Buckeye, a historical fiction and family saga

Catching up on reviews and blogging this week. :-)

Buckeye.

This was so good. The time period spans roughly 50 years and covers quite a bit of history from before WW II through Vietnam and the aftermath.  

The focus is on two main couples. Margaret & Felix Salt and Cal & Becky Jenkins. We see their childhood stories as well as their courtship and marriages from beginning to end.  It's hard to write about this book without giving spoilers.  You have to read the revelations as they come to see how they impact the relationships.

In the beginning Margaret sees people flooding to cars and businesses in search of a radio. Back then, breaking news arrived this way. As she searched for anyone with a radio she runs into Cal Jenkins' hardware store and hears WW II has indeed ended. In that moment she kisses Cal passionately.  Margaret Salt knows her husband Felix will return home from his tour of duty. That's not the end of Margaret's story but she doesn't appear again for a few chapters.

There are circumstances beyond the control of two of our characters but it shapes their personalities forever.  Margaret was abandoned as  a baby and never knew her mother.  She was left at an orphanage, placed in a basket with only a note stating her name was Margaret. After stints at foster homes, never knowing a permanent place and people to call mom and dad, she just grew up in the orphanage. Wouldn't that harden your heart and ability to trust? Unconditional love was a foreign concept.

Cal Jenkins was born wth a disformity.  One leg shorter than the other which kept him out of military service during WW II. He grew up with little support from his alcoholic father Everett. Cal's mother and siblings had died many years ago and Everett took solace in liquor rather than raise Cal properly.

In this small Ohio town of Bonhomie you will see love, support, grief, infidelity and best of all...forgiveness. The children play a big part in this story.  Felix and Margaret's son Tom and Cal and Becky's son Skip.    These families will be connected forever...read it to see a good story unfold.

Just a FYI - from the title Buckeye I thought it refered to the state of Ohio as this is where the story is primarily set.  Then I wondered if it refered to Tom Salt as Skip Jenkins nicknamed him Buckeye. A friend on Goodreads mentioned it was from the Buckeye tree in front of the Salt's house, as well as for Tom.

This was a buddy read with Susan at The Cue Card.  Very enjoyable and ignited great discussions.  This is one for a book club, folks.

Flowers

Hello folks.  I've been awfully lax about visiting and commenting and posting.  Allergies have kicked my ass but as I don't particpate in too many blog activities, no biggie. 

This is how the seedlings and planting are going so far.  

Salvia makes a brilliant statement with vibrant purple flowers on stalks.

Once we removed some overgrown neglected roses I could put in black-eyed Susans, allysum, coreopsis, purple hearts and my steadfast spider plants.

We did keep the roses on the trellis against the house, got them trimmed up nicely.

I also wanted to share a photo of a pond at a local park so you can see how much pollen accumulates here.  No wonder I had been living on Flonase and Allegra.   Isn't it gross?  Yes, the yellow is all pollen and it coats our patio, cars and even the poor turtles in the pond had yellow on their shells.  It's a real dream living in Florida.

As for book news I have finished a few books, abandoned one and made my goal list for the next 2 months for some nonfiction and historical fiction.  Reviews upcoming here or on Goodreads.

That's it.  I just wanted to post. 

Watching, reading and sneezing

I've come to realize this online diary connects me to people all over the globe, when I link up to socialize. Otherwise it's just nice to sit at my keyboard and get some thoughts out.  

Even though I use a lovely planner and write just about everything in it, it's nice to post what I am reading and watching. Observations. Disgust and embarrassment about my country.  Plans for books, shows and flowers in the garden. 

Almost done reading Buckeye by Patrick Ryan.  A buddy read with Susan which has generated much discussion about events unfolding in this long drama. I'll add a review next week but I am sure I will add some spoilers to be hidden via Goodreads as well.

Reading plans are always fluid....even when I write out a few titles in my notebook to keep me on track. As I was fortunate enough to win a couple of books from LibraryThing I will add those to the list. I finished Should Have Told You Sooner by Jane Ward. Thank you, LibraryThing for the book.  Complimentary books are always appreciated.

The main character here is Noel Enfield, a woman with secrets. She was named for her grandfather, by the way.  She is working at a museum in Massachusetts and has the career opportunity of a lifetime at a gallery in London. Here is the complication (one of many) - she is going through divorce from Andy and she has a young stepdaughter Alice. Noel wants to retain the relationship with Alice but the acrimonious nature of this divorce has Alice picking sides and it's not Noel's.

