BookBrowse: Your Guide to Exceptional Books

Reviews by Catherine H. (Nashua, NH)

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The Latinist: A Novel
by Mark Prins

Wake me up when the book is over (11/11/2021)

I tried and tried but just couldn't go on reading over 100 pages. Academia nerds should not be allowed to "write" pseudo "academia thrillers" books. Please stick to teaching and spare us poor mortals.

The Last Chance Library
by Freya Sampson

A world made of books and hearts... a library (7/21/2021)

I admit I finished the book few days ago, yet I don't want to let go of the Chalcot library, June, Mrs. B., Marjorie, Stanley and Alex, Vera & Leila and all the characters of "The Last Chance Library" and their fight to keep their library open, they all come to realize that a library is so much more than books, it's the heart of a community no matter how small.

Read the book, you will have hard time let go the Chalcot library I promise!

The Big Finish
by Brooke Fossey

The Big flop (10/22/2019)

Reading that some people compared "The big finish" to "The Story of Arthur Truluv" by Elizabeth Berg or "A man called Ove" by Frederik Backman is down right blasphemy and an insult to two exceptional writers.
"The Big Finish" is bad and cheap dialogues from page 1 up to the end and a pathetic try to imitate the two above mentioned great writers.
I hope Mrs. Fossey was better at working as an aerospace engineer and should have definitely kept her day job.

The Kennedy Debutante
by Kerri Maher

The importance of being Kick Kennedy (6/14/2018)

The author did her homework on the Kennedy family, pre- and WWII London.
Although Kick K. life was short, it was certainly a very privileged and superficial life: I sincerely doubt that the majority of people living in London during WWII, spent their days going from parties to parties or enjoyed Champage and other delicacies.
"The importance of being Kennedy" by Laurie Graham has my preference.

The Book of Summer
by Michelle Gable

Poor rich people. (3/2/2017)

If you like to cry over poor rich people losing their million dollars house to erosion, cry over rich egocentric women from the past living in the same house, this book is for you. The only good side is I did not waste my money on that book.

Edgar and Lucy
by Victor Lodato

Waste of my reading time or "What a boring, hard to believe, hard to read, hard to connect book" (11/16/2016)

I did one thing I rarely do when I read a book, as a matter of fact, I only did that about three times: about half way through, I skipped to the final four pages.
I just could not connect to the story or the characters.
It's not a coming of age book, it's not a fantasy book, not a science fiction book: I think the author does not even know what kind of book he wanted to write, but he sure wrote a complete mess of a book.

The Book That Matters Most: A Novel
by Ann Hood

Excellent (6/23/2016)

I was not sure I was going to like this book: I was so very wrong! This book is about books and reading but this book is also about so many other important matters: drugs, grief, forgiveness to name a few. Ann Hood is now on my "favorite authors" list.

The Alaskan Laundry
by Brendan Jones

A promising author (2/5/2016)

Although this book has its imperfections such as chapter construction and some characters not developed enough, I loved Tara's story moving from Philly to Alaska.
The landscape's description is well done. The author introduces us to a bunch of rowdy and unforgettable people. I hope to learn what happened to Tara, Connor and Keta.

The Opposite of Everyone
by Joshilyn Jackson

Sorry but not for me this time... (12/1/2015)

As I was reading this book, I wondered if this was the same author who wrote such a poetic story as "The girl who stopped swimming" or sad and tender "Grown up kind of pretty"?

"The opposite of everyone" is the story Paula and her mother "Kai" and of a troubled childhood which I thought hard to believe in. Some of the vocabulary and style was sometimes trashy and vulgar.

As I said, sorry but not for me this time....

My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She's Sorry
by Fredrik Backman

If you enjoyed "A man called Ove", you will love "My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She's Sorry" (6/11/2015)

You will laugh and cry, you will be amazed too. You will fall under Elsa's spell.
Just loved that book!

