Find a Night Owl Reviews Book Review
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Biography / Autobiography, Nonfiction
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Reviewer: TrinaC
Reviewed: May 25, 2012
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Dear Zari: The Secret Lives of the Women of Afghanistan by Zarghuna Kargar is such an emotional read. Zari is originally from Afghanistan, but now lives in London. Zari publishes stories for the BBC’s Afghan’s Woman’s Hour. This book includes stories from Zari’s life along with other Afghan women.
It is very difficult for these women to share their stories. Even though it is now 2012, women are still not tre
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Historical Fiction
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Reviewer: Danya
Reviewed: May 24, 2012
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Matilda is the wife of William the Conqueror, and is one of the least written about English queens. Matilda came from a lineage of strong and smart women, and proved herself both during her marriage. William has been long known for his winning of England in 1066, but Matilda ruled his duchy during his campaigns away, one of the few women to hold that sort of power. Her background made William a more acceptabl
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Author: Raynetta J. Stocks
Mainstream / General
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Reviewer: Hitherandthee
Reviewed: May 22, 2012
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Jaycee Baynes is a woman with severe problems. The victim of a horrific domestic abuse case, her situation comes to public attention when she kills her abuser. The story starts after her trial, when she is incarcerated in The Grim, otherwise known as Grover Ridge Inpatient Medical Center. The night of the killing is a mystery, as Jaycee has blocked out the entire night, minus a few pertinent details. The nove
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Author: Ultimate Adventure Magazine
Free Read, Magazine
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Reviewer: Diana Coyle
Reviewed: May 20, 2012
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In the first issue of this informative and fun magazine the writers cover an array of topics to tickle any reader’s fancy. They promote reader involvement by asking them to send in pictures, stories and/or reviews of adventures they have participated in, products they’ve tried while on their adventures and pictures they took while on these trips. The magazine covers a wide range of sports and any products you
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Author: Ultimate Adventure Magazine
Free Read, Magazine
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Reviewer: Diana Coyle
Reviewed: May 20, 2012
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In this second issue of the magazine I see that they made a few changes in correlation to the fan mail they’ve received since their first issue went live. I like the changes they’ve made and I’m sure, as with everything new, they’ll continue tweaking the content until it feels just right to everyone.
There were plenty of things to read about, but I’m just going to highlight a few that really caught my eye w
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Author: Camille Noe Pagan
Contemporary, Mainstream / General
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Reviewer: Emireally
Reviewed: May 20, 2012
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The Art of Forgetting follows successful senior editor Marissa. She has a cushy job, the typical boyfriend, and generally likes hanging back and letting others take the reins. It’s worked out for her so far. Marissa has but one good friend whom she’s had since high school, outgoing, flirty, dancer Julia. Remember those reins Marissa likes to pass off; well Julia has those in a tight grip. All that changes whi
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Author: Marilyn McFarlane
Mainstream / General, Religion & Spirituality
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Reviewer: Lilyraines
Reviewed: May 20, 2012
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Sacred Stories offers stories from across the major faiths around the world: Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, Judaism, Native American and Sacred Earth.
The stories, while showing the different tenets inherent to the various faiths, show how similar the basic/core values are across the board.
The book is geared toward younger readers, but it can be read by people of all ages.
One thing that I reall
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Historical Romance, Historical Fiction
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Reviewer: Lilyraines
Reviewed: May 20, 2012
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Jane Eyre is the kind of book I like to re-read every few years. It may not be the best form of literary fiction for some readers, but it is a good read.
For me, it has several elements that I look for when in the mood for a certain type of reading. One element is a rough up-bringing that allows for a strong backbone. A second one is, for the majority of the book, a fine place to work in. Another element
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Historical Romance, Historical Fiction
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Reviewer: Lilyraines
Reviewed: May 20, 2012
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Although it has been a few years since I read Wuthering Heights, re-reading the book has me remembering the first time I read it quite fondly.
Sure, there are angst-ridden moments in the book that could, in some ways, leave the reader with an "Oh, come on" sort of feeling, but overall the writing fits the time period.
I liked it as much this time around as the first time I read it. I like the moodiness of
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Fantasy, Middle Grade
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Reviewer: Lilyraines
Reviewed: May 20, 2012
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L.L. Samson puts a very interesting spin on things in The Enchanted Attic: Facing the Hunchback.
What I liked most about the book was the blending of different character personalities from Linus to Ophelia to Walter to Cato and, of course, Quasimodo and Rollo from The Hunchback of Notre Dame.
