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The Woman Before Wallis: A Novel

July 27, 2020

wallis

My love of British royalty is old news. Earlier in the month I read, The Heir Affair, about the fictional modern-day travails of a newly married Prince of Wales and his American bride. I loved it and am happy to be back today with historical fiction about the real royal family. Bryn Turnbull’s The Woman Before Wallis is the best of both worlds—scandal encompassing the royals ... Read More...

2 Comments
Filed Under: Book Reviews, Fiction Tagged: 1930s, debut, England, historical fiction

Mexican Gothic: A Novel

July 24, 2020

mexican

Sometimes it requires a bit of effort to tease out a book’s theme or premise based on the title. That’s not the case in Silvia Moreno-Garcia’s debut novel, Mexican Gothic. It is exactly that, a noir horror novel set in 1950s Mexico. Noemi is the pampered daughter of a wealthy family whose her father asks her to go to a remote town to visit her newly married cousin, Catalina. ... Read More...

4 Comments
Filed Under: Book Reviews, Fiction Tagged: fantasy, historical fiction, horror, Mexico

Utopia Avenue: A Novel by David Mitchell

July 22, 2020

utopia

‘Utopia’ means ‘no place.’ An avenue is a place. So is music. When we’re playing well, I’m here, but elsewhere, too. That’s the paradox. Utopia is unattainable. Avenues are everywhere. Derek, Elf, Jasper, and Griff each has a dream: make it big in the music industry playing music they love. So far, it hasn’t panned out for any of them. But when manager Levon Frankland ... Read More...

6 Comments
Filed Under: Book Reviews, Fiction Tagged: 1960s, historical fiction, literary, London, pop culture

Smacked: A Story of White-Collar Ambition, Addiction, and Tragedy

July 20, 2020

smacked

Last week I shared a review first for me. Today I’m back with another one: Smacked is my third 5-star nonfiction book in 2020. At the halfway point of the year? That’s nuts. You know me—I don’t read a lot of nonfiction, so to be reading it and to have it be outstanding is a delight at a time when finding delight is not easy. Smacked is written by Eilene Zimmerman, a business ... Read More...

7 Comments
Filed Under: Book Reviews, Non-fiction Tagged: book clubs, debut, memoir, social issues

Crooked Hallelujah

July 17, 2020

crooked

Texas and Oklahoma, during the 1970s and 1980s oil boom and bust, is the setting for Crooked Hallelujah, a debut novel about the lives of three generations of Cherokee women. Lula is the matriarch, Justine her daughter, and Reney her grand-daughter. The times were difficult, but even more so if you were a Native American and a woman. Against this arid backdrop their lives are ... Read More...

4 Comments
Filed Under: Book Reviews, Fiction Tagged: debut, historical fiction, literary, Native Americans

The Heir Affair: A Novel

July 15, 2020

heir

American Rebecca (Bex) Porter seems to have won the lottery when Britain’s second-in-line to the throne, Prince Nicholas, falls in love with her. Of course, it’s not that simple, but it does make for fun reading in The Royal We. That novel ended with Bex and Nick married, but already engulfed in scandal. When The Heir Affair opens they are hiding out in remote Scotland, but ... Read More...

1 Comment
Filed Under: Book Reviews, Fiction Tagged: chick lit, England, royalty

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