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Melanie’s reading… @shelovestoread.bsky.social · 18h

You are welcome, it’s a pleasure to read your books!

Reposted by Melanie’s reading…

Chris Bohjalian @chrisbohjalian.bsky.social · 1d

Oh, my gosh, thank you, Melanie! Those five-star reviews are rare and precious gems. Thrilled you enjoyed THE JACKAL'S MISTRESS so much! @doubledaybooks.bsky.social

Melanie’s reading… @shelovestoread.bsky.social · 2d

“The Jackal’s Mistress” by Chris Bohjalian.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
#MelsReading2025
#booksky📚💙
Set in Virginia during the Civil War, this book tells the story of a Confederate woman who saves the life of a Union soldier. While the story is inspired by a true account of a Virginian woman who saved a Union
1/2

1 7

Melanie’s reading… @shelovestoread.bsky.social · 1d

“Jesus and John Wayne” by Kristin Kobes Du Mez.
⭐️⭐️⭐️
#MelsReading2025
#booksky📚💙
If you were raised in an Evangelical or Fundamentalist religion you will find this book interesting. Coming from that background, this book didn’t offer new insight but there were a lot of things I could relate to.

1

Melanie’s reading… @shelovestoread.bsky.social · 1d

to forgive, and Myrna, Ruth and the others bring their normal selves. Overall, a delightful read!
2/2

Melanie’s reading… @shelovestoread.bsky.social · 1d

“A Trick of the Light” by Louise Penny.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
#MelsReading2025
#booksky📚💙
In this book we see Clara coming into her own, Peter starting to show his deep insecurities, Gamache still recovering in spirit, mind, & body, Beauvoir struggling more than anyone realizes. Olivier trying (and failing)
1/2

1

Melanie’s reading… @shelovestoread.bsky.social · 1d

denied is appalling.
This story does has some redemption towards the end, but it doesn’t make up for the heartbreak endured. I do feel the ending was rushed, I wish we had a few more chapters to wrap up the storylines a bit, but other than that I really enjoyed it.
2/2

Melanie’s reading… @shelovestoread.bsky.social · 1d

“What She Left Behind” by Ellen Marie Wiseman.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
#MelsReading2025
#booksky📚💙
This book was sad and horrifying, but so good. Life in an insane asylum is horrific, the treatment, the experiments, the abuse, is hard to comprehend. The lack of basic dignity and rights these humans were
1/2

1

Melanie’s reading… @shelovestoread.bsky.social · 2d

“Shine Shine Shine” by Lydia Netzer.
⭐️⭐️
#MelsReading2025
#booksky📚💙
I wanted to like this book, it is unusual, it is quirky. I can see why some people loved it, but it just didn’t work for me. The writing style didn’t draw me in so I had to force myself to keep picking the book back up.

Melanie’s reading… @shelovestoread.bsky.social · 2d

officer, these characters are fictional. The story is captivating, especially if you are interested in stories that take place during the Civil War.
Once again, @chrisbohjalian.bsky.social does not disappoint!
2/2

1

Melanie’s reading… @shelovestoread.bsky.social · 2d

“The Jackal’s Mistress” by Chris Bohjalian.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
#MelsReading2025
#booksky📚💙
Set in Virginia during the Civil War, this book tells the story of a Confederate woman who saves the life of a Union soldier. While the story is inspired by a true account of a Virginian woman who saved a Union
1/2

2 2

Melanie’s reading… @shelovestoread.bsky.social · 4d

absence and spending time in Quebec City with his mentor. He sent Inspector Beauvoir back to Three Pines to reexamine the case of Olivier and make sure they arrested the right man.
3/3

Melanie’s reading… @shelovestoread.bsky.social · 4d

self doubt and is wrestling with the very core of his being. I think this is why I love Gamache so much, he is so decidedly human. He makes mistakes, he doubts himself, but he is always striving to be better and to make others around him better.
In this book, Gamache is taking a leave of
2/3

