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I Know How This Ends by Holly Smale My rating: 5 of 5 stars Love love loved this book. I loved Oona out of Order so I was curious to see if I would like another by the author and this book did not disappoint. I loved the way their story unfolded in little bits and pieces. I loved all the characters. I loved the humor. And most of all, I loved the heart this story has. It will make you feel warm and fuzzy. It will make you laugh out loud. And it will also be bittersweet. How much more can you ask from a book? with gratitude to netgalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing | MIRA for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review. View all my reviews

The Unwritten Rules of Magic by Harper Ross My rating: 4 of 5 stars I loved the time I spent with this book. If you're looking for a magic-filled story, you're going to be disappointed. If you're looking for a story where the characters get a major do over you will also be disappointed. This is not that kind of book. This book is about carrying the burdens of growing up in a dysfunctional family and trying to control your life as a result through anxiety. It's about the need for control and the desire that many of us carry to have things "work out" and how there's no such thing about things working out. And how every outcome has unintended consequences and life is much more complicated than "black or white" decisions and outcomes. I loved it. with gratitude to netgalley and St. Martin's Press for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review. View all my reviews

The Change by Kirsten Miller My rating: 4 of 5 stars I know it is quite over the top and is trying to be multiple things at the same time and I usually don't love random women's empowerment novels but I really enjoyed reading this one and kept wanting to read more and more. View all my reviews

Little Ghosts by Gregg Dunnett My rating: 4 of 5 stars Fast-paced, interesting mystery book to read. Albeit terrible subject matter. And of course requires suspension of disbelief. View all my reviews

At the Coffee Shop of Curiosities by Heather Webber My rating: 3 of 5 stars Always happy to have a little bit of magical realism. Makes me happy. Light lovely read. View all my reviews

The Strawberry Patch Pancake House by Laurie Gilmore My rating: 0 of 5 stars I am not going to rate this book because I DNF'ed it at almost 80%. I just couldn't get myself to care. View all my reviews

The Summer That Changed Everything by Brenda Novak My rating: 3 of 5 stars light and lovely summer book even though a serious subject matter. View all my reviews

Hazel Says No by Jessica Berger Gross My rating: 5 of 5 stars So far one of my favorite reads of 2025. Really fantastic character development, funny, thought-provoking and well written. All around enjoyable. View all my reviews

It's a Love Story by Annabel Monaghan My rating: 4 of 5 stars I love this author. The book is light, funny, sweet and makes me think of Katherine Center's novels that I love. View all my reviews

Death of the Author by Nnedi Okorafor My rating: 3 of 5 stars HEre's what I am going to say: when I read this I liked it even though at times it was hard to get into. Now that it's been almost a month, I really remember almost none of it :/ View all my reviews

Kill Your Darlings by Peter Swanson My rating: 3 of 5 stars I'm usually a huge fan of Peter Swanson. I loved all his books. But this was was just okay I think. I don't know if it was the style or not. I will of course keep reading him no matter what. View all my reviews

Don't Open Your Eyes by Liv Constantine My rating: 3 of 5 stars This was a quick and reasonably interesting read. Nothing that will stay with me but entertaining while I read it. View all my reviews

Fox by Joyce Carol Oates My rating: 2 of 5 stars I have so much to say about this book. It was my first Oates and likely I should not have started with this one. It was well-written and I kept reading it but the subject matter is awful. Truly awful. I hated Lolita and I hate this too. I don't care if it's literary. And I also totally guessed the ending. View all my reviews

So Far Gone by Jess Walter My rating: 3 of 5 stars Jess Walter's imagination and inner world must be so fascinating. These books are always well-written and always weird. I liked this one but didn't love it. View all my reviews

We Don't Talk About Carol by Kristen L. Berry My rating: 3 of 5 stars Interesting story about a runaway aunt. This story took an unexpected turn and I liked it. View all my reviews

The Compound by Aisling Rawle My rating: 2 of 5 stars This book didn't go anywhere and I didn't think it was interesting. Sorry :( Not even sure what it was trying to be. View all my reviews

Things in Nature Merely Grow by Yiyun Li My rating: 5 of 5 stars How can one possibly rate this book. What a terrible tragedy Li and her husband have had to endure. Can't imagine the loss of not one but two children to suicide. I love Li's writing and wish it were not non-fiction. View all my reviews

The Unseen World by Liz Moore My rating: 5 of 5 stars Liz Moore's books are always slow burns and they are always so so good. Deep deep character development, unexpected but not shocking turns that makes the book go deeper and become richly layered. View all my reviews

The Book Club for Troublesome Women by Marie Bostwick My rating: 3 of 5 stars 3.5 stars Another light but delightful read. I liked the women in this book and I liked how they found ways to make life work for them. View all my reviews

Behind Every Good Man by Sara Goodman Confino My rating: 4 of 5 stars Made me laugh out loud several times. Light and delightful and really enjoyable. Always love reading about strong women. View all my reviews

Culpability by Bruce Holsinger My rating: 4 of 5 stars I think this book wasn't sure what it wanted to be. And also, I think there's a lot here. The part that was most interesting to me wasn't actually the AI bits but the family dynamics and what happens to them when everyone has a secret. It made me think a bit about the Celeste Ng book. I enjoyed how much it made me think. View all my reviews

Culpability by Bruce Holsinger My rating: 4 of 5 stars I think this book wasn't sure what it wanted to be. And also, I think there's a lot here. The part that was most interesting to me wasn't actually the AI bits but the family dynamics and what happens to them when everyone has a secret. It made me think a bit about the Celeste Ng book. I enjoyed how much it made me think. View all my reviews