Book: The Baker's Secret

 Book: The Baker's Secret

Author: Stephen Kiernan

Pages: 336

This is my 209th read for the year

Amazon says:

On June 5th, 1944, as dawn rises over a small town on the Normandy coast of France, Emmanuelle is making the bread that has sustained her fellow villagers in the dark days since the Germans invaded her country.  Only 22, Emma learned to bake at the side of a master, Ezra Kuchen, the village baker since before she was born.  Apprenticed to Ezra at 13, Emma watched with shame and anger as her kind mentor was forced to wear the siz-pointed yellow star on his clothing.  She was liekwise powerless to help when they pulled Ezra from his shop at gunpoint, the first of many villagers stolen away and never seen again.  In the years that her sleepy coastal village has suffered under the enemy, Emma has silently, stealthily fought back.  Each day, she receives an extra ration of flour to bake a dozen baguettes for the occupying troops.  And each day, she mixes that pcious flour with ground straw to creat enough dogu for 2 extra loaves - contraband bread she shares with the hungry villagers.  Under the cold, watchful eyes of armed soldiers, she builds a clandestine network of barter and trade that she and the villagers use to thwart their occupiers.  

This book was fine.  I read it for a reading challenge where the main character is a baker.  She is, but this book is more about WWII and Germany's invasion of France.  I was hoping it was going to be more than just another WWII book, but it really wasn't.  The writing was choppy.  And there wasn't a lot of character developement.

Stars: 3

Book: The Comfort Book

 Book: The Comfort Book

Author: Matt Haig

Pages: 272

This is my 208th read for the year

This is a collection that Matt Haig put together for his future self when he was going through a deep depression.  A book on hope, it is a reminder for us all that things are not always as bad as they seem.  This is an easy read - I finished in in an afternoon - with a lot of encouraging antecdotes and short paragraphs to encourage and inspire you.

For me - this book was a good one to read with what is currently going on in our current political climate.  If you are feeling a little out of your depth, worried about what is to come, you should check out this book.  I was glad I read it.  Excellent read.

Stars: 5

Book: The Book of Doors

 Book: The Book of Doors

Author: Gareth Brown

Pages: 416

This is my 207th read for the year

Amazon says: (sorry I am super lazy lately - busy and reading a ton)

Cassie Andrews works in a NYC bookship, shelving books, making coffee for customers, and living an unassuming, ordinary life.  Until the day one of her favorite customers - a lonely yet charming old man - dies right in front of her.  Cassie is devastated.  She always loved his stories, and now she has nothing to remember him by.  Nothingbu the last book he was reading.  The Book of Doors.  Inscribed with enigmatic words and mysterious drawing, it promises CAssie that any door is every door.  You just need to know how to open them.  Then she's approached by a gaunt stranger in a rumpled black suit with a Scottish brogue who calls himself Drummond Fox.  He's a librarian who keeps watch over a unique set of rare volumes.  The tome now in Cassie's possession is not the only book with great power, but it is the one most coveted by those who collect them.  Now Cassie is being hunted by those few who know of the Special Books.  With only her roomate Izzy to confide in, she has to decide if she will help the mysterious and haunted Drummond protect the Book of Doors - and the other books in his secret library's care - from those who will do evil.   Because only Drummon knows where the unique library is and only Cassie's book can get them there.  But there are those willing to kill to obtain those secrets.  And a dark force - in the form of a shadowy, sadistic woman - is at the very top of that list.

Great book.  Well written with good character development.  It is a neat concept - books that all do different magical things for the person who possesses them.  I knocked it a star because I think the evil characters were overdone - just too horrible.  Overall an interesting story full of mystery and fantasy.

