Sunny's bookshelf
Sunny's bookshelf photo by Judy Solomon

Online book reviews since 2011, the very best in reviewing – connecting good readers with equally good writers

Historical Fiction

The Forgotten Room
Fiction
Ann Ronald

The Forgotten Room

The Forgotten Room as remembered by three romance novelists. When three gifted romance writers decide to write a single novel, The Forgotten Room, together, the

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Courting Mr. Lincoln
Fiction
Ann Ronald

Courting Mr. Lincoln

Courting Mr. Lincoln, two points of view. The double entendre of Louis Bayard’s title, Courting Mr. Lincoln, immediately alerts the reader to the duality of

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The Wednesday Sisters
Historical Fiction
Sunny Solomon

The Wednesday Sisters

THE WEDNESDAY SISTERS – Meg Waite Clayton’s novel of a group of young women on the cusp of adulthood. The novel is filled with wisdom

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The Book of Lost Friends
Historical Fiction
Ann Ronald

The Book of Lost Friends

THE BOOK OF LOST FRIENDS Lisa Wingate’s The Book of Lost Friends is a historical novel firmly grounded in historic poignancy and pain. For many

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Russian Winter
Fiction
Ann Ronald

Russian Winter

RUSSIAN WINTER Years and years ago, I was served a roasted onion. I’ve never forgotten the crisp softness as I peeled away the layers, the

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The Fencing Master
Fiction
Ann Ronald

The Fencing Master

THE FENCING MASTER   Spanish author Arturo Perez-Reverte and his translator, Margaret Jull Costa, have created a novel that may best be described as a

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Many Restless Concerns
Crime
Suzanne Roberts

Many Restless Concerns (a testimony)

MANY RESTLESS CONCERNS: THE VICTIMS OF THE COUNTESSS BÁTHORY SPEAK IN CHORUS Gayle Brandeis’ Many Restless Concerns: The Victims of Countess Báthory Speak in Chorus

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The Underground Railroad
African American Writers
Sunny Solomon

The Underground Railroad

THE UNDERGROUND RAILROAD Is it true that Colson Whitehead’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel The Underground Railroad “traces the terrible wounds of slavery,” as Michael Schaub wrote

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Historical Fiction
Ann Ronald

A Single Spy

A SINGLE SPY Writing A Single Spy, William Christie turns a historical footnote into a complicated novel of international intrigue.  That footnote, found in Professor

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radio girls
Fiction
Ann Ronald

Radio Girls

RADIO GIRLS and the early days of the BBC Sarah-Jane Stratford blends facts with fiction in Radio Girls, a novel describing the earliest days of

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Nefertiti Book of the Dead
Fiction
Ann Ronald

Nefertiti: The Book of the Dead

NEFERTITI: THE BOOK OF THE DEAD Recently, I’ve noticed that contemporary authors—especially mystery and thriller writers—are publishing more and more trilogies. Perhaps that suits our

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Caleb's Crossing
Fiction
Ann Ronald

Caleb’s Crossing — Unknown history

CALEB’S CROSSING Caleb’s Crossing illustrates Geraldine Brooks’ affinity for little-known historical characters whose nearly-anonymous lives can be enhanced by her fictional imagination. Caleb Cheeshahteaumauk, the

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