Past Reviews

This is simply the list of books by title that I have read and reviewed through this blog site. If you wish to see what I had to say, including any comments of my followers, just click on the book title.

Books reviewed 2013 through 2016 are here.
Books reviewed prior to 2013 are here.

• "Party of Two" by Jasmine Guillory (July 1, 2022)
• "The Summer Place" by Jennifer Weiner (June 2, 2022)
• "The Sewing Machine" by Natalie Fergie (May 31, 2022)
• "The Mortician's Daughter" by Nan Higgins (March 19, 2020)
• "Little Disasters" by Sarah Vaughan (March 15, 2020)
• "The Thing About Alice" by Jean-Luke Swanepoel (March 8, 2020)
• "Love and Other Consolation Prizes" by Jamie Ford (February 29, 2020)
• "First Frost" by Sarah Addison Allen (May 27, 2019)
• "The Night Circus" by Erin Morgenstern (April 7, 2019)
• "Nine Perfect Strangers" by Liane Moriarty (March 22, 2019)
• "A Separate Peace" by John Knowles (March 16, 2019)
• "The Woman in the Window" by A.J. Finn (March 5, 2019)
• "The Unseen World" by Liz Moore (February 14, 2019)

The Unseen World

The Unseen World 

by Liz Moore

WOW!  I can't believe it's been three years since I've written a book review. It's not like I haven't been reading.... I guess I just haven't been writing. I'm not going to try to fill in what I've missed, my memory is too bad for that.  

Truth. 

The Unseen World is a story that spans the life of Ada, a young girl, into adulthood and beyond.  She is a child being raised in unconventional ways by a single father.  There comes a time when her father begins experiencing early onset Alzheimer's and her young life begins to change.  

Along with Ada's struggles to try to cure or control her father's Alzheimer's and then to fit into a world she doesn't feel she is a part of, we share her anger and hopelessness.  And worse is discovering that her father isn't who she (or anyone else) believes he is.  But that knowledge doesn't provide the answer to who he actually is.

We time jump between her present, her father's past and along into her future as she works out the puzzle of who her father is and ultimately who she is.  

This story also includes the progress of our digital/electronic/cyber world from it's infancy to beyond what we know today.  Although it is integral to the story it also upsets me in a way that the movie IA upset me.  That artificial intelligence could take on human attributes and ultimately find itself alone.  In some obscure way that disturbs me. 

I listened to this book as a audio download from Downpour.  I give it four of five shots. 

Songs without Words

Songs Without Words
by Ann Packer

This book took me about six months, maybe longer to read.  It's definitely not a "can't-put-it-down" book.  But I did want to finish it so I can't say I hated it, either. 

The story centers around two women who have been friends since childhood.  Their adult lives are very different from each other, but they have remained friends.  An event in one of their lives stresses the friendship to the point of breaking. 

The story is more of a psychological portrait of the two women and their relationships. I kept waiting for the big bang to come but it never really did.  Even the resolution of the story was captured within the last five (or less) pages and brought the book to a fizzle of an ending. Not my favorite read. 

I give this book a two of five shots rating.  

 

Calling Me Home

Calling Me Home
by Julie Kibler

In Texas, an elderly Caucasian woman, Isabelle, asks her much younger African-American hair dresser to drive her to Cincinnati for a funeral.  It appears to be a rather odd request but Dorrie agrees to take some time off and do it.  

During their time on the road the story weaves through Isabelle's past and Dorrie's present. Isabelle grew up in Northern Kentucky just across the river from Cincinnati.  She and a local black boy fell in love and planned to share their lives together.  While Isabelle's story unfolds we also learn about Dorrie's life as a single mom and her issues learning to trust.  

I was fascinated with the story of the "illicit" love in the early 1900's. While the black boy was so aware of all the horrible things that could only come of their love, Isabelle was so naive and could only imagine they'd have a wonderful life together no matter how far they had to run from the world to have it. 

All throughout the trip to Cincinnati, Isabelle withholds who's funeral she is attending. From the stories Isabelle is telling it's easy to make a guess, but don't be surprised if it's not who you think. 

I really enjoyed this story and give it 5 of 5 shots.

11/22/63

11/22/63
by Stephen King

I listened to this story as an audio book on a cross country trip from Kentucky to Oregon.  I have to say I absolutely loved it and the time flew by in the car. 

As the "King" of horror stories I was pleasantly surprised that this fantasy story wasn't full of horror.  In truth is had a little bit of everything from fantasy to mystery to romance.  I was happy to have so much time to listen because I did not want to "put it down." 

*It's been a few months since I listened to the book so please forgive me for any vagueness here.   

The "hero" of the story is told of a gap in time where he can return to the late 50's early 60's. No matter how long he is gone he will always return to the same time he steps through that gap.  He is persuaded to return in time and save Kennedy, although it will mean spending several years in the past.  The bulk of the story is about those years and when things go right and when things go wrong.  

I was expecting a story all about how Kennedy was saved and what the world was like as a result. Instead the story is about the years our hero lives in the past marking time until the assassination.  Then ultimately what the assassination means to him personally and what is most important.  

King tells an awesome story of time travel and the implications of time in years that flash by in micro seconds. This book is high on my must read list. So high that I am considering reading it now that I've listened to it.  I hope you agree. 

Any surprise that I give this five of five shots? 

Body Double

Body Double
by Tess Gerritsen

I've been grabbing audio books to listen to in my car recently.  I get rather addicted to them once I start.  Maybe even to the point that I try to think of someplace I need to drive just so I can listen some more. 

Body Double is a Crime/Mystery/Thriller.  Little did I know that it's one of the Rizzoli and Isles stories that the TV series is based on.  I think I may have been expecting another thriller that would have been the basis for the 1984 movie with the same name, Body Double.  

This book starts with a murder in which the victim is a spot on look-a-like for Dr. Isles.  So much so that the investigative team is pretty shocked when she shows up wondering what is going on.  

Dr. Isles discovers she had a twin sister. They were separated at birth and adopted by different sets of parents.  (What a way to make such a discovery!)  Since the victim is killed right outside Dr. Isles' home, the question becomes who is/was the real target?  

The twists and turns in this story and satisfying and unexpected. I give it 3 of 5 shots.  I enjoyed the story a lot but it's not my usual genre. 

 

The Husband's Secret

The Husband's Secret
by Liane Moriarty

Liane Moriarty is quickly rising to the top of my pool of favorite authors.  The Husband's Secret is the third of her novels I've read and it looks like I have three more to go before I run out.  I hope she can write faster than I can read. 

The Husband's Secret follows the lives of three women at different places in their lives. Cecilia is the busy mom who is involved in everything and does everything seemingly perfectly.  Little does she know that her husband has a secret, until one day she stumbles upon an envelope addressed to her from her husband. The instructions on the envelope indicated it should only be opened upon his death. 

Rachel is a secretary at the small Catholic school Cecilia's children attend. She is a widow who's daughter was murdered years earlier. When she's not working or caring for her grandson she is grieving for her daughter and searching for the proof she needs to have the 'boy' who murdered her put away. 

Tess has just arrived in Sydney with her young son to stay with her mother.  Her husband and cousin/best friend have just announced to her that they have fallen in love.  She needs time to digest this news and decide what she must do.  Unexpectedly meeting up with an old boyfriend seems to make the adjustment easier. 

The husband's secret is not revealed until far into the book.  It's a secret that could be devastating to their lives, and indeed creates a disastrous situation. I don't know what surprised me more; the secret or the results of the secret coming to light. 

I easily give this story five of five shots.