Today’s post covers the second half of the books I read in April 2022. I shared the first half of the books I read here. My top books of the month can be found here (although I do have one more 5 star read to share today). I will be linking up this post with the Show Us Your Books Link Up, and the Amazon links to the books I’ve read are affiliate links and if you use them and make a purchase, I may receive a small commission. If you’ve read any of these books or are interested in them, I’d love to hear about it in the comments!
Title: The Man Who Sold Air In The Holy Land
Author: Omer Friedlander
Genre: Literary Short Stories
Publisher: Random House, 4/12/22
Source: Publisher
Why I Read It: Sent to me for my review
My Rating: 4 Stars
The week of Passover seemed to be a good time to read this book of short stories that take place in and around Israel. The stories are literary in style and I enjoyed reading them but would like to discuss them or learn more about their meaning to get the most out of them!
“The Man Who Sold Air in the Holy Land announces the arrival of a natural-born storyteller of immense talent. Warm, poignant, delightfully whimsical, Omer Friedlander’s gorgeously immersive and imaginative stories take you to the narrow limestone alleyways of Jerusalem, the desolate beauty of the Negev Desert, and the sprawling orange groves of Jaffa, with characters that spring to vivid life. A divorced con artist and his daughter sell empty bottles of ‘holy air’ to credulous tourists; a Lebanese Scheherazade enchants three young soldiers in a bombed-out Beirut radio station; a boy daringly ‘rooftops’ at night, climbing steel cranes in scuffed sneakers even as he reimagines the bravery of a Polish-Jewish dancer during the Holocaust; an Israeli volunteer at a West Bank checkpoint mourns the death of her son, a soldier killed in Gaza. These stories render the intimate lives of people striving for connection. They are fairy tales turned on their head by the stakes of real life, where moments of fragile intimacy mix with comedy and notes of the absurd. Told in prose of astonishing vividness that also demonstrates remarkable control and restraint, they have a universal appeal to the heart.”
The stories seemed mostly sad to me. They are about relationships and the various people who live in Israel. The author says it portrays people who are on the fringes of society – I guess meaning they aren’t the norm. Even so, I was saddened that the only portrayal of religious Jews was not positive at all and the main one was shown as a violent “settler.” While the story of the Sephardi Survivor was somewhat humorous, it could be read as making fun of Holocaust survivor stories. One story that intrigued me was Walking Shiv’ah, which I was unable to determine if was it was taking place in the past or in a dystopian future. I’m going to need some of you to read this book so we can discuss the stories in it!
Title: The Wedding Veil
Author: Kristy Woodson Harvey
Genre: Historical Fiction
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio, 3/29/22
Source: Publisher / Audio Publisher
Why I Read It: Sent to me for my review
My Rating: 4 Stars
Although I received this book in print, I chose to listen to it on audio. The audio was narrated by a different woman for each of the four main characters.
“Four women. One family heirloom. A secret connection that will change their lives—and history as they know it. Present Day: Julia Baxter’s wedding veil, bequeathed to her great-grandmother by a mysterious woman on a train in the 1930s, has passed through generations of her family as a symbol of a happy marriage. But on the morning of her wedding day, something tells her that even the veil’s good luck isn’t enough to make her marriage last forever. Overwhelmed and panicked, she escapes to the Virgin Islands to clear her head. Meanwhile, her grandmother Babs is also feeling shaken. Still grieving the death of her beloved husband, she decides to move out of the house they once shared and into a retirement community. Though she hopes it’s a new beginning, she does not expect to run into an old flame, dredging up the same complicated emotions she felt a lifetime ago. 1914: Socialite Edith Vanderbilt is struggling to manage the luxurious Biltmore Estate after the untimely death of her cherished husband. With 250 rooms to oversee and an entire village dependent on her family to stay afloat, Edith is determined to uphold the Vanderbilt legacy—and prepare her free-spirited daughter Cornelia to inherit it—in spite of her family’s deteriorating financial situation. But Cornelia has dreams of her own. Asheville, North Carolina has always been her safe haven away from the prying eyes of the press, but as she explores more of the rapidly changing world around her, she’s torn between upholding tradition and pursuing the exciting future that lies beyond Biltmore’s gilded gates.”
