We may have been given complimentary copies and/or access for review purposes to any books, products, and/or any other visual or audio media mentioned below. Any and all opinions expressed here are our own.
Books: Somewhere Like Home and The Secret Life of Hidden Places
Today we are talking about Nowhere Like Home by Sara Shepard. When Lenna is invited by an old friend to a commune of women known as Halycon, she thinks it will be a good time to catch up and try to repair her relationship with her former friend, Rhiannon. However, Halycon is far from as idyllic as it seems. The Community rules like no cell phones and no asking anyone about her past are bad enough, the padlocked main gates making them all virtual prisoners is even worse. Plus, every woman there is hiding a secret and some of them may be dangerous.
While the book moves around at a fairly fast pace and is somewhat intriguing, some plot points are never really adequately explained. For instance, why would Lenna take her child to a place she knows little about and why would she not tell her husband where she was going just to catch up with some friend she hasn't seen or heard from in years? There is no indication that her husband was abusive or she needed to escape him in any way so it seems like she was just being selfish.
It doesn't make sense that she would urgently feel the need to catch up with Rhiannon either. Their initial friendship was brief and not very healthy on either side. It is not understandable why either one of them would remember it so fondly and/or want to rekindle it. In fact, there are not really any healthy friendships in the entire book. The relationships in general are mostly toxic. Although at times some characters do express genuine concerns for others and act accordingly, for the most part, each of these women is just out for herself and acts accordingly. It might seem at first like this is going to be a book full of great friendships and found family vibes, however, that is not the case at all.
Today we are recommending The Secret Life of Hidden Places by Stefan Bachmann and April Genevieve Tulcholke. This book is full of true histories of secret rooms, underground mansions, abandoned apartments, and more. They include stories of places that are familiar to many people like the Winchester Mystery House and King Tut's tomb as well as places that are not so well known like a cupboard in a museum that holds objects considered too scandalous for display and a hidden room in an Abbey that allowed a book thief access to steal books. Each chapter consists of a main story along with several other related tales. There are plenty of pictures throughout the book as well. Anyone who enjoys historical mysteries should really enjoy this thrilling and fascinating tome.
And that's our view. Tune in tomorrow for Where-To-Go Wednesday.
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