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Reviews by Irene M. (Ashland, OR)

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Lookaway, Lookaway
Lookaway, Lookaway
by Wilton Barnhardt
Lookaway Lookaway (7/10/2013)
This was a very enjoyable book. It followed many years of a families history with each chapter devoted to an individual family member. The novel is centered on the Johnston family of North Carolina. Not only do you get very definitive character studies, but also a great …more
Live by Night
Live by Night
by Dennis Lehane
Live by Night (8/13/2012)
Another Lehane page-turner. Once I started this book I didn't want to put it down. It's a good story with a twist at the end. The novel has everything; good, evil, love, hate, loyality and revenge, His characters are rich and you certainly care about them, one way or the …more
Lots of Candles, Plenty of Cake
Lots of Candles, Plenty of Cake: A Memoir
by Anna Quindlen
Reflections (5/16/2012)
Anna Quindlen's book of memoirs and observations is fascinating. I have always enjoyed her writing and certainly hope there is more on the way. She talks about times and attitudes that I have many times felt but couldn't seem to articulate. The fact that she "had it all," …more
The Homecoming of Samuel Lake
The Homecoming of Samuel Lake: A Novel
by Jenny Wingfield
Wonderful Book (7/15/2011)
This novel was a real "page-turner." I finished it in two days. Besides having a very unusual, but memorable cast of characters, (although the father, Ras is somewhat overdone) the plot has many twists and turns, which certainly hold a reader's interest. I'm a city girl and …more
The Tender Mercy of Roses
The Tender Mercy of Roses: A Novel
by Anna Michaels
Roses (4/20/2011)
This is certainly an interesting debut novel. The characters are interesting, especially the voice of Pony Jones

The combination of a newly-arrived detective, a grieving father and a murdered daughter is quite compelling.

This is not a book for young children, but as an adult, …more
Minding Ben
Minding Ben: A Novel
by Victoria Brown
Minding Ben (2/17/2011)
I really enjoyed this book and certainly could relate to the main character. My son and his wife, who live in New York City had a nanny/housekeeper from Guatamala for 16 years. She really became a member of the family. But like Grace, she has had a hard time living in the …more
The Girl in the Green Raincoat
The Girl in the Green Raincoat: A Novel
by Laura Lippman
A New Lippman Mystery (11/10/2010)
Tess Monaghan, private investigator, has been put to bed for two months by her doctor. What she sees from her bedroom window, is at first curiosity, and then alarm for "The Girl in the Green Raincoat." Laura Lippman gives us a good mystery with a surprising twist at the …more
City of Tranquil Light
City of Tranquil Light: A Novel
by Bo Caldwell
City of Tranquil Light (8/14/2010)
This novel is a true love story: the love of a young couple for each other; their love of their God and their faith in Him; and the love for their adopted country (China) and their village (Ch'eng An Fu) that became so important to their lives.

But it is also a story of loss: …more
Losing My Cool
Losing My Cool: How a Father's Love and 15,000 Books Beat Hip-hop Culture
by Thomas Chatterton Williams
Losing My Cool (4/12/2010)
This book is fascinating. I have not read anything that so clearly defines the peer pressure for young blacks in today's culture.
I enjoyed reading about this author's decision-making process, and the influences that took him from a hip-hop life on the streets of his home …more
The Wives of Henry Oades
The Wives of Henry Oades: A Novel
by Johanna Moran
The Two Wives of Henry Oades (12/15/2009)
This was a very enjoyable book. The prose was simple, but well-written. I especially liked the fact that it was based on a true story. The characters were well-developed and I certainly could relate to the feelings and responses of the three main characters. I look forward …more
Cleopatra's Daughter
Cleopatra's Daughter
by Michelle Moran
Ancient Era (9/23/2009)
Cleopatra's Daughter was an enjoyable book. Selene's story was new to me and most interesting. As she adjusts to a new life in Rome, the reader is drawn into the lives of the elite, the common man and the many slaves who live, or just exist, in this historical city. This …more
The Last Secret
The Last Secret: A Novel
by Mary McGarry Morris
The Last Secret (4/20/2009)
This is a very good book. It is certainly a novel of relationships.

Faced with a man's indiscretion, his family and friends must try to cope with the consequences of his action. They are, at last, irreparable. I liked following the feelings of the main characters as their …more
Stealing Athena
Stealing Athena
by Karen Essex
Stealing Athena (5/28/2008)
A fascinating historical novel.

Although millenniums apart, two smart, self-willed women battle the laws and customs made by men.

I liked this well-written novel because of the history, the determination of the two women and the focus on the marble carvings of Athens.
The House at Riverton
The House at Riverton: A Novel
by Kate Morton
The House at Riverton (5/7/2008)
A wonderful novel!

The setting (1900-1924) and the place (Riverton House in the English countryside) are well researched and have a definite feeling of authenticity.
The characters are all caught, unsuspecting at first, in a changing time between two wars; politics, ambitions, …more
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