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Showing posts from June, 2025

Review: The Lucky Ride

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The Lucky Ride by Yasushi Kitagawa My rating: 4 of 5 stars I love these books where the parable is reminding you something about your own life. And I love the idea of investing into your own luck and also I love the generational aspect of this story. Cynics might not like these simple and sweet stories with profound messages but I truly enjoy them. with gratitude to netgalley and HarperOne for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review. View all my reviews

Review: Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil

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Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil by V.E. Schwab My rating: 0 of 5 stars I am dejected to admit that I am DNFing this at the 62% mark. I think it's interesting and well written but I also think it's dragging and I can't get myself to stay invested. :( View all my reviews

Review: What Kind of Paradise

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What Kind of Paradise by Janelle Brown My rating: 4 of 5 stars Loved this story. It was suspense and character-focused and heart wrenching and also interesting. Not predictable in my opinion. Recommended. View all my reviews

Review: Flashlight

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Flashlight by Susan Choi My rating: 4 of 5 stars I really really loved the beginning but especially the middle of this book. I loved reading about each of the characters and got really attached to the story. I am giving it 4 stars because I thought the ending really dragged. But it was still a really unique awesome story. View all my reviews

Review: It's Lonely at the Centre of the Earth

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It's Lonely at the Centre of the Earth by Zoe Thorogood My rating: 4 of 5 stars A really creative memoir that's also a graphic novel. The artist is clearly incredibly talented and I loved the unique style and the meta topic. Highly recommended. View all my reviews

Review: You Better Be Lightning

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You Better Be Lightning by Andrea Gibson My rating: 5 of 5 stars Andrea Gibson has a gift and how lucky are we all that she chooses to share it with the rest of us? She's one of a kind. View all my reviews

Review: Room 706

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Room 706 by Ellie Levenson My rating: 4 of 5 stars What a truly excellent premise for a book. What if there's a terrorist attack in the hotel while you're cheating on your spouse? Both trying to hide it from your family and also spending a lot more time with your lover than you ever did are awkward situations. How will this change the course of your life? How did you even end up here? This beautiful book tells the story of this wife. It goes back and forth between the present and the past, leading you slowly to this very moment and helping you develop empathy for all the characters involved along the way. It's a really well written story and do not forget to read the author's note at the end. Excellent, excellent read. with gratitude to netgalley and SJP Lit for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review. View all my reviews

Review: Problematic Summer Romance

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Problematic Summer Romance by Ali Hazelwood My rating: 3 of 5 stars Ali Hazelwood always puts me in a good mood. Love the characters, love the dialogue. Just fun. View all my reviews

Review: All the Way to the River: Love, Loss, and Liberation

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All the Way to the River: Love, Loss, and Liberation by Elizabeth Gilbert My rating: 4 of 5 stars This is about Gilbert's incredible journey as she falls in love with her best friend who is terminally ill and falls back into her addiction. Gilbert's unflinching honesty around the journey they both individually and together took to recover from their own individual additions is eye opening. This story is raw, honest and does not mince words. View all my reviews

Review: Awake: A Memoir

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Awake: A Memoir by Jen Hatmaker My rating: 4 of 5 stars An excellent memoire talking about how her marriage of many many years fell apart. All the things that led here, all the things she did to move forward. A really inspiring story of perseverance and taking control of one's life. Also the importance of community and asking for help. View all my reviews

Review: The Naturals

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The Naturals by Jennifer Lynn Barnes My rating: 3 of 5 stars This was recommended to me by goodreads or somewhere. I enjoyed it but didn't love love it. Not sure I will read the rest of the series. It was a fun and fast read. View all my reviews

Review: Nobody’s Fool

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Nobody’s Fool by Harlan Coben My rating: 4 of 5 stars I love Coben's story telling. His twists are always interesting and this one was no exception. You absolutely don't need to have read the previous one to enjoy this. View all my reviews

Review: Silver Elite

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Silver Elite by Dani Francis My rating: 4 of 5 stars I know this is the new romantasy. I gave it four stars because I read it really fast. However I am not sure I would read the next one. I liked the characters and I liked the phoenixes. If you really loved romantasy, you will enjoy this one. View all my reviews

Review: The Glowing Life of Leeann Wu

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The Glowing Life of Leeann Wu by Mindy Hung My rating: 4 of 5 stars 3.5 stars, rounded up. I really liked the idea of this book. I loved the idea that there's so much power in generations of women and I loved the visuals of glowing and lightning. I really enjoyed the generational part of the story, too with the mom, the kid and the grandmother. I loved how they each loved each other and got on each others' nerves. I thought the writing was a bit stilted and could have used more polishing. But I look forward to reading more of this author. with gratitude to netgalley and Alcove Press for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review. View all my reviews

