Reviews 1 to 25 of 157 |
Show
results per page.
|
Page: |






This book was well researched. When the author mentions a man or woman's name or a town, he also adds information about them I found fascinating. I was surprised so many people, on both sides of the law, were related in some way, not always biologically but in some relationship. The Daltons were especially interesting. Some started out as lawmen and ended up as outlaws, mostly dead outlaws.
I want to share just one piece of trivia. The Gunfight at the O.K. Corral ended with three dead men and three wounded men. The September 1, 1893, gunfight at Ingalls, Oklahoma was bloodier, with six men killed or wounded, and the wounded died soon after. And a lot more on both sides died in the Dalton gang's disasterous robbery attempt on October 5, 1892, in Coffeyville, Kansas.
Ingalls was named after John Ingalls, a senator for Kansas. In a footnote the author let us know John Ingalls second cousin was Charles Ingalls whose daughter Laura Ingalls Wilder was the author of the "Little House on the Prairie" series.
Whether within the text, or in footnotes on the same page, the author keeps you interested in his story.


Author:
Genres: Biographies & Memoirs, Parenting & Relationships, LGBTQ+ Books, Politics & Social Sciences
Book Type: Hardcover
Unfortunately this book didn't satisfy my curiosity because author Richie Jackson is too full of himself and his rich, privileged life to have suffered like gays of the past. DNF.


Author:
Genres: Mystery, Thriller & Suspense, Horror
Book Type: Paperback




Author:
Genres: Literature & Fiction, Religion & Spirituality, Christian Books & Bibles
Book Type: Paperback
Each chapter begins with Aunt Dot's laundry advice column written for The Pilot News.Â
Then, followed by a recent account of the personal struggles each of the main characters are experiencing: Charlotte Stewart, Margaret Peele, Beatrice Witherspoon, Jessie Jenkins, and Lana Jenkins.Â
It has been a year since Margaret was diagnosed with breast cancer, and she has successfully completed her chemotherapy, and thankfully, her cancer is in remissionÂ
Jessie and James Senior are still thriving as a married couple and are getting ready to take a two week vacation to Africa in order to fulfill a lifelong dream of discovering their ancestors.
Pastor Charlotte is yet again struggling with her faith in God and is still seeking help from Marion Gordon, a therapist. Additionally, Peggy DuVaughn's grandson, Lamont, is in jail for a robbery charge, and she asks the Pastor if she would visit him in prison.Â
Beatrice and Dick are having trust issues in their marriage due to Dick dealing with family secrets involving his brother and sister-in-law.Â
Lana Jenkins is married to Wallace, Jesse and James' son, and is unhappy with being a young mother and wife and thinking of leaving Wallace and Hope, her daughter.Â
I enjoyed catching up with the ladies of Hope Spring, but I have to admit the narrative for each of the main characters felt long and tedious.
Nevertheless, I do hope the remaining books in this series improve.Â


Author:
Genres: Biographies & Memoirs, History
Book Type: Paperback


Author:
Genres: Religion & Spirituality, Romance
Book Type: Paperback
Sadie Vaughn and Howard Gibson have been fast friends for more than two years. However, when Howard decides to marry another woman but is left at the altar, Sadie (who secretly loves Howard), hopes he will realize his mistake and choose her.
Walter Reed, a tutor with ambitions to open a school, is interested in Sadie. However, he is so shy that he has difficulty getting Sadie's attention. However, having two men interested in her is not Sadie's problem. The men's mothers are the problem. Each woman wants Sadie for a daughter-in-law. Unfortunately, they will go to great lengths to make sure their son is the winner of Sadie's heart.
Sadie misunderstands the mothers and thinks the mothers want her more than their sons. She is devastated.
Vaughns
1. Rivals and Roses (2024)
2. Marry in Haste (2025)
** 3. A Meddlesome Match (2025)
4. Love Thy Enemy (2025)


Author:
Genre: History
Book Type: Paperback
The Chaldeans established the Neo-Babylonian Empire in the late 7th century BC. It became a dominant power in the ancient Near East. We know of Nebuchadnezzar II, one of the most prominent Chaldean rulers, because he is credited with creating the Hanging Gardens of Babylon.
Unfortunately, this book is uninteresting to read. I forced myself to finish reading it.


