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What If You & Me by Roni Loren My rating: 4 of 5 stars I love love loved Loren's previous book in this series and could not wait to get my hands on the second one. I had adored Hollyn and Jasper both and really loved the writing. I didn't realize this book was going to be about two different characters but I quickly grew to love Andi and Hill as well and found myself rooting for them. I felt like there was less up-front character development in this story so I didn't find myself as attached to the characters as I had in the previous book and the attraction and steam showed up more quickly in this book. But my favorite part of the first book in the series was how the characters are flawed and real in their own ways and how they are struggling with who they are and how worthy that makes them in a romance. And then they find each other and are so open and kind to these insecurities. This is just as true in this novel with Andi and her an...

Yoga Pant Nation by Laurie Gelman My rating: 4 of 5 stars I have read and enjoyed Gelman's previous books in this series so I knew I was going to love this one as well and it did not disappoint. Jen Dixon and her sense of humor juxtaposed with serious and real struggles of juggling midlife with kids, school obligations, career, and parents allows you to laugh at the absurdity of life while bringing a lot of heart to it. This short book covers marriage and exes, navigating custody, taking care of aging parents, trying to get a new career off the ground, finding ways to raise money for a school auction and more. Gelman's ability to blend heart and humor into these otherwise serious and complicated issues makes it a joy to read and laugh as you shake your head and cheer for her and her characters as they navigate life and its complexities. full of heart, full of laughter. with gratitude to netgalley and Macmillan Audio for an advanced audio in e...

You're Going to Survive by Alexandra Franzen My rating: 4 of 5 stars I've read Alexandra Franzen's blog for many, many years and I enjoy her style of storytelling with heart and her ability to get to the heart of the matter and both make you think and make you feel . She can instill courage while making sure you feel held. Many of the stories in this collection are of people who have had major setbacks in their lives and have found ways to move past them and many have found ways to create very powerful outcomes as a direct result of the setback. (So examples of not just "you're going to survive" but "you're going to thrive.") There are a wide range of examples in the book and a wide range of stories. If you're struggling or in the middle of a setback, this is a good reminder, a good pep talk, and some good advice to help shift that perspective. A reminder that life is long and we are resilient. with gratitu...

Razorblade Tears by S.A. Cosby My rating: 4 of 5 stars This story has so many layers of content and context that giving a simple review of the plot doesn't do it justice. On the surface it's a gritty mystery about two dads whose married sons are murdered and when the police seemingly lose interest in digging deep, the dads decide to take matters into their own hands and find out what happened. And yet there's so much more. One of the dads is white and the other is black and there are a lot of statements, observations and nuance around race and racism in this story. Neither of the dads was ok with their children being gay and it tackles homophobia and more. It tackles incarceration and the aftermath of what it does to a family. It tackles trust, revenge, family, and of course love. This is a fast paced novel with a lot happening, the setting and mood are a part of the story, the characters are complex and jump off the page with their aliv...

A Good Day for Chardonnay by Darynda Jones My rating: 4 of 5 stars I have been thinking about this book ever since I read the first one over a year ago. I loved Sunshine Vikram then and I love her now. This book has a lot going on. It's romance, mystery, and comedy all rolled into one. And just to keep it even more fun, in this one, there are several romances, several mysterious plots, and the comedy is just oozing from every dialogue. I totally understand that might not be everyone's cup of tea. but it's totally mine. I love every one of the characters in this book. I love that there are like 5 mysteries that come together and get solved and I just love this author's voice. I love the way the characters love each other and tease each other. I love the nonstop commentary. I even love the absurd scenes. I was waiting for this book for over a year and it absolutely did not disappoint. I know it looks like many of the subplots from book ...

The Last House on Needless Street by Catriona Ward My rating: 5 of 5 stars 4.5 stars, rounded up for incredible creativity. I will remember this novel for a long, long time. I don't want to write too much about it because I think the best thing about this story is how it unravels and how you as a reader are constantly trying to figure out what's going on and each time you think you have it, you realize you don't. And it keeps going again and again. This is not a story with a twist, it's a story with a million little turns. It's like each time a layer of the onion gets peeled your perspective of the onion's actual shape changes. And in the end, the book leaves you devastated. I almost didn't request this book because it said it was horror and while I think the atmosphere and mood of the story definitely feels like horror, I don't think calling this horror is the right fit. It's a very atmospheric mystery maybe but r...

