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Welcome to Top Ten Tuesday, a weekly bookish meme hosted by Jana @ That Artsy Reader Girl that features a different bookish topic every week.
Today’s topic is Books with [Item] on the Cover
I chose pianos for the item on the cover because I’ve been trying to be better on the piano and I’m hoping to motivate myself to practice a little more. It’s not working but hey, at least I found some books with gorgeous covers!
Top Ten Books with Pianos on the Cover
The Piano Man’s Daughter by Timohy Findley – This is a historical fiction set in Canada. I have not read or heard of the author, but it’s got great reviews and I’m curious about it.
The Secret Pianist by Andie Newton – A newly published historical fiction that reminds me of books in the vein of Madeline Martin. It’s set during WW2 and gives me the same kind of vibes.
Pianos and Flowers by Alexander McCall Smith – I read his book, The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency years ago and enjoyed it but I’ve never read anything since. This is a book of short stories so maybe a good place to get back into his stories.
Death in D Minor by Alexia Gordon – The second book in the Gethsemane Brown Mysteries series with a classical musician as the mystery-solving protagonist.
The Bear and the Piano by David Litchfield – This is a picture book that sounds absolutely adorable! I think I’d love to read it.
Forbidden Melody by Magnolia Robbins – An LGBT romance that looks really good. Two musicians falling in love, that sounds right up my alley!
Mad Boys by Heather Long – This is the second book in a new adult, reverse harem romance series, not something I’m usually interested in, but I love the cover!
Lessons by Ian McEwan – I’ve only ever read Atonement by the author, but this one sounds really good too!
Crescendo by Allen Cheney – This is a biography but I don’t know anything about the person of topic, Fred Allen. I do love the cover though.
Middle C by William H. Gass – I don’t even know what this book is about, but I love the representation of part of a piano on the cover and had to include it!
Have you read any of these books? What did you think of them? Would you read any of these books?
During the Great War, a combat nurse searches for her brother, believed dead in the trenches despite eerie signs that suggest otherwise, in this hauntingly beautiful historical novel with a speculative twist from the New York Times bestselling author of The Bear and the Nightingale
January 1918. Laura Iven was a revered field nurse until she was wounded and discharged from the medical corps, leaving behind a brother still fighting in Flanders. Now home in Halifax, Canada, she receives word of Freddie’s death in combat, along with his personal effects—but something doesn’t make sense. Determined to uncover the truth, Laura returns to Belgium as a volunteer at a private hospital. Soon after arriving, she hears whispers about haunted trenches, and a strange hotelier whose wine gives soldiers the gift of oblivion. Could Freddie have escaped the battlefield, only to fall prey to something—or someone—else?
November 1917. Freddie Iven awakens after an explosion to find himself trapped in an overturned pillbox with a wounded enemy soldier, a German by the name of Hans Winter. Against all odds, the two men form an alliance and succeed in clawing their way out. Unable to bear the thought of returning to the killing fields, especially on opposite sides, they take refuge with a mysterious man who seems to have the power to make the hellscape of the trenches disappear.
As shells rain down on Flanders, and ghosts move among those yet living, Laura’s and Freddie’s deepest traumas are reawakened. Now they must decide whether their world is worth salvaging—or better left behind entirely.
I loved the Winternight series by the author so I was excited when I saw there was a new book coming out. And my online book club was doing a buddy read for it too.
The Quotes
“But she had no armor at all, she realized suddenly, against his precise, undemanding fingers, and the concern in his eyes.”
“The people in the mirror could not disappoint in any way, and he would never fail them, or lose them, or mourn them. It was easier so. He had only to watch and yearn.”
“Winter said there’s ghosts all around you. Faland snorted. When you swim in the ocean there’s water all around you, but no one mentions it.”
The Characters
I loved Laura and her brother Freddie. I loved Pim and Jones too, and I was intrigued by Winter and Faland but I feel like we don’t get to know them well enough. The Parkeys are also interesting characters but I feel like we don’t see enough of them. In general, I loved how distinctive all the characters were, but I also wish we saw more of some of them. Maybe it’s just a testament to how good the story is because I want more of them.
My Thoughts
It’s interesting because this was a buddy read and there were a few differing opinions that made me think about it a little more. A couple of us thought that Winter was not a fleshed out character, but rather a wish-fulfillment character that existed to make things convenient for the other characters. There were also other things that happened in the book that felt very convenient and not realistic at all, although to be fair, there’s a magical, mystical element to the story that allows for a bit of unrealisticism. Others weren’t bothered by these issues and argued for them.
I personally believe that Winter is not developed enough as a character and a lot of the things he did, didn’t make sense to me without more background, and yes, I felt a lot of things that happened were too convenient. However, I can also see the other side of the argument. I’m not attached to the details, I can accept the book as it is, and I did enjoy the story as a whole anyway but I also think it could’ve been better if some of those issues were worked on.
My Feels
It is the story it is, and I enjoyed reading it and experiencing it as a buddy read. There were parts I loved, characters I loved, and I think mostly, I just love the otherworldly, mystical vibes of this book. They are what I appreciate most about Katherine Arden’s writing.
My Rating
⭐⭐⭐⭐/5 stars.
Have you read this book? Would you read this book? Did you like the book or do you think you would like it?
