The Book Review Club (February 2022)

This month marks the thirteenth anniversary of The Book Review Club. Yes! We've been meeting for THIRTEEN LUCKY YEARS! Wow! Please scroll down below my post for links to great reviews of great books. Enjoy and Happy Lunar New Year!  🐯

THE MAID

by Nita Prose (adult, cozy mystery, contemporary)

It's not often I read an "it" book, hot off the presses. (THE MAID pubbed Jan 4.) It's not often I review a book that has already catapulted to the top of the charts.  (THE MAID is a NYT bestseller, #1 Canadian bestseller, UK Sunday Times bestseller, a Good Morning America Book Club Pick, been optioned for a movie.) It's not often I review an adult novel. But...it's 2022, and, apparently, the year of living dangerously. After all, it is the Year of the Tiger.

The author: Nita Prose is the pen name for Nita Pronovost, VP/Editorial Director at Simon & Schuster in Toronto, Canada. THE MAID is her first novel. 

The premise: 25 y.o. Molly Gray, a woman somewhere on the spectrum a la Elinor Oliphant, works proudly as a maid at the swanky Regency Grand Hotel. "I love cleaning. I love my maid's trolley, and I love my uniform." Molly's navigating life as best she can, cleaning obsessively, alone and lonely since her Gran died a few months earlier. She's holding it together, and then she finds the body of wealthy Charles Black, "very dead in his bed." 

I mostly listened to this book. The narrator (actress Lauren Ambrose) is excellent. I listened in the grocery store, in the bank, while weeding, while cooking. You get the picture. I was hooked. It's a fun, quirky read. Lots of interesting characters. Humor. I was very invested in Molly the Maid with her social miscues and mishaps and her love of the Olive Garden and Colombo. This whodunit with heart is all about personal growth, trust, friendship and romance. 

A final thought: The last twist threw me for a loop. Really threw me. So, if you read THE MAID (and I think you should!), and you have a free moment or two, I'd be curious to hear your reaction.

Here's a short story by the author: The Missing Mona Lisa

Here's the GMA interview with the author: Good Morning America

(Dear FCC: bought)

And now....onto the rest of our reviews. Please click through. You won't want to miss a single one!

MIDDLE GRADE/YOUNG ADULT FICTION BOOK REVIEWS

Phyllis Wheeler: THE HEDGEHOG OF OZ by Cory Leonardo (MG, fantasy)

Sarah Laurence: WHAT I CARRY by Jennifer Longo (YA, contemporary)   

ADULT FICTION BOOK REVIEWS

Jenn Jilks: STATE OF TERROR by Louise Penny and Hilary Clinton (thriller)

Lucy Sartain: WE ARE NOT LIKE THEM by Christine Pride and Jo Piazza  (women's)

Margy Lutz: AMERICAN DIRT by Jeanine Cummins (contemporary) 

Patti Abbott:  HAMNET by Maggie O'Farrell (historical)

NONFICTION BOOK REVIEWS

Linda McLaughlin: YOUR BEST YEAR EVER by Michael Hyatt (adult, self-help)

Jody Feldman: THE WOMAN ALL SPIES FEAR by Amy Butler Greenfield (YA, biography)

Note to Reviewers: Any errors (broken link, missed review, etc), just shoot me an email or leave a comment. Thank you so much for your reviews!

The Book Review Club (November 2017)

Happy November 1st and welcome to the November meeting of The Book Review Club. As per Louisa May Alcott, author of Little Women and other books, "November is the most disagreeable month of the whole year." Whether you agree or not (I don't, but perhaps t's because I live in So Cal!), we can improve your November with great reviews of great books. Enjoy!

CREMAINS OF THE DAY
by Misty Simon (adult, cozy mystery)

As a girl who was raised on Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys, there will always be a soft spot in my heart for cozy mysteries. In fact, I'll read a bunch of books from a variety of genres and then wake up one morning and think, "Time for a cozy mystery." So, not too long ago, I woke up, emailed my dear friend Misty Simon and asked, "Got a spare ARC of your upcoming cozy?" And, voila! That's how I wound up with the first book in the Tallie Graver mystery series.

I don't want to give too much away because, uh, I don't want to spoil the mystery for you.

I will say that I giggled my way through the book. Here's an example of a bit of the humor: I took a sip of perfectly doctored tea--lots of cream and more sugar than my mother would have been happy with--and tried to quell the shaking in my hands. My adrenaline was fading...I had seen shock before when I'd shown Waldo my monthly bills for new shoes, but had rarely experienced it firsthand. (pg 39)

There's a body with a knife in the chest, a stun gun, embezzlement, a break-in, a nasty ex-husband, some light romance (not with the ex!), a difficult cop, a nosy cookie-baking mother, flower deliveries from a dead woman, and a protagonist who needs to clear her name. Everything gets tied up and solved by the final page so you can sleep easy.

CREMAINS OF THE DAY. Ya gotta admit, Misty comes up with the best titles.

If you're into cozy mysteries, this one's for you! Clever, funny, satisfying!

(Dear FCC: I know Misty. She sent me an ARC. Guilty as charged. BUT I did truly enjoy the book.  And you would, too!)

