Author: SamanthaWho

Glory Over Everything by Kathleen Grissom

~ SamanthaWho ~ 4 Comments

Glory Over EverythingGlory Over Everything by Kathleen Grissom picks up where The Kitchen House left off and because I loved the first one, I was thrilled to read the second. The Kitchen House is an excellent book about an orphaned Irish girl who works an indentured servent in the kitchen of a plantation. It should be noted that Glory Over Everything can definitely be read as a standalone book.

James Pyke is the son of a white plantation owner and a kitchen house slave, but takes after his father so much so that he believed himself to be white throughout his childhood. As an adult, James now lives in high society Philadelphia and his secret identity is at risk when he goes to rescue his manservant Pan who has been kidnapped and sold into slavery down south. During his journey, James meets an unforeseen alley, Sukey, and together the 3 attempt to escape through the Underground Railroad.

Pan, only a boy, is absolutely endearing and I loved his character. Eager, chatty, and curious, Pan has the best intentions but his questions get him into trouble.

“Robert tells me that I got to learn to be discreet, a word that he says means not to talk so much.”

Grissom has done an amazing job of bringing these vivid characters to life. Their emotions and actions are authentic and I was really impressed by the dialogue throughout the story because it flowed so naturally.

I absolutely recommend Glory Over Everything, as well as The Kitchen House, and both are at the top of my have-read list. Thank you to Simon Books for sending me an advanced copy of Glory Over Everything for an honest review.

Bookish Podcasts

~ SamanthaWho ~ 17 Comments

Bookish podcastsTo make the most of a busy March I’ve been listening to podcasts during my commute and food prep time. True to the book nerd that I am, some of these are bookish podcasts and I’m here to share them with you!

The Penguin Podcast

Hosted by Penguin Books UK, I really enjoy the conversational interviews between the authors and podcast hosts. I’ve listened to Richard E. Grant’s sessions with both Neil Gaimon and Paula Hawkins. I learned a lot about the authors and their books and especially enjoyed that each one shared a few items of significance.

What Should I Read Next?

Anne Bogel, the founder of Modern Mrs. Darcy (a wonderful blog that you should definitely check out if you haven’t already), hosts the podcast. During sessions that range between 20 and 40 minutes, Anne chats with different guests and gives them recommendations based on what they have already read and what they liked/didn’t like. It’s a great podcast and Anne has a huge range of bookish knowledge!

Modern Love: The Podcast

This podcast is produced by WBUR and based on a New York Times series of reader-submitted essays. Even though it isn’t about written books specifically, this podcast shares a series of stories just like any book. The podcasts focus on romantic love, familial love, self-love, and are very touching and unexpected. With episodes that are about 20 minutes long, the podcasts are the perfect length to listen to while I get ready for work. I highly recommend Modern Love: The Podcast; it’s one of my very favorites!

What about you all? Do you listen to podcasts?

No One Knows by J.T. Ellison

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No One Knows “Insanity is filled with wishful thoughts.”

Aubrey was devastated when her husband disappeared without a trace 5 years ago and she still feels the loss everyday. Even though his body hasn’t been found, the court has officially declared him to be dead. With the declaration comes a $5 million insurance payout and information that leads Aubrey to believe that there may have been more to her husband than she knew…

When I first started reading No One Knows by J.T. Ellison I wasn’t sure about the story because the flow was a bit choppy and at times the dialogue felt forced, but I was intrigued enough to continue. I’m glad I kept reading though because the story picked up and I was gripping the book through the very last pages.

No One Knows As with many psychological thrillers these days, No One Knows has been compared to Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn, and while there are similar components of deceit and trickery, I would end the comparison there because it isn’t fair to either book. There are many psychological elements to this story, throwing me for a loop when I thought I had my head wrapped around the situation. I ended up really enjoying No One Knows and definitely recommend it!

Here’s one more quote that stuck out to me: “Everyone came to this town with a dream, and ended up kaleidoscopes together into a single shifting, pulsing entity.”

No One Knows by J.T. Ellison will be released on March 22, 2016.No One Knows

The Turner House by Angela Flournoy

~ SamanthaWho ~ 2 Comments

The Turner House“Turners seemed incapable of doing anything in moderation.” This was one of the many quotes from The Turner House by Angela Flournoy that stood out to me. Flournoy has successfully created a story that examines the dynamics of a big, complicated, prideful, and loving family. I was very interested in the different roles and relationships between the 13 children, each of whom had a very distinct personality.

When the children claimed to see a supernatural presence one night in the Turner house, their father Francis denies the possibility of a ghost, saying “there ain’t no haints in Detroit.” Years later, when the siblings have become grandparents themselves, the mysterious haint is still present. This is especially true for Cha-Cha, the eldest sibling who took on the paternal role when Francis passed away. When their mother, Viola, becomes sick and the value of the Turner house crashes with the housing market in 2008, the siblings come together to decide how to move forward.

I really enjoyed The Turner House and the role that each of the siblings played, especially the youngest child Lelah. A terribly lonely woman, she’s addicted to gambling and the stillness that it brings her. Although her downward spiral disappointed me, I found myself rooting her on towards recovery. Because there were so many siblings, I had a tricky time keeping them all straight, but that’s to be expected with 13 children in one family.

