Time for Outdoor Reading!

I like to relax outside and read in the spring. If you do, too, here are some books that I’m glad I picked up. You might check them out!

Woman on Fire by Lisa Barr

I loved this book! Set mainly in modern day, the story surrounds a painting that the Nazis stole from Jews–and the two people who are racing each other to find it. This novel has some of the best flashbacks I’ve read.  They’re well-placed, reveal so much about history, and are heart wrenching. There’s art, love, tension, and fabulous international settings, too. Actor Sharon Stone is set to produce and star in the film version!

Sister Stardust by Jane Green

The title alone would make this book jump off the shelf for me in a bookstore. This is the author’s first work of historical fiction and she nails it. The story is inspired by real life events. It follows fictional Claire from London to Marrakesh in the mid-1960s, where she meets the affluent Talitha Getty. You can almost smell the incense, taste the spicy food, see the colors in their clothes, hear the Rolling Stones’ music, and feel dizzy from the drugs and the orgies.  It’s transporting. Of course, not everything goes well. . . .

 

The Show Girl by Nicola Harrison

Books set in the 1920s are among my favorites, and this one put me right there! Olive leaves her midwestern home to pursue her dreams in New York City. This story brings a fascinating look into the world of the famed Ziegfeld Follies. There are also flappers, secrets, and excursions to the state’s camps where the rich go to play. When independent Olive falls in love, though, she must choose between marriage or her career. I love to learn something new as I read historical fiction. This book is great!

 

The Wedding Veil by Kristy Woodson Harvey

I can’t wait to lose myself in this one soon! It’s a dual timeline novel that takes us back to 1914 and the North Carolina home of socialite Edith Vanderbilt and her daughter Cornelia. I’ve been to Biltmore Estate a few times, and it’s utterly grand and gorgeous. Yet because the story here involves an heirloom veil, my personal interest is even more piqued. My grandmother made my wedding gown and veil by hand. It’s terrible to think these pieces could go missing like the veil in the book. I look forward to seeing how the author spins this tale!

 

The Good Left Undone by Adriana Trigiani

This is what I was reading today by the pool. Matelda is old and near the end of her life, and she’s decided to reveal a secret about her Italian family. Told in lyrical prose, this book is mesmerizing, and it promises an epic love story that goes back decades. I will end here so I can get back to reading. . . .

 

 

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