Book Review: Broken Country by Clare Leslie Hall

Broken Country by Clare Leslie Hall
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

(3 1/2 stars)  Set in 1968, Beth lives on a 200-acre farm in Dorset, England with her husband Frank and brother-in-law Jimmy. The story jumps back in time when she was in high school and met Gabriel, a privileged boy living in the local mansion. They fall in love, he breaks her heart, and her plans to read literature at Oxford University are crushed. She ends up marrying Frank and working the farm. Fast forward to the present, they meet again when his dog kills some of the sheep on their farm. The reader can predict what will happen next when she and Gabriel are thrown together again.

In spite of the fact that I read this for my mystery book club, it reads like a family drama and romance novel. The mystery / thriller aspect of the novel really doesn’t appear until about 2/3 of the way through the book. The book jumps around in time, but indicates the time frame at the beginning of the chapter (Before, 1968, etc.). The reader definitely is immersed in each of the character’s lives, along with the bad decisions that they make along the way. Content warnings.

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Book Review: The Most Spectacular Restaurant in the World: The Twin Towers, Windows on the World, and the Rebirth of New York by Tom Roston

The Most Spectacular Restaurant in the World: The Twin Towers, Windows on the World, and the Rebirth of New York by Tom Roston
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The Windows on the World restaurant was on the 107th floor of the World Trade Center North Tower, ¼ mile up with an incredible view of the city. Imagined and built by Joe Baum, a noted NYC restaurateur and showman, it opened in 1976 to rave reviews. One month short of its 25th anniversary, the Twin Towers collapsed on September 11, 2001.

This is the story of the development of this fantastic restaurant, from the back story of Joe Baum to the politics involved in building the World Trade Center and the extravagance of the restaurant. It is an extensively researched book, with the author conducting more than 150 personal interviews. He focuses on various individuals from chefs and wine stewards to dishwashers and line cooks. The reader truly gets a feel for the sense of family and camaraderie that was created by the individuals working there. Quite a few photos are included as well.

CNN and Time Studios have created a 40-minute documentary “Top of the World” about the restaurant, which was released in September 2026. You can view the trailer --
https://deadline.com/2026/08/top-of-t..., and it will be available for viewing on HBO Max starting today (10/8/2026).

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Book Review: Villa Coco by Andrew Sean Greer

Villa Coco by Andrew Sean Greer
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Our main character, “Giovedi”, lives in Washington, D.C., has a new degree in Archives and Records Management, and is looking for a job. He accepts a 4-month position in Tuscany working for a 92 year-old Baroness, Lisabetta also known as Coco, cataloging her art, artifacts and possessions. She is full of wild stories of her life and there are constant visitors to her villa. Giovedi spends more of his time being her assistant than actually cataloging her collection.

The reader is immersed in the Tuscan countryside, the food, the culture, the people and the language. Life there is slow and pleasant. The focus of this book is on the characters and the place itself, rather than the plot. We slowly learn more about Giovedi and Coco, as they slowly learn more about each other. There are some surprises, along with humor and loss. Due to the buzz and hype around this book in the four months since it was published, I was expecting a little more. But who can complain about spending the fall in Tuscany?

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Book Review: The Thoroughbreds by Elin Hilderbrand and Shelby Cunningham (The Academy #2)

The Thoroughbreds by Elin Hilderbrand
My rating: 0 of 5 stars

I read The Academy (the first book in this series) in January 2026. Here was my review at that time –

Tiffin Academy is a boarding school in rural Massachusetts, and the novel follows one year in the students' and faculty members' lives. With all the teenage drama, hook-ups, break-ups, slang, and cultural references, I felt that this book is targeting the YA audience rather than Elin Hilderbrand's typical readers. There are quite a few characters to keep track of, and the majority of them (faculty included!) are making bad decisions. Unfortunately, there are too many characters and not enough plot and character development for me.

Fast forward to September 2026, when I read the advanced reader’s copy of Thoroughbreds (the second and final book in this series). To be honest, the same review can be used for this book.

