Wild Dark Shore

Author:  Charlotte McConaghy

Who Picked the Book: Christina

One-sentence summary: A family on a remote antarctic island dealing with immense death and loss rescue a woman who washes up injured on the shore, forcing them to make choices about truth and survival.

B.A.D. Girls Book Rating: 7

Our favorite thing about it: The story was interesting and engaging. 

Our least favorite thing about it: The setting, characters and themes were depressing.

Main Topics of Discussion: Setting, Pacing, Family Dynamics, Survival, Grief

Our favorite quote: "Maybe we will drown or burn or starve one day, but until then we get to choose if we’ll add to that destruction or if we will care for each other."

Notes: We agreed that this book was interesting and kept us engaged while reading. For most of us, it was the relationships that were most interesting. The climate change parts of the story, and especially the seeds didn't seem to carry the weight with us that they were intended to. (We didn't care about the seeds.) We talked about how the atmosphere / setting was so prominent in the story. It was so dark and creepy and it was intended to be. There was also so much death. We thought that Rowan's death was not necessary and we didn't really think it served the story at all. We didn't like that. We felt that Hank's demise and final "confrontation" with Fin (if it can even be called that) was anti-climactic. We mostly didn't really connect with any of the characters - they seemed removed from us, like we couldn't get close to them. We also thought that the romance between Dom and Rowan was...weird. We normally hate plot devices that require characters to keep huge secrets from each other - it's just annoying. But even we could admit that had the Salt's told Rowan everything when she washed up, it would not have been a good situation!

Memorable Meeting Moments: We ate at Black Hawk Brewery on their second level outdoor space. Then we went back to Christina's new house for the first time. Zeke slipped right past us into the attic insulation and bounded around in there for a while! 

What We Ate: Fried Brussels Sprouts and Pretzel bites for appetizers, Smash Burgers and Chicken Pesto Paninis for main dishes. Christina had a dessert charcuterie for us at her house. 

The Astral Library

Author: Kate Quinn

Who Picked the Book: Stephanie

One-sentence summary: A desperate young woman finds entrance to a fantastical library where patrons can take up residence inside their favorite book, but also must fight forces that want to destroy the safe-haven that the library provides. 

B.A.D. Girls Book Rating: 7

Our favorite thing about it: All the specific book references.

Our least favorite thing about it: Some of the plot points (Beau in the library) were a little coincidental.

Main Topics of Discussion: Libraries, Bureaucracy, Literary References, Fantasy

Our favorite quote: “What a miraculous thing a book was, when you stopped to think about it: whole worlds springing to life from nothing more than squiggles on a page.”

Notes: We all loved this book. The setting and the premise were so fun and we really enjoyed reading the whole thing. We didn't think it was the best fantasy book ever, but we did really enjoy it. All the bookish stuff, the literary references, and the set up of the library were just magical. We were all a little stressed by the main character's circumstances in the beginning and then sometimes a little annoyed by her demeanor in the library. We liked that Beau ended up in the library, but it also didn't seem to "fit" as neatly as it could have. Their whole relationship was a little "off" for us for some reason. The library board as a stand-in for bureaucrats who don't understand that which they're leading was interesting and poignant. We were all satisfied with the ending and liked the imaginative and fantastical ideas of the book. 

Memorable Meeting Moments: Stephanie took us to Baonecci Italian Restaurant for dinner, a major storm was brewing during our meeting (again), Lindsay gifted Stephanie a plush uterus (which she thought was a crab!) for her birthday, and we all learned that we have a choice between stabbing or taking a photo with someone. 

What We Ate: We had Crostini and Meatballs for starters at dinner, followed by several different pastas (Tagliatelle with Pesto, Tagliatelle with Bolognese, and Tagliatelle with Alfredo). We spent the rest of our meeting time at Rachel's having Stephanie's delicious custard with peanut butter and chocolate dessert!

The Correspondent

Author: Virginia Evans

Who Picked the Book: Amberly

One-sentence summary: A woman's life is slowly revealed through the letters she has received and written her whole life, showing her relationships, mistakes, and growth.

B.A.D. Girls Book Rating: 8

Our favorite thing about it: The character development was wonderful.

Our least favorite thing about it: Sometimes we got frustrated with the main character!

