BookBrowse | Book Reviews and Recommendations

Reviews by Jessamyn R. (Odenton, MD)

The Montevideo Brief: A Thomas Grey Novel
by J. H. Gelernter

Not a hit for me (5/1/2023)

It’s hard to turn down a book the promises pirates, treasure, international intrigue, and a 19th century James Bond. But unfortunately this third installment of the Thomas Grey series didn’t land for me. Maybe if I knew the character from prior installments, Grey would have …more

The Mostly True Story of Tanner & Louise
by Colleen Oakley

A fun ride! (1/5/2023)

A warm story about women who are there for each other - as friends, mothers, and even strangers - that puts those relationships, rather than romance, at center stage. Just as it took Tanner and Louise time to warm to one another, it took several chapters for this book to …more

Dinosaurs: A Novel
by Lydia Millet

Literary Novel, Done Well (9/1/2022)

Dinosaurs is a book I might not have picked up without being given a copy - though it does have an eye-catching cover - because it's a book about nothing in the way of literary fiction. That is to say, the plot is that a very rich man lives in the Phoenix suburbs and …more

Widowland: Widowland #1
by C. J. Carey

Alt-History meets Dystopia (5/18/2022)

Rose Ransom lives in London a dozen years into the Alliance formed between Nazi Germany and Great Britain, enjoying the perks of her Class 1A female rating, editing classic literature to make it more ideologically palatable, and feeling increasingly disenchanted in her …more

Peach Blossom Spring: A Novel
by Melissa Fu

Recommend! (3/2/2022)

The only thing that disappointed me about this book was that it ended. I wanted more time with Meilin, Henry, Rachel, and Lily. Great pick for those who love historical fiction, family/generational story arcs, and stories about the power of story telling.

Heartbreak: A Personal and Scientific Journey
by Florence Williams

Perfect mix of personal and universal (12/16/2021)

"My biggest problem at the moment was the portable toilet."
With a first line like that, how could you not be hooked? This book balances personal memoir, scientific research, nature, and wry humor. It's overlaps with several books I've read recently, like Together, but beat …more

How to Find Your Way Home
by Katy Regan

A Brother-Sister Story with Great Setting (10/16/2021)

I enjoyed this book tremendously for its empathetic portrayal of homelessness and those within a broken system, and for the somewhat less typical portrayal of a brother/sister relationship (a nice change from the usual sisters, female friends, mother/daughter or romantic …more

The Personal Librarian
by Marie Benedict, Victoria Christopher Murray

Better than a Fairytale: a real Belle, enchanting library and its (sometimes) monstrous owner (2/13/2021)

Once I got into the story of Belle da Costa Greene, I was swept away - and knowing that she was real made it an even more enticing. I came to love the heroine's balance of professional chutzpah and vulnerable heart, and the vibrant depictions of life in the gilded age (with …more

BookBrowse Book Club

The Mysterious Bakery on Rue de Paris
by Evie Woods

From the million-copy bestselling author of The Lost Bookshop.

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Real Americans
by Rachel Khong

From the author of Goodbye, Vitamin, a novel exploring family, identity, and the shaping of destiny.

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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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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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