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ALL SCOT AND BOTHERED by Kerrigan Byrne

October 5, 2020

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Devil You Know, Book 2

From the publisher:

All Scot and Bothered is the second book in the stunning Devil You Know series by USA Today bestselling author Kerrigan Byrne!

They are a dangerous duke, a fierce lord, and an infamous earl―dark, bold, brave men who know exactly what they want. And there is only one woman who can bring them to their knees…

He is first and foremost―at everything. A man who’s made his own way through ruthless cunning and sheer force of will. A strong and imposing Scot who can turn on the charm but does not suffer fools. His title: Lord Chief Justice of the High Court. His name: Cassius Gerard Ramsay. His mission: To investigate the goings-on at London’s most notorious gaming hell, owned and operated by one of the most intriguing and desirable women he’s ever met.

IN THIS GAME OF LOVE, THE RULES DO NOT APPLY

Cecelia Teague was an orphan facing a rather dire future―until a secret benefactor from her mother’s scandalous past swept into her life. Sent to a prestigious boarding school and later to university, Cecelia believed high society was at her fingertips…Then, from out of nowhere, she became the inheritor of a gambling establishment. Now Cecelia must live two lives: one as a proper lady who finds herself undeniably drawn to Lord Ramsay and the other as a savvy gaming hell owner trying to save her business from the very same man. He has no idea she is both women…and Cecelia would like to keep it that way. But what happens when consuming passion and escalating danger threaten to reveal the truth?

This was my first book by Byrne, and now I’m hesitant to read another. For me, the best thing about this book was the title. As to the story itself, it was so muddled and illogical that I just couldn’t get into it. It may be because this is part of a series and I did not read the first book, but I don’t really think that is it.

Cecelia was a mess of a character. One minute she’s hot for the Lord Chief Justice and the next she is afraid of him. He is supposed to be so good at his job but doesn’t realize that Cecelia and the Scarlet Lady are one and the same person. No one questions the parentage of the child Cecelia has inherited. She staunchly defends her establishment at the accusation of being in the child trafficking business, yet literally knows nothing about the business or the people who are running it. Like I said, it was just an unbelievable mess. I’m sorry to say this book left me all “scot and bothered.”

10/2020 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch™

ALL SCOT AND BOTHERED by Kerrigan Byrne. St. Martin’s Paperbacks (September 29, 2020). ISBN 978-1250318862. 416 pages.

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SHIELD OF THE RISING SUN by Adam Lofthouse

October 4, 2020

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Path of Nemesis, Book 3

From the publisher:

War still rages at the edge of empire while centurion Albinus Silus fights at its beating heart.

Gone is the boy who joined the legions. What remains is a man torn apart by the savagery of battle, the heartache of lost love.

He does not know what became of his wife, and now he must balance being both a soldier and a father.

And yet, for all his pain, he shall have to endure more than he ever thought he could. His valour in the northern wars has not gone unnoticed, and now he is to be given a special mission.

Marcus Aurelius’ star falls with his health. One day the sun will rise on his successor and son, Commodus. But he must be ready, must know what it is to lead. Centurion Albinus has been chosen to educate him.

From Pannonia to Rome, to the far reaches of the east, Albinus must protect Commodus from enemies both inside the empire and out.

Can he keep the Caesar safe? Can he nurture him, teach him what it is to be a man? Can he be the Shield of the Rising Sun?

The perfect next series for fans of Bernard Cornwell and Simon Scarrow.

This is the third of three novels set in the Rome of the first and second centuries A.D. The stories revolve about the career of a soldier that fought for the Roman empire during a lifetime spent as a professional warrior attached to one of the legions that comprised the army of that nation. I did not have the opportunity to read the first two and did miss some of the actions described in which Albinus Silus, the soldier described took part in. While pertinent events were described in retrospect it would have been better to read the books as the character and feelings of Silus are carefully outlined. Additionally, based on this book I did miss literature of an excellent nature.

