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Thieves' Gambit by Kayvion Lewis My rating: 3 of 5 stars This was quick and fun and indeed a mix of The Inheritance Games and Ocean's Eleven. View all my reviews

The Covenant of Water by Abraham Verghese My rating: 4 of 5 stars Verghese is such a talented story teller. I love his multi-generational stories. The way there's a thread that goes through the years and years and the way you get so attached to his characters. But I also did think this one was too long. View all my reviews

The Throwback Special by Chris Bachelder My rating: 3 of 5 stars 3.5 stars A short and really funny novel about a group of male friends who come together yearly to reenact a football game. This novel is really entertaining and reading the men's thoughts and actions will make you laugh out loud. View all my reviews

The Five-Star Weekend by Elin Hilderbrand My rating: 4 of 5 stars Hilderbrand is a great women's fiction author. Her characters are real and interesting and her stories are cozy. It's a perfect summer novel and I really enjoyed it! View all my reviews

Thornhedge by T. Kingfisher My rating: 5 of 5 stars I loved every single moment I spent with this very short book. I have to go check out his other books. Highly, highly recommended. View all my reviews

Amazing Grace Adams by Fran Littlewood My rating: 3 of 5 stars This book was okay but it took me forever to read it. I felt like I was listening to it for hours on end and it never felt like it was going to finish. I spose that says a lot about how much I liked it but I did like it, I just thought it was way too long. View all my reviews

I'm Glad My Mom Died by Jennette McCurdy My rating: 3 of 5 stars 3.5 stars I kept putting off reading this book. A friend said I would like it so I finally picked it up. It was okay. I think I'd read so much about it that I sort of knew half of the horrible things that happened to her. I love her introspection and I appreciate her candor. I am so sorry for anything she's had to endure, let alone so much. View all my reviews

The Hike by Lucy Clarke My rating: 3 of 5 stars This was a fast read about several girl friends who go on a challenging hike together and things don't go as expected. Fast and forgettable. View all my reviews

The Coworker by Freida McFadden My rating: 3 of 5 stars This was a fast and engaging read but I think this author is just not for me. I don't like her characters or her writing style. View all my reviews

Look Again: The Power of Noticing What Was Always There by Tali Sharot My rating: 5 of 5 stars I'm not an avid non-fiction reader so I wasn't sure about requesting this book but the premise sounded interesting so I decided I wanted to see. And I am so glad I did. I read this compulsively readable book in a single sitting and I underlined many, many passages. Look again has very interesting data and directly practical applications on when and how you should intentionally disrupt your patterns, change your environment and when you should not. It also talks about the dangers of repeating falsehoods and getting used to lying. It made me note about how it's best not to take a break when doing something unpleasant and how I can use exposure therapy to get more comfortable with driving. I loved every moment I spent with this book and can't wait to recommend it to everyone. with gratitude to netgalley and Atria Books for an advanced copy in e...

Bye, Baby by Carola Lovering My rating: 4 of 5 stars Even though this is a thriller on the surface, I think it's actually a psychological story about female friendships at its heart. It's about what happens when we're on the outside. What we're capable of when we're pushed and excluded. It's about female friendships and how amazing and how toxic and how complicated they can be. It's about what happens when we do things we never thought we were capable of. The characters here are not likable. You're not rooting for either of them. And yet they both endure things no human should have to go through. And they are both deeply messed up. It messes with your head quite a bit as you read this story. It's like an accident you can't look away from. with gratitude to netgalley and St. Martin's Press for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review View all my reviews

Women of Good Fortune by Sophie Wan My rating: 4 of 5 stars This story took me forever to get into. Each of the characters were so dislikable that I had to force myself to keep reading. And if I hadn't requested it as an ARC I might have stopped reading it. But I'm so glad I didn't. They each grew throughout the novel and they also made their way into my heart and as the plot got more and more convoluted, I was so invested in each of them and in finding out what happens. I loved the way the story came together and I laughed and I cried and I cheered. I'm so glad I didn't give up on this one. with gratitude to netgalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review View all my reviews

Expiration Dates by Rebecca Serle My rating: 4 of 5 stars I really enjoyed Serle's previous novel and I loved the premise of a character receiving a notice with how long each of her relationships are meant to last. I loved reading about her previous relationships and also they juxtaposition of fate and free will on this lighthearted story. I loved each of the characters and found myself rooting for every single one of them. with gratitude to netgalley and Atria Books for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review View all my reviews

The Other Valley by Scott Alexander Howard My rating: 4 of 5 stars This is a very unusual story. I don't even know how to explain it. First of all, the world building is super unusual. I loved the idea that if you walk to the east or west of your valley you move forward or backward in time. I'd never read such a premise before. Some of the other parts (like kids applying for jobs, etc) made me think of "The Giver" and I found myself enjoying both the story and the characters. But in a novel like this, the best part not the story itself but how much you end up thinking about the ideas in the book. The moral around how one should decide who gets to visit the past or the future and why. The unintended consequences of our actions and decisions and freewill. There is so much in this novel that in can make you think for weeks all wrapped up in a slow and beautiful plot full of its own moments and twists and turns. with gratitude to netgal...

Till There Was You by Lindsay Hameroff My rating: 4 of 5 stars What a fun and sweet book this was. If you are looking for a sweet and light book that will feel cozy and make you laugh, make sure you pick this one up. I loved both Lexi and Jake and really enjoyed their journey back to each other. with gratitude to netgalley and St. Martin's Press for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review View all my reviews

The Women by Kristin Hannah My rating: 5 of 5 stars Kristin Hannah does it again. From the moment I started this story, I could not stop reading it. Even though it was a 450+ page novel and historical fiction, which while I like, is not one of my top genres, this book is unputdownable. The characters, the plot, the stories, the historical details keep your attention the entire time. I loved every single moment i spent with this book. with gratitude to netgalley and St. Martin's Press for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review View all my reviews

The Tainted Cup by Robert Jackson Bennett My rating: 4 of 5 stars I had never read this author before and didn't know what to expect. This is a fantasy novel so the world building is really interesting and the story is also fascinating but the best part of this book for me was the characters. They are funny, interesting, complicated and so much fun to spend time with. Even though it starts a little slow, the story really picks up pace about halfway through and by then you're so deeply invested in the characters, too, that it's impossible to put it down. I can't wait to read the next one in the series and I now have to go back and read the author's previous novels! with gratitude to netgalley and Random House for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review View all my reviews

The Vaster Wilds by Lauren Groff My rating: 4 of 5 stars Lauren Groff's writing is so exquisite that it's not possible to not like her books. Even though I liked the previous one a little more, I loved reading this and can't wait for more from her. View all my reviews