I Otter Be Reading

Overall:  Olive Smith is a PHD student in Biology at Stanford, studying pancreatic cancer.  She went on a couple dates with another student named Jeremy.  She was not into him, but she sees that her best friend, Anh is. So, to convince her best friend that she has moved-on to dating someone else, she randomly chooses a guy to kiss when her friend Anh is watching.  However, the guy she spontaneously chooses to lock-lips with is a hot, young, professor that everyone is scared of.  He is brutally and unflinchingly honest when reviewing his student’s work, and if it is not perfect, it is not acceptable.  All his students despise him for being so demanding.  Luckily, Olive is not one of his students.  Olive and Dr. Adam Carlsen meet later to discuss the kissing incident.  Once he hears why she did it, they mutually decide to start fake-dating because they both need something.  Olive needs her best friend Anh to stop worrying about “girl code” and know it’s ok to start dating Jeremy.  Adam needs the department to believe that he has no plans to leave for another institution.  They froze some of his research funds to try and ensure that he not leave Stanford.  If he had a girlfriend, it would help the department believe that he had a reason to stay put at Stanford, and they could release his funding.  So, the two of them agree to fake-date eachother to both accomplish their goals.  But, as we all know, fake-dating situations can lead to real romantic feelings becoming involved.  However, in this case, one or both of them might have already had some feelings for the other one, before the random kiss even happened!                                                                   

Ovations: I love that this book was about the science world, and smart women in STEM.  I like that it talked about what a dedicated and intelligent scientist Olive was, but that she still faced lots of issues due to it being a male dominated career area.  I also think that the lack of communications between Olive and Adam can
easily be explained by the fact that they are academics used to being alone and
focusing on their work.  In other rom-coms there are always misunderstands that you think, “why did they not just have a conversation about this and clear it up?”  But, in the world of science academia, they are not used to having to communicate their feeling about anything.  Feelings are not part of their science, data is.   Also, I have to add how much I loved Adam.  He is a wonderful book boyfriend…. tall, handsome, brilliant, humble, funny, sarcastic, perfectionistic, muscular, protective, loyal, sweet, caring, mysterious… you get the picture.   I also loved the witty banter between Olive and Adam.  It was very flirty and adorable how they teased eachother for their differences, but with absolute acceptance. 

Oh Well:  There are lots of things in this book that don’t seem all that realistic.  The very first being the Prologue, and what it has to do with the book.  I can’t explain more, because I don’t want to spoil things, but right from the start there are things that you kind of just have to go with as reasonable, that maybe are not.  Also, I do have to mention that while there is only one sex scene in the book, is sort of awkward, and weirdly written.

Opinion:  I love the academic setting of the book and that the main character is a smart, scientist female out to help rid the world of pancreatic cancer.  The storyline is entertaining, and the characters are well written.  I did like the relationship between Olive and Adam.  It was very sweet and romantic.  I enjoyed all their private-joke banter together.  But, there were some issues I had with some of the stuff being not too believable.  However, If you like rom-coms, you will like this book too.  Rating 7 out of 10         

If you are interested in this book and want to buy it now so you don’t forget, as I often do, you can click on this safe Amazon link that will bring you directly to the books page where you can buy it.  Click Here:  The Love Hypothesis

Opening Line:  “Dead-eyed, that’s what they said, wasn’t it?  Lifeless, glassy, empty.”

Overall:   This is the 3rd and final book in the, “Good Girls Guide To Murder” series.  This trilogy has to be read in order:  A Good Girls Guide To Murder, Good Girl, Bad Blood, As Good As Dead.   The first book was about a senior in High school named Pippa, who is working on her senior class project.  She starts investigating a cold-case murder of some teens from her same school.  During her investigations, she decides to start a true crime podcast about it too.  Because of her being able to solve these past crimes in the first book, in the second book she is asked by a friend to help solve the disappearance of his brother when the police won’t take it seriously.  Now, in this third book, from all of her crime investigating and involvement into all these bad things that she had to deal with previously to solve those crimes, she is suffering with PTSD, anxiety, depression, guilt, and insomnia.  She started going for runs, and is taking Xanax to try and help, but they are not really helping much.  She is due to start college in the fall.  However, now she starts getting messages that say, “Who will look for you when you’re the one that disappears?”  Other creepy things start happening too, and she realizes that she has a stalker.  She realizes that there may be a connection between the messages, the stalker, and a serial killer.  But, the serial killer confessed and is in jail, so he couldn’t be doing all this.  Unless they have the wrong guy?  The stalking continues and Pippa has no choice to investigate this with all the skills she has learned so far.  She has to try and piece together this new mystery to try and keep herself safe somehow.  She is the one all the others have turned to for help, but now she has to save her own life.                                                               

Ovations: I love that even though Pippa is a smart, brave, strong, witty, gutsy, logical, strong-willed female lead character, this book is showing us the toll all this work she has done involving murders, kidnappings, shootings, and her true crime podcast is having on her mental health.  She is a normal person and dealing with all that is traumatizing her.  In the first book she was much more upbeat, fun, and cheerful, then in the second book, she was more acting much more serious, and now in this book we get to see the darker side to who she is becoming because of doing all this work with crime and murder.  I love that we get to see this changing her personality, not for the better, and how she is struggling to deal with it all.  This book is fast paced, suspenseful, and well written.  There are no plot holes or storyline issues.  There are some surprises.  It is very exciting and keeps you reading to find out what happens next.  Pippa is a great female character to root for.      

