Monday Mini-Reviews: Four Fiction Recommendations

This last week was a good reading week.  Books that have been stacked by my bed for a while have been finished.  (Of course this doesn't really touch the towering piles of books elsewhere that I haven't read yet, but it still feels good to get a few things read).  And I enjoyed everything I read.  Here are the four that I spent the past week enjoying.

 

I Gave My Heart To Know This by Ellen Baker - this one has been on my bookshelf for a decade.  I loved Baker's first book, and this sophomore novel is also one I loved.  This book moves between the 1940s and the present day as one family's secrets are finally exposed.  I liked both time periods, and what I thought was going to be a case of a tragic love story during WWII took many twists and turns and wasn't at all what I expected.  I just wish Baker would have a few more books out that I could pick up and enjoy. 

The Family by Naomi Krupitsky is Jenna Bush Hager's latest Read With Jenna pick.  I loved Mario Puzo's The Godfather years ago when I read it, and this is a little bit like a female version of that book.  Antonia and Sofia's lives have always been intertwined because both are members of The Family where their fathers work.  Initially both girls don't know much about what being in the Family entails, but it becomes an integral part of their lives that they are never able to truly get away from.  I feel like this is one of those books that I'll be thinking about for a long time.

All Her Little Secrets by Wanda M Morris is a perfect legal thriller and I couldn't put this one down once I started reading.  Ellice Littlejohn has spent her whole life trying to hide her past.  When she discovers her boss - who also happens to be her lover- dead in his office instead of sticking around she doesn't want the cops asking questions.  However, her lies do catch up with her - but Ellice discovers that the prestigious law firm where she works is involved in some shady dealings that she wants no part of.  When she realizes that her brother is also somehow involved, Ellice does her best to try and take care of things on her own without involving the police. I found Ellice's decision making skills to be especially frustrating - and yet, I still kind of liked her and could understand that with her past she might not see things like other people do.

The Husbands by Chandler Baker - most of us moms can relate to feeling as though we are doing the heavy lifting when it comes to housework and childcare.  Nora is a successful attorney and mom to a toddler daughter.  Her husband is a good guy, but Nora is often overwhelmed.  When she and her husband begin to look at buying a home in a new neighborhood, she is struck by how successful the other women in the neighborhood are - and how helpful and supportive their husbands are.  There's an undercurrent of suspense as Nora realizes that the perfect neighborhood may have some sinister goings-on occurring. I loved Baker's twist to this story and am hoping I can discuss it with someone else who has read it. 

I'm not sure if this week's reading can top last week's, but I've started another book already and because it's getting dark so early feel like there is plenty of time each evening to curl up with a good book.