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The Other Black Girl by Zakiya Dalila Harris My rating: 3 of 5 stars 3.5 stars Well not sure what it means that the last book I'm reading for 2021 is one that has me stumped. This book is hard to explain and has multiple genres and there are things I really liked about it and things I really didn't. So I'm a bit all over the place about it. Glad I read it, though I do think it could have used a better editor. View all my reviews

Love, Lists, and Fancy Ships by Sarah Grunder Ruiz My rating: 3 of 5 stars 3.5 stars I liked this sweet novel about an aunt whose nieces come to stay with her for the summer as a way to give her sister and husband to recover from the loss of their third child. It's sweet and there's a romance but there are also some major issues in this book around death, loss, abandonment, and belonging. All of them are explored and taken seriously but still handled lightly. It was a fun read. View all my reviews

The Girl I Was by Jeneva Rose My rating: 3 of 5 stars Sweet story about how it's never too late to save yourself. View all my reviews

Confess by Colleen Hoover My rating: 2 of 5 stars I might have read too many Hoover stories. I can tell where they will go, I can tell what will happen and I just don't think the characters are as well developed or complex as I wish they were. I liked the idea of confessions and the paintings but the evil characters are too evil and the good are too good. View all my reviews

Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan My rating: 4 of 5 stars really wonderful and touching short story. loved it. View all my reviews

Wish You Were Here by Jodi Picoult My rating: 4 of 5 stars I read a lot of mixed reviews about this book and several people said the first part was very boring. I totally didn't feel that way. I listened to this on audio and the narrator was excellent. I was recently in the Galapagos so I really enjoyed hearing about that amazing setting again and true to form I didn't see the twist coming and Picoult took it to some interesting places. I enjoyed this one. View all my reviews

Sea of Tranquility by Emily St. John Mandel My rating: 5 of 5 stars This is absolutely, undeniably and unequivocally one of my favorite reads of 2021! I cannot wait until it comes out so I can recommend it to people who I know will appreciate it, too. I know some will dislike this book and even as I was reading it and tried to recount the premise to my kids and husband, they thought it was reductive and done because it's such a hard to premise to explain but they are so wrong. It is excellent. "Everything offended Jessica, which is inevitable when you move through the world in search of offense." First of all, Emily St. John Mandel's writing is exquisite. It's quiet and descriptive and delicate and a pure joy to read. When I first started the novel, I wasn't sure where it was going and I wasn't sure it was going to hold my attention. But her writing was so good and her characters drew me in immediately. I felt connected ...