bailedJust didn't hold my interest - #HailTheBail
84/80
#BookSpinBingo @TheAromaofBooks
#ReadingMyTBR #Read2025 @DieAReader
pickWhat happens when vengefulness begets exposure to the vilest depths of human nature?
This was a gut-punch of a #YA book! Harrowing, shockingly violent account of the worst atrocities committed by humans against each other. We follow 11 year-old Kofi‘s life in his Asante village (now Ghana) during 1860. A violent but mutual competition between Upper and Lower Kwanta leads to unspeakable horrors when something goes terribly wrong. Great audio! 4⭐️s
pickThis book‘s plot is hard to explain since it‘s a story within a story. I definitely got sucked into the love story & was hoping the 2 characters would find their way back together. Some emotional moments toward the end. Enjoyed the modern-day characters, too. TW: talk about a parent‘s suicide
Note: I hate that the author betrayed the confidentiality of the renowned geisha he interviewed for this novel. However, I'm going to read it because I've recently watched the movie and it's been on my shelf for at least 2 decades.
#currentlyreading
so-soThe writing is engaging but full of stereotypes and cringeworthy scenes. Determined to finish for my IRL bookclub I jumped to the author interview, found it fascinating and forged ahead. My problem was fictional MC, Mary Dodd, as the incredible heroine of her own journals. I didn‘t believe an 1870s woman would make her choices because the consequences were too grave. However, everyone in my bookclub loved her and disagreed with my take.
pick3.5 Stars • In The Restoration Garden by Sara Blaydes, landscape architect Julia restores Havenworth Manor‘s neglected gardens, finding a WWII-era diary by Margaret. It reveals a family scandal of alleged treason. With Margaret‘s godson Andrew, Julia decodes floral clues, uncovering secrets of love and heroism while healing her own past.
#TheRestorationGarden #SaraBlaydes #Bookish #suvataReads
I pulled this one off my shelf because I wanted to read it before seeing the movie when it comes out next week. But it looks like the movie isn‘t coming to theaters in my town😭😕
Anyway, I‘m 1/3 thru and listening to the audio when I drive or cook or clean. I‘m listening to the one narrated by Jessie Buckley-her accent is so gorgeous. It‘s a much slower book than my regular holiday reading, but the writing is wonderful and I‘m riveted.
"She kills her lover on the altar of a foreign goddess."
#FirstLineFridays @ShyBookOwl
