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Korean Grammar for Beginners Textbook + Workbook Included: Supercharge Your Korean With Essential Lessons and Exercises by Fluent in Korean My rating: 3 of 5 stars I've been trying to learn Korean for a few months. I have been doing Duolingo and have bought a few textbooks to help me with grammar. This book is one of the better ones but it's still challenging to navigate on your own if you're completely new like I am. View all my reviews

Damsel by Evelyn Skye My rating: 5 of 5 stars Love love loved this wonderful story of strength and legacy and family. More than anything I loved that those who came before helped lead the way. What a reminder that nothing is wasted. Cannot recommend it enough! View all my reviews

The Other Mother by Rachel M. Harper My rating: 5 of 5 stars This might be one of my favorite books of this year. I don't even remember where I heard about this book but it's absolutely fantastic. It's about a man looking for his father that he never knew. In the process, he unravels years of lies. And then the story gets told again and again from each character's POV and more and more of the holes get filled in. It's absolutely fantastic. Cannot recommend it enough. View all my reviews

Yours Truly by Abby Jimenez My rating: 4 of 5 stars Abby Jimenez never disappoints. Characters that you love, a story that's meaningful and a romance that you feel good about. View all my reviews

Happiness Falls by Angie Kim My rating: 5 of 5 stars I loved Kim's previous novel and I was looking forward to reading her second one and it did not disappoint. This story starts with a tragedy: the dad is missing. Then it starts compounding: the brother with the genetic condition that renders him mute might be the suspect. And then things start unraveling. Secrets upon secrets are found. The family is trying to hold themselves and each other together as they mourn the dad that went missing, the dad they thought they knew. Even though there's a mystery at the root of this story, it's a character-driven story. We get to know the family, we get to experience their pain, their shock, and their sorrow as it unravels. It's a quiet story. It reminds you that we don't know anyone, even the people we know best. I loved every minute I spent with this story. with gratitude to netgalley and Random House Publishing Group for an advanced copy...

Sea Change by Gina Chung My rating: 4 of 5 stars So many stories about octopuses in the last few years. Like many others, this is also about finding oneself, figuring out who you are, and shedding what's holding you down. it's a beautiful story. View all my reviews

In the Lives of Puppets by T.J. Klune My rating: 5 of 5 stars TJ Klune's stories have so much heart mixed in with just the right amount of humor. They manage to be both light and profound which is hard balance to get right. The characters are always strange and unique which I find to be helpful because it makes it easier to relate to them in different ways and to see yourself in each of them. This story of a group of eccentric 'family members' to rescue the person who 'created' them. This is a story about redemption, about found family, about humanity and cruelty, but at its heart, it's a story about love. with gratitude to netgalley and Macmillan Audio for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review View all my reviews

The Bird Hotel by Joyce Maynard My rating: 5 of 5 stars I love love loved this beautiful story of a lost girl who becomes a lost woman due to a terrible personal tragedy and then travels far far away to unintentionally start life all over again. It definitely did give me vibes of 100 years of solitude. I am a huge fan of magical realism and character-driven stories and this has both with the added bonus of a lush and beautiful setting. Unforgettable characters, love, betrayal, kindness, grief and remorse. And so so much more in this unforgettable story. I cannot recommend it enough. with gratitude to edelweiss and Simon & Schuster for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review. View all my reviews

Excavations: A Novel by Hannah Michell My rating: 4 of 5 stars While parts of this book were harder to read due to awkward pacing and phrasing, I really enjoyed reading this story about a woman whose husband doesn't come home from an explosion in the building where he works. So she tries to figure out what happened and starts unraveling a giant web of secrets. Very interesting story and based on a real-life unfortunate event. It's a quiet and yet gripping book. with gratitude to netgalley and Random House for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review. View all my reviews

The Mostly True Story of Tanner and Louise by Colleen Oakley My rating: 5 of 5 stars Absolutely fantastic feel-good book of the year. You'll love these characters. You'll laugh, you'll cry and you won't forget Tanner or Louise anytime soon! View all my reviews

The Space Between Worlds by Micaiah Johnson My rating: 4 of 5 stars I read this because it came up in different settings for me six or seven times over the course of a week so I decided that was a sign. IT was an interesting story even though I thought it dragged in parts a bit, I loved the slightly different take on the multi-verse and I really enjoyed the plotline. View all my reviews

The Queen of Dirt Island by Donal Ryan My rating: 5 of 5 stars What an absolute gem of a book. i love reading stories about strong women and these women who stick by each other, have each others backs is an exceptional story. I cannot recommend it enough. View all my reviews

Cassandra in Reverse by Holly Smale My rating: 5 of 5 stars I am a sucker for Groundhog Day stories and I love watching characters pay attention and learn and grow from experiences. Sometimes the trope can get old but in this story it's done wonderfully well and there are parts that are so tender, so beautifully touching that this story will stay with me for a long, long time. It's about fitting in, about family and sisterhood, about doing what we think we should vs what we want, it's about sacrifice. Sometimes a story comes along that feels so deeply profound in its impact on me and makes me feel so tender and so seen and so deeply touched. This was such a story for me. I don't know if it will have an equivalent impact on others but I am so grateful that I read this book and I won't forget it anytime soon. with gratitude to netgalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review. ...

These Impossible Things by Salma El-Wardany My rating: 5 of 5 stars I loved reading this story of three friends navigating life and what it means to be a good Muslim woman and their friendship takes twists and turns as they each have trials and tribulations of their own. It's a beautiful story and highly recommended. View all my reviews

The Eden Test by Adam Sternbergh My rating: 3 of 5 stars This was a wild ride. It's one of those stories where nothing is as it seems and the whole time you're thinking that something more is going on but you can't figure out what. This is the story about a couple where the wife signs them up for a week-long couple experience to help strengthen their marriage. But the tests and trials seem way over the top. The town is very unfriendly to the visitors and some weird, creepy folks are hanging around. It's a fast paced story that you will read quickly. There are a lot of trigger warnings so if you're sensitive to most issues around domestic turbulence, I would not recommend this one. But otherwise, it's a fast and enjoyable read. And if, like me, you sometimes prefer to listen, the audio is excellent! with gratitude to netgalley and Macmillan Audio for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review. View all my r...