Review: June by Miranda Beverly–Whittemore

 

  Title:  June
  Author: Miranda Beverly-Whittemore (Website)
  Genre: Mystery/Thriller
  Publisher: Broadway Books; Reprint edition (February 14, 2017)
  Length: 432 pages
  Source: Broadway Books and Blogging for Books

 

 

About the Book: (From Goodreads)

Twenty-five-year-old Cassie Danvers is holed up in her family’s crumbling mansion in rural St. Jude, Ohio, mourning the loss of the woman who raised her—her grandmother, June. But a knock on the door forces her out of isolation. Cassie has been named the sole heir to legendary matinee idol Jack Montgomery's vast fortune. How did Jack Montgomery know her name? Could he have crossed paths with her grandmother all those years ago? What other shocking secrets could June’s once-stately mansion hold?

Soon Jack’s famous daughters come knocking, determined to wrestle Cassie away from the inheritance they feel is their due. Together, they all come to discover the true reasons for June’s silence about that long-ago summer, when Hollywood came to town, and June and Jack’s lives were forever altered by murder, blackmail, and betrayal.

As this page-turner shifts deftly between the past and present, Cassie and her guests will be forced to reexamine their legacies, their definition of family, and what it truly means to love someone, steadfastly, across the ages.

My Review: June by Miranda Beverly-Whittemore takes place in St. Jude, Ohio.  The story weaves between present time and 1955, when a Hollywood file crew came to town to film Erie Canal.  The star of Erie Canal is Jack Montgomery, a Hollywood heartthrob. The crew takes quaint little St, Jude by storm.  There are parties and community members working for the film. 

June and Lindie are best friends.  June is engaged to marry Arthur, who is schedule to be coming to town soon.  Lindie is a young lady, who secretly is in love with June.   June lives in an elegant mansion called Two Oakes.  Lindie and June have grown up together.  June’s mother Cheryl Anne has great ambition for her daughter to marry well.  There are a lot of twists and turns following the story line that takes place in 1955.  There is murder, secrets and the cover up.  June is a very strong woman who is able to make some difficult decisions. 

In the present day,  Cassie the grand daughter of June comes to Two Oakes after her grandmother’s death.  Cassie is struggling with functioning day to day.  She has inherited Two Oakes, which is in great despair.   Two Oakes is a living breathing character in the story.  This works sometimes and other times seems out of place.  One day, Nick arrives at her door.  Nick is the assistant to Tate, who is the daughter to the Hollywood star, Jack Montgomery.   Nick informs her that she has been left a large amount of money from Jack Montgomery, who she does not know.     The mystery begins to unfold as the truth is slowly revealed between the dual narratives from 1955 and present day. 

Initially June by Miranda Beverly-Whittemore did not grab me.  Towards the middle I was invested in the story and the story continues to gain momentum to the ending.   I really enjoyed a number of the characters, especially the relationship between June and Lindie as well as Two Oakes.  I found it interesting that the house was an actual character in the story. 

I rate June by Miranda Beverly-Whittemore as 3/5.  I didn’t lose any sleep to read June, but the ending had me and I had to finish before my day could continue. 

My Rating Scale: 1 – didn’t like it; 2 – it was ok; 3 – liked it; 4 – really liked it; 5 – it was amazing

June by Miranda Beverly-Whittemore was also reviewed by Mockingbird Hill Cottage, Cover2Cover Mom, the Smug Cloud, Perfectly Ambitious and Becky Renner.

Happy Reading!

**Disclosure – June by Miranda Beverly-Whittemore was received from the Blogging for Books Program in exchange for a fair review. All opinions are my own.  This post contains affiliate links.

Coming Soon to a Bookshelf Near You: June 2017

Loving this beautiful weather!   Today is my last day of vacation before heading back to work.  We just returned from South Dakota, where we celebrated my parents 60th wedding anniversary and my mom’s 80th birthday! I thought I would have time to review and read while in SD, but we stayed very busy visiting with family.    Before heading back to work, I thought I would share some books that have caught my eye.   These books will be available in June.  If you like, maybe even get on the waitlist at the library for these upcoming titles.

As a book blogger, I am able to request, read and provide feedback on upcoming titles.   I love being able to do this, but some months my ambitions are larger than what time allows.  I still have a full time job which interferes regularly with my reading/blogging schedule.  So I decided to share with you some upcoming releases that have caught my eye.    I would hate for you to miss an upcoming title due to my lack of time!!

Here are some books which were be available in bookstores in June 2017, that caught my eye!

                                 Review of The Child                             

Happy Reading!

*Note – if you would like to keep up with book reviews on Reading in White Bear Lake, please take a moment to like us on facebook!   If you are interested in my other loves: cooking, menu planning, organizing and my family check out our other blog, Living in White Bear Lake.   Living in White Bear Lake can also be found on facebook.

