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Book Reviews
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Books You’re on the Fence About - 2023
Hidden Valley Road – Robert Kolker – 3.5***
Subtitle: Inside the Mind of an American Family. The Galvin family certainly seemed the quintessential successful post-WW2, Eisenhower-era family, but six of their twelve children were diagnosed with schizophrenia. They became the subjects of numerous research projects. I don’t think I would have read this book were it not for my F2F book group. I found interesting and informative, but it was not always compelling.
LINK to my full review
Escaping From Houdini - Kerri Maniscalco(Stalking Jack the Ripper #3)
Historical Fiction | Murder Mystery | Romance
🆁🅰🆃🅸🅽🅶: [ Unrated ]
My Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Blackbird House – Alice Hoffman – 3***
This is a collection of vignettes, spanning two-plus centuries, all set in the same house / farm on the tip of Cape Cod, Massachusetts. beginning when the area was still a British colony and ending in the early 21st century. I found these stories enchanting and mesmerizing, though I’m hard pressed to say what exactly it was about them that so charmed me. Maybe that is the magic of Hoffman’s storytelling.
LINK to my full review
Forbidden Falls by Robyn Carr 🎧 3-StarsVirgin River gets a new minister, and his "assistant" is gorgeous.
My Review
Dead as a Door Knocker by Diane Kelly 3-StarsFlipping houses can be a deadly business.
My Review
Here is my 3.49 rounded to 3 stars review of The Wild Girls
by Phoebe Morgan:https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
This psychological thriller was atmospheric and thought-provoking. If you enjoy locked-room thrillers, then this may be one you will enjoy.
Capturing the Devil - Kerri Maniscalco(Stalking Jack the Ripper, #4)
Historical Fiction | Murder Mystery | Romance
🆁🅰🆃🅸🅽🅶: ★★☆☆ | 2.5 Stars
My Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
The Unconsoled –Kazuo Ishiguro – 3***
This is a story about Ryder, an internationally renowned pianist, who arrives in an unnamed European city to give a concert he has no memory of agreeing to give. Ishiguro is a brilliant writer, but this was a really challenging work. It is the stuff of dreams, or perhaps nightmares. People come and go, and Ryder (not to mention the reader) is left trying to puzzle out what is happening.
LINK to my full review
Lucky In Love – Kasie West – 3***
This is a pretty typical YA romance. The interesting twist, of course, is Maddie’s status as a BIG lottery winner, and that definitely does complicate things for her. I really liked Maddie. She’s young and inexperienced but generally has a pretty good head on her shoulders. She values family relationships and true friendships. All in all, it’s a fast, fun read.
LINK to my full review
Mod
Starter Dog: My Path to Joy, Belonging and Loving This World by Rona Maynardhttps://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Here is my 3.16 rounded to 3 stars review of The Secret Service of Tea and Treason
by India Holton:https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
India Holton blended historical fantasy, romantic comedy, and espionage. Overall, this memorable and funny novel has adventure, romance, a mystery, and plenty of excitement. My biggest quibble was that there were times when the story was more “telling” than “showing”. While the book is somewhat over the top, it also has more depth than one might expect with the level of romantic comedy involved.
I have loved Erik Larson’s other nonfiction books, but wasn’t as crazy about Thunderstruck
. My three star review:https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
My review of Death by Chocolate Marshmallow Pie by Sarah Graves
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
My review for Famous for a Living
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
*it is in romance genre but it feels more Women's fiction/chick lit as the main character does not get asked out until 78% into the book.
My review for
The Trackershttps://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
My review for Better Off Wed
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
The Eyes of the Dragon – Stephen King – 3.5***
Well, this was a fairy tale I never expected from Stephen King. I was reminded of a number of classic fairy tales, adventure quests and such that enthralled and entertained me when I was a child. This story speaks directly to the child that still dwells inside me. It allows me to suspend disbelief while I cheer for the hero and hiss at the villain.
LINK to my full review
Deadly Silence by Rebecca Zanetti 🎧3 1/2-StarsBlood-Brothers are searching for their origins.
My Review
How to Best a Marquess 3-StarsThe best thing about this book is the slight element of mystery.
My Review
My review for The Eden Test
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
My review for
The Third Nannyhttps://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
My review of Quick and Easy Vegetarian Cooking for Beginners: Simple and Delicious Vegetarian Meals for Everyone by Erin Aldersonhttps://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Notorious Pleasures by Elizabeth Hoyt 4-StarsPassions fly between Lady Perfect and Lord Scandalous
My Review
Splendid by Julia Quinn 4-StarsAn America Heiress and a Rake of a Duke
My Review
Seeing in the Quiet
ending up being too simplistic and predictable for me. My three star review:https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Here is my 3.23 rounded to 3 stars review of Just Add Coffee or Tea: A tea break read mix of my poems
by Julie McCarthy:https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
I needed a book of poetry for a challenge and selected this one. I enjoyed the diversity of the poems.
Mod
my review
I finished
I'm In No Mood For Love by Rachel Gibson.My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Angel With Two Faces – Nicola Upson – 3***
Book two in the mystery series featuring Josephine Tey and Detective Inspector Archie Penrose. Tey was a real person, and Upson uses elements of her life as well as historical events of the mid 1930s as jumping off points for these mysteries. As mysteries go, this was somewhat slow to get started. The action picks up once the murder happens (on page 200). It is more of a psychological drama than anything else. I’m willing to continue the series, but I hope the action picks up.
