Metal from Heaven by August Clarke

For fans of The Princess Bride and Gideon the a bloody lesbian revenge tale and political fantasy set in a glittering world transformed by industrial change – and simmering class warfare. 

Ichorite is progress. More durable and malleable than steel, ichorite is the lifeblood of a dawning industrial revolution. Yann I. Chauncey owns the sole means of manufacturing this valuable metal, but his workers, who risk their health and safety daily, are on strike. They demand Chauncey research the hallucinatory illness befalling them, a condition they call “being lustertouched.” Marney Honeycutt, a lustertouched child worker, stands proud at the picket line with her best friend and family. That’s when Chauncey sends in the guns. Only Marney survives the massacre. She vows bloody vengeance. A decade later, Marney is the nation’s most notorious highwayman, and Chauncey’s daughter seeks an opportune marriage. Marney’s rage and the ghosts of her past will drive her to masquerade as an aristocrat, outmaneuver powerful suitors, and win the heart of his daughter, so Marney can finally corner Chauncey and satisfy her need for revenge. But war ferments in the north, and deeper grudges are surfacing. . . H. A. Clarke’s adult fantasy debut, writing as August Clarke, Metal from Heaven is a punk-rock murder ballad tackling labor issues and radical empowerment against the relentless grind of capitalism.

The Lion Women of Tehran by Marjan Kamali

From the nationally bestselling author of the “powerful, heartbreaking” (Shelf Awareness) The Stationery Shop, a heartfelt, epic new novel of friendship, betrayal, and redemption set against three transformative decades in Tehran, Iran.

In 1950s Tehran, seven-year-old Ellie lives in grand comfort until the untimely death of her father, forcing Ellie and her mother to move to a tiny home downtown. Lonely and bearing the brunt of her mother’s endless grievances, Ellie dreams of a friend to alleviate her isolation.

Luckily, on the first day of school, she meets Homa, a kind, passionate girl with a brave and irrepressible spirit. Together, the two girls play games, learn to cook in the stone kitchen of Homa’s warm home, wander through the colorful stalls of the Grand Bazaar, and share their ambitions for becoming “lion women.”

But their happiness is disrupted when Ellie and her mother are afforded the opportunity to return to their previous bourgeois life. Now a popular student at the best girls’ high school in Iran, Ellie’s memories of Homa begin to fade. Years later, however, her sudden reappearance in Ellie’s privileged world alters the course of both of their lives.

Together, the two young women come of age and pursue their own goals for meaningful futures. But as the political turmoil in Iran builds to a breaking point, one earth-shattering betrayal will have enormous consequences.

Written with Marjan Kamali’s signature “evocative, devastating, and hauntingly beautiful” (Whitney Scharer, author of The Age of Light) prose, The Lion Women of Tehran is a sweeping exploration of how profoundly we are shaped by those we meet when we are young, and the way love and courage transforms our lives.

The Story Collector by Evie Woods

In a quiet village in Ireland, a mysterious local myth is about to change everything…

One hundred years ago, Anna, a young farm girl, volunteers to help an intriguing American visitor translate fairy stories from Irish to English. But all is not as it seems and Anna soon finds herself at the heart of a mystery that threatens her very way of life.

In New York in the present day, Sarah Harper boards a plane bound for the West Coast of Ireland. But once there, she finds she has unearthed dark secrets – secrets that tread the line between the everyday and the otherworldly, the seen and the unseen.

With a taste for the magical in everyday life, Evie Woods's latest novel is full of ordinary characters with extraordinary tales to tell.

Tricksters by N.L. McLaughlin

“I love how author N.L. McLaughlin opens her stories in the middle of the action and sets the tone of the story from there.” –Rabia Tanveer, Reader's Favorite

For generations, the Tricksters have inhabited the mountains of west Texas. Preying off unwitting travelers, the pack's existence remains a well-kept secret.

On a road trip, Ash and her friends make the fateful decision to stop in the dusty little town of Sierra Diablo where they meet a handsome and charismatic local named Caleb and his peculiar group of friends.

Later that night, a frightened young girl stumbles into their campsite, begging for help.

What follows is a night of terror as Ash and her friends fight for their lives against a pack of bloodthirsty coyote shapeshifters.

When she fails to return home, Ash's older brother, Matt, sets out to find her. Upon arrival in Sierra Diablo, he realizes that there's something odd about this tiny desert town. Determined to uncover the truth, he investigates further.

As he slowly uncovers the truth, Matt realizes some secrets are better left undisclosed.

When searching for answers, be careful that you don't come to regret what you find.

Not What She Seems by Yasmin Angoe

She left home as the local pariah at twenty-two, but when a family tragedy brings her back, she must confront her tortured past—and a new danger in town that no one seems to understand but her.

