Reader’s Log 076: Stories and Reflection

Posted on September 4, 2026 by layeredpages

It was about the middle of August since the last blog I posted and I must say, I am exhausted by the end of the day to get much writing in but have read a lot and I have listened to several audio books. My workload has increased (which involves reading and analyzing material), leaving me little time to blog. Then I got to thinking about how to remedy this problem of not blogging like I want. Maybe write short bursts of posts? Or perhaps, blog once a week at the end of the week and post on Mondays? There are also book reviews to be written and posted. I want to continue to write and share what I’m reading and my thoughts about what I’ve read. I have thought of keeping some sort of journal to begin drafting blog posts. I have done that in a digital format before that worked rather well. Maybe that is what will remedy this problem. Whatever happens will happen and the best thing is not to stress it. Now you’re probably thinking I should just get on with it and right you are.

I have finished a few books and have listened to some interesting audio books. Here are a just few and at some point, I will be sharing some books reviews on them soon. The three books as follows would make great fall reads. Are you familiar with any of these books or authors? Three of the books are classic literature.

The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova

Format: Hardback

This is my second read through The Historian because it has been years since I first read the book and the publishers have asked me to review the sequel. Yes, that’s right, there is a sequel coming out after all these years. The Historian was first published on June 14, 2005, and I read it a few years after it was published. My thoughts vary on the story, and they still do after reading it the second time. I guess you can say I have a love hate relationship with the dialogue, and a few of the characters. There is also the plot that needs to be discussed. However, there are other aspects of the story that I enjoyed and found many of the research, travels, letters and historical elements intriguing. More on this coming soon!

About the Book:

To you, perceptive reader, I bequeath my history…. Late one night, exploring her father’s library, a young woman finds an ancient book and a cache of yellowing letters. The letters are all addressed to “My dear and unfortunate successor,” and they plunge her into a world she never dreamed of a labyrinth where the secrets of her father’s past and her mother’s mysterious fate connect to an inconceivable evil hidden in the depths of history.

The letters provide links to one of the darkest powers that humanity has ever known and to a centuries-long quest to find the source of that darkness and wipe it out. It is a quest for the truth about Vlad the Impaler, the medieval ruler whose barbarous reign formed the basis of the legend of Dracula. Generations of historians have risked their reputations, their sanity, and even their lives to learn the truth about Vlad the Impaler and Dracula. Now one young woman must decide whether to take up this quest herself–to follow her father in a hunt that nearly brought him to ruin years ago, when he was a vibrant young scholar and her mother was still alive. What does the legend of Vlad the Impaler have to do with the modern world? Is it possible that the Dracula of myth truly existed and that he has lived on, century after century, pursuing his own unknowable ends? The answers to these questions cross time and borders, as first the father and then the daughter search for clues, from dusty Ivy League libraries to Istanbul, Budapest, and the depths of Eastern Europe. In city after city, in monasteries and archives, in letters and in secret conversations, the horrible truth emerges about Vlad the Impaler’s dark reign and about a time-defying pact that may have kept his awful work alive down through the ages.

The Willows by Algernon Blackwood

First published January 1, 1907

Format: Audiobook

Two friends are midway on a canoe trip down the Danube River. Throughout the story Blackwood personifies the surrounding environment—river, sun, wind—and imbues them with a powerful and ultimately threatening character. Most ominous are the masses of dense, desultory, menacing willows, which “moved of their own will as though alive, and they touched, by some incalculable method, my own keen sense of the horrible.”

“The Willows” is one of Algernon Blackwood’s best-known short stories. American horror author H.P. Lovecraft considered it to be the finest supernatural tale in English literature. “The Willows” is an example of early modern horror and is connected within the literary tradition of weird fiction.

The Wendigo by Algernon Blackwood

First published January 1, 1910

Format: Audiobook

“The Wendigo” by Algernon Blackwood follows a group of adventurers venturing into the Canadian wilderness. As they delve deeper, they encounter unsettling phenomena and eerie encounters. Soon, they realize they’re stalked by a malevolent force, the Wendigo, a mythical creature of Native American folklore…

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The Secret Garden is a favorite childhood classic story, and I was so delighted to listen to the story. I do have several favorite childhood stories and have been wanting to visit them again. Now I must chose another classic story to listen to next.

