Reviews by Sharon R. (Deerfield, IL)

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Pieces of Blue
Pieces of Blue
by Holly Goldberg Sloan
Truth Rearranges the World (2/14/2023)
This multi-layered story has hope, courage and lots of love. Every person is dealing with unimaginable grief in their own way, which often catches the reader off-guard.

There is humor, often with wild chickens. Compassion and curiosity from a tight community welcoming …more
The Widow Queen
The Widow Queen: The Bold #1
by Elzbieta Cherezinska
Forgotten Polish Princess (12/14/2020)
This is a sweeping and detailed journey of a Polish princess that has not come to light in this century. She is strong, fiercely independent and brave beyond her years.
There is Witchcraft; people who change from human to animals and back again; Wars; Feasts; all richly …more
The Fortunate Ones
The Fortunate Ones
by Ed Tarkington
A Coming of Age Novel (10/20/2020)
This remarkable novel is a coming of age story that is very contemporary. There is the privileged side of town and the "other side of town". Both sides have the same struggles but obviously, because of money, there issues are resolved differently. There are multiple twists …more
The Woman Before Wallis
The Woman Before Wallis: A Novel of Windsors, Vanderbilts, and Royal Scandal
by Bryn Turnbull
Royal Scandal (7/27/2020)
This is a marvelous depiction of the years leading up to Prince Edward's abdication of the throne. The amount of detail the author brings to her scenes is a remarkable achievement in itself. You feel you are in the drawing rooms, the Clubs, even in the forest surrounding …more
Actress
Actress
by Anne Enright
Mothers & Daughters (11/27/2019)
This book explores the relationship between daughters and mothers alternating between the life of a famous actress and her daughter growing up in the shadow of her mother. The daughter, Norah grows up as many daughters do, wanting to be just like her mother who, in her eyes, …more
You Were There Too
You Were There Too
by Colleen Oakley
Marriage Layers (9/12/2019)
There is a moment in this thought provoking story that compares marriage to a TV. Sometimes the connections get loose and the TV sputters and flickers and then you fiddle with it and everything suddenly works again.

This novel is definitely about the highs and lows of a …more
Sold on a Monday
Sold on a Monday
by Kristina McMorris
"It started with a picture" (8/27/2018)
Another reviewer compared this story to the "fake news" that is prevalent in our society today. This story, however, is not fake, it is based on a true story. A reporter who is looking for his big break to land a story that will rocket his career onto the front page. He …more
The Summer Wives
The Summer Wives
by Beatriz Williams
First Love/Summer Love (5/7/2018)
First loves, enduring love and family love all play a part in this spectacular novel. Alternating between social and economic classes, Ms. Williams invites us into the world of privilege and societal nuances during the 1930s off the eastern coast of America. Our heroine, …more
The Days When Birds Come Back
The Days When Birds Come Back
by Deborah Reed
A Romantic Tragedy (11/27/2017)
Emily Dickenson wrote of the the days when birds come back like Indian Summer, some days are warm and tranquil and the next are cold, blustery and uninviting. In Deborah Reed's book "The Days When Birds Come Back" can two broken souls, June and Jameson, piece together their …more
The Almost Sisters
The Almost Sisters
by Joshilyn Jackson
Sisters Rule! (5/22/2017)
This is an amazing novel filled with family, laughter, love and drama in the still racially biased contemporary South. Many siblings remember events in their family's lives differently, in this story our two sets of "almost sisters" have to come together to help solve the …more
The Book of Summer
The Book of Summer
by Michelle Gable
A House and A Book (3/20/2017)
This wonderful book is about a summer house and it's guest/family book.
When I was growing up my family owned property and a house on the shores of Lake Huron not far from the Straits of Mackinac. We had notebooks that my father would record all the ships that passed "up" …more
The Half Wives
The Half Wives
by Stacia Pelletier
The Many Faces of Grief (1/11/2017)
A beautifully crafted story of profound grief, love, infidelity and cemeteries in the late 1800s in San Francisco. The novel is called "historical fiction" but it could happen to anyone at any time. The four main characters, three adults and one child, share their innermost …more
News of the World
News of the World
by Paulette Jiles
Messages of Life (8/22/2016)
News of the World is an amazing compact novel full of historical insights into post Civil War Texas. The area is still untamed, full of Indians and Military - many without leadership. There is a governor, but most people live by their own rules, self governing their spot on …more
The Imperial Wife
The Imperial Wife
by Irina Reyn
A Tale of Two Wives (6/20/2016)
This historical novel is written in alternating chapters between present day New York and the mid 1700s Russia. The historical story is of the young Catherine the Great and how she came to rule Russia. The historical chapters are extremely well written, filled with …more
A Certain Age
A Certain Age: A Novel
by Beatriz Williams
A Modern Day Romance (3/14/2016)
As in all of Beatriz William's novels you are transported and immersed in the period, this one being the Roaring 20s.The war is over and new industries are springing up, machines and airplanes are rapidly evolving and inventors are making more money than they ever dreamed. …more
The Forgetting Time
The Forgetting Time
by Sharon Guskin
The Force of Love (1/12/2016)
There are many story lines in The Forgetting Time, all intersecting in a story that is about love, that spans current worlds and those we do not know much about. Reincarnation is a major theme and the author intersperses cases that have been observed in other countries …more
The Swans of Fifth Avenue
The Swans of Fifth Avenue
by Melanie Benjamin
Glamour, Wealth & Debauchery Oh My! (10/29/2015)
A very large cast of 1950s and 1960s New York high society women come together for lunch, to be seen, and to pass judgment on all who cross their paths. Enter Truman Capote who soon becomes the group's darling. Truman enters their privileged world having grown up in …more
Maybe in Another Life
Maybe in Another Life
by Taylor Jenkins Reid
What If..... (6/8/2015)
What If? What if you did not move to a new town? What if you did not go to college? What if you simply did not get out of bed one morning?

Maybe in Another Life is all about "what ifs". There are two love stories told in alternating chapters with all the same characters. …more
The Wild Girl
The Wild Girl
by Kate Forsyth
Fairy Tales and the History of the Brothers Grimm (4/20/2015)
Fairy Tales are a staple in Children's literature. The Wild Girl is the story of a girl, Dortchen Wild and the brothers Grimm who translated and eventually published all our favorites

The Wild Family and the Brothers Grimm live next door to each other in a tiny German …more
The Sweetheart Deal
The Sweetheart Deal
by Polly Dugan
Love overcomes all (2/12/2015)
This book is about death, love, friendship, promises and betrayals. It is also about families and the realities and daily challenges after a great loss. The characters and the dialogue are wonderfully developed. You can believe that this family lives on your street. They …more
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