Oh Well:  I do have to mention the fact that I did figure out who the serial killer was before Pippa figured it out.  I can’t say much more, but she is smart and should have known from the daughter’s hidden email.  Also, I think she maybe planted too much evidence at the major crime scene.  But, these are small issues with the book, that do not effect your enjoyment of it at all. 

Opinion:  I really loved this third book in the series!  I loved the first book so much, I thought that one would end up being the best one, since I gave it 10 out of 10 in my ratings.  The second one I think I gave a 9.  (You can find and read the reviews I gave those two books in under “Book Reviews” tab on my Home Page.)   But, this third book is for sure a 10 again.  It was much more exciting and suspenseful than the other books because it was Pippa fighting for her own life this time.  She was having to figure out clues to save her own life before it was too late.  I love how all 3 books were connected and how the end perfectly wrapped-up all the loose ends from everything before and ended on a positive note.  Rating 10 out of 10       

If you are interested in this book and want to buy it now so you don’t forget, as I often do, you can click on this safe Amazon link that will bring you directly to the books page where you can buy it.  Click Here:  As Good As Dead

I am a huge Agatha Christie fan!  I have read every single book and play by Agatha Christie.  I have purchased them all, and have them all organized by publication order on my bookshelf.  Since she wrote 66 novels, 14 short story collection books, and over 30 plays, I am often asked which one is best.  My response is always the same:

AND THEN THERE WERE NONE (1939):  That book was written by Christie in 1939, and is still the best selling crime novel of all time, by anyone, ever!  It is a masterpiece of a novel, and by far Christie’s best murder mystery.  Ten strangers are invited by a mysterious host to a party on an isolated island, cut off from mainland England, only accessible by boat.  Since they don’t know eachother, they also don’t know why they are all invited there together.  But, they all have dark secrets they are hiding.  Then, one by one, they start to die.  They think the first one or two are accidents, until they realize they were really murders.  They also realize that the killer is stuck there with them on the island.  Is the killer the mysterious host that invited them there and never showed up?  Or is the killer one of them?  Will they figure out who the killer is before they are all murdered?  This book is a perfectly plotted, suspenseful, murder mystery, thriller.  It will leave you on the edge of your seat the whole time, and you will not want to put it down. 

But, after you read that one, where do you go next?  If you don’t want to read all of her books in order as I did, (although that is a good idea for you all, and well worth your time if you love murder mysteries).  I thought I would suggest some of my random favorites.  I should mention that Ms. Christie’s most famous crime solving detectives are Miss Marple, and Hercule Poirot.  But, out of the favorites I chose here, only one is one of their books.  The ABC MURDERS is a Poirot book.  The rest are stand alone books, that just have a narrator or a random detective.  I found I generally liked those better.  Also, Ms. Christie is famous for her “closed-room” murder mysteries.  Three out of the five of these I selected are “closed-room” mysteries.  She is brilliant at writing those.  So, here are the other four books I have selected as my favorites.  I will write a Part 2 at some point later and give you a few more of my favorites then.  In the meantime, enjoy these wonderful books!          

ABC MURDERS (1936):This book is about a serial killer, before the phrase “serial killer” even existed.  There is a killer on the loose in England.  People seem to be being killed both randomly and alphabetically.  A is for Ms. Ascher in Andover who is murdered first.  Then B is for Betty Barnard in Bexhill, who is killed second.  This killer is so confident, brazen, and bold that they inform Detective Hercule Poirot in advance of their next murder!  Basically challenging the world’s best detective to solve the murders and save the next life before the murder kills again.  It is an exciting, race-against-time thriller.  There is a lot of reflections about early criminal psychology, which is interesting.  This book is different in many ways from other Christie mystery novels, so that is why it made my favorites list. 

SPARKLING CYANIDE (1944):  This is a murder mystery written from several people’s point of view.  The story centers around beautiful, young, wealthy, Rosemary Barton.  She went out to dinner with 6 others for her Birthday celebration.  She dies at this dinner from poison, but the police think it was suicide, not murder.  One year later, her widowed husband thinks she was murdered and did not kill herself.  So, he decides to invite all the same people to eat at the same place to “remember Rosemary”.  But, he is really trying to find out which one of them really killed her.  I love the storyline that he re-enacts the “crime scene” to try and find out what really happened to Rosemary a year ago.  It is a Christie classic “closed-room murder mystery”.  Meaning that someone in that room from that cast of characters is the murder, and you have to figure out what exactly happened, who exactly did it, and why.  She specialized in writing this kind of murder mystery.       

