Karin TanabeRezensionen

This was a challenging and confusing read and listening to the audiobook while reading the digital book only provided some mild entertainment. This story would be better told in a visual format as there is too much going on that it looses it's "star" appeal. I enjoyed some of this author's previous books but this one felt too busy.

The plot is set in 1970's Los Angeles' where the young and beautiful flocked to parties where drinking and drugs were commonplace. The road to success is rocky even for those from wealthy families. Aside from those who long for a spot on the screen, there is Beatrice DuPont, who makes her living behind a camera. She works for Vogue and Rolling Stone and attends all the society parties recording history in on film. She is a transplant from New York and surprised to find her long ago "crush", Kai de la Faire, living in LA. He's not only rising to fame but is attached to Evra Scott, the fashion diva of Sunset on Sunset, an exclusive boutique for the rich and famous in LA.

There are strong connections between the characters that build and demolish as the years pass and some rise to stardom while others aren't so fortunate. Scattered among the rich and soon-to-be famous are people who aren't who they claim to be. The writing flows but the plot feels cluttered with many stories and developed characters who all seem to be entwined. It's difficult to really find many likeable characters as they are all pretty flawed some with better intentions than others. I felt there was too much "in the middle" and the story exposed the secrets and lies and wrapped up in the end. It just felt like a longer journey to get there.

Many thanks to St Martin's Press and NetGalley for providing me access to read this digital book. My review of this book is my honest and unbiased opinion. All comments are expressly my own.

A 1970’s brat pack of sorts, each a bit different but also sharing many similarities of finding fame and relevance in each other which makes the backbone of the Sunset Crowd. Amidst the egos and golden Hollywood veneer lies secrets, womanizing, mystery and perhaps murder, and the Sunset crowd is entrenched in it all.
A glamorously human story of a time and place where dreams are built and come to die, and where people can carve an actual life for themselves. Great read!
*I received an arc from the publisher through NetGalley for an honest review

Evra and Kai are the hottest couple in Hollywood. Then there is Theodora. She is a “want to be” producer and she knows just which buttons to push to get it done. Add in Bea. Bea is a photographer for Rolling Stones magazine. And she is just taking in all the limelight and extra curricular activities. But, she secretly harbors a love for Kai! So where does this lead???

This book has a very slow start. I almost ditched it. But then I remembered reading this author’s other book, A Woman of Intelligence , and so, I kept going. I am glad I did! I found these characters completely insane, entertaining, weasels! Every single one. Talk about flawed! This whole book is full of real life people making real life mistakes and bad choices.

I found this novel fascinating in many places. I did figure out Theodora. But she is definitely a character which MADE this book for me. Everyone knows a Theodora. Maybe not to this extent…but we all know someone like her! That is what makes this author’s books for me. Her characters are always someone I know. And trust me…you will know them too.

The narrator, Sarah Molly-Christensen, really kept this book moving. I will be honest, I might have dnf-ed it if not for an audiobook.

Need a book which will have your cringing…THIS IS IT! Grab your copy today.

I received this novel from the publisher for a honest review.

Beatrice is a rebellious teen New Yorker from old money. After being sent to a private school in Switzerland for her behavior, she befriends (and falls in love with) Kai de la Faire. Kai is gorgeous, part Hawaiian, and the crush of every girl in the school.

Years later, in the mid-1970s, Beatrice is a photographer in LA. The hottest thing going on the strip is a new store -Sunset on Sunset- owned and operated by Evra Scott. Evra is a wealthy socialite, the daughter of Hollywood Royalty. Her store is THE store, and Avra is THE girl in LA,. Avra's current love interest is Kai de la Faire. Beatrice, Evra, Kai, and their friends live the ultimate LA party life. Fueled by drugs and alcohol, they enjoy all that fame and money have to offer.

One day, Theodora Leigh comes into Sunset to return outfits from Paramount Studios. Evra is fascinated by this young girl with a mysterious past... Part Chinese, and multi-lingual, she is getting ready to produce a film of her own. Evra is fascinated by young Theodora and takes her under her wing. Theodora soon becomes a part of their crowd as well. Young, beautiful, and talented, she seems to know all the right people. She shows up everywhere at just the right moment.No one seems to notice until it is too late.

This novel will take you from the Hollywood Hills to the French Riviera. You'll get a front-row seat at how glamorous people live. You will also get a good look at their motives and mores. The author has developed real and believable characters.. It is interesting to see how each of them reacts differently to events and to each other. I think this is one saving grace for Beatrice. Deep down, some East Coast common sense remains.

