BookBrowse | Book Reviews and Recommendations

Reviews by Diana J. (Highland Falls, NY)

Descent
by Tim Johnston

Family in the grips of a nightmare (11/6/2014)

Caitlin, her brother Sean, and their parents are thrown into a nightmare every family fears. Caitlin is abducted, leaving her brother Sean injured by the side of the road.
Very few clues, no explanation as to why she was taken. No ransom demand, no witnesses, nothing.

Thus …more

The Book of Strange New Things: A Novel
by Michel Faber

Too many questions (10/6/2014)

This was a very interesting premise...Peter Leigh, man of God goes to distant planet to interact and share the Good News with alien beings. It was enjoyable, but for me, it took too long to get to the basic differences between the Oasans (aliens, native to the distant …more

The House We Grew Up In
by Lisa Jewell

They put the fun in dysfunctional (4/4/2014)

I really don't know what to say about this book...it's about a family of 4 kids, with an OCD and possibly agoraphobic/bipolar mother, and tolerant but feckless father and children with all kinds of problems. It was very hard to like any of the people in this book. The mom …more

Safe with Me
by Amy Hatvany

More of a surprise (12/2/2013)

When you read the back of the book, you assume this is a sunshine and roses type book. It's not...it's more about how the donor's family and the recipient's family both cope with the event. They do intersect at one point, and it becomes a focus of the book.
However, it's not …more

Once We Were Brothers
by Ronald H. Balson

Best book I've read all summer! (8/7/2013)

Once We Were Brothers is an impressive (I'm assuming) first offer by Mr Balson. It sucks you in from the first chapter and you will be up all night reading it. It follows a potential lawsuit, going back and forth between the past and the present as the two separate and then …more

The Mouse-Proof Kitchen
by Saira Shah

Uncertain about how I'd like this book (6/26/2013)

But, I ended up enjoying it. It was interesting that the diagnosis of Freya, the baby in the book, is the same diagnosis of the author's own baby girl. According to the afterward, this is the only similarity. It was an unusual premise, but probably more true to life than …more

Flat Water Tuesday
by Ron Irwin

Slow moving, but worth it (5/29/2013)

This book was a surprise...it started out slow (the letter at the beginning piques your interest) but the details about crew were slowish. But toward the middle it picks up, and you get swept into the lives of the main characters. It's written from two viewpoints-the past …more

The Laws of Gravity
by Liz Rosenberg

The Laws of Gravity (4/9/2013)

I loved this book. It is a study in ethics versus law in the case of Nicole, who is very ill, and her cousin, almost like a brother, Art, who has the means to possibly change her life.
You watch as the family units both draw close, then start to unravel as the situation …more

Close My Eyes
by Sophie McKenzie

Gone Girl from a different viewpoint (4/9/2013)

Loved this book as well...the cover reviews compare it to Gillian Flynn's 'Gone Girl'...very much along the same lines. This book kept me up at night to finish it. You don't know at first just who can be trusted, who is deceiving, who is being deceived. As the author builds …more

Rage Against the Dying
by Becky Masterman

Rage Against the Dying, a middle aged heroine (1/8/2013)

I enjoyed this book a lot...as with most first offers, I'm sure if Ms Masterman continues this series, there will be more character development. But it was enjoyable to read about a woman of a certain age who was tough and smart. Good book if you like Sue Grafton type …more

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Book Jacket — Broken Country (Reese's Book Club)
by Clare Leslie Hall

A love triangle reveals deadly secrets in this thriller for fans of *The Paper Palace* and *Where the Crawdads Sing*.

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