And now....onto the rest of our reviews. Please click through. You won't want to miss a single one!

YOUNG ADULT FICTION BOOK REVIEWS

Lucy Sartain of Ranting and Raving: THE HANGING GIRL by Eileen Cook (thriller)

Sarah Laurence: STARFISH by Akemi Dawn Bowman (debut, contemp)

Stacy Nyikos: SIX OF CROWS by Leigh Bardugo (fantasy)

Stacy of the Cat's Meow: DRESS CODES FOR SMALL TOWNS by Courtney Stevens (contemp)
                                                                                                                 

ADULT FICTION BOOK REVIEWS

Linda McLaughlin: THE TEA GIRL OF HUMMINGBIRD LANE by Lisa See (women's lit)

Patti Abbott:  LITTLE FIRES EVERYWHERE by Celeste Ng (literary)


NONFICTION REVIEWS

Jenn Jilks of Cottage Country: JOURNEY FROM INVISIBILITY TO VISIBILITY
                                                  by Gail Harris, Marilyn Lesser, Cynthia Soloway

Margy Lutz: HARRY: A WILDERNESS DOG SAGA by Chris Czajkowski (memoir)

Ray Potthoff: THE DECLINE AND FALL OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE by Edward Gibbon (history)


Note to Reviewers: Any errors (broken link, missed review, etc), just shoot me an email or leave a comment. Thank you so much for your reviews!

The Book Review Club (September 2014)

Summer is over. And September is here. Trivia you may not have known about September: Neptune was discovered on Sept. 23, 1846. The first comic strip was published in a US paper on Sept. 11, 1875. The First Continental Congress began Sept. 5, 1874.*  AND our first-Wednesday-of-the-month online book review club has returned from its summer hiatus.  Welcome! Weirdly, this month is heavy on reviews of adult fiction. Who knew?
(*creators.com/health/answer-man-andy-seamans/september-trivia.html)

DEATH IS LIKE A BOX OF CHOCOLATES (adult, mystery)
 by Kathy Aarons

Kathy Aarons is the pen name for my very talented critique partner, Kathy Krevat. Our critique group, Denny's Chicks, has been together several years (8??), during which time we've managed to remain youthful and beautiful. (cough, cough). Here's a link to Kathy's first post on this blog. 

Something incredibly special happens when a critique partner publishes, especially when she publishes her very entertaining debut cozy mystery. The critique group puffs up with pride. We remember when this book was just a teeny, tiny germ of an idea. We reminisce over all the changes in the various revisions. We laugh about who disagreed with whom over what. We even tear up.

DEATH IS LIKE A BOX OF CHOCOLATES in a nutshell: Two best friends, Michelle and Erica, own a chocolate shop + bookstore (Chocolates and Chapters) in fictional West Riverdale, Maryland. The town photographer is murdered in their store, poisoned by one of Michelle's truffles. The women must work together to clear Michelle's name.  

What I loved: 1. the humor: In real life, Kathy is laugh-your-head-off funny. It totally translates to the page. 2. the twists and turns: I can't tell you what they are; that would ruin it! Let's just say, Kathy thinks outside the box. Waaay outside. Sometimes it's scary. 3. the details: Kathy did a bunch of research to make sure she got the facts straight. For example, she actually went to Maryland. She interviewed the police there. And she spent an inordinate amount of time at Dallmann Fine Chocolates. 4. It's the first book in a series: And I already know EVERYTHING about book #2. Ha!

I'm not the only one who recommends this book. Mysterious Galaxy, a wonderful local indie bookstore, chose DEATH IS LIKE A BOX OF CHOCOLATES for their Fabulous Firsts book club, saying, "This fast-paced, entertaining read demonstrates all sides of small town life, and introduces a cast of characters with complicated, messy, interwoven lives. I found every page compulsively readable and couldn't put it down until the final stunning conclusion."

You want to meet Kathy in real life? You're in luck if you live anywhere near San Diego! She's got a signing at Mysterious Galaxy at 4pm on Saturday, September 6. Yes, there will be chocolates.

 And now....onto the rest of our reviews. Please click through. You won't want to miss a single one!

MIDDLE GRADE/YOUNG ADULT FICTION BOOK REVIEWS

Stacy Nyikos: ANNA WAS HERE by Jane Kurtz (middle grade)

Linda McLaughlin: LAUNCH WINDOWS by Debra Caldwyl (YA, romance)



ADULT FICTION BOOK REVIEWS

Alyssa Goodnight: THE OUTSMARTING OF CRIMINALS by Steven Rigolosi (cozy mystery)

Ellen Booraem: EUPHORIA by Lily King

Jenn Jilks of Cottage Country: THE SENSE OF DARKNESS by Cinzia De Santis

Patti Abbott:  BIG LITTLE LIES by Liane Moriarty (women's fiction)

Stacy of the Cat's Meow: FROG MUSIC by Emma Donoghue (historical)



NONFICTION REVIEW

Sarah Laurence: HOW TO SPEAK BRIT by Christopher J. Moore


Note to Reviewers: Any errors (broken link, missed review, etc), just shoot me an email or leave a comment. Thank you so much for your reviews!