Albinus’ wife had to flee her marriage; a decision described in a previous book and leaving a son to be raised by one parent. He is still looking for her but tied to his enlistment in the army. During a battle with attacking Germanic tribes, Albinus distinguishes himself by stopping an attack by the enemy using a unique means to do so. The battle took place in the midst of winter across the frozen Danube and Albinus stops the enemy by chopping up the ice in front of a charge by them. His action is noted by Marcus Aurelius, the ruler of Rome who rewards him by making him the protector of his son, Commodus, who is next in line to rule the nation.

The novel continues with Albinus’ actions to protect Commodus as well as raising his son in the midst of an adventurous career as a professional soldier. Lofthouse has done the research necessary to bring to life a tumultuous period for the Roman empire with the rise in Christianity and many wars enveloping the nation.

A well-done engrossing novel even if not read in conjunction with the first two.

10/2020 Paul Lane

SHIELD OF THE RISING SUN by Adam Lofthouse. Lume Books (October 1, 2020). ISBN: 978-1839011979. 304 pages.

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TOOLS OF ENGAGEMENT by Tessa Bailey

October 3, 2020

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Hot And Hammered, Book 3

From the publisher:

In Tessa Bailey’s latest rom-com, two enemies team up to flip a house… and the sparks between them might burn the place down or ignite a passion that neither can ignore!

Hair, makeup, clothing, decor… everything in Bethany Castle’s world is organized, planned, and styled to perfection. Which is why the homes she designs for her family’s real estate business are the most coveted in town. The only thing not perfect? Her track record with men. She’s on a dating hiatus and after helping her friends achieve their dreams, Bethany finally has time to focus on her own: flip a house, from framework to furnishings, all by herself. Except her older brother runs the company and refuses to take her seriously.

When a television producer gets wind of the Castle sibling rivalry, they’re invited on Flip Off, a competition to see who can do the best renovation. Bethany wants bragging rights, but she needs a crew and the only member of her brother’s construction team willing to jump ship is Wes Daniels, the new guy in town. His Texas drawl and handsome face got under Bethany’s skin on day one, and the last thing she needs is some cocky young cowboy in her way.

As the race to renovate heats up, Wes and Bethany are forced into close quarters, trading barbs and biting banter as they remodel the ugliest house on the block. It’s a labor of love, hate, and everything in between, and soon sparks are flying. But Bethany’s perfectly structured life is one kiss away from going up in smoke and she knows falling for a guy like Wes would be a flipping disaster.

I loved the first two books in this series – and yes, I even read them in order. But this one was a bit of a letdown for me. I think it’s because I didn’t really like the main protagonist, Bethany. When I’m thinking Wes could do better, that’s never a good sign.

I was so excited when I got this book because I loved Bailey’s other books, I am an HGTV junkie, and the book is set on Long Island in an area not far from where I went to high school. But it felt like it was missing something. I drive myself crazy when I don’t love a book I was hoping to, and I can’t exactly explain why. I guess it was just a culmination of little things, but certainly not enough to say skip it. I liked it, I just didn’t love it but you can be sure I will read the next one!

10/2020 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch™

TOOLS OF ENGAGEMENT by Tessa Bailey. Avon (September 22, 2020). ISBN 978-0062872937. 368 pages.

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TOTAL POWER by Kyle Mills & Vince Flynn

October 2, 2020

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From the publisher:

In the next thriller in the #1 New York Times bestselling Mitch Rapp series, it’s a race against the clock when ISIS takes out the entire US power grid and throws the country into chaos.

When Mitch Rapp captures ISIS’s top technology expert, he reveals that he was on his way to meet a man who claims to have the ability to bring down America’s power grid. Rapp is determined to eliminate this shadowy figure, but the CIA’s trap fails.

The Agency is still trying to determine what went wrong when ISIS operatives help this cyber terrorist do what he said he could—plunge the country into darkness. With no concept of how this unprecedented act was accomplished, the task of getting the power back on could take months. Perhaps even years.

