Monday Mini-Reviews: It's Not All Historical Fiction

 This week wasn't full of reading as I'd hoped, but what I am reading is so good.  I really haven't picked up  a horrible book (knock on wood) in a very long time.  

Here are the two I devoured this past week:

The Daughters of Erietown by Connie Schultz is an underrated gem.  I had a hard time describing this one to friends but I loved every last page of it.  Schultz tells the story of Ellie and Brick who are high school sweethearts when the novel begins. The novel traces their lives: their shotgun wedding that derails their post-high school plans, the birth of children, struggles in their marriage, and secrets that eventually are exposed.  This family feels like most families to me. I also loved the way Schultz was able to create the various time periods in this novel. I loved the nostalgic look back at different decades from the clothing, cars, and mentions of tv shows, I loved this aspect of the book.  

The Good Sister by Sally Hepworth - I love Hepworth's books and this is another great one addition to her body of work.  I picked this one up on Saturday afternoon and had it finished up on Sunday morning.  Fern and Rose are twin sisters, and Rose has always taken care of Fern. Fern has some sensory processing issues that make certain situations difficult, but overall she is happy with her life working at the public library. Readers get to know Rose through journal entries she writes about her childhood.  And when Fern discovers that Rose wants a baby but can't get pregnant, she decides to find a way to get pregnant and have a baby for her sister.  Except Rose is perhaps not as nice to Fern as she pretends she is.  There is some psychological thriller-ish suspense in this one and I turned pages rather quickly to find out the resolution.

I started Early Morning Riser by Katherine Heany, hoping I would get it done yesterday as well, but the weather was beautiful and I went for a long walk with a friend, so I am hoping to return to some reading tonight since the weather looks downright frigid.  

Happy Monday, everyone!