Wrap Up of the 2023 Library Love Reading Challenge

When I signed up for this challenge last year I expected to read at least 24 library books. Unfortunately, I only read 19 books.  I am still having issues with taking out books because of the pandemic.  At one time I only read library books.  The pandemic brought a library shutdown and I began to think about all of the books I had read from the library that smelled like incense, perfume or something else.  Now I am afraid of germs from other patrons.  This thought is still captive in my mind and I cannot imagine when I will feel comfortable taking a book out of the library again.  I will sign up for the challenge next year but honestly don't know if I can participate.  

I read the following books this year this challenge:

The Avignon Affair by Gary McAvoy

Zemindar by Valerie Fitzgerald

The Orchard by Beverly Lewis

The Last Kingdom by Steve Berry

The Porcelain Moon by Janie Chang

The Lemon Curd Killer by Laura Childs

Letters of Trust by Wanda Brunstetter

Letters of Comfort by Wanda Brunstetter

Sea of Greed by Clive Cussler

The Spectacular by Fiona Davis

Key Lime Pie Murder by Joanne Fluke

The Collector by Dan Silva

The Ghost Ship by Kate Mosse

An Evil Heart by Linda Castillo

Honey Drop Dead by Laura Childs

Tides of Fire by James Rollins

Dead Fall by Brad Thor

Traitor King by Andrew Loundes

The Armor of Light by Ken Follett

Favorite Book:  The Orchard

Second Favorite Book:  The Porcelain Moon

Least Favorite Book:  Key Lime Pie Murder

The Armor of Light

The Armor of Light is the 5th book in Ken Follett's Knightsbridge series. It is fantastic!  I read the book in one day even though it has 740 pages. With the Knightsbridge series now set in the early 1800s Armor is probably the last book. This makes me sad but how lucky we all have been for the opportunity to read these books.

The publisher's summary:

An epic continuation of the series that began with The Pillars of the Earth, The Armor of Light heralds a new dawn for Kingsbridge, England, where progress clashes with tradition, class struggles push into every part of society, and war in Europe engulfs the entire continent and beyond. 

The Spinning Jenny was invented in 1770, and with that, a new era of manufacturing and industry changed lives everywhere within a generation. A world filled with unrest wrestles for control over this new world order: A mother’s husband is killed in a work accident due to negligence; a young woman fights to fund her school for impoverished children; a well-intentioned young man unexpectedly inherits a failing business; one man ruthlessly protects his wealth no matter the cost, all the while war cries are heard from France, as Napoleon sets forth a violent master plan to become emperor of the world. As institutions are challenged and toppled in unprecedented fashion, ripples of change ricochet through our characters’ lives as they are left to reckon with the future and a world they must rebuild from the ashes of war.

Over thirty years ago, Ken Follett published his most popular novel, The Pillars of the Earth. Now, with this electrifying addition to the Kingsbridge series we are plunged into the battlefield between compassion and greed, love and hate, progress and tradition. It is through each character that we are given a new perspective to the seismic shifts that shook the world in nineteenth-century Europe

Oh my! I cannot begin to talk about how good this book is.  The story spans thirty years. It opens with the sad story of a man who gets injured at work and later dies. His wife Sal and son Kit are part of this scene and they continue with the story until the very end. Sal is a strong female character and I would say she's the main character. As other characters are brought into the story Sal is always there. Her struggles are typical of those who lived during the start of the Industrial Revolution and it is she who came up with idea of unionizing the weavers of Knightsbridge. 

Weaving is the main trade in the book. We read about several changes in how weaving is performed over the years. It begins with hand work and becomes mechanized with newer and faster machines. I loved reading about the Methodists competing with the  Anglicans over church membership. All of the mill owners were Anglican but many of the workers were Methodist. The mill owners had no problem bribing and lying for a business advantage. The Methodists refused to compromise their beliefs for the bosses.  A daughter of a wealthy mill owner, Elsie, opened a Sunday School for kids by partnering with both churches and always fed them a meal. She was shrewd and would have been a better heir of her father’s company than her brother. But, of course, the women had to be kept in line.  Good versus evil is another theme for the novel.

Several Wars were covered including the French Revolution and the Napoleonic Wars. I felt there was too much detail concerning battles with Napoleon's army near the end. A few pages could have been cut here to make the book shorter without taking away the personal achievements of the characters. With that said, I didn't want the story to end. 

