Book Reviews

Book Review: The Devil in Pew Number Seven

September 5, 2010

It is a rare event, to be sure. Usually, my review of the book I am reading is already coming together in my mind as I read, because I react to certain passages in a particular manner and am obviously aware of whether my reading experience is an enjoyable one. But there have been a […]

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Book Review: Leaving Before It’s Over

September 2, 2010

In her latest book, Leaving Before It’s Over, Jean Reynolds Page explores the true meaning of “family.” Is a family defined by genetic components and shared DNA? Or is a family about community? Can a family be forged from love by people who share a common, painful background and, at least on the surface, absolutely […]

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Book Review: Love Finds You in Victory Heights, Washington

August 28, 2010

During World War II, women played an integral role in the fight for freedom, not on the battlefields where their fathers, brothers, husbands, sweethearts, et al. were fighting, but back at home. Women left their roles as wives and homemakers, and took jobs that directly supported the war effort. In Seattle, the Boeing Plant 2 […]

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Book Tour: The Devil In Pew Number Seven

August 26, 2010

It is time for a FIRST Wild Card Tour! If you wish to join the FIRST blog alliance, click the button. We are a group of reviewers who tour Christian books. A Wild Card post includes a brief biography of the author and a full chapter from each book toured. The reason it is called […]

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Book Review and Two Giveaways: Licensed for Trouble

August 25, 2010

Susan May Warren’s third and final installment in her series about wanna-be private investigator P.J. Sugar, Licensed for Trouble, stands on its own. Even if you have not read the first two volumes, Nothing But Trouble and Double Trouble, you will find it hard to put down once you start reading. But die-hard P.J. Sugar […]

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Book Review: Escapades of Romantically Challenged Me

August 25, 2010

It takes a really funny book to get me to laugh out loud — actually guffaw and even snort a couple of times — when I’m sitting on my patio, enjoying a cool evening breeze wafting in from the Delta through my oak trees, sipping a glass of fine Lodi wine as I read. But that’s […]

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Book Review: Paula Deen’s Savannah Style

August 18, 2010

Paula Deen’s life story is a classic American tale of unprecedented success earned after years of struggling against adversity. A Georgia native, in just over twenty years she has parlayed a $200 investment and a few modest dreams into a multi-national empire that produces hit television shows (she has four running on the Food Network […]

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Book Review and Giveaway: Healing with Words — A Writer’s Cancer Journey

August 16, 2010

When the opportunity to read and review Healing with Words — A Writer’s Cancer Journey arose, one of my best friends had just been diagnosed with breast cancer. Since meeting her in 1977, she has been one of the people in my life who has always stood by me, offering unconditional love and support, as […]

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Book Review: With Friends Like These

August 11, 2010

How important to you are your long-time friendships? How well do you think you know your friends? Are you sure that you know just what kinds of behavior your friends are capable of? Do you trust them? Are you sure that they have your best interests at heart? How well do you know yourself? How willing […]

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Book Review: The Perfect Family

August 2, 2010

What do you do when the life you have so carefully constructed begins to fall apart? How do you react when you learn that the future you envisioned for yourself and your loved ones is not going to materialize? How do you respond when your children’s expectations for their lives are not in alignment with […]

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Book Review and Winner: Good-Bye to All That

July 26, 2010

Do you ever see celebrities on the red carpet at premieres and other events, and wonder about the people who work behind the scenes to create those photo opportunities? Do you ever consider the advertisements you see for movies and television shows: Who conceptualizes them? Who executes the creative ideas? Why do the marketing campaigns […]

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Book Review: Tattoos on the Heart

July 22, 2010

A homily is defined as “a sermon, especially one intended to edify a congregation on a practical matter and not intended to be a theological discourse” or “a sermon that is usually on a Biblical topic and usually of a nondoctrinal nature.” Tattoos on the Heart: The Power of Boundless Compassion is a homily, delivered […]

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Book Review: Fly Away Home

July 12, 2010

We have all watched them on newscasts, after which their wardrobe choices, hair, makeup, and every movement — how many times did the camera catch a grimace or flinch of discomfort or revulsion? — have been dissected by the various commentators and their guest body language experts. We have wondered how they could bear to […]

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Book Review: Beachcombers

July 7, 2010

Four women. Each at a crossroads in her life. Each unsure what her future will be like, aside from the fact that it will bear no resemblance to her recent past. One beautiful summer on Nantucket island leads to personal discoveries, revelations, growth … transformations. Sound like the theme of a perfect summer novel? Indeed […]

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Book Review: Seven Year Switch

