Category: Commercial FIction Reviews

A review of Love And Other Perishable Items by Laura Buzo

Buzo doesn’t offer a short and sweet, neatly packaged ending, but as the reader learns more about these characters, that type of conclusion wouldn’t fit their situation. Amelia also gains some valuable insight into her family life along the way, as well, and realizes that perhaps things aren’t quite as grim as she’d thought.

A review of Tea and Biscuit Girls and The Love Immigrants by Barbara Celeste McCloskey

Many works of fiction have been set during World War II. Two of my favourites are the TV Foyle’s War and the movie Yanks. It is a well-known fact, however, that if one assigned the same topic to a room full of fiction writers, each would come up with something unique. McCloskey’s novels show her flair for exploring women’s friendships and feelings and will attract and educate today’s generation of young woman readers about an intense, dramatic time in history.

A review of Blue Skies Tomorrow by Sarah Sundin

Sundin certainly did her homework on the period, accurately capturing both life in the military and on the home front during World War II. This was an era where a family kept their secrets and did not share their troubles with outsiders—not even their closest friends.

A review of Another Broken Wizard by Colin Dodds

Although Colin Dodds doesn’t glamorize a life of strangers, grunt work, living from party to party, he doesn’t portray that the illegal sale of drugs is so bad, either. He does correctly convey the judgment-impaired state of mind when intoxicated.

A review of Asleep Without Dreaming by Barbara Forte Abate

Dramatic tension and reader interest are stirred by revelations about Stella. In flashbacks and in the present action of the novel, she emerges as a self-centred, bitter, thieving whore who hates her own daughter. She parallels another horrible parent in the story. Jesse urges Willa not to waste emotional energy trying to understand her, as some things in life just can’t be understood.

A review of Peaches for Father Francis by Joanne Harris

Peaches for Father Frances is a delicately written, and absolutely engaging story that centres around Vianne’s return to Lansquenet, and her special ability to transcend people’s appearances and cultural trappings, and see into the heart of who they are. This is a beautifully written novel, full of mystery, character growth and excitement with a broad range of appeal.

A review of Somebody to Love by Parker Longwood

The writer took this story and gave it body – breathed life into it. The questions weren’t left unanswered and I personally was proud of Claire for her bravery and belief that to find her roots – her story was important. Longwood shows that clearly. She tells Claire’s story beautifully.

A review of Glow by Jessica Maria Tuccelli

Tuccelli did not take the easy way out with writing this novel. Crafting such a complicated storyline is difficult enough; allowing the characters to tell their story in their native dialect is even riskier. Glow is unlike any novel I’ve ever read before, and it offers an intense view of an often-overlooked area of the United States during a very tumultuous time period.

A review of Helen Keller in Love by Rosie Sultan

We come away from the novel seeing Keller, not as a saint, a wonder of the world, or an inspiration, but as a sad, brave human being. Like two other recent novels, Paula McLain’s The Paris Wife and Nancy Horan’s Loving Frank, Helen Keller in Love brings to life the emotions of a woman whose romance with a complicated man did not work out as she had hoped.