Mini-REVIEW: The Gilded Heiress by Joanna Shupe

 MINI-REVIEW:

Typically I enjoy Joanna Shupe's historical romances and while I did end up liking The Gilded Heiress, it didn't hold my attention like her other works have. It felt a little long in places and the spark between Josie and Leo was a little lacking and the 'mystery' was easily solvable, not that that is a dealbreaker. However, once I got to know the characters and they got into NYC, it became more interesting and I found myself more engaged. A solid 3 star read.

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SYNOPSIS:

In 1880 a baby was stolen from the wealthiest family in America. Though no ransom was ever demanded, the Pendelton family never gave up hope . . . and their reward became the stuff of legend.

After being raised in a children’s asylum, Josie Smith ends up on the streets and quickly learns how to take care of herself. Her singing voice draws crowds on every corner, and she’ll stop at nothing to become famous and travel the world, loved and adored by all. Maybe then she won’t think about the family who gave her away as an infant.

Leo Hardy isn’t afraid to use his charm and wits to make a fast buck, especially with a mother and five siblings to support. When he stumbles upon a beautiful young woman singing on the street, Leo notices her striking resemblance to the infamous missing baby’s mother, Mrs. Thomas Pendelton. The Hardys lost everything thanks to the Pendeltons, and once Leo sees Josie, he seizes the opportunity to settle the score. All he needs to do is pull off the biggest swindle of his career.

As the two are catapulted into Knickerbocker High Society, they grow closer to their goal, as well as to each other. But secrets can only stay hidden for so long. Soon the truth unfolds, and both Josie and Leo must separate what’s real from what’s just gilding.

REVIEW: Lula Dean's Little Library of Banned Books by Kirsten Miller

 

OUR REVIEW:

I'm reading this for a book club meeting and it was definitely a book that tackles a lot of issues that fall under the censorship/book banning umbrella. While none of the book provides any earthshattering revelations, it does provide readers an opportunity to explore why some people try to rationalize their support for book bans and why others vehemently oppose them. Of course I'm on the side of those who oppose them and was heartened in each chapter to feel that opposition come through, though I'm sure supporters of book bans wouldn't like how they're portrayed or what's attributed to their 'side'. I think many people could benefit from reading this book and converse about it, and I'm very interested in hearing what my book club counterparts will think.

Things to know about this novel:

Each chapter features different characters in the town and their experiences with the book ban. That being understood, the same main characters are featured again and again--so it doesn't feel like a series of short stories, it's definitely interconnected. 

Each of the polarizing characters almost feel like caricatures--but having seen some of this play out in real life, these over the top people do exist, strangely enough. 

By the time you reach the end, you'll feel satisfied with the way the loose ends are tied up. 

I think this is a very good book club read. 4 stars 

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SYNOPSIS:

The provocative and hilarious summer read that will have book lovers cheering and everyone talking! Kirsten Miller, author of The Change, brings us a bracing, wildly entertaining satire about a small Southern town, a pitched battle over banned books, and a little lending library that changes everything.

Beverly Underwood and her arch enemy, Lula Dean, live in the tiny town of Troy, Georgia, where they were born and raised. Now Beverly is on the school board, and Lula has become a local celebrity by embarking on mission to rid the public libraries of all inappropriate books—none of which she’s actually read. To replace the “pornographic” books she’s challenged at the local public library, Lula starts her own lending library in front of her home: a cute wooden hutch with glass doors and neat rows of the worthy literature that she’s sure the town’s readers need.

But Beverly’s daughter Lindsay sneaks in by night and secretly fills Lula Dean’s little free library with banned books wrapped in “wholesome” dust jackets. The Girl’s Guide to the Revolution is wrapped in the cover of The Southern Belle’s Guide to Etiquette. A jacket that belongs to Our Confederate Heroes ends up on Beloved. One by one, neighbors who borrow books from Lula Dean’s library find their lives changed in unexpected ways. Finally, one of Lula Dean’s enemies discovers the library and decides to turn the tables on her, just as Lula and Beverly are running against each other to replace the town’s disgraced mayor.

That’s when all the townspeople who’ve been borrowing from Lula’s library begin to reveal themselves. It’s a diverse and surprising bunch—including the local postman, the prom queen, housewives, a farmer, and the former DA—all of whom have been changed by what they’ve read. When Lindsay is forced to own up to what she’s done, the showdown that’s been brewing between Beverly and Lula will roil the whole town...and change it forever.

REVIEW: Original Sin: President Biden's Decline, Its Cover-Up, and His Disastrous Choice to Run Again by Jake Tapper and Alex Thompson

OUR REVIEW:

I listened to this on the family road trip to the beach this summer--not exactly what you would call light listening, but I found it to be an interesting thing to ponder as I drove. There are many more people invested in and more knowledgeable and opinionated about this book and having seen a little of the discourse, I get it...I get the controversy. I also think that if even half of this reporting is accurate, people should be pissed at so many people and so many things. I'm not going to get into it because while I'm fairly politically curious and opinionated, I know this is not my lane. I also know that after listening to this, I once again thought about term limits and checks and balances, and age. I don't know what the answer is, I just know that I'd never want a repeat of what this book proposes happened at the end of the Biden administration.

