The Ministry of Time

Author: Kaliane Bradley

Who Picked the Book: Dara

One-sentence summary: A young woman's job of caring for a time-travel "expat" gets complicated when she has to juggle her relationship with him and the confines of her job. 

B.A.D. Girls Book Rating: 6

Our favorite thing about it: The historical fiction and time travel aspects.

Our least favorite thing about it: The story could have been so much better and it faltered in places - most notably rushing the relationship and the ending. 

Main Topics of Discussion: Time Travel, Relationships, Extra Characters, Story Development, Narrative Pacing, Culture

Our favorite quote: “Everything that has ever been could have been prevented, and none of it was. The only thing you can mend is the future.”

Notes: We all enjoyed reading this book, despite our lower-than-normal rating. It was engaging and not hard to pick up. We liked the unique concept and the historical fiction woven in. The ideas of culture shock between times is always fun and interesting to read about. We liked the flash backs to Gore's doomed expedition - both because it fleshed out his character, which was badly needed. But also because we liked the history and it was interesting. 

We thought the fact that the main character was not named was an interesting choice. She was only ever referred to as "the bridge." We discussed it, but we couldn't really figure out why the author made that choice. If anything, it made an already under-developed character even more remote to us as readers.

Our critiques are mostly about the story and the characters. The most endearing and interesting characters were the minor ones - Margaret and Arthur. The main character and Graham seemed distant, like we never really got to know them. And then that made the romance seem surface-level. We didn't connect with it and it seemed rushed. 

Likewise, the final events seemed rushed. We felt that some of the slower parts of the story could have been condensed or cut and more room made for unpacking the events and revelations that happened at the end of the book. We did like how it ended, though. 

Memorable Meeting Moments: We were down to four this time with Stephanie in California and Lindsay in Oklahoma  - and neither able to travel in for this meeting. It also poured rain during the meeting.

What We Ate: Chips and Guacamole, Gin, Lemonade and Cranberry cocktail, Brisket Chili with fixings, Salad, Cornbread, and Chocolate-Dipped Chocolate Ginger cookies (with sea salt and with sugar sprinklings)

October 2024 Meeting

 We didn't have a traditional meeting this month and we didn't read a book! We did get together, though - for a wine tasting just East and South of Dallas. We had a great time together and enjoyed the day even if we didn't enjoy every wine we tasted! The snacks were superior, for sure. 

The Woman in Cabin 10

Author: Ruth Ware

Who Picked the Book: All of Us

One-sentence summary: A journalist embarks on a maiden voyage aboard a small, luxury vessel and finds herself at the center of a murder cover-up that ends up endangering her own life.

B.A.D. Girls Book Rating: 7

Our favorite thing about it: It was a quick and entertaining read.

Our least favorite thing about it: Everything was unbelievable.

Main Topics of Discussion: Cruising, relationships, Mystery-writing, suspending disbelief

Our favorite quote: “There’s a reason why we keep thoughts inside our heads for the most part—they’re not safe to be let out in public.”

Notes: We universally had issues with this book, despite our high overall rating. It's not that we hated it, but we definitely didn't love it. It was quick and kept our interest, which is why we didn't knock it too much. But just a feeling of overall disbelief prevented us from rating it higher. Literally every part of the plot was just so unbelievable. The author really stretched what she could expect a reader to go along with in this one. And we didn't love any of the characters, which makes it hard to connect and get invested in the story. 

Memorable Meeting Moments: We discussed this book in the Star Lounge aboard the Mariner of the Seas on our Book Club cruise! We picked it because it took place on a cruise too. 

What We Ate: We ate cookies from the Promenade Cafe and some of us had coffee and tea during our discussion. 

Listen for the Lie

Author: Amy Tintera

Who Picked the Book: Christina

One-sentence summary: A woman who returns home to unravel a murder she might have been guilty of by attempting to regain her memories. 

B.A.D. Girls Book Rating: 7

Our favorite thing about it: We liked the podcast aspect of the book. 

Our least favorite thing about it: The characters. 

Main Topics of Discussion: Characters, True Crime Podcasts, Family, Memory Loss, Mystery tropes

Our favorite quote: “Some people will never believe you no matter how hard you explain yourself. Trust me, there's no pleasing people. If they're determined to think the worst of you, they will.”

Notes: Overall we enjoyed reading this mystery. We thought the story was mostly good and it kept us interested. Some of us thought it lagged a little in the middle and that the short romance between Lucy and Ben helped pick it up a bit. And then some of us could have done without that story line altogether! Almost unanimously we hated all the characters. Even the main character. And that makes it hard to really love a story. Even the grandmother was just a little to spunky and perfect - not well rounded. She was predictable as a character. Ben was the closest character we came to liking and he was kind of vanilla and boring. We did like the podcast angle to the story. And those that listened liked that you could tell when that part was being read. Most of us felt that the "kill, kill" refrain in Lucy's head was annoying and silly. We felt it could have completly been left out and the book would have been better for it. And as with all murder mysteries, there were a few times that coincidences almost messed with the integrity of the story, but we mostly just let that go for the sake of the reading experience. In summary, we liked it, enjoyed reading it, but it didn't blow most of us away. 

Memorable Meeting Moments: We swam at Christina's house. 

What We Ate: Chicken Salad Croissant Sandwiches, Fruit, Veggies, Baked Brie, Salad, and various delightful sweet treats served charcuterie-style.

