Princesses Behaving Badly by Linda Rodriguez McRobbie

Title: Princesses Behaving Badly
Author: Linda Rodriguez McRobbie
Genre:  Nonfiction

Synopsis: Real stories from history without the fairy-tale endings

My Thoughts

This awesome book was a gift I received for my 31st birthday, and it is so fun! The princess misbehaviors are broken into 7 categories that made me laugh aloud when I first read them; warriors, usurpers, schemers, survivors, partiers, floozies, and madwomen.
The princesses discussed are from all over the globe and from many different periods of time.  Each section starts with the legend and lore of each royal woman, then the facts are presented and the story as it most likely occurred based on fact is presented. I like that each bio begins with the name of the princess, the years of her life, and where the story takes place. 
 It is interesting to see how the culture of the time period and country of origin affect what was considered 'normal' princess behavior and what caused them to stand out and be remembered. It is amazing to see how events in each woman's life can become changed into legend over time by those who tell the story. The chapters also contain short princess profiles that fit into the category but whose stories weren't long enough to fill several pages.
If you like stories about unconventional women, princesses, and history then this book is for you! 


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To see more from the author, visit the website linked above

Lady in the Lake by Laura Lippman

Title: Lady in the Lake
Author: Laura Lippman
Genre: Mystery 

Synopsis: It's Baltimore 1966 and  Madeline Morgenstern Schwartz, 37, questions the purpose of her life as her son heads off to college. Never seriously questioning her role as a homemaker before, a visit from an old schoolmate sparks Maddie's decision to leave her husband. When a young girl who attends the local synagogue goes missing, Maddie's mother, concerned more with the well-being of her daughter than the lost child, suggests that she join the search.  Maddie finds that helping the police leads her to a job at a local newspaper where she is ready to make a name for herself. When a woman turns up dead in a fountain and no one seems interested Maddie is determined to know more, but it seems that this woman doesn't want her murder to be solved.

My Thoughts

With Christmas and my birthday both at the end of December, I am excited to say that I have a whole stack of new books to read as we enter 2020. I received the Lady in the Lake as a Christmas gift from a dear friend who used the NPR book concierge to find me a book to my taste. 
It only took me 10 days to get through this one because it. was. awesome. You all know that I love when a story has a good twist and this one has just that. 
Maddie's character is predictable in all the right ways, but what really makes this story shine is the insight from the people she interacts with. When Maddie has a significant interaction with another character, the next chapter is told from the perspective of that character. He or she then describes the encounter from their point of view and provides insight into the story that only he or she can. Then the novel continues as a 3rd person account following Maddie.
Lady in the Lake has the perfect balance of identity crisis, struggles of women in the workforce and race relations in the 1960s, crime, and mystery. What's not to like?


To buy this book from Amazon now, click on the image at the top of the post.

To see more from the author, visit the website linked above