Shelly’s Year in Books 2021

Well, it was another crazy, stressful year but with my books, my crochet, and my music, I made it through. The summer of 2021 was a good time for reading thanks to a long-overdue and just plain long (24 hours on the road each way) trip to see family in upstate New York followed two months later by Hurricane Ida I got to do a lot of car-trip reading.

I didn’t read too many books that just blew me away and there was a lot of focus on educating myself through my reading with books like The Art Book: Big Ideas Simply Explained. With Jillian Cantor’s Half Life, two books from Amy Stewart’s Kopp Sisters novels – Dear Miss Kopp and Miss Kopp Investigates, and Nina de Gramont’s The Christie Affair there was a definite focus on historical women.

Other highlights were:

Juliet Marillier’s Heir to Sevenwaters, the most magical and romantic installment in the Sevenwaters series since the first book, Daughter of the Forest

Kelly Harms’s The Bright Side of Going Dark which explores the culture of social media addiction

Farah Heron’s Accidentally Engaged, a fun romantic comedy that explores family and culture while dishing up some delicious romance

Katherine Reay’s The Printed Letter Bookshop with all of its heart and love of books

Lyssa Kay Adams’s The Bromance Book Club which provided a breath of fresh air to the romance genre

And The Complete Peanuts, Vols. 3 & 4 by Charles Schulz

In the midst of crazy, stressful years, what we need are the things that bring us joy – the uplifting music, the hobby that gets our mind off of everything that is going on, and, of course, the books that transport us to happier times and places. So my book, well books, of the year are The Complete Peanuts which transport me to simpler times in my life and still make me laugh.

To view my complete year in books visit my Goodreads page.

Miss Kopp Investigates (Kopp Sisters #7)

Miss Kopp Investigates by Amy Stewart

My rating: 4.25 of 5 stars


After missing last year, I got a double dose of the Kopp Sisters this year but even that wasn’t enough. After reading the seventh book in the series, Miss Kopp Investigates, I want more. Not only did Amy Stewart leave me anxious to read more about the sisters’ exciting next chapter, but I also wanted more of this chapter. This book was too short!
The story picks up a few months after the end of World War I. The women are back together but under sad circumstances – their brother, Francis, has died unexpectedly and his sisters are left rallying to support his widow, Bessie, who has had many unwelcome surprises since his death, and their children. The tone at the beginning of the novel is somber as the Kopps grieve not only the loss not only of Francis but of the futures they each had planned for themselves. Instead, they must each contribute to keeping a roof over the heads of Francis’s family and food on the table. This time it is Fleurette’s turn to be center stage (her favorite place). Through a former contact of Constance’s, she finds work that uses her particular skills and helps the family more than her sisters know. It doesn’t take long, though, for the crowded living situation to wear thin for Fleurette. On her own, Fleurette finds herself in what many call the family business, investigating a scam targeting women in the area.
It is, just as the previous books were, a fun, yet thoughtful adventure that explores the post-war experiences of a generation of women, who during World War I had experienced their first true taste of freedom either working in the men’s place on the homefront or in Europe in the war zones. I heard from the librarian friend who first recommended the series to me that Stewart said that this may be the last Kopp book at least for a while. I hope that isn’t the case and the historical notes at the end more than hint at more books to come. I hope that that is true because they should be lots of fun.

There is a lot of historical fiction with strong real-life female characters at the center and this has been a big year of reading about them for me including two Kopp Sisters books and Half Life by Jillian Cantor. Next up is The Christie Affair by Nina de Gramont so keep an eye out for the review.



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Review: Dear Miss Kopp (Kopp Sisters #6)

Dear Miss Kopp by Amy Stewart

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

“For the next book in the series, which begins after the war, I’ll be able to pick up their true story again. (And it’s remarkable, what happens next. Stay tuned!)”

How thrilling it was to read those words in the historical notes of this sixth installment of the wonderful Kopp Sisters series for as much as I’ve enjoyed the last couple of books in the series, it is the true story of these women that first drew me to it. This one is a considerable departure from the earliest books in the series. Like its predecessor, it is more fictionalized as Stewart cannot be sure of exactly what the women were up to during the World War I years. Instead, she uses the sisters Kopp to illustrate the experiences of many women during the war.
Written in the form of letters and telegrams, it follows Constance, Norma, and Fleurette during the last year of WWI when they were separated by their respective duties to the war effort. With writing as their only source of communication, the sisters’ personalities shine through as they relate their adventures – including a couple of mysteries. The most fascinating aspect of the story, though, is how closely their experiences during this time of world crisis reflect our own experiences over the past year – forced separation from our loved ones, often unreliable means of communication, charitable efforts, and so many necessary sacrifices to be made. This tale was amazingly appropriate for the times.
As with all of the books in the series, this book is an eye-opening exploration of women’s rights and experiences. Women were a part of nearly every aspect of the war effort – in the hospitals, the signal corps, factories, law enforcement, entertainment of the groups, and, of course, on the homefront where they drove the effort to keep the fighting men healthy and happy. Still, they received not post-war benefits from this service, were robbed of the little freedom they had gained, and were often persecuted in the name of keeping the men healthy physically and spiritually.
Some fans of the series may not like the different style of this book, but I do enjoy an epistolary novel and thought this one another fun, educational installment in the beloved series. Bring on #7!

