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

Lessons in Chemistry

April 20, 2022

lessons in chemistry

It's the 1960s and you’re a brilliant chemist exploring one of the most elusive topics in chemistry—the chemical reaction that led to life. You should be at the forefront of the scientific community. Instead, you’re grappling with your thesis advisor as he tries to rape you and later being called “luscious” by the director of a chemical laboratory where you work. This is ... Read More...

10 Comments
Filed Under: Book Reviews, Fiction Tagged: debut, historical fiction, humor, women

Beautiful Little Fools

February 9, 2022

beautiful

  A sweltering August day, a stunning estate, and a crystalline pool, its pellucid water tinged red by Jay Gatsby’s blood. Shot once and now dead. We all know this is how The Great Gatsby ends but in Jillian Cantor’s Beautiful Little Fools, it’s just the beginning. Although the police have closed the case, Detective Frank Charles has been hired by an old friend of ... Read More...

6 Comments
Filed Under: Book Reviews, Fiction Tagged: historical fiction, mystery, retellings, women

Love & Saffron: A Novel

February 7, 2022

saffron

Seattle and Los Angeles, same coast but vastly different places, especially in the 1960s. Imogene Fortier writes a column known to readers in the Pacific Northwest so is surprised to not only get a fan letter, but a gift from a young woman in L.A. It’s a small packet of saffron with a recipe for mussels. This innocuous beginning leads to an impactful friendship in Kim Fay’s ... Read More...

8 Comments
Filed Under: Book Reviews, Fiction Tagged: 1960s, book clubs, friendship, historical fiction, women

Joan is Okay

February 2, 2022

joan

Joan is happy with her life. She loves her job as an ICU doctor at a NYC hospital. Her boss thinks she’s amazing. She has a nice apartment in a doorman building. Why then do so many of the people around her think she needs fixing? Her older brother believes there’s something wrong with her because she’s not married with children. Her new neighbor thinks she needs friends and ... Read More...

4 Comments
Filed Under: Book Reviews, Fiction Tagged: contemporary life, literary, women

Notes on an Execution: A Novel

January 24, 2022

execution

In twelve hours Ansel Packer will be executed. As the time unwinds, three women parse the life of a serial killer. Lavender is his mother, Hazel the twin sister of his wife, and Saffron the police captain involved in his capture. In Notes on an Execution their stories strip the filters from Ansel’s own Auto-tuned portrayal of himself and his life’s Theory, leaving behind ... Read More...

2 Comments
Filed Under: Book Reviews, Fiction Tagged: book clubs, crime, literary, women

The Woman They Could Not Silence

January 21, 2022

silence

The general consensus among people who know me is I don’t need more reading that could make me angry. This might be true, but as history is written by the victors and the victors for centuries have been men we all need to read nonfiction that challenges the prevailing history. This was the case when I read The Woman They Could Not Silence by Kate Moore. I thought my head was ... Read More...

4 Comments
Filed Under: Book Reviews, Non-fiction Tagged: book clubs, history, social issues, women

  • « Previous Page
  • 1
  • …
  • 7
  • 8
  • 9
  • 10
  • 11
  • …
  • 29
  • 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