The Mona Lisa Cage by Leo di Lux

 

Brilliant. Dark. Inventive. And totally believable.

This book has great, emotive writing.  I was pulled in immediately.  What a way to imagine the Story behind the Smile.  If you like dark academia, historical fiction with a bit of the supernatural, and explanations for the unexplained, dive in.  You'll get a bit of all of that plus the added bonus of da Vinci's supposed life and the legacy of the particular and powerful paints left to him by his grandfather, the story of his loyal companion, and the sacrifices they each made for the world.  I enjoyed the peek into an artist's life in those days as much as the storyline of the most famous painting in the world - what she is looking at, what she knows, and who she is.  Or, who she could have been had it not been for da Vinci. The author presents a very gothic and potentially apocalyptic answer that could change the way you think of da Vinci forever - in a strong, courageous way.   Enjoyed this one immensely!!

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC

The Names by Florence Knapp

 

An abusive husband sends his wife and daughter to the Name Registry Office to officially name their newborn son.  He tells her to name the baby after him.

The daughter, feeling overshadowed by this new creature, has her own idea for a name.

And the mother, even as frightened by her husband's rage as she is, likes a third name that has nothing to do with her husband.

What to do?  And what would happen in each instance?  This amazing debut novel goes down three paths to show us how this boy and his family lean into each name, and what happens is shocking and diverse.  In each case, the sister is fiercely loyal to the boy, but her life trajectory is also altered depending on his name.  As is their mother's.

So very original, and reading the actual book was helpful as each set of chapters, set seven years apart, keeps us in line with the relevant name at the top of each page.  There are some heartbreaking scenes, and scenes of pure joy.  None of the lives are in the least bit similar - this is not like twins separated at birth who both love the color green or hate broccoli.  I was fascinated and hooked.  Definitely one of my favorites of this year.  Book Club girls - this is on the 2027 list!!!  What's in a name?  Three different futures for this baby, for sure!!!

The Calamity Club by Kathryn Stockett

 

I feel like I am a bit late to the party on this book.  Only published in May, it has been THE Buzz book this year.  I waited to listen to this one based on the rave reviews about the audio version.  Yes, it was long at around 28 hours.  Maybe too long, but I enjoyed every second!  It is definitely worth it.

There is a LOT going on in this story.  It is set in 1933 Mississippi, so you can guess what some of the themes might be by the time frame as well as the author.  So many threads and themes that I probably cannot list them all.  Ok, I will try:  Family. Sisters. Mothers. Adoption.  Orphanages.  Rich people and starving people. Liars. Committing a woman because she looks at another man.  Or coughs.  Christian people acting not so Christian. Alcoholism. Miscegenation. Misogyny.  Relationships between wealthy whites and their black staff.  Desperation. Learning to swim.  Trying to fit in.  Stubborn women who WILL NOT GIVE UP.  And a few others I will not tell you so as not to spoil the story!!

What right does a woman have to a child?  What right does a woman have to HAVE a child?  Children and women both are treated as property in this time.  But what to do with a child with no momma, and a woman who cannot have children?  Orphanage, and Old Maid. 

I reject this.  And so did Birdie. And Charlie.  And Virginia.  But not Garnett Pittman.  (shiver)

So the real question is:  What will a group of determined, down on their luck women who have nothing to lose (and some that do) be able to accomplish in their desperation?

Miracles.

This story is told in two voices, literally!  Tremendous work by both January LaVoy as Birdie and Jenna Lamia as 11-year-old Meg.  (Note that Jenna also narrates the author's first book, The Help, as well as The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd.  That should give you a little window into her wonderful authentic Southern Accent!!)

What I enjoyed most, besides Meg's sass and Birdie's dry humor and candor, was how you could see the slow roll of how Birdie and Meg would affect each other's lives, once they meet.  They don't spend much time together, but boy howdy, the impact of their meeting has a serious butterfly effect. This book goes to places you will NEVER see coming, but what is a girl to do?  I laughed out loud a few times at some of the sayings and Southernisms, and my heart hurt in other places too. But this is not a depressing read. I can already see the clamor for a movie, and it will be a great one!

And can we talk about the FOOD?  This book made me hungry.  Fried Chicken night, pound cakes, chicken pot pie, a fluffy biscuits, rib roast, Lemon tarts....Stockett says there is Love in food, and especially so in the South.

It was worth the 17 year wait for Stockett's second book.  She says in the interview below that the first draft of this novel was very vanilla, and she knew she could not really write about Mississippi without going deeper and hitting some sensitive topics - race and marriage and the underestimated woman.  her re-writes definitely take you there.  This is an excellent book club book.  There is so much I want to discuss about this book!!!  Oh, that Lucille!!  I wanted to shake her!  And sweet Tom, and the absent husband Rory, and Frances with her airs. Esmerelda...Flossie....even Jack!   I will not do it here due to spoilers, but wow, this was a great novel!! Don't let the length scare you away.  Dive in!

