Thursday, February 27, 2025

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 MoreRunning with AttitudeRun Laugh Eat PieRun 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 LifeMemphis BridgesOverflowing with Thankfulness, and The Other Side of the Road




23 comments :

  1. I had Homeseeking on my to be restless, but hadn’t heard of The 40 Year Kiss so I’m definitely going to read that one too! I typically don’t read short story collections, but I’ve heard such great things about Sittenfeld’s collections. I read that one of the stories is about the character in Prep which I somehow haven’t read so I want to read that one first.

    My best read in Deb was Ghosts by Dolly Alderton. It was so relatable since I dated some jerks in my 20s sadly. I also enjoyed ‘Pageboy’ which is a memoir by Elliot Page about their experience being transgendered.

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    1. I was interested in Pageboy! I loved 'Ellen' Page; would like to learn about Elliot!

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  2. I have not read any of these and I think I want to read ALL. Though I'm not a fan of short stories.

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  3. Your reviews come at a perfect time as I've been loading up my kindle. I'm definitely adding Home is Where the Bodies are Buried and Show Don't Tell on my list - thanks!

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  4. I absolutely loved Homeseeking!

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  5. These sound like great reads. Home is Where The Bodies Are is most intriguing! I’ll have my February book review up on Monday. It might have one you haven’t read, but you’re usually ahead of me.

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  6. I slacked off with reading this month! The thriller book sounds like the perfect page turner!

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  7. Adding these to my list now! These sounds like great books to read.

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  8. Thank you so much for sharing the articles - the Kingsolver one was very cheering. As often, no overlap with your books but I've read some great ones recently myself!

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    1. We rarely overlap--but that's a good thing because it shows how many great books are out there!

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  9. Yay! Homeseeking is on my list and I might try to pitch that for a future book club read later this year. Glad to hear that you liked it! I'm adding Propaganda Girls to my TBR too, and Demon Copperhead is on my short list of books I want to read! <3

    I usually don't really like reading short stories too much either, but Show Don't Tell sounds like a good read. :] Your thoughts have never steered me wrong so far, haha.

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    1. I just finished another REALLY GOOD book that will be at the top of my March reviews. As long as authors keep writing them, I'll be reading them!

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  10. Wendy, what great reads I'm definitely interested in a few of these.
    Visiting today from Farrah's

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  11. I enjoyed Home is Where the Bodies Are too. Propaganda Girls sounds really interesting and A Forty Year Kiss sounds rather sweet.

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  12. Hi Wendy -- sorry to be late checking in (and saying thanks for your visit, too). What a good list of books -- all new to me and I'm delighted to hear they are winners. Propaganda Girls sounds especially interesting to me. I had a pretty good February (yet to post it). As for short stories, far from my favorite, although I really do enjoy essays, which aren't always that dissimilar!

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    1. I'm right there with you on the short stories, but Curtis Sittenfeld is one of my favorite writers and she nails it!

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