Quick Review: The Last Runaway by Tracy Chevalier

Author : stargazerpuj      Blog : Stargazerpuj's Book Blog      Date : 3/4/2013 10:11:15 AM

'Genre: Literary fiction, historical fiction Publisher: HarperCollins UK (HarperFiction/Blue Door) Pub date: Jan 14 2013 Source: Publisher via NetGalley Synopsis (From NetGalley) Honor Bright, sails from England with her sister Grace to find some escape from her heartache. On the way to their new life in America, Grace falls ills and dies, leaving Honor all [...]'

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Book Review: The Tale of Raw Head and Bloody Bones by Jack Wolf

Author : stargazerpuj      Blog : Stargazerpuj's Book Blog      Date : 2/21/2013 12:22:37 PM

'Genre: Psychological thriller Publisher: Random House UK (Vintage Digital) Pub date: 3 Jan 2013 Source: Publisher via NetGalley Synopsis (From Random House UK) The year is 1750. Tristan Hart, precociously talented student of medicine practising under the legendary Dr William Hunter. His obsession is the nature of pain and preventing it; the relationship between mind [...]'

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Book Review: Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs

Author : stargazerpuj      Blog : Stargazerpuj's Book Blog      Date : 7/5/2012 2:15:41 PM

'Genre: YA, Paranormal Series: Miss Peregrine #1 Publisher: Quirk Books Pub date: 7 June 2011 Source: PGUK Synopsis Jacob has grown up listing to his grandfather’s strange stories, but of late, he doesn’t believe them like he used to. Sixteen-year-old Jacob has suffered a horrific tragedy. But when Jacob’s grandfather is killed in a vicious attack by [...]'

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Book Review: The Lilac House by Anita Nair

Author : stargazerpuj      Blog : Stargazerpuj's Book Blog      Date : 6/26/2012 9:49:02 AM

'Genre: Literary fiction Publisher: St. Martin’s Griffin Pub date: 24 April 2012 Source: Publisher via NetGalley Synopsis Meera’s happy life as a corporate wife  comes crashing down when her husband leaves her and her two teenaged children. Heart-broken, Meera has to find a way to not only take care of her children, but also come [...]'

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Book Review: And Laughter Fell from the Sky by Jyotsna Sreenivasan

Author : stargazerpuj      Blog : Stargazerpuj's Book Blog      Date : 6/4/2012 11:07:01 AM

'Genre: Young adult fiction Publisher: Harper Collins (William Morrow) Pub date:June 2012 Source: Publisher Synopsis (From GoodReads) Old family friends, Rasika and Abhay seem to have nothing in common, and yet when the two reconnect by chance, sparks immediately fly. Abhay loves Rasika, but he knows her family would never approve. Rasika knows she has [...]'

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Book Review: Tell the Wolves I’m Home by Carol Rifta Brunt

Author : stargazerpuj      Blog : Stargazerpuj's Book Blog      Date : 5/3/2012 8:58:23 AM

'Genre: Literary fiction Publisher: Pan Macmillan (Macmillan) Pub date: June 2012 Source: Publisher via Lovereading.co.uk Synopsis (From GoodReads) There’s only one person who has ever truly understood fourteen-year-old June Elbus, and that’s her uncle, the renowned painter Finn Weiss. Shy at school and distant from her older sister, June can only be herself in Finn’s [...]'

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Book Review: Elegy for Eddie by Jacqueline Winspear

Author : stargazerpuj      Blog : Stargazerpuj's Book Blog      Date : 5/2/2012 10:46:54 AM

'Genre: Historical fiction/Crime fiction Series: Maisie Dobbs #9 Publisher: Harper Collins (Harper) Pub date: 27 March 2012 Source: Publisher via NetGalley Synopsis In this ninth book of the series, Maisie is approached by her father’s friends to look into the death of Eddie. Eddie is a little ‘slow’ but has an amazing ability to talk [...]'

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Book Review: The Buddha in the Attic by Julie Otsuka

Author : stargazerpuj      Blog : Stargazerpuj's Book Blog      Date : 5/1/2012 9:19:26 AM

'Genre: Literary fiction Publisher: Knopf Doubleday (Alfred A. Knopf) Pub date: 23 Aug 2011 Source: Publisher via NetGalley Synopsis (From GoodReads) The Buddha in the Attic is a novel that tells the story of a group of young women brought over from Japan to San Francisco as ‘picture brides’ nearly a century ago. In eight [...]'

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Book review: A Mysterious Death at Sainik Farms by Rukmini Anandini

Author : stargazerpuj      Blog : Stargazerpuj's Book Blog      Date : 4/30/2012 8:48:54 AM

'Genre: Detective fiction Publisher: Rupa Pub date: 2012 Source: Author Synopsis Ugrasen is a successful businessman and a domineering patriarch living at Sainik farms with his large extended family. When he drops dead, rather suddenly, it looks like it was death by natural cause. By his 14-year-old niece Anjali believes there is more to it [...]'

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Book Review: The Baker’s Daughter by Sarah McCoy

Author : stargazerpuj      Blog : Stargazerpuj's Book Blog      Date : 3/29/2012 10:57:25 AM

'Genre: Historical fiction Publisher: Crown Publishing Pub date: 24 Jan 2012 Source: Publisher via NetGalley Synopsis Reba Williams has been tasked with hunting down a feel-good Christmas article about the local German bakery. She expects it to be an easy assignment, with the interview lasting a couple of hours. But Elsie, the owner of the [...]'

