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Into the Water – This wasn’t my favorite book.  I thought there were way too many characters that made it difficult to keep track of each storyline. Plus, the present and the past mix together so often that the reader can get confused.

The gist of the story is that there is a pool of water in town where many “bad” women have died, whether from suicide or murder.   The most recent death being a woman who is writing a story about all the women who have perished in the drowning pool.  While the investigation into the latest death is taking place many other stories pop up that all seem to connect to one another.

The Orphan’s Tale – I liked this book but the ending felt rushed.  Two women are part of a traveling circus in Nazi Germany.  One is a teenage girl with an infant and the other is a seasoned veteran.  Both have reasons to try and hide within the troupe.  The story includes romance and climatic events surrounding the circus itself and WWII.  The book is a little like Water for Elephants but definitely not as good.

The Last Tudor – This book was wonderful but I love history, especially about royal families.  Reading this book really helped me understand more of the politics surrounding one of my favorite guilty pleasure shows, Reign, which is about Mary Queen of Scots.

In this novel, the lives of three sisters who are/should be in line to inherit the English throne are described.  When the only legitimate son dies both Queen Mary and Queen Elizabeth feel they have claim to the throne but the half-sisters are illegitimate and of opposing religions.   How the three sisters are treated during these reigns is what the book is all about.

The Alice Network – I apparently have to have at least one war novel included on all of my book lists.  I enjoyed this pick from Reese Witherspoon.

A young pregnant girl is desperate to find her beloved cousin after the war.  During her search, she meets a cantankerous woman who might be able to help her.  We relive the old woman’s story of being a female spy during WWI throughout the search in present time.

SKIP – The Hazards of Good Breeding – It was terrible! The whole book is depressing and really has no point to it.  The story is about a family in which the parents are divorced, the mom went crazy but is getting to know her family again, and a young boy is trying to help his nanny find her son.  Trust me, my description sounds more interesting than the book actually was.

Want more good books to read? Check out what I recommended in September.