From the category archives:

Reviews

The Newlyweds

March 6, 2012
Thumbnail image for The Newlyweds

The Newlyweds
By Nell Freudenberger
Knopf, 05/01/2012
Wow. Really really wow and double wow.
Nell Freudenberger is a relentlessly talented writer and this novel is a work of beauty and poetry. Centered around Amina, a recent immigrant from Bangladesh who moved to America to marry a man she met online–the narrative draws it’s strength and complexity in the presentation [...]

Read the full article →

Pieces of Sky

November 18, 2011
Thumbnail image for Pieces of Sky

Pieces of Sky
by Kaki Warner
Berkley
October, 2011
I’m very thrilled to have discovered this author. I love a good romance, and although I’ll read and love books that are completely unrealistic and the characters are idealized versions of unattainable beings, I’d rather they have a few flaws and lives that are less than perfect. So I’m bound [...]

Read the full article →

Blueprints for Building Better Girls

November 4, 2011
Thumbnail image for Blueprints for Building Better Girls

Blueprints for Building Better Girls
by Elissa Schappell
Simon & Schuster
September, 2011
This interlocking collection of short stories swept me up and firmly invaded my heart. Each story features women attempting to deal with serious experiences, and sheds light on the inner struggles that we don’t always share and sometimes we don’t even admit to. [...]

Read the full article →

The Rebel Wife

November 3, 2011
Thumbnail image for The Rebel Wife

The Rebel Wife
by Taylor M. Polites
Simon & Schuster
02/07/2012
I really wanted to punch Buck in the face. Not that I thought Gus ought to, no, I wanted that pleasure for myself. I thought perhaps what would happen would, and it did, and I was happy with it–I still would have liked a chance to deck him. [...]

Read the full article →

The Invisible Ones

October 30, 2011
Thumbnail image for The Invisible Ones

The Invisible Ones
by Stef Penney
Putnam Adult
January, 2012
A great mystery with very memorable characters and very good atmospheric writing, I would recommend this to anyone who likes a bit of the exotic mixed with just a bit of suspense. Having just read
Gypsy Boy by Mikey Walsh (Thomas Dunne Books), I was really into the characters’ background [...]

Read the full article →

Carry the One

October 25, 2011
Thumbnail image for Carry the One

Carry the One
By Carol Anshaw
Simon & Schuster, 3/2012
carolanshaw.com
Carry the One begins in the hours following Carmen’s wedding reception, when a car filled with stoned, drunk, and sleepy guests accidently hits and kills a girl on a dark, country road. For the next twenty-five years, those involved, including Carmen and [...]

Read the full article →

Lady of the Rivers

August 20, 2011
Thumbnail image for Lady of the Rivers

Let me admit that this was my first Philippa Gregory read, although I do love historic fiction. I was very impressed by her writing style, by the level of details she provided, and by her ability to create suspense despite the general outcome being a forgone conclusion. I love the women [...]

Read the full article →

The Angel Makers

August 13, 2011
Thumbnail image for The Angel Makers

The Angel Makers
By Jessica Gregson
I was all twisted up by this book. I had such strong sympathy for Sari, yet her actions were so outside of what I was comfortable with. All the men is this village go off to war and the women are left alone . . . and they figure out [...]

Read the full article →

The Postmortal

July 5, 2011
Thumbnail image for The Postmortal

The Postmortal
By Drew Magary
What happens when death becomes the exception rather than the rule? Magary’s novel is quirky, hilarious (in that gallows humor way), and thoroughly entertaining as he explores the implications of this possible scientific “advancement.” Narrator John Farrell’s voice was so endearing, and his adventures in End Specialization are so wacky, that I [...]

Read the full article →

Vaclav & Lena

April 8, 2011
Thumbnail image for Vaclav & Lena

Vaclav & Lena
by Haley Tanner
Random House
Available on 5/31/11
Fuckin’ A, that’s a good book! I read it almost completely in one setting, unable to put it down even to get up to make a cup of coffee. Jenn Ramage recommended it, and I’m so glad I stepped away from my normal genre picks to read it. [...]

Read the full article →

← Previous Entries