Book Reviews 2017

January 2017

Leonardo’s Holy Child by Fred R. Kline – 4.5

Hillbilly Elegy by J.D. Vance – 4

The Valley by Brandon Daily – 4.5

Orphans of the Carnival by Carol Birch – 4.5

Beyond Derrynane by Kevin O’Connell – 4

The Past Life Perspective by Ann C. Barham – 4.5

Two Empresses by Brandy Purdy – 3

The Years That Followed by Catherine Dunne – 4

February

Gardening with Chickens by Lisa Steele

A Certain Age by Beatriz Williams – 3.5

The Fifth Petal by Brunonia Barry – 3.5

The Dressmaker’s Dowry by Meredith Jaegger – 4

The Life and Times of Persimmon Wilson by Nancy Peacock – 5

One Part Plant by Jessica Murnane – 5

The New Irish Table edited by Leslie Conron Carola – 5

March

Scarred by Michael K. Smith 4.5

Container Gardens from the Editors of Southern Living Magazine – 5

The Confessions of Young Nero by Margaret George – 4.5

A Piece of the World by Christina Baker Kline – 4

Sketching Character by Pamela Lynne – 4

Renegade’s Pride by BJ Daniels – 4

A Lady in Disguise by Sandra Byrd – 4.5

The Enemies of Versailles by Sally Christie – 4

Dishing Up the Dirt by Andrea Bemis – 4.5

A Ring of Truth by Michelle Cox – 4.5

April

Eggshells by Catriona Lally – 4.5

High Noon by Glenn Frankel – 5

The Women in the Castle by Jessica Shattuck – 4.5

To the Stars Through Difficulties by Romalyn Tilghman – 3.5

The Forbidden Garden by Ellen Herrick – 4

The Promise of Pierson Orchard by Kate Brandes – 4

The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah – 5

The Color of Our Sky by Amita Trasi – 4

Amish Community Cookbook – 4.5

Slightly South of Simple by Kristy Woodson Harvey – 4

The Varangian by Bruce MacBain – 4.5

May

No Man’s Land by Simon Tolkien – 4.5

The Essential Amish Cookbook – 4

Killers of the Flower Moon by David Grann – 5

The Illusionist’s Apprentice by Kristy Cambron – 4

Gumbo Love Cookbook by Lucy Buffett – 4.5

Murder in All Honour by Anne Cleeland – 4

Under the Approaching Dark by Anna Belfrage – 5

The Competition by Donna Russo Morin – 4.5

June

Scatterwood by Piers Alexander – 3.5

The Most Beautiful Woman in Florence by Alyssa Palombo – 4.5

The Summer House by Hannah McKinnon – 3.5

Fruit by Nancie McDermott – 4

The Gypsy Moth Summer by Julie Fierro – 3.5

Israel – God’s Heart – 4.5

Loveweaver by Tracy Ann Miller – 4

Dark Lady by Chalene Ball – 4

The Fortune Teller by Gwendolyn Womack – 4

July

Monticello by Sally Cabot Gunning – 4

A Twisted Vengeance by Candace Robb – 4

Artisanal Preserves by Madelaine Bulwinkel – 4

Betrayal at Iga by Susan Spann – 4.5

The Scribe of Siena by Melodie Winawer – 5

Secrets of the Tulip Sisters by Susan Mallery – 3.5

The Innkeeper’s Sister by Linda Goodnight – 4

The Writing Desk by Rachel Hauck – 4

August

Time’s a Thief by B.G. Firmani – 3.5

To Lay to Rest Our Ghosts by Caitlin Hamilton Summie – 4.5

The Library of Light and Shadow by M.J. Rose – 4.5

A Beautiful Poison by Lydia Kang – 4

The Girl with Kaleidoscope Eyes by David Handler – 4.5

The Barbary Mark by Anne Cleeland – 4

Casanova’s Secret Wife by Barbara Lynn-Davis – 4

The Talented Ribkins by Ladee Hubbard – 5

The Sworn Virgin by Kristopher Dukes – 3.5

Blood Moon by Ruth Hull Chatlien – 4.5

September

The Plague Diaries by Ronlyn Domingue – 5

The Mapmaker’s Daughter by Katherine Nouri Hughes – 3.5

The Long Way Home by Kevin Bannister – 4

Can It & Ferment It by Stephanie Thurlow – 5

When It’s Over by Barbara Ridley – 4.5

Slow Cooker Favorites: Chicken – 4.5

October

The Underground River by Martha Conway – 4

Wild Mountain by Nancy Kilgore – 4.5

Woman Enters Left by Jessica Brockmole – 4.5

Sorcery for Beginners by Matt Harry (YA) – 4

The Language of Trees by Steve Wiengenstein – 4

The Poke Cake Cookbook by Jamie Sherman – 4

Hanna Who Fell From the Sky by Christopher Meades – 4

The Crows of Beara by Julie Christine Johnson – 4.5

Houseplants by Lisa Eldred Steinkopf – 5

Cake, I Love You by Jill O’Connor – 5

November

The It Girls by Karen Harper – 3

A Sea of Sorrow: A Novel of Odysseus – 4.5

Soulful Baker by Julie Jones – 5

The Flexible Vegetarian by Jo Pratt – 4.5

Hiddensee by Gregory Maguire – 4.5

Compromise with Sin by Leanna Englert – 4

The Silent Fountain by Victoria Fox – 4

Disrobed by Syl Tang – 4

The Paris Secret by Karen Swan – 4.5

Murder in Shadow by Anne Cleeland – 4.5

The Austen Escape by Katherine Reay – 4

December

Success with Succulents – 5

The Orphan of Florence by Jeanne Kalogridis – 3.5

There is Always Tomorrow by Anna Belfrage – 4.5

Cloud: Wild Stallion of the Rockies by Ginger Kathrens – 5

Admissions by Henry Marsh – 3.5

The Perfect Cookie by America’s Test Kitchen – 5

The House on the Forgotten Coast by Ruth Coe Chambers – 4

The Keeper of Lost Things by Ruth Hogan – 5

Beautiful Bundts by Julie Anne Hession – 4.5