The book once again seems to be a YA book, and I’m definitely not that target audience. There is way too much product placement and name dropping, most of which goes right over my head. There are too many characters to keep track of, both faculty and students. And some of the names are so similar – Rhode, Royce, Roy. Predictably, the ending ties up everything in a neat little bow and everyone is a winner. And a note to the authors – when you are “dismissed” from a boarding school prior to graduating, you DO NOT apply to graduate school as your next step; you must first graduate from an undergraduate program!

I understand why the mother /daughter team wrote this book together. Shelby attended St. George’s boarding school in Rhode Island, and now is a student at the University of Miami, which figures prominently in this storyline. I wanted to give both books in this series a better score because typically I really enjoy Elin Hilderbrand’s writing, but that was just too much of a challenge.

My thanks to NetGalley and Little, Brown and Company for an advanced reader copy of this upcoming book, pubished September 15, 2026.

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Book Review: Tranquility by Tuesday: 9 Ways to Calm the Chaos and Make Time for What Matters by Laura Vanderkam

Tranquility by Tuesday: 9 Ways to Calm the Chaos and Make Time for What Matters by Laura Vanderkam
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

In the past, Laura Vanderkam has written about how to get more things done. In this book, she focuses on how to find time so you can spend it doing what you love. She has developed nine rules and spends a chapter doing a deep dive into each of them:

• Give yourself a bedtime
• Plan on Fridays
• Move by 3 p.m.
• Three times a week is a habit
• Create a back-up slot
• One big adventure / one small adventure
• Take one night for you
• Batch the little things
• Effortful fun before effortless fun

I retired a few years ago and my adult children are not living with us, so I am not the target audience for this book. It targets a busy professional with children, typically very young children and I definitely could have used this book 15 years ago when I was in that situation. That being said, I embraced many of her rules and was able to apply them to my life. Who doesn’t want to feel better rested each morning and even though we don’t want to accept it, the way to accomplish that is to give yourself a bedtime.

Laura wrote this book in 2022 and did the research with the participants in 2021, so the pandemic is very prominent in her writing and the participant responses.

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Book Review: Turning to Birds: The Power and Beauty of Noticing by Lili Taylor

Turning to Birds: The Power and Beauty of Noticing by Lili Taylor
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

(4 ½ stars) Lili Taylor began her interest in birds 15 years ago in Upstate New York and has continued her interest through the years. She is now involved with the National Audubon Society and the New York City Bird Alliance. This book is a collection of 13 short essays, each one on a different bird or a different situation. She discusses a variety of geographic locations: New Mexico, Austin, Texas, Nebraska, Bryant Park in New York City, and the Empire State Building. She also includes several chapters on birding festivals, buying binoculars, and even a bird tattoo contest.

I read this book over a two-month period, while bird watching in my own backyard with two bird feeders (finches and hummingbirds) and setting up a new bird bath. We regularly eat lunch and dinner on our patio, just feet from the feeders and bird bath, so can get an up-close and personal view of all the winged visitors.

Beautiful pencil sketches are included at the beginning of each chapter, but the artist is not acknowledged. I appreciate that she mentions several birding apps and websites, all of which I found quite helpful:
• eBird
• BirdEye
• Merlin Bird ID
• iNaturalist
• David Sibley
• Bird Cast

To be honest, I would have given this book five stars if it wasn’t for the chapter on sparrows (read other Goodreads reviews for content warnings).

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Book Review: Chain Reaction by Lee Child and Andrew Child (Jack Reacher #31)

Chain Reaction by Lee Child
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

General Susan Turner, formerly of the 110th Military Police Unit is now leading a covert investigative group for the Army. One of her team members was killed and she can’t yet trust the other team members, so she asks Reacher to investigate the murder off-book. This takes him to Colorado, Silicon Valley, and Washington, D.C., tracking down the secrets behind a huge data center, hundreds of solar panels, and AI in a remote location. Reacher and General Turner, along with her deputy commander, Dexter Elwood, make a fine team to track down the ultimate foes and ultimately save the world.

