Epic and intimate, hilarious and poignant, White Teeth is the story of two North London families—one headed by Archie, the other by Archie's best friend, a Muslim Bengali named Samad Iqbal. Pals since they served together in World War II, Archie and Samad are a decidedly unlikely pair. Plodding Archie is typical in every way until he marries Clara, a beautiful, toothless Jamaican woman half his age, and the couple have a daughter named Irie (the Jamaican word for "no problem"). Samad —devoutly Muslim, hopelessly "foreign"— weds the feisty and always suspicious Alsana in a prearranged union. They have twin sons named Millat and Magid, one a pot-smoking punk-cum-militant Muslim and the other an insufferable science nerd. The riotous and tortured histories of the Joneses and the Iqbals are fundamentally intertwined, capturing an empire's worth of cultural identity, history, and hope.

Life After Life takes us through the many versions of Ursula Todd's life, as Atkinson addresses the question that often accompanies the deaths of the young: what if she had lived? As Ursula makes different decisions or encounters different situations, she dies--or lives. Through each version of her subsequent life, we get the answers to that very question. Sometimes the answers disappoint and others they astound. Either way, the question of the imagined unlived lives will remain. While I didn't love Life After Life as much as many readers, I can't deny the compelling premise and Atkinson's masterful execution. That she set Ursula's recurring lives during two of the most devastating wars the world has ever seen is particularly poignant, as even today we look back on the lives lost and wonder, what if?

After living a quiet life alone with his cat and working as a postman, Albert Entwistle is informed that it's time for him to retire. He realizes that he's about to lose the only way he connects with other people, so he sets out to change that. Albert starts trying to make friends, and he also thinks it may be time to share who he really is--and find George, the love of his life who he lost years before.

I loved listening to Albert's journey to connection and acceptance. His deep shame and fear about his sexuality being discovered were so sad and affected his entire life--in ways that were probably not uncommon. Albert is a lovely character and he forms a number of delightful friendships. If you liked A Man Called Ove, give this one a try.

England in the 1520s is a heartbeat from disaster. If the king dies without a male heir, the country could be destroyed by civil war. Henry VIII wants to annul his marriage of twenty years and marry Anne Boleyn. The pope and most of Europe opposes him. Into this impasse steps Thomas Cromwell: a wholly original man, a charmer and a bully, both idealist and opportunist, astute in reading people, and implacable in his ambition. But Henry is volatile: one day tender, one day murderous. Cromwell helps him break the opposition, but what will be the price of his triumph?

Adelaide is a young American woman living in England. She's fairly privileged and has good job, but she also has some past family difficulties and struggles with relationships after an abusive one in her teens.

When she meets Rory, she convinces herself it's love, despite his flaky behavior and general ambivalence. When he experiences a tragedy, she turns herself inside out for him–while he demands more.

This is a poignant novel about how people–and women in particular–are prone to be self-sacrificing caretakers–and manipulative people see this and take advantage of it, demanding they suppress any human needs until they reach a tipping point.

Adelaide is sweet and a little naive, you might feel frustrated with her, but what she does is so common. Her problems with relationships aren’t the most tragic in the world–but that’s also the point. Her emotions and mental health issues are real, and she is allowed to experience them, even when others are going through worse things.

I mostly loved Adelaide, even when I was frustrated with her; I hated Rory but he was familiar to me; and I loved Adelaide’s friends that held her up and kept her going. This will not be for everyone, but there was some nuance here about this particular time of life that I appreciated.

Fall of Giants is the first in another epic historical trilogy from Ken Follett. While the Pillars of the Earth trilogy was set over multiple centuries, Fall of Giants is placed squarely in the 20th century. The story follows five families across the world through World War I, the Russian Revolution, and women's suffrage. This trilogy felt heavier on the political history than the soapy drama than the Pillars of the Earth (though there's a bit of that as well!). While, for me, this series didn't have the same "unputdownable" quality, it's still another compelling, meticulously researched epic with richly drawn characters who bring the history alive. The books are extremely long but worth the read.

