A couple days ago I started reading Great Circle by Maggie Shipstead. At 600+ pages it is a literary behemoth, but based on the synopsis, I was eager to dive in. One of the early chapters is about a transgender Native American in the 1800s. Warning bells went off in my head. When one of the main characters has sex with her brother, I knew it was time to be done. Many fellow reviewers put this book in the DNF pile, too, so it was the right decision for me. According to them, Great Circle includes incest, rape, abortion, and gender and sexual fluidity. I’m no puritan, but that’s more […]
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Cloud Cuckoo Land – A Triumph!
Thirteen-year-old Anna, an orphan, lives inside the formidable walls of Constantinople in a house of women who make their living embroidering the robes of priests. Restless, insatiably curious, Anna learns to read, and in this ancient city, famous for its libraries, she finds a book, the story of Aethon, who longs to be turned into a bird so that he can fly to a utopian paradise in the sky. This she reads to her ailing sister as the walls of the only place she has known are bombarded in the great siege of Constantinople. Outside the walls is Omeir, a village boy, miles from home, conscripted with his beloved oxen […]
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18 Books Later, Mitch Rapp is Still a Badass
I love escaping into a good spy thriller, and #18 in the Mitch Rapp series transported me to the Middle East, Mexico, and Washington DC to watch the world’s most deadly good guy lick terrorists, drug cartels, and corrupt politicians. Lethal Agent (a brilliant double entendre) has pulse-pounding action, and a delightfully intertwined plot and I cheered on a brutal killer as he thwarted evildoers. If you enjoy audio books, narrator George Guidall is one of the best in the business. 4 stars.
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Amy’s September Reads and Reviews
There’s not much I enjoy more than curling up with a book on a crisp autumn evening. I have a feeling some of you agree. When I write these posts, I intentionally include reviews of books I loved and others I didn’t. Why? Because we all like different things. Being a writer and editor makes me a tough critic, but I do my best to include both pros and cons on each book. Maybe you’ll find the perfect read in this month’s group. A Fall of Marigolds by Susan Meissner “The person who completes your life is not so much the person who shares all the years of your existence, […]
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August Books
Last month’s catch was a light one, and you know what? That’s cool! I spent loads of time with my grandkids and worked on two client books. Then I got Covid. Other than cooking, there’s little I enjoy more than reading, but Covid put the kibosh on that. For nearly three weeks, all I did was sleep, and although I’m behind schedule, I still have some great book recommendations for you. Here you go! The Noticer by Andy Andrews “You see, with a degree of intelligence and a hint of wisdom, most people can tell the difference between good and bad. However, it takes a truly wise person to discern […]
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And Winner Is…. Mary James!
I have the coolest job. For the last 15+ years I’ve been working at home (long before it was a thing) writing books with and for the noteworthy and notorious… from former terrorists, to music stars, to CIA operatives, to convicted felons. Through my writing career, I have had the privilege of sharing the stories of some amazing people who offer encouragement and inspiration as we navigate the roads of this crazy world. I’m thrilled to announce my latest collaboration. Together, recording artist Mary James and I will write her prescriptive memoir and accompanying Bible study. Mary is a 6-time Inspirational Country Music Female Vocalist of the Year, speaker, […]
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Sparks Like Stars – a novel set in Kabul
The current situation in Afghanistan is madness. The horrors being experienced by citizens and foreigners are unimaginable as thousands run for their lives. Sadly, the land that is now Afghanistan has a long history of domination by foreign conquerors and strife among internally warring factions, from Genghis Khan to ISIS. In March, I read an astonishing novel by Nadia Hashimi set in Kabul during the 1978 communist coup. It has eerie similarities to what is taking place today. Hashimi was born and raised in New York and New Jersey, but both her parents were born in Afghanistan and left in the early 1970s before the Soviet invasion. She writes with […]
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Healing for the Broken Heart
It’s hard to believe that the God who created the universe and everything in it cares about every hair on our head, and every sorrow in our heart. But He loves us more than we can imagine and through Him all things are possible. “Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think.” ~ Ephesians 3:20 (NLT)
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Yours Cheerfully Book Review
When the Ministry of Information calls on Britain’s women’s magazines to help recruit desperately needed female workers to the war effort, columnist Emmeline Lake is thrilled to be asked to step up and help. But when she and her best friend Bunty meet a young woman who shows them the challenges women war workers face, Emmy must tackle a life-changing dilemma between doing her duty and standing by her friends. This was a darling historical novel. I’d never thought about how women war workers left on the home front managed finances, home, and family while their husbands were off fighting against tyranny or had paid the ultimate price. Both the […]
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The Chanel Sisters Book Review
Abandoned by their family years before, Gabrielle and Antoinette Chanel grow up under the guidance of pious nuns preparing them for simple lives as the wives of tradesmen or shopkeepers. At night, their secret stash of romantic novels and magazine cutouts beneath the floorboards are all they have to keep their dreams of the future alive. The walls of the convent can’t shield them forever, and when they’re finally of age, the Chanel sisters set out together with a fierce determination to prove themselves worthy to a society that has never accepted them. It was refreshing to read about the humble beginning of famous fashion designer, Gabríel (Coco) Chanel, through […]
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