Book Reviews and a Little More…
It’s been a loooooooong time since I posted anything conversational on this here blog. In fact, the last time I posted anything that wasn’t a review or Read-a-Thon related was the end of March. Oy. I’ve been in a little bit of a funk. Winter and spring are surprisingly hard for me, the past few years. I get stuck in routines (ruts, even), and the
Read moreRayne can’t wait to start her summer job at a remote country mansion, far from the crowded, noisy London she so desperately wants to escape. But the retreat soon turns into a nightmare — the mansion is creepy, the legends of ghosts keep Rayne up at night, and she doesn’t feel safe anywhere.
Can Rayne figure out why she’s so freaked — before she becomes a ghost story herself?
Read moreLove in the time of the Tiananmen Square.
Anna never imagined living in such a foreign place. Fresh out of high school, she has joined her father, who works in Shanghai. She’s eager to see China beyond the bicycle-crowded streets between their apartment, her father’s expatriate community and the art school she’s attending. That’s why she’s thrilled when her father hires a cute local — a fellow student named Chenxi — to be her translator and guide.
Too bad Anna seems nothing but trouble for Chenxi. His ideas about art already rankle the authorities, and he could do without the added attention of being with a wai guo ren — a foreigner. Even so, he is intrigued by Anna’s brashness and the freedoms she takes for granted. But when Anna turns their friendship toward passion, her actions have consequences that are intensified by a watchful regime looking to get rid of disruptive artists.
Set around the time of the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre and inspired by the author’s time spent in China as a teenager, Chenxi and the Foreigner crackles with emotion, ideas and authenticity.
Read moreV.I.’s battleaxe Aunt Rosa is under investigation by the FBI and SEC after counterfeit stock certificates were found at St. Albert’s Priory, where she serves as treasurer. As malicious as her aunt is, V.I. knows she’s not dishonest, so V.I. vows to protect her from taking the fall. But V.I. starts questioning the strength of her family ties when a menacing voice on the phone threatens to throw acid into her eyes if she doesn’t butt out. The stakes are high as she begins to sniff out a connection between Chicago’s most powerful institutions: the Church and the Mob.
Read more