Say When by Elizabeth Berg
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is the 3rd book I've read by Ms. Berg, and I've really enjoyed them all, but did not love this. Written from the betrayed husband's point of view, this novel is a tender reflection on the joys and frustrations of marriage and it rings true to what many couples experience as their relationships age. The story confronts the reader with the questions: When is love not enough? When is it not worth saving? What happens when love goes untended? Why is it so hard to let love die? These are serious questions but parts of this book made me laugh out loud. I felt the ending was underdeveloped and am not sure the resolution accords with reality. One is left wondering what will happen.

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Watching You by Lisa Jewell
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is a really enjoyable thriller. It is not only a whodunnit and a whydunnit, but also a who-is-the- victim and it is a smashing read. The author weaves a web of intrigue and misdirection, which plays on classic tropes and our assumptions. I loved the fact that there was such a large cast of characters, each overlapping and opening up cans of proverbial worms everywhere. Lisa Jewelli is an expert at knowing what makes us all tick and has an instinctive understanding of teenagers with the result being a consummate piece of entertainment.

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The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

arghh......I really don't care for this genre, but it IS well written and I actually stuck with it to the end so am giving it 3 instead of 2 stars, but I won't read the rest of the series....I hate it when the end of the book leaves you just hanging with no real resolution.

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Atomic Marriage by Curtis Sittenfeld
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

This is a liberal agenda-driven 58 minute vignette about a bored wife who is ready to commit adultery with an arrogant and flirtatious yet unappealing man. Curtis Sittenfeld is capable of beautiful economic prose that immediately captures the reader's attention, but I've yet to read anything of hers that is uplifting. This is truly unfortunate because she has so much talent as a writer. This is the sort of romance story I would have expected to read 30 years ago in "Woman's Day" or "Ladies Home Journal." It was an audible freebie for January and Diane Lane, the narrator, with her gorgeous voice was fantastic.

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My Dear Hamilton: A Novel of Eliza Schuyler Hamilton by Stephanie Dray
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

4.5 stars rounded up to 5. Historians know there is not much written by, or of, women at the birth of the U.S. Because of this the daughters' and wives' stories of our founding fathers have been told primarily as supporting characters which was consistent with cultural norms for almost 200 years. In the case of Mrs. Hamilton, she may not have written about, or even destroyed evidence of, her private thoughts and feelings regarding the peaks and valleys of her life story. Nevertheless, she continued to shape her city and nation long after the founding fathers were laid to rest. These authors have taken what is historically agreed upon, woven in custom and culture of the period, and used intuition and imagination to depict who Betsey, Eliza, and Mrs. Hamilton may have been and how she may have processed all to which she was a witness. Her charitable works that still continue today prove she was more than a survivor. . . she knew what it was to thrive. Stephanie Dray and Laura Kamoie, the authors, balanced it all eloquently. I especially appreciated the notes from the authors, both prior to and following the story, separating many of the facts from the fiction. I felt it started out slow and didn't enjoy it as much as America's First Daughter but truly it is an excellent account of a woman to be admired.

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