Women’s Fiction Book Reviews

Review: Angels Play Pianos by Pat Estelle

★★★½ Angels Play Pianos by Pat Estelle

Angels Play Pianos by Pat Estelle tells the story of Jimmy, a child prodigy who is able to play Beethoven flawlessly at the age of five. Tragically, the book begins with his death, but the novel tells the tale of hope among the hardship of a troubled family.

The prose in Angels Play Pianos has a quiet grace – especially when describing the abusive father and husband, Edward. He’s truly infuriating and frustrating, but Estelle’s reserve in describing him manages to make him seem more menacing. There’s no anger or vitriol thrown his way; it’s a subtle take-down of […]

2016-03-04T04:24:43+02:00September 28th, 2015|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: , |

Blue Sky (The Morrow Girls Series Book 2) by D. Bryant Simmons

Blue Sky (The Morrow Girls Series Book 2) by D. Bryant SimmonsBlue Sky, the second book in the Morrow Girls series, starts off where book one left off: after “Pecan” Marrow has struggled through an abusive marriage while trying to raise four dynamic girls, Blue Sky follows the life of the girls. The girls have broken spirits from their tumultuous upbringing, but they’re still plenty spirited. One by one, we learn the girls stories and how their past and family affected their present life. It’s not just a case of the girls against the world: it’s the girls against each other.

Their intertwining stories are harrowing and tragic in many […]

2015-09-01T08:27:41+02:00September 1st, 2015|Categories: New Releases|Tags: |

Juliet’s Journey by Kathy Gates

Juliet's Journey by Kathy GatesJuliet’s Journey by Kathy Gates is a delightful and comforting novella about traveling outside your country and your comfort zone. Juliet is a thirty-year-old graphic designer who decides to volunteer at an art school in the tiny village of Baiardo (a real place, the pictures of Baiardo are astounding). As sometimes can only happen in an exotic locale, Juliet learns to open up and be more comfortable with herself and her past.

The journey is one for the reader as well. Some books are beach reads because they’re page turners that quickly pass the time. Juliet’s Journey is like a […]

2015-07-23T08:51:28+02:00July 23rd, 2015|Categories: New Releases|Tags: , |

Review: Off Balance (Ballet Theatre Chronicles Book 1) by Terez Mertes Rose ★★★★★

Off Balance by Terez Mertes RoseOff Balance, by Terez Mertes Rose, is a refreshing and gritty story about friendships, dreams, and life.

Alice walked away from her ballet career after an injury forced her off the stage years ago. Lana is a young and naïve dancer who has recently moved to California in pursuit of her dream. Alice’s boss asks her to look out for Lana not knowing that Lana symbolizes everything that Alice has lost. The pain that she’s buried bubbles to the surface as does Lana’s insecurities and family troubles. Can the two women forge a relationship to help the other heal?[…]

Review: Conversations and Adventures by Simone Diston ★★★★

Conversations and AdventuresConversations and Adventures by Simone Diston is a spirited and engaging collection of true-to-life stories about meeting different people in a city and starting conversations out of the blue. Everyone she meets on her travels is asking big questions about life, with obstacles in their lives to overcome. Together they reach new insights into big questions about the human condition, such as equality or identity, and smaller issues as well, such as dating.

The premise is a good one: it’s a bit like a road movie, only Diston’s protagonist stays in the same city and meets new people in her […]

2015-06-22T10:22:31+02:00June 15th, 2015|Categories: Book Reviews, Lead Story|Tags: |

The Fat Girls Club by Lila Johnson

The Fat Girls ClubThe Fat Girls Club by Lila Johnson follows the lives of Sissy, Nicki and Angela who join together in an effort to lose weight. The novel had the possibility of being a bit superficial and weight obsessed – and indeed Nicki and Angela aren’t too happy at first about having their weight pointed out – but losing weight is a very real concern for most everybody, and the issue is handled sensitively, and humorously.  It’s also an uplifting story about friendship and how important it is to have the support of friends during difficult times.

This isn’t just a lighthearted […]

2018-03-07T13:49:12+02:00June 1st, 2015|Categories: New Releases|Tags: , |

Review: Between Midnight and Morning by Beverly Mitchell Dodd

★★★★½ between midnight and morning

Between Midnight and Morning, by Beverly Mitchell Dodd, is a hard-hitting women’s fiction novel that explores the dichotomy between personal freedom and family obligations and traditions.

When Lena turns eighteen, she leaves her home, her father and sister, and their church and religious beliefs. In her new life she meets Cos, she marries young, and has her son, Nathan, soon after. However, she can’t escape her painful past. Years pass and then something terrible happens. Lena and Nathan move back home, and she feels trapped in the past and present. Will she be able to pull herself out […]

2016-03-04T04:35:00+02:00January 17th, 2015|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: |

Review: A Better World by Belangela G. Tarazona

A Better WorldA Better World, by Belangela G. Tarazona, is a difficult, but uplifting, read about three women who have to endure harsh realities.

This is a collection of three novellas. In the first, Saja, flees from Sri Lanka, which is in the midst of a civil war. Most of her family and her husband are lost, leaving her alone when she seeks asylum in Denmark.

The second story focuses on Yonna, a Venezuelan. Her entire family has been murdered by a rival clan and she is captured and raped repeatedly, until the rapists grow tired of her and toss her […]

2015-01-13T04:59:27+02:00January 12th, 2015|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: |
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