Tea & Read: A Study in Scarlet Women

Title: A Study in Scarlet Women

Author: Sherry Thomas

Rating: Three Cups of Tea (4 Stars)

Blurb:
With her inquisitive mind, Charlotte Holmes has never felt comfortable with the demureness expected of the fairer sex in upper class society. But even she never thought that she would become a social pariah, an outcast fending for herself on the mean streets of London. 

When the city is struck by a trio of unexpected deaths and suspicion falls on her sister and her father, Charlotte is desperate to find the true culprits and clear the family name. She’ll have help from friends new and old—a kind-hearted widow, a police inspector, and a man who has long loved her.

But in the end, it will be up to Charlotte, under the assumed name Sherlock Holmes, to challenge society’s expectations and match wits against an unseen mastermind.

I am normally a purist when it comes to my classic books. I am often frustrated by retelling/fan fiction because it is typically worse than the original. Or it takes away what you loved about the original.

A Study in ScarletWomen is not one of those books. This book is delightful.

It is a retelling of Sir Author Coyne Doyle's A Study in Scarlet, a Sherlock Holmes story. But the author adds to the story and makes it more interesting. First of all, Sherlock is a woman named Charlette. That only adds so much richness to the story. Thomas was able to deal with sexism and the limited opportunities of women during the Victorian age. So often in books set in this age, this topic is glossed over, but Thomas presents a different angle.

Also, Charlette has sisters. Her relationship with them shows another difference between the original and Charlotte Holmes. Unlike the original Sherlock, Charlotte is awkward but not calculating and unfeeling. There are other characters, including a love interest, that bring out different sides of Charlotte.

The pacing of the story moved at a manageable clip, even the backstory, and the audiobook narrator was amazing (the narrator can make or break a book). The case was another way it was different than the original. It was impossibly hard to figure out, but it also wasn't the center of the story. Charlotte and her relationships were the real drive of the plot.

Great read and I hope this is the first of many.

Tea pairing: Earl Grey, hot, of course. 

Tea & Read January Non-Fiction Review: The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up

Title: The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up

Author: Marie Kondo

Rating: Two Cups of Tea (3 Stars)

Blurb:

Despite constant efforts to declutter your home, do papers still accumulate like snowdrifts and clothes pile up like a tangled mess of noodles?

Japanese cleaning consultant Marie Kondo takes tidying to a whole new level, promising that if you properly simplify and organize your home once, you’ll never have to do it again. Most methods advocate a room-by-room or little-by-little approach, which doom you to pick away at your piles of stuff forever. The KonMari Method, with its revolutionary category-by-category system, leads to lasting results. In fact, none of Kondo’s clients have lapsed (and she still has a three-month waiting list). 

With detailed guidance for determining which items in your house “spark joy” (and which don’t), this international bestseller featuring Tokyo’s newest lifestyle phenomenon will help you clear your clutter and enjoy the unique magic of a tidy home—and the calm, motivated mindset it can inspire.

Terri’s Review:

This book has been on the NYT Bestseller list since it’s been published. One of my coworkers at Barnes & Noble read it and loved it. She raved about it so much, I decided to give it a try. This book definitely makes you think about the clutter in your life in a different way. As a person who loved clean, clutter free anything, this book spoke to me in that manner. One of the best things about the KoMari Method is that it really makes you think about why you keep the things you keep. I was a little indifferent about the litmus test she used of what you should keep and what you should toss, but that was kinda minor. I don’t know if I was ready to get into my feelings about my clutter. This book definitely made me what to clean, but felt a little anti-climatic since Kondo has a method in which you are to clean. I would recommend you not read this book until you are ready to start the purging process. I will put many of the things she suggests into practice. I may have to read her new book, too.

Here are my February reads:

Fiction: A Virtuous Ruby by Piper Hugley

Non-fiction: Infectious Madness: The Surprising Science of How We "Catch" Mental Illness by Heneretta A. Washington

My upcoming reviews will be posted in the sidebar. Comment below if you want to read along!

Tea & Read January Fiction Review: The Swiss Courier

Last year was a drought year for my reading. I’m trying to right that and get back into the swing of things. I’ve seen so many good books that I wanted to read that it’s a little hard to pick. I’ve decided to review two books a month, one fiction and one non-fiction.

Here us my January fiction review:

Title: The Swiss Courier

Author(s): Tricia Goyer & Mike Yorkey

Rating: Two cups of Tea (3 star)

Blurb:

She's risking her life to save a man she doesn't know. But whom can she trust along the way?

