February is a favorite time to read since it’s usually the coldest month of the year. It’s the perfect time to curl up on the couch and binge-read anything and everything! Favorite author Rachel Hawkins returns with an inheritance thriller, Heiress, filled with surprises, and Daisy Goodwin returns with a steamy biography about Maria Callas’ love affair with Aristotle Onassis, Diva. For all of us who made healthy New Year’s Resolutions, we have Younger For Life with tips, techniques, and words of encouragement! Enjoy a great month of reading!
What Comes Next by Ramona Kelly | Memoir
What Comes Next by Ramona Kelly
What Comes Next weaves a compelling story of a rich and personal journey through the loss and love of four generations of strong women––her grandmother, her mother, her own two daughters, and herself. These women all survive the tragic loss of their fathers and still shine as a testament to the joy that survival can bring.
“Winner of the Florida Authors and Publishers Association’s Annual Gold President’s Book Award. This award recognizes book publishing excellence and creativity in design, content, and production for authors, illustrators, cover designers, and publishers.”
The Heiress by Rachel Hawkins | Thriller
The Heiress is a twisted gothic suspense about Ruby McTavish, an infamous heiress, and the complicated inheritance she left behind. She’s not only North Carolina’s richest woman, she’s also its most notorious. What really happened to those four husbands, who all died under mysterious circumstances? There are family secrets, and they find an inheritance can entail far more than what’s written in a will. Family bonds of the rich and famous can stretch far beyond the grave.
Younger for Life by Anthony Youn | Lifestyle
Younger for Life by Anthony Youn
Younger For Life offers a step-by-step guide to reversing the effects of aging at any stage in life. The slow decline and loss of functionality have led us to treat aging like a disease. These negative effects of aging are largely the result of environmental and lifestyle factors that, when properly addressed, can be reversed. Innovative tips and techniques show us simple changes to live longer, look better, stay healthier, and feel amazing for life!
Midnight by Amy McCulloch | Suspense
Midnight is a locked-room murder mystery on a ship traveling to Antarctica, and there’s no getting off. When the first bodies are discovered, it’s easy enough to write it off as a terrible accident. But as the situation heats up and the temperatures continue to plummet, all passengers become suspects. The cruise becomes a desperate battle for survival against a killer determined to follow their prey to the ends of the earth. This book gets high marks for its great atmosphere and a really unusual setting.
Diva by Daisy Goodwin | Biographical Fiction
Diva is the story of a scandalous nine-year love affair between Maria Callas, the most celebrated opera singer of all time, and one of the richest men in the world, the Greek shipping magnate Aristotle Onassis. With glamour, celebrity, and heartbreak, Diva is a story of ambition and desire. Maria Callas is a legend because of her art, not her association with a famous man. A film, “Maria,” about the last days of Maria Callas’ life starring Angelina Jolie, will be opening later this year.
Picasso’s Lovers by Jeanne Mackin | Historical Fiction
Picasso’s Lovers by Jeanne Mackin
Picasso’s Lovers is a vivid re-imagination of the women drawn into Pablo Picasso’s charismatic orbit in Antibes in 1923. Thirty years later, a young free-lance journalist finds a surprisingly personal connection to Picasso when reading her mother’s private papers after she had recently died. Research for an art magazine assignment brings the writer to interview three other women who were also Picasso’s lovers at the same time and in the same place. All this leads to further investigation and includes a trip to France to meet and interview Picasso in person.
Olivia Strauss Is Running Out of Time by Angela Brown | Fiction
Olivia Strauss Is Running Out of Time by Angela Brown
Olivia Strauss Is Running Out of Time is a comedy of errors about the problems of aging, loving the now, and living our best lives. She’s funny, reflective, and just trying to make her way through early middle age. On Olivia Strauss’s 39th birthday, her best friend Marian gifts her a test from a new age center in New York City that purports to predict the exact date of one’s death. When Olivia is confronted with her own “expiration date,” she is compelled to stop making excuses and face one life-changing fact: there is always time to start fresh, no matter your age.
In Case You Missed It: Here are Sandy’s Selections from February 2023!
The Mitford Affair by Marie Benedict | Historical Fiction
The Mitford Affair is the story of three sisters from a high-profile British family who become entwined in the politics that triggered WWII. Each chapter alternates between the three sisters, drawing a triangle between their points of view, motivations, and vulnerabilities. Two sisters embrace friendships with Hitler, and the third sister is torn between her country and family.
A Thousand Miles to Graceland by Kristen Mei Chase | Fiction
A Thousand Miles to Graceland highlights the importance of friends, family, and the surprising power of Elvis. A daughter grants her mother’s seventieth birthday wish of a road trip from El Paso to Graceland, and they rent a purple convertible and make several stops along the way. The daughter goes on the trip to escape her life but actually finds a new life instead.