The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett

First published August 1, 1911

Format: Audiobook

When orphaned Mary Lennox comes to live at her uncle’s great house on the Yorkshire Moors, she finds it full of secrets. At night, she hears the sound of crying down one of the long corridors. Outside, she meets Dickon, a magical boy who can talk to animals. Then one day, Mary discovers the most mysterious wonder of all—a secret garden, walled and locked, which has been forgotten for years and years.

The story of how Mary Lennox brought a secret garden back to life has been loved by generations of readers since it was first published in 1912. Now, with this very special deluxe edition of Frances Hodgson Burnett’s timeless classic, readers can continue to discover the magic of this powerful and deeply moving story.

Reader’s Log 075: Current read and Studies

Posted on August 20, 2026 by layeredpages

It has been a while since I’ve written in my reader’s log. That is not to say I haven’t been actively reading. This year has been a great year for reading, and I’ve discovered quite a few authors I have not heard of before. But isn’t that always the case? Discovering new authors? New stories and adventures? Yes indeed. How is your reading going this year so far?

I’ve got two nonfiction books coming in the mail this week I want to blog about why I have chosen to read them and I do have a few thoughts I want to share on the ancient history and cultural background studies I’ve actively been engaged in for a few years now. I’ve held off on my thoughts about what I’ve studied, and now I’m ready to start sharing.

The fiction book I’m currently reading is Murders in the Marquee by Dana Mentink and I’m enjoying the story so far. This book will be published on the first of September and I’m looking forward to sharing my thoughts about the story.

About the book:

In 1905, the Grand Mallard Marquee is well known for its iconic style, as well as its daily duck parade. For Saul Niffler, a reformed jewel thief, working at the luxurious hotel offers a much-needed second chance. Staying out of trouble and in gainful employment is essential. Which makes seeing a body plummet from a penthouse window extra complicated.

Except…did he see it? There’s no body to be found, and Saul knows he should concentrate on his new duties as “Duck Commandant” rather than meddle. If only Kitty Rossi, a persistent young guest yearning to be a Pinkerton detective, would leave well enough alone. Kitty has already roped in Henry, the elevator man, to investigate suspicious goings-on around the hotel. And against his better judgment, Saul feels compelled to join them.

Between the mystery of Saul’s missing predecessor and a grisly discovery in a drain, all signs point to murder most fowl. And with a cold-blooded killer roaming the Marquee’s lavish corridors, keeping his job may be the least of Saul’s problems…

Stephanie

Book Review: The Castle in the Glen by Rhys Bowen

Posted on August 17, 2026 by layeredpages

PublishedAugust 4, 2026 by Lake Union Publishing

Australian writer Emma Callander has been recruited to complete the final historical mystery in a series by celebrated author Iris Blackburn. It’s 1964, and Iris’s memory is fading. She’s certain that only Emma can do justice to her novel about a murder on the Isle of Skye. When Emma ventures to Scotland for research, she discovers it isn’t fiction at all, but rather a true crime unsolved for more than fifty years.

It was 1904 when a couple’s suspicious drowning led to the disappearance of a mysterious young woman the locals called the Wild Girl. To this day the mystery is unforgettable, especially among the descendants of an aristocratic family who’ll do anything to keep their secrets buried. From the misty Highlands to a medieval castle, Emma and Tony Gordon, Iris’s handsome lawyer, work ever more closely to uncover them.

But while Iris may be known for her fiendishly clever twists, there’s one not even Emma could have seen coming.

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Emma is hired to be a ghost writer for a famous author and soon discovers that the story she is researching turns out to be an actual cold case, and as she investigates the case further, her life is put in danger. Not only that, but Emma also discovers that there is more to this mystery than meets the eye and it will change the course of her life.

Rhys Bowen is a talented storyteller. I have read her work before and was excited to pick this story up. I knew it would be good and she did not disappoint. Bowen has such a way of weaving a story that captures the reader and you become fully engaged.

Most of the setting for this story takes place in the Isle of Skye, Scottland and Bowen really captures the atmosphere and its surroundings. I was completely taken to time and place.

