BookBrowse | Book Reviews and Recommendations

Mating for Life
by Marissa Stapley

As the World Turns in book form... (3/28/2014)

Reading Mating for Life feels much like watching an afternoon TV soap opera, lots of drama and close ups of faces with wide eyes and/or pained expressions. The story revolves around a former sixties folk music star and her three daughters, each with different fathers, as they forge through their lives striving for and clinging to whatever stability they can find. Ultimately, their unfortunate choices of partners, rather for life or the afternoon upset the delicate balance and drama unfolds. Author Marissa Stapley weaves the woman's individual stories separately, intertwining them occasionally, creating a confusing web of shallow characters and vain drama. Stapley's clinical definitions of the mating habits of specific wild animals at the beginning of each chapter, while interesting merely add to the confusion. Recommended only for soap opera and/or wild animal aficionados.

I Am Livia
by Phyllis T. Smith

Roman Peyton Place (1/15/2014)

I am Livia is historical fiction set amid the dramas of the Roman Empire. Livia Drusilla reflects on her part in "saving Rome." From her life as a very young wife and mother to her involvement with Caesar Octavianus, son of Julius Caesar, Livia's remembrances reveal her as an anomaly to the stereotypical females of that era. Her story is interesting at best but the pace is slow. Recommended for only those who have an unquenchable thirst for early Roman soap opera.

Safe with Me
by Amy Hatvany

Stay with Safe with Me (11/17/2013)

Safe With Me begins slowly. The first eighty pages are slightly tedious, especially one long paragraph detailing how to play Zombie Wars. A grieving mother donates her daughter's organs after a fatal accident. A year later she thinks she has met the girl who is a recipient and seeks to confirm her suspicions. While there are some improbable relationships, viewed with skepticism initially, they are easily dismissed as the plot develops. Once the settings and characters become familiar the atmosphere charges and the drama of family dysfunction and abuse unravels with chaotic suspense. In the end, Hatvany takes sorrow, grief, abuse, self-respect and acceptance and blends them into a fast paced study of perceptions and reality. This book is recommended for those seeking a suspenseful yet contemplative week-end read.

Henry and Rachel
by Laurel Saville

Belaboring their lives…. (9/23/2013)

Henry and Rachel by Laurel Saville is a story crafted from letters between the author's great-grandparents and personal family lore. Saville is a good writer, her first pages piqued my interest and I eagerly anticipated the rest of the story. Henry, Rachel, their daughter, son and other characters each weigh in on the intertwining of relationships and their consequences in the couples lives beginning in Jamaica and later in New York. Unfortunately, by mid book the reader has been told the "gory" details and the rest of the book belabors them until the end. Saville states, "Because I could uncover almost no facts about Rachel's history, I eventually realized that the book I would write would have to be a novel." Yet her story doesn't contain the elements that make novels compelling reads. Actual dialog from the letters, spicing up the action and the creation of some political tension would have made Henry and Rachel a better novel and not a slow paced story of characters trying to rationalize their existence.

The Affairs of Others
by Amy Grace Loyd

Good-by forever and then? (7/18/2013)

Early in The Affairs of Others by Amy Grace Loyd, the protagonist Celia Cassill says "My husband died a difficult death. I went with him, or a lot of me did….American life asks us to engage in an act of triumphant recovery at all times or get out of the way. I have been happy to get out of the way." Celia's attempt to counter her grief by becoming a fastidious yet inconspicuous landlord is destined for failure. In reference to her tenants she says "I am not here to make a family of them, to know them too well…" yet she keeps a watchful eye on each, secretively tackling their anguish in lieu of her own.

Loyd's book is not without its surprises, especially the extent to which Celia becomes involved physically. While the details of the story are engaging Loyd's prose is more so. An example is her repeated reference to hands; Les's large sometimes violent ones and her own, small but possibly equally destructive. This book does not feel like a first novel and is highly recommended for anyone seeking a compact, satisfying read that will linger once completed.

The Sisterhood
by Helen Bryan

Sisters through the ages (5/27/2013)

Sisterhood by Helen Bryan was an entertaining and informative read, especially if one is interested in the history of convents and those who dwell within. The most intriguing aspect of this book was the notion that there were/are non-nuns behind the secure doors and the stories that are told as a result. How women act and help each other as they are rendered powerless by events such as the Spanish Inquisition and into the 21st century with kidnapping and forced prostitution is the premise of this book. Blending history and current events under this theme makes a good read albeit not great literature. Bryan's characters and events sometimes have the feel of a romance/adventure novel. Recommended for summer reading.

