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cmclarabee's reviews
627 reviews
The Killing of the Tinkers by Ken Bruen
5.0
This series is like nothing I’ve read before, and it’s SO good. Dark as pitch, with buckets full of cynicism, and I do mean the as a compliment!
The Hebrew Teacher by Maya Arad
5.0
Each of the three novellas in The Hebrew Teacher is fantastic and gut wrenching in its own right. The first is especially timely in terms of current events in Israel and the widespread generational clashes in how they are perceived. But motherhood and the struggles of living and raising children in a different country and culture from the one in which they grew up are the through lines here, and Arad depicts them in perceptive and subtle ways.,
Three Days in June by Anne Tyler
5.0
Nobody does a microcosmic character study like Anne Tyler. Three Days in June is a quiet book about a weekend in the lives of divorced Gail and Max and their adult daughter, Debbie, but it’s also so much more. Satisfying read.
The Guards by Ken Bruen
5.0
FAN-tastic! So glad I happened upon this series. Funny, intense, dark. I look forward to spending many more volumes with Jack Taylor.
My Family by David Baddiel
funny
medium-paced
3.5
Quite a bit TMI at times, but an enjoyable—and often hilarious—read overall.
Clear by Carys Davies
slow-paced
Clear has gotten rave reviews overall (The London Times and The Guardian are two notable exceptions) including from the friend who recommended it to me. Unfortunately, long before the slapdash ending, I started to dislike it intensely. I’m glad it was short and that I can move on now to something (hopefully) more up my alley.
Midnight at the Christmas Bookshop by Jenny Colgan
4.0
Lovely story; sweet as pie. Jenny Colgan has a sharp sense of humor and a modern sensibility though, and they make her books feel far from being just empty calories. After reading this and its predecessor, I’m also yearning to go back to Edinburgh, a city that’s just as enchanting as she makes it seem.
The Truth about the Devlins by Lisa Scottoline
3.0
My first time reading Scottoline. Couldn’t put it down, but also found the twists and turns a bit much. Still, she definitely got me invested in the characters, and I’m glad to now know about the shocking real-life legal case that anchors part of the story.
The Christmas Bookshop by Jenny Colgan
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.0
Jenny Colgan’d books never fail to delight me. It had been a while since I’d read one, and Carmen’s story definitely knocked me out of a reading funk and made me remember that Colgan is the author to turn to when I need a lift.