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Review: All the Quiet Places, by Brian Thomas Isaace

All the Quiet Places by Brian Thomas Isaac My rating: 2 of 5 stars Brian Thomas Isaac’s debut novel comes with a long list of awards and almosts: Finalist for the Governor General’s Literary Award for Fiction Longlisted for the 2022 Scotiabank Giller Prize A National Bestseller Winner of the 2022 Indigenous Voices Awards’ Published Prose in English Prize Shortlisted for the 2022 Amazon Canada First Novel Award Longlisted for CBC Canada Reads 2022 An…

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21
Dec 2022
By Lorina StephensReviewsComments Off on Review: All the Quiet Places, by Brian Thomas Isaace

Review: The Henna Artist, by Alka Joshi

The Henna Artist by Alka Joshi My rating: 3 of 5 stars Joshi creates an interesting story about a young woman’s struggle to find a place in the restrictive and classist society of India. The author deals sensitively, and in the end devastingly, with herbal preventative contraception tisanes, the moral and societal landmines which explode in the heroine’s life, and the destruction of her livelihood which had been primarily as a henna artist of great…

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19
Dec 2022
By Lorina StephensReviewsComments Off on Review: The Henna Artist, by Alka Joshi

Review: Temeraire Series, by Naomi Novik

His Majesty’s Dragon by Naomi Novik My rating: 5 of 5 stars Reader note: I’m reviewing the entire nine novels of the Temeraire series in this review. Such a surprise awaited when I flipped to the first page of His Majesty’s Dragon: Napoleonic naval adventures married seamlessly and believably to an aerial component via dragons. All disbelief suspended. Stunningly delightful. That surprise was further augmented by Novik’s impeccable research, the solidity of her character and…

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15
Dec 2022
By Lorina StephensReviewsComments Off on Review: Temeraire Series, by Naomi Novik

Review: Vikings: The North Atlantic Saga, by William W. Fitzhugh

Vikings: The North Atlantic Saga by William W. Fitzhugh My rating: 5 of 5 stars If you’re interested in all things Vikings, Fitzhugh’s book should be a staple in your library. Rich with photographs and impeccable research, this is where your research regarding the Vikings should start. An invaluable resource which is clearly written. View all my reviews

14
Dec 2022
By Lorina StephensReviewsComments Off on Review: Vikings: The North Atlantic Saga, by William W. Fitzhugh

Review: Last Song Before Night, by Ilana C. Myer

Last Song Before Night by Ilana C. Myer My rating: 3 of 5 stars While Last Song Before Night is a remarkable first novel for Ilana C. Myer, it is also one which, for me, doesn’t quite live up to what I believe is Myer’s full potential as a writer. The plot line is a good one, albeit not particularly new: old magic lost, a new menace, innocents led to suffering and slaughter, a reluctant…

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13
Dec 2022
By Lorina StephensReviewsComments Off on Review: Last Song Before Night, by Ilana C. Myer