CROOKED HOUSE (1948):  This is one of Agatha Christie’s personal favorites that she wrote, and one of my favorites as well.  There is a surprise ending that you don’t see coming!  The story is about three generations of a very wealthy family that live together in a sprawling mansion.  The head of the family is murdered.  The prime suspect is the man’s beautiful widow, who is a woman 50 years younger than him.  But, the Chief Inspector investigating the crime has an inside view of this “closed-room murder”, because he is engaged to the victim’s granddaughter.  However, everyone in the family are suspects to investigate.  You might wonder is the name of the book, Crooked House, refer to the whimsical, strangely designed, old mansion?  Or to the mentality/morality of the family living in it?  Maybe it’s both.  You should read this unusual murder mystery to find out. 

ENDLESS NIGHT (1967):  Ms. Christie says this is one of her favorites, and I agree, it is one of mine too.  This book is different than her usual murder mysteries, this book is a thriller with twists and turns. This is not a Miss Marple or Hercule Poirot book either.   It is narrated by the main character, Michael Rogers.  He becomes fascinated by a plot of land for sale, called Gypsy Acre.  He has been warned that it has been cursed.  But, he is poor and can’t afford to buy the property anyway.  Then he meets a beautiful, wealthy, American heiress named Ellie.  While Michael is without money, he is handsome and full of charm.  The two of them fall in love and then get married.  They buy Gypsy Acre and build their dream house on the land.  Seemingly, things are going to be blissful for the couple.   But, sinister things start happening, and these two young lovebirds will not be getting their “Happily Ever After”, after all.        

If you are interested in these books and want to buy them now so you don’t forget, as I often do, you can click on these safe Amazon links that will bring you directly to the books pages where you can buy them.  Click Here:  And Then There Were None , The ABC Murders , Sparkling Cyanide , Crooked House , Endless Night . 

Opening Line:  “Screw you, Bing Crosby.”

Overall:  On December 23^rd, Darby Thorne is on her way from Colorado to Utah to see her estranged mother before she has cancer surgery.  But, as she is driving up in the mountains, there is a massive snowstorm that forces Darby off the roads and into the nearest Rest Stop.  There are 4 other stranded motorists at the Rest Stop also.  When Darby goes outside to try, unsuccessfully, to get a cell phone signal to tell her sister that she is stuck at the Rest Stop until morning, she walks by a van in the parking lot.  Inside the van she sees a small girl locked in a dog kennel with duct tape over her mouth.  Who is this child?  Who does she belong to?  Where is she from?  Why is she in the back of the cold van like that?  Why
is she in a dog cage?  Who kidnapped her?  Who owns this van?  Which one of the people at the rest stop did this to her?  Which one of them can she trust?  How can she get this girl out of the locked van and safe?  How can she contact the Police?  With the roads all closed down because of this massive snow storm, Darby is stuck at the rest stop at least until morning.  There is no cell phone signal up there in the mountains and she has to try and save this little girl’s life somehow.  But, how can she get her out?  And how can she do it without being seen?  And where does she go with the girl once she is out?  What will happen if she decides to try and rescue the little girl alone?  They are all trapped at the Rest Area with a relentless snowstorm outside.  Who knows when a snow plow or the police will
come and open the roads up again?  What is Darby going to choose to do in the meantime?                                                                  

Ovations:  This is a riveting thriller that is action packed!  It’s twists and turns keep you guessing as to what might happen next.  It is a well written novel with no
wasted filler.  Every action leads to another action and keeps the story moving along at a non-stop fast pace.  Darby is an engaging heroine.  She is smart, caring, determined, tough, sensitive, resourceful, and brave.  But, she is human too and makes mistakes along the way, like a normal young woman would.  She is not some super human character that is unbelievable.  She has strengths and weaknesses that are realistic.  But she is a fighter, and is the perfect woman to be able to root for here.    

Oh Well:  The major problem with this book is that it was so suspenseful that I could not stop reading it and go to bed! Lol  I read it in two nights, stayed up way too late and lost some sleep.  So, that is a negative….but a positive one, if that is possible!?!  But, about the book, yes, there are some parts that are a bit implausible, but for the most part everything is realistic and very smartly written.

Opinion:  This book is an exciting, twisty, rollercoaster ride of a thriller!   It ultimately is about 2 people trying to outwit eachother in the most chilling cat and mouse game of their lives.  I don’t read horror books, and this is not one, although it does get very violent in some parts.  It is a tense, psychological thriller that I really enjoyed reading!  Rating is 10 out of 10  

(It is now a HULU film too!  The film does not follow the book exactly, there are a few changes, but it is still a very good thriller well worth watching after you have read the book.)       

If you are interested in this book and want to buy it now so you don’t forget, as I often do, you can click on this safe Amazon link that will bring you directly to the books page where you can buy it.  Click Here:  No Exit

Opening Line:  “Lila Nash counted her steps as she walked from the kitchen to the bathroom of her apartment.”

