April 7, 2020

REVIEW: To Calais, In Ordinary Time by James Meek

JayneB- Reviews / Book Reviews14th century / aristocrats / class differences / death / disease / England / Historical fiction / language / LGBT characters / medieval / plague / working classNo Comments

Three journeys. One road. England, 1348. A gentlewoman flees an odious arranged marriage, a Scots proctor sets out for Avignon, and a young plowman in search of freedom is on his way to volunteer with a company of archers. All come together on the road to Calais. Coming in their ... more >

April 6, 2020

REVIEW: Yours with Love by Mary Burchell

JayneB Reviews / Book Reviews1980s / dysfunctional family / England / family relationships / London / Older Man/Younger Woman / secretary5 Comments

The scheme would be of mutual benefit When Jason Kent literally crashed into Virginia’s life, he turned her whole world upside down. In return for a large sum of money, he asked her to pose as his mistress so that his wife would divorce him. Virginia agreed because it meant ... more >

April 3, 2020

REVIEW: The Dalai Lama’s Cat by David Michie

JayneA- Reviews / Book Reviews / Recommended ReadsBuddhism / cats / First-Person / religion / self discoveryNo Comments

“In the months that followed I watched His Holiness working on a new book . . . I began to think that perhaps the time had come for me to turn my paws to a book of my own . . . one that tells my own tale . . ... more >

April 2, 2020

REVIEW: Am I Dying?! by Christopher Kelly, M.D. and Marc Eisenberg, M.D.

JayneB+ Reviews / Book Reviews / Recommended ReadsDoctor / health / medicine / non-fictionNo Comments

Featured on CBS This Morning, Men’s Health, The Washington Post, Buzzfeed, and The Dr. Oz Show Two top doctors present a comprehensive, light-hearted guide for the hypochondriac in all of us. Christopher Kelly, MD, and Marc Eisenberg, MD, FACC, are both highly accomplished physicians and health experts from UNC Health ... more >

April 2, 2020

REVIEW: Did You Just Eat That? by Paul Dawson and Brian Sheldon

JayneB Reviews / Book Reviewsnon-fiction / safety / scienceNo Comments

Is the five-second rule legitimate? Are electric hand dryers really bacteria blowers? Am I spraying germs everywhere when I blow on my birthday cake? How gross is backwash? When it comes to food safety and germs, there are as many common questions as there are misconceptions. And yet there has ... more >

April 1, 2020

REVIEW: On the Hillwilla Road by Melanie Forde

JayneB Reviews / Book ReviewsContemporary / dysfunctional family / family relationships / fish-out-of-water / Hillwilla series / older woman / West Virginia / Womens-FictionNo Comments

This follow-up novel to Hillwilla explores how disparate characters can grow to need and depend on one another In Hillwilla, Beatrice Desmond, a former Bostonian Ivy Leaguer, found herself in midlife on a llama farm in remote West Virginia. Clara Buckhalter, a troubled young girl, drew Beatrice out of her ... more >