The Armor of Light is a must read! I am rating it 5 out of 5 stars.

Traitor King

On December 11, 1936 the King of England, Edward VIII, gave up his crown for Wallis Simpson, an American who was divorced twice.  Their courtship had been dogged by controversy and scandal, but with Edward's abdication he thought they could live happily ever after.  In this dual biography historian Andrew Lownie reveals the dramatic lives of both of the Windsors post-abdication. 

I was not surprised that the royal family shunned him. Edward embarrassed them not only by demanding to marry Wallis but also by befriending Adolf Hitler. It was fairly obvious that war with Germany was coming. However, Edward thought he could negotiate peace with Hitler. Edward was scarred by his participation in WWI and wanted to avoid war at any cost. He had a blind spot with Hitler, though, who attempted to recruit Edward to his cause. The family and the government believed that he was incompetent to be king and I believe that is the real reason they forced the issue with Wallis.

The Duke and Duchess of Windsor traveled from sumptuously appointed mansions in the south of France to luxurious residences in Palm Beach. Research shows, however, that they were spoiled, selfish people, obsessed with their image, and revelling in adulterous affairs with people of both sexes. I was surprised that they never paid for any of their expenses, hoping the royal family would pay the bills. The reason this is surprising is because Edward held assets worth one million dollars. Both were bisexual and the author tells us who they were with and when. Alot of the research was obtained from letters the author found.

If all this was not enough of a scandal, the Duke, as Governor of the Bahamas, tried to shut down an investigation into the murder of a close friend. No, these two do not appear to be as glamorous as we all once thought.

The book is a quick read and I enjoyed it. 5 out of 5 stars.

Dead Fall

Dead Fall is the 22nd Scot Harvath spy thriller by Brad Thor. I have read every book in this series and all of them were captivating. I also recently discovered the Libby app. Libby allows me to not only read from 4,000 different monthly magazines in digital format but also take ebooks out from my public library. Dead Fall was one of the ebooks that I was lucky to obtain an early copy of. If I had to wait for a physical copy it may have taken months to be able to withdraw it. 

The publisher's summary:  

In the war-ravaged borderlands of Ukraine, a Russian mercenary unit has gone rogue. Its members, conscripted from the worst prisons and mental asylums across Russia, are the most criminally violent, psychologically dangerous combatants to ever set foot upon the modern battlefield.

With all attention focused on the front lines, they have pushed deeper into the interior to wage a campaign of unspeakable barbarity. As they move from village to village, committing horrific war crimes, they meet little resistance because all able-bodied men are off fighting the war.

Simultaneously, a team of Russian soldiers has been dispatched by the Kremlin to loot truckloads of art and priceless cultural treasures hidden away in a host of churches, museums, and private homes.

When multiple American aid workers are killed, America’s top spy, Scot Harvath, is sent in to settle the score. But in a country so vast, will Harvath be able to find the men in question, and, more important, will he be able to stop them before they can kill again?

The story begins with a bang and the thrill continues until the final chapter. Although the plot premise was taken from recent news stories about the Ukraine War, don't assume that this is all you will get from reading the book. The Ukraine War is merely the framework for the story. The reader gets an original, spine tingling story with plenty of action from the author's imagination. 

The series main character is Scot Harvath. He has always been bold, brash and lethal. In Dead Fall Harvath is surprisingly underequipped with weapons and doesn't have his usual team of spies to help him. Dare I say that he seems somewhat humble from finding himself in this situation? I was not surprised, though, to see him finding the resources that he needs to get the job done. The reader sees more of Harvath's intelligence here as he figures out what each of his steps are going to be in order to finish the mission.

The Ravens are Thor's fictional version of the Wagner Group. While we all have read about Wagner's barbarity from the news, the information we get about the  Ravens is complete. The reader learns more about their movements and how they make decisions. Even the barbarity of their treatment of the Ukrainians has much more detail than what we read in the news concerning the Wagner Group.

Dead Fall is a gripping novel and I highly recommend it. 5 out of 5 stars.

Tides of Fire

Tides of Fire is James Rollins' 17th  Sigma Force novel. It was published two weeks ago on August 15, 2023. I was lucky to get one of the first copies of the book from my library. Currently there are 43 people who are waiting to get a copy so this is a popular book.

