August 9, 2012

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Each month we give away books to members to read and review (or discuss). Members who choose to take part tend to receive a free book about every three months. Here are their opinions on three just published books they have been reading recently:


Sentinel: A Will Cochrane Spycatcher Novel 
Publisher: William Morrow
Publication Date: 08/07/2012
Thrillers, 400 pages

Number of reader reviews: 24
Readers' consensus:

BookBrowse Members Say
"Sentinel is a heart racing page turner. Matthew Dunn engages the reader from the opening chapter and never lets go until the end. Will Cochrane is a character the reader will want to see more of, tough, resourceful and intriguing. One can't help but wonder at his backstory. Set in snowy Russia, this is a thrilling chiller of a story." - Barbara O. (Maryland Heights, MO)

"I loved this book. Will Cochrane is Jason Bourne and James Bond in one body and even then still tougher than both. This is a real spy thriller and the tension goes up and up and up until the end. The action is nonstop. Perfect summer book but beware you may not be able to put it down once started. If you are like me you will head for the bookstore to find Mr. Dunn's first book and then you'll be waiting for book number three to come out." - Peggy K. (Long Beach, CA)

"This book is a page turner, a political/spy thriller, with nonstop action. I learned enough about the main character to like him but look forward to more character development. I almost read the whole book in one sitting. Can't wait to read his first novel. I would enjoy following a character like Will through several undercover assignments, such as with the Jason Bourne books." - Chris W. (Temple City, CA)

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by Gail Tsukiyama

by M.L. Stedman

Below is part of BookBrowse's review of Small Damages. Read the review in full here



Hardcover (Jul 2012), 304 pages.

Publisher: Philomel
ISBN 9780399257483

BookBrowse Rating:
Critics' Consensus:

 
Review:
I have never been to Spain. I have never stayed on a bull ranch just outside of Seville, where the heat beats down on the olive groves, and the smell of saffron permeates the thick atmosphere. I have never breathed in the air there, "which smells like fruit and sun and the color blue."

But after reading Small Damages I feel like I have.

A small disclaimer here: I am obsessed with landscape. I am deeply fascinated by the way place helps shape the people who live there; how the smells and sounds and tactile details of place can influence them; how the stories embedded in the dirt, inside the trunk of a tree, and settled at the bottom of a river can nurture them. In fiction, a vividly drawn landscape can ground the reader. It can help the reader rest comfortably inside the story because she knows - by way of her senses - where she is. Beth Kephart is a master at this. She creates landscape in a glorious way. With lyrical prose that rings unique and familiar all at the same time, she opens the reader's ears, eyes, nose and skin - she transports the reader smack into the middle of the world she has created. I have recently learned that Beth considers landscape an actual character in her stories, and I was not surprised to hear this. As I got deeper and deeper into Small Damages, I felt just as much of a connection with Spain as I did with Kenzie, Estela and Esteban, the central characters in the story.

And what about those three? What about Kenzie, Estela and Esteban?

Beth creates them, too, in a glorious way. A pregnant Kenzie is forced by her mother to live at the ranch in Seville until she gives birth to her baby, who will then be adopted by a Spanish couple. Estela, the "old cook" is given the responsibility of taking care of Kenzie, the "stubborn American," and the two lock horns as they work together in the kitchen. Esteban is the horse wrangler on the ranch, and although he and Kenzie do not have the same kind of conflict, they are distant with one another. Slowly, slowly though, Kenzie begins to accept and appreciate both Estela and Esteban, and they, in turn, do the same with her.

And here, in my opinion, is where Kephart's skill and intuition are utterly breathtaking. These relationships build and grow at a measured, deliberate pace, which mirrors Spain's energy perfectly. The heavy, logy heat; the occasional dramatic flash of a storm; the meticulous process of chopping and mixing and frying a meal; the ebb and flow of gypsy music hanging in the air - all these parallel the organic, tender and real ways Kenzie, Estela and Esteban come to know and love one another ... Continue

 

Reviewed by Tamara Smith

Above is part of BookBrowse's review of Small Damages. Read the review in full here
 

At BookBrowse, we don't just review books, we go 'beyond the book' to explore interesting aspects relating to the story.

Here is a recent "Beyond the Book" feature for The Collective: A Novel
by Don Lee

   


In The Collective, the characters Eric Cho, Joshua Yoon, and Jessica Tsai form a shaky coalition called the 3AC - Asian American Artists Collective. A similar organization was founded in New York around twenty years ago: The Asian American Writers' Workshop.

This non-profit organization works to spread the growth of literature by Asian American writers, remove cultural stereotypes, and promote a dialog that values the place of Asian Americans in contemporary American society.

The workshop got its beginnings when nearly a half-dozen Asian American writers got together at a diner in Brooklyn, NY and talked about the explosion in literary efforts by fellow citizens. They founded the workshop as a means of encouraging and nurturing young talent.

The Asian American Writers' Workshop offers writing classes and get-togethers in addition to an annual literary festival, Page Turner. The workshop also presents a set of annual literary awards, which have been won by both established and lesser known artists. In 2009, Sonny Mehta, publisher and editor-in-chief at Knopf won the workshop's Lifetime Achievement Award... Continued

Above is part of BookBrowse's review of The Collective. Read the review in full here
 

 

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