The Woman in Cabin 10 - Ruth Ware

Title: The Woman in Cabin 10
Author: Ruth Ware
Pages: 352
Published: 2017
Edition: Paperback
Source: Library

Description: In this tightly wound story, Lo Blacklock, a journalist who writes for a travel magazine, has just been given the assignment of a lifetime: a week on a luxury cruise with only a handful of cabins. At first, Lo’s stay is nothing but pleasant: the cabins are plush, the dinner parties are sparkling, and the guests are elegant. But as the week wears on, frigid winds whip the deck, gray skies fall, and Lo witnesses what she can only describe as a nightmare: a woman being thrown overboard. The problem? All passengers remain accounted for—and so, the ship sails on as if nothing has happened, despite Lo’s desperate attempts to convey that something (or someone) has gone terribly, terribly wrong… (via Goodreads)

Thoughts:  I thought it was a good read.  It wasn't Girl on the Train or Gone Girl by any means, but it was still tense enough to keep me reading at a fairly fast pace.  There wasn't exactly anything literary about the book, but it had a good pace to the book and things seemed to move nicely along.

Bottom line: A decent book and something that could be read quickly for most readers.  Recommended.

Rating: 3/5

The Truth According to - Annie Barrows

Title: The Truth According to Us
Author: Annie Barrows
Pages: 528
Published: 2016
Genre: Historical Fiction
Edition: Paperback
Source: Library

Description: In the summer of 1938, Layla Beck’s father, a United States senator, cuts off her allowance and demands that she find employment on the Federal Writers’ Project, a New Deal jobs program. Within days, Layla finds herself far from her accustomed social whirl, assigned to cover the history of the remote mill town of Macedonia, West Virginia, and destined, in her opinion, to go completely mad with boredom. But once she secures a room in the home of the unconventional Romeyn family, she is drawn into their complex world and soon discovers that the truth of the town is entangled in the thorny past of the Romeyn dynasty.

At the Romeyn house, twelve-year-old Willa is desperate to learn everything in her quest to acquire her favorite virtues of ferocity and devotion—a search that leads her into a thicket of mysteries, including the questionable business that occupies her charismatic father and the reason her adored aunt Jottie remains unmarried. Layla’s arrival strikes a match to the family veneer, bringing to light buried secrets that will tell a new tale about the Romeyns. As Willa peels back the layers of her family’s past, and Layla delves deeper into town legend, everyone involved is transformed—and their personal histories completely rewritten. (via Goodreads)

Thoughts:  I read this as a library book club read and honestly while I liked aspects of the book, it was kinda meh.  Maybe it was that I had greater expectations of this book, but felt that the book took way too long to get any sort of momentum.  I personally liked Layla's storyline more than Willa's and wished more of the book focused on that.

Bottom line:  I found the book to be meh at least for me, but it could be for someone who enjoys these family drama books.  Overall, it was a pretty decent book,  not just one to my tastes.  Recommended.

Rating: 2.75/5

Ashes - Laurie Halse Anderson

Title: Ashes (Seeds of America #3)
Author: Laurie Halse Anderson
Pages: 298
Published: 2016
Genre: Historical Fiction, Young Adult
Edition: Hardcover
Source: Library

Description: As the Revolutionary War rages on, Isabel and Curzon have narrowly escaped Valley Forge—but their relief is short-lived. Before long they are reported as runaways, and the awful Bellingham is determined to track them down. With purpose and faith, Isabel and Curzon march on, fiercely determined to find Isabel’s little sister Ruth, who is enslaved in a Southern state—where bounty hunters are thick as flies. (via Goodreads)

Thoughts:  I quite enjoyed the book and thought it was a nice conclusion to the series.  Sorry for the lack of thoughts; its been a while since I read the book, but I thought it was well written.

Bottom line:  Recommended for young readers who enjoy historical fiction.

Rating: 3/5

The Tempest - William Shakespeare

Title: The Tempest
Author: William Shakespeare
Pages: 92
Published: 1610
Genre: Drama
Edition: E-book
Source: Serial Reader

Description: Prospero—a magician on an enchanted island—punishes his enemies, brings happiness to his daughter, and comes to terms with human use of supernatural power. The Tempest embodies both seemingly timeless romance and the historically specific moment in which Europe begins to explore and conquer the New World. (via Goodreads)

Thoughts: Not my favourite Shakespeare play.  Thought it was okay; probably would have thought better of it if I had read it more regularly or had taken the time to read it along Sparknotes.

Bottom line: It's a preferential taste as to what play you like.

Rating: 2.75/5

Bout of Books 19

I am going to try this again and hopefully I can get my act together.  If you have forgotten what Bout of Books is about, here is a little blurb about it:

The Bout of Books read-a-thon is organized by Amanda Shofner and Kelly @ Reading the Paranormal. It is a week long read-a-thon that begins 12:01am Monday, May 8th and runs through Sunday, May 14th in whatever time zone you are in. Bout of Books is low-pressure. There are challenges, giveaways, and a grand prize, but all of these are completely optional. For all Bout of Books 19 information and updates, be sure to visit the Bout of Books blog. - From the Bout of Books team


My reading goals are to read:

• The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry
• Lab Girl
• Outlander
• The Handmaid's Tale 

These are only a starting point but I may add more books as I get closer to the date.

