Click to be Admitted into VictoriaPL's 2022 Reading!

Welcome!! My name is Victoria and I've been a participant in the Category Challenge since 2008.
I work in Healthcare and naturally my brain fit my categories into hospital departments.
Please have a seat. Hopefully you'll leave Victoria's General Hospital feeling much better than when you came in!

I'm working to add titles to my categories, it might take me a few days!

THE WAITING ROOM / TBR



Lace and Blade 2 edited by Deborah J Ross ✔️ 1.21.2022

The Lord of Opium by Nancy Farmer
Book of Lost Names by Kristin Harmel
Stardust by Joseph Kanon
The Novel by James A. Michener
Starless by Jacqueline Carey

REGISTRATION / NEW TO ME AUTHORS



The Ragged Edge of Night by Olivia Hawker ✔️ 1.13.2022
Flame in the Night: a novel of World War II France by Heather Munn ✔️ 2.10.2022

Mischling by Affinity Konar
The Night Portrait by Laura Morelli
Voyage of the Heart by Soraya Lane
Hearts of Resistance by Soraya Lane
The Last Correspondent by Soraya Lane
The Traitor by V.S. Alexander
The Paris Photo by Jane S. Gabin
Children of the Stars by Mario Escobar
Our Darkest Night by Jennifer Robson
The Nazi's Wife by Peter Watson
The Night Watch by Sarah Waters
As Time Goes By by Michael Walsh
Sisters of Auschwitz by Roxane Van Iperen
The Bronze Horseman by Paullina Simons
The Socialite by J'nell Ciesielski
Three Hours in Paris by Cara Black
White Rose Black Forest by Eoin Dempsey

THE NURSERY / ARCs


Malicious Intent by Lynn Blackburn ✔️ 2.8.2022
Impossible Love by Johonatan Banovski DNF

ELEVATOR / SCI-FI



Idoru by William Gibson
Logan Trilogy by William F. Nolan

CARDIOLOGY / ROMANCE & WOMEN'S LIT



Mrs. Poe by Lynn Cullen ✔️ 1.17.2022

Brontë's Mistress by Finola Austin

SURGERY / WRITING & EDITING

MEDICAL RECORDS / NON-FICTION



The Library Book by Susan Orlean
Things We Couldn't Say by Diet Eman with James Schaap
Every Man Dies Alone by Hans Fallada
Madame Fourcade's Secret War by Lynne Olson
Strapless by Deborah Davis

CAFETERIA / GROUP READS, KITS & CATS



When Ghosts Come Home by Wiley Cash
Paris Never Leaves You by Ellen Feldman

STAFF LOUNGE / VERY FAVORITE AUTHORS, COMFORT READS



Hid From Our Eyes by Julia Spencer-Fleming ✔️ 1.5.2022
The Borrowed House by Hilda Van Stockum ✔️ 1.30.2022

The World That We Knew by Alice Hoffman
The Museum of Extraordinary Things by Alice Hoffman
Faithful by Alice Hoffman
The Ice Queen by Alice Hoffman

ER / SHINY READS, STAT!



Girls Like Us by Christina Alger ✔️ 1.9.2021

THE SLEEP LAB / CHUNKSTER BOOKS I WILL ONLY READ IN BED



Mississippi Blood by Greg Iles
The Bone Tree by Greg Iles
Natchez Burning by Greg Iles

THE CHAPEL / BOOKS ON RELIGION OR BIBLE STUDIES

THE MORGUE / DID NOT FINISH



Off the Page by Jodi Picoult and Samantha van Leer
The Night Watch by Sarah Waters
Green Darkness by Anya Seton

Awesome theme!

LOL. Imaginative theme!

Great theme, Victoria. Looking forward to following along next year.

Clever theme.

Thank you for the invitation! This is awesome! Happy reading in 2022.

Looking forward to following your reading again this year. Already see a few on your list of interest. (And I have a bunch of Alice Hoffman on my TBR that I need to get to also.)

