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The Will of the Many by James Islington My rating: 4 of 5 stars This was a long long long audiobook. I started and stopped it a few times but for some reason i decided this was the week to really sink my teeth into it. And I am so glad I did. I really enjoyed it, especially the class/school parts and could have listened for a while more. Not sure if I will read the next one but glad I read this one! View all my reviews

A Deadly Episode by Anthony Horowitz My rating: 4 of 5 stars ok rounding this one up from 3.5 stars as it wasn't my favorite of the Hawtorne novels but I still loved it and didn't see some of the twists coming. I also really liked the hints in this one that gave us a bit more sneak peek into Hawthorne's own past. Curious to see if that will come fully in a future story. Love Horowitz so much! View all my reviews

The Half-Hearted Queen by Charlie N. Holmberg My rating: 4 of 5 stars I didn't love this one as much as the first since there was a bunch more yearning but it was still fun and easy read and kept my interest the whole time and ended the story in a satisfactory way. This was a fun duology. View all my reviews

Hollow Bones by Jodi Picoult My rating: 4 of 5 stars I was not prepared for how sad this book is. There are three sections in this book and they are all sad in their own way. Despite being able to guess some of the twists, I kept waiting for more horrible things to happen because Picoult has conditioned me to always assume the worst. Thankfully it didn't go where I was most worried it would. But especially as a mom and as someone who lived in NYC during 9/11 this was a hard book to read. View all my reviews

Winter Song: A Novel by Rebeca Lee Morales My rating: 3 of 5 stars This was a short and sad story about a man who has served time and is released from prison, consistently insisting that he hasn't committed the crime. And a policeman who finally decides to get curious. It has so much sadness. It shows how hard it can be to start over again, even when you have support, even when some people believe you. And how your own belief in yourself can both help and hurt. And how sometimes it's best to just move on and not look backward no matter what. with gratitude to netgalley and Ecco for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review. View all my reviews

Bad Words by Rioghnach Robinson My rating: 4 of 5 stars I wish there were more romance books like this. I loved how this book took its time diving deeper into each of the characters and showing us their insecurities and enough of their backgrounds that you couldn't help but root for them. I also love how it's about how media doesn't always help matters by sensationalizing things and people also don't help by taking sides without information. Projecting our own ideas of right and wrong into a "reel" online without knowing any of the real details behind the people and even the story. And how people and careers and publishing can all be so fragile. How we are always trying to prove something to our parents, to ourselves, to the people we don't know. How words can have so much power. And how through the lens of time and experience everything can change shape. And how we are never one thing. with gratitude to netgalley and St...