While the hype on the back of this book is kind of irritating (it’s not the most magical story ever and it’s definitely not a laugh riot), Little Bee is a beautiful, painful, horrifying novel—one worth reading. The story of the connection between Little Bee, a young Nigerian woman, and Sarah, an English wife and mother, unfolds slowly, alternating between their perspectives. Little Bee’s parts shine with lovely language and humorous insights, while Sarah’s fall a little flat, but I feel like this is part of the contrast of their experiences and how they respond. An important read that brings the horrors, fears, and hopes of asylum seekers to the doorstep.

I chose this book as my cozy read for my 2021 More Joy, Less Stress Reading Challenge after hearing from so many readers that it fit the bill. They were absolutely right! The premise of this book doesn’t seem like much: Penelope discovers that her father’s painting is worth a small fortune. Her adult children have their own ideas about what she should do about the discovery.

The Shell Seekers moves between past and present, revisiting various times in Penelope’s life, including her Bohemian youth during World War II. Penelope is truly an unforgettable character. I loved the slow reveal of her life told over decades and I know that I’ll be rereading this in years to come.

In the 1920s, “the Fishing Fleet” was the name ascribed to young affluent women who left England for India in search of husbands, often after the social “season” had ended and they were left without marriage prospects. Viva, who has her own reasons for heading to India, is tasked with accompanying two young women and a troubled teen boy on the ship to Bombay. Against the backdrop of a politically unstable India, the women learn the importance of friends-as-family as they are thrust into a confusing world of wealth and poverty, isolation and scrutiny, and love and betrayal. This was a slow-mover for me, but was ultimately an intriguing and satisfying read with interesting historical context and complex relationships.

An old English estate and a decades-old mystery give this slow-burner of a book its atmosphere, but Morton's sharp storytelling keeps you trying to work out the puzzle from start to finish. Sixteen-year-old Alice's family is torn apart when her baby brother disappears during a midsummer's eve garden party. He is never found, and the house is abandoned. When a wandering detective discovers it years later, she unearths the old mystery and secrets that had been long forgotten.

This historical fiction novel, set in dual time periods, takes us to England during World War II and 20 years later in London. In 1960, we meet Hazel, who works in a rare bookshop and opens a package to find a story--but it's not just any story. It’s one about a fantastical land that she made up as a teen for her 5-year-old sister, Flora, 20 years ago. No one else ever knew about it.

In 1939, she and Flora were evacuated from London to the countryside, where they would escape to Hazel’s made-up land of Whisperwood. One day on the banks of the Thames, Flora disappeared, and Hazel has been wracked with guilt and longing ever since. Could the existence of this book mean Flora is still alive?

While I don't read many WWII books anymore, this mystery was interesting. It did drag in the middle, though and I was impatient for the resolution–which then felt like it came too abruptly, so it was an odd mix of pacing. I didn't always love the style of prose (overly flowery, in places), but I loved many of the characters and their relationships. On the whole, a very uneven read for me.

What is there to say about Harry Potter that hasn't been said? I read the first two books on my own years ago, but when my daughter was born six years ago, I decided to wait and read them with her. We got the illustrated version of the book (the first two, actually), and I’m hoping all of the books will eventually have illustrated versions so we can have a full collection. The books are beautiful, and she enjoyed the illustrations and asked a lot of questions about them. We’re waiting to read the second book—I think age five was just a little young for Harry Potter—but when I remembered to read slowly and take the time to discuss the story, she was eager to read it and seemed to follow most of the story.

If you haven't already heard about this book, it's best to go in blind. Just know that this book about a group of boarding school friends who come back together later in life will have you questioning what you thought you knew, what's to come, and the ethics of many of our societal decisions.

After losing her beloved grandfather and her job as a greeting card illustrator, Autumn Laine is at a crossroads. Time with her parents in Paris only causes more confusion, when a former boyfriend--who left her heartbroken--re-enters her life. She decides to head to the Lake District to stay with her lifelong pen pal, Rosie, and hopefully get back some artistic inspiration. The beautiful landscape, the Beatrix Potter inspirations around every corner, and the intriguing man she meets quickly revitalize her.

This is a cozy novel of new beginnings, friendship, and sweet romance. It's not a Christmas novel, but very much has the feel of a Hallmark movie. The setting is enchanting and I loved the artistic friendship between Autumn and her new love interest. There was one aspect in the progression of their relationship that was a little odd to me, but aside from that, I enjoyed this cozy, easy listen.

