Reviews by Jean F. (Bradenton, FL)

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L.A. Women
L.A. Women
by Ella Berman
Making it Big in 1970's Los Angeles (2/28/2025)
Set in the late 1960's and up to the mid 1970's, L. A. Women is a story of the intense, fractured friendship between two young women, Lane, a novelist, ultimately a wife and mother, and Gala, a party girl and sometime writer with an out-size personality. The men in their …more
Songs of Summer
Songs of Summer
by Jane L. Rosen
Finding your extended family midst an island wedding! (1/20/2025)
Songs of Summer is an enjoyable novel about tangled family relationships and love. It's set on Fire Island, off the shore of Long Island, and deals with adoption and finding one's birthmother at the age of 30. The extended family dynamics are complex, adding to the action. …more
The Little Italian Hotel
The Little Italian Hotel: A Novel
by Phaedra Patrick
Delightful tale of re-discovering oneself! (4/3/2023)
Are you ready for a short stay in picturesque Italy? The premise of Patrick's latest novel is a familiar one. Wife Ginny anticipates celebrating a big anniversary with her husband Adrian, but they are not on the same page. Adrian is interested in divorce and a break, and …more
Last House Before the Mountain
Last House Before the Mountain
by Monika Helfer
Layers of Memory (2/18/2023)
How do you learn about the generations before you? In this autobiographical novel, the narrator delves into the lives of her grandmother Maria, her mother, Grete, her uncles, and her aunt in Austria during WWI. Maria's husband Josef is away fighting. The family has little …more
Margot
Margot: A Novel
by Wendell Steavenson
Coming of Age in the free-roaming 60's yet hobbled by her upbringing (12/7/2022)
I wanted to love this book, but I didn't. I did like how Steavenson deftly captured the Harvard milieu (buildings and Cambridge streets) and the frenzied, overwrought 1960's fueled by lots of sex, drugs, and alcohol. Margot, albeit blessed with a financially rich childhood, …more
Daughters of the Flower Fragrant Garden
Daughters of the Flower Fragrant Garden: Two Sisters Separated by China's Civil War
by Zhuqing Li
Daughters of the Flower Fragrant Garden (5/31/2022)
This is a heartfelt family saga of determination, dedication, and resilience. Sisters Jun and Hong, from a formerly wealthy Chinese family, end up on two sides of the political divide and physically separated by the waters between mainland China and the island of Jinmen ( …more
Honor
Honor
by Thrity Umrigar
Two World Views: Cultured Journalist vs. Hindu Wife (9/16/2021)
I devoured this book and loved it! Umrigar presents several differing views of India and its social issues. American journalist Smita, back after 20 years, is often disgusted by and scornful of what she sees. Mohan, a professional man, loves Mumbai despite its complexities. …more
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BookBrowse Book Club

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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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