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Reviews by Virginia M. (San Antonio, TX)

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Home Sweet Home
by April Smith

A good historical novel (12/6/2016)

The Library of Congress data for this book categorizes it as "family life, romance, western" and the preface to the book ends with two questions that hint that maybe it was written as a "who dun it" book. I think both of these things are misleading to potential readers. I …more think that those people who pick this book based upon a hope it will primarily be a mystery with a touch of romance will likely be somewhat disappointed while those who start reading it as historical novel based upon a true story will find it quite satisfying; but that is just my opinion. However, I received this free book under the First Impressions program of Book Browse in exchange for my honest opinion so I want to comply with that commitment.

The book is decidedly full of history about the McCarthy trial era in our nation's history and it is based upon an actual event where a man and his family are viciously accused of being dirty "Commies". His reputation is ruined and later his family is murdered by a man who was so influenced by the call to rid this country of people with Marxist leanings that he committed murder. Home Sweet Home pretty much used the specific details of that true story as the basis for its plot – changing only the family's name to Kusek and the location to South Dakota.

My favorite type of novel is historical fiction and I applied for one of the free books for that reason. I graduated from college in 1956 so I lived during the McCarthy era but I thoroughly enjoyed how the book helped me to remember the paranoia that existed in our country at that time. I also found myself comparing how similar the incidents in the book were to the 2016 election where both sides used lies and smear campaigns in an effort to sway the public.

Like so many books I have recently read, the book switches back and forth from the 1980s to the 1950s but I found it easy to follow – the publisher even printed the 1980s episodes in a different font style to help readers keep it straight.

Although my political leanings are definitely on the other side of the aisle from Mr Kusek, I identified with their concerns, longings to find a peaceful life style, and love for each other. The drama of the family life added to the historical aspect of the book.

I definitely would recommend the book for people who enjoy dramatic historical fiction. (less)

News of the World
by Paulette Jiles

Bottom line: I recommend this book (8/10/2016)

I will start out by saying that I liked this book. Now it would not be a wild enthusiastic endorsement, but rather a pat on the back type of approval.

I love to learn something from the books I read and this book accomplished that goal. . The book is about a journey through …more Texas by a male senior citizen and a pretty self- reliant 10 year old girl. Captain Kidd was a senior citizen who earned a living by being an itinerant public speaker who read the head line news from a variety of newspaper to folks living in towns and villages in Texas in 1870. The little girl was Johanna who he was hired to deliver to an aunt and uncle after having been forced to live with the Kiowa Indians for 4 years.

While I have lived in San Antonio for over 50 years, I was pretty much unaware of the turbulent and controversial Texas state politics during this period of history. So the book was an eye opener on that aspect. On the other hand, while well described, the other rugged aspects of the journey through Texas by Captain Kidd and his passenger, did not surprise me.

I had previously read other books that were also based on the fact that many such children did not welcome their freedom from the Indian family that was the only life they could remember, they knew, so this aspect did not surprise me. Along this same line, however, I did really enjoy reading about the building relationship between the two of them and the trust and respect that grew within both of them. .

I had a couple of problems to overcome. One was the style of writing. To me, the writing tended to be abrupt as if there was a rationing of words in effect and the author had to get it done with the fewest possible words. And similarly, it also appeared that punctuation was also in short supply so she left out the normal quotation marks, etc. Fortunately, the reader can get used to this style of writing in time and this style result in a book with only 200 plus pages rather than 500 plus pages – and I have the impression that the readers' satisfaction with the book decreases as the pages increase.

Secondly, I had to sometimes say the words that Johanna's words out loud to catch the meaning of every word. The phonetic spelling did succeed in helping a reader to understand her struggle to communicate so you have got to admire the surprising grit of a little girl her age; however, I must confess that a couple of times, I am not sure I interpreted it correctly.

Finally, the cover of the book made me concerned when I first saw it. I thought that the book might be as dull as the washed out colors in the cover. My opinion is that the cover makes it look like something that has been stored away for a bunch of years and only resurfaced recently. (less)

The Six: The Lives of the Mitford Sisters
by Laura Thompson

Submitted with regret (6/2/2016)

I have just read the copy of The Six by Laura Thompson that I received under the First Impressions program of BookBrowse.com. I am sorry to report that my impression is negative.

As I begin, I must say in all fairness that in my opinion Laura Thompson took on a huge job …more

Amour Provence
by Constance Leisure

Probably it was my fault (3/14/2016)

To me, this book seems to be a collection of vignettes about different people living in the wine country of Provence. I tried, I really tried over and over to get into this book. I kept reading although I was not enjoying it and then started skimming. I thought if I skimmed …more

I'll See You in Paris
by Michelle Gable

Some people may think it is great (1/4/2016)

I received a free copy of this book under the First Impressions program of BookBrowse in trade for the promise of an honest review. Their generosity in providing the book did not impact my review.

