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All We Ever Wanted Was Everything by Janelle Brown My rating: 3 of 5 stars 3.5 stars. It was eminently readable. Messy people going through messy things. It's easy to judge these people. In fact, it's easy to judge any one. But we are all complex and contain multitudes. View all my reviews

Discipline by Larissa Pham My rating: 4 of 5 stars What an interesting novel. I really enjoyed reading this and I can't even exactly put my finger on why. It was quiet and I liked the writing. I liked that it didn't take the easy route of resolving anything too. View all my reviews

Time and Again by Jack Finney My rating: 4 of 5 stars beautiful story. View all my reviews

Lina & June by Genevieve Wheeler My rating: 5 of 5 stars I loved every moment I spent with this book. It's the story of Lina and June's friendship from when they meet in a college party and how they weave in and out of each other's lives. How they impact each other. How it can feel both grounding and delicate to be in a friendship this deep and how they both feel insecure and also adore each other. It's funny, it's lovely, and it's so very very sad. So raw and beautiful. with gratitude to netgalley and St. Martin's Press for an advanced copy for an honest review. View all my reviews

An Unlikely Visitor by Joanna Cannon My rating: 4 of 5 stars For some people this book will be too cheesy. There's a bunch of suspension of disbelief. But for me, it was a beautiful portrayal of grief and what unresolved trauma can do to us and how every day, small acts can save us and help us save each other. It was both a beautiful and a heartbreaking story. with gratitude to netgalley and Scribner for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review. View all my reviews

Paper Ghosts by Sarah Addison Allen My rating: 4 of 5 stars i love Sarah Addison Allen's writing. I love the way she creates her characters and the way they weave their way into your heart slowly and then all at once. I enjoyed both Willamena's and Bailey's stories. This has some supernatural parts and it won't be for everyone, but I loved the family dynamics juxtaposed by the town dynamics. It was an interesting take on being anchored on the past. Wonderful narration, too! with gratitude to netgalley and Macmillan Audio for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review. View all my reviews

Olympus, Texas by Stacey Swann My rating: 3 of 5 stars 3.5 stars I liked this family story that's fractured at the seams. Small towns, lies, secrets, marriages, siblings and more in this one. View all my reviews

The Last Party by A.R. Torre My rating: 3 of 5 stars eh this was interesting but won't really stay with me, i think i might just be tired of reading about terrible people doing terrible things for a while. View all my reviews

Heart of Glass by Jennifer Hillier My rating: 4 of 5 stars Interesting story that held my attention the whole time. It has some twists that I didn't see coming and some that I did. I felt it was a little disjointed than I would have liked in parts but overall held together well. A story about the secrets we're keeping, the secrets we think we're keeping and the lies we tell and the weight of all of them. The audio narration was absolutely excellent. with gratitude to netgalley and Macmillan Audio for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review. View all my reviews

The Children by Melissa Albert My rating: 2 of 5 stars This is more like a 2.5 star read for me. It was WAY WAY too long and also not nearly as interesting as the reviews and blurbs made it sound. If it were a lot less long, maybe it would have been a higher rating for me. It was so long that by the end, I didn't really care enough about the story or to find out the full truth. View all my reviews

Conspiracy by Colleen Coble My rating: 4 of 5 stars i read all the sanctuary books back to back. I knew nothing about the author but the third book was available in netgalley and they looked to be highly rated so I started them without much information. If I knew this was Christian fiction I might have not picked it up but I am glad I did. This wasn't didactic and the plot and characters are well developed. By the third book I was fully hooked into the story and really wanted to know what happened to Paradise's parents. This was another intense journey with one disaster after another for poor Paradise but the story wrapped up beautifully and Karen Peakes does an incredible job narrating the book! with gratitude to netgalley and Thomas Nelson Fiction Audio for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review. View all my reviews

Prowl by Colleen Coble My rating: 4 of 5 stars i read all the sanctuary books back to back. I knew nothing about the author but the third book was available in netgalley and they looked to be highly rated so I started them without much information. If I knew this was Christian fiction I might have not picked it up but I am glad I did. I liked the storyline enough to read three books back to back and i thought it was a fun read! View all my reviews

Ambush by Colleen Coble My rating: 4 of 5 stars i read all the sanctuary books back to back. I knew nothing about the author but the third book was available in netgalley and they looked to be highly rated so I started them without much information. If I knew this was Christian fiction I might have not picked it up but I am glad I did. I liked the storyline enough to read three books back to back and i thought it was a fun read! View all my reviews

Boring Asian Female by Canwen Xu My rating: 3 of 5 stars I think I've read too many of these novels where the main character becomes unhinged and does insane things one after the other. For me, the ending sort of could turn this novel into a whole story about the stories we make ourselves believe etc etc but by then i was so disconnected from the main character and her ridiculous choices that nothing could really redeem it for me. View all my reviews

Take Me With You by Steven Rowley My rating: 3 of 5 stars Rowley's books are sweet and fun and full of heart. This one was not my favorite but it was still full of heart and funny. View all my reviews

Long Island Girls by Gabrielle Korn My rating: 4 of 5 stars This story is about Susan and Eliza. They meet in 2005, and the moment is lost before it even becomes a thing. With the exception of a brief exchange from afar in the subway, they don't reconnect again for 10 years. Finally they get the chance they never had and they dive right in. all the way. But before it's even a thing, things implode. After another ten years, they meet again. And Susan realizes that her whole life has been about chasing the dream of Eliza. All the questions that came from the "what if" that never got answered put her life on hold and let the yearning take over everything else. This story is about love, friendship, home, belonging, identity, music, NYC, LA and so much more. It's about growing up in the 00s and losing parts of yourself that were taken from you without permission and giving up other parts of yourself willingly. It's a beautiful st...

The One Day You Were My Husband by Rosie Walsh My rating: 2 of 5 stars 2.5 stars on this novel for me. Even though there are some twists towards the end, most of the novel was too boring and slow moving for me. View all my reviews

A Pair of Aces by Marie Benedict My rating: 4 of 5 stars Excellent historical fiction novel that was partly made up, partly true. A great reminder of unlikely allies and creative thinking when the obvious paths are not accessible. All the details matter and it pays to think outside the box, especially when others don't. View all my reviews

Ducks, Newburyport by Lucy Ellmann My rating: 4 of 5 stars Well what a journey this was. I am not sure that I would have finished this book if it weren't for my friend Lauren. I picked it up because of her and started, despite the length, without knowing anything about it. About an hour in, I decided I had made a mistake and there was no way I could endure this for another 44 hours. I continued for a few more hours and then decided I needed to take a break. I started and finished another book and then checked in with my friend Lauren who was still at it, so I went back and, within minutes, I remembered why I had put it down. I did a few more hours and then put it down again. I felt like it was annoying me disproportionately considering how relatable parts of the story was. After finishing another book, I decided to give it one more try. And I guess third time was the charm because after that I could not put it down. First of all, the audiobook na...