LINK to my full review
Here is my 3.49 rounded to 3 stars review of The Ferryman
by Justin Cronin:https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
This post-apocalyptic science fiction novel is emotionally-charged, unique, intense, challenging, and thought-provoking, with fantastic world-building and great characterization. It’s creative and is captivating with its unpredictable plot. This was very close to a 4 star rating for me. The pacing in the first half of the novel is what lowered it to 3 stars for me.
Very slow on reviewing lately, busy.. 
Those People by Louise CandlishMy review, 3★
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
The Swell - Allie Reynolds - (Australia)
Genera: Suspense
3★
Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
A Single Thread – Tracy Chevalier – 3***
I have read and greatly enjoyed other works by Chevalier, so was looking forward to it. But I come away a little disappointed. I really wanted to know more about the cathedral, its history, and the work of the broderers. I really liked Violet, and several of the women she came to know and befriend. Her landlady was a peach, and Miss Pesel was a treasure. I thought Chevalier treated Violet’s relationship with Arthur fairly, and realistically. But I could have done without the romance.
LINK to my full review
Rich People Problems – Kevin Kwan – 3***
Book three (and I hope the final installment) in the story of the uber wealthy Singaporean Young family. There’s plenty of drama, what with divorces, engagements, sex video scandals, stepchildren misbehaving, mega efforts to one-up each other, extravagant parties, and even plastic surgery for a pet fish. Kwan writes these people so over-the-top that it’s hard to relate to any of them. They are shallower that the damp spot on the sidewalk where I splashed a few drops of water. Still, I found it mildly entertaining and it was a fast read.
LINK to my full review
I'm an outlier for this one. Hello Beautiful
. My thoughts - differing from most https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Murder In Grub Street – Bruce Alexander – 3***
Book two in the Sir John Fielding mystery series. This was much more complicated than the first book, and I admit my attention wandered a bit. There is religious fervor, multiple personalities, professional jealousy, anti-semitism, dreadful conditions of tenement buildings, and a light-fingered imp of a thief to complicate the case. Still, I love the way that Alexander has taken bits and pieces of history and woven them into these mysteries.
LINK to my full review
The Wind Knows My Name
is Isalbel Allende’s latest. But it wasn’t a favorite of mine. My 3.5 star review:https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Death On the River of Doubt – Samantha Seiple – 3***
Subtitle: Theodore Roosevelt's Amazon Adventure. This is a children’s middle-grade book detailing the expedition to chart a previously uncharted tributary of the Amazon. To say that this journey was treacherous is an understatement. It’s a great introduction to Roosevelt for the younger set, and it piqued my interest sufficiently that I’m moving Candice Millard’s book on the same episode farther up on my tbr list.
LINK to my full review
Seed of Evil - Greg Beck - (Australia)
Genera: Horror
3★
Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Plantation Shudders – Ellen Byron – 3***
Book one in the Cajun Country cozy mystery series introduces the reader to Maggie Crozat and her family, who run an historic Louisiana plantation as a B&B. This has all the hallmarks of a cozy mystery. A likeable amateur sleuth, romantic tension between the leading lady and the hunky cop, a gaggle of potential suspects, secrets galore, some delicious food and a loveable Basset hound named Gopher. And a few great recipes to whet the appetite.
LINK to my full review
Shiver - Maggie StiefvaterParanormal | Fantasy | Romance
🆁🅰🆃🅸🅽🅶: ★★★☆☆ | 2.5 Stars
My Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Disappointing.
My review of The Jane Austen Society by Natalie Jenner
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
The Collected Regrets of Clover by Mikki Brammer
Didn't like the main character, but the premise is good.
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
My review of A Splash of Soy: Everyday Food from Asia by Lara Leehttps://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Loyalty
did a good job teaching me about the start of the mafia. But the characters were cliched and two dimensional. My three star review:https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
The Last Midwife – Sandra Dallas – 3.5***
Good historical fiction set in 1880s Colorado mining town. I was interested in the birthing stories, and in the ways in which Gracy worked among both the men and women of the community. She’s a marvelously strong woman, and over the course of the novel we learn a few of her own heartaches and how she’s overcome and persevered. There were times when I thought the whole murder mystery was a bit too contrived, but it certainly held my attention.
LINK to my full review
Vengeance - Mark David Abbott - (India)
John Hayes Series Book #1
Genera: Thriller
3★
Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
The Paris Hours – Alex George – 3.5***
Paris 1927. Home to Josephine Baker, Maurice Ravel, Gertrude Stein and Marcel Proust. But in addition to the many famous “lost generation” members, the City of Light was also home to many who led much quieter lives. George tells the story of four such souls, whose stories converge over the course of one day and night in Paris. George deftly handled these different storylines to produce a cohesive tale. Despite the constant change in point of view, I never lost interest in where it was going. The connections between the characters really didn’t gel until the last couple of chapters, and the ending was a nice surprise.
LINK to my full review
I Am the Messenger – Markus Zusak – 2**
I picked this up because I enjoyed Zusak’s The Book Thief and was hoping for … well, not more of the same, but something that would spark some of the same feelings I had reading that work. In the end, I wound up confused about what was actually going on and found the entire premise rather unbelievable. Zusak joins the likes of author John Boyne for me – an author I’ve enjoyed at least once, perhaps even loved, but who is just as likely to completely disappoint me in another work .
LINK to my full review
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Friends Sharing Book Love
Books mentioned in this topic
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Authors mentioned in this topic
Rachael Lucas (other topics)Janet Evanovich (other topics)
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My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...