My favorite type of book is historical fiction - one based on actual …more

The Perfect Comeback of Caroline Jacobs
by Matthew Dicks

Too good to stop reading (5/30/2015)

I finished reading this book on the same day that I got it from as a part of the First Impressions program on BookBrowse. The reason I could do this was that it was very easy reading. It was almost like I was reading a Dear Abby letter in the newspaper. I guess that …more

The Rebellion of Miss Lucy Ann Lobdell
by William Klaber

Not for me (12/10/2014)

Let me start by saying that this book was not what I expected it to be. I received the book through the First Impressions program of BookBrowse. As an 80 year old who had faced prejudice against women in executive positions when I first entered the work force, I mistakenly …more

Ruth's Journey: The Authorized Novel of Mammy from Margaret Mitchell's Gone with the Wind
by Donald McCaig

The Journey of Solange (and Ruth) (9/16/2014)

As I began reading this book, I had the impression that the book would be the story of Ruth who was known to the world as Mammy in the fantastic novel and movie "Gone with the Wind". If I had not been anticipating this, maybe the first 2/3 of the book would have been more …more satisfying. Thinking about it later, I wondered if possibly the author had begun a novel but had laid it aside for some reason; then when authorized by the Mitchell estate to write a novel about Mammy he remembered that old unfinished novel and decided that its young black girl could be turned into Mammy. So he finished the earlier work by throwing in familiar names from GWTW that we all knew and loved at the end. I say that because most of the book is not about Ruth/Mammy. The book is about the French woman who turns into Scarlett's grandmother – detailing this woman's thoughts and her life experiences. I could even theorize that it is because of the need to shift the premise of the book from that earlier unfinished novel to Mammy's story that the last 1/3 is suddenly told in first person from Mammy's point of view.

In that last portion of the book, Mammy suddenly becomes a child of the south picking up the dialect of those African children who were born and raised by slave parents on a plantation in association with other slaves. This seems out of place for the child who at the approximate age of 4 is found and raised somewhat as half-daughter and half- aide -de-camp in the household of an educated French woman. I question where this dialect came from when she apparently had little association with other black servants or slaves until she was a grown woman.

When the book finally takes us to Tara and we once more find our familiar characters from GWTW, I found some of earlier life of these characters to be surprising and quite creative. Many were described far differently than I would have unexpected. It sort of makes me want to go back and read GWTW again and see how these new persona fit in.

Even if I had not felt rather cheated because the book did not meet my expectations about its point of view, I would have had a few other complaints. These include:

I had to keep a dictionary close by in order to make sure I was understanding some paragraphs of the book. I almost felt as if the author was trying to impress me with his wide vocabulary.

I did not like the untranslated French phrases in the early parts of the book. Luckily, when the story changed to truly be about Ruth and be told from her point of view, the use of those annoying phrases pretty much ceased.

I felt as if the author abruptly threw in a thought before he prepared his readers for that thought. For instance, Solange (Ruth's owner) is described as being disturbed about the content of a letter from her father before the readers are made aware that she has received a letter.

In order to end on a positive note, let me add that I found out after I completed the book that Denmark Vesey was a real person. That made me curious to now go back and read the portion of the book where he was active in the life of Ruth. Historical fiction is my favorite type of book and the civil war era especially appeals to me but somehow in all that reading I had not met up with Denmark Vesey until now. I liked that the author wove this historical information into his novel.

I received this book for free from the publisher as a Book Browse First Impression in exchange for a review. This did not influence my opinion. (less)

The Venetian Bargain
by Marina Fiorato

My venture into a new kind of historical novel (12/22/2013)

I will start this review with the conclusion - which is: I cannot say I loved it, but I did like the book.

I am a historical fiction fan but my preference is to read novels about American history. I occasionally venture into English history, but usually with a few …more misgivings because I just don't enjoy that history as much as my normal fare. I have read and enjoyed books that tell the background of some American immigrants who had roots in Italy; but I think was one of my first books purely about Italian history. As a result, it took me a little while to get into this book. I am not going to blame that on the author – I think it was just my lack of previous knowledge

I must say, however, I found the frequent inclusion of words that had no meaning to me and words that an online search did not provide a meaning somewhat frustrating. For instance on page 8, the word "portonera" is used. From its context, I presumed it meant something similar to a Mother Superior but I remain uncertain. Then on Page 9, the city of Venice is called a "polly-pole". From that context I could tell it was derogatory term but I could not find it in web search either. Then when the narrative switches to Constantinople, words like yashmak and ormisi were liberally thrown in. Now, I was able to search for these words and usually was able to find them. As I said, the author's tendency to impress us with words such as these proved her acquaintance with the language but did not improve my reading pleasure.