This book is a great read, especially if you love to read about the rich and famous. I don't want to leave spoilers, but, I will say I wasn't especially happy with the ending. I'd have liked a little more closure. However, I think that was the point. Sometimes you're just left to wonder.

historical-fiction, historical-figures, historical-places-events, historical-research, historical-setting, Los Angeles, women-s-fiction, 1970s, 1980s***

I found the plot a little too diffuse for me. The characters were clearly depicted and the imagery well done. The whole was a little too too and not her best work.
I requested and received a free ebook copy from St. Martin's Press via NetGalley.

Historical fiction set in French Indochina, present day Vietnam, in the 1930s. Protagonist Jessie Lesage, an American with a troubled childhood, has arrived in Hanoi from Paris with her French husband, Victor Michelin Lesage, and young daughter, Lucie. Victor is the new manager of the Michelin rubber plantations near Saigon, which have recently been a source of scandal. Jessie meets French expat Marcelle de Fabray, a glamorous woman having an affair with an Indochinese silk magnate. The story is told in alternating points of view by Jessie and Marcelle.

The historical fiction portion of this book is very well done. It conveys a sense of place and time. The narrative portrays the lavish life of French expatriates, contrasted against the poverty and grim working conditions of the local residents. It covers the rise of communist, anti-communist, and anti-colonialist sentiments.

The less effective part, for me, is the attempt to turn the story into a thriller. Is someone gaslighting Jessie? Is she losing her mind? Jessie is harboring the secrets of her past. Dramatic tension is attained by gradually revealing these secrets. While it contains elements of a psychological thriller, it is not fast-paced or tense until near the end.

The dialogue is not particularly well-written. It is not the way people speak. Lots of “information dumping” takes place through characters talking to each other. I am sure the author felt a need to provide readers with a history lesson, but there are other ways. I found the epilogue unnecessary, but I am, in general, not a fan of epilogues.

So, the positives and negatives offset. I liked the historical parts and disliked the thriller sections. I think readers who enjoy twists and turns will like this book more than I did.

I appreciate the question around which A Woman of Intelligence by Karen Tanabe is based. What compromise does a woman make between independence and a career and home and family? The reality is that the discussion continues even today and definitely more so in the context of women than men. Although the character and story was not for me, this conversation is what I take away from this book.

Read my complete review at http://www.memoriesfrombooks.com/2022/10/a-woman-of-intelligence.html

Reviewed for NetGalley.

Katharina Edgeworth has a life that most women of her time would kill for, a surgeon husband, two healthy children, and a beautiful apartment in the heart of Manhattan but feels that she could be so much more.

Katharina discovers that she is being scouted by the FBI to help stop the spread of Communism in New York due to a previous relationship with a member of the KGB, unbeknownst to her. The FBI uses her history with this man to get her close to him and gather important information.

She begins living a double life, doting mother and wife by day and FBI spy by night. Her lives begin to collide when her husband realizes she has been employing a babysitter and spending hours upon hours away from their children. Katharina has to decide where her life is leading and how to balance her two selves.

While the idea of the story is an interesting story, the story itself is lacking. The novel starts slow and never really gathers enough steam to make it interesting. There were moments when I thought the story would pick up the pace but was then let down when nothing extraordinary happened. I am hoping this scenario is a one-off for the author but I would love to read something else by her that may grab me more.

I've previously read and enjoyed Karen Tanabe's novels The Gilded Years and A Hundred Suns, so I was very excited to read her upcoming novel, A Woman Of Intelligence.

In A Woman Of Intelligence, Rina used to be a UN translator, using her fluency in four languages, but now she's married a doctor and given up her work to be a full-time mother. Caring for toddlers is frustrating, and she misses her old life and her old friends.

A few times, as Rina catalogued her frustrations, I felt like asking, but why? You have plenty of money to hire a nanny, you have the skills and contacts for a fulfilling job, so... why? Why are you dragging your sons around the city and hating every day of your life? It only worked because her closest girlfriend from her UN days also wondered why Rina would pack it all in for housewife life.

She gets a break in the monotony when she's approached by a government agent with a request. Her college boyfriend may be working for the Russians, and Rina is quickly caught up in Cold War spy drama, attending underground communist meetings, delivering photo negatives and arranging "accidental" meetings, pretending to be a Red while delivering all her information back to her government contact. There's a lot of intrigue and drama here, and tension comes from a nagging worry that some of the double agents were not actually on Rina's side. The world of pay phones and camera film added to the intrigue.

