See the hottest books publishing this Summer

Reviews by Karen L. (westlake village, ca)

If you'd like to be able to easily share your reviews with others, please join BookBrowse.
Order Reviews by:
Lady Cop Makes Trouble: Girl Waits with Gun #2
by Amy Stewart
Lady Kopp (5/15/2016)
Constance Kopp the gutsy heroine from Girl Waits With Gun is back in the second Kopp Sisters series. The novel is much like the first: engaging and charming. Those who enjoyed the adventures of the Kopp sisters will be thrilled with this installment. Don't miss the author's notes at the end of the novel as the story is based on real events. The historical information adds to the entertaining tale.
The Forgetting Time
by Sharon Guskin
A Provocative Read (1/4/2016)
I found this novel compelling as it covered two intricate themes. The complexity of motherhood and the philosophical concept of reincarnation. As a self professed skeptic, it did stretch my ideas about life and what possibly lies after and beyond. Along with its unique story line, it gives a fresh, thought provoking look at the labyrinth of motherhood and the lengths a mother will go to for her child. A well paced, impressive debut.
Maybe in Another Life
by Taylor Jenkins Reid
Ethan or Gabby (6/16/2015)
This book was charming! It a stayed with me long after I finished reading it. It is cleverly written in alternating chapters of different, but concurrent story lines, causing the reader to ponder the question: Can one inconsequential decision change the course of your life? The characters are well developed, very real and easy to connect with. Hannah is representative of so many young women trying to discover who they are and what they want. It is a unique modern romance that offers a fresh perspective on friendship, choices and fate.
The Mouse-Proof Kitchen
by Saira Shah
The Mouse Proof KItchen (7/12/2013)
I really wanted to like this book. It covers so many subjects I generally enjoy reading about; the French Countryside, cooking, and relationships. Like Anna I anticipated perfection, only to be handed something different than planned. was not perfect, in fact severely disabled. I found this novel both unrealistic and heartbreaking. Unbelievably, They follow their original, pre-diagnosis plan and move to a rodent infested, decrepit home in the south of France. What could they be thinking raising a severely disabled child or really any child in such a potentially dangerous situation is beyond the scope of my imagination. While it did evoke many emotions, none of them was positive. I acknowledge it is a difficult subject and I applaud the author for her attempt at tackling it, I believe it will anger most audiences and therefore not appeal to the mass market.
Losing Clementine: A Novel
by Ashley Ream
Addictive story (2/5/2012)
Clementine Prichard, renowned artist, just wants to put herself out of her misery. Giving herself a month to get her affairs in order, she counts down the days, chapter by chapter to her impending suicide. With a plot line of this nature you would expect a heavy, depressing story. What you will find instead is an interesting, realistic depiction of mental illness handled with humor and heart. Clementine is irresistible as the main character. She is wildly funny in a deeply flawed way. You know you shouldn’t be rooting for her, but you just can’t help yourself. The rest of the cast is equally well developed, including her miserable cat. While the majority of the book is entertaining, there are a few deeply moving, intensely sad scenes that are unavoidable when dealing with the reality of bi-polar disorder. Emotionally draining, these scenes lend an air of authenticity to the subject. Losing Clementine surprises in the end, circumventing the predictability you might expect in a lesser novel. I am very happy I found Clementine. Highly recommended.
The Dressmaker: A Novel
by Kate Alcott
The Dressmaker (10/20/2011)
I really wanted to like this book but unfortunately found it predictable and flat. Literally on page 2, I knew where it was going. While the historical plot showed promise by including the post-disaster inquiries into the sinking of the Titanic, the rest of the story was disappointing. The requisite love triangle between a determined immigrant seamstress and two men she meets on the ship is boring and uneventful. While clearly she survives the sinking, the tragedy continues with the confusion and aftermath of such an life changing event. The book improves as it continues with human character studies based on real people involved with the Titanic hearings, but the story would have benefited from delving further into the themes of fear, power and ethical choices. Instead, it falls flat as it wraps up convienently in a "fairy-tale" like fashion.
  • Page
  • 1

BookBrowse Book Club

  • Book Jacket
    The Girls of Good Fortune
    by Kristina McMorris
    Brave the Shanghai tunnels in this tale of love, identity, and resilience passed through generations.
  • Book Jacket
    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?
  • Book Jacket
    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.

Members Recommend

  • Book Jacket

    Erased
    by Anna Malaika Tubbs

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

  • Book Jacket

    Awake in the Floating City
    by Susanna Kwan

    A debut novel about an artist and a 130-year-old woman bound by love and memory in a future, flooded San Francisco.

  • Book Jacket

    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.

Who Said...

Judge a man by his questions rather than by his answers.

Click Here to find out who said this, as well as discovering other famous literary quotes!

Wordplay

Solve this clue:

T the V B the S

and be entered to win..

Your guide toexceptional          books

BookBrowse seeks out and recommends the best in contemporary fiction and nonfiction—books that not only engage and entertain but also deepen our understanding of ourselves and the world around us.