My review of The Girls in the Stilt House is for the novel by Kelly Mustian that appeared in 2021. It’s the story of Ada and Matilda, two young women who grow up poor in 1920s Mississippi. The young ladies live on the Natchez Trace in a swampy area (that’s why the house needs stilts) […]
Category: Fiction Book Reviews
The Last Rose of Shanghai – Rob’s Latest Book Review
I had high hopes for The Last Rose of Shanghai by Weina Dai Randel. High enough that I semi-broke one of my personal rules, which is to avoid World War 2 historical fiction. Why do I avoid World War 2 books? Because they’re so ubiquitous. Every writer has a World War 2 novel, it seems. […]
The American Agent by Jacqueline Winspear – An Unbiased Review
Because I like to read a range of things, and because it seemed the most attractive book on the featured shelf at my local library when I stopped in, I read The American Agent by Jacqueline Winspear recently. It’s part of a series featuring Jacqueline Winspear’s famous heroine, Maisie Dobbs. The book appeared in 2019. […]
Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi – Should People Read This Ambitious Novel?
The novel Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi has been around for a few years now. I read it on the advice of a friend. It’s very much a work of historical fiction. The reader begins in the Gold Coast of the eighteenth century and finishes in the United States around the turn of the millennium. Structure […]
Every Breath by Nicholas Sparks. Is the Book as Great as Reviews Claim?
Yes, Every Breath by Nicholas Sparks makes two of his books in a row. What can I say? Romance books sell better than nearly anything else. I’d like to learn how to write them better. Unlike The Return, Every Breath is at least a little bit historic. Most of the story occurs in 1990, with […]
The Return by Nicholas Sparks – Should I Read This Romance Novel?
The Return by Nicholas Sparks is a recent book. It’s not historical fiction, either; in fact, the story takes place between 2014 and 2019. This makes it a bit of a departure for me. The narrator is Trevor Benson, a graduate of the Naval Academy and a veteran of Afghanistan. He’s a doctor who sustains […]