Overall:  Lila Nash is working in Minneapolis at the Hennepin County Attorney’s office, waiting for the results of her bar exam.  She gets assigned to work for a smart, fierce, female attorney named Andi.  They start working on a case that ends up having connections to a horrible situation in Lila’s past.  Gavin Spencer is a serial rapist and killer that they are trying to convict.  All of his victims were drugged with GHB, raped, then thrown into the Mississippi River near the Falls.  But, his most recent victim, Sadie,  woke up enough to be able to swim to safety and was rescued.  However, her memory is foggy from the drug.  The two detectives that are working on the case realize that there is a pattern here that may be connected to other past cases. It turns out there are more victims from the past who’s cases are similar and have never been solved.  So, with the help of Andi and Lila in the Prosecutor’s Office, the police start putting a case together to try and prove that it was Gavin who had done this many times before Sadie.   But, Gavin is very smart, and always plans out every single step of his crimes.  No evidence has ever linked him to any of the crimes before, and he is confident he has covered his tracks again.  He believes he will never be charged with these crimes.  Because of this case, Lila is having to face a painful past that she has always tried to forget.  Working on this new case has opened up her old memories, and she believes that Gavin is somehow connected to the attack she
survived years ago.  But, her memories have been buried deep, and she does not remember who attacked her.  But, she believes it is somehow related to this case.  She just has to figure out how, before it’s too late.                                                                

Ovations:  I love that this book is set in Minneapolis, Minnesota, because that is where I am from.  The book’s author is from Minnesota too.  I love the strong female characters in the book, Andi, Lila, and Niki.  Andi is a successful, intelligent, tough, no-nonsense prosecutor who wants to help Lila succeed as an attorney as well.  She is a great role model for Lila.  Lila is strong too, she is a survivor.  She survived an assault many years ago and has been living with the lingering effects of it.  Her own family won’t acknowledge it.  She lost friends over it.  She even attempted suicide.  But, she is strong, and got her life together all on her own.  She is resilient and smart and went to law school, and now has gotten this great job at the prosecutor’s office.  She is also in a good, loving relationship with her boyfriend who she lives with.  She is doing well for herself.  Lastly, the female detective, Niki Vang is another smart, strong, successful, positive female character in this book.     

Oh Well:  While there were several strong female characters in this book, as I just pointed out above, this book is about the drugging, rape, and murders of several females.  That is very tough, depressing and sad to read about.  The title, The Stolen Hours, refers to the hours that the female victims are drugged and do not remember what happened to them during those horrible hours.  Also, I found the book very slow reading.  To me, it was not really a thriller because it was just not exciting enough for that.  It was not really a mystery because you know who the criminal is right away in the story.  I guess the mystery part is will he get away with the crimes or not?  But, I found the book rather depressing and boring with nothing really to keep my interest.  Plus, some of the stuff at the end was not realistic at all in my opinion.  

Opinion:  I really wanted to like this book because I saw this author on a local tv show and learned that he has written a number of books.  I was excited to find another successful local author from Minnesota to read.  Unfortunately, I thought the book was quite slow and very depressing.  It barely kept my interest.  I always finish the books I start, even if I don’t like them at first, because sometimes they surprise you and get interesting half way through.  But, that was not the case here.  I would not recommend this book.  Rating 4 out of 10.       

If you are interested in this book and want to buy it now so you don’t forget, as I often do, you can click on this safe Amazon link that will bring you directly to the books page where you can buy it.  Click Here: The Stolen Hours

Opening Line:  “Picture a late June morning in 1918, a time when Montgomery wore her prettiest spring dress and finest floral perfume – same as I would wear that evening.”

Overall:  I knew very little about Zelda when I started this book.  I knew that she was F. Scott Fitzgerald’s wife.  Because I am from Minnesota, I knew that Mr. Fitzgerald is from Saint Paul, Minnesota, and I knew that he and his wife Zelda lived here for a while together too.  I have read some of the famous books he has written.  I knew the rumors of their extravagant life in America and Europe.  That was about all I knew.  Although I know this book is historical fiction, I wanted to know more about them as a couple and more about his wife Zelda in particular.   So, that is why I chose to read this book.  It starts off in 1918 when then Zelda Sayre is 17 years old.  It talks about her home life growing up in Montgomery, Alabama.  Then it tells about when and how she meets Frances Scott Fitzgerald, the man that will change her life.  He was an Army Lieutenant staying at Camp Sheridan, waiting to ship out.  They had an immediate attraction to eachother, but her family was not keen for her to fate him.  He was not from money, he was not from the south, he say’s he’s a writer but has published nothing yet.  She was pretty and had plenty of other suitors.  But, of course, the two of them fall in love anyway.  When Scott moves up to New York and sells his first novel, he sends for Zelda to come to New York and marry him.  She agrees, and so begins their wild, fabulous, excessive, outrageous, complicated, problematic, and tumultuous life together.  They are darlings of New York at the damn of the Jazz Age.  She becomes the Flapper Queen, and he is the writer who’s star is on the rise.  They are out every night at the best parties drinking, socializing, and meeting the right people.  Their life never stops moving and they live all over America and Europe.  Scott is always obsessing over writing his next novel, and with looking the part of a successful author in the meantime.  He is controlling, and wants Zelda to play a certain part too, to look a certain way to society.  He wants her to be the adoring, charming wife and wonderful, caring mother.  But, his alcoholism and abuse makes it difficult for her to want to play that part.  She is smart and has ambitions of her own.  She can write, paint, and dance, but Scott does not want her to.  The two of them are constantly at odds about everything.  All throughout their lives they still love eachother, but they also know they are destroying eachother by being together, but they can’t seem to be happy apart either.                                                                     