Here’s one more quote from the book that really struck home with me:

“What parts of their worlds would crumble if they took a great look at their parents’ flaws? If there was no trauma, why not talk about the everyday, human elements of their upbringing?”

I definitely recommend The Turner House for a thought provoking read! Enjoy!

The Turner House

Spring Reading Recommendations

~ SamanthaWho ~ 14 Comments

Dream by Day and glassybabyIn honor of National Reading Month, I’m excited to share a few of my favorite books published so far this year with you all! This week I’ve partnered with glassybaby, a PNW based company dedicated to supporting charities with their beautiful handmade candle votives. We bring you these exciting narratives, which cover a wide range of genres from historical fiction to suspenseful thrillers to insightful literary fiction. I invite you to curl up with one of these great books this weekend!

The Forgotten RoomThe Forgotten Room by Beatriz Williams, Karen White & Lauren Willig

A story of fate, The Forgotten Room is the multigenerational tale of three women spanning the decades between the 1890’s and 1940’s in New York City. When the wounded Captain Cooper Ravenal is brought into the hospital where Kate Schuyler works, she feels an undeniable connection with him and is shocked to find a painting that strongly resembles her in his possession. While trying to understand her connection to this mysterious man, she uncovers the truth about her mother and grandmother, each of whom lived in the same mansion converted boarding house converted hospital that she does. Despite being written by three authors, the transitions between these vibrant determined characters flow smoothly together.


The Widow The Widow by Fiona Barton

When Jean Taylor’s husband is accused of kidnapping a young child, she is shocked. Playing the role of the faithful wife, she stands by his side through the case as the police, press, and public relentlessly pound on their door. Years after the little girl disappeared, Jean’s husband is dead and now a widow, she opens up about the secrets she has kept hidden. What really struck me in The Widow was the influence that the media has on a police case and public opinion. With vast experience in the field of journalism, Fiona Barton shares this perspective in her debut novel.

FIND HER by Lisa GardnerFIND HER by Lisa Gardner

“Nobody wants to be a monster.” A fast-paced and suspenseful book, FIND HER is a fantastic. Gardner brings us the story of a survivor, a fighter, and a kidnap victim, Flora Dane. After being held captive for 472 days, Flora has been through the worst. 5 years after her abduction, Flora is still having trouble readjusting to normal life when she mysteriously disappears again. This dark thriller is filled with unexpected twists and presents a very unique perspective into the trauma of kidnapping and the long-term psychological effects of such an experience.


My Name is Lucy Barton My Name is Lucy Barton by Elizabeth Strout

It’s difficult to put into words the impact of My Name is Lucy Barton as a novel that is both incredibly powerful and extremely subtle. Elizabeth Strout examines the relationship between a mother and daughter when Lucy, the protagonist of the story, is in the hospital recovering from surgery and her mother comes to her side. Lucy and her mother have a very complicated relationship, but at the same time it’s simple in this: they love each other irrevocably. “I feel that people may not understand that my mother could never say the words I love you. I feel that people may not understand: it was alright.”

I hope you enjoy these books as much as I did! Happy reading!

xo Samantha

Inside the O’Briens by Lisa Genova

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Inside the O'BriensFrustrating, heartbreaking, and eye opening, Lisa Genova brings us Inside the O’Briens, a story about the impact of Huntington’s disease. Genova, the author of the award-winning novel Still Alice, has an incredible talent in her ability to personalize terrible illnesses and create stories that strike a chord with readers.

The O’Brien’s, an Irish Catholic family, are from Boston, Massachusetts. Joe O’Brien, father of the family, is a tough cop with a knack for swearing who learns that Huntington’s disease (HD) is the cause behind his jerky movements and mood swings. HD is a lethal neurodegenerative disease without a cure and is passed down genetically, meaning that Joe’s children each have a 50% chance of testing positive as well.

The story is told from two perspectives, from Joe and from one of his daughters, Katie. Through Joe’s eyes we see the devastation of the disease and the terrible guilt he feels for possibly passing it down to his children. Katie, Joe’s youngest daughter, struggles with the decision of whether to take a test to determine her HD status. That decision weighs very heavily on her and causes her to put her life on pause because she feels unable to move forward. Here’s one of my favorite quotes from Katie:

“Everything she’s ever done has been in preparation for her real life, and she’s itching to get started.”

I admire Lisa Genova for her incredible storytelling abilities and for raising awareness for a destructive disease. An informative, engaging, and heart wrenching book, I absolutely recommend Inside the O’Briens!

Are more Amazon bookstores on the way?

