Category Archives: General Fiction

Review: Love May Fail by Matthew Quick

What a motley slate of characters Quick creates!  Both humorous and also heartbreaking, Quick uses these extremely flawed and damaged characters, all connected by one high school teacher, to provide a wholly rewarding and meaningful novel about love, loss, and … Continue reading

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Review: How to Start a Fire by Lisa Lutz

With alternating time periods and points of view, this novel had the potential of being absolutely disorganized and confusing. Yet Lutz’s sheer talent in creating completely unique, slightly outrageous, characters who stood out as three incredibly and completely unique individuals. … Continue reading

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Review: The Precious One by Marisa De Los Santos

Told in alternating voices, The Precious One follows Taisy and Willow through a journey of love of family, of self-actualization and secrets.  Though their voices are drastically different – Taisy’s is more strong and determined while Willow’s is young and naive … Continue reading

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Review: A Second Bite at the Apple by Dana Bate

Paperback: 336 pages Publisher: Kensington (November 25, 2014) ISBN: 9781617732607 Source: Publisher Sydney Strauss always had a passion for writing about food.  As of late, rather than pursuing her passion she’s been working for an early morning television show. When the station … Continue reading

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Review: The Unimaginable by Dina Silver

Paperback: 264 pages Publisher: Lake Union Publishing (December 1, 2014) ISBN: 9781477824962 Source: BookSparksPR After her mother passes away, twenty-eight year old Jessica Gregory packs her bags and leaves her small town Indiana home for Phuket, Thailand, where she’ll work at a school … Continue reading

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Review: Brutal Youth by Anthony Breznican

Hardcover: 416 pages Publisher: Thomas Dunne Books; 1ST edition (June 10, 2014) ISBN: 9781250019356 Source: Publisher Saint Michael’s is a crumbling Catholic high school, both structurally and figuratively.Freshman Peter Davidek’s first experience at the school is of an upperclassman that finally … Continue reading

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Review: Closed Doors by Lisa O’Donnell

Hardcover: 256 pages Publisher: Harper (May 20, 2014) ISBN-10: 006227189X Source: Publisher Eleven-year-old Michael Murray lives on a small Scottish island, a community so small that there are no secrets. His mother and grandmother are often found sitting at the … Continue reading

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Review: The Blessings by Elise Juska

Hardcover: 272 pages Publisher: Grand Central Publishing (May 6, 2014) ISBN-10: 1455574031 Source: Publisher The Blessings are a large, tightly-knit family.  Celebrations are large and grand like the family itself. When John Blessing, the oldest son, passes away at a … Continue reading

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Review: The Storied Life of A. J. Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin

Hardcover: 272 pages Publisher: Algonquin Books (April 1, 2014) ISBN-10: 1616203218 Source: Publisher A.J. Fikry is…to put it gently, a curmudgeon.  After his wife passes away, he discovers his life isn’t as he planned. The small independent bookstore the couple owned … Continue reading

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Review: The Deepest Secret by Carla Buckley

Hardcover: 448 pages Publisher: Bantam (February 4, 2014) ISBN-10: 0345535243 Source: Publisher Eve Lattimore and her family live on a quiet, suburban street. From the outside, it seems as though they live a relatively normal life. Unfortunately, that’s not the case.  Her fourteen-year-old son, … Continue reading

Posted in Bantam, General Fiction, Review | 3 Comments