Isola

Title:  Isola

Author:  Allegra Goodman

Publication Information:  The Dial Press. 2025. 368 pages.

ISBN:  0593730089 / 978-0593730089

Rating:   ★★★★

Book Source:  I received this book through NetGalley free of cost in exchange for an honest review.

Opening Sentence:  "I still dream of birds."

Favorite Quote:  "I am done living fearfully."

Historically, Marguerite de La Rocque's date and place of birth are not known. Her date and place of death are not known. However, the story of her life is remembered and has been retold in different ways since the 1500s when she lived to today. This book brings her story to life and does what I loved about historical fiction. It tells a great story, one that has me turning pages. It paints a well-defined character that has me invested in the story. It introduces me to a history I would never otherwise have come across.

The history goes that Marguerite was an heiress who was orphaned early in life. She lived on her estate with a governess and servants. The estate was managed by a relative, Jean-François de La Rocque de Roberval. Historians do not agree on the exact relationship - uncle, brother, cousin. This book depicts a cousin. This part of the story depicts the lack of control a woman - any woman regardless of wealth or class - had over her own life at that time. Marguerite is an heiress and yet her wealth is controlled entirely by a male relative, who does not have her best interests at heart. She has servants aplenty, but their actions are controlled by the one who controls their pay, even if he does it with Marguerite's inheritance. He is the one in charge.

At his insistence and under his control, Marguerite accompanies Roberval as he travels to the New World to take on a governing position. On the voyage, Marguerite beings a love story with Roberval's assistant. Displeased, Roberval punishes her by dropping them off to survive on a deserted island in the Gulf of Saint Lawrence. That is the reference for the book's title. "I leaned over the table to see jagged coasts and islands dimpled all around the waves. Each was called ISOLA." Some say it was the phantom island knowns as the Isle of Demons. Some say their ghosts can still be seen there. Had I not known the historical basis for this book, I would say such an action was far-fetched. The story is all the more compelling for being based in history.

The story continues with survival on the island and life after. The story of life after seems somewhat anticlimactic after the buildup of her childhood and the intensity of the time on the island. It completes the story historically and emphasizes the story of survival but lacks the emotion of the rest of the story.

Overall, the book tells a compelling story of this young woman's fight for survival and of her evolution from a pampered child to a strong survivor. I feel for the young, orphaned child and cheer for the woman who faces her dire circumstances and survives.

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Amazing Grace Adams

Title:  Amazing Grace Adams

Author:  Fran Littlewood

Publication Information:  Henry Holt and Co. 2023. 272 pages.

ISBN:  1250857015 / 978-1250857019

Book Source:  I received this book through NetGalley free of cost in exchange for an honest review.

Rating:   ★★★

Opening Sentence:  "Grace is hot."

Favorite Quote:  "She speaks five languages yet she could not find the vocabulary to articulate her heartsickness, to negotiate their grief."

Middle age? Perimenopause? Teenage child? Midlife crisis? Comfortable but uncertain marriage? Lost career? Lost dreams? Is it any one of these things or is it all of these things that cause Grace Adams to unravel and go over the edge?

This book is the story of Grace Adam's very bad, horrible day. However, it is also the story of Grace Adam's life - her decisions, her choices, and her circumstances - that lead her to this existential crisis and breakdown.

The concept is perhaps a relatable and understandable one. The idea of a family situation leading to the loss of a job is unfortunately a realistic one. The idea of a middle aged person - particularly a woman - wondering how life ended up here is one heard often in real life.

The telling of the story is, however, a challenge. The "present" day story is of Grace trying to get a birthday cake to her estranged teenage daughter in an effort to reconcile with her. Grace'e mental trajectory travels from present day to many other times in her life - when she starts her career, when she meets her husband, at points in her marriage, and a few days before the present. It follows her thought process as to how she is where she is. Unfortunately, this makes the story confusing at times and makes it difficult to invest in the emotion of the moment. Because the book starts in the present and goes back, it is also hard to invest in the emotions of the past as you know how it all turns out. I do wish the story had not been circular.

In her present, Grace makes a lot of questionable choices. The language of the book - particularly the frequent cursing - does not help. I want to root for Grace, but, somehow, as relatable as her story is, Grace does not develop into a character I cheer for. The story goes in too many different directions and pulls in too many themes for me to settle in with one.

