Book Reviews by the Chocolate Lady

Davida Chazan's book reviews for mostly adult, literary, contemporary, historical, and women's fiction (with some non-fiction and literary musings thrown in for good measure).

Friday, December 29, 2017

Cinderella or Pygmalion?

Book Review for "Carnegie’s Maid: A Novel" by Marie Benedict

No comments:

Email This BlogThis!Share to X Share to Facebook Share to Pinterest

Labels: 2018, adult, America, biographical, Book Review, deception, female protagonists, female writers, fiction, historical, immigrants, Ireland, literary, novel, poverty, wealth, women

Monday, December 25, 2017

Border Life

Book Review for "All the Rivers" by Dorit Rabinyan

No comments:

Email This BlogThis!Share to X Share to Facebook Share to Pinterest

Labels: 2014, 2017, adult, Book Review, contemporary, female protagonists, female writers, fiction, Israel, literary, love, New York, Palestine, politics, relationships, translation, women

Saturday, December 16, 2017

A Calculating Woman

Book Review for "Enchantress of Numbers: A Novel of Ada Lovelace" by Jennifer Chiaverini

No comments:

Email This BlogThis!Share to X Share to Facebook Share to Pinterest

Labels: 2017, adult, Book Review, female protagonists, female writers, fiction, historical, literary, mathematics, novel, science, women

Sunday, December 10, 2017

My Top Five (or more) Books of 2017

My Top Five (or more) Books of 2017

No comments:

Email This BlogThis!Share to X Share to Facebook Share to Pinterest

Labels: 2017, adult, best of, contemporary, favorites, fiction, historical, literary, non-fiction, translation, women

Saturday, December 2, 2017

Mysterious Models

Book Review for "The Miniaturist" by Jessie Burton

No comments:

Email This BlogThis!Share to X Share to Facebook Share to Pinterest

Labels: 2014, adult, Book Review, debut novel, families, female protagonists, female writers, fiction, historical, homosexuality, literary, magical realism, marriage, mystery, novel, The Netherlands, women

Saturday, November 25, 2017

Unraveling the Complexes

Book Review for "The Alice Network" by Kate Quinn

No comments:

Email This BlogThis!Share to X Share to Facebook Share to Pinterest

Labels: 2017, adult, Book Review, female protagonists, female writers, fiction, historical, intrigue, literary, novel, spies, women, WWI, WWII

Saturday, November 18, 2017

Hybrid of a Family

Book Review for "The Story of Arthur Truluv" by Elizabeth Berg

No comments:

Email This BlogThis!Share to X Share to Facebook Share to Pinterest

Labels: 2017, adult, Book Review, contemporary, families, female protagonists, female writers, fiction, literary, women

Saturday, November 4, 2017

A New Christmas Carol

Book Review for "The Deal of a Lifetime: A Novella" by Fredrik Backman

No comments:

Email This BlogThis!Share to X Share to Facebook Share to Pinterest

Labels: 2017, adult, Book Review, cancer, christmas, contemporary, death, families, favorite authors, fiction, Fredrik Backman, literary, magical realism, novella, relationships, short fiction, Sweden, translation

Tuesday, October 24, 2017

Reconstructing Music

Book Review for "The Prague Sonata: A Novel" by Bradford Morrow

No comments:

Email This BlogThis!Share to X Share to Facebook Share to Pinterest

Labels: 2017, adult, antiques, Book Review, contemporary, female protagonists, fiction, historical, intrigue, literary, music, music composition, mystery, revolution, romance, WWI, WWII

Saturday, October 14, 2017

Guest Author Post: Jacey Bedford and her Psi-Tech Universe Trilogy

No comments:

Email This BlogThis!Share to X Share to Facebook Share to Pinterest

Labels: 2017, authors, book launch promotion, books, fantasy, female writers, friendship, Guest Author Post, misc.writing, novels, science fiction, sequel, writers, writing

