Loving What Is: Four Questions That Can Change Your Life by Byron Katie
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
People love Byron Katie or they hate her. I feel like self-help or systems like this only serve you as far as you’re willing to go. And you should always take what works and leave the rest. These are not religions. I like that she has a process I can follow. And I also deeply agree that the truth is the truth is the truth so regardless of how I feel about it, it doesn’t change being the truth. And messing with how others should feel, be, behave, etc. is a path to unhappiness since we have no control over what others do and why. So my business is all I get to choose and control. A good reminder.
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The Perfect Son by Freida McFadden
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
It’s interesting to read these earlier McFaddens before her stories became really twisted and her characters became even more deeply unlikeable. I sort of guessed this one though it was a fast read.
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The Housemaid by Freida McFadden
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Ok I buckled. I finally read this. It was ok. I have already read this plot before, albeit maybe it was stolen from McFadden but either way, it didn’t come as a twist this time around of course.
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A Sea of Unspoken Things by Adrienne Young
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
When her twin brother is accidentally shot dead, James goes back to her hometown to pack up his belongings. But her true motive is really to understand what happened. The uneasy feeling will not leave her alone and she’s confident that things aren’t what they seem.
Add to that a small town where the love of her life, her brother’s on again and off again girlfriend and all her childhood friends still live. A small town full of gossip. A small town she’d managed to escape. A small town where there are no secrets. A small town where she and her brother and her ex were keeping a secret they never told anyone.
And James isn’t sure her brother is as innocent as he seems. But she knows him and there’s no way he could have hurt anyone. Or could he?
Young’s writing is haunting, claustrophobic and atmospheric. Her characters are memorable and three-dimensional. I love reading her stories.
with gratitude to netgalley and Delacorte Press for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review
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The Third Rule of Time Travel by Philip Fracassi
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
What an unusual book this was.
Beth and her husband have created a time machine. It comes with three rules. And you know what’s going to happen next, right?
As soon as there are rules, the story is about how those rules are not working anymore.
Beth’s husband passed away and she’s trying to ensure their life’s work is put to good use. She’s working all the time, trying to understand the intricacies of the machine they invented. When their funding is about to dry out, she’s put through test after test to see where her limit might be.
And, of course, things start to unravel.
I read this in one single sitting.
with gratitude to netgalley and Orbit for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review
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What Happened to the McCrays? by Tracey Lange
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
I’ve now read and loved every one of Lange’s books.
This is the story of Kyle McCray who has to return home to take care of his dad after he suffers from a debilitating stroke. Kyle left town over two years ago and had not been planning to come back. In fact, he’s pretty sure he’s not welcome back.
Alas.
This is the story of grief, loss, family, forgiveness, shame and so so much love. It’s a reminder that things are rarely what they seem and a reminder of all the things we give up in the name of caring for someone else and managing to hurt them in the process. It’s a reminder that suffering in silence is never better than suffering together and healing together. Some losses are too big but even those, especially those, need the company of grace and love.
Lange’s stories have so many of life’s emotions at their center. And they always remind you what it means to be family.
with gratitude to netgalley and Celadon Books for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review
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Mink River by Brian Doyle
My rating: 0 of 5 stars
I am not going to rate this one because I didn’t finish it. After picking up this book on five different occasions and getting past 54% and still not feeling it, I am finally calling it. It wasn’t meant for me.
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The Borrowed Life of Frederick Fife by Anna Johnston
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
This sweet, sweet story is definitely a heart-warmer. If you’re a fan of up-lit, you will enjoy the story of Frederick Fife who accidentally ends up taking over the life of Bernard and then proceeds to change the lives of everyone around him, including his.
It’s never too late for forgiveness, family, and friendship.
with gratitude to netgalley and William Morrow for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review
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The Dream Hotel by Laila Lalami
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I’ve read and loved Lalami’s other books but this one was claustrophobic, scary, traumatizing and a little too real in parts. It’s a bleak view on what the world could evolve to and of course like all good books, it’s not impossible to see this type of future unfold.
The amount of data that is collectively available on each of us is indeed eye opening and, if merged together, would be alarming in its ability to predict things. Lalami’s story takes this to an extreme and paints a world in which the government in service of protecting us is creating measures that are draconian.
Coupling all that with the concepts of presumptive-guilt and manipulation results in the kind of story that is both traumatizing and feels all together too possible and real in parts. Thankfully many other parts seem wild and too-far-fetched (at least for now) and help ground that this is still a novel and not our reality.
for now.
with gratitude to netgalley and Pantheon for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review
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Witness 8 by Steve Cavanagh
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I love the Eddy Flynn stories! What an awesome character to build and yet again he never ceases to amaze the reader with his creativity and ways of “bending” the law to ensure he can protect his client. I loved all the characters that worked with Eddy but I will admit that I really really hated Ruby for almost the whole book.
It took until the very end for Cavanagh to redeem her for me and somehow I never actually saw the ending coming and of course the book ended up being not about what you thought it will be about. If you haven’t read this series, you are truly missing out. These books are fast-paced, funny, interesting and always leave you with something extra.
with gratitude to netgalley and Atria Books for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review
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Adrift in Currents Clean and Clear by Seanan McGuire
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
A new year means another story with the Wayward Children and I have some to look forward to these so so much. McGuire’s imagination and her ability to weave these incredible and sad and creative stories is unparalleled.
This particular one wasn’t my favorite one and it felt extra sad in the end but the world of water, like all the others, was fascinating. I also loved her story about her homeland and how it felt to be there. Her adoptive parents and how it was more important for her to be who their image of her was vs who she actually was.
These girls are all so sad and yet they are also all so brave. I am grateful for every one of these stories and I hope she never stops writing them. They are also truly fantastic on audio, an immersive expeirence.
with gratitude to netgalley and Macmillan Audio for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review
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Beautiful Ugly by Alice Feeney
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
3.5 stars rounded up.
This book was fun and interesting to read all the way to the end when it gets weird and unbelievable and then the very end which is even weirder and hard to understand.
But aside from that, it’s super fast paced and all you’re trying to understand the whole time is what happened, who took Grady’s wife? What’s up with the island he’s visiting? Is that his wife? What do all the people seem to know besides the reader?
It’s creepy but not too much, it’s intense but not too much, the characters are unlikeable but not too much (until the end) so you just keep turning those pages (or listening in my case) just to find out what is going on.
The audio narration was excellent and kept me on my toes the whole time. I loved the sound effects too!
with gratitude to netgalley and Macmillan Audio for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review
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projects for twenty twenty-four
projects for twenty twenty-three
projects for twenty twenty-two
projects for twenty twenty-one
projects for twenty nineteen
projects for twenty eighteen
projects from twenty seventeen
monthly projects from previous years
some of my previous projects
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