Though I wouldn't call anything contained in this review a spoiler, if you are thinking about reading this book, you might want to think twice before continuing. I do not feel I can review this book without including certain information which has significantly influenced my rating and opinions. Okay, now that the disclosure is out of the way, I'd like to state that once again, I seem to be the ...
ARC
Review of Lily and the Octopus by Steven Rowley
Lily and the Octopus opens on a Thursday evening. Ted knows it was a Thursday because that's the day he and Lilly, his beloved dachshund, reserve for talking about boys they think are cute. (They don't always agree but they do tend toward younger men.) He suddenly notices the octopus. On Lily's head. He's not sure how or when it came to reside there and he clearly feels some guilt over not having ...
Review of The Sleepwalker by Chris Bohjalian
After reading and enjoying The Guest Room, I was excited to begin reading The Sleepwalker. The disappearance of a woman who sleepwalks is certainly an original concept. I've read stories of people who do some pretty outrageous things in their sleep; from making sandwiches to killing a spouse. (Honest, officer, I dreamt I was wrestling a deer!) But nothing could have prepared me for Annalee's ...
Review of Duplicity by Sibel Hodge
MY REVIEW From the outside, Max and Alissa seem to have the perfect marriage. They should. They’re filthy rich and have only been married for two months… But everything is not always as it seems. Or is it? Duplicity is a clever and well-paced story of murder and mayhem. I was kept in suspense from the very first page where we are introduced to The Other One. At first, all we know about the ...
Review of “Inherit the Bones” by Emily Littlejohn
"...I've always thought there are currents running through our world and our lives, threads if you will, that touch and connect all things. Events, years after they've happened, leave faint fingerprints that linger and change the surface of places over time." A murdered clown. An unknown murder weapon. A surprise ID. A pregnant lead investigator. Her partner with questionable professional ethics. ...
Review of “I’m Thinking of Ending Things” by Iain Reid
I read I'm thinking of Ending Things a few weeks ago while my blog was being redesigned. As you will read below, I had a strong negative reaction to it. I wrote this review for Goodreads and was hoping I might have warmed a little to this book with some time and a few good reads in between. This has not happened and so the review stands as originally written: This was a very quick read and it ...
Review of “The Orphan Mother” by Robert Hicks
Having not read The Widow of the South, I was concerned that I may have difficulty following along with The Orphan Mother. Thankfully, it is easily read as a stand-alone novel and I'm now inspired to read The Widow of the South. Mariah Reddick is the former slave to Carrie McGavock. Since becoming a free woman, she has established herself as a competent and respected midwife to the women of ...
Review of “The Last Days of Night” by Graham Moore
I do not care so much for a great fortune as I do for getting ahead of the other fellows. - Thomas Edison Until I read this book, I had an impression of what it would have been like to see the night lit for the first time. It was terribly romantic. It was surreal, ethereal, and peaceful. (Sort of like this book's beautiful cover.) There were scientists and engineers of all sorts slapping each ...
Review of “Stranger, Father, Beloved” by Taylor Larsen
The book begins with Michael seeing his wife, Nancy, talking to another man at a party. He decides that this is the man who should be married to Nancy. He promptly begins working on his plan to make this man Nancy's new husband. This is a strange book in the sense that a decent writer (clean, articulate language, etc.) has written a bad story about mostly bad, unlikable characters. My ...
Review of Sober Stick Figure: A Memoir by Amber Tozer
Amber Tozer is super-funny, brutally honest comedian who has bravely chosen to share her story of alcoholism and recovery with the world. If you're thinking this is another super-heavy memoir that will leave you feeling nothing but depression and pity, just take a look at the cover. That sick figure version of Amber makes frequent appearances throughout the book... In a very real ...