There is so much to this mystery, including family secrets and romance. The character development is well developed and the clever plot kept me turning the pages.

A must read!

Stephanie

I obtained an ARC from the publishers through Netgalley for an honest review.

I rated this book four stars.

Book Review: When She Was Ours by Anna Nordberg

Posted on August 11, 2026 by layeredpages

Published August 1, 2026 by Lake Union Publishing

Thea Erickson, a renowned surgeon, is filled with both joy and grief as her family gathers at their home on a summer night in 1995. Her elder daughter Phoebe is getting married, but even the happiness of the day feels bittersweet, as Thea grapples with a terminal cancer diagnosis. She worries she won’t be around to support her younger daughter Astra, who’s still in college, but even Thea cannot foresee what is to come—a terrible accident the night of the wedding that changes Astra’s life forever.

In a last-ditch effort to protect her family, Thea arranges a secret meeting with an old family friend and extracts a promise that will reverberate long after she’s gone.

Years after her mother’s death, Astra has moved forward with a career and relationship, but she still struggles with her grief. When a man reaches out to her and Phoebe, offering a window into their mother’s past, Astra must make a choice, and her decision forces her to face what it means to love someone after they’re gone, who we decide to forgive, and how families reckon with the past.

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This year, I have been reading a lot of stories about family and that was the main reason why I chose this book. When She Was Ours is Anna Nordberg’s debut novel, and I was intrigued with why she chose to write this story. Nordberg has stated that the inspiration for the novel was her own experience with how loss unfolds in a life, and the way it rearranges the atoms of a family. I believe she portrayed that rather well in this story. The reader experiences how the dynamic of the relationship of Astra, Phoebe and their father changed, and how each day they were grappling -if you will- with the different emotions of grief, and how it affected their everyday life. They made quite an impression on me, and I found myself connecting to each of them in many aspects.

Overall, despite a few things that needed to be fleshed out or a bit stronger, I enjoyed reading this story and I learned a few things about people’s grieving processes. I was also invested in the character’s daily lives and how they would continue without Thea. She was really the center of their world and was such a strong support to them all. If you like reading stories about family, this one may be for you.

Stephanie

I’ve rated this book three stars.

I obtained a physical copy of this book through the publishers for an honest review.

Check out my guest post with the author HERE.

Book Review: When Mikan Road Was Ours by D.K. Furutani

Posted on July 30, 2026 by layeredpages

Published July 28, 2026 by Atria Books

Amidst a sweltering Los Angeles heat wave, Murano, a reclusive high school English teacher, is muddling through life. Reeling from his father’s death as well as his own recent cancer diagnosis, he spends his days grading papers and appeasing disgruntled parents while painstakingly counting down the days until summer vacation.

However, the monotony breaks when he inherits his great-uncle Benjiro’s unpublished memoir. He expects the pages to be a grim reminder of his position as the half-white son of the black sheep of the family. Instead, as he reads, Murano is whisked away to 1930s California, to a time when the Murano family was inseparable, relishing life on their bucolic farmland. As Murano is introduced to family members he never knew existed and confronted with the hidden complexities of the past, he is pulled close to the Japanese identity he’s dismissed all his life.

Ultimately faced with more questions about his fractured family than answers, Murano becomes determined to discover the reasons behind his family’s dissolution following their incarceration in American concentration camps during World War II, no matter what hidden truths he might uncover about his ancestors or himself.

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This story has dual timelines and as the story of Murano’s family in America unfolds, we are shown his family heritage, struggles and their incarceration and experience during World War II. A truly shameful time in our American history to say the least.

I have mixed feelings about the structure of the story. While I’m used to reading slower and reflective literary fiction, I found it hard at times to push on with this book. I’ve reflected on the reason why that is this case, and it’s not because of the culture, because I do extensive cultural background studies, it’s that the narrative’s voice and perhaps the character development was a bit dry to me. Also, I found it difficult to know who was talking sometimes or who was who in the family dynamic. That said, I pushed onward and I’m glad I did because the story has a good conclusion, and I learned a few things.

There are many good lessons that come from this story, and I know many readers will enjoy this book.

I rated this book three stars.

Stephanie

I obtained a review copy from the publishers for an honest review.

