BookBrowse | Book Reviews and Recommendations

Reviews by Dorothy L. (Manalapan, NJ)

Power Reviewer

Erased: What American Patriarchy Has Hidden from Us
by Anna Malaika Tubbs

Intentionally Erased and Undermined (6/1/2025)

Reading this book, for me, was an intense experience. You need to read Erased in stages. While the vernacular is not difficult to understand, the subject matter, the history of patriarchy in our country, is heavily delineated and dissected from the Founding Fathers to …more

Leaving: A Novel
by Roxana Robinson

Leaving and Loss (1/13/2024)

I liked this book and thought it was well constructed. The characters were multidimensional and the two protagonists were transformed as the plot evolved in different stages: reunion, reconnection, and ultimately loss. Love is different when you are sixty not twenty. Family …more

Scatterlings: A Novel
by Resoketswe Martha Manenzhe

Disappointing (11/12/2022)

I was looking forward to reading this book but I found it a difficult read. I enjoyed the first part of the book more but found the second part very challenging and slow. I can understand where it might appeal to some readers but it was not worth it for me. The language is …more

Widowland: Widowland #1
by C. J. Carey

Alternate Truths in Widowland (5/30/2022)

I enjoyed reading this book. There are many good things in Widowland. I liked the dystopian premise. I kept thinking: If America had not been attacked and remained isolationist during WWII, would England have survived? In this book, England never engages in battle but …more

Good Husbands: A Novel
by Cate Ray

Ironies Abound in Good Husbands (3/25/2022)

I have mixed feelings about this novel. I found the first 70 or 80 pages at the beginning difficult to read. Jumping around with 3 characters every chapter seemed disjointed to me. Initially, it was difficult to keep the women and their husbands straight without any …more

How to Find Your Way Home
by Katy Regan

Finding the way Home (11/5/2021)

I thought this was a good book. There are many things I liked about it. The relationship between Stephen and Emily as children was described well. Their early lives were very difficult. The reappearance of Stephen in Emily's life was challenging for both of them but …more

The Lighthouse
by Christopher Parker

A Disappointing Read (10/15/2021)

Briefly said, I didn't like this book. I found the first part of the book very slow and actually boring at times. The last third of the book was in the vein of the supernatural and just seemed weird to me. I could not get into it and at times it almost seemed like two books. …more

Never Saw Me Coming: A Novel
by Vera Kurian

A Mixed Bag (7/6/2021)

I was excited to read this book because the premise really grabbed me. It sounded unique. I found the first third of the book gripping but something happened in the middle and later sections that to me was disappointing. I think the plot went off in too many directions at …more

The Stone Girl: A Novel
by Dirk Wittenborn

A Disappointing Read (4/23/2020)

I did not enjoy this book. I found it much too long and I really didn't like the characters that much although I sometimes felt sympathy for the three main women. There seemed to be several stories in one larger overall story and the plot seemed very unrealistic especially …more

The Secrets of Love Story Bridge
by Phaedra Patrick

A Disappointing Read (1/13/2020)

I did not really enjoy this book. It dragged, especially in the middle section. The characters were not well developed and not all that interesting. I thought the author's earlier book The Curious Charms of Arthur Pepper was much better and more engaging. I would not …more

American Dirt: A Novel
by Jeanine Cummins

A Book You Will Never Forget (11/24/2019)

There are a few times in your life when you read a book that transforms you. For me, this is one of those books. I found this book riveting from the very first sentence. I felt like I was on the journey with Lydia and Luca. I experienced many emotions along the way--horror, …more

The Secrets We Kept: A novel
by Lara Prescott

The Secrets We Kept Keeps You Reading (8/19/2019)

I found this an unusual and interesting read. I remembered bits and pieces of the Dr. Zhivago story but found the backstory fascinating. I particularly liked the story of the typists/spies. I liked the structure of East and West but found the points of view in certain …more

The Guest Book
by Sarah Blake

An Interesting but Imperfect Novel (4/26/2019)

I was debating whether to give this novel a rating of 3 or 4. I really wanted to give it 3.5 but that wasn't possible. There were good things about this novel--lovely writing and description, important subject matter, but this novel could have been much better! What I liked …more

My Lovely Wife
by Samantha Downing

A Disturbing Read (11/8/2018)

I did not like this book. I found the whole premise totally unbelievable. Yes, I know it was meant to be a "different" kind of psychological thriller, but this was beyond the pale for me. It wasn't that I just disliked all the characters. I don't always have to like the …more

An American Marriage
by Tayari Jones

Good but not Great (7/26/2018)

I read this book for a book club discussion. I found it a little difficult to get into at first but then was caught up in the story. Our lives often seem to be following a plan, but one action, one moment, can change everything not only for the victim of injustice, but also …more

Our House
by Louise Candlish

Great Ending (7/19/2018)

I was intrigued with the premise of this book. Scam and identity theft are prevalent today and it was clear from the beginning that this would be the book's focus. I felt like I was in the UK and thought the author did a good job describing the deterioration of a marriage. …more

Vox
by Christina Dalcher

Chilling Tale and Mesmerizing (5/12/2018)

I loved the premise of this book and it definitely was a page turner. If I could I would give it a 4.5 rating. I would have preferred that the author had not given away the ending in the first sentence. I did think the first half of the book was better than the second half. …more

To Capture What We Cannot Keep
by Beatrice Colin

An Interesting Read (11/7/2017)

On the whole I liked this book. I enjoyed reading about the time period and construction of the Eiffel Tower. The perspectives and opportunities for women of that time was an important focus of the book. I did find it slow at times especially at the beginning. It did …more

The Resurrection of Joan Ashby
by Cherise Wolas

A Good Read (7/12/2017)

I really liked this book. It is extremely well written especially for a debut novel. I liked the stories within the story. I think it would be good for my book club but might take two meetings because there is so much to discuss. The only criticism I have is that I thought …more

Close Enough to Touch
by Colleen Oakley

Close Enough to Touch (3/29/2017)

This is a good book. I enjoyed it and was moved by the story and characters almost from the beginning. The start is a bit slow but worth the reading. This book is unusual because of the situation the protagonist finds herself in and her journey to wholeness. The three most …more

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The Busybody Book Club
by Freya Sampson

They can't even agree on what to read, so how are they going to solve a murder?

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The Ghostwriter
by Julie Clark

From the instant New York Times bestselling author of The Last Flight and The Lies I Tell comes a dazzling new thriller.

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The Girls of Good Fortune
by Kristina McMorris

Brave the Shanghai tunnels in this tale of love, identity, and resilience passed through generations.

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Lies and Weddings
by Kevin Kwan

A forbidden affair erupts at a lavish Hawaiian wedding in this wild comedy from the author of Crazy Rich Asians.

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Members Recommend

Erased
by Anna Malaika Tubbs

In Erased, Anna Malaika Tubbs recovers all that American patriarchy has tried to destroy.

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Songs of Summer
by Jane L. Rosen

A young woman crashes a Fire Island wedding to find her birth mother—and gets more than she bargained for.

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