Wreckage by Emily Bleeker - 4 stars

Wreckage 
by Emily Bleeker
4/5 stars
⭐⭐⭐⭐



Wreckage is primarily the story of Lily and David, who are marooned on a tropical island.
The author spins an engrossing tale, and this is a story that draws the reader in.

One of my favorite things about this book, (and a pet peeve with many others) is that each chapter is titled so you know who is narrating, and when it takes place. This is so nice, as you don't start reading and wonder who is talking, or when the action is happening. It just helps the reader that much more, and I wish more writers would be aware of it.

The author does such an effective job of painting word pictures, that you can really see, the island, and the setting, and almost taste the overripe mangoes, with juice running down your chin.
You truly get the sense of how the characters change over time, and how their feelings change as well.

There are several plot twists, which I won't spoil, and one big twist at the end, which I did not see coming, and I loved that there were surprises throughout the book. Some of the developments I could see coming a ways off, but the twists I did not, and it was so refreshing to read a book that could actually surprise me. The book is also a great length, long enough to be a juicy read, but not so long as to be off-putting. Dare I say it would be a great beach read?

A fun escapist novel, from an exciting new author, I have heard this is being made into a TV pilot, which is great news because it would be an excellent series/mini-series.

Above the Bay of Angels - culinary hijinks with Queen Victoria

Above the Bay of Angels
by Rhys Bowen
4/5 stars
⭐⭐⭐⭐


Isabella Waverly is out for a rare day off from her life as a servant to a mean mistress and happens upon a woman who has been hit and mortally wounded by a bus. As she comforts the dying woman she thrusts a letter into Bella’s hand. It’s an offer of employment in the kitchens of Buckingham Palace, and everything the budding young chef desperately wants, to escape her current situation. Bella takes a chance and follows her employer to the French Riviera, Nice, which is above the Bay of Angels. 

This is a delightful story, with notes of upstairs-downstairs, Downtown Abbey, and Victoria, all rolled into one. There are villains, family quandaries, amorous friends, and "misunderstandings".

The detailed descriptions of the food and various delicacies cooked by the kitchens for the Queen are so fun to read. 
The author has obviously done a very thorough job of researching the food that was actually served to Queen Victoria and the time she spent at the Hotel Regina Excelsior in Nice. 

The depictions of the characters are very sympathetic, and you find yourself rooting for Bella and for her friends as well. A quick and enjoyable read.
My one quibble is that I thought the title of the book was a bit weak and could have been better. They don't really talk about the bay in the book, and it's just not clear why the title was chosen.
Thanks to NetGalley for an ARC of this book. My opinions are 100% independent and my own.

When Time Stopped - a Holocaust survival story with a twist

When Time Stopped
by Ariana Neumann
3/5 stars
⭐⭐⭐



I wanted to love this book, I really did, but for me, it was just OK.

When time stopped is the story of a daughter living in Venezuela, who, following the death of her father, finds a box with confusing documents. 
Ariana documents her investigation and discovers he once lived under a different name, hiding in plain sight in Hitler's Germany. 

First I do want to say that every testimony and story of Holocaust survival is so important. 
However, just because it is a true story and a story of how this family survived, does not necessarily make it a great book. 
I feel like this book had a lot of potential to be a great, engrossing story, but just did not live up to it's promise for me. 
There were parts of the story that were very moving, but for me, the narrative style was a bit off-putting.  It was all told in a very third person manner, describing what she finds and discovers, and I just never really felt like I was in the middle of the story. I always felt more like an observer. 

This is an impressive story of survival and kudos to Neumann for such thorough research.

The Tiger's Wife - enchanting folk tales

The Tiger's Wife
by Tea Obreht
4/5 stars
⭐⭐⭐⭐


The Tiger's Wife at its heart is the story of Natalia and her grandfather.
Within that construct are several "folk-tale" type stories that the grandfather has told Natalia.
I really enjoyed this book and found that the story drew me in.
I love the story of the deathless man, and how it was woven throughout the book.

I would have liked to have known where exactly the story was supposed to be taking place.
Another review mentioned Belgrade.
I'm not super familiar with eastern European geography,
so it was a bit of a blur to me.
I'm also not sure why the author chose to title this the Tiger's Wife.
Obviously, it's one of the tales, but it was unclear to me why that title.

The bond between Natalia and her grandfather was so sweet, and I would have liked to have heard more about that as well. Overall, a very enjoyable book.

HUG a TREE! The Overstory gets a rare 5 stars from me!

The Overstory
by Richard Powers
5/5 Stars 
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐


I just loved this book! It gets an extremely rare 5 stars from me.
The Overstory is a bit hard to describe but completely entrancing to read.
It starts as a collection of short stories that appear to be unrelated, each with sort of a "love the trees" theme. It morphs into an inter-related story, where the characters from the first bit begin to intersect with each other.

This book made me look at trees in an entirely new way! It made me feel passionately about them. It helps us to understand how endangered the trees and our entire natural world is, without being overly pedantic. (well, maybe a little pedantic) But it's just lovely to read, full of beautiful prose, and painting gorgeous word pictures. It also helps us to understand people who are walking very different life paths from ourselves. I liked it so much I actually bought a copy for someone else as a gift (RARE for me!) Although I would recommend it for anyone who has a love for nature in their soul, or who wants to understand more about it, it is also just a good story!