Stolen Beauty by Laurie Lico Albanese tells the story of the relationship of Adele Bloch-Bauer and the artist Gustav Klimt and the relentless pursuit by Adele's niece, Maria Altmann to reclaim artwork stolen by the Nazis during World War II.
Adele Bloch-Bauer modeled for the famous artist, Gustav Klimt and were rumored to be  involved in an affair and that she "may" be the woman in Klimt's most famous painting "The Kiss."

The description of the above painting from the novel, 
"The portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer I measures 54" by 54" unframed, weighs 22 pounds, 8 ounces. She has sixteen eyes, fifteen grams of gold, and seven grams of silver. Her dress is decorated with erotic signs and Egyptian symbols: the eyes of Horus to defend against evil, the three-sided ka that infuses the portrait with an indelible spirit. She's a queen and a seductress, a Jewess trapped in a lost world. Her lips are parted, as if she is about to say something that we will never hear."
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Book Review:
"A landmark United States Supreme Court decision to return Nazi Germany’s stolen art treasures to their Jewish heirs made headlines across the world in 2005. That decision was based on the proof of rightful ownership of the famous Lady in Gold portrait by Gustav Klimt to the family of Maria Altmann nearly one century after the painting was created. This amazing story gained more attention through a recent movie of the same name, starring Helen Mirren." 
Read more of this excellent review at the bookreporter.

May Attaway, 40 year old, a university gardener, who over the years has grown more comfortable with plants than people, does just that. She goes on a hero's journey and visits one by one old friends she has not seen in years.  She seeks to finds herself, and along the way undergoes a life-altering transformation. 
One of my favorite parts of the book is the inclusion of descriptions and illustrations of trees. I recommend this sweet little book. 

Ask Again, Yes by Mary Beth Keane is a heartbreaker. Forgiveness, love, mental health and martial relations are all themes in this novel about two families forever bound by tragedy. Two rookie police officers, Francis and Brian, met on the the job. They share  ties to Ireland. Francis, an immigrant and Brian born in the US and grew up in Ireland. Coincidentally, they both with their families move to the gentile suburb of Gillam and find themselves next-door neighbors. They  have children of the same age, Brian and Anne have  a son,  Peter and Francis and Lena have a daughter, Kate. Their children form a strong friendship. When they are fourteen, a terrible accident happens that tears the families apart. 
"And then there's Anne, living with mental illness: In a jittery and terrifying scene that weds the mundane to the mad, we enter into Anne's mind on New Year's Eve 1990, when she makes a trip to the local supermarket deli counter, takes her number, waits, and, then, with mounting rage, comes to believe that everyone else in the supermarket is in cahoots to prevent her from buying her cold cuts."
Read more in the NPR review by Maureen Corrigan,  Ask Again, Yes is a Profound yet Unpretentious Family Drama. 
This book shines a spotlight on mental illness and love that lives throughout adversity. ​

​Do you want a remarkable family saga you can settle in with for some time? Deep River written by Karl Marlantes and its 724 pages will keep you captivated from the beginning to the end. 
The story begins in early 1900's in Finland under Russia occupation. Members of the Koski family, brothers- Ilmari and Matti and  their sister, Aino are forced to leave Finland. They head to the United States and settle in southern Washington state near the Columbia River.  The brothers work in the logging industry and Aino takes on the challenge of organizing the workers to fight against the poor and dangerous conditions in the industry. Aino  emerges as a strong female character based on the Finnish mythical "Kalevala" and on Marlantes' grandmother and aunts. "My grandmother didn’t actually get thrown in jail [in “Deep River” Aino is imprisoned by Finland’s Russian occupiers, then tortured and raped, then jailed again in America], but she was a communist. The Daily Worker was on the kitchen table. Most Finns brought socialism over from Finland — they came from an oppressed country."
Read more about the novel in the review from the Seattle Times, Deep River is an Epic Tale of the Wobblies and the Will to Survive.