tearjerker
A bingo hall brought Mari McCray and Hazel Johnson together as young women in 1963. Prejudice and family ultimatums pushed the two apart, but forty years later, a bingo hall brings them back together. In the meantime, however, both Hazel and Mari have married and had families. Is it too late for a s ...
I always get a little nervous when authors who write a particular type of book very well decide to try something new. Sometimes, it ends up working out well, but there are also those times when it turns out to be a flop. Fortunately, After the End, the latest novel from renowned thriller writer Clar ...
Originally published in 2015, C.H. Armstrong's The Edge of Nowhere is a historical novel loosely based on the life of the author's grandmother. The novel offers the reader a peek into a time and place in American history not usually captured in today's fiction, and I’m glad I chose to pick it up. ...
John and Jackie first meet when they are twelve years old. Now, seventy-one years later, Jackie prepares to give his beloved husband the ultimate gift. In the story, set over the course of a single afternoon, they relive key moments from their lives together. This includes their first meeting and fi ...
Fans of books set in the 1920's will definitely want to pick up The Paragon Hotel, the latest offering from author Lyndsay Faye. It's a big book with a lot going on, but I loved every moment I spent immersed in the story, and I'm eager for the rest of the book world to embrace this fantastic novel. ...
Bawling my eyes out doesn’t usually go with “holiday romance” for me as I tend to prefer my Christmas stories a bit more on the fairytale side. However, this year I picked up something a bit different with Christmas Where They Belong by Marion Lennox (from 2014). Though at times a very dif ...
A+
Continuing with the lucky theme that runs throughout the fantastic Chance of a Lifetime series, Best of Luck proves three’s a charm; good things do come in threes; and it's a magic number. While all the books are uniformly good, featuring likeable and relatable principal characters, secondary ...
A
I tend to either wildly love Roan Parrish’s books or dislike them intensely, and Rend, my friends, falls squarely in the ‘wildly love’ category. Although much of its subject matter is somber and heavy, the author deftly balances the darkness with a passionate romance that’s heartbreakingly ...
I read a ton of young adult fantasy, and while I enjoy most of what I pick up in the genre, I'll be the first to admit to the lack of originality that seems to pervade many of today's best-selling novels. I wasn't sure what to expect when I volunteered to review Star-Crossed, the latest stand-alone ...
For the past ten years or so, I've been in awe of Lisa Genova's ability to dig into a medical issue and accurately, sensitively portray its effect on a family. In her latest novel, Every Note Played, Ms. Genova turns her attention to ALS, and spins a heartbreaking story of redemption, love, and loss ...