Calico Palace

 

                                                                         Calico Palace

Author: Gwen Bristow

Publisher: Thomas Y Crowell & Company

Publish Date: 1970

    As a lover of historical novels, I discovered Gwen Bristow at a young age. I have read several of her novels over the years, and this is one of my favorites.

    The year is 1848.  Kendra, age 17,  travels by ship to San Francisco to live with her mother and stepfather.. San Francisco is a small town, but rumors of gold are increasing in frequency, bringing newcomers every day. While living with her mother, Kendra meets Marny, a card dealer just arrived from a gambling house in Honolulu to start a gambling house of her own.

    Kendra also meets and falls in love with Ted Parks, an adventurer just arriving from New York. Together, Ted, Kendra, Marny, and a host of other lovable characters take off for the hills to find gold. The adventures they encounter, and the gold they find, will change the course of their lives and the course of a California town.

    The main reason I love this book is that it is full of action and adventure. Romance, heartbreak, riches and poverty all come together in this page-turner from the past. Don't let the old copyright put you off. This is a great novel.  

    

Becoming Marlow Fin

Becoming Marlow Fin

Author: Ellen Von Steil

Publisher: Lake Union Publishing

Publish Date: July 23, 2024

I received an electronic copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

*NO SPOILERS HERE.

    Wow. This book blew me away. Ellen Von Steil has crafted a tale with so many twists and turns, that you'll never see the end coming. Patrick and Stella Baek are spending the week at their lake cabin, along with their daughter, Isla, and Patrick's mother, known as Moni. A blended Korean-American family, things are pretty much perfect. Except...

    Except Patrick and Stella have begun fighting. Moni tries to shield Isla from their fights as best she can. Isla knows that something is very wrong between them, but she doesn't know why they fight so often.

    Just as their week at the lake is ending, Isla finds a young black girl alone in the woods near the cabin during a violent storm. Covered in dirt and leaves, the child has no memory of how she got there. She only knows that her name is Marlow. The Baeks take in the young girl, eventually adopting her as their own. But it soon becomes evident that Marlow has a dark side.

    At age 17, Marlow is discovered by a modeling agent. She is soon known worldwide as Marlow Fin. Normally very secretive, Marlow decides to grant an interview with one, carefully selected, journalist. The entire world leans in to finally discover....who is Marlow Fin? How did she get to the lake that mysterious night?  What evil acts is she actually capable of?

Told in turns by Isla, Marlow's interview, and a stranger who seems fascinated with the Baeks, this book is well-crafted. Steil is an amazing writer. leading the reader on a wild ride with hairpin turns and an ending the reader will never expect. I highly recommend this book!

Call the Canaries Home

 

Call the Canaries Home

Author: Laura Barrow

Publisher: Lake Union Publishing

Publication Date: July 1, 2023

    Three sisters arrive at the home of their grandmother in Muscadine, Louisiana. They are here to dig up a time capsule they buried 25 years before. Rayanee and Sue Ellen left Louisiana as soon as they were old enough and had no desire to return However their younger sister, Savannah, finally persuades them to keep the promise they made 25 years ago.

    The reunion with their grandmother is strained, at best. Her house is full of painful memories of their mother, now deceased, and of their sister, Georgia. Georgia is Savannah's twin. She disappeared while swimming with her sisters one summer and was never seen again. While going through the time capsule, the girls make a startling discovery in an old photograph. As more questions are asked, a mystery begins to unfold and long-buried secrets are brought to light.

    This book is a real page-turner. The more secrets are revealed, the more twisted the plot becomes. The ending is quite surprising. It was the opposite of what I thought it would be. I highly recommend this book.

The Stroke of Winter

 

The Stroke of Winter

Author: Wendy Webb

Publisher: Lake Union Publishing

Publication Date: November 1, 2022

Once again, Wendy Webb does not disappoint. The reader is at once drawn into the story of Tess, a divorced middle-aged woman who has inherited the home of her grandparents, a large Queen Anne set on an island in Lake Superior. Tess plans to convert the house into a Bed and Breakfast. 

Almost ready for opening, Tess soon begins hearing mysterious noises at night. They seem to be coming from a section of the house that has been sealed off for as long as Tess can remember. She plans to convert this wing into a personal living space to use when guests are staying in the house.

Late one night, a white German Shepherd appears at her back door during a blizzard. Tess takes the mysterious dog into her home, where he immediately becomes her companion and protector. The dog growls at the noises that come from the sealed-off section of the house, frightening Tess even more.

What lurks behind the walled-up wing? Why are people seeing what appears to be a human figure in the unused wing, although there is no way to access the area? 

Tess calls in workers to open the wing and find out, once and for all, what is making the noises and what lies in the rooms that have been sealed off for decades. What they discover unveils a dark family secret kept hidden for years. What lies beyond that wall is so dark that it threatens to ruin all of Tess' dreams for the future.

