Books Via Ashley

Fates and Furies by Lauren Groff Synopsis Mathilde and Lotto elope after only five weeks of dating. The book covers the course of their marriage and the secrets that keep it alive. Review This book won many "Book of the Year" awards, plus was President Obama's favorite book of 2015. I like reading books that get a lot of attention like this, since often they're fairly decent books. However, this book was definitely not among my favorites, nor even close. I felt like this book pretentiously sells itself on the discussion and examination of abstract values and emotions, like "art", "creativity", "love" through flawed and hyper-"realistic" characters, but lacks actual substance. Lotto is an arrogant playboy who has slept with every girl he can get his hands on, and an aspiring actor who isn't a very good actor at all. But instead of doing something else, he sits around for seven years while Mathilde keeps their ...

The Miniaturist by Jessie Burton Synopsis In Amsterdam, 1686, young Nella Oortman has married a very wealthy--and much older--merchant, Johannes Brant. She moves from her little village and into his house in the city. Her new husband is kind, but unfortunately has no real interest in her, and leaves her alone in the house with his spinster sister, Marin, and the two servants. As a wedding gift, Johannes buys her a miniature version of their house. She finds a miniaturist and sends a request for things to furnish the little house. But then Nella starts receiving packages that she didn't ask for, and the Miniaturist seems to know things that should be impossible for anyone outside the house to know. As things grow more dangerous for the family, Nella finds herself drawn to the elusive Miniaturist--Are they predicting what will happen, or are they the cause? Review The story's creepy and suspenseful premise, plus the setting in Amsterdam during its Golden Era, is what ...

How do you find new books to read? I won't lie, I spend a lot of my time looking at books. Other people may browse music or shoes online; I look at books. I'm constantly searching for new books to read, new series to discover, new worlds to explore.  Here are my favorite ways to find books: 1) Ask friends! I periodically ask on social media, or by word of mouth, what everyone is reading and what they would recommend. I've come across some great new series this way. And bonus! You already have someone to talk about it with! 2) Best-seller lists. Whether the NYT or on Amazon or elsewhere, I figure most books that make the best-seller list do so because a lot of people like reading them. I've found several amazing books this way.  Plus, it helps me to branch out and try books that are outside of the typical genres I enjoy. 3) Awards lists . Closely related to the point above, I look at the various book awards and see what's been nominated and what's won. Ag...

Girl Waits With Gun by Amy Stewart Synopsis This is the fictionalized true story behind the first female sheriff in the US. In 1914, Constance Kopp and her two sisters are driving into town on their buggy when an automobile crashes into them. The vehicle belongs to no other than Henry Kaufman, a rich and powerful no-good owner of one of the local silk factories. When Kaufman refuses to pay for damages, Constance sues. As a result, she and her sisters are threatened and harassed by Kaufman's gang. Going to the police, Constance finds a friend in Sheriff Heath, who is determined to help the sisters and bring Kaufman in. One of the things he does is give each of the women a revolver and teaches them how to shoot it to defend themselves. Constance also stumbles across another mystery concerning one of the factory worker girls and her son and seeks to solve it. Review I really enjoyed this book. Constance Kopp is an impressive lady (and I like that she was six feet tall!). ...

Orphan Train by Christina Baker Kline Synopsis Molly Ayer, a 17 year old foster child, has been through twelve families in the last nine years. After stealing a library book, she is ordered to do 50 hours of community service. She is led to Vivian Daly, a 91 year old widow who needs help sorting through boxes in her attic. Molly learns that Vivian also had a rough upbringing; an Irish immigrant, orphaned in New York City when she was 9, she was put on an "orphan train", or trains that took orphans from the crowded Eastern cities out to the Midwest where they would hopefully be adopted, but were usually used as unpaid laborers. As Molly and Vivian learn more about each other, they realize they're not so different. Review This book started out a little slow, but picked up once we started hearing Vivian's story. Overall, I really enjoyed this book. It's a fascinating window into a not very well known part of American history and a story of courage and re...

Wolf by Wolf by Ryan Graudin Synopsis It's 1956, and Hitler won WWII. Every year, the Axis powers (the Third Reich and Imperial Japan) hold a motorcycle race across the two continents. The victor gets to attend a fancy ball in Tokyo and have a meeting with the Führer himself. Enter Yael, a Jew whose time in a concentration camp as a medical experiment left her with the ability to skinshift. Her goal? Win the race and kill Hitler. To enter the race, she poses as the previous year's winner, Adele Wolfe. But things prove even more challenging when Adele's brother enters the race, and Yael finds out that Adele had secrets of her own. Review I love books that take history and say "What if..." and create an entirely new sequence of events. I think the events surrounding WWII are especially interesting due to the enormous impact the war and the outcome had on the world. I had been eagerly waiting to read this book since it came out in October and I was not d...

We're off to a great year so far in terms of books! Some new releases from one of my favorite authors made January fun, as well as some books finally coming through on my hold list at the library. (Reviews forthcoming, huzzah!!!) I'm also eagerly awaiting some new releases this month and later this year. What books are you looking forward to the most this year? I've set a goal to read 100 books this year (Though a two week trans-atlantic trip in January has put me behind schedule!) I'm already on my sixth book and have many more queued up.  What are your reading goals? What are you reading right now? As we enter February (how are we a month into 2016 already?!?!), my life and schedule have finally settled down, and I can give this blog some more of the love it deserves! I hope you'll stick with me as I share with you the wonderful books I've been reading, and hopefully help you find new stories and adventures that you'll love.