A Carol for Mrs. Dickens by Rebecca Connolly

 This little Christmas book was nestled next to The Mansion at the library, which was what I was looking for... But this one looked intriguing so I checked them both out. It is a sweet little story, based on the real Mrs. Charles Dickens and is set in their time period. Mrs. Dickens admires her husband's exuberance, but is worn out. This little story shares how she got her Christmas spirit back, and it's sweet and focused on the "real" meaning of Christmas. It's fun to read about the Victorian traditions and fun parties, but the spirit of the season is missing. How Mrs. Dickens brings it back, through dreamy memories, is good to read about. I was hoping it might help ME feel more of the Christmas spirit, and it did, even though it's not quite Thanksgiving. I want to start early and feel it longer! I was also hoping it might be a giftable book, but it's not quite at that level. Still, a fun and good little read. 

Summer of 69 by Elin Hilderbrand on Libby Audio; 14 hours

 I almost returned this early because it was so inane and shallow, but gradually got interested in the characters and finished it as I walked and cleaned house. This author has the annoying habit of overstating and listing and re-explaining things from different characters' points of view. It's constantly redundant. The other annoying thing was the purposeful name dropping of every street and business on the two islands, oh yes, and the beaches and the descriptions; it was almost to prove that she spent some time there. It was unnecessary and annoying. 

She also kept naming the music, the songs, and the bands that were popular in 69. Okay. You know some of the music. What she didn't capture was the mood or ambience. Parts were okay...like the excitement of the moon launch and the way people felt, but it really sort of missed for me. I was hoping for a nostalgic trip down memory lane and there were good parts where Jesse's thirteen year old feelings rang true, but otherwise it was kind of a waste. I believe I'm done with this author. There are so many more satisfying stories out there!

The Frozen River by Ariel Lawhon

I don't think I would have read this book, from its description, if I hadn't wanted to be able to discuss it in our Monterey book club. I'm so glad I did! It's one of the best books I've read in a long time. Such good characters, such ethical and strong characters were what propelled this forward for me. Plus, the time period showing what every day life was like in the late 1700's was fascinating.

Martha Ballard is a real historical person, and so are most of the characters in this book. But the story is fictional, which the author clearly explains in the Author's note at the end. It also showed me a lot about the early judicial system of the Maine territory, the culture of that area, and the early upper crust of Boston and Harvard. 

The Ballard family was a happy one to learn about, despite the early deaths of three of their daughters. The rape of women and the powerlessness of women in general was treated with clarity and reality. Yet Martha Ballard was an extraordinary outlier who made a difference in her sphere. I loved being privy to her thinking. I enjoyed the clues that dropped like breadcrumbs along the way as to the murder of one of the two villains in the story. It also felt to me like divine justice was done when the "civilized" justice system failed. I had the sense all along that things would work out...

The difficult birth scenes and violence were not gratuitous and not hard for me as they propelled the story along. I liked the setting of the river and how it impacted life.  I enjoyed the humor as Martha fought her cantankerous horse....for a heavy topic, this story also felt light. I will definitely explore more from this author. 

The Keeper of Lost Things by Ruth Hogan - listened on Libby for almost ten hours

This audiobook started out delightfully and I appreciated the wonderful descriptive similes for the first several hours. The characters were interesting and the setting of the beautiful home and gardens was comforting. The story had several interweaving episodes that made following a little difficult at first, but I was able to keep them straight eventually.

I was quite captivated at first...but it soon became evident that these characters were one-dimensional and flat. I persevered to the end, though, because some of the magic or ghosts were slightly intriguing and I wondered how the author would pull them all together. They all came together, all neatly tied up.

I enjoyed the British accent, the very clever turns of phrases...but overall, too fluffy. And the occasional F-bombs were so needless. Too bad. 

I guess fluff just doesn't get it for me anymore! In between listens, I was studying Doctrine & Covenants 124 for teaching Gospel Doctrine, and listening to meaty podcasts about that. The contrast between fluff and meat became startling!