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Reviews by Mary S. (Hilton Head Island, SC)

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Morningside Heights: A Novel
by Joshua Henkin
Realistic and Compelling (4/15/2021)
Seldom does a story about a family attain the realism that the author did in this book. Perhaps I am at an age when the storyline depicts situations similar to my own, but I identified with each of the characters completely. The author's use of parallel timelines capturedmore
A Theater for Dreamers
by Polly Samson
Too Much Information (4/7/2021)
Sorry, one of the few Bookbrowse books I could not finish. The author used far too many descriptive words, phrase, and adjectives--the story line was lost between subject and verb. I have been to Greece and based on her writings, would not have appreciated the beauty of themore
At the Edge of the Haight
by Katherine Seligman
Good Description of Problem; No Solution (10/12/2020)
The causation, description of the homeless lifestyle, and the challenges associated with the problem of homelessness were beautifully defined in the body of the story of Maddy and her friends. Unfortunately, after presenting the reader with an appealing storyline, themore
Hieroglyphics
by Jill McCorkle
Couldn't Put It Down! (7/2/2020)
Because of the state of the world with a virus, politics, riots, etc., it took me longer than usual to start reading this book. I read it from cover to cover in about 5 hours!! The story, the writing-- everything was first class. Perhaps it had the added impact on memore
Catherine House: A Novel
by Elisabeth Thomas
Missed The Mark (4/7/2020)
This is the first Bookbrowse First Impressions that I just couldn't get into. Maybe it's because of the world situation at the present moment, but I couldn't get past the first 50 pages. the writing was quite good, but the subject held no appeal for me. Sorry Bookbrowse,more
And They Called It Camelot: A Novel of Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy Onassis
by Stephanie Marie Thornton
Future best Seller (12/27/2019)
As a young adult growing up in the Kennedy era, I was surprised how much I had forgotten many of the events and emotions of that time. The author recreated those times with meticulous and artful detail. Her attention to historical fact was remarkable. The only criticism Imore
Remembrance
by Rita Woods
Wanted To Like It, But--- (10/20/2019)
The author writes well and clearly has a story in mind, but I found her message hard to follow. The history of Afro-American culture was interesting, but had no real purpose as far as I could discern. Maybe the voodoo and black magic didn't appeal to me, but try as I might,more
The Last List of Miss Judith Kratt: A Novel
by Andrea Bobotis
Wanted To Like It, But--- (7/27/2019)
When I first started to read this book, I thought it was going to be in the genre of Harper Lee-- southern mystery and history blended into a likable, easy to read story. Instead I found the story contrived and loosely put together by confusing attempts to keep the readermore
Never Have I Ever
by Joshilyn Jackson
Wow!! (4/22/2019)
What a page turner! Yes, the story was a bit scattered at times, but I kept turning the pages to find out what came next. The narrative was interesting and easy to follow and identify with at many levels. A good "read in three hours" on a rainy day book. Also a good book club book.
The Last Romantics
by Tara Conklin
Good Story, Poor Presentation (11/27/2018)
I really wanted to like this book, however, the author kept interrupting a good story with fifty year "anecdotes". She ruined a good read by inserting unnecessary narrative that added nothing to the book. Even worse, we never learned who the character of Luna, introduced inmore
American Princess: A Novel of First Daughter Alice Roosevelt
by Stephanie Marie Thornton
Wonderful!! (11/22/2018)
I haven't enjoyed a book this much in a long time. Well written, faithful to history and a believable narrative voice as well. The author's love of history is quite apparent as she makes excellent use of the historical situations and persons from the time of 1902 throughmore
Red, White, Blue
by Lea Carpenter
Missed The Mark (7/14/2018)
This could have been a good book , but was spoiled by the meandering, disorganized writing style of the author. It was hard to distinguish the narrative voices of the characters and at times, the writing style completely changed making it difficult to discern the author'smore
The Summer Wives
by Beatriz Williams
Good Beach Read (4/13/2018)
As our Summer approaches, I urge you to put Summer Wives by Beatriz Williams in your beach tote as you go on your beach vacation. While the story is predictable in many ways, the author puts in enough twists and turns to keep the reader wondering about how the story ends.more
Other People's Houses
by Abbi Waxman
Spoiled by the ending (11/29/2017)
The first 300 pages of this book were entertaining-- not great but very readable. It was easy to identify with the characters and situation. However the author, while setting up a believable situation, did not seem to know how to bring the story to an end. All of themore
Next Year in Havana
by Chanel Cleeton
Excellent History of Cuban revolution (10/16/2017)
The author has succeeded beyond expectation in relating the historic events surrounding the Cuban Revolution and Fidel Castro's rise to power along side a present day love story. She interweaves love of country and heritage and personal love of another human being in amore
The Almost Sisters
by Joshilyn Jackson
Another "To Kill A Mockingbird" (5/19/2017)
When I first started to read this book I thought it was another chick lit, beach read book-- how wrong I was!! Read past the first 50 pages and you find yourself in the world of Southern culture, family secrets, and a cast of characters who keep surprising you at every turn.more
The Book of Summer
by Michelle Gable
Predictable (3/12/2017)
I enjoyed this book for its light, entertaining quality. The characters were well described and easily recognizable in real life. I didn't give it a 5 star rating as the story line was a bit dull and the ending was very predictable. It is the type of book I would classifymore
The Weight of Ink
by Rachel Kadish
Not Worth The Read (2/6/2017)
Seldom will I not complete reading a book, however after plowing through 200 pages of this 500 page book, I decided to put it aside. The subject matter of the book, history, feminism, Jewish culture is appealing. The story gets lost in the flowery prose, long sentences andmore
Frank & Ava: In Love and War
by John Brady
Age of Hollywood Glamour and Stars (8/10/2015)
If you are not a movie buff or interested in the golden age of Hollywood movies and glamorous stars, this book is not for you. However, if you enjoy the old movie classics and bigger than life movie stars, you will thoroughly enjoy how the author captures the era andmore
The Shore: A Novel
by Sara Taylor
Bits And Pieces (5/29/2015)
Yet another book I wanted to like but gave up about halfway through the book. I did finish it, but only to find out where the author was taking me. I realize that this was a pre-publication copy, but the editing was poor, the grammar awful, and sentence structure lacking inmore
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In Our Midst
by Nancy Jensen
In Our Midst follows a German immigrant family’s fight for freedom after their internment post–Pearl Harbor.
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