The Bloodletter's Daughter: A Novel of Old Bohemia
by Linda Lafferty

Old World Chicanery (10/1/2012)

The title of Linda Lafferty's book Bloodletter's Daughter gives a clear picture of what will be found in its pages. Early 1600 in Bohemia, using leeches to suck the bloody bad humors from the human body, a barber doctor attempts to treat a "mad" prince. With his young daughter as an able assistant they naively seek to correct the royal's behavior. Don Julius, the violent prince; Marketa, the smart daughter and Annabella, the neighborhood witch along with priests, doctors and memorable characters from the old world community are woven into a tapestry as colorful, confounding and mysterious as the bewitching imagery in the Coded Book of Wonder, the source of the prince's "bad humors."

This book readily draws in the reader and keeps him/her turning the pages until the end. Recommended for a long winter weekend.

The Woman at the Light: A Novel
by Joanna Brady

Summer's Perfect Storm... (7/1/2012)

What is sitting on the beach, time on your hands, reading glasses in place, lathered up with sunscreen and a good book to read? Ah summer! It is the best of times when all of these things, especially the good book, come together at once…a perfect storm scenario without the storm. Woman at the Light is an integral part of this summers’ perfect storm. Joanna Brady has written an evenly paced, historical fiction romance that could result in sunburn if you don’t have that sunscreen. You won’t want to put it down until you have read the last page. In 1829, Emily, a young Southern bell from New Orleans becomes infatuated with a handsome “wrecker,” men who salvage cargo from shipwrecks along the coast of the Florida Keys. Based loosely on the lives of women who assumed the duties of lighthouse keeping after their husbands died or disappeared, Emily endures everything the natural world can throw at her along with having to navigate the social mores of the pre-Civil War era in the deep South. Brady has just the right blend of history, romance and reality to make a week end at the beach fulfilling as well as frivolous. Perfect…

The Sometimes Daughter
by Sherri Wood Emmons

Didn't Deliver (3/6/2012)

The sixties and seventies were turbulent, dangerous yet exciting times. Much of what we see on the news today is contrived and sensational, as if trying to recapture the wonder and awe of the once nightly news casts of forty years ago. There is much from that time that would make a good novel. The Sometimes Daughter is not that book.

As the book opens the main character states “I was born at Woodstock.” That is the shortest best sentence in the whole book. I was intrigued by this statement and the expectation was for more than the book produced. Most unfortunate is Emmons lengthy dialog that rarely feels real or essential to the plot. Skimming from quotation mark to end quote was essential in getting to the end of this book. Not recommended.

Arcadia: A Novel
by Lauren Groff

Not Quite Ready... (12/25/2011)

This book could have been fascinating-and some of it is: creating and building a communal life in the sixties, kids of view of that life, some well defined characters. Groff's prose is brilliant in some places yet tedious and mundane in most. The book feels like a first or second draft, especially the first chapters. Recommended only for those who have the stamina to weed through the chaff for the seed.

The Homecoming of Samuel Lake: A Novel
by Jenny Wingfield

Homecoming of Samuel Lake (7/11/2011)

Jenny Wingfield author of The Homecoming of Samuel Lake chronicles a farm family dealing with the everyday challenges of raising children while circumstances with the adults go awry. Wingfield has deftly woven the story through her characters. Swan Lake, the pre-teen daughter of congregation-less preacher Samuel Lake befriends 9 year old Blade Ballenger, abused and speechless, yet communicative. Bernice a trophy wife to one man not so secretly aspires to rekindle her relationship with her brother-in-law Samuel. Ras Ballenger, violently abusive father and husband, methodically terrorizes his family, animals and neighbors while Calla, Willadee and Toy Moses invoke the family trait for truth telling as needed. This book is fast paced yet thoughtful. The Homecoming of Samuel Lake has elements of The Secret Life of Bees and To Kill a Mockingbird and is highly recommended.

The Tenth Song
by Naomi Ragen

Tedious Tenth Song (11/6/2010)

The Tenth Song by Naomi Ragen is a mediocre and predictable story about a rich New York Jewish family in turmoil. The father is accused of laundering money that eventually funds terrorist activities in the Mideast. The young daughter renounces her potential career as a profitable lawyer and wife of a rising star councilor as the mother wrings her hands and wrinkles her brow over public perception and the meaning of life. Melodrama and some romance ensue and as expected all end up finding some redemption in Jerusalem. Story, plot and setting are very genre specific and not unique enough for readers looking for substance.

