This title was completely unfamiliar to me, but Nanette is a big fan of his blog and was really excited to read it. — Lisa One of the great things about reviewing is finding hidden gems—great books that aren’t bestsellers, but probably should be. Song of the Sea God is one of those books. The beginning just reaches out and grabs… Read more
Extra special stuff today – the first review from my new associate reviewer, Christine Linial! She’s a long-time on-line pal who also loves books, and I am sharing some of my bounty with her (and getting more reviews on my pages at the same time). If you’re a baseball fan who loves intrigue, Hang A Crooked Number is your next… Read more
Four Summoner’s Tales starts with an interesting premise. If you could truly raise people from the dead, of course, there would be people willing to pay you to do it, to bring their loved ones back. But wouldn’t there also be people willing to pay you not to do it? Could you blackmail that trophy wife, whose 90-year-old husband just left… Read more
Knowing what this book was about, I wasn’t expecting a happy ending. What surprised me was how often I was moved to tears by the sheer bravery and strength of the men in this novel. What kind of inner strength does it take to go out into what will likely be deadly conditions, risking your own life, to rescue a… Read more
It’s kind of a funny thing. When I was telling some bookish friends about The Man, one of them commented that they hate it when books break all “the rules” of time travel. Seems silly to me – how could time travel have rules? Sean Ferrell’s Man in the Empty Suit breaks all the rules of time travel and has some fun doing… Read more
Goat Mountain by David Vann is one of those books where the writing is so lyrical, so poetic, that you keep going back to re-read passages because they are so beautifully written. The story drew me in immediately – the pivotal event in this book happens less than 20 pages in – and the aftermath was compelling enough to keep me… Read more
I was so excited to get a chance to read and review this! I find Neil Gaiman’s work really interesting; even the books I haven’t loved have intrigued me. The Ocean at the End of the Lane is definitely a one-sitting read: once you pick it up, you will be hard-pressed to put it down. Note to authors: please give your characters names!… Read more
Did you know that the gunfight at the O.K. Corral was really fought over a woman? That’s not entirely true, but it’s a big part of the story and one that I had never heard before. In Lady at the O.K. Corral: The True Story of Josephine Marcus Earp, Ann Kirschner tells a story of the Wild Wild West that was completely… Read more
This is a book that delivered exactly what I was hoping for! Serving Victoria: Life in the Royal Household is full of details about living at the palace with the Queen, her husband and children. I really learned a lot about life in the royal household – the sort of interesting little details that aren’t salacious enough for the Daily Mail. Did… Read more
A lot of people think that erotica is the easiest thing to write. Just slap down a description of your last orgasm, and Bob’s your reader. Wait a minute. . .that doesn’t sound right. Uh—nevermind. The fact is, though, that erotica has to be better than a lot of other writing. An erotica writer is on the make, a seducer… Read more