REVIEW: The Sea Captain's Wife

 The Sea Captain's Wife
Author: Tilar J. Mazzeo

I'm always up for reading an adventurous, exciting true story. And this tale of survival on the sea definitely was exciting! 

I had never heard of Mary Ann Patten before reading this book. She was 19 years old and onboard ship with her husband and captain, Joshua, in 1856. During the voyage, her husband became sick, the crew began contemplating mutiny, and a heavy storm hit. Mary did what she had to do, and took over as captain, working with the crew to sail the ship to safety. 

What an exciting and awesome story! The first woman to captain a merchant vessel! 

I loved this book. The story kept me riveted the entire time. I read each night after work, excited to find out what was going to happen next! 

This is the first book I've read by this author. I will definitely be reading more! 

**I voluntarily read a review copy of this book from St. Martins Press. All opinions expressed are entirely my own.** 

REVIEW: Death on Dickens Island

 Death on Dickens Island
Author: Allison Brook 

I have Allison Brook's Haunted Library series on my bookshelves and coming up next in my series TBR list!  I read the first book years ago, and then lost track of the series. So happy to be soon picking back up again and reading her books!

When I saw this first book in a new series pop up for review, I had to grab a early copy. I remember enjoying her characters and writing style so had to jump on this new series from the start. 

The basics -- Della Dickens is in her thirties, newly divorced and trying to start over again. She comes home to Dickens Island where she grew up to help with the family business and heal some family rifts. When her Uncle and Aunt end up suspects in a murder investigation, Della finds herself in the middle of secrets, lies and danger. 

I loved the setting, the characters and the suspense. The Dickens family has more than a little family drama going on and that aspect really heightened the suspense. I liked the ghostly/supernatural edge as well. I love the cover art!

Great start to a new series, and I will definitely be reading more! Can't wait for the next book! 

**I voluntarily read a review copy of this book from Crooked Lane Books. All opinions expressed are entirely my own.** 

REVIEW: Running Deep

 Running Deep
Author: Tom Clavin 

I have read several of Tom Clavin's books and learned so much! His books are always well researched and well written. 

Running Deep is the story of the USS Tang, a US World War II submarine, and its Captain, Richard Hetherington O'Kane. The Tang was an attack submarine that had the best attack record of the submarine fleet at the time, before being accidentally sunk by one of it's own torpedoes. Only 9 crewmen, including the Captain, survived the sinking. 

The surviving crewmen were captured by the Japanese and sent to a prisoner of war camp.

A year later when the camp was liberated, O'Kane, weighing only 90 pounds, was rescued. 

Wow! This story was intense! 

I had never heard of the USS Tang or Captain O'Kane before. So glad I read this story and learned the history of the ship and its crew. 

With everything going on in the world right now, I found it hard to read a story about war. Even a war that ended so long ago. But, I persevered and finished the book, because I had to know what the fate of the crew was! 

The facts are presented in a very interesting way, and I enjoyed this book despite it being a very serious topic.  

Eagerly awaiting the next Tom Clavin book! 

**I voluntarily read a review copy of this book from St Martins Press. All opinions expressed are entirely my own.**

 

 

REVIEW: Progress

Progress
Author: Samuel Miller McDonald

It took me quite awhile to read this book. Not because it was uninteresting, but because I needed to read slowly and fully digest the subject material. For me, this was not a book to skim or binge read. I wanted to take my time to understand the information so I could form an educated opinion.  

Progress is written in a very academic style. This will not appeal to all readers. He presents history and facts ranging from geography and history to philosophy and religion, tracing the effects of progress on society and cultures. I enjoyed how he presented the facts and then applied them to form an interpretive picture of progress across the centuries. 

Very thought provoking. How many millions of people and how many cultures have been decimated and destroyed over the years in the name of progress formulated from greed and dominance?  So, so many. What a waste. 

I wish humanity tended more towards harmony and building knowledge, rather than dominance and destruction. 

This book will have me thinking for a very long time. I'm still going on tangents of reading and research from notes I took while reading. So interesting! It will take me awhile to build my own educated opinion on this, but the journey and learning is the main goal! 

I will keep this author on my radar and definitely read more from him! 

