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This thread is to mark your completion of the July challenge for the prompt: a book set in an Olympic city. You can join the group read of A Gentleman in Moscow, or read a book of your choice.

Please include the following:

Title:
Author:
Would you recommend this book?
City:
Did this book have a strong "sense of place"?

Olympic city: London

Title: The Midwife

Author: Jennifer Worth

Would you recommend this book? YES! I have never seen the TV show Call the Midwife that is based off this book, but I picked it up because I am an OB/GYN and enjoy reading about some of the more historical aspects of my profession. This was a page-turner about a newbie midwife's early career and I enjoyed seeing her evolve to confidently care for her patients. The side characters are wonderful as well - zany nuns, witty colleagues, at times exasperating clients - helped round out the story. I smiled, laughed, cried, and finally bawled my eyes out finishing reading at 3AM. I cannot recommend this book enough. Fair warning though, it does deal with some difficult themes and is regarded as much darker than the TV show.

Does this book have a strong "sense of place"? Yes, captures the nastiness of working/surviving in 1950s East End London.

Title: The Paris Hours
Author: Alex George
City: Paris, France
Would you recommend this book? Yes, but a lot of characters to pay attention to that took away from the story. Too many layers for me to really dig in.

Did this book have a strong "sense of place"? Yes!

Title: The Library Book
Author: Susan Orlean
Would you recommend this book? Yes
City: Los Angeles
Did this book have a strong "sense of place"? It was a non-fiction book that centered on a fire that ravaged the L.A. public library, so I'd say yes.

Title: The Toymakers
Author: Robert Dinsdale
Would you recommend this book? Yes, I enjoy it.
City: London
Did this book have a strong "sense of place"? Not at all. The story takes place almost entirely inside the Emporium. Even when they were outside, it could have been any city in Europe.

Title: Little Scarlet
Author: Walter Mosley
Would you recommend this book? I don't know. I have a sort of love/hate relationship with Mosley. I get annoyed with his books, and I feel like he's actually a closet misogynist, and yet ... I keep coming back to read more. So, if you're looking for some modern classic noir mystery set in mid 20th Century Los Angeles with a Black protagonist, then yes I recommend. (But this is the sort of series that is best if read in order, so start with Devil in a Blue Dress)
City: Los Angeles
Did this book have a strong "sense of place"? yes

Title: The Bookish Life of Nina Hill
Author: Abbi Waxman
Would you recommend this book? Yes, definitely!
City: Los Angeles
Did this book have a strong "sense of place"? Yes, it really did. It really added to the story, created a great backdrop, and dimension to the plot.

Title: Last Night in Montreal
Author: Emily St. John Mandel

Would you recommend this book? Yes, it was interesting enough
City: Montreal
Did this book have a strong "sense of place"? I know little about Montreal, so I was able to learn a few things about the city.

Title: Tokyo Ueno Station
Author: Yū Miri
Would you recommend this book? Yes, it was beautiful but very depressing.
City: Tokyo
Did this book have a strong "sense of place"? Oh yes, definitely. Both in present day and the history of that area.

Title: Convenience Store Woman

Author: Sayaka Murata

Would you recommend this book? Yes! I was late to the party, but I really enjoyed this. I love Keiko! I love her logic - she makes me smile, laugh, and think.
Is it better to be "normal" with a host of "problems", or "abnormal" (Keiko's words ) and be absolutely fine?

City: Tokyo

Did this book have a strong "sense of place"? To me, it did. There are enough place names mentioned that I'm slightly familiar with, thanks to my daughter. The descriptions of home and food especially had a distinctive feel.

Title: A Gentleman in Moscow
Author: Amor Towles
Would you recommend? ABSOLUTELY
City: Moscow
Did this book have a strong “sense of place��? Yes, taking place in the Metropol Hotel in Moscow, you definitely got a sense of what it was like within the hotel, the city of Moscow and the country of Russia during those times. I 100% loved this beautifully written book.

Title: A Gentleman in Moscow
Author: Amor Towles
Would you recommend this book? Yes! the tone and detail were so charming. I will say there were a few things about the book that were, gently put, unrealistic. This is very much a softened, cushioned version of historical events. I would recommend In the First Circle instead to those who would be bothered by that.
City: Moscow
Did this book have a strong "sense of place"? It does, but it is certainly a gentler, kinder version of Moscow than would be found outside the Metropol Hotel.

Title: A Gentleman in Moscow
Author: Amor Towles
Would you recommend this book? Yes! Most definitely

City: Moscow, Soviet Union (USSR)

Did this book have a strong "sense of place"? As it is mainly set in the , you get a sense of what it is like to be confined to a hotel in that era.

Title: THE BOOKISH LIFE OF NINA HILL
Author: Abbi Waxman
Would you recommend this book: Yes, it’s a light, easy read. Was great after reading a heavier themed book and wanting to take some time to decompress.
City: Los Angeles
Did you have a strong sense of place? Yes. It was frequently mentioned in the multitude and types of shops located around her bookstore, and the variety of food options. Also how she doesn’t own a car and when she does drive how difficult it is to deal with the traffic and find a parking space.

Title: Neverwhere
Author: Neil Gaiman

Would you recommend this book? Definitely
City: London (Below)
Did this book have a strong "sense of place"? Absolutely

Title: The House of Shattered Wings
Author: Aliette de Bodard

Would you recommend this book? Yes
City: Paris
Did this book have a strong "sense of place"? Yes - although this book's Paris was devastated by a magical war decades ago, and is ruled over by warring Houses and fallen angels, so it bears little resemblance to real-world Paris.

Also, the book's main character is from Vietnam, and achingly homesick with no way to get home, and I thought his flashbacks/longings were the strongest "sense of place" in the book even though we never actually go there.