75 Books...More or Less! discussion

1. Siberian Treasure by Colleen Gleason - Marina Alexander gets thrown into a situation where she has to search for her father who seems to be somehow involved with some eco terrorists. She goes in search for her father to get some questions answered. ***1/1/2021

Welcome back, Carol! Looking forward to see your books!

2. Majesty by Katharine McGee - 2nd book in the American Royals series. Princess Beatrice's father, The King of America just died making Beatrice the Queen of America. A lot of drama and righting of wrongs... **** 1/2/2021

3. The Night at the Crossroads by Georges Simenon - Inspector Maigret has to solve a murder at Three Widows Crossroads. *** 1/3/2020

4. Instant Karma by Marissa Meyer - A dramatic rom/com. Prudence is an over achiever and has to work with Quint, a more laid back student, on a science project. When it comes to presenting, it is obvious they did not work together on this team project. The rest of the book is her trying to fix the project and improve her grade. It just so happens it helps improve her outlook on many things. **** 1/5/202

5. The Book of Lost Friends by Lisa Wingate - Two stories that ultimately formed one big story. The first starts after the civil war. Three women go on a trip together to find a man. The second story is about a new teacher that helps spark interest in many of her class's ancestors. **** 1/9/2020

6. The Toll by Neal Shusterman - What a good end to a great series. I never thought I would enjoy a series about a group of people who were appointed "Scythes" in order to keep the population down, but I did. In this last book in the series, with the Thunderhead's "help", things were put right and I never saw the end coming. **** 1/10/2021

Carol wrote: "6. The Toll by Neal Shusterman - What a good end to a great series. I never thought I would enjoy a series about a group of people who were appointed "Scythes" in orde..."

Hoping to read this trilogy in 2021!

Elyse wrote: "6. The Toll by Neal Shusterman"

Hoping to read this trilogy in 2021! "

It was a very good series!

Carol wrote: "6. The Toll by Neal Shusterman - What a good end to a great series. I never thought I would enjoy a series about a group of people who were appointed "Scythes" in orde..."

Glad to know it was good. I've had Scythe for a long time. 2021 will be the year to start this series.

7. Aunty Lee's Chilled Revenge by Ovidia Yu - Aunty Lee seems to be able to sniff out trouble. In this one, two English sisters return to Singapore. One sister is to take care of some business. Before anything happens, one is killed. **** 1/11/2021

8. Marilla of Green Gables by Sarah McCoy - A prequel that takes place before the Anne of Green Gables series. What made Marilla... Marilla. *** 1/12/2021

9. Heaven, My Home by Attica Locke - Darren Matthews is an African American Texas Ranger. He has a lot going on with life and also work. One being finding a 9 year old, white Texas boy who has gone missing. **** 1/13/2021

10. The Novice's Tale by Margaret Frazer - Instant Karma arrived at St. Frideswide's convent with the hopes of removing her niece, Thomasine. Before she takes action, she is murdered. Things are not looking good for Thomasine. *** 1/14/2020

11. The Children of Ash and Elm: A History of the Vikings by Neil Price - A great book on the Vikings. It really got into the who, what, where, when, and why. This is good supplemental info for The Last Kingdom series. *** 1/18/2021

12. A Rocky Mountain Christmas by William W. Johnstone - A western, Christmas miracle story with perhaps a little bit of mysticism... **** 1/19/2021

13. Evvie Drake Starts Over by Linda Holmes - Evvie Drake is a complicated woman. She is a recent widow who seems to have some baggage. ***** 1/19/2020

Carol wrote: "13. Evvie Drake Starts Over by Linda Holmes - Evvie Drake is a complicated woman. She is a recent widow who seems to have some baggage. ***** 1/19/2020"

I love listening to Pop Culture Happy Hour, the NPR podcast that Linda Holmes hosts. I'm torn on whether I should read her book or not, partly because I'm not sure it's my kind of book, but also because it's weird knowing her as something other than a novelist. I think those two things together make me more hesitant than either one alone would. Glad you enjoyed it though!

Charleen wrote: "Carol wrote: "13. Evvie Drake Starts Over by Linda Holmes - Evvie Drake is a complicated woman. She is a recent widow who seems to have some baggage. **..."

Am easing into the romance genre myself. Had to get away from the "heavy" books. Combined with Covid, it was really bringing me down. It also has a little humor, a little drama and a little sports.

14. The Son of Neptune by Rick Riordan - Percy Jackson is back in this spin off of the original Percy Jackson series. Greeks and Romans are going to have to work together if they are to have a successful quest. **** 1/20/2021

15. Sharpe's Tiger by Bernard Cornwell - The first (chronological) story about Richard Sharp, a private in the British army in 1799. They are fighting in India. *** 1/23/2021

16. The King's Curse by Philippa Gregory - The story of Margaret Pole and her and her family's experiences during the time of King Henry VIII. *** 1/24/2021

17. Ayesha at Last by Uzma Jalaluddin - This is the story of Ayesha Shamsi. It is a modern/Muslim version of Pride and Prejudice. **** 1/25/2021

18. Caribbean Cruising by Rachel Hawthorne - Lindsay's mom married her perfect guy. They are cruising through the Caribbean on a special honeymoon. Lindsay is invited to come and is planning to have the time of her young life. *** 1/25/2021

19. A Crime in Holland by Georges Simenon - A French professor visits the Dutch town of Delfzjil and is accused of murder. Maigret is sent to investigate. *** 1/26/2021

