BookBrowse | Book Reviews and Recommendations

Reviews by Bea C. (Liberty Lake, WA)

As Bright as Heaven
by Susan Meissner

Life, Death and Love (10/7/2017)

This story follows the lives of four women in a family starting in 1918 and ending in 1926. It takes place in Philadelphia and, while it is during the Great War, it is also and chiefly about the Spanish Flu epidemic, which killed 12 million worldwide. The story is told by a …more

The Almost Sisters
by Joshilyn Jackson

Quirky and fun (5/16/2017)

Joshilyn Jackson's books are a joy to read with her intelligent writing. This book is full of quirky family members, like most of us have, and follows a free spirited graphic book writer and artist's life. The references to all the super hero comic book characters were lost …more

The Stars Are Fire
by Anita Shreve

Absorbing story (3/21/2017)

I became engrossed in this novel and read it in two days. I wonder what would have happened to this women and her children if she hadn't had the advantage of her mother-in-law's house to live in and her mother to babysit while she got a job? Would she have appeared to be so …more

North of Crazy: A Memoir
by Neltje

Plodding Memoir (6/9/2016)

I thought the first half of the book was so boring I actually quit reading it and read another book before I could make myself get back to this book. Her plodding on and on about day to day events just don't seem interesting to me. Her time in Wyoming was much more …more

If I Forget You
by Thomas Christopher Greene

Engrossing Love Story (4/5/2016)

This is a well written love story, not a romance novel. I became engrossed in this novel right from the beginning and finished it the second day. It is one of those novels I wished would go on and on. The writing is so good it overcomes some of the flaws, one of which is …more

Trust No One: A Thriller
by Paul Cleave

Write What You Know (5/26/2015)

At age 49, Early Onset Alzheimer's victim, Jerry Grey is a popular crime writer, but has forgotten most of his 13 novels and much of his life is a confusing blur. Paul Cleave does a good job of illustrating the frustration and sadness of this disease while making a " …more

He Wanted the Moon: The Madness and Medical Genius of Dr. Perry Baird, and His Daughter's Quest to Know Him
by Mimi Baird with Eve Claxton

Manic depression - a first-person account (3/15/2015)

This is a sad, heartwarming description of manic depression as described by a manic depressive patient, who was himself a renowned doctor. I have never seen so vividly and coherently explained the actual feelings and perceptions of a person while in a manic state. This book …more

The Last Flight of Poxl West
by Daniel Torday

Love, Guilt, and WWII (12/24/2014)

This book is full of emotion, mostly love, remorse and guilt. It's not so much about WWII as it is about people living during the war. As I got further into the book, I couldn't put it down, wondering if the pilot was going to find his lover again, if Eli would see Poxl …more

The Last Good Paradise
by Tatjana Soli

Disappointing paradise (11/4/2014)

If you have read "The Lotus Eaters" by this author, you will be expecting a great book. It isn't even particularly interesting, but the dumb affairs and relationships of the people on this island are silly and unlikely and the whole story wraps up too neatly.

Enduring Courage: Ace Pilot Eddie Rickenbacker and the Dawn of the Age of Speed
by John F. Ross

Mechanics: Read and Enjoy!! (4/16/2014)

The good part of this book is the amount of detail the author went into while telling about the life of Eddie Rickenbacker. A lot or work and research went into it and it reveals a genius at mechanics and a person unbelievably unafraid to try new machines at heretofore …more

Safe with Me
by Amy Hatvany

Safe With Me (11/19/2013)

I believe that this should be categorized as Young Adult fiction. It examines both sides, the giving and receiving, of a donor liver, but it is more about a woman staying with an abusive husband for reasons an outsider wouldn't understand, like really having no place to go …more

Last Train to Istanbul
by Ayse Kulin

Saving Turkish Jews (9/11/2013)

The historical part of this book is very interesting. I had never read anything about Turkey's involvement in saving Jews during WWII. Parts of the book were filled with suspense and I had no trouble finishing the book. The only thing that kept it from being a 4 star book …more

With or Without You: A Memoir
by Domenica Ruta

White Trash Opera (11/18/2012)

Sometimes it's hard to read about the life of a woman who was raised by an unfit mother. This book has chapter after chapter of the author relating repulsive things her mother said and did, like leaving her 10 year old daughter with a known pedophile, wanting her teenaged …more

The Mark Inside: A Perfect Swindle, a Cunning Revenge, and a Small History of the Big Con
by Amy Reading

TMI - Too Much Information (6/10/2012)

This book tells you everything you wanted to know, a lots you didn't, about the "big con". This could have been a real interesting book. It is a non-fiction story about a rancher in 1919 who got swindled in a "big con" (think THE STING), then spent years tracking down the …more

The First Warm Evening of the Year: A Novel
by Jamie M. Saul

Unromantic love story (4/11/2012)

This book is about love at first sight, but it is not a sappy romance novel nor is it action-filled. It is more about characters who have settled for their lives and resist change. It is a sensitive, moving, character driven story about a middle aged man who is called on to …more

Losing Clementine: A Novel
by Ashley Ream

A humorous look at preparing for suicide. (2/5/2012)

At the beginning of the book I didn't care for Clementine, an artist who has a mental condition and decides to end it all rather than spend the rest of her life on drugs. As the story carries on, she seems more likable and I was interested to see if she ever finds her …more

That Deadman Dance: A Novel
by Kim Scott

That slow, tedious dance (11/4/2011)

While this book was filled with passion and emotion, it was just too disjointed for me. The very good writing was eclipsed by the meandering thru past and future and repetitious words by the older Bobby. The story moved slowly and became tedious, even though I could feel …more

Loose Diamonds: ...and other things I've lost (and found) along the way
by Amy Ephron

Loose Diamonds (8/1/2011)

This book is a collection of stories and musings from the author's life. It is like reading a bunch of newspaper columns that have a little humor and not much feeling or intrigue. I would rather read one of them a day with the morning newspaper than try to read them all at …more

Ten Thousand Saints: A Novel
by Eleanor Henderson

Parents beware (5/5/2011)

This book is very well written, but it would be more interesting to someone who is interested in learning about the punk-rock era of the 80s, or re-living it. It would be a very scary book for parents of kids soon to be the age of the characters in the book, late high …more

Jamrach's Menagerie: A Novel
by Carol Birch

Sea Sickness (2/8/2011)

While the writing was great, very descriptive and made me feel like I was there, it is something I don't want to relive. The first half of the book was a wonderfully adventurous sea voyage, but I can't recommend this book to anyone I can think of since it is too unsettling …more

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The Husbands
by Holly Gramazio

The Husbands delights in asking: how do we navigate life, love, and choice in a world of never-ending options?

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Becoming Madam Secretary
by Stephanie Dray

New York Times bestselling author Stephanie Dray returns with a captivating novel about an American heroine France Perkins—now in paperback!

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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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A Map to Paradise
by Susan Meissner

From the USA Today bestselling author of Only the Beautiful. 1956, Malibu, California: Something is not right on Paradise Circle.

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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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