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Horse by Geraldine Brooks My rating: 4 of 5 stars 4.5 stars Another book that I thought would likely be boring so I kept putting off reading it but I should have trusted the excellent writer that is Geraldine Brooks. I don't know nor care about horses. And yet, this book is excellent. The deep dives into horse racing and the Smithsonian were excellent. The characters were each deeply memorable. Loved it. View all my reviews

Thank You for Listening by Julia Whelan My rating: 4 of 5 stars I really enjoyed the time I spent with this story. Julia Whelan is a great writer and a great narrator. Her dialogue was a joy to listen to. Lovely. View all my reviews

Things We Never Got Over by Lucy Score My rating: 3 of 5 stars Quick, easy read. Enjoyable but also forgettable, at least for me. View all my reviews

The Last Housewife by Ashley Winstead My rating: 3 of 5 stars I have mixed feelings about this one. I thought the first half was a lot stronger than the second half. Lots of trigger warnings on this one and it was hard for me to tell if it felt just a bit too gimmicky in parts. View all my reviews

The Lioness by Chris Bohjalian My rating: 3 of 5 stars Several people said this was their favorite Bohjalian novel so it must be me. I thought it was okay, I enjoyed reading it and I liked the wilderness bits and i liked the hollywood bits but overall, it's not a story that will stay with me as much as some of his others have. View all my reviews

Hamnet by Maggie O'Farrell My rating: 4 of 5 stars Not sure why I resisted reading this one for as long as I did. I think I thought it was going to be far more boring than it was. It was more about being a mother than it was about anything else. I loved it. Maggie O'Farrell is a fantastic writer. View all my reviews

The Ferryman by Justin Cronin My rating: 0 of 5 stars "The mind works wondrously; it is capable of astonishing feats. It is the only machine in nature capable of thinking one thing while knowing its opposite. The bright, busy surface of life—that is the key. How easily it distracts us, like a magician who waves a wand with one hand while, with the other, he plucks a rabbit from his vest." What a wild ride this book was! It starts in what looks to be a utopian world of people who live in a beautiful and secluded island where life is perfect but it quickly becomes clear that there are issues brewing just below the surface. Class issues, political unrest, and more hidden secrets. Proctor lives in this beautiful world, married to a stunning woman and has a respected job as a Ferrryman who escorts people who are at the end of their lives to the ferry so they can be retired. Proctor's dad gets belligerent and utters what seems like nonsense w...

The Violin Conspiracy by Brendan Slocumb My rating: 4 of 5 stars 4.5 stars Excellent, well-written story about a Black Violin player whose family heirloom ends up being an incredibly expensive violin. There's a lot in this story about family, racism, music, fame, and a mystery at its root since the story starts with the violin having been stolen. Loved this one. View all my reviews

Jar of Hearts by Jennifer Hillier My rating: 4 of 5 stars I tackled this after "little secrets" by the same author which I loved and many people seemed to like this book more. I sort of guessed the twist so I thought this one wasn't as good but it was still pretty excellent and fast paced and hard to put down. Hillier is an excellent writer. View all my reviews

Little Secrets by Jennifer Hillier My rating: 5 of 5 stars I read this excellent, excellent mystery in one swallow. Fast-paced, well-written and just fantastic. highly recommended. View all my reviews

Little Secrets by Jennifer Hillier My rating: 5 of 5 stars View all my reviews

Fighting Words by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley My rating: 5 of 5 stars A heart-wrenching and beautifully told story about a little girl and her older sister and the importance of telling your truths, standing with each other and the power of standing up. Really beautiful. View all my reviews

The Couple at Number 9 by Claire Douglas My rating: 4 of 5 stars I enjoyed this fast paced but also character-driven mystery. Well written and quite the story. View all my reviews

A Prayer for the Crown-Shy by Becky Chambers My rating: 5 of 5 stars Another gem. In fact, I might have liked this one even more than the previous one. Monk and Robot continue their adventures as they go back into town, meeting different people. I love these books. View all my reviews

All the Acorns on the Forest Floor by Kim Hooper My rating: 4 of 5 stars I am a fan of Kim Hooper. I love her writing and I love her characters. I loved these interconnected stories all within the theme around motherhood, pregnancy, infertility. View all my reviews

People Who Knew Me by Kim Hooper My rating: 4 of 5 stars I'm a big fan of Kim Hooper, all of her books seem to speak to me. I enjoy her characters and her writing. This, her debut, is no exception. View all my reviews

These Silent Woods by Kimi Cunningham Grant My rating: 5 of 5 stars absolutely beautiful quiet book about a dad and his daughter who live in the woods as runaways until an event causes them to have to reconsider everything. really, really beautiful story about friendship, family, sacrifice. View all my reviews

Professor Everywhere by Nicholas Binge My rating: 5 of 5 stars Unlike anything I've read. Hard to even put into words what this book is about, it's about so many different things. If you like unusual books that mix origin of words with science and a fast paced mystery, you will enjoy this insane story. I loved it. View all my reviews

The Museum of Rain by Dave Eggers My rating: 4 of 5 stars beautifully crafted short story about an old man visiting a site he'd started years ago with a group of children. loved it. View all my reviews