Sunday, October 8, 2017

Deceptions Large and Small

Book Review for "The Last Mrs. Parrish: A Novel" by Liv Constantine

No comments:

Email This BlogThis!Share to X Share to Facebook Share to Pinterest

Labels: 2017, abuse, adult, adultery, Book Review, co-written, contemporary, families, female protagonists, female writers, fiction, friendship, literary, novel, poverty, psychology, relationships, thriller, wealth, women

Sunday, October 1, 2017

Looking for the next Agatha Christie

Book Review for "Cocaine Blues: A Phryne Fisher Mystery" by Kerry Greenwood

No comments:

Email This BlogThis!Share to X Share to Facebook Share to Pinterest

Labels: 1920s, 1989, adult, Australia, Book Review, crime, criminal, deception, drugs, female protagonists, female writers, fiction, gangsters, historical, humor, intrigue, literary, mystery, series

Tuesday, September 26, 2017

Guest Author Post by Roz Morris: Out of sight, but not out of mind

Out of sight, but not out of mind

by Roz Morris

No comments:

Email This BlogThis!Share to X Share to Facebook Share to Pinterest

Labels: adventure, Commentary, contemporary, England, female writers, fiction, Guest Author Post, historical, inspiration, non-fiction, Promotions, travel, writers, writing

Friday, September 22, 2017

Matching Wartime Messages

Book Review for "Last Christmas in Paris: A Novel of World War I" by Hazel Gaynor and Heather Webb

No comments:

Email This BlogThis!Share to X Share to Facebook Share to Pinterest

Labels: 2017, adult, Book Review, co-written, England, epistolary, female writers, fiction, France, historical, journalism, literary, novel, Paris, relationships, romance, WWI

Thursday, September 21, 2017

Book Promotion & Excerpt: Sleep, Savannah, Sleep by Alistar Cross

BAM Literature is pleased to announce the release of:

SLEEP, SAVANNAH, SLEEP by Alistair Cross

No comments:

Email This BlogThis!Share to X Share to Facebook Share to Pinterest

Labels: 2017, book launch promotion, Book preview, crime, excerpt, fiction, Guest Blog Post, horror, mystery, novel, occult

Saturday, September 16, 2017

The Guestbook Spy

Book Review for "Not Quite Lost: Travels without a Sense of Direction" by Roz Morris.

No comments:

Email This BlogThis!Share to X Share to Facebook Share to Pinterest

Labels: 2017, Book Review, diary, England, female writers, memoir, non-fiction, travel

Sunday, September 10, 2017

Hallelujah for Vinyl

Book Review for "The Music Shop" by Rachel Joyce

No comments:

Email This BlogThis!Share to X Share to Facebook Share to Pinterest

Labels: 2017, adult, Book Review, contemporary, favorite authors, female protagonists, female writers, fiction, literary, music, Rachel Joyce, relationships, romance

Sunday, September 3, 2017

A Founding Mother's Story

Book Review for "I, Eliza Hamilton" by Susan Holloway Scott

No comments:

Email This BlogThis!Share to X Share to Facebook Share to Pinterest

Labels: 2017, adult, America, biographical, Book Review, family, fiction, historical, literary, novel, politics, relationships, romance, wars, women

Sunday, August 20, 2017

The Choices We Make

Book Review for "Young Jane Young: A Novel" by Gabrielle Zevin

No comments:

Email This BlogThis!Share to X Share to Facebook Share to Pinterest

Labels: 2017, adult, affair, Book Review, contemporary, families, female protagonists, female writers, fiction, literary, novel, politics, scandal, women

Saturday, August 12, 2017

Glitter and Tarnish

Book Review for "The Golden House: A Novel" by Salman Rushdie

No comments:

Email This BlogThis!Share to X Share to Facebook Share to Pinterest

Labels: 2017, adult, art, Book Review, contemporary, corruption, families, fiction, films, LGBT, literary, novel, old age, politics, relationships, wealth

Tuesday, August 8, 2017

Now You're an Immigrant!

