In the upper peninsula of Michigan lies a mysterious estate, Eden Manor. Kate’s dying mother insists on her daughter driving off piste down a dirt road so that she can see it […]
THE GODDESS TEST by Aimée Carter (GODDESS TEST #1)
Jodi Picoult’s CHANGE OF HEART narrated by Jim Frangione (Lucius), Stafford Clark-Price (Michael), Nicole Poole (June), Danielle Ferland (Maggie), Jennifer Ikeda (Clare)
Jodi Picoult’s fifteenth novel CHANGE OF HEART is leisurely, and perhaps overlong, but that didn’t matter to me, as the slow unspooling of tragedy, loss, courage and kindness kept me enthralled. Shay […]
Jodi Picoult’s THE TENTH CIRCLE narrated by Carol Monda
Hmmm. I feel a bit mixed about this one. The positives for me were the link to Dante (one of my favorite authors) and how Jodi Picoult’s wonderful imagination created a Tenth […]
THE HORSE, THE WHEEL & LANGUAGE: How Bronze-Age Riders from the Eurasian Steppes shaped the Modern World by David W. Anthony
I found this book absolutely fascinating. Like many readers, I was drawn in by the first part of the book, by the first several chapters which deal with the linguistics issues of […]
Philippa Gregory’s DARK TIDES (FAIRMILE #2) narrated by Louise Brealey
It is always a pleasure to watch the havoc one person can create amongst people, especially people who are far too polite for their own good. In TIDELANDS, that person was James […]
Philippa Gregory’s TIDELANDS (FAIRMILE #1), narrated by Louise Brealey
You might think that after writing 15 novels about the Tudors and the Plantagenets, author Philippa Gregory would be spent. You would be wrong. TIDELANDS, set in Selsey Bill on the marshy […]
VANISHING ACTS by Jodi Picoult narrated by Julia Gibson (Delia), Jonathan Davis (Eric), Jim Jenner (Andrew), Robert Ramirez (Fitz) and Sharon Washington (Elise)
I love Jodi Picoult’s punning titles and I loved the way this novel began with the protagonist, Delia, six years old, being part of her father’s magic act: “The first time I […]
Jodi Picoult’s MY SISTER’S KEEPER narrated by Richard Poe, Julia Gibson, Barbara McCulloh, Tom Stechschulte, Carol Monda, Jennifer Ikeda & Andy Paris
MY SISTER’S KEEPER, her eleventh novel, is the work that made Jodi Picoult famous. Jodi Picoult uses the formula that has worked so well in many other novels – American family in […]
SECOND GLANCE by Jodi Picoult narrated by George Guidall
I have read all of Jodi Picoult’s novels from SONGS OF THE HUMPBACK WHALE up to SECOND GLANCE, her tenth novel, and I have to say that out of all ten of […]
A well-crafted plot twist (THE THIEF)
THE THIEF is a YA novel by Megan Whelan Turner that is an example of a well-crafted plot twist. When doing this kind of structure, you need to have two storylines: the […]
Kate Elizabeth Russell’s MY DARK VANESSA narrated by Grace Gummer
This story, about the abuse of vulnerable 15-year-old Vanessa Whye by her 42-year-old English teacher Jacob Strane, is not easy to read. It brought some people to tears. It made me furious. […]
A SONG FOR ARBONNE by Guy Gavriel Kay, narrated by Euan Morton
I love Guy Gavriel Kay’s work, having read the FIONAVAR TAPESTRY, TIGANA, YSABEL, UNDER HEAVEN and RIVER OF STARS. Granted, A SONG FOR ARBONNE is an earlier work, and the author becomes […]
Jodi Picoult’s PERFECT MATCH narrated by Carol Monda, Susan Bennett and Michele O. Medlin
By this, her ninth novel, it is clear that Jodi Picoult is fascinated by the law and lawyers. Her courtroom scenes take up more and more of her novels, and in this […]
Jodi Picoult’s SALEM FALLS narrated by Julia Gibson
This is Jodi Picoult’s eighth novel, so she has her formula down pat: select an issue, build interest by immersing the reader in time and place, grab the reader’s emotions by having […]
PLAIN TRUTH by Jodi Picoult, narrated by Christina Moore and Suzanne Toren
Before I begin reviewing this seventh novel by Jodi Picoult, I would like to say how much I enjoyed the narration of this book. Christina Moore and Suzanne Toren were pitch perfect […]
KATHERINE HOWARD, HENRY VIII’s SLANDERED QUEEN by Conor Byrne
KATHERINE HOWARD, HENRY VIII’s SLANDERED QUEEN is not an historical novel. It is a work of history that studies the sexual politics of the Henrician court in the 1530s (the era of […]
YOUNG & DAMNED & FAIR by Gareth Russell, narrated by Jenny Funnell
I read this volume about Queen Catherine Howard, after reading Alison Weir’s THE SCANDALOUS QUEEN. I was so baffled by Catherine’s poor choices, especially given that she was married to a paranoid […]
KATHERYN HOWARD THE SCANDALOUS QUEEN by Alison Weir, narrated by Rosalyn Landor
Before I begin this review about Alison Weir’s latest historical novel about the six wives of Henry VIII, I would like to commend Recorded Books for doing a fantastic job of cutting […]