Again with the romance, I found myself asking, but why? Rina's love interest was nice enough but I felt more like Rina was lonely than that this was a tragic love story. I did love the character growth this provoked, and it highlighted Rina's struggle to be a supportive doctor's wife and fulfilled SAHM, while quietly running espionage missions.

Overall, A Woman Of Intelligence is an enjoyable historical spy story with a feminist slant.

A Woman of Intelligence is by Karin Tanabe, and will be published by St. Martin's Press on July 20, 2021.

The Gilded Years has been on my to read list for years, but given that there is soon to be a movie (starring Zendaya), what better time to read it but now? I think the story will make a fantastic movie as there are some moments, good and bad, that will look spectacular on film. But the novel is also a fictionalised version of a true story, that of Anita Hemmings.

Anita has always wanted to get an education and attend Vassar. Her parents are also keen for her and her siblings to learn as much as they can, as being African-American in the late 1800s is very limiting even in the northern states of America. For Anita, attending Vassar means that she needs to lie about her race. She can never invite her parents to her graduation, and she must keep her brother at arm’s length. For Anita’s first three years at Vassar, she has kept her head down and stayed at a distance. But in her final year, new friendships and a romance means that she comes perilously close to her secret being revealed. Her new, incredibly rich roommate Lottie Taylor is fascinated by Anita and even more so by her brother Frederick. Anita also finds an admirer in Porter Hamilton, which her brother expressly forbids her to continue further. As the year goes on, relationships become more explosive and Anita’s passing as white could be revealed to the whole college…

The idea of Anita, a real-life figure, and her university story is a great one. There is a lot of fiction involved in joining the dots to make a story, given that little is known about Anita in the twenty-first century. The book opens with Anita’s ongoing, but background sense of unease that nobody finds out her secret. She is also uncomfortable with passing as white, as it could be seen to be disrespectful of her heritage, family and friends back in Boston. But when Lottie rushes in with her money and wit, the focus of the novel turns to that of the college experience – friends, boys, drinking and having fun. It all feels a little detached until Anita’s personal life starts to get messy – her relationship with Porter and Lottie becoming smitten with her brother Frederick. Anita also doesn’t make the best choices for someone with a secret that could get her thrown out of college, but the glitz and glamour of rich New York is too fun for both Anita and the reader to miss. The most exciting and fast paced section of the novel is when Anita’s secret is discovered and held over her. Emotions come to the fore, messy and opinionated. Some of the motives are a little loose, but this section was the most fascinating. I feel as though the whole introduction to Anita’s days at college could have been reduced for more background into the motives for those who backstabbed her, as well as exploring more of her life after college. The first section was just a bit too dry. But overall, The Gilded Years is an interesting story of history and I’m certain Zendaya will make this film engrossing.

Thank you to Simon & Schuster for the review copy of this book. My review is honest.

http://samstillreading.wordpress.com

Thank you again, The Book Club CookBook! We were getting together to discuss our last book and planned to read another book, but when we all crowded in my kitchen and they saw this sitting on the table, we did a last-minute switch! Definitely glad we did!

A Woman of Intelligence is about Katharina Edgeworth, born and raised in New York. In the 1940s, she was a single woman during the day; she devoted her time to her job as a translator for the United Nations and spent her nights doing what most young single females did and still do now!

But now, in the 1950s post-war New York, Katharina is now a married woman and on the outside seems to live the ideal life. The doctor's husband, two kids, and a fifth avenue apartment. But she isn't happy or content to be just a homemaker she wants more in her life, something that is her own. So when the FBI offers her a job to work as a spy/informant, she jumps at the chance!

I think as a mother or wife, I and everyone else have been in Katharina’s shoes. It can be hard not to lose ourselves in helping our kids discover who they are. It's a balancing act, one that can be hard to maintain from time to time. The time frame that Katharina is living in sure didn't help or encourage a woman to be more or that it was ok to feel you needed something more to your life.

So obviously this was a very thought-provoking book for us to read together! Could you imagine living back then? They sent all the men off to war, so to keep the country moving and to care for their families, the women went to work! So they get a taste of what it’s like to be independent and prove that your sex shouldn’t matter! But now the men are home so you need to go back home, cook, clean and be the lovely, perfect housewife again! That is just crazy!