The books ends up about where I expect it will. Unfortunately, that means there is not necessarily the payoff of a lesson or of closure after wading through a couple of hundred pages of Grace's crisis. Rather than a touching story or a humorous story as the description indicates, this ends up being somewhat sad and depressing. 

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Mrs. Porter Calling

Title:  Mrs. Porter Calling

Author:  AJ Pearce

Publication Information:  Scribner. 2023. 320 pages.

ISBN:  1668007711 / 978-1668007716

Rating:   ★★★

Book Source:  I received this book through NetGalley free of cost in exchange for an honest review.

Opening Sentence:  "Margaret and I had been tap-dancing in the garden for nearly twenty minutes, and I was beginning to feel the strain."

Favorite Quote:  "We can only do our best .. and leave it at work when we go home."

Mrs. Porter Calling is the third book in the series, The Emmy Lake Chronicles. The series chronicles the story of a young woman - one who wants to be a journalist and a war correspondent - in World War II London. The books find a balance of the grim story of war and of the feel good story of a group of friends who are like family and the joy and comfort they find in each other even in dark time.

Dear Mrs. Bird brings Emmy, with her dreams of being a journalist, to a job at a magazine as a typist for a women's advice column. Emmy manages to find a way to put her own spin on her job. Yours Cheerfully takes an even more serious tone as it explores the role of women in the wartime effort and the gender discrimination and expectations they face. it explores the challenges they face and the resilience of these women to create change.

This book brings the story back to that of the magazine at which Emmy works. The magazine is changing ownership, and with that comes change. Journalistic integrity and the whole premise of the magazine and its audience is at risk.

Emmy and her friends are in a race against time to save the magazine and its mission. "You can have all the fancy vision in the world, but it's the readers who matter. Muck them about and there won't be a Woman's Friend."

Although each of these books can stand alone, reading the series as a series provides necessary background and shows the progression of the characters. Without having read the first two books, I am not sure I would have "gotten" all the characters or relationships.

Of the three books, this one is the least about the wartime London setting. In fact, I feel that the book could have been set anywhere in time and place. This book is about business world and about the people passionate about an institution trying to save it from those who seek change for the sake of change and who would destroy something special in the process. Given the 1940s London setting, this book and the conflict also becomes about the British class structure.

Given the tone and tenor of all three books, I suspect going in how the book will end. It delivers that sweet story, but I would have appreciated something unexpected and unpredictable.

Please share your thoughts and leave a comment. I would love to "talk" to you.

The Titanic Survivors Books Club

Title:  The Titanic Survivors Books Club

Author:  Timothy Schaffert

Publication Information:  Doubleday. 2024. 320 pages.

ISBN:  0385549156 / 978-0385549158

Rating:   ★★

Book Source:  I received this book through NetGally free of cost in exchange for an honest review.

Opening Sentence:  "I spotted my name, again and again, on the lists of the dead."

Favorite Quote:  "You can let it all go, everything in your past, and it won't hurt a soul. You're not saving anyone by punishing yourself."

I am intrigued by the premise of the book. Survivors of a disaster such as the Titanic group together. I expect the book to be about the disaster, about survival, and about the repercussions - the multitude of emotions that would assuredly accompany such trauma. The Girl Who Came Home by Hazel Gaynor is such a story. Based on archival documents, it tells more of a story of survival and its aftermath.

Of course, I am always intrigued by a book about a book club - The Accidental Book Club by Jennifer Scott, The End of Your Life Book Club by Will Schwalbe, and The Rejected Writers' Book Club by Suzanne Kerman. I look forward to seeing perhaps what the book club reads, why, and what they discuss.

The premise of this book starts off even stronger. One of the main characters Yorick keeps seeing his name on the list of those lost at sea. I cannot imagine seeing your name on a list such as that. The start establishes interest in the character, and I look forward to discovering how the book builds upon the premise.

Unfortunately, for me, the book does not follow through on any of the premises I pick up the book for. Are the survivors truly survivors? The story explains that most, if not all, are those who were to be on the ship but were not indeed on the voyage. Does that make them survivors? In a way, yes. By mistake, accident, or choice, they managed to not be on board. However, because they were not on board, the book does not build upon the ramifications that would have.