It is August 1944 and the Gestapo is mercilessly rounding up suspected enemies of the Third Reich after an attempt on Hitler's life. Gabi Mueller is a young woman working for the newly formed American Office of Strategic Services (the forerunner to the CIA) in Switzerland. When she is asked to put herself in harm's way to safely "courier" a German scientist who is working on the atomic bomb out of enemy territory, the fate of the world hangs in the balance.

Terri’s Review:

I seem to be on a serious WWI/WWII streak with my reading. This book takes a different angle than the other books that I’ve read. It is framed by the failed assassination attempt against Hitler and the subsequent retaliation. The book tells the story of spy operations in Switzerland. I loved this approach to a oft-told story set in WWII. I’ve read other books by Tricia Goyer and loved them. This book was on par with her writing ability and Mike Yorkey’s only added to what I loved about Goyer’s writing. My only complaint against this book is I kept forgetting who was who. This might work because it is a novel about spies, but going back to the character index broke the flow of the story. Overall, it was a good read to start the year off.

Tea & Read: Undeniably Yours

Title: Undeniably Yours
Author: Becky Wade
Genre: Contemporary Christian Romance
Rating: One Cup of Tea (★★★)

This is the second book by Becky Wade that I've read. I loved the first. Unfortunately, I didn't enjoy this one as much as I did the first. 

When Meg Cole's father dies unexpectedly, she becomes the majority shareholder of his oil company and the single inheritor of his fortune. Though Meg is soft-spoken and tenderhearted--more interested in art than in oil--she's forced to return home to Texas and to Whispering Creek Ranch to take up the reins of her father's empire.

The last thing she has the patience or the sanity to deal with? Her father's thoroughbred racehorse farm. She gives its manager, Bo Porter, six months to close the place down.

Bo's determined to resent the woman who's decided to rob him of his dream. But instead of anger, Meg evokes within him a profound desire to protect. The more time he spends with her, the more he longs to overcome every obstacle that separates them--her wealth, his unworthiness, her family's outrage--and earn the right to love her.

But just when Meg begins to realize that Bo might be the one thing on the ranch worth keeping, their fragile bond is viciously broken by a force from Meg's past. Can their love--and their belief that God can work through every circumstance--survive?

One of the things I enjoy about Becky Wade's writing is her voice. She has a very cozy tone in her books that makes me want to switch my hot tea to iced tea and find a porch to sit on. I also love her characters. They ring true and Meg and Bo are no different. I liked Wade's treatment of Meg's anxiety and her attitude towards her wealth. It resonates with me. Bo also is everything you want your strong male lead to be, handsome and conflicted. The plot lines were good although a little predictable. The pace kept me interested but it didn't have the urgency to keep reading. It was leisurely, which isn't exactly a bad thing. 

My main problem with this book was there is a surprise element at the ending that I didn't enjoy. If this element had been suggested throughout the whole book, I wouldn't have lowered the rating as much. The ending felt very deus ex machina. I found myself really disappointed at the ending. 

I think I will take another chance on Wade's next book since I so enjoy her voice and her characters.

Tea & Read: A Noble Groom

Title: A Noble Groom
Author: Jody Hedlund
Genre: Christian Historical Fiction
Rating: One Cup of Tea (★★★)

This is the first book I've read from Jody Hedlund. I must admit that the cover of this book drew me in more than the storyline. 

Recently widowed Annalisa Werner has the feeling her husband was murdered but can't prove it. Alone with her young daughter in 1881 Michigan, she has six months left to finish raising the money needed to pay back the land contract her husband purchased, and the land is difficult to toil by herself. She needs a husband. With unmarried men scarce, her father sends a letter to his brother in the Old Country, asking him to find Annalisa a groom.

For nobleman Carl von Reichert, the blade of the guillotine is his fate. He's been accused and convicted of a serious crime he didn't commit, and his only escape is to flee to a small German community in Michigan where he'll be safe. He secures a job on Annalisa's farm but bumbles through learning about farming and manual labor.

Annalisa senses that Karl is harboring a secret about his past, yet she finds herself drawn to him anyway. He's gentle, kind, and romantic--unlike any of the men she's ever known. He begins to restore her faith in the ability to love--but her true groom is still on his way. And time is running out on them all.

This book has the basics right. Carl and Annalisa are great characters. I liked Annalisa's balanced character. She was both tough and tender. I loved her drive to save her farm, but that fact that she recognized that she needed help. Carl really does exemplify the title. He really was noble and heartwarming. His caring nature won me over from the time he was introduced. The writing was good and flowed easily and the authors treatment of classicism was believable and added depth to the story. 

My lower rating comes from the fact that the pace of the book was quite slow to me. I didn't quite feel the drive to finish it, although it was enjoyable while I was reading it. A couple of the plot lines were very predictable but were saved by the strength of the characters.

This was an easy, but enjoyable read. I would venture to read other books by Hedlund.