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In the beginning, I thought this book would be too daunting, with its glossary of terms and appendix. Then, I slipped into the story and became immersed. It’s obvious why Dune is a classic. Yes, it’s a bit dated in the way women are perceived, but many classics contain outmoded attitudes.

This is a complex story with some fascinating characters. The transformation of Paul Atreides from intuitive, bright teenager to ruler and spiritual leader is riveting. There is more going on than I could describe in any reasonable length! I do feel compelled to read the next book, mostly because of the foreshadowing of this one--


[Paul’s mother] had quoted a Bene Gesserit proverb to him: "When religion and politics travel in the same cart, the riders believe nothing can stand in their way. Their movements become headlong - faster and faster and faster. They put aside all thought of obstacles and forget that a precipice does not show itself to the man in a blind rush until it's too late."


Paul is prescient and knows that there is to be a jihad, and does not want it, but at some point during this first story, knows he cannot control everything...we shall see.

I have not seen any of the movies, but have always meant to read this story, and now I finally have! And, I recommend it.

Parties and poisons, oh, my! I had to pick up this novel, with a title like that. Something ghastly is going on in the botany department at the University College of London, and it is 1923.

The protagonist of this story is Saffron Everleigh, the only female research assistant at the college, and it goes without saying that this was a hard road in 1923. One evening, at a dinner party, a professor’s wife is poisoned, and Saffron is a witness. When her elderly boss, Dr. Maxwell, is accused of and arrested for this poisoning, Saffron is determined to find out what really happened, and to clear the name of a man who has been very dear to her.

Meanwhile, the botany department is preparing for an important expedition to the Amazon, and Saffron must assist another scientist, Alexander Ashton, in his preparations for the trip. Gradually, she finds a friend and confidant in Alexander, and persuades him to help her piece together the mystery of the poisoning of Dr. Henry’s wife.

Actually, this story is almost as much romance as it is mystery. The writing style is very charming, and the conversations seemed natural. I did find some of Saffron’s actions outrageously dangerous and not smart enough for her character. Also, the mystery itself is not all that interesting--and yet, I did enjoy reading this story. The author has done a lovely job setting the stage for this novel, making it easy for me to picture the quaint buildings and even step inside.

Many thanks to Crooked Lane Books and Netgalley for this pleasure!

Here is a novel with a very interesting premise: what if it were suddenly impossible, the world over, to commit physical violence against another person? For instance, bullets from guns just hang in the air, bombs might damage property, but do no one injury, and people are unable to strike others.

What would people do? We know enough about human behavior, especially through social media, to expect that some folks would start performing some dangerous experiments. Those who are filled with hate would surely try to find other ways to affect pain and hardship on others.

In The Damage Done, author Michael Landweber presents this interesting premise, along with well drawn characters I found to be either likable or intriguing. This is well-written, with good pacing, and I enjoyed it.

My one reservation about this slim novel is that it just skims the surface of its topic. This may be as intended, however, since this does create food for thought. Would there be a period of chaos, in some places, where laws and their enforcement would have to be reinvented? Would we need as many laws, or different laws? At first, it seems that there would be more peace in the world, but would there really be less oppression?

I enjoyed the writing and the premise of this short speculative novel, and would welcome an expansion or continuation of this topic, in the future.

Many thanks to Crooked Lane Books and Netgalley for this intriguing experience!
(goodreads 3.5 rating)

This is one woman’s story, written to her grandson. Violeta Del Valle has lived one hundred years, from the year of the Spanish Flu pandemic, to the current age of the Coronavirus. This is not just her history, but also a hundred years of her country’s history, as it impacted her and her family. Her home is a country in South America, but not otherwise specified.

As a little girl, Violeta is raised in an affluent family, but soon, the convergence of The Great Depression and her father’s business practices equal disaster for her family. This is the first upheaval in her eventful life. She will learn to live and survive in multiple ways and face many challenges. Some of these challenges will be strictly personal, while the most dangerous will involve the political landscape in her country.