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Book Review: The Book of Lost Fragrances by M.J. Rose

Author : stargazerpuj      Blog : Stargazerpuj's Book Blog      Date : 3/18/2012 10:03:59 AM

'Genre: Adventure/thriller Series: The Reincarnationist #4 Publisher: Simon & Schuster (Atria Books) Pub date: 13 March 2012 Source: Publisher via NetGalley Synopsis (From GoodReads) Jac L’Etoile has always been haunted by the past, her memories infused with the exotic scents that she grew up surrounded by as the heir to a storied French perfume company. [...]'

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Mini Reviews: The Tigress of Forli and Theodora: Actress, Empress, Whore

Author : stargazerpuj      Blog : Stargazerpuj's Book Blog      Date : 3/17/2012 10:40:37 AM

'The Tigress of Forli  Renaissance Italy’s Most Courageous and Notorious Countess, Caterina Riario Sforza de’ Medici by Elizabeth Lev Genre: History/Biography Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Pub date: 20 Oct 2011 Source: Publisher via NetGalley Synopsis (From GoodReads) Wife, mother, leader, warrior: Caterina Riario Sforza was one of the most prominent women in Renaissance Italy–and one [...]'

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Book Review: The Hurt Machine by Reed Farrel Coleman

Author : stargazerpuj      Blog : Stargazerpuj's Book Blog      Date : 1/16/2012 10:12:57 AM

'Genre: Thriller, Mystery Series: Moe Prager #7 Publisher: Tyrus Books Pub date: 18 Sep 2011 Source:Publisher via NetGalley Synopsis (From GoodReads) At a pre-wedding party for his daughter Sarah, Moe Prager is approached by his ex-wife and former PI partner Carmella Melendez. It seems Carmella’s estranged sister Alta has been murdered, but no one in [...]'

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Book Review: The Legacy by Katherine Webb

Author : stargazerpuj      Blog : Stargazerpuj's Book Blog      Date : 1/15/2012 10:20:23 AM

'Genre: Literary fiction Publisher: Harper Collins (Harper Paperback) Pub date: 1 September 2011 Source: Publisher via NetGalley (This is a short review of a book I read a while ago and made notes on. I don’t have this book with me now, so you’ll notice the review is a little thin on the details.) Synopsis [...]'

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Mini Book Review: The Good Muslim by Tahmina Amam

Author : stargazerpuj      Blog : Stargazerpuj's Book Blog      Date : 1/14/2012 11:36:42 AM

'Genre: Literary fiction Series: A Golden Age #2 Publisher: Harper Collins (imprint) Pub date: 2 Aug 2011 Source: Publisher (This is a short review of a book I read a while ago and made notes on. I don’t have this book with me now, so you’ll notice the review is a little thin on the [...]'

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Book Review: Everything Beautiful Began After by Simon Van Booy

Author : stargazerpuj      Blog : Stargazerpuj's Book Blog      Date : 1/8/2012 12:43:40 PM

'Genre: Literary fiction Publisher: Harper Collins (Harper Perennial) Pub date: 7 Jan 2011 Source: Publisher via NetGalley (This is a short review of a book I read a while ago and made notes on. I don’t have this book with me now, so you’ll notice the review is a little thin on the details.) Synopsis [...]'

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Reading Challenges 2012 Sign-Ups

Author : stargazerpuj      Blog : Stargazerpuj's Book Blog      Date : 1/4/2012 10:55:07 AM

'Last year was the first time, I really took part in reading challenges. To find out about these challenges and the books I read for them, you can read all about my 2011 challenges. This year, I initially decided to keep my challenges to the minimum since I was also busy with university. But what [...]'

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Book Review: The World We Found by Thrity Umrigar

Author : stargazerpuj      Blog : Stargazerpuj's Book Blog      Date : 1/3/2012 10:37:09 AM

'Genre: Literary fiction Publisher: Harper Collins (Harper) Pub date: 3 Jan 2012 Source: Publisher Synopsis Armaiti, Laleh, Kavita, and Nishta were inseparable in their university days in Bombay in the 1970s. Spirited and unconventional, these women protested and fought for their political and social ideals. But 30 years later, a lot has changed and not [...]'

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2011: Bookish Snapshots

Author : stargazerpuj      Blog : Stargazerpuj's Book Blog      Date : 12/30/2011 9:52:55 AM

'(Stats courtesy GoodReads) This has been such an exciting year. I didn’t get as much reading as I though I’d get done, but I read some wonderful books, discovered great authors and series and just had fun. In other life-altering news, I also decided to go back to school and moved to London to do [...]'

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Book Review: This Burns My Heart by Samuel Park

Author : stargazerpuj      Blog : Stargazerpuj's Book Blog      Date : 12/29/2011 4:31:05 PM

'Genre: Literary fiction, Historical fiction Publisher: Simon & Schuster Pub date:12 July 2011 Source: Publisher via Bookpleasures.com (This is a short review of a book I read a while ago and made notes on. I don’t have this book with me now, so you’ll notice the review is a little thin on the details.) Synopsis [...]'

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