Rapp and his team embark on a desperate search for the only people who know how to repair the damage—the ones responsible. But his operating environment is like nothing he’s experienced before. Computers and communication networks are down, fuel can no longer be pumped from gas stations, water and sanitation systems are on the brink of collapse, and the supply of food is running out.

Can Rapp get the lights back on before America descends irretrievably into chaos?

This is the 6th Mitch Rapp novel by Kyle Mills, who continues the lead established by Vince Flynn who passed away at the height of his literary career.

Rapp was depicted as a valuable agent for a separate section of the CIA working directly under Irene Kennedy who manages the organization. The character is the same as Vince Flynn created. Mitch has always been cast as an individual that gets the job done on a “full speed ahead, damn the torpedoes” basis. While he does not have James Bond’s license to kill if necessary, granted by the government, he solves many a problem by doing just that.

The present book deals with a theme that has appeared in more than a few stories. That is, an attack on the national power grid which if sabotaged has the means to literally shut down the country; no water, no gasoline, no electricity, phones go out, food isn’t delivered nor even harvested, planes cannot fly. The consequence is that such circumstances could prove fatal for the majority of the people living in that country.

The novel opens with Mitch capturing the top technical advisor for ISIS. He learns from that individual that he was on his way to meet a man that claims to have the wherewithal to bring down the U.S power grid. The CIA sets a trap to capture that man, but it fails and several agents working for ISIS meet with the individual. The impossible happens, the taking down of the grid is accomplished and the consequence is the complete stoppage of the U.S. economy.

The government assigns many experts to try and restore power, but to no avail with the answer looks like it can only be to catch the planner and get him to rectify the problem. As in all other Mitch Rapp books, he attacks the problem head-on, directing his own loyal squad. The action is fast and constant as the group consisting of ISIS members is capable of killing with no fear of their own deaths to deter them. After a great read, the novel ends in one of the most satisfying ways I have encountered putting a capstone on the book.

10/2020 Paul Lane

TOTAL POWER by Kyle Mills & Vince Flynn. Atria/Emily Bestler Books (September 15, 2020). ISBN: 978-1501190650. 384 pages.

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CORONAVIRUS DIARY: October 1, 2020

October 1, 2020

Still wearing the mask…is it hiding my tears?

L’Shanah Tovah! The Jewish New Year, Rosh Hashanah, and Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement are now in the rearview mirror. I wish everyone who celebrated a sweet new year. God knows we need it.

I have pretty much written off 2020 – save for a November miracle and the hope of a new President. I have always been an optimist but this year has just beaten me down. I can’t bury my head in the sand and the news is just so awful day after day. I actually signed up for this “Morning Smile” email that comes every day but Sunday. It’s free, they share good news stories and I need to know that there is good news out there. And lots of great videos, too. Check out their Good News Dashboard to see what I mean.

My hair is a wreck. I’ve been doing my own color so I don’t have to face the grays, but the crap I am able to buy, even the supposedly best hair color for home use out there, is still on the harsh side and just not wonderful. I haven’t had a hair cut since maybe January? Or a manicure. Or a pedicure. My niece is selling this stick on Colorstreet polish, which is the only thing saving me! It is so easy to use I couldn’t believe it. I think it took me all of ten minutes to do my nails and feel somewhat like myself again. Don’t look too closely at my raggedy cuticles though!

Has this been enough of a whine-fest yet? I am feeling the strain for sure. My son and daughter-in-law bought their first home, a co-op in Downtown Brooklyn, and I don’t know when I’ll be able to see it. But they are both doing well so I am happy about that.

My daughter is taking classes at Lynn University, where I work. They gave students the choice of face-to-face classes or remote, and she chose remote. She is a visual arts major, and the work she has been doing is just amazing. I had no idea my child was that talented! She showed me this drawing in progress and I immediately knew who it was. Just blew me away. The finished drawing here was done in pencil. She loves photography, too and she has long been my photographer – I always know the picture will come out good if she takes it.