The publisher's summary:

The Titan Project—an international research station off the coast of Australia—discovers a thriving zone of life in an otherwise dead sea. The area teems with a strange bioluminescent coral that defies science, yet holds great promise for the future. But the loss of a military submarine in the area triggers a brutal attack and sets in motion a geological disaster that destabilizes an entire region.

Massive quakes, volcanic eruptions, and deadly tsunamis herald a greater cataclysm to come—for something is stirring miles under the ocean, a threat hidden for millennia.

As seas turn toxic and coastlines burn, can Sigma Force stop what has been let loose—especially as an old adversary returns, hunting them and thwarting their every move? For any hope of success, Commander Gray Pierce must search for a key buried in the past, hidden deep in Aboriginal mythology. But what Sigma could uncover is even more frightening—something that will shake the very foundations of humanity.  

 

The book started out great with volcanoes erupting at a quickening pace in Indonesia, water turning into to fire and dead human bodies that have turned into stone. A similar event took place in the region in 1815 when earthquakes and an eruption of Mount Tambora in Indonesia and its dark summer killed an enormous amount of people around the world. I was riveted by the work that marine biologists Phoebe Reed and Jazleen Patel were doing in the Coral Sea off the coast of Australia. Reading about their study of coral was fascinating and kept me reading to the halfway point without taking a break. 

When the Sigma Force folks became involved in the story I began to get bored. I couldn't see any connection between their subplot with the scientist's subplot. As the summary above states, this is supposed to be a story about geology and the biodiversity in the oceans. I did enjoy, though, Commander Gray Pierce's historical research into the massive earthquakes in Indonesia. With this subplot the story became a treasure hunt for the records of Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles. Raffles lived through the volcanic eruption of Mount Tambora in Indonesia in the early 1800s.  As for the rest of the Sigma Force crew, why were they in the book? The subplot with characters Seichan, Monk Kokalis, and Joe Kowalski gives the reader an update about their lives but none of them were central to the other subplots. It seemed to me that they were added into the story only because they were featured in prior books in the series.

3 out of 5 stars.

Key Lime Pie Murder

August 1 is National Homemade Pie Day. It occurs every year. Since I am too lazy to bake, I have substituted reading the Key Lime Pie Murder by Joanne Fluke. It counts as a selection for the Calendar of Crime Challenge as an August holiday.

The publisher's summary:  

It promises to be a busy week for Hannah Swensen. Not only is she whipping up treats for the chamber of commerce booth at the Tri-County fair, she's also judging the baking contest; acting as a magician's assistant for her business partner's husband; trying to coax Moishe, her previously rapacious feline, to end his hunger strike, and performing her own private carnival act by juggling the demands of her mother and sisters.

With so much on her plate, it's no wonder Hannah finds herself on the midway only moments before the fair closes for the night. After hearing a suspicious thump, she goes snooping–only to discover Willa Sunquist, a student teacher and fellow bake contest judge, dead alongside an upended key lime pie. But who would want to kill Willa and why? 
 
Now Hannah needs to crank up the heat, hoping that Willa’s killer will get rattled and make a mistake. If that happens she intends to be there, even if it means getting on a carnival ride that could very well be her last…

The book is one of the older books in the series. Hannah isn't even married yet but thinks that the man she eventually marries is interested in her.  Key Lime Pie Murder did not seem to be a cozy mystery but rather just a cozy.  There was not much of a mystery here to be solved. No twists, no turns, no nothing. What the reader gets is the social life of the main character Hannah Swenson. I have a few of the later novels in the series and the plots were pretty thin also. I am sure there is a demographic for this type of a story. It just isn't me.

No rating.

The Ghost Ship

The Ghost Ship is the third book in Kate Mosse's Joubert Huguenot Family Chronicles trilogy. It began with The City of Tears and The Burning Chambers. The Ghost Ship continues the story of Minou Joubert and Piet Reydon. While they have a prominent role in the current book the story is mainly about their granddaughter Louise Reydon-Joubert. The Ghost Ship is a hefty 476 page novel but it was so fascinating that I read it in one day.

The publisher's summary:

The Barbary Coast, 1621. A mysterious vessel floats silently on the water. It is known only as the Ghost Ship. For months it has hunted pirates to liberate those enslaved by corsairs, manned by a courageous crew of mariners from Italy and France, Holland and the Canary Islands.

