I slowly descended the stairs and entered the empty parlor, going to the window to gaze out. I could feel cold tendrils of air coming in under the gaps in the sash […]
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 […]
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. […]
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 […]
Fourteen-year-old Jessica was already proficient with her needle, and had persuaded me to buy one of those new-fangled Singer sewing machines to make our sewing go more quickly. How fortunate I was […]
Everyone, Just wanted to let you know about some exciting changes that are happening! As you may know I spent some time after […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
I hung my head, and in that moment I knew I’d lost them. Well-bred ladies never shouted, whatever the provocation. What was wrong with me? I knew better than to show a […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
When Papa quit farming and became a manure salesman, my family thrived. It was the secret to our wealth. We were finally able to leave New Hampshire and make a better life […]
THE THIRTEENTH PRINCESS is a re-telling of THE TWELVE DANCING PRINCESSES. Set in a place which sounds vaguely German in a time that sounds vaguely like the Middle Ages, we meet Zita, […]
THE MIDNIGHT DANCERS is a retelling of THE TWELVE DANCING PRINCESSES set in contemporary times. Paul is a soldier who saves an older man’s life in a situation that sounds just like […]
Author Shauna Roberts knows how to tell a story. Within pages we meet the two protagonists (Princess Nindalla and farm-boy Ur-Sag-Enki) and know that these two strangers will become important to one […]
West Kensington, London October 1913 I don’t know what to do. People are talking about me, saying I was married before I married Spencer. They say that I left my family, my […]
“This is not your typical mystery; it’s for fans of thrilling action and historically-inspired events…Contra to the status quo of the genre, the men are the romantics – though in a deranged manner – and the women showcased are the core strength of the novel.”
“The author knows her characters very, very well; this shows in the consistent and very individual way they act. This is not a plot-driven story; it’s character-driven. In this book, the characters are the jam which holds everything together. The best example of this is Grace, the talented violinist, who, simply, jumps off the page. I loved her.”
“The author…adeptly summons the era in all its manners and details with her descriptive prose…Her omniscient, third-person narrator effectively flits through the heads of various characters, offering momentary glimpses of their inner lives.”
