A Sad Happy Day... and books of March

Today is a Sad Happy day. It is Happy because a lot of offices in our area have decided to have actual return to the office hours... so yay... Covid numbers are declining enough...

It is Sad,.,.... My Man has to go back to the office a few days a week. After having him working from home for over 2 years - I kinda got used to him.   I mean - it was an adjustment - but!

I liked that on the lunch hour I could get him involved in my projects ( okay, really to do them, but don't tell him that!)  and on nice weather days we could go get a little riding in... and maybe check on a fence post or 6.....

I Actually went grocery shopping with the thought of having to make portable lunches for him again. SO STRANGE....

Anyways... on to the Books I read in March.

Not as many - but SUPER long.....

The first was 

The Last Rose of Shanghai

Here's what they say 

"In Japanese-occupied Shanghai, two people from different cultures are drawn together by fate and the freedom of music…

1940. Aiyi Shao is a young heiress and the owner of a formerly popular and glamorous Shanghai nightclub. Ernest Reismann is a penniless Jewish refugee driven out of Germany, an outsider searching for shelter in a city wary of strangers. He loses nearly all hope until he crosses paths with Aiyi. When she hires Ernest to play piano at her club, her defiance of custom causes a sensation. His instant fame makes Aiyi’s club once again the hottest spot in Shanghai. Soon they realize they share more than a passion for jazz―but their differences seem insurmountable, and Aiyi is engaged to another man.

As the war escalates, Aiyi and Ernest find themselves torn apart, and their choices between love and survival grow more desperate. In the face of overwhelming odds, a chain of events is set in motion that will change both their lives forever.

From the electrifying jazz clubs to the impoverished streets of a city under siege, The Last Rose of Shanghai is a timeless, sweeping story of love and redemption."

I thought it was amazing that in my history classes- I don't remember learning about the Jews fleeing to Shanghai - and what the life was there. That same disbelief that America had - that these atrocities could be happening. 

And the next book

Carnegies Maid; 

At first I thought it was true - but alas - it is not.

and it is long, and you wonder how money could make people so different , when in reality, they all started at the same place...

Here is what they say:

" Clara Kelley is not who they think she is. She's not the experienced Irish maid who was hired to work in one of Pittsburgh's grandest households. She's a poor farmer's daughter with nowhere to go and nothing in her pockets. But the woman who shares her name has vanished, and assuming her identity just might get Clara some money to send back home.

Clara must rely on resolve as strong as the steel Pittsburgh is becoming famous for and an uncanny understanding of business, attributes that quickly gain her Carnegie's trust. But she still can't let her guard down, not even when Andrew becomes something more than an employer. Revealing her past might ruin her future—and her family's.

With captivating insight and heart, Carnegie's Maid is a book of fascinating 19th century historical fiction. Discover the story of one brilliant woman who may have spurred Andrew Carnegie's transformation from ruthless industrialist to the world's first true philanthropist."

After visiting Newport RI - I am somewhat intrigued by these people - and that is what drew me to this novel

You can bet - I am picking shorter books for April - haha!