B Reviews / B Reviews Category / Book ReviewsHistorical fiction / Literary fiction / Russia / Russian character15 Comments
From the New York Times bestselling author of Rules of Civility—a transporting novel about a man who is ordered to spend the rest of his life inside a luxury hotel With his breakout debut novel, Rules of Civility, Amor Towles established himself as a master of absorbing, sophisticated fiction, bringing ... more >
Book Reviews / D Reviews / F Reviews18th-century / accountant / Dark / Japan / Literary fiction / midwife / Netherlands / POC / shipping / unrequited-love8 Comments
Trigger warning: Dear David Mitchell, Your literary novel, The Thousand Autumns of Jacob De Zoet, caught my attention because of its setting, the environs of Nagasaki in 1799-1800. I heard of the book through great word-of-mouth from people whose opinions I generally trust so I was excited to read it. ... more >
A Reviews / A- Reviews / Book Reviews / Recommended Reads#ownvoices / being true to oneself / bestsellers / bigotry / black MC / colorism / family / Literary fiction / Los Angeles / mothers and daughters / New York City / passing / POC / POC author / racism / Small-Town / twins4 Comments
Trigger warnings: Content warnings: Dear Brit Bennett, I can’t name any one reason why I picked up your novel, The Vanishing Half. Part of it was surely its omnipresence on my Goodreads stream. Part of it was all the praise it’s garnered, which includes appearing on the National Book Award’s ... more >
Book Reviews / Recommended Reads / Top Ten ListsAgent/Spies/Undercover / Best of 2020 / best of list / boarding school / Cold War / disabled hero / found family / genius loci / historical romance / king / Literary fiction / loner / m/m / magic users / one day courtship / passing / SF / thief / twins / UF / voting / war / YA / YA fantasy14 Comments
I spent much of 2020 grateful to books and authors for giving me a way to visit other times and places while stuck at home because of Covid. Below, listed in alphabetical order by author, are my top eight favorite books of 2020. Some grades have been adjusted since my ... more >
A Reviews / A- Reviews / B+ Reviews / Reading Lists / Recommended Reads / Top Ten Lists#metoo / #ownvoices / 1870s / 1920s / 1970s / accountant / Agent/Spies/Undercover / arranged-marriage / Asian heroine / Asperger's / audiobook / Best of 2019 / best of list / book editor / California / class differences / Contemporary / custody battle / dragons / enemies to lovers / epistolary / f/f / Fairyland / fake relationship / family / Fantasy / farming / friends-to-lovers / gods / heroine in disguise / high-school / historical romance / Hong Kong based world / illegitimate-child / LGBTQIA+ / Literary fiction / London / look alikes / mafia / magical powers / Malaysia / martial arts / Mexico / nobleman / Northern Ireland / nurse / POC / POC author / political intrigue / quest / reformed hero / Regency-based world / romantic-elements / roommates / saga / single dad / streetwise heroine / Time-Travel / Vietnam / waitress / war19 Comments
I was tempted to make a list of my favorites among the 2019-published books I read this year. In the end I decided to focus on my favorite 2019 reads (first time reads; I didn’t include books I had read / reviewed in prior years) without regard to their year ... more >
B+ Reviews / Book Reviews1990s / greek mythology / Humor / Literary fiction / Northern Ireland / Retelling / soldiers / Violence8 Comments
Trigger warnings: Northern Ireland, 1996. After twenty-five years of conflict, the IRA and the British have agreed an uneasy ceasefire, as a first step towards lasting peace. But if decades of savage violence are leading only to smiles and handshakes, those on the ground in the border country will start ... more >