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LaurelLit.com

Writer, Reader, English Teacher

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My Book Reviews

I love novels! My favorite genres are high-end women's fiction, suspense, and psychological thrillers, but occasionally I'll also pick up some chick lit or YA. I mostly read books on my kindle, and I also listen to audio books every morning when I go for my run.

I do NOT love star ratings for novels. For each book I review, I will give a bit of background, my thoughts, and end by saying if I would recommend it or not. Full disclosure: if I'm not into a book, I don't finish it. Since I'll only be reviewing books I finish, most of the reviews posted will be positive.

The Night Before

Laurel Osterkamp · January 22, 2021

The Night Before, by Wendy Walker, is not your typical thriller. It centers around two sisters, Laura and Rosie. Laura is the unpredictable, intriguing younger sister and Rosie is the older, stable, happily married sister. Laura has come home to live with Rosie and her family for a while, because Laura’s latest romantic relationship ended badly. Really, really badly. So, Laura does what any of us would do, and tries online dating. She goes out on a date with this guy who looks nice and …

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The Girl in the Mirror

Laurel Osterkamp · January 22, 2021

I REALLY  love a good identical twin story.  The Sweet Valley High novels were a guilty pleasure growing up. And there was this novel that came out in the 80s, about these identical twins that swapped places but one of them died, and there was even a sequel where it turns out the dead twin was still alive! LOVED IT!  So imagine my delight at finding a brand new identical twin story, full of intrigue and drama. I was incredibly delighted, with one caveat. Weeks ago, I decided to try my …

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Such a Fun Age

Laurel Osterkamp · January 8, 2021

I heard about Such a Fun Age several times, but it wasn’t until I saw it listed as one of 2020’s best novels that I finally paid attention and downloaded it. I’m so glad I did, because it was one of the best novels I’d read in a long time. The premise is fairly simple. Alix is a wealthy white woman who started her own business by writing letters, mostly to companies, asking for free merchandise. But she somehow turned her letter writing into a woman’s empowerment venture, and now …

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Stranger on the Beach by Michele Campbell

Laurel Osterkamp · September 22, 2020

I listened to Stranger on the Beach on audio, and the fact that this book is narrated by January Lavoy affected how good I think it is. Lavoy narrates lots of books and she’s excellent – so good, that she made Sweet Valley Confidential sound like quality writing. And for that reason, I couldn’t tell if Stranger on the Beach was a decent book with some notable plot holes and several flaws, or if was just really, really bad. The story is about Caroline Stark, who …

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Anatomy of a Scandal

Laurel Osterkamp · September 9, 2020

Anatomy of a Scandal by Sarah Vaughn format = Kindle Anatomy of a Scandal by Sarah Vaughn is all about politics, and the politics plus everything else about the book is 100% British. I say 100%, because I feel like a lot of the books I read by British authors, which are often set in London, are still somehow written for an American audience in mind. Not this book. I had to re-read many passages to understand the terms or slang I wasn’t familiar with. Much of the novel is set at Oxford, and …

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My Favorite Authors

Reading novels is more than a pastime to me; it’s a way of life. I love escaping into a captivating story, and when that story is well written, I find myself learning about all sorts of things, like how to be a better writer, how to understand others, and how to understand myself. I mostly read books on my Kindle or listen to them on audio, but sometimes I’ll read from a hard copy. When I like a book, I’ll review it. Since you’re required to give star reviews on places like Goodreads, I will give every book I like enough to review five stars, even if I get nitpicky in my written review. (I HATE giving books star ratings since I don’t think good writing can really be quantified. But as an author myself, I know how devastating anything less than a five star rating can be, so I’m never going to do that to a fellow author.)

Below is a list of some of my favorite authors and links to their sites. You’ll find a mix of Women’s Fiction, YA, Psychological Suspense, and Literary Fiction. This list is always growing, so please check back as I continue to add to it.

Links to my favorite authors:

Curtis Sittenfeld

Hank Phillippi Ryan

Ruth Ware

Kate Moretti

Renée Rosen

Anna Pitoniak

Tracy Chevalier

Catherine McKenzie

Kara Thomas

J. Courtney Sullivan

Kelly Simmons

Jessica Strawser
Jessica Goodman

Jacquelyn Mitchard
Katherine St. John

Ann Garvin
Chandler Baker
Lori Rader-Day
Carol Goodman
Megan Miranda

Amy Impellizzeri

Ali Hazelwood

Karen McManus

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