Growing up, Kathleen Kent heard stories about her ancestors, the Carrier family, and the lives they led. She knew of the nineteen men and women who were executed because they were found guilty of being witches during the Salem Witch Trials. She came to understood these men and women were not witches, but unfortunate victims […]

I picked this paperback up at my local big mart on a blind whim.  I needed a romance fix and thought I had low enough expectations to put up with about anything.  It is titled, Simply Magic, which reeks of cheese, and there’s already at least one out there by Balogh called Simply Love.  So […]

An author will often use a quest as a catalyst for the protagonist to realize something significant about him/herself. The result of a quest almost always combines the satisfactory completion of the journey’s goals and an increased self-awareness for the protagonist.  In adult literature, the quest can be as subtle as driving back to one’s […]

Every once in a while, I run across a book I can’t decide if I enjoyed or not.  When this happens, this indecision is because I ask myself this question - “If I didn’t enjoy it, what are the reasons?”  The answer to this question has rarely been the same for any two books.  However, […]

Stories of redemption and human survival fascinate me to the nth degree. I enjoy stories of great epiphanies which lead to inner turmoil and a change in ideologies and one’s faith in humanity.  I love stories about the search for the truth and how that truth changes someone’s sense of self.
Child 44 by Tom Rob […]

The Monster of Florence is a true story about a series of murders that took place in Florence and the subsequent investigation process over several decades. At first glance, this book appears to be a gruesome tale of ritual murders of fourteen couples, including the mutilation of the female victim.  Upon completion, its more about […]

  Its summer time and the last thing most kids want to do is sit around and read.  Did you know, though, that summer reading programs were originally started in the 1890s to encourage children to develop a habit of reading on a regular basis?  According to the American Library Association, numerous studies have shown […]