One thing I'm not too sure about being done is for Quasimodo and Rollo to be speaking English. The Hunchback is set
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Author: Jennifer Chiaverini
Mainstream / General, Historical Fiction
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Reviewer: Lilyraines
Reviewed: May 20, 2012
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The Union Quilters is a story that covers a lot of ground in different ways during a tumultuous period of time in American history.
It is, at once, a story of war, love, courage, loyalty, strength and principle. It is also about how all of the above are related, how they can forge bonds, and how bonds can be torn apart.
The strength is of character, of self, of being able to go on in spite of loss and grie
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Mainstream / General
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Reviewer: Kittybooboo13
Reviewed: May 20, 2012
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I loved this book from the get go! Perhaps it’s because I grew up in a (not so) tiny town in Oregon. My family raised upwards of 100 head of beef on our farm, so I can say the sense of community can be there, as are the issues of change, maintain, decline, or build for the sake of building (so too is the griping). This novel hit home in several ways. I’ve been following the concept of buying a town (was amaze
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Author: Eric Jerome Dickey
Mainstream / General, Adventure / Action
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Reviewer: Mary Lignor
Reviewed: May 15, 2012
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Books by this author are generally a mixture of class, many diversified characters and relationships between these people and sometimes passion and lust.
This title is a story of a marriage between two very high profile people (an actress and a writer) that is pulled apart by a bad decision by the wife and someone with a camera who decided to put her indiscretion on the internet. The wife, Regina Baptiste,
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Mainstream / General
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Reviewer: Diana Coyle
Reviewed: May 13, 2012
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Best friends Beth and Jennifer tell each other everything and they don’t care how they do it either. They text and call each other and even email each other all day at work. There’s one major problem with that though. There is a strict policy at their company that prohibits personal emails being sent and received during company time and they are both aware of this rule. Ironically, it doesn’t seem to stop the
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Mainstream / General
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Reviewer: Diana Coyle
Reviewed: May 13, 2012
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Gavin Greene, a professional wedding columnist for a Pulitzer Prize-winning newspaper, has met a variety of people being in the profession he’s in. In meeting all these people, he believes that he still hasn’t met the “right one,” but when he does he’ll know it. Being in his late 30’s, his family feels that he’s missed the boat already with being married and having kids, but they continue to nag him anyway. I
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Mainstream / General
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Reviewer: Terri
Reviewed: May 08, 2012
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When the 1967 race riots broke out in Detroit and Negro boys started calling the house for his oldest daughter, Arthur Scott decides to move his family to his hometown, Bent Road in Kansas even though he swore he would never go there again. His sister, Eve, mysteriously died there. He has no desire to return to this life he left but he’d rather do that than stay in Detroit.
His wife Celia only knows the c
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Graphic Novel, Comics
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Reviewer: Tatiana
Reviewed: May 05, 2012
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This annotated edition of Neil Gaiman's celebrated graphic series "The Sandman" is a strange beast.
On the one hand, it is designed to satisfy the most ardent fans of "The Sandman." After all, only those already closely familiar with this epic comic series, originally spanning 75 issues and that follows the adventures of the lord of the dream world, will be seeking out additional, meticulously detailed infor
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Historical Romance, Western, Sweet Romance
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Reviewer: Barb
Reviewed: May 03, 2012
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I thought this book was really wonderful. It had everything. I especially liked that it was set after the World War 1. Francesca and little girl and second husband left the old country of Austria/Italy to find a new life in America. She was sold to that man by her father who had no way to feed his large family. Francesca's marriage was abusive and I was relieved when she was widowed. The rest of the sto
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Contemporary, Romance, Mainstream / General
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Reviewer: Josie
Reviewed: May 03, 2012
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Olivia 'Liv' Kiskey works at a dead-end job in a dead-end town. At least she's got her girlfriends and her co-worker Tobias to keep her company. Perhaps it's Tobias that has held her back. When she professes her love for him and he doesn't reciprocate, Liv decides to leave town forever.
Her girlfriends, a group that meets every week and have confessionals, plead with her to stay, but she is determined to go.
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Writing, Nonfiction
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Reviewer: Suspektme
Reviewed: May 03, 2012
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Hit Lit by James W. Hall is an in-depth look into the successful writings of notorious #1 Best Selling fiction works, novels which will prompt a path to decades of enjoyment and be counted among the greats of literary art. A discovery, if you will, of the secret within that captures a mass of readers and lands them lovingly on the shelves of personal as well as public libraries. Books destined to Hollywood.
