Book Reviews • Sweet Sequels

REVIEWS FROM HALEIGH DEROCHER

Some Non-Fiction Book Recommendations

I have read a few lovely non-fiction books lately. Each of these books provided me with much needed encouragement, but in different areas of life. A good non-fiction book just can't be beat, and is sometimes just what the doctor ordered. So, I feel compelled to share...

Review: Tess of the d’Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy

"Meanwhile, the trees were just as green as before; the birds sang and the sun shone as clearly now as ever. The familiar surroundings had not darkened because of her grief." Tess of the d'Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ This has been my favorite read of...

Review: Summer by Edith Wharton

"These things were hers; they had passed into her blood, and become part of her, they were building the child in her womb; it was impossible to tear asunder strands of life so interwoven." I've decided that now when people ask for my recommendation of which Wharton...

Review: Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton

"I had the sense that the deeper meaning of the story was in the gaps." I own more copies of Ethan Frome than any other book, and I can easily say it's my favorite novella I've ever read. But I also feel like I'm constantly defending my love for it, because it is...

Review: Little Dorrit by Charles Dickens

"One always begins to forgive a place as soon as it's left behind." Little Dorrit by Charles Dickens, Before my review of the novel, I'd like to go into a little history. Charles Dickens' father, John, was always a poor manager of his finances - so poor, in fact, that...

Review: Emily of New Moon by LM Montgomery

"If it's in you to climb you must - there are those who must lift their eyes to the hills - they can't breathe properly in the valleys." Emily of New Moon by LM Montgomery, I feel like this is the book of my soul, guys. The prose is breathtaking and the narrative is...

Review: A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens

"It is a far, far better thing that I do, than I have ever done; it is a far, far better rest that I go to than I have ever known" A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens, ⭐⭐⭐⭐ It might not stay at four stars though, judging by my history of reading Dickens. AToTC is...

My Cousin Rachel by Daphne Du Maurier

My Cousin Rachel by Daphne Du Maurier I spent a good portion of a day trying to sort out my feelings about this book. Basically ??. While I don't like it quite as much as Rebecca, it had the same haunting quality that I just cannot get over ?? . . SYNOPSIS: Ambrose...

Glimpses of the Moon by Edith Wharton

"Good books, good music, and good talk had been their daily food..."Glimpses of the Moon was published in 1922, seventeen years after Wharton's great success with House of Mirth. I decided to read this in conjunction with House of Mirth (both were rereads) because the...

Great Expectations by Charles Dickens

"You have been in every line I have ever read." ✨Favorite quote✨What a wild ride this was for my first Dickens (other than A Christmas Carol). For my whole life I've been curious about Dickens but too scared to actually follow through and finish any of his books. And...

Little Women Movie Review

All right, y'all. I finally saw the new Little Women movie last night and let me just say... I LOVED IT . When I found out they were doing a new adaptation for this book (one of my faves ever) I have to admit I was skeptical for a myriad of reasons. I don't have much...

The Reef by Edith Wharton

Edith Wharton does it again with this biting novel of love, deception, and social mores. Synopsis: Two seemingly happy couples join in France to announce their engagements. But things begin to unravel as secret pasts come to light. What are the effects of a casual...

Hudson River Bracketed by Edith Wharton

I've read many of Wharton's books and this is perhaps my favorite. While vastly different from her novels of New York, I found it most similar in style to Summer. This saga follows the life of burgeoning writer Vance Weston. Over the course of many years (five or six...

Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier

Synopsis: A young and inexperienced narrator (who remains unnamed throughout the narrative) marries a widower and owner of a massive estate, Manderley, after knowing him for only a few weeks. After the initial bliss of honeymoon and new love, Maxim de Winter takes his...

The House of Mirth by Edith Wharton

SYNOPSIS: Lily Bart is a well-born but impoverished young woman, trying desperately to maintain her footing in the New York elite society, where money talks louder than just about anything. She relies on her rich friends for everything, and, at 29, has let a few too...