I stayed up late last night and finished reading How to Be a Good Wife by Emma Chapman. At first, I started this book then went on to another. I gave it another try though, and I'm glad I did. This book is suspenseful and intriguing in how it's written.
I loved the last part (after the big reveal) best.
Book Read: How to Be a Good Wife
Author: Emma Chapman
I just finished reading Two Sisters by Mary Hogan. This was her first adult novel, but this author has written several young adult novels.
I liked this book, but didn't love it and here's why. The writing was good, the story was good, but a few of the characters, hell, most of the characters, were mean and selfish, which makes it a hard book to love.
I could relate to the main character, Muriel, who was one of the titled two sisters. She is a large girl born into a family of dysfunctional parents and siblings. She's basically an outsider who never felt like she fit in. This carried over to her adult life.
I'd say pick up this book. Who cares that in places it was so difficult to read? The end was not sappy but satisfying.
Let me know what you think.
Book Read: Two Sisters
Author: Mary Hogan
The Writing Circle by Corinne Demas is a perfect book for writers to read. It covers most of the prickly topics that writers who belong to a writing group deal with: fear of sharing their work, critique of their writing, praise, rejection, and in this case, plagiarism.
The small writing circle has the following members: Nancy, the newest member who is writing a novel; Chris, a successful thriller author; Gillian, a world-famous poet; Bernard, a biographer who was married to fellow member Virginia, a historian; and Adam, a young novelist who may never finish his novel.
Members of this writing group's personal lives are intertwined and tangled. The actions of one member cause a division in the group that will never be repaired. But as horrible as the ending is, it's satisfying in just the right way.
Book Read: The Writing Circle
Author: Corinne Demas
The Uncoupling by Meg Wolitzer is a surprising book. It's very well written; that's not the surprising part. I had read The Ten-Year Nap a few years ago and loved it, so I was fully expecting to like this book, too.
What was surprising was the premise. A high school drama teacher has her students put on the Greek comedy Lysistrata for the yearly school play. This adult-themed play had to be toned down since it deals with women standing against war by refusing to "lie with a man" as long as there was a war being fought.
The funny thing is, as soon as rehearsals start for Lysistrata, a spell is cast on the women of the community. Tensions rise and women want nothing to do with men. The ending is fun and unexpected. A really great read!
Book Read: The Uncoupling
Author: Meg Wolitzer
Oh boy! I did not want this book to end. I loved Orphan Train by Christina Baker Kline. 
Here are some books and a DVD of the real orphan trains that took orphaned and abandoned children from east to west in the U.S. from 1854 to 1929.
