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Showing posts from August, 2025

Review: Don't Believe It

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Don't Believe It by Charlie Donlea My rating: 3 of 5 stars This one was my least favorite of the ones I read so far. I liked it but didn't love it. View all my reviews

Review: Twenty Years Later

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Twenty Years Later by Charlie Donlea My rating: 4 of 5 stars I appear to be in a mystery hole at the moment so I am just enjoying reading books that are fun in the moment and I won't remember later. Donlea's are awesome in real-time, too complicated to remember later. I'm just going through all of his older novels and enjoying every single one. View all my reviews

Review: Those Empty Eyes

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Those Empty Eyes by Charlie Donlea My rating: 4 of 5 stars I appear to be in a mystery hole at the moment so I am just enjoying reading books that are fun in the moment and I won't remember later. Donlea's are awesome in real-time, too complicated to remember later. View all my reviews

Review: One Golden Summer

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One Golden Summer by Carley Fortune My rating: 4 of 5 stars I enjoy reading Fortune's novels. The characters are always enjoyable, real and not perfect. The love isn't perfect either. This was a little melodramatic in parts. But I still loved it. View all my reviews

Review: Maggie; or, A Man and a Woman Walk Into a Bar

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Maggie; or, A Man and a Woman Walk Into a Bar by Katie Yee My rating: 4 of 5 stars I saw this in a post somewhere in the middle of my mystery run and decided I wanted to read it. The reason many didn't like it might be the same reason I did. I liked that it wasn't so over the top or so scathing. It felt more like real life to me. View all my reviews

Review: Local Woman Missing

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Local Woman Missing by Mary Kubica My rating: 3 of 5 stars It was ok. Kept me occupied but also quite convoluted in places. I appear to be in a mystery hole at the moment so I am just enjoying reading books that are fun in the moment and I won't remember later. View all my reviews

Review: The Dream Job

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The Dream Job by Kiersten Modglin My rating: 3 of 5 stars This was ok. Interesting and entertaining. But also a bit weird :) View all my reviews

Review: Guess Again

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Guess Again by Charlie Donlea My rating: 4 of 5 stars This was my first Charlie Donlea. I randomly picked it from the library and it has made me fall down a rabbit hole of reading all of the Donela novels! View all my reviews

Review: The Woman in Cabin 10

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The Woman in Cabin 10 by Ruth Ware My rating: 3 of 5 stars 3.5 stars/ I read this because I didn't want to watch the TV show without having read it. It was fun. A bit convoluted but still fun. View all my reviews

Review: Cherry Blossoms

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Cherry Blossoms by Kim Hooper My rating: 4 of 5 stars I love Kim Hopper's novels. This was a 3.5 star for me throughout because I found myself distracted more often than usual but as always by the end of her story I was in love with her characters and only wanted the best of them. I can't wait to read more of her. View all my reviews

Review: Tofino

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Tofino by Tom Stewart My rating: 5 of 5 stars This novel gets five stars from me because I am still thinking about it and in many ways it was unlike most novels I've read. The prose in this novel is outstanding. It's vivid and visual and sensory. And there's a feeling of longing, loneliness, beauty and foreboding throughout the whole novel. You almost don't want to succumb to the hope and beauty that comes with the young relationship because the foreboding is so strong and there's an inevitable question of what happens when Valerie's vacation is over. The writing is masterful. The characters are richly drawn and most definitely I would love to live in Tofino. In fact, I spent a long time down in a rabbit hole after this novel looking at photos of Tofino. with gratitude to netgalley and the publisher for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review. View all my reviews

Review: When the Cranes Fly South

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When the Cranes Fly South by Lisa Ridzén My rating: 4 of 5 stars For reasons I can't explain this book took me forever to read. Maybe it's because I could tell where it was going and it was tender and sad and I felt like I didn't want to sit with that. Either way, it took me a long time to get through but it was gentle, tender, quiet, and also a sweet story about aging and companionship and loneliness. It was beautifully written and will stay with me for a long time. with gratitude to netgalley and the publisher for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review. View all my reviews

Review: The Quiet Ear: An Investigation of Missing Sound

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The Quiet Ear: An Investigation of Missing Sound by Raymond Antrobus My rating: 3 of 5 stars I thought the content of this book was fascinating. It covered so many different and "new to me" areas. Deaf culture and the experiences the author had with being partially deaf. Overlaying that with poetry and music and British vs American Sign Language and then adding in the intersectionality of being Jamaican made for a full and layered story. What I found harder was adjusting to the flow and rhythm of the story. It felt like there wasn't a clear narrative arc and I didn't stay connected to the story as I moved from section to section which made it harder for me to stay engaged. with gratitude to netgalley and Random House | Hogarth for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review. View all my reviews

