Paper Wife by Laila Ibrahim - 3 Stars

 In China, 1923, Mei Ling's parents are desperate to secure a good future for her. This means setting up an arranged marriage for Mei Ling. She will be a paper wife, meaning she has to pretend to be her husbands first wife. Mei Ling sets off on a long journey across the ocean to a country she has never been to.
Along the way Mei Ling takes a young girl, Siew, under her wing and meets her soon to be good friend, June. But when she reaches San Francisco, she discovers that her husband is not who he says is he. Instead of a wealthy merchant, he is just a servant. Mei Ling, who is now pregnant, worries for her future and wonders if they can become a strong loving family, even if the whole relationship is built on false pretenses.

The first part of this book went by pretty fast, but I found the second half kind of lacking. It didn't pull me in the way the first part did, when Mei Ling was going through what she did on the ship to America and on Angel Island. Over all, it was still pretty good, though.

A Splendid Ruin by Megan Chance - 4 Stars

 May Kimble lives a penniless and lonely life in New York after her mother dies. But shortly after her mother's death, she is summoned to San Francisco to live with an aunt that she didn't know she had. The family is wealthy and May will be taken care of and taken in as one of their own.
But after arriving at her aunt's house, things start to become odd to May. Her aunt stays in a laudanum stupor, the Chinese maid hints that May is in some kind of trouble, and her cousin is often disappearing in the middle of the night.
But on an early morning in April, San Francisco comes tumbling down. May emerges from the smoldering ruins on a mission to find out the truth and claim what is rightfully hers.

Megan Chance is my favorite historical author, so I was excited to run across a newer book of hers. The first 2/3 of this book had me turning pages like crazy, but the ending wasn't what I was expecting. I was expecting a shocking twist of some sort, but never got it. But over all it was a really good book.

The Last Resort by Susi Holliday - 3 Stars

 Amelia is quite surprised when she gets a mysterious invitation to a private island getaway. Her, along with 6 other strangers are told that they have been invited to the island to test some up and coming technology, but they soon find out that this is not true.
Amelia is looking forward to the lavish party they have been promised at the end of the day, but soon finds out that each person has a dark secret that they are keeping and this is being used against them on the island. They are forced to wear a memory tracking device and soon learn that there is no where to hide. Soon the group starts to fight and they split up and Amelia has to figure out how to survive the rest of the day.

This was a strange book. It was sort of an Agatha Christie story mixed with modern technology and a dystopian feel. It started out ok, but the ending fell really short for me. Up until the last few chapters I was pretty intrigued on what the ending was going to reveal, but at the end I just thought it fell flat.

Christmas Shopaholic by Sophie Kinsella - 4 Stars

 This book in the series has Becky Bloomwood enjoying the quiet life in Leatherby and working for her best friend, Suze. It's Christmas time and Becky is looking forward to the food, carols, and more. But this year, Becky has been asked by her parents to host the Christmas festivities.
Becky is sure that she can handle it and thinks nothing can go wrong. But the next thing she knows things are NOT going as planned. Her sister wants a vegan turkey, her husband only wants after shave for his gift, and her daughter, Minnie, is asking for something very specific. To top it off, Becky runs into her ex-(rock star) boyfriend and his pushy new girlfriend, who seems to be up to something.
Of course Becky gets into all kinds of hilarious situations along the way and she begins to wonder if she'll be able to pull off hosting Christmas and make everyone happy.

So I'm reading this a little late (or really early), but I was looking for something light and fluffy after the first 2 books I had read this year. I know not a lot of people like the Shopaholic books, or even chic lit for that matter, but I have absolutely loved this series.
The things that Becky gets into may be far fetched but are always good for a laugh.

The Family Upstairs by Lisa Jewell - 5 Stars

 When Libby turns 25 she is excited to find out what she's been waiting for her whole life: who her birth parents are. What Libby doesn't know is that she has also inherited a mansion on the banks of the Thames river in the upscale Chelsea neighborhood. The house is worth millions. What Libby doesn't know is that there are others that have been waiting on this day as well.
25 years earlier police were called to the house with reports of a baby crying. There they find a perfectly healthy, well cared for baby in a crib. There are 3 adults dead in the kitchen and 4 other children who have gone missing.

The story is told through the lives of 3 different characters in the book. It took me a few chapters to get each person straight and figure out who was who. The first half of the book is mostly back story, but at a little over half way through there was a shocking moment. From that point on, I plowed through the rest of the story and other unexpected shockers.
This is my 2nd book of the year and another 5 star rating.

Songs of Willow Frost by Jamie Ford - 5 Stars

 Songs of Willow Frost by Jamie Ford
5 Stars

William Eng is a 12 year old Chinese American boy who has lived in the Sacred Heart Orphanage for the last 5 years. This was the last time he had seen his mother. When the orphanage takes the boys out for the annual birthday celebration, William gets a glimpse of who he believes is his mother. She is an actress going by the name of Willow Frost.
William is determined to find out if this is really Liu Song, his mother. He navigates the streets with his friend Charlotte in search of the truth.

The story is set between the 1920's and the Great Depression and switches between the two timeframes. What results is a heart wrenching story of love, hope, and forgiveness.

I really enjoyed this story. While it was a sad story, most of the time, the ending was really heart warming. I'm happy that my first read was a 5 star rating.

2021 Alphabet Soup Challenge

 Link to challenge:  Alphabet Challenge

A- Akata Witch by Nnedi Okoafor
B- Before and Again by Barbara Delinsky
C- Christmas Shopaholic by Sophie Kinsella
D- Darling Rose Gold by Stephanie Wrobel
E- Every Last Word by Tamara Stone 
F- The Family Upstairs by Lisa Jewell
G-
H-
I-Interpreter of Maladies by Jhumpa Lahiri
J-
K-Key Lime Pie Murder by Joanne Fluke
L- The Last Resort by Susi Holliday
M- The Madman's Daughter by Megan Shepherd
N-
O-Oh. What. Fun. by Chandler Baker
P- Paper Wife by Laila Ibrahim
Q-
R-
S- Songs of Willow Frost by Jamie Ford
T-Turkey Trot Murder by Leslie Meier 
U-
V-
W- What Happens in Darkness by Laura McHugh
X-
Y- Yours Cruelly, Elvira by Cassandra Peterson
Z-