The Well
by Catherine Chanter

Deceiving book.... (2/27/2015)

I really thought I would love book: the near future, a dried up land, only but one isolated farm with a mysterious well surrounded by green fields... Only I could not like the style and the slow pace of most of the book. All in all, a deceiving book....

A Fireproof Home for the Bride
by Amy Scheibe

No, it's not "Love Story", nor "Romeo & Juliet" (12/5/2014)

Don't let the book's title mislead you, this book is not a love story to the traditional sense.
This book is about Emmy and her sister Birdie raised by a very strict Lutheran family in 1958 Minnesota. Emmy's path crosses with a Catholic boy and this is a beginning of a chain reaction and the discovery of bigotry, racism intolerance and that sometimes, families and loved ones are not what they appear to be.
As for the title, you will have to wait for almost the end to fully understanding it.
A great read.

Backyard
by Norman Draper

Rather be gardening (10/12/2014)

A small Midwest town, a bunch of addicted gardeners and a garden contest: all the required ingredients for a good and funny story, maybe not. The story is lacking fluidity with situations repeating themselves. However, I found myself laughing so hard at some scenes, the "backyard murders gang" being the main one.

Juliet's Nurse
by Lois Leveen

Angelica of Verona, Juliet's nurse with a twist. (7/15/2014)

I did enjoy this book more for the detailed description of life in Verona in the 1300s than for the "Romeo & Juliet" part of the story. I love Angelica's down to earth narration and bold observations of the church and nobility. As for the twist, I will let readers discover it by themselves.

Small Blessings
by Martha Woodroof

And they lived happily ever after. (5/6/2014)

Don't get me wrong, this is not a bad book but rather what I would call a "beach book". As much as I loved The Storied Life of AJ Fikry, I will not remember Small Blessings like an unforgettable book, but just glad I am done with it.

The Venetian Bargain
by Marina Fiorato

The Venetian Bargain (12/17/2013)

An interesting book; although not my favorite, still very rich in details on Venice and the black plague. The author definitively did her homework.

Bellman & Black
by Diane Setterfield

Where dit the ghost go? (9/9/2013)

If you are looking for a ghost story, please skip this book as the ghost could be named "L'Arlesienne" rather than Black. But if you are looking for a book on the industrial revolution in 18th century England, this book is for you.
The story made me think of Zola's Ladies' Paradise but for the location (London instead or Paris).
After reading The thirteenth tale, I was expecting a gothic kind of story: big was my surprise as I finished the last page, I was still waiting for the ghost to appear.

Golden Boy
by Abigail Tarttelin

What would you do? (1/4/2013)

This is the story of Max, born hermaphrodite or intersex, boy and girl. The story is told by Max, his mother, father, little brother, girlfriend and doctor: the struggles they each face in their own way and how they deal with them.
Most importantly, this is the story of an exceptional human being, Max.
What would you do if born boy and girl, if you were the mother or father, brother or sister, friends of an intersex person?
If there is one thing we can all learn from this book, is whatever your gender we all are human beings.

The House Girl
by Tara Conklin

I really wanted to like this book.... (11/19/2012)

This is a good average book with the parallel stories of Josephine Bell, a slave in 1852 Virginia and Lina Sparrow, an attorney working on a slavery class action case in 2004 New York. I could not connect with Lina's story, sometimes borderline Harlequin romance type of story, and honestly could not have care less. I would have been a great book if the author based her story on Josephine and only Josephine and people gravitating around her. Too many of characters stories were undeveloped and let me guessing.

The White Forest: A Novel
by Adam McOmber

Writer with potential, can do better. (8/5/2012)

First, please remember this is a first book and give it a chance, I know I did and I was glad I finished the book. The story is of Jane and her "affliction", her only friends Madeline and Nathan in Victorian London "suburbs". After a slow and kind of painful beginning, I thought suspense builds up to the dramatic chapter in the "White Forest". I will let you discover the last chapter... Think of Moussourgsky and "Une nuit sur le Mont Chauve" while reading this book...

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