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Jane and Dan at the End of the World
Jane and Dan at the End of the World
by Colleen Oakley
Guerilla Marketing (11/26/2024)
Even though something kept me reading, I found Oakley’s fantasy to be implausible. Jane, the main character, is intelligent, likeable and funny. She seems to have good reasons for her fading love for her husband, Dan. Then, a band of ridiculous teenagers with an equally …more
The Berry Pickers
The Berry Pickers: A Novel
by Amanda Peters
Heartwrenching - Hearthwarming (11/18/2024)
You’ll want to be sure to have a box of tissues handy for this one. Peters is a master in the art of weaving humor and heartbreak into one story, one character, one chapter. Prepare for a roller coaster of emotions and a late night of reading. If, as Ruthie says, “Some …more
The Story Collector
The Story Collector
by Evie Woods
Grief Delayed (9/9/2024)
I know from experience that grief delayed is grief unresolved. Sarah and Anna are kindred spirits in their quest to find peace following heart wrenching personal loss. Thankfully, there are angels, saints or fairies to help us on our journeys. Effortlessly, Woods transports …more
The 1619 Project
The 1619 Project: A New Origin Story
by Nikole Hannah-Jones
A Case for Raparation - Or Not (7/6/2024)
Enlightening, shocking and profound. Jones rivets the reader’s attention to her "New Origin Story" and sheds light on America's darkest hours, her early struggles for independence and the shameful hypocrisy of her politicians and citizens relative to the enslaved. …more
Long After We Are Gone
Long After We Are Gone: A Novel
by Terah Shelton Harris
A House Is Not A Home (5/17/2024)
Secrets, lies, shame and guilt prevent three generations from enjoying their family home and each other, until four gritty siblings join forces to change their future. While we watch each one of them reach inside themselves and come to their collective “David and Goliath” …more
Long After We Are Gone
Long After We Are Gone: A Novel
by Terah Shelton Harris
A House Is Not A Home (5/15/2024)
Secrets, lies, shame and guilt prevent three generations from enjoying their family home and each other, until four gritty siblings join forces to change their future. While we watch each one of them reach inside themselves and come to their collective “David and Goliath” …more
Only the Beautiful
Only the Beautiful
by Susan Meissner
America's Secluded Shame (3/21/2024)
Meissner’s searing chronicle of the lives of Rosie and Helen is the most enlightening I have read since reading “Uncle Tom’s Cabin” when I was fifteen years old. I am now seventy-five. I learned three new words within the first few chapters: Eugenics, Salpingectomy and …more
The Cleaner
The Cleaner: A Novel
by Brandi Wells
The Cleaner (2/20/2024)
Office workers, from the CEO to the nightshift security guard, may enjoy this tragicomedy. Wells decided that her heroine should remain nameless, the “every-cleaner” in the “every office.” As an intelligent, imaginative, under-appreciated mother hen who harbors a generally …more
The House on Biscayne Bay
The House on Biscayne Bay
by Chanel Cleeton
From One War to Another (1/2/2024)
Parallel tales of romance, bankruptcy and murder in the 1920s and 1940s keep readers in suspense while Cleeton exposes the greed and ambition of the Miami of yesteryear. If you enjoy a good mystery with historical undertones, this book is for you. If you don't know much …more
Banyan Moon
Banyan Moon: A Novel
by Thao Thai
The American War (5/24/2023)
I've never heard the "Vietnam War" called the "American War," but I imagine if you lived in Vietnam in the late 60s and early 70s, you would understand the twist. This is the first book I've read about this era, and I am enlightened at last. The tale is rich in tradition …more
At the Chinese Table
At the Chinese Table: A Memoir with Recipes
by Carolyn Phillips
Yum Yum (6/29/2021)
Carolyn Phillips shows us how it's important to be "friends" before "lovers." It is interesting to watch her evolve into almost a "native" versus a "foreigner." I've tried so many of the delicious recipes and I had to run out and get a wok! This book is a fun and tasty treat!
Palace of the Drowned
Palace of the Drowned
by Christine Mangan
Deluge of Delusion (3/26/2021)
Mangan's depiction of the unraveling of a mind is brilliant. The reader craves to the see the sunshine. but the flood waters keep rising, in Venice, in Rome, in London – and in the protagonist's (or is it the antagonist's) psyche. Readers are forced to remeasure how …more
The Last Tiara
The Last Tiara
by M.J. Rose
Romanov or Bolshevik? (1/19/2021)
Intriguing storyline progressing along two tracks, one during WWI and the Russian Civil War in Petrograd and the other after WWII in New York. Readers who enjoy historical fiction mixed in with mystery, romance and a touch of class will thoroughly enjoy this novel. We learn …more
The Fortunate Ones
The Fortunate Ones
by Ed Tarkington
Universal Truths Re-Examined (10/20/2020)
From Saturday morning's first cup of java to Sunday evening's last glass of wine, this compact, riveting story is mesmerizing. The engaging pace, believable characters and heart-warming, sometimes melancholy narrative is the first "weekend read" I have enjoyed in a long …more
The Paris Diversion
The Paris Diversion: A Novel
by Chris Pavone
“You Are Being Diverted” (12/27/2019)
Perhaps I am not “smart” or “sophisticated” enough because this read is not “suspenseful” for me, it is annoying. Mahmoud has been at the “location” in Paris for fifty-two pages and nothing has happened. Kate clearly plays an important role but all she has done so far is …more
Creatures
Creatures
by Crissy Van Meter
Another Co-Dependent's Story (10/16/2019)
While the analogies between whales and humans are interesting, Van Meter fails to fully connect the dots, for me. I struggled through this story as it seems disjointed while also being depressing. The "heroine" seems conflicted long after she actually finds answers, as …more
The Last List of Miss Judith Kratt
The Last List of Miss Judith Kratt: A Novel
by Andrea Bobotis
History or Current Events? (7/21/2019)
The objects on Judith Kratt's last list seem to come to life, telling us stories of love and hate, guilt and shame, sibling rivalry and loyalty, old age and regret. Oh, and let us not forget, bigotry. But the dual bonds holding the characters, scenes and plot together are …more
D-Day Girls
D-Day Girls: The Spies Who Armed the Resistance, Sabotaged the Nazis, and Helped Win World War II
by Sarah Rose
D-Day Girls - Forgotten Heroins (4/29/2019)
Imagine! There are still those today who think that women have no place in the armed services. They are among those who call the escapades and heroism of the D-Day Girls "twaddle." The British government could not even acknowledge their existence after the war and continued …more
The Last Collection
The Last Collection: A Novel of Elsa Schiaparelli and Coco Chanel
by Jeanne Mackin
Surprising Threesome: Art, Politics and Fashion (3/29/2019)
Of course, everyone has heard of Coco Chanel but Elsa Schiaparelli, not so much, right? One can imagine that there is so much more to the rivalry than what is expressed by Mackin in this novel. If one lacks knowledge of color and art, it is amusing to consider the longing …more
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