Review: The Bones Beneath My Skin

The Bones Beneath My Skin
The Bones Beneath My Skin by T.J. Klune
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I loved so much of this story. Especially the first part before it becomes a chase scene novel. I loved the characters, especially Artemis Darth Vader, I challenge anyone not to fall in love with her.

View all my reviews

Review: The River Has Roots

The River Has Roots
The River Has Roots by Amal El-Mohtar
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

How lucky am I that so many of the writers whose books I loved have new books this year. El-Mohtar was on that list for me and while I couldn’t possibly love this as much as the previous one I still love love loved it.

View all my reviews

Review: Wild Dark Shore

Wild Dark Shore
Wild Dark Shore by Charlotte McConaghy
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I absolutely adore the writing of McConaghy. Always so much atmosphere! This one was a mystery in so many ways and I was totally here for it. I loved this book.

View all my reviews

Review: The Impossible Thing

The Impossible Thing
The Impossible Thing by Belinda Bauer
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I both read and listened to this book on audio. I really enjoyed the audio which helped with the pacing in my opinion.

I’ve read and loved Bauer’s books and this was no exception. However, this book, while fascinating, moved at a slower pace than I would have liked. I loved all the characters and I loved the moving back and forth in time to have mysteries unfold in several timelines. I loved falling head first into the world of egg collectors both in real life (as in physically collecting the eggs from the birds) and in the academic sense (who knew?!) and the obsession and craze and the ones who were taken advantage of and the ones who put themselves in all kinds of danger.

It will be impossible for you to not fall into the rabbit hole of this world of danger, intrigue and deception.

with gratitude to Grove Atlantic and Dreamscape Media and netgalley for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review

View all my reviews

Review: The Impossible Thing

The Impossible Thing
The Impossible Thing by Belinda Bauer
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I both read and listened to this book on audio. I really enjoyed the audio which helped with the pacing in my opinion.

I’ve read and loved Bauer’s books and this was no exception. However, this book, while fascinating, moved at a slower pace than I would have liked. I loved all the characters and I loved the moving back and forth in time to have mysteries unfold in several timelines. I loved falling head first into the world of egg collectors both in real life (as in physically collecting the eggs from the birds) and in the academic sense (who knew?!) and the obsession and craze and the ones who were taken advantage of and the ones who put themselves in all kinds of danger.

It will be impossible for you to not fall into the rabbit hole of this world of danger, intrigue and deception.

with gratitude to Grove Atlantic and Dreamscape Media and netgalley for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review

View all my reviews

Review: The Last Trip

The Last Trip
The Last Trip by Kiersten Modglin
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This was a crazy wild ride as all of Modglin’s stories are. I didn’t like it as much as others (maybe cause it was shorter?) but I still enjoyed it.

View all my reviews

Review: Trust Me on This

Trust Me on This
Trust Me on This by Lauren Parvizi
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I loved this story of two mostly-estranged step-sisters who go on a road trip together to see their sick dad. I loved that they each had unique 3-dimensional personalities. I loved the little bit of romance and I loved that we also got to see both of their moms in their own homes. I loved the tiny details around the cars, the cat, the food. I loved the food.

By the end of this story, I was attached to both of the sisters and felt like I was rooting for them and riding along the journey with them. There’s a twist at the end that I am not sure was necessary. It didn’t ruin the story for me but it also didn’t really add to it, in my opinion.

I still loved how this book tackled both the complexities of the trauma each sister carried and navigated the texture of sisterhood. (even if a step-sisterhood.)

with gratitude to netgalley and Lake Union Publishing for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review

View all my reviews

Review: Homeseeking

Homeseeking
Homeseeking by Karissa Chen
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I love these generational stories of families. I love reading about how small and big moments shape us and how we carry trauma over the course of our lives and impact all the generations after us. Also how we create stories in order to survive. A beautifully told story.

View all my reviews

Review: The Stolen Queen

The Stolen Queen
The Stolen Queen by Fiona Davis
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I appear to be in an historical fiction phase and have been loving these novels that teach me and keep me interested and excited all at the same time. Loved this one.

View all my reviews

Review: My Friends

My Friends
My Friends by Fredrik Backman
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Fredrik Backman is a gift. His books are, for me, the very best of what a book can be: deep, character-driven, emotional, memorable and a story to be lost in. I took forever reading this book because I did not want it to end. I wanted to live in Backman’s world for as long as possible.

This is the story of four friends. It’s a story of friendship, it’s a story of family. It’s a story of connection. It’s a story of sacrifice. It’s a story of what happens when flawed people share lives together. It’s a story of forgiveness. It’s a story of joy. It’s a story of the gift and tragedy of childhood. It’s a story of the gift and tragedy of success. It’s a story of seeing and being seen.

This story is truly, deeply magical. I cannot tell you how much I loved it. It made me laugh, it made me cry, it made me smile, and it made me weep. It will stay with me just like all of his other stories have. How lucky are we to live at the same time as this wonderful author? And how lucky are we that he chose to share his gifts with us?

with gratitude to Atria Books and netgalley for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

View all my reviews

Review: The Missing Half

The Missing Half
The Missing Half by Ashley Flowers
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is the story of Nic and Jenna who both have sisters that went missing seven years ago and their cases appeared to be linked. Nic’s been trying to move on and live without her sister (and not doing so well at it) but when Jenna shows up and encourages her to do their own digging, Nic’s thrown right back into the thick of it and things go from crazy to even crazier all the way to the very twisty endings that you don’t see coming.

I read this in one swallow.

with gratitude to Random House Publishing Group and netgalley for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

View all my reviews

Review: Vantage Point

Vantage Point
Vantage Point by Sara Sligar
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I am so done reading books with vile characters that are hard to sit with for a whole book. This was ok. I am just tired of books with unlikeable characters so it’s me not the book!

View all my reviews