The Miniaturist by Jessie Burton

The February book, picked by Maile, was a pretty freakin' cool book. When we met, I hadn't finished it yet, (I finished it in the couple of hours after the get together), so I asked that they not spoil who the miniaturist was or any part of that plot line. There are so many things going on this book though, we had plenty to talk about.

This book is inspired by a real woman's miniature house. Petronella Oortman was a real woman, and you can click here to read more about the real lady. Jessie Burton based this work of fiction on imagining a mystery surrounding how her fictional version of Nella and how she obtained her miniature representation of the life around her.

The real deal.

Y'all this girl had it rough. But she's a strong woman and very endearing. I don't want to give away too much, but I do want to say two things concerning this book (warning, minor spoilers):

1. Peebo is the cutest name for a pet bird ever...and Peebo :(
2. JUST SELL THE DAMN SUGAR, GAH!

That last one was the sentiment we all had after reading the book.

---

March's book is Annie's pick.

This post contains affiliate links.

Progress Report: The Miniaturist

PROGRESS: I'm still in the Prologue. :(

THOUGHTS SO FAR: Wow, I have not been up on my reading game. I'm super excited to read this book and I really really want to just dig in. Between work, Bigby and family things, I just have not been able to set aside the time. I'm planning on hunkering down with it tonight, you can bet on that.

The Bullet Catcher's Daughter by Rod Duncan

January's pick by your's truly was The Bullet Catcher's Daughter by Rod Duncan. On Thursday, January 29, we go together to discuss it. Here is what we thought.

I personally busted my butt to get this book read on time. I just never got around to it and read the bulk of it (92%) in two days. I really enjoyed the book!

We all agreed that it while the beginning was great and grabbing, it quickly slowed pace by describing Elizabeth's droll, day-to-day life on her boat. That's actually about where I stopped reading for the longest time. The plot and the action picks back up a little later on, and it stays up.

The Bullet Catcher's Daughter is a wonderful mystery with plot twists that none of us saw coming. It is very light on the steampunk theme, which was kind of disappointing to me. I had narrowed my pick for last month down to three books and asked the other ladies what they wanted to read. They were all different genres and there was expressed interest in reading a steampunk fiction. While the book was thoroughly entertaining, I had to let the other members of BB&B know that this was not what I would recommend as an introduction to the genre. That said, they felt comfortable with the subtle genre influences and it left them able to comprehend the world and not get overwhelmed with the mechanisms of the genre.

So, if you have no interest in steampunk, but would love to read a mystery set in a fantasy world for a bit of circus-escapism, I recommend this book.

---

February's book is a pick by Maile.

It is The Miniaturist by Jessie Burton.