Each of the six books covered in this post I read in print. I’ll share audiobooks in a separate post on Thursday, but for today you’re in for some special books, including one that just might end up being my best of the year!…

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The post July 2021 Book Reviews appeared first on Novel Visits.

A Children’s Bible by Lydia Millet
Publisher: W.W. Norton Company
Release Date: May 12, 2020
Length: 224 pages
Amazon

{A Bit of Backstory}

Single Sentence Summary

Twelve children flee their hedonistic parents after an apocalyptic storm devastates the mansion they’re all living in for the summer….

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The post A Children’s Bible <br />by Lydia Millet | Review appeared first on Novel Visits.

The last couple months have been a weird time. A very weird time. As I write this post, most of us are starting our seventh week of social distancing and largely staying at home. The first couple of weeks my mind was bouncing around all over the place and reading was HARD. As April began, I settled in and reading came back to me as a comfort. Writing, however has remained difficult. Part of it is time, since teaching from home is so much harder than I’d ever imagined, but most of it is just mental head space. So now, at the end of April, I have six books I’ve yet to review, and am going to take care of them all in a series of very short reviews!

As I do so, I want to clear something up. I’ve had comments about books that I give a grade in the B range to as not being a book I liked. That’s far from true. A grade in the B range is a book I gave 4 stars to on Goodreads. It’s probably not a book that’s going to end up on my Best Books of the Year list, but it is still a book well worth reading. An A book has to completely blow me away and leave me with a book hangover, but a B book did its job. It entertained me and I think they’ll do the same for many others!…

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The post April Mini-Reviews ~ A Half Dozen! appeared first on Novel Visits.

The Dearly Beloved by Cara Wall (debut)
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Release Date: August 13, 2019
Length: 352 pages
Amazon

{A Bit of Backstory}

Single Sentence Summary

Four wildly different people must find a way to navigate marriages, friendships, and the rapidly changing world around them, all while struggling to find their own versions of faith….

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The post The Dearly Beloved by Cara Wall | Review appeared first on Novel Visits.

In West Mills by De’Shawn Charles Winslow (debut)
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Release Date: June 4, 2019
Length: 272 pages
Amazon

{A Bit of Backstory}

Single Sentence Summary

The “not so secret” secrets of a small North Carolina town keep everyone bound together for better or worse….

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The post In West Mills by De’Shawn Charles Winslow | Review appeared first on Novel Visits.

Normal People by Sally Rooney
Publisher: Hogarth
Release Date: April 16, 2019
Length: 288 pages
Amazon

{A Bit of Backstory}

Single Sentence Summary

The gorgeous story of Connell and Marianne, a young couple who alternately come together and break apart, comfort and hurt each other, love and let go….

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Give Me Your Hand by Megan Abbott and Eden by Andrea Kleine have much in common; most striking is that they both feature two women who went through something horrific as teenage girls. So, today I’m doing mini-reviews of both in The Girls, Girls, Girls Edition….

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The Ensemble by Aja Gabel (debut)
Publisher: Riverhead Books
Release Date: May 15, 2018
Length: 352 pages
Amazon

{A Bit of Backstory}

Single Sentence Summary

Sixteen years in the lives of the members of a string quartet: their friendships, their relationships, their triumphs, and their struggles….

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Tin Man by Sarah Winman
Publisher: G.P. Putnam’s Sons
Release Date: May 15, 2018
Length: 224
Amazon

 {A Bit of Backstory}

Single Sentence Summary

Ellis Judd once had a joyful life with the two people he loved most: his wife, Annie, and best friend, Michael, but now Ellis is completely alone. Tin Man is his story….

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The Gunners by Rebecca Hoffman
Publisher: Counterpoint Press
Release Date: March 20, 2018
Length: 224 pages
Amazon

{A Bit of Backstory}

Single Sentence Summary

Friendships change over time, but as “The Gunners” reunite for the funeral of one of their own will they be able to understand why their’s abruptly ended when they needed each other most?…

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The post The Gunners by Rebecca Kauffman | Review appeared first on Novel Visits.