There are two story lines in this book, featuring Edith and Cornelia Vanderbilt in the past and Julia and her grandmother Babs in the present. The wedding veil is a common treasured object in both timelines and the story of how it got from one family to the other was fun to hear. I especially enjoyed the parts taking place in the past, having been to the Biltmore last summer. Cornelia Vanderbilt was an interesting person that I did not know about previously!
Title: The Lioness
Author: Chris Bohjalian
Genre: Historical Fiction
Publisher: Doubleday, 5/10/22
Source: Publisher
Why I Read It: Sent to me for my review
My Rating: 3.5 Stars (Rounded up to 4)
The Lioness is a literary, historical suspense novel. I have liked a lot of this author’s books, though some have been better than others. When a Hollywood actress decides to take a group of friends on an African safari, she doesn’t expect to get caught up in a kidnapping. The divided group has to deal with not only their kidnappers but being on their own in the Serengeti with wild animals surrounding them.
“Tanzania, 1964. When Katie Barstow, A-list actress, and her new husband, David Hill, decide to bring their Hollywood friends to the Serengeti for their honeymoon, they envision giraffes gently eating leaves from the tall acacia trees, great swarms of wildebeests crossing the Mara River, and herds of zebras storming the sandy plains. Their glamorous guests—including Katie’s best friend, Carmen Tedesco, and Terrance Dutton, the celebrated Black actor who stars alongside Katie in the highly controversial film Tender Madness—will spend their days taking photos, and their evenings drinking chilled gin and tonics back at camp, as the local Tanzanian guides warm water for their baths. The wealthy Americans expect civilized adventure: fresh ice from the kerosene-powered ice maker, dinners of cooked gazelle meat, and plenty of stories to tell over lunch back on Rodeo Drive. What Katie and her glittering entourage do not expect is this: a kidnapping gone wrong, their guides bleeding out in the dirt, and a team of Russian mercenaries herding their hostages into Land Rovers, guns to their heads. As the powerful sun gives way to night, the gunmen shove them into abandoned huts and Katie Barstow, Hollywood royalty, prays for a simple thing: to see the sun rise one more time. A blistering story of fame, race, love, and death set in a world on the cusp of great change, The Lioness is a vibrant masterpiece from one of our finest storytellers.”
Each chapter contains flashbacks to the lives of the characters prior to the safari, as well as their present time – 1964. I was reminded of the little I know about African animals, and most of that knowledge seemed to be from The Lion King!
Title: Let There Be Light
Author: Liana Finck
Genre: Graphic Novel
Publisher: Random House, 4/12/22
Source: Publisher
Why I Read It: Sent to me for my review
My Rating: 4 Stars
This reimagined story of the creation of the world and the book of Genesis in graphic format was so fun to read! As a Jewish person who believes in the Torah as the word of God, I can still appreciate and learn from reimaginings and what I think of as modern midrash (midrash is a type of story that explains the text). For example, in this book, God (she/her) can’t see herself in the things she created, and because she is lonely, she creates two beings in her own image. It just makes so much sense! And then, man looked at God and saw an old man with a beard, and that’s why some of us see him that way. And so on.
“In this ambitious and transcendent graphic novel, Liana Finck turns her keen eye to none other than the Old Testament, reimagining the story of Genesis with God as a woman, Abraham as a resident of New York City, and Rebekah as a robot, among many other delightful twists. In Finck’s retelling, the millennia-old stories of Adam and Eve, Abraham and Isaac, and Jacob and Esau haunt the pages like familiar but partially forgotten nursery rhymes―transmuted by time but still deeply resonant. With her trademark insightfulness, wry humor, and supple, moving visual style, Finck accentuates the latent sweetness and timeless wisdom of the original text, infusing it with wit and whimsy while retaining every ounce of its spiritual heft.”
We are reintroduced to many of the people in Genesis through the story of Joseph. Although the book description says that Rebekah is a robot and on the book flap it says she is an idol, it is actually Leah who is an idol. I found much of the changed and adapted stories to be quite interesting. I recommend this book to those who are interested in bible stories and interpretations.
Title: Something Wilder
Author: Christina Lauren
Genre: Rom Com
Publisher: Gallery Books, 5/17/22
Source: Publisher
Why I Read It: Sent to me for my review
My Rating: 4 Stars
This is not your typical Christina Lauren book but it was a lot of fun. It was a bit of a romantic suspense with a second chance at love and a treasure hunt in the west.
