3.5 stars, rounded downward. Open Season is the fortieth (!) in the Alex Delaware series, one that I have read since the very first book. Newbies can read it as a stand alone novel, however. My thanks go to NetGalley and Random House/Ballantine Books for the review copy. It will be available to the public…

Seattle Book Mama

22.01.2025

The Great Hippopotamus Hotel, by Alexander McCall Smith***** | Seattle Book Mama

The 25th book in the #1 Ladies Detective Agency series is not to be missed. My thanks go to NetGalley and Knopf/Doubleday for the review copy; this book is available to the public now. When life becomes stressful, what do you do? Some swear by yoga, herbal tea, walking or running, therapy, mindfulness, journaling, or…

Seattle Book Mama

26.01.2025

American Spirits, by Russell Banks***** | Seattle Book Mama

American Spirits is a collection of three short stories that take place in the fictional New England town of Sam Dent. My thanks go to NetGalley and Alfred A. Knopf for the review copy. This book is for sale now. I wasn’t sure this book would be up to Banks’s usual standard, as it was…

Seattle Book Mama

30.01.2025

Somewhere Toward Freedom, by Bennett Parten***** | Seattle Book Mama

Bennett Parten is a fine historical writer, and here he examines General William Sherman’s renowned march through Georgia during the American Civil War through the lens of the formerly enslaved people that followed him. It’s a job that needed doing, and I’m glad that Parten was the one to do it. My thanks go to…

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Seattle Book Mama

26.08.2023

The Wind Knows My Name, by Isabel Allende**** | Seattle Book Mama

Isabel Allende is a living legend, a literary genius and fierce defender of human rights, foremost of women and immigrants. The Wind Knows My Name is a novel that features the struggle of two generations of immigrants, those that came to the U.S. during the Holocaust, and those that are coming here now from Latin…

Seattle Book Mama

06.03.2024

The Great Divide, by Cristina Henriquez***** | Seattle Book Mama

I found The Great Divide, by Cristina Henriquez, on a short list of most anticipated novels of 2024. I don’t like to get shut out when a book gets this much buzz; then there’s the added draw of an unusual setting. The U.S. doesn’t see a lot of fiction published that’s set primarily in Panama…

Seattle Book Mama

28.12.2024

The Briar Club, by Kate Quinn***** | Seattle Book Mama

I had never read a novel by Kate Quinn, but my friends on Goodreads raved about it and I was overcome by the fear of missing out. Happily, I was not too late to get a review copy; my thanks go to NetGalley and William Morrow, along with my apologies for lateness. From the get…

Seattle Book Mama

10.01.2025

Good Dirt, by Charmaine Wilkerson***** | Seattle Book Mama

Charmaine Wilkerson is the author of the massively successful Black Cake. Her sophomore effort, Good Dirt, carries some of the same components—an impending marriage, a family heirloom, secrets and betrayals—but is nevertheless a very different story, and it’s an even better one. My thanks go to Random House Ballantine and NetGalley for the invitation to…

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Seattle Book Mama

Books & Literature

Open Season, by Jonathan Kellerman*** | Seattle Book Mama

The Great Hippopotamus Hotel, by Alexander McCall Smith***** | Seattle Book Mama

American Spirits, by Russell Banks***** | Seattle Book Mama

Somewhere Toward Freedom, by Bennett Parten***** | Seattle Book Mama

History

The Wind Knows My Name, by Isabel Allende**** | Seattle Book Mama

The Great Divide, by Cristina Henriquez***** | Seattle Book Mama

The Briar Club, by Kate Quinn***** | Seattle Book Mama

Good Dirt, by Charmaine Wilkerson***** | Seattle Book Mama

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