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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.

Fabulous Female Authors

Laurel Osterkamp · March 8, 2022

In honor of Women’s Day, I have compiled a list of my some of my favorite female authors. It’s a long list, and the truth is, we need more than just one day of the year to honor achievements by women. How about we just take the next century? It would be a start in the right direction, at least.    I made categories,, just to help myself remember everyone. I’m sure that I forgot lots of books & authors, or that I’ll discover new authors that I want to add to the list. I expect this …

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Book Review: The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides

Laurel Osterkamp · March 3, 2022

The Silent Patient, by Alex Michaelides, was a huge bestseller and got great critical reviews after its 2019 release. Michaelides, who was a first-time novelist, created a suspenseful story with a shocking twist, that stemmed from confusing the reader when it comes to POV and tense. It’s the sort of novel where after you’re done reading, you want to go back and reread sections to clear up any questions or misperceptions you might have. There are two points of view in the novel. One is first …

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Book Review: The Lies We Told by Camilla Way

Laurel Osterkamp · February 21, 2022

The Lies We Told is the first novel I've read by Camilla Way. Now that I know about her, I will be looking up her other three novels. Because, The Lies We Told is a twisty, suspenseful novel that's full of surprises throughout, and with a huge surprise at the end that I never saw coming. There are also smaller surprises that come one after another, all building up a story that I couldn't put down. The Story: There are …

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Book Review: A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle

Laurel Osterkamp · February 16, 2022

“I don't understand it any more than you do, but one thing I've learned is that you don't have to understand things for them to be.” - Madeleine L'Engle

My first experience with A Wrinkle in Time, was in fourth grade, when our teacher read it aloud to us. The part where Meg uses her love for Charles Wallace to face down the monstrous IT stayed with me for years. I then read the book on my own, as a kid. Decades …

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The Cousins by Karen McManus

Laurel Osterkamp · February 9, 2022

Lately, I have come to a new realization: I need to update my list of favorite authors to include Karen McManus. The Cousins is the third book by her I have thoroughly enjoyed. The first was One of Us is Lying, which I read on my Kindle. The second was Two Can Keep a Secret if One of Us is Dead, which I listened to on audio. Because of the title, I figured it was a sequel to One of Us… but the two books have no relation, other than they are both twisty, character-driven YA mysteries. The third, …

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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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