Main Topics of Discussion: Epistolary style writing, Reading experience, Friendship, Mother/Child relationships, Grief, Guilt

Our favorite quote: “Imagine, the letters one has sent out into the world, the letters received back in turn, are like the pieces of a magnificent puzzle, or, a better metaphor, if dated, the links of a long chain, and even if those links are never put back together, which they will certainly never be, even if they remain for the rest of time dispersed across the earth like the fragile blown seeds of a dying dandelion, isn’t there something wonderful in that, to think that a story of one’s life is preserved in some way, that this very letter may one day mean something, even if it is a very small thing, to someone?”

Notes: We all universally liked this book. We discussed how epistolary style writing can sometimes go wrong - and how this time it really worked. The reader has to do more work and pay attention to dates, headings, who is writing, etc. But we seemed to all take that in stride. This book is very much about the character, Sybil. And we simultaneously liked and got frustrated with her! So, she was a very realistic character. This book places character development over plot, but it develops the character(s) so well that you don't miss having more of a plot. Connection to the main character was done so well and it made the whole book work. 

Memorable Meeting Moments: Amberly treated us to dinner at Wildwood and dessert/discussion at Dessert Avenue!

What We Ate: We had two dips for appetizers (spinach artichoke & Dragon dip), a couple of different entrees (shrimp & grits, pecan crusted chicken). For dessert - crepes, skillet brownie, tea, and chocolate marshmallow wand. 

The Bookshop Ladies

Author: Faith Hogan

Who Picked the Book: Rachel

One-sentence summary: A recently widowed American living in Paris decides to hand-deliver something her late husband left to his daughter she didn't know he had and she unlocks a whole new world of friendship and purpose in Ireland.

B.A.D. Girls Book Rating: 8

Our favorite thing about it: This was a fun, uplifting story that was easy to read.

Our least favorite thing about it: Maybe that Kian's deception at the end of the book didn't seem to fit with what we knew of him as a character. 

Main Topics of Discussion: Grief, Friendship, Betrayal, Secrets, Marriage

Our favorite quote: “We either confront it or we forgive, but we learn to live with things, not run away from them or hide behind something that’s shiny enough to cover over the pain momentarily.”

Notes: We all universally enjoyed this book. We loved the story and the ending. We loved most of the characters and their development. The setting (Ireland) was especially great as well as the bookshop itself. We liked Robyn's character arc in particular and how the friendship and mentorship of Joy helped her blossom. We really liked Joy's character and enjoyed reading about her motivations and thoughts.

We did think that Kian's actions at the end of the book were not in line with the kind of character we believed him to be. However, we also discussed the fact that we "knew" him through Robyn's eyes and she thought she was in love with him. Maybe his character was this deceitful and selfish all along and we just didn't see that side of him until the end. Either way, we thought the book heist at the end was a bit rushed and also kind of unnecessary, but we didn't hate it. 

We talked about the idea of Robyn getting over Kian a little earlier in the book so her relationship with Will could have been further explored rather than a rushed kiss at the very end of the book. We also acknowledged how important the non-romantic and female friendships were to Robyn in her transformation. It was ok to not have a romance in the story. 

We'd highly recommend this fun read and wish we could open our own bookshop together!

Memorable Meeting Moments: Rachel took us to eat at Ciccio's Trattoria near her house and we came back to her house for dessert and discussion. Lindsay was able to attend this meeting in person and we celebrated Amberly's birthday month. 

What We Ate: Focaccia with Ricotta and Olive Oil/Balsamic Vinegar, Various pastas, Branzino, Salmon, and a Brownie Sundae bar for dessert.

The Strength of the Few

Author: James Islington

Who Picked the Book: Lindsay

One-sentence summary: Vis navigates peril in three worlds as all three of him (and others) try to overturn the oppressive regime.

B.A.D. Girls Book Rating: 6

Our favorite thing about it: It was very creative and had interesting things to say about what will be done just to survive.

Our least favorite thing about it: It was way too complicated and hard to follow.

Main Topics of Discussion: Novel structure, character development, sacrifice, moral compromise, loss, violence.

Our favorite quote: "Without grief, love would be meaningless. Because it is impossible to truly love something that cannot be lost."

Notes: Our overwhelming feeling about this book is that it could have been so much better if it hadn't tried to do too much. Just when you think you're getting a handle on this new world, the author expands the worlds to three and you've got to learn two more. Except now, you're learning them one chapter at a time, breaking up any development or action with chapters from each different world. It took so long (especially for those listening, not reading) to reorient themselves in every single chapter that it took some of the enjoyment out of just following the story and characters. If you're constantly trying to place where you are and with whom, and who are these people again? - it is sort of exhausting and not a fun reading experience. The chapters about Rez (the original world) were more enjoyable precisely because we'd spent the entire first novel learning those characters and that world. It seemed hard for the author to properly develop the characters or the action because there simply wasn't enough time (and this novel is LONG). 

