Book Critic
-
Review: Bittersweet Brooklyn by Thelma Adams
As many of you know, I am a sucker when it comes to pretty covers. I love the elegance of this cover. Not only does the woman on the cover seem intriguing, but the text and the angle suggested that it was going to be a little more edgy, almost like a classic noir film or something. After reading the description, I was eager to start reading it. It sounded a little like The Godfather and I was excited to read something a little more edgy and different in the historical fiction genre. Often in historical fiction, the mobster world goes untapped and I love mob movies and I often…
-
Review: The Victory Garden by Rhys Bowen
I stopped reading the review pitch once I saw ‘WWI’ in the description, which was basically the first line in the summary. I have read a lot of stand alone novels by Bowen and have been impressed with her writing and historical research. Her stand alone books have mostly been set in WWII, but WWI is truly my favorite period in historical fiction, so seeing that this book was set during that time earned this book and instant and enthusiastic, ‘yes’ from me. I have consistently enjoyed reading Bowen’s books, whether they are one of her historical mysteries or her stand alone novels. She as an incredible gift for writing…
-
Review: A Class Entwined (A Matter of Class, #2) by Susie Murphy
I read the first book in this series about a year ago and thought that it was a decent start to a new series. I mentioned in my first review, that I haven’t read a lot of works published by smaller publishing companies or indie publishers in recent years. But I don’t mind reading them when I can because I like being able to offer not only constructive criticism, but I also enjoy reading books like this that fly under the radar. When this second book in the series came up for review, the author asked if I would like to review it and I was happy to agree so…
-
Review: The Suspect (Kate Waters #3) by Fiona Barton
Author, Fiona Barton, seems to have a rather large cult following on social media. Her books (especially this new one) have been all over my Instagram page and I have to admit, I was intrigued by the prospect of being able to fan girl a new-to-me author. As I have said before, I am new to the thriller genre and often become intimidated by starting new series mid way through, however in recent years I have had fairly good luck with starting mid series. I had seen that this book can be read as a stand alone, even though it is part of the Kate Waters series.
-
Review: The Lost Girls of Paris by Pam Jenoff
Pam Jenoff has been a long standing favorite author of mine. I read one of her earlier novels, The Last Summer at Chelsea Beach, and was completely sold on her writing. Since then I have read more of her books and absolutely love how she crafts a tale. When this book came up for review, it was an instant yes without any hesitation. I am absolutely in love with the cover and she is such a strong writer in the WWII period that I had zero reservations about this one. Had I never read any of her books or even heard of her, that cover alone would sell me on this…
-
Review: The Break Line (Max McLean #1) by James Brabazon
When I first started blogging, I wasn’t reading too many thrillers, let alone government thrillers. But over the years, I have read a few here and the genre started to grown on me. Since I started blogging, I have increased my thriller base substantially. Often though, I find that I am coming into a thriller series late in the game, with established characters and well developed subplots. When I had the opportunity to start this government thriller from the beginning, I eagerly said yes. This is a debut novel for author James Brabazon and his main character Max McLean so steaks are high for a solid introductory novel.
-
Review: Everything Here Is Beautiful by Mira T. Lee
I haven’t read a lot of books about mental illness, or books where mental illness is a predominant theme. I also have not read a lot of Asian literature, so needless to say, this book is way out of my comfort zone. This book focuses on two Chinese sisters, one with mental illness. One of my New Year’s resolutions was to read more books outside my comfort zone, so I thought this book might be a good place to start. I originally passed on the hard copy debut as I couldn’t fit it in my review schedule, but now with the paperback being released, I didn’t want to miss out…
-
Review: The Winter People by Jennifer McMahon
This book was going around Bookstagram (aka Instagram), for most of December. There were a couple of IG users that were hosting read alongs and I saw quite a few posts for this book and admittedly became intrigued. This is an author that I have ever heard of before, which was actually surprising because she has written a number of ghost story thriller books so I am shocked that I haven’t come across her name before. What ultimately drew me in and made me want to read this one was all the buzz on ‘the gram’ but also the cover. It looked haunting and the stark white contrast and eerie…
-
Review: The Girls in the Picture by Melanie Benjamin
I am going to be horribly superficial for a minute. The first thing that caught my eye with this book was the cover. I am a sucker for a beautiful cover and this book has exactly that. I didn’t even read what the book was about, all I knew was that it had a stunning cover that clearly said ‘historical fiction’ and so I made a snap decision and said yes to reviewing it. This book is written by Melanie Benjamin, who has written other best selling novels such as, The Aviator’s Wife and The Swans of Fifth Avenue. Knowing that she was an experienced writer only strengthened my excitement…
-
Review: Fire & Blood (A Targaryen History #1) by George R.R. Martin
I have had this book pre ordered for months. I cleared my entire month of December to keep it open so I could read this behemoth. If truth be told, I am not a huge Targaryen fan. I personally prefer the Starks but I was interested in some of the tantalizing questions this book promised to answer. This book promises to answer what The Doom really was and the source of Daenerys’s dragon eggs. Spoiler alert, I still don’t feel like I have answers to those questions but I did learn a lot about Westeros and the Targaryen empire.