The Childbury Lady's Choir by Jennifer Ryan

 In Chilbury England the men have gone off the war, and the vicar has canceled the church choir practices.  You obviously can't have a choir without a bass and tenor section, right?  Don't tell that to Primrose Trent.  She takes charge and organizes the women of Chilbury into a choir that becomes the heart of their community, and a second family for its members.  It is a family with secrets and challenges--a widow who is sending her son off to war, a debutant who is out of her depth in a relationship, a teenage girl with a hopeless crush, and an unethical midwife whose dark deeds are catching up with her. Their challenges bring them together, and their music brings their whole community together. 

After reading The Kitchen Front, I put this earlier book by the same author on hold.  It is in format, premise and flavor very much like the later book, but that was alright with me.  Ryan has a way of drawing believable characters who seem hopelessly flawed in the beginning of the book, but as the book progresses become more relatable and human. She also shows how the women heal by getting to know each other and offering each other a bit of grace. This is really wonderful stuff, a bit sentimental, but positive and heartwarming messages.  This recording is done with a full cast, which I enjoyed. I will be recommending this and The Kitchen Front a lot. (2017, 384 p.)

Think Again by Adam Grant

Adam Grant here discusses at length the virtues of not getting stuck in a particular train of thought or course in life. Different chapters talk about questioning your long-held beliefs, teaching children to think critically, and avoiding confirmation bias.  He also talks about applying these principles to organizations and relationships with others. Much like his other books, he recounts interesting true stories to illustrate each of his chapters.

I found this book interesting, and particularly applicable to my life right now as I am anticipating a career change.  That being said, it seemed like he didn't have very many different concepts.  He basically said the same thing in different ways for 7 hours.  I also thought his main premise wasn't that remarkable.  To me it was like, "of course, you should try to reexamine your assumptions and think critically." 
 Factfulness by Hans Rosling covered a lot of the same ideas, but was more impactful.  I didn't dislike the Think Again, but I certainly wouldn't say it was life-changing. (2021, 320 p)

Stitches and Witches by Nancy Warren

 In this second in the Vampire Knitting Club series, Lucy is having tea in the shop next to her, that is owned by two spinster sisters that are long time family friends, when a man suddenly dies of poisoning. Lucy is pulled into the investigation when police find a piece of incriminating evidence in her purse. What's more, the two owners of the shop are having a monumental disagreement about one of the sister's old flames that has returned to town. Was the man who died the real target of the poisoning, or did the inept waitress deliver the poisoned tea to the wrong gentleman.  Could Lucy's neighbor been trying to kill her sister's beau?  Lucy recruits the vampire knitting clubs to use their connections and skills to try to find out.

This book was a bit of candy after the heavy dinner of the Kitchen Front.  It isn't very long, and the characters and mysteries are pretty well written.  Lucy is attracted to one of the vampires, and a police constable, but is is a slow burn and not the main theme of the book. Still, it adds a little bit of fun.  I am sure I will be reading more of the series. (2018, 252 p)

The Kitchen Front by Jennifer Ryan

Four women's lives lie in tatters two years after the start of WWII.  One is a mother with three boys whose husband has been killed in the war.  A second is a woman with a cruel and abusive husband. The third is an unwed mother working in a food factory, and the last is a kitchen maid who grew up in an orphanage. All four women learn of a cooking competition, the winner of which will become a radio cooking show cohost.  All see winning the competition as the ticket out of their predicaments, and all see the other competitors as the enemy...at first.  Then life throws them together, things happen, and they begin to see that they are much stronger as friends than enemies. 

This book is the total embodiment of the term "heartwarming." The four women each struggle, and are not always very nice to each other.  There are no Pollyannas here, but when push comes to shove, compassion wins out over grief and greed. Near the end, the author does get a little sentimental, but by that point in the story, that is exactly what the reader wants. From a bigger view, each woman represents a different kind of toll that war takes on women. The author also shows how the trials of war made women redefine their traditional roles and gain more independence. This is a good choice for readers who liked The Opera Sisters  or the WWII books of Roseanna White. Also a good choice for those who liked Mrs. Quinn's Rise to Fame because of the interesting war-time cooking facts and techniques. (2022, 432 p)

The Bungelow Mystery by Carolyn Keene

Nancy Drew is traveling by boat with a friend, Helen, to visit a friend in a resort town across the lake from her home when she gets caught in a storm. Her boat is about to sink when they are saved by another young woman, Laura.  Nancy finds out that Laura, who is 17, is a recent orphan and is in town to meet her new guardians, but her guardians don't seem to be the caring family friends she was expecting.  At the same time Nancy's father is investigating some stocks and bonds missing from the local bank.  Could Laura's new guardians be mixed up in the bank crime?  Nancy is determined to find out.

How long has it been since you read a Nancy Drew?  I didn't read a lot as a child, and I had only read the first two as an adult, maybe 20 years ago.  There is something comforting and charming in their simplicity and predictability.  The recording I listened to has cheesy background music between chapters, and melodramatic musical inserts at tense moments in the plot.  It almost made me laugh out loud. The book was first written in 1930, and it is interesting how many times I thought to myself that the biggest difference between now and then is the advent of cellphones and instant communication. (192 p, 1930)

Rogue Princess by B.R. Myers, Bill Myers

 Crown Princess Delia knows she must marry strategically to secure the future of her planet, but at 18 she still dreams of finding true love. In a moment of panic before her princely suitors arrive, Delia takes a spaceship to get away from it all.  She is surprised to find a young man, Aiden, the body guard of one of the visiting princes, also hiding out in the spaceship. Their attempt to get away fails, but it sparks an unexpected friendship.  Soon they are sneaking away and having adventures with pirates and traitors with each experience drawing them closer together.  Aiden becomes increasingly protective of the princess, especially when he suspects a plot to overthrow the kingdom. Can the two young lovers save the kingdom, and their hearts against unimaginable odds?

This is a swashbuckling sci-fi retelling of Cinderella with a little Beauty and the Beast and Rapunzel mixed in.  The target audience is teens, and there is a lot of hormones and teen wish fulfillment going on here. The plot is interesting, with an unexpected twist, but the world building/magic system is weak.  Whenever the author gets into a plot bind, she just invents a miraculous technological save from a mysterious long-gone scientist. That being said, I enjoyed the book and I think those
who like Cinder by Merissa Meyer, and The Selection series by Kiera Cass would like it, too. Aiden is a charming mix of suave and insecure, and Delia is both an awesome maiden warrior and a teen who is being manipulated by her mother. I read this because I liked A Dreadful Splendor by the same author, and I just put her other book, The Third Wife of Faraday House on hold. (2020, 304 p)