As I gained better footing in the novel, I enjoyed the character development and developed empathy for the main character, a young Muslim girl trained in medicine who flees her homeland to avoid an act of revenge by the Sultan. She ends up on a voyage to Venice on the same ship where a man suffering from bubonic fever is the main cargo – a dreadful scheme of the Sultan to smuggle this man into Venice and thereby gift Venice with the Plague.

Her adventures as a Muslim in Christian Venice during the 16th Century while the Plague is raging present an interesting setting. I enjoy learning and the book presented me with new information about treating the Plague and the Venetian culture in that era.

Until I almost finished the book, I could not understand why they chosen the image on the cover of the book – which gives the impression of wealth woman in a stylish dress – since our heroine dresses very modestly true to her Muslim culture. I wondered if the cover was aimed at indicating a possibly torrid romantic tone to the book. In the end, I understood what it portrayed and apologize for jumping to conclusions.

I am not going to search for another book by this author, but if you like this era and this culture I predict you will enjoy this book very much. (less)

Safe with Me
by Amy Hatvany

I liked it! (11/6/2013)

I really enjoyed this book, which is a contemporary novel, even though my favorite type of book is historical fiction. The story moved with an appropriate speed, I felt as though the characters were very life-like and believable, the story line grabbed my heart without …more

Jacob's Oath
by Martin Fletcher

Going Home (9/5/2013)

This book is another Holocaust story but with a different twist. Instead of being focused on the horrible conditions Jacob Klein endured within a concentration camp or on the sub-human conditions faced by Sarah Kaufman who survived by hiding out for years fleeing from one …more

Blue Asylum: A Novel
by Kathy Hepinstall

Something is missing (7/24/2013)

I am still trying to decide why I cannot say this was a great book. It was my type of book (historical novel) and it was an easy read. The Chapters generally are very short. The narrative flows rather well. But with all that said, something was missing. I felt as if I were …more

The First Affair
by Emma McLaughlin & Nicola Kraus

I had problems with this book (7/8/2013)

I would like to give this book two ratings – one rating for Part 1 of the book and a different rating for the remainder. I have no idea how the two authors collaborated on writing the book (and this most likely has nothing to do with my problem) but it seemed to me as if a …more different writer took over midway through it.

My rating for the first half would be a 1- (a one minus). I had a very hard time getting used to the combination of the writing style and the vocabulary. The vocabulary may have been a generational thing – this story was about the experiences of a current day young college graduate on her very first job (named Jamie) while I am a female 79 year old enjoying retirement at an independent living facility. I am not completely an out-of –touch old coot but my tastes in most everything are probably miles away from Jamie’s. Nevertheless, there were too many references in the book to things like “airnb sublets” or “the Bianca of Washington” – does it date me to admit I had to check out what these meant by going on-line? Also, there were too many sentences where I finally did figure out what was meant, but it is distracting when you have to think about it before going on.

My rating for the last part of the book would be a 3.5 or even a 4. While I had to push myself to continue reading the first part; I actually enjoyed the last part of the book. I was intrigued by the mystery of who the whistle blower was and whether Jamie would finally begin to tell the truth. Her loyalty deserves a halo but her lack of common sense was ridiculous.

I am not sure how the public will accept the very obvious connection between this story and the Monica Lewinsky affair. It did not bother me and I smiled ever so often recognizing the obvious twists in the story to keep us thinking about the Lewinsky and Clinton affair complete with the blue dress on the cover. As I read it, I wondered whether the variations in the story which departed from that well publicized affair were intentional or whether there were many things that seemed to be entirely the fictional imagination of the writer but were actually unknown parts of Monica’s situation. Of course, there were sufficient differences to make it in the end a fictional story of its own making.

My final comment is that I do not believe I would recommend this book to others. I must admit that it does not depart from how it was described by the publisher so I got just what I asked for when I signed up to read it and I also am not sorry that I took the time to finish reading it, but it was not a memorable read and does not reach anywhere near the level of good writing or excellent plot that I require before recommending a book to a friend. I would rate it as equivalent to one of the Harlequin Romance books I read years and years ago as I entered menopause and needed a boost. (less)

Songs of Willow Frost
by Jamie Ford

Disappointed (6/29/2013)

I received this book under the Book Browse First Impression program. I really wanted to say that I loved this book because I really like Jamie Ford's first book and I wanted to be able to say I was one of the first to read a future best seller; but, unfortunately, I must …more

Caleb's Crossing: A Novel
by Geraldine Brooks

Not really about Caleb (2/23/2013)

I am going to be generous and give the book 2.5 stars. Halfway between it was ok and I liked it.

Are we there yet? I was really disappointed in this book. I had heard such good reports and several people told me in advance that I would love it – but I am finally done and not …more a minute too soon.