Review: Double Take

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Double Take by Lynette Eason My rating: 3 of 5 stars ok I really enjoyed this book while I read it. But it's been two weeks and I truly can't remember any part of it. So that's what it is. Fast, awesome read that I will forget. View all my reviews

Review: The Bridge Kingdom

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The Bridge Kingdom by Danielle L. Jensen My rating: 3 of 5 stars 3.5 stars I read this because I couldn't find anything to read and i remembered it was very very popular on BookTok. It was enjoyable. But not enough for me to want to keep reading. At least not now. So one book down but not the others, yet. View all my reviews

Review: Heart the Lover

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Heart the Lover by Lily King My rating: 5 of 5 stars One of the best books I read this year, so far. I had read and liked, but not loved King's previous books so I wasn't sure how I would feel about this one but I really loved every moment I spent with this story. I loved the characters and I loved the writing. I loved the characters' journeys. I loved the ache that lived at the core of the story and in each character. I loved how joy and sorrow could live side by side in this story. I loved how it can be full of both hope and heartache. I cannot recommend this one enough. with gratitude to netgalley and Grove Press for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review. View all my reviews

Review: The Tenant

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The Tenant by Freida McFadden My rating: 3 of 5 stars Less terrible than some of McFadden's latest. I am not sure why I keep reading her. I think it's mostly because her books promise to be super fast-paced and can get me out of reading slumps. But then they are all pretty much the same. View all my reviews

Review: Marble Hall Murders

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Marble Hall Murders by Anthony Horowitz My rating: 4 of 5 stars I love and adore this series. I love its meta nature. I love Horowitz' writing. It just truly makes me happy. View all my reviews

Review: Careless People: A Cautionary Tale of Power, Greed, and Lost Idealism

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Careless People: A Cautionary Tale of Power, Greed, and Lost Idealism by Sarah Wynn-Williams My rating: 3 of 5 stars this was a super super fast read. as someone in tech and as someone who knows some of the people mentioned in the book, it was pretty sad to read. i am sure parts of this are exaggerated for effect but also much too much of it is likely not. View all my reviews

Review: Claire, Darling

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Claire, Darling by Callie Kazumi My rating: 3 of 5 stars this was fast paced but weird. not sure i loved it but it did keep me occupied when i was in a total slump. View all my reviews

Review: Atlas of Unknowable Things

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Atlas of Unknowable Things by McCormick Templeman My rating: 4 of 5 stars What an interesting novel this was. I was worried that it would be horror and I would end up being too scared to read it. But even though it had an ominous feeling the whole time, it never approached the kind of horror that I was scared it would be. The first half of this book moved very slowly. If you're hoping it will rush into plot, you will be disappointed. In fact, very little happens in the first half of this book. It's mostly setting the setting and some of the characters. Even the characters weren't really very developed. It's more that you keep getting an eerie feeling but can't figure out what's going on and I know that some people will give up from the frustration of being confused and not getting any answers. But if you're willing to stick with it, things pick up during the halfway mark and then really take off about 65-70% through and th...

Review: The Amalfi Curse

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The Amalfi Curse by Sarah Penner My rating: 3 of 5 stars This had a very similar feeling to the Lost Apothecary even though it was a totally different topic. I love when authors' books "feel" the same because then you can tell they have a particular style. I enjoyed the time I spent with this story but I don't think much of it will stay with me. View all my reviews

Review: Atmosphere

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Atmosphere by Taylor Jenkins Reid My rating: 3 of 5 stars 3.5 stars. I liked this but didn't love love it. It's not one of my favorites for Reid. But it was still a wonderful read and I enjoyed the whole time I read it. View all my reviews

Review: All Systems Red

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All Systems Red by Martha Wells My rating: 3 of 5 stars 3.5 stars. I read this so I could read the Apple series but I didn't like the series. I liked the book more but I'll be honest that it confused me and I wasn't really sure about most of it.... View all my reviews

Review: The Names

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The Names by Florence Knapp My rating: 4 of 5 stars 4.5 stars. I loved the idea of this book and I also loved the execution of it. A great reminder of how what appears to be small, tiny choices can end up having reverberating consequences. It's not just about the choices of course, it's what making that choice says about who we are. It can be a little melodramatic at parts but overall this was an excellent idea and well executed. View all my reviews