Ronda Bowen

Sometimes, you need a novel that will be not only a fun read, but one that leads to some insight into the human condition. In Elizabeth Isaac’s The Scythian Trials, Part dystopia, part science fiction, The Scythian Trials focuses on a strong female main character, Anya Thalestris. Not only is she one of the strongest and smartest, but …

In Sweta Srivastava Vikram’s novel, Louisiana Catch, Ahana has fled her mother’s death – taking her from New Delhi to New Orleans. She’s working to increase awareness about violence against women. While she works on this project at an Annual Conference, she meets Rohan Brady. At her support group, she meets Jay Dubois. Soon, she finds …

They say you can never go home again. Whether that’s actually true or not, one of the big fiction tropes I see a lot is the story of someone who has made a successful life for himself or herself elsewhere in the world, but now finds that it’s time to return home for some reason …

Two crimes, 20 years apart, in the same location plague a community. Gilly Macmillan’s I Know You Know keeps readers involved from the moment they pick up the novel.  I’ve been on a bit of a quick and easy reads kick lately, namely because I’ve been sick, training for a half marathon, and, well, I have …

Candace N. Ford’s The Agitated Agenda is the first book in a contemporary new adult series about what happens when main character Priscilla Richardson had her life fully planned and figured out. Here’s a Q&A with the author and entrepreneur.  Candace N. Ford Answers Questions As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up? …

I love fashion. I know I haven’t talked about my love for fashion a lot on this blog, other than when I’m talking about creating it, but it is one of my passions. That’s why, when I was offered a review copy of The Stylist by Rosie Nixon, I was happy to take the opportunity to …

It can be rough if things don’t go the way they’ve always gone. In Evergreen Tidings from the Baumgartners, Violet Baumgartner has always sent a holiday letter, she’s planning the perfect retirement party to share in her letter, and, well, nothing really goes as planned.  “Life is what happens between plans,” a very wise professor once told …

I firmly believe that every item that we own tells a story. Perhaps, that’s why Marie Kondo’s book, The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up has caught on so much. We want to have greater connections to the things we own and hold on to only those things, which truly bring us a lot of value. In …

Life can get so complicated in just a moment. In Sarah Pinborough’s Cross Her Heart, main character Lisa’s life is going along just fine when everything changes. Her daughter, Ava, is turning sixteen when the novel opens. We can tell that she loves her job, and her best friend, Marilyn. But we all know that’s going …