Your categories are so clever - I love it!!

>16 rabbitprincess:, >17 majkia:, >18 DeltaQueen50:, >19 sallylou61:, >20 MissWatson: >22 scaifea: thanks!
>21 dudes22: Let me know if you want to read any Hoffman together. I need to read most of hers. The ones I listed are just the hard copies that I have on my TBR shelf but I can borrow others from the library.

That's an excellent theme! >14 VictoriaPL: made me snort my tea.
I look foward to following along for another year's reading.

Great theme! >14 VictoriaPL: is the best, I literally LOL'd!

What a fabulous theme! I laughed at >14 VictoriaPL: too!

>24 Helenliz:, >25 casvelyn:, >26 Jackie_K: oh yay! >14 VictoriaPL: for the win! 😊

Wow! What a terrific theme! >12 VictoriaPL: is the opposite of my challenge where I have "books too big to read in bed". Looking forward to following along.

Great categories! Happy reading.

>28 VivienneR: that's funny, LOL >29 pamelad: thanks!

Excellent theme. Enjoy your reading in 2022.

What a great theme! And I also have several of the same book on my tbr, including Stardust by Joseph Kanon, The Bronze Horseman by Paullina Simons. and The Night Watch by Sarah Waters. But we should probably see how we're doing once we've read the ones we've already discussed.

Great theme! Good luck with your 2022 reading!

I don't think I would have thought of using a hospital as a challenge theme; however, it fits you. Hope you have a great year of reading!

Love the theme :-)

Love your theme. I have two granddaughters in the medical field and a third one studying to be a doctor now. Thanks for what you do. The one in neurology is also a Victoria.

Love the theme - so clever. I worked in a hospital for many years on the night shift - in the chemistry lab; I was a medical technologist. The Sci FI in the elevator made me laugh and so did the Morgue. I also have big love for Alice Hoffman, so looking forward to what you read by her.

>36 mnleona: awesome!
>37 Crazymamie: I swear every “new to me” Alice Hoffman that I read becomes my new favorite.

Hope that you all are having a good week. I am having a horrid week. The first week of January is tough for many in Healthcare. So many changes… And another COVID surge to boot. I just tell myself - it won't be January forever. There won't be COVID surges forever. It's all going to be okay. :)

A small haul to start the new year off right!
These are all WWII (what else?)
I am almost done with my first 2022 book and it's not WWII. Are you shocked? LOL

The Secret Messenger by Mandy Robotham

The Honest Spy by Andreas Kollender

Finding Rebecca by Eoin Dempsey

The Parisians by Marius Gabriel

Flame in the Night by Heather Munn

The Year is '42 by Nella Bielski

>40 VictoriaPL: Some great reads, I'm sure! A bit jealous as WWII is my fav historical fiction read!

>40 VictoriaPL: Sorry to hear about the rough start to your year. I guess I'll get to ease into mine a little more. Although I have to return to work tomorrow, they cancelled the winter faculty workshop so I'll be in my office instead of in a crowd. We're supposed to get snow tomorrow so this will allow me more flexibility in leaving early should the weather conditions worsen.

>42 thornton37814: Lori, those campus photos remind me of when David and I were snowbound on campus in '93. Stokley got very, very creative, LOL

>41 Tess_W: Hi Tess! WWII is my comfort reading - that sounds so weird to say! I'll have to keep an eye on your thread!

>40 VictoriaPL: I'm sorry you've been having a horrid week. This latest COVID surge is draining and dispiriting. Sending you strength and hoping you're able to get good sleep.

>43 VictoriaPL: I don't think the amount was nearly as much as '93. It was a very wet kind of snow, and the ground wasn't very cold since it had been almost 80 the day before. If Morristown got 4 inches, Jeff City would have received no more than 3.5 inches. The only places I still have snow are the more shaded ones. Of course, we are supposed to get another few inches tomorrow. National Weather Service currently predicts 3 inches for Morristown and 2-3 for Knoxville and Jeff City.