20. Mrs. Pollifax Pursued by Dorothy Gilman - Mrs. Pollifax is surprised to find a young woman in her closet who says that she is being followed. She ends up helping this girl and also an African student in America. *** 1/26/2021

21. Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson - The classic and beautifully written story of a boy who somehow got involved with pirates during the mid 1700s and the adventure that came with them. ***** 1/31/2021

22. The Hazel Wood by Melissa Albert - Alice and her mom have been traveling from place to place for almost her whole life. Almost as if they were running from something. They were... **** 1/31/2021

23. The Boy Who Didn't Come Home by Melissa Albert - A short story bridge about Finch. It takes place between The Hazel Wood ended, and before The Night Country. *** 1/31/2021

24. An Ice Cold Grave by Charlaine Harris - A good book with a gruesome story. Harper is asked to help locate missing boys from a small town. **** 2/1/2021

25. The Taint of Midas by Anne Zouroudi - A beekeeper friend of detective Hermes Diaktoros is found dead and it looks like murder. *** 2/3/2021

26. Vacationland by Sarah Stonich - At first you think these are a bunch of random stories taking place in Minnesota's "Up North", but then you find they have a common thread. ***** 2/5/2021

27. The Other Bennet Sister by Janice Hadlow - Mary Bennet is the plain middle sister of the Bennet Family created by Jane Austen. This book is about her and her struggles as the often over looked and frequently underestimated sister. ***** 2/5/2021

28. Eleven on Top by Janet Evanovich - Stephanie is tired of the trouble that comes with her job as a bail bonds woman. She quits but her life doesn't get any better. *** 2/6/2021

29. The Deep by Rivers Solomon - An unusual and creative story about the fate of pregnant African women on the sea and their descendants. *** 2/7/2021

30. The Shaman Sings by James D. Doss - Graduate student, Priscilla Song, was killed violently in her physics lab. Police Chief Scott Parris must solve the case and find out what really happened. **** 2/7/2021

31. The Demigod Diaries by Rick Riordan - Short stories from the wonderful world of Percy Jackson. *** 2/7/2021

32. Windigo Island by William Kent Krueger - Another great Cork O'Connor mystery. Cork, now a private eye has been asked to find a young girl who, her family expects, has gotten involved in prostitution. But the Windigo has called Cork's name! **** 2/11/2021

33. Forgotten Spirits by Barbara Deese - A friend from Foxy's past is murdered and she fears she is next. **** 2/11/2021

34. How to Raise an Elephant by Alexander McCall Smith - Charlie has done it again! He has gotten himself into trouble and Mma Ramotswe and her husband are going to help him get out of it. *** 2/12/2021

35. The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood - This is a scary take on what the world would become in an age of a decreasing birthrate. *** 2/12/2021

36. Dragonwyck by Anya Seton - Miranda is a young simple girl from the country. She lived with her mother, her siblings and a very strict father. Then one day, Nicholas Van Ryn, a distant relative comes by and asks her to come and be a nanny to his child. Things get very weird after that... *** 2/13/2021

37. You Had Me at Hola by Alexis Daria - A nice basic love story with a Latin American flavor. Jasmine has the opportunity to star in a telanovela. Ashton is the costar. Sparks fly... in a good way for the most part. I thought this was "Jane Austen-esque". **** 2/15/2021

38. Six-Gun Snow White by Catherynne M. Valente - I loved the idea of a fairytale/western mash up of the Snow White story. I found a lot of interesting ideas in this book, but over all it did not work for me. I found the dialect so heavy that I had a hard time picking out the actual story and after a while, I was not even interested in picking out the story. ** 2/15/2021

39. New Kid by Jerry Craft - I picked this book because each member of my book club is selecting a different Maud Hart Lovelace nominee. This book is about a 7th grade boy who loves drawing. He wants to go to art school, but instead his parents sent him to a prestigious private school that only has a few children of color besides himself. **** 2/16/2021

40. The End of Your Life Book Club by Will Schwalbe - What a sweet idea for a book. A son, who takes his mom to her many chemotherapy appointments. They have a private book club, just the two of them. **** 2/19/2021

Carol wrote: "40. The End of Your Life Book Club by Will Schwalbe - What a sweet idea for a book. A son, who takes his mom to her many chemotherapy appointment..."

Such a nice book!

41. Devil's Fjord by David Hewson - Two boys go missing during a whale hunt on one of the Faroe Islands. The new sheriff needs to find them. *** 2/19/2021

Carol wrote: "41. Devil's Fjord by David Hewson - Two boys go missing during a whale hunt on one of the Faroe Islands. The new sheriff needs to find them. *** 2/19/2021"

I loved Hewson's take on Shakespeare, he and another author rewrote 3 plays, Macbeth, Romeo & Juliet, and Othello. Such good audiobooks! I haven't read any of his original work yet.

Elyse wrote: "Carol wrote: "41. Devil's Fjord by David Hewson - Two boys go missing during a whale hunt on one of the Faroe Islands. The new sheriff needs to find them. *** 2/1..."

Wow! I did not know that! I added Romeo and Juliet to my TBR list! I had never heard of Hewson (thinking he just had a few books...). He has written a ton of books! Thanks for the heads up.

I may have told you about this before, but if you like Shakespeare rewrites, then you might like New Boy (Hogarth Shakespeare) by Tracy Chevalier. It is Othello in the 1970s. I loved it. Most of the books in this series, I rated 3 stars, but I gave New Boy 5 stars (IMHO).