You know those books that have such great characters that they crawl into your heart and settle there? The Exiles by Christina Baker Kline is one of them. Spanning years and distance and set against the backdrop of British colonization, it tells the stories of three women on the receiving end of that brutality.Evangeline, Hazel, and Mathinna are memorable for their stories, but they tug on your heartstrings even more so because they are based on real people. There’s Evangeline, a governess sentenced to prison after her pregnancy is discovered; Hazel, a young midwife also sentenced for a minor infraction; and Mathinna, an orphan ripped from her home as an experiment in “taming the natives” by the wife of the new … Keep Reading
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Recent Reviews
‘Midnight Library’ and the Power of Regrets
Do you ever think about where you’d be if you did that ONE thing differently? If you, say, changed your major to match your passions, rather than your expectations? Or if you’d taken that leap of faith and moved to that far off city where you knew no one? The possibilities for how your life could have unfolded are endless, and it's hard not to think about them, sometimes. That's the premise of The Midnight Library by Matt Haig and it's a good … Keep Reading
‘The First Day of Spring’ is a Powerful Debut Novel
When Chrissie was 8, she killed a little boy. Twenty years later, she’s a mom trying to do what’s best for her daughter. But how do you forgive yourself for something so awful? Or are some acts so terrible that there’s no coming back? Do the standards for redemption change if you killed someone as a child, rather than adult?Equal parts disturbing and heartbreaking, The First Day of Spring by Nancy Tucker is told through alternating points … Keep Reading
‘The Last Thing He Told Me’ Infuses Freshness Into the Familiar
Let me start off by saying I really enjoyed The Last Thing He Told Me by Laura Dave. My last few books have been duds so I was nervous about continuing my “losing streak”, but this one hit the spot. On its face, the story is tried-and-true: girl meets boy, boy has secrets, girl seeks truth and surprises abound; but Dave infuses freshness into it by going in an unexpected direction. Her approach strikes a balance between the familiar and the … Keep Reading
From the Archives
‘Call Me Home’ by Megan Kruse (Book Review)
Sometimes you need a book that you can curl up with and escape the world with and Call Me Home by Megan Kruse is just such a book. The short and skinny is that it's about a woman named Amy who has tried to flee her abusive relationship several times, only to finally succeed when her son is 18 and her daughter is a young teenager. Life in an abusive home has affected each member of the family differently (such as her son's newfound independence … Keep Reading
SheReads: The Perfume Collector
As a non-perfume wearer, I must admit I was hesitant when I first read the synopsis of this book. Perfume? Muse? It all seemed, to be honest, a bit hokey. But because SheReads has yet to disappoint me, I forged ahead anyway. Boy, am I glad I did!Not only is this book anything but hokey, it is not really about perfume at all. While The Perfume Collector is carried by the undercurrent of the perfume world, it could just as easily have been any … Keep Reading
‘Mating for Life’ and the Bonds Between Women (Book Review)
Chances are, if a book references old school Barenaked Ladies in the first few pages, I am going to like the book. Granted, Mating for Life by Marissa Stapley is the first book this has happened with, but it sets a good precedent for future reads because the book is wonderful. Mating for Life is is a story about the trials of marriage and the bonds between women, namely between the free-spirited Helen and her daughters (Isla, Fiona, … Keep Reading