OYENTE

Lynda Wolters

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  • 7
  • votos útiles
  • 154
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So good 👏👏👏

Total
5 out of 5 stars
Ejecución
5 out of 5 stars
Historia
5 out of 5 stars

Revisado: 02-20-25

This was on my TBR list for a while, and ooh, was it worth the wait. This is my fourth Julia Heaberlin suspense novel. I loved it SO much. To say Heaberlin is good at what she does is an understatement. Someone, MAKE THIS INTO A MOVIE!

Tessie is the only surviving Black-Eyed Susan, the name given to the victims found in a grave off a rural road in Texas. Fighting for her life, her memory, and her sight, Tessie, at age 16, is tapped as the key witness at trial. With the help of her friend, Lydia, and her counselor, Tessie is able to help put the man on death row.

Seventeen years and new DNA findings later, Tessa is asked to help exonerate the man she helped convict. To do so, she will need to revisit her life as a teenage Tessie and confront her fears and some new monsters she didn't know existed.

Black-Eyed Susans is riveting. I could not put it down. If you haven't tried a Julia Heaberlin novel, this is a good place to start.

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Good story with 60-year-old protagonists

Total
4 out of 5 stars
Ejecución
4 out of 5 stars
Historia
4 out of 5 stars

Revisado: 01-13-25

This is a solid read. Written with 60-year-old protagonists, author Maddie Please taps into what life is like for women of a certain age (something that I have found difficult to find as everything seems written with 20-30-year-old protagonists).

Sophia finds herself in Greece working through a breakup with her married boss when she meets and befriends three women on holiday. The four become fast friends and delve into the ups and downs of life at 60: a divorce, too-needy children, an inattentive husband, and, of course, Sophia navigating the feelings of sleeping with a married man. When Theo, a native Greek, enters the picture, Sophia's life takes another turn on her journey to finding herself.

The Old Ducks' Club is a bit slow, even sluggish at times, but there is something about the honest way that Please addresses each conflict. There is no titillation or working up to a crescendo, it is just problems addressed head-on. For example, the three friends speak openly and honestly about how they feel about Sophia's affair, and she addresses them without excuse. The same rings true when Kim discusses how her adult children have moved back in with her and are taking advantage. I enjoyed how Please shows maturity in her characters. They make mistakes and have come to an age where they acknowledge them without further drama.

This is not a life-altering read, but shines some refreshing light to life as a sexagenarian.

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An earlier work for Hannah, but still very good

Total
5 out of 5 stars
Ejecución
4 out of 5 stars
Historia
5 out of 5 stars

Revisado: 12-13-24

I wonder if in 2004 (when Kristin Hannah wrote The Things We Do for Love) she could have imagined how different the landscape of women's reproductive health would be in 2024 (when I read the book).

Angie has been unsuccessful in bearing children. The stress and years of trying and loss end up crushing her and Conlyn's marriage causing Angie to move back to her hometown and try to help her mother save the family restaurant.

While searching for work, 17-year-old Lauren gets a job at the Disario Restaurant and leans into Angie's maternal need to help Lauren when Lauren's mom takes off. But when Lauren finds herself pregnant, she is faced with the option of abortion (yep, that used to be available), keeping the baby, or giving it up for adoption. But who would be the parents? Could Lauren go through with an adoption? Would Angie get crushed if she were picked?

The Things We Do for Love is an easy read with endearing characters. Unbeknownst to Hannah when she wrote this, the book has become something of a far-out fantasy, in that abortion is no longer an option for young women in Lauren's position. An interesting read based on our current climate.

As this was written 20 years ago, Hannah has since grown and evolved as a much deeper writer, but her earlier work, this title included, is still worth the time.

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Exceptional writing in Paper Ghosts

Total
5 out of 5 stars
Ejecución
5 out of 5 stars
Historia
5 out of 5 stars

Revisado: 11-22-24

Beautiful turns of phrase and word choices tell the story in this suspense novel.

