Posts

Showing posts from November, 2023

Review: The Good Part

Image
The Good Part by Sophie Cousens My rating: 4 of 5 stars I enjoy Cousens and this was no exception. It was a great sweet book that I loved reading. If you're looking for something light and fun, this is one to not miss. View all my reviews

Review: Savor It

Image
Savor It by Tarah Dewitt My rating: 4 of 5 stars What a pure joy this book was to read! I loved the characters and the voice of the author almost immediately. This romance story is sweet, funny, thoughtful and just delightful. The town has Gilmore Girls vibes and both of the main characters are hard not to root for. Even though we don't learn a lot about Izzy, she's wonderful to root for, too. I hope there will be sequels as we can have Izzy's story or Silas' story next. With gratitude to netgalley and St. Martin's Press for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review. View all my reviews

Review: The Takedown

Image
The Takedown by Carlie Walker My rating: 3 of 5 stars 3.5 super fun, quick read. Funny banter. Good writing. Romance but also quite funny in many parts. Enjoyed this one. View all my reviews

Review: The Unmaking of June Farrow

Image
The Unmaking of June Farrow by Adrienne Young My rating: 4 of 5 stars I loved this beautiful story of a girl who's trying to understand what happened to her mom who disappeared when she was little. It involves magical realism and some beautiful characters. And a lot about belonging. View all my reviews

Review: The Vulnerables

Image
The Vulnerables by Sigrid Nunez My rating: 5 of 5 stars I love Sigrid Nunez. I love her writing. I love her books. I love her characters. I love this book. View all my reviews

Review: Lost in Time

Image
Lost in Time by A.G. Riddle My rating: 4 of 5 stars This was a fun and interesting read. A dad trying go save his wrongly accused daughter who then tries to save his dad :) View all my reviews

Review: Iron Flame

Image
Iron Flame by Rebecca Yarros My rating: 4 of 5 stars I'm sorry to say that even though I read this one almost as fast as the first one, I didn't love it nearly as much. It was okay but just not as magical as the first one. View all my reviews

Review: The Last Murder at the End of the World

Image
The Last Murder at the End of the World by Stuart Turton My rating: 5 of 5 stars I loved every moment I spent with this book. The premise was already interesting: there is a black fog that kills most of humanity. The 110some people are left on an island and one is murdered. Our main character is trying to solve the mystery of what happened before the rest of them die from the incoming fog. From the beginning this story was a bit dystopian. It smelled like "The Giver" where what you're reading has something off about it and you're waiting to see what unravels. But the story that comes together keeps surprising the reader more and more every minute. All the way to the very end, I totally didn't see any of the onion layers as they peeled. I loved all of it. I loved the characters. I loved the writing. I loved the ending. I loved this story. with gratitude to netgalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for an advanced copy in exchange for an...

Review: Lost to Dune Road

Image
Lost to Dune Road by Kara Thomas My rating: 4 of 5 stars This is an excellent mystery where a besmirched journalist who has since become a PI is hired by a mother whose daughter seemingly attempted suicide and is in a coma. The PI has a hunch that the girl's case is somehow linked to another girl who was murdered years ago and she tries to solve both of the girls' stories. I thought this was well paced, interesting and it kept me reading the whole time. I liked the characters and I liked how the story was more convoluted than I kept imagining. I usually see the twists and there were several here I didn't see coming. with gratitude to netgalley and Thomas & Mercer for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review View all my reviews

Review: A Short Walk Through a Wide World

Image
A Short Walk Through a Wide World by Douglas Westerbeke My rating: 4 of 5 stars I thought so much of this book was really really beautiful. The main character has a mysterious disease that surfaces when she's 9. This disease requires her to travel and she can never go back and revisit a location she's been two more than once. So she always has to move after 2-3 nights. The book chronicles her journey through the world. The people who touched her and the people whose lives she touched. The whole time, I was wondering what happened to her and why she has this disease and with books like these, the endings are hard because there's so much build up to understand. In my opinion while the ending was beautiful, it didn't live up to what i needed to live up to. For me. I still loved all the imagery. The sadness of never having roots. Never getting to really know someone. Losing your kid in this way. One and on. There was so much beauty and so...

Review: I Feel Awful, Thanks

Image
I Feel Awful, Thanks by Lara Pickle My rating: 4 of 5 stars I loved the beautiful art of this book. It's really really beautifully drawn. I also really enjoyed the story and I liked how even if you have someone who loves you and really good friends, life can still feel like a lot. I loved the way therapy is conveyed in this book. I loved so much of this book. I did think things magically resolved themselves a little too conveniently but otherwise i enjoyed this beautiful story and the magical illustrations. with gratitude to netgalley and Oni Press for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review View all my reviews

Review: The Trail of Lost Hearts

Image
The Trail of Lost Hearts by Tracey Garvis Graves My rating: 4 of 5 stars This is a romance novel but it covers grief in a beautiful and profound way. There's also a lot of fun geocaching in it. As someone who's done geocaching before, I thought that adventure part was really fun. I liked both of the characters and I loved the slow burn of how they found their way 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

