After a brutal killing in 1950s Florence, Serafina, the only woman in the crime squad, is assigned to the case with her partner, and when a second murder targets the same family, Serafina quickly focuses in on the past and the war as the motive behind the deaths. The novel flashes back and forth between the investigation, and World War II era Tuscany and the family home of the Rosatis. Their oldest son is at war in Sicily, the middle child is working in Florence helping to […]
A Southern Trainwreck of a Novel
I liked The Prince of Tides enough to want to read more by Conroy but also wasn’t in a hurry to follow up on that since parts of it did seem so, well, crazy. South of Broad is a more recent novel of Conroy’s and as a result, it may not have been the smartest pick. The book is incredibly readable, and there are definitely parts where the language just sweeps the reader along. However, it also showcases the flaws much more, packing just a […]
Never Trust a Man Called Gaston
My grandmother loved Victoria Holt, and I must have read my fair share of these historical romances from her stash when spending summers at her place, back in the day. The only one I can actively remember is The India Fan, but there must have been others. How else would you explain the fact that I could predict much of the plot of Seven for a Secret by the end of the first chapter? Holt has her patterns, her beloved tropes, and she turns to them […]
A dark tale of colonialism and liberation in Africa
This is a remarkable book about religion, racism, sexism, feminism, colonialism, capitalism, socialism … and about an amazing family that came to Africa as missionaries and learned truths that had nothing to do with God and everything to do with humanity. The Price family arrives in the then-Belgian Congo of 1959, headed by Southern Baptist Reverend Nathan Price, a wife-abusing, child-abusing, fanatical tyrant and bitter disappointment of a man. He and his captive wife Orleana and his four daughters arrive unwanted in an impoverished Congolese village […]
A View of WWI England’s Homefront
This is one of those books where I get why it’s acclaimed and award winning, but I didn’t really enjoy it that much. Granted, I’m not sure if these novels are meant to be enjoyed since I would definitely classify them in that literary fiction category that’s more about teaching than enjoying. However, even within that, I can’t say the novel particularly moved me. I thought it was dark and oppressive but in a way that actually turned me off from the novel. It isn’t […]
A historical romance with a husband and wife falling in love after five years
3.5 stars First off, I just want to say that why the title brings to mind that dreadful “romantic comedy” with Kate Hudson and Matthew McConaughey, the plot of the book bears no resemblance, save that there are ten days involved. Sometimes I think publishers actually want people to be put off by their titles. Unusually tall and with her reputation in tatters, American heiress Edie Jewell had not had any luck finding a suitable husband, despite the aid of London’s premier matchmaker. With only a short time left […]
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