After years of self-exile, Jacinda “Jac” Brodie is back in Brook Haven, South Carolina. But the small cliffside town no longer feels like home. Jac hasn’t been there since the beloved chief of police fell to his death—and all the whispers said she was to blame.

That chief was Jac’s father.

Racked with guilt, Jac left town with no plans to return. But when her granddad lands in the hospital, she rushes back to her family, bracing herself to confront the past.

Brook Haven feels different now. Wealthy newcomer Faye Arden has transformed the notorious Moor Manor into a quaint country inn. Jac’s convinced something sinister lurks beneath Faye’s perfect exterior, yet the whole town fawns over their charismatic new benefactor. And when Jac discovers one of her granddad’s prized possessions in Faye’s office, she knows she has to be right.

But as Jac continues to dig, she stumbles upon dangerous truths that hit too close to home. With not only her life but also her family’s safety on the line, Jac discovers that maybe some secrets are better left buried.

Effortless Menopause For The Savvy Woman: Simple Science-Backed Solutions For Hot Flashes, Mood Swings, Vaginal Dryness, and More, to Restore Physical & Mental Vitality by Marsha Shepherd Whitt

"Effortless Menopause for the Savvy Woman" is a groundbreaking book that revolutionizes the way women approach and manage menopause. Written by a dedicated advocate for women's health, this guide challenges common misconceptions about menopause, presenting it not as a period of decline but as an opportunity for growth and rejuvenation.

This comprehensive guide is rooted in the author's personal journey and extensive research into holistic health strategies. It offers women empowering and practical solutions to manage the physical, emotional, and psychological aspects of menopause. From mitigating hot flashes, mood swings, and vaginal dryness to fat loss, the book covers a wide range of topics essential for navigating this transitional phase with grace and confidence.

The book places a strong emphasis on dietary strategies, particularly the benefits of the carnivore, ketovore, and keto diets, in alleviating menopause symptoms. It also introduces fresh perspectives on exercise, tailored specifically for menopausal women, focusing on routines that support bone strength, vascular health, muscle mass, and mental wellness.

Beyond symptom management, the guide delves into the importance of mental and emotional support, advocating for a supportive community and the practice of self-care. It reassures readers that all advice is evidence-based, blending scientific research with personal insights to offer a guide that is both credible and relatable.

"The Savvy Woman’s Guide to Effortless Menopause" invites readers to embark on a journey of self-discovery and empowerment, encouraging them to view menopause as a positive, life-enhancing phase. It's not just a book; it's a call to action for women to engage actively with their health, embrace menopause with optimism, and share their stories to foster a supportive community. This book stands as a testament to the strength and resilience of women, offering gratitude and solidarity to all who join in this transformative journey.

What I'm reading:

Poetry Sunday (07/07/24 edition)

Still I Rise

You may write me down in history

With your bitter, twisted lies,
You may trod me in the very dirt
But still, like dust, I'll rise.

Does my sassiness upset you?
Why are you beset with gloom?
’Cause I walk like I've got oil wells
Pumping in my living room.

Just like moons and like suns,
With the certainty of tides,
Just like hopes springing high,
Still I'll rise.

Did you want to see me broken?
Bowed head and lowered eyes?
Shoulders falling down like teardrops,
Weakened by my soulful cries?

Does my haughtiness offend you?
Don't you take it awful hard
’Cause I laugh like I've got gold mines
Diggin’ in my own backyard.

You may shoot me with your words,
You may cut me with your eyes,
You may kill me with your hatefulness,
But still, like air, I’ll rise.

Does my sexiness upset you?
Does it come as a surprise
That I dance like I've got diamonds
At the meeting of my thighs?

Out of the huts of history’s shame
I rise
Up from a past that’s rooted in pain
I rise

I'm a black ocean, leaping and wide,
Welling and swelling I bear in the tide.

Leaving behind nights of terror and fear
I rise

Into a daybreak that’s wondrously clear
I rise
Bringing the gifts that my ancestors gave,
I am the dream and the hope of the slave.

I rise
I rise
I rise.

-- Maya Angelou

REVIEW: The Pecan Children by Quinn Connor

 

Synopsis

For fans of The Midnight Library and Swamplandia! comes a breathtaking story of magical realism about two sisters, deeply tied to their small Southern town, fighting to break free of the darkness swallowing the land―and its endless cycle of pecan harvests―whole. In the struggling town of Clearwater, Arkansas, the annual pecan harvest is a time of both celebration and heartbreak. But even as families are forced to sell their orchards and move away, Lil Clearwater refuses to let go of the land her family has been rooted to for generations. She feels a connection to the earth that goes deeper than memory―which is why she reluctantly accepts her sister Sasha's return to the fold after so long away. It should be a time of joyful reconnection, yet it isn't long before things take a dark turn. There is rot hiding beneath the surface, and hungry eyes that watch from the dark. As phantom fires begin to light up the night and troubling local folklore is revealed to be all too true, the sisters―confronted with the ghosts of their pasts―come to the stark realization that in the kudzu-choked South, nothing is ever as it seems.