Review: One Moment

Image
One Moment by Becky Hunter My rating: 4 of 5 stars I've been reading a bunch of romance lately and I loved that this book was first and foremost about a friendship. I also loved the portrayal of the chronic illness in all the small and big ways. I think the dramatic side gets covered often but not the small, daily difficulty of how it might feel to live with one. If you're looking for something light that will make you cry and laugh and something romantic but also a little different, this is the book for you. with gratitude to netgalley and Forever (Grand Central Publishing) for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review View all my reviews

Review: Absolution

Image
Absolution by Alice McDermott My rating: 4 of 5 stars McDermott is such a gem and I love reading her writing and spending time with her characters. This story was no exception. I loved learning more about how it was for women during Vietnam War (interesting to compare this with the Kristen Hannah book I just read too.) and I loved the themes around friendship, motherhood, family and service. Beautiful novel. View all my reviews

Review: Going Infinite: The Rise and Fall of a New Tycoon

Image
Going Infinite: The Rise and Fall of a New Tycoon by Michael Lewis My rating: 3 of 5 stars I think Michael Lewis is a great storyteller. He knows how to make a story interesting, he knows exactly what details to include so you have depth and what to leave out because it's complex and not relevant. Taking really complicated stories and making them so consumable is absolutely a talent. This book was no exception and very timely with the trial that just happened. View all my reviews

Review: One Puzzling Afternoon

Image
One Puzzling Afternoon by Emily Critchley My rating: 3 of 5 stars 3.5 stars. This book was a tad too long but I loved the storytelling around deep friendships and trauma that you have to hold on to for all of your life. My heart broke into pieces as the story unraveled more and more but I loved reading it. View all my reviews

Review: Vera Wong's Unsolicited Advice for Murderers

Image
Vera Wong's Unsolicited Advice for Murderers by Jesse Q. Sutanto My rating: 4 of 5 stars this was a surprise find for me. I loved the characters and the complex storyline that elegantly came together. View all my reviews

Review: The Wake-Up Call

Image
The Wake-Up Call by Beth O'Leary My rating: 3 of 5 stars O'Leary's books are like a warm blanket when I need one. View all my reviews

Review: Bright Young Women

Image
Bright Young Women by Jessica Knoll My rating: 4 of 5 stars I really liked reading this riveting story and at the same time I thought it was a tiny bit too long. But i loved the complexity of the characters. I loved the serious topic handled with the care and depth it almost never gets handled with in quick thrillers. View all my reviews

Review: Baby X

Image
Baby X by Kira Peikoff My rating: 4 of 5 stars I read this book in one swallow. Even though I saw many of the twists coming, I really loved reading this futuristic story that gave "Gattaca" vibes. I loved the world building, I loved the story and I loved how it all came together. This book has all of what you might want from 5 different novels: scientific concepts in a near futuristic world, romance, thriller with an evil psychopath, mystery of identity and several major concepts like politics, information rights, identity, family, genetics and more. I really enjoyed the time I spent with it. with gratitude to netgalley and The Quick Brown Fox & CO, for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review View all my reviews

Review: Darling Girls

Image
Darling Girls by Sally Hepworth My rating: 4 of 5 stars I'm already a big fan of Sally Hepworth but I especially enjoyed this story about three adopted sisters who have to get back to their hometown as a result of a body that's been found under the house they were raised. So many twists here and the ending was the best for me. Hepworth never disappoints. with gratitude to netgalley and St. Martin's Press for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review View all my reviews

Review: Four Weekends and a Funeral

Image
Four Weekends and a Funeral by Ellie Palmer My rating: 4 of 5 stars I loved this sweet novel about a woman who's stuck having to clean her ex's apartment with his best friend when he unexpectedly dies before his family knows that they've broken up. You have to suspend disbelief for many of the things in this story but it's also a sweet story to get swept up in and with all that's going on in the world, i always appreciate books that feel like a cozy blanket and a warm hug. with gratitude to netgalley and G.P. Putnam's Sons for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review View all my reviews

Review: Martyr!

Image
Martyr! by Kaveh Akbar My rating: 4 of 5 stars I am not sure how to even talk about this book. It's weird, it's disjointed, it's all over the place and yet it also has so much heart. The story seems like it's going nowhere, it requires a lot of patience to stick with it and follow the writer's journey and musings about religion, addiction, belonging, grief, death, martyrdom, art and more. But then at some point it starts to come together and then it's not possible to not get swept up with the story. By the time you're done, it's one of those books where the people and the story stay with you long after you turn the last page. with gratitude to netgalley and Knopf for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review View all my reviews

Review: The Alone Time

Image
The Alone Time by Elle Marr My rating: 3 of 5 stars This book reminded me of “Yellowjackets” when I read the blurb and there are definitely similarities. Like the show, it goes back and forth in time to now and when they were in the wild. It's the story of two sisters who survived the plane crash that kills their parents. And years later there are new details that cause a new investigation and we follow along as things unravel. It's a fast and interesting read, even if a little over the top. with gratitude to netgalley and Thomas & Mercer for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review View all my reviews