>42 thornton37814: Nice haul! Sorry about the horrible start to the New Year.

>40 VictoriaPL: Your new books look good, Victoria. I haven't read any of them so I will be watching to see how you like them. Sorry, you are having a difficult time right now, here in British Columbia we are also having a surge of Covid infections - Sigh, sometimes it feels like this is never going to end!

>45 rabbitprincess: thank you, sleep has been a real challenge. It's hard to turn off my brain sometimes.
>46 thornton37814: enjoy the winter break!
>47 Crazymamie: thanks!
>48 DeltaQueen50: that's my problem! None of the books I look at look like bad books, LOL. I have terrible FOMO.

>40 VictoriaPL: Commiserations on the terrible start to the year. Enjoy your WWII comfort reads!

>50 pamelad: thanks!

Hi Victoria! Sorry to hear about your rough start into the new year. Here in our area the covid infections have been exploding over the past few days, and I'm even more thankful for everyone working in healthcare. I'm sure there are better times ahead! At least with regards to books you seem to have a rather good start, though. Enjoy your reading!

>52 Chrischi_HH: exploding is the right word. We had ~100 COVID pts and in the span of a week it bloomed to over 400. We had over 500 during the last surge. I'm hoping we can stay lower as we had no room for transfers then and that's never good.
Anyway, thank you, if I can get out of here at a decent hour I might have a review tonight!

>53 VictoriaPL: Wow, that's a lot. So much for the new variant being like a mild cold.

Help me pick my next read!
Instead of WWE, we have WWII 😂
It's a Smackdown between our three contenders:

Flame in the Night
Our Darkest Night
The Ragged Edge of Night

>55 VictoriaPL: I love WWII historical fiction as well! I vote for The Ragged Edge of Night.

>55 VictoriaPL: I also cast my vote for The Ragged Edge of Night.

>53 VictoriaPL: - >54 RidgewayGirl: - I just mentioned on my thread that my local library closed last night and won't reopen until Mon because so many of the staff had tested positive (including my sister).

>58 dudes22: oh no! I hope your sister has a mild case and makes a full recovery soon!

This week my husband went for groceries earlier than usual because of the virus explosion. He said there were very few people there and almost all older and wearing their masks. And the numbers of confirmed cases are going up very fast for the whole state.

>53 VictoriaPL: - Hope it peaks soon and the numbers go down for you.

>55 VictoriaPL: Gosh, what a choice! It's hard to not go with The Ragged Edge of Night when it is compared to both The Nightingale and All the Light We Cannot See.

>55 VictoriaPL: - I have The Ragged Edge of Night on my TBR so I'd be interested to see what you think of it.

Well! Ragged Edge of Night has a commanding lead 4-0-0.

I hope your year picks up soon and becomes more manageable and pleasant - and with fewer patients! A few good books should help take your mind off things.

>55 VictoriaPL: I'm just going to sit back and appreciate how you not only had three books with the word "night" in the title, but three WWII novels with the word "night" just sitting in your tbr.

>65 RidgewayGirl: Ha!
Yes, I had stacks of TBR books all over, matching by title, by similar covers, etc. It was fun and I’ll probably do this again.

>55 VictoriaPL: I like Jennifer Robson and Olivia Hawker equally. Since everyone else is voting for the Hawker, I'm going to vote for Robson. I like going for the underdog!

>67 clue: I like your style!

Great theme! Enjoy your year...

