Romantic Parvenu

Book Review: Sisters of Treason by Elizabeth Fremantle

June 9, 2015

This book has a good concept but lackluster execution. All in all, I’m not wildly impressed with Sisters of Treason in terms of writing or storytelling quality, which casts a rather dark shadow on everything else the novel might have going for ...

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Book Review: Lady Thief by A.C. Gaughen

June 5, 2015

Way, way back in Ye Olden Days of my review writing experience, I encountered a debut novel, Scarlet, and I loved it crazily and mightily and all that. And then Scarlet got popular, and then…there was a sequel. And, to be honest, I just sort of ...

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Book Review: Reconstructing Amelia by Kimberly McCreight

May 28, 2015

An up-and-coming litigation lawyer is in a meeting when her daughter’s school calls: her daughter’s been suspended, and needs to be picked up right away. But by the time she arrives at the school, her daughter, Amelia, has fallen from the roof ...

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Book Review: Hausfrau by Jill Alexander Essbaum

May 28, 2015

Intellectually, I liked the book. It was well-written, and the main character’s psychology was complex. I believe Jill Alexander Essbaum displays talent and perception in this novel, about an unhappy housewife and the ways in which she unravels. ...

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Book Review: The Moor’s Account by Laila Lalami

May 25, 2015

The Moor’s Account was really good, and it’s extremely evident that Laila Lalami did a great deal of research prior to writing this book. I think this novel reveals a necessary perspective on European presence in the Americas, and while I didn’t ...

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Book Review: Unlocked by Courtney Milan

May 19, 2015

Even in an abbreviated form, Courtney Milan knows what’s up. Unlocked is a truly delightful story about second chances, forgiveness, and absolving for past mistakes. Even a tricky romance like this, between a woman and the man who bullied her ...

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