This narrative made me very thankful to have grown up in a country where attention to politics seems to be optional. That is, we in The United States have never woken up to find that all of our individual rights have been suddenly and indefinitely surrendered, or that the army is arresting anyone with certain beliefs. Violeta lived through such a time, and as a result, she lost people she loved. People’s lives were changed forever.

Violeta’s life was a roller coaster. She lived through extreme stress and trauma, but she also had some exhilarating highs. She found passion as a young woman, then love as an older woman. In the end, she found purpose and a way to be here for those who needed her, always.

Violeta is beautifully written, and I enjoyed it immensely. The way Violeta continually reinvents herself, using her experience and all that she has learned in life to branch out and help others, is an inspiration. And she is certainly proud of her grandson, who has had his own long road of discoveries.

I’ve left out the other characters in Violeta’s life, who are many and most intriguing, but I’ll leave that for you to find out. You won’t regret it.

Many thanks to Random House and Netgalley!

This is not only a fascinating biography of Polly Adler, but also an insightful history of the Jazz Age. Polly Adler was once one of many young immigrants to come from Eastern Europe, but the path her life took was anything but expected.

Born in Yanow, Russia, in 1900, Pearl Adler's early life was very circumspect due to her gender and the anti-Semitic restrictions of the Russian Empire. Nevertheless, throughout her childhood, Pearl exhibited intelligence and was determined to get an education, even though that was unheard of for a girl.

At just thirteen years of age, she landed at Ellis Island, all alone, to meet relations who were strangers. When this arrangement turned out to be less than desirable, she was forced
to live on her own at a very young age. Her intelligence and determination would be put to many a test in the coming years.

How Pearl became Polly Adler, the most well-known madam and a legend in New York City, is a long story, and very much worth reading.

Boxers, gangsters, politicians, entertainers, cops, judges, writers, and reporters. High brow, low brow, and everything in between. She met them. Some came for drinks and games, some for sex, some to hide out. She had her finger on the pulse of the current culture for years.

I was shocked at the depth of corruption in NYC during Polly’s lifetime. It was truly wild, as was her existence. The tenacity and stamina it took to hold on to her livelihood is unimaginable.

Author Debby Applegate has used the language of this time period, and it effectively creates an atmosphere that transports the reader to another era. I am impressed with the extensive research this volume required and was captivated by its style.

I haven’t given away any details in this review, in the hope that some of the surprising facts--and there are many--will amaze and enthrall someone else in the same way.

Thank you so much to Doubleday and Netgalley for this mesmerizing experience.

The Supper Club Murders, by Victoria Dowd, is a zany, tongue-in-cheek murder mystery.

Writing comedy is a difficult thing to do, and since this novel is set in England, it is possible that some of the humor washed over my American head. There were some funny moments, though, and a few times I thought that the dialogue might be funnier if it were acted out.

Since I hadn't read the first books, and did not know the Smart women, I had to learn certain things about their characters along the way. Pandora and her daughter Ursula Smart are a couple of women who are so strange, I couldn't imagine anyone wanting to invite them anywhere. However, the rest of the characters at this dinner party were even stranger, some of them downright mean, creepy, insane, or all three. In short, I did not care what happened to any of them. These people don't even enjoy each other.

As this dinner party progresses, we meet the joyless villagers, and hear their resentments and bickering. Some of the conversation was amusing, but I was waiting for the murder mystery, which did not begin until almost halfway through the book.

When the dead bodies are found, the plot suddenly moves faster. There are secrets learned and a mystery solved, but in the end, nothing was very surprising.

Thank you, Netgalley and Joffe Books for this interesting opportunity.

The Book of Magic, Alice Hoffman's conclusion to the Owens family saga, is populated with the family members we know and look forward to meeting again, in another fascinating adventure.

We witness Franny and Jet's last day together, which reads like an emotional tribute to their past lives, and all that they've shared. Meanwhile, the lives of Sally and Gillian, the nieces they've raised, are examined and contrasted. Finally, we get a look into the lives of Franny and Jet's granddaughters, Antonia and Kylie. And yes, Vincent makes another appearance.

