Book Review: Secrets of the Chocolate House (Found Things #2) by Paula Brackston
After I read the first book in Paula Brackston’s recent series, Found Things, I was super excited to read the next book. Called Secrets of the Chocolate House, I finished it in the midst of our current global pandemic crisis. Naturally, I wished for escapist reading....Book Review: Takes One to Know One by Susan Isaacs
Back in the day, Susan Isaacs was an auto-buy author for me. But that was literally decades ago. When I happened to read an excerpt of her 2019 book, Takes One to Know One, I thought it was time to give her writing another try. And this was an enjoyable, if not...Book Review: The Edge of Nowhere by C.H. Armstrong
Author C.H. Armstrong writes a compelling deep dive into Oklahoma’s Dust Bowl years in the early twentieth century. In The Edge of Nowhere, her main character is Victoria Hastings. And, my goodness, she does not lead an easy life. The book is a letter from Victoria to...Book Review: The Angel and the Assassin by Donna Jackson Nakazawa
Donna Jackson Nakazawa is a favorite nonfiction author of mine. Her book, The Autoimmune Epidemic was one of the first books I read after being diagnosed with Rheumatoid Arthritis 10 years ago. And I’ve devoured every one she’s written since. The Angel and the...Book Review: Full Throttle by Joe Hill
Joe Hill published his Full Throttle story collection just in time for the haunting season. And haunt me it did! Hill begins and ends with some lovely notes on his craft, growing up with Stephen King, and story inspirations. Everything between those two chapters is...Book Review: [Dis] Connected: Poems & Stories of Connection and Otherwise, Volume Two
Editor and publisher Michelle Halket showcases work from ten poets in [Dis]Connected: Poems & Stories of Connection and Otherwise Volume 2. Each of the ten poets submitted three poems, which are interspersed between short stories from the same writers. Halket...Book Review: When We Were Arabs by Massoud Hayoun
Massoud Hayoun combines two shorter books into one with his debut nonfiction, When We Were Arabs. It’s a family memoir, a political history, and a commentary. He uses his own family’s experience, primarily that of his maternal grandparents, to illustrate a wide...The Final Days of Magic by J. D. Horn (New Orleans Witches #3)
The Final Days of Magic is my last shot at the New Orleans Witches series. And I’ve discovered that none of the characters matter very much to me. Even if author J.D. Horn writes another book in the series, I won’t be following along. I’m disappointed to be leaving...Book Review: Woman 99 by Greer Macallister
Greer Macallister did it again. With Woman 99, she wrote another book I couldn’t stop listening to and reading. Macallister has a way with her portrayals of strong, but flawed, women. In Woman 99, she gives us several who fit that mold.Her chief protagonist is...Book Review: Pickle’s Progress by Marcia Butler
Pickle’s Progress is a quintessential modern New York City novel. In it, Marcia Butler gives us identical twin brothers and the women in their lives. But it’s much more dysfunctional and convoluted than that. Fundamentally, that’s a good thing. Butler’s taut...Book Review: The Paragon Hotel by Lyndsay Faye
In The Paragon Hotel, Lyndsay Faye brings us a character nicknamed Nobody. She’s actually Alice James, but is skilled at disappearing into the corner of a room or a street. She uses some disguise, but mostly changes voices and attitudes to blend in. It’s a skill she...Book Review: The Little Shop of Found Things by Paula Brackston (Found Things #1)
In the first of a new series from Paula Brackston, Xanthe Westlake and her mother Flora move to small town Marlborough to rebuild their lives. Flora bought the property and stock from a now-deceased fellow antiques dealer and retailer. He left the place in a pretty...Book Review: Promised Land by Martin Fletcher
Martin Fletcher, veteran Middle East reporter, crafts an historical fiction story set in 1960’s Israel. His main characters are brothers Arie and Peter Nesher, along with Tamara, a young refugee from Cairo. In truth, the brothers are refugees as well. Peter escaped...Book Review: Daughter of Moloka’i by Alan Brennert
Daughter of Moloka’i is the sequel to Moloka’i by Alan Brennert. And, unlike the first book, very little of it takes place on Moloka’i. I can’t discuss the plot without revealing at least one spoiler from the first book. So if you haven’t read Moloka’i, I’d suggest...Book Review: The Electric Woman by Tessa Fontaine
Tessa Fontaine runs away to join a circus sideshow after graduate school. It’s dream fulfillment, and a chance to escape the reality of her dramatically ill mother. While many daughters would refuse to leave their mother’s side, Fontaine has a more complicated...Purchase My Book
I will definitely recommend Kick Pain in the Kitchen to my patients: Those who are looking to avoid pharmaceutical treatment and those who want to combine western medicine with alternative therapies.
Jane A. Swartz
ARNP, MSN, Rheumatology Nurse Practitioner
Find Me on these Book-Related Sites
Recent Comments