Lynn University has moved from a 16-week semester to 4 4-week semesters and let me tell you, it is moving fast. What that means for me is that I have to do new schedules for my 18 student workers every 4 weeks. It feels like I finally get it working perfectly and it’s time to change again. I am very grateful that my new students are doing so well. In the olden days, pre-pandemic, I would typically lose about half my student workers to graduation. But because of Covid, I only ended up with three returning students, which meant I had to hire and train fifteen new student workers during a pandemic. They have been phenomenal and I couldn’t be happier with them. I did training with them on Zoom for a couple of hours but let me tell you, it is a lot of information to take in. And they didn’t know enough to even ask questions. From Zoom training they were thrown right into the fire, working the Information Desk often alone, or with a librarian nearby. Mistakes have been made but that is certainly to be expected. Best of all, they are learning from their mistakes and learning by doing. It hasn’t been easy, that’s for sure, but they are all stepping up and I am proud of them.

We have done take out for dinner a few times during the past seven months. Pizza at first, because we figure it is cooked at insanely high temperatures, sure to kill any germs hovering nearby. We had Chinese food one night, and Five Guys another. Now our idiot governor is opening everything up so guess our numbers will be going up. If I could, I’d dig a hole, jump in it, and drag the hole in after me.

Meanwhile, I am still enjoying cooking and trying new recipes. I made a leg of lamb for the first time in my life! My friend Judy told me how to grill it, and I combined that with Sam Sifton’s recipe at the NY Times Cooking and it came out so good, my whole family loved it. Plus there are enough leftovers for at least two more meals – gyros tonight! I made challah for Rosh Hashanah, and Ariel braided it for me. It was almost too pretty to eat. I’ve cut back on baking because I really have gained the Covid-19 (pounds, that is) and I am trying to lose it. It is very slow going. If I didn’t have my family, my cat, my books, and cooking, I would not have made it through. I did make an Apple Bourbon Bundt Cake, (thanks, Melissa Clark!) also for Rosh Hashanah, and everyone loved it. Plus I got to use my new Bundt pan! I made a sugar-free Italian Ricotta Cheesecake for breaking the fast on Yom Kippur that was surprisingly good. I used Buddy Valastro‘s recipe (the Cake Boss) just subbing erythritol for the sugar. Get well soon, Buddy!

As always, thanks for reading and stay safe!

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CHRISTMAS ON REINDEER ROAD by Debbie Mason

September 30, 2020

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From the publisher:

Fans of RaeAnne Thayne and Debbie Macomber will love this USA Today bestselling author’s latest holiday romance about two single parents whose holiday wishes come true in the small town of Highland Falls.

Can the magic of mistletoe bring together two busy single parents?

Mallory Maitland knows all too well what it’s like to feel abandoned, which is why she’s sworn never to give up on her two stepsons — her late husband’s children. But when the teens land in hot water, she’s got a whole new problem: how to resist the caring and incredibly hot Chief of Police Gabriel Buchanan. All Mallory wants is to give the boys a magical holiday. She doesn’t need the distraction of wondering what it would be like to kiss Gabriel under the mistletoe.

After his wife died, Gabriel left his job as an adrenaline-chasing New York City homicide detective to focus on raising his three sons. But back in Highland Falls, he doesn’t have to go looking for trouble. It finds him — in the form of a beautiful neighbor and her troublemaking stepchildren. With Gabriel’s mother-in-law looking for any excuse to gain custody of his sons, Gabriel can’t risk getting involved with Mallory, even though she’s the only woman capable of making this Christmas — and all the rest to come — his best ever.

‘Tis the season! Yes, I have embarked on my holiday reading with this charming new romance set in a small town with lots of Christmas cheer. Mallory is a young widow with two teenage stepsons. The boys had been sent to boarding school in England until their father passed. Mallory has given up any claim on the very wealthy estate in order to keep the boys with her. But they are not loving that option. They want to go back to England, but the wife who holds the money won’t pay and it is way out of Mallory’s price range. She decides that what they need is a Christmas miracle of sorts, and where better to find that then in the small town of Highland Falls.