July 6, 2010

Summer arrived in Northern California uncharacteristically late this year. Normally, the temperature soars past 100 degrees by Memorial Day, and by the time we “ooh” and “aah” over the Fourth of July fireworks display, we have enjoyed a number of days lounging on the beach or by the pool, leisurely reading an engrossing novel … […]

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Book Review: Scars and Stilettos

June 23, 2010

Trapped. Without options. Lacking self-empowerment. Enslaved by addiction. Have you ever found yourself in those or similar circumstances? Many people have, at one time in their lives or another, in varying degrees. Harmony Dust did. What makes Harmony’s story fascinating is how she came to recognize the situations and people in her life who were […]

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Book Review: Between Husbands and Friends

June 20, 2010

Having never heard of Nancy Thayer or read any of her books, I was excited by the opportunity to read and review her upcoming novel, Beachcombers. However, before I received my advance review copy of that book, I decided to read some of her older work, beginning with Between Husbands and Friends, originally published in 1999. […]

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Book Review and Giveaway: This One is Mine

June 7, 2010

My last two trips to New York City have been marked by very good luck. Both in March 2007 and this past April, I was blessed to be part of musical ensembles invited to perform at Carnegie Hall. During both of my stays, I was able to see a few Broadway shows and the timing […]

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Book Review: Think for Yourself

June 2, 2010

David Charles, a first-time author, describes Think for Yourself: The Importance of Maintaining Individuality and Freedom of Thought as a “personalized look into today’s growing global society” and succinct discussion of “the necessity of maintaining clear and enlightened thinking on a variety of key subject matter.” His thesis is straight-forward: The “information age” provides myriad […]

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Book Review: The Season of Second Chances

May 23, 2010

When my boys were younger, they referred to it as a “do-over” — an opportunity to give something another try with the hope of achieving a better outcome. I usually heard the term during an argument about a game they were playing together. One of them — or one of their friends — would be […]

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Book Review: Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister

May 15, 2010

I cannot remember where I was or what I was doing when I first heard about Wicked, Gregory Maguire’s best-known novel. But I vividly recall my reaction: I realized that I, like most children, had always just accepted the characters in The Wizard of Oz as they were. By that moment, I’m sure I had […]

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Book Review: Walk Like You Have Somewhere to Go

May 7, 2010

Lucille O’Neal is a few years older than me, but we are contemporaries — Baby Boomers who grew up during the turbulent 1960’s, she on the East Coast, while I am, for all intents and purposes, a native Californian. (My parents moved from South Dakota to Lodi when I was just six months old.) Like […]

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Book Review: Suzanne’s Diary for Nicholas

May 5, 2010

Sometimes it’s fun to just spend the day reading. So I did that recently on a perfect spring day. There was a light breeze, it was about 75 degrees outside, and I opened up all of the doors and windows to give the house a good, old-fashioned spring airing-out. I made a pot of coffee, […]

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Book Review: Keeping Faith

May 1, 2010

I did not want to close the book and put it back into my bag. But I had no choice: The plane was landing at JFK and, along with my two sons, I was about to embark on a five-day adventure in New York City — that included a performance at Carnegie Hall — for […]

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Book Review: The Memory Keeper’s Daughter

April 24, 2010

Secrets. We all have our own or keep others’ — in varying degrees of significance. Secrets impact relationships through the omission of truth or outright lies. Sometimes they enhance relationships. Sometimes they destroy not just relationships, but entire lives. Author Kim Edwards describes the books’ premise this way: “The Memory Keeper’s Daughter opens with a […]

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← Previous Entries

Upcoming Events
- September 8, 2010
  Book Tour, Review & Giveaway: Hothouse Flower and the Nine Plants of Desire by Margot Berwin
- Coming in September:
- September 15, 2010 ~ Book Tour & Review: Secrets on Lake Drive
- September 19, 2010 ~ The Book Review Blog Carnival makes a stop here at Colloquium! Click here to submit a review by September 18, 2010!
- September 22, 2010:
  Colloquium welcomes back author Margo Candela with a very special guest post and your last chance to win a free copy of Los Angeles Magazine's pick for Best Beach Read, Good-Bye to All That!
- September 27, 2010 ~ Book Tour & Review: Stay
- October 2, 2010:
  Colloquium welcomes back author Diana Raab with another chance to win a free copy of Healing with Words: A Writer's Cancer Journey!
- October 12, 2010 ~ Book Tour & Review: The Next Queen of Heaven by Gregory Maguire (Author of Wicked)
- October 25, 2010 ~ Book Tour & Review: The Mermaid's Pendant
- November 8, 2010 ~ Book Tour & Review: Wishin' and Hopin' by Wally Lamb
- December 8, 2010 ~ Book Tour & Review: The Talismans by Sybil Baker
Available for Reviews
If you would like me to review your book, send an email to admin at jhsiess dot com.