The "book" part of book also seems incidental to the story being told in this book. A secret society book club sounds intriguing. This book, however, ends up focused on three individuals within the larger book club and the dynamic between the three.

The story does not become about Yorick's dealing with the fact that his name is on the list of those lost.

In actuality, the book becomes about a triangle that develops between these three individuals - Yorick, Zinnia, and Haze. It becomes about romantic feelings, love reciprocated and unrequited love. This plot path is unexpected and unfortunately not a welcome one for me. It also makes this book a very slow read, as it is character driven not really plot driven.

The book is completely not what I expect based on the descriptions, and I walk away, disappointed.

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The Disappearance of Astrid Bricard

Title:  The Disappearance of Astrid Bricard

Author:  Natasha Lester

Publication Information:  Forever. 2024. 464 pages.

ISBN:  1538706954 / 978-1538706954

Rating:   ★★★★

Book Source:  I received this book through NetGalley free of cost in exchange for an honest review.

Opening Sentence:  "In the same way that the Electric Circus nightclub in Manhattan is all about sensual overwhelm, so too is the Hall of Mirrors at the Palace of Versailles, Hawk thinks as he strides in the gallery beside four other men."

Favorite Quote:  "Loving someone and making them feel loved are two different things. It's easy to just love, but it takes effort to make another person believe in that love."

Three women: Mizza, Astrid, and Blythe. Three time periods: 1917, 1970, and the present. Three places - Paris, New York, and the French countryside. Three stories but one theme that is clearly explained in the author's note:

• "Find a famous woman - and find a stream of falsehoods and cruelties in her wake."
• "How and why are women constantly reshaped by the media into something they aren't? And why can women only be the inspiration in the creative process, rather than the creator? Those questions drove the writing of this book."
• "I don't think anyone has to look too far to think of a woman who's been remolded by the media, by gossip, and by spite into something less than she actually was. It's been happening for centuries, and it happens still. I hope historical novelists in one hundred years time aren't still writing notes like this."

Women, the role of women, the standards applied to women in a patriarchy, and the pressures on women have been and continue to be a universal conversation.

This book presents these themes through the intertwined stories of these three generations. Research shows that Mizza was an actual, historical figure, but the other two are fiction. Mizza Bricard is said to have been the Christian Dior's muse! The book sets the story in the high pressure and high stakes arena of couture fashion, which is art but also business.

To some extent, Astrid and Blythe's stories are about breaking away from the past and creating a name for themselves. For Blythe, it is also about the childhood trauma of her mother's disappearance and abandonment. Given the time in history, Mizza's story is also one of war, survival, and resistance. To a greater extent, the central theme is about a woman surviving and thriving in a male-dominated industry. 

Given the three timelines, it takes a while to settle into the story and keep straight which characters belong in which timelines especially as the older characters carry forward into the subsequent generation. However, the three main characters are each unique and each the anchor to their own story. 

The lifestyle of the rich is not relatable, and I can certainly do without the scenes of sexual encounters. I find the insight into the fashion industry really interesting, and, as a woman, the three main characters and their struggles are relatable, making this a memorable read.

Please share your thoughts and leave a comment. I would love to "talk" to you.

The Lotus Shoes

Title:  The Lotus Shoes

Author:  Jane Yang

Publication Information:  Park Row. 2025. 368 pages.

ISBN:  0778310671 / 978-0778310679

Rating:   ★★★★★

Book Source:  I received this book through NetGalley and a publisher's blog tour free of cost in exchange for an honest review.

Opening Sentence:  "I sat shivering on a low stool in our farmhouse kitchen."

Favorite Quote:  "We cannot let them win ... They own our bodies but they will never have our souls. Those are ours, always."

***** BLOG TOUR *****

Review

From Shanxi in 19th century China, this book brings the story of slavery, child labor, the limited options for women, the even more limited options for the poor, and foot binding. As a very young child, Little Flower is sold into slavery. She is to be muizai. The word itself means "little sister". However, the reality is far from that meaning. A muizai is taken into a rich household to be a personal assistant for a child of that family. The arrangement is to last their entire lives although some may be liberated by being allowed to marry at a certain age. In certain households, it was looked upon as a form of charity for the muizai would provided a better life than the one she comes from. However, that was not often the reality. As the book description states, "A muizai is a mistress’s shadow. You are there to do her bidding…"

Little Flower is brought into a household to be the muizai for Linjing. The book follows these two children as they grow up and into their adult lives. Through their eyes and through this household, we see the culture and customs of 19th century China and particularly of the role of women.

