Henry Hawkins is an LA filmmaker in Rome to shoot a documentary on the Vatican. After the recent passing of his wife and daughter, he is looking for answers in the Catholic Church. Frustrated that he is repeatedly denied access to the Holy City, he disguises as a priest and ends up being hired as the secretary of the powerful Cardinal Contini, Secretary of State to Vatican City and head…
Category: Review
James Dashner
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The Maze Runner by James Dashner
16-year-old Thomas wakes up in a dark elevator, and the only thing he remembers is his first name. When the doors open, a group of boys is staring at him, but they refuse to give him any information on where they are. Eventually, Thomas finds out that they live in the Glade, at the center of a maze. Some of the boys have been there for up to 2 years,…
Alex Sheshunoff
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A Beginner’s Guide to Paradise by Alex Sheshunoff
Alex Sheshunoff is in his late 20s and the owner of an internet company in New York when a panic attack makes him realize he is very unhappy with his life. His business is not going too well, he’s working too much, and an employee is threatening to sue. A few weeks later, he resigns from his job, dumps his girlfriend, sublets his apartment, and decides to go on a search…
Review
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The Sisters of Versailles by Sally Christie
The five Mailly-Nesle sisters lived in early 18th century France. After their mother passed away, the sisters were separated. Louise, the eldest had just gotten married and was a lady-in-waiting to the queen. Pauline and Diane had been sent to a convent, but they dreamt of living in Versailles. Hortense and Marie-Anne stayed with their aunt in a pious and quiet environment. Eventually, four of the five sisters would successively…
Natasha Preston
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Awake by Natasha Preston
Scarlett is a normal 16-year-old girl living in England and going to high school. Except she can’t remember the first four years of her life. All she knows is that there was a fire, and it seems to have erased all her memories of her early years. Now there’s a new boy in her class. His name is Noah, and he is gorgeous. He is immediately interested in Scarlett, and…
Annie Barrows
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The Truth According to Us by Annie Barrows
Willa Romeyn, a bright 12-year-old girl who loves reading, one day notices things are happening around her that she doesn’t fully understand. She decides she needs to pay more attention and starts watching and listening more closely, but this seems to raise more questions than answers: Why is her father, Felix, disappearing days at a time without explanation? Why did her mother, Sylvia, abandon them several years ago? Why is…
Ellen Hopkins
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Love Lies Beneath by Ellen Hopkins
Tara lives in San Francisco and is a wealthy 40-year-old confident woman who has been married 3 times but has never been in love. While on vacation in Tahoe with her sister, Melody, she has a skiing accident and ends up in the hospital where she meets handsome Dr. Cavin Lattimore. They start going out, and everything seems to be going great until Tara meets Cavin’s son, Eli. The father-son relationship…
Helen Fielding
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Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy by Helen Fielding
Bridget Jones is back and single again! Her husband, Mark Darcy, passed away 5 years earlier, and she is raising their two children alone in London. As a single mom, Bridget has to deal with vomit, head lice, and other kid-related catastrophes, as well as with new technologies such as texting, Twitter and online dating. Life is hard, but she keeps “buggering on”. When she meets a hot younger man, she…
Michael Schmicker
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The Witch of Napoli by Michael Schmicker
Tomaso Labella is a young photographer working for a local paper in Naples, Italy, when he takes a picture that makes his career: Alessandra Poverelli levitating a table during a private seance. For almost 20 years, Tomaso follows the medium as she travels around Europe while scientists study her. One man in particular is interested in Alessandra’s unusual abilities: Dr. Camillo Lombardi, a professor in abnormal psychiatry at the University of…
Linda Kovic-Skow
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French Illusions: From Tours to Paris by Linda Kovic-Skow
Back in October 2014, I wrote a review of French Illusions by Linda Kovic-Skow. The memoir related Linda’s disastrous experience as an au-pair in the Loire Valley. Now the author is back with a sequel. French Illusions: From Tours to Paris starts right where the first book ended and tells the author’s adventures as a student in France. Linda still dreams of becoming a flight attendant and is determined to learn French. All she…