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The Sentence by Louise Erdrich
“I was Tookie, always too much Tookie. For better or worse, that’s a fact.” I feel quite conflicted over The Sentence. Although I loved the first half of this novel I found the latter to be boring and somewhat disjointed. While I’m sure many will be able to love everything about this book I wish…
3.5 STARS, Adult, America, American, bi side characters, BOOK REVIEW, BOOK REVIEWS, Booklr, books about books, bookshops, Contemporary, DEATH, different styles (1st/2nd/3rd povs), family, female authors, ghosts/spirits, hauntings, history, illness, indigenous, indigenous author, lgbtq+ side, libraries/bookshops, LITERARY FICTION, Louise Erdrich, MAGICAL REALISM, minnesota, My reviews, native american & first nation, Native American & First Nation authors, netgalley, Ojibwe/Chippewa, Ojibwe/Chippewa author, pandemic, PARANORMAL, prison, published in 2021, read in 2021, reading, social issues, The Sentence -
State of Wonder by Ann Patchett
“There was no one clear point of loss. It happened over and over again in a thousand small ways and the only truth there was to learn was that there was no getting used to.” Boasting her signature writing style State of Wonder is a captivating and thought-provoking read. Ann Patchett’s quiet yet graceful prose…
3rd pov, 5 STARS, ABSOLUTE FAVOURITE, Adult, age gap, America, American, AMERICAN AUTHOR, ANN PATCHETT, beautiful prose, BOOK REVIEW, BOOK REVIEWS, Booklr, brazil, doctors, Dreams, favourite authors, female authors, GRIEF, identity, latin america, LITERARY FICTION, loneliness, Longing, MAGICAL REALISM, minnesota, morality, motherhood, My reviews, nature, published in 2011, re-reads, read in 2016, read in 2021, reading, restrained prose, science, scientists & co, State of Wonder, summer reads, travel -
The Dragon Keeper: A novel by Mindy Mejia — book review
The Dragon Keeper tells a very specific type of story. This the third novel I’ve read by Mindy Mejia and it certainly has a unique premise. Mejia’s books differ in style and subject-manner, yet genre distinctions aside, each one of her story is underlined by a tense atmosphere. Most of The Dragon Keeper takes place…
3.25 stars, 3rd pov, abortion/miscarriage/bodily autonomy, Adult, America, American, AMERICAN AUTHOR, animals, BOOK REVIEW, Booklr, break-ups, cheating, environmental, female authors, labs, LITERARY FICTION, loneliness, Mindy Mejia, minnesota, motherhood, nature, parenting, published in 2012, read in 2020, science, The Dragon Keeper, work culture, zoos -
American Gods by Neil Gaiman — book review
“Gods die. And when they truly die they are unmourned and unremembered. Ideas are more difficult to kill than people, but they can be killed, in the end.” It isn’t surprising that American Gods is regarded as one of the genre-bending novels of all time. Over the course of 500 pages Neil Gaiman deftly blends…
2000s, 3rd pov, 5 STARS, ABSOLUTE FAVOURITE, Adult, adventure, affairs, afterlife, ambiguous protagonist, America, American, American Gods, BOOK REVIEW, Booklr, British author, Chicago, Contemporary, DEATH, Dreams, FANTASY, fathers & sons, favourite authors, FOLKLORE, gay side characters, gods, great storytelling, heist, HISTORICAL FICTION, history, Illinois, lgbtq+ side, MAGIC, MAGICAL REALISM, male authors, minnesota, MYSTERY, myths, Neil Gaiman, PARANORMAL, prison, published in 2001, re-reads, read in 2016, read in 2020, Religion, road trip, SOCIAL COMMENTARY, SPECULATIVE FICTION, story within a story, Storytelling, SUPERNATURAL, tennessee, URBAN FANTASY, violence, Wisconsin, zombies & undead -
The Institute by Stephen King – book review
“What we regard as Evil is capable of a fairly ubiquitous presence if only because it tends to appear in the guise of good.” — Joseph Brodsky The Institute is a gripping, if occasionally horrifying, read. Stephen King is a great storyteller and The Institute showcases many of his strengths and traits: we have an engrossing…
4 STARS, abuse, action, Adult, adventure, America, American, AMERICAN AUTHOR, banality of evil, BOOK REVIEW, Booklr, child abuse, Contemporary, HORROR, KIDS WITH POWERS, male authors, minnesota, morality, PARANORMAL, POWERS, published in 2019, READ IN 2019, social issues, SPECULATIVE FICTION, STEPHEN KING, SUPERNATURAL, SUSPENSE, The Institute, violence -
This Tender Land by William Kent Krueger — book review
“Whatever happens, Odie, we’ll still have each other. We’ll always be brothers.” Stephen King meets Charles Dickens in William Kent Krueger’s This Tender Land. Set against the Great Depression Krueger’s Odyssean-like narrative takes inspiration from stories such as the Adventures of Tom Sawyer and/or Huckleberry Finn. Rather than offering a rehash of these tales, This…
1930S, 20th century, 3.75 stars, Adult, adventure, America, American, AMERICAN AUTHOR, child abuse, CHILDHOOD, coming of age, found family, friendships, Great Depression, growing up, HISTORICAL FICTION, Huckleberry Finn, LITERARY FICTION, male authors, male friendships, minnesota, orphans, Poverty, published in 2019, READ IN 2019, road trip, survival, this tender land, travel, William Kent Krueger -
Everything You Want Me to Be : Book Review
Everything You Want Me to Be by Mindy Mejia ★★★✰✰ 3 stars Last summer I read Mejia’s latest novel Leave No Trace: A Novel and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I thought it had a suspenseful and fast-paced story with alluring main characters. While Everything You Want Me to Be is an undoubtedly well-written novel that…
1st pov, 3 STARS, Adult, affairs, America, American, AMERICAN AUTHOR, Contemporary, dead girls, domestic thriller, Everything You Want Me to Be, female authors, HIGH SCHOOL, Mindy Mejia, minnesota, MURDER, murder mystery, MYSTERY, published in 2019, READ IN 2019, REVIEW, rural setting, SMALL TOWN, small town crime, SUSPENSE, teachers, unreliable narrators, whodunnit -
The End of Temperance Dare : Book Review
The End of Temperance Dare by Wendy Webb ★★✰✰✰ 2 stars I was hoping that this would be a ‘guilty pleasure’ of sorts or a cozy Gothic story…I wasn’t prepared for such a cheesy and badly written story. This book was unintentionally funny. The start of this novel was interesting enough, and the first few…
luce [is reading] 