Let's Call Her Barbie by Renée Rosen

This isn't a story about Barbie, despite what the title's implications. This is, instead, a tale about the people who were instrumental in creating both the doll and her mystique. Often, people will refer to Ruth Handler but this book also covers her husband, Elliot and her children as well as coworkers Jack Ryan  (enineer), and Charlotte Johnson and Stevie Klein (fashion designers.)

The story revolves around each, a third person narrator who flips past each person, letting us know what each is thinking and feeling as the idea of an adult doll sparks, then builds, feels like failure, and then skyrockets. Then, as the partnerships start to fall apart.

This is very much a fiction story but reads like narrative nonfiction. An interesting look at the history of all of these people with a lot of research put into it.

Four stars

This book came out January 21, 2025

Borrowed as audiobook from Libby

Opinions are my own

Mary Jane by Jessica Anya Blau, Caitlin Kinnunen (Narrator)

Fourteen-year-old Mary Jane is growing up in 1970s Baltimore. Her family seems "normal" for the time, stay at home, perfectionist mother, emotionally distant working father. But her life is about to be turned upside down when she becomes the nanny for three-year-old Izzy Cone. 
Izzy's parents are nothing like Mary Jane's. They shout, they show public affection, and their house is not organized to within an inch of its life. But there is a lot of love and some famous stars. Dr. Richard Cone is a psychiatrist and has cleared his whole schedule to help Jimmy work on his addictions. Jimmy is married to the electric Sheba who was on a television variety show and has many brothers. 
In a house of chaos, Mary Jane becomes the most stable person. As she tries to bring order into the swirling emotions of the people in the Cone house, she learns exactly how fallible adults can be and starts to see flaws, even in her own family. She also learns that there is no one lifestyle that is going to provide perfection. 
This is very much a book that reflects the values of the time including both casual and fairly blatant racism. Mary Jane is figure out how to navigate feelings that are suddenly bigger than what she is used to. A very familiar feeling for almost anyone who has been a teenager.

Four stars

This book came out May 11, 2021

Borrowed as audiobook from Libby

Opinions are my own

The Cruise Club by Caroline James

Carmen decides to take a chance. She's a writer who is currently blocked. She's also brow-beaten by her mother. But a flier for a cruise gives her a chance at getting out of her humdrum life and meeting her own favorite author, Ruskin Reeves. Her mother finds out and immediately books the cabin next door. Luckily for Carmen though, she meets a group of peope on board (all of whom we get to know through third person omniscence) who help her grow out of her shell. 
I generally enjoyed the book but some of it was a bit more than my suspension of disbelief could bear. 

Three and a half stars

This book comes out on July 3, 2025

ARC kindly provided by Avon Books UK and NetGalley

Opinions are my own

Murder Takes a Vacation by Laura Lippman

This book is ancillary to a series but I didn't feel like I was missing anything by not having read previous books. Mrs. Blossom, Muriel, was an assistant to an investigator, but now she's about to have an investigation of her own. 

Muriel's life has turned upside down a few times recently; her husband died, the family (grandchildren) moved to Japan and left her behind, and she won the lottery. It's the last that allows her to take a fancy vacation in Europe. 

On the way, she meets Allan. He seems attracted to her and, while she's shy to believe it, she is willing to vary her journey plans to stay with him. Unfortunately, the romance doesn't last long and she's back on track for the travel plans she was given. There's a young man (forties), Danny, who is following her. But his story keeps changing as to why. 

Lippman explains that, in the previous books, she was accused of fatphobia based on how she described and treated Muriel. This book is... maybe bettter? She had sensitivity readers but I'm not sure how much she listened to their reviews. There's still a lot of focus on Muriel's frame. 

Three and a half stars

This book came out June 17, 2025

ARC kindly provided by William Morrow and NetGalley

Opinions are my own

Bearer of Bad News by Elisabeth Dini

Lucy Rey doesn't fool herself. She knows that she's not a great hairdresser. Just like she wasn't a great any-number-of-other-jobs-she's-tried. She's trying to stick it out though because she's just changed towns to follow her fiance. That would be the same fiance who Lucy has recognized in someone else's social media photos. And they don't just look like platonic friends. 