Little Flower is sold to provide a better life for her brother. She has bound feet, which was an expression of her mother's love as it may have offered her a chance at a better marriage and a better life. She has also been taught and is talented at embroidery, which is deemed an art of the rich. This too is in effort to lead her too a better life. In the Fong's household, she is at times cared for but has no freedom and no self-determination. Her hopes - her bound feet, the promise of a possible marriage, and her embroidery - are gradually taken away. "Yet experience had taught me that promises from the genteel class were not to be relied upon if my safety clashed with their self-interest." Yet, she perseveres through every turn. "To live as well as I could within the confines of slavery would be my best revenge."

Linjing is the daughter of the first wife. She is a favorite of her father's. However, she is a girl. Her mother sets expectations of perfection, and Linjing suffers in comparison to Little Flower. Unfortunately, that kind of love leads Linjing to retaliate against the one person in her control - Little Flower. "You ... are lowborn. I'm a lady. These facts are as solid as the ground we stand on." This leads to disastrous outcomes many times in their lives.

"But we lived in a hierarchy that favored men. Women, be it peasant or lady, first wife or mentor wives, were pitches against each other, fighting among themselves for scraps of power and security." Through the women surrounding these girls, the book brings in the role of women through so many different facets:

• Little Flower's mother makes the decision to sell her because she sees no other option.
• Linjing's mother is the first wife of the Fong household. However, her inability to produce a male heir and the decisions she makes in that quest determine the direction of her life.
• An aunt choose a celibate life to escape a marriage.
• A matriarch dispenses cruelty in every direction.
• A second wife who delivers a son finds her position elevated.
• A missionary attempts to help but demonstrates a lack of understanding of the culture and an inability understanding first and then attempt to change.

The book is tragic, and, at times, graphic in its descriptions of slavery and torture (reader beware!). Both the girls - Little Flower and Linjing - are compelling characters, and I find myself reading furiously to see how things turn out for them.

That being said, I am not sure how I feel about the ending. Given the entire book and the time and place, I am not sure that what happens in this book would actually have happened. It's hard to discuss without a spoiler! While the rest of the book is emotional and compelling, the ending seems abrupt and not entirely believable. It undermines the rest of the book, but nevertheless, a powerful debut novel. I look forward to seeing what Jane Yang writes next.

About the Book

A muizai is a mistress’s shadow. You are there to do her bidding…

19th Century China. Tightly bound feet, or "golden lilies," are the mark of an honorable woman. When Little Flower is sold as a maidservant to Linjing, a daughter of the prominent Fong family, she clings to the hope that her golden lilies will someday lead her out of a life of slavery.

Not only does Little Flower have bound feet—uncommon for a muizai—but she is gifted at embroidery, a skill associated with women of fortune. Resentful of her talents, Linjing does everything in her power to prevent Little Flower from escaping. But when scandal strikes the Fongs, both women are cast out to the Celibate Sisterhood, where Little Flower’s talents catch the eye of a nobleman, threatening not only her improved status, but her life—the Sisterhood punishes disobedience with death. And if Linjing finds out, will she sabotage Little Flower to reclaim her power, or will she protect her?

Richly atmospheric and profoundly moving, The Lotus Shoes is an empowering tale of two women from opposite sides of society, and their extraordinary journey of sisterhood, betrayal, love and triumph.

About the Author

Jane Yang was born in the Chinese enclave of Saigon and raised in Australia where she grew up on a diet of superstition and family stories from Old China. Despite establishing a scientific career, first as a pharmacist and later in clinical research, she is still sometimes torn between modern, rational thinking and the pull of old beliefs in tales that have been passed down the family. Jane’s family tales are an inspiration for her writing. She writes stories about women in pre-Communist China, exploring power and class struggles, and sometimes with a dash of suspense, spirits and hauntings.

Excerpt

Excerpt from The Lotus Shoes by Jane Yang. Copyright © 2025 by Jane Yang. Published by Park Row Books.