Hid From Our Eyes by Julia Spencer-Fleming
Fergusson/Van Alstyne Book 9
Amazon:
1952. Millers Kill Police Chief Harry McNeil is called to a crime scene where a woman in a party dress has been murdered with no obvious cause of death.
1972. Millers Kill Police Chief Jack Liddle is called to a murder scene of a woman that's very similar to one he worked as a trooper in the 50s. The only difference is this time, they have a suspect. Young Vietnam War veteran Russ van Alstyne found the body while riding his motorcycle and is quickly pegged as the prime focus of the investigation.
Present-day. Millers Kill Police Chief Russ van Alstyne gets a 911 call that a young woman has been found dead in a party dress, the same MO as the crime he was accused of in the 70s. The pressure is on for Russ to solve the murder before he's removed from the case.

2020 was a horrible year for many reasons but one of the good things to come out of it was a new entry in one of my all-time favorite mystery series. I looooooove Julia Spencer-Fleming and I really, really enjoyed having an update on Clare and Russ, but at the same time, discovering Russ as a young man as well. There's also more of Hadley Knox and Kevin Flynn, and those two give me all the feels. Even though quite a few years have passed since a new book was released in this series, it feels exactly the same. The mojo is there and it made me so happy. It appears she is setting up another installment as well!

>70 VictoriaPL: - Another series I need to catch up on.

>70 VictoriaPL: >71 dudes22: Yes I read the first one and always intended to move forward..thanks for the nudge.

>71 dudes22:, >72 beebeereads: I’m so glad she's writing again!

Girls Like Us by Christina Alger

Amazon:
FBI Agent Nell Flynn hasn't been home in ten years. Nell and her father, Homicide Detective Martin Flynn, have never had much of a relationship. And Suffolk County will always be awash in memories of her mother, Marisol, who was murdered when Nell was just seven.
When Martin Flynn dies in a motorcycle accident, Nell returns to the house she grew up in so that she can spread her father's ashes and close his estate. At the behest of her father's partner, Detective Lee Davis, Nell becomes involved in an investigation into the murders of two young women in Suffolk County. The further Nell digs, the more likely it seems to her that her father should be the prime suspect--and that his friends on the police force are covering his tracks. Plagued by doubts about her mother's murder--and her own role in exonerating her father in that case--Nell can't help but ask questions about who killed Ria Ruiz and Adriana Marques and why. But she may not like the answers she finds--not just about those she loves, but about herself.

I picked this book up in a used book store and after reading the back cover blurb, it immediately went into my cart. I love reading “FBI agents in messy family stuff” type of stories. Is that a genre? I know, weird. But I do love them. This one was so good. I really like the character of Nell Flynn. While we do get the story of her childhood, we don't get her history, her early years working for the FBI, or even the nitty gritty of the case that has her on administrative leave. I kind of like that, as it allows the reader to focus on the here-and-now story that's being told. And I liked the setting in Long Island and the Hampton, the locals, the summer people, the have and have nots. The bay and the ocean, the marsh, the dunes and the weather. So atmospheric.
I'm afraid my TBR list just grew because now I have to read all of Alger's other books!

>74 VictoriaPL: You got me with that one! And it's currently just $1.99 on Kindle, so I snagged it.

>74 VictoriaPL: And you got me too!

>75 Crazymamie:, >76 Chrischi_HH:. I hope you enjoy! Let me know what you think.

The Ragged Edge of Night by Olivia Hawker

“Why this relentless, this secret optimism - this resolve, hard and hot at the base of my spine, and buried none too deep in my breast? The cancer that gnaws at us is too hungry to be sated. And I am but one man - one man. Christ Jesus, I always believed You were merciful, but this is a monstrous cruelty, to make me dream of a time when evil may fall… I cannot help but know it. Against all sense, I believe. Somewhere, beyond the ragged edge of night, light bleeds into this world.”

This is the fictionalized telling of the real Anton Starzmann, a friar, who finds himself in a marriage of convenience with a widow once his brotherhood is dissolved by the Nazis. As the war inches closer and closer to their village, Anton remains focused on his faith - doing what he can to lead, provide for and to protect his new family and his new home. His own acts of resistance small at first, but not unnoticed. And when the darkest night comes to Anton, all he can do is endure and cling to the dawn.

