Read book 2 times through.

3.5 stars. I feel torn about this book. It had a strong start introducing the brainy healer FMC and the MMC assassin who begrudgingly turns to her for a cure to an illness that is slowly sealing his fate in death. The premise has so much promise! I felt like the chemistry was under-delivered and the overarching plot felt rather underwhelming to me. I wanted more adventure and magic but instead there were brothels and boredom. I think I’ll skip future books in this romantasy series.

After the recommendation of a friend in my memoir writing group, I listened to this audiobook on Spotify. The entire book revolves around the relationship between the author and the young leveret she rescues. Against all odds, the wild hare survives. Chloe Dalton’s meditation on the experience, animal behavior and the impact of humans is moving. Her writing is beautifully descriptive and tender. The book feels timeless in many ways. While listening to Louise Brealey’s narration, I felt calm and free of distraction/outside noise. The book tugs at your heart, gives you hope, and is bittersweet in its honesty. This was lovely!

Hard to get through with the repetitive descriptive language but the plot was good.

Good historical book .

This book is good with not too much horror and lots of fun and suspense

Helen Cartwright, 83 y/o, has returned to her family home in a small village in England after 60 years in Australia to die. Not that she has a diagnosis beyond being old. She has been back for 3 years, but returned still actively grieving the abrupt loss of her husband and the tragic loss of her son. She is very lonely and isolated. She does the same thing most days and memories do not give her comfort. Then she unwittingly brings a 5” male mouse into her house. He decides to stay with her and she decides to care for him. (This is not a talking mouse or an anthropomorphic rodent). To care for him she starts meeting a few people she can connect with as she moves from removing the mouse by trapping to naming Sipsworth and hoping wildlife rescue group will take him to making Sipsworth a housemate. Eventually it is revealed that Helen has done significant things. Slow start. A comforting book. Perhaps this book raises awareness of long term grieving, loneliness, sadness and isolation in people in our lives (or in ourselves).

Lucy Barton tells us all about her ex-husband’s life, including the collapse of William’s third marriage, the anxiety of having a father who was a Nazi POW, and his discovery that he has an older half sister in Maine. Of course readers also learn more about Lucy and her past and current relationships with William. Great beach-read for fans of Strout’s other books.

Had to DNF this one halfway through after reading it on my bus ride every morning and falling asleep every single time. I can only describe this book as exhausting. Desperately in need of an editor that could rip the heart out of this book and cut out all the fatty tissue. Has an all-timer bad line in it: "I'm seventy-five and falling apart. My body, not my womanhood, nor my Japanese Americanness." With a line that bad you know this author is not a woman nor is he Japanese-American because genuinely what does that even mean?

It interesting to learn