Book Review: The Honey Tree Jo Sparkes

Posted on July 29, 2026 by layeredpages

Maggie has always accepted her lot in life that is, until she witnesses a breathtaking moment of liberation of a butterfly that breaks free from a spider’s web. This small, defiant act sparks a fire within her soul to break free from the bonds of slavery.

As her daughter Honey, ascends to the coveted position of personal maid to the Mistress, Maggie’s family is thrust into the intricate dynamics of power and privilege within the House.

But in the shadows, a chance encounter between Maggie’s sons and Preacher, a burly, escaped slave, sets the stage for a risky alliance.

Meanwhile, Lucy, the Master’s lonely daughter, hungers for the warmth and kindness that Maggie effortlessly exudes. The boundaries that separate them are as rigid as the times they live in, but the desire for connection and understanding defies the odds.

Maggie, recognizing an opportunity for freedom, finds herself entwined in a perilous dance between liberation and the relentless pull of her current station.

Will she follow the path of the butterfly?

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Firstly, I’d like to share that I haven’t read too many stories (only a few) that take place in Missouri during this era. However, I have read countless historical stories and nonfiction that take place in the 19th century, and these tellings never get old.

Considering Missouri is in the central United States, it may come to a surprise to some that there was slavery there. It was considered a border state, and the southern parts were influenced culturally, economically, and politically by both the North and South. This in fact was one of the main reasons why I chose to read this story when Sparkes approached me to review her book.

The first half of the story sets the stage for what will be a truly powerful story, and I have to say, I was pleasantly surprised by the ending.

Maggie’s family and Lucy pulled at my heart strings. As tensions grew, I found myself holding my breath, hoping for Magie’s family freedom, and for Lucy’s fragile being to be comforted. I was also so thankful for Preacher coming into their lives, and for his influence to break free.

Sparkes portrays vivid imagery of time and place throughout this deeply moving story. Her character’s lives will draw you in for a truly impactful sense of family bonds that tie us to hope, faith, courage and-yes-even redemption.

I highly recommend this story to all, and my hope is that readers will come away with the same experience as I did.

My thanks to Sparkes for sending me a physical copy of this book for an honest review. I have rated this book four stars.

Stephanie

Book Review: A New World for the Irish Daughter by Kate Hewitt

Posted on July 21, 2026 by layeredpages

Publication Date: July 27, 2026 by @Bookouture

San Francisco, 1893: When Maggie O’Halloran steps off the train in California, she knows she must be brave for her friend Brendan and her brother Danny. Having fled both New York and Chicago, they all have broken spirits and fear having to start again. Can Maggie find courage and strength for them all?

Maggie soon finds a boarding house that will take them in. In a lively part of town, and with a colorful clientele, it is not somewhere she ever imagined staying. Until one night when they are woken by a distressing cry, Maggie finds herself assisting a doctor to save a young woman’s life.

Working through the night by candlelight, Maggie realizes this may be her true calling. When the doctor asks if she would consider training as a nurse, she says yes immediately, hopeful she might have finally found her purpose in life. Will this now give her the courage to tell Brendan how she truly feels?

But before she can risk her heart, Brendan reveals that Danny is in trouble once more. They are leaving at dawn for Alaska to mine for gold, and Maggie is both shocked and heartbroken. Should she stay, and continue the work that has given her life such meaning? Or should she sacrifice everything, and follow those she loves even further into the unknown?

My Thoughts:

When Maggie, Brendan and her brother, Danny stepped off the train in San Franciso, almost immediately I knew they were off to a bad start when they discovered Maggie and Danny’s father living at a house of ill repute. With nowhere else to go, and very little money, they were invited to stay by the owner, and before too long, Maggie found herself in an awkward situation with the owner and must find another place to live. The opportunity quickly presents itself, and she begins two years of training as a nurse. When she has two months left of her training, Brendon tells her that he and her father and Danny are leaving for Alaska. My heart absolutely sank when she heard the news! A big part of me wanted her to stay because she finally found purpose, but I knew losing her family and Brendon would have been heartbreaking for her. When they left for Alaska, this is when the story really got adventurous and I felt I was in the wilds alongside them.

