H Author Archives - That's What She Read

Thoughts on books, family, and life in one impressive package.

Phoenix Flame disappoints

by Michelle | Mar 15, 2021 | Book Review, Books Read in 2021, H Author, Review Copy

While the first book in the Havenfall series was adequate, I hoped Sara Holland’s sequel, Phoenix Flame, would focus more on what I liked and less on what I didn’t. Unfortunately, she doesn’t. Phoenix Flame is a rather boring sequel with nothing...

Havenfall is perfectly acceptable

by Michelle | Mar 12, 2021 | Book Review, Books Read in 2021, H Author

Havenfall by Sara Holland is a perfectly decent young adult fantasy with a bit too much hand-wringing for my taste. This was always going to be the case when you have a main character suffering from a severe trauma that tore apart her family when she was younger and...

The World That We Knew is a must read

by Michelle | Jan 26, 2021 | Book Review, Books Read in 2021, H Author, Review Copy

Alice Hoffman and I have a love-hate relationship. I want to love her books, but most of the time I either do not finish them or finish them under duress. However, with The World That We Knew, I found an Alice Hoffman novel I love. Even though it occurs during World...

The Wife Upstairs keeps you guessing

by Michelle | Jan 4, 2021 | Book Review, Books Read in 2021, H Author, Review Copy

The Wife Upstairs by Rachel Hawkins has plenty to offer for those familiar with Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre. What you might not realize is that it also has vibes from Daphne du Maurier’s Rebecca. Given that I continually list both classics among my top...

The Daughters of Temperance Hobbs reads like a stand-alone

by Michelle | Dec 30, 2020 | Book Review, Books Read in 2020, H Author, Review Copy

The Daughters of Temperance Hobbs by Katherine Howe may be a sequel to The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane, but it is not necessary to read one before the other. While there are references to Deliverance and her book throughout The Daughters of Temperance Hobbs, Ms....

We Sold Our Souls

by Michelle | Dec 24, 2020 | Book Review, Books Read in 2020, H Author, Review Copy

We Sold Our Souls by Grady Hendrix, although published in 2018, feels fitting for the dumpster fire of 2020. After all, based on the title alone, it is not difficult to imagine an entire cadre of government officials who sold their souls a long time ago. And I’m...