Format 352 pages, Paperback
Published June 4, 2024 by Sourcebooks Landmark
ISBN 9781728263908 (ISBN10: 1728263905)

Genre Horror, Fantasy, Magical Realism

About the Author

Quinn Connor is one pen in two hands, Robyn Barrow and Alex Cronin.

Both writers from a young age, Robyn and Alex met at Rhodes College in Memphis and together developed their unique co-writing voice. They are thankful that no matter what, there’s always another person in the world who cares about their characters as much as they do. An Arkansan and a Texan, when they aren’t writing, they’re arguing about the differences between queso and cheese dip. 

Robyn is an art historian of the medieval Nordic world, and a PhD candidate at the University of Pennsylvania. Though often abroad, clambering around in medieval church roofs, Robyn loves writing about her home state of Arkansas. Alex is a Texan living under a Brooklyn zip code, working in PR to fund her writing habit. In her free time, she can be found exploring the city, topping off her tea, and amassing a collection of winter coats. Whether Robyn is wandering the Far North, or Alex is chasing down homemade pasta in Prospect Heights, they write all the time. It’s their preferred form of conversation.

Follow the author on Twitter @quinnconnorwrites

Instagram @quinn.connor.writes/

Website quinnconnorwrites.com

My Thoughts

A screech shreds the delicate membrane of the night.

The Pecan Children is a wistful tale of a dying town, the sister tied to it and the one who escaped only to return. This story centers around the pecan orchards in the town of Clearwater, Arkansas.

AI generated image

Clearwater is a dying town, cutoff from the rest of the world when the main road washed out. The old pecan orchards are being bought up and dying off, and the town with them. 

Clearwater Orchard is run by Lil Clearwater, one of a set of twins born to a woman who raised them as a single mother while dedicating her life to caring for the family orchard. Lil inherited the obligation of orchard keeper while her twin sister Sasha escaped the small town for New York City. Lil is tied to the land. She nurtures it. 

As a teenager, Lil liked falling asleep outside, under the shade of tall trees. When she hit her teenage years-- and her teenage years hit back-- when the inside of the house felt too tame and soft for her sharp edges, Lil would spread out a blanket under the trees, where she was finally able to breathe...curled against the roots of those trees, it was as if she grew roots of her own. She felt right within herself among the trees. 

Now, years later, Sasha has returned to Clearwater after the death of their mother. Sasha describes herself as "the lesbian-- outsider twin sister of the town's foremost orchard keeper".

You are so beautiful, as soon as I stop looking at you, I forget what you look like, her great-aunt told her once. Her and Lil's faces are similar, but Sasha's features are more catalog-girl generic, which means people usually feel a little more comfortable looking at her. Then they mistake her for the friendly sister, next to Lil, who stomped her way through high school with rips in her jeans and a silver barbell piercing her tongue. But to be honest, neither of them is too friendly.

The two sisters have been at odds for some time and struggle under the yoke of resentment and long-buried pain and anger. But the love is there, and they are struggling to find their way back to one another.

It's a stone in her shoe, a constant, quiet ache. But Lil is too sharp even at the best of times, too prone to passion, and Sasha too untethered. In an argument, Sasha won't fight. She'll flee. At least, she reminds herself, Sasha is here. That's all she needs.

In addition to her long-lost sister, Liv finds that her long-lost high school love has also returned to town. Jason and Lil were an item throughout high school, but Jason left town after Lil refused to leave with him. His presence takes Lil right back to those passionate and carefree days with Jason.

In summer, his hair brightens to the color of a crisp lemon. It's like he absorbs energy straight from the sun, and there on her porch, he glows with it. 

Creepy Theon lurks around town, buying up orchards and letting them die. 

Used to care, suddenly deprived, maybe it takes time for land to remember it is meant to be wild.

Theon to me represented greed and progress. How little towns can't hold out forever against "progress" and those looking to make a buck at all costs, and the people who suffer in the name of Progress. Progress is always lurking, waiting to leap when it detects vulnerability, and the old way of life is killed off and lies in its wake.

Lil and Jason join forces to try and revive the town by reviving the town's Pecan Festival. They work closely on it and for the first time in a long time Lil finds herself excited about something and even neglects the orchard a little while focusing on something outside of the orchard for a change. 

While Lil is busy with Jason, Sasha is busy with odd jobs around town and running the town ferry boat, which is the only way in and out of town since the road washed out...how long has the road been washed out now? No one can seem to remember. And then Sasha learns that her childhood best friend Autumn has returned to town. Old friendships are rekindled, old loves still smolder, and the sisters find themselves settling into their tethers with a newfound happiness.

