Lori Duff Writes
A Solitary Romance: Book 1 in the Only Love Series Disclaimer: The good folks at Books and the Bear gave me a copy of A Solitary Romance in exchange for an honest review. A Solitary Romance by Violet Sparks tells the story of Katrina Crimshaw, or “Kate,” a CPA and auditor who has a blog…
Someone Could Get Hurt: A Memoir of Twenty-First-Century Parenthood “Someone Could Get Hurt” by Drew Magary is a hilarious parenting memoir that is relatable and heartbreaking at the same time. I bought this book because I read Magary’s Hater’s Guide to the Williams-Sonoma Catalog, an annual snark-fest making fun of the Christmas catalog that, while…
Gol (Legends of Ansu) (Volume 1)by J.W. Webb The good folks at BookBear asked me to participate in the virtual book tour for “Gol” by J.W. Webb. “Gol” is a sweeping fantasy novel, the beginning of the Legends of Ansu series. I’m always skeptical when I start novels like this because, while some of them…
Thanks for the Trouble Thanks for the Trouble, by Tommy Wallach, is more proof of my theory that if you really want something interesting, compelling, thought provoking, and different you should look in the Young Adult section. In this book, the narrator, Parker, is a troubled kid who hasn’t spoken a word in five years.…
Supreme Courtship by Christopher Buckley All the best satire is just a little bit too true. I read Supreme Courtship years ago. Now that Justice Antonin Scalia has died unexpectedly and, as my friend Suzanne wisely said, threw a gooey chocolate cupcake on the anthill that is 2016 politics, this book has become increasingly relevant. The…
New York Night: The 7th Jack Nightingale Supernatural Thriller New York Night by Stephen Leather is a detective story, of sorts. Jack Nightingale is on loan from England to investigate mysterious killings in New York. The victims are mutilated and the crimes seem to be unrelated, but observant medical examiners have noticed that demonic sigils…
Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe, by Benjamin Alire Saenz (do not ask me how to pronounce his last name – sah-ENZ maybe? SAH-enz? Senz?) is one of the best books I’ve read in a long time, and I’ve read a lot of…
Carter & Lovecraft It’s no big secret that I’m a tremendous fan of Jonathan L. Howard’s writing. His Johannes Cabal series (click here for my review of one of the books, and here for a review of a short story – the only reason why I didn’t review gushingly each book and story in the series…
Skink–No Surrender Carl Hiaasen is a Florida boy, and he’s written about eighty million books for adults. They are all set in Miami and the Florida Keys, fun, quirky, adventurous, and usually have an environmental theme. His young adult books are equally good, and have won awards, rightfully so. Sink — No Surrender melds a recurring character…
Openly Straight In Openly Straight, a young adult book by Bill Konigsberg, Rafe, a Colorado teen, has been out of the closet since eighth grade. He doesn’t get much flak from his schoolmates for it, but he is known as “the gay kid” and this has repercussions socially. He’s athletic and reasonably smart, and…