Excellent book and this book is really three stories in one. As with all the “#1 Ladies Detective Agency” books, the setting is Botswana and the title story centers around finding a beauty contestant who is morally sound. Also, we see Mr. J.L. B. Matekoni struggle with a personal challenge, and Mma Makutsi does outstandingly well in a new role. To read these books and know these characters is to love them and Botswana.

Even if my life depended on it, I would still be hard pressed to explain what this book was about. There are two sisters who are twins. They are nothing alike and hate each other…except when they don’t. Their mother is dead…or is she? One sister, who is an author, wrote a book about her life with her mother…or did the dead mother write the book? Then at the very, very end of the book, it seems like the sisters’ band together to go back in time to sop their mom and dad from having sex so that they are not born. They want to do this because their lives are so terrible. ??? Not a short book and definitely not worth the time.

I loved this book! The story touches on or at least mentions many of the gods and other recognizable figures from Greek mythology and really helped me understand how they connected. The story begins with Circe’s birth and life in the city with her family but then spends much time and attention on the island of Aeaea where she comes to terms with some old demons and charts the course for her future. If you like mythology, you will love this story.

dnfed really bad

While this is not my genre and while I did not love this book, It does do an excellent job of portraying the conflicts and challenges faced by gay men in the 1050’s in France. Baldwin’s central character brings to life the dichotomy of emotions faced as he struggles to come to terms with his undeniable attraction to men while harboring an understanding of society’s expectations for traditional marriage and family. A well written and thoughtful narrative.

You with the Sad Eyes by Christina Applegate is a raw, emotional, and deeply vulnerable memoir. I have always loved Christina as an actress, but this book made me appreciate her even more as a person. She shares her story with honesty, humor, and courage, opening up about painful parts of her life, fame, illness, and survival in a way that feels incredibly human. What I loved most was her vulnerability. She does not try to make her life sound perfect or polished, and that honesty makes the book powerful. It is heartbreaking at times, but also moving and inspiring because you see her strength beneath the sadness. A beautiful, brave memoir from someone I already admired.

Good advice on how to let go of trying to control and change other people’s behavior.

This was an excellent mystery and one with an unusual wetting; a moor in England. Combine that with a hound that glows in the dark and you’ve got yourself an interesting start. The mystery progresses at a good pace with good characters. If you like traditional mysteries, I highly recommend this one.

This is a book that 1) Uses just the right number of words to say what it needs to, 2) Can tell a beautiful story set in the harshness of a poor community in Ireland, and 3) Can beautifully contrast the very best and very worst of human behavior. In short, this is an amazing book, and I will be reading more by this author.

Great cast of characters and mystery