I loved The House in the Cerulean Sea, so I was happy to get an advanced review copy of his newest book, Under the Whispering Door. The covers appear to be by the same artist, so I’ve seen a number of people asking if this is a sequel, but it is not. Readers will disagree over…
I wasn’t initially a fan of Chambers, but after Long Way to a Small Angry Planet, I’ve come to like each of her books more and more. This one was no exception. Psalm is a novella and the start of a science fiction series about man and robot. As a novella, there wasn’t as much…
I loved the way this book begins, because I identified very much with Marianne, one of its two narrators. Marianne and Connell are two teens in a small town in Ireland. Marianne is smart, independent, and proud, but has no friends at school. Connell is popular and outgoing, and like many teens he worries a…
I had to force myself to finish this book, and that’s never a good thing. At times this book was nicely written and I found myself see-sawing between frustrated and absorbed. I knew from reviews that there were major changes in the plot and I wanted to see what happened. Trust Exercise is about Sarah…
Those Who Knew is a novel about a senator with a violent past in a small unnamed island country. It’s about about the intersections of politics, money and influence. I appreciated the writing style of this author and much of the book worked for me, although I didn’t care for the generic location. In her…
Reading Advance Review Copies (ARCs) is one of the fun parts of being a book blogger. You get free books and you get to read things before everyone else. It’s also a nice way to discover new writers and support their work. But I know I’m not the only book blogger who gets bogged down…
I picked up Gun Love from NetGalley because it was mentioned on a few lists of anticipated new fiction in 2018, including this one from Huffington Post. Ultimately I was disappointed in this book. Despite its (sadly) timely subject matter, I didn’t care for the characters and I found the writing too self-conscious. The novel…
It seems like I just made my fall TBR list, and here we are, mid-October with the year fading fast. I began October thinking “maybe I’ll just read whatever I want for the rest of the year.” Which is a nice idea, only I’ve requested too many ARCs and I’ve fallen behind on reviews. When…
I love T.C. Boyle because he takes really interesting true life events and people, and he always spins them into a fascinating story. I learn a ton from his books because he makes real events so memorable. At times he takes his characters a bit over the top, and this was true in this book…
This is the third book I’ve read by Carolyn Parkhurst, and each one has left me with deeply mixed feelings. There are many books you put down and don’t really remember. Hers are the opposite. She gives you beautiful writing and compelling characters, but a story that’s impossibly unrealistic and leaves you wishing for more.…
Mysteries are a perfect genre for informing readers about difficult political or historical issues. The Unquiet Dead is a perfect example. It begins with a case about a Canadian man who falls off a cliff. But it delves into much more sensitive matter when it’s discovered that the dead man is actually a war criminal…
When I’m reading a novel about a historical figure, I want the book to be factual enough that I get a good sense of who the person was. I also want it to have an interesting story. And finally, if I admire the person, I don’t want it to be a story that makes me…
The Book Stop 