Behold the Dreamers: Worth the Hype?

Title: Behold the Dreamers Author: Imbolo Mbue Published: 2017 Genre: Fiction Rating: 2.5/5   Summary: Jende Jonga, a Cameroonian immigrant, has lived in New York for a few years when his wife Neni and their son join him in the states. Jende has just received a good paying job as a chauffeur for Clark Edwards, …

First read of 2019: Ink and Bone

Title: Ink and Bone Author: Rachel Caine Published: 2015 Genre: Fantasy/Dystopian Rating: 5/5   Summary: The Great Library controls the public's access to knowledge using Alchemy, strict rules and often brutal force. It is forbidden for anyone to personally own physical copies of original texts, but through individual Codexes they can access titles that the …

Review: Shirley

Author: Susan Scarf Merrell Published: 2014 Genre: Fiction Rating: 3.5/5 Summary: Fred, a young graduate student, and Rose Nemser, his pregnant wife, move into the home of author Shirley Jackson and her husband Stanley Edgar Hyman when Fred begins to teach at Bennington College. It is an unconventional household that fosters strained relationships. Shirley and …

Review: Quentins

Book: Quentins Author: Maeve Binchy Published: 2002 Rating: 2/5       Summary: Is it possible to tell the story of a generation and a city through the history of a restaurant? Ella Brady thinks so. She wants to film a documentary about Quentins that will capture the spirit of Dublin from the 1970s to …

Review: The Fountainhead

Title: The Fountainhead Author: Ayn Rand Published: 1943 Rating: 3.5/5     Summary: This modern classic is the story of intransigent young architect Howard Roark, whose integrity was as unyielding as granite...of Dominique Francon, the exquisitely beautiful woman who loved Roark passionately, but married his worst enemy...and of the fanatic denunciation unleashed by an enraged society …

Compare/Contrast: McBain vs. MacLean

This blog post is going to be a little different than my normal book reviews. As the title says, I will be comparing and contrasting two books: So Long as You Both Shall Live by Ed McBain and Fear is the Key by Alistair MacLean. The reason I picked these two books is because both …

Book Review: The Ring and the Crown

Title: The Ring and the Crown Author: Melissa de la Cruz Published: 2014 Rating: 4/5       Melissa de la Cruz is a prolific New York Times Best-Selling author. If you are a fan of YA novels with supernatural elements, historical settings, and drama, I highly recommend you check her out. As you can …

Book Review: Glass Houses

Book: Glass Houses (The Morganville Vampires Book One) Author: Rachel Caine Published: 2006 Rating: 3.5/5     Summary: "College freshman Claire Danvers has had enough of her nightmarish dorm situation. When Claire heads off-campus, the imposing old house where she finds a room may not be much better. Her new roommates don't show many signs …

Inspiration and All That Jazz

My first great story idea, I believe, came on a mundane Sunday morning. I was looking out of the kitchen window waiting for the coffee to finish brewing. My backyard, the same backyard I had looked at since before I can even remember, was slowly being lit up by the rising sun (it was an …