Review: The Queen's Gambit

The Queen's Gambit by Walter Tevis
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

4 out of 5 stars - If you ask me, I'll tell you to read it

I really did enjoy this book, although (for once) I think the mini series depiction was better than the book.

Beth Harmon is orphaned and sent to an orphanage where she meets the janitor, Mr Schaibel. Mr. Shaibel teachers Beth chess, and that's the end of the story... Beth absorbs all the information necessary to become an amazing chess prodigy utilizing her already awesome brain.

Throughout the story, we see Beth struggle with drugs, alcohol, loss... yet she overcomes it all with her strength and determination to become the World Champion in chess.

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Review: The Bone Code

The Bone Code by Kathy Reichs
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

4 out of 5 stars - If you ask me, I'll tell you to read it.

Yet another great story that kept me guessing until the reveal of the killer.

Tempe gets brought into a case involving a set of bodies found washed up on the shore after a hurricane in South Carolina. They're both naked, wrapped in plastic, and sealed in a barrel drum. This reminds Tempe of a case she had in Montreal years ago that went unsolved. As the case follows the twists and turns, more deaths and attempted deaths occur. I was kept interested until the very end!

I loved that we got to visit some new places and meet some new people along the way.

**Spoiler Alert**

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[I do worry that this will give more life to the conspiracy theorists that claim vaccines are changing our DNA. (hide spoiler)]

I do worry that this will give more life to the conspiracy theorists that claim vaccines are changing our DNA.

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Review: A Castaway in Cornwall

A Castaway in Cornwall by Julie Klassen
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

4 out of 5 stars - If you ask me, I'll tell you to read it

Thank you to Bethany House Publishers and NetGalley for this advanced reader copy.

Laura Callaway has never felt like she belonged in her small town where she currently lives with her uncle (through marriage, not blood) and his family. Her blood relatives have all passed away and she is just trying to survive life. She has a passion in life for collecting lost items from shipwrecks along the seashore, both flotsam (items lost to the sea) and jetsam (items deliberately thrown overboard). She tries to reconnect these items to their owners or the owners family, bringing closure for lives lost.

During one shipwreck at night, she saves the life of a man from being killed by a local smuggler. Laura and her neighbor, with the help of a young local doctor, nurse the man back to health. Through this process, there appear to be things that do not add up. Is this man English, or is he really a Frenchman from the other side of the war?

I really enjoyed learning about shipwrecks, the Napoleonic Wars, and Jersey. I loved the little quirks of Cornwall that I was able to learn, including about the sand buried church! These historical novels, with good research, are wonderful ways to learn little tidbits about history.

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