I’ve been away It’s been a busy and long year, mostly having to do with two knee replacements, recovery, and regaining mobility and strength. Hence the reason I’ve been derelict in reviewing books, although I have been reading voraciously. I’m now setting to catching up, and here’s my first review since returning to the office. Only Time Will Tell, by Jeffrey Archer, a beige read Only Time Will Tell by Jeffrey Archer My rating: 3…
Another 5-star review has come in from LibraryThing Early Reviewers for The Rose Guardian. The Rose Guardian is the beautifully told story of an adult daughter still trying to get past the damage her now deceased mother had inflicted on her life. This is both a powerful and moving story that is told with sensitivity and heart. Masterfully crafted, this book is well worth reading. Highly recommended. Short but fabulous review. I couldn’t be happier. You…
The first Early Reviewer review is in through LibraryThing, and The Rose Guardian garnered 5 stars from a site which usually is very critical! Here’s the full review: This is a journey of relationships and relativity as told though the eyes of an artist (and authored by an artist of both color and words). It touches on the relationship of the mother to her children and how her pain attacks them, leaving them marked for life also….
Neustadt Library Writer in Residence Program I’m thrilled to announce I’ll be the Writer in Residence at the Neustadt Public Library in July. Whether you’re working on your memoirs, family history, that next great Canadian novel, or are struggling with clarity in your academic or business writing, I’ll be pleased to help and offer insight. Over 30 years of experience In 2008 I established my own publishing house, Five Rivers Publishing, in direct response to…
There is nothing new in the world except the history we do not know. Alchemy and Artifacts (Tesseracts Twenty-Two), edited by Lorina Stephens and Susan MacGregor, is a collection of twenty-three amazing stories based on historical artifacts combined with fantastic historical fiction. The stories meld culture, concept and incident into a rich collection of ‘what if’ speculations that provide warnings yet revel in the cultural celebrations we continue to observe today. They are the touchstones that…
Then She Was Gone, by Lisa Jewell, is a complete departure from my usual reading fare: thriller, whodunit, mental illness crime. Jewell offers up a perfect golden girl who suddenly goes missing at the age of 15, and the resulting fallout for her family, most particularly her mother. The novel is sketched with safe tropes and cardboard characters, known entities for lovers of this genre. Everyone is beautiful and brilliant except for the villains who are…
Seems I have spent a great deal of time reading during my knee replacement recovery, and a lot of it rather unsatisfactory. So, guess what, here comes another downer review from me, this time for Frances Itani’s Giller Finalist, Tell. I know, I know, another Giller novel. And we already know my antipathy for Gillers, which leads one to ask: Lorina, why do you keep doing this? I suppose I keep delving into Giller novels because…
It seems every time I pick up a novel associated with the Giller Prize, I am disappointed or frustrated, a response which likely has more to do with my own tastes or lack thereof, than of the literary works which garner such esteem. However, Leaving Tomorrow, by David Bergen, once again had me scratching my head. The novel is set in Alberta’s ranch country during America’s Vietnam War, and explores the spiritual and physical journey…
I have to admit I’ve never read anything by Jeffrey Archer, most likely because I tend to avoid blockbuster novels. But the setting and time period of this one intrigued me, and not realizing this was the first of a seven book series known as the Clifton Chronicles, I figured why not. Set after WWI, Only Time Will Tell opens with a charming idyll set around the Bristol docks, introducing us to Harry Clifton, brilliant and truant boy who…
I came to Jean Pendziwol’s novel quite by chance, drawn by its setting on Porphyry Island on the north shore of Lake Superior. This is a story of loss, of relationships and discoveries, of isolation and madness, told from the perspective of a delinquent girl who is doing community service at a senior’s residence as her penance, and the old woman she comes to know during that time. There’s a missing diary now found, connections…