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Posts by Jane J

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Cover of Kingscastle
A review of Kingscastle by Sophia Holloway

A couple of things drew me to this book immediately. One, the cover, yep, I'm shallow like that. And two, the description of the hero/heroine. He's a retired naval captain and she's the put-upon companion to a difficult woman. My favorite Jane Austen novel is Persuasion so this description hit me in my Austen sweet spot. Did it live up to my hopes based on those two enticements? Mostly, though, in ways unexpected.

Jan 6, 2022

Doing what it takes

Cover of The Violin Conspiracy
A review of The Violin Conspiracy by Brendan Slocumb

This is a heist story. It's also an examination of institutional racism in the rarefied world of classical music and of hope and perseverance in a world that doesn't always reward such. Brendan Slocumb, a former principal violinist and concertmaster, manages all of this in a delicate balance of a story that held my attention from first to last pages.

Jan 4, 2022

Holiday party gone wrong

Cover of The After Party
A review of The After Party by A. C. Arthur

Three women, colleagues and the kind of sort-of work-friend you make at your job, find their darkest wishes have come true after the company Christmas party. That shocking event forces them to team up in order to avoid at the minimum, unemployment, and at a maximum, prison.

Dec 27, 2021

Don't worry, the dog is okay

Cover of Not a Sound
A review of Not a Sound by Heather Gudenkauf

As this thriller opens Amelia Winn is leaving her shift as a trauma nurse when she's hit by a car. That accident leaves her profoundly deaf. In the immediate aftermath of the accident and the realization of just what her life has become, Amelia retreated into an alcoholic haze and it's only when her marriage falls apart and she's in danger of losing any chance of contact with her young step-daughter that she hit rock bottom.

Dec 9, 2021

The science of love

Cover of The Love Hypothesis
A review of The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood

I've been hearing about Ali Hazelwood's STEM-based debut for months and I'd been vacillating on reading it. If you read my reviews, you know I do read romance, but I read far more paranormal, historical, heck, aliens, then I do contemporary. When I think of the why of that fact I think it comes down to what I can let slide. Tropes that work for me in most other romance are a little harder to just go with in a realistic contemporary setting. But I kept hearing about how good this particular contemporary romance was, so I decided to take the plunge.

Dec 6, 2021

So much bookish goodness

Cover of Best Books Lists
Best Books Lists

With the announcement of NPR's Books We Love I realized it's that time of year. The lists of best books are pouring in and I know that not only are we interested in them as readers ourselves, they also give us great ideas for books to gift to the other readers in our lives. So for those of you searching for your next read or even more desperately searching for that perfect gift, here is a by-no-means-comprehensive best lists to give you a start.

Nov 29, 2021

Something for the long nights

Cover of The Starless Crown
A review of The Starless Crown by James Rollins

From what I hear from other readers I'm not alone in, more often then I'd like, struggling with my ability to really sink into a book. I don't know if the attention deficit comes from work, too many devices, or the general stressiness of life, but often I find that I have to work to stick to a book, even if I was sure I'd love it. But one genre lately has really been working for me and that is fantasy fiction. Something about entering a completely different world has just been easier.

Nov 8, 2021

More data needed

Cover of The Mother-in-Law
A review of The Mother-in-Law by Sally Hepworth

The Lakeview Mystery Book Group had been meeting in person over the last few months but decided to go back to meeting on Zoom now that the nights are longer and are getting colder. Last week was our return to Zoom and given how the online platform can change the shape of meetings, I was wondering if our talk would be as comfortable and free-wheeling as it had been for our in-person meetings. The answer? It certainly was a relaxed, energetic discussion. But was that the group or the book?

Nov 2, 2021

Saving Godzilla?

Cover of The Kaiju Preservation Soc
A review of The Kaiju Preservation Society by John Scalzi

I've been waiting to tell you about John Scalzi's forthcoming title for a while now as it was just the antidote I needed for a reading slump. At the time most things I'd been reading were eliciting a tepid, 'ah it was fine' response. And then came the Kaiju. Not only were they a saving grace for me, but based on the author note included in the book, were one for Scalzi as well. He'd been struggling with another book as the pandemic worsened and just couldn't make progress when the idea for this story popped into his head.

Oct 19, 2021

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