the 52 book club – Samwise Reviews

Author: Thomas King
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
Pages: 286
On Sale: August 25, 2020
Genre: Fiction, Cultural, Travel, Humor, Contemporary
Stars: 2.5/5

From the Publisher:

Meet Bird and Mimi in this brilliant new novel from one of Canada’s foremost authors. Inspired by a handful of old postcards sent by Uncle Leroy nearly a hundred years earlier, Bird and Mimi attempt to trace Mimi’s long-lost uncle and the family medicine bundle he took with him to Europe.

By turns witty, sly and poignant, this is the unforgettable tale of one couple’s holiday trip to Europe, where their wanderings through its famous capitals reveal a complicated history, both personal and political.

From Me:

This was more of a 2.5 as it started as a 3 then went downhill a bit for me. I’m not sure why I didn’t love it, there was nothing wrong with it, I just couldn’t connect with it or really understand it. I know it’s probably accurate for many people, but him having named, physical embodiment of his depression and anxiety etc was hard for me to understand and relate to. There were bits of humor in this book but it wasn’t enough to carry the story or bring me in any closer. I also found the flashbacks and memories of other cities to be a little confusing, and at times they were hard to keep track of.

Would fit The 52 Book Club’s 2021 prompts:
14 – Written By An Author Over 65 When Published
19 – Book With A Deckled Edge
26 – An Author Of Colour
29 – Featuring The Environment
33 – Featuring Adoption
47 – A Character With A Disability

Author: Jennifer Deibel
Publisher: Revell
Pages: 352
On Sale: February 2, 2021
Genre: Historical Fiction, Romance, Christian Fiction, Cultural
Stars: 3/5

From the Publisher:

To fulfill her mother’s dying wish, Moira Doherty moves from Boston to the rolling green hills of 1921 Ireland to teach in a village school. She doesn’t expect to fall in love–or to uncover a scandalous family reputation her mother left behind years ago.

From Me:

I enjoyed this book, it was a lovely story of a woman traveling to Ireland to teach and falling in love while uncovering her mother’s secrets. The characters seemed like a lot of fun and her trials were moving, but overall this book wasn’t a winner for me. I’ve read some Christian Fiction and I normally don’t mind it, I just found this book had an excessive amount of praying and talking to God and reciting scripture. I should have saved this book for next year as it fits 11 prompts of The 52 Book Club’s 2021 reading challenge.

#1 – Set In A School
#2 – Featuring The Legal Profession
#7 – An Author With Only 1 Published Book
#10 – Related To The Word “Fire”
#12 – Title Starting With The Letter “D”
#27 – First Chapter Ends On An Odd Page Number
#43 – A Character With A Pet Cat
#44 – Includes A Garden
#47 – A Character With A Disability
#48 – A Cover With A Woman Who Is Facing Away
#51 – Published In 2021