BookBrowse | Book Reviews and Recommendations

Reviews by Susan B. (Rutledge, MO)

Juliet's Nurse
by Lois Leveen

interesting and fairly well-written (7/14/2014)

This was not a mind-blowingly amazing read, but neither was it bad. I found it interesting, enjoyable, and fairly well-written. The main character was mostly sympathetic, other than possessing what seemed to be a huge blind spot concerning how her charge felt about her. …more

Mating for Life
by Marissa Stapley

great beginning, disappointing by the end (3/12/2014)

This was not at all a bad read, but it didn't live up to the promise of the first part. I found it touching and realistic until somewhere around the last third, at which point many new, less believable characters entered the picture, the action felt far more rushed, and the …more

I Am Livia
by Phyllis T. Smith

Interesting, if you like ancient times (1/9/2014)

I love reading about ancient times, have a special fascination with ancient Rome, and like reading women's stories (especially in societies where inequality is so much worse than our own), so I was predisposed to like this book.

I found the writing to be serviceable, of the …more

Safe with Me
by Amy Hatvany

much better than expected (11/9/2013)

I had relatively low expectations for this book and was very pleasantly surprised to find myself liking it a great deal. I found it to be well-written and the characters interesting, engaging and, most of all, believable.

The subject matter is intense but dealt with …more

The Disenchanted Widow
by Christina McKenna

I wanted to like it much more than I did (9/12/2013)

I found much of the plot hackneyed and contrived, and most of the characters very unappealing, in that they want everyone to treat them well but treat others appallingly most of the time. The two main characters don't meet until fairly far into the book, which added to the …more

Walk Me Home
by Catherine Ryan Hyde

occasionally interesting; not great (4/25/2013)

This was a somewhat interesting, but not great, read. I didn't care for the main character, finding her choices baffling and the basic premise (an 11 year old and a 16 year old walking hundreds of miles through the desert Southwest) unbelievable. The ending felt contrived, …more

Golden Boy
by Abigail Tarttelin

Moving, maybe too heartbreaking? (1/21/2013)

I found this book well-written and thought-provoking, but also painfully, often needlessly, heart-wrenching. If you are interested in gender issues you should certainly check it out, but know that the story is driven by intense drama resulting from secret-keeping; secrets I …more

How to Love Wine: A Memoir and Manifesto
by Eric Asimov

Interesting – to the right crowd – but repetitive (9/28/2012)

In general I think only wine enthusiasts will appreciate this book. I found it interesting because I like wine and went through a phase of learning more about it several years ago, but those with only a casual interest may find it drops too many names and technical terms to …more

The Age of Miracles: A Novel
by Karen Thompson Walker

If you read SF you may be disappointed... (6/9/2012)

I so wanted to love this book! I read a lot of science fiction, and post-apocalyptic stories are some of my favorites (yes, weird, I know). But this book just didn't hit the mark for me-- I found the characters flat, the relationships less than believable, and the basic …more

The Land of Decoration: A Novel
by Grace McCleen

not what I expected (3/30/2012)

I didn’t like this as much as I’d hoped I would, but it’s entirely my own fault. For some reason I thought this was going to be a post-apocalyptic tale, which is one of my favorite kinds of stories. But (by my lights at least) living in a grey, downtrodden factory town in …more

Behind the Beautiful Forevers: Life, Death, and Hope in a Mumbai Undercity
by Katherine Boo

heartbreaking, well written, memorable (1/23/2012)

As many others have noted, this is not an easy book to read. As I sit in my comfy house and type on my personal computer, just knowing that I experience a level of safety and security that is literally impossible to imagine for the people in this non-fiction narrative is …more

Wayward Saints
by Suzzy Roche

wish I liked it more (11/15/2011)

I wanted to like this book so much more than I did. The writer’s voice is interesting, but uneven in ways that don't seem to be stylistic choices: the language is sometimes formal, almost stilted, and other times gut-punchingly in-your-face. Although a few characters were …more

Falling Together: A Novel
by Marisa De Los Santos

why do i like it so? (9/5/2011)

I haven't been able to articulate exactly why I loved this book... Is it something in me that longs for the intense kind of friendship it describes? Is it the characters, so well-drawn that I feel I know them, and love them even when they do or say what seem to me to be …more

The Philosophical Breakfast Club: Four Remarkable Friends Who Transformed Science and Changed the World
by Laura J. Snyder

Interesting times, confusing timeline (1/12/2011)

Obviously a lot of research went into this book, and much of the history was fascinating, but overall the book wasn't cohesive or interesting enough for my taste. A full list of characters and their relationships would have been helpful (all the wives and daughters and …more

The Beauty of Humanity Movement: A Novel
by Camilla Gibb

Vivid, compelling, recommended (12/1/2010)

I found this a compelling, very well-written book that touches on many issues and ideas: Vietnam and Vietnamese history, culture and society; family; art and politics; how cultures and traditions shift in the face of history; “outsider” perspectives on America and Americans; …more

The Lost and Forgotten Languages of Shanghai: A Novel
by Ruiyan Xu

some goodness, ultimately disappointing (10/18/2010)

Other than some well-turned phrases and compelling images, I found this novel disappointing. The characters seemed unsympathetic, their actions and words weren't believable, and I didn't feel the deep sense of another culture and locale that can redeem similar otherwise …more

After the Fall
by Kylie Ladd

written in an interesting way (6/14/2010)

Despite my general lack of interest in the subject (a passionate extramarital affair) I found After the Fall to be a compelling and interesting read. The plot unfolds via first-person accounts from each of the major players, progressively revealing the characters and their …more

The Swimming Pool
by Holly LeCraw

good writing, but not my cup of tea (2/25/2010)

On the positive side, I think The Swimming Pool is a very well-written novel, and I found it interesting enough to keep reading to the end. On the less-positive side, I finished the book feeling I should have enjoyed it more. I didn’t care about most of the characters, and …more

The Fifth Servant
by Kenneth Wishnia

Fascinating! (11/11/2009)

I'm not normally a mystery reader, so I chose this due to the setting, namely the Jewish ghetto in Prague in 1592. I enjoy languages and there are plenty in this book-- Yiddish, Hebrew, Czech, German, Polish, sprinkled throughout the text -- but understanding the non- …more

The Elephant Keeper
by Christopher Nicholson

this is a Keeper! (6/12/2009)

I really enjoyed this book. I found the style engaging and consistent with the time frame and location (18th century England). The character of the narrator-cum-hero was interesting, if occasionally perplexing, and the author did a good job of making the keeper’s near- …more

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