Normally now I would tell you our thoughts on the book, but this time the author's note says it perfectly!

“What about, the woman stays in the picture?
“As Adrienne Rich wrote in her book “Of Woman Born,” which I so wish I'd read as a new mother, “we have no familiar, ready-made name for a woman who defines herself, by choice, neither in relation to children nor to men, who is self-identified, who has chosen herself.”

I can completely relate to what life must have been like for Mrs. Katharina Edgeworth. Not so much to the being rich part, but definitely to the part about being a slave to two children who are obviously taking more than they are giving back at this point. From the outside her life is quite enviable: living on Fifth Avenue, in a huge apartment with basically endless financial resources and the status of being married to arguably the most successful children’s surgeon in New York. However, beneath the surface is a modern woman stuck in a rigid social class that still believes that women should be at home with the children. For a woman who ha a masters degree and used to work at the United Nations, speaking baby talk and cleaning up spit up is just as fulfilling as her husband hopes it is.Following a particularly rough day, Katharina meets a FBI agent who wants her to take on the secret mission of spying on a communist ring centered around a former classmate from her years at Columbia. Feeling trapped, Katharina accepts the mission, and In so doing it leads her down a path of questioning her entire life and her role in it. This is a story of a woman who became someone else and in the process figured out who she really was. A charming tale of life in a different time, when women stayed home with the children and the biggest threat the world faced was the “red menace” of communist Russia. I thoroughly enjoyed this engaging story, and look forward to reading more from Karin Tanabe. Thank you to Netgalley for the copy in exchange for the honest review.

Although there isn't a great deal of intrigue, The Gilded Years is still an interesting period piece. The key focus is on Anita Hemmings, hidden in plain sight, who became the first biracial graduate of Vassar Collage. What held my attention, however, is the detailed peeks into "sophisticated" college life circa 1897. A good and gentle read.

A while ago I read a novel intended to be a tribute to motherhood, it was a decent enough book, but this one is better. To be certain, this novel has Russian spies and FBI agents, but really, it's the story of a marriage and motherhood and the struggles entailed. The experiences of Rina Edgworth, a highly educated UN translator who leaves her work to raise her two young boys and struggles to find being a mother as fulfilling as her work ensuring world peace is authentic and real (and exactly how I've always suspected motherhood was). When she's presented with the opportunity to assist the FBI in hunting down a Soviet spy ring, Rina seizes the chance and slowly begins to change her life for the better. I loved this story about a woman re-establishing her own identity and I appreciated the complex and gritty female characters, which often feature in Karin Tanabe's novels.

Katharina works as a translator for the United Nations. She gives it all up to become a wife and a mother. However, she is just not happy. She loves her family but her life is missing something. Because of her life before, she is on the FBI’s radar. She is approached to become an informant on the movement of communists in the area. She jumps at the chance.

Katharina is a unique character for this time period. Not many women worked in the 1950s. I love strong women characters but Katharina fell a bit short. And for the life of me I can’t figure out why. She is a bit whiny…aren’t we all at some time. And for her to be so strong…she sure did not have much of a backbone with her husband. I wanted to pinch his ear off.

All of that being said, I did enjoy this novel. I loved the intrigue and the spy game. And when Katharina finally found her voice…stand back!

Jennifer Jill Araya does a fabulous job as narrator. She has the perfect inflection and emotion. I will definitely be on the look out for her in the future!

Need an all around good book! THIS IS IT! Grab your copy today.

I received this novel from the publisher for a honest review.

It is a bright new world after WWII in New York City, and Katharina West Edgeworth should be thrilled. She’s married into wealthy family and her husband is a highly regarded surgeon, but she longs for more than just being a mother to two young rambunctious boys. Before her marriage, she was using her knowledge of four languages in her work as translator at the newly organized United Nations. Her husband can’t understand her dissatisfaction. By chance she finds herself involved as a courier for the FBI who is working to infiltrate the US Communist party, and she finds she can be a working mother…maybe not as an American spy, but maybe a job in city hall that will challenge her intelligence. Jennifer Jill Araya’s narration is spot on. Her ability to differentiate between accents, male and female characters help keep the reader engaged through the entire book.