Review: The Cross

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The Cross by Steve Cavanagh My rating: 4 of 5 stars I'm a big fan of Eddie Flynn and really have enjoyed all of the Cavanagh novels. This was no exception. In fact, I enjoyed how short and to the point it was while still leaving you at the edge of your seat. If you're a fan of the Flynn stories the way I am, you will enjoy this one. Don't miss the author's note at the end! with gratitude to netgalley and Simon & Schuster Audio for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review. View all my reviews

Review: The Maid's Diary

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The Maid's Diary by Loreth Anne White My rating: 3 of 5 stars can't remember it at all. but enjoyed it at the time. View all my reviews

Review: A Language of Limbs

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A Language of Limbs by Dylin Hardcastle My rating: 5 of 5 stars Loved every single minute of this one. absolutely wonderful. View all my reviews

Review: The Other Sister

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The Other Sister by Jessica R. Patch My rating: 3 of 5 stars fun, fast, twisty. good for summer. View all my reviews

Review: Everyone Is Lying to You

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Everyone Is Lying to You by Jo Piazza My rating: 3 of 5 stars 3.5 stars interesting but a little over the top :) View all my reviews

Review: Spectacular Things

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Spectacular Things by Beck Dorey-Stein My rating: 4 of 5 stars Loved this one. I love family stories, especially about sisters. View all my reviews

Review: The Dispossessed: An Ambiguous Utopia

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The Dispossessed: An Ambiguous Utopia by Ursula K. Le Guin My rating: 4 of 5 stars I read this too fast. I will have to read it two more times. View all my reviews

Review: Glass Girls

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Glass Girls by Danie Shokoohi My rating: 3 of 5 stars Interesting premise but a total mess of an ending in my opinion. View all my reviews

Review: Glass Girls

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Glass Girls by Danie Shokoohi My rating: 3 of 5 stars Interesting premise but a total mess of an ending in my opinion. View all my reviews

Review: Parable of the Sower

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Parable of the Sower by Octavia E. Butler My rating: 3 of 5 stars Lots and lots of thoughts about this one. And have conflicting feelings, too. View all my reviews

Review: Proof

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Proof by Jon Cowan My rating: 3 of 5 stars 3.5 stars. Interesting and gripping. Great summer read for me. View all my reviews

Review: Memorial Days

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Memorial Days by Geraldine Brooks My rating: 4 of 5 stars A beautiful memoir to Brooks' husbands' unexpected passing. Her writing is beautiful. View all my reviews

Review: Lord of the Butterflies

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Lord of the Butterflies by Andrea Gibson My rating: 5 of 5 stars Amanda Gibson was a national treasure. I love every word they wrote in this beautiful book. View all my reviews

Review: The Reappearance of Rachel Price

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The Reappearance of Rachel Price by Holly Jackson My rating: 4 of 5 stars Fall into a Jackson hole. Loved reading all her previous stories. View all my reviews

Review: Five Survive

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Five Survive by Holly Jackson My rating: 4 of 5 stars Fall into a Jackson hole. Loved reading all her previous stories. View all my reviews

Review: Not Quite Dead Yet

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Not Quite Dead Yet by Holly Jackson My rating: 4 of 5 stars Love Holly Jackson's book. Well paced, always interesting and fun to read. View all my reviews

Review: Aftertaste

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Aftertaste by Daria Lavelle My rating: 4 of 5 stars 4 stars for this unusual premise alone. A bit of a mess towards the end but I loved it. View all my reviews

Review: Dying to Meet You

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Dying to Meet You by Sarina Bowen My rating: 3 of 5 stars 3.5 it kept my interest the whole time. View all my reviews

Review: The Man Made of Smoke

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The Man Made of Smoke by Alex North My rating: 3 of 5 stars not my favorite of North. but it was still interesting and atmospheric. View all my reviews

Review: These Summer Storms

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These Summer Storms by Sarah MacLean My rating: 3 of 5 stars 3.5 stars If you're into family dramas, you will like this one. Ultra-rich family, dad dies, kids are back together, trying to do the "game" their dad left them to do. Romance and family drama. View all my reviews