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Reviews by Janet T. (Northbrook, IL)

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Strong Passions: A Scandalous Divorce in Old New York
by Barbara Weisberg

Divorce Trial Intrigue (12/17/2023)

In New York around the time of the Civil War, a divorce was particularly difficult to obtain. This fascinating account relates the true story of a prominent divorce trial exploring claims and counterclaims of adultery.

The situation for women, judged only by men, was …more

Do Tell: A Novel
by Lindsay Lynch

Secrets and gossip (6/20/2023)

Golden age Hollywood behind the scenes was just right for my early summer reading. I was caught up in this story of alliances and gossip in a sometimes struggling studio. Edie, the actor and purveyor of gossip is someone I enjoyed following. Women in a male-run world, hmmm, …more

The Wager: A Tale of Shipwreck, Mutiny and Murder
by David Grann

An adventure for you (3/6/2023)

I love a good nonfiction story and David Grann delivers. Experience working onboard a British battleship without the deprivations and dangers. All this adventure, so many situations dire and confounding. It's a gripping fast read.

Pieces of Blue
by Holly Goldberg Sloan

Starting over in a remote part of Hawaii (2/12/2023)

Imagine a family, a mother and three children, a few years after the dad died in a surfing accident, setting up a small motel in a quiet and scenic spot on Oahu. They had become accustomed to being downwardly mobile after the dad's business had become less profitable.

After …more

Heartbreak: A Personal and Scientific Journey
by Florence Williams

Memoir and investigation (12/11/2021)

I was interested in this account of working through sadness and loneliness after a long marriage, though after reading more than half of the book, I decided that I wasn't ready for the last 100 or so pages. I think someone closer to her situation might find her research and …more

The Splendid and the Vile: A Saga of Churchill, Family, and Defiance During the Blitz
by Erik Larson

The blitz up close (1/7/2020)

The Splendid and the Vile covers one year, mid 1940 to 1941, during which German bombers were pummeling London and other British sites. The threat of invasion was continually present. Churchill was looking to the United States for help, but the US political situation made …more

BookBrowse Book Club

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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Daughters of Shandong
by Eve J. Chung

Based on the author’s family story, comes an extraordinary novel about a mother and her daughters’ escape from Taiwan.

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The Lilac People
by Milo Todd

For fans of All the Light We Cannot See, a poignant tale of a trans man’s survival in Nazi Germany and postwar Berlin.

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

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A dazzling debut by Jemimah Wei about ambition, sisterhood, and family bonds in turn-of-the-millennium Singapore.

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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.

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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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