After consulting with her best friend, Lucy decides to take on a job she saw in a pop up ad. She's not exactly sure what a "bearer of bad news" will do but it can't be worse than sitting and contemplating her own life choices. The job will take her straight into danger (including an influencer that seems to have it out for her) but it also shakes the very foundation of Lucy's own personal history.

I liked the character building in this book and the writing overall. I'm not a huge fan of stories where past and present are interwoven and it was especially jarring in this book as there were at least 3 timelines and they didn't always align well. I also wasn't sure about the department of returning lost things and wish it had been explored more. This story wasn't for me but I think I might enjoy others by this author. 

Three and a half stars

This book comes out April 29, 2024

ARC kindly provided by Gallery Books and NetGalley

Opinions are my own

Sylvia's Second Act by Hillary Yablon

I saw this book on NPR's list of Books We Love for 2024 and thought it looked good. I didn't realize exactly how much the main character relied on Sex and the City as a reference for how to live in New York. 

The book opens with Sylvia walking in on her husband of several decades having sex with a woman in their retirement community. It's a woman she doesn't particularly like which just makes it worse. Sylvia retreats to New York and her daughter. When her daughter scoffs at the idea that Sylvia will get a job, she calls her best friend and decides to prove her wrong. 
Sylvia and Evie soon figure out that they might have been a bit naive about how easy it would be to find housing and work. And they're going to learn some more life lessons but they'll come out alright in the end. 

Three stars

This book came out March 12, 2024

Borrowed as audiobook from Libby

Opinions are my own

Flashpoint by Catherine Coulter

Characters from previous books return in this one. The first is Lady Elizabeth Palmer. She was caught in a plot that would have killed any number of people. Since then, she's been trying to live a simple life. But now, someone is trying to kill her. Could it be linked to the man who pulled her into his web last year?

The second character is Autumn. She's twelve and is watching a younger boy for the summer while his father goes on a belated honeymoon with his new, young wife. But while Tash's father is away, Autumn discovers that she and Tash share some abilities. And his are warning him that his father is in danger.

I still read this series even though it's a little off the wall for me.

Three and a half stars

This book came out July 2, 2024

FBI Thriller #27

Follows Reckoning

Borrowed as hard copy from library

Opinions are my own

Strip Tease by Carl Hiaasen

This book is Hiaasen at his finest. We have the story of a stripper with a heart of gold. She was formerly a secretary for the FBI but her no-good husband is a felon so she got fired. To add insult to injury, he turned state’s witness so his record’s been expunged. The judge in their custody case only sees that Erin has a “bad job” so she is definitely an unfit mother. Meanwhile, her ex is still stealing wheel chairs and now he’s using their kid to do it.
While she’s dancing one night, a bachelor party gets a little rowdy and a stranger attacks the groom with a bottle hard enough to put him in the hospital. This sets off a chain of events that leads to a number of deaths and Erin being put in danger. Also included? A senator, a sugar plantation, and a kinkajou.
We do get to see Al Garcia from the Skink series as well. He’s trying to take some time off with his new wife Donna and her two kids when the son finds one fo the formerly mentioned dead people.
A wild ride this story is told cleanly with a few extra details that really make the story come alive.

Four stars

This book came out September 1, 1993

Borrowed as audiobook from Audible Plus

Opinions are my own

Star Island by Carl Hiaasen

Ann DeLusia has a pretty sweet deal. She's a body double for a woman who has been a pop star for the last eight years, Cherry Pye. It's a recognizable story, stage parents who pushed their daughter into a situation so that they could have a star. Now, Cherry is fueled mostly by drugs and alcohol. Thus, the need for a body double or "undercover stunt double." Mostly, she hangs out in swanky hotels, eating room service, and earning a hefty pay check. 

Cherry has just mixed a pound of bird seed with her drugs so she's on her way to rehab so Ann is on deck. On her way to "vacation," the limo spins out and she's rescued by a mysterious stranger. They rob a boss but then she gets back to work.

The return of CHEMO! He his hired to be Cherry's bodyguard/sober companion. He protects Cherry but it's Ann who is kidnapped by a rabid fan/paparazzo. 

Didn't hang together as well as some of the other Hiaasen stories but an interesting read nonetheless.