One
Little Flower

I sat shivering on a low stool in our farmhouse kitchen. The frosty air stung my cheeks and chilled my hands and feet until they hurt. To warm up, I rubbed my arms and legs. Though it never snowed in southern China, this winter in the sixth year of Emperor Guangxu’s reign felt brutally cold. Normally, I would still be curled beneath our patched quilt, but my aa noeng had woken me at first light.

“We are going on an adventure today,” she announced, turning to me with a basin of boiling water. For the first time in months, her thin, pale face broke into a smile. But it wasn’t a proper sparkling smile, like the ones she used to shower on me before my aa de died. This smile looked stiff, and her eyes remained dull.

“I’m taking you to Canton City,” she continued. “Farmer Tang will give us a ride on his cart.” She poured cold water into the basin. I squealed, clapping with delight. I had never been to Canton City, but I had heard all about it from traveling storytellers. Peddlers prowled the streets, selling sugared plums, sweet buns and roasted chestnuts. My belly grumbled at the thought of them, reminding me that I had not eaten since yesterday’s bowl of watery congee. The storytellers also boasted of traveling acrobats, men who swallowed live snakes, and puppet shows.

“Is Little Brother coming too?” I asked.

“He is too young,” she said. “I’ve sent him to our neighbor for the day. This is a mother-and-daughter trip.”

“Why are we going?” “Little girls should not ask questions,” she chided. “Good girls keep quiet, follow rules and obey grown-ups.” Her tone was mild, but her face sagged with misery, frightening me into silence.

She knelt in front of me, cradling my golden lilies in her palms. “Do you remember why I started binding your feet when you were only four?” she asked.

“Because…because…” I shook my head. With a heavy sigh she explained, “Other six-year-old girls in our village wouldn’t start foot-binding until now. Some farming families might even wait until their daughter is seven or eight, if they’re desperate for an extra worker around the house. But that is risky. Do you know why?”

I shook my head again. “The bones might already be too stiff to be shaped. I love you so much that I bound your feet two years ago, as though you’re a little lady, to make sure you get perfect golden lilies so you can be like Consort Yao Niang. Do you remember her story?”

“I do!” Eager to impress her, I merrily recited the bedtime tale she had often told me. “Once upon a time, before the Manchu invaded and when China was cut up into lots of little kingdoms, like a patchwork quilt, there lived an emperor called Li Yu. He loved to see new things. One day he asked his many, many wives to surprise him with a new dance. Everyone tried but no one was good enough except Yao Niang. She wrapped her feet into crescents and danced on her toes!”

“What else?” she quizzed.

I frowned.

She prompted, “The emperor was so impressed that he promoted her to Royal Imperial Consort—”

“Oh!” With a bounce I finished her sentence, “So no other wife could boss Yao Niang around except the empress. All the ladies of the court copied her and soon rich girls across the country started to do the same. Now all re-respectable girls have bound feet. And the most loving mothers make sure their daughters have perfect four-inch golden lilies.”

I expected the rest of my speedy answer would earn praise, especially since I had only stumbled on two characters, but Aa Noeng’s lips trembled. I reached out to hug her, but she shook her head as she straightened her back and smoothed her faded tunic-blouse, ou.

“Even the poorest boy might hope to pass the imperial exams and become a mandarin if he is clever and studious,” she said, “but a girl’s only chance for a better life is through her golden lilies. This is my priceless gift to you. No matter what happens, I want you always to remember how much I love you. You’re my precious pearl. Do you understand?”

“I love you this much too!” I swung my arms behind my back until my palms touched. But she didn’t return my smile.

“Why is it important to have perfect four-inch golden lilies?” she asked.

“To get a good marriage,” I chirped. “Matchmakers and mothers-in-law like tiny feet. Golden lilies are proof of a girl’s goodness.”

“Yes,” she agreed. “Only girls with immense endurance and discipline can get perfect golden lilies. This is what mothersin-law from nice families want for their sons.” She squeezed my hands and asked, “Do you want to marry into a nice family when you grow up?”

“Yes.”

“How do you get four-inch golden lilies?” she asked.

“I must sit very still when you clean my feet and change my bandages.”

“What else?”

“I mustn’t complain when you tighten the bindings.”

