Queen's Gambit by Elizabeth Fremantle
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A Fall of Marigolds by Susan Meissner
I love Susan Meissner’s writing style. She does such thorough research and then weaves such an engaging storyline for her books. This one follows two different stories that are almost a hundred years apart, but there is a beautiful element that ties two women’s lives together. There is a tragic loss, emotional paralysis, and delayed healing in both storylines.
The past and present are beautifully woven together through Taryn and Clara, separated by 100 years, and take the reader through a tale of many emotions. Taryn and Clara are tied together by different tragedies, both occurring in New York City a devastating fire in the early 1900s, and the sadness of 9/11. The 100-year-old French scarf, made from an Indian design, has a repeating pattern of marigolds and is the common denominator between them.
The author brought Ellis Island to life when ships arrived in New York Harbor and immigrants, by the hundreds, passed through Ellis. Many of them had failed the health inspection and ended up in the Ellis Island hospital, many with contagious diseases.
A mix of contemporary and historical fiction, I was profoundly moved by this book. The storyline takes you through tense, emotional, and realistic events. The characters are beautiful and poignant and deal with lost love, choices, and regrets..
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February Book Wrap Up
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The Doll Factory by Elizabeth Macneal
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The Conqueror's Wife: A Novel of Alexander the Great by Stephanie Thornton
”We were murderers and poisoners, innocents and warriors. And without us, Alexander would have been only a man. Instead, he was a god."
Few authors can bring the ancient world and obscure historical figures to life quite like Thornton. Every one of her books transports me away to a different world, a different life. This one is no different.
Focused on the women (and men) of Alexander the Great, it covered the perspectives of Thessalonike (his fierce sister), Drypetis (the mechanics-obsessed daughter of King Darius), Roxana (Alexander’s beautiful but scheming the first wife), and Hephaestion (Alexander’s male best friend). Each perspective covered different parts of Alexander’s continual fight to conquer, including everything from sieges to political scheming. A different story of Alexander is also offered here; while he has gone down in history as one of the greatest conquerors and military leaders of all time, this book focused on his faults.
The characters from history along with many more make this novel a treat to read, it brought back a lot of memories of Greek history. This novel is impeccably researched by the author and she is well versed in this time period. The voices of the characters are all-powerful and the setting is very well done. Shows you a glimpse of life in these times. Loved this story behind the legendary Alexander the Great; his early days of conquest, his rise to power, the expansion of this kingdom across Greece, Persia, and India, and the women who supported, challenged, and loved him. A great blend of history with a human story.
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January Book Wrap Up
The Librarian of Auschwitz gives the reader a sense of the dark reality of life- no, survival, as their existence there can’t rightly be called life- in the infamous Nazi camp. The author builds his story around actual events and people, and although it is a dark story, it is also inspirational.
The Hand That First Held Mine by Maggie O'Farrell (✬✬✬)
The characters looked intriguing and the storytelling device - alternating between two completely different storylines and gradually tying them together - is one that I enjoy. Unfortunately, I found the whole thing rather lackluster. The characters were fine, but I didn’t find myself emotionally invested in them.
My Best Friend's Girl by Dorothy Koomson (✬✬✬✬)
The book is lovely and has so many believable moments. The characters are well fleshed out and there are several moments when I found myself tearing up. The premise is unique, and it ends up becoming a very modern family indeed.
The Nix by Nathan Hill (✬✬✬)
The Nix was okay. It has some good twists and a fairly good plot. Too many unnecessary characters were expounded on too heavily and there were a lot of irrelevant things brought into the plot that made the novel drag in some parts. The writing is good, but sometimes it became too verbose, so much so that I skipped entire pages to get to something relevant.
This Must Be the Place by Maggie O'Farrell (✬✬✬✬)
I enjoyed this book a lot. It has excellent writing, interesting characters, and fun locales. It’s a little choppy because of the alternating narrators per chapter, but I think O’Farrell does a masterful job of weaving it all together, and I think her artistic talent/skills worked to make it cohesive.
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