Simon & Schuster Archives - The Gilmore Guide to Books https://gilmoreguidetobooks.com/reviews/publishers/simon-schuster/ Connecting Books and Readers One Review at a Time Fri, 26 Sep 2025 18:29:06 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.9.4 https://gilmoreguidetobooks.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/cropped-books-on-table-2-150x150.jpg Simon & Schuster Archives - The Gilmore Guide to Books https://gilmoreguidetobooks.com/reviews/publishers/simon-schuster/ 32 32 38398750 The Satisfaction Cafe https://gilmoreguidetobooks.com/2025/09/the-satisfaction-cafe/ https://gilmoreguidetobooks.com/2025/09/the-satisfaction-cafe/#respond Thu, 25 Sep 2025 07:06:04 +0000 https://gilmoreguidetobooks.com/?p=19329 Joan is a Taiwanese woman in America in The Satisfaction Café. Her first marriage, through no fault of her own goes horribly wrong, leaving her destitute and living hand to mouth. She then meets and marries a wealthy, older man. They have their own children before he dies, leaving her very wealthy, but insecure, as […]

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]]> https://gilmoreguidetobooks.com/2025/09/the-satisfaction-cafe/feed/ 0 19329 July Reading Wrap-Up https://gilmoreguidetobooks.com/2025/07/july-reading-wrap-up-7/ https://gilmoreguidetobooks.com/2025/07/july-reading-wrap-up-7/#comments Thu, 31 Jul 2025 07:40:17 +0000 https://gilmoreguidetobooks.com/?p=19258 My surprise over the disappearance of July probably comes as no surprise as I seem to lament how quickly the months go on a regular basis now. It’s a disconnect from the feeling that we’re years into this president’s term based on the chaos and toxicity. The only thing keeping my poor psyche from exploding […]

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]]> https://gilmoreguidetobooks.com/2025/07/july-reading-wrap-up-7/feed/ 4 19258 Call Her Freedom https://gilmoreguidetobooks.com/2025/07/call-her-freedom/ https://gilmoreguidetobooks.com/2025/07/call-her-freedom/#respond Thu, 24 Jul 2025 07:49:23 +0000 https://gilmoreguidetobooks.com/?p=19247 A small village in the Himalayan foothills is the setting for Tara Dorabji’s debut novel, Call Her Freedom. Aisha’s mother is a midwife and teaches Aisha all about childbirth and herbal remedies when Aisha is not in school. An outstanding student it’s been her mother’s dream to see her go to university in the city.  […]

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]]> https://gilmoreguidetobooks.com/2025/07/call-her-freedom/feed/ 0 19247 The Bright Years https://gilmoreguidetobooks.com/2025/04/the-bright-years/ https://gilmoreguidetobooks.com/2025/04/the-bright-years/#comments Tue, 29 Apr 2025 07:42:44 +0000 https://gilmoreguidetobooks.com/?p=19120 Four generations of one Texas family unfold on the pages of Sarah Damoff’s intimate debut, The Bright Years. What begins with the simple act of falling in love turns into something deeper and more profound as secrets and addiction pull apart the loving trio of father Ryan, mother Lillian, and daughter Georgette (Jet), leaving each […]

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]]> https://gilmoreguidetobooks.com/2025/04/the-bright-years/feed/ 2 19120 Heartwood https://gilmoreguidetobooks.com/2025/04/heartwood/ https://gilmoreguidetobooks.com/2025/04/heartwood/#comments Wed, 02 Apr 2025 07:15:23 +0000 https://gilmoreguidetobooks.com/?p=19073   …the act of walking while carrying the weight of my pack had wrung all the sadness out of me, the sadness for myself and for the world, and that in that moment, I was totally without stress, confusion, or agitation, and that I was perfectly, blamelessly, whole. The trail transformed me. The Appalachian Trail […]

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]]> https://gilmoreguidetobooks.com/2025/04/heartwood/feed/ 4 19073 March Reading Recap https://gilmoreguidetobooks.com/2025/03/march-reading-recap-8/ https://gilmoreguidetobooks.com/2025/03/march-reading-recap-8/#respond Mon, 31 Mar 2025 07:56:08 +0000 https://gilmoreguidetobooks.com/?p=19062 Hello, fellow readers! I’m not sure I’ll get to say this again, but despite a completely miserable and toxic month in the news, my March reading was calmly solid. I only had one book I didn’t finish, am fully immersed in a fabulous fantasy series, and read six books that were successful (3.5 stars or […]

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]]> https://gilmoreguidetobooks.com/2025/03/march-reading-recap-8/feed/ 0 19062 More 2024 Reading I Loved https://gilmoreguidetobooks.com/2024/12/more-2024-reading-i-loved/ https://gilmoreguidetobooks.com/2024/12/more-2024-reading-i-loved/#comments Mon, 30 Dec 2024 08:54:27 +0000 https://gilmoreguidetobooks.com/?p=18881 I’m back with more books I loved in 2024. On Friday I shared the fact that almost all my 5-star favorite books for the year were backlist, but I still wanted to give a shoutout to this wide variety of new releases I thought were wonderful. Each provided me with the escape I wanted in […]

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]]> https://gilmoreguidetobooks.com/2024/12/more-2024-reading-i-loved/feed/ 4 18881 My 9 Favorite Books in 2024 https://gilmoreguidetobooks.com/2024/12/my-9-favorite-books-in-2024/ https://gilmoreguidetobooks.com/2024/12/my-9-favorite-books-in-2024/#comments Fri, 27 Dec 2024 08:18:40 +0000 https://gilmoreguidetobooks.com/?p=18858 As I started reviewing my reading year there was one stat that jumped off the chart at me. Of the 13 five-star books I read this year my favorite 9 were backlist (published before 2024). I’m sure publishing analysts could provide an easy explanation (fewer books published in an election year) or a psychologist something […]

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]]> https://gilmoreguidetobooks.com/2024/12/my-9-favorite-books-in-2024/feed/ 4 18858 Swift River: A Novel https://gilmoreguidetobooks.com/2024/09/swift-river-a-novel/ https://gilmoreguidetobooks.com/2024/09/swift-river-a-novel/#respond Thu, 19 Sep 2024 07:48:33 +0000 https://gilmoreguidetobooks.com/?p=18661 Swift River is both the title of Essie Chambers’ debut and the town where the novel is set. It’s about Diamond Newberry, a 16-year-old girl who stands out, but not for her flashy name or sparkling personality. She’s morbidly obese and ever since her father disappeared 7 years ago she’s the only Black person in […]

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]]> https://gilmoreguidetobooks.com/2024/09/swift-river-a-novel/feed/ 0 18661 July Reading Wrap-Up https://gilmoreguidetobooks.com/2024/08/july-reading-wrap-up-6/ https://gilmoreguidetobooks.com/2024/08/july-reading-wrap-up-6/#comments Thu, 01 Aug 2024 07:49:13 +0000 https://gilmoreguidetobooks.com/?p=18578 Hello, lovely readers! I’m sorry for my absence at the end of July but a whole lot of life—some of it very happy, some of it not so much—got in the way of my reading and reviewing. The happy was a family wedding and the not-fun was experiencing COVID for the first time.  Wow. Even […]

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