Mini Book Reviews: February 2025

Disclaimer: I received an ARC of A Forty Year Kiss, Like Mother, Like Mother, Show Don't Tell, and Propaganda Girls from NetGalley and the publishers in exchange for my honest review. This post contains affiliate links. 

February may be a short month, but I still did plenty of reading. It helped that I was stuck inside most of the time due to the extended polar vortex that wouldn't blow away. A silver lining of sorts, I suppose.

Four of my books were NetGalley pre-releases, and they were all winners. The other two were books I had my eye on. Homeseeking, which had great pre-release press and is also a GMA book club pick, was on my list. The wait from the library was long, but miraculously, my hold came in quickly! I vowed to dig into my backlist this year, and Home is Where the Bodies Are was a fun, quirky thriller that I'm glad I picked up. I also read books from a couple of repeat authors, Nickolas Butler and Curtis Sittenfeld. 

I can't wait to dig into my March books!

A couple in their 60s gets a second chance at love after a failed marriage 40 years before. A lot has happened during that time and Charlie is determined to make things right. Vivian is not so sure. One of the reasons they originally split up was due to Charlie's alcohol abuse. Living with her grown daughter and 2 granddaughters, Vivian doesn't want anything to happen to them. The couple takes it slow, knowing that while they have a history, they have a lot to learn about each other. I really enjoyed A Forty Year Kiss. I also loved that the story was set in central Wisconsin. Just like he did in Shotgun Lovesongs and Little Faith, he captures the quirky midwesterness of the people who live there. Beautifully written, it's sweet but not saccharine, and was the perfect palate cleanse after reading some really intense books. 

Homeseeking is a beautiful story of a childhood friendship between a young Shanghainese boy-Haiwen and a girl-Suchi. The narrative follows their lives over sixty years, through past and present and back all in the setting of cultural change and war in China. The story is told in alternating narratives between the boy and the girl; from present to past in Haiwen's voice and from past to present in Suchi's and it all works. The author is masterful in her portrayal of life in China and the effects the changes had on the characters and the efforts they made to hang on to the lives they were accustomed to. I loved the story of Haiwen and Suchi and the difficult sacrifices they had to make for their families. What a wonderful book!

It's best to go in blind on Home is Where the Bodies Are, so I'll keep it vague and brief. Three estranged siblings reunite to clean out their family home after their mother passes. She left them with a parting message: "Don't trust..." before she took her last breath. Looking through some old VHS tapes, they find one of their father, covered with blood.... Ooooh! I do love a good thriller and this one checked the boxes. Once I started it, I didn't want to stop. Told in 4 perspectives, the narrative allows the reader to sort through all the information. This kept me guessing until the end.

Like Mother, Like Mother is a multigenerational story of 3 women-Zelda, the missing mother, who was institutionalized by her abusive husband; her daughter Lila, raised by her father and becomes a powerful journalist and detached mother of Grace, who was mostly raised by her father as well. Grace writes a book about her mother and also tries to find out what really happened to Zelda. The narrative is a bit uneven--at times, I couldn't put the book down and other times, I struggled to focus on the page. But overall, I enjoyed this one much more than I thought I would. 

Curtis Sittenfeld can weave stories about people like no one else. She does a great job developing quirky characters and exploring connections between people. In her latest short story collection, Show Don't Tell, Sittenfeld explores a variety of situations, mostly involving middle-aged women. I laughed out loud at some of the situations. Some of the stories have been published elsewhere but I hadn't read them before and enjoyed all the stories in this book. Sittenfeld never disappoints! I'm not usually a short story fan, but these were great. Highly recommended!

This well-researched book tells the story of 4 young women working undercover for the OSS to create propaganda to demoralize enemy soldiers during WW2. Bored with limited opportunities to get involved in the war, these women were recruited based on their sense of adventure. I was impressed by their creativity as well as the freedom they were given to spread false information. One of the women was Marlene Dietrich, the famed actress and singer of the 1930s and 40s. She recorded songs for the enemy soldiers with lyrics meant to bring them down. I didn't realize she had such a pivotal role in the war! While the stories of these women are true, Propaganda Girls reads like a novel. Unputdownable! 

To be released March 4, 2025

Off the bookshelf...

I recently read two great articles in the NYT and am sharing them via gift links below. The first one, about Anne Tyler, whose new release, Three Days in June I reviewed in December, is a perfect portrait of this author. She doesn't like to talk about her books and seems as delightfully quirky as her characters. The second article shares the good news about what Barbara Kingsolver did with her royalties from her Pulitzer award-winning novel, Demon Copperhead. I love how she wanted to give back to the community that inspired her to write such a touching novel. 

Anne Tyler's interview is HERE.

Barbara Kingsolver's story is HERE. 

How was your month of reading? Have you read any of these books? How do you feel about short story collections? Do you have any favorite authors?

I'm linking up with My First 5k and More, Running with Attitude, Run Laugh Eat Pie, Run with Pugs, and Zenaida for Fit Five Friday!  I'm also excited to join Farrah for My Month is Booked! Check out the newest link-up: Share Your Shelf with Slices of Life, Memphis Bridges, Overflowing with Thankfulness, and The Other Side of the Road.