Book Review for "Chutzpah & High Heels: The Search for Love and Identity in the Holy Land" by Jessica Fishman

No comments:

Email This BlogThis!Share to X Share to Facebook Share to Pinterest

Labels: 2017, America, Book Review, female writers, IDF, immigrants, Israel, Jewish, memoir, non-fiction

Tuesday, August 1, 2017

Finding Direction

Book Review for "Noah's Compass" by Anne Tyler

No comments:

Email This BlogThis!Share to X Share to Facebook Share to Pinterest

Labels: 2009, adult, Anne Tyler, Book Review, coming-of-age, contemporary, families, female writers, fiction, literary, novel, old age, relationships

Saturday, July 22, 2017

Two Paths that Never Converge

Book Review for "Forest Dark: A Novel" by Nicole Krauss

No comments:

Email This BlogThis!Share to X Share to Facebook Share to Pinterest

Labels: 2017, adult, Book preview, Book Review, contemporary, fame, female protagonists, female writers, fiction, Israel, literary, mystery, novel, speculative, wealth, women

Saturday, July 8, 2017

The Art of Becoming Real

Book Review for "The Velveteen Daughter: A Novel" by Laurel Davis Huber

No comments:

Email This BlogThis!Share to X Share to Facebook Share to Pinterest

Labels: 2017, 20th Century, adult, artists, biographical, Book Review, daughters, debut novel, depression, families, female protagonists, female writers, fiction, historical, literary, mothers, novel, relationships, writers

Saturday, June 10, 2017

The clock on the mantle ticked ticked

Book Review for "See What I Have Done" by Sarah Schmidt

No comments:

Email This BlogThis!Share to X Share to Facebook Share to Pinterest

Labels: 2017, adult, biographical, Book Review, crime, debut novel, families, female protagonists, female writers, fiction, historical, literary, mental illness, murder, mystery, novel, relationships, women

Wednesday, May 31, 2017

Constructing a Criminal

Book Review for "Becoming Bonnie" by Jenni L. Walsh

No comments:

Email This BlogThis!Share to X Share to Facebook Share to Pinterest

Labels: 1920s, 2017, adult, alcohol, America, book, Book Review, crime, criminal, female protagonists, female writers, fiction, historical, literary, novel, poverty, prohibition, relationships

Saturday, May 27, 2017

The Volumes of Silence

Book Review for "Shtum" by Jem Lester

No comments:

Email This BlogThis!Share to X Share to Facebook Share to Pinterest

Labels: 2016, addiction, adult, Asperger's, Autism, Book Review, coming-of-age, contemporary, disabilities, England, families, fiction, Holocaust, learning disabilities, literary, relationships

Saturday, May 20, 2017

Harsh Reality with a Sweet Dream

The White City by Karolina Ramqvist

No comments:

Email This BlogThis!Share to X Share to Facebook Share to Pinterest

Labels: 2017, adult, Book Review, contemporary, female protagonists, female writers, literary, relationships, Sweden, translation

Saturday, May 13, 2017

Ice and Cracks

Book Review for "Beartown: A Novel" by Fredrik Backman

No comments:

Email This BlogThis!Share to X Share to Facebook Share to Pinterest

Labels: 2017, adult, Book Review, contemporary, families, favorite authors, fiction, Fredrik Backman, hockey, homosexuality, literary, migrants, NetGalley, novel, relationships, Sweden, translation, trauma

Sunday, April 30, 2017

Sins and Secrets of the Ancient Epicure

Book Review for "Feast of Sorrow: A Novel of Ancient Rome" by Crystal King

No comments:

Email This BlogThis!Share to X Share to Facebook Share to Pinterest

Labels: 2017, adult, Ancient Rome, Book Review, cooking, culinary, female writers, food, historical, legends, literary, novel, politics, Slavery

Saturday, April 15, 2017

The Eves of Winter Stories

Book Review for "A Snow Garden & Other Stories" by Rachel Joyce

No comments:

Email This BlogThis!Share to X Share to Facebook Share to Pinterest

Labels: 2014, 2015, adult, Book Review, christmas, contemporary, England, female protagonists, female writers, holiday, literary, magical realism, New Year's, Rachel Joyce, relationships, short fiction, short stories

Tuesday, April 11, 2017

Guest Post: Co-Authors Anne Rothman-Hicks and Kenneth Hicks.

