The Book Brothel

Nicholas Platt is a British lawyer who sees the opportunity to make a lot of money in Russia in not-quite-clean deals, especially in the oil industry, so makes the move to cold, harsh Moscow. As far as Nick is concerned, it's a take-what-you-can world, and he's willing to 'put lipstick on a pig' if people are determined not to see what's really going on. His lusty excesses soon zero in on Masha, a woman over fifteen years younger than him. Masha is a strongly independent woman, so, wanting to be needed, he falls all over himself to help when she needs to broker a legal deal for her aunt's new apartment in Moscow's strictly-controlled housing market. Continue reading →

Tony Webster believes he had a pretty average adolescence - intimidated by the idea of girls, slightly in awe of his highly intelligent friend Adrian - but as he looks back in his retirement, past his marriage, divorce, and career - a letter from a lawyer helps push him to discover that so much more was going on during his college years that he ever would have suspected. Continue reading →

Through the eyes of a Christian nanny, Marta, we see the struggles of a Jewish family to keep Pepik, their six-year-old son, alive in Czechoslovakia as Hitler's forces begin their expansion across Europe. His father, Pavel, wants to hold on to everything he's built up for his family at his factory, while his enigmatic but practical wife Anneliese is willing to give up her religion and culture for perceived safety and security. Cut into the family's story are snippets from a current-day Holocaust historian, a woman who has grown old while trying to preserve the memories of other people's lives. The two narratives slowly converge as the fates of the Bauer family and their loyal nanny are revealed in an unexpected way. Continue reading →

A confession before we get started: I didn’t track the books I read in 2010 or 2009, and I didn’t do any best-of lists for 2009, so these lists are mostly pulled from 2010 reads, but there are some books … Continue reading →

Many thanks to Kate Jacobs and Penguin Canada for making Book Brothel a stop on the Knit the Season Book Blog Tour! I read the first book in the series, Friday Night Knitting Club, last year, and it’s a thrill … Continue reading →

Reviewed by L.D.Y Trade, 324 pages, 2009 Rating: 9/10 Reason for Reading: I picked up the first book of this series, Friday Night Knitting Club, about a year ago (reading and knitting are two of my favourite things). I wasn’t … Continue reading →

October is Adopt-a-Dog Month, and we’re celebrating our furry pals (and the people who love them) by hosting another contest with Hachette Book Group USA! One lucky winner will win a set of the following five books: Katie Up and … Continue reading →

Congrats to Victoria M of Toronto, ON; Evonne B of Bellevue, WA; and Loni C of Newmarket, ON, who have each won a fantastic new book from Hachette Book Group USA! The lucky winners will each receive a copy of … Continue reading →