bethreadsandnaps's reviews
2631 reviews

 

Historical fiction fans who want to avoid a WWII story, THE STORY SHE LEFT BEHIND by Patti Callahan Henry will likely scratch that itch with an added bit of fantastical whimsy. I would say that this novel has a lot of parallels to a Kate Morton novel, which I really liked. 

Bronwyn Newcastle Fordham is a child prodigy fantasy writer, writing her first story at age 8 and getting it published at age 12 (Bronwyn is based on a real child prodigy writer!). After a tragic event when she’s in her 30s, Bronwyn disappears, leaving a husband and 8 year old daughter Clara. Now, in 1952, Clara is summoned to England by Charlie Jameson, who was clearing out papers after his father’s death and found papers believed to be from her missing mother. Clara takes her 8 year old daughter Wynnie to London, and there they get caught in the Great Smog of 1952, which is especially problematic because Wynnie has asthma. They retreat to the countryside with the Jameson family, and Clara attempts to get to the bottom of the mystery and at the same time is intrigued by Charlie. 

The settings, both South Carolina and England, were well-drawn and very atmospheric. And, of course, the thick, sooty smog that affected so many people’s lungs made me empathize with Londoners at this time. 

I thought the themes of history repeating itself and running away vs. running to something were well-constructed. At times, the novel had moments of being a bit more drawn out and repetitive than I needed and sometimes a smidge too sentimental for my taste. On the whole, I found it enjoyable and learned a lot about this time period. 

Love the cover. Not as fond of the title. 

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria for an Advance Reader Copy in exchange for an unbiased review. 

THE STORY SHE LEFT BEHIND publishes March18, 2025. 

 

4.25 ⭐️

In Curtis Sittenfelds’s latest short story collection SHOW DON’T TELL, we get an assortment of flawed female women mostly in their 40s as they confront various aspects of themselves. Had I not known the author of this collection, I think I could have puzzled it out since a number of these stories are adjacent to academia and the privilege and style that I associate with Sittenfeld’s writing.  

Maybe it’s because I’m in the exact target demographic for this short story collection that most of these short stories resonated with me. I really enjoyed “The Marriage Clock,” “The Richest Babysitter in the World” (the protagonist babysits for basically Jeff Bezos right before a company like Amazon is founded and turns down a job offer from him), “The Patron Saints of Middle Age,” and ‘Lost But Not Forgotten.” 

“White Women LOL” addressed race. I have mixed feelings about the story, but that might be because I’m not sure if Sittenfeld as a privileged white women should have stepped into this lane. I also wasn’t a fan of “Giraffe and Flamingo,” but on the whole most of these 12 short stories did speak to me. 

The story “Lost But Not Forgotten” features Lee Fiora, the main character from PREP, going to her thirtieth reunion and connecting with someone she had only known in passing back in school. I have read PREP, but it was so long ago that I didn’t remember anything. However, I felt it was a strong story on its own, and I didn’t feel you needed to have read PREP to enjoy it.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing for an advance reader copy in exchange for an honest review. 

SHOW DON’T TELL publishes February 25, 2025. 

#showdonttell #curtissittenfeld  #netgalley #netgalleyreviewer  #bookstagram  

4.25 ⭐️

In Eowyn Ivey’s latest novel BLACK WOODS, BLUE SKY Birdie is 26 years old and taking care of  her 6 year old while working at a lodge in Alaska. Birdie comes across as a bit immature, as she leaves Emaleen alone more than most readers might, but she has to earn money to keep up with expenses. The Alaska nature writing is exquisite, as you would expect from Ivey. 

Birdie meets reclusive and odd Arthur. The part I struggled with most in the novel is Birdie’s and Arthur’s relationship. I didn’t “feel” their chemistry. Pretty quickly Birdie decides to move herself and Emaleen in to Arthur’s cabin, and Arthur’s father flies them all to the remote cabin that doesn’t have electricity or plumbing. Carrying pails of water around, keeping food away from bears, very rugged. 

Arthur seems to be acting stranger and stranger, being gone a lot. The novel morphs into one of magical realism/fantasy, which I expected. The setting and isolation felt very vivid, and this quiet novel is one to curl up with, as it is very immersive. However, I didn’t always think Birdie made the decisions that I would had I be in her position.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing for an advance reader copy in exchange for an honest review. 

BLACK WOODS, BLUE SKY publishes February 4, 2025. 

#blackwoodsbluesky #eowynivey  #netgalley #netgalleyreviewer  #bookstagram

4.75 stars 

BROKEN COUNTRY by Clare Leslie Hall 

The author weaves a familiar historical fiction tale with an unexpected spin (murder) on it. Beth comes from a modest upbringing, and she falls in love with wealthy Gabriel in the mid 1950s. Written from the first person perspective (my favorite!), the reader feels everything along with Beth for the first time. 

 

When Gabriel and Beth suddenly break up, she reaches for steadfast farmer Frank Johnson, who has been in love with her for years. Beth marries Frank and lives with Frank’s dad David, Frank’s younger brother Jimmy, and they soon welcome son Bobby on the farm as well. After the tragic death of Bobby, they try to all move on, but, when Gabriel moves back with his son Leo, their lives will be upended forever, as Beth and Gabriel never forgot each other and the mark they made on one another. 

I loved being swept up into this story. The author has such a deft hand at her characterization of all the characters, but especially Frank. I really liked the setting of an English farm instead of a bustling city. The focus on guilt permeated throughout the book, and I think that was very appropriate for the time and setting. This was a well-told character-driven story with more plot than I expected, and I think it will appeal to a wide variety of readers.

Thank you to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for an Advance Reader Copy in exchange for an honest review.

BROKEN COUNTRY publishes March 4, 2025. 

