This is a great followup to the first book in the Kinship series: The Widows. It‘s an interesting historical mystery with strong women characters.

I picked up this book at the 2019 #Ohioanabookfestival after listening to a panel that included Ms. Loewenstein. The setting was so unusual, that I had to read it! It was beautifully written and I felt like I could feel the dirt and dust on my skin. I hope more people pick up this great historical mystery set in 1930s Oklahoma.

Just finished this great book about more unsung women heroes. This is geared to young adults, so it's a fairly quick read. It's amazing that these women survived.

I got to see Nguyen speak last week and he was great! I was only a few chapters into The Sympathizer, so hearing him talk about it gave me the motivation to finish it. This one was a really tough read for me. It's definitely way outside my normal reading, but I'm very glad I read it. I will be thinking about this book for a long time. 🤔
#LRC14 #2016awardwinner #LitsyReadingChallenge

I see what you did there! What a fun way to do a shout out to your author friends!
This was a very enjoyable book. Vander, the hero, was super alpha and Mia, the heroine, was an author. A story within a story and Vander trying to figure out how to be a hero from one of Mia's books.
#romantsy #historicalromance
#LetterJ for #LitsyAtoZ

Had a great time today listening to Eloisa James giving advice to the Central Ohio Fiction Writers Group! She's one of my favorite romance authors, so really enjoyed finally getting to meet her.
Thank you, Eloisa, for spending time wth us today!
#romantsy #historicalromance

Another excellent Maisie Dobbs novel! This one is a murder mystery set at the beginning of WWII. It's heartbreaking to see Maisie and her "family" having to deal with the onset of another war. I feel so connected to all these characters! The only thing I don't like is that I have to wait another year for the next installment.
#LetterW for #womenauthors #LitsyAtoZ #historicalfiction

This is a wonderful book! It's also my first Goodreads Giveaway prize! Reading about these German women during and after WWII really made me think about what I would have done if I were in their place. The setting was very unique to me. I read lots of #historicalfiction, but haven't read anything quite like this. Once I started, it was hard to put down! 👍👍👍👍👍
#LetterS #LitsyAtoZ

Finally got around to reading this. I wish I hadn't waited so long. It was a really good mystery that had me guessing until the very end. Inspector Ian Rutledge is also an interesting character, so I'll definitely be reading more in this series!
This one has been on my Nook for ages, so it's an obvious choice for #LRC21 #TBRnomore for the #LitsyReadingChallenge!

This is book #2 in the Knickerbocker Club series. I didn't like this one quite as much as the first one. The heroine, Ava, was interesting, but I didn't care much for Will. I did really enjoy the setting of the gilded age in NYC. #romantsy #historicalromance
#LetterS #womenauthors #LitsyAtoZ

Grippando is a "new to me" author. This is his first book and first in a series. Jack Swyteck is a criminal defense attorney who gets indicted for the murder of his last client. I thought this was a good, suspenseful, crime and courtroom drama. I'm looking forward to seeing Grippando speak next week, so I'll probably pick up another one of his books!
#LetterG #LitsyAtoZ

I missed doing January stats, so here's February YTD. I'm trying not to duplicate on the challenges, so I feel like I'm making good progress, especially since these my first ever reading challenges! It's been a great two months of reading. I'm really enjoying rereading the Harry Potter books for #hpchapteraday! #LitsyAtoZ #LitsyReadingChallenge

My first SEP novel and I really enjoyed it! I really liked the heroine, Piper. Now it looks like I'll have to go back to the beginning of this series, because it seems like all the heroines are very unique. #romantsy
#LetterP for my #womenauthors #LitsyAtoZ

I loved this book! Pandora is my new favorite romance heroine! Gabriel was pretty wonderful, too, as this quote from his mother shows. It's one of my favorite in the book. #romantsy #historicalromance
#LetterK for #LitsyAtoZ

This book was great! It's very well researched #historicalfiction and is written from "Patsy" Jefferson's perspective. I thought the authors did a wonderful job of taking their research and writing about what life in the Jefferson household might have been like. A lot of the story is about the relationship between Sally Hemings and Patsy, which I found fascinating. #womenauthors
#LRC13 #historicalevent #LitsyReadingChallenge

