Reviews by Erica M. (Chicago, IL)

If you'd like to be able to easily share your reviews with others, please join BookBrowse.
Order Reviews by:
Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy Onassis
Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy Onassis: The Untold Story
by Barbara Leaming
New information about the Kennedys (11/14/2014)
Having been 10 years old when John Kennedy was shot, he and his family have lived within my imagination and as part of my life. I have read a number of volumes about the Kennedys as individuals, conspiracy theories, fiction. This was certainly a new twist. I have known …more
Juliet's Nurse
Juliet's Nurse
by Lois Leveen
Juliet's Nurse explores life beyond Romeo and Juliet (7/22/2014)
This is a book to savor. Leveen gives nuance and depth of understanding to Shakespeare's setting of Romeo and Juliet in a way that the play itself could never give you. Angelica's perspective on the relationships she had with Juliet and the Cappelleti family, as well as the …more
Doing Harm
Doing Harm
by Kelly Parsons
Not what I expected (11/1/2013)
The opening sentence and first third of the book led me to believe that I was reading a very different book than what it turned out to be. I found the book to be engaging, the writing good, the story compelling. As opposed to many thrillers I have read, this one did not …more
The Edge of Normal
The Edge of Normal
by Carla Norton
Gripping page-turner (7/17/2013)
Just because my life was so hectic at the time - it took me a long time to read this book. I couldn't wait to sit down with it each time I had the chance and found the story compelling, the movement forward consistent and the telling of each party's part to bring the story …more
Crime of Privilege
Crime of Privilege
by Walter Walker
Torn from the headlines? (4/21/2013)
At first I thought this story was going to be nothing more than a fictionalized version of the problems that plague the Kennedy family and was disappointed. As I read further, I found that the story became far more complicated and deep. I thoroughly enjoyed reading it and …more
In the Shadow of the Banyan
In the Shadow of the Banyan: A Novel
by Vaddey Ratner
Superb book (9/5/2012)
As I read this book, I thought of the questions I would ask if I were reading it for my book club - such as how being under the Banyan Tree is a metaphor for the protection of one's family. or how do repressive governments think they are improving the lot of the people they …more
A Hundred Flowers
A Hundred Flowers: A Novel
by Gail Tsukiyama
The Gentleness of A Hundred Flowers (7/28/2012)
I so loved "The Samurai's Garden", that I always want to read everything that Tsukiyama writes. Unfortunately, I have never found a book of hers to rival my favorite. Her writing, her characters, her character development are always lovely. There is a peacefulness and …more
The Good Father
The Good Father: A Novel
by Noah Hawley
The Good Father is a great read (12/19/2011)
This book was so well paced, well researched, and well written that I will read ANYTHING that Hawley ever writes again. There was absolutely no filler. The book was absolutely taut. Everything that was written was necessary to the plot development. It was so satisfying a …more
The Night Circus
The Night Circus: A Novel
by Erin Morgenstern
A rare find! (7/23/2011)
I hated for this book to end. It was one of those delicious stories that you hate to put down to eat or sleep and look unhappily at how few pages are left as you near the end. This is an excellent first effort, which hopefully, will be the beginning of a wonderful career …more
A Simple Act of Gratitude
A Simple Act of Gratitude: How Learning to Say Thank You Changed My Life
by John Kralik
Thank You - for a pleasant surprise (4/17/2011)
As a lawyer myself, who has struggled through the challenges of the financial meltdown, and watched family, friends and clients, do the same, I assumed I would relate to what Judge Kralik had to say, based on the description of the book. I wasn't expecting a book that was …more
The Lost and Forgotten Languages of Shanghai
The Lost and Forgotten Languages of Shanghai: A Novel
by Ruiyan Xu
Lost and Forgotten Languages of Shanghai (10/12/2010)
This book starts out painfully slowly, but is so worth staying with. The title hints at the basic premise of the book - a man sustains brain damage and suffers from the inability to speak in Chinese; he can only communicate in the language of his childhood, English. He can …more
After the Fall
After the Fall
by Kylie Ladd
After the Fall (6/26/2010)
After the Fall is a story of marriage and infidelity told in the separate voices of the participants and their closest friends. It is billed as “page turner” and I would agree that it is, as each character only has one to six pages to tell their perspective, before we move …more
The Lost Summer of Louisa May Alcott
The Lost Summer of Louisa May Alcott
by Kelly O'Connor McNees
The Lost Summer of Louisa May Alcott (6/12/2010)
I have two real loves when it comes to my reading of late – I love historical fiction or fiction set in history and I love stories that bring me back to Victorian-style romances a la Jane Austen.