For the first half-dozen chapters, it felt as though each sister was written by a different author. I liked the authoring of Lil better. The prose flowed effortlessly. For Sasha, the writing was somewhat stilted and more ungainly. I often found myself rereading Sasha's chapters to grasp what was being said. This became less of an issue as time went on. Perhaps the authors improved and became less stilted, or perhaps I just got used to it. (I say "authors" because I looked up the "author" to discover that Quinn Connor is actually a pen name for two authors: Robyn Barrow and Alex Cronin. When I read this, the different writing styles suddenly made sense. But like I said, for whatever reason, I didn't really notice it as the book went on.)

I enjoyed the authors use of alternating perspectives of Lil and Sasha and seeing things through the eyes of each twin. The writing is very atmospheric. The orchards are alive, the environment another lifeform-- another character in the story.

Five words: unusual, peculiar, confusing, mystifying, moody 

How it made me feel:  wistful

Buy Now:

Check out the authors website for purchase options

My final word: The first two paragraphs grated on me-- they felt contrived. But the authors won me over with their lyrical prose as I continued on. 

Clearwater is a place frozen in time where nothing changes. Homesteads, people, places all the same even after decades. I love the imagery evoked throughout this story and the writing style. Lyrical and moody, it uses atmosphere very effectively. 

But in the end, the crazy, fantastical story got the best of me. I just didn't enjoy the last third, nor did I really care about it or the characters at that point. It was too dark, dreary, and contrived, and I had a hard time following the different threads and making sense of it. Very much a goth feel to it, and I guess that I'm just not really a goth girl.

Warnings:

Some disturbing imagery with children, mild violence, mild sexual situations

Cover: 4 stars

Writing Style: 4 stars

Characters: 4 stars

Storyline/Plot: 3 stars

Interest/Uniqueness: 3.5 stars

Rating:

---

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 Book Browse 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. The book that I received was an uncorrected proof, and quotes could differ from the final release.  

WHADDYA MEME? (6/29/24 edition)

 

Monday Book Love (6/24/24 edition)

Monday Book Love is a catch-all for all of those events where you share your latest acquisitions, events like:

What are You Reading?

Stacking the Shelves and Sunday Post both with Reading Reality

Mailbox Monday (now defunct)

Books that I got last week:

Four Squares by Bobby Finger

From the beloved author of The Old Place comes a tender, funny, and fresh novel spanning the 1990s and present day, about a young writer and the community he builds in New York City, and his lonely life 30 years later when an unexpected injury lands him at the local queer senior center.

Artie Anderson wouldn’t call himself lonely, not exactly. He has a beautiful apartment in the West Village, a steady career as a ghostwriter, and he has Halle and Vanessa, who—as the daughter and ex-wife of his former partner—are the closest thing he can call family. But when the women announce a move across the country, on Artie’s 60th birthday no less, Artie realizes that his seemingly full life isn’t quite as full as he imagined. To make matters worse, a surprising injury strips Artie of the independent lifestyle he’s used to and pushes him into the hands of GALS, the local LGBTQ senior center down the street.

Since the death of his ex-boyfriend, Abe decades ago, Artie’s intentionally avoided big crowds and close friends. So, he’s woefully unprepared for the other patrons of GALS, a group of larger-than-life seniors who insist on celebrating each and every day. They refuse to dwell in the past, but Artie, who has never quite recovered from Abe’s death and the loss of his dearest friends, can’t shake the memories of his youth, and of the chances he did, and didn’t, take.

Stretching across the 1990s and the present day, Four Squares is an intimate and profound look at what it means to create community and the lasting impressions even the most fleeting of relationships can leave. With Bobby Finger’s signature warmth, humor, and wit, it is touching reminder that it’s never too late for a second chance at truly living.

Between Friends & Lovers by Shirlene Obuobi

Talia Hibbert meets Carley Fortune in this swoon-worthy story of love and friendship in the age of social media—where what you see might not be all you get.

To her countless Instagram followers Josephine Boateng is the dazzling Dr. Jojo—and her opinions on health, growth, and self-love matter. Her message: be smart (she has a medical degree after all), be significant, and do not put up with foolish men.

But behind the camera, Jo’s story is more complicated—she finds her influencer career underwhelming; her potential career in medicine overwhelming, and she’s hung up on her best friend, nepo-baby and romcom heartthrob Ezra Adelman. When Ezra shows up to his thirtieth birthday party with her childhood bully on his arm, however, Josephine realizes that it’s time to take her own advice and prioritize herself for once.

No one is more shocked than Malcolm Waters when his debut novel turns him into a critic’s darling. When he’s invited to a swanky penthouse party to discuss turning his book into a film, he knows rubbing elbows with the elites of entertainment will be great for his career. The only problem: he’s not good with people, and even worse at networking.