I'm having a hard time sticking to just one chapter at a time! On this record high day in Ohio, I finished book 3. I'm not sure I've ever been able to sit outside and read on Feb. 23, so I'm enjoying it while I can!
#hpchapteraday

This book was ok. I was disappointed I didn't enjoy it more, because it had many elements that I like, especially the strong female characters. At some point, I will try the next in the series. I thought Donati's The Gilded Hour was much more interesting. On a fun note, I was so excited this morning to collect Jeeves and Sapphire in my kitten collector game! 😻😻
#LRC8 #over400pages #LitsyReadingChallenge #historicalfiction

I'm hopeful that this thought from Mary Jackson remains true! This is just one of many passages I highlighted, because the book is filled with great information. So much more detail than the movie, which I also enjoyed. This is one case where I'm glad I saw the movie first. The movie is definitely historical fiction. The book does a great job of highlighting each of the African-American women's achievements.
#LRC3 #womanofcolorauthor

This is Kline's first novel. I picked this up, because I wanted to read something else by her after reading Orphan Train. This book was interesting, but I didn't like it as much as Orphan Train. I almost went with a "so-so" rating, but it did pull me in and I wanted to understand the grandmother. The epigraph tells you a lot about the story.
This is #LetterK for my #womenauthors #LitsyAtoZ challenge.

Another lovely book by Eloisa James! I loved the conversations between Eugenia and Ward. I had a good chuckle over this particular one. I adored the kids, too! I hope that Lizzie, especially, gets her own book in the future.
#romantsy #historicalromance
#LetterJ for #womenauthors #LitsyAtoZ

This book gave me lots of "food for thought". This family will stay with me for awhile. Ng did an excellent job with the characters and I liked seeing things from each person's perspective.
This book is checking off #LRC12 #setin1970s for my #LitsyReadingChallenge.
#womenauthors

This is one of the first conversations between Augusta and Ian and I was hooked! I also enjoyed the secondary romances. It was also fun that the MacGregors' estate was next to Balmoral, so Prince Albert makes an appearance. This is a scorching hot 🔥romance! #historicalromance #romantsy
I'll probably have quite a few books that fit this bingo square, but it's the first of the year! #LRC23 #over150yearsago

Wow! This was a great page-turner! I couldn't put it down once I started. It's written from Lianna's perspective and I felt like I was in her head. The entries between chapters add a bit of mystery and also help explain parasomnia. Thank you #chrisbojalian for a wonderful book and adding to my TBR pile, since I've now added more of your books to it!!
#LetterB #LitsyAtoZ

This is book 2 in The Kingmaker Chronicles. I liked it even more than book 1. This is a great story that uses Greek Mythology, which is like catnip for me! Very well done #romantsy fantasy!
This is #LetterB for my #womenauthors #LitsyAtoZ challenge.

Very lovely book! I really like Hazel Gaynor's work. This one is primarily about a girl named Dolly, who has dreams of being more than a maid. Set in the 1920's and explores the impact of WWI on Dolly and others. #historicalfiction #womenauthors

I'm using this book to complete #LRC2 #girlstitle for the #LitsyReadingChallenge

The next best thing to reading is getting to meet the authors and hear them talk about their books! If you're in the Columbus, OH area, you should check out the Thurber House Evenings With Authors series. I'd love to see other Littens there!

Here's the link http://www.thurberhouse.org/evenings-with-authors/.

This was a wonderful book! I don't know why it took me so long to get around to reading it. I felt so attached to the characters. This was one of my favorite lines from the book. #booksonbooks #historicalfiction #romantsy #womenauthors #epistolary

This checks off my box for #LRC10 #multiplePOVs for the #LitsyReadingChallenge

For all the people talking about this in an earlier post today! I'm dating myself and showing what a packrat I am. I knew I had one of these books. The date on this is May 1971.

Wow! This was a great book! I grew up watching the original Star Trek and there were times that this book reminded me of a particular episode. I also thought of Sherlock's "mind palace" and Dr. Who's Tardis!
This is my #letterC book for one of my #LitsyAtoZ challenges.