This one statement from her husband Andy made her decide to end her marriage. "For someone who's never been pregnant you sure know a lot." That was in reference to a woman feeling ill at their party. It was a big secret she kept from Andy; she had a baby and gave it up for adoption.

Noel couldn't continue to live a lie. After 7 years of marriage it's a bit late to explain you had a baby and gave it away. She never did tell Andy so I imagine he was blindsided by the divorce with zero explanation.  Starting a marriage with such a big secret was definitely a bad idea.

Back story: Bryn was Noel's partner when she lived in London, also the father of the adopted out baby, and she never stopped caring for him. Before you cast hate at Bryn know that he was never aware of the pregnancy.  That is another story woven in  explaining the situation. Their relationship started and ended in London and here she is, about to immerse herself on a path that crosses her past and future.

Near the end of the book I liked the what if thoughts Noel had. A mental checklist of things that may have turned out differently.  Who among us hasn't had those thoughts?  "What if I had stayed in my old life, what if I left Andy but stayed closer, what if I stayed in London, or come back to London sooner...so many different life scenarios.

Main setting is London and Wales.  The book touches on Covid, loss, grief, love and forgiveness.  It's a book about second chances.

Watching

Shrinking has been one of our favorites and we just finished season 3. The cast work well, the banter is natural and you have some tearful moments in this season.  Heck, I had tearful moments in the previous two seasons!  I can see how they could end the series here but I hope they will have another season.  We will tune in for sure. 

We started watching Colony starring Josh Holloway (you may remember him from Lost). Not sure how to describe it, only 2 seasons and so far we like it.

Very much lookiing forward to a few shows we are waiting for all episodes to drop.  Hate waiting for the weekly show one at a time.

Nice surprise in the mail.  Thank you Vicki! You know me well :-)  Really cheered me up!

I wish everyone good health, good reading and whatever makes you happy.

Sharing with"

Joy for British Isles Friday

Boondock Ramblings for  A Good Book and a Cup of Tea

Aussie tragedy and Labradors

Hello...(tapping on screen). I was posting regularly for a while but have been hibernating with some miserable allergies as well as some healing from the dermatolgist cutting on me. Nothing like stitches on the face to make one feel pretty, lol. Results back show some precancer areas which can be handled by a prescription cream. Yea for that.

Enough complaining.  Let's talk about books.  I can share two I have finished and a few reading plans.

Currently Reading / Buckeye by Patrick Ryan.  This is a buddy read with Susan at The Cue Card. Just started part two and this is a good read, in my opinion.

Finished

I had been looking forward to another book by M.L. Stedman for well over a decade.  I thought The Light Between Oceans was amazing, filled with love, grief and much emotion.  (click on the title link for review on my old book blog, if interested).

This book hit me the same way.  No one writes tragedy like Stedman, pulling you in with empathy and compassion for the characters as they navigate life with secrets and hardships.  Set in the far-flung reaches of Australia on a sheep station, the McBride family had been farming, called pastoralists, for generations.

The beginning: Phil McBride is the father, driving his truck with his eldest son Warren and youngest Matt.  The truck crashes, killing Phil and Warren almost instantly.  Matt is flung through the window with grave injuries and has a long recuperation with a head injury which caused significant memory loss.

Everything changes then, for so many people.  Lorna McBride loses Phil, her husband and love of her life.  Matt didn't have the responsibility of inheriting the family business and had dreams of traveling as Warren would take over the station ...but Warren is dead.  Rosie is the middle child and only daughter, helping run things best she can while also visiting Matt in rehab until he comes home.

Is that enough tragedy? Nope. Something unspeakable happens which will turn off some readers and they will quit the book (I saw that voiced in a few reviews) but if you do, you will miss out on a good story.  One of my favorite characters is Pete Peachy, a roo hunter who works for the McBrides.  He is a good man and I wanted to know more about him.

Great character development, lots of side stories, themes of compassion, love, guilt and duty. 5 stars.  Well done.

Next up is Dog Days by Andrew Cotter.  

This is a second book about the adorable labs Olive and Mabel in a diary type accounting told by Andrew Cotter.  I will admit to loving his first book Olive, Mabel and Me more.  That said, if you like following this trio, you'll be amused by this accounting of post Covid activities and appearances. Amazing how popular these canines are and the following they have on social media. 

The first book had lots of background on the dogs, Cotter's experiences with mountain climbing and the lockdown from Covid.  Also photos which were great.   This second book does not compare. If you can get Dog Days from the library or on a good sale it would be worth it.  If you have an interest in Olive and Mabel then grab this one pictured below.

Rounded up to 3 stars.