Ovations: There are many different versions written of the life story of Scott and Zelda.  I liked that this novel gives you a version of their entire lives, from when they first met until both of their deaths.  You get a complete picture of what their life might have been like together.  It was interesting to learn about all the places they lived, both here in the US and in all the European counties too.  I loved reading about all the other famous people they knew and considered their friends.  I also enjoyed all the detailed descriptions of the beautiful things they wore and the opulent places they went.  I had fun living their lavish lifestyle vicariously through this novel.  The pacing of the story was good and kept you interested the whole way through to see what was going to happen next.     

Oh Well:  As I wrote above, there are many different and conflicting versions of the life story of this famous couple.  This book focuses on Zelda more, and you really feel for her struggles.  It is ultimately a very depressing book.  According to this novel, Zelda was depressed, unfulfilled, sad, lonely, abused, misdiagnosed as crazy/schizophrenic and suffered terribly in mental institutions.  This may all be absolutely true and it is not bad that the author tells us her story this way.  But, I am just saying if you are only wanting to read a fun, frivolous book about the fabulous, flapper life of a rich, wealthy wife of a famous author …. that is not this
book at all.

Opinion:  Even though it was sad and very tough to read at times, I am glad I read this book.  I feel I learned a great deal about the Fitzgeralds, both as individuals and as a couple.  This book really has you believe that Zelda was a tragic victim of both her husband, and of the times they were living back then.  It has you feeling she could have been so much more than she was.  This book has gotten me even more interested in learning other writer’s viewpoints about Zelda and Scott and it makes me want to read more books about both of them.  I have already started researching which ones to read next.  Rating 7 out of 10        

If you are interested in this book and want to buy it now so you don’t forget, as I often do, you can click on this safe Amazon link that will bring you directly to the books page where you can buy it.  Click Here: Z: A Novel of Zelda Fitzgerald

Opening Line:  “Gladys had to be out of The Breakers by four o’clock.  That was the deadline they’d given her.”

Overall:  This book about the Vanderbilt family is written by Anderson Cooper, a famous journalist, and the son of Gloria Vanderbilt.  He starts this book out in  2018 as the last Vanderbilt was being kicked out of the family palace, The Breakers.  The Breakers is the most opulent of Newport’s Gilded Age mansions,  and is now a tourist attraction in Rhode Island.  No more Vanderbilts can apparently afford to live there, in the family mansion that the Vanderbilts had built in 1895.  Then the book goes way back to 1794, when Cornelius Vanderbilt, The Commodore, which he would later be called, was born on Staten Island.  It talks about how he was an enterprising young man, who preferred work over school, and how he started earning money working right away.  It goes on to talk about his obsession with making money through all his business enterprises and how much money exactly he made for the family.   Then the books jumps further back to 1660 when the very first “Vanderbilt” named, Jan Aertsen, a farmer from the village of “Bilt” in Holland came over to New York.  He was poor and came over as an indentured servant.  His name got recorded as, Jan Aertsen van der Bilt, meaning, ”from the Bilt”.  The book jumps around in time, with each chapter talking about a different time period and a different topic or person(s) in the family tree.  The first half of the book is described at Part One: The Rise, and the second half is called Part Two: The Fall.  The book details how the family money was made and by whom.  Then it also describes the many frivolous ways all the millions were spent and by whom.  It also discusses his mother Gloria Vanderbilt and her tumultuous life.  It details the legal custody case fought over her and her fortune when she was a child. Then it talks briefly about her glamorous society life.  The book ends after Anderson’s mother dies and he claims that he has always felt very detached from the Vanderbilts, and considers himself a Cooper after his father.  Lastly, it mentions Anderson’s new baby son and who he is named after.   

Ovations:  I love history, and found this book fascinating.  I learned a lot from this book that I did not know.  It is full of interesting information about the life of the Vanderbilt family.  I loved the section of family photos that is included in the center, though I wish there had been more of them.  I also liked the family tree included at the front of the book.  I referred to it constantly as I was reading the book.   It talks about other prominent New York society families as well.  I enjoyed the section where Anderson talks about exact locations and streets in New York and what used to be there, and what is there now.  That was very unusual to do, and gave an interesting take on the many losses of the family legacy.     