In the early part of this book, Kylie's story is the most prominent, because she is in love--and afraid of the family curse, which her mother Sally will not talk to her about. Actually, Sally has hidden everything to do with magic from her daughter.

It is Kylie's actions that set the main plot moving, and I thought this took a bit too long. When she starts to explore the origins of the curse in England, the action does become more intense, though it is periodically interrupted with her sister Antonia's life, which to me seemed to be a tangent that slowed down the story's pace.

The most engaging part of this novel is when Kylie's concerned family track her down in England. This is an adventure that unites Franny, Vincent, Sally, and Gillian. In my opinion, this is the essence of what is enjoyable about these books: the interaction between these family members, the way they solve problems, and their loyalty to one another. The family history is also captivating.

Along the way, there are many backstories. They are enjoyable reads, but sometimes they are too wordy, when there is, after all, an urgent crisis at hand. That said, some backstory is needed, especially in the case of Sally's new love interest, since this becomes part of the plot as well.

The ending, which is protracted, put me in mind of a fairy tale in which everyone is beautiful, falls in love at first sight, and lives happily ever after.

Overall, this was a charming read. I'd recommend it to anyone who has enjoyed the other books in this series.

Many thanks to Netgalley and Simon & Schuster for this fun experience!

This is a historical fiction novel which is part family saga, part gangster story, taking place in the early 1960s. The protagonist is Ray Carney, a man who is smart in every sense of the word. He's got common sense, street smarts, and a business degree. He's a man who is struggling to make a life for himself and for his family, and does not want to follow in his father's footsteps. Big Mike, as they called him, was part of Harlem's criminal underworld. And yet, this world has its hooks in Ray. He pays both a cop and a gangster protection money, and this is a dance that many step to, and keeps a part of the city's hierarchy intact.

Sure, Ray Carney is a bit crooked. He was raised on ill-gotten money and goods, and the seed money for his furniture business came from his father. And he does some fencing, as in not checking the provenance of certain items that he sells. But, he's keeping a low profile, just staying on the outskirts of all the craziness. Until, that is, his cousin Freddie gets in on a dangerous scheme, and drops Ray's name. Whether Ray likes it or not, he's involved in a certain heist.

As children, Freddie and Ray were very close, growing up like brothers, and Freddie always had a knack for getting them both in trouble. Unfortunately, he's at it again, but this time, it's serious, life-threatening trouble.

Part of the historical backdrop of this story was the Harlem race riots of 1964, when a black teenager was senselessly shot and killed by an off-duty police officer. The adults in Ray Carney's world are older, and have different viewpoints and attitudes about what is going on around them. The protesting is mostly younger people, believing in and fighting for change. During these years, a lot of change takes place in Ray's life and in the city's life, too.

The different sides of New York City in this novel were intriguing. One person's Harlem is not another person's, like one of those optical illusion pictures that can be viewed as different objects, depending on how one looks. Also, the characters that populate these different worlds are colorful and interesting. There was also the humor! Even when Ray is in a deadly situation, he might have home furnishings on his mind, for example, noticing that these crooks are standing on a certain brand of carpet that will prevent stains. Convenient.

I thoroughly enjoyed this latest novel by Colson Whitehead, and many thanks to Netgalley and Doubleday books for this wonderful opportunity.

There is an ancient, mysterious Greek tale, written by Antonius Diogenes. Mysterious, because it was lost, and then some of it has been obliterated with damage and time. Five people, in three different time periods separated by centures, read and bring their own meanings to this tale.

This novel leads us into the lives of Anna, Omeir, Zeno, Seymour, and Konstance, who each have compelling stories of their own. The way the narrative switches back and forth between stories, letting the reader notice the connections, is brilliant and compelling. This ancient tale captures attention and imagination, allowing people to just enjoy it, to live in the moment.

The themes that run through these stories are beautiful, too. To need hope, to need other people, is to be human. And we are all in this together, and can't give up.

There are so many wonderful details in these stories! Jonathan Doerr writes magically, so that time disappeared while I was reading this. For a time, it was all I needed.

Thank you, Netgalley and Scribner, for gifting me with the opportunity to experience this new book!