To be honest, this is the first book in the series written by both Lee and Andrew Child that I have liked. It’s quite an action-packed page-turner, and the Reacher that we know and love seems to be back. We get insight into his thought processes, mental math, short, bullet-like sentences, and of course the hand-to-hand combat we are accustomed to. The character of Susan Turner has appeared in two previous books – a small role in 61 hours (#14) and a more prominent role in Never Go Back (#18). All in all, I’m really looking forward to the next Reacher book in the series!

Many thanks to NetGalley and Bantam for an advanced reader copy of this book, which is scheduled to be published on October 20, 2026.

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Book Review: The Ride: Paul Revere and the Night That Saved America by Kostya Kennedy

The Ride: Paul Revere and the Night That Saved America by Kostya Kennedy
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Paul Revere’s famous ride from Boston to Concord, Massachusetts (18 miles) took place on April 18-19, 1775.  Half of this book is devoted to Revere’s backstory – his early years, his family, and his occupation of silversmith, engraver, and dentist.  It also sets the scene in Boston surrounding the Revolutionary War:  the Boston Tea Party, the Battle of Bunker Hill, etc.  The other half of the book is a thrilling re-telling of the actual ride.  Revere was a very well-known and reliable Express Rider, so it was obvious that he should be the one selected to spread the news of the impending British invasion. 

The last chapter, entitled Echoes, focuses on the Longfellow poem, historical Boston locations, various Paul Revere named items, and other related poems.  Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s poem was written 85 years later, just before the Civil War (1860), and is most likely why American schoolchildren are very familiar with Paul Revere’s famous ride.  There’s also an interesting chapter detailing Jonathan Singley Copley’s painting of Paul Revere. 

Overall, this is an exciting book of narrative non-fiction.  It is very well researched, both with original sources and with visits to various sites mentioned in the book.  It also includes an extensive bibliography of books, journal articles, websites and documents, along with an index including all the individuals and locations mentioned in the book.  The author even met and interviewed Paul Revere III.  The map of the various routes taken was extremely helpful to this reader.  And I thoroughly enjoyed the author’s retelling of his climb to the top of the Old North Church steeple, 175 feet off the ground!

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Book Review: The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion, Vol. 1 by Beth Brower (The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion #1)

The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion, Vol. 1 by Beth Brower
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

(4 ½ stars)  Set in 1883 London, a young Emma M. Lion has moved into her family’s house in the St. Crispian’s neighborhood.  We gradually meet the quirky characters:  her spiteful cousin Archibald who banishes Emma to the 5th floor garret, cousin and good friend Arabella, aunt Eugenia Spencer, housekeeper and cook Agnes, and evil Aunt Matilde.  Lapis Lazuli is the house previously owned by her father, which he left to Archibald until Emma turns 21 years old.  Archibald has taken advantage of the situation and has frittered away the entire fortune, leaving Emma penniless. 
 
Mysteries abound – who exactly is Maxwell, why does Cousin Archibald hate Emma, what is the scandal of the Incident which lead to the Scar, and more!  

I raced through this charming book but kept telling myself to slow down so I could savor the descriptions of the time, the place, and Emma’s perspective on the world.  She has a perpetually cheerful outlook despite everything, and appreciates the humor in every situation.  To be expected, there is a lot of tea drinking in her journal, and she adores books and reading – a woman after my own heart!  It’s a very quick read – only 107 pages.  I will definitely be reading more of this 8-volume set!

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Book Review: Necessary as Blood by Deborah Crombie (Gemma James and Duncan Kincaid #13)

Necessary as Blood by Deborah Crombie
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Gemma Janes is a Scotland Yard detective who is extremely stressed and overworked.  She worries about her job  family, a sick mother, supporting her friends, all the while trying to plan a wedding.  Once again she teams up with her husband, Duncan Kincaid to investigate the murder in the East End of London. 

In the end, clues were revealed, and guilty parties were identified and arrest in the last two chapters.  I felt it was a little too much of a rushed and tidy ending.  I wasn’t fond of the storyline in this book, but what really stood out for me were the detective teams of Gemma James/ Melody Tabot and Duncan Kincaid / Doug Cullen.  Each team worked together quite well and I enjoyed reading about their partnerships.  And who doesn’t appreciate a map included on the end pages which identifies all the relevant streets and buildings discussed in the book!

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