Gabriel, her next-door neighbor is the police chief, a widower struggling to raise his own three sons. There is instant attraction between Gabriel and Mallory, but both are dealing with bigger issues than making themselves happy. But in making their boys happy, everything comes together in a Christmas miracle sorta way.

I enjoyed my first holiday book of the year, and even though I’m not sure if I read the first book in the series, I never felt like I was missing anything. I definitely need to escape reality these days, and this was a lovely way to spend a few hours outside the bubble.

9/2020 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch™

CHRISTMAS ON REINDEER ROAD by Debbie Mason. Forever (September 29, 2020). ISBN 978-1538716960. 368 pages.

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THE MIDNIGHT LIBRARY by Matt Haig

September 29, 2020

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From the publisher:

‘Between life and death there is a library, and within that library, the shelves go on forever. Every book provides a chance to try another life you could have lived. To see how things would be if you had made other choices… Would you have done anything different, if you had the chance to undo your regrets?’

A dazzling novel about all the choices that go into a life well lived, from the internationally bestselling author of Reasons to Stay Alive and How To Stop Time.

Somewhere out beyond the edge of the universe there is a library that contains an infinite number of books, each one the story of another reality. One tells the story of your life as it is, along with another book for the other life you could have lived if you had made a different choice at any point in your life. While we all wonder how our lives might have been, what if you had the chance to go to the library and see for yourself? Would any of these other lives truly be better?

In The Midnight Library, Matt Haig’s enchanting new novel, Nora Seed finds herself faced with this decision. Faced with the possibility of changing her life for a new one, following a different career, undoing old breakups, realizing her dreams of becoming a glaciologist; she must search within herself as she travels through the Midnight Library to decide what is truly fulfilling in life, and what makes it worth living in the first place.

If you could live your life over again, would you make the same choices? Nora Seed is depressed; her best friend has ghosted her from the other side of the world, she is estranged from her brother, just got fired from her job, and her cat died. Suicide seems to be the answer but instead of dying, she awakens in a library of infinite books, all about the lives she could have lived. Nora meets her school librarian, who guides her first to her book of regrets; there she learns about every decision she made and how it got her to the point of suicide. The other books in the library take her on a journey to visit different lives. What if, instead of giving up on swimming, she became an Olympic athlete? What if, instead of leaving school, she continued on and became a world renowned glaciologist? Nora gets to live these alternative lives, the goal being to find the life that will make her happy. But happiness, even in this fantasy, still proves elusive; perhaps that wasn’t the goal after all.

Verdict: Matt Haig takes us on a journey of quantum physics, yet leaves us feeling that we actually understand the paradigm. Most reminiscent of Replay by Ken Grimwood.

©Library Journal, 2020

9/2020 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch

The most difficult part of doing a review of Matt Haig’s latest book is to properly classify it. On one hand, it is a very well-done fantasy novel lending itself to one very satisfying all-night read. On the other hand, it is very probably an introduction to the author’s philosophy of life that he wishes to impart to his readers. However, take it is a mesmerizing book; a true all-nighter, and a great example of the writings of an author that is truly at the top of his game. One way or another Haig’s books will be looked for as they are published.

Nora Seed is found at a point that she is seriously thinking of killing herself because she is totally dissatisfied with her life. She has the feeling that nothing she wanted has been achieved and her life is a failure. She is suddenly transported to a gigantic library staffed by only one person and with no other patrons aside from Nora present. The librarian, who looks like the person that worked at the school Nora went to explains that this library containing millions of books consists of accounts of all the possibilities Nora’s life can take. Before she goes ahead with doing away with herself, she should start reading books that are about every alternative that Nora’s life can follow.

The story takes Nora and the reader through different scenarios of life, based on wishes she had while growing up and never acted upon. Events in these alternative lives are described along with Nora’s reactions. There are episodes in which she was married to a movie star, another where is an arctic explorer and has a run-in with a polar bear. In another, she is married to her high school crush, and another that sees her moving to Australia from her home in England with a friend of hers that did so.

