Category: books
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Book review: Masque by W.R. Gingell
Masque by W.R. Gingell My rating: 4 of 5 stars To say that this book is the retelling of the Beauty and the Beast fairy tale does the author an injustice. So, yes, “Masque” is a retelling of the traditional fairy tale, but it is one of the most fun and original retellings I’ve ever…
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Book review: Madame Fourcade’s Secret War by Lynne Olson
Madame Fourcade’s Secret War: The Daring Young Woman Who Led France’s Largest Spy Network Against Hitler by Lynne Olson My rating: 4 of 5 stars Marie-Madeleine Fourcade was the the leader of a intelligence gathering group, the Alliance, in France during World War II that was instrumental in providing the Allies with key intelligence, including…
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Book review: Absolution by Murder by Peter Tremayne
Absolution by Murder by Peter Tremayne My rating: 3 of 5 stars Historical mysteries are a tricky balancing act. On one hand, the author should paint a realistic portrait of the period and needs to include the necessary details to describe the setting in which the mystery takes place. On the other hand, the author…
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Book review: Lady in Waiting by Marie Tremayne
Lady in Waiting by Marie Tremayne My rating: 4 of 5 stars A rather unusual premise: the heroine is about to be forced into an unwanted marriage with a despicable man and, to avoid the wedding, she runs off to become a housemaid in a reclusive earl’s household in the country. Naturally, the “housemaid” and…
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Book review: Death by Dumpling by Vivien Chien
Death by Dumpling by Vivien Chien My rating: 3 of 5 stars This is a perfect beach read, especially if you are Asian-American. The main character, Lana Lee, grew up helping out with her parents’ restaurant. Life goes a bit sideways on her, and she’s returned to work there while sorting out her life, putting…
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Book review: The Good Lord Bird by James McBride
The Good Lord Bird by James McBride My rating: 4 of 5 stars I have to admit I was unenthusiastic about reading this book, as it was an assigned book for our son’s 11th grade English class. (Assigned reading is about as appealing to me now as it was when I was in high school.)…
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Book review: Don’t Label Me by Irshad Manji
Don’t Label Me: An Incredible Conversation for Divided Times by Irshad Manji My rating: 4 of 5 stars The premise for this book is interesting, to say the least. The author has a conversation with her dog, Lily, as a way to promote discussion about diversity of thought, tribes, and discord. As hokey as this…
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Book review: A Treacherous Curse by Deanna Raybourn
A Treacherous Curse by Deanna Raybourn My rating: 4 of 5 stars I really loathed the heroine (and narrator) of this series, Veronica Speedwell, after reading the first book in the series. But I liked the author’s previous works enough to read the next two books of this series. This particular one (#3) is my…
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Book review: A Woman of No Importance by Sonia Purnell
A Woman of No Importance: The Untold Story of the American Spy Who Helped Win World War II by Sonia Purnell My rating: 4 of 5 stars “A Woman of No Importance” is about the life of Virginia Hall, who despite being a woman, an American, and disabled (a prosthetic leg), managed to outwit and…
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Book review: The Strange Case of the Alchemist’s Daughter by Theodora Goss
The Strange Case of the Alchemist’s Daughter by Theodora Goss My rating: 4 of 5 stars The premise of this book is fascinating: Mary Jekyll (daughter of “Jekyll and Hyde” Jekyll) through a fortuitous set of circumstances discovers other “daughters” of infamous men (Diana Hyde, Justine Frankenstein, Beatrice Rappaccini, and Catherine Moreau) and works alongside…