This is a nonfiction I could place under the memoirs category but I will add it to my Grazing Category.  I've some other books in mind for memoirs for the 2026 Nonfiction Reading Challenge.

Up next in no particular order - Everything is Tuberculosis by John Green, The Astral Library by Kate Quinn and Dear Missing Friend by Susan McGuirk.

Linking with:

Shelleyrae at Book'd Out for the 2026 Nonfiction Reading Challenge for the grazing category. 

Joy for British Isles Friday for Scottish author Andrew Cotter

Lost Gardens of the World

 Best laid plans....I wanted to write about M.L. Stedman's long awaited book A Far Flung Life but life got in my way.   It's a five star for me and I will write about it soon.

Between some rather serious allergies this Spring and a nasty visit to the dermatologist (resulting in stitches on my face ) I have been unable to motivate myself to write much.  Reading is a solace for me so I have been chilling out with books. Best medicine I can think of right now.

Here is one for the 2026 nonfiction reading challenge.

Lost Gardens of the World is a cool little coffee table book you can flip through and then get lost down the rabbit hole looking up the actual locale.  There are lovely illustrations of the gardens as they once were (or as perceived) as well as historical information telling us about the families who owned the land.

Some of my favorites were in England. The garden in Pentewan England was one that had me looking up the Tremayne family and how this beautiful estate and gardens were abandoned. Eighty years after the first World War it is slowly being restored. Most of the young men went off to war and never returned, taking the heart out of those left behind.

In 1991 a team of volunteers starting cutting through the tangled overgrown area, finding remains of water features, paths and a lake. 

Another very interesting story is about Cougar Annie's Garden on Vancouver Island.  Well, it was of interest to me. Annie was quite a character and what a determined woman. She cleared land herself and built up an orchard business, started the Boat Basin Post Office and shot cougars, yes...real cougars.

This is a good armchair travel book with the featured neglected or abandoned gardens in Italy, The Netherlands, Canada, Morocco, Nepal and more.

Sharing with:

 Shelleyrae at Book'd Out for the 2026 Nonfiction Reading Challenge
Category: Lost and Found

Joy's Book Blog for British Isles Friday

A midmonth collection of randomness

 Well I don't have much to contribute to any bookish news but felt like posting anyway.  It's been one of those weeks.

Took a quick trip to the library and picked up the March edition of Book Page.  Found some good suggestions for upcoming publications and added those to Goodreads.

Currently reading M.L. Stedman's new book A Far-Flung Life.  It's been fifteen years since she broke my heart reading The Light Between the Oceans, keeping me up until midnight finishing that one.  Now I am totally absorbed with this new book. She can write tragedy like no one else I have ever read.  The weather cooperated so I could sit outside and read these past few days.

Went to the nursery and picked up some seeds to plant in a few weeks. The white alyssum is doing very well out front and spreading like wildfire.  So I want to try this multi color pack and see what that looks like blended in.  Also have columbine and some Japanese eggplant, for out back.

Last and almost least...because the coffee wasn't remarkable but the beignets were...we tried a new-to-us place for a treat.

Hot and so good.

That's it.  All I have going.  Just in a funk mood but wanted to connect.  Wishing anyone who reads this a happy fun week filled with books and joy.

Last day of February...the monthly update on reading and watching

Well this month went by fast. I had some good reading, good walking, time fiddling with my plants which did not freeze to death this month....and yesterday was my granddaughter's 12th birthday.  That time flew!  I can still remember Doug and I leaving work to drive to Ft. Stewart in Georgia for her birth. She is as tall as I am now. 

 Here's the February breakdown.........

Watched........ 📺

This month we watched a variety of genres.  We finished season 2 of Fallout (SciFi based on a game our son was pumped about) season 2 of Patriot starring Terry O'Quinn and Michael Dorman (quirky) and just started a second season of Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power.

Very much looking forward to Shrinking and For All Mankind.

📚  Read   📚

I had a good month of reading.  Some books I loved and others were just meh...but I read quite a bit. Reviews may be found by clicking on the title links.

Midwinter Break by Bernard MacLaverty

Crux by Gabriel Tallent (a buddy read with Susan of The Cue Card blog.)

Agnes Grey by Anne Bronte

Within the Walled City by Virginia Evans

Four Lost Cities: A Secret History of the Urban Age by Annalee Newitz (nonfiction)

Loving / My new pen! I already had the Scriveiner ballpoint and just received this silver chrome Crown and Regent rollerball. It's lovely for journaling and letter writing.

That's it for now.  End of February, over and out!

Deb at Readerbuzz for Sunday Salon