The Wedding People ****

 By Alison Espach. 2024. This has been on my to-be-read list for quite a while. It didn't disappoint! Phoebe Stone watches her life implode when her husband leaves her for another woman. She is having trouble picking up the pieces of her life. She heads to Newport, Rhode Island to stay at an old Victorian hotel by the sea. She was surprised to find all the guests to be part of a five-day wedding event. Quickly becoming a confidant of The Bride, Phoebe feels her life shift. A comedy of errors incur and the reader is swept up into everyone's life. A combination chicklit and literary fiction I found myself immersed in this novel. Part wise and part ridiculous, The Wedding People is a winner.

The Impossible Fortune ****

 The Thursday Murder Club Mystery series, book 5 by Richard Osman. 2025. Accessed on Libby, narrated by Fiona Shaw. A delicious novel. Very engrossing. All characters are well developed and most had endearing qualities. Joyce was charming as usual. Her daughter, Joanna, has a more human side to her in this story: the story of her wedding to Paul. It turns out that Paul's friends have an interesting storyline that involves the Thursday Murder Club. Ron's son and daughter test the devotion of their father. Altogether an interesting story with a mystery to solve.

A Time of Renewal

 Daily Reflections for the Lenten Season. By Mother Mary Francis. P.C.C. 2015. "Mother Mary Francis, abbess of a Poor Clare Monastery for over forty years, left an enduring legacy in her writings...In this work she presents beautiful meditations on the liturgical season of Lent." Daily reading of the scripture for Lent and the reflections were a blessing to me during Lent.

Making the Best of What's Left ***

 When We're Too Old to get the Chairs Reupholstered by Judith Viorst. 2025. Advice for the Final Fifth by best-selling author of the series, The Decades of a Woman's Life. A delicate balance of humorous antidotes and soulful observations of loneliness discovered in her acquaintances. A delight to read and to appreciate our mutual experiences even if we're not lucky enough to end up in a luxurious retirement center like the one that Viorst inhabits.