The Villa by Rachel Hawkins | Mystery/Thriller
The Villa is the story of a luxurious estate in Italy told in dual timelines: 1974 and fifty years later. History repeats itself as the women in both stories struggle with boyfriends and husbands to be heard as partners and artists. We see the complexity of female friendships and the toll that the act of creating art can take on those who are making it.
Spare by Prince Harry | Memoir
Harry wrote SPARE to tell his side of the story, and excessive abuses by the British press and resentment are the major themes in the book. There are chapters of his early life and the relationships with his parents and brother and their misunderstandings. The most enjoyable part of the book is his courtship, marriage, and life with his wife, Meghan, and two children.
Good for a Girl by Laura Fleshman | Sports
Good for a Girl is more than a great running memoir. It’s a must-read for anyone who loves running, for anyone who has a daughter, and for anyone who cares about creating a better future for young women. It’s a remarkably candid tale of self-doubt and self-belief, entrepreneurship, family, competition, and female physiology.
I Am the Storm by Janice Dean | Nonfiction
I Am the Storm tells the story of bringing Andrew Cuomo to justice for transferring COVID patients to nursing homes, which led to the unnecessary deaths of thousands of people. The book goes on to include stories of 17 others who stood like David against Goliath, choosing to fight for what was right.
Just the Nicest Couple by Mary Kubica | Mystery/Thriller
A husband’s disappearance in Just the Nicest Couple links two couples in this dark and twisted thriller. Each couple shows what lengths people will go when they feel scared and worried. As the story unfolds, it demonstrates how even the deepest secrets will always find a way to the surface for a shocking and satisfying ending.
In Case You Missed It: Here are Sandy’s 10 Must-Read books from 2018!
The Woman in the Window by A. J. Finn
Mystery/Thriller
#1 NYT Fiction Best Seller
A psychologist with a severe case of agoraphobia witnesses a murder through her window but cannot see the killer. Excellent writing style and a brilliant plot. A tale of love, loss, and madness that will keep the reader guessing to the last page. A great read! Movie rights sold to FOX Pictures.
Manderley Forever: A Biography of Daphne du Maurier by Tatiana de Rosnay
Biography
author of Sarah’s Key
Manderley Forever tells about the fascinating life of the famous author Daphne du Maurier. Learn what is happening in du Maurier’s life as she develops storylines and characters that will become part of her books. Written more like a novel than Nonfiction, it inspires reading du Mauier’s great books.
Manhattan Beach by Jennifer Egan
Historical Fiction
Best Book of 2017 by NPR
Brooklyn dockyard jobs go to women during WWII, from welding to the first female underwater diver. Egan weaves an intriguing story of romance, underworld gangsters, and family complications that occur when the father disappears. Well written with a sophisticated style.
Pachinko by Min Jin Lee
Multi-generational Saga
National Book Award Finalist
Story of family love, sacrifice, ambition, and loyalty. Complex, passionate characters are strong, stubborn women, devoted sisters, and sons who survive and thrive. A powerful tone of hope and courage stays with the reader long after the book is finished. Very inspirational.
Into the Water by Paula Hawkins
Mystery/Thriller
author of Girl on the Train
“Troublesome” women had been drowning in the river since 1679. A believable narrative is told from many viewpoints, with a different character featured in each chapter. The book’s various twists and turns constantly keep the reader off balance. The ending is perfect.
The Tea Girl from Hummingbird Lane by Lisa See
Family Saga
NYT Fiction Best Seller
This gentle, thoughtful, and thought-provoking book tells the history and culture of farming rare Chinese tea. It’s a story of the strength of mother-daughter connections, even though they are separated by circumstance, culture, and distance. The ending intentionally allows readers to choose the direction of the continuing story.
Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng
Dysfunctional Family Saga
NYT Best Seller
Set in the Suburban Middle American Utopia of the 1990s, the novel is about class, race, family, and the dangers of the status quo. The story unravels hidden motivations, lies, and secrets that are revealing but also shocking! Character development brings the book to life. Ng’s debut novel was also very good.
A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles (My 2017 personal favorite)
Historical Fiction
A charming novel that is worth savoring, and I loved the philosophy and plot full of old-world elegance. The storytelling is brilliant, with writing and prose that are beautiful. It’s filled with such unforgettable characters that I wished the story would go on forever, and it was an excellent audiobook.
Behind Closed Doors by B. A. Paris
Domestic Thriller
NYT Fiction Best Seller
A woman’s dream husband becomes her worst abusive nightmare. Chapter headings alternate” Past” or “Present,” which keeps the reader just on the edge of understanding the narrative. The two viewpoints gradually come together into a very gratifying conclusion. A real page-turner!
Women in the Castle by Jessica Shattuck
Historical Fiction
NYT Fiction Best Seller
Following the defeat of Germany, the widows of three conspirators involved in the assassination attempt on Hitler band together to protect both their children and each other. Their relationships become ever more complex and are sometimes heartbreaking. It shows an entirely new side of what it is like to be a woman in wartime—a well-written, captivating story.
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