I had the pleasure of reading the second book in this trilogy, but I mentioned in my review for that book that I had not read the first book yet, and I still haven’t! That said, this latest and final installment of Maggie’s adventures is my absolute favorite so far. I will be adding these books to my physical book stack, and my only complaint about this series is that it has ended.

Beautifully historical woven elements blended with atmospheric surroundings, and deeply complex characters that will capture your heart.

Stephanie

I obtained an ARC from the publishers through Netgalley for an honest review.

Book Review: Habits of the Sea by Shea Ernshaw

Posted on July 18, 2026 by layeredpages

Publication July 7, 2026 by Atria Books

The second adult novel from New York Times bestselling author Shea Ernshaw, in which a woman rediscovers the mythical island she stumbled upon as a child—and the man she once met who apparently hasn’t aged—and must choose between the life she’s built and a love that defies the laws of time and nature.

The night Clay Lockhart’s wife dies, a violent storm tears their home—and the eight hectares of land beneath it—away from the Scottish coast, sending it adrift into the Atlantic. Thirty years later, twelve-year-old Ellie Mills discovers the fabled floating island off the coast of Nova Scotia and finds Clay still living in the weatherworn farmhouse perched on its highest hill.

When the island vanishes overnight, Ellie is left questioning whether it ever existed at all. But decades later, now in her thirties, the island resurfaces—and Ellie returns, determined to uncover the truth. What she finds is even Clay hasn’t aged a single day.

Faced with the impossible, Ellie learns that some mysteries aren’t meant to be solved—and that a life shaped by wonder may hold more promise than one bound by certainty.

Spanning centuries and coastlines, Habits of the Sea is a haunting, romantic journey through time, memory, and the invisible tides that pull us home.

My Thoughts:

When I received an email invite from Atria Books to review this book, I immediately accepted, no questions asked. The very idea of an island that vanishes and resurfaces in different parts of the world captivated me.

In my review “A History of Wild Places” I stated that Ernshaw employs artistic composition in a unique and refreshing way that has you hanging on to every word. Her ability to articulate any situation or surrounding in the story is outstanding. This very statement applies to Habits of the Sea, but…

There was a sudden shift in the second half of the book that truly caught me off guard and after thinking about it for a bit, I could see where Ernshaw was going with it, but it just did not work for me. Habits of the Sea went from being mystery story centered around an intriguing mystical Island to a climate-changing, apocalyptic world without really any natural transition so that you aren’t disoriented when it happens. At least, that was my experience with the storyline. Also, the character development was lacking and the relationship between Ellie and Clay was not convincing enough for a romance story.

That said, Ernshaw’s beautiful and unique storytelling laced with melancholy and highly emotional scenes had me hanging on to the end despite the moodiness, and frustrations I felt reading this story. I know many readers will love this book; I was just not the right reader for it.

I rated this book three stars.

Stephanie

I received an ARC from the publishers via email and obtained a galley copy through NetGalley for an honest review.

Side Bar: There is profanity, a violent scene, and sexual content in this story. Yeah, I’m a closed-door romance reader with very little to no profanity preference. I’m frustrated with not knowing these things about stories before reviewing them. Early readers deserve that. I would also like to add, I wrote this review before the publication date, and I held off posting my review of this story on my blog, because quite honestly, I was torn about the descion of doing so.

Book Review: The Club for Rebellious Ladies by Siobhan Curham

Posted on July 17, 2026 by layeredpages

Published July 8, 2026 by Bookouture

Provence, 1919: When Elodie Sinclair is sent from Boston to a glamorous finishing school for socialites in training, she is determined to do all she can to rebel. Setting up The Wildflowers Club with best friends Genevieve and Lucille, the women make secret plans to escape their insufferable conversation classes. But just weeks later, a terrible scandal leaves the women reeling. And Elodie Sinclair is presumed dead.

2025: Looking for a fresh start after her drawn-out divorce, Rae Morgan finds herself in a crumbling clifftop manor house in Provence. The mysterious elderly owner, Madame Devereaux, speaks of a glitzy charm school and the tragedy that closed its doors. Though she refuses to say any more… until Rae finds a slip of yellowed paper titled The Wildflowers Club Vows left with the keys. Intrigued, Rae knows there is more that Madame Devereaux wants her to uncover.

