The Gilmore Guide to Books

Connecting Books and Readers One Review at a Time

  • Home
  • About Me
  • Reviews
    • Reviews by Author
    • Reviews by Title
    • Reviews by Genre
  • Podcast
  • Policies
    • Review Policy
    • Cookie Policy
    • Privacy Policy

Lady Tremaine

March 10, 2026

lady

The wicked stepmother has been a mainstay in fiction since before the Brothers Grimm became grim. No fairy tale was complete without one, but the one in Cinderella was particularly vicious and cruel. So easy to hate. Maybe too easy? Author Rachel Hochhauser decides to remedy that in her novel, Lady Tremaine. This is not a modernization of the original story, but a recasting, a ... Read More...

Leave a Comment
Filed Under: Book Reviews, Fiction Tagged: book clubs, historical, retellings

Battle of the Titans: Mini-Reviews

March 6, 2026

battle

No battle and no giants here. Instead, I’ve got quick reviews of two chunkster books I read this fall. Chunkster being the technical term for big-ass, over 500 pages each, tomes. Both are set in prehistoric times and are the kind of books you’ll either settle into or set aside.   I’ve read a lot of Ken Follett’s historical fiction and he’s yet to disappoint me. His ... Read More...

Leave a Comment
Filed Under: Book Reviews, Fiction Tagged: cultural, historical, literary

Daughter of Egypt

March 2, 2026

daughter

Two young women, separated by thousands of years, stand at the center of Marie Benedict’s new novel, Daughter of Egypt. One is the daughter of a wealthy English lord in post-WWI England while the other is a pharaoh’s daughter in ancient Egypt. Only one has a life predestined by the gods, but both will have to fight to live the life they believe should be theirs. Evelyn ... Read More...

Leave a Comment
Filed Under: Book Reviews, Fiction Tagged: 1920s, Egypt, historical, women

The English Masterpiece

January 21, 2026

english masterpiece

I don’t listen to a lot of audiobooks so it’s a delight when I take the time and it works out. The English Masterpiece is set in 1970s London and Lily is the assistant to Diana Gilden, the director of the modern art collection at the Tate Museum. This job is Lily’s chance to prove herself in the art world and hopefully, to become known as an artist herself. As the novel begins ... Read More...

Leave a Comment
Filed Under: Book Reviews, Fiction Tagged: 1970s, art, London, mystery

Skylark by Paula McClain

January 16, 2026

skylark

A young woman is imprisoned in an insane asylum in the 1600s. A psychiatric medical student in Paris in the 1940s is faced with the realities of the Nazi invasion. These two unrelated characters sit at the center of Paula McLain’s latest novel, Skylark, because both are forced to venture into the darkest parts of Paris in order to find freedom. Alouette comes from a family ... Read More...

4 Comments
Filed Under: Book Reviews, Fiction Tagged: France, historical, Holocaust, WWII

Workhorse: A Novel

January 12, 2026

workhorse

Clo Harmon is a 25-year-old assistant at a fashion magazine. She’s a workhorse—eager, bright, hardworking, but with no fashion pedigree. Meaning she will never achieve her dream of being an editor because those jobs only go to the show horses—wealthy, skinny girls with Ivy League degrees and all the right connections.  What’s an ambitious, but unconnected woman to do? In ... Read More...

Leave a Comment
Filed Under: Book Reviews, Fiction Tagged: 21st century, fashion, historical fiction, Manhattan

  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • …
  • 52
  • Next Page »
  • Bluesky
  • Email
  • Goodreads
  • Instagram
  • Substack

Save time and subscribe via email

No time to keep checking for new reviews? Enter your email address to subscribe and receive notifications of new posts by email. No spam!

Bookshop

Currently Reading

Burnout: The Secret to Unlocking the Stress Cycle
Burnout: The Secret to Unlocking the Stress Cycle
by Emily Nagoski
The Dutch House
The Dutch House
by Ann Patchett
Wild Game: My Mother, Her Lover, and Me
Wild Game: My Mother, Her Lover, and Me
by Adrienne Brodeur

goodreads.com

Affiliate Disclosure

I’m an affiliate for Bookshop. If you click on a link that takes you to their site and make a purchase I’ll earn a small fee, which goes towards the costs of maintaining this site. Your support is appreciated. Thank you!

Archives

Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 United States License.

Theme Design By Studio Mommy · Copyright © 2026

Copyright © 2026 · Beyond Madison Theme on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in