Why was I disappointed? Let me count the ways:

I expected a book that let me experience the life of the first Native American to graduate from Harvard. What I got, was a story that is primarily about a young colonial girl (Bethia) and her life on the island we call Martha’s Vineyard and her experiences as the daughter of a missionary to the Indians. Every once and while, Caleb (the Harvard graduate) appears in the story but we only see him through Bethia’s eyes. This made me feel at time like the victim of false advertising. Another reviewer said maybe the author did not feel free to explore further into Caleb because he was an actual person and, even though this is a fictional novel, trying to add/detract from what is known about him would almost be akin fraud.

The language the author used to make Bethia’s journal sound very authentic may have accomplished that task, but it cut into my enjoyment of the plot of the novel. The writing style sometime exhausted me. I just wanted to relax in my comfy chair and read for pleasure and not have to think about what I was reading – but the author deprived me of that privilege. I was happy when I finished this book – there are too many good books out there waiting for me.

Frequently, I felt as though the author was testing my patience when she jumped ahead of herself and then later came back and explained how she got there. I must admit I was forewarned of this tendency by how the book starts – I am a rather disciplined person I guess and I would have preferred if the book had started at the beginning of the story instead of jumping into something that really took place much later.

I think the author intended for us to identify with and admire Bethia. Instead, I could never feel as though I actually knew her as a person. I sympathized with desire to break though the gender gap and I was disturbed by how unfairly she was treated, but that was it. I think if the author had forgotten about trying to weave Caleb into the story and concentrated on Bethia’s life, I might have had more positive thoughts about the whole book. There was a story to be told about Bethia, but the to me the author kept dropping a stitch – leaving a whole in the story.

I do admire the work obviously done by the author to resurrect so much information about the relationships between the settlers and the Indian tribes and about the beginnings of Harvard. Too bad she had the limitations of the small bits of knowledge available about Caleb. Once again, I feel as though his inclusion in the novel was the problem.

And now that I have reached the end of the story (finally!) – I am left wondering where the book was supposed to take me. So in answer to my question – Are we there yet? – the answer would have to be that to get from here to there you have to have a destination in mind. (less)

Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter: A Novel
by Tom Franklin

I liked it even if it was not my favorite type of book (1/8/2013)

I read this book for a book club - and I have been searching for a good way to describe it. The Library of Congress data calls it "psychological fiction". This is a good description.

The book includes a “who-dun-it” thread, but it is really a study of two men. If you are …more

The Spy Lover
by Kiana Davenport

Discovery of the relevancy of the human heart (11/24/2012)

While I want to emphatically deny that my review was impacted by the means by which I obtained this book, I feel obliged to state that I received this book without charge in exchange for my agreement to give a true appraisal of it. What follows is my honest evaluation.

The …more author has done a magnificent job of creating a beautiful story of love made especially meaningful because it has survived prejudice, feelings of betrayal, sorrow, the beastly ugliness/savagery of war, forgiveness, and individual searches for self. Notice that I did not call it a "love story" because those words describe a romance. This book conveys deeper feelings and thoughts and the love found in the book expands to more than just one mere man and a woman.

We all are certainly aware of other Civil War novels – that history has been widely cussed and discussed as a period of national disaster and for certain people, feelings about that history continues to separate our nation. This is a Civil War novel but it is written about another group of people who also suffered terrible abuse in my country – a country that I deeply love with great pride because it does in fact offer liberty and justice for all. Remarkably, many of us have lived a full life mostly unaware of the magnitude of this other shameful period in our history. The author successfully gives us a history lesson about this abuse without making us feel she is chiding us.

The man in the novel is a wounded confederate soldier and the woman (the product of a marriage between an immigrant from China and a Native American woman) is the nurse who cares for him. The novel traces the lives of three people: the soldier, the nurse, and the nurse's father. The Chapters in the book switch back and forth allowing each of the three main characters to narrate their individual stories. In this way, we can successfully become the alter ego of each of them – sharing their feelings, thoughts, pain, and love. While this might sound like it might be confusing, the flow to me was quite natural.

I recommend it to audiences of all ages – with a warning in advance however that the descriptions not only tell about the need for forgiveness felt by the people who survive but they also provide graphic accounts of the horror of the battle fields. (less)

Change of Heart
by Jodi Picoult

Change of Heart (11/17/2012)

This book was not my normal type of reading. It is a contemporary story and I am a history person. I started reading it because it was a book club choice. With that said, my feelings after reading it is that I am not sorry I read it but I did not like it - sort of like …more

The House Girl
by Tara Conklin

The House Girl by Conklin (11/6/2012)

My review is based on the soft back edition of this book which I received free from the publisher as an "Advance Readers Edition" in exchange for the promise that I would write a review.

Unlike many books where it takes several chapters before you are drawn into the story, …more

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Reviews by Virginia M. (San Antonio, TX)

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