Reviews by Sarah H. (Arvada, CO)

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Courting Mr. Lincoln
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 …more
Gone So Long
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, …more
Listen to the Marriage
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 …more
A Place for Us
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' …more
Anatomy of a Miracle
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 …more
Strangers in Budapest
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
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 …more
The Resurrection of Joan Ashby
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 …more
The Fifth Petal
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
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 …more
The Life of the World to Come
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 …more
What Lies Between Us
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
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 …more
What Doesn't Kill Her
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 …more
The Well
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 …more
Whispering Shadows
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 …more
The Same Sky
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, …more
The Book of Strange New Things
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 …more
Accidents of Marriage
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 …more
The Quick
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 …more
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