Wethersfield Library

Cherish Farrah

by Beth Morrow

Good new horror fiction. It is an easy quick read. Characters are well written and complex. Nice to see some inclusive horror protagonists. Not the best, but worth a read.

French Braid

by Anne Tyler

This is the story of a family with all of its strengths, quirks and personalities from the 1950s up until now. It is told with her terrific and familiar style of writing where you feel you are right there in the conversations and situations. No one writes dialogue like Anne Tyler. I enjoyed it and loved it even more when the meaning of the title is revealed about 10 pages before the end. It is warm, funny and heartbreaking all at the same time.

My Grandmother Asked Me To Tell You She's Sorry

by Fredrik Backman

Fredrik Backman has a way of connecting his characters in very intriguing and entertaining ways. Also, his connection of characters from one book to another reminds me of the way that Maeve Binchy made such connections from one of her stories to another. This book took a little bit of effort to get going, but once I got into it a bit, it was a very enjoyable read.

Snacks for Dinner

by Lukas Volger

Great book for summer time meals. Recipes and suggestions were fun to make and eat. I made with my boys and we had a blast! There is also a nice variety of snacks for all taste buds.

Jane and the Year Without a Summer

by Stephanie Barron

This is the fourteenth book in the "Being Jane Austen" series. If you are a Janeite these light mysteries will charm you. Barron perfectly captures Austen's world and wit. The books allude to the perils of the Regency era and use expressions found in Austen's novels. While it is not necessary to go back and read the series from the beginning, doing so will deepen your appreciation for the characters. Bridgerton fans, the Regency period details will delight you.

To Rescue the Republic

by Bret Baier

Compelling historical review of Grant and specifically the difficulties he dealt with as President, especially in the area of Reconstruction. Grant could not achieve his goals due to both Southern and Northern resistance. One aspect of Grant's history is his effort to work out a compromise in the election of Hayes vs Tiler as his Presidential successor. Even in 1875, the US was bitterly divided with the Presidential election results and Electoral votes.

Hard Truth

by Nevada Barr

I love this series. Anna Pigeon is a Park Ranger for the National Parks System. Each book takes place in a different park. Each book involves a different crime that occurs, and Anna’s journey to solve the crime. I love coming back to these books in between reading others. This particular book is set in Rocky Mountain National Park. Most of the others I’ve read involve lots of history or natural surroundings, but this one focused more on the crime itself and the psychology of the killer and victims.

Velvet Was the Night

by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

I really wanted to like this book after loving Mexican Gothic. If I had to read one more time that the main female character was "unattractive" and the insinuation that she wasn't worthy of development, love, etc. because of this - UGH. It gets really interesting towards the end but then plummets again into shallow narratives of how the characters look before a so-so ending.

Chaos: Charles Manson, the CIA, and the Secret History of the Sixties

by Tom O'Neill

I read this right after reading Helter Skelter for the first time and think it helped. Everything was fresh in my head reading the 'known' facts about the case. Hearing O'Neill's rebuttal about the details was interesting. If you can stomach 2 Manson books in a row, recommend reading one then the other. Well written.

Last Night at the Telegraph Club

by Malinda Lo

The travails of a Chinese high school student as she comes to grips with her homosexuality and her fascination with drag in 1950's San Francisco. A wonderful little book that tells a part of American history not often explored.

Reminders of Him

by Colleen Hoover

This was one of my favorites books I’ve read in a long time. It kept me on my toes, had some romance along with intrigue. I kept going back and forth on whether or not I liked the main character. But it kept me wanting to read on!

The Guilt Trip

by Sandie Jones

This relationship-based suspense is on the light side—Not the best thriller or writing I have read but entertaining for an easy summer read. I will be willing to try another of Jones’s books— The Other Woman (by Jones) was a Reese’s Book Club pick.

We Had To Remove This Post

by Hanna Bervoets

A novella chronicling a young women's time working as a content moderator for a social media site and how it alters her mental state over time. She is exposed to vile imagery for hours on end, and receives no mental help.

The Lies I Tell

by Julie Clark

“The difference between justice and revenge comes down to who's telling the story.” Kat is a journalist who lost everything at the hands of Meg, a serial con artist. 10 years later and Meg is back. Kat worms her way into Meg’s life with the hopes of exposing Meg and getting the justice she deserves. It’s an easy read, it’s fast paced and I love a good cat and mouse book. Especially when it was hard to tell who was the cat and who was the mouse. I love a great anti protagonist. Meg really makes you question whether or not justice should be served.

Great Circle

by Maggie Shipstead

I liked the plot - female pilot on a journey and disappears. I also love books that have two storylines, this book had a modern day story line as well as the past historical account of the pilot. I did not love the characters, they just seemed super flawed and had tons of different obstacles to deal with. It is hard to love a book if it is hard to fall in love with the main characters. Neat twist at the end, but I have read another book with similar ending so not surprised. However, well researched historically.

The Book of Lost Names

by Kristin Harmel

Best book I have read in a long time! A WWII/Holocaust story based on real events, this book has everything. Heartbreak, hope, thrills, love- so much went into this story and it truly makes you respect what people went through during a difficult time in History. I highly recommend this one!