Stars: 4

Book: Notes On An Execution

 Book: Notes on An Execution

Author: Danya Kukafka

Pages: 336

This is my 206th read for the year

What Amazon says:

Ansel Packer is scheduled to die in twelve hours.  He knows what he's done, and now awaits execution, the same chilling fate he forced on those girls, years ago.  But Answel doesn't want to die.  He wants to be celebrated, understood.  Through a kaleidoscope of women - a mother, a sister, a homicide detective - we learn the story of Answel's life.  We meet his mother, Lavender, a 17 year old girl pushed to desperation; Hazel, twin sister to Answel's wife, inseparable since birth, forced to watch helplessly as her sister's relationship threatens to devour them all; and finally, Saffy, the detective hot on his trail, who has devoted herself to bringing bad men to justice but struggles to see her own life clearly.  As the clock ticks down, these three women sift through the choices that culminate in tragedy, exploring the rippling fissures that such destruction inevitably leaves in its wake.

This was an okay book.  I enjoyed the timeline and view points of vaious characters  that were all tied to Ansel.  I liked that the focus wasn't solely on the serial killer, but his victims.  The problem was that the characters were just so-so.  And the writing was average.

Stars: 3

Book: Dark Corners

 Book: Dark Corners

Author: Megan Goldin

Pages: 352

This is my 205th read for the year

What Amazon says:

Terenc Baily is about to be released from prison for breaking and entering, though investigators have long suspected him in the murders of six women.  As his release date approaches, Bailey gets a surprise visit from Maddison Logan, a youn influencer with a huge social media follwoing.  Hours later, Maddison disappears, and police suspect she's been kidnapped or worse.  When they hit a wall in the investigation, the FBI reluctantly asks for Rachel Krall's help in finding the missing influencer.  Maddison seems to only exist on social media - she has no family, no friends, and other than in her posts, most people have never seen her.  Using a fake Instagram account, RAchel goes undercover to BuzzCon, a popular influencer conference, where she discovers a world of fierce rivalry that may have turned lethal.  When police find the body of a woman with a tattoo of a snake eating its tall - identical to a tattoo Rachel had seen on Bailey's hand - the FBI must consider a chilling possibility: Bailey has an accomplice on the outside and a dangerous obsession with influencers, incluing Racehl Krall herself.  Suddenly the target of a monster hiding in plain sight, Rachel is forced to confront the very real dangers that lurk in the dark corners of the internet.

This was a pretty good book.  I read the first Rachel Krall book (The Night Swim) and enjoyed it as well.  I listened to this book and honestly I felt that helped because these are books about a podcaster.  She weaves her podcast episodes into the story, so audiobook works well for that story line.  I like the Rachel character - she doesn't do anything overly stupid.  I liked most of the characters in this book (main characters) and there is even a little love story happening in this one.  Written well with a satisfying ending, I am glad I read this one.

Stars: 4

Book: Everything's Eventual

 Book: Everything's Eventual

Author: Stephen King

Pages: 464

This is my 204th read for the year

This is a book of short stories.  And it was okay.  I liked a few of the stories, but not even half I would say.  They were not scary.  Some just....ended.  Quite a few were well written and interesting - but not scary.  Odd?  yes.  Even being a fan of his writing I just could not get into this one.  I have read quite a few of his short story books, but this one I would rate at the bottom of the ones I have tackled so far.

Stars: 3

Book: The Days I Loved You Most

 Book: The Days I Loved You Most

Author: Amy Neff

Pages: 336

This is my 203rd read for the year

This is the story of Evelyn and Joseph.  They fell in love in the 40s and have been married ever since.  3 kids and several grandkids later, Evelyn has been diagnosed with Parkinsons Disease and decided she wanted to leave this life on her terms.  And Joseph wants to go with her.  When they tell their family that this is their last year, the family explodes with confusing and anger.  But Evelyn and Joseph are determined to make this a great year to leave their family with many good memories.  

This was an okay book.  I read it for a reading challenge, and was hoping for a better love story.  The story goes back and forth between Evelyn and Joseph's past and their present and intermingles their kid's feelings with a few chapters as well.  But it fell flat for me.  The writing was okay.  I really didn't like Evelyn at all.  The others were just okay.  Joseph was the only one that really didn't seem self absorbed.  I did not like the ending, but should have seen it coming.

Stars: 3