My Book Reviews

My favorite genres are contemporary romance, women's fiction, suspense, and psychological thrillers. I mostly read books on my kindle, and I listen to audio books every morning when I go for my run.

I do NOT love star ratings for novels. For each book review, I give background, my thoughts, and if I would recommend it. Full disclosure: if I'm not into a book, I don't finish it. Since I review books I finish, most of them will be positive.

Elizabeth Barrett Browning Paved the Way for Taylor Swift

Laurel Osterkamp · January 14, 2026

I inhale, prepping my delivery like it’s a TED talk. “Okay, so. Elizabeth Barrett Browning was basically Taylor Swift in the 1850s. She churned out hits. Love poems, political screeds, odes to her dog. Every single woman in England thought she spoke directly to her. Because she wrote about heartbreak and disappointment and being misunderstood by men and society, yet she still managed to make them believe in healing, marriage, and all those …

Book Journal: The Breakdown by B.A. Paris

Laurel Osterkamp · November 21, 2025

The Breakdown, by B.A. Paris is a psychological, domestic thriller about a woman who can't trust anyone, not even herself. When the story begins, Cass is about to drive home from an end-of-school-year-celebration with her fellow teachers. It's about to storm, and her husband, who's home with a migraine, makes her promise not to take the country road back; he wants her to stay on the busy, well-lit streets. But the rain starts to pour, and Cass makes …

Book Journal: Doll Parts by Penny Zang

Laurel Osterkamp · November 16, 2025

Doll Parts by Penny Zang started out very promising. I was excited to discover it. One of my favorite authors, Ashley Winstead, gave it a great blurb. Once I found out it was about 90s grunge era girls who obsess over Sylvia Plath, I was on board. I was even more excited that the there was a feminist angle, and Zang was providing commentary about how we, as a society, fetishize young women who die. (That's something I wrote about earlier this year …

SWIFTATURE – TOP 50 TAYLOR SWIFT SONGS FOR FICTION WRITERS RANKED: 40 – 31

Laurel Osterkamp · April 18, 2025

This project is more of an undertaking than I imagined it would be, when I came up with idea about a month ago. But it's fun, so I'm sticking to it! So, here are the 40th thru the 31st best Taylor Swift songs for fiction writers. Let's do this!

#40 Wildest Dreams

Say you'll remember me Standing in a nice dress Staring at the sunset, babe Red lips and rosy cheeks Say you'll see me again Even if it's just pretend

Things That Inspired Me Lately

Laurel Osterkamp · April 11, 2025

#1 Source of Inspiration: John Proctor Is The Villain

I just got back from a family trip to NYC, where we took in a Broadway show. John Proctor is the Villain stars Sadie Sink from Stranger Things, and she was great. But what's with the title? John Proctor is the protagonist of Arthur Miller’s The Crucible, a play I taught multiple times to eleventh graders. It takes place during the Salem Witch Trials, and Miller wrote it as an …