One of our criticisms from the first book carried over to this one - and largely just because of the structure of the book. We still didn't like that we didn't connect with the characters - even Vis. There were parts of the first book (return to Sus, sometimes at the Academy) where we began to feel more emotionally attached, but overall both books are lacking in this department. It's hard to care about what's happening if you don't care about the characters. If this book had just continued the story in ONE world, that development might have been possible. 

Many of us were turned off by the violence - we don't love reading graphic depictions of violence in general. And especially when all of the characters we actually knew and remembered were being killed. 

And one thing that bothered us was Vis's view on using Will. In the first book, it was a major deal that he did not do that. He went to great lengths and it caused him trouble to not use Will. And now in this second book - he not only uses it all the time, but all the guardrails are off. There seems to be no limit to what he will do even though he thinks about how bad it is while he's doing it. This seemed so incongruent to us. 

Usually we'd take more care to reread portions of a book that didn't make sense the first time or spend time really trying to remember and get to know each character - but this book was just so laborious in every way. We basically just kept reading and thought "oh, well." We felt very "meh" about this one. 

Memorable Meeting Moments: We were able to try The Bloom Lounge for brunch, which was fabulous. And then we went to Rachel's house for tea and book discussion. We met at 12:30pm for brunch - one of our earlier meeting times!

What We Ate: Lindsay treated us to brunch (from afar!) at The Bloom Lounge. We had mimosas, goat cheese & jam dip, chicken & gnocchi, short rib risotto, and vanilla pancakes with chocolate ganache.

The Will of the Many

Author: James Islington

Who Picked the Book: Dara

One-sentence summary: An orphaned prince who is hiding his identity gets taken up in high stakes secret missions for both sides of the new regime's conflict, making a discovery that completely changes his understanding of his world.

B.A.D. Girls Book Rating: 7

Our favorite thing about it: Good balance of dialogue to action.

Our least favorite thing about it: Hard to get into. 

Main Topics of Discussion: Ethics of Resistance, Friendship, Loyalty, Survival

Our favorite quote: “There comes a point in every man’s life where he can rail against the unfairness of the world until he loses, or he can do his best in it. Remain a victim, or become a survivor.”

Notes: The start of this book gave us the most trouble. Because it's an entirely new world, it (like other books of this genre) was confusing at first. And the plot took a while to ramp up, so it took us a while to care about the characters and what was going on. We actually felt that the first quarter of the book could have been shortened quite a bit without losing any of the history of the character. And the author makes no attempt - even later in the book - to really flesh out what "using people's wills" really is and how it works. That's not that important to the plot, but it kind of sits in the background, unknown. Most of us were able to just ignore this looming question. 

Distinguishing between the characters was hard for some of us as well. Those that listened had a harder time remembering who everyone was. Those that read (or did a combo of reading and listening) did not have as hard of a time. The names of the characters were unusual so that probably contributed to the overall confusion. In addition to this, it took us a while to care about the characters and some of us never quite got there. 

One of the best parts of the book as far as emotional weight and character development was when Vis is forced to travel back to Suus, his former home that was violently taken over by the current regime (who also killed his entire family). Wrestling with hiding his identity in this place, coupled with a budding relationship, and encountering his father's former advisor working for the Hierarchy - all of it carried such high stakes and emotional weight that this part of the book was one of the most interesting for us. 

And the ethical discussion of the resistance's (Anguis) tactics was both interesting and gave the book some depth. Likewise, Vis's discussion and revelations about his father's former advisor and the reality of life in Suus was insightful and nuanced as well. 

Overall, we enjoyed the story and thought it was interesting even though there were aspects that either took us out of the reading experience, made it harder, or just didn't interest us. Our next book club pick is the second book in this series, so we'll see how we like it!

Memorable Meeting Moments: This was our Christmas meeting and we painted Christmas paint by number canvases at Dara's house, played our Jeopardy game, opened gifts from each other, and discussed the book.

What We Ate: Melon, Prosciutto, and Balsamic Vinegar bites along with Fig Jam and Goat Cheese Crostini for appetizers. A festive and refreshing cocktail. Spinach salad, Steak with Asparagus and Butternut Squash Risotto. Pumpkin Dump Cake AND Brownies with Ice Cream for dessert.