Meet Me at the Lake

Author: Carley Fortune

Who Picked the Book: All of us

One-sentence summary: Love interests meet and spend one blissful day together, make plans to meet up in a year, and then one doesn't show up until years later. 

B.A.D. Girls Book Rating: 7 (unanimous)

Our favorite thing about it: We liked the Dirty Dancing Vibes. 

Our least favorite thing about it: Will. Seriously, he was so dumb. 

Main Topics of Discussion: Friendship, Parent/Child Relationships, Dad Issues, Communicating in Relationships

Our favorite quote: “One great thing about meeting someone you’ll likely never see again is that you can tell them anything about yourself without any consequence.”

Notes: We liked this story and we liked the writing style and many of the characters. We all pictured the resort featured in Dirty Dancing while reading this book. The main topic of discussion was Will and how he unbelievably kept making dumb decisions. Yes, he had anxiety and other issues that have to be taken into account. But also, his final moment of stupidity at the end when he left without saying anything was almost a bridge too far for us. A text, a note, SOMETHING...would have been better than just leaving with no word. We all felt unusually frustrated by that. And more annoying was his sister telling Fern that she shouldn't have yelled at him on the phone. We did not love that. 

We talked a little bit about the issues that Will and Fern had with their fathers - or absent fathers as the case may be for Fern. And how that impacted their lives and decisions. Also, we talked about how Fern's mom was kind of terrible. She made major assumptions about the future of Fern's life without ever discussing it with her. And then completely gave her the cold shoulder when Fern spoke up for herself, saying what she wanted. Not cool. 

So some things were annoying, but overall this was a very enjoyable book to read with a real sense of place at the resort and we all liked it!

Memorable Meeting Moments: We were at the Lake House, so this meeting was full of memorable moments! We touched Prickly Pear fruit for one. Tastes good, doesn't feel good! 

What We Ate: Our usual Lake House food

The Berry Pickers

Author: Amanda Peters

Who Picked the Book: Stephanie

One-sentence summary: A 4-year old child is kidnapped from the fields where her family is picking berries and the story of her life and her family of origin's lives is told alternately until she discovers the truth.

B.A.D. Girls Book Rating: 7

Our favorite thing about it: We loved how the story was told from two perspectives.

Our least favorite thing about it: The subject matter was hard.

Main Topics of Discussion: Loss, Trauma, Coping Mechanisms, Secrecy, Fear, Belonging, Redemption

Our favorite quote: “I found it strange that no word exists for a parent who loses a child. If children lose their parents, they are orphans. If a husband loses his wife, he’s a widower. But there’s no word for a parent who loses a child. I’ve come to believe that the event is just too big, too monstrous, too overwhelming for words. No word could ever describe the feeling, so we leave it unsaid.”

Notes: We all really loved this story and how it was told. Alternating between the two perspectives was great - we loved that we got to follow both sides of the story. We also liked how the ramifications for each character was laid out and how they dealt with those ramifications. We thought it was absolutely nuts that the father and aunt/sister just decided to go along with the kidnapping. We also lamented how the indifference of the police made getting away with it possible. We discussed how trauma was inadvertently passed down to subsequent generations because it wasn't dealt with. We loved that the story had some redemption at the end and at least a partial reunion of the family. But what an interesting exploration of a tragic event and it's effects on two families. 

Memorable Meeting Moments: This was sort of a send-off meeting for Stephanie, although we'll see her some more pretty soon! We went out to eat at Mexican Sugar and then back to Rachel's house for discussion, lake house planning, and swimming (hot tub). 

What We Ate: Chips and Salsa, Queso, Cocktails, Enchiladas, Strip Steak, brownie sundaes. 

The Frozen River

Author: Ariel Lawhon

Who Picked the Book: Amberly

One-sentence summary: A midwife pushes against the injustices of her small town while helping women with her medical skills and friendship.

B.A.D. Girls Book Rating: 8

Our favorite thing about it: The story was captivating and compelling.

Our least favorite thing about it: There was a lot of injustice and misogyny - A LOT - that was cumulatively hard to read. 

Main Topics of Discussion: Pregnancy/Birth, Misogyny, Rape/Murder, Marriage, Early America, Justice

Our favorite quote: “Memory is a wicked thing that warps and twists. But paper and ink receive the truth without emotion, and they read it back without partiality."

Notes: We found this book very easy to read. The story moved fairly quickly and was engaging. Those that listened said the narrator was excellent. And the main character, Martha, was also a good narrator as the events were seen through her eyes. There was a lot of injustice and mistreatment - especially of women - that made the book hard to read at times. There was just so much. If it was hard to read, we imagine it was even harder to live - because all of that injustice and misogyny was very much real at that time. And some of it still is. We loved most of the characters and felt that they were well-rounded. We thought that the cold weather and frozen river served as metaphors for the town itself - being stuck in place for a time while the murder was sorted, and Rebecca's trial was pending, etc. At the end of the book, as some of the events were resolved, the river thawed and spring was close. Overall we liked this book very much and would recommend it. 

Memorable Meeting Moments: Amberly took us to a new Indian restaurant. Our meeting was uncharacteristically on a Tuesday night. And Dara accidentally read the wrong book, but did read a good one - The Women by Kristin Hannah. 

What We Ate: Indian Food! We had vegetable samosas, a mango lassi, Chicken Tikka Masala, Butter Chicken, Chicken Vindaloo, Vegetable Aloo Gobi, and garlic naan. For dessert, Amberly had Watermelon sparkling wine, Butterscotch bars (her grandmother's recipe), and lemon bars (Pioneer Woman's recipe).