The ending follows Nora’s reactions to each sequence and how it affects her. Whichever sequence the reader believes the novel is it is well written and quickly captures the personalities of Nora and other characters populating the book.

10/2020 Paul Lane

THE MIDNIGHT LIBRARY by Matt Haig. Viking (September 29, 2020). ISBN 978-0525559474. 304p.

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WHITE FRAGILITY by Robin J. DiAngelo

September 23, 2020

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Why It’s So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism

From the publisher:

The New York Times best-selling book exploring the counterproductive reactions white people have when their assumptions about race are challenged, and how these reactions maintain racial inequality.

In this “vital, necessary, and beautiful book” (Michael Eric Dyson), antiracist educator Robin DiAngelo deftly illuminates the phenomenon of white fragility and “allows us to understand racism as a practice not restricted to ‘bad people’ (Claudia Rankine). Referring to the defensive moves that white people make when challenged racially, white fragility is characterized by emotions such as anger, fear, and guilt, and by behaviors including argumentation and silence. These behaviors, in turn, function to reinstate white racial equilibrium and prevent any meaningful cross-racial dialogue. In this in-depth exploration, DiAngelo examines how white fragility develops, how it protects racial inequality, and what we can do to engage more constructively.

“A vital, necessary, and beautiful book, a bracing call to white folk everywhere to see their whiteness for what it is and to seize the opportunity to make things better now.” —Michael Eric Dyson

Michael Dyson wrote the forward so that automatically gave this book on racism, written by a white woman, more legitimacy. There was still backlash, as in this piece in The Atlantic, The Dehumanizing Condescension of White Fragility by John McWhorter, a professor at Columbia University and contributing writer at The Atlantic.

So what is this book about? What is “white fragility”? DiAngelo defines it as “a state in which even a minimum amount of racial stress becomes intolerable, triggering a range of defensive moves.” Defensive moves encompass anger, fear, guilt, argumentation, silence, and walking away from the situation. DiAngelo believes that white liberals are the biggest obstacle to racial equality because they “develop assumptions that allow them to absolve themselves of racism.” Or as Katy Wald wrote in the New Yorker. “DiAngelo has noticed that white people are sensationally, histrionically bad at discussing racism.”

There is a long list of ways that “white racial equilibrium” continues to function: “challenge to objectivity; challenge to white racial codes; challenge to white racial expectations and need/entitlement to racial comfort; challenge to colonialist relations; challenge to white solidarity; challenge to white liberalism; challenge to individualism; challenge to meritocracy; challenge to white authority; challenge to white centrality.”

But before we can address racism, we have to understand what it means and how it differs from racial prejudice and racial discrimination.

A person from any racial group can be racially prejudiced and can racially discriminate against a person from any other racial group. White people can do so against black people – and vice versa.

Racism is when one racial group has more power than another group and uses that power against its members in a systemic manner.

In other words, black people can be prejudiced and discriminate against white people – but they cannot be racist against them, because of the imbalance in power between the two groups.

I thought DiAngelo offered excellent explanations of these terms and really clarified the differences.

I highly recommend the Katy Wald article: Sociologist Examines the “White Fragility” That Prevents White Americans from Confronting Racism. She says, “DiAngelo addresses her book mostly to white people, and she reserves her harshest criticism for white liberals like herself (and like me), whom she sees as refusing to acknowledge their own participation in racist systems.” I am taking her criticism to heart.

Like most self-help books, I found this book extremely repetitive. DiAngelo makes some excellent points, and does it again and again and again and again and again. Honestly, I would heartily recommend this 17 page article she wrote: White Fragility, unless you feel you need more. It’s a good place to start, at least, and I believe this book grew out of that article.

9/2020 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch™

WHITE FRAGILITY by Robin J. DiAngelo. Beacon Press; Reprint Edition (June 26, 2018). ISBN 978-0807047415. 192 pages.