~ SamanthaWho ~ 2 Comments

BookstoreI’m back with a quick Amazon bookstore update! According to news sources (including “Job postings signal Amazon plans to scale up bookstore business“) numerous job openings with descriptions referring to Amazon Books have been posted since January 2016. These open positions are one signal of many that indicate the expansion of Amazon’s physical bookstores. I still think that it’s interesting, and a bit ironic, because the tech giant wiped out brick-and-mortar book shops all over the country as a result of it’s growth. In my last post referring to Amazon’s first physical bookstore in Seattle, Washington I mentioned that I was curious about whether the store would be a success. I’m still curious about this and haven’t seen any news coverage on its progress. Maybe I’ll have to sit outside the bookstore myself and track how much traffic there is…

In an article last week, Powell’s Books CEO dishes on Amazon’s threat, Miriam Sontz (Powell’s Books CEO) said, “”I thought it was a great acknowledgement of something that independent brick-and-mortar stores have known for the past few decades, which is there is something special that occurs at a physical bookstore that is not replicable on the Internet,’ Sontz told CNBC’s “Closing Bell” on Friday. ‘People have tried, and it’s just not the same experience. It doesn’t have the same serendipity. It doesn’t have the same sense of community.'” Miriam Sontz, you have my applause. I absolutely agree with Sontz and the atmosphere that’s created within bookstores. That’s why I go to one as often as possible.

Dream by Day book reviews

The Forgotten Room by Beatriz Williams, Karen White & Lauren Willig

~ SamanthaWho ~ 2 Comments

The Forgotten RoomThe Forgotten Room is a multigenerational story of three women spanning the decades between the 1890’s and 1940’s in New York City. To make the book even more special, it’s written by three wonderful authors, Beatriz Williams, Karen White, and Lauren Willig. It’s no secret that I’m a HUGE fan of Beatriz Williams’ work so I immediately jumped at the chance to read and review The Forgotten Room.

The story begins in the 1940’s when the wounded Captain Cooper Ravenal is brought into the hospital where Dr. Kate Schuyler works. Kate is unable to deny the strong connection she feels with Cooper and is shocked to find a small painting in his duffle bag that looks exactly like her. While trying to understand her connection with this new mysterious man, Kate unearths the mystery of three generations of women in her family. Kate discovers the story of her grandmother Olive, a woman who served as a maid in the very mansion-converted-hospital where Kate now works. Through her search, Kate also learns much more about her mother and the forces that brought her parents together.

Despite the fact that the story was written by three people, the scenes flowed together smoothly. It took me a bit of time to keep the characters straight due to the similarities between the determined heroines and their love interests, but in the end all of the loose ends were brought together.

This is a story of fate. A story of love lost and love found. I was completely absorbed by The Forgotten Room and definitely recommend it!

I received a copy of The Forgotten Room from the Berkley New American Library Group in exchange for an honest review.

The Widow by Fiona Barton

~ SamanthaWho ~ 4 Comments

The WidowMy latest read, The Widow by Fiona Barton, is a new mystery crime novel.

When Jean Taylor’s husband is accused of kidnapping a young child, she is shocked. Playing the role of the faithful wife, she stands by his side through the case as the police, press, and public relentlessly pound on their door. Years after the little girl disappeared, Jean’s husband is dead and now as a widow, she begins to open up about all of the secrets she kept hidden for so long…

The Widow is told predominately from the perspective of the widow, Jean Taylor, with scenes from the viewpoints of her late husband, a detective on the case, a reporter, and the little girl’s mother. The story shares a unique view of the influence that the media has on a police case and public opinion. With vast experience in the field of journalism, Fiona Barton shares that perspective in her debut novel.

The book takes place in London, England (a favorite book setting of mine) and is a good story. For me this one is a quick, engaging, one-time read. The plot is wrapped up into a nice bow at the end; which is satisfying after spending the entire book looking for answers!

I received a copy of The Widow from the Berkley and New American Library publishing group in exchange for an honest review.

Vanessa and Her Sister by Priya Parmar

~ SamanthaWho ~ 9 Comments

Vanessa and Her SisterIn Vanessa and Her Sister, Priya Parmar has brought the members of the famous Bloomsbury Group to life in this powerful novel. The group is filled with incredibly talented intellectuals, artists, and writers in the early 1900’s. Within the Bloomsbury Group are the sisters, Victoria Woolf and Vanessa Bell, and that is whom this story centers around.

The story is told from Vanessa’s perspective and revolves around the very strange and intriguing relationship between the sisters. Vanessa is the elder sister and while she is calm, grounded, and wise, Virginia is brilliant, unstable, and constantly seeking Vanessa’s full attention. Throughout the book we see how far Virginia will go to be closer to Vanessa…

I also loved the way that Parmar brought Lytton Strachey to life with an outrageous personality and charming dialogue. I adored his character.

Vanessa and Her Sister was filled with so many insightful and powerful quotes that I couldn’t pick just one! Here are a few of my top picks:

“…It is a narrow precipice with Virginia. Too much affection given to someone else and she can topple over, too little and she gloats.”

“I worry that life is always in the future and that I am always here, in the preamble straightening up the cushions so that life will go smoothly once it does begin.” 

“Affection is so much easier to give when it is not owed.” 

“In my deep bones, I have always known that Virginia is in love with me.” 

“…She basks in my protectiveness, but it only spurs her on to recklessness.”

“’Hope is an unbreakable habit.’”

Priya Parmar has done an incredible job bringing this time period and these people to life in a beautiful narrative.

I received a copy of Vanessa and Her Sister from Random House in exchange for an honest review.