Perfect reading for a long winter night, you will not be able to put this mystery down. A perfect combination of the supernatural and natural worlds, the novel is sure to please.

The Divorcees

The Divorcees

Author: Rowan Beaird

Publisher: Flatiron Books

Publish Date: June 6, 2023

I received an electronic copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Lois grew up in a loveless home in Chicago. Her father, the wealthy owner of a meat packing industry, had no affection for her whatsoever and was grateful to marry her off to a lawyer. Her mother, having died earlier, was also unloving. Lois felt the marriage might supply her with the love she had always wanted. However, she soon found herself in a loveless marriage as well. In 1951, leaving a marriage on grounds of unhappiness was unheard of. The only way to get a divorce was to go to Reno, Nevada.

Her father, furious at Lois for choosing to divorce her husband, sends her to a Divorce Ranch in Reno for the six weeks needed for the divorce. Run by a woman named Rita, the Golden Yarrow provides a place for women awaiting their divorce in Reno. At the time, divorce was shameful and the women on the Ranch were often in a precarious state. It was thought unacceptable for a woman to live alone. She must stay in a rooming house or live with a roommate. The goal of most of the women, therefore, was to remarry as soon as possible.

Lois doesn't go out at night to the Casinos and Clubs with the others and keeps mainly to herself. She plans to move into a place of her own and has no plans to remarry. This choice, alone, sets her apart from them. She lounges by the pool during the day, which is where she meets a new, mysterious guest at the ranch.

Greer has come to the ranch awaiting her divorce. She has a giant bruise on her face, which the others whisper about. Choosing not to take meals with the others, and not allowing maid service, Greer remains in the shadows of the Golden Yarrow.

One day, while lounging at the pool. Lois meets Greer. The two form a friendship and soon, they are going out with the others to the Casinos. Greer is independent and encourages Lois to follow her dreams. Unlike the others, Greer thinks every woman should follow her own desires and not become merely a man's accessory. 

As Greer begins to have more influence over the others, she and Rita become at odds. Rita sees Greer as a troublemaker. The others see her as a sort of leader, giving them new ideas about life.

But is Greer who she seems to be? What dark past sent her to the Golden Yarrow? When tragedy happens and the others find out the truth, will it be too late?

This story keeps you guessing. I rooted for Lois to the very end. I can not imagine the courage it took her to leave her marriage and search for her own happiness in a world that saw her as nothing but a housewife. A must-read for modern women, this novel is a stark reminder of how far women have come. 

 

Long Gone, Come Home

 

Long Gone, Come Home

Author: Monica Chenault Kilgore

Publisher: Harlequin Trade Publishing

Publish date: June 6, 2023

I received an electronic copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This amazing historical novel begins during the Great Depression when Birdie Jenkins is a young girl working in a tobacco factory. She doesn't dream of a life outside her home of Mt. Sterling Kentucky. Then, she meets Jimmy Walker. Handsome and worldly, Birdie is swept off her feet and marries Jimmy, despite her mother's reservations.

Jimmy is loving and kind, but he suddenly disappears, leaving Birdie to struggle to raise their children on her own. With no explanation for his disappearance, Birdie is forced to move back home to her mother.

One day, Birdie witnesses a brutal murder and is forced to leave town, leaving her children behind. She sets out to find her long-lost Jimmy. Her search takes her to big cities like Chicago where she rubs elbows with both saints and sinners. 

This is a colorful, thought-provoking story of family, love, and one woman's determination to bring her true love home again.

Today I Am Pissed

I am in FB jail for 24 hours. They probably won't allow me to tell this truth I have caught them in. A lot of men are posting that their women should kneel down to them while they are speaking. Funny, I guess, if you never knew someone who had to do it. I guess. If you're into that sort of thing.

My reply- Yes, she should kneel down and grab her iron skillet and whop him over the head. Then, whisper in his ear, "Don't go to sleep. I'll be waiting." This, my friends, will generally stop a man from abusing you. If it doesn't, leave.

Abuse is nothing to joke about. I know women who have been made to do so many demeaning things at the hand of an abusive man. I know women who have been hospitalized. I know a woman who spent the rest of her life hiding in fear of a man that was dead. He was THAT mean. Some men think it's funny when they brag to each other about what they can make their woman do. No women are laughing.

My point- FB took my comment down but thinks the posts about making a woman kneel down while you talk are OK!!!! YES, IT IS OK TO POST ON FB TO MAKE YOUR WOMAN KNEEL DOWN TO YOU BUT NOT OK FOR HER TO DEFEND HERSELF.

This is exactly what is wrong with this country today. We glorify abuse. Defense isn't abuse.

Lastly. men who act like this,, as some of you claim to be Christians., what Bible verse do you use to justify this behavior? FB may not post this, but it is also going on all my social media.

And to the panty-waisted sissy pants that turned me in....I see you. I know what likely goes on behind your door. I hope you get the skillet