#brokencountry #clarelesliehall #netgalley #netgalleyreviewer #bookstagram

This is an authorized prequel to Anne of Green Gables. I thought it was in the spirit of the Anne character, and I enjoyed it. 

However, my problems with the character of Anne persist and became even more so with this prequel. Her parents both died when she was an infant. She had no stability, being handed off to the next family at several points. She was basically a child slave, doing all the cooking and washing for huge families starting at a few years old, and she took care of children when she was a child herself. Despite 16 hours of backbreaking work a day, she’s upbeat and has no bitterness. 

You do feel the joy at the end of the book when she’s off to land with Matthew and Marilla.

 

In her latest novel WE ALL LIVE HERE, Jojo Moyes introduces the reader to Lila, a divorced mother, who is recovering from her divorce with the death of her mother while her stepfather Bill moves in to help out with the kids more. I really liked the relationship between Lila and her stepfather. It feels rare to get the child/stepfather relationship explored once the child reaches adulthood.  

When Lila learns that her ex Dan is having a baby with the woman he left her for and needs to pay less child support, Lila goes into a tailspin. She has a one night stand with the gardener, and she has her eyes set on a different man at the child pick-up area. And then her biological dad Glenn finds her after decades and needs a home.

While this novel seems light on the surface, there is a depth to it as it touches on forgiveness, making amends, and moving on after being dealt a rough hand. That said, you can tell what the large beats of this novel will be pretty quickly after picking it up. It was a heart-affirming novel that those readers who are going through hard things might appreciate for its message and light, but deft, touch.  

WE ALL LIVE HERE publishes February 11, 2025. Thank you to NetGalley and Pamela Dorman Books for an Advance Reader Copy in exchange for an honest review. 

#pameladormanbooks #jojomoyes  #wealllivehere #netgalleyreviewer #netgalley

 

4.5 stars

Ellie is an overweight 11 year old, and she just wants acceptance. She feels that her mother doesn’t love her because her mom keeps putting her on a diet. The kids at school bully her, and her best friend Viv has moved away. 

This novel is heartbreaking, and it gives incredible insight into how a young, overweight person feels. I could imagine that I would act how Ellie perceives her mother feels about her. 

I loved how, with the aid of her therapist, Ellie takes ownership of her life. I really liked the scene of Ellie doctor shopping with her father and walking out of doctor offices where they fat shame her. 

This short novel gave me a lot to think about.

3.5 stars

This novel is a very lyrical meditation on early motherhood. Sara from Fiction Matters recommended this one, and she is in a different space than I am (early motherhood for her, middle motherhood for me), and I'm finding more and more that we don't share the same taste in books. That's completely okay, I've realized, after beating myself up for not enjoying the things she did (awesome for her, okay for me) and really liking books that she says didn't achieve what they set out to achieve (awesome for me, okay for her). 

The other reviewers are correct. Nothing really happens in this book. It does take place over the course of one day, yet there are plenty of references that go beyond the one day. There were a LOT of ruminations from young mother Maisie Moore, who has four young kids, one of which being a newborn. Even with one child, it was hard to find the time to ruminate for hours on end after just giving birth. Maybe that's just me.

The writing is strong if you like lyrical writing, almost poetry.  I can start to zone out with that type of writing, so I found it difficult to concentrate at some points. Again, without a lot of plot and the writing being more about thoughts, my mind would start to wander more often than not. 

Xavier seemed more philosophical than the average young boy, which taxed plausibility.

I was actually most captivated by the financial struggles of this young family (maybe because it's the most tangible aspect of this novel?), but the struggles were never really delved into in a way that I found satisfying. 

I'm rounding this to 3 stars because I don't think this book will have a lot of appeal except to its target audience, which I think is a more philosophical female reader. 

3.25 ⭐️

In this novel, Jane is going to ask her husband Dan for a divorce while they are at a very expensive restaurant. But soon the restaurant is taken hostage by a group of terrorists, including…their own daughter. Jane is an unsuccessful author, and she soon finds that this hostage situation is unfurling much like her book of a similar plot. 

Admittedly, it was difficult for me to get over the outlandish hostage situation and coincidence after coincidence. At times, things felt rather forced. While Jane had some nuance, I thought Dan was a rather bland character. I think I would have liked to be in his head more. 
 
I actually liked how this novel pulled together at the end. Was it realistic? No. But I knew 5 pages into this book that you had to toss realism out the window. It gave me the vibes of ANXIOUS PEOPLE, a book I really didn’t like much. 

Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing for an Advance Reader Copy in exchange for an honest review.

JANE AND DAN AT THE END OF THE WORLD publishes March 11, 2025. 

In Alice Feeney’s latest novel BEAUTIFUL UGLY, the reader meets Grady, an author who has lost his writing mojo since his wife Abby’s disappearance a year ago. When his agent offers him the use of her inherited cabin on a remote Scottish island (population: under 30), Grady jumps at it. Once there, he sees what looks like his missing wife and also finds a completed manuscript of a recently deceased writer. If you enjoyed THE PLOT, THE SEQUEL, or YELLOWFACE, you’ll see echoes of those plots in this one. In my opinion, those novels were a tad stronger than this one though. 

I really enjoyed the novel up until Grady got to the island. The island life got a little frustrating for me as a reader, as Grady seemed to lose almost all agency and IQ points. It was entertaining enough, and, while my early guess about the plot wasn’t completely correct, it was close enough. 

There are two audiobook narrators for this novel (one male, one female). The male author gets more air time, as Grady’s perspective is most of the book. There are some sound effects added which do make the audio feel more atmospheric. Those effects tend to be at the beginning of chapters and aren’t distracting. Due to the good production value, I think this one would be better to take in on audio than paper.

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for an advance listener copy in exchange for an honest review. 

BEAUTIFUL UGLY publishes January 14, 2025.