David Baldacci is one of my all time favorite authors and I suspect I would have enjoyed this book at another time. However, given the political and racial unrest we are experiencing it just hits a bit too close for now. I was not able to finish it.

This is the first book that I have read by this author. The title and description lured me in even though dark academia is not really my thing. What kept me intrigued was the blending of a well-developed fantasy world with horror. I enjoyed the book even though there was a lot to decipher. The characters are flawed and the struggle Lennon has with morality is fascinating. You grow to have a love hate relationship with her. The whole idea of a secret hidden school that has at its main focus learning the art of persuasion introduces the reader to a whole new cast of characters to keep up with. It can be overwhelming at times. The ending alludes to a possible sequel as it’s unclear what happened to Dante. I look forward to reading more by this author.

What if you love your best friend but feel trapped in a life with her? What if you love someone but the thing you can give her that will make her happy is a lie? What if the people who love you most, who you love most, have depths you haven’t realized? Kate and Bertie, BFFs since high school, spend a magical day at the Louvre while it’s closed. But Kate feels trapped in her life. Bertie isn’t ready for changes. Undercurrents of resentment and anger mar their last vacation together. Tuesday at the Louvre ends with Kate going one way, Bertie another. Bertie wakes up the next morning and it’s Tuesday, Louvre day. The next day is alsoTuesday. Deja vu mingles with the increasingly open hostility between the two friends. And then one day it’s not Kate with Bertie in the Louvre, but Dylan, the boyfriend she didn’t know she had. End of the World House is set in the near future or possibly just an imaginatively described present — bombings and growing police presence in the US, mega-conglomerate corporations so wealthy they have rockets, ever larger tent cities of homeless people, droughts and floods, and grocery shortages. This is the second book I’ve read this month about reliving an event until you get it right. It’s definitely the better written of the two. It certainly has a more satisfying ending.

If you like Lee Child.

Jonas is lost, emotionally and spiritually, and he knows it. He decides the only option is to die in this parable. He doesn’t want his daughter to find his body, so he travels to an unnamed recent war zone. He’s used to fixing odds and ends around the house. That habit, and just the habit of living, are very difficult to give up.

Confusing, tedious, annoying read. Life after Life will be interesting only to someone equally fascinated by multiverse theory of time and everyday life in the first half of the 20th century. Ursula is born, but immediately dies, in 1911. Ursula is born in 1911, but drowns in early childhood. She falls off of the roof. She dies of Spanish flu (several times). Ursula doesn’t know why, just knows she must stop the housemaid from going to London to celebrate the end of the Great War (the maid will catch the flu in the crowds and bring it back). Ursula finally survives 1918, but is raped at 16 and eventually beaten to death by an abusive husband. It’s almost a relief when Ursula makes it to WWII, but then her story is just variations on death in the Blitz. I guess if you have always looked at death stats in various years and wished you could read a narrative to really understand beyond the numbers, you might enjoy this book.

good to read to read to read to read to read to read to read to read to read to read to read to read

The series would be better if I read the books in order. But, this was still a good read. Enjoyed the efforts the sheriff has to put in to get the crimes solved. Could have done with a little less narration about how long it takes to drive hither and yon.

Very good biography

Entangled Life is not a quick read, but went faster than I expected. I don’t know much about mushrooms, lichen, etc. This is very sciency, but clear. I can promise how much I’ll remember. The chapter on radical mycology — using fungi to help break down litter like used diapers, cigarette butts, even some plastics — is probably the most worth reading.