May reads

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May was another busy month for Knot So Loud! I might have slacked on the reading but I’m still thankful that I had a bit of time to read some great books. I’m looking forward to the summer reads in June!

FAVORITE(S)

Small Mercies by Dennis Lehane

A historical fiction taking place in Boston during the 70’s. I picked up this book while staying at the Bank Square Books airbnb in April (read more about it here). I ran out of time and could not finish it so I had to wait until pub day to get my hands on a copy! This was a powerful read, very gritty. It wasn’t just a historical fiction but also a mystery and crime thriller. It follows the journey of a mother living in Southie (Irish American enclave of Boston) who is trying to find her missing daughter. At the same time, there are racial tensions in the community as schools were beginning to integrate white and black students. Dennis Lehane is really an excellent author and a favorite of mine. I always enjoy his books.

Daughters of Nantucket by Julie Gerstenblatt

This book follows three women living on Nantucket during 1846. This historical fiction read also occured during the Nantucket’s Great Fire of 1846. At first, I didn’t think I liked this book. The tone and storytelling was very modern so it didn’t feel like it was 1846, but then I realized that’s exactly what was keeping me immersed in the story. I usually avoid books with time periods before 1920’s because I’m typically not interested. I only picked this one up because of Nantucket/New England connection. It turned out to be a really good book! It took us on each of the women’s individual journeys and I was sad when it ended, wanting more. It had very strong women empowerment theme.

HIGHLY RECOMMEND

Memories of a Retired Cop by Robert Meyerholz

Over 200 stories from Robert Meyerholz, a retired police officer of New Haven Police Department in Connecticut. I was interested to read this as it is somewhat local (1 hour away from Mystic). I throughly enjoyed Meyerholz’s storytelling. He is amazing! I felt all the emotions - laughed, felt sad, stressed and many more! This book left me wanting to hear more stories from him. He currently runs the page ‘Retired Police Officers Stories’ on Facebook where he does shares more stories.

LIKED

Juno Loves Legs by Karl Geary

This is an Irish fiction story of two characters who are best friends going to the same school in Dublin, Ireland during the 70s/80s. Both characters have a hard life, growing up in poverty and being bullied at school. It was tough to read at times. The entire book has a sense of melancholy although it is beautifully written. The ending drove me crazy, it felt uncompleted.

NOT FOR ME

  • Wedding of the Season by Lauren Edmondson

  • How I’ll Kill you by Ren DeStefano

  • Old God’s Time by Sebastian Barry

  • You Might Go to Prison, Even Though You’re Innocent by Justin Brooks

COMING SOON

Unorthodox Love by Heidi Shertok (pub day: June 6)