Tag: book-reviews

• Book Review: Murder Will Out by Jennifer K. Breedlove

  

  Murder Will Out by Jennifer K. Breedlove (St. Martin’s Press/Minotaur Books, February 17, 2026) is described by the publisher as a “lighter, modern gothic mystery,” and I think that is pretty accurate. I only recently discovered that I like a touch of magical realism mixed in with my mysteries, thanks to Evie Woods’ books, The…

  michardillo

  December 1, 2025

  books

  book-review, book-reviews, books, contemporary-fiction, crime fiction, debut novel, diverse characters, Downeast, Elizabeth Strout, Evie Woods, fiction, gothic, inclusive, Jennifer Breedlove, Kindle, LGBTQ+, literature, Little North Island Mysteries, Loyola University of Chicago, magical realism, Maine, Minotaur Books, murder mystery, music, musician, mystery, NetGalley, novel, organist, reading, St. Martin’s Press, The Gilded Age, The Lost Bookshop, The Mysterious Bakery on Rue de Paris, writing

• Book Review: Awake: A Memoir by Jen Hatmaker

  First, thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to read this memoir (via audiobook) which was published by Macmillan in September of this year. Awake: A Memoir by Jen Hatmaker explains a lot. Some time ago I was aware via social media that something was going on with her, there was an ominous post on…

  michardillo

  November 20, 2025

  books

  audiobook, autobiography, Awake: A Memoir, book-review, book-reviews, books, divorce, Jen Hatmaker, Macmillan, marriage, memoir, NetGalley, nonfiction, reading, single mother, writing

• Book Review: The Impossible Fortune by Richard Osman

  It’s been a long time coming, with the debut work of a new series and a movie based upon Book 1 of a previous series, but Richard Osman has struck gold again with the four senior citizens who spar, spy, solve, and celebrate justice in The Impossible Fortune Book 5 of the Thursday Murder Club…

  michardillo

  October 21, 2025

  books

  book-review, book-reviews, books, British, Chris Columbus, debut novel, England, English, family, fiction, Kate Messner, literature, mystery, novel, Pamela Dorman Books, reading, Richard Osman, Silver Jaguar Society Mysteries, The Bullet That Missed, The Impossible Fortune, The Last Devil to Die, The Thursday Murder Club, We Solve Murders, writing

• Book Review: Atmosphere by Taylor Jenkins Reid

  Recently published by Ballantine Books in June of 2025, Atmosphere by Taylor Jenkins Reid, her ninth novel, is supposedly unlike her previous works, which include her big hits The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, Daisy Jones & the Six, Malibu Rising, and Carrie Soto Is Back. Her lesser known earlier novels include Forever, Interrupted; After I Do; Maybe In…

  michardillo

  October 14, 2025

  books

  astronauts, Atmosphere, Ballantine Books, book-review, book-reviews, books, Carrie Soto is Back, Challenger, Daisy Jones and the Six, fiction, Kindle, Libby, literature, NASA, novel, public library, reading, space, space program, space shuttle, Taylor Jenkins Reid, The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo

• Book Review: The Accidental Rewrite by Milly Johnson

  First of all, since this was an offering on NetGalley I assumed this was a brand new, yet to be published book, perhaps by a debut author. Silly me, wrong on all accounts. The Accidental Rewrite was first published in February of 2024 in the UK under the title The Happiest Ever After. And, Milly…

  michardillo

  September 12, 2025

  books

  ARC, author, BBC, book-review, book-reviews, books, Britain, British, cat, debut novel, England, fiction, Fredrik Backman, Goodreads, Harper Muse, literature, Milly Johnson, My Friends, NetGalley, novel, PBS, publishing, reading, The Accidental Rewrite, The Daily Trumpet, The Happiest Ever After, UK, writer, writing, Yorkshire Cat Rescue

• Book Review: What Does It Feel Like? by Sophie Kinsella

  First of all, thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for the ARC ebook of this new book by Sophie Kinsella, which is due to be published on October 8, 2024. Secondly, please please please take note that this new book is a work of fiction, but Kinsella herself stated that it is…

  michardillo

  September 10, 2024

  books

  book-review, book-reviews, books, brain tumor, cancer, fiction, humor, NetGalley, novella, Random House, Sophie Kinsella, What Does It Feel Like?

• Book Review: Within Arm’s Reach by Ann Napolitano

  In January this year Madison Dettlinger at Penguin Random House offered me an ARC of the reissued first novel of Ann Napolitano, Within Arm’s Reach. I was teaching and mentoring a new teacher at the time, and subsequently, my reading life was derailed. With apologies for the lateness of this review, thank you to Madison…

  michardillo

  June 10, 2024

  books, Essay

  Ann Napolitano, book-review, book-reviews, books, Dear Edward, debut, fiction, hello-beautiful, irish-american, italian-american, novel

• Book Review: The Kamogawa Food Detectives by Hisashi Kashiwai, translated by Jesse Kirkwood

  If you know me at all, you will know that Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout changed me, as a reader, as a writer, and as a person. Olive Kitteridge was the first book I read that looked like a novel, but was instead a series of short stories that were woven together such that it…

  michardillo

  May 1, 2024

  books, Essay, food

  book-review, book-reviews, books, chopsticks, detectives, Elizabeth Strout, fiction, food, Hisashi Kashiwai, Japan, Japanese food, Jesse Kirkwood, mysteries, novel, Olive Kitteridge, reading, short stories, writing