Weave a Murderous Web is a mystery novel by Anne Rothman-Hicks and Kenneth Hicks. In this guest post, they talk about their lives and their books.

No comments:

Email This BlogThis!Share to X Share to Facebook Share to Pinterest

Labels: 2015, adult, authors, co-written, fiction, Guest Author Post, Guest Blog Post, literary, murder, mystery, New York, writers, writing

Saturday, April 8, 2017

A Life in Steps

Book Review for "Lillian Boxfish Takes a Walk" by Kathleen Rooney

No comments:

Email This BlogThis!Share to X Share to Facebook Share to Pinterest

Labels: 2017, adult, advertising, Book Review, career, contemporary, families, female protagonists, female writers, historical, literary, mental illness, New York, poetry, relationships, women, writers, writing

Sunday, April 2, 2017

Truth and Politics

Book Review for "The Death of an Owl" by Paul Torday (with Piers Torday)

No comments:

Email This BlogThis!Share to X Share to Facebook Share to Pinterest

Labels: 2016, adult, Book Review, collaboration, contemporary, deception, England, fiction, journalism, literary, literature, London, mystery, Parliament, Paul Torday, politics, scandal, unfinished manuscript

Sunday, March 26, 2017

Mobile Stories

Book Review for "Eveningland: Stories" by Michael Knight

No comments:

Email This BlogThis!Share to X Share to Facebook Share to Pinterest

Labels: 2017, adult, Alabama, America, Book Review, collection, contemporary, fiction, literary, relationships, short fiction, short stories

Saturday, March 18, 2017

Guest Post: Carolyn Arnold - Writing Serial-Killer Fiction.

Writing Serial-Killer Fiction

BY CAROLYN ARNOLD

No comments:

Email This BlogThis!Share to X Share to Facebook Share to Pinterest

Labels: 2017, adult, crime, female writers, fiction, Guest Author Post, Guest Blog Post, murder, mystery, serial killer, writers, writing

Friday, March 10, 2017

Counting on Family

Book Review for "Sisters One, Two, Three" by Nancy Star

No comments:

Email This BlogThis!Share to X Share to Facebook Share to Pinterest

Labels: 2017, accident, adult, Book Review, contemporary, deception, families, family, female protagonists, female writers, fiction, literary, novel, parents, relationships, secret, siblings, sisters, women

Friday, March 3, 2017

Becoming the First

Book Review for "Girl in Disguise" by Greer Macallister

No comments:

Email This BlogThis!Share to X Share to Facebook Share to Pinterest

Labels: 19th Century, 2017, adult, America, Book preview, Book Review, crime, female protagonists, female writers, fiction, gangsters, giveaway, historical, literary, mystery, NetGalley, novel, women

Sunday, February 19, 2017

Feminist Stories from the Past

Book Review for "Herland and Selected Stories" by Charlotte Perkins Gilman

No comments:

Email This BlogThis!Share to X Share to Facebook Share to Pinterest

Labels: 1800s, 19th Century, 20th Century, adult, America, Book Review, classic, families, female protagonists, female writers, literary, novella, relationships, short fiction, short stories, utopia, women

Thursday, January 26, 2017

Old Conspiracies, New Sins

Yom Killer by Ilene Schneider (Rabbi Aviva Cohen Mystery #3)

No comments:

Email This BlogThis!Share to X Share to Facebook Share to Pinterest

Labels: 2016, adult, book, Book Review, contemporary, elderly, female protagonists, female rabbi, female writers, fiction, literary, murder, mystery, women