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THE ABSTAINER by Ian McGuire

September 22, 2020

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Roland Ford Series, Book 4

From the publisher:

An Irishman in nineteenth-century England is forced to take sides when his nephew joins the bloody underground movement for independence in this propulsive novel from the acclaimed author of The North Water.

Manchester, England, 1867. The rebels will be hanged at dawn, and their brotherhood is already plotting its revenge.

Stephen Doyle, an Irish-American veteran of the Civil War, arrives in Manchester from New York with a thirst for blood. He has joined the Fenians, a secret society intent on ending British rule in Ireland by any means necessary. Head Constable James O’Connor has fled grief and drink in Dublin for a sober start in Manchester. His job is to discover and thwart the Fenians’ plans whatever they might be. When a long-lost nephew arrives on O’Connor’s doorstep looking for work, he cannot foresee the way his fragile new life will be imperiled—and how his and Doyle’s fates will become fatally intertwined.

In this propulsive tale of the underground war for Irish independence, the author of The North Water once again transports readers to a time when blood begot blood. Moving from the dirt and uproar of industrial Manchester to the quiet hills of rural Pennsylvania, The Abstainer is a searing novel in which two men, haunted by their pasts and driven forward by the need for justice and retribution, must fight for life and legacy.

Ian McGuire brings us into the mid 19th century in a very well-done novel set during a period just after Ireland had suffered through a potato famine with consequences of depressed economic conditions. Land was mainly owned by transplanted British nobility and the Irish were focused on winning their liberty and their land back from England. A secret society termed “Fenians” waged underground war against England and their military and police based in Ireland to enforce British rule. Most of the population lived in abject poverty with roots in the potato famine. The story opens with the hanging of three Irish rebels for the crime of killing a police officer. The Irish underground is already planning a campaign of retaliation against British authority with the author introducing persona from both sides of the conflict and allowing their views to be aired as a necessary adjunct to the story.

Stephen Doyle, an Irish American who had lived in the U.S and had served with the Union army during the American civil war, returns to his native country filled with rage and anxious to shed blood. He moves into the city of Manchester and quickly joins the Fenians with the idea to cause havoc among the British. At the same time, head constable James O’Connor enters the scene. He had worked in Dublin but had become an alcoholic to escape the trauma of his young wife dying. He is sent to Manchester as a last chance to redeem himself and is determined to do so. When a long-lost nephew shows up at his house looking for work it creates a conflict that will put O’Connor and Doyle against each other in a situation that only killing will solve.

The novel is definitely enhanced by the author’s knowledge of and descriptions of the economic and political conditions in both Ireland and the United States in a period after the Civil War. The reason that O’Connor and Doyle became deadly enemies is logically tied into the conditions both men faced in their lives and in the areas they lived in during the action. Definitely, a novel that will capture its readers causing a good deal of loss of sleep and the obvious desire to pick up McGuire’s next novel.

9/2020 Paul Lane

THE ABSTAINER by Ian McGuire. Random House (September 15, 2020). ISBN: 978-0593133873. 320 pages.

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REMEMBER ME by Mario Escobar

September 12, 2020

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From the publisher:

Amid the shadows of war, one family faces an impossible choice that will change their lives forever.

Madrid, 1934. Though the Spanish Civil War has not yet begun, the streets of Madrid have become dangerous for thirteen-year-old Marco Alcalde and his younger sisters, Isabel and Ana. When Marco’s parents align themselves against General Franco and his fascist regime, they have no inkling that their ideals will endanger them and everyone they love—nor do they predict the violence that is to come.

When the Mexican government promises protection to the imperiled children of Spain, the Alcaldes do what they believe is best: send their children, unaccompanied, across the ocean to the city of Morelia—a place they’ve never seen or imagined. Marco promises to look after his sisters in Mexico until their family can be reunited in Spain, but what ensues is a harrowing journey and a series of heartbreaking events. As the growing children work to care for themselves and each other, they feel their sense of home, family, and identity slipping further and further away. And as their memories of Spain fade and the news from abroad grows more grim, they begin to wonder if they will ever see their parents again or the glittering streets of the home they once loved.