Several People Are Typing by Calvin Kasulke My rating: 2 of 5 stars What an unusual novel. I think this one will have polarizing views. One will either enjoy the gimmick and laugh the whole time or will get stuck in it and feel it's too absurd. I think as a short story this might have been cute, especially in a year when many of us lived on chat since we couldn't have face to face conversations at work. But alas, for me, it was too absurd. It got long and weird and not super funny. I also didn't like some of the consent related issues that were glossed over as a joke. No need for those to be in the book but if they are, they should be handled not as a joke. I did like the idea of this book and I did think it was cute and funny and even hilarious at parts. I think as a short story with a much tighter plot, it would have hit the mark more. with gratitude to edelweis and doubleday for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review. ...

Heartbreak for Hire by Sonia Hartl My rating: 3 of 5 stars 2.5 stars, rounded up. I have a lot of thoughts about this story. On the one hand, I will say that it was a quick and light read in that I read it in one sitting, and enjoyed the time I spent with it. On the other hand, I felt like most of the characters were not as layered as actual people are and this left the novel feeling not as enjoyable because everyone was playing a part in some ways. The really cold and distant mom (though she has a reason she's that way, don't we all?) to the point of cruelty. The really nice man, Mark, Brinkley meets that starts changing everything and he is just so nice again and again (even though he messes up once.) The weird closed-off boss who's doing it all for your own good.... The other women who work with Brinkley were some of my favorites in the book. The side characters were fun, light, interesting and added the color the story enjoyed. But th...

Exit by Belinda Bauer My rating: 4 of 5 stars My favorite mystery novels are character-driven stories where there happens to be a mystery in the novel. This story by Belinda Bauer accomplishes the rare feat of being an interesting plot and character driven story. There's a reasonably convoluted plot that unravels in pieces but there's also deep and interesting character studies in this story. It's also really fast paced. Accomplishing all that in a single novel is quite hard. I really enjoyed this one. View all my reviews

The Guide by Peter Heller My rating: 4 of 5 stars I am a big fan of Peter Heller and have read and enjoyed every one of his stories. Even though his settings and characters are very far from my day to day life, I enjoy the depth of character exploration and the atmosphere each of his novels has. "The virus had mostly burned itself out and been vaccinated against, and other novel viruses had moved over the world and hit different countries more or less hard, and economies had convulsed and adjusted, those who could afford it spent more and more time on retreat in the remotest places. Like these mountains. The densest cities were still the most dangerous. And vacationing deep in the mountains when possible had become a cultural habit more than anything." This is the first novel I've read that takes place "after" covid and has incorporated one version of what the world might look like into the novel. I loved that it was part of t...

Instructions for Dancing by Nicola Yoon My rating: 4 of 5 stars Nicola Yoon does not disappoint. This story is lovely and sweet and also profound of course. I enjoy reading her books and this was no exception. View all my reviews

The People We Keep by Allison Larkin My rating: 5 of 5 stars What an absolute joy of a book to read. This is the story of April Sawicki who finally manages to run away from her hometown where she lives practically alone in a motorhome as her dad moves in with his new wife. She gets on the road with a car, a few trash bags of belongings and a little money. Her journey is hard, long, harrowing, uplifting, and joyous in parts. Each time she meets people and gets attached, she ends up feeling like she has to move on for one reason or another. She's always on the run, always untrusting, never wanting to let her guard down. But along the way, she can't help but collect some people who love her for exactly who she is. This is a wonderful story of friendship, the families we make and the people we keep. I've enjoyed every single minute I spent with it. with gratitude to edelweiss and Gallery books for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest re...