This was a great book to start my #womenauthors #LitsyAtoZ challenge (#LetterM). I thought all the profiles were very interesting. There's also a good bibliography. In addition to the main 25 women in the title, Maggs also includes a few additional women at the end of each chapter. One of these was Ruth Wakefield, who created the Toll House chocolate chip cookie! 🍪🍪🍪🍪

Getting excited! (Don't tell anyone, but I think I'm going to start reading tonight.) 😉

#hpchapteraday

First book of the new year! Thank you Littens for telling me about Chris Bohjalian. This was an excellent book. I knew nothing about the Armenian genocide. One of my big takeaways is the discussion about the use of "you people". It's so important to remember, especially now, that we can't make broad assumptions about groups of people. Reading helps remind us of that.
#lrc22 #LitsyReadingChallenge

Finally posting my #bookishresolutions. ? Since I read over 100 books last year, I'm going to try and not duplicate books in the challenges. ? I'm also going to try doing two #LitsyAtoZ challenges, with one being all women authors. We'll see how the plan works out! #hpchapteraday, #litsyreadingchallenge. ??
I'm currently reading The Sandcastle Girls and it will be my "recommended by" book based on Litsy recommendations!

Happy New Year Littens! 🥂 🍾 I love these lines from the song Unwritten by Natasha Bedingfield and they seem very appropriate for a new year of book reading! 📚📖💕

Wow! I've never measured my reading in pages! Thanks to Litsy, I'm also using Goodreads more. Of course, I still have my spreadsheet! For this post, I thought I'd give some love to the least popular thing I read, which just happens to have art by my nephew (Giannis Milonogiannis). I'm looking forward to more great recommendations for 2017 from all you Littens! 📚💕📚

This was a wonderful #historicalromance. It's only the second book by Romain that I've read. I need to read more, because I really enjoyed her storytelling! #romantsy

I've been waffling between "pick" and "so-so". I liked the Shupe and Thorland stories. The other stories were ok, but the editing in one of those was bad and very annoying. Unfortunately, that's what I'll end up remembering about this book. ? #romantsy

Christmas books! Plus a new charm, which is perfect! 📚💕🤓

Book presents before wrapping! Giving my MIL The Winter Sea for her birthday, hoping to create a new Susanna Kearsley fan! Hubby is getting The Lion in the Living Room, so I can read it. 😻

I was intrigued from the moment that Kate was described as, heaven forbid, a "reader"! It's set in 19th century London where Kate, an alchemist, helps Simon, a magician, battle werewolves and a mad scientist. There's another female character, who creates weapons for them to use. I'm rating this a pick, because I enjoyed the interesting women characters. I'll read the next book in the series, but it's not high on my TBR list.

The end of the year has me catching up on my romances! I may have picked this one because of the cover. 😉. Another good one from Burrowes, with a strong heroine. It was just what I needed on this gloomy day. #romantsy #historicalromance

This was a wonderful holiday romance! A hero nicknamed Turnip, the heroine's best friend is Jane Austen, Christmas puddings, and spies! I really must go back and read the entire Pink Carnation series. #romantsy #pinkcarnation

I read this based on a recommendation from a friend. I don't read a lot of science fiction, but this one pulled me into the world of The Expanse. I especially liked the camaraderie of Holden and his crew. I'll have to watch the tv show and see if they were able to capture that. Detective Miller was also a great character and I liked how the book went back and forth between Miller and Holden's POV.

From the first two lines of this book, I was hooked! My only complaint is that this was the last book in the trilogy. I would love to read more, especially about some of the secondary characters.

Sugar is enjoying her December napping spot while I'm reading. I'm about half way through this book and getting anxious about how things are going to work out for Diana and Matthew. #catsoflitsty

This is for @EloisaJames ! This is the dining room table at No. 1 Royal Crescent in Bath. The docent was telling us about how people would rent pineapples! I told her that I knew that, because of this book. Their gift shop had these adorable pineapple earrings, which I had to get! I love the cool thing things you learn in books! #romantsy

My Nook ebook haul over the last few days! There have been some great deals!

I had planned to read more non-fiction this month, but I needed romance and fantasy to get me through November! Of course, the one non-fiction that I read was my favorite book of the month.

One of my favorite parts of the book was this description of Dr. Dee's library! It has been a few years since I read A Discovery of Witches, so I had a little trouble getting into this at first. I flew through the last half and I'm moving on to the finale, The Book of Life.

Not my normal reading, but I have to read the comics my nephew illustrates. I'm so proud of him! On to my lunch time reading!