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Contemporary, Mainstream / General, Women's Fiction
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Reviewer: Nancylee
Reviewed: May 03, 2012
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Beautifully written, The London Affair by Susan Lute is an emotional book to read. The words don’t gently take you by the hand and lead you down a floral path. From the first page, Stella Carmichael’s incredible sense of loss, betrayal and anger grip you and tug you into her world where she rages against her husband’s abandonment through a series of letters.
She and her granddaughter, Mia, a troubled teen,
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Mainstream / General
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Reviewer: Shannschoice
Reviewed: May 03, 2012
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Callie Wyeth returns home to the small New Hampshire town where she grew up hoping for a new start. She's without a job, broke and dealing with the diagnosis that her three year old son has autism. She's hoping with her father's help, she can get back on her feet. But fate has a way of messing with the best laid plans and soon Callie's not only dealing with her issues, but the failing health of her father
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Author: ReShonda Tate Billingsley, Victoria Christopher Murray
Mainstream / General, Multicultural / Minority, Inspirational
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Reviewer: Terri
Reviewed: May 02, 2012
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There is a covet position opening up in the American Baptist Coalition (ABC), the largest church organization in the USA. There are two primary candidate; one from the north and the other from the south. Each man is more than qualified and each wife is sure her husband is the best choice.
Jasmine Larson Bush is from the city and proud of it. Her husband leads a mega-church, has his own TV show and truly
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Mainstream / General
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Reviewer: Books4Betty
Reviewed: Apr 27, 2012
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For three women, waking up never seemed devastating before. Now, each one of them is faced with the same crisis: their life savings has vanished along with their trusted financial adviser. Strangers in one sense, yet kindred spirits in others, these three women: Madeline, Avery, and Nikki are sent on the journey of their lives.
Author Wendy Wax wrote a near perfect summertime read that is a must for any bea
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Mainstream / General
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Reviewer: Terri
Reviewed: Apr 27, 2012
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Nadia Kinsella is tempted by Jay Tiernan when he helps her after she slides off a snowy country road and gets stuck in the ditch. But, she resists temptation because she’s in love with her neighbor, Laurie.
Laurie is a model and travels a lot but Nadia trusts him. After meeting him at the airport, she knows something isn’t right. It takes a while but she finally learns that Laurie wants to break up. He’s
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Author: Barbara Taylor Bradford
Mainstream / General
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Reviewer: Mary Lignor
Reviewed: Apr 27, 2012
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After reading many Barbara Taylor Bradford books, I was anxious to see this one. I am not sorry as I really enjoyed this latest book by this very good writer. This installment in the books of Barbara Taylor Bradford is not the same as some of the others, a bit softer perhaps, but it does include a very strong female main character, which is usually true of her other books.
The story begins with Justine Nol
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Historical Fiction
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Reviewer: Danya
Reviewed: Apr 25, 2012
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Marguerite must leave her family and home at the Court of Provence to marry Louis IX, becoming Queen of France. As the oldest, she has been trained to be patient, quiet, demure, and to be a good wife and queen. Her sister Eleanor hasn't always taken to the same training, striving to surpass her older sister. When married to Henry III, King of England, she hopes to achieve her goals. But while Henry loves Elea
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Contemporary, Romance
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Reviewer: ELF
Reviewed: Apr 24, 2012
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“The Last Boyfriend” is the second tale in Nora Roberts’ ‘The Inn Trilogy’ which centers around the delightful Inn BoonsBoro that the Montgomery family has restored and elevated to a work of art. The three brothers continue to work in harmony to bring their individual talents and expertise to the project which is rapidly approaching completion. Owen is detail oriented and plans meticulously but fails to est
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Mainstream / General
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Reviewer: Shannschoice
Reviewed: Apr 20, 2012
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Ace Jones is a woman to be reckoned with. She's angry, she witty, she's loyal and she's confused about what direction her life should be going in. Add in a ruthless school principal out to make her life miserable, her best friend ditching her the night before their Spring Break vacation in Florida and her other best friend being abused by her husband and it's almost too much to take.
What we get when Ace
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Mainstream / General, Sports, Men In Uniform
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Reviewer: Lilyraines
Reviewed: Apr 19, 2012
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I wasn't quite sure what to expect when I picked this book for review, but I wound up really enjoying it.
