BookBrowse | Book Reviews and Recommendations

A Place for Us
by Fatima Farheen Mirza

A Need-to-Read novel (5/11/2018)

Fatima Farheem Mirza's beautiful first novel has been called a novel for our times, and I heartily agree. The way in which she weaves the story of an Indian Muslim family's gathering for a daughter's wedding with the larger tale of identity and belonging left me breathless at times. Hard to believe this is a first novel. I definitely look forward to reading more from this author in the future.

Happiness: The Crooked Little Road to Semi-Ever After
by Heather Harpham

interesting...sort of (7/6/2017)

This sounded so fascinating--as the mother of a child who spent many months in the NICU some years ago and was born with a birth defect, I felt this would hit me close to the heart.
It didn't.
Parts were interesting, but the majority went achingly slow...it took me 4 times as long as it should have, but I didn't want to give up on it. i had hope.
Things move incredibility fast with a severely ill child, or they can move day by day quite slow or backwards. this felt like it moved just enough to fill a book.

Manderley Forever
by Tatiana de Rosnay

Interesting...kind of (1/3/2017)

What happens when an author writes a bio of her favorite author? The woman who in essence ignited the writing spark within her? You run the risk of a whole lot of mundane facts and getting caught up in the way, shall we say, the subject walked and even breathed.

That being said, once poor Rebecca started publishing and married, this bio came alive. I simply wish we had gotten there a lot sooner.

The Secret Ingredient of Wishes
by Susan Bishop Crispell

Pie, Pie, everywhere (8/3/2016)

I fell ill on our last day of family vacation at the cape, and had The Secret Ingredient of Wishes next to me in bed. This was the near-perfect choice; easy to follow, easy to read, easy to enjoy.

I found after a while, that I was able to forgive the overly-obvious coincidences but at first that did irritate me, I can't lie. Out of all the characters that sweeten this novel, the one I felt the most disconnect with, oddly enough, was the main character Rachel. She felt fluffy and unreal, but perhaps that's just me. Or the fact that her love interest Ashe seems to keep finding that "band of flesh where her shirt rides up" (stopped counting after it was mentioned 6 times...)

If I Forget You
by Thomas Christopher Greene

If only I cared... (4/25/2016)

If only I could have cared about Henry and Margot, or either one, the novel would have read much better. I enjoyed The Headmaster's Wife so had high anticipation for this one...but somehow, it felt flat. The danger with not caring, either in a positive or negative way, about a character(or characters) is that you end up simply turning pages instead of grabbing tissues. The author stated that he wrote this in six months. I believe it.

I'll See You in Paris
by Michelle Gable

I'll See You in Paris...slowly (1/21/2016)

The first half of this novel suffers from slowness. Sorry, but it's true. Alternating chapters of 2001 and 1973 just don't work well because 2001 is boring, boring. I actually enjoyed the 1973 chapters and was relived to see them coming back to back about 3/4 of the way through.That saved the novel for me. It is achingly predictable, but worth reading for those 1973 chapters. Too bad the entire novel didn't take place then...

Trust No One: A Thriller
by Paul Cleave

the terror of forgetting (6/26/2015)

I love when a well-known, respected author of the thrillers/crime/mystery genre writes a standalone. They get to flex their literary muscles without depending on familiar characters. Such is the case in the brilliant novel Trust No One. Imagine a man, confessing to his crimes as a serial killer(in great, realistic detail), who also happens to have written novels along the exact same line as the crimes that he is confessing to, except that he cannot remember any of that, because he also has early-onset Alzheimers...WOW. Did he? Is he? Paul Cleave confessed in an interview recently that this is his favorite novel(not because it is his newest) and I can absolutely see why--riveting from the early pages on.Absolutely original. Bravo!

The Well
by Catherine Chanter

mesmerizing debut (3/11/2015)

Rarely does a novel come along that is so unique yet so believable...I have found that in The Well. It is haunting, frightening, and once you begin, unstoppable. I devoured this novel over the course of a snowy weekend. Couldn't get out to get bread or milk? So what...I had The Well.