Although I enjoy WWII books in general, I really liked this one. Anton is a person like any other, struggling with a world gone mad, struggling with his faith, continuing to move ever forward - the only way he knows how. People like Anton are what we look for when we read the WWII genre, the ones that restore our hope in humanity, our hope in goodness, in light.

>78 VictoriaPL: I just loved that book when I read it last year. Glad you liked it, also.

>78 VictoriaPL: Sounds interesting!

ETA: I went to add it to my wish list at Amazon. When I saw it available for 99 cents on Kindle, I purchased it. I didn't even check the library ebooks.

>80 thornton37814: it's a good one Lori, I think you will enjoy it.

>79 Tess_W: any suggestions for me Tess?

Mrs. Poe by Lynn Cullen

“Tell me about the real Mrs. Poe. Your wife.”
His face took on a closed look. “Am I being interviewed now?”
I shook my head. “No. I ask you as your friend.”
“A friend would not ask me about her.”
“A friend would, and that's why I ask.”
“Are we just friends, Mrs. Osgood?”

I chose to read Mrs Poe this week because it is Edgar Allan Poe's birthday Jan 19th. I've always thought of Poe in a kind of tragically romantic kind of way, as apparently many of the female gender have, but never realized that he was a real-life heartbreaker.
The story deals with a love affair between Poe and Frances Osgood. What we know for certain is that they wrote poems to each other. But some say they had a child together. Much is debated. And it is in this playground of uncertainty, of what may have been, that this tale takes place.
In real life, I find adultery detestable, but it seems my morals flag a bit in fiction. I noticed this about myself in The Pink Carnation series, though I forget which book it was exactly. Same here. I enjoyed Fanny and Edgar together even though both were married to other people. I know it's just that I was enticed to feel that way by the writing, Poe with his consumptive, child-like cousin-bride and Frances with her philandering husband, but still. The writing is very good. I had trouble tearing myself away from it. Also, in places it gave me a Jane Eyre vibe.
I would likely read more by Cullen

>82 VictoriaPL: Oh wow, that one sounds really good! I'll have to add it to my list. Thanks for the great review!

>83 scaifea: let me know your thoughts when you get around to it!

>82 VictoriaPL: I liked that book, also. Just finished it about a week ago. It is partially historically accurate as to Poe's editorships, writings, and even Mrs. Osgood. But I did some research and the "affair" probably did not happen and historically it would appear that Mr. and Mrs. Osgood, as well as the Poes, were happily married; although I do realize that does not preclude adultery.

Books "similar" to The Ragged Edge of Night? Do you want WWII specifically, or just the same type of book? Of course, there is All the Light We Cannot See. As far as historical fiction goes I love anything by Margaret George--but most of them are doorstoppers! (The Red Rooster) by Michael Wallace is one of my favs, also. (Sorry, could not get correct touchstone)

>85 Tess_W: I loved All the Light. We seem to have similar interests. I'll look into Red Rooster.

Lace and Blade 2 edited by Deborah J. Ross

Amazon: In the spirit of classic period swashbucklers, Zorro, the Scarlet Pimpernel, and D'Artagnan, brimming with romantic courtly intrigue and dangerous liaisons, with cloak and dagger and perfumed handkerchiefs, the language of the fan and stolen glances, with the manners of Jane Austen and the sparkling rapier wit of Oscar Wilde, here are fantastic stories of adventure, derring-do, love, and glamorous yet subtle magic…step into a sophisticated other world where passion is a courtly mistress, mystery is moonlight on steel, and magic is the god of love. En garde, mon amour!

I read volume one of this fantasy short story anthology last year and really enjoyed it. It introduced me to Daniel Fox and I subsequently read, and loved, one of his full length novels (and need to read more). Volume two of Lace and Blade has a bit less swashbuckling, to my recollection, and a bit more gender fluidity than is my preference. That said, all of the stories were clever and captivating enough to hold my attention so that I never skimmed to get through anything. I definitely look forward to volume three.