I have mixed feelings on Jane Eyre. The positive: Jane is amazing. Charlotte Bronte's writing is amazing. The story is compelling and surprisingly readable, and it's one from my bucket list. The negative: those men! Rochester and St. John Rivers, both manipulating mansplainers. Maybe reading Jane Eyre in the 21st century predisposes me to feel more bitterness toward them than Bronte intends. Jane herself is also frustrating in her deference to both men, but also admirable in her independence. In short, I haven't quite sorted out how I feel about Jane, and that's one reason I think she remains so fascinating to so many readers.

A dark mansion. Mysterious wailing through the corridors. A beautiful walled garden with no entrance. These are just a few of the mysteries that kept me reading this book over and over as a kid. It was also one of my first introductions to unlikeable characters. Mary Lennox is a surly child, with few redeeming qualities (and several other characters aren't much better). But the settings themselves emerge as characters: the manor, the moors, and especially the garden, which serves as respite, friend, and healer. My only disappointment with this book, on attempting a reread with my daughter, is Mary's hateful and racist language at the beginning. Though fitting for the story and character, like the Little House books it's something that requires further discussions with young readers.

When a mother walking home with her young son lets go of his hand for a moment, she loses everything. This thriller simmers through the grief following the accident until it turns in a way you won't expect, in one of the few hyped "twists" of recent years that truly surprised me. The first half of the book felt aimless and actually felt like it reached a dead end in the story, but then it picked up and the pieces slowly fell into place. The backstory is well-crafted and walks us through the sadness and desperation the led up to the accident and its aftermath.

Some friendships come and go, while others work their way inside of you and take hold. Tin Man is the story of one such friendship, begun between Ellis and Michael at 12 years old. Both sensitive and artistic, they avoid their fathers and are enchanted by Ellis's mother, who herself is enchanted by Van Gogh's Sunflowers.  What starts as intense companionship evolves into more, until the two boys find themselves at a decision point.

But this is also a story about loss. Ellis is a 45-year-old auto worker, living alone and nursing his flashes of memory. Annie. Michael. The friendship that expanded to enfold the third member, and then closed again, never to allow in a fourth. The story slowly unfolds to reveal the cycles of bonding and breaking that defined their relationships, and how Ellis came to be alone.

Tin Man is a lovely examination of intense friendships, with two characters who feel especially well-drawn and sympathetic and a third who could have used a little more backstory. Nonetheless, part of the charm of this story is in its brevity (and I say this as someone who loves a good long book). The range of emotions, years, and stories conveyed in such a short book is impressive and it manages to have moments of hope and beauty alongside the sadness.

Lauren is a single woman living in London, so she's shocked to return home one night to find a husband there. He knows her, has a history with her, and her apartment reflects this. When he climbs up into the attic for something, another husband emerges. And so the cycle continues, with husbands disappearing into the attic and new ones appearing. Some are great, some are awful, and she discovers new versions of herself with each new relationship. Soon she has to decide whether she wants to continue the infinite "life try-ons" or settle into one.

This was a unique take on the idea of peeking into different life paths. It was a fun and absurd journey through the various husbands climbing down from the attic. Unfortunately, several key plot points and characters felt left by the wayside, and I was disappointed by the ending.

When a young woman otherwise destined for a life of service is swept off her feet by rich widower Maxim de Winter, she dreams of a wonderful life together at Manderly, the country estate he owns. But soon after their marriage and arrival at Manderly, she realizes that the shadow of Maxim's late wife looms large and threatens her life, sanity, and their future together. While not a scary read, the tension underlying this entire book is masterful and the surprises continue until the very last page.

I was intrigued by the premise and setting of this historical fiction novel, set in 1612 England at the time of the Pendle Witch Trials, in which ten people (eight women and two men) were executed for witchcraft. The story follows a young noblewoman, Fleetwood Shuttleworth, who is pregnant for the fourth time, after three previous devastating losses. She now fears for both her own and the child's life and enlists the help of a young midwife named Alice Grey, who has associations with some families who have been accused of witchcraft. Soon Alice herself is caught up in the accusations, and Fleetwood must save Alice to save herself.

I was not familiar with the Pendle Witch Trials before reading this book, and a dive down a Wikipedia wormhole assures me that the major events and people in this book were all real--including Fleetwood Shuttleworth and Alice Grey. Grey's story is not well-documented, and this is where Hall imagined her friendship with Fleetwood and the events surrounding her arrest and trial.