“Growing up the daughter of notorious treasure hunter and absentee father Duke Wilder left Lily without much patience for the profession…or much money in the bank. But Lily is nothing if not resourceful, and now uses Duke’s coveted hand-drawn maps to guide tourists on fake treasure hunts through the red rock canyons of Utah. It pays the bills but doesn’t leave enough to fulfill her dream of buying back the beloved ranch her father sold years ago, and definitely not enough to deal with the sight of the man she once loved walking back into her life with a motley crew of friends ready to hit the trails. Frankly, Lily would like to take him out into the wilderness—and leave him there. Leo Grady knew mirages were a thing in the desert, but they’d barely left civilization when the silhouette of his greatest regret comes into focus in the flickering light of the campfire. Ready to leave the past behind him, Leo wants nothing more than to reconnect with his first and only love. Unfortunately, Lily Wilder is all business, drawing a clear line in the sand: it’s never going to happen. But when the trip goes horribly and hilariously wrong, the group wonders if maybe the legend of the hidden treasure wasn’t a gimmick after all. There’s a chance to right the wrongs—of Duke’s past and their own—but only if Leo and Lily can confront their history and work together. Alone under the stars in the isolated and dangerous mazes of the Canyonlands, Leo and Lily must decide whether they’ll risk their lives and hearts on the adventure of a lifetime.”
Parts of this were pretty unbelievable, but I thought it was a fun read overall.
Title: All My Rage
Author: Sabaa Tahir
Genre: YA Contemporary
Publisher: Listening Library, 3/1/22
Source: Audio Publisher
Why I Read It: Buddy Read
My Rating: 4.5 Stars (Rounded down to 4)
I listened to this book for a buddy read and I had heard great things about it before hand. It was a well done look at Pakistani Muslim immigrants through the eyes of teens Noor and Salahaddin, as well as from Misbah, Sal’s mother, who dies near the beginning of the book.
“Lahore, Pakistan. Then. Misbah is a dreamer and storyteller, newly married to Toufiq in an arranged match. After their young life is shaken by tragedy, they come to the United States and open the Clouds’ Rest Inn Motel, hoping for a new start. Juniper, California. Now. Salahudin and Noor are more than best friends; they are family. Growing up as outcasts in the small desert town of Juniper, California, they understand each other the way no one else does. Until The Fight, which destroys their bond with the swift fury of a star exploding. Now, Sal scrambles to run the family motel as his mother Misbah’s health fails and his grieving father loses himself to alcoholism. Noor, meanwhile, walks a harrowing tightrope: working at her wrathful uncle’s liquor store while hiding the fact that she’s applying to college so she can escape him—and Juniper—forever. When Sal’s attempts to save the motel spiral out of control, he and Noor must ask themselves what friendship is worth—and what it takes to defeat the monsters in their pasts and the ones in their midst.”
There is a lot in this book and the author includes content warnings at the beginning. I think overall it was a tribute to the power of a strong role model and caring adult in a teenager’s life. Both of these teens had a hard time as far as the adults who were meant to be taking care of them. Thankfully, the Imam and his wife stepped in. This book is YA, but would be best for older readers.
Title: Blame It On The Brontes
Author: Annie Sereno
Genre: Rom Com
Publisher: Forever, 5/3/22
Source: Book Forward Friends
Why I Read It: Sent to me for my review
My Rating: 3 Stars
This book took me way too long to read. It was slow. And the romance was slower, with the main characters uniting, having a conflict, and reuniting all at the very end of the book.
“English professor Athena Murphy is an authority on the novels of the Brontë sisters. But as they say in academia, publish or perish. To save her job, Athena decides to write a biography of C.L. Garland, the author heating up bestseller lists with spicy retellings of classic literature. Tracking down the reclusive writer and uncovering her secret identity, though, means Athena must return to her small midwestern hometown where Garland—and her ex-boyfriend, Thorne Kent—live. Seeing Thorne again reminds Athena that real life never lives up to fiction. He was the Heathcliff to her Catherine, the Mr. Rochester to her Jane. Not only did their college breakup shatter that illusion, but they also broke each other’s hearts again a second time. Now she has to see him nearly every…single…day. The only solution is to find C.L. Garland as quickly as possible, write the book, and get the heck out of town. As her deadline looms and the list of potential C.L. Garlands dwindles, Athena and Thorne bicker and banter their way back to friendship. Could it really be true that the third time’s a charm? Athena and Thorne have a love story only a Brontë could write, and the chance for their own happily-ever-after, but first, they’ll need to forgive the mistakes of the past.”
