Book Reviews For Discerning Readers
Have you ever bought, borrowed, or downloaded a book by your favorite author? Of course you have. You settle in to have an enjoyable experience, knowing what to expect – unique characters, interesting settings, and a journey away from your everyday life. That’s what reading does.
Following are some of the books I’ve read recently. Enjoy my book reviews.
Hey, Good Looking
When Hey, Good Looking by Fern Michaels appeared on my Kindle Unlimited suggestions from Amazon, I downloaded it and expected to enjoy another great book by a great author. What a disappointment. I rarely write a negative review, but this time I couldn’t help it. This is what I wrote:
Reviewed in the United States on March 10, 2024
My first thought after finishing the prologue was “This must get better.” It didn’t. I read some of the other one-and-two- star reviews and found others who felt the same way.
*
Mercy Will Follow Me
This book deals with a very sensitive issue – the rape of a white woman by a black man. The author did an amazing job of telling the story. This is from the back cover:
Natassa seems to have it all – a devoted husband with a good income, beautiful children, a faithful best friend- but it only takes one night for her world to crumble, catapulting her into a journey of trauma and healing, old pressures and new friendships. Will she learn to stand her ground or will she always live in someone else’s shadow?
DeAndre longs to break free from the neighborhood that keeps dragging him down, but the streets are made of quicksand. Dreams can hardly take flight there, even if he paints them wings. And when he does the unthinkable, could mercy ever be a possibility?
*****
When Crickets Cry
I can’t say enough good things about Charles Martin’s book When Crickets Cry. Get. Yourself a box of tissues. It isn’t all sad, though. He’s an amazing writer and this book did not disappoint. Here is the Amazon description:
It begins on the shaded town square in a sleepy Southern town. A spirited seven-year-old has a brisk business at her lemonade stand. But the little girl’s pretty yellow dress can’t quite hide the ugly scar on her chest.
Her latest customer, a bearded stranger, drains his cup and heads to his car, his mind on a boat he’s restoring at a nearby lake. The stranger understands more about the scar than he wants to admit. And the beat-up bread truck careening around the corner with its radio blaring is about to change the trajectory of both their lives.
Before it’s over, they’ll both know there are painful reasons why crickets cry . . . and that miracles lurk around unexpected corners.
*****
Here’s a link to another of his amazing books:
https://capitaloneshopping.com/p/the-mountain-between-us/FVBMM66GLX
Finally Forever
Sometimes I need a break from the deep issues I like to read and write about. This gem was the perfect escape. An All-American football player and a former competitive dancer – how fun! It’s a Dancing With The Stars type competition and these two unlikely people are paired to win the prize for a local nonprofit. I gave it 5 stars.
*****
Hole In My Family Portrait
In honor of my son, Bobby’s death, this book is releasing on March 19, his birthday. If you know someone who has lost a child, no matter how old or how young, this book will offer hope to grieving moms.
https://www.amazon.com/Hole-Family-Portrait-Jane-Daly-ebook/dp/B0CW2K1MP7
Jane S. Daly is the author of two nonfiction books and five novels.
Jane is addicted to coffee, purple pens, and her husband, not necessarily in that order. A self-proclaimed introvert, she enjoys the solitude of riding shotgun in Rigsby, her 37-foot motor home. But when they pull into a new campground, her favorite thing is to make new friends and find hangouts featuring local musicians. Her fantasy involves writing lyrics for country music songs and hearing them played on the radio. In the meantime, she’ll stick to writing novels. And seeing as much of the country as possible.