Welcome to Litsy!

Don‘t mess this up for me, Follett. I know how you treat your characters.

Buckeye, by Patrick Ryan (2025)
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Premise: Over the course of four decades, secrets connect and divide two families in a small Ohio city

Review: There have been hundreds, if not thousands, of novels telling the ‘Story of America‘ in the 20th C, so any novel that does this today needs to do it really, really well, in order to make its mark. And this does just that. ⬇️

It‘s been very difficult for me to concentrate on reading for long lately. Lots of stress, been sick, etc. I picked this book up hoping it would hold my interest. Unfortunately, it is yet another bouncing timeline book. I do not usually complain about that, but when you can barely concentrate for 15 minutes, a story that‘s all over the place is worthless. :( I think I‘ll go read some picture books to my kid. Probably better. 😔 #hyggehourreadathon

Continuing my journey of “oh shoot, I read that and forgot to review it”. I read Junie in, well, June. It was great but the time since I‘ve read it has diminished my ability to remember specifics of the story. I do remember some intense scenes and a tangled web of characters—enslavers and enslaved. Traumatic, but I have read others in this genre with more of a lasting impact.

This is another great historical fiction by Jennifer Nielsen. Set in Poland throughout WWII, it follows Lidia from the initial German invasion through the final days of the German occupation. It‘s a harrowing story of those who joined the Polish resistance. I‘ve read stories of the Jews in the Warsaw ghetto, but this was a broader story of resistance throughout the city.

#audiobook #MiddleGrade #WWII #TRS2025

A good installment in the Falco series set in Ancient Rome. In this one, Falco travels to Germania on an imperial mission and has a number of (mis)adventures along the way.

#192025 #1992 @Librarybelle
#ChristmasCrimeChallenge (any) @Ruthiella @RaeLovesToRead

I credit this book for kickstarting my love of historical fiction…

#sundayfunday @BookmarkTavern

I‘m really enjoying this series, and The Red Queen was a strong read. I didn‘t like Margaret Beaufort—she often mistook devotion for ambition and would do anything for power. The constant fighting between cousins still amazes me, and the battle scenes were brutal. Overall, it was an amazing book and an easy 5-star read.

The Book Thief follows Liesel, a young girl who‘s sent to live with a foster family that teaches her to read. She steals books not just for the thrill, but for the love of words. The story shows how some people quietly resisted fascism and offers a different perspective on everyday German life during WWII. What makes The Book Thief unique is that its narrator is Death—a sorrowful observer who witnesses humanity and the stories we leave behind.