I have to admit that this deft imagining of events around Alice Grey inserted into the larger factual narrative improves my view of this book--it was quite skillfully done. I also appreciated the various ways that women's powerlessness were portrayed--and how these accusations played into keeping them subservient. However, The Familiars was a slow read for me, and the overall story of the witchcraft accusations was hard to follow when most of the main accused and accusers were not characters in the book--they were just names, and there were a lot of them. A few odd turns of phrase were distracting (some felt too modern, others felt dropped in because they were fitting to the period), giving the writing an uneven feel. An interesting read for the history, but I wished for a closer look at more of the women affected.

A passenger goes missing on a small luxury cruise liner in this claustrophobic thriller.

Lisa Jewell's Then She Was Gone is one of the better thrillers I've read recently, so I knew I wanted to try out her new offering, Watching You. Jewell's mastery of the thriller shines here as she steps backward from the scene of a murder in a small English town, bringing together a cast of characters all focused on one charismatic man: the headmaster of a local school, Tom Fitzwilliam.

A young newlywed develops an unhealthy infatuation with Tom, while a teen girl in the neighborhood is convinced he's not all he seems--and her mentally ill mother agrees. Tom's son, in the meantime, grapples with his own mixed feelings about his father while he watches and records the goings-on in the neighborhood.

The loose ties between the characters tighten as past meets present and Jewell manages to surprise without resorting to twists that feel gimmicky. I'm not a devoted reader of thrillers, but I'll continue to pick up her books knowing I'm in for a twisty and satisfying read.

This massive tome is the third in the Pillars of the Earth series and is set several hundred years after the previous (there are small references to the previous books, but they don't need to be read to follow this story). These books are what I call "soapy historical fiction." They are epic stories that span decades and are filled with drama, conflict, and romance, as well as history. This story takes us back to the fictional town of Kingsbridge, England, as well as to France, Spain, and Belgium during the time of the Tudors and the Inquisition.

The main conflict is between Catholics and Protestants, and we see the effects of this conflict on everyone from peasants to merchants to royalty. What I love about reading this whole trilogy, spaced hundreds of years apart, is the very strange feeling that comes with realizing that the characters you knew intimately from the previous books have died. All of the events and cares that drove their lives have passed into history and are largely irrelevant to the current story, but they also reverberate through the centuries and shape the lives of future generations. Another book that does this (with a very different story, and in much fewer pages) is Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi.

The House We Grew Up In is a twisty family tale from one of my new favorite thriller authors, Lisa Jewell--except it's not really a thriller, and I hadn't even realized that Jewell was the author until I revisited this book. Her mastery of family and relationship intricacies is on point here, and as in her thrillers, there are secrets to untangle. But this book is more about family--a seemingly perfect English family that is torn apart by tragedy one Easter weekend. Years later, the scattered children return and are forced to face their mother's mental illness and the truth of what happened that long-ago holiday.

Seventeen-year-old Cassandra and her family live in a castle in the English countryside, but they are far from wealthy. This family of dreamers and creatives can hardly put food on the table. When two young Americans, Simon and Neil Cotton, arrive to take over the estate of their deceased landlord, they bring new hope to the family: of creative patronage, of potential marriage, and of (continued) free rent. Aspiring writer Cassandra details the adventures of the family in her journal as they move from abject poverty into high society. Full of charming observations and self-awareness, Cassandra teeters between childhood and adulthood and, through her her writing, she comes to realizations about herself, her family, and love. The family is by turns frustrating and amusing--I was confused by the inability of all of them (save Stephen, their ward) to find work in any capacity. That aside, Cassandra is a delightful companion through the story--on par with Anne Shirley--and the castle itself is pure fantasy for any romantic Anglophile.

While a bit slow at first, I stuck with this Victorian-era novel set along the Thames and soon found myself captivated. The river itself is almost a character--a mysterious one, with an all-encompassing power to give and take at will.

When a little girl is pulled from the river, seemingly dead, and comes back to life, the mystery of her survival is just the beginning. Three families claim she may belong to them--but none are sure, and the little girl isn't saying.