1

Melanie’s reading… @shelovestoread.bsky.social · 4d

“Bury Your Dead” by Louise Penny.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
#MelsReading2025
#booksky📚💙
You need to have read the previous books to truly understand this book. This book has a much more somber feel to it, Gamache is struggling with events that have happened, and decisions he has made. He is filled with 1/3

1

Melanie’s reading… @shelovestoread.bsky.social · 4d

in this book for
those that are interested in learning more about the atrocities of the Holocaust.
5/5

Melanie’s reading… @shelovestoread.bsky.social · 4d

find this “excuse” irritating. I get that the author may be trying to find something, anything, that would explain Mandl’s behavior, but a broken engagement? Having your heart broken does not explain the evil that Mandl perpetrated on so many.
However, there is a lot of interesting information
4/5

1

Melanie’s reading… @shelovestoread.bsky.social · 4d

cruelty of Mandl. I don’t think she is trying to justify the actions of Mandl but rather explain how a person from a seemingly good family and background could become so cruel and evil. The author frequently references a supposed broken engagement (no concrete proof this happened) but I did
3/5

1

Melanie’s reading… @shelovestoread.bsky.social · 4d

concentration camps, some of the descriptions were heartbreaking, some descriptions felt cold and factual. I think the book would be easier to digest if it were shorter, definitely felt too long at times. Throughout the book the author seems to be trying to find a reason for the behavior and
2/5

1

Melanie’s reading… @shelovestoread.bsky.social · 4d

“Mistress of Life and Death: The Dark Journey of Maria Mandl, Head Overseer of the Women’s Camp at Auschwitz-Birkenau” by Susan J. Eischeid.
⭐️⭐️⭐️
#MelsReading2025
#booksky📚💙
This is a difficult book to rate. The book covers, in graphic detail, a lot of the abuse that occurred in the
1/5

1

Melanie’s reading… @shelovestoread.bsky.social · 7d

“The Red Queen” by Martha Grimes.
⭐️⭐️
#MelsReading2025
#booksky📚💙
Disappointing, short, more of a novella than a novel.
The characters seemed tired, the “mystery” was confusing at best, feels like a rough draft. Very disappointing, not the Richard Jury book we are accustomed to.

1

Melanie’s reading… @shelovestoread.bsky.social · 20d

“Great Big Beautiful Life” by Emily Henry.
⭐️⭐️⭐️
#MelsReading2025
#booksky📚💙
Enjoyed this book but didn’t love it. The “romance” wasn’t convincing, felt more like one-night-stand lust. The “mystery” fell flat for me, it felt like this big buildup and a big reveal for….that?

Melanie’s reading… @shelovestoread.bsky.social · 20d

“The Wedding People” by Alison Espach.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
#MelsReading2025
#booksky📚💙
Very enjoyable read, would be shocked if they don’t make a movie of this.

1

Melanie’s reading… @shelovestoread.bsky.social · 20d

Maybe by exposing the darker side to some of our beloved characters, she is, in fact, laying the groundwork for deeper, more complex characters and relationships. 3/3

Melanie’s reading… @shelovestoread.bsky.social · 20d

necessary to remind us that people are imperfect, that even the ideal village has secrets, that a brilliant inspector can make mistakes, that a beloved character can be a deeply flawed individual. 2/3

1

Melanie’s reading… @shelovestoread.bsky.social · 20d

“The Brutal Telling” by Louise Penny.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
#MelsReading2025
#booksky📚💙
While I enjoy this book, it is a change from the previous books in the series. I have often wondered if she would have created this storyline if she had known the series would continue this long. But, maybe this story was
1/3

1

Reposted by Melanie’s reading…

The Wonder of Tolkien @tolkienwonder.bsky.social · 29d

“Frodo undertook his quest out of love – to save the world he knew from disaster at his own expense, if he could; and also in complete humility, acknowledging that he was wholly inadequate to the task.”

- Tolkien, Letter 246

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