New Releases - May 11, 2021

Katherine Parr, the Sixth Wife by Alison Weir
3.5 stars

I found this entire series to be a comfort read.  They are long, easy to read and gossipy accounts of the six wives of Henry VIII written by a historian very familiar with the time period.  I liked this one mostly because out of all the queens, Katherine Parr seemed the one with the most common sense in her relationship to the king and other royals and Weir does a good job of bringing his last queen to life.  Many thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing for a complimentary digital ARC.  

brat: an 80's story by Andrew McCarthy

4 stars

The brat pack movies were about a decade before my time so I don't quite have the nostalgia for them that some people do, but I still found this book completely entertaining and absorbing.  Andrew McCarthy is a good writer and his self awareness of his detachment from the people and the scene of the eighties is interesting to read about.  I received a digital ARC of this book through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.  

Heartwood: the Art of Living with the End in Mind by Barbara Becker

4.5 stars

In 2019, we lost three close family members to tragic deaths.  Following closely behind that year, of course, was the beginning of the pandemic and it felt like death was greatly on my mind.  This book was a therapeutic read.  The author talks about her own losses along with her time volunteering on the Hospice floor of a hospital.  She discusses different philosophy and beliefs on dying and coming to accept that all life ends in death.  This was written in a peaceful and soft way (I don't know how else to describe it) and reinforces the notion that everyone will die, and it is our acceptance of that fact that makes life and love all that much more worthwhile. I received a digital ARC of this book through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. 

Word for Word: A Writer's Life by Laurie Lisle
4 stars

The best memoirs are written by those old enough to be able to thoughtfully look back and examine their life.  Laurie Lisle is a distinguished writer in her seventies who explores the writing life of her earlier years and what it means to be a writer when married or when considering whether or not to have children.  This is a beautifully written, if slow, book about writing biographies and memoir and the ways her life has evolved in order to embrace the writing life.  I received a digital ARC of this book through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.  

New Girl in Little Cove by Damhnait Monaghan
4 stars

Rachel went through several bad events that caused her to leave Toronto and accept a teaching position in a small village Newfoundland.  This book is filled with lovely and unforgettable characters and lots of pure coziness.  It also sent me down a rabbit hole of pictures and information about Newfoundland, its history, its dialect and its beautiful setting.  This book was a fantastic escape.  I received a digital ARC of this book through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. 

The Plot by Jean Hanff Korelitz
3.5 stars

Jake is a writer with one quasi-successful book and a career in a downward trajectory.  While teaching at a low-residency MFA program in Vermont, he meets with a student who has the plot for a book that seems like a certain bestseller.  When that student dies, Jake decides to use the plot for a book of his own that sets off a chain of events that spurs the action forward.  I did guess the ending (in a way) but that didn't take away from book as I was curious how it would all play out.  Jake is not the most endearing main character, but his actions did make for an entertaining read.  I'm not a huge fan of thriller's but I did enjoy this one.  I received a digital ARC of this book through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.