But the bravest men on board are not who they seem. And the stakes could not be higher. If arrested, they will be hanged for their crimes. Can they survive the journey and escape their fate?

A sweeping and epic love story, ranging from France in 1610 to Amsterdam and the Canary Islands in the 1620s, The Ghost Ship is a thrilling novel of adventure and buccaneering, love and revenge, stolen fortunes and hidden secrets on the high seas.

This book is so incredibly lovely that I don't know where to start. The Ghost Ship has adventure, buccaneering, illicit love and lots of secrets. It most of all is a story of a defiant woman making her mark in a man's world. Our heroine Louise has always wanted to be the captain of a ship. When she turns twenty-five she receives an inheritance from her father and quickly buys a ship called Old Moon. Ten years later, she hosts a farewell dinner party for the Old Moon's retiring captain and meets Gilles, a wine merchant's apprentice. Louise and Gilles become fast friends and later begin a relationship. However, Gilles has a secret of his own. He is a she. 

While Louise hires another man to be her captain, she decides that she is going to travel with her ship to the Canary Islands. Fate steps in and Louise becomes the captain.  It is her commandeering of this ship that leads Louise to inquisitors in the Canaries, a Spanish and hence Catholic, island nation. With her family being well known Huguenots she is already a suspicious person to the inquisitors. However, some one on the ship has talked with them about her.

Louise’s quest to break society's rules had me scared for her throughout the novel. She was a tough lady but without her inheritance she would have probably married and bore children. Money gave her options. It was lovely to reconnect with her grandparents who we met in book two. Grandmother Minou is one of my favorite characters in the series and she has some of her own secrets that get exposed. We also find out what happened with her parents.  

Alot happened in this intricate plot. Author Mosse obviously did plenty of research into the Huguenots. She brought their travails to life. I also liked that she wrote a Preface before the story began telling the reader what was fact and fiction. It was nice that I didn't need to question facts as I read the book.

The Ghost Ship is a must read. 5 out of 5 stars.

An Evil Heart

 a detec 

I was able to get a copy of Linda Castillo's newest book An Evil Heart from my public library.  I recently discovered this author and love her take on Amish fiction. Her sleuth is a police detective who investigates murders. This is not your typical Amish story but it has an Amish flavor. Painter's Mill Police Chief Kate Burkholder receives a call one autumn morning about a DB, "dead body," abandoned on a dirt road. The victim is an Amish boy named Aden Karn, just twenty years old and from an upstanding Amish family. As Kate delves into his past, she begins to hear whispers about a dark side of him.  Her investigation spirals out of control when a young Amish woman comes forward with a horrific story that pits Kate against a dangerous opponent. When the truth is uncovered, Kate comes face to face with the consequences of a life that has been lived in all of the dark places.

This story is unputdownable. It kept me on the edge of my seat, trying to figure out who the killer was. I was not too surprised but the whydunnit was interesting. Interspersed with the police investigation are scenes concerning Kate's upcoming wedding to her fellow officer Tomasetti. Tomasetti works for the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation and the two of them have worked on cases together in the past. Most of these scenes were with Kate and her Amish sister Sarah. Sarah sewed Kate's wedding dress which was an Amish dress. Since Kate left the Amish way of life almost twenty years ago it was a little surprising that this is the wedding dress she wanted to wear. After the murder has been completely resolved, we see Kate's Amish family baking up a storm for the wedding. 

The investigation of the murder itself was suspenseful and fast paced. While I do not typically like police procedurals, this series has captured my attention. I have only read one other book in this 15 book series but plan on getting through them all at some point in the future.

5 out of 5 stars.

The Collector

The 23rd Gabriel Allon spy novel is finally here! I wasn't sure if this book would be able to maintain my interest given that last year the main character retired from his spy job for the State of Israel. Last year's entry for the series, Portrait of an Unknown Woman, was fantastic but our spy hero retired. How could the series survive? After reading The Collector I have a bad feeling about this.

The publisher's summary:

Legendary art restorer and spy Gabriel Allon joins forces with a brilliant and beautiful master-thief to track down the world’s most valuable missing painting but soon finds himself in a desperate race to prevent an unthinkable conflict between Russia and the West. 

 

As you can tell from the above, the publisher didn't have much to say about the book. Silva's publisher summaries have always been 5+ paragraphs long. This should have been my first clue that the story was somewhat lacking. However, I missed the clue. I would have read the book anyway because I have enjoyed every book in the series. 

