Reviews by Lola M. (Boise, ID)

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The Nazi Conspiracy
The Nazi Conspiracy: The Secret Plot to Kill Roosevelt, Stalin, and Churchill
by Brad Meltzer, Josh Mensch
This is History ... (1/8/2023)
This is history as it should be taught in schools. Taking the dry bones of what we know happened and flushing out into full color had me all in. Reading about the humans behind the most important figures in turning a world war, with their preferences, egos, and courage …more
Morningside Heights
Morningside Heights: A Novel
by Joshua Henkin
Angst (4/16/2021)
Morningside Heights takes yet another look at a fractured family who cannot seem to make good decisions to save their lives. A typical young woman goes to college and leaves when she marries a man who is utterly self-involved then spends years being gaslighted. I failed to …more
The Splendid and the Vile
The Splendid and the Vile: A Saga of Churchill, Family, and Defiance During the Blitz
by Erik Larson
3D Snapshot (1/18/2020)
Simply put, The Splendid and the Vile brings Churchill to life in a way only those who surrounded him could have shown. Exposed to characters whose very human experience of him and the circumstances of that period in time took his biographical information and put in into 3D. …more
The Seine
The Seine: The River that Made Paris
by Elaine Sciolino
Unless you are familiar ... (10/2/2019)
I really believe that if The Seine had been written as a coffee table or travel book with pictures on every page or so it would have been more enjoyable. As it was, I was crawling through the French Language, references to luminaries whose names I did not know and text that …more
Beirut Hellfire Society
Beirut Hellfire Society
by Rawi Hage
Blunt Force (5/15/2019)
My soul has been bludgeoned by the blunt force of a word hammer. Beirut Hellfire Society takes on all that is wrong with religion, gender bias, class, culture, vices, mental health, and more. It's a virtual spewing of ugliness, hate, and madness taken to the point of death …more
The Girl Who Smiled Beads
The Girl Who Smiled Beads: A Story of War and What Comes After
by Elizabeth Weil, Clemantine Wamariya
A Hammer (2/19/2018)
Searing. Unforgiving. Difficult. This story was like a javelin being thrown over and over ... striking the target without pause page after page. There are so many stories about war and its affects on the women and children - each with their own voice. Clementine's is pure …more
Eternal Life
Eternal Life
by Dara Horn
Left Wanting More (11/22/2017)
Eternal Life is a classic tale of love found, lost, and found. It's environment had good texture and layers of meaning. The theme has been done many times, but this one held a few twists. I think that this book would have gone deeper, if the intent had been to make it …more
Rise
Rise: How a House Built a Family
by Cara Brookins
Slightly Askew (11/7/2016)
I couldn't like this story. Each chapter was a repetitive theme on the last chapter ... dealing with deeply disturbed ex-husbands, a crazy need to be out until all hours building a house, holding down three jobs, raising four children and dealing with men in the building …more
The Devil in Jerusalem
The Devil in Jerusalem
by Naomi Ragen
When Your Savior Isn't Your Savior (7/13/2015)
This was a worst case scenario of jumping out of the frying pan into the fire - over and over again. It's incredibly hard to watch a smart, talented, loving woman get mowed down by countless bad decisions and by the men who manage to create hell on earth.

On the other hand, …more
Fishbowl
Fishbowl: A Novel
by Bradley Somer
Could Not Put It Down (5/6/2015)
I loved this book. It's the best case of multiple story lines all running alongside each other I have read in a very long time. I became vested in every one of the characters, from the fish to the dance of two men and one amazing dress. Who would have thought that an empty- …more
Lusitania
Lusitania: Triumph, Tragedy, and the End of the Edwardian Age
by Greg King, Penny Wilson
Overloaded (1/22/2015)
While clearly heavily researched and informational, I found it impossible to find a good reading flow to this book. Details taken in snapshots and corroborated with copious notes were great in small doses. Characters were definitely brought to life and fleshed out and I …more
The Storied Life of A. J. Fikry
The Storied Life of A. J. Fikry: A Novel
by Gabrielle Zevin
Sweet Read! (4/14/2014)
This book was, hands down, a gem. From page one Zevin had me involved in a whirlwind of full bodied characters and I couldn't put the book down until I finished. There were nice surprises along the way and I learned to look out of the small clues she left like bread crumbs. …more
I Am Livia
I Am Livia
by Phyllis T. Smith
Great Period Novel (1/22/2014)
I picked up this book fully expecting a story that would enter the world of ancient Italy. What I didn't expect was to be thrown into a story without major introduction. This tale doesn't need one. From page one the characters, especially Livia and her father, are fully …more
The Drowning Guard
The Drowning Guard: A Novel of the Ottoman Empire
by Linda Lafferty
Period Piece (8/26/2013)
The Drowning Guard is a nice period piece about the Ottoman Empire after Islam became the governing religion. The writing created a world filled with the sights, sounds, smells one would expect to find in a region that is the crossroads of trade. I could definitely see what …more
The House of Rumour
The House of Rumour: A Novel
by Jake Arnott
What? (5/8/2013)
I really tried to like this book. It was like a long, winding discourse on science, war, sex, drugs, authorship and people whose lives were just messed up .. by themselves.

I give the author points for never losing the somewhat ephemeral tone of the novel ... even when …more
The Supremes at Earl's All-You-Can-Eat
The Supremes at Earl's All-You-Can-Eat
by Edward Kelsey Moore
Warm and Full (4/8/2013)
I put this book down with a smile on my face and the wish to visit this town and meet the characters. Each of the three women were fully formed and shine like stars. I spent time laughing at the everydayness of the personalities that weaved in and out and barely noticed …more
Children of the Jacaranda Tree
Children of the Jacaranda Tree
by Sahar Delijani
Never Ending (2/16/2013)
Reading Children of the Jacaranda Tree was what it must feel like to endlessly drown - in sorrow, fear, helplessness, similes and the over careful parceling out of emotions. It was like being tumbled over and under a roaring river of barely suppressed screams in a hurt-your- …more
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