The Night Circus is a terrific fantasy novel about a beautiful and mysterious circus and two star-crossed magicians who are locked in a battle of illusions that can only end when one of them dies. Lush and imaginative, I found myself thinking several times that this is the type of novel I would like to write. Continue reading
Category Archives: Fiction
Book Review: Mexican Gothic by Sylvia Moreno-Garcia
In Mexican Gothic, young socialite Noemi is sent by her father to visit her cousin Catalina after receiving a mysterious letter from Catalina indicating she’s in distress. What Noemi finds in Catalina’s new home, an isolated mansion that’s literally decaying and populated by mostly hostile in-laws, is a bizarre history of depravity and death. Continue reading
Book Review: The Family Upstairs by Lisa Jewell
In The Family Upstairs, Libby receives an unexpected inheritance on her 25th birthday – a multi-million dollar mansion that’s been sitting empty for decades following the mysterious suicides of the homeowners and the disappearance of their two teenage children. As Libby begins to investigate what happened all those years ago, a disturbing story emerges. Continue reading
Book Review: The Book of Lost Friends by Lisa Wingate
The Book of Lost Friends is a beautifully told story that follows Hannie Gossett, a former slave, as she tries to find her family after the Civil War, and Benny Silva, an idealistic high school teacher, who tries to inspire her students at a poor, rural southern school in the late 1980s. The two story lines eventually converge in a powerful lesson about family, perseverance, and coming to terms with history by looking at it straight on. Continue reading
Book Review: The Round House by Louise Erdrich
The Round House is a powerful exploration of the impact of rape on a family, focusing closely on how a teenage boy deals with the trauma and the helplessness of not being able to bring the rapist to justice. It’s set on an Indian reservation and casts some needed light on cultural and legal complexities of convicting non-Indians of crimes committed on reservations. Continue reading
Book Review: The 14th Colony by Steve Berry
The 14th Colony, which is the 11th book in the Cotton Malone series, is a political thriller that explores what would happen if the president-elect and VP-elect both died before the inauguration. It’s an interesting concept and I enjoyed the Cold War references, but I would say this book falls under the category of “brain candy” – it’s mildly entertaining and I’ll soon forget it. Continue reading
Book Review: American Dirt by Jeanine Cummins
American Dirt is a gripping novel about a woman and her son who have to flee Mexico and migrate to the US in order to escape a violent drug cartel. It’s a sympathetic and suspenseful take on one of today’s biggest political topics – illegal border crossings. Continue reading
Book Review: Dear Committee Members by Julie Schumacher
Dear Committee Members is a clever epistolary novel mainly composed of letters of recommendation written by Jay Fitger, a cynical creative writing professor at Payne University, located somewhere in Minnesota. The letters are mostly hilarious and reveal a lot about Fitger, academia, and the practically of an English degree. Continue reading
Book Review: The Guest List by Lucy Foley
The Guest List is a highly satisfying suspense novel that takes place during the wedding from hell on a completely inhospitable island off the Irish coast. A cautionary tale about destination weddings? Perhaps! Continue reading
Book Review: The Shipping News by Annie Proulx
The Shipping News, published in 1993, is a personal evolution story about Quoyle, who transforms from a downtrodden big oaf to a content, well-regarded man. It took awhile to get used to the writing style and I didn’t care for the first part of the book, but I ended up enjoying this novel. Continue reading
Book Thoughts from Bed 