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SYNOPSIS:

From two of America’s most respected journalists, an unflinching and explosive reckoning with one of the most fateful decisions in American political life: Joe Biden’s run for reelection despite evidence of his serious decline—amid desperate efforts to hide the extent of that deterioration. In Greek tragedy, the protagonist’s effort to avoid his fate is what seals his fate. In 2024, American politics became a Greek tragedy.

Joe Biden launched his successful 2020 bid for the White House with the stated goal of saving the nation from a second Trump presidential term. He, his family, and his senior aides were so convinced that only he could beat Trump again, they lied to themselves, allies, and the public about his condition and limitations. At his debate with Trump on June 27, 2024, the consequences of that deception were exposed to the world. It was shocking and upsetting.

Now the full, unsettling truth is being told for the first time. Jake Tapper and Alex Thompson take us behind closed doors and into private conversations between the heaviest of hitters, revealing how big the problem was and how many people knew about it. From White House staffers at the highest to lowest levels, to leaders of Congress and the Cabinet, from governors to donors and Hollywood players, the truth is finally being told. What you will learn makes President Biden’s decision to run for reelection seem shockingly narcissistic, self-delusional, and reckless—a desperate bet that went bust—and part of a larger act of extended public deception that has few precedents. The story the authors tell raises fundamental issues of accountability and responsibility that will continue for decades.

The irony is that in the name of defeating what they called an existential threat to democracy, Biden and his inner circle ensured it, tossing aside his implicit promise to serve for only one term, denying the existence of health issues the nation had been watching for years, dooming the Democrats to defeat. The decision to run again, the Original Sin of this president, led to a campaign of denial and gaslighting, leading directly to Donald Trump's return to power and all that has happened as a consequence. Rarely does hubris meet nemesis more explosively. Wherever you stand on the political spectrum, Original Sin is essential reading.
 

REVIEW: The Woman Left Behind by Kristen Ashley

 

OUR REVIEW:

Can you tell I was on a KA kick? I was....and have been. Anytime I find myself in a reading slump I start a reread of one of her series and immerse myself until I either read through her entire list of novels or am forced to read something else. I was so into rereading her previous works that I totally missed some of her newer releases and had to jump into her current books.

In the Misted Pines series, I find the books to be a little more serious or somber, a little more leaning into the mystery of it all, while still fully embracing the romance aspect. In The Woman Left Behind, we finally get to know more about Harry and get to see him fall head over heels with Lillian--someone right under his nose the entire time. From their very first encounter in this novel we know that they are destined to be together and within days are inseparable...initially for her safety, but eventually because of their attraction and care of/for each other. As Harry works on solving cold cases, primarily hers, we see the depth of the corruption the previous administration, see cases get solved, and watch two lonely people find love. All in all, a winning combination.

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SYNOPSIS:

There are two dead bodies in Idaho, and the gun used to kill them has been traced back to a sixteen-year-old robbery in Misted Pines.

Sheriff Harry Moran has a broken heart and a stack of case files on his desk that the corrupt sheriff who came before him might have bungled.

Or he may have framed innocent people.

The first case Harry dives into, the woman left behind lives just a block away from his office.

When Lillian Rainier opens the door to the sheriff, Harry, who’s been a dead man walking since his wife died, comes back to life.

As for Lillian, she’s had a crush on Harry for forever, Harry showing at her door, and how he is when he does only makes her fall deeper.

As Harry and his team dive into these suspicious cases, Harry and Lillian have to figure out what to do with all they feel for each other, how hard it hits them, and how deep it goes.

But as a voice from the past becomes a witness in the present, and Harry and his crew dig deeper, they sense something sinister happened years ago.

As they weave together the threads of a cold case, they realize how messy it is.

Worse, the man behind the mess is desperately cleaning it up …

And no one in Misted Pines is safe.

REVIEW: Smooth Sailing by Kristen Ashley

 

OUR REVIEW:

It's been a minute since I was in the Chaos MC world and reading Smooth Sailing reminded me of how much I enjoyed being in it. Having some of my old favorites mixed in with new characters made the reading easy and comfortable and fun. I enjoyed Hugger's backstory and getting to know how and why he was the way he was and getting to know Diana. She was fierce and strong and funny and direct and all of the things I enjoy about KA's heroines. And of course, I enjoy a good 'how the hell are they going to get out of this situation' plot, so Smooth Sailing checked off lots of boxes, including the idea that we may see them again in the Avenging Angels series. 

Overall a fun read, filled with all the things KA fans love.

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SYNOPSIS:

When the Chaos Motorcycle Club came to call, Harlan “Hugger” McCain wasn’t ready to be welcomed into the fold. They said he was a legacy. He felt like an outcast.

But he patched in anyway.

And he was all in to be a part of their not-quite-outlaw missions.

This takes him down to Phoenix, right into the orbit of Diana Armitage, a beautiful, green-eyed woman with a heart of gold and a scarily honed tendency to sacrifice for pretty much everyone she cares about, and some people she barely knows.

Hugger has been existing. Life has never given him much, now, he expects even less.

Diana lives life to its fullest. And she doesn’t keep it a secret she wants to drag Hugger right along with her.

But Hugger is certain he’s got bad blood. He’s got one foot in Chaos, one foot out. One foot in Diana’s life, one foot out.

Diana and his brothers in Chaos have their work cut out to show Hugger who he is.

That he belongs.

And he’s worthy to be loved.