Book lover, collector, and reviewer
The idea of the book was intriguing, and I do enjoy a post-apocalyptic/end-of-society book without much gratuitous violence. (Station Eleven, anyone?) However, while I was drawn in by the premise of this book, I didn’t think the book went far enough with its story. Due to human negligence and severe weather changes, human society moves … Read More “The Doomsday Book of Fairy Tales by Emily Brewes” »
While not a fast-paced, in-your-face thriller, this was a satisfying suspense novel set in the Appalachian Mountains. Cooper and his daughter Finch live in isolation at a remote, off-the-grid cabin, and Jake, Cooper’s friend, and Scotland, a hermit living nearby, are the only people who know they are there, which is the way Cooper wants … Read More “These Silent Woods by Kimi Cunningham Grant” »
This is a very dark thriller that made me want to keep turning the page throughout to find out what happens next while still cringing that I didn’t really want to know what was coming because it was so dark. The opening of the book with the narration from the voices of the dead, the … Read More “Dark Roads by Chevy Stevens” »
For the second time, I’ve liked the premise of this author’s book more than I enjoyed the book itself, and especially the ultimate conclusion. I like the writing itself and I want to find out what happens just because I always want to find out what happens, but it felt like the big twists in … Read More “The Maidens by Alex Michaelides” »
This my first experience reading anything by Claire Keegan, but I was very impressed. Sometimes the quietist book can send the biggest message, and this is a clear (deserved) condemnation of the Catholic church in Ireland. Set in a small village in Ireland just before Christmas in the mid-1980s, when many people are out of … Read More “Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan” »
Diane Chamberlain is quickly becoming one of my favorite authors, and this book is the second one I read by her this year that has made it into my top list for 2021. What I like about her books is that she successfully fictionalizes serious events in recent history in a way that does not … Read More “The Last House on the Street by Diane Chamberlain” »
I really enjoyed Sayaka Murata’s earlier book Convenience Store Woman. The collection of short stories in Life Ceremony continues down the quirky path set by Convenience Store Woman, but I feel like it jumped almost too far into an uncomfortable and awkward place, although I was left with the impression that this is an issue … Read More “Life Ceremony: Stories by Sayaka Murata” »
Sister Evelyn became a Catholic nun after her father made a vow that if his son (her brother) came back alive from the war, he would give his youngest daughter to God, and she never realized that she could make a different decision for herself. After a tough beginning, Evelyn founded Mercy House with two … Read More “Mercy House by Alena Dillon” »
Ginny is about to turn 35 and finds herself jobless, roommate-less, boyfriend-less, and desperately wanting a baby. Cassie, Ginny’s neighbor, is an almost washed up actress with a lot of issues of her own. Somehow, these two women form a deep friendship. I really wanted to like this book a lot more than I actually … Read More “The Neighbours by Nicola Gill” »
Roz, a single woman in Ireland who is barely making ends meet and living paycheck to paycheck, finds herself unexpectedly pregnant after a “one night stand.” She decides she wants to adopt out (sell) the baby, and finds a great online agency that will help make it possible. She is introduced to Julie–half of a … Read More “The Perfect Mother by Caroline Mitchell” »