Check out these reviews written by the staff of the Marathon County Public Library, featuring books DVDs for adults! (For reviews of books for all ages, visit our main Staff Reviews webpage.) Staff book reviews are also published at Goodreads.com; follow us for the latest updates. The book reviews on this website represent the personal opinions of the individuals who created them and do not represent any official views of the Marathon County Public Library.
The Rules of Magic is a prequel to the 1995 best-seller Practical Magic, a book I fell in love with years ago. That novel told the story of Sally and Gillian Owens, who were raised by their mystical aunts, Franny and Jet, after the death of their parents. But in The Rules of Magic, we rewind several decades, chronicling Franny and Jet’s lives into adulthood...
Audience: adults | Genre: fiction, historical fiction, romance, magical realism
Aspiring screenwriter Annie Cassidy loves romantic comedies. Growing up, she would watch the films relentlessly with her mom, dissecting scenes and deriving life advice from the characters and dialogue. As an adult, Annie can quote films like Sleepless in Seattle and You’ve Got Mail by heart and aspires to write movies herself. But she’s also unlucky...
Alex Claremont-Diaz is like American royalty. His mom, Ellen, is the first female President of the United States and he aspires to follow in her political footsteps one day and also become prez. During his time in the White House, Alex has had a not-so-secret rivalry with Henry, the Prince of England. Alex has always thought of Henry as being spoiled,...
Audience: adults | Genre: fiction, contemporary fiction, romance
Diana Bishop, an Oxford scholar and non-practicing witch, discovers a long-lost alchemical manuscript that promises to reveal the origins (and future) of all supernatural species: witches, vampires, and "demons." However, Diana's reluctance to share this discovery puts her at odds with the supernatural community and drives her into an unlikely romance with...
Audience: adults | Genre: fiction, paranormal, fantasy, romance
This book is another installment in the Lowcountry Summer series by Mary Alice Monroe. Much like the others in the series, we continue following the journey of three half-sisters who are not only learning to love themselves, but are also delving into love and marriage in this book. We get to read about, what I imagine to be, the beautiful and magical South...
Emma Blair never wanted to take over her parents' bookshop on the East Coast. Emma dreams of traveling, writing, and exploring the world with her high school sweetheart, Jesse. That is exactly what the pair do, until tragedy strikes on their first anniversary. Jesse's work helicopter crashes in the Pacific Ocean. With all of the crew dead and no sign of...
Based on a family secret revealed to her, Kibler turns her grandmother’s story of forbidden love into an impossible-to-put-down, page-turner of a novel. This is the story of a journey taken by eighty-nine-year-old Isabelle McAllister and Dorrie Curtis, a single mom struggling to find her way. Dorrie has taken care of Isabelle’s hair for years, first in the...
Romantic, charming, and full of surprising characters, this early work from a popular author is not one to miss. Mike Dormer is climbing the ladder in a prestigious land development firm in London. He has made partner, is engaged to the boss’s daughter, and lives in luxury. His entire life appears to be perfect, that is until a land deal falls through on a...
I read this book many years ago, but after listening to the soundtrack of the recent musical based on the book and the movie, I decided to revisit the story that I had remembered. "The Bridges of Madison County" by Robert James Waller, is a love story; a story of a love that was unexpected, short-lived, forbidden, but so powerful that it haunted the two...
I'm not much for a fluffy romance, but who can resist a story about a single mom, her quirky kids, their enormous dog, and an unsuspecting stranger trapped together in a tiny car on an impromptu road trip? This story is about Jess, an eternal optimist who will do anything to give her kids the life that they deserve. Unfortunately, fate has a way of knocking...
Two love stories, one that is three quarters of a century in the making and one that is brand new are told side by side in this beautifully written novel. When Ira is trapped in his car following an accident in a remote area, he recounts the stories of his life with his one true love, his wife Ruth. He describes their story as it unfolds decade after decade...
In this lovely new novel set in Milwaukee, Lou, owner and extremely talented chef of her own restaurant, literally runs into the food critic who eventually threatens to destroy her restaurant. Unbeknownst to either of them at the time, the food critic, Al, cannot forget the smell of vanilla and coconut Lou carried with her after their run in. But later that...
If you enjoy the drama and intrigue of royal couples, you'll love this book. Based on the world's favorite royal couple, Will and Kate, the authors have created a romance that will twist and turn and leave you wondering if their fictitious royal couple will indeed make it to the alter. Bex is a smart and sassy American studying abroad when she runs into...
Two love stories, one that is three quarters of a century in the making and one that is brand new are told side by side in this beautifully written novel. When Ira is trapped in his car following an accident in a remote area, he recounts the stories of his life with his one true love, his wife Ruth. He describes their story as it unfolds decade after decade...
Have you ever thought of describing and defining your relationships through one word descriptions? This very creative author has done just that. He uses words, like a dictionary, in order to tell the story of a relationship between two people. It really is remarkable that this format works, and I was a little skeptical starting this book that I would not...
If you love Lauren Graham, the actress, in "Gilmore Girls" or "Parenthood" then you will throughly enjoy Lauren Graham the author in her debut novel. Her story introduces us to Franny, a struggling actress in New York City of the mid 1990s, and her adventures trying to become a serious actress who can pay her bills with her craft. Franny is so...
It takes a strong will to put this book down before the end. Nesbo does it again, keeping us in suspense until the very end. "Police" is a real thriller with the suspense rising to almost unbearable levels. Oslo's police officers are being brutally murdered at scenes of unsolved murders they investigated. An unidentified severely wounded man in a coma,...
When I first read the back of this book it sounded great. Karrie is a reporter for a news paper. Finn is an author he lives in Alaska, know one really knows anything about him and he likes it that way. Karrie is unhappy with her job and makes a deal with her boss to be the only reporter to get an interview with Finn Dalton. If she can land the interview,...
Audience: adults | Genre: fiction, romance, chick lit, holiday
