Book Reviews

I typically post between two and three book reviews a week. Please refer to my review policy if you’d like to submit a book for consideration. I invite you to subscribe to my newsletter to get a summary of my reviews once  a month.

Book Review: The Cloisters by Katy Hays

Book Review: The Cloisters by Katy Hays

A debut novel with a gothic twist, The Cloisters by Katy Hays scratched my itch for a plot-driven story that would offer up some escapism for the snowy March we've been experiencing here in Calgary. Taking place in present-day New York City over one hot and sweaty...

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Book Review: Superfan by Jen Sookfong Lee

Book Review: Superfan by Jen Sookfong Lee

Some of my Canadian readers will recognize my next title. Superfan: How Pop Culture Broke My Heart by Jen Sookfong Lee has gotten lots of recent and positive coverage in the media, and I tend to enjoy non-fiction essays with a lighter touch, so I opted to give it a...

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Book Review: Gone to Pot by Jennifer Craig

Book Review: Gone to Pot by Jennifer Craig

I love a humourous novel - although David Sedaris is my favourite writer, I seek a laugh in both my fiction and non-fiction reading whenever possible. When I came across the 2018 winner of The Stephen Leacock Award for Humour in a Second Story Press catalogue, I...

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Book Review: Love Marriage by Monica Ali

Book Review: Love Marriage by Monica Ali

The phrase 'love marriage' means different things to different people, but in the context of the book Love Marriage by Monica Ali, it refers to the fact that Yasmin's Indian parents formed a relationship based on love alone; an assumption for many, but a radical idea...

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Book Review: From the Wreck by Jane Rawson

Book Review: From the Wreck by Jane Rawson

I'm very happy to report that I hunted down this book through the Calgary Public Library system after reading and enjoying a review of it from Marcie at Buried in Print, perhaps one of the best-read people in the world (those of you who follow her blog know I'm not...

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Book Review: The Marriage Portrait by Maggie O’Farrell

Book Review: The Marriage Portrait by Maggie O’Farrell

Because it's February, I've chosen three books to read that all center on the topic of love and marriage for my latest radio segment (it's showbiz folks, you don't need to be that creative!). The first was The Marriage Portrait by Maggie O'Farrell, which I dug out of...

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Book Review: Greenwood by Michael Christie

Book Review: Greenwood by Michael Christie

It's that time of year again: Canada Reads is getting Canadian booklovers all jazzed up about one of the most popular readers' choice competitions in the country, and it's the perfect opportunity to get to those backlist books that may have fallen off your radar....

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Book Review: Some Hellish by Nicholas Herring

Book Review: Some Hellish by Nicholas Herring

After seeing Some Hellish by Nicholas Herring win the Atwood Gibson Writers' Trust Fiction Prize late last year, I made the mental note to dig it out of my (rapidly expanding) bookshelves and give it a try. The fact that it didn't have a clear plot scared me away from...

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Book Review: Workday Warrior by Ann Gomez

Book Review: Workday Warrior by Ann Gomez

I'm currently reading my way through a few self-help books in anticipation of my January radio segment, focused on New Years resolutions. It will likely have aired by the time I get around to posting this, but I just finished reading Workday Warrior by Ann Gomez and a...

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