I initially picked up The Library Book because it drew me in with the mystery of the 1986 fire at the Los Angeles Public Library. But this book didn't turn out to be about that... not really. The fire was only a few chapters, detailing the fire itself, the fight to put it out, and the investigation afterwards. It also talks about the rebuilding and the restoration effort after the fire, including how to save and rehabilitate all the ruined books, which I found to be fascinating.

The majority of the book, though, was about the history of libraries, and in particular the history and operation of the Los Angeles Public Library--its inception, its librarians, its progress from a book lending institution to a community center, its collections, and the logistics of its operation. Since it covers so many topics and the author intersperses the narratives, I did feel the constant shift through the topics occasionally made it hard to keep my attention. Just as I'm getting into one topic, the author shifts focus onto another topic. But that's not a ding against the content of the book, since I found everything to be interesting and well-worth mentioning.

In the end, this book is a love note of the author's adoration of libraries, and the joy, knowledge, and belonging they bring to patrons and communities everywhere. As someone who also loves libraries, I'm glad I picked it up. Libraries are among my favorite places to be (I stop by one almost every day!), so I greatly enjoyed this deeper look into how they came to be and all the wonderful people who make libraries the welcoming places that they are.

Readaroo Rating: 4 stars

The Winter of the Witch is the last book in the Winternight Trilogy, and it was a very nice conclusion to a most wonderful series.

I really enjoyed this book, though for me it doesn't quite reach the loftiness that was the second book, The Girl in the Tower, which remains my favorite of the trilogy. One reason is that this book feels more disjointed and less cohesive. It comes across as a few separate shorter stories rather than one big one. Also, some of my favorite characters from the other books have abbreviated or delayed showings. The scenes with Solovey and Morozko are magical, and I wish there were more of them. And at times, the pacing wasn't as tight as it could have been and parts of the book dragged on a little.

But these are pretty minor quibbles. I enjoyed the send off that this gave Vasya, our courageous and feisty heroine. She is all grown up in this book, having dealt with traumas that turn any child into an adult. Just like the previous books, the writing in this one is stellar, with many beautiful and lyrical passages that I can read over and over again. And this third book wraps up the tales of so many beloved characters and story lines, giving us readers the closure we're looking for.

This trilogy will go down as one of my all-time favorite series. It has been a wonderful journey, and I'm a little sad it has come to an end. I think I'll be on a bit of a book hangover until I find something this magical and beautiful again.

Readaroo Rating: 4 stars

This book is lovely in so many ways that it's a little hard to put it all into words.

A Chinese family has returned to China after living many years in America chasing the American dream. The husband Wei works long hours to give his family their newfound wealth and privilege, while the wife Lina lives a life of leisure, and their daughter is sent off to school in America. When Wei's brother Qiang makes contact for the first time in 20 years, the hidden tensions and desires of the family members start to surface.

The quiet and insightful examination of the characters in here is a real highlight. Each person has a unique perspective and is fueled by their own yearnings, and the author is able to sketch them in sharp relief, turning the characters into multifaceted beings.

The book also addresses the hidden tensions in a marriage, with all that shared history and unmet expectations between the two participants. It asks the question of what happiness is. And it explores what makes a place a home, and the desire in all of us to find meaning and fulfillment wherever we may be.

There are little bits of Chinese sprinkled throughout the book, and while the author makes their meaning clear, I found knowing the language myself adds an additional layer of context to the dialogues. I also appreciated the references to the Great Leap Forward and the Cultural Revolution, which helped to augment my limited understanding of that period in Chinese history and its lasting impact on people of my parents' generation.

While this book isn't my usual preference of being action and plot driven, I still found it riveting. Lucy Tan's beautiful and reflective writing really brings this quiet character study alive with meaning and emotion. This is Lucy Tan's debut novel, and I can't wait to read more from her.

Readaroo Rating: 4 stars

In Then She Was Gone, Ellie is the all around golden girl when she disappears without a trace at the age of fifteen. She leaves behind her adoring family, and in particular her mom Laurel, who falls apart with shock and grief following her disappearance. Ten years later, Laurel meets a charming man at a cafe, but his daughter bears the most striking resemblance to Ellie. What follows is the slow unraveling of what really happened to Ellie.

For me, the characters are what really shines and puts this book a cut above the rest in the crowded field of domestic thrillers. The characters are complex and interesting, going through tough times, but learning and emerging stronger. Whereas I find most domestic thrillers to be rather over-the-top, with paranoid characters doing unfathomable things and scaring themselves silly, the characters in this book--their actions and their behaviors--make sense to me. Laurel, in particular, keeps her head and acts calmly, even when evidence starts to appear that some things may not be what they appear. These are characters I can relate to and cheer for.

I did find the actual mystery in this book to be its weakest part. I pretty much figured out the gist of where the book was going early on. But to the honest, that didn't diminish my enjoyment of it. It was still interesting to read the details and see why things happened the way they did. And not focusing on the big mystery allowed me to enjoy the story more for what it was than if I were turning the pages solely for the big reveal, if that makes sense.

I found this book to be riveting and unputdownable from beginning to end. Jewell weaves the most compelling tale with likable and strong characters. This is my first read by Lisa Jewell, and I look forward to checking out more of her books

Readaroo Rating: 4 stars

In at the Death brings back amateur detective Mordecai Tremaine, this time investigating the murder of a doctor at a small English village. It has all the makings of a cozy murder mystery, with everyone hiding secrets and red herrings everywhere. The more that Tremaine finds out, the more questions seem to turn up.

And yet, even though the premise is interesting, this book just didn't grab my attention for some reason. The plot felt slow, with too much rehashing and pondering of the same points. All the possible suspects came across as rather bland and uninteresting, and no one really stood out in my mind. I felt like I plodded through this book, even though it all came together in the end and I was surprised by the reveal.

While I've been enjoying the series, this one turned out to be a bit of a dud. If you're interested in checking out the series, I recommend starting with one of the other books instead of this one.

Readaroo Rating: 2 stars

The Feather Thief tells the true-crime tale of Edwin Rist robbing the British Museum of Natural History of hundreds of irreplaceable bird skins, and the greed, obsession, and twisted logic that had compelled him to do so.

For me, the most interesting part of this book was the discussion on birds and how knowledge about them led to scientific breakthroughs around sexual selection. I also enjoyed learning about what museums do with old bird specimens, and how they contribute to scientific progress.

The book also spends a lot of time covering Edwin's hobby of fly-tying and its community of hobbyists, and I didn't find that very interesting or palatable. The fact that people would pluck feathers from near extinct or protected birds just to tie a fly that they don't even use to fish (many of them don't know how to fish) is wasteful and silly. It was especially hard to read about their cavalier attitudes towards the robbery, explaining away the disappearance of irreplaceable artifacts by asking why museums needed so many of these bird specimens in the first place.

In the end, this book is an interesting tale of an unusual robbery, but my enjoyment of it was curtailed by the greed and attitude of Edwin and his like-minded fly-tying community. I find birds to be fascinating and scientific advancement to be of paramount importance, so it was really hard for me to read about people actively working against that just so they can make trinkets.

Readaroo Rating: 3 stars