Coming Soon to a Bookshelf Near You: May 2017

Loving this beautiful weather!   Time for lunches in the park with my favorite book.    What better time to share some books that have caught my eye.   These books will be available in May.  If you like, maybe even get on the waitlist at the library for these upcoming titles.

As a book blogger, I am able to request, read and provide feedback on upcoming titles.   I love being able to do this, but some months my ambitions are larger than what time allows.  I still have a full time job which interferes regularly with my reading/blogging schedule.  So I decided to share with you some upcoming releases that have caught my eye.    I would hate for you to miss an upcoming title due to my lack of time!!

Here are some books which were be available in bookstores in May 2017, that caught my eye!

And finally...the book I have pre-ordered as I can't wait to read it.............

 

Happy Reading!

*Note – if you would like to keep up with book reviews on Reading in White Bear Lake, please take a moment to like us on facebook!   If you are interested in my other loves: cooking, menu planning, organizing and my family check out our other blog, Living in White Bear Lake.   Living in White Bear Lake can also be found on facebook.

* This post contains Amazon Affiliate Links

Review: The Shadow Land by Elizabeth Kostova

 

  Title:  The Shadow Land 
  Author: Elizabeth Kostova (Website) 
  Genre: Mystery/Thriller
  Publisher: Ballantine Books (April 11, 2017)
  Length: 496 pages
  Source: Good Reads and Random House

 

About the Book: (From Goodreads):
From the #1 bestselling author of The Historian comes an engrossing novel that spans the past and the present and unearths the dark secrets of Bulgaria, a beautiful and haunted country.

A young American woman, Alexandra Boyd, has traveled to Sofia, Bulgaria, hoping that life abroad will salve the wounds left by the loss of her beloved brother. Soon after arriving in this elegant East European city, however, she helps an elderly couple into a taxi and realizes too late that she has accidentally kept one of their bags. Inside she finds an ornately carved wooden box engraved with a name: Stoyan Lazarov. Raising the hinged lid, she discovers that she is holding an urn filled with human ashes.

As Alexandra sets out to locate the family and return this precious item, she will first have to uncover the secrets of a talented musician who was shattered by oppression and she will find out all too quickly that this knowledge is fraught with its own danger.

Kostova's new novel is a tale of immense scope that delves into the horrors of a century and traverses the culture and landscape of this mysterious country. Suspenseful and beautifully written, it explores the power of stories, the pull of the past, and the hope and meaning that can sometimes be found in the aftermath of loss.

My Review: The Shadow Land by Elizabeth is told from two points of view.  The view of Alexandra, an American that came to Sophia, Bulgaria to teach English.   The Shadow Land starts with Alexandra accidently becoming into possession of the ashes of Stroyan Lazarov.  She begins a wild goose chase of a trip to find the family of Stroyan Lazarov to return the ashes.  She starts this trip with a taxi driver, Bobby.  During their trip they escape danger, become close and meet many interesting individuals connected to Stroyan Lazarov.  Through their travels, we find out more and more about Stroyan.  Will they ever get Stroyan’s ashes back to his family???

Stroyan Lazarov also told the story of his life in Bulgaria during the communist regime.  Stroyan was very in loved with and married to Vera.  Stroyan was a very talented musician with his career derailed due to the communist regime.  Stroyan answers the door of his apartment one night and was met by the police and taken into custody.  The abuse and mistreatment that began is disturbing.  It is made even more disturbing by Elizabeth Kostova’s skillful, vivid descriptions.  Stroyan is a strong man with the ability to get lost in this thoughts.  Secrets are revealed and the connect between the past and present come to the forefront. 

Elizabeth Kostova’s writing and descriptions of Bulgaria are beautiful.  Kostova provides a very vivid snapshot of Bulgaria during two distinctly different times in history.  I found myself re-reading a sentence here and there due to skill of the writing.  I found The Shadow Land by Elizabeth Kostova to be character driven.  The character, Stroyan Lazarov entered the story in an Urn and became my favorite and the most developed character.   Kostova provided such a detailed description of Stroyan’s life in the prison camp that you could even smell the scents of the camp.  Stroyan’s story was very compelling and moving as he struggled throughout life with the effect of the communist regime. 

The Shadow Land by Elizabeth Kostova is slow to build. Once Stroyan begins to tell his story,the pace increases and the pages fly by.  I decided to read a bit of The Shadowland this morning with my coffee at 6:30am….soon I find myself riveted to my seat until I finished the book around noon.  What a delightful way to spend a Saturday morning!!    The Shadow Land by Elizabeth Kostova receives a 4 star rating from me.   I so enjoyed my travels around Bulgaria.

My Rating Scale: 1 – didn’t like it; 2 – it was ok; 3 – liked it; 4 – really liked it; 5 – it was amazing

Happy Reading!

**Disclosure – The Shadow Land by Elizabeth Kostova was received from Ballantine Books through Goodreads.com giveaway in exchange for a fair review.  All opinions are my own.  This post contains affiliate links.