Wednesday, December 28, 2016

Review: Small Great Things

Small Great Things Small Great Things by Jodi Picoult
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Picoult manages to keep pushing these good books out! This novel is all about race--in short, a black nurse is charged with murdering a white supremacist's baby in the maternity ward. Add in a white do-gooder public defender and all sorts of conversations about white privilege, microaggressions, class and gender issues, and you've got a novel that will hold your attention and make you think!

I'll admit that I didn't like the way the ending wrapped up, but it's still worth the read if you like these kinds of contemporary family/social drama fiction books.

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Monday, December 19, 2016

Review: The Queen's Accomplice

The Queen's Accomplice The Queen's Accomplice by Susan Elia MacNeal
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This series just keeps getting better and better! Maggie Hope is back in England now, working in a boring job with the Special Operations Executive's offices. When their young female SOE recruits start disappearing and turning up murdered, she works with a local policeman to help solve the crimes. She's able to use her resources--MI5, Scotland Yard, and even her friend the Queen--to solve the crime, and the book ends with her running off to save her step-sister. Lots of woman power in this book! Can't read to read #7!

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Wednesday, December 14, 2016

Review: Julian Fellowes' Belgravia

Julian Fellowes' Belgravia Julian Fellowes' Belgravia by Julian Fellowes
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Perfect for audio, this serialized novel is another perfect spoon-feed for Downton Abbey fans. The creator of Downton Abbey, Julian Fellowes, even has his name in the book title, so that means something, right? ;)

On the eve of the battle of Waterloo in 1815, the attendees of a ball are thrust together in ways their ancestors won't understand for years. Choices are made, and the lives of the old and titled, the new rich, and their servants come together to create this very Downton-ish novel. I'll admit that I didn't really care to know what the ladies and gentlemen were wearing all the time, but I admired the smooth narration by Juliet Stevenson--she's amazing!

I'll keep reading Fellowes--I loved Downton, and I enjoyed this similar world, too!

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Sunday, December 11, 2016

Review: Wait for Signs: Twelve Longmire Stories

Wait for Signs: Twelve Longmire Stories Wait for Signs: Twelve Longmire Stories by Craig Johnson
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I'm only up to Book #5 of the Walt Longmire series by Craig Johnson, but I recently finished Season 5 of the A&E/Netflix series and was in the mood to read more. I've had this ARC on my home bookshelf since 2014, so I knew it was what I was looking for. I've been in hospitals a lot lately and haven't been able to concentrate on novels--this small collection of short stories was just what I needed.

Walt is Walt--a crusty, tough old sheriff stuck in his ways. The stories wander around in time--in one his wife has just died, in another, his daughter Cady is getting married. Some have mysteries, some are funny, and some are sad. All in all, it's a great collection of additional stories in the Longmire world.

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Friday, December 2, 2016

Review: The Other Einstein

The Other Einstein The Other Einstein by Marie Benedict
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

It's always tricky when a different take on historical figures is novelized. I enjoyed this idea that Einstein's first wife was the brains behind many of his successful theories--she was a physicist after all. It's frustrating that we'll never know! I enjoyed the author's note at the end, although I still want to know some "truths" about Einstein in this novel. Was he a jerk? Did he physically abuse his wife? All in all, an engrossing read, even if I did want to run to all the source material and find out exactly what was fact and what was fiction.

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