I am always on the lookout for horsey books that don't feel too juvenile, which is an area literature is hugely lacking in if I do say so myself. That's why I was so excited to stumble upon "The Invincible Miss Cust" in my Bookbub newsletter. It was under a historical novel sale, which is also right up my alley. It follows the life from childhood until the end of Miss Aleen Cust, the first woman veterinarian of Great Britain and Ireland.
The more I read this series the more I like it and realize just how much planning and thought went into it. Each book ties into the next, culminating in the story of the Odd Sisters and how each of the villain's stories are a part of their own fairy tale book where they write the fate of the villains.
Little Women is one of my all-time favorite books and stories. As a child I fell in love with the 1994 version, and then I saw the 2019 version, and it was so different and unique and the actors were so great that I fell in love all over again. Christmastime always brings me back to Little Women, not that it's a Christmas story particularly, but it feels like it to me, plus the movies always have great winter scenes. So this year, to take it a step further from just reading the book and watching my two favorite movie versions, I decided I would watch ALL the versions I could get my hands on. I was not able to find the 1917 and 1918 silent films, but I watched the 1933, 1949, 1994, and 2019 movies as well as the PBS mini series...
I know this is probably an unpopular view, and I don't know why it is, but I find when I read Tolkien my mind loves to wander. I love his stories, I love his characters, I love the movies based off his books, but I lose focus when reading his books. It took me a while to figure it out but I believe it's because there is little dialogue compared to description of adventure. I think I'm a reader who thrives off character interaction, and sometimes I would read two whole chapters in The Hobbit where there was only a line or two of dialogue.
This was a big book that blended magic and Salem history beautifully! I am happy I chose it for my Halloween read this year. It's a story of many things; witches and suffragettes, love and evil, motherhood and sisterhood. So many themes run through this well-thought out novel that it kept the pages turning furiously for me.
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