This is the first book I’ve read by Thomas King, a well-respected American-Canadian Indigenous author who has won numerous awards in Canada for his writing, often focusing on issues facing First Nations people. Aside from his admirable reputation, he lives in my hometown of Guelph Ontario, and much to my delight, he references Guelph surprisingly…
Is the idea of visiting a remote glass hotel off an island a terrifying thought, or a welcome one? Personally, I love immersing myself in nature, so the idea of sitting in a five-star resort with not another soul in sight (other than the staff mixing my cocktails) is immensely appealing to me – even…
Do I love to read a book that’s stirred up controversy? Of course I do! Who doesn’t? I always want to see what all the fuss is about, even though I know I’m willingly jumping on a bandwagon that doesn’t need another rider. My Dark Vanessa by Kate Elizabeth Russell has the been source of…
As I write this review, I’ve got a soundtrack of ’80s music playing softly in the background; at the moment, it’s “Live to Tell” by Madonna. I normally require near-quiet to write, but I’m hoping the music will offer some inspiration as I think back to my experience reading Someday Jennifer by Risto Pakarinen. I’ve…
So I feel quite foolish that this is the first Karin Slaughter book I’ve ever read. She’s an America superstar thriller writer that everyone but me is familiar with, as she’s sold over 35 million books and even has a section of her website dedicated to selling t-shirts with her name on them. Where have…
I don’t read (or watch!) a lot of romantic comedies, but whenever I do, I always remember why I love them and why they’re so popular; they make you feel good! Don’t You Forget About Me by Mhairi McFarlane is adorable, the protagonist Georgina has a biting sense of humour and her love interest is…
Ah yes, here we are with another domestic thriller. There seems to be a rash of books about naughty-nannies lately, yet this trend keeps going strong because it’s ripe for creativity. The figure of the nanny is an easy one to exploit in fiction because it’s essentially a stranger who enters the heart of a…
I love the suspense that a storm brings to the fore in a fictional book; as the winds change, so do our expectations as a reader. This story begins with a storm, and ends with the same storm, pushing the reader in all different directions and time periods, raging through each character and their own…
Has anyone else noticed the spate of ‘women in war‘ books lately? Not that I’m complaining, but when you read a few novels that are all very similar in topic, you tend to judge them a little more harshly without intending to. I wasn’t ‘wowed’ by The Huntress by Kate Quinn, but I definitely enjoyed…
I think I’m alone in the negative opinion I have of the book Little Green by Tish Cohen. Through a quick google search of other reviews of it, most people really enjoyed it. And it’s not that I hated it, not at all, but the marriage at the heart of the novel didn’t ring true…
I’m not sure I’ve ever actually read the classic Dickens story A Christmas Carol from beginning to end. Sure I’ve seen the adaptations, but I’m not as familiar with it as I would like to be. So when Miss Marley, an imagined prequel to A Christmas Carol landed on my doorstep a few weeks ago,…
It’s strange timing that I read this book while pregnant, as The Home for Unwanted Girls by Joanna Goodman describes not one, not two, but three (!) different childbirth experiences. I raced through this book, and everytime I reached one of these scenes, I could feel my body tensing in anticipation (and let’s be honest,…