Your Republic Is Calling You
by Young-ha Kim

Your Republic is Calling You...will you go? (7/21/2010)

Remember the movie Crash…all the characters dealing with their separate issues while rushing towards one final ‘crash’? Your Republic is Calling You by Young-Ha Kim has that same kind of feeling. Ki-yong, a Korean importer of films, has just received an email message that changes everything in his already pretty crazy life. He has been commanded to return to North Korea, the place he left years earlier under order to spy on the South. His wife, daughter, mistress and their acquaintances are pulled into the drama. This book has excitement, humor, absurdity and some pretty disgusting scenes. At times the excruciating details and rough translation make the reading tedious. The memorable characters and situations are worth the effort.

The Lovers: A Novel
by Vendela Vida

No Love for The Lovers (3/31/2010)

A good novel will move the reader to marvel at an intricate and meaningful plot and/or reread clever and thought provoking phrases. There was little to savor and less to ponder in The Lovers by Vendela Vida. Yvonne, a 50 something widow travels to Turkey searching for some closure after her husband's death, hoping to rekindle the positive experience of her long ago honeymoon. The main character stumbles through incoherent dialog and improbable situations to a predictable end. The result was a flat read with no direction. Possibly the most redeeming feature of The Lovers is it's length, only 225 pages.

The Lovers: A Novel
by Vendela Vida

No Love for The Lovers (3/31/2010)

A good novel will move the reader to marvel at an intricate and meaningful plot and/or reread clever and thought provoking phrases. There was little to savor and less to ponder in The Lovers by Vendela Vida. Yvonne, a 50 something widow travels to Turkey searching for some closure after her husband's death, hoping to rekindle the positive experience of her long ago honeymoon. The main character stumbles through incoherent dialog and inprobable situations to a predictable end. The result was a flat read with no direction. Possibly the most redeeming feature of The Lovers is it's length, only 225 pages.

Serena: A Novel
by Ron Rash

Serena Sleeps (9/11/2009)

The Depression is looming as rich Mr. Pemberton travels to his North Carolina lumber camp with his new bride, Serena. Both are fully aware that upon arrival they will encounter the father of a young, sixteen year old who is carrying Pemberton's child. A fight ensues after which the young girl is not only unwed but an orphan. The remaining 350 pages of Serena are as predictable as the first ten. All attempts at creating believable characters and situations are half-hearted and one-sided. Serena is a mundane book that could have been better.

A Girl Made of Dust
by Nathalie Abi-Ezzi

Family in a Futile War (5/18/2009)

Although told by an eight year old, A Girl Made of Dust by Nathalie Abi-Ezzi is not a children’s book. Set in a small village outside of Beirut during the long years of conflict the story reveals the life of a city under siege as experienced by a young girl and her family. The story may be compared to The Kite Runner, though not as compelling. Reading about this family can be as fatiguing as enduring the war itself.

How Far Is the Ocean from Here: A Novel
by Amy Shearn

Congratulations, you're pregnant! (6/24/2008)

The awe factor of a pregnant woman is high. Onlookers can only guess at the circumstances and decisions that created the child, hypothesize the outcome. How Far is the Ocean from Here deals with a common, albeit contemporary, set of circumstances: couple tries numerous times to get pregnant, fails, weighs options and hires a surrogate to carry their baby. As the story begins Susannah is rethinking her decision to become a surrogate, pondering her future in “otherhood”. Amy Shearn writes as the situation dictates, thoughts racing through Susannah’s mind, everything just slightly out of control. Fast read, quirky and humorous yet events and characters will remain with the reader long after the book has been finished. Highly recommended!

Life Class: A Novel
by Pat Barker

Life Class by Pat Barker (12/30/2007)

Woodrow Wilson’s “war to end all wars” certainly did not. At best, WWI set the stage for introspection into the consequences of unbridled cruelty in the name of peace. As Pat Barker illustrates in Life Class, artists can reflect this anomaly through their passion. Yet what they commit to sketch pad or easel might not truly reflect the artist in real life. Barker spends almost too much time with the self-indulgent life of her characters in their pre-war existence. Abruptly, reality interrupts their angst and pettiness, forever. Life Class is a relatively quick read with lingering effect. If you want to contemplate the futility of war, the meaning of love and the value of art, Life Class is a good place to start.

Reviews by Patricia L. (Seward, AK)

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Reviews by Patricia L. (Seward, AK)

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