BookBrowse | Book Reviews and Recommendations

Reviews by Marianne S. (Ulysses, KS)

House of Echoes: A Novel
by Brendan Duffy

Creepy Old House and Young Family (2/16/2015)

This sounds like a familiar story, and but the author makes it original. A young family buys a huge, rundown house in a sparsely populated area in the mountains north of New York City. The wife has some serious mental problems. The people in the area are weird and creepy. …more

Juliet's Nurse
by Lois Leveen

Armchair Trip to Historic Italy (8/2/2014)

This is the imagined story of Juliet's nurse from Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. I enjoyed it. My husband and I went to Italy a year ago for our daughter's wedding, and I've since developed an interest in Italian history. The book is true to its times, which is important …more

I Am Livia
by Phyllis T. Smith

I Am Livia (1/27/2014)

As a fan of historical fiction, I enjoyed this book. Livia was the second wife of Caesar Augustus. I had never heard of her and knew very little about Ancient Rome. I learned a lot about both from this book. The author made the times come alive and described Livia's life …more

The Last Enchantments
by Charles Finch

The Last Enchantments (11/21/2013)

Will Baker goes to Oxford at age 25 for a year of advanced study. There he drinks, parties, drinks, plays games, drinks, has an affair, drinks, falls in love, and yes, drinks some more. The plot was pretty predictable. I learned a lot about Oxford, and its customs and …more

Palisades Park
by Alan Brennert

Visit the past at Palisades Park (2/27/2013)

This book has three main characters: Eddie, his daughter Toni and Palisades Park itself. The book begins with eleven-year-old Eddie visiting the fantastic Palisades Amusement Park in New Jersey in 1922 and continues until 1974. The Park with all its wonders and occasional …more

BookBrowse Book Club

The River Knows Your Name
by Kelly Mustian

A haunting Southern novel about memory and love, from the author of The Girls in the Stilt House.

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The Devil Finds Work
by James Baldwin

A book-length essay on racism in American films, by "the best essayist in this country" (The New York Times Book Review).

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The Mysterious Bakery on Rue de Paris
by Evie Woods

From the million-copy bestselling author of The Lost Bookshop.

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Real Americans
by Rachel Khong

From the author of Goodbye, Vitamin, a novel exploring family, identity, and the shaping of destiny.

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