On January 6th, I posted 24 of the 40 books read during 2015. So today I’m including the balance using the same rating system: LR = light, enjoyable read; GR = good, several caveats; ER = excellent, few caveats; OR = outstanding; DNF = did not finish; NMT = not my type.
In the process of writing this post, I’ve discovered two additional books read this year. You’ll see them listed at the end.
| June | The Dream Lover | Elizabeth Berg | GR | Novel about George Sand; back and forth timeline was confusing; events felt repetitive |
| Mademoiselle Chanel | C.W. Gortner | ER | Coco Chanel in all her glories and contradictions; not quite as compelling as The Queen’s Vow or The Last Queen | |
| Will Poole’s Island | Tim Weed | ER | In 17th century New England, a young man meets a visionary native; Excellent historical fiction | |
| July | Death of a Century | Daniel Robinson | NMT | Read for an HNS feature; poorly written |
| Aug | The Ashford Affair | Lauren Willig | ER | A woman uncovers a family mystery; well written page turner |
| Claude & Camille | Stephanie Cowell | ER | Claude Monet and his first wife Camille; great historical detail of impressionist era | |
| Children of War | Martin Walker | LR | Mystery set in Dordogne; lots of twists and turns; read as audiobook | |
| The Children Act | Ian McEwan | ER | McEwan is a superb writer; this is a poignant tale that is hard to put down | |
| Sept | H is For Hawk | Helen MacDonald | NMT | Book club read; memoir; way too much detail on goshawks |
| Elizabeth I | Margaret George | OR | Elizabeth I in her later years; superb characters and history; the second half is particularly compelling | |
| Oct | The Muralist | B.A. Shapiro | GR | Art and intrigue at the beginnings of WWII; distracting dual time structure and multiple voices |
| Nov | Mr. Churchill’s Secretary | Susan Elia MacNeal | LR | Whodunit set in WWI England |
| Power Play | Danielle Steele | NMT | I’m sure there are fans of Danielle Steele but I’m not one of them; trite and simplistic | |
| The Golden Child | Penelope Fitzgerald | DNF | Quirky people employed at a British museum | |
| Dec | Circling the Sun | Paula McLain | ER | Based on the life of Beryl Clutterbuck the first woman to fly across the Atlantic; well written; rich characters & setting |
| The Secret Chord | Geraldine Brooks | OR | The life of the biblical King David as told by his prophet Natan; historically captivating | |
| Oops– forgot these | Purity | Jonathan Franzen | DNF | Annoying characters and thin plot; guess I’m not a Franzen fan |
| The Lover’s Path | Kris Waldherr | LR | Novella told like a fable |
2016 is off to the races with Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins, The House I Loved by Tatiana de Rosnay, At the Existentialist Cafe by Sarah Blakewell which I began in late November, and Paris Reborn by Stephane Kirkland.
Wishing everyone a great year of reading.
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M.K. Tod writes historical fiction and blogs about all aspects of the genre at A Writer of History. Her latest novel, LIES TOLD IN SILENCE is set in WWI France and is available from Amazon, Nook, Kobo, Google Play and iTunes. Her debut novel, UNRAVELLED: Two wars. Two affairs. One marriage. is also available from these retailers.
8 Responses
I LOVE your reviews, it helps me choose my next read 🙂
Many thanks!!!
Thank you, this is a great help. I’m currently reading a book by Jeanne Bourin, Les Peregrines. I’ve read several of her and find them very good. Her stories are from the women’s point of view, she writes 11th- 13th centuries.
Hi Daniella – many thanks for your comment and your suggestion of Jeanne Bourin. I’ve never heard of this author however, based on the title I suspect she writes in French and my French is definitely not good enough for that!! Happy reading.