Book Review - The Cartoonists Club by Raina Telgemeier and Scott McCloud

 

The Cartoonists Club by Raina Telgemeier and Scott McCloud is about a group of kids bonding over their love for comics. Makayla has tons of great ideas, but she struggles to put her ideas into a story. Howard loves drawing but he struggles to come up with ideas. His dad also thinks that comics are a waste of time and wants him to focus on other things.  Lynda loves drawing but she focuses on her mistakes and spends a lot of her time making sure everything is perfect. Art loves being creative and trying new things. The four students come together to learn how to make comics, using their imagination and create their comic adventures.

The graphic novel was a quick and fun read. I liked that it was both educational and fun. It was interesting learning details about comics like different drawing styles, how they are made, and other fun facts while reading about the students’ experiences with creating their masterpieces. I liked that the back of the book goes into more detail about the inspiration for the characters and educational tips. I also liked the personal stories from the authors and thought those added a bit of a heartwarming aspect to this lovely comic about friendships.

Book Review - All That Is Hidden by Rhys Bowen

 

All That Is Hidden by Rhys Bowen is about a husband and wife who try to solve the murder of a man who is accused of being corrupted. In 1907, New York, Molly Murphy Sullivan used to be a private detective. She is now content being married to her husband, Daniel, who is a police captain. They live in a small but beautiful home in Patchin Place in the West Village, which is close to her beloved friends. She is also the mother to a happy and energetic toddler, Liam, and adopted daughter, Bridie. Molly feels that she has a good life and her marriage to Daniel works well because they have a partnership where they trust and believe in each other.

On a family walk one day, Daniel surprises Molly by telling her that they will be moving into one of the fancy homes on Fifth Avenue. He also said that he is leaving his police captain job and running to be sheriff of New York. Molly is flabbergasted because she never knew of such a position, and the political party that Daniel is running for is filled with corruption and members taking kickbacks. She knows Daniel is against corruption and has fought tooth and nail to make people accountable. Daniel tells her to trust him, but Molly is unsure of how to feel with their new change of circumstances.

The novel is part of a series, but I was able to follow along and read it. There were some character nuances that I might have missed but it didn’t take away from the story. The book is a cozy mystery read. There would be pages where we would learn about Molly running her household instead of learning more about the mystery. I felt like she didn’t do much, but instead things fell into her lap. I also felt that the series is named after Molly, but she seemed to take a backseat approach to the investigation. The book felt boring to me and I thought that the book didn’t need to be as long as it was. I felt that the ending was a bit rushed and could have been more intricate and had more flair. While I did finish the book, I don’t think I would continue reading the series as there are a lot more interesting murder mysteries out there.

Book Review - The Hellion and the Hero by Emily Sullivan

 

The Hellion and the Hero by Emily Sullivan is about two lovers who cross paths again. Lady Georgiana “Georgie” Arlington always puts the needs of her family before hers. She married a man that she didn’t love so she could save her family from financial ruin. After her husband’s death, Georgie feels stronger and bolder and decides to live her life as she really wants. She decides to run her family’s factory in a way which benefits the workers instead of the owners. Because of her bold plans, Georgie finds herself a target.  Georgie doesn’t want to bend to the threats but she starts to fear for her life when the threats escalate. Her family is desperate to find the culprit behind the threats. They reach out to the one man who left Georgie heartbroken years ago.

Captain Henry Harris met Georgie years ago when she was courting during her season. She was looking to find someone to help her family, and Henry was looking for someone who had money. After their brief encounter fizzled, Henry left the season and went on to become a decorated naval hero. He has no problem finding someone to marry but he still feels a pull and an attraction to Georgie. When Henry gets hired by Georgie’s family, he is torn by wanting to be a professional or following his heart.

The novel is a straightforward romantic read with some spicy parts. The book mostly focuses on their romance, and the mystery behind the threats is on the back burner. There were parts where the story moved very slowly and the pair was going back and forth following their desires. I thought the book was an okay read and I would be open to read more books by the author as I do find the book title to be fun.

