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Tica N. (purveyoroffinebooks) - Reviews

1 to 12 of 12
The Alphabet Sisters
The Alphabet Sisters
Author: Monica McInerney
Book Type: Paperback
  • Currently 3.7/5 Stars.
 96
Review Date: 6/7/2009


I loved this book at the beginning and even up to 2/3 of the way through - witty dialogue, some very funny lines, great characters.
Then the writer threw in a totally unnecessary ***** crisis (I don't want to give away the nature of the crisis) - I skimmed page after page, waiting for the story to pick up again. "You'll laugh, you'll cry" except that I didn't cry.


Case Histories (Jackson Brodie, Bk 1)
Case Histories (Jackson Brodie, Bk 1)
Author: Kate Atkinson
Book Type: Paperback
  • Currently 3.6/5 Stars.
 566
Review Date: 1/21/2013


A promising book with a weak and implausible resolution. If you are going to pull your readers along, then don't insult them with a "What the hey?" answer to Whodunit.


Dead Romantic
Dead Romantic
Author: Simon Brett
Book Type: Hardcover
  • Currently 4/5 Stars.
 2
Review Date: 1/8/2008


I tried to find this book for years! The story is very sneaky - draw you right in - and keeps you dangling until the very end - the best kind of mystery!


Echappe sur pointes (French)
Echappe sur pointes (French)
Author: Marie-Sophie Vermot
Book Type: Board book
  • Currently 3.5/5 Stars.
 1
Review Date: 11/9/2008


Mystery novel written for young adults. Contemporary themes. Good for brushing up on your French.


The Invisible Man (Tor Classics)
The Invisible Man (Tor Classics)
Author: H. G. Wells
Book Type: Paperback
  • Currently 3.1/5 Stars.
 19
Review Date: 1/8/2008
Helpful Score: 1


You have to read the classics - so say I. And this is one of the "modern classics" that you will fly through. Very readable - dark - if you don't know the answer, I won't give it away!


The Lacuna
The Lacuna
Author: Barbara Kingsolver
Book Type: Hardcover
  • Currently 3.5/5 Stars.
 143
Review Date: 3/11/2010
Helpful Score: 4


This was my first foray into Kingsolver's writing. Friends raved about the Poisonwood Bible, so we selected this for our fairly new book club. Only 3 of 7 members persevered through it. The leading chapters, in which Harrison Shephard is a young boy, seem endless. His youth in the household of Kahlo and Rivera, and later Trotsky, was interesting, but one starts to grasp that his role is that of (dull) observer to troubled times. Conversations in cars, by streams, on trips, contain lovely insights into the nature of art, but they just go on and on and on. She writes good dialogue and provides fascinating historical glimpses into the mindset of the McCarthy era, but a novel should be more than a walk down the lanes of yesteryear. Yawn. If this was edited down by 1/3, maybe I would recommend it.


A Man for All Seasons
A Man for All Seasons
Author: Robert Bolt
Book Type: Paperback
  • Currently 3.8/5 Stars.
 26
Review Date: 2/13/2008


I loved the 60's movie so much, that when I saw this in a bookstore, I wanted to read it and see if I would still be moved. I was!


The Monster in the Box (Chief Inspector Wexford, Bk 22)
The Monster in the Box (Chief Inspector Wexford, Bk 22)
Author: Ruth Rendell
Book Type: Paperback
  • Currently 3.3/5 Stars.
 18
Review Date: 2/5/2011


Too much hype doth disappointment make.
Gentle, slow tale. References to the way life used to be, especially in England, were enjoyable, as Wexford remembers days when people did not become media stars via crimes. Also, nice observations. But no grand pay-off for the reader, just a slow denouement.


The Other Boleyn Girl
The Other Boleyn Girl
Author: Philippa Gregory
Book Type: Paperback
  • Currently 4.1/5 Stars.
 2798
Review Date: 1/8/2008
Helpful Score: 1


I couldn't stop reading this book! Who doesn't know the story of Anne Boleyn? And yet, with the period details, delicious dialogue, and perfect depiction of the gorgeous, ambitious, and doomed Anne, as seen through the eyes of her sister Mary (who was indeed a real person)- who can resist? I'm so glad I've discovered Philippa Gregory.


Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures
Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures
Author: Mary Baker Eddy
Book Type: Unknown Binding
  • Currently 3.5/5 Stars.
 3
Review Date: 3/28/2011
Helpful Score: 2


This astounding book will change your life. It answers questions about how God loves us and affirms that God is not an angry potentate, but a gentle, strong, loving Parent. It has healed thousands (as authenticated in the book).
It will make you look differently at the world around you. Many people reading it, have said - "I felt this in my heart my whole life! And now, the book gives breath to it."
I honestly feel that if everyone read this book and lived it, we would see the earth be transformed into a haven of peace, health, and joy.


The White Tiger
The White Tiger
Author: Aravind Adiga
Book Type: Paperback
  • Currently 3.7/5 Stars.
 243
Review Date: 8/15/2010


If you can, get a copy of the audio version of this book. Listening to the amazing actor John Lee pull off a thoroughly convincing (East?) Indian accent, will have you spell-bound, entertained, and amused. There is some language not appropriate for children (and much subject matter) so don't expect to listen to it while you wash up in the kitchen if you have youngsters around. Highly original and an eye-opener.


The Woman In The Fifth
The Woman In The Fifth
Book Type: Paperback
  • Currently 3/5 Stars.
 1
Review Date: 3/7/2015


Such a compelling build-up - I was so looking forward to how it would all be explained. The "twist" was a real let-down. It felt like the writer took an easy way out.


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