The First Ladies

“The First Ladies” by Marie Benedict and Victoria Christopher Murray

Published by Berkley

Finished 11/20/23 – 3/5 stars

 

I went into this knowing nothing about Eleanor Roosevelt and Mary McLeod Bethune but came out with nothing but respect for them both.  I know this book is historical fiction, but the efforts these women made towards equal rights and ending racism are non-fiction.  Yes, President Roosevelt was the one to actually put the bills and policies in place and made the crucial appointments to offices, but these women are the ones who should be given credit as well.  Now, with regards to the book itself…..it was just OK.  I would have preferred more storyline.  Once we got to know the ladies in the 1^st half of the book, we no longer got much “story”.  The 2^nd half almost read like just a timeline of meetings and accomplishments.  It no longer felt personal.  I do recommend it though because I feel like it’s a part of history we should all know more about.

 

I won this book via a Goodreads contest.  Thank you to Goodreads and Berkley for the complimentary copy of this book.  As always, the opinions expressed within this review are completely my own.

 

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The Perfect Marriage

 

“The Perfect Marriage” by Jeneva Rose
Published by Bloodhound Books
Finished 11/11/23 – 5/5 stars
 
Fantastic debut novel!!  Written with alternating points of view, giving different insights into what may have happened. I wouldn’t say there are twist and turns, but there are lots of little nuggets thrown in that keep you second guessing how it’s going to turn out.  I changed my mind multiple times throughout the story as to who was responsible for the murder.  My only negative would be that I disagree with the description of Gainesville, VA – it’s really not the small town it’s made out to be and Prince William County is quite large.  Easy enough to get passed and truly enjoy the storyline though.  I definitely recommend this one and look forward to more books by this author. 
 
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Day

“Day” by Michael Cunningham
Published by Random House
Finished 11/5/23 – 2/5 stars

 
Let me be completely honest, I only finished this book because it was so short (275 pages) and I had free time.  I thought it fell flat and just wasn’t for me.  I went into it knowing Michael Cunningham is one to “over-write” a story based on The Hours (3 stars for me) but thought the idea of the story taking place on the same day in NYC for 3 years could be interesting so wanted to give it a try.  4/5/19 took up about half the book, introducing the characters (all dysfunctional); 4/5/20 was about a quarter of the book yet barely touched on the pandemic even though the world was in chaos at point; and then 4/5/21 was the last quarter.  One of the ways I think it went wrong was that there were too many character’s points of view for such a short book, covering so little time.  I think if there were less characters and more storyline for those characters, it would have been better.
 
Thank you to NetGalley and Random House for the complimentary copy of this book.  As always, the opinions expressed within this review are completely my own.
 
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The Porcelain Maker

 

“The Porcelain Maker” by Sarah Freethy
Published by St. Martin’s Press
Finished 11/2/23 – 3/5 stars
 
For an author’s debut novel, I think she did well.  As a person who reads a lot of historical fiction during the time of WWII, I came away expecting more.  The storyline was original and enjoyable, but I think more character depth would have made it better, especially for Clara and Lotte.  Overall, I do recommend it and look forward to reading more by Ms. Freethy.
 
Thank you to NetGalley and St Martin’s Press for the complimentary copy of this book – coming out 11/7.  As always, the opinions expressed within this review are completely my own.
 
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