While the first chapters talk about how Josh and his wife met, his being drafted into the Army, his subsequent decision to make it a career and what happened to his wife, the main portion of the story centers around the first year or so after the death of Josh Edwards' wife and how Josh and his son, Bobb
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Vintage, Historical Fiction
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Reviewer: Barb
Reviewed: Apr 17, 2012
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Jane Kirkpatrick has written a great novel. I just fiished "Where Lilacs Still Bloom" and was so sad that I had finished the book. I loved this characterization of Hulda Klager and her family's story. Hulda was an inspiration to all who have a dream and despite sorrows and setbacks, continue to work and plan to be able to fulfill this dream of hybridizing beautiful lilacs (a favorite of mine). At first I
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Anthologies, Metaphysical, Shorts
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Reviewer: Diana Coyle
Reviewed: Apr 17, 2012
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I really enjoyed reading this e-book and felt that Ms. Bella wrote each and every story with such heartfelt emotion. I liked that it was based on different pets that her and her family owned at one time or another. The reader can clearly feel the love and admiration the author had for every animal and they can relate to their own experiences as being a pet owner too. It was easy for me to smile during the hap
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Author: Maria Dahvana Headley
Romance, Paranormal / Supernatural, Historical Fiction, Fantasy, Witches, Mythology
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Reviewer: Angibabi4
Reviewed: Apr 16, 2012
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What if Cleopatra were immortal with a blood lust unsurpassed by anything ever seen? That is one of the questions that this author addresses.
Cleopatra is in mourning, her husband and lover Marc Antony lies dead at his own hand believing that Cleopatra betrayed him. Cleopatra makes an unholy alliance with the ancient goddess of chaos and death. The price, Cleopatra's heart and soul.
Thus begins a journey o
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Mainstream / General, Cooking / Food and Beverage
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Reviewer: Roza
Reviewed: Apr 13, 2012
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Happy, sad, strange, angry, slightly contrived, and then happy again. Good book. It hurts some, and made me laugh, and made me wish I cooked more. Going out for ice cream is a wonderful first step. I want to set up a tea room and see what happens. I hope they all live more or less happily ever after. I still want to know where it all started. This book is packed full of emotion that you will experience
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Mainstream / General
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Reviewer: Diana Coyle
Reviewed: Apr 13, 2012
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Lucinda Barrett needs to move forward in her life after finding out that her husband has betrayed her. In the process of trying to piece her life back together again, she decides now is as good a time as any to finish her novel called A Quiet Wanting. No matter what happens, she’s determined to see if she can achieve her lifelong dream of becoming a published author. Little does she know that she’s going to r
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Mainstream / General
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Reviewer: Terri
Reviewed: Apr 13, 2012
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Poppy or Poppet as Percy liked to call her lived in the little village of Willow-under-Wallup in England. Percy also lived in this little village but he had high expectations. Percy is starting a new position at a bank plus he’s sure that his experiments will make him lots of money. There isn’t much to do in Willow-under-Wallup but Poppet and Percy like to walk along the banks of the water. Their favorite
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Memoir
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Reviewer: DawnColclasure
Reviewed: Apr 10, 2012
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As someone who was part Indian, part English, what is known as “Indian-English,” Jillian Haslam and her family endured a hard life while living in India. The family was very poor, and Jillian had siblings who died in infancy either because of malnutrition or because of disease. Her young sister, Vanessa, is dear to Jillian’s heart, and the two of them struggle together to help the family. But it’s not starvat
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Author: Michelle Gamble-Risley
Contemporary, Mainstream / General
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Reviewer: Isis
Reviewed: Apr 02, 2012
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Brea Harper is a young 22 year old coming of age California girl. She believes she is destined to become a screen writer so she moves to Los Angeles where all the action is. Unfortunately, getting a job as a screen writer is a little harder than merely showing up in a big city. An interesting turn of events lands Brea in places and with people that are quickly changing her scenery. The dream man, and job, nea
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Mainstream / General
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Reviewer: DawnColclasure
Reviewed: Mar 31, 2012
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When Hannah Benson ran away from home twenty years ago, she never looked back, nor did she ever plan to revisit the nightmare she left behind. But one day, she receives a phone call that her mother and sister are dead, and that she has been charged with taking in her sister’s 15-year-old daughter, Anna. But can Hannah face the horrors she so desperately wants to keep out of her life in order to connect with t
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Historical Fiction, Mystery
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Reviewer: Danya
Reviewed: Mar 28, 2012
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Rinette Leslie is at the deathbed of Mary of Guise, queen regent of Scotland, and plans on making her way home to her beloved Granmuir. But the dying queen entrusts Rinette with a silver casket filled with secrets of Scotland's leading families. Rinette makes it home to Granmuir and marries her beloved Alexander, but the silver casket claims his life and her happiness. She trades the silver casket for her hus
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Contemporary, Romance, Mainstream / General
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Reviewer: M Whelehan
Reviewed: Mar 28, 2012
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At first I did not know if I was going to like this book or not. But the more I got into it the more I was able to enjoy it. I don’t know if it is everyone’s cup of tea, but it was a good read.