My Thoughts:

I enjoyed the dual timelines of this story and Elodie and Rae’s story was equally intriguing and heartfelt. Rae’s dedication to finding out the mystery of what happened at the charm school and to Elodie kept me fully engaged in the story, and as the story unfolded, I kept thinking about which direction this story could go. I was pleasantly surprised by the conclusion and have been thinking about this story for days after reading it.

There are sad, and extremely emotional moments in this story including a tragic injustice that happened to Elodie that happens in society not just in those days but in today’s as well. I felt deeply distressed and heartbroken for Elodie. I will be thinking about her story for a long time.

Rae had just gone through an all too public divorce and her husband had no shame whatsoever in his public treatment of Rae. Wanting to escape it all and heal, she finds herself in Provence and the new owner of the school Elodie was a student at! Not long after she starts renovations, she begins to discover clues about its past. The more she digs, the mystery unfolds… I felt this mystery to solve is what she needed to heal from her own tragedy and it really adds to the story of resilience, hope and new beginnings.

A deeply atmospheric, emotionally compelling woven story that will transport you to time and place.

Stephanie

I obtained an ARC from the pubslihers through Netgalley for an honest review.

Side Bar: I must caution the reader that there is a rape scene in this story.

Book Spotlight and Author Guest Post: When She Was Ours by Anna Nordberg

Posted on July 14, 2026 by layeredpages

I am thrilled to introduce Anna Nordberg to Layered Pages, and to be an early reader of her debut novel “When She Was Ours.” Stories about mothers and daughters are among my favorite stories to read. My review will be posted on the publish date.

Be sure to read below, what Nordberg has to say about what inspired her to write this story.

Stephanie

Expected Publication: August 1, 2026 by Lake Union Publishing

About the Book:

In a last-ditch effort to protect her family, Thea arranges a secret meeting with an old family friend and extracts a promise that will reverberate long after she’s gone.

From the Author:

The inspiration for the novel was my own experience with how loss unfolds in a life, and the way it rearranges the atoms of a family. My mother died when I was 17, and it felt like the first real thing that happened to me. The experience of grief was so different than I expected—there was tremendous anguish, of course, but there were all these other feelings—guilt, disorientation, even relief, because she had been suffering for such a long time. Then there were days I felt totally normal, because I was a teenager and adolescence is lived so in the present, and that, in a way, felt terrible too.

I wanted to try to write a novel that was as emotionally honest as possible, that showed the experience of loss over time from multiple points of view, including from the perspective of the person who was dying. And I wanted to write about a happy family going through a hard time. There is so much great literature about brittle families, and dysfunctional families, but I actually find happy families interesting.

Finally, I wanted this story to be hopeful. The thing I didn’t know when I was 17 was how much my mother would reveal herself in her absence. Decades later, when my own pregnancies went off the rails, one of the things that allowed me to stay calm and put one foot in front of the other was that I had watched my mother do this as she was sick, and so all of a sudden this grief, this old loss, became its own gift. That’s the thing about grief—it can have these surprising legacies; it can be a source of strength.

Author Bio:

Anna Nordberg is an author, journalist and culture writer whose essays have appeared in Slate magazine, The Washington Post, The New York Times, and the San Francisco Chronicle. She spent a lot of her childhood writing novels with a number 2 pencil on yellow legal pads. She actually still has these novels.

In 2015, she started writing a memoir about becoming a mother without her mom, who died when Anna was 17. This memoir never found a home, but its themes—how loss unfolds throughout a life, how we carry the memory of someone forward, the surprising legacy of grief—are all themes in Anna’s debut novel, When She Was Ours, out August 1.

Anna grew up in New York City and now lives in San Francisco with her husband, son and daughter, and English cocker spaniel, Guinness (who also loves books). She loves muddling through middle school with her kids, trying to remember what the formula for the circumference of a circle is, and rereading books like Tuck Everlasting and A Wrinkle in Time. Favorite books she has read to her kids: The Hobbit, The Dark is Rising, The Wolves of Willoughby Chase, Island of the Blue Dolphins, and Bridge to Terabithia.

It was always her dream to write a novel after watching her mother write one on an ancient Apple IIC when Anna was eight years old. When She Was Ours is dedicated to her.