Three stars
Skink #6

This book came out July 26, 2010

Follows Skinny Dip

Followed by No Surrender

Borrowed as audiobook from Libby

Opinions are my own

Skinny Dip by Carl Hiaasen

My favorite Carl Hiaasen. This one starts when Chaz Perrone dumps his wife Joey over the side of the cruise they are taking in to celebrate their second anniversary. But she was a collegiate swimmer and makes it to the island where Mick Stranahan is living. Instead of going to the cops, Joey tries to figure out why Chaz tried to kill her. It turns out that Chaz is using his job as a biologist to cover up the fact that Red Hammernut is polluting the Everglades. 

Fun and craziness ensues. I love it.

Four stars

Skink, #5; Mick Stranahan #2

This book came out in 2004

Follows Sick Puppy; Skin Tight

Followed by 

Borrowed as audiobook from Libby

Opinions are my own

Skin Tight by Carl Hiaasen

The first Mick Stranahan book. In this book, an old case is coming back to bite him in the butt. A nurse is blackmailing the doctor who killed a patient and has told the doctor that Stranahan is actually the one doing the blackmailing. The doctor hires a seven-foot tall, pasty white guy who has burns all over his face from electrolysis gone wrong. Meanwhile, a Maury Povich-type television personality is also on the case with his producer and a camera man. He is determined to get a big story any way he can, even getting plastic surgery from the doctor. Hijinks ensue

Four stars

Mick Stranahan #1

This book came out September 1, 1989

Followed by Skinny Dip

Borrowed as audiobook from Audible Premium Plus

Opinions are my own

Sick Puppy by Carl Hiaasen

This is a Skink book but there isn't a lot of Skink in it. Instead, we have the story of Twilly Spree. Young and wealthy enough not to have to work, Twilly loved the large expanses of undisturbed Florida in his youth. Too bad his father was one of the developer's that took that all away. It turned young Twilly against all people that he thought were encroaching on Nature. Including the man who, at the beginning of the story, litters. Twilly dumps a load of garbage in the man's car but that still doesn't stop the man. So Twilly steps up his game.

Hiaasen hijinks. If you like the author, you'll like this addition to the series.

Three stars

Skink #4

This book came out in 2000

Follows Stormy Weather

Followed by Skinny Dip

Borrowed as audiobook from Libby

Opinions are my own

Stormy Weather by Carl Hiaasen

Natural disasters bring out the best and the worst in people. Bonnie is learning that about her new husband Max when a hurricane rips through Florida during their honeymoon. He even drags her away from the Magic Kingdom to see the effects of the storm. While he is gleefully taping the aftermath, he is bitten by a monkey and then kidnapped by a crazy man. Bonnie can't get anyone to listen to her until she meets Augustine who is dealing with his own problems after his uncles exotic animals have all escaped and are running loose. Finally, state trooper Jim Tile joins them; he is warily confident he knows just who the kidnapper is and how to find Bonnie's husband. 

Their story is interwoven and then combined with two people, Edie and Snapper, who have come down to try and con some insurance money out of the destruction.

Three stars

Skink #3

This book came out August 15, 1995

Follows Native Tongue

Followed by Sick Puppy

Borrowed as audiobook from Audible Premium Plus

Native Tongue by Carl Hiaasen

Francis X. Kingsbury just wants his "Amazing Kingdom of Thrills" to make as much money as that other theme park in Florida. His PR man, Joe Winder is skeptical of how they are trying to do that, including advertising that the park is advertising that they will be saving the blue-tongued mango voles. Or they would be, if someone hadn't stolen the last mating pair. 

Well, it was two some ones and they immediately lost the little voles. Or threw one out the van window. But who knew it would be at the behest of a little old lady? Yes, she's the leader of a local wildlife group. But who knew she'd shoot both of them?

This book brings the trademark Hiaasen crazy that blends a bit of ecoterrorism. This includes the beloved former governor, Skink.

Three stars

Skink #2

This book came out in 1991

Follows Double Whammy

Followed by Stormy Weather

Borrowed as audiobook from Audible Premium Plus

Opinions are my own

Double Whammy by Carl Hiaasen

R. J. Decker is a photographer hired to figure out the cheating in the major bass tournaments in the South. In his quest, he gets beat up, meets Skink (a major character in five of Hiaasen's books) and reunites with the ex-wife with whom he is still in love.
This book is a wild ride but fun to read while still having a moral. 