Book Review - Punished by Ann-Helén Laestadius

 

Punished by Ann-Helén Laestadius is about five Sami indigenous children being forced to attend a government-run boarding school. In the 1950s in Sweden, there was a mandate that all the children of Sami reindeer hunters had to attend these re-education nomads boarding schools. Seven-year-olds Jon-Ante, Else-Maj, Nilsa, Marge, and Anne-Risten are attending the school together for the first time.

The children are forbidden to speak their native language and encouraged to learn Swedish norms and culture. They can only visit their families occasionally for some holidays. Their parents are not aware of the abuse the children face. The ones that do speak up, face repercussions that leave scars that are not just skin deep and they have lasting effects.

Thirty years later, the children have chosen different paths after spending their youth at the nomad school. Else-Maj is proud of her Sami heritage but she seeks solace in religion. Anne-Risten prefers to go by Anne to hide that she is Sami. Nilsa is a reindeer herder like his father and has a lot of anger issues like his grandfather. Jon-Ante struggles with a deformity he had received in school. Marge has an adopted daughter from Colombia, and she struggles to know if she made the right choice of taking her from her homeland.

While the five adults are still struggling with the past, they come across the housemother, Rita, from the nomad school. They had once feared her as children and she made their lives miserable. However, she is now a frail old woman who believes that God is on her side. She thinks that she didn’t do anything wrong when she was the housemother. They have never forgotten or forgiven her and now, they will need to decide how they act now that the roles have been reversed.

The novel is told from alternating narrators and time periods. The novel started off interesting but then it felt boring. It was interesting to see how the children were treated and how that affected them as adults. However, the re-emergence of Rita in their lives was a very small part of the story. I thought some of the characters would have more interaction or there would be dialogue/story about them coping with their feelings of seeing Rita again after thirty years.

I think I would have enjoyed the book if there were fewer characters. It was hard focusing on the many different characters along with their past, and present, and how they were connected. I felt like if there were fewer characters we could have connected more to the characters and their struggles. I would be open to reading more stories about Sami culture and people but I would be hesitant to pick up another book by the author.

Book Review - Meet Me at the Lake by Carley Fortune

 

 

 

Meet Me at the Lake by Carley Fortune is about two past lovers who cross paths with each other in the future. Fern Brookbanks had spent twenty-four hours with Will Baxter in her early twenties. He was an attractive and idealistic artist. Their chance encounter ended up spiraling into spending the entire day together in the city. The pair found themselves attracted to each other and spent every moment of the day sharing their inner thoughts. The timing at that point wasn’t the best, so they decided that they would meet up with each other one year later. Fern was excited and was counting down the days and couldn’t wait to see Will after a year of being apart. Unfortunately, Will never showed up.

Fern is now thirty-two and she is tired of wasting her time thinking of Will and what could have happened if he had shown up years earlier for their fated meeting. Fern’s life didn’t turn out as she thought it would. She was hoping to be living in the city, but instead she is running her mother’s lakeside resort. It was the one thing she never wanted to do. As she takes the helm, she realizes the entire place is in chaos.  Adding to her stress, her ex-boyfriend is the manager of the resort. Fern has no idea where she should begin.

Fern needs help getting the resort and her life sorted. However, she is surprised when Will shows up to the resort one day with a plan to help her. Fern is annoyed and wants nothing to do with Will as he is nine years too late for reconciliation.  Will Fern and Will be able to work through their past to save Fern’s resort?

The book was an okay read. It didn’t have any unexpected twists, and it was a straightforward read. The book is a cute romantic read even though I found it to be mushy at times. It plays to readers who are  into the love torn lovers trope.  I was not a big fan of the characters and thought the storyline was a bit unbelievable:Fern and Will spent one night together, and even though it was the best they ever had, it seems that they both never moved on even after all those years apart without any communication. It doesn’t even seem like they wanted to be together until they were thrown together. I am on the fence about if I would read another one of this author’s books.