Oh Well:  This book jumps all around in time and is not written linearly.  It is not too hard to follow, but just to let you know, it is not a straight-forward time table.  Also, it is sort of like a history book.  It is very dry and written like a biographer doing research on the family.  I thought there would be more family inside information and interesting things that Anderson knew about his famous families past. But, it was just lots of information that anyone researching the Vanderbilt family could find out.  Also, for some reason, he really focuses on some things that should be just short sections and instead builds detailed chapters on them.  For example, there are so many pages devoted to Truman Capote and his
life.  He is not even a Vanderbilt!  Yet, other things that really need their own chapters, like his mother’s 4 marriages, he barely gives a mention.  That was  frustrating!  I thought because this book was written by Anderson Cooper, a journalist and a Vanderbilt himself, it would be a great book.   However, there are many books written about The Vanderbilt family that are probably much better than this one is.              

Opinion:  This was an informative book about the illustrious Vanderbilt family.  However, the book’s title, The Rise and Fall of an American Empire, makes you think the books is going to be different than it is.  It seems like it will be a complete history of the Vanderbilt family from its beginnings to its current day….telling us all about the inside story of how it made then lost its vast fortunes.  That is only sort of true.  This book is really just different topics about the Vanderbilt family that Anderson wanted to write about.  They are thrown together in a disjointed way.  It does talk about how the family made and lost money, but in a very dry, detached way, like you would read in a history book.  It was not an exciting book or a great book you could not put down.  Despite its issues, I am glad I read it, as I learned a lot of new information about the history of the Vanderbilts and of New York itself that I did not know before.  Rating 6 out of 10     

If you are interested in this book and want to buy it now so you don’t forget, as I often do, you can click on this safe Amazon link that will bring you directly to the books page where you can buy it.  Click Here: Vanderbilt : The Rise And Fall Of An American Dynasty

Opening Line:  “Only after the second explosion did Violet start to worry.”

Overall:  This book is both historical fiction mixed with sexy romance.  Lady Violet Hughes is a brilliant, female scientist in London in 1842.  She is a widow who started a group for other lady scientists to be able to meet in secret in her home.  She had made labs in connecting outbuildings on her property for each of them to conduct their secret scientific experiments.  Because it is not socially acceptable for a woman to be a scientist at this time, they have to disguise their club as a ladies social club called, Athena’s Retreat.  Violet spends her time conducting science experiments and helping the other women of Athena’s Retreat to secretly further their scientific discoveries as well. She is not interested in the fancy London social scene that she is “supposed” to care about as a titled Lady.  She got an assignment for The Crown with her stepson, Lord Greycliff,  to develop an antidote to the recently developed weapons of pressurized gas canisters. Her stepson has to go away on his part of the assignment, so he hires a bodyguard to look after Violet.  There have been attacks on Athena’s Retreat lately and Grey wants Arthur, the new bodyguard, to figure out who is behind them any why, while also protecting Lady Violet.  In his first day on the job, Arthur protects Violet from an unexpected explosion and they have an instant attraction and chemistry with eachother.  She is very smart, unique, sweet, honest, scatterbrained and also laser focused, pretty, brave, trusting, and kind.  She is a fancy, titled, society Lady but does not act like one.  She does not care at all what she looks like, or what clothes she is wearing, or about following society rules, or about getting married or having children.  She is a forgetful scientific genius who cares most about women advancing science.  Arthur the bodyguard is a highly trained counter-assassin.  He has been on the job for over 20 years and after this one last job he wants to retire to the country somewhere, relax and be alone.  He is tough, brave, stoic, reserved, intelligent, a loner, and also handsome.  The two of them try to keep their interactions professional for many, many reasons, but their attractions for eachother is so strong that they are having trouble keeping a professional distance.  As they get to know eachother, they get closer and fall in love.  But, Arthur started getting close to a woman on another of his past jobs and his mistake lead to her husband being killed.  Arthur does not want to make another mistake and allow another person to end up dead.  Especially because it might be Violet.   

Ovations:  It was fun to read a book about women scientists.  I loved the plot idea of the secret society of women who have to pretend to be members of a shallow ladies social club, but are really very smart women conducting scientific experiments.  It was so sad and interesting to realize how totally restricted women were back then and how completely controlled by men they all were.  I loved how Violet’s club tried to get around the social and societal rules of the time so the women could all do the work they loved.  I loved the romance between Violet and Arthur.  She is so sweet and full of openness and sunshine and he is so brooding and closed off and serious.  They are total opposites who are completely drawn together by physical chemistry from the start.  The whole book is filled with them trying to resist eachother for a multitude of reasons, but not being able to.  There were several steamy scenes between Arthur and Violet.   I enjoyed the unique premise of the book.  I liked both the science elements and the romance elements of the plot.  The dialogue was witty and interesting and the whole storyline made sense.     