Just when he’s about to throw in the towel, he’s rescued by none other than Dr. Jojo. He’s been following her on social media for years, and she’s even more impressive in real life. And to his bewilderment, the feeling is mutual.

But in a world where the lines between private and public are as blurred as those between friendship and love, can they risk it all for something real?

What I'm currently reading:

How did your week go? What are you looking forward to reading?

WHADDYA MEME? (6/22/24 edition)

 

REVIEW: The Family Experiment by John Marrs

 

Synopsis

From the acclaimed author of The One and The Marriage Act, The Family Experiment is a dark and brilliant speculative thriller about families: real and virtual.

Some families are virtually perfect…

The world's population is soaring, creating overcrowded cities and an economic crisis. And in the UK, the breaking point has arrived. A growing number of people can no longer afford to start families, let alone raise them.

But for those desperate to experience parenthood, there is an alternative. For a monthly subscription fee, clients can create a virtual child from scratch who they can access via the metaverse and a VR headset. To launch this new initiative, the company behind Virtual Children has created a reality TV show called The Substitute. It will follow ten couples as they raise a Virtual Child from birth to the age of eighteen but in a condensed nine-month time period. The prize: the right to keep their virtual child, or risk it all for the chance of a real baby…

Set in the same universe as John Marrs's bestselling novel The One and The Marriage Act, The Family Experiment is a dark and twisted thriller about the ultimate Tamagotchi—a virtual baby.

Format 384 pages, Hardcover
Expected publication July 9, 2024 by Hanover Square Press
ISBN 9781335000361 (ISBN10: 1335000364)

Genre Mystery Thriller, Dystopian, Science Fiction

About the Author

John Marrs is the author of #1 Best Sellers The One, The Good Samaritan, When You Disappeared, The Vacation, Her Last Move, The Passengers, The Minders and What Lies Between Us. Keep It In The Family and The Marriage Act are released soon.

What Lies won the International Thriller Writers' Best Paperback of 2021 award.

The One has been translated into 30 different languages and is to be turned into an eight-part Netflix series starting in autumn 2020.

After working as a journalist for 25-years interviewing celebrities from the world of television, film and music for national newspapers and magazines, he is now a full-time writer.

Twitter @johnmarrs1 

Facebook: @johnmarrsauthor 

Instagram: @johnmarrs.author 

Website: johnmarrsauthor.co.uk

My Thoughts

In simplest terms, the Metaverse is the internet, but in 3D.  Ed Greig, Chief Disruptor at Deloitte

In an overcrowded world that is outgrowing itself, people can no longer afford to have children. Amid this backdrop a new reality show is born. The Family Experiment offers competing childless Brits the opportunity to raise virtual children from birth to 18 years of age over a condensed nine-month period. At the end of the nine-month period, the public will vote for the winner of the "game show". The winner can keep their virtual child or have their child "eliminated" and take a cash reward to start their own family in the Real World.

This book explores people creating family in different ways and the ugly side of AI in a dystopian world. I can't say too much without giving away spoilers, but a dark side is revealed showing the underbelly of this AI world and simulated life that has been created. Some of the contestants are sincere in their desire for a child while others are less so.

Five words: unusual, provocative, preposterous, stiff, puzzling

Buy Now:

Check your purchase options on the publisher's website

My final word:  I wasn't a fan of any of the characters other than Alice and sometimes Hudson. I found it difficult to keep track of the couples and the stories within the story, and equally difficult to follow dialogue with the off-putting formatting (or lack thereof) that lacked traditional punctuation. But it was an interesting concept and I enjoyed the ethical quandaries. However, the story can be a bit blah. The last 20% of the book was rather boring as it tied up the loose ends and explained the background through some flashbacks. It felt almost "technical" in the end. On a positive note, there are a lot of twists to keep you guessing! I found the book to be just "okay", but I seem to be in the minority on this one! It just felt sort of clunky. Overall a good read for anyone who likes a dystopian-type read that makes you question the precipice we teeter on with AI and with networks who see viewers as dollar signs.

"Some vanished beneath the waves, their arms stretching into the air as if reaching for God's hand."

Warnings:

Vulgarity, drug use, some violence. Some triggers involving mistreatment of children.

Cover:  4 stars

Writing Style:  3.5 stars

Characters:  3.5 stars

Storyline/Plot: 3.5 stars

Interest/Uniqueness: 4 stars

Rating:

---

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 Netgalley 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. The book that I received was an uncorrected proof, and quotes could differ from the final release.  

Introducing... The Words That Made Us by Andrea Busfield

Introducing books through the first paragraph or so...

Prologue

I have a name though it's unlikely you've heard it. Instead, you'll recognise and claim to know me through words of your own making such as gitano, ijito, gjupci, sipsiwn, and yiftos. In England - the birthplace of Shakespeare and Dickens - I'm known as gypsy, my people as gypsies. In other places, at other times, there have been other names, most of them stemming from a medieval belief that we were Egyptian. Sometime later, when this was clipped to 'gypcian, we lost not only the truth, but also entitlement to a capital letter - something the rest of the world's nations appear to enjoy.