In The Collector, Vermeer's painting "The Concert," painted in 1664, was cut from its frame in the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in 1990 and stolen along with 12 other works. It could be the most valuable stolen object. There have been boasts about the whereabouts of the painting and leads over the years, and they've led nowhere. When a South African shipping tycoon murdered in Amalfi turns out to have a secret vault holding an empty frame that matches the dimensions of the purloined masterpiece, the Italian art police call Gabriel Allon for assistance. 

The first half of the novel was a gripping art heist story. I thought it was a good place for the series to continue. Our protagonist, Gabriel Allon, was the consummate spy. He had a side interest in art and painting that he was tremendously talented in pursuing. He was able to create fakes of famous paintings from almost any artist.

The art heist story introduced a new series character. Ingrid Johansen is a brilliant computer hacker. She is an extraordinarily talented thief. She accepted a $10 million payment to steal the Vermeer from a palazzo in Amalfi, not realizing that there's a much broader conspiracy. Ingrid ends up working with Gabriel to find the painting that she stole.

This fantastic art heist story abruptly ends halfway into the novel. The international spy trade picks up the remainder of the story with no apparent connection to the first half with the exception that one of the bad actors in the heist is connected to the Russian government. I did not care for this part of the book. While the last two chapters try to connect the two, it didn't work for me. Silva has also incorporated the Ukraine-Russia War into the story along with a threat of nuclear war. It was not plausible given that half of this 400+ page book was solely an art theft story.

I am disappointed with The Collector. I am rating it 2 out of 5 stars.

Sea of Greed

I chose Clive Cussler's Sea of Greed for the What's In a Name Challenge. The specific category this was chosen for was one of the deadly sins in the book title. 

The publisher's summary:

After an explosion in the Gulf of Mexico destroys three oil rigs trying to revive a dying field, Kurt Austin and the NUMA Special Projects Team are tapped by the President of the United States to find out what's gone wrong. The trail leads them to a brilliant billionaire in the alternative energy field. Her goal is the end of the oil age; her company has spent billions developing the worlds' most advanced fuel-cell systems. But is she an environmental hero...or a rogue genetic engineer?

The NUMA crew discovers that the oil fields are infected with bacteria that are consuming the oil before it can be pumped out of the earth--a bacteria originally lost decades ago when two submarines vanished in the Mediterranean.

With hired killers on his trail, can Kurt Austin locate a submarine that's remained hidden for more than fifty years? And even if he can, can the biological terror that's been unleashed be stopped?

The story opened with alot of action. Because it has been a long time since I have read a NUMA story, I did not remember who the main characters were. I was further confused in the beginning because the opening chapters were from different points of view. It was hard to follow. Once I understood who was who, the story was fun to read. The pace was extremely fast and more than held my interest.

The plot concerns drilling for oil. I thought it was creative to have a bacteria infect the oil wells. I don't know whether this is something that can actually happen or not but it was interesting to read about. I would imagine it's a real problem since Cussler writes about current issues. 

Aside from my confusion in the beginning, Sea of Greed is a fantastic novel. I am rating it 4 out of 5 stars.

Letters of Trust

Letters of Trust is the first book in The Friendship Letters duology by Wanda Brunstetter. The series features Doretta Schwartz as the letter writer. Doretta has always loved writing and receiving letters and she believes that letter writing could be a ministry for her. 

The publisher's summary:

Life is good on their Pennsylvania Amish farm for newlyweds Vic and Eleanor Lapp—until the day Vic’s youngest brother drowns in their pond and Vic turns to alcohol to numb the pain. Things get so bad that Vic loses his job and their marriage is coming apart. Eleanor is desperate to help her husband and writes letters to her friend, Doretta, living in Indiana for advice. The trust Eleanor places in her friend and the gentle words she receives in return are a balm for even darker days to come.

There wasn't much action in this novel. At the conclusion of the first third of the book I found myself questioning what was the point of this novel. Then Vic's brother Eddie died and the pace picked up little. This story has a simple plot though that is centered around character growth, not actual plot action. 

The author tackles grief, alcoholism and depression here. These are not normal plots for Amish fiction but it shows how the genre has grown over the years. It was obvious how the story would end but I enjoyed the ride. The reader sees first hand how an unexpected death within a family affects each family member. For Vic Lapp it meant becoming addicted to alcohol. He used beer to ease the pain he felt from his young brother's death. 

