B+ Reviews / Book ReviewsContemporary / estranged family / family relationships / found family / Los Angeles / omniscient voice13 Comments
When Laura Costello moves to Los Angeles, trying to escape an overprotective family and the haunting memories of a terrible accident, she doesn’t expect to be homeless after a week. (She’s pretty sure she didn’t start that fire — right?) She also doesn’t expect to find herself adopted by a ... more >
B- Reviews / Book Reviews1920s / 1960s / African American women / American historical / domestic abuse / domestic violence / dual-timeline / estranged marriage / family relationships / First-Person / gender-based violence / Historical / journalist / Los Angeles / POC / POC author / police brutality / racism / road novels / road trip / Womens-FictionNo Comments
At the height of the Civil Rights Movement amidst an America convulsed by the 1960s, a pregnant young woman and her brash, profane aunt embark upon an audacious road trip from Chicago to Los Angeles to confront a decades-old mystery from 1920’s Black Hollywood in this haunting novel of historical ... more >
B Reviews / Book Reviewsbusinessman / classical music / composing / Contemporary / dysfunctional family / family relationships / Hana Trio series / Korean American / Los Angeles / musician / POC / POC author / second chance at love2 Comments
Her secret tore them apart. Will his secret reunite them? World-renowned cellist Angie Han is desperate to save her trio’s chamber music society. So when she discovers that her ex Joshua Shin is the anonymous composer setting the classical music world on fire, she asks for his help. The sexy ... more >
B+ Reviews / Book Reviews / Recommended Reads1920s / 20th century / fish-out-of-water / Historical / historical mystery / Hollywood / Hollywood Golden Age / Los Angeles / murder mystery / silent movie8 Comments
“You shall never have a penny of my money. Leave me alone or I will shoot you dead!” 1924. After six months in Hollywood, young British widow Emma Blackstone has come to love her new employer, glamourous movie-star Kitty Flint – even if her late husband’s sister is one of ... more >
A Reviews / A- Reviews / B Reviews Category / B+ Reviews / Book Reviews / C Reviews Category#ownvoices / amateur sleuths / book clubs / Brooklyn / childhood friends / children / civil rights / families / female friendship / Historical / India / Japanese-American history / Kentucky / librarians / Los Angeles / Memoir / mystery / POC / POC author / Reading lists / South Carolina / Womens-Fiction / YA10 Comments
I run a virtual book club for seniors, volunteering for a non-profit (check it out and see if you’d like to help, or consider participating in the national village movement closer to your home), and we take turns picking out the books we read. One of the advantages this has ... more >
Book Reviews / C Reviewsfamily relationships / First-Person / gardening / grief / Los Angeles / mothers and daughters / sisters / Widowed Heroine / Womens-Fiction2 Comments
Lilian Girvan has been a single mother for three years—ever since her husband died in a car accident. One mental breakdown and some random suicidal thoughts later, she’s just starting to get the hang of this widow thing. She can now get her two girls to school, show up to ... more >