BookBrowse | Book Reviews and Recommendations

Reviews by Elisabeth W. (Durham, NC)

What Doesn't Kill Her: A Reeve LeClaire Series Novel
by Carla Norton

Would Classify as a "Beach Read" (5/16/2015)

The very short chapters make What Doesn't Kill Her a breeze to read. The story was fine; kept me reading though nothing outstanding. My issue was that there was no protagonist who had a fully developed character. It was hard to root or feel much for the victim, Reeve, …more

Her
by Harriet Lane

A Tale of Manipulation (6/18/2014)

This interesting book, told in tandem points of view, is a tale of manipulation and revenge. The author immediately brings the reader in on the manipulation and what the manipulator is trying to accomplish. The frustrating part was that you don't find out the why until the …more

Flat Water Tuesday
by Ron Irwin

Lots of Rowing, but not much else (6/25/2013)

I enjoy a book where I learn something new. With Flat Water Tuesday, I enjoyed learning about the intricacies of rowing. I expected this book to include more about the boarding school experience, but the Fenton School was barely a backdrop, which disappointed me. At times …more

A Thousand Pardons
by Jonathan Dee

Landing On Her Feet (11/27/2012)

I enjoyed A Thousand Pardons which is about a woman putting herself together professionally after being a stay-at-home mom knocked back by an unexpected divorce. A Thousand Pardons has a similar, contemporary feel to Freedom by Jonathan Franzen, but with less morose …more

And When She Was Good: A Novel
by Laura Lippman

Flat (8/1/2012)

I'm sorry to say that And When She Was Good is not Laura Lippman's best. While it was easy to read, I found there was a lack of character development. A good author shows you a character's personality. I felt like Lippman neither showed nor told me much about the main …more

The Red Book: A Novel
by Deborah Copaken Kogan

The Red Book (3/15/2012)

I enjoyed The Red Book, but felt the author worked too hard to make it PC and created too many convenient situations. The group of four women featured in the story were a little hard to believe as a friend group - a privileged WASP, a short Jewish girl, a black girl who …more

Falling Together: A Novel
by Marisa De Los Santos

Likeable (10/6/2011)

Once again, Marisa De Los Santos shows her mastery of the language of relationships in Falling Together. Her characters are likeable with convincing dialogue. Though the plot is a bit of a stretch to believe, Falling Together overall is a satisfying read.

Folly Beach: A Lowcountry Tale
by Dorothea Benton Frank

Every Detail Wrapped Up With A Bow (7/6/2011)

I usually read literary fiction, but must say that I enjoyed Folly Beach. The dialogue between the sisters was wonderful with all their "completed for the other" sentences, shared references and verbal eye rolling. I found Frank's play within the book annoying but …more

Wench: A Novel
by Dolen Perkins-Valdez

Average writing but intriguing subject (4/11/2011)

This is a genre that I particularly enjoy, so I had high hopes for Wench. I thought it was solid literary fiction, but nothing exceptional, albeit an intriguing topic. The character development was flat as I had difficulty sorting out the slave women and masters until the …more

Blood, Bones & Butter: The Inadvertent Education of a Reluctant Chef
by Gabrielle Hamilton

Frenetic! (4/6/2011)

This book is fascinating, often in that train wreck sort of way. Gabrielle Hamilton is a terrific writer who tells her crazy life story in an unpretentious fashion. The frenetic pace and actions of Hamilton's life give the book the feel of The Glass Castle. I put off …more

Friendship Bread: A Novel
by Darien Gee

Pseudo Jan Karon (3/26/2011)

Friendship Bread is an easy to read novel about women in a small town who find their footing after significant emotional losses. Although FB is enjoyable and has a fun premise, what happens as each character journeys back from her loss is very predictable, to the point …more

BookBrowse Book Club

The Lilac People
by Milo Todd

For fans of All the Light We Cannot See, a poignant tale of a trans man’s survival in Nazi Germany and postwar Berlin.

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Daughters of Shandong
by Eve J. Chung

Based on the author’s family story, comes an extraordinary novel about a mother and her daughters’ escape from Taiwan.

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Lessons in Chemistry
by Bonnie Garmus

Praised by Parade and The New York Times Book Review, this debut features a 1960s scientist turned TV cooking star.

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