Eleanor seemed like a doormat to me. She was too sweet and easy going given the poor treatment that she received from her husband. She reminded me of the wives of the fundamentalist polygamy sects in the western states who are trained to "keep sweet."  When Eleanor finally got angry I was so happy.

I prefer stories with more action and am only rating the book 3 out of 5 stars.

The Last Kingdom

The Last Kingdom is Steve Berry's 17th Cotton Malone novel.  I have loved all of them and this one is no different. In this installment of the series King Ludwig II of Bavaria who was deposed in 1886 mysteriously drowned three days later. He was eccentric and has been referred to throughout history of "Mad King Ludwig." In the years before he died, Ludwig engaged in a worldwide search for a new kingdom.  He wanted a new kingdom that was separate from Bavaria because he hated the politics in his home country. This new kingdom was supposed to be a retreat for him. The question posed by history is whether he found a place for this kingdom and whether he built it. 

We then see main character Cotton Malone enter into the story.  His protege, Luke Daniels, has infiltrated a renegade group that is intent on winning Bavarian independence from Germany. Daniels also has gained the trust of the prince of Bavaria who will inherit the throne when his terminally ill brother dies. The princes of Bavaria all descend from the Wittelsbach family who has held the throne for over 700 years. Prince Stefan von Bayern is counting on a 19th century deed proving that Ludwig II found a new kingdom and that he has legal title to the land. Malone and Daniels travel to Ludwig's three fairytale castles, Neuschwanstein, Linderhof and Herrenchiemsee, and battle a number of deadly adversaries who are all intent on finding that last kingdom.

I had some difficulty becoming interested in the story. In fact, I was so bored after reading the first 30 pages that I went online to check reviews. I thought that maybe the author had finally hit a dry spell. All of the reviews were good so I thought that the problem was me. Maybe it was. However, the story picked up around page 65 and it then became a page turner. That said, the premise for the story was a little farfetched. The idea that Bavaria could legally be separated from the rest of Germany was not plausible to me. It is upon this idea that the entire story is based and why would the penultimate spy Cotton Malone even bother with it? 

The writing was crisp but I found myself putting the book down often. It's hard for me to believe that I am rating a Steve Berry book only 3 out of 5 stars.

The Porcelain Moon

The Porcelain Moon is Janie Chang's fourth novel. It takes place in France during World War 1 and follows the travails of two young women in France as the country is torn apart by he war. Main character Pauline is Chinese and is in France with her cousin to support the family’s porcelain trade. 

The publisher's summary:

France, 1918. In the final days of the First World War, a young Chinese woman, Pauline Deng, runs away from her uncle’s home in Paris to evade a marriage being arranged for her in Shanghai. To prevent the union, she needs the help of her cousin Theo, who is working as a translator for the Chinese Labour Corps in the French countryside. In the town of Noyelles-sur-Mer, Camille Roussel is planning her escape from an abusive marriage, and to end a love affair that can no longer continue. When Camille offers Pauline a room for her stay, the two women become friends. But it’s not long before Pauline uncovers a perilous secret that Camille has been hiding from her. As their dangerous situation escalates, the two women are forced to make a terrible decision that will bind them together for the rest of their lives.

Set against the little-known history of the 140,000 Chinese workers brought to Europe as non-combatant labor during WWI, The Porcelain Moon is a tale of forbidden love, identity and belonging, and what we are willing to risk for freedom.

Before reading this book I knew nothing about the Chinese laborers who came to France during WW1. I learned alot about this little known part of history and am glad that the author highlighted it. I was hoping to read more about the porcelain industry but it was merely the backdrop to the lives of the characters.

The chapters alternated between Pauline and Camille's story and toward the end of the book these stories merged into a pleasing ending. Both Pauline and Camille were interesting characters but I was more attracted to Pauline's story. She came to Paris as the illegitimate niece of the Pagoda owner Louis Deng and was able to build the life that she wanted there. She had many more challenges to overcome than Camille so she was my favorite character.  There was always the possibility that she could be sent back to China as the bride of someone who she did not know and that's pretty scary.  Pauline always knew that if a marriage was arranged for her that she would go along with it to maintain her family's pride. This is heroic.

