BookBrowse | Book Reviews and Recommendations

Courting Mr. Lincoln
by Louis Bayard

Wonderful and imaginative (3/11/2019)

Historical fiction seems to me the most challenging of genres. You have to create a "character" that competes with a pre-existing idea the reader has of that person, honor what history has shown us, and yet create your own world, your own story. All while battling the additional challenges of a period piece, which can so easily create caricatures instead of characters. I am happy to say that Louis Bayard has overcome these challenges and created a beautiful and engaging story that feels more like a time machine than a work of fiction. I so appreciate the ride and the opportunity to take a peek into the world of Mary Todd and Mr Lincoln.

Gone So Long
by Andre Dubus III

As real as it gets (10/11/2018)

When characters leap from the page into your mind and heart, tormenting and challenging both, you forget you are reading. You are sharing the human experience with another who admits and acknowledges that life can be hard, painful and sometimes downright ugly. And yet, there is goodness. To share this with another, even if only through the written word, is a powerful experience.

Listen to the Marriage
by John Jay Osborn

Fiction Therapy (7/16/2018)

To hold a reader's interest and keep them engaged with such a simple premise takes skill. In reading the premise of the book, I thought it could either be really intimate and engaging or, really really boring. Osborn absolutely achieves the former, with characters you care about and themes you can relate to, and if in a relationship, can also apply to your own life. A very enjoyable read!

A Place for Us
by Fatima Farheen Mirza

The Beautiful Power of Story (4/21/2018)

Fatima Farheen Mirza honors and celebrates the power of story that gives the reader insight and connection to another culture they may never experience outside of the book. Yet the effects of the story are real and live on with the reader. This speaks strongly to the author's ability to create emotion and three dimensional characters in a warm and touching story of family.

Anatomy of a Miracle
by Jonathan Miles

Creative approach (1/24/2018)

When I started reading this book I had to stop and double check if it was fiction or a true story. That speaks to the authors success in using a unique "mockumentary" style for this book, and to the ability to create characters that real and accessible. The plot itself, the questions asked, the themes explored, may have been a bit too ambitious, but that is the only place where the book falls short.

Strangers in Budapest
by Jessica Keener

Story not enough to carry characters (11/30/2017)

While the plot is intriguing and the journey to Budapest is made real for the reader, the characters fall flat. It's hard to care about the rest of the book when you can't connect with the characters. It's as if the only thing that was really vivid was their shortcomings.

Wonder Valley
by Ivy Pochoda

Transported (8/19/2017)

Pochoda creates scenery that makes you forget you're not watching a movie. The pace keeps you engaged, and the plot and character development is so robust and authentic, you care about things or people you would never otherwise have interest in. A good writer engages you in characters that you can relate to in places you'd want to go, a great writer takes you to places you'd never go and allows you to care about people you'd never seek out. Wonder Valley absolutely achieves this.

The Resurrection of Joan Ashby
by Cherise Wolas

So much more than it seems (6/8/2017)

This book requires your full engagement and commitment and it is absolutely worth it. Wolas tackles an otherwise ordinary topic in an extraordinary and engaging way that speaks not only to women's changing roles and motherhood, but to the writer in all of us, to the hidden or forgotten gifts in all of us. The stories woven throughout are so creative, so well written, that I find myself wanting more. This book was an ambitious undertaking and does not disappoint.

The Fifth Petal: A Novel
by Brunonia Barry

Five Stars for The Fifth Petal (3/2/2017)

Barry truly nurtures her characters, the love she has for them brings them to life for her readers. This story is compelling and suspenseful with a thorough history of Salem. Another book from Brunonia that is worth reading, keeping and recommending.

The Tea Planter's Wife
by Dinah Jefferies

A journey for the senses (8/29/2016)

When I read fiction I want to get lost in the story, in the experience and forget I am reading a book in the first place. This book delivers on that front via beautiful prose and an effortless sensory experience. From the very first pages I can feel the humidity, see the colors of Gwen's clothes, and experience her apprehension. The story alone may not warrant 5 stars but the delivery is such an amazing trip to another place and time, I think it deserves it without reservation.

