I'm on the fence about books by Chrissie Hynde, Bethany Maines and Stacey Halls

Didn't hate these books, but really didn't like them either.

Reckless, My Life as a Pretender by Chrissie Hynde. I have always liked The Pretenders and thought Chrissie Hynde was cool, so I was eager to read this book (well, not that eager, since it came out in 2015). Ah well. The first 3/4 of the book is about her life 'before' The Pretenders, which boils down to drinking a lot, doing a lot of drugs, sleeping with lots of different people, and trying to put a band together. The putting of the band together was a very small part of it. The last quarter is when she was in The Pretenders, which was mostly about the horrible things that happened. Her kids and her kicking her addictions were mentioned briefly in an epilogue.  So while it wasn't tedious, per se, it was kind of the same thing over and over again, if that makes any sense. Or to put another way, I don't really have any interest in sitting down for a plate of vegetarian food with Chrissie Hynde.

An Unseen Current by Bethany Maines. This is the first in a series of mysteries that feature a former CIA agent and his granddaughter. I hoped this might be a series I'd like as it is set in the San Juan Islands, a place I've visited and really like. Alas, no. Not very interesting or appealing characters, and a goofy romance aspect. 

Mrs. England by Stacey Halls. This is historical fiction about a woman who graduated from Norland Nannies in the UK during the Victorian Era and goes to live in a grand home near some mills in (I think) the Northern part of England. The nurse, Ruby, is smart and talented and the children love her. She falls under a bit of a spell of the master of the house (Mr. England) and begins to see a lot of faults with his wife (Mrs. England). As time goes by, though, Ruby can't figure out just who in the house is the baddie. We also learn about Ruby's tough life before becoming a nanny and how that colors how she sees the situation. I liked this book, didn't love it.

The English Experience by Julie Schumacher. She's written three books about the same English professor, and the first one (Dear Committee Members) was great, the second one (The Shakespeare Experiment) was ok, and this one is ok as well. 

Do not recommend: The Emperor's Children

I recently read The Emperor's Children by Claire Messud. To me, this book was tedious and overwritten.  The New York Times named it one of the top 10 books of the year in 2006. I guess a novel about entitled young adults who live off their parents and are completely clueless about the 'real world' was kind of innovative in 2006 but now it just reads tediously, in my opinion. Unlikeable people being unlikeable to each other--no thanks. 

Highly recommend: books by KarinTanabe, Janice Hallett, Sally Rigby and Holly Gramazio.

The Sunset Crowd by Karin Tanabe. I liked this book! It was sort of an "All About Eve" set in 1970s Los Angeles. A tight group of friends (young, wealthy, beautiful, famous) meet a 'new girl', Theodora,  who insinuates herself into the group. But is she who she says she is? And what exactly is her endgame? Good characters and a good plot. The ending felt a bit rushed but that's my only criticism.

The Lost Girls of Penzance by Sally Rigby. This is the first in a (planned I guess) series of police procedurals set in Cornwall. The main characters are the head detective Lauren, her DC Matt, and assorted other detectives at the police station. Three girls go missing from daycares around town, and the team has to solve those crimes along with finding out what happened after a  discovery of bones at a farm near town. The book is no Ruth Galloway book but it wasn't bad, it wasn't too stressful to read, and I liked the characters. I will look forward to reading the next one that comes out soon.

The Christmas Appeal by Janice Hallett. This is a novella that is kind of a sequel to a book I adore, The Appeal. The same troup of amateur thespians is bound up in a murder, this time during their annual holiday 'panto'. This makes me want to read The Appeal again, so I think I will! Anyway, loved it. So I went back and re-read "The Appeal" and I loved that as well.

The Husbands by Holly Gramazio. Love this book. It won't be for everyone but it was NUTS! Read my review at NetGalley.

Welcome to my book blog!

 I've had this blog for a bit and I thought I'd transfer all my book reading stuff over here.  I hope you enjoy it!