Reviews by Karen B. (Crestwood, KY)

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The Dream Hotel
The Dream Hotel: A Novel
by Laila Lalami
Convincing near-future dystopia (1/5/2025)
Laila Lalami's novel The Dream Hotel explores the growing reach of technology and the extent it infringes on our privacy, and ultimately, our freedom. In The Dream Hotel, Lalami asks, "What if someday even dreams are monitored?" Then, takes it one step further, asking, " …more
Stealing
Stealing: A Novel
by Margaret Verble
Compulsively readable literary fiction (12/14/2022)
Anne Bogel describes compulsively readable literary fiction as "serious" novels that probe human nature and focus on the interior lives of characters while also being "page-turners" that make you want to know what happens next. Stealing by Margaret Verble falls into that …more
Exiles
Exiles: Aaron Falk Mystery #3
by Jane Harper
Slow burn mystery (9/6/2022)
The third and final installment of Jane Harper's Aaron Falk series was an enjoyable read, and can stand alone. The story builds slowly, as small town secrets are revealed. Characters and setting are well-developed.
A Million Things
A Million Things
by Emily Spurr
Heartfelt, emotional debut (5/28/2021)
Secrets and sadness, loss and connection, resilience and revelations -- just a few of the many things that Emily Spurr writes of so eloquently and authentically in A Million Things. She explores grief and loneliness without melodrama, leaving room for hope and happiness. Highly recommended.
Piranesi
Piranesi
by Susanna Clarke
Haunting & Inventive Mystery/Fantasy (8/18/2020)
Clarke combines elements of fantasy and mystery in a wholly original and thoroughly intriguing tale. Through the limited point of view of the journal entries of the narrator, mockingly named Piranesi by the "Other," the reader is drawn into a labyrinthine world inhabited by …more
Afterlife
Afterlife
by Julia Alvarez
Heartfelt meditation on loss and connection (2/24/2020)
Beautifully written reflection on love and loss, on what happens when one veers from the narrow path and asks, "Well, let's see what love can do."
American Dirt
American Dirt: A Novel
by Jeanine Cummins
Lives up to the hype (11/12/2019)
American Dirt is an intimate, authentic, compelling story of anguish and hope, of triumph over extraordinary trauma. A compelling and timely story of the often inconceivable hardships faced by asylum seekers, American Dirt is challenging without being preachy or moralistic. …more
Nothing to See Here
Nothing to See Here
by Kevin Wilson
Nothing to see here ... lots to appreciate (6/13/2019)
Funny, warm, weird, strange, absurd, witty, heart-warming, quirky, charming ... a gem. The strange premise of spontaneously combustible children somehow never degenerates into ridiculousness. Fans of Kevin Wilson will not be disappointed.
Sold on a Monday
Sold on a Monday
by Kristina McMorris
"You don't take a photograph ... (9/26/2018)
... you make it." -- Ansel Adams. Sold on a Monday relates the unintended consequences that follow when a young, ambitious reporter stages a photo of two children. Set during the Great Depression, I found the book entertaining and engaging, but not transporting. The …more
Vox
Vox
by Christina Dalcher
One word: Disappointed (5/27/2018)
Vox by Christina Dalcher poses the question, "If you had only one hundred words a day,what would you do to be heard? Promoted as a re-imagining of The Handmaid's Tale, I found the premise intriguing, but the execution disappointing. There is no doubt that the book was …more
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    A Map to Paradise
    by Susan Meissner
    From the USA Today bestselling author of Only the Beautiful. 1956, Malibu, California: Something is not right on Paradise Circle.
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