The Munich Girl - Phyllis Edgerly Ring

Title: The Munich Girl
Author: Phyllis Edgerly Ring
Pages: 356
Published: 2015
Genre: Historical fiction
Edition: Paperback
Source: I received this book in exchange for fair and honest review

Description: Anna Dahlberg grew up eating dinner under her father’s war-trophy portrait of Eva Braun. Fifty years after the war, she discovers what he never did—that her mother and Hitler’s mistress were friends. The secret surfaces with a mysterious monogrammed handkerchief, and a man, Hannes Ritter, whose Third Reich family history is entwined with Anna’s. Plunged into the world of the “ordinary” Munich girl who was her mother’s confidante—and a tyrant’s lover—Anna finds her every belief about right and wrong challenged. With Hannes’s help, she retraces the path of two women who met as teenagers, shared a friendship that spanned the years that Eva Braun was Hitler’s mistress, yet never knew that the men they loved had opposing ambitions. Eva’s story reveals that she never joined the Nazi party, had Jewish friends, and was credited at the Nuremberg Trials with saving 35,000 Allied lives. As Anna's journey leads back through the treacherous years in wartime Germany, it uncovers long-buried secrets and unknown reaches of her heart to reveal the enduring power of love in the legacies that always outlast war (via Goodreads)

Thoughts: I had a love-hate relationship with this book.  I didn't like the first and last parts of the book, as I felt that those dragged on a little too much, but I did like the middle section of the book, as I liked the interaction between Eva and Anna's mom and the story that emerged there. I felt that it was tender and felt authentic and when I got to the third part, I missed that interaction and really felt that Anna became rather demonstrative in wanting to know what happened afterwards.  Of course, it didn't help that I was wanting to go to bed at the the time, but I really did feel that Anna just couldn't close the book and just move on; it felt like the author added a final and third part to satisfy the publishers.  I honestly I would have been happy with just a third and final part that wasn't as long and drawn out as it was.

Bottom Line: Overall, it was a decent book and for the most part I enjoyed it, despite my reservations.  Recommended.

Rating:  3.5/5

Fiction Finalist in 2016 Eric Hoffer Book Awards

Praise for Munich Girl by Phyllis Edgerly Ring

“I was drawn in by Phyllis Ring’s economical and expressive language. Then the story took over! Protagonist Anna Dahlberg must face the emotional fallout from a traumatic plane crash, while simultaneously uncovering the first clues in a shocking generational mystery involving key players in the Third Reich. Everything’s complicated by a new romance that may help her overcome the past and find her true inner strength. But is it real? Love can manifest itself in enigmatic–and unexpected–ways.”- Elizabeth Sims, author and contributing editor at Writer’s Digestmagazine

“… fresh perspective of German women at opposing ends of the warring spectrum … a beautiful story of enduring friendship and the lengths people will go to for love.”- The Stellar Review

“So persuasive is this novel that, before I could believe it was in fact a piece of fiction, I contacted the author and asked where she did her research and where she came up with the idea.”-Leslie Handler, The Philadelphia Inquirer

“This book weaves real life with fiction beautifully and makes you want to know more about the cast of characters. This is a book that you may have a hard time remembering it is fiction as you turn the pages. That’s how well the author brings her characters to life. This book was stunning. I highly recommend it to anyone that loves this time period.”-A Chick Who Reads


“The Munich Girl by Phyllis Edgerly Ring is an elegant historical fiction novel of Eva Braun. Besides being Adolph Hitler’s mistress (and short-lived wife) little is known about this woman in history.  Peggy’s diary entries were applied seamlessly blending past with the present. I yearned to enter the streets of 1940s Germany and discover the meaning behind a simple portrait and view the forging of an unlikely friendship. Phyllis Edgerly Ring has written a superbly researched novel of a historical figure whose’ story is impeccably told.”-Whitney, First Impression Reviews

About Phyllis Edgerly Ring

Author Phyllis Edgerly Ring lives in New England and returns as often as she can to her childhood home in Germany. Her years there left her with a deep desire to understand the experience of Germans during the Second World War. She has studied plant sciences and ecology, worked as a nurse, been a magazine writer and editor, taught English to kindergartners in China, and served as program director at a Baha’i conference center in Maine.

She is also author of the novel, Snow Fence Road, and the inspirational nonfiction, Life at First Sight: Finding the Divine in the Details. Her book for children, Jamila Does Not Want a Bat in Her House, is scheduled for release by Bellwood Press in early 2017.


Blog: http://phyllisedgerlyring.wordpress.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/PhyllisEdgerlyRing?ref=hl
Twitter: http:// www.twitter.com/phyllisring

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You Will Not Have My Hate - Antoine Leiris

Title: You Will Not Have My Hate
Author: Antoine Leiris ; translated by Sam Taylor
Pages: 131
Published: 2016
Genre: Memoir, Non-Fiction
Edition: Hardcover
Source: Library

Description:  On 13 November 2015, Antoine Leiris’s wife, Hélène, was killed, along with 88 other people at the Bataclan Theatre in Paris, when three men armed with guns and suicide bombs opened fire on the unsuspecting crowd at a rock concert. Three days later, Leiris, a young journalist, wrote an open letter on Facebook addressed to his wife’s killers. Leiris refused to be cowed or to let his 17-month-old son’s life be defined by Hélène’s murder. He refused to let the killers have their way. ‘For as long as he lives, this little boy will insult you with his happiness and freedom,’ he wrote. Instantly, that short Facebook post caught fire. It was shared over two hundred thousand times and was reported on all over the world. In his beautiful and moving defiance of the terrorists who had killed his wife, Leiris became an international hero to everyone searching desperately for a way to deal with the horror of the attacks. (via Goodreads)

Thoughts: I don't know if saying that I enjoyed a memoir about a husband going through the early stages of grieving of his wife is appropriate.  It was definitely poignant, even though it was a short read.  I got a sense of him trying to make things as normal as possible for his young son, Melvil, who was about 17 months at the time.  I don't think words can really describe how it felt to read this book.

Bottom line: A powerful, but short book and alters how we should act during a time that is becoming incredibly scary.  Highly recommended.

Rating: 4.75/5