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#56. ASHES OF FIERY WEATHER by Kathleen Donohoe
★★★☆☆
This book is a multi-generational story from the point-of-view of the matriarchs of an Irish-American family. Firefighting is a common link through the generations and the family suffers through heartache, betrayal and family drama. I found this one well-written, but the flow of narrators and timelines was hard to follow. Thank goodness for the family tree in the front! Solid three stars, although I wish Catholicism had been portrayed in a more positive light.
#57. PROMISE by Minrose Gwin
★★★☆☆
From the author’s note: “A few minutes after 9 P.M. on Palm Sunday, April 5, 1936, a massive funnel cloud flashing a giant fireball and roaring like a runaway train careened into the thriving cotton-mill town of Tupelo, in northeastern Mississippi. The tornado was measured as an F5, the highest level on the Fujita scale. Winds were estimated at 261 to 318 miles per hour, leveling 48 city blocks, about half the town.” This novel is the fictional account of what happens after this devastating event. I liked this story, but didn’t love it.
#58. FAIR AND TENDER LADIES by Lee Smith
★★★☆☆
For all of a sudden…I said to myself, Ivy, this is your life, this is your real life, and you are living it. Your life is not going to start later. This is it, this is now. It’s funny how a person can be so busy living that they forget this is it. This is my life. (p.195)
Fair and Tender Ladies is an epistolary novel, told through letters from Ivy Rowe to her family and friends and spanning her lifetime. I’d describe this one as melancholy in tone. I felt for Ivy, but also could not understand some of her decisions or her justification of them. Thought provoking, for sure. 3.5 stars.
#59. THE CATHOLIC GUIDE TO MIRACLES: SEPARATING THE AUTHENTIC FROM THE COUNTERFEIT by Adam Blai
★★★★★
This book was so good. A quick, interesting read about everything from the stigmata and incorruptibility, to miraculous healings and Marian apparitions. This is the perfect overview book that can provoke interest in deeper investigation. I really enjoyed it. (P.S. How beautiful is the artwork on the cover? It’s called “Jesus Walking on Water” by Ivan Konstantinovich Aivazovsky and I found a print of it here.)
#60. THE TIMEPIECE AND THE GIRL WHO WENT ASTRAY by O.R. Simmonds
★★☆☆☆
The Timepiece is a mix of history and time travel – a type of genre I don’t think I’ve ever read before! The story is about an American man who is staying in London with his girlfriend. She recommends that he find a unique thrift shop that specializes in various watches of all shapes and sizes. When the shop owner convinces him to buy one particular piece, the adventure and craziness begins. I think this book had a lot of potential, but got bogged down in the particulars. The complex time travel system required a lot of explanation, which slowed the pacing of the storyline. I did appreciate the cliff hanger at the end, which definitely opens this up to becoming a series. All in all, just an okay read for me. (Thank you to Netgalley for the opportunity to read this book. The Timepiece and the Girl Who Went Astray will be published on July 30, 2021!)