The Porcelain Moon is a must read for historical fiction fans. It was just published last week and you need to get a copy of it.  5 out of 5 stars.

The Orchard

The Orchard is an Amish fiction story that takes place in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. The main character, Ellie Hostettler, grew up near an apple orchard that her father owned. Twin brother Evan was expected to take over the business but Evan's interest in the ways of the Englischers has been disconcerting to his family. Evan got caught attending the funeral of an English friend, Jack Herr, who died in Vietnam. Evan has been highly influenced by his friendship with Jack. He is considering joining the army to fight in Vietnam and when he fails to register as a conscientious objector the Hostettler family is devastated. Meanwhile the ladies are all trying to find husbands and their Amish reserve prevents them from being proactive.  

The Orchard was a relaxing read and it was difficult to put down. I did so but only for an hour because I wanted to know what was happening with Evan. Ellie's feelings about the peacefulness of the orchard made me feel peaceful too. She enjoyed walking there most days, especially when family drama was upsetting her. I can relate to this as walking through a park helps me deal with drama as well. Of course, it wouldn't be Amish fiction without romance. The romance side to the story was sweet but what I enjoyed most about this tale is the intrusion of the Vietnam War in Amish life.

5 out of 5 stars.

Zemindar

Zemindar was published in 1981. I selected it because I needed a book title beginning with Z for the Alphabet Soup Reading Challenge. It is an epic story (1,031 pages) of a family that moves from England to India just before the Indian Mutiny. The book won the Georgette Hayer Historical Novel Prize that same year. The main character is Englishwoman Laura Hewitt. Laura accompanies her cousin Emily and Emily's husband Charles to Calcutta which is a wedding trip, not honeymoon, where Laura is a paid lady's companion for her cousin. She is also in love with Charles. After several months the group meets Charles' half-brother Oliver Erskine who is the zemindar, or hereditary ruler, of a vast estate called Hassanganj. Charles had never met Oliver before but receives an invitation to visit Hassanganj. While they are there, Emily gives birth and the Sepoy rebellion and siege of Lucknow occurs, known in history as the Mutiny, the Sepoy Rebellion and The First War for Independence. Zemindar has been republished several times in the past forty years. Each time the font gets bigger and the book has grown from its original 799 pages to the current 1031 pages. I am glad for the font size and cannot imagine how hard it would be been to read this after its initial publication. 

I finished the book in just 3 days. The story moved along quickly but there was a lull in the action when the characters were escaping from Hassanganj, which was about 200 pages long. Other than that, Zemindar was a captivating read. The characters were well developed and all of them were kindhearted to each other. They had opposite personalities which gave the novel some flavor. Laura is the main character and her point of view dominates. She is the character who grew the most during her nine months in India. Laura had an independent mind before the trip. Her cousin Emily and husband Charles were stuck in the rigid mindset of the British upper classes and could not adjust to India's culture. Oliver was the villain of the story but he wasn't really a villain. His reputation was rough, having had many sexual affairs with both British and Indian women. Even though he was born into a wealthy British family, he was raised in India and spent his entire life there. He understood the importance of independence to the Indians as well as their customs. Oliver was respected by them for accommodating their religious traditions but also by living their lifestyle. The reader learns about their side of the story on independence from Oliver's dialogue. The reader also learns about the history of the Mutiny, although it is from the point of view of the British. Still, there are aspects of what happened that are true to history. 

The descriptions of India were on point. It is an exotic destination for me and I never tire reading about it. In every book set in India that I have read, the British characters are incredibly bored. None of them have much to do and partying becomes a must. Zemindar shows this the best, perhaps because of the page count. The oppressive heat in India is best described here also. The author has the characters removing their excessive clothing at certain times of the day, napping during the warmest part of the day and sipping water at the right times in order to stay healthy. 

I loved Zemindar and am rating it 4 out of 5 stars. It lost one star for the dull escape they made from Hassanganj.

The Avignon Affair

The Avignon Affair is the newest installment of the Vatican Secret Archives thriller series by Gary McAvoy and Ronald Moore. It takes place in Rome and Paris in the present day. There is also an alternating plot that takes place in France in the 1300s that concerns the death of a cardinal who is masquerading as a bishop while carrying a secret document. 