Based upon the true stories of the Children of Morelia, Mario Escobar’s Remember Me—now available for the first time in English—explores the agony of war and paints a poignant portrait of one family’s sacrificial love and endurance.

The publisher provided additional historical information – scroll down for the info and some pictures.

Mario Escobar lives in Spain and writes in Spanish. This book was translated by a professional translator and it was the novel in English that I read. It was still one of the most hard-hitting books I have enjoyed. I emerged from a continuous read emotionally spent and attempting to see how more than five stars could be given to what I had just finished.

The novel begins with a family of five living in Madrid in 1936; one that is closely knit and happy with their lives even though they are not wealthy. Life than changes abruptly for them when a civil war breaks out in Spain. The first phase began with a military revolt in Morocco triggered by events in Madrid. In a short time, Spain became an armed camp with Loyalists on one side and Nationalists on the other. The Nationalists soon became followers of General Francisco Franco who is described as a mass murderer. The author describes the situation as the two sides square off against each other. Atrocities occurred committed by both armies and Escobar describes a scenario when mass murders are the norm.

Marco Alcalde and his sisters Isabel and Ana are the three children of the family living in Madrid. Their father takes an active role on the side of the Loyalists taking part in several pitched battles. Based on their parent’s views of the blood bath they live in with the definite possibility that all will be killed if the Nationalists take Madrid it is decided to send the children to Mexico. The Mexican president has taken an interest in helping children caught up in the war to come to Mexico for refuge.

Marco and his sisters are smuggled out of Spain by their mother, taken by ship to Veracruz, Mexico and from that port sent on to Morelia a city on the western side of the country. A school and living facilities have been prepared for them paid for by the Mexican president. Unfortunately, the heads of the school have taken the opportunity of administering it to steal as much as possible from the budget leaving only a subsistence amount to pay bills such as feeding and properly clothing the residents.

Mexico during the course of the civil war allows many Spaniards to emigrate and settle in their country. The author, though, has written the novel to fully go over the plight of the children and the forming of a group that became known as the Children of Morelia.

Marco and his sisters decide to try and return to Spain after several years in Mexico. They, of course, want to reunite with their parents and return to their previous lifestyle. The ending of the novel is a description of their search and the horrors they are forced to endure in both Mexico and Spain,

The author’s style is blasé, but in a manner that helps the reader to get into the atmosphere of a novel that features scenes of combat, horror, and the inhumanity of ordinary people caught up in wholesale killing. A very well-done story about ordinary people and what they turn into in the face of war.

Also from the publisher:

Historical Background on the Children of Morelia and the Spanish Civil War

In the great wars of the 20th century, an entire generation of Europeans sought refuge in the Americas. They were displaced first by the Spanish Civil War, which was the first modern war of the 20th century, then by the terrible World War II. Just over a quarter of a million people died directly in the conflict, including a large number of children. Some 456 sought refuge in Morelia, invited by Mexican President Cárdenas.

We live in a moment of history with more and more people displaced from their homes. After the Spanish Civil War, just over 440,000 people escaped from the fascist repression. A large part took refuge in the Americas. Especially in Mexico, Cuba, and Argentina. Currently, an estimated 65 million people have had to leave their homes and find a new place to live.

Remember Me narrates the consequences of the Civil War and the relationship of the Spanish Republic with Mexico, from the first days of the conflict, the exile in France and Mexico of many refugees, the Francoist repression and the mistreatment of children after the war.

In a world like the current one, in which more and more barriers and walls are being erected, Remember Me tells us about the struggle of refugees to survive and the harshness of life in a new country, but it is also a song of hope and solidarity.

The Children of Morelia seek refuge

Some 456 minors, between five and twelve years old, were sent from Spain to Mexico to try to escape the terrible ravages of the Spanish Civil War. The children traveled in very harsh conditions during a long journey to Veracruz in the summer of 1937.