Magic Hour by Kristin Hannah

The Art Forger by B.A. Shapiro

 

 

On March 18, 1990, thirteen works of art worth today over $500 million were stolen from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston. It remains the largest unsolved art heist in history, and Claire Roth, a struggling young artist, is about to discover that there’s more to this crime than meets the eye.

Claire makes her living reproducing famous works of art for a popular online retailer. Desperate to improve her situation, she lets herself be lured into a Faustian bargain with Aiden Markel, a powerful gallery owner. She agrees to forge a painting—one of the Degas masterpieces stolen from the Gardner Museum—in exchange for a one-woman show in his renowned gallery. But when the long-missing Degas painting—the one that had been hanging for one hundred years at the Gardner—is delivered to Claire’s studio, she begins to suspect that it may itself be a forgery.

Claire’s search for the truth about the painting’s origins leads her into a labyrinth of deceit where secrets hidden since the late nineteenth century may be the only evidence that can now save her life. B. A. Shapiro’s razor-sharp writing and rich plot twists make The Art Forger an absorbing literary thriller that treats us to three centuries of forgers, art thieves, and obsessive collectors. it’s a dazzling novel about seeing—and not seeing—the secrets that lie beneath the canvas.

Warm Bodies by Isaac Marion

 

I'm all about reading the book that has inspired a movie first. The previews to Warm Bodies seemed like a humorous take on the zombie obsession that has seemed to overtake the previous vampire fad. And the book seemed to take the same voice, so now that I have finished it I can go watch the movie.

 

"R" is a zombie and like others like him, he doesn't remember his name or who he was before he was a Dead. At the beginning of the story he is much like other zombies who are hungry for the Living. Quickly, he realizes that he craves something a little more than the usual. After consuming the brain of a teenage boy, he sees the boy's life in memories and decides to form a relationship with the victim's girlfriend named Julie. Of course she is scared of him first, but she soon realizes that R is different from other zombies. It doesn't hurt that he is willing to do anything to protect her. While doing so, R begins to change even more and they decide together that they will try to reverse the zombie plague in the America that has been destroyed by war and social collapse.

Winter Garden by Kristin Hannah

 

It's been a while since I've been able to enjoy a novel over one weekend. But I just couldn't help it, this book had me from beginning to end. I'm always intrigued by anything about WWII and the holocaust. When that's combined with the journey of a figuring out someone else's story and family, I'm a sucker. I would say that this novel is two of my favorite books combined in one amazing story: Briar Rose (holocaust story told in a fairy tale) and Sarah's Key (a journalist's search to find the answers regarding her in-laws).

 

The Whitson sisters are so very different. Meredith has raised a family and ran the family's apple orchard, while Nina has traveled the world as a famous photographer/journalist. Their father is the rock that tries to keep his family together, while their distanced and disconnected mother is someone they have never understood. But when their father falls ill, his last wish is for them to get to know their mother, Anya, through the complete Russian fairy tale she partically told them as girls. All the symbolism of the tale is stripped away to tell the true story of Anya's life in Leningrad during WWII. As they learn the secrets that their mother has been harboring for about 50 years, the Whitson women grow together as a family and change who they are in the process. This book will have you shocked all over again by life during the war as well as so involved emotionally that you can't put it down until you know how it ends.

The Fault In Our Stars by John Green

Let me just start with ... WOW! I just LOVED this book! The honesty and voice of the narrator was just so refreshing even though the storyline is one that will have you on a teary rollercoaster.

 

It is the story of Hazel, a 16 year old that has been living with terminal cancer for three years. To make her mother and doctors happy she goes to the Cancer Kid Support Group as usual. Then one day Augustus Waters shows up at the group and then her whole world changes. Augustus is a good looking guy who is in remission after losing his leg to a bone cancer. They quickly fall in love although Hazel feels like she is a "grenade." There bond is formed over a novel about cancer called An Imperial Affliction. (Wish it was a real book, by the way!) This is Hazel's favorite book, which ends very suddenly. It becomes her mission to find out what happened to the characters. After Augustus reads the book he wants to know the same, and actually uses his Wish to take Hazel to Amsterdam to knock on the author's front door. I can't give away much more of the plotline but their story is one that will have you laughing and then crying moments later.

 

To make this book more interesting the narrator is Hazel speaking in the first person, with raw emotion. There are a lot of insightful quotes in The Fault In Our Stars that really spoke to me where I am at. It will be very tough to beat, but I truly can't wait to get my hands on some more of his books.



Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore by Robin Sloan

 

I wanted to like Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore more than I did, but it was pretty enjoyable overall. There were moments that were a bit over my head when it came to technology. I would consider it a book for the book/technology nerd mixed with workings of the Di Vinci Code.

 

After being laid off at work Clay finds himself settling for any job, which just happens to be the night shift at Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore. As time passes he realizes that the bookstore may just be a front for some other business, especially since the same few customers come to the store to check out books from a partciular part of the store. He begins to make the bookstore into a 3-D computer model including the patrons and the books that they check out. When doing so he realizes he has actually broken a code in figuring out what the store is all about, and leads him to a underground secret society.

Outlander by Diana Gabaldon

 

Normally I am not one to enjoy a book about times with castles and kings or queens, but this book was much different. Outlander is a large book, topping off at 850 pages, and full of detailed plot. After getting through the beginning of the book, the rest of the storyline picks up. I will say there are some violent/sexual scenes that may turn readers away. But if you are willing to put in the time for an interesting take on historical fiction, you may appreciate the tale.

 

The story beings with a combat nurse, named Claire, and her husband, Frank, going on a second honeymoon in the Scottish Highlands in 1945. After walking through an ancient stone henge and touching a boulder, she is transported back in time to 1743. The first person she comes across is actually her husband's crued ancestor, British captain Jonathan "Black Jack" Randall. Luckily, another clan saves her from him and is taken back to their village. She becomes their healer nurses a young soldier, James Fraser, back to health after having his shoulder hurt in battle. The two become a pair throughout their adventure, and end up getting married to save both of their lives. The entire time Claire is trying to figure out how she can return to 1945 and if she really wants to. The book ends, making you want to know more... luckily, there is a sequel and several more to follow.