Friday, January 6, 2017

Guest Author Post: Joanna Paterson

No comments:

Email This BlogThis!Share to X Share to Facebook Share to Pinterest

Labels: 2016, female writers, fiction, Guest Author Post, poetry, Scotland, short fiction, short stories

Tuesday, January 3, 2017

Poetic Youth

Book Review for "20: A Novel" by Vatsal Surti

No comments:

Email This BlogThis!Share to X Share to Facebook Share to Pinterest

Labels: 2016, adult, book, Book Review, contemporary, fiction, literary, novella, poetry

Newer Posts Older Posts Home

Currently Reading

Davida's bookshelf: currently-reading

This Should Be Written in the Present Tense

by Helle Helle

The Betrayers: A Novel

by David Bezmozgis

Rodin's Lover

by Heather Webb

Wednesday Sisters

by Meg Waite Clayton

Visitation

by Jenny Erpenbeck

Follow my Pinterest boards.

Looking Forward

Davida's bookshelf: to-read

Curtain Call

by Anthony Quinn

The Magician's Lie

by Greer Macallister

How To Be A Heroine: Or, what I’ve learned from reading too much

by Samantha Ellis

The Room

by Jonas Karlsson

The Last Word

by Hanif Kureishi

Followers

BookSirens

Search This Blog

NetGalley Badges

Edelweiss Reviewer

Blog Archive

► 2022 (95)
- ► September (1)
- ► August (1)
- ► July (8)
- ► June (15)
- ► May (15)
- ► April (13)
- ► March (15)
- ► February (13)
- ► January (14)

► 2021 (169)
- ► December (15)
- ► November (14)
- ► October (14)
- ► September (15)
- ► August (15)
- ► July (14)
- ► June (14)
- ► May (13)
- ► April (14)
- ► March (14)
- ► February (13)
- ► January (14)

► 2020 (166)
- ► December (18)
- ► November (15)
- ► October (15)
- ► September (14)
- ► August (15)
- ► July (14)
- ► June (14)
- ► May (16)
- ► April (13)
- ► March (12)
- ► February (12)
- ► January (8)

► 2019 (97)
- ► December (10)
- ► November (10)
- ► October (8)
- ► September (11)
- ► August (10)
- ► July (9)
- ► June (9)
- ► May (10)
- ► April (4)
- ► March (4)
- ► February (6)
- ► January (6)

► 2018 (42)
- ► December (5)
- ► November (4)
- ► October (2)
- ► September (3)
- ► August (4)
- ► July (4)
- ► June (5)
- ► May (2)
- ► April (3)
- ► March (5)
- ► February (2)
- ► January (3)

▼ 2017 (42)
- ▼ December (5)
- ► November (3)
- ► October (4)
- ► September (6)
- ► August (4)
- ► July (2)
  - Two Paths that Never Converge
  - The Art of Becoming Real
- ► June (1)
  - The clock on the mantle ticked ticked
- ► May (4)
- ► April (5)
- ► March (4)
- ► February (1)
  - Feminist Stories from the Past
- ► January (3)

► 2016 (48)
- ► December (5)
- ► November (3)
- ► October (4)
- ► September (4)
- ► August (3)
- ► July (5)
- ► June (3)
- ► May (2)
- ► April (5)
- ► March (4)
- ► February (3)
- ► January (7)

► 2015 (73)
- ► December (7)
- ► November (6)
- ► October (5)
- ► September (5)
- ► August (3)
- ► July (4)
- ► June (5)
- ► May (5)
- ► April (10)
- ► March (8)
- ► February (9)
- ► January (6)

► 2014 (92)
- ► December (15)
- ► November (8)
- ► October (6)
- ► September (7)
- ► August (19)
- ► July (19)
- ► June (3)
- ► May (2)
- ► April (4)
- ► March (2)
- ► February (5)
- ► January (2)