Mating for Life
by Marissa Stapley

character overload... (4/2/2014)

What prevented a higher rating on this novel? Too many characters! What started out as mother/3 daughters ended up being mom's boyfriend, sister's husband,sister's boyfriend, the lake neighbor, lake neighbor's daughter...you see what I mean? You end up with a a tiny ripple, when I really wanted to dive into their lives. I would read this on a plane, but if I finished it, most probably would end up in that little pocket with the emergency card and Air Mall magazine.

House of Bathory
by Linda Lafferty

Stick to historical fiction Linda, please (1/22/2014)

This novel had such promise in the beginning-I was intrigued by the 17th century setting, a mention of a baby as a taltos...promises to come. And then the present day intruded. I found the 21st century characters flat and unbelievable, and wondered why the author felt the need to describe Daisy's "long canine" at least ten times, without ever developing that line...oh well. Perhaps that storyline went into the recycle bin along with the taltos. Yes, she did allude to it, but never developed it in any way.

Bitter River: A Bell Elkins Novel
by Julia Keller

Bitter River (8/11/2013)

Ackers Gap, WV...a place you'd never want to visit, but a place that surely stays with you long after you've finished reading either book in Julia Keller's fantastic series (so far...there better be lots more!). Belfa Elkins (but don't you EVER call her that, she goes by Bell) is such a well thought-out, realistic character that I would follow her anywhere--so her being the prosecuting attorney in small-town West Virginia, with her own dark past, makes these mysteries a MUST READ...the second is every bit as good as the first, and that's saying a LOT...

The Good Luck Girls of Shipwreck Lane
by Kelly Harms

Good Luck Girls are a good good time...! (6/3/2013)

Two young women from the same city with the same name and that very name is called as the winner of an amazing house giveaway...what are the chances? I almost cringed when I started this; I knew it'd be either really good or a pure and total letdown...and SO GOOD it was! Shades of early Fannie Flagg, funny, humorous and heartwarming, with characters you want to invite over for a barbeque and beers. The only slight issue I have with this good time of a novel is that both women had "gorgeous guy" encounters almost immediately, in small town Maine..I mean really, what are the chances?

Where You Can Find Me: A Novel
by Sheri Joseph

Where you can find me (3/10/2013)

I really wanted to love this book--and I could have, if only Marlene were not a part of it. As a character, she failed miserably. I found her to be predictable, and, yawn, boring. She was more alive when her son was missing then after he was found. the parts of the novel where Caleb thinks back on his "Nicky" time are alive, vibrant, and left me wanting more; much more. The page-turning ending? Another yawn as well...

Accidents of Providence
by Stacia Brown

Accidents of Providence (1/1/2012)

This novel was just...ok for me. I couldn't really connect with the characters and at times it felt like a fictionalized thesis...I guess I was expecting more; oh well.

In Search of the Rose Notes: A Novel
by Emily Arsenault

In Search of the Rose Notes (6/24/2011)

All in all, this book was worth reading--even though it felt as though the author let the story get away from her. Take the title, for instance; it means nothing to the reader until the last few chapters, and then it just feels forced. The mystery surrounding Rose's disappearance seemed to be going one way in the beginning, and then took a sudden turn fateful fake-feeling turn toward the end. A shame, because the beginning was so good and the characters real...

Minding Ben: A Novel
by Victoria Brown

minding Ben (2/15/2011)

This book is...luscious. You immediately feel for Grace, newly-arrived from Trinidad and desperately searching for a nanny position. What so drives this novel is the strong voice; from Trinidad to the West Indies to Jamaica, these characters seem to spring off the page, each identifiable by their unique ways of speech. I truly enjoyed this book, and will happily pass the title along...!

Solomon's Oak: A Novel
by Jo-Ann Mapson

Solomon's Oak (11/4/2010)

Reading a novel by Jo-Ann Mapson is like spending quality time with a best girlfriend--it goes by too quick and you can't wait to do it again! "Solomon's Oak" delivers on all fronts; from Glory, recently widowed, to Juniper, the teen who comes for the night only to stay forever, to Joseph, the ex-cop with his own pain--these characters WILL stay with you...

Reviews by Sherri A. (Westbrook, CT)

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