reviews

Backstabbing, Betrayals, and Political Intrigue: Everything You Need to Read This Election Season Author: George R. R. Martin Following the kingdom-wide upheavals at the end of A Game of Thrones, political machinations, declarations of war, and dreams of vengeance are enacted. In the wake of King Robert Baretheon’s death, several “true rulers” claim the throne and hints of incest continue to undermine the viability of Robert’s one (decidedly psychotic) son, the tentative King Joffrey. The battle erupts between Robert’s two brothers, the cold-hearted logician Stannis and the glory seeking younger brother, the ever popular Renly. Meanwhile, seeking to revenge the execution of [...]

Tan's Most Powerful Novel: Coming of Age as a Courtesan Author: Amy Tan Centered on the fall of the Qing Dynasty in 1912, The Valley of Amazement is Amy Tan’s breakout novel of a young girl, half American and half Chinese, abandoned by a selfish mother and sold to a courtesan house. Growing up, Violet had everything. A spoiled child with a claw happy kitty, she lived within the ostentatious grace of her American mother, Lulu Minturn’s, famed courtesan house. An established Madame with a sense for business and the ability to integrate warring cultures, Lulu’s establishment is renowned for both elegance [...]

This Ain't No Cozy Casserole Author: Jana Bommersbach I’m going to use the first sentence of this review to complain about the title of this book. Funeral Hotdish sounds like an entry into a cozy mystery series – and it is not. It’s actually a very good title for the book once you understand why the author chose it, but don’t be either drawn to it or scared away from it based on the hokey name – this is not a cozy mystery. Now that I have that off my chest, we can talk about what the book is, rather [...]