Grace is convinced she has figured out who murdered her sister years ago: Carl Luis Feldman. Renowned photographer and acquitted killer of another young Texas woman.

Grace was only 12 when he sister left for her daily summer babysitting job. Rachel, a college student, rode her bike from her house in the morning and was never seen again. Grace has spent the rest of her life researching, interviewing, and preparing to find out what really happened to Rachel and how Carl, Grace's suspected serial killer, has gotten away with numerous other murders.

When Grace finally catches up to Carl, he is in a home for patients with dementia. Pretending to be Carl's daughter, Grace devises a plan to take Carl on a road trip that is designed to make him confess and give her closure.

Julia Heaberlin has written a very good first-person telling of the mental anguish, strain, and depths to which a person will go when someone they love has disappeared. She has also opened up the strange, glitchy personality traits and ghosts (visions) of those with dimension, and allowed them to take shape with Carl. A very good read.

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Julia Whelan does not disappoint

Total
5 out of 5 stars
Ejecución
5 out of 5 stars
Historia
5 out of 5 stars

Revisado: 11-20-24

If you've ever listened to Julia Whelan's narration, you know it is fantastic. Her writing is equally impressive.

My Oxford Year follows 'Ella from Ohio,' as she becomes known, to Oxford after winning the Rhodes Scholarship. While there, she befriends Maggy, Tom, and Charlie, and the four become fast friends and confidants. Ella also meets Jamie Davenport, an assistant professor in one of her classes who becomes her friend with benefits. But, as with most FWBs in fictional romance, Ella falls for Jamie and he for her. When it's discovered that Jamie is harboring a make-or-break-it secret, Ella must dig deep to figure out if he and all the baggage that comes with him is worth it.

My Oxford Year has a twist that surprised me, taking the book from a light-hearted, American girl meets English bloke turned sexcapade book into something with teeth, that will challenge your thinking on how far would you go for new love.

Julia Whelan does not disappoint. I listened to this and plan to purchase it to keep on my shelf.

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Good and worth listening to

Total
4 out of 5 stars
Ejecución
5 out of 5 stars
Historia
4 out of 5 stars

Revisado: 10-22-24

In true Lisa Barr form, Woman on Fire is captivating and quick.

Young journalist, Jules Roth partners up with savvy, news-hardened Dan Mansfield to help out Dan's elderly friend Ellis Baum find a painting of his mother that was stolen by the Nazis decades earlier. As the layers and secrets unfold surrounding the masterpiece, Woman on Fire, lives are lost, deals are made, and hearts are broken, all in the name of art.

Woman on Fire is a fast-paced story with several layers of mystery and intrigue. From the ruthless Margaut to the recovering heroin addict Adam, the story winds its way from Germany to New York and from France to Montana. While a good read and well done, I wasn't completely drawn into it. In my opinion, I felt like it was a more aggressive version of the 2015 movie, Woman in Gold.

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This was an unexpected feel-good story.

Total
5 out of 5 stars
Ejecución
5 out of 5 stars
Historia
5 out of 5 stars

Revisado: 09-27-24

After a shocking beginning, Reluctantly Home turned an unthinkable tragedy into a warm, positive ending.

On her way to work, Rose had no idea a split-second decision by a child would completely change the trajectory of her life. Once a highly successful barrister in London, Rose lands back at home on the farm under her youthful name, Pip, while she starts to navigate personal healing, grief, and the knowledge that she took a life.

Evelyn, a 70-year-old recluse, hasn't left her house in over thirty years, not since the tragic death of her then 3-year-old daughter, Scarlet. Pregnant under sketchy circumstances, Evelyn didn't have the language or backing to point the finger and take control of her life. But when Pip unearths Evelyn's diary that was inadvertently handed over to a charity shop, the two women meet and learn life is too short to harbor misplaced guilt and unspoken truths.

