Romantic Parvenu

Book Reviews

Book Review: Under a Painted Sky by Stacey Lee

This book was just a lot of fun! Two girl-fugitives dress up as boys and join a band of cowboys traveling the Oregon Trail—what a premise, and the author delivers on it. Under a Painted Sky is an adventure from start to finish, one that I found ...
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Book Review: The Turner House by Angela Flournoy

Angela Flournoy’s debut, a multigenerational saga set in Detroit, is a solid, if slightly mundane, literary novel. The Turner House does very well in detailing the daily complexities and dramas that arise between the 13 Turner siblings, which ...
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Book Review: Re Jane by Patricia Park

I love the promise of this book: a retelling of Jane Eyre with a modern Korean-American woman cast in the titular role. Literary retellings are often hit-or-miss with me, but I loved the way Patricia Park spun this particular novel. But, ...
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Book Review: A Time to Dance by Padma Venkatraman

Padma Venkatraman’s verse novel, A Time to Dance, is an exploration of art and spirituality and determination, told by Veda, a classically trained dancer who loses her leg in an car accident. This is a beautiful, uncomplicated story of recovery ...
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Book Review: Delicious by Sherry Thomas

Delicious is a charming, sexy romance novel about fairytales, second chances, and love in disguise. The relationship between leads Stuart and Verity was wonderful, slightly unconventional, and full of chemistry—I definitely loved that both ...
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Book Review: The Unquiet Dead by Ausma Zehanat Khan

For me, what this book comes down to is the fact that the author doesn’t really show a lot of talent for fiction writing. She has impressive credentials and clearly knows what’s what in terms of Bosnia and Srebrenica, and I like that she brought ...
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