However, our journey doesn't stop there.

-- The Words That Made Us by Andrea Busfield

What's Releasing? (06/25/24 edition)

 

Books releasing the week of June 24th:

A Novel Love Story by Ashley Poston

A professor of literature finds herself caught up in a work of fiction…literally, from the New York Times bestselling author of The Seven Year Slip and The Dead Romantics.

Eileen Merriweather loves to get lost in a good happily-ever-after. The fictional kind, anyway. Because at least imaginary men don’t leave you at the altar. She feels safe in a book. At home. Which might be why she’s so set on going her annual book club retreat this year—she needs good friends, cheap wine, and grand romantic gestures—no matter what.

But when her car unexpectedly breaks down on the way, she finds herself stranded in a quaint town that feels like it’s right out of a novel…

Because it is.

This place can’t be real, and yet… she’s here, in Eloraton, the town of her favorite romance series, where the candy store’s honey taffy is always sweet, the local bar’s burgers are always a little burnt, and rain always comes in the afternoon. It feels like home. It’s perfect—and perfectly frozen, trapped in the late author’s last unfinished story.

Elsy is sure that’s why she must be here: to help bring the town to its storybook ending.

Except there is a character in Eloraton that she can’t place—a grumpy bookstore owner with mint-green eyes, an irritatingly sexy mouth and impeccable taste in novels. And he does not want her finishing this book.

Which is a problem because Elsy is beginning to think the town’s happily-ever-after might just be intertwined with her own.

Bear by Julia Phillips

A mesmerizing novel of two sisters whose lives are upended by an unexpected visitor—a tale of family, obsession, and a mysterious creature in the woods, by the celebrated, bestselling author of Disappearing Earth

An Oprah Daily, CNN, Publishers Weekly, and Lit Hub Most Anticipated Book of the Year

“Thrilling and propulsive, glorious and terrifying. Julia Phillips is a brilliant writer.”—Ann Patchett

“Beautiful and haunting . . . this is brilliant.”—Publishers Weekly (starred review)

They were sisters and they would last past the end of time.

Sam and Elena dream of another life. On the island off the coast of Washington where they were born and raised, they and their mother struggle to survive. Sam works on the ferry that delivers wealthy mainlanders to their vacation homes while Elena bartends at the local golf club, but even together they can’t earn enough to get by, stirring their frustration about the limits that shape their existence.

Then one night on the boat, Sam spots a bear swimming the dark waters of the channel. Where is it going? What does it want? When the bear turns up by their home, Sam, terrified, is more convinced than ever that it’s time to leave the island. But Elena responds differently to the massive beast. Enchanted by its presence, she throws into doubt the desire to escape and puts their long-held dream in danger.

A story about the bonds of sisterhood and the mysteries of the animals that live among us—and within us—Bear is a propulsive, mythical, richly imagined novel from one of the most acclaimed young writers in America.

All the Colors of the Dark by Chris Whitaker

From the New York Times bestselling author of We Begin at the End comes a soaring thriller and an epic love story that “hits like a sledgehammer . . . an absolutely must-read novel” (Gillian Flynn, author of Gone Girl).

“Kept me frantically turning the pages and somehow made me cry at the end . . . Brava!”—Kristin Hannah, author of The Women
 
“Sure to bring suspense to the beach!”—US Weekly
ONE OF ZIBBY’S ULTIMATE SUMMER READING LIST BOOKS OF 2024
 
1975 is a time of change in America. The Vietnam War is ending. Muhammad Ali is fighting Joe Frazier. And in the small town of Monta Clare, Missouri, girls are disappearing.
 
When the daughter of a wealthy family is targeted, the most unlikely hero emerges—Patch, a local boy, who saves the girl, and, in doing so, leaves heartache in his wake.
 
Patch and those who love him soon discover that the line between triumph and tragedy has never been finer. And that their search for answers will lead them to truths that could mean losing one another.
 
A missing person mystery, a serial killer thriller, a love story, a unique twist on each, Chris Whitaker has written a novel about what lurks in the shadows of obsession and the blinding light of hope.

A Gentleman and a Thief by Dean Jobb

Catch Me If You Can meets The Great Gatsby meets Cary Grant in To Catch a Thief in this captivating Jazz Age true-crime caper about "the greatest jewel thief who ever lived" (Life Magazine), Arthur Barry, who charmed celebrities and millionaires—everyone from Rockefellers to members of the royal family—while simultaneously planning and executing the most audacious and lucrative heists of the 1920s. 