For anyone who hasn’t yet read this series, start with Girl Waits with Gun. The series is best read in order.

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Quote of the Week

Her liberty had meant nothing to her until it was taken away.  The ability to wander down to the kitchen in the middle of the night, or to open a window, or rummage through a closet for another blanket – these were the smallest privileges, but to have them taken away was an enormous loss

~ Amy Stewart, Miss Kopp’s Midnight Confessions

Shelly’s Year in Books | 2019

Before the calendar turns to 2020, I need to announce my top reads of 2019.  Except for my first read of the year, the third book in Juliet Marillier’s Sevenwaters series, Child of the Prophecy, my year got off to a rather uninspired start with a series of merely OK reads.  Then I picked up The Overdue Life of Amy Byler by Kelly Harms, whose previous books I’d thoroughly enjoyed, especially her debut, The Good Luck Girls of Shipwreck Lane.  I followed this with a run of mostly great reads through the rest of the fall then finished up strongly with Katherine Arden’s The Bear and the Nightingale, the gorgeous first book in her Winternight trilogy.  Here are some highlights from 2019:

• Child of the Prophecy (Sevenwaters #3) by Juliet Marillier is the culmination of the story that began with Daughter of the Forest.  Though it lacked some of the romance of that first novel, this installment brought the mysticism and magic back to the series.  From what I’ve read, I believe Child of the Prophecy was meant to be the end of the story but Marillier has written three more Sevenwaters stories and I am looking forward to seeing where the story will go.
• The Overdue Life of Amy Byler by Kelly Harms, with its uplifting story of a single mother who relinquishes her children to the care of their long-absent father for a summer as well as the interesting ideas about education that will appeal to anyone who struggles with required reading as I’ve always done, made its way not only on my list of top reads but became a Goodreads Choice Award finalist for best fiction as well.
• How to Stop Time by Matt Haig was at times slow and often maudlin and yet there were times when I couldn’t get enough of it.  I particularly enjoyed the historical passages like meeting William Shakespeare or traveling with Captain Cook.  But what makes How to Stop Time truly special is its perspective on human relationships, history and politics, and how we spend our time on earth.
• Well Met by Jen DeLuca is possibly the best romance I’ve read in years.  The nerd in me loved the Renaissance Faire setting while the student of human nature in me enjoyed how relatable the two leads are and how believable their relationship is.  And I’m not the only one who loved this one.  Well Met was a semi-finalist for a Goodreads Choice Award for romance.
• Reading The Bookish Life of Nina Hill by Abbi Waxman was like looking into a rosy-colored mirror.  The story of Nina, a young woman with whom I share not only my passion for reading and books but an often debilitating case of anxiety around people not to mention a love of trivia and a habit of communicating through film quotes and references, is sweet and wickedly funny (a trait it shares with Waxman’s other two novels, The Garden of Small Beginnings and Other People’s Houses) with a delightful touch of romance and a message about self-acceptance and overcoming your personal hurdles. The Bookish Life of Nina Hill must have connected with many other readers because it too was a finalist in the fiction category for a Goodreads Choice Award.
• The Lager Queen of Minnesota by J. Ryan Stradal, a novel about overcoming the odds stacked against you, following your passion, the strength of women, and the ties of family, builds on the critical success of Stradal’s first novel, Kitchens of the Great Midwest.  This novel has a better flow and a stronger story.  In this age of female empowerment, it is nice to see a cast of strong, yet flawed women who kick ass while doubting themselves the whole time.  That’s what it’s like to be a woman.
• Kopp Sisters on the March (Kopp Sisters #5) by Amy Stewart makes it 5 for 5 so far for the Kopp Sisters series on my top reads list.  A lot has changed for Constance and her sisters so the story is quite different from the previous four novels but is at least as good if not better than the last couple.
• The Bear and the Nightingale (Winternight #1) by Katherine Arden captivated me almost immediately, transporting me to the northern forest of what is now Russia to a world inhabited by spirits that protect the forest and the homes of the hardy people that have made their homes there.  I wouldn’t be at all surprised if at least one of the other two books in this historical fantasy trilogy made its way onto next year’s top reads list.

So, which one of these great reads is my favorite book of 2019?  As wonderful as some of these books are, I admit the choice wasn’t that difficult.  Drumroll, please…

I chose The Bookish Life of Nina Hill not only because of its sweet story or delightful cast of characters or Waxman’s trademark wicked sense of humor.  This book made me feel less alone in a world that often makes you feel like your quirks and fears and passions are something to be ashamed of.  While Nina has come to accept herself as she is, she also comes to learn that she can stay true to herself while bending to make room for more in her life.  And it is darn funny!

These are just a few of the books I’ve read this year.  To see the full list and read the reviews, check out My 2019 Year in Books on Goodreads!

Source: Shelly’s Year in Books | Goodreads