One of the reasons I read is to gain new perspectives, and learn about lives I wouldn’t otherwise come into contact with. This can be done by reading both fiction and non-fiction, which is why I reached for The After Party by A.C. Arthur. It’s a mystery novel that takes place in present day Baltimore,…
The perfect read for Halloween enthusiasts and witch-lovers of all stripes, The Witches of Moonshyne Manor by Bianca Marais scratched an itch I didn’t realize I had. Its got all the ingredients of a perfect October read: a rambling haunted mansion, a coven of witches with a varied array of powers, a dark and mysterious…
Although I may not go out of my way to read a Taylor Jenkins Reid book, I will never turn one down. Her books fall under the ‘fluffy’ category – she typically writes about famous, talented and beautiful fictional women. But I can’t deny the fact that I’ll devour them – they are compulsively readable!…
I pay for an online subscription to Canada’s major newspaper, The Globe and Mail, mainly to access their book review section. Occasionally I’ll glance at their bestseller lists just so I can get a sense of what most folks are reading, and like many Canadians and Americans, I tend to see Colleen Hoover‘s name pop…
I’m in the midst of preparing my ‘hot summer fiction’ segment for CBC Calgary, and I knew as soon as I read the first review of Every Summer After by Carley Fortune that I’d have to include this novel in my annual round-up. Canadians are buzzing about this one as it’s a first-time author (but…
The blurb on the cover of Jennifer Weiner’s latest book The Summer Place reads “The undisputed boss of the beach read” (The New York Times), and based on the drawing of a woman lazily floating around in a hot pink inflatable doughnut on the water, all signs point to this being a light read. It’s…
Another book about books – my favourite! Although I should mention that the titular book is a plot device, rather than a major theme. But this reference certainly piqued my interest, which shot this novel to the top of an otherwise teetering pile of historical fiction. The Lost Chapter by Caroline Bishop is a pleasant,…
It’s not often you read a book written by two different authors, especially when the authors are black and white and writing about an act of racism in modern-day America. We Are Not Like Them by Christine Pride and Jo Piazza is a novel about an unarmed, 14-year-old black boy shot by two white police…
I had been reading a string of heavy books lately, and felt as though I deserved a little indulgent reading, which for me can be a cozy mystery, or a domestic thriller. I leaned into the thriller/suspense category and picked up Would I Lie To You? by Aliya Ali-Afzal, which lands squarely into the domestic…
When I originally received this book for review, I dismissed it thinking it was YA, which I don’t normally read except under special circumstances. But after seeing it appear on more than one ‘notable spring books’ list, I thought I’d give it a try, knowing at the very least that it was written as a…
This book was sent to me months ago, and I’ll admit I didn’t have immediate plans to read it simply because I had so many other thrillers ready to go on my shelf. But then, Lucky by Marissa Stapley was chosen by Reese Witherspoon’s Book Club, and I usually enjoy her book club picks when…
Watching cheesy Hallmark Holiday movies seems to be a regular Christmas tradition these days, but I’ve never seen one of these movies, and I don’t intend to start. I have so many questions about them too, mainly, where does one find them? Do you still have cable to access a Hallmark channel, or do you…
