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Long Island Girls by Gabrielle Korn My rating: 4 of 5 stars This story is about Susan and Eliza. They meet in 2005, and the moment is lost before it even becomes a thing. With the exception of a brief exchange from afar in the subway, they don't reconnect again for 10 years. Finally they get the chance they never had and they dive right in. all the way. But before it's even a thing, things implode. After another ten years, they meet again. And Susan realizes that her whole life has been about chasing the dream of Eliza. All the questions that came from the "what if" that never got answered put her life on hold and let the yearning take over everything else. This story is about love, friendship, home, belonging, identity, music, NYC, LA and so much more. It's about growing up in the 00s and losing parts of yourself that were taken from you without permission and giving up other parts of yourself willingly. It's a beautiful st...

The One Day You Were My Husband by Rosie Walsh My rating: 2 of 5 stars 2.5 stars on this novel for me. Even though there are some twists towards the end, most of the novel was too boring and slow moving for me. View all my reviews

A Pair of Aces by Marie Benedict My rating: 4 of 5 stars Excellent historical fiction novel that was partly made up, partly true. A great reminder of unlikely allies and creative thinking when the obvious paths are not accessible. All the details matter and it pays to think outside the box, especially when others don't. View all my reviews

Ducks, Newburyport by Lucy Ellmann My rating: 4 of 5 stars Well what a journey this was. I am not sure that I would have finished this book if it weren't for my friend Lauren. I picked it up because of her and started, despite the length, without knowing anything about it. About an hour in, I decided I had made a mistake and there was no way I could endure this for another 44 hours. I continued for a few more hours and then decided I needed to take a break. I started and finished another book and then checked in with my friend Lauren who was still at it, so I went back and, within minutes, I remembered why I had put it down. I did a few more hours and then put it down again. I felt like it was annoying me disproportionately considering how relatable parts of the story was. After finishing another book, I decided to give it one more try. And I guess third time was the charm because after that I could not put it down. First of all, the audiobook na...

The Three Graces of Pearl Street by Elizabeth Wellington Rollins My rating: 5 of 5 stars What an incredible joy it was to read this novel of three generations of women, each dealing with loss in their own way, thrown together in a tiny apartment and coming to terms with each other and their own journeys. There's so much heart in this novel that it's not possible for you not to love it. Even though I felt like Grace (the mom) was explored the least compared to Graziella (the grandmother) and Ella (the granddaughter), I loved all three of them and I loved reading their journeys. I can't wait to read more from this author. with gratitude to netgalley and Atria books for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review. View all my reviews

The Women in White by Sarah Pekkanen My rating: 4 of 5 stars This was an unusual mystery unlike books I've read by Pekkanen before. I liked that it drew attention to history of psychological experiments at Duke and it read as a combination of historical fiction and mystery. It wasn't full of twists and turns and unreliable narrators and all the tricks that appear to be very common. It was interesting and engaging in a different way. I enjoyed it a lot. It was excellent on audio as well!! with gratitude to netgalley and Macmillan Audio for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review. View all my reviews