Setterfield truly creates an atmosphere, one shaped by the powers of storytelling, nature, and mysticism. I don't always like magical elements, but when it's done well I can go along for the ride--and Once Upon a River does it well. The magic is nicely balanced by two scientifically minded characters who bring reason to all the magical speculation.

Despite this, not every question can be answered, and the people of the time did not always get full explanations for strange occurrences. Some readers may find this frustrating, but those open to a bit of mysticism will enjoy the journey

This is a creepy coming-of-age novel that might appeal to fans of Stephen King. Eddie and his friends are pretty typical 80s kids in England, spending time at the park, riding bikes, and avoiding bullies. They start communicating with one another through chalk drawings--until one day drawings appear that none of them made, leading them to a dismembered body. Now, 30 years later, Eddie and his friends are reunited, finding that they all received a chalk drawing in the mail. Secrets start unraveling, and the friends find that they may not have known each other as well as they thought. I found the characters a little hard to pin down, which I think was part of the point, but it made it a tough to connect with any of them. Overall, this was gripping but a little too creepy and gruesome for my taste--true fans of this type of book will have no trouble at all, and it's received many positive reviews.

A fun fictional peek into life in the British royal family, from the perspective of an American girl who falls in love the prince. Filled with humor and hijinks, this is also a surprisingly smart rom-com. Pure enjoyment and brain candy, and often held up as the model "if you liked this..." book when other rom-coms are marketed.

An hour after England enters World War II, socialite Mary North signed up for service. Instead of direct involvement in the war, she finds herself teaching students who were rejected from the countryside after most other children were evacuated from London. This turn brings into her life Zachary, a young black student; Tom, an education administrator; and Alistair, Tom's flatmate who has enlisted in the military. Mary, Tom, and Zachary face a new normal in London as the bombings of the Blitz commence, while the ills of society--race, poverty, addiction--persistently remain the same. Alistair, meanwhile, faces the brutality, starvation, and violence of life as a soldier in Malta.

Cleave's prose can feel heavy-handed, especially at first, but I soon fell under the spell of his writing. His dialogue shines and is smart and surprisingly funny. In its wittiness, it recalls the type of conversations that seem to happen in youth, especially during late nights or intense situations--the intelligent volleying that immediately connects people. Cleave uses these conversations masterfully to create instant connections between characters facing extreme circumstances. Inspired by his own grandparents' experiences and letters written during World War II, Cleave tells a beautiful tale of love, loss, and bravery. Also check out my in-depth look at the history and writing of this book, the first in my Story of the Story series.

In present-day London, Caroline is visiting from the United States and finds an intriguing vial while "mudlarking" in the Thames. A history lover, she researches it and learns it may have belonged to an apothecary from centuries before--one who didn't just heal.

In 1791, Nella helps women find freedom from men who ruin their lives--but she does it in the darkest of ways. When 12-year-old Eliza finds herself in Nella's shop, she is intrigued by her work. Their collaboration could jeopardize not only themselves but also all of the women Nella has helped.

This was a fascinating premise and I enjoyed the path of the stories--especially the one in 1791. A few elements that seemed a little hastily done and didn't quite ring true took me out of the story, which knocked this down a bit for me. 

My Review

I can't say that a story about building a cathedral in Middle Ages England sounded like a riveting premise--but I was wrong. This massive tome is filled with drama and intrigue, evil characters, romance, political maneuvering, and fascinating history. It's a bit of a historical soap opera, on par with Outlander, in the best possible way. Highly readable, hard to put down, and also a bit of a guilty pleasure. The third book in Follett's Kingsbridge series, A Column of Fire, was released in 2017 and the prequel The Evening and Morning in 2020. They reference one another a bit, but each is set several centuries after the last, so reading them all isn't completely necessary. Each is completely immersive and riveting--reading experiences that don't come along often, especially over 800+ page books.

Following the death of her mother, Anna discovers a journal written by the father she never knew. As she reads, she searches for answers on her mixed-race identity that seemed to baffle her white British mother. When she discovers he is alive and living in a small (fictional) African country, she is determined to meet him. But the idealism she reads about in his youth is not what she discovers; her father is the former President of the country--possibly even a dictator.

Anna's search for identity, family, and some truth about her father was coupled with themes of racism, colonialism, and political power. While Anna could be frustrating, her journey made for a fascinating listen.

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