Tag: book-reviews

• Book Review: We Don’t Talk About That by Amanda Schoepp

  We Don’t Talk About That is a soon to be published work of nonfiction written by Amanda Schoepp. It is part memoir, part biography, part diary, part psychological study, and part true crime story. It is about a very dark moment in 1963 in the DesHotel family of Louisiana, and that darkness dripped down and…

  michardillo

  August 5, 2026

  books

  Amanda Schoepp, ARC, biography, book-review, book-reviews, books, death, family, Kindle, Koehler Books, Louisiana, multigenerational, murder suicide, NetGalley, nonfiction, psychological study, reading, trauma, We Don’t Talk About That, writer, writing

• Book Review: The Oxford Guide to Scandal and Lies by Kate Westbury

  A lot of the recently published novels that I am reading, whether it is historical fiction, cozy mystery, or contemporary fiction, don’t seem to be particularly well-written. The Oxford Guide to Scandal and Lies (The Oxford Guide #1) by Kate Westbury is a paradox for me. It is well-written, but the plot and character connection…

  michardillo

  August 4, 2026

  books

  ARC, book-review, book-reviews, books, British, cozy mystery, death, England, English, fiction, Ginevra Bishop, Inspector Morse, Kate Westbury, Kindle, literature, Minotaur Books, mystery, NetGalley, novel, reading, Sidney Braithwaite, spy, St. Martin’s Press, The Oxford Guide to Scandal & Lies, writer, writing

• Book Review: The Mad Widows by Scott Moore

  I just finished The Mad Widows by Scott Moore last night and what a wild ride of a book! The whole time I was reading this book, I kept thinking, “It’s like I’m reading a screenplay!” I could actually picture what was going even if I couldn’t clearly put a face on any of the…

  michardillo

  July 25, 2026

  books

  ARC, Bad Moms, Bad Moms: The Novel, book-review, book-reviews, books, cozy mystery, death, debut novel, fiction, grief, grief counseling therapy, It’s Okay to Laugh (Crying is Okay Too), Jon Lucas, Kindle, literature, mystery, NetGalley, Nora McInerny, novel, reading, Scott Moore, Simon and Schuster, suicide, The Hangover, The Mad Widows, writer, writing

• Book Review: The Secret Thread by Eve Chase

  Last night I finished this newly published book, The Secret Thread by Eve Chase, and I will be thinking about it for a long time. The title is quite fitting as there is a thread running through this story, invisible at first, and as the story of Jo, Mimi, Woody, Pamela, and others unfolds, that…

  michardillo

  July 20, 2026

  books

  Afghan, ARC, auction, Ballantine Books, book-review, book-reviews, books, Britain, British, Buy Nothing, contemporary-fiction, crochet, Ebook, England, English, Eve Chase, family, fiction, Goodreads, granny square, Jo O’Mara, Kindle, literature, London, love, Margareta Magnusson, Marie Kondo, Mimi Mott, mystery, NetGalley, novel, reading, Scribner, Ten Speed Press, The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning, The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up, The Secret Thread, writing

• Book Review: Fancy Dogs by Tini Malina (author) and Tammi Reichel (translator)

  WHAT A CHARMING BOOK! I am a relatively newish dog lover, acquiring my very first dog in late 2011, but as with many things in my life, when I fall, I FALL HARD. I now know all the dogs in our neighborhood, dog-sit for friends (hi to my favorite Golden, Chubbs), pet random dogs whenever…

  michardillo

  July 15, 2026

  books

  ARC, book-review, book-reviews, books, children’s book, dog, Fancy Dogs, NetGalley, NorthSouth Books, picture book, reading, Tammi Reichel, terrier, Tini Malina, translator, writer, writing

• Book Review: The Three Graces of Pearl Street by Elizabeth Wellington Rollins

  I just finished this book last night and I am truly impressed that this is a debut novel. The Three Graces of Pearl Street by Elizabeth Wellington Rollins is soon to be published by Atria Books, an imprint of Simon and Schuster, which is one of the “Big Five” of publishing. The Big Five is…

  michardillo

  July 8, 2026

  books

  ARC, Atria Books, author, book-review, book-reviews, books, Catholic, Catholic Church, chicken cutlet, Columbia University, contemporary-fiction, cooking, debut novel, Elizabeth Wellington Rollins, family, fiction, food, food pantry, italian-american, Italy, lasagna, literature, Long Island Sound, Manhattan, NetGalley, novel, NYC, pizza slice, reading, teaching, The Three Graces of Pearl Street, type 1 diabetes, writer, writing

• Book Review: Go Gentle by Maria Semple

  First of all, thank you to Goodreads and the publisher, G. P. Putnam & Sons, for the hardback copy of this book, complete with the beautiful dust-jacket color photo of what appears to be the Venus de Milo, a stunning piece of art on display in the Louvre in Paris. Be careful, though, in this…

  michardillo

  June 26, 2026

  books

  book-review, book-reviews, books, coven, fiction, G.P. Putnam’s Sons, Goodreads, grief, literature, Little Brown and Company, mystery, novel, reading, Romance, Venus de Milo, Where’d You Go Bernadette

• Book Review: Let’s Not Go Overboard Here by Erica Hendry

  First of all, many thanks to NetGalley, Grand Central Publishing Hardcover, and Erica Hendry for the ARC of this book just recently published (June 2, 2026). While I loved receiving this ARC of a debut novel, I don’t think I am the target audience for Let’s No Go Overboard Here by Erica Hendry. This book…

  michardillo

  June 9, 2026

  books

  ARC, book-review, book-reviews, books, death, debut novel, Erica Hendry, fiction, Grand Central Publishing, grief, Let’s Not Go Overboard Here, literature, mystery, NetGalley, novel, reading, writing

• Book Review: Nadiya’s Everyday Baking by Nadiya Hussain

  Do you have a Buy Nothing group in your neighborhood? If you don’t know the answer to this question, head over to Facebook and search for it! Warning: participation in the Buy Nothing world can be quite addicting! About The Buy Nothing Project: The Buy Nothing Project, the world’s largest free-goods platform, is transforming how…

  michardillo

  May 21, 2026

  books, food

  BBC, BN Group, book-review, book-reviews, books, British, Buy Nothing Project, Clarkson Potter, collection, cookbook, cooking, cornbread dog, England, facebook, family, food, Nadiya Hussain, Nadiya’s Everyday Baking, paprika egg filo bake, reading, social media, soda bread, Spotted Dick, The Great British Bake Off, Time to Eat, writing

• Book Review: The Optimists by Brian Platzer

  I’ll begin this review of The Optimists by Brian Platzer with a quote from another reviewer on Goodreads: I’ll admit, when I finished this book I immediately went to Goodreads to look at some of the reviews, a few 5-star, a few 1-star, and then I turned to the 3-star reviews. Near the top I…

  michardillo

  May 15, 2026

  books

  animal cruelty, ARC, book-review, book-reviews, books, Brian Platzer, English, essays, fiction, Goodreads, literature, Little Brown and Company, middle school, NetGalley, novel, NYC, reading, teacher, teaching, The Optimists, writer, writing