Dana is living in New York City. She has been though multiple failing relationships including one with a married man. She loves to paint and solve the NY Times crossword puzzles every day. She is definitely the ty
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Author: Beryl Reichenberg
Children's
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Reviewer: Emireally
Reviewed: Mar 28, 2012
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Ants on a Log is an incredibly sweet children’s book that sneaks in a little message alongside the story. Jack the rabbit dislikes all vegetables his mother makes for him: pink cauliflower, purple cabbage, and even carrots. What bunny doesn’t like carrots? Jack doesn’t. His mother is exhausted trying to find something Jack would like and eat. She tries bribery, punishment, and camouflaging the veggies. Then o
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Author: Jennifer Fosberry, Mike Litwin
Children's
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Reviewer: S Wheaton
Reviewed: Mar 28, 2012
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Isabella: Girl on the Go by Jennifer Fosberry and Mike Litwin is a charming children’s book. The art work is colorful and will absolutely appeal to both girls and boys. The strongest impact this book made on me was that it is written about a father. His love for his daughter, his patience all comes across in the short but impactful narratives. This is a must own book for all families.
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Mainstream / General
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Reviewer: Mary Lignor
Reviewed: Mar 22, 2012
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The heroine of this book, Celia Bayley, became a famous author for writing stories about real people in real time. She was an extremely young war bride, marrying a handsome soldier who was older and had three successful children. When the book opens, her husband had just passed away and, according to her family, she was devastated and acted as if she was about to follow him. But, with the help of her grand
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Author: Herman Parish, Lynne Avril
Children's, Seasonal / Holiday
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Reviewer: Diana Coyle
Reviewed: Mar 22, 2012
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Amelia Bedelia is so excited to be celebrating Valentine’s Day in school. She’s gone out of her way to prepare a special card for everyone in her class. She can’t wait until each of her classmates reads the card she made them and she can’t wait to read the cards they made for her too. But there’s a bump in the road that Amelia must face when she realizes that she forgot her Valentine’s Day card on the bus. Wh
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Children's, Seasonal / Holiday
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Reviewer: Diana Coyle
Reviewed: Mar 22, 2012
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Splat the cat is anxious to give Kitten his special Valentine’s Day card that he made for her because he wants to let her know that he likes her. But it seems that it isn’t going to be as easy to give it to her as he thought it would be. So he decides to hold onto it until after lunch and recess and then he’ll give it to her. Unfortunately, Spike, Splat’s rival, takes the special card made for Kitten and read
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Author: Sally Lloyd-Jones, Frank Endersby
Children's
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Reviewer: Diana Coyle
Reviewed: Mar 22, 2012
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Little Red Squirrel tries very hard to impress his daddy by showing him all the neat tricks he can do that he’s learned. He shows his daddy that he’s a fast little squirrel, he can find all the good berries, he can climb high in the tress, he’s a very brave and handsome squirrel and not to mention that Little Red Squirrel is very friendly to everyone. His daddy can’t help but smile over how Little Red Squirre
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Author: M.K. Newman, J.E. DiMarco
Self-Help, Nonfiction
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Reviewer: Josie
Reviewed: Mar 16, 2012
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When Your Child is Being Bullied is a how-to guide to handling bullying. It gives common sense ideas and brings valuable real-world experience to the equation. It gives advice on how to approach schools, the bully and his or her parents, and for creating a group of adults committed to combating the problem.
While the book deals mostly with parental intervention, I'd hoped for more in-depth information, such
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Romance, Mainstream / General, Women's Fiction
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Reviewer: Aemelia
Reviewed: Mar 16, 2012
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Being blindsided by a breakup is bad enough, but to find out that your boyfriend left you for your sister is beyond brutal.
When Lucy Marrin finds herself suddenly homeless so that her sister can move in with her boyfriend, she is at first flummoxed, but then she gets angry. How typical of her sister to take what is Lucy's. This is not the first time Alice has taken something of hers.
Lucy's ex-boyfriend,
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Mainstream / General
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Reviewer: Barb
Reviewed: Mar 16, 2012
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The Golden Hour is a wonderful book about Italy during World War II. Giovanni is a young Italian girl who is trying to survive the German occupation. She lives with her parents, is the sister of a patriot fighter and is trying to figure out where she is in all the madness that surrounds her. Giovanni becomes involved with Klaus, a German officer who tries to compromise her. Giorgio, Giovanni's brother, d
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