Upon realizing this book was a sequel--the title was my first clue--I promptly managed to get my hands on The Witch's Daughter and two other of Brackston's books and read them in preparation for my review. Though none were grand reads, TWD was intriguing and kept my interest so I looked forward to her sequel. I was disappointed and frustrated by The Return of the Witch. It was hard to believe the same writer created this book with its jerky starts and stops, unsympathetic characters, and lack of plotting and character development. My recommendation is that you give this one a pass unless you are absolutely devoted to her first. In reality this is a 2.5 at best.

As a "woman of a certain age," I thoroughly enjoyed this glimpse into a decade in which I was just beginning life. It illustrates clearly that, tho' we have advanced in many ways, there are still many cultural carry-overs we experience today. The author draws characters that the reader cares for and also establishes a great sense of place. I finished this book in an afternoon and thoroughly enjoyed every moment. I will be recommending this one to my book club; I'm dying to discuss it.

I wasn't sure I was in the mood for a "romancy" book, so I began Mating for Life with some skepticism but the well-developed characters soon won me over and I spent a warm and lovely day of my beach vacation in their company. There were enough plot twists to keep me interested and I particularly enjoyed the opening epigraphs of each chapter. A great summer book. I will look for more from this author.

I usually passionately enjoy family sagas with the scope of this one, especially those set in the South, but this one was disappointing. Had I not committed to reviewing this for BookBrowse, I would have abandoned it. The pace was very slow, but worse was the lack of connection I felt for the characters. I hoped to care what happened from one chapter to the next, but, sadly this did not happen. I honor the incredible research exhibited by the author as well as his use of language, but these are not enough for me to recommend this book.

What a Christmas gift! I read first-time author Abigail Tarttelin's "Golden Boy" in a little over a day and am still (nearly a week later) thinking about how the lives of the characters are going on. You will fall in love with Max, the golden child of two driven parents and the older sibling of Daniel, a charmer in his own right. It is just not right to call this another coming-of-age story; it is much more. It is a coming-into-one's-own-identity story. Read it as soon as humanly possible; it will haunt you in the nicest way imaginable. I am so grateful for the opportunity to have read it!

Tara Conklin invites readers on a memorable journey in her novel The House Girl. She creates characters who inspire affection and interest and her language use adds to the reader's continuing desire to know more. Set in 21st century New York City and 1850s Virginia, Conklin moves action between the two seamlessly. Readers become intimate parts of the lives of both Lina, a young NY attorney embarking on a landmark lawsuit, and Josephine, the young black house girl possessed of an artistic talent that she uses as an outlet for her long-buried emotions. As a high school English teacher, this book appeals both to the adult reader in me and to the teacher of adolescents who will equally enjoy this look back in time.