Week of January 23rd, 2023
Book Review:
All I Stole From You
By Ava Bellows
All I Stole From You was everything that I had hoped it would be. It was emotional, raw, riveting, and completely captivating.
Maggie Hoyt is an actress and occasional house-sitter who has been trying to deal with the grief brought on by her ex-boyfriend’s death.
After a series of insignificant, fleeting dates with DJs, and after swearing off men, she meets Rob at a friend’s party. While she wasn’t at the party looking to meet anyone, there he was.
*Read my review...
Week of January 16th, 2023
Book Review:
I Choose Darkness
By Jenny Lawson
*Top Recommendation!*
This short read isn't my normal go-to, but sometimes you just need to mix things up a bit, add a bit of sorbet in between your longer,
meatier reads. This was just what I was looking for.
I'm not sure if I've ever laughed so much while reading a book. I highlighted so many passages so that I could share them with my
husband, but in the end, I just begged him to grab a copy for himself and dive in.
*Read my review...
Week of December 19th, 2022
Book Review:
I've Got Your Number
By Sophie Kinsella
Whenever I feel myself potentially slipping into a book rut, I automatically grab a book by Sophie Kinsella. I can usually be
assured that I’m going to get an entertaining story with plenty of laughs.
I’ve Got Your Number was a fun read. It was easy to like Poppy. She didn’t always make the best decisions, but she did have the best intentions. She was a good person who seemed to unintentionally invite chaos and mayhem into her life.
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Week of December 12th, 2022
Beartown
By Fredrik Backman
*Top Recommendation!*
Beartown had been sitting on my Kindle for far too long. I am so glad that I finally read it. Going into it, I knew that it was highly
rated by fellow readers, and do you know what? It deserves every accolade that it has received. If I could write a review with only one sentence, it would simply be: do yourself a favor and read this book!
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Week of December 5th, 2022
Book Review:
The Key to My Heart
By Lia Louis
New Release!
*Top Recommendation!*
As soon as I saw that Lia Louis was releasing a new book, it immediately went on my to-be-read list. Did I need to read the synopsis? No. Did I have to see the cover? No. Ever since I read
Dear Emmie Blue, I have been a big fan of this author’s writing, and she has never steered me wrong. She has quickly become one of my go-to authors. If she writes it, you can be sure that I’m going to read it.
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Week of November 28th, 2022
Book Review:
Resting Scrooge Face
By Meghan Quinn
New Release!
If you’re looking for a short holiday story to bring a smile to your face, this is the one. This is the perfect little piece of escapism to
enjoy while you’re taking a break from everyday life.
Did I wish that this was a longer story? Not really. It was advertised as a short story and that’s just what I wanted. It delivered the right amount of humor, romance, and festive cheer.
*Read my review...
Week of November 14th, 2022
Book Review:
Before I Let Go
By Kennedy Ryan
New Release!
*Top Recommendation!*
Any book that you choose to read should make you feel. Whether it makes you happy, breaks your heart, frightens you, or just builds
up your anticipation for what could transpire on the next page, if a book doesn’t make you feel, it’s not doing its job. Kennedy Ryan delivered the story that I wanted to read. There was never a time
while I was reading Before I Let Go that I didn’t feel something. This book punched me in the gut, broke me down, and still filled me with an abundance of hope.
*Read my review...
Week of October 31st, 2022
Book Review:
We Are the Light
By Matthew Quick
New Release!
I’m writing this review right after finishing this novel, and I feel emotionally depleted. It is a thought-provoking, relevant, and
moving novel. With every tragic event that inundates our newsfeeds, there was no way that this book wouldn’t hit hard. We Are the Light
deals with the tragedy, grief, trauma, PTSD, and healing after a heinous act leaves eighteen people dead in small-town Pennsylvania.
*Read my review...
Week of October 24th, 2022
Book Review:
Marlowe Banks, Redesigned
By Jacqueline Firkins
*Top Recommendation!*
This book is just another example of why I love to read. I always enjoy finding new-to-me authors, and after reading Marlowe
Banks, Redesigned, Jacqueline Firkins is an author whose books will
definitely be on my to-be-read list.
It had been a while since I had indulged in a novel set in the world of celebrity, and this one was certainly worth the wait.
*Read my review...
Week of October 17th, 2022
Book Review:
My Best Friend's Exorcism
By Grady Hendrix
*Top Recommendation!*
This book was the perfect way to kick off my October reading. What could be better than mixing ‘80s pop culture and demonic possession? Strange question? Well, the answer is: not much, my friends.
This book felt like a trip down memory lane (well, not the possession and exorcism part). There is something to be said for a book that fills its reader with nostalgia. I had so much fun reading about those familiar things that I hadn’t thought about in years. Each chapter title was a song from the ‘80s, and I would be lying if I said that I didn’t sing or hum a bit of the song with the beginning of each new chapter.
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Week of October 3rd, 2022
Book Review:
Writers & Lovers
By Lily King
*Top Recommendation!*
Writers & Lovers was captivating, beautifully written, and a pleasure to read.
There was just something about this novel that set it apart from some of the others that I’ve read. There was no big event, no pivotal moment so to speak, no grand climax. This is Casey
Peabody’s story, and while it follows her through her daily routines and somewhat mundane days, there is absolutely nothing mundane about Casey or this story.
*Read my review...
Week of September 26th, 2022
We Spread
By Iain Reid
New Release!
*Top Recommendation!*
Having read Iain Reid’s other two novels, I should have been better prepared for We Spread. It is a chilling, emotional page-turner that kept me riveted to the pages, but this novel hit a little close to home.
Growing old is not only a privilege, but it can also be scary and worrisome. We all hope to be the ninety-year-old who is in good physical health, still sharp as a tack, and able to live independently in our home, partaking in hobbies and visits with family and friends. The prospect of growing old comes with the fears that we may not be one of the lucky ones.
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Book Review:
The Wehrwolf
By Alma Katsu
New Release!
Alma Katsu has come highly recommended to me by a trusted source. My husband has been raving about her ability to take a historical event and make it even more horrific. As soon as I read the synopsis of The Wehrwolf, I was not only intrigued, but thought that it was high time that I sampled Katsu’s writing for myself.
*Read my review...
Week of September 13th, 2022
Book Review:
I'm the Girl
By Courtney Summers
New Release!
Top Recommendation!*
As soon as I see that Courtney Summers is going to be releasing a new book, I immediately add it to my to-be-read list. I don’t need
to see the cover or read the synopsis; I just know that I will want to read it. Plain and simple as that. This novel is anything but plain
and simple, though. I’m the Girl is everything that I love about this author’s writing, and it did not disappoint.
*Read my review...
Book Review:
The Make-Up Test
By Jenny L. Howe
What could be better than a romance novel that promises second chances, academic rivalries, and books!
This debut novel had a lot of things going for it. It had a strong female protagonist, body positivity, and it was set in academia. This was one of my most anticipated releases, it was offering up everything that I enjoy in a novel.
*Read my review...
Week of September 5th, 2022
Mad About You was another wonderful read by Mhairi McFarlane.
She knows how to deliver the angst, tension, and emotions that I crave in a novel.
If you’re looking for a book that is heavy on the romance, this may not be exactly what you’re in the mood for. If you’re looking for a book with likable, relatable characters who you will be rooting for from the very beginning, an emotional storyline, fabulous wit, girl
power and, of course, a smattering of romance along the way, this is the book that you will want to read next.
*Read my review...
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