The publisher's summary:

Father Michael Dominic is called to France for an unusual assignment. A fourteenth-century bishop was found in a crypt buried under the burnt remnants of Notre-Dame-but he's wearing the ring of a cardinal, and two parchment scrolls had been hidden in his garment sleeve. Who was this 700-year-old custodian of carefully guarded secrets?

Once Father Dominic decodes the rolled scrolls, long-hidden confessions are exposed that throw France into political turmoil while creating havoc within Dominic's own team of friends. Relationships are tested and shocking new revelations emerge in The Avignon Affair.

I could not put this book down. The mystery to be solved begins with the Prologue so that the rest of the story is about what happened, how and why. The team of Father Dominic, Hana Sinclair and Marco Picard return in this installment of the series to solve another mystery from medieval times. Medieval mysteries are my favorite sub-genre so this series is a perfect fit for me. The team includes Father Michael Dominic who is the head of the Vatican Secret Archives, Hana Sinclair who is a reporter for the French newspaper Le Monde and Marco Picard, a bodyguard hired by Sinclair's grandfather to protect her. After reading 3 books in the series, they have become old friends to me.

While I was riveted by the story, the plot turned into a fantastical ending that was not believable. It was definitely interesting but just not plausible. I hate to be a spoiler here so I won't go into any details. The history part of the series delves into the Papacy of the late 1300s and the French monarchy which I thoroughly enjoyed. The authors mixed the older history with the new as the rebuilding of the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris is also part of the story. This mix is what makes this series tick. 

I hate to give a McAvoy book a lower rating that 5 out of 5 stars but The Avignon Affair had flaws. I am rating it 4 because the suspense level was significant.

2023 Library Love Reading Challenge

I have loved this challenge since it began 6 or 7 years ago. Perusing the library shelves is fun and I find alot of good books and authors from doing so. It saves money too! Nothing bad about that. I am downsizing my personal challenge in 2023 because I am still skittish about COVID-19. Normally I would take the top level challenge of 60 books per year. However, in 2023 I am signing up at the Thrifty Reader level which requires that 24 library books be read and reviewed. I may not even begin the challenge until Spring because infection rates have climbed this month in my state.

The Rules:

 Runs: January 1, 2022 – December 31, 2022. You can join anytime. The sign-up will remain open until Dec. 31st, 2022.

 The goal is to find your love of your local library and to read at least twelve (12) books from the library, but you can read more.  While twelve is the minimum; there is no maximum limit.  See the different levels below and pick the one that works best for you.

 Any format will work for this challenge (prints, ebooks, or audios); as long as you checked it out from the library, it counts.

 Books can be any genre (fiction, nonfiction, romance, fantasy, mystery, thriller, horror, etc.).

 Crossovers from other reading challenges are allowed, including re-reads.  The goal is to support your local library and save money.

 You do not have to be a book blogger to participate; you can track your progress on Goodreads, Facebook, LibraryThing, etc.

 If you’re a blogger grab the button and do a quick post about the challenge to help spread the word.  If you’re not a blogger you can help by posting on Facebook or Tweet about the challenge.  Please link back to both hosts: Angel’s Guilty Pleasures & Books of My Heart.

 As an added bonus: The challenge hosts are offering up FOUR GIVEAWAYS plus a few surprise giveaways throughout the year (2022) with this Challenge.  The main giveaways will be posted for (Jan., Feb., & March), (April, May, & June), (July, Aug., & Sept.), & last (Oct., Nov., & Dec.).  A linky will go up on both Angel’s Guilty Pleasures and Books of My Heart; where you can leave your links for the reviews on your library books you have read.  So make sure to stop by to enter.  More details in the giveaway section below. 

 (Optional) Reviews: Write a review to enter the giveaway – 2 sentences or an essay, whatever works for you, but there is a minimum of 2 sentences.  Not sure what to write?  How about something like, “The plot was a delight, but the characters didn’t capture me.” “I enjoyed the story and really liked the characters.”

 Please use #LibraryLoveChallenge when sharing your reviews, library pictures, etc…

Levels: 

• Dewey Decimal: Read 12 books
• Thrifty Reader: Read 24 books
• Overdrive Junkie: Read 36 books
• Library Addict: Read 48 books
• Library Card on Fire: Read 60+ books 

If you are interested, there is also a Goodreads Group for the Library Love Challenge, where we talk, share, and discuss the books we snagged/read during the 2022 Library Love Challenge – Click Here