As I delved into this book, and got to know Katarina, aka Rina, and her elite Doctor husband, you could envy their way of life. Rich, successful and living the dream in a apartment in Manhattan, who could want more? Then add in two boys, a baby and a young toddler, and you know that Rina has her hands full.
Now Rina is full time mother, and Tom Edgeworth is a gifted children’s surgeon, living an exciting awarding life. Rina gave up her job at the UN, when she was expecting her first son.
I don’t identify with Rina, but in a way, she was slowing dying being a mother. Sad, yes, but for me I kept listening, and really couldn’t picture how she got away with what she did!
There are a lot of emotions in play here, and the narrator does a really great job!
Yes, I kept listening right to the end, and her escapades made for an entertaining and at times breath holding adventures, and yes, I would love to have been there to see Ingrid Bergman and her encounter with our Rina!
I received this book through Net Galley and the Publisher Macmillan Audio, and was not required to give a positive review.

The war is over, and there are men all around. What is a woman of intelligence supposed to do with all of this bounty? After she sows her wild oats (and I do mean she REALLY sows them), she marries Tom Edgeworth, an eventual pediatric surgeon, quits (or is rather forced out of) her marvelous job once she is heavily pregnant, and becomes a stay at home mother. Until one day, she is accosted by an FBI agent who wants her to become an informer (this is the Cold War period). An interesting premise, is it not?

Well, it would be if one did not have to stretch their credulity nearly to the point of breaking. For example, this book took place in 1954. Did you know that pantyhose weren't invented until 1959? I know this is just a little nit-picky thing for me to latch onto. But it gets more difficult to stay wrapped in this story as the story itself goes on. Did the FBI agent prove what he was? No. Was her husband Tom typical of the time period? Yes. Even though this book takes place in the '50s, do you think women of 'means' were really this chained to their families? I doubt it. Would Rina had been so easily able to 'spy' and travel for it with such an imposing husband?

This is an interesting novel with many twists and turns, but it just wasn't enough to capture me, enthrall me; I just found myself becoming overly critical with it all.

*ARC was supplied by the publisher, the author, and NetGalley.½

A Hundred Suns by Karin Tanabe caught my interest for it's setting in 1930s Indochine (later, Vietnam) under French colonial rule.

Tanabe's protagonist Jesse plotted a life to escape the crushing poverty and abuse of her childhood. She achieved an education and became a teacher, then travels to Paris. When she catches a wealthy relation to the Michelin family, she is set up for life. They are in love and have a daughter.

She has kept her past a secret, so when a woman from her previous life shows up in Paris she is desperate to flee and convinces her husband Vincent to request a position overseeing the Michelin Indochine rubber plantations.

Tanabe's portrait of Indochine's beauty, tropical climate, and decadent expat society is vivid and beautifully rendered. High society--white and rich only, of course--has a veneer of respectability. The men indulge in sexual freedoms with the local women, the women indulge in leisure and alcohol, and everyone uses cocaine freely.

Vincent's success depends on keeping production high and expenditures low. He works to improve the quality of life for the local workers--the 'coolies.' But overseers deal out cruel punishment to any who try to unionize and fight for humane treatment., the leaders tortured or murdered.

Jesse is taken under wing by the beautiful French woman Marcelle. Marcelle has an agenda. She is a communist and hates colonization and the Michelin family, who were responsible for killing the Indochine man loved by her best friend. Her Indochine lover Khoi is wealthy and gorgeous; by law, they are not allowed to marry. The couple lure Jesse into compromising situations. Marcelle plots to drive Jesse and Victor back to France.

Jesse strives to help her husband in his work, but also experiences strange psychotic episodes and struggles with self-doubt.

I enjoyed reading the novel for it's setting and the suspense kept me turning pages. As readers come to understand the characters and their motivations deeper, the delineation between good and evil become blurred.

Colonization and unbridled capitalism are shown to be the true evils. The 'coolies' are virtual slaves, contracting to work for three years in brutal conditions. When workers strive to organize for better treatment they suffer dire consequences, while the French are given lenient punishments for crimes. A corrupt system corrupts those in the system.

There are scenes of sexual activity and a glimpse into the torture of communist leaders on the plantation, and stories of abuse suffered by Jesse and her siblings.

The novel will appeal to a wide range of readers--historical fiction, women's fiction, suspense and thrillers, and those who enjoy exotic settings. It is the perfect beach read.

I received a free book from the publisher through Book Club Cook Book. My review is fair and unbiased.