Three stars

Skink #1
This book came out March 1, 2005

Followed by Native Tongue

Borrowed as audiobook from Audible Premium Plus

Opinions are my own

Tourist Season by Carl Hiaasen

I've actually read this book before but hearing it just emphasizes the craziness that is involved. Keyes is a private detective, former newspaperman, whose old co-worker and ex-girlfriend have set off a chain of events, including many murders, that are designed to get the tourists and other interlopers out of Florida. It's a great story which makes no sense but it's certainly a fun ride.

Three and a half stars
This book came out in 1986

Borrowed as audiobook from Audible Premium Plus

Opinions are my own
 

Miss Benson's Beetle by Rachel Joyce

This book centers, as the title would suggest, around Miss Margery Benson. Her life is a drudgery. Teaching is not fulfilling and a drawing one of her pupils does of her wakes her up to her reality. She basically implodes her life that day. Her last effort? A trip to New Caledonia to find the golden beetle that reminds her of the happiest times in her life. But first she must find the perfect traveling companion. She ends  up with Enid Pretty, a young flibbertigibbet whose past is not at all spotless and who meets none of the requirements Miss Benson had advertised for. But, as often happens (especially in fiction),  Miss Pretty is exactly what Miss Benson needs.

I didn't love the ending though, with this being a more literature-minded book, I guess I should have expected it. 

Three and a half stars

This book came out July 23, 2020

Borrowed as ebook from Libby

Opinions are my own

Starter Villain by John Scalzi

I heard about this book on a podcast and thought it sounded interesting. And it was. The whole story revolves around one man who finds himself thrust into the role of a villain. Formerly a journalist and now a substitute teacher, Charlie is divorced and living with his cat. Cats now that he's found another one. But his life is upended when his uncle dies. Charlie didn't know much about the man so he is absolutely shocked by the flowers at the funeral home celebrating his death and the man who comes to stab the dead body. When Charlie goes home, he only barely avoids being blown up in a fire that destroys his entire house. 

Suddenly, Charlie is thrust into a world with literal life-or-death stakes. He also has to deal with dolphins that not only talk, they're unionizing. Oh, and the cats are intelligent as well. In fact, they're management. And they've been watching Charlie.

A different take on the role of villains and it took some time to get on board but I quite enjoyed it in the end.

Four stars

This book came out September 19, 2023

Borrowed as ebook from Libby

Opinions are my own

Deborah Goes to Dover by Marion Chesney

Miss Pym was somewhat disappointed by love in the last book. But she is going to continue her travels. And this particular trip is going to lead her to a fight. One that her footman, Benjamin, is taking part in. But it is this fight that introduces her to Lady Deborah Western. Deborah has grown up with her twin brother and she is more comfortable in pants than in a dress. But her time acting as a man may be coming to an end as she is now nineteen and other people, including their neighbor the Earl of Ashton, are starting to take notice of her as a woman. 

An old enemy pops up in this book but is summarily taken care of. 

An okay addition to the series but I (and I think Chesney) are ready for that last book in the series.

Three stars

This book came out September 1, 1992

Follows Beatrice goes to Brighton

Followed by Yvonne goes to York

Borrowed as audiobook from Libby

Opinions are my own

Penelope Goes to Portsmouth by M.C. Beaton, Helen Lisanti

This book is absolutely crazy. We still get Miss Pym but she is sort of not interested in matchmaking anyone on the coach to Portsmouth since none seem like they would suit. Yes, there is the painfully naive merchant's daughter, Penelope, and the aristocrat's son who she might normally try to pair but Lord Augustus really is just too dissipated. At least, he seems that way until Penelope begs him to try and save Benjamin, a man who cannot hear or speak but is accused of thievery and is due to be hanged. Augustus steps up and... distracts... the evil Lady Kasey (sp?) to find the broach. Benjamin is freed! But there is more than half the book left. 

Still to be read are kidnappings, fires, near drownings, murder for hire, a marriage that Miss Pym doesn't believe in, one she does, and a night at the opera for Miss Pym.

I don't know how all of this fit in such a small book and I really can't believe that this book was published but, outside of the parts I was aghast at, I did enjoyed the end of the ride.

Three stars
This book came out January 1, 1992

Follows Belinda Goes to Bath

Followed by Beatrice Goes to Brighton

Borrowed as audiobook from Libby

Opinions are my own