Review: In the Weeds

In the Weeds
In the Weeds by B.K. Borison
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I think I liked this one even more than the first one. Beckett is such a great character and it was just so lovely to get lost in his world for a few hours. Love the kittens, the duck, the sisters. I love everything about these books.

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Review: Can’t Look Away

Can't Look Away
Can’t Look Away by Carola Lovering
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This was an okay story, moved fast but went nowhere. No major twist (I guess one small one which I will admit I didn’t guess.) Interesting premise but not sure where it went in the end.

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Review: Loving the Dead and Gone

Loving the Dead and Gone
Loving the Dead and Gone by Judith Turner-Yamamoto
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

3,5 stars.

This is the story of two different women at two different times in history. Both dealing with loss and pain and how their lives intertwine in an unexpected way. I really enjoyed the writing and the resilience of the women who have learned to move forward and do what’s needed regardless of the pain they endure.

with gratitude to edelweiss and Regal House Publishing for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

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Review: Aurora

Aurora
Aurora by David Koepp
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I enjoyed this fast-paced story about a different disaster around the electric grid that comes a few years after covid. As we’ve learned in the last few years, some people take it better than others and for some it brings out the best in them and they help each other out, and for others, well it brings out the worst.

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Review: Counterfeit

Counterfeit
Counterfeit by Kirstin Chen
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A fast-paced fun and light read about two women who start a business returning counterfeit bags and selling the real ones on ebay. There a few little surprises but for the most part it’s just a fun story.

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Review: Disorientation

Disorientation
Disorientation by Elaine Hsieh Chou
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

3.5 stars.

An interesting story about a graduate student who uncovers a big deception as part of writing her thesis. There’s a lot around being Asian and racism and literature and even educational institutions in this interesting and layered story. It was a bit longer than it needed to be.

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Review: A Dangerous Business

A Dangerous Business
A Dangerous Business by Jane Smiley
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I’ve always enjoyed Jane Smiley’s writing and “A Dangerous Business” is no exception. This is the story of Eliza Ripple who lost her husband in a fight and now has to learn how to make it on her own in 1851 California. She works at a brothel and when women in the town start getting murdered, she and her friend, Jean, decide to solve the mystery of who’s hurting the women.

The characters in this story are all three dimensional and Eliza is a funny and there are a lot of interesting bits about working at a brothel, being a woman in California at the time, the gold rush, the beginnings of Civil War talks and slavery and even women who work at brothels for women.

I enjoyed the writing and this unusual story. I felt like the ending was more abrupt than I thought it would be but, for me, the mystery was secondary to this character-driven story.

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

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Review: The Latecomer

The Latecomer
The Latecomer by Jean Hanff Korelitz
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

What an absolutely fantastic story about a family with triplets who do not feel connected to each other and a family that can never feel or behave like a family until the daughter born many many years later finally brings them together and shows them what it means to be a family. This character-driven story is absolutely magnificent. Thanks to my friend Lauren who recommended it!

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Review: Iona Iverson’s Rules for Commuting

Iona Iverson's Rules for Commuting
Iona Iverson’s Rules for Commuting by Clare Pooley
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

What a sweet, tender book about unexpected friendship and how strangers can save your life. I loved each of the characters and how they rallied for each other. If you want something light and sweet and uplifting, this will be one you like.

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Review: Heartstopper: Volume Four

Heartstopper: Volume Four
Heartstopper: Volume Four by Alice Oseman
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I love this series. This one was much more about the eating disorder and getting help than the others have been and it’s still so sweet and uplifting and tender.

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Review: Delphine Jones Takes a Chance

Delphine Jones Takes a Chance
Delphine Jones Takes a Chance by Beth Morrey
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

3.5 stars

I liked this character-based story about a single mom who slowly starts putting her life back together. It’s a slow but sweet book.

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Review: A Quiet Life

A Quiet Life
A Quiet Life by Ethan Joella
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

“She brought all this texture into their lives, and he never needed to be creative or experiment with new personas. He was like an evergreen next to a tree that transformed itself brilliantly every season—he looked good because she was near him.”

Ethan Joella is quickly becoming one of my favorite authors. The characters he creates are so layered and real and deeply human that it’s not possible to not fall in love with them.

This is the story of three people: Chuck, Ella, and Kirsten, each of whom is struggling with a loss. One lost his wife, the other her father, and the third her daughter. They are all suffering and learning how to build their life forward within this grief. As their lives overlap and interweave in unexpected ways, they help rescue each other in ways that only strangers can.

This book is full of heart and it will stay with you long after you finish it. I cannot recommend it enough.

with gratitude to