Although I had this audio book for a couple years, I just finally got around to listening to it. It was actually very good. Very Sad in many ways on how the Japanese and the Germans were gathered up and sent to internment camps in the US during the war - A Japanese diplomat's daughter who had lived in many countries,, was living in the US at the time of the bombing of Pearl Harbor and her family was sent out of DC to a temporary housing hotel until they could be sent back to Japan & traded for US Diplomats - unfortunately Emmie got TB and was unable to travel back with her father; she and her mother could not stay at the hotel after the father was sent back to Japan and were then sent to an internment camp with other non americans waiting to be re-patrionated back to Japan and/or Germany - There she meets Christian, an american born of German parents who were also interned. The war united them and then separated them. Christian (American born) decided to join the US Military to avoid being deported with his parents Emmie back in Japan, is surviving barely while the town she is staying in is occupied by German Troops - finally the war is ended and she waits to hear if Christian, her teenage sweetheart survives or Leo her childhood Austrian sweetheart survives. It is a war story, a love story and a reminder of how families living in the United States were gathered up and put in camps to be deported during war. A lesson to remember.

Oh, to be intelligent and well educated can be such a blessing, yet often a curse. Such is the realization of the lead character in author Karin Tanabe's, "A Woman of Intelligence".

The year is 1952; the place - New York City.
Katherina West Edgeworth ("Rina" to her friends) - Vassar grad with a Columbia masters, speaks four languages and had been a translator at the fledgling United Nations. That is until her unavoidable change to "motherhood". Her pediatric surgeon husband was well enough off that he felt that she should stay home to raise their children. Rina acquiesced with the caveat that she may go back to work when the children are old enough. For many women, this would be a wonderful situation in which to find oneself. For someone whose educated mind is no longer rigorously challenged and who longs for adult dialogue, this could be the death knell of the person they once were. We observe Rina's struggles, hope and determination and ache alongside her as she finds her way.

Tanabe's writing style is highly descriptive and quite humorous at times. She has captured the New York City "edge" exceedingly well. There's a lot to chew on in this story - subjugation of one's intellect in order to raise children, fear of rising communism in America and family dynamics across the socio-economic spectrum. For the most part, Tanabe handles this well with only the occasional dragging of plot. Her extensive historical research is apparent and solid in the writing. However, it was exceedingly difficult to relate to the main character as frankly, her behavior is not as one would have expected from someone of her academic background. (The perceived boredom seems out of character for someone with Rina's knowledge and previous interests. Loneliness - yes; boredom - no.) That lack of connection and empathy with the main character made it difficult to stick with the story. Yet by the story's end, the characters evolved for the better and satisfying closure is achieved.

I am grateful to Ms. Tanabe and St. Martin's Press for having provided a complimentary uncorrected digital galley of this book. Their generosity, however, has not influenced this review - the words of which are mine alone.

thriller, espionage, intrigue, historical-novel, historical-research, women's-fiction****

The writing is exceptional for women's fiction. Set in the early 1950s in NYC, a former UN translator adopts a
double life as an FBI informant during the McCarthy era when she became bored with the life she had with her children and wealthy husband. Very well done, but not my thing.
I requested and received a free ebook copy from St. Martin's Press via NetGalley.

A Hundred Suns by Karin Tanabe is set in the history of the Michelin empire and the political climate that led to the rise of communism in Vietnam in the 1930s. I wish the history had been a more integral part of this story, which is more a conflict between two manipulative women, their privileged lifestyle, and their back stories. For a book in this setting, I expected more of the history.

Read my complete review at http://www.memoriesfrombooks.com/2020/01/a-hundred-suns.html

Reviewed for NetGalley.

In the 1930's, Jessie and her husband Victor, travel from Paris to Indochina. Victor, a Michelin, has been sent to oversee their rubber plantations. Jessie meets Marcelle, a woman who instantly befriends Jessie. Behind the scenes, Marcelle is working to oust the Michelin's, and transform the nation to communism.

The book was an interesting and intriguing read. Both the setting and the characters were exotic and fascinating. Jessie's back story was unraveled in pieces, providing depth to her character as the book progressed. I highly enjoyed this book, and look forward to reading more from this author.

The Price of Inheritance by Karin Tanabe

2014

I received this ARC from NetGalley for review.

This is a story about the risks one must take in life and love. The decisions made ultimately have consequences. It impossible to predict if the outcome will be worth the risk. After an embarrassing departure from her job in New York, Carolyn attempts to start over in a tiny antique store in Rhode Island. When she purchases a piece of Middle Eastern pottery at an auction, her curiosity gets the better of her. She begins a journey to find the original owner of the item. She isn't prepared for the story she uncovers and the decision she faces about her future.