Underrated Reads

The Knowledge: A Too Close To True Novel – Steven Pressfield

Posted on January 22, 2017 by J D Jung

(Reviewed by Don Jung) How does a struggling writer make it in the big city? The Knowledge: A Too Close To True Novel is part crime novel, part self-realization story taken from some real-life experiences of author, Steven Pressfield. It pictures life of a struggling writer in crime- ridden New York City in the early…

Posted in Crime, Mystery and Thrillers | Tagged biography, Crime, self-realization, writers | Comments Off

Pearl, MD: The Way West – Marie Bartlett

Posted on January 19, 2017 by J D Jung

(Reviewed by Jeyran Main) The Way West, the second in the Pearl MD series, begins right where we were left off and is just as captivating. Pearl is a physician in the nineteenth-century. This was when women were not welcome to have a profession. African Americans were also treated poorly. Healing them as patients was…

Posted in Historical Fiction, Reviewers' Top Picks | Tagged book review, race relations, racism | Comments Off

Olympic Collision: The Story of Mary Decker and Zola Budd- Kyle Keiderling

Posted on January 15, 2017 by J D Jung

(Reviewed by Ishita RC) One momentous day. And two lives were forever linked. At the 1984 summer games in Los Angeles, a raucous crowd of ninety thousand saw their favorite in the women’s three-thousand-meter race, Mary Decker, go down. An audience of two billion around the world witnessed the mishap and listened to the instantaneous…

Posted in Non-fiction, Reviewers' Top Picks | Tagged book reviews, Olympics, running, sports, track | Comments Off

Beyond the Carousel – Bette Lee Crosby

Posted on January 10, 2017 by J D Jung

(Reviewed by Ishita RC) A family tragedy that spans over twenty years, and a detective who believes that justice has a higher power than law and is determined to make things right. “Life is like a carousel; what goes around, comes around. “ I am deliberately keeping the synopsis brief; the book is truly a…

Posted in Crime, Mystery and Thrillers | Tagged book reviews, mystery, suspense, thrillers, women's fiction | Comments Off

The Girl from Rostov- Shitij Sharma

Posted on January 7, 2017 by J D Jung

(Reviewed by JD Jung) “Everything adds up. Every second, every lie, every breath. In the end, it all catches up with you.” "Even if you have little to do with it. Family, for instance. “ That’s what young Maya had to learn. Too many unanswered questions haunted her into adulthood. With the death of her…

Posted in Crime, Mystery and Thrillers, Indian Literature | Tagged book reviews, gangsters, India, Russia, Turkey, USSR | Comments Off

Motherland Hotel – Yusuf Atilgan, (Translated from the Turkish by Fred Stark)

Posted on January 2, 2017 by J D Jung

(Reviewed by JD Jung) “She was in the painting on the wall…It had gotten stiff again and he ran his fingers through the short hairs at the root. “Almost as big as the rest of you.” at tall woman, under him so tall. Could I kiss your breasts Sure if you want and your neck…

Posted in Historical Fiction, Lost and almost forgotten, Middle Eastern Literature, World Literature | Tagged book reviews. fiction, mental illness, Turkish literature | Comments Off

Wishing You the Best in 2017

Posted on December 31, 2016 by J D Jung

(by JD Jung) We would all like to thank you for using UnderratedReads as one of your resources for book recommendations. We are looking forward to continue to give you our opinions on exciting and thought-provoking "underrated" releases in 2017. Though we only post reviews on books that we recommend, there are some that our reviewers have considered…

Posted in Let's talk | Tagged 2016, best books, book reviews, fiction, Non-fiction | Comments Off

The Four Legendary Kingdoms – Matthew Reilly

Posted on December 28, 2016 by J D Jung

(Reviewed by Ishita RC) Jack West Jr. is finally living the life of peace with his family when one urgent call later, he gets kidnapped and finds himself waking up in an underground cell to a masked intruder charging at him with a knife. Jack, it seems has been chosen – along with dozen other…

Posted in Crime, Mystery and Thrillers, Sci-Fi/Speculative/Fantasy/Mythology | Tagged book reviews, mythological fiction | Comments Off

One Good Man – Del Staecker

Posted on December 26, 2016 by J D Jung

(Reviewed by JD Jung) “That voice and his love of music made him a legend—a true living legend.” Atlantic City’s whiskey-voiced radio DJ, “Jersey Shore Joe” had enough. Music and times were changing; it was time for this 1960s and '70s legend to retire. He buys a cheap boat to restore and moves to Ocean…

Posted in Crime, Mystery and Thrillers | Tagged Atlantic City, book reviews, crime fiction | Comments Off

‘Tis the Season – Jennifer Gracen

Posted on December 23, 2016 by J D Jung

(Reviewed by Ishita RC) Being the heir of the Harrison enterprise, propriety has been the middle name of Charles Harrison the III. He has always followed the rule and decorum. However now he is tempted by the bewitching nanny. Lisette has always loved the eldest Harrison from a distance. She never expected more than that…

Posted in Romance | Tagged book reviews, chick lit, romance. women's fiction | Comments Off