B Reviews / Book ReviewsHolocaust / immigrant / Jewish characters / Jewish-faith / non-fiction / Poland / survival / World War II4 Comments
A gripping story of love, escape, and survival, from wartime Poland to a courtship in the Catskills In the summer of 1942, the Rabinowitz family narrowly escaped the Nazi ghetto in their Polish town by fleeing to the forbidding Bialowieza Forest. They miraculously survived two years in the woods—through brutal ... more >
Conversationsbook marketing / false advertising / publishing trends / reader expectations18 Comments
Janine: In our recent joint review of Helen Hoang’s The Heart Principle, Jayne and I expressed our dismay over the way the book is marketed, and over missold books more generally: Jayne: I also feel that in my opinion, this is more a women’s fiction book albeit one with strong ... more >
A- Reviews / Book Reviews / Recommended Reads1930s / aristocrats / Business woman / England / First-Person / high society / Historical / self discovery / slow burn / Womens-Fiction6 Comments
In early 1930s England, a young firebrand finds herself on a fraught and dangerous road to independence. In 1931 England, Astra Davies defies all the conventions. Clever, witty, and determined, Astra smokes, drinks, plays a mean piano, and gallivants around London with her beloved Cavalier King Charles Spaniel. But Astra ... more >
B+ Reviews / Book Reviews / Recommended Readsfemale friendship / forced-marriage / Historical / historical-Scotland / Late Victorian / League of Extraordinary Women Series / photography / suffragette4 Comments
Going toe-to-toe with a brooding Scotsman is rather bold for a respectable suffragist, but when he happens to be one’s unexpected husband, what else is an unwilling bride to do? London banking heiress Hattie Greenfield wanted just three things in life: 1. Acclaim as an artist. 2. A noble cause. ... more >
B Reviews / Book Reviewsautobiography / Ballerina / ballet / biracial heroine / body image / Dancer / eating disorders / emotional abuse / fat shaming / Filipino American / First-Person / New York City / non-fiction / POC author / racism / sexism4 Comments
Award-winning New York City Ballet soloist Georgina Pazcoguin, aka the Rogue Ballerina, gives readers a backstage tour of the real world of elite ballet—the gritty, hilarious, sometimes shocking truth you don’t see from the orchestra circle. In this love letter to the art of dance and the sport that has ... more >
Book Reviews / Open ThreadOpen Thread26 Comments
Got a book you want to talk about? Frustrated with a book or series? In love with a new one? Found a buried treasure? An issue that keeps popping up in the books you are reading? Just want to chat about stuff in general?