Darlene's Digest

Longshadow by Olivia Atwater My rating: 5 of 5 stars View all my reviews

Lightning in a Mirror by Jayne Ann Krentz My rating: 4 of 5 stars View all my reviews

Filled with Fire and Light: Portraits and Legends from the Bible, Talmud, and Hasidic World by Elie Wiesel My rating: 4 of 5 stars View all my reviews

John Eyre: A Tale of Darkness and Shadow by Mimi Matthews My rating: 5 of 5 stars View all my reviews

Clark and Division by Naomi Hirahara My rating: 4 of 5 stars An entertaining mystery set in a shameful episode of America's history, the removal of Japanese Americans to concentration camps during WWII. Aki Ito and her family are forced first out of their homes in California and sent to the Manzanar Camp, then relocated to Chicago, a place completely unfamiliar to them. Aki's older sister Rose had gone ahead of the rest of the family and had a job, but on the eve of their reunion Rose is tragically killed in a subway accident. But was it an accident? Aki doesn't believe it and begins to ask questions, questions that lead her to learn uncomfortable things about her sister, and about herself. An excellent and deeply researched look into acts of US racism and xenophobia, as well as a well crafted mystery. I found it fascinating and painfully honest, along with being a very good whodunnit. View all my reviews

Clark and Division by Naomi Hirahara My rating: 4 of 5 stars An entertaining mystery set in a shameful episode of America's history, the removal of Japanese Americans to concentration camps during WWII. Aki Ito and her family are forced first out of their homes in California and sent into the Manzanar Camp, then relocated to Chicago, a place completely unfamiliar to them. Aki's older sister Rose had gone ahead of the rest of the family and had a job, but on the eve of their reunion Rose is tragically killed in a subway accident. But was it an accident? Aki doesn't believe it and begins to ask questions, questions that lead her to learn uncomfortable things about her sister, and about herself. An excellent and deeply researched look into acts of US racism and xenophobia, as well as a very well crafted mystery. I found it fascinating and painfully honest, along with being a very good whodunnit. View all my reviews

The Siren of Sussex by Mimi Matthews My rating: 5 of 5 stars If a romance novel is about the journey rather than the destination (the destination being the HEA), then this first Belles of London novel was a very satisfying journey indeed. Evelyn Maltravers has to make a good marriage so her sisters can be supported. Her parents are dead, the family is running out of money, and they're under a cloud of scandal because of her eldest sister's running off with a neighbor's son. But to make a splash in Victorian society bookish Evie needs to stand out, so the talented horsewoman turns to tailor Ahmad Malik to design a riding habit that will make heads turn and bring her the right kind of attention. Half-Indian Ahmad has no place in society either in London or in his native India, but if he can become a successful tailor he can support himself and his sister. He knows he can't let his career be derailed by a relationship with a woman who...