Lady Helena Webster's father has demanded that she marry Lord Foxton, whom she finds utterly repulsive. She does not understand the reason for his insistence, because her parents had always assured her that she could wait for a love match. When things come to a head (Lord Foxton tells Helena that they will be married soon), she runs to Genevieve's house and hides. It doesn't take long for Lucas to realize there is someone extra in the house. When he finds out the story, he assures Helena that she can stay.
This is a promising series with lots of twists and turns. I found it difficult to believe that Lucas could fall in love with Helena in such a short time, less than three weeks. Otherwise, the plot moved smoothly, and the characters were interesting. This is a nice setup for the remaining three stories.
Gentlemen of War
** 1. Lucas (2024)
2. Hunter (2024)
3. Zachary (2024)
4. Jaxon (2025)




Author:
Genre: Mystery, Thriller & Suspense
Book Type: Hardcover
At first, I was shocked that this cozy historical mystery and the tv show had so many identical characters: British expat widowed mother, teen daughter, animal-collecting son mentored by a male neighbor, a cook who's a cranky older local woman who doesn't speak English, etc., etc. At one point, I wondered if the book was well-written fan fiction.
However, the novel forges its own path when Minnie Harper, the family matriarch, finds herself working as a typist for Stephen Dorian, a famous British mystery author staying at the villa next door. Then Minnie discovers the body of a young Greek woman who was murdered. The local officials don't seem to take that possibility very seriously, so Minnie and Stephen conduct their own investigation with a nail-biting conclusion.
Of the three novels I read in June that included Egyptian antiquities, I was most surprised that this one did. I liked the growth in Minnie and Stephen's connection - from strangers to employment to friends ... will it develop into more in future novels?
I enjoyed this for its plot, sense of place, and a reminder of a beloved tv show. I'll definitely check out the second book in the series.




Author:
Genres: Travel, Science & Math, Outdoors & Nature
Book Type: Paperback
I live in New England, so I know oaks, beeches, birches, hemlocks, pines, maples, larches and aspens. But I don't know cypresses, redwoods or tupelos. Ditto for the bugs and animals - they're different in different regions.
If you live in or near the forests of New England, I recommend instead Tom Wessel's books, especially "Reading the Forested Landscape: A Natural History of New England." That book was a revelation to me.


Author:
Genre: Literature & Fiction
Book Type: Paperback
Anyway, this is the first time I have not been able to finish the first chapter of a book. The pace is very slow, and the writing is extremely tedious.
Thus, I can not recommend this book and will not be reading any additional books written by this author.


Author:
Genres: Literature & Fiction, Mystery, Thriller & Suspense, Romance
Book Type: Paperback




Author:
Genre: History
Book Type: Hardcover
The official name of the Medal of Honor is simply that. While often referred to as the Congressional Medal of Honor, fortunately Congress has no role in determining who receives that award.
Despite what is often believed, the costliest project of the war was not the atomic bomb, but the B-29 program.
The author has U.S. paratroopers of the 101st Airborne Division "dropped" into Bastogne. Actually they were trucked in.
The author has a really weird explanation as to where the term "blitzkrieg" originated. In all my reading about World War II and the American Civil War, I have never seen this mentioned.
The author properly gives credit to the Poles for duplicating the German Enigma coding machine and breaking its code. But he makes up a story about how they did that which disagrees with every book I've ever read on this subject. Plus, this machine was originally developed for use in the commercial sector, not for the German military. And the author continues to repeat the myth the British allowed the city of Coventry to be bombed to avoid the Germans realizing the British had broken the Enigma code.
Hitler was not obligated to declare war on the U.S. after it was attacked by Japan. The Tripartite Act required him to do so only if Japan was attacked. But Hitler stupidly declared war on the U.S. I bet the British jumped for joy when he did that.
The author also repeats the myth the Japanese Army intended to invade Australia. Japanese documents captured after the war revealed this was never planned.
The author discusses the German jet fighter, but, like many other historians, neglects to mention the British Gloster Meteor jet fighter which saw combat from July 1944 on. The U.S. also had a jet fighter, the P-80 Shooting Star, but it arrived too late for active duty in Europe during the war.
When one of the crews of Doolittle's attack on Japan in 1942 landed in Russia, they were not interned until the end of the War as the author states. After several months, they were transferred to a Soviet base near Iraq, where they "escaped" and then rejoined U.S. forces in Iraq.
There are also some interesting typos. One example is calling members of the Japanese Navy "troops" instead of sailors.
In a photograph on page 254, the caption states Italian Count Ciano is sitting to the left of Hitler. When it fact he is to Hitler's right. Another photograph on page 132 identifies British General Montgomery as being on the left. Actually, he is on the right.
Normally, I wouldn't have read this book, but the author didn't select the most important people, or even the greatest, but instead chose the most influential figures. And that intrigued me. In his introduction, he admits his choices will be contested, but he will "defend to the death the choice of the top-ranking eight individuals." And he states people will be surprised as to whom he picked for #1. I was too. But I have to admit he had a good reason for doing so.
At the end of the book, which was published in 2002, the author also lists Honorable Mentions. But he also list a number of Dishonorable Mentions. One such person was Iva Toguri D'Aquino. Initially identified as a "Toyko Rose," post war investigators released her for lack of evidence. In fact, this American citizen risked her life providing food to captured U.S. prisoners. But in 1949, overeager journalists decided she was a good story. Arrested by the FBI on evidence which was later proven to be false, she spent six years of a ten-year term in prison. She was released when government officials reviewed her case. She received a full pardon in 1977. The Dishonorable Mention really belongs to the author for continuing to slander her.
If this book has any value, it is for someone new to World War II history. Hopefully, some of the stories in this book will grab their attention and they will then read more deeply into the history of those individuals. Readers of World War II history might also read it to review the author's perspective on the individuals he lists. And finally, I have to admit learning some things I didn't know before reading this book.


