A Splendid Ruin by Megan Chance

 

A Splendid Ruin by Megan Chance
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I struggled to read this book and I am also struggling to write a review that describes how I feel about it. I really enjoy historical fiction, and the backdrop of 1906 San Francisco makes for a compelling story, but there was just something about this book that didn't work well for me. The main character May is likable enough, but the entire first half of the book was constantly foreboding, alluding to some big mystery, it actually got very tiresome. The descriptions of the asylum and her treatment there were so brutal and graphic that I felt uncomfortable just reading it and had to rush through that section. The use of the earthquake as her chance to get free was well done, and here is where the author really shined. Her details of the smoke burning their eyes and lungs, the fear and desperation of people after the quake was realistic and compelling. After enduring everything that May went through, the ending wasn't as satisfying as I had hoped. Overall this book was mixed for me.

The Last Garden in England by Julia Kelly

 

The Last Garden in England by Julia Kelly
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I thoroughly enjoyed this book which follows three different women from three different time periods who all are involved with a very special garden. Each the women face challenges and struggles as they find their own way forward. In 1907 Venetia Smith is hired by the owners of Highbury House estate to design the gardens. Decades later, widow Diana Symonds is dealing with the loss of her husband and her estate has been requisitioned by the government to house a military hospital. She fights to protect her fabulous garden. In present day Emma is hired to restore the gardens, and she searches for information to accurately recreate the gardens, she she begins to uncover secrets that have long lain hidden. This story was beautifully written, with stunning descriptions of the plants in the garden. If you enjoy historical fiction you will definitely enjoy this book

Breakfast at the Honey Creek Café by Jodi Thomas

 

Breakfast at the Honey Creek Café by Jodi Thomas
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

A cute story, Breakfast at Honey Creek Cafe follows three men, well actually two men and one young man, as they find their love and their place in this sweet small town. The mystery of what happened to the Mayor's missing fiancé is the central theme, but the story lacks a clear focus. The missing fiancé is portrayed as a bad guy with no real foundation given. Mostly this is a cute little romance story with stereotypical characters. Read this story if you need a nice escape.

Maybe in Another Life by Taylor Jenkins Reid

Maybe in Another Life by Taylor Jenkins Reid
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I really enjoyed this book and how it looks at the questions of fate versus the choices that we make. Are we truly meant to be with a particular person? Do we really have a soulmate?

The main character Hannah is really likable, and her friendship with Gabby is the kind of friendship that is enviable. The book quickly take a split between two timelines; one based on the decision that Hannah makes to go home with her ex-boyfriend from high school and the other decision where she doesn't and she is critically hurt in a car accident. The book flips between these two timelines, where we get to see the results of Hannah's decisions. While both timelines are played out to a logical conclusion, I felt frustrated not knowing which timeline was actually the one that happened. I preferred the timeline where Hannah winds up with Henry, the nurse who helped care for her. Overall I would recommend this book, it was a fun story and the larger questions that it brings up are also interesting to contemplate.

The Nature of Fragile Things by Susan Meissner

 

The Nature of Fragile Things by Susan Meissner
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

When recent Irish immigrant Sophie agrees to marry the handsome widower that she met through an ad in the paper she thought that she had left all of her problems behind her. She instantly fell in love with Kat, the widowers silent five year old daughter but her new husband Martin remained distant and cool and incredibly secretive, locking his desk every day. Just as Sophie is beginning to see progress in getting Kat to trust her and begin to talk, Sophie answers the door to a strange pregnant woman looking for her husband. She shares information with Sophie that will change everything, and before Sophie and this strange woman can flee and escape the mysterious Martin, the earth begins to move and shake.

With the San Francisco earthquake as a backdrop, this intriguing mystery begins to unravel. I thoroughly enjoyed this book.