“A master of narrative nonfiction. In this mesmerizing tale about a Jazz Age gentlemanly thief, Jobb has found his own perfect jewel.”

―DAVID GRANN, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Wager and Killers of the Flower Moon

“An enthrallingly propulsive, unpredictably twisty biography of one of the most fascinating criminals of the 20th Century.  I was hooked from the very first heist.”

―MICHAEL FINKEL, New York Times bestselling author of The Art Thief and The Stranger in the Woods

 

A skilled con artist and one of the most successful burglars in history, Arthur Barry was adept at slipping in and out of bedrooms undetected, even when his victims slept only inches away. He became a folk hero, a gentleman bandit touted in the press as the “Prince of Thieves” and an “Aristocrat of Crime.” Think Cary Grant in To Catch a Thief. In a span of seven years, Barry stole pearls, diamonds, and other precious gems worth almost $60 million today. Among his many victims were a Rockefeller, an heiress to the Woolworth Department Store fortune, an oil magnate, Wall Street bigwigs, a top executive of automotive giant General Motors, and a famous polo player. He befriended the Prince of Wales, Harry Houdini, and other luminaries. The rollicking, caper-filled rise and dramatic downfall of this master thief is a high-speed ride told in stylish prose.

A Gentleman and a Thief is also a love story. Barry confessed to dozens of burglaries to protect his wife, Anna Blake (and was the prime suspect in scores of others on Long Island and across Westchester County). Sentenced to a twenty-five-year term, he staged a dramatic prison break—triggering a bloody inmates' riot—when Anna became seriously ill, so they could be together for a few more years as fugitives. Page-turning, escapist, and sparkling with insight into the allure of gemstones and our fascination with well-planned heists and the suave, clever criminals who pull them off, A Gentleman and a Thief is perfect for true crime fans who relish the exploits of con artists and high-class crooks.

Democracy or Else by Jon Favreau, Jon Lovett, Tommy Vietor

From your friends at Pod Save America and Crooked Media comes a useful and illustrated guide to saving American democracy just in time for the 2024 election and 2025 insurrection

If you’re looking to navigate the chaotic, dunce-infested waters of American politics, Democracy or Else is here to help you tackle what might be the greatest question of our time: How do you get involved in the political process and make a real difference without giving in to the sense of impending dread that hangs over our society like a nameless stench? Each chapter will take readers step-by-step through the perilous journey of

• Getting informed when you don’t know which influencer to trust (all of them!)
• Donating and volunteering where you can have the biggest impact
• Organizing, protesting, and even running for office yourself
• Staying engaged in politics without losing hope or your mind or all of your friends

Democracy or Else is a resource for everyone—from political junkies following every turn of the news cycle to young people getting ready to vote for the first time. And it's filled with practical advice from some of the smartest experts and least annoying politicians around. The stakes and average global temperatures have never been higher—but there have also never been so many opportunities to join the fight. It’s an age of contradictions! 

Resurrection by Danielle Steel

#1 New York Times bestselling author Danielle Steel returns with an irresistible novel about a woman whose seemingly perfect life comes crashing down—and learns to find joy in rising above.

Darcy Gray is a successful influencer with her blog, The Gray Zone, trusted by more than a million followers for her integrity and taste. At forty-two, she has the life she wants in many ways. Darcy and her husband, department store magnate Charles Gray, are a power couple in Manhattan and on the international stage. Their beloved twin daughters are each enjoying their junior year abroad, Penny in Hong Kong and Zoe at the Sorbonne in Paris.

To celebrate twenty years of marriage, Darcy impulsively flies to Rome to surprise Charlie, who is tending to business interests there. Instead, she gets the shock of her life, which upends her whole world.

Still reeling, Darcy flees to Paris to see Zoe. But a rapidly escalating worldwide health crisis forces her to remain indefinitely in France. Suddenly thrust into a gray zone of her own, her forced separation from Zoe and the rest of her family feels like too much to bear . . .

Until Darcy finds a welcoming refuge in the home of the aging French movie star Sybille Carton. There, she meets a widowed American engineer and former Marine who is also stranded. Bill Thompson is kind and courteous but also carries an air of mystery about him. In this shared confinement, and despite worries about her girls, Darcy begins to see glimpses of new possibilities.

In Resurrection, Danielle Steel poignantly shows how the hardest of times can give birth to a beautiful new life.

One Cursed Rose by Rebecca Zanetti

For a limited time you can preorder this Special Deluxe Edition featuring gorgeously stenciled sprayed edges, foil stamping, interior art, and a beautiful reversible dust jacket! This stunning first edition is extremely limited.