Colorful: A Novel by Eto Mori My rating: 4 of 5 stars “Extraordinary joy and sadness can come out of the ordinary every day." What an unusual book. This short book is about a soul that gets a second chance and is put into the body of Makoto who has recently killed himself. This soul doesn't remember what he did in his previous life to end up here but he has to live in Makoto's life for a year to remember this own past so he can get to reincarnate into another body. "Thinking about it, this didn’t just apply to Makoto. Maybe the world was actually filled to the brim with things it was simply too late for, things we couldn’t take back." As he slowly starts getting to know Makoto's family and friends and life, he moves through a lot of feelings and while some parts of the book feel awkward to read I couldn't tell if that was the translation or the original writing. "The idea of the Kobayashi family I’d had in my head ...

If Only by Angela Marsons My rating: 1 of 5 stars I usually try to be generous and honest with my book reviews. I understand that writing a book is a huge commitment and often an effort that takes years and years. And I can tell many others loved this book. Alas, I did not. A book like this (where each of the three main characters is going through a journey where they realize what they think they want isn't really what they truly want and what's good for them) requires the reader to root for the main characters. It requires the reader to care about their dreams, to cheer for them when they win and want to hold their hand when they struggle. The characters in this book all made me cringe. One woman wants to date her good looking senior boss even though it's super clear he's a total jerk, but she can't see beyond his looks. Another woman wants to lure the man she's having an affair with by secretly getting pregnant. Even though ...

The 22 Murders of Madison May by Max Barry My rating: 4 of 5 stars I love Max Barry. I've loved reading his books since Jennifer Government and Lexicon and I think it will be hard for me not to enjoy a book by him because I really like his writing style and his clever mind. This book was no exception. I have read many books that contain the multiverse theory over the last few years so the parallel universes part of the book wasn't novel to me. But the idea of a serial killer going through each universe and hunting down the same girl was definitely an interesting twist. This is a fast-paced novel as all of Barry's other ones. It's hard to put down once you start it and even though it contained more violence and less character development than I'd prefer, I really enjoyed my time with it. with gratitude to netgalley and PENGUIN GROUP Putnam for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review. View all my reviews

Everyone in This Room Will Someday Be Dead by Emily R. Austin My rating: 3 of 5 stars 3.5 stars. This book is a lot darker and drearier than the blurb would have you believe. Dry humor isn't usually my thing which is maybe why I didn't find it hilarious at all. For most of the story, Gilda is depressed and not feeling her feelings which makes it hard for the reader to feel any feelings. Despite all that, I read this book in one sitting and enjoyed each of the characters. I think this book was actually an accurate representation of what it might feel like if the main character is depressed. Most of the books make that feel like there are big negative feelings, even though it's usually an absence of feelings. It's just that reading a book with the main character in that state is hard to enjoy. with gratitude to netgalley and Artia books for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review. View all my reviews

The Road Trip by Beth O'Leary My rating: 2 of 5 stars while i really enjoyed O'Leary's previous novel and was anxiously awaiting this one. It just didn't do it for me. I couldn't get attached into the characters enough and wasn't really rooting for them the way a novel like this needs the reader to be. Still looking forward to her next one. View all my reviews

Easy Crafts for the Insane: A Mostly Funny Memoir of Mental Illness and Making Things by Kelly Williams Brown My rating: 4 of 5 stars "It is following good mental health hygiene—which is the real self-care, although it’s so, so boring! It is cultivating contentment rather than chasing happiness." I have never heard of Kelly Williams Brown before this book. I have not read her previous books and I think I was drawn to this book because it mentioned crafts. As a crafty person, I have to say that most of the crafts in this story are simple and not anything to write home about. But I still read them all because Kelly's humor is all over them and it's fabulous. I loved her voice throughout this whole book. The way she talks about her life and her mistakes and things that happen to her and the way she describes the people in her life (even those who abandon her or whom she abandons) is magical. She clearly is a person full of life and joy...

How Lucky by Will Leitch My rating: 3 of 5 stars 3.5 stars This was an interesting read about Daniel, who is confined to his home and ends up seeing a kidnapping. The story revolves around him and his life and there are many funny bits. The whole book is written with this light touch that's representative of Daniel's positive outlook in life despite his circumstances. And even though serious and scary things are happening, it also all feels a bit absurd. I liked this book and how different it was. View all my reviews