Author:
Genres: Romance, Christian Books & Bibles
Book Type: Mass Market Paperback


My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Suspenseful and fun middle-grade adventure where young supernatural sleuths investigate the disappearance of some of their monster neighbors.
Elvira Vance and the Monster Mystery by Kacy Ritter is a fun and exciting paranormal middle-school novel about a team of young investigators looking into the disappearance of a number of monsters from their community right before the annual Marfa Monster Festival, the biggest event of the year. Half-siren Elvira Vance is the daughter of the owners of Vince Vance's Vintage Trailer Park Inn for Monsters and a budding detective. When some of her monster neighbors begin to go missing, she and her two best friends, Mari, a chupacabra, and Emilio, a human and photography enthusiast, jump at the chance to investigate, especially when the official detective, a human from the local town of Marfa, Texas, shows up to take over the case.
In the years since monsters of all kinds came out into the open, there had been an uneasy truce between them and the humans. However, the local mayor, Guff McCoy, had been doing his level best to stir up fear and hate in the human community. With tensions between the species about to boil over, and finders from both camps pointing at the other, Elvira, Mari, and Emilio know they must get to the bottom of the disappearances before things explode.What a delightful children's/middle-grade story of monsters and mystery, unknowns and underdogs! Elvira is a confident character, certain that she and her team can crack the case before the adult human can, and they do uncover clues that Detective Ace Price has no way of obtaining. I enjoyed the trio's investigations and their questioning of a variety of mythical beings in the process. While Elvira, Mari, and Emilio frequently disobey their parents, they seem to generally believe they have no choice and accept their punishments, when caught, without complaining. However, they readily continue to break those same rules without ever fully explaining what they're involved in with their parents, and perhaps avoiding some of their problems. As they gather their clues and build their case, twists in the plot rule out a couple of major suspects. The eventual reveal is a surprise, and the action leading up to the resolution is shocking and exciting.
I recommend ELVIRA VANCE AND THE MONSTER MYSTERY to readers of middle-grade paranormal fiction, action, and adventure. However, not only will middle-grade readers enjoy the adventure, but the book will also work well as a read-aloud selection for younger children.I voluntarily reviewed this after receiving an Advance Review Copy through Toppling Stacks Tours.


Author:
Genres: Mystery, Thriller & Suspense, Romance, Science Fiction & Fantasy
Book Type: Hardcover
Positives first. The book is well plotted and well written. The twists and timing are about right to hold you in the story. The main plot points were well researched and there were no glaring anachronism that I caught as far as technology or living conditions.
Negatives:
The characters are cardboard cut outs. Good people are always good. Bad people are always bad. No one has doubt, self-doubt or disagrees with the way the investigation is handled. Everyone's foibles contribute to the plot. There is a new kid in the house with a traumatic background and a little understandable dysfunction. The family and the kid both adjust with just a few murmured curses between the teens.
A big thing that is irritating is the anachronism of thought. Penrose makes the common mistake of assuming her own cultural narrative. She then forces her early 19th century characters into it. The men of the early 1800s weren't all ogres that locked their women in the house and went out and had adventures or did business. In the early 19th century both men and women believed that men and women had different kinds of brains, that an honorable man would protect and provide for his woman because she was smaller, and that a decent woman would honor her man. A woman's honor was in the children she produced. We may find these ideas odd and patronizing, but they were universally believed at the time. Generally, intelligent women invested themselves in the education of their children, managed a large household staff, planned for the care of everyone in the household including family, related dependents, and servants, helped with childbirth in the household including of servants, and kept her man together, well dressed and on time. She did not see these tasks as demeaning, but invested her whole self into them because everyone knew that the success of the family was largely due to the background activities of the mother. There were well read women in this period and lady mathematicians. In most cases this was an interest, but their vocation was at home. Both men and women were expected to think more of the needs of their spouse and children than of their own. A man who encouraged his wife to work was not seen as progressive, rather he was seen as negligent even abusive. It is true that the upper classes such as Earls could and often did have unconventional families, but they had them within the cultural narrative. If ones wife wanted to be a 21st century woman, a 19th century husband would believe he had failed in making her feel safe and loved and feel great guilt because of it.
#Kensingstonbooks #AndreaPenrose #Goodreadsgiveaways




Author:
Genres: History, Science & Math, Medical Books
Book Type: Hardcover
But I also became interested in diseases not vectored by insects, which also affected mankind's history, and did a lot of reading in that area too.
I already have a copy of this book in my library. If you are looking for a thrilling, novel-like story, this isn't the book for you. But if you are interested in how diseases affected history, this book is a good start.
Reviews 1 to 25 of 157 |
Show
results per page.
|
Page: |