“That’s true,” she replied slowly. “But…” After a long pause she said, “You are a big girl now. It’s time you learned to take care of your golden lilies yourself.”

“I’m still little!” I protested, alarmed by her grave tone.

“Watch carefully,” she instructed. She unraveled the binding and eased my left foot into the basin of warm water. She massaged away the dead skin on the sole and between my toes. Next she trimmed my toenails and wrapped my foot in a towel before sprinkling alum onto it.

“Be sure to use a generous amount of alum,” she said. “It wards off sweat and itch.”

She wound a length of clean, dark blue cotton around and around my foot. The pressure increased with each layer until my foot throbbed and my eyes ached with unshed tears. I had to use all my willpower not to groan. She continued to wrap the bindings, much more tightly than usual. I tried to pull my foot away. She gripped it harder. “Stay still,” she ordered.

“Aa Noeng,” I cried. “It hurts too much.”

“Hush,” she said. “One day these golden lilies will bring you a good marriage. You will wear silk and live in a house with tiled floors. Best of all, you will never go hungry again.”

My whimpering faded as she continued to talk about the tasty food that would fill my belly when I become a bride in a wellto-do family. Finally, she eased my foot into my best pair of indigo cotton shoes. She pushed the basin toward me.

“Now you must do the same for your right foot,” she said. 

Buy Links

HarperCollins: https://www.harpercollins.com/products/the-lotus-shoes-jane-yang?variant=42182206455842
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Lotus-Shoes-Novel-Jane-Yang/dp/0778310671
Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-lotus-shoes-jane-yang/1145107408?ean=9780778310679
Bookshop.org: https://bookshop.org/p/books/the-lotus-shoes-original-jane-yang/21335528?ean=9780778310679 

Social Links

Author Linktree: https://linktr.ee/janeyangauthor
Twitter (X): https://x.com/JaneYangWriting
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/janeyangwriting/

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The Keeper of Hidden Books

Title:  The Keeper of Hidden Books

Author:  Madeline Martin

Publication Information:  Hanover Square Press. 2023. 416 pages.

ISBN:  1335005773 / 978-1335005779

Rating:   ★★★

Book Source:  I received this book through NetGalley free of cost in exchange for an honest review.

Opening Sentence:  "Sofia Nowak sat back on her calves in the warm summer grass while her friend Janina clumsily wound a bandage around her head."

Favorite Quote:  "The world also needs to remember to never take for granted what has been gifted to us through the sacrifice of others: the right to an education and learning, the power and luxury of freedom, and the beauty to appreciate the routine of simple, everyday life."

Much has been written about the World Wars and books - individual and group efforts to preserve and protect books and the comfort and solace books provided to people in dire circumstances. Madeline Martin herself has written about the topic before. This story brings the history of World War II and books and those who found comfort in and sought to preserve books in Warsaw, Poland.

The history, the love of books, and the idea of a strong female protagonist all made me choose to read this book.

The point in history is the onset of the Nazi occupation of Warsaw and the creation of the ghettos to segregate communities. This is not an aspect of World War II history I have read much about. I would have loved to see this side of the story explored more. There is a hint, but it is not pursued. "The entire time I was reading it, I couldn't help but imagine having my own time machine... But I wouldn't go as far into the future as the Time Traveller, not would I go as far back. I would have gone just a few months. Maybe even a year, to see if the world could be altered with one small change."

The love of books - reading and writing them - rings through as you might expect. "Books are the perfect conduit to convey a message to the world. It could be an idea that blossoms into a way of life. It could be a new theory for mankind to explore. It could be a journey of life that few have trod. When you have something to tell, it will simply burst from you and you won't be able to stop it."

The main characters are two young women. Zofia and Janina two school girls who are best friends. Janina is Jewish; Zofia is not. It has never mattered before, but, to much of the world, now it does. They find themselves united in their love of books and libraries. They find themselves on opposite sides of the ghetto borders. Their "Anti-Hitler Book Club" progresses into a courageous effort to protect friends and books.

Because so many books have been written about this history, including books by the author, the book leads to an automatic comparison. This one unfortunately suffers by comparison. I find myself thinking again and again that I have already read this story. I have not, but this one does not stand out and stand apart from the others. This story in and of itself is not memorable, which is a shame because the history needs to be remembered.

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