**I voluntarily read a review copy of this book from St Martins Press. All opinions expressed are entirely my own.** 

REVIEW: Simple Designs for Meditative Knitting

 Simple Designs for Meditative Knitting
Author: Barbara Breen

Knitting can be relaxing and calming, but it can also be exacting and tedious, depending on the pattern. When I want to knit to just be calm, enjoy the rhythm of my needles and just get lost in my thoughts, I don't want to be making something with numerous color changes or a complex chart. Often I knit on something that doesn't require a pattern or a memorized design....so I can just be in the moment. 

This book gathers 19 designs with simplicity in mind, designed for relaxed, meditative knitting. The instructions are mostly simple knit and purl repeats -- easily memorized -- so that the knitter can just relax and enjoy the feel of the yarn and their thoughts.

These patterns would be great for car rides, airplanes, waiting rooms, etc as well -- any place you want to bring a spot of calm and something to do, but don't want anything complicated.   

I've tried several knitting books that were meant for being calming and relaxing, but the patterns often involved circulars, double points, fussy color changes, charts for lace work....  I can't really calm it and be counting yarn overs and slips at the same time. For me, calm requires a gentle flow, a pattern that doesn't require me to be paying attention to it, and a well-known design that I already know so well I could do it (and have done) with my eyes closed. I want soft yarn, straight needles, and a constant rhythm. :) This book has some patterns and ideas that I'm going to tweak to fit my style, and try them out. A little variation in those times where I just grab up needles, some soft or pretty colored yarn and create something. 

If you like to knit, and want to try some calm time with your needles, I definitely recommend this book. It's for beginners and experienced knitters alike. 

**I voluntarily read a review copy of this book from Fox Chapel Publishing. All opinions expressed are entirely my own.** 

REVIEW: How to Talk to Your Dog about Murder

 How to Talk to Your Dog about Murder
Author: Emily Soderberg

Nikki Jackson-Ramanathan is working as a dog walker while she tries to get her pet behaviorist business idea off the ground. She lands an appointment to help a wealthy woman's dog get over grieving for his deceased owner. Just as Nikki thinks this might just be the thing to give her pet behaviorist career a boost, the rich woman turns up dead......and Nikki is a murder suspect.  

Such a cute concept! I really enjoyed Nikki as a main character. She has a great sense of humor and is just a quirky, fun character. I liked the mix of humor and mystery. I definitely can sympathize with Nikki's thoughts that she better relates to animals than people. I've felt that way many times myself! 

The plot kept my attention from start to finish. I liked the characters and the background plot of a pet behaviorist. There were plenty of suspects and lots of sleuthing. 

I'm not sure if this is a one-off or if this will be a series. If it's a series, I will definitely read more! 

Fun read! 

**I voluntarily read a review copy of this book from Crooked Lane Books. All opinions expressed are entirely my own.**  

REVIEW: The Deadly Book Club

 The Deadly Book Club
Author: Lyn Liao Butler

Can you imagine being in an online chat about books only to have a member of the book club killed during the meeting? Yikes!

Since 2020, I can't even estimate the number of online meetings I've been in. But, I can safely say that nobody has died during any of the Zoom, Teams or other online gatherings I've attended. 

The basic premise of this story was intriguing, so of course I had to read the book. :)  I am easily sucked in by a good book blurb. 

The basics - a group of five well-established book influencers meet online each month to discuss books, events and their group monthly book pick.  Things turn violent when during a meeting their computer screens freeze and the screaming starts as one of them is brutally murdered.  The remaining 4 book club members find their secrets, hidden agendas and resentments suddenly brought out into the open. Can they put that all aside and work together to discover who killed their friend? 

I really had a hard time liking any of these characters. They were all completely annoying. But....I put that emotional response aside because I really wanted to find out who killed one of them and why! But the entire time I kept thinking that I wouldn't be able to stand 5 minutes in the company of any of them. Yuck. lol.  

The plot kept my attention from start to finish. The characters were incredibly obnoxious and complete drama queens, but they were supposed to be. The suspense built pretty steadily up to the reveal.  

Enjoyable read! I look forward to reading more by this author! 

**I voluntarily read a review copy of this book from Crooked Lane Books. All opinions expressed are entirely my own.**