Kay (RidgewayGirl) and I spent a lovely Sunday afternoon having brunch at a local gastro pub and then a long perusal at her favorite local independent, M Judson. I was using the gift card she gave me in December. It's always so hard to choose! I came away with a retelling of Romeo & Juliet in 1920s Shanghai called These Violent Delights by Chloe Gong. I'll be reading this in February, such a “shiny” book, I had to get it as soon as I saw the cover.

>88 VictoriaPL: I'm glad you all got to spend a little time together before she moves off. We may need to do a road trip to visit her in Illinois. I've got some genealogical research I can do in the area.

>89 thornton37814: Sounds like a solid plan!

>89 thornton37814: thanks 😊 road-trips are always fun!

The Borrowed House by Hilda Van Stockum

Johanna Oster departs Berlin, leaving behind everything she has known, her school, her friends in the Hitler Youth troupe, her nanny, all of it - to join her famous actor-parents in Amsterdam. There the mysterious Baron, a General recovering from a war wound, has found a house for all of them to be together in. At first “Janna” loves seeing her parents act and living with them day-to-day but soon she becomes aware that her privileged world is not what it seemed. Her Dutch tutor and the Dutch servants teach her that she can't believe what she thought she knew about the country and the soldiers she admired, her mother and father who she trusted, and definitely not in the Baron. Even the house they live in soon is revealed to be holding secrets. Janna will never forget The Borrowed House.

I read this book when I was a tween and it captivated me. This is the book that started my love for the WWII genre. These characters are so vivid to me that they live on well past these pages. It's just like an old, comfy blanket that I could cuddle up in forever.

>88 VictoriaPL: ohh, that does look good. I'm a sucker for a good retelling.
Hope that the rest of the brunch was just as good.

>93 Helenliz: The food was fine, but the company was excellent.

>93 Helenliz: I’ll be reading it soon so I’ll let you know!
>94 RidgewayGirl: I agree :)

I finished These Violent Delights but I’m going to save my review as I just started it's sequel Our Violent Ends. It's a duology and it's fitting, I think, to review them together.

Flame in the Night: a novel of World War II France
by Heather Munn

Amazon:
Julien Losier has just turned eighteen. But this is Vichy France in 1942, and his coming of age is marred by the Nazi occupation of his homeland. His father has always taught him that evil is resisted by the power of God, not by the gun. But when the roundups of Jews begin and both his best friend and the girl he's falling for become targets, Julien must question where real power lies. Can he be a man who protects the people he loves if he follows his father's ways of peace?
His hometown is a fragile fortress where hundreds of Jewish youth hide in plain sight, protected only by the goodwill of their neighbors. Julien takes part in the intricate system of sentries and alert codes that keep them safe, doing what he can to resist the Nazis. As the Germans close in, he can see the moment coming when all the town's careful defenses will fail. He's torn between the faith of his father and his increasing surety that fighting violence with violence is the only way to win. How can the meek inherit the earth when the strong hold all the cards?
Now the young Jewish woman who has captured his heart comes under deadly threat, and there are no good choices. But for Elise, there's nothing Julien won't risk.
Based on actual events in Vichy France, Flame in the Night is a powerful examination of the strength of faith and peaceful resistance in the face of overwhelming odds.

One of the blurbs for this book called it a cross between Kristin Hannah's The Nightingale and Dietrich Bonhoeffer and I think that hits it right on the head. If you like truly angsty WWII tales than this is for you; it's not “cozy” at all. These characters truly wrestle with their faith and their moral centers in the bleakest of times. A very thought-provoking book and a good story. The author says many of these situations truly happened but she changed names to protect individuals.

>97 VictoriaPL: It sounds like a good one, but I'm not sure I could read it with my present concentration level in book reading. Perhaps I'll consider it when my normal concentration returns.