There were a lot of literary references in this book and maybe if I was a fan of the classics I would have appreciated this book more. I didn’t find Athena to be all that smart, although she is said to have a PhD. I did like all the random side characters in a town that reminded me of the Gilmore Girls.
Title: Two Little Girls
Author: Annie Sereno
Genre: Thriller
Publisher: Sourcebooks, 5/3/22
Source: Publisher
Why I Read It: Sent to me for my review
My Rating: 3.5 Stars (Rounded down to 3)
I thought the first half of this book moved along quickly, but things slowed down in the 2nd half. The book starts out with a car accident and potential drowning, in which Lizzie must choose to save one of her daughters while risking the loss of the other.
“When Lizzie’s car crashes with her two daughters inside, she faces a terrible choice. And when she recovers from her injuries, she must deal with the impact of that tragedy and the police investigation into it. As Lizzie and her family struggle to come to terms with the events of that night, things take an even darker turn. What exactly happened on that remote country road? Who is responsible? And can the family get through this together… or will the truth finally tear them apart?”
In trying to figure out what happened, I thought that Lizzie and Dan were missing an obvious lead, and I was right. This is a book about the lengths one goes for their children. I thought the writing could be a bit more emotional, where instead it felt flat. This book also contains suicidal ideation.
Title: Daughters of the Occupation
Author: Shelly Sanders
Genre: Historical Fiction
Publisher: Harper Perennial, 5/3/22
Source: Publisher
Why I Read It: Sent to me for my review
My Rating: 5 Stars
After some trouble concentrating and getting into what I was reading, Daughters of the Occupation seems to have gotten me out of that slump. Daughters of the Occupation takes place in two timelines in Latvia – one during the Holocaust and one during the Soviet control of the country in the late 1970s.
“On one extraordinary day in 1940, Miriam Talan’s comfortable life is shattered. While she gives birth to her second child, a son she and her husband, Max name Monya, the Soviets invade the Baltic state of Latvia and occupy the capital city of Riga, her home. Because the Talans are Jewish, the Soviets confiscate Max’s business and the family’s house and bank accounts, leaving them with nothing. Then, the Nazis arrive. They kill Max and begin to round up Jews. Fearing for her newborn son and her young daughter, Ilana, Miriam asks her loyal housekeeper to hide them and conceal their Jewish roots to keep them safe until the savagery ends. Three decades later, in Chicago, 24-year-old Sarah Byrne is mourning the untimely death of her mother, Ilana. Sarah’s estranged grandmother, Miriam, attends the funeral, opening the door to shocking family secrets. Sarah probes Miriam for information about the past, but it is only when Miriam is in the hospital, delirious with fever, that she begs Sarah to find the son she left behind in Latvia. Traveling to the Soviet satellite state, Sarah begins her search with the help of Roger, a charismatic Russian-speaking professor. But as they come closer to the truth, she realizes her quest may have disastrous consequences.”
When Sarah’s mom Ilana passes away, her grandmother Miriam comes to the funeral and reveals the family’s Jewish background. Sarah then begins to look into the family history and to learn about her grandmother’s life, as well as what happened to her mother when she was a child. This book shines a light on a country whose history I didn’t know about before, intergenerational trauma, the lengths a mother goes through for her children, and how some survivors got by with luck and some help from people who were considered Righteous Among Nations. There are real figures included in the book, while the main character’s story is inspired by one. The author’s note about her own family history was moving and important as well. This book does contain violence including mass shootings, rape, burning, etc.
There you have it, the rest of my April reading! This post included 9 of the books I read this month – 1 of which was a 5 star read and could have been in my April Favorites post! Of these books, 7 were print and 2 were audio books,. Genres included short stories, historical fiction, graphic novel, rom com, and thriller.
Have you read any of these books or do you want to? What have you been reading lately?