Category Archives: Reviews

The Wisdom of Sally Red Shoes is the story of Masha. Masha is grieving in the way a young woman should never have to grieve, and her friends and family are grieving with her and for her. Then one night, she has an epiphany. She wants to live—not just to breathe and exist, but to really be alive! But, how do you do that with a broken heart? She will need the help of 2 very special women to step out of the cocoon in which she has been encased for so long.Ruth Hogan has created a masterpiece.My favorite thing Read more…

I loved Teresa Driscoll’s novel, I Am Watching You, so I jumped at the chance to read her latest psychological suspense novel, The Promise.Would you keep the promise you regret making?The Promise hooked me as I learned about 3 girls as close as sisters, thanks to attending boarding school together. Now that they are adults, a promise they made in the past has inexplicably kept them bound, and at the same time, very much at odds with one another. With a wrecking crew scheduled to demolish the school they attended, they must decide what to do to keep a long-buried secret.The Read more…

Imagine growing up, having never met someone of the opposite sex—in fact, never even knowing a gender besides your own exists. Would you have more focus? Could you achieve levels of success, unattainable when the distraction of attraction is there? That’s what The Parenthood is betting on in Josh Malerman’s latest novel, Inspection.Inspection is a dystopian novel reminiscent of Lois Lowry’s The Giver and Hugh Howey’s Wool. Like all good dystopian novels, Inspection was very thought-provoking. As a parent of teenage girls, I’ve spent a lot of time questioning how much I should shield my daughters from certain things (boys Read more…

The first thing I enjoyed about The White City by Grace Hitchcock was the care the author took in creating the atmosphere of the Chicago World’s Fair in 1893. The heroine of the story, Winnifred Wylde, loves to read, so each chapter of The White City begins with a quote from popular books from that time period. The author often used Charles Dickens and Jane Austin quotes to set the scene for the reader. The terminology of that historical time and place such as reticule and grip car, and details like Winnifred inserting her hat pin add the realism. Scenes such Read more…

It’s All in Your Head: Brain Storms, Gray Matter, and What Makes You You, by Keith Blanchard is a delightfully informative book about the way your brain works and how it helps make you uniquely, you.Buy the Paperback.I read this book in ebook format, which is usually what I prefer, but in this case, I would recommend buying a paperback copy of the book. It’s heavily formatted to accommodate interesting pictures, sidebar information, and graphics that help make the book extremely engaging.The book was never dull.From one topic to the next, I stayed interested and looked forward to learning even Read more…

One of the best non-fiction books I’ve read this year is The Common Rule: Habits of Purpose for an Age of Distraction. I was immediately drawn to the idea of simplifying life and reprioritizing my day in a way that I can feel good about. I was sold on the idea. How about the actual execution of it? Was The Common Rule going to present a solution to today’s hurried lifestyle that I can easily implement into my work and family routines?Yes!I could easily relate to the author.Justin Whitmel Earley desired to serve God and his fellow man, and at Read more…

The Stranger Inside, by Laura Benedict, was a treat to read. This suspense novel gripped me from the beginning. Early on, I was reminded of the film, Pacific Heights. As the story continued, I discovered that the mystery behind the stranger inside of Kimber’s home goes much deeper than a squatter who has taken over.What stood out the most about this book was the complexity of the characters, particularly the main character, Kimber. She isn’t the innocent protagonist who has been deeply wronged. There is much more to her than that. This is precisely why it’s so difficult for her Read more…