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

If, Then by Kate Hope Day

March 13, 2019

if then

It feels a bit as if alternate realities are all the rage in fiction this year, which is not too surprising if you pay attention to what’s happening in the real world. First, there was The Dreamers, where people fell asleep and dreamed of different lives. Dreams so vivid that upon awaking they believed their dreams were real. Kate Hope Day takes things further in her debut ... Read More...

2 Comments
Filed Under: Book Reviews, Fiction Tagged: contemporary life, debut, literary, Pacific Northwest, science fiction

When You Read This

March 4, 2019

eight

Here’s a spoiler: Iris Massey is dead. She died of cancer at 33, leaving behind an obstreperous older sister, Jade; a narcissistic abusive mother; a weight lifter boyfriend, Richie, and Simon, her boss at his PR agency. Oh, and pages from a blog she wrote up while she was dying. It’s discovered eight months after her death, in her desk drawer, and it sets When You Read This off ... Read More...

10 Comments
Filed Under: Book Reviews, Fiction Tagged: contemporary life, debut, Harper, humor

February Reading Wrap-Up

March 1, 2019

february

February—what a month! On the personal side there was what was known in Seattle as Snowmageddon: 10 days when we were slammed with 3 different storms that left us with 15” inches of snow, unplowed roads, and empty grocery stores. I realize all you readers in places where snow is the norm are laughing right now, but we don’t get snow. Period. This was huge. People were cross ... Read More...

10 Comments
Filed Under: Book Reviews, Feature Tagged: chick lit, contemporary life, historical fiction, literary, magical realism, mini-reviews

The Care and Feeding of Ravenously Hungry Girls

February 27, 2019

care and feeding

“Boys and men are earth and stone,” my mama used to say. “But you girls, us women, we’re water. We can wear away earth and stone, if it comes to it.” Althea is indeed the water in her family’s lives. She flows and maneuvers through obstacles and around immovable objects. Her principles are fluid as well, which is why, when The Care and Feeding of Ravenously Hungry Girls ... Read More...

4 Comments
Filed Under: Book Reviews, Fiction Tagged: Berkley, book clubs, contemporary life, debut, family, women

Radiant Shimmering Light

January 30, 2019

radiant

Lilian is trying to live her best life, but utilizing her ability to see animals’ auras while painting pet portraits is not working out. She can’t even earn enough to pay the rent on her Toronto apartment. She feels stymied and trapped so when her cousin Eleven (formerly Florence) Novak invites her to New York City to attend one of her famous female empowerment seminars she ... Read More...

1 Comment
Filed Under: Book Reviews, Fiction Tagged: Bloomsbury, contemporary life, debut, satire

The Dreamers by Karen Thompson Walker

January 16, 2019

dreamers

The Dreamers opens with one of the greatest sources of angst for college girls—dorm life. Mei’s roommate, Kara, is wildly popular after only a month at school, while Mei cannot find her way into any social group. She’s left on the sidelines until it is Kara who slips away, by falling asleep one night…and not waking up. It’s nothing so nefarious as death, it’s just sleep. Soon ... Read More...

4 Comments
Filed Under: Book Reviews, Fiction Tagged: contemporary life, fantasy, Random House, science fiction

  • « Previous Page
  • 1
  • …
  • 27
  • 28
  • 29
  • 30
  • 31
  • …
  • 61
  • 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