Thursday, June 19, 2025

REVIEW: House Across the Lake by Riley Sager

 


I wouldn't have picked up this book but for its selection for my book club and I'm glad that it was chosen. The main character is Casey Fletcher, an actress that moves into her family's lake house in Vermont to get a break from some really negative and pervasive press coverage that won't go away. Her husband, Len, died about one year before the events in the book and Casey has decompensated into alcoholism, which is what has contributed to the negative press coverage.  She still drinks at the lake but has the privacy to do so. She also has a pair of binoculars that she uses to look at the houses across the lake - and she becomes focused on the beautiful mansion across from hers, which is occupied by model Katherine Royce and her husband. 

Prior to Casey becoming hyper fixated on the home, Casey saved Katherine from drowning in the lake. We learn this fairly early on in the novel - Casey sees Katherine's limp body and, instead of calling for help, instead opts to go out and save her. She and Katherine become friends but Casey still feels compelled to spy on Katherine and Tom, Katherine's husband. Katherine ultimately disappears and Casey is convinced that she knows what happened, so she sets out to prove it. 

This book was surprisingly good, with some twists that I wasn't expecting - although you should be prepared to suspend some disbelief. It was particularly easy to read and easy to get into - it pulled me in without much effort.  It's told mostly from Casey's perspective and Sager very much does a good job in telling the story from her perspective. It felt very natural to see things from Casey's perspective. I also think that Sager does a good job in developing a main character that is also an addict. 

Definitely recommend - but I don't want to give more away. It would be too easy to provide you with spoilers that would ruin the experience of this novel unfolding - definitely worth the read!

Sunday, June 15, 2025

Links I love

 


This week has been crazy - I started my new job and we saw Keith Urban in Gilford. He was AMAZING.  I'm definitely going to see him again. I am hoping to have additional reviews up this week.  In the meantime, enjoy the below!

Thursday, June 12, 2025

REVIEW: In the Garden of Beasts by Erik Larson

 


This was my second reading of this book and it is one of my favorites by Larson (along with Devil in the White City about HH Holmes).  Having said that, until this reading, I didn't realize that the title refers to the Tiergarten - the park around which most of the events in this book take place and which translates as Beast  Garden or Animal Park.  Generally speaking, this book is about William Dodd, and his family, during their time in Germany when he was the Ambassador to Germany as Hitler is coming into power. Interestingly, he was selected without having any real experience in diplomacy - he was a college professor.  He also had no real instructions from the Roosevelt administration in how to handle Hitler or Germany. 

This book is absolutely fascinating. It's long and informative, but I was hooked right from the beginning as Larson seems to make this telling more like a novel then an academic tome. Dodd, in spite of his inexperience, was clear sighted in his assessment of the Nazi's and he tried to warn people of where they were headed, but no one really took it seriously.  His actions and the response he received serve as a warning to us all that should be heeded even now. T he book was thoroughly researched and demonstrates Larson's talent as both an historian and a writer.

Definitely recommend. 

Tuesday, June 10, 2025

REVIEW: Discovery of Witches - TV Series, review

 


I finally finished watching this series this past weekend. It was a limited series adaptation originally found on AMC (but which I found on Netflix).  I had been highly motivated to finish reading the lengthy books so that I could watch this series.  

This isn't perhaps the best adaptation of these books.  The pacing was off - it was VERY slow in some parts and sped up way too much in parts that shouldn't have been glossed over. While I love Matthew Goode, Alex Kingston and Steven Cree, the acting of the other actors was lukewarm and lackluster at best.  I wish we had more of Cree's character, Gallowglass, who was my favorite character in the books. The actress that played Diana was bland, bland, bland.  It seemed like her acting was forced.  

What perhaps was sacrilegious to me, and something that I will never get over, is how much they actually cut. We get NOTHING of, for instance, Diana's time with Matthew's sire Phillippe (a detraction that took away from the magnitude of Phillippe's actions towards Diana).  They don't explain the demon's powers, which led to a lot of confusion for watchers that haven't read the books. 

Don't waste your time with this rubbish.  Best to watch something worthwhile. 

Sunday, June 8, 2025

Links I love


Last weekend, I drove to Hanover to watch my son row in his last crew meet of the spring crew season. It's so hard to believe that next year, he'll be a senior and it will be his last year.  He has made such good friends through this program and next year, his sister will be rowing as a first year!  So exciting!

I've started listening to audiobooks and I'm looking for recommendations as to what I should listen to. What is your favorite audiobook? what app do you use to listen?

Don't forget to visit my Pangobooks store and you can also get $5.00 off your first order. Book of the Month is also fun!  I also have been doing a lot of shopping with Capital One shopping.  Please be advised that these are referral links!

Wednesday, June 4, 2025

REVIEW A Summer Affair by Elin Hilderbrand

 


This book checks off two challenges that I'm doing this summer! Look at me go!





In this book, the first of the Nantucket series (also, who knew Elin Hilderbrand was so prolific), Claire is the protagonist.  She seems to be a happy, married, mother of four who lives full time on the island of Nantucket with her family. Claire is widely known to have been in a relationship with Max Dust, a famous rock star, when they were both teenagers. Claire is asked to co chair the biggest fundraiser of the year as a result, she believes, of that relationship and what the other members of the board of the organization benefits perceive as her ability to get him to perform for free at the fundraiser. Claire is a pretty atypical co chair - she's not very wealthy and she's a professional glassblower by trade. So when Claire is asked to chair the fundraiser by a man named Lock, who is the director of that organization and whose wife Claire believes she single handedly didn't convince to not drink and drive (the wife got into a devastating car accident), Claire agrees. During the course of the gala planning, many things continue to happen, including addiction, affairs, fights, extortion and a number of other things.

I am consistently surprised about how drawn in I get to Hilderbrand's novels.  I didn't expect this of myself given my book snobbery - these books are marketed as easy beach reads for crying out loud!  That's pretty deceptive because this book, told in the various points of view of the main characters, actually reveals the surprising complexity that resides within and between people.  And those complexities are very realistic and not beyond the pale. They are complexities that we, as readers, could have ourselves or see in other people. The novel also struck a chord for me insofar as Claire's need to go back to work and regain some degree of self-expression and creativity. After experiencing an accident during her most recent pregnancy that led to preterm labor, Claire stopped working as a successful glass blower but she goes back to work when she is also tapped to create the main auction item.  That really resounded with me. What she felt and her motivations could have been my motivations and my feelings.

I have The Perfect Couple (which is also a Netflix series) on my list and I'm looking forward to reading it.  This one is a great summer read. 

Sunday, June 1, 2025

Links I love

 


I hope that everyone had a good Memorial Day weekend. Since it marks the unofficial beginning of summer, I have changed the picture above to a picture of Franconia Notch. The ski slopes are Cannon Mountain. I have an aspiration of retiring up there. The weekend was busy - and included shopping for vanities for the bathroom, flooring and paint for my daughter's bedroom and shopping for a new suit and semi-formal dress for her. I've been doing a lot of walking and I have even gotten back to the gym!

REVIEW: House Across the Lake by Riley Sager

  I wouldn't have picked up this book but for its selection for my book club and I'm glad that it was chosen. The main character is ...