Jamila Ahmed’s—Every Rising Sun

Shaherazade and the Arabian Nights tales are familiar to everyone, but what about the life of Shaherazade? This is a fascinating read that begins in Persia when Shaherazade discovers that the Malik’s wife is unfaithful. The Malik is so distraught once he learns of his wife’s infidelity, he loses all reason once his wife is beheaded that Shaherazade’s father, the vizier cannot help him. A second wife, a third wife, and yet another cannot save him from despair, but can Shaherazade with her magical tales save him from the brink of disaster?

Set during the Crusades when Suladin is fighting against the infidels in Palestine, the novel mixes historical events with fiction to create a gripping tale.

Rebecca Struthers’—Hands of time *****

I wasn’t expecting to finish Hands of time, just read a chapter, because a book on the history of clocks and watches didn’t seem that interesting. But one chapter led to another, and I became hooked on this interesting history of not just the well-known brands we know today, but the people who invented and refined timekeepers of the past and how their inventions influenced other industries.

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Susanna Clarke’s—Piranesi *****

What made this tale a five out of five read for me was that I had never read anything like it. Piranesi lives in a world where there is only one other human being—the Other. Within his house/world are huge statues in infinite rooms that he explores. The lower rooms are subject to tides that sometimes crash through the corridors. Piranesi is in awe of the Other whom he meets every week for an hour, but when he learns that there is someone else searching for him, the Other warns him of the danger. But will he be in danger? And why are there only two people in this strange world?

Wiz Wharton’s—Ghost Girl, Banana *****

Lily’s older confident sister, Maya shrugs off the past whenever Lily tries to remember their childhood in Hong Kong before they were sent back to their father in London once their mother, Sook-Yin’s died. Lily learns that she is has been bequeathed a large amount of money on the condition she comes to Hong Kong to claim it. She has no idea who Hei-Fong Lee is nor why he would leave her so much money. When she learns her sister has received the same letter, she confronts Maya, but her sister says to ignore the offer.

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