Kathryn Stockett On The Real Stories Behind Her New Novel, ‘The Calamity Club’

Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi

 

I do love to genre hop!  So back to Fantasy I go....

This one has been on my TBR for about a year and a half.  I bought it during the Book Crawl in Charlotte.  But it has been on my radar since its 2018 publication.

First off, this is a debut novel, and it debuted at #1 on the NYT bestseller list.

Read that again.

Adeyemi's background is impressive - Harvard educated, earning an honors degree in English lit, studied West African culture and mythology in Brazil, winner of the Nebula Award and the Hugo Award.

She uses this education and her innate talent to great effect in this sweeping rebellion story filled with magic, oppression, self-doubt and love.  She brings the African, and the African-American, experience to the page and makes the reader FEEL the despair of not being heard, of being judged unfairly, of having family ripped away by authority.  And she does it while making us cheer for the underdog, a young girl named Zelie.

Zelie was denied coming into her magic when her mother was killed by the (non-magic) King's army.  None of the children who should have grown into maji can do so without an elder to guide and initiate them, and all the elders are gone.  Zelie, her brother Tzain, and Princess Amari form an odd army of three when they discover there IS a way to bring the magic back, if only they can get there in time.  But the King's army chases his traitorous daughter and sends his son, the Prince, after them.

Yeah, ok you can see where all this is going, but the EMOTION in this book, in these young hearts, the desire for more in life, and the struggle to get there is powerful.  This is the first in a trilogy and yes indeed I went straight to the store to buy books 2 and 3.  You will want to as well, as Book 1 ends in a cliffhanger!!!!

 

Rawles Reads.  Rawles Roams.

So, guess where my next trip is taking me??

Yep, Portugal!!!

This book was on a couple of travel lists to read before going to Lisbon.  I had no idea what I was in store for and that is probably a good thing.  WOW.  

Newly married Ariel wakes up in Lisbon on a trip with her husband.  He's not in the hotel room.  He's not down at breakfast.  He has vanished.

She goes to hotel security - no one saw him.  She goes to the police ("come back tomorrow").  She goes to the US Embassy (can't help).  No one believes her.  She is an unbelieved woman.

Then, the phone call:  "We have your husband."  And she has to reach into her traumatic past to get him back.

What a fast paced read!  I had to slow down a few times to try and remember who was who in this police procedural/kidnapping/secret pasts story.  Just when you think you have it figured out, you don't.  Great writing, several twists, lots of secrets and a slow unraveling of what is actually going on.  Chapters are short, maybe a bit choppy, but whiplash is part of the experience. And questions, so many questions.  

Trigger warnings abound here!

Madame Tussaud - A Novel of the French Revolution by Michelle Moran

 

I had not read much about this period of history (the French Revolution), and picked this one up mainly because I was getting ready to travel to London.  Most of this novel is set in France, and while yes, we are talking about THAT Tussaud, we learn more about the origins of her work in wax figures and why she emigrated to England.  Set prior to Madame Tussaud's now famous museum being opened in London, we meet Marie Antoinette and her family, other names prominent during the Revolution, and learn more from the people's standpoint what really was happening.  Horrific in the violence that occurred but fascinating from this perspective, I really enjoyed this one!!

Yesteryear by Caro Claire Burke

 

Just a quick note  - could I ask you to please click through TWICE when receiving my blogposts in email?  Follow It, the service I use, has now put two levels in front of my actual website, but provides you with all the content before getting to my site.  This means none of you who are reading it are actually reading it on my blog, and I cannot capture any numbers for traffic to the site.  It's like you never read it.

So, if you would be so kind as to click the green button in your email, then before reading the content on the plain white page, scroll down to the bottom and click "Continue Reading."  This should take you to my blog, with its pretty pink background, and then your "click" will count towards my analytics!! Thank you!! 

If you like controversy and "torn from the headlines" types of stories, and don't mind a little, um, crazy, this book is for you.

It is NOT for everyone.

Let me back up a little.  We read this in my book club, and the discussion was awesome.  Everyone had an opinion, a story, a reaction.  That is what this book does - elicits reactions. 

It is a somewhat confusing story, and it is meant to be.  Main character Natalie becomes famous on social media for being a "trad wife" or a traditional wife - having lots of kids and staying in her farm's kitchen, providing a natural way of life for her large family and handsome husband.  We get the whole Perfect Life picture online, and no one is allowed to see behind the scenes.  Until they are. 

Things get real messy real quick.  Natalie's life suddenly begins to unravel: she does not recognize her own children, and her husband is 15 years older overnight.  What happened?  Has she gone back in time on this familiar but different farm with no modern conveniences?  Is she captive?  Is she crazy? Where is her PHONE???

This book has gotten a lot of DNF and "didn't like it."  While I would agree it is not a comforting read, I also, once finished, found it pretty smart.  It is meant to be somewhat of a satire, even though it is far from funny.  I don't think it is a spoiler to let you know no children die in this story, but the resulting conversation of a mother's mental health, or a woman's mental health for that matter, is definitely disturbing.