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Reviews by Carol N. (San Jose, CA)

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In the Garden of Monsters: A Novel
by Crystal King
Persephone Myth Retold (8/30/2024)
Filled with many descriptive meals and beautiful descriptions of Sacro Bosco, Italy's garden of monsters, "The Garden of Monsters, is the gothic retelling of the Greek Persephone myth. It is not my favorite type of story; however, it is well written and provides its readersmore
The Pecan Children
by Quinn Connor
A Different read (7/3/2024)
"The Pecan Children" by duo authors, Quinn Connor, transports their readers back thirty years to the pecan grooves of a small southern town in Arkansas. The novel's story line provides an interesting and rather creepy reading experience. Confronted with ghosts of the pastmore
The Flower Sisters
by Michelle Collins Anderson
Home is . . . (3/23/2024)
Based on an actual dance hall explosion in Possum Flats, a small Missouri town, era 1928, "The Flower Sisters" explores the impact of such an event on its three main characters. The book is told through the eyes of one of the twin sisters, Violet and Rose, her playboymore
The Waters: A Novel
by Bonnie Jo Campbell
Strong Women of "The Waters" (12/13/2023)
Bonnie Jo Campbell has introduced her readers to a new novel, "The Waters, a story about 5 exceptional women and the small town of Whiteheart, Michigan. The "Waters" is located on an island in the Great Massasauga Swamp. When I first started to read, I felt like I was inmore
Mercury Pictures Presents: A Novel
by Anthony Marra
WWII movie epic (11/21/2023)
When I choose this book from BookBrowse’s First Impressions and Book Club Program, I thought it would be a novel about the movie/movie studio business. It was to some point, but not what I had expected. The book focuses on a group of European immigrants casted together at amore
Devil Makes Three: A Novel
by Ben Fountain
Political Thriller. . . (9/28/2023)
This was a difficult read for me. Throughout the book I felt very misinformed, making it hard to understand what was happening. I then stopped reading further and did some online research into the Revolution of Haiti and the toll it took on its people. This author knowsmore
Do Tell: A Novel
by Lindsay Lynch
Disappointing. . . (7/4/2023)
This was not an easy book to rate/review. Its storyline seemed a bit disjointed. Since I really enjoy tales of classic Hollywood, the golden days of cinema, with its descriptions of designer gowns, beautiful actors/actresses and extravagant movie premiers. I was excited tomore
You'll Forget This Ever Happened: Secrets, Shame, and Adoption in the 1960s
by Laura L. Engel
A must read for women of all ages. . . (2/22/2023)
I must begin by saying I am ever so grateful that the current social status of this book’s situation has changed considerably. However, since I am the same age as its author, I remember vividly just how young unwed, pregnant girls were treated in the 1950/1960’s. If youngmore
Moonrise Over New Jessup
by Jamila Minnicks
Filled with warm and impassioned characters (1/5/2023)
Jamila Minnicks' new thought-provoking novel is about Alice Young, a young black woman doing whatever she needs to do to protect her family/community at the beginning of the civil rights movement in Alabama.

It's 1957 and as Alice Young steps off the bus into the all-Blackmore
Cradles of the Reich: A Novel
by Jennifer Coburn
WWII Historical Fiction (11/6/2022)
Set against a WWII, “Cradles of the Reich” is a fictional story based on the harsh realities of the Nazi breeding program at Helm Hochland--a Lebensborn Society maternity home. The place where thousands of “radically fit” babies were bred and taken from their mothers to bemore
Daughters of the Flower Fragrant Garden: Two Sisters Separated by China's Civil War
by Zhuqing Li
A celebration of life. . . (6/1/2022)
In "Daughters of the Flower Fragrant Garden," Zhuqing Li shares a deeply human story about her aunts, Jun and Hong, who lived through the consequences of the notorious mainland China/Taiwan's historic split, a time of traumatic change and unmatched resilience in Asia.

Themore
Good Husbands: A Novel
by Cate Ray
What's the right thing to do????? (3/22/2022)
Three wives, Jessica, Stephanie, and Priyanka, each of them enjoying an apparently happy marriage until they each receive a letter that changes her life forever. This letter accuses, two decades ago, all three husbands of committing a group sexual assault. Should theymore
True Crime Story: A Novel
by Joseph Knox
I gave it a honest try. . . (12/16/2021)
After having read the various book reviews, I was fascinated with Joseph Knox's premise of "True Crime Story." I, too, found it a most unique concept. It was presented in such a way that it made it seem like a true crime. Regrettably this book simply didn't do it for me andmore
All the Water I've Seen Is Running: A Novel
by Elias Rodriques
Sorry, but ... (6/26/2021)
First let me thank Book Browse for sending me a copy of this book. It was an interesting premise, a gay man remembering the girl he attached himself to in high school, returns to the town he escaped from to learn about her early death. I m sorry to say much to my chagrin, Imore
The Book of Lost Names
by Kristin Harmel
A Deeper Look into WWII French Resistance... (6/1/2021)
"The Book of Lost Names" by Kristin Harmel is one of the many books recently published about World War II. I really wasn't looking to read another book on the subject, yet when BookBrowse offered it, I was curious about its unique title. I am glad I was able to read it asmore
Smalltime: A Story of My Family and the Mob
by Russell Shorto
Family saga (3/16/2021)
Even though this book, "Smalltime" by Russell Shorto is informative and interesting. At the suggestion of one of his relatives, Shorto begins his research into his family's history, asking the right and often embarrassing questions. He has written a detailed rich history ofmore
Migrations: A Novel
by Charlotte McConaghy
A "must" read... (5/11/2020)
I thoroughly enjoyed Charlotte McConaghy's gripping novel of redemption, love, and survival, "Migrations." In this time of forced sheltered in place isolation, I found by reading her astounding novel, I was finally able to break my "lack of concentration" cycle I foundmore
Daughter of the Reich: A Novel
by Louise Fein
1930s Germany (4/24/2020)
This is the second book I've read in the last two months that is set in the pre-World War II time period of the 1930s as Hitler infiltrated Germany. Though set in a similar time period, each book explored it differently. The first book was based on the author's father'smore
Actress
by Anne Enright
Difficult to follow... (12/10/2019)
In the "Actress", Anne Enright brings to life two generations of women with difficult sexual experiences, both having been assaulted, then silenced and striving to recover their power. This is a novel about celebrity, sexual powers, and a daughter's search to understand hermore
Sounds Like Titanic: A Memoir
by Jessica Chiccehitto Hindman
Sorry but... (2/12/2019)
This book was sent to me by BookBrowse to review. Based on its blurb, I found this book to be not quite what I had expected. As I started to read, I soon discovered it was not as humorous as I thought it would be. The storyline jumped all over the place going haphazardlymore
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