The Fountains of Silence

The Fountains of Silence by Ruta Sepetys
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This book SO good. I didn't realize that I knew so little about post-war Franco Spain, Sepetys created fantastic characters to illustrate what went on during the 1950s through Franco's death in 1975. Reading this on the heels of Purnell's A Woman of No Importance highlighted for me how many stories we still don't know and why it's so critical to keep asking questions and trying to understand what really happened in history and in the lives of the people around us. That's a broad, over-dramatic statement, but I kept shaking my head while I read this unable to grasp the soul crushing reality so many Spaniards faced under Franco's rule. I hope that if I were in a similar situation, I also wouldn't look away and would dare to question what was really happening.

Read it or listen to it-- it's well worth your time. Happy reading--

A Woman of No Importance

A Woman of No Importance: The Untold Story of the American Spy Who Helped Win World War II by Sonia Purnell
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This book is one of those where truth is indeed stranger than fiction. A story about an American woman with a prostetic leg single handedly leading a spy network among other death defying acts over the course of the 30s and 40s doesn't seem entirely plausible. However, it is the reality of the amazing Virginia Hall. So much is still unknown about her movements through the years. Still Purnell has constructed a compelling timeline of what historians have uncovered.

Reading this makes me think that the rise in stories about female spies and operatives during WWI and WWII may have a lot to do with information about Hall. Kate Quinn, author of The Alice Network and the Huntress, has to have known about Hall's story. Too many storylines coincide with real events.

Full disclosure that the historical detail is dense, but Hall is so interesting that you can't help but read on.

Happy reading--

What Alice Forgot - Round Six

What Alice Forgot by Liane Moriarty
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I couldn't even wait until May like I had planned to. This book is seriously one of my very favorites. It's one I return to when I need things to feel more settled. SO much love.

ps. There's been talk of a movie. Not quite sure how I feel about that...

Kingdom of the Blind

Kingdom of the Blind by Louise Penny
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Such an intriguing follow up to the drug cartel story line and Gamache's suspension from the Surete. Penny's stories grow more and more complex as she's written each installment. The only thing I'm sad about is that I am now only one book away from being caught up with the Gamache stories.

Happy reading--

Tell Me More - Round 3

Tell Me More: Stories about the 12 Hardest Things I'm Learning to Say by Kelly Corrigan
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I very specifically chose this as my first book of the year. I love Corrigan's commentary on life and relationships and everything in between. I still haven't looked through all of my 2019 books to figure out my top few books, but the thing I know for sure if that I'm most grateful to have discovered Corrigan's books.

As always, happy reading and feel free to tell me more...