I thought that Kelly O’Connor McNees first novel The Lost Summer of Louisa May …more
The Swimming Pool
The Swimming Pool
by Holly LeCraw
The Swimming Pool (3/2/2010)
I had a real problem with the contrivances used to move this plot forward. In part it was a moral issue - my own personal morals; in part the contrivances were just too convenient. On the whole, though, the twists made the reading interesting enough to keep me going to the …more
The Things That Keep Us Here
The Things That Keep Us Here: A Novel
by Carla Buckley
Things that Keep us Here (11/30/2009)
This was a well-imagined book about what the world would look like if a pandemic hit. It was a realistic view of the community, country and world view in a crisis situation. The description of a 13-year-old girl's behavior in such a crisis was excellent. My greatest problem …more
Burnt Shadows
Burnt Shadows: A Novel
by Kamila Shamsie
Burnt Shadows by Kamila Shamsie (5/3/2009)
Shamsie effectively kept a story line going through the book bringing the horror of the bombing of Nagasaki into juxtaposition with the modern day terrorist attacks. It was a unique perspective - and a unique book. The characters were well-developed, the story lines fully …more
Lima Nights
Lima Nights
by Marie Arana
Lima Nights (12/12/2008)
Although I enjoyed this book, I thought it promised more than it delivered. The author had a canvass on which she could have developed her characters, their backgrounds, the motivations for their actions much more acutely than she did. It is a story of passion, but we never …more
Stuffed
Stuffed: An Insider's Look at Who's (Really) Making America Fat
by Hank Cardello & Doug Garr
Stuffed: Who's (Really) Making America Fat (11/11/2008)
"Stuffed" was well-written and researched, engaging and informative. Although I have been well aware of the manipulation of the public by the food industry, I had thought of it only in terms of advertising. Cardello makes it clear that advertising is only the tip of the …more
Mozart's Sister
Mozart's Sister
by Rita Charbonnier
Mozart's Sister by Rita Charbonnier (10/24/2007)
Mozart's Sister is an excellent portrayal of the frustrations of an extremely talented, artistic and intelligent woman, living at a time when women's contributions were ignored and only men's gifts were touted. As the sister of the prodigy, Wolfgang Mozart, Nannerl was cast …more
  • Page
  • 1
  • 2

BookBrowse Book Club

  • Book Jacket
    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.
1
2
3
4
5
PrevNext

Members Recommend

  • Book Jacket

    Girl Falling
    by Hayley Scrivenor

    The USA Today bestselling author of Dirt Creek returns with a story of grief and truth.

    Read the Reviews
  • Book Jacket

    Jane and Dan at the End of the World
    by Colleen Oakley

    Date Night meets Bel Canto in this hilarious tale.

    Read the Reviews
  • Book Jacket

    The Antidote
    by Karen Russell

    A gripping dust bowl epic about five characters whose fates become entangled after a storm ravages their small Nebraskan town.

    Read the Reviews
1
2
3
PrevNext
Who Said...

I always find it more difficult to say the things I mean than the things I don't.

Click Here to find out who said this, as well as discovering other famous literary quotes!

Wordplay

Solve this clue:

T B S of T F

and be entered to win..

Your guide toexceptional          books

BookBrowse seeks out and recommends the best in contemporary fiction and nonfiction—books that not only engage and entertain but also deepen our understanding of ourselves and the world around us.