The Life of the World to Come
by Dan Cluchey

The male answer to "chick lit" (4/6/2016)

I love the author's writing style. I love that he uses words I had to look up without seeming pretentious. I love that he writes conversation that sounds like some that I've had and would love to have with his characters! The story is somewhat common, guy gets girl, guy loses girl, guy is sad, guy decides to wax philosophical with a death row inmate. Okay, that last part isn't so common. The book is funny, sometimes deep, and very, very human.

What Lies Between Us
by Nayomi Munaweera

Beauty in the darkness (12/28/2015)

Sometimes you read to escape, sometimes you read to go deeper into the human experience, perhaps to places darker than anything you have known. This is one of those books, haunting, disturbing yet connected and real, if it were not beautifully written, it may be too hard to read.

Maybe in Another Life
by Taylor Jenkins Reid

Creative story idea, ordinary delivery. (6/2/2015)

I found the idea of two scenarios playing out in one novel to be quite compelling. Who hasn't wondered, "what would have happened if?" That approach could get a little tricky though, how do you know which scenario you're reading now? That wasn't the part of the book that fell flat for me though, even though it did get confusing now and again. What made this book very average for me was the characters and the story itself. It wasn't particularly compelling or engaging, I did care about the characters enough to finish the book, but that was pretty much it. There are characters who live on in your memory and when you think of them it feels like you're missing a friend, this was not that book. When you have what is essentially "chick lit" you either need a unique story or artful writing, ideally both. This book had neither.

What Doesn't Kill Her: A Reeve LeClaire Series Novel
by Carla Norton

Inspiring and engaging (5/9/2015)

A page turner from the start, this book is so much more than a thriller. It's a powerful story about strength, courage and hope. My only criticism of this book would be that it's hard to read something as entertainment knowing real people have endured circumstances such as Reeve. And yet real people have also been brave and strong and clever. Norton does a wonderful job of creating a thriller with heart and depth.

The Well
by Catherine Chanter

Vivid imagery (4/13/2015)

From the moment I started reading this book I felt like I was watching a movie. Some authors try so hard to create images for the reader, but in The Well, those images were effortless. Like many other readers I found this hard to put down, this has so much to do with being transported to another place.

Whispering Shadows
by Jan-Philipp Sendker

Characters are as strong as story (2/18/2015)

Sometimes character development and depth can take a backseat to the plot in a crime story. That is not the case with this lovely book that draws you in from the first pages. The author does a wonderful job of creating the environment for you, I felt like I was there with the main character each step of the way. This an excellent combination of engaging characters and life themes, along with a well developed plot.

The Same Sky
by Amanda Eyre Ward

A deep dive into the human experience (11/30/2014)

I loved this book, it was everything I've come to love about the author and more. It simultaneously feels like you are reading letters from a friend while getting to know yourself better. Though the experiences of the characters is not something I specifically relate to, the way they are written makes their experience so accessible, so relatable, I found their story to connect deeply to my own life. This book is why I love reading.

The Book of Strange New Things: A Novel
by Michel Faber

Slow start turns to engaging read (9/12/2014)

While no one actually travels to an alien planet, the allure of new things is mimicked and relatable in everyday life. When anyone finds themselves in another, an individual, a community, or a planet, they discover who they really are. And the self they find may no longer belong to their past. The author highlights this brilliantly and takes the reader on a journey that at once is other worldly and utterly accessible.

Accidents of Marriage
by Randy Susan Meyers

So much more than a book about marriage (6/17/2014)

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. From the first page I could feel the tension in the marriage, in the family. The characters are so distinct and vivid, I felt like if only someone could tell the others what they were thinking, maybe they could work things out. This story is as much about Emma as Maddy and Ben, I also felt compelled to reach into the book and save her! That intimate connection with the characters is Randy Susan Meyers' gift.

The Quick
by Lauren Owen

Prose makes up for plot (4/29/2014)

I was surprised by several plot lines and twists which are not topics I would normally be interested in, and when it comes to the supernatural, it's a topic I would actively avoid. But the author has a way with words, where the experience of reading them allows the reader to have a relationship with the words themselves. The Quick was a an exciting and unexpected book and I appreciate the author's gift with words that allowed me to read outside of my usual interests.

Reviews by Sarah H. (Arvada, CO)

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Reviews by Sarah H. (Arvada, CO)

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