New York Times bestselling author Rebecca Zanetti explores the forbidden and the taboo in this steamy romantasy twist on Beauty and the Beast – the first in a seductive new dark romance series set in an alternate Silicon Valley where information is power, and those who control the flow of information live like gods…

“Sexy and utterly engrossing!” —J.T. Geissinger, bestselling author of The Queens and Monsters series

Alana. While my name means beauty, beneath that surface is a depth I allow very few to see. I’m sole heir to Aquarius Social, a media giant about to succumb to an unseen enemy. My father’s solution is to marry me off to the son of a competing family. My reaction? Not a chance. Now I have just a week before the wedding to change my fate.

Who knew the unforeseen twist would be an assassination attempt on me and an unwanted rescue by Thorn Beathach, the head of the rival social media empire driving Aquarius under? The richest, most ruthless of them all, the Beast protects his realm with an iron rule: no one sees his face. When he shows himself to me, I know he’ll never let me go.

Thorn may think he can lock me in his enchanted castle forever, but I’m not the docile Beauty he expects. If the Beast wants to tie me up, I’m going to take pleasure from every minute of it . . .and we’ll just see who ends up shackled.

Husbands & Lovers by Beatriz Williams

Two women—separated by decades and continents, and united by an exotic family heirloom—reclaim secrets and lost loves in this sweeping novel from the New York Times bestselling author of The Summer Wives.

“My favorite kind of page-turner—unputdownable!”—Martha Hall Kelly, author of The Golden Doves

New England, 2022. Three years ago, single mother Mallory Dunne received the telephone call every parent dreads—her ten-year-old son, Sam, had been airlifted from summer camp with acute poisoning from a toxic death cap mushroom, leaving him fighting for his life. Now, searching for the donor kidney that will give her son a chance for a normal life, Mallory’s forced to confront two harrowing secrets from her past: her mother’s adoption from an infamous Irish orphanage in 1952, and her own all-consuming summer romance fourteen years earlier with her childhood best friend, Monk Adams— one of the world’s most beloved singer-songwriters—a fairy tale cut short by a devastating betrayal.

Cairo, 1951. After suffering tragedy beyond comprehension in the war, Hungarian refugee Hannah Ainsworth has forged a respectable new life for herself—marriage to a wealthy British diplomat with a coveted posting in glamorous Cairo. But a fateful encounter with the enigmatic manager of a hotel bristling with spies leads to a passionate affair that will reawaken Hannah’s longing for everything she once lost. As revolution simmers in the Egyptian streets, a pregnant Hannah finds herself snared in a game of intrigue between two men . . . and an act of sacrifice that will echo down the generations.

Timeless and bittersweet, Husbands & Lovers takes readers on an unforgettable journey of heartbreak and redemption, from the revolutionary fires of midcentury Egypt to the moneyed beaches of contemporary New England. Acclaimed author Beatriz Williams hSas written a poignant and beautifully voiced novel of deeply human characters entangled by morally complex issues—of privilege, class, and the female experience—inside worlds brought shimmeringly to life.

The Eyes are the Best Part by Monika Kim

Crying in H-Mart meets My Sister, the Serial Killer in this feminist psychological horror about the making of a female serial killer from a Korean-American perspective.

Ji-won’s life tumbles into disarray in the wake of her Appa’s extramarital affair and subsequent departure. Her mother, distraught. Her younger sister, hurt and confused. Her college freshman grades, failing. Her dreams, horrifying… yet enticing.

In them, Ji-won walks through bloody rooms full of eyes. Succulent blue eyes. Salivatingly blue eyes. Eyes the same shape and shade as George’s, who is Umma’s obnoxious new boyfriend. George has already overstayed his welcome in her family’s claustrophobic apartment. He brags about his puffed-up consulting job, ogles Asian waitresses while dining out, and acts condescending toward Ji-won and her sister as if he deserves all of Umma’s fawning adoration. No, George doesn’t deserve anything from her family. Ji-won will make sure of that.

For no matter how many victims accumulate around her campus or how many people she must deceive and manipulate, Ji-won’s hunger and her rage deserve to be sated.

A brilliantly inventive, subversive novel about a young woman unraveling, Monika Kim’s The Eyes Are the Best Part is a story of a family falling apart and trying to find their way back to each other, marking a bold new voice in horror that will leave readers mesmerized and craving more.

You'll Never Find Me by Allison Brennan

Nothing brings family together like crime.

Working alone as a private investigator is tough. Estranged from her PI family, Margo Angelhart does what she must to get by—including taking on sordid cases that pay the bills, even if she’d rather be helping those the justice system has failed.

That is, until a cheating husband case she’s working intersects with her siblings’ corporate espionage investigation, forcing Margo to cooperate with the Angelhart firm. Now, as the siblings compare notes, it’s clear they need to work together before a white-collar crime escalates to murder.

With far more questions than answers and a key suspect on the run, they’ll need the whole family to pitch in. But as they investigate the ever-twisting mystery, Margo isn’t sharing everything. Can she learn to trust her family and heal their once-close relationship before her secrets put those she loves most in danger?

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