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The Missing Treasures of Amy Ashton by Eleanor Ray My rating: 4 of 5 stars 4.5 stars " Alan Carver was what Tim had needed in his life. And he could have had his father back. If only his father had tried harder. Or if Tim had been able to forgive. Amy felt a wave of forgiveness wash over her like Roberta’s soap. If she had a second chance with the people she’d lost, she wouldn’t waste it. She’d forgive them and at the very least have her friends again." I loved this book from the moment I started it. I loved the author's voice, I loved Amy. I was rooting for her from the beginning and didn't stop for a moment. I loved how she loved all these flawed people around her and could see the magic in them and how she supported who they were. "She didn’t have the heart to tell them that really, it was not the plants that mattered to her. It seemed strange that some people could be so kind while others destroyed beautiful objects for no...

Every Vow You Break by Peter Swanson My rating: 1 of 5 stars This book was an absolute waste of time. It's an incredibly fast read. Almost like watching a movie but then it gets completely unraveled at the end and you're like WTF, totally stupid and I want my hours back thank you very much. I know writing books are an effort and I would never belittle that. I am sure many others loved this book and this author can clearly write. I just really really disliked this particular book. View all my reviews

Every Vow You Break by Peter Swanson My rating: 1 of 5 stars This book was an absolute waste of time. It's an incredibly fast read. Almost like watching a movie but then it gets completely unraveled at the end and you're like WTF, totally stupid and I want my hours back thank you very much. I know writing books are an effort and I would never belittle that. I am sure many others loved this book and this author can clearly write. I just really really disliked this particular book. View all my reviews

Perfect on Paper by Sophie Gonzales My rating: 3 of 5 stars 3.5 stars I read this whole book in one sitting. It was fun, sweet and a thoughtful YA story about a girl who's giving everyone advice (secretly) and sort of makes a mess of things. I loved the characters and even though it was predictable for me, i still enjoyed its diverse characters. View all my reviews

Gold Diggers by Sanjena Sathian My rating: 3 of 5 stars 3.5 stars. A friend of mine recommended this book to me and said it would get me out of my reading slump. It sort of did. What an unusual coming-of-age story about an Indian American boy, Neil, and his next door neighbor. I really liked the magical realism in this story that was woven into the story. I also loved how it started when he was a teen but then picked up again when he was in his twenties. It was a lovely story. (but did not really get me out of my slump!) View all my reviews

The Power of Vulnerability: Teachings of Authenticity, Connections and Courage by Brené Brown My rating: 5 of 5 stars I've listened to this series before. I will listen to it again. Brene's lessons are ones I have to hear again and again in my life. View all my reviews

The Intimacy Experiment by Rosie Danan My rating: 4 of 5 stars I have really enjoyed both of Rosie Danan's books in this series. I was very much looking forward to this one and it did not disappoint. If you're into romance novels, you will love this series which has strong, 3-dimensional, and interesting characters with fun dialogue. I can't wait to read more in the series. View all my reviews

A Million Reasons Why by Jessica Strawser My rating: 3 of 5 stars This was an interesting story about a woman who finds out she has a step-sister through a DNA test and the sister is sick and might need her to make a major sacrifice. This starts a rolling series of unraveling in the sisters' lives and their parents' lives, too. It brings up questions around what family is, when and for whom should you sacrifice and take chances. And secrets we bury for a long time. It was an interesting read. View all my reviews

A Million Reasons Why by Jessica Strawser My rating: 3 of 5 stars This was an interesting story about a woman who finds out she has a step-sister through a DNA test and the sister is sick and might need her to make a major sacrifice. This starts a rolling series of unraveling in the sisters' lives and their parents' lives, too. It brings up questions around what family is, when and for whom should you sacrifice and take chances. And secrets we bury for a long time. It was an interesting read. View all my reviews

Revival Season by Monica West My rating: 5 of 5 stars This is the story of Miriam, the daughter of a Baptist preacher, who witness her dad doing something that fundamentally shifts what she thinks of him and starts unraveling their whole family slowly. It's the story of what pride can do to a man, to a family. The story of what loss feels like and how we carry our thoughts, beliefs, wishes and dreams of who we are, who we can be and who we were inside ourselves. It's the story of what happens when you revere a person and come to find out they are human. It's the story of unspoken truths and how the weight of them can break a family. It's the story of how things can look one way from the outside and be completely different from the inside (as they often are.) It's the story of what happens when you can no longer hide your own truth, your own potential and choose to step into your own sunshine even a little bit. This is a wonderfull...

What Kind of Woman by Kate Baer My rating: 5 of 5 stars This is absolutely excellent. I want to go back and read and reread every one of these poems. I cannot recommend this collection enough! If you can get past your idea of what should and should not be called a poem and can see the thoughts, ideas, emotions in this collection, you will love them. View all my reviews

Her Here by Amanda Dennis My rating: 2 of 5 stars This is the story of Elena, who is on leave from graduate school and takes an assignment to read and rewrite the diaries of a young woman who went missing six years earlier in Thailand. As she dives into Ella's story, Elena's life and sense of self gets mixed in Ella's and she gets more and more lost in what happened to Ella. I was never able to get into this story, the names of the two girls were too similar and it was easy to lose track of who was who and what went on. It's very possible this was done on purpose to have the reader experience some of the confusion Elena was experiencing but it made it hard for me to really enjoy the story. with gratitude to edelweiss for an early copy in exchange for an honest review. View all my reviews

On Hampstead Heath by Marika Cobbold My rating: 3 of 5 stars 3.5 stars This was such an interesting reading experience for me. This is the story of Thorn Marsh who is a serious journalist at a paper that is slowly letting go of its morals and she is swiftly let go of her job at the news section and placed into a department to tell "feel good" stories. She writes up a semi-fictional feel good story while in a drunken stupor and wakes up to find the story go viral. Now she has a conundrum between her morals and her reality and things start unwinding from there. The beginning of this story was really slow for me but then it started picking up and I found myself following along as the character tangled herself into bigger and bigger messes. Lying is a slippery slope and it's hard to figure out when you've met that moment that you can't turn back from. I enjoyed the time I spent with this story and read it in one sitting once I was p...

The Good Sister by Sally Hepworth My rating: 3 of 5 stars 3.5 stars This was a really quick, fun read. You could see the build coming the whole time and got more and more tense as you read the book. I really liked the main character and how she'd built this small but sweet life around her. If you're into fast-paced, well-written mysteries that are character-driven, you will enjoy this one. View all my reviews

A Town Called Solace by Mary Lawson My rating: 4 of 5 stars I'd never heard of Mary Lawson before, nor had I read her. This was my first and if it's any indication, I see more of her in my future reading. The characters in this story are three-dimensional, each a little broken in different ways as we all are and each people you find yourself rooting for as you can see them making their way through life. Really lovely. View all my reviews

Everything After by Jill Santopolo My rating: 3 of 5 stars Another sweet read from Jill Santopolo. This is one of those stories I found myself immersed in while reading and yet just a few weeks later, I don't remember much of it. I don't think there's anything wrong with that. I remember the way the book made me feel and it was lovely. View all my reviews