The Spirit of Covington by
Joan Medlicott -- more adventures with the elderly Hannah, Grace, and
Amelia in Madison County, North Carolina. This time they have to deal
with a fire consuming their house. More than that, too.
Murder Most Persuasive
by Tracy Kiely -- another murder mystery with our favorite heroine,
Elizabeth. This time when her uncle's house is sold, a dead body is
found buried under the pool. Yay.
The Forgotten Garden
by Kate Morton -- This is the second book I've read from this
Australian author, and I enjoyed this! It does flit back and forth
between women's lives to the early 1900s, to 1975, and to modern times
(2005). It has ties to England and Australia. A tale of Nell who
arrived in Australia as a little girl, alone. And Cassandra, the
granddaughter who lived with Nell. What happened to Nell's family?
What is her real name, and who are her parents? Why did they put her on a
ship and have her sail so far away? And how does the Authoress play
into it all? Good story!
The Diplomat's Wife
by Pam Jenoff -- Marta - whom we met as part of the Jewish resistance
in a previous book - wakes up in a Nazi prison and later is freed by an
American whom she later meets again in Paris. Later Marta is sent back
into eastern Europe with hopes that she can persuade her former
resistance partner to introduce her to someone who has a cipher needed
for breaking codes. Pretty good story.
At Home in Covington
by Joan Medlicott -- more happenings with Hannah, Grace, and Amelia;
this time the ladies take a trip to the US Virgin Island among other
things
Everyone Brave Is Forgiven
by Chris Cleave -- There were some interesting aspects in this book --
people of London hiding out in bomb shelters, many of them still dying; a
young teacher who instructed children not suited for or rejected by
those in the countryside who kept some of London's children -- but
overall, I was happy to finish this book.
The Wednesday Sisters
by Meg Waite Clayton -- a group of ladies met at a park on a Wednesday
morning, and every Wednesday for the next several weeks. They became
friends who later branched out into writing (and critiquing said
writing) and supporting each other through miscarriages and affairs and
racism.
A Covington Christmas
by Joan Medlicott -- whereas the previous books in this series covered
more months, this book focused on the weddings taking place in Covington
on Christmas Eve. Of course Hannah, Amelia, and Grace were asked to
help pull it off!
The Distant Hours
by Kate Morton -- this is a long book, but like her other ones, a
somewhat layered story that kept my attention. My niece is visiting so I
read this throughout several days. A story about Milderhurst Castle
and the three old women -- Persephone (Percy), Seraphina (Saffy), and
Juniper Blythe -- who live there. Edie finds out more about her mom
through visits to and delving into the mysteries surrounding the castle
and the people who have lived there.
Murder Most Austen
by Tracy Kiely -- another murder mystery with our favorite
non-detective who is pretty good at finding out information, Elizabeth
Parker. This time Elizabeth and her Aunt Winnie are in England at an
Jane Austen festival when the murder takes place.
Almost Home
by Pam Jenoff -- Jordan Weiss returns to England years after leaving
this place she loved so much because of her boyfriend's drowning. She
goes back because her friend Sarah is fighting ALS, and she'll do
anything for Sarah. While in London, Jordan is contacted by a former
friend about Jared's alleged drowning. The book also follows Jordan as
she does her work as a diplomat.
Walkin' on the Happy Side of Misery by
J.R. "Model-T" Tate -- we met Mr. Tate while in Abingdon, Virginia, in
early October! He and his friend were in the area for a yearly
Appalachian Trail conference. The conference is not always held in
Abingdon, but happened to be this year, and we met the two at breakfast.
J.R. and his friend Noel DeCavalcante amused us with tales of their AT
thru-hikes. We asked if either of them had written about their trips,
and were told of this book which I received for our anniversary.
Lady Maybe
by Julie Klassen -- I noticed our library had all of her books except
this one. Apparently, she was given permission to try out another
publisher and this is from the second one. It's not the same quality as
the original one, in my opinion, but it was still fairly interesting to
learn about the Regency-era world. In this book Hannah Rogers leaves her home as a companion for Lady Marianna Mayfield. On the way to
their new residence, a carriage accident takes place and there is a big switch up in
Hannah's role.
Another Woman's Son
by Anna Adams -- a book I picked up at a free little library about a
year ago and read now because it was the Thanksgiving holiday and I'd
read all my library books. Thankfully it was a short, easy read because
it wasn't very interesting
A Hidden Affair by
Pam Jenoff -- the sequel to the above book about Jordan Weiss after she
leaves State to search for a friend somewhere in Europe
Catherine, Called Birdy
by Karen Cushman -- a look inside a young teen's life in the "foreign
country" that is 1290 England by reading her journal entries. Corpus
bones, this Newberry Honor Book was a free little library find that I
read mostly when Sophie was in town in middle November. But I just
finished it last night.