Oh Well:  There are a lot of characters in this book.  It was hard to keep track of who is who half the time.  I suppose the reason for this is that this is the first of a new 3 book series, so they have to set up who all the characters are going to be.  But, it was too hard to keep track at times.  Also, while I love the lady scientist story, too many of them were portrayed as screwing-up all the time.  There were too many accidental explosions, animals getting loose, and other mishaps that made all the ladies seem less than brilliant.  Also, I felt like there was so much going on in the plot for the book that it could not focus on one thing for too long to go into more depth.  I would have loved to get more information on the ladies and their areas of scientific expertise.  To find out so much more about the experiments they were all conducting.  I would have loved to have more time with the relationship between Arthur and Violet too.  The book just spread itself too thin and tried to cover way too much ground in my opinion.            

Opinion:  I liked this book.  I have not read a book like it before.  It had a very original and interesting plot.  I loved the secret club for women scientists idea.  I enjoyed the romance storyline about Violet and her bodyguard Arthur.  But, this book was trying to do too way much.  I wish it would have been more in depth.  If you really love science, or bodyguard romances, I would recommend it for you.  However, I don’t think I will read the next book in the series.  Rating 6 out of 10    

If you are interested in this book and want to buy it now so you don’t forget, as I often do, you can click on this safe Amazon link that will bring you directly to the books page where you can buy it.  Click Here:  A Lady’s Formula For Love

The next book in the series is also now out, A Perfect Equation.  Click on this link to bring you to the Amazon page where you can find out more about it and /or buy it.  Click Here:  A Perfect Equation

Opening Line:  “Can you come into my office?“

Overall:  This is an epic story of a woman’s life, as told by her, from childhood until death.  The famous, sexy, movie star, Evelyn Hugo is telling her life story to a writer just starting out.  She chose, Monique, an unknown journalist, specifically to write her life story.  Monique has no idea why she was chosen over everyone else that Evelyn could have chosen to write her amazing life story.  The book will automatically become a huge success if and when it is released.  Evelyn Hugo became a Hollywood actress when she was 17, in 1954.  She was beautiful and talented, in that order, and quickly became a huge success in Hollywood.  She won an Oscar, but was best known for her stunning beauty and fabulous figure.  She was also famous for her 7 marriages.  Evelyn now sits in her posh apartment telling Monique the personal stories about all the movies she made, and why she made them.  She talks about her friends, her enemies, and of course, all of her husbands.  Evelyn also talks about all the things she had to give up, and to hide, to be a movie star and have the success and wealth she always dreamed of.  She talks about her victories and failures, the things she feels she did wrong and things she knows she did right.  Evelyn is a public figure, a glamorous movie star, but she is also a real person.  Evelyn is brave, strong, and unapologetic for living her life the best way she knew how.  Her life was filled with both love and heartbreak, with happiness and despair.  Now that she is 79 years old and has outlived everyone she loved, she has finally decided to tell her story, her whole story, her whole truth.  

Ovations:  Although this story goes back and forth in time a lot as Evelyn recounts her life to Monique, the writer, it is not confusing at all.  Actually, the writing is so good and Evelyn’s story so consuming, that when you are back in the past reading about it, it is jarring when you are back in the present time again.  I was like, “Wait, what?  Who is Monique?”  Then you remember that is what is happening, that Evelyn is telling Monique her life story.  But, you get so engrossed by Evelyn’s story, you just want to be back in her past to find out what happens next. 
Evelyn is such a complex female lead character.  She has never-ending, interesting layers to her.  She is strong, determined, brave, powerful, smart, beautiful, cunning, stubborn, realistic, loving, opportunistic, sexy, independent, vain, devious, caring, protective, fierce, and ruthless.  She lives her life the way she feels she has to, in moral shades of grey.  You understand why Evelyn makes all the life choices she does, whether you agree with them or not.  

Oh Well:  I am going to be honest here, for the first half for the book I was reading it and thinking, this is a good book, but nothing special.  I did not understand why everyone is constantly raving about it and saying how amazing it is.  Well, let me just say that by the end of the book, you understand what all the hype is about.  You really get absorbed in the life of Evelyn and all the other people that are a part of her life story.  However, no one warns you … as I am about to do, without spoiling anything for you … that this book is a tear-jerker.  That was a shock to me, and I don’t want it to be a shock to you.  I was a complete emotional wreck by the end of this book!  You might be too, so be prepared and do not read the last parts of this book on a bus or anywhere else in public, because if you are like me, you might be a crying mess.    

Opinion:  I did like this book.  However, it was not at all what I expected.  The 
marketing for this book makes it sound like it’s a fun, soap-opera-like, Hollywood tale of a famous, glamourous, actresses exciting life who was beautiful and talented and got married seven times …. like Elizabeth Taylor or something.  It is like that, but only sort of.  Really this story is absorbingly complex and very well written.  It covers some very deep, difficult topics, and it will move you.  I believe it will get you thinking about your own life and your own choices. For better or for worse, this book will stick with you, and I think you will remember it forever.  I know I will.  Rating 8 out of 10        

If you are interested in this book and want to buy it now so you don’t forget, as I often do, you can click on this safe Amazon link that will bring you directly to the books page where you can buy it.  Click Here:  The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo

Also, I made a few custom, “I Otter Be Reading” mugs.  You can see them in the “Extras” Section of this website.  There is one of each color available in yellow, orange, red, pink, and green.  Click on this link to my old Etsy jewelry shop to buy a cute, custom, “I Otter Be Reading” mug for yourself.  I Otter Be Reading Mug 

Opening Line:  “”Linnet Ridgeway!  That’s her!”, said Mr. Burnaby, the landlord of The Three Crowns.“

Overall:  Linnet Ridgeway was a ridiculously wealthy, charming, intelligent woman with great elegance and beauty.  In other words, she had it all.  Except a husband.  Not that she was looking for one.  Except that one of her best friends had a handsome boyfriend named Simon, and Linnet decided to steal him away from her.  Her poor friend Jacqueline just could not compete with all that Linnet had to offer.  So, Linnet and Simon Doyle were married quickly thereafter.  Then they set out on their Honeymoon to Egypt.  Interestingly, a few people seem to , “very coincidentally” have also happened to show-up for this honeymoon in Egypt.  The first of which is Simon’s jilted ex-girlfriend, Jacqueline, who has decided to show-up everywhere the couple goes, just to make them feel guilty and miserable for what they did to her.  Then there is Linnet’s American lawyer, who just happens to be on the same vacation as the honeymooners. Last, but certainly not least, Hercule Poirot, the world’s most famous detective, is also there on a vacation.  Much to the dismay of several people with less than honorable intentions who are very unhappy to find him here amongst them.  All those people and many others set sail along the Nile River as they sight-see through Egypt.  I obviously can’t give too much away, but during the interesting and complex plot, an expensive object is stolen, someone is blackmailed, there are two attempted murders, and several people are actually murdered.  There is a lot going on all at once!  There are numerous suspects who all have various motives for committing these crimes.  Luckily, Hercule Poirot is also on this trip and uses his “little grey cells” to deduce by logic and clues exactly what happened and why.  He knows that everything has to make perfect sense for the crime to be solved.  If everything he knows does not fit exactly into his solution, he starts over and thinks about everything a different way, until eventually they all do, and he solves the crimes. 

Ovations:  I like that in this Agatha Christie book, we get to know some of the characters first, before any crimes start happening.  We learn a bit about their backstory first, instead of being introduced to them as suspects after a crime is already committed.  The setting of this book is lovely too.  People vacationing in Egypt, seeing the sights before this interesting variation of a “locked room mystery” begins.  The variation being that they are all trapped together on this boat cruise together along the Nile River when the crimes start being discovered.  So, all these crimes start happening and the group of suspects are all forced to stay on the boat together until Hercule Poirot can figure out who all the guilty people are and why they committed the crimes.  I also like how the plot is so complex, yet never confusing.  There are so many intertwining crimes happening amongst the passengers.  There is not just one murder to solve here.  Several crimes have been committed.  It is also interesting that many of the passengers know eachother and have things to hide.  There are so many entertaining things happening and so many clues and suspects, you really stay interested in the book and it keeps you wanting to read-on to find out what happens next.

Oh Well:  There really are no negatives to this book, but just some things to know. Agatha Christie books are often slow-burn books that have an intricate plot with lots of characters and motives and crimes.  They are not fast paced or super suspenseful.  I would say they are much more mental than emotional.  Another thing to know about Christie novels is that there are usually a lot of characters in her books.  She likes to have lots of choices in her suspect pools to keep the reader guessing.  Also, remember that her books were written a long time ago, and may sometimes use words that we do not use anymore.   

Opinion:  I really enjoyed this book.  I had no idea how it would end.  I had no idea who committed any of the crimes or why.  I love how the reveals in Agatha Christie’s books are always logical, but you can rarely figure them out ahead of time.   The solutions are never the obvious ones, the answers are always more complex than that.  They are not so simple that you have the killer figured out half-way through the book.  But, they are also not outrageous where the answer is so convoluted that it is not even reasonable.    I love how Poirot always explains the whole thing at the end so we all can understand what happened and piece things together to tie-up all the loose ends and questions we have in our minds as we read the book.  I have read this book before, but re-read it again because the movie they made of this book is out now and I wanted to read the book again before I watched the new film.  I hope the movie is as good as the book, but my hopes are not high, because movies are rarely as good as the books are. Rating for this book is 9 out of 10.   

If you are interested in this book and want to buy it now so you don’t forget, as I often do, you can click on this safe Amazon link that will bring you directly to the books page where you can buy it.  Click Here:  Death On The Nile

My very favorite Agatha Christie book of all time is, And Then There Were None.  That book is a 10 out of 10 rating!  If you want to buy that book from Amazon now, please click on this safe link to bring you to that page.  And Then There Were None 

Also, I made a few custom, “I Otter Be Reading” mugs.  You can see the orange one in my photo for the book above.  There is one of each color available in yellow, orange, red, pink, and green.  Click on this link to my old Etsy jewelry shop to buy a cute, custom, “I Otter Be Reading” mug for yourself.  I Otter Be Reading Mug