Reluctantly Home covers a gambit of hard-hitting topics brought to the surface in a kind and gentle manner, leaving no one feeling more awful than when they started reading (which is a bonus). There are no ah-ha moments in Reluctantly Home and it will likely sit on the shelf and not be re-read, however, it is without a doubt worth a first read and you will be left feeling good about the outcome of many issues that began with an awful start. Very well written by Imogen Clark.

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When helicopter parenting meets entitlement

Total
5 out of 5 stars
Ejecución
5 out of 5 stars
Historia
5 out of 5 stars

Revisado: 09-18-24

Minor Dramas & Other Catastrophes, the title I don't understand even after finishing the book, is worth the read, especially if you have ever attended high school. In a nutshell, this book is a worst-case scenario when parents are too invested in their children's academic lives for the furtherment of their agendas (read: these parents are elitists and are determined their children will be the best at everything). When you add in a liberal-thinking teacher whose ideals are pressed upon her students under the guise of free-thinking, things are going to get heated. And they do.

There are several underlying themes at play here and author Kathleen West has brilliantly kept all the balls in the air as she tells the story from multiple perspectives. There is the over-the-top mother who is equal parts cringeworthy and savage, her children, her husband (the poor fella), the liberal teacher, her peers, and a few students. The cast is vast and all-encompassing.

Minor Dramas & Other Catastrophes will have you shaking your head and chuckling while feeling sorry for the players, rooting for the underdogs, and empathizing with all of them.

A wonderfully well-written thinker in a fun, quick read.

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Feels like a sweet, contented sigh

Total
5 out of 5 stars
Ejecución
5 out of 5 stars
Historia
5 out of 5 stars

Revisado: 09-18-24

Jenny Colgan's books make me want to go to Kirrinfief, Scottland. No. 3 in the series (I didn't know this was a series) gives a nod to a few of her characters from her first in the series which I loved: The Bookshop on the Corner.

When Londoner Lissa, a nurse who does house calls to help keep patients from rebounding back to the hospital, witnesses a deadly accident that takes the life of a 15-year-old boy, her once meticulously put-together life and career unravel. She and Cormak, an NPL from Kirrinfief, swap jobs and houses for three months to give her some respite. Without ever meeting, the two begin to form a friendship via email and texts, learning to lean on each other to assist with their new patients and navigate their past traumas.

500 Miles from You is so sweet, kind, and good that you cannot help but love it, the landscape, and the characters. The cast is full of rich personalities from diverse backgrounds and there is a subtheme of organ transplantation -- which is near and dear to my heart.

Author Jenny Colgan writes a wonderful story (how she writes SO MANY is beyond me), and you will not be disappointed with another walk through Kirrinfief. ((contented sigh))

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I need a brain break after this one

Total
5 out of 5 stars
Ejecución
5 out of 5 stars
Historia
5 out of 5 stars

Revisado: 09-03-24

This book warped my brain. Don't get me wrong, it was good, it was well worth the read, but I don't know that I will be reading the follow-up book any time soon [I need to rest my brain]. This is a great big nod to the author, Liv Constantine.

The Last Mrs. Parrish delves deep into the dark, unseen life of a manipulative narcissistic, cruel man as he strips freedoms from his wife (think what she eats, what she wears, what she says, how they have sex) by the threat of institutionalization, bodily harm, and removal of her children from her life. Oh, and the guy's a gazillionaire so WAY above the radar. No one would believe her anyway, she's crazy after all (he has led her to believe). A decade into their sham marriage, Daphney finds a way out -- by handing over her life on a silver platter to another woman.

Sensing the twist did not take away from the story as I was so balled up I prayed for it. I felt SO many emotions reading this one: Anger, disbelief, sadness, empathy, understanding, fear, anxiety, worry, pity. I was exhausted by the last sentence.

If a movie ever needs to be made, this is the one. (Now, I'm going to go curl up with a feel-good, happy-ever-after, everyone-is-kind, Winnie the Pooh style book.)

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