When I was looking for novels to review for Black History Month, I saw the publisher’s notes about The Healing by Jonathan Odell and it sounded like a perfect choice. Maybe because this novel is based on oral histories of the period, it wasn’t until I finished The Healing that I learned Jonathan Odell is white (see the quote below). I feel this story really needed to be told. I believe sometimes the most unlikely stories come to the very people who are meant to tell…

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This is another book cover that intrigued me. My family is very musical, which is probably one of the reasons I was drawn to it. I really knew nothing else about A Good American by Alex George when I received an advance readers’ copy from the publisher. As I read the inside cover blurb, I realized I had other connections to this novel’s subject matter through my ex-husband’s family. That made this a much more personal read for me.

In A Good…

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I was thrilled to get an ARC (advance reader’s copy) of The Winter Palace: A Novel of Catherine the Great by award-winning Polish author Eva Stachniak, and I’m even more thrilled to be able to offer it to one lucky reader in a giveaway! There are certain periods that I love…

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Although The Devil’s Ribbon is Book #2 in the Hatton & Roumande series, I haven’t read the first book and still found that Book #2 works just fine as a stand-alone novel.

 

It’s 1858 and London is experiencing a nasty cholera outbreak among its poorest residents, the Irish. No one knows what causes cholera, although there are a lot of theories floating around so no one knows how to stop it until it’s run its course. The Irish had…

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We reviewed Amor Towles’ wonderful debut novel, Rules of Civility, when it was released several months ago and highly recommended it to you. (Click here to read our review.) Since then it has consistently been on all of the main bestseller lists, which hasn’t surprised us in the least! This is one of the best novels of 2011!

 

Recently the publisher contacted us with an offer we just couldn’t refuse – an autographed copy of Rules of Civility for one of our readers who can…

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It’s 1924 and Inspector Lestrade of Scotland Yard contacts Mary Russell about going undercover to investigate criminal wrong doings and the odd disappearance of a film company employee. It’s perfect timing for her because Mycroft has decided to visit Sherlock Holmes for two weeks while work is being done on his London home and she’s not particularly happy with Mycroft at the moment. Read the rest of my review at http://popcornreads.com/?p=1723

This novel is part Southern historical fiction, part fantasy fiction and part horror/thriller. I love the way it integrates all of these genres into one suspenseful and extremely interesting read! I feel like Twilight Zone music should play in the background while you read this review…honest, it would be very appropriate! Read the rest of my review at http://popcornreads.com/?p=1659

Mark Talbot is an accountant whose mom is in an assisted living facility for Alzheimer’s patients. Most of the time he’s not sure she knows who he is but he still visits her regularly in hopes that she’ll be lucid. He’s just been handed a bombshell envelope by her attorney without realizing it. At first it looks like it just contains diaries his mom wrote when she was young. Deciding they might help him know her better, he begins to read them only to realize he didn’t know her at all. Read the… Continue

As soon as I learned the main character in Velva Jean Learns to Fly by Jennifer Niven was a North Carolina mountain girl, I knew I had to read this novel since I grew up in those mountains. FYI: This is the second book in this series. The first book was Velva Jean Learns to Drive, which I haven’t read and that didn’t seem to make any difference. Velva Jean Learns to Fly definitely can stand alone just fine. Velva Jean is one feisty, strong, determined and persistent woman. If you like…

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I had read very positive things about Ellen Feldman’s Next to Love, which I had previously mistakenly thought was just another bodice ripper romance novel. NOT! This is a powerful novel set in a small Massachusetts town during the period from 1941 into the mid 1960’s. It examines three women who are best friends, their relationships, and how World War II affects their world and who they are. I gained much more insight about that generation from this novel, which has the ring of visceral…

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I saw the book cover art for The Legacy by Katherine Webb when I was looking for another book, and was instantly drawn to it. I admit it; I’m a sucker for good book cover art. I knew I had to find out more about this book, so I was really glad when I got the opportunity to read it. The Legacy takes place between 1902 and present day, looking at three generations of women in the Calcott family.

 

One of the things I was fascinated by in grad school was how patterns repeat in…

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The Homecoming of Samuel Lake is set in 1956 Southern Arkansas, in a farming community like so many in rural areas in the mid-1950’s. Moses family tradition is that every first Sunday in June is set aside for a big family reunion. Nothing gets in the way of their family reunion - no matter what, that reunion is sacrosanct and you are expected to be there if you’re a member of the Moses family. Goodness knows Calla and John Moses’ 100-acre family farm is big enough to hold a lot of family and… Continue

Bill is the daughter of a diamond evaluator and a semi-invalid mother in South Africa in the 1920’s. Her role in the family is being her mother’s helpmate, and it has been that way since she was 10 years old. Bill is known as the prettiest of the three daughters and her father’s favorite. She enjoys the effect she has on men of all ages. When she visits her father at work one day, she catches the eye of one of the other diamond evaluators, Isaac, and sets her cap on him. Read the rest of my…

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Marie Claire’s family lives in St. Felix, a small village and farming community not far from the Pembina Hills Tuberculosis Sanatorium. The people in her village are all afraid of TB because it seems to sneak in the back door when no one’s looking. That Fall her Oncle Gerard is diagnosed with TB but continues to live with them because he has nowhere to go and the sanatorium can’t take him yet. Luc, who had been sleeping with him, has to sleep elsewhere. Read the rest of my review and enter the… Continue

I’m really glad I got the opportunity to read Michael Ford’s new novel <em>The Poisoned House</em>. This is a truly scary ghost story combined with dark intrigue and mystery, all wrapped up in 1850’s Victorian England. I believe it will appeal to adults as well as teens. Read the rest of my review at http://popcornreads.com/?p=1413

Here's an excerpt from the review I posted today for The Poisoned House. Enjoy!

Abigail “Abi” Tamper will be 15 years old in six weeks. She’s currently a scullery maid at Greave Hall. Her mother was the governess there until she died of cholera several years ago. While her mother was still alive, Abi was treated almost like part of the family; however, once her mom was gone, she was left to the mercy of Lord Greave’s hateful sister-in-law, Mrs. Cotton, the chief housekeeper. Read the…

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