Blogcritics Category: Books: Relationships

Book Review: Shades of Gray by Jessica James

Elaine Buff — Wed, 14 May 2008 16:02:13 EDT

Jessica James takes us through the effects of the Civil War as it occurs in Northern Virginia.
When we were little, most of us were taught right from wrong, black from white. It was when we grew older that we learned that sometimes these choices are neither black nor white, but fall in a gray area. In complicated situations, we find shades of gray. Honor, loyalty, and allegiance to county are too often merely words today. During the American...

Book Review: Firefly Lane by Kristin Hannah

Ruthie — Thu, 8 May 2008 19:13:52 EDT

The author captures the best and worst of an enduring friendship.
Firefly Lane is a beautiful story about a friendship that survives three decades. At its core are Tully and Kate, who became best friends at age 14 and are always together through life's heartaches and triumphs. In Tully, Kristen Hannah has created a wild and undisciplined teenager; she rarely sees her drug-addicted mother and lives most of the...

Book Review: When We Get to Surf City - A Journey Through America in Pursuit of Rock and Roll, Friendship, and Dreams by Bob Greene

Lesa Holstine — Wed, 7 May 2008 18:57:34 EDT

A nostalgic journey into the life of a 1960s rock and roll touring band.
Bob Greene's books make me nostalgic for a past that I never knew. He brought the Homefront to life in Once Upon a Town: The Miracle of the North Platte Canteen. His novel, All Summer Long, made me want to take off across country. And he manages to bring the music world of the 1960s to life in When We Get to Surf City: A Journey Through America...

Book Review: Ruby Among Us by Tina Ann Forkner

Ruthie — Tue, 6 May 2008 18:51:12 EDT

The beauty of the roses surround much heartbreak and uncertainty but represent all that is loved and remembered.
Ruby Among Us is a novel about love, forgiveness, and understanding involving a grandmother and granddaughter. The granddaughter, Lucy is eight years old when she begins telling her story, starting with the death of her mother Ruby. Because she is so young when Ruby dies, Lucy struggles to remember her and is bursting with questions, but her...

Book Review: Womanizer: "Knowing" Wonderful Women by Marv Rubinstein

Alexandria Jackson — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 12:47:32 EDT

For all women who want to understand why some men do not remain faithful, and for all men who want some insight into women.
Womanizer recounts the sexual memoirs of a confirmed womanizer appropriately named Randy Rosen. Although the book is subtitled, "A Novel Novel," it reads like an autobiography.The story begins with an 82-year-old man having discovered that his first love recently died. The death of "Annie" prompted a nostalgic reminiscence of...

Book Review: The Prince of Frogtown by Rick Bragg

Lesa Holstine — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 17:57:51 EDT

A heartbreaking conclusion to Rick Bragg's family trilogy.
There's a gospel song entitled, "Will the Circle Be Unbroken," and Rick Bragg tries to answer that question in the last book in his family history, The Prince of Frogtown. He received a great deal of acclaim with the first two books in his family trilogy, All Over But the Shoutin', and Ava's Man. Now, he finishes the family...

Book Review: Embittered Justice By Michaela Riley

Ruthie — Sat, 19 Apr 2008 13:04:23 EDT

Michaela Riley's novel puts a spotlight on corruption in the legal system and its life altering effects on the innocent.
Embittered Justice by Michaela Riley is a novel about corruption in the legal system and its effect on the innocent. I enjoyed the core of the story and its outcome, but the lack of consistency with side-stories left me a bit confused. The drama starts when the main character Jennifer moves into her new home. She moves in with two dogs, but later...

Book Review: New York Echoes - Short Stories by Warren Adler

Ruthie — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 17:37:00 EDT

The beauty and disappointments of relationships are richly captured on each page of these short stories.
Fictional characters come to life in New York City in these short stories written by Warren Adler in his book New York Echoes. The relationships among the vast cast of characters are presented in such a realistic way, you forget they aren't real people. The writer has given an authentic voice to life and love, be it romantic, paternal or...

Book Review: Not Easily Broken by Ruth Smith Meyer

Violet Nesdoly — Wed, 2 Apr 2008 10:25:18 EDT

A sweet historical romance from a new Canadian voice.
When parents of 21-year-old Ellie ask her to break up with her dapper and ambitious beau to marry John Kurtz, the recent widower of her older sister, Ellie is outraged. She understands her parents’ need to stay connected with their little granddaughters, but at such a sacrifice on her part? It seems unthinkable! Yet, family allegiance and her...

Book Review: Bulls Island by Dorothea Benton Frank

Lesa Holstine — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 20:18:51 EDT

Dorothea Benton Frank returns readers to her beloved South Carolina for a lush story of love lost and found.
Anyone who has read Dorothea Benton Frank's earlier books, such as The Land of Mango Sunsets, will know what to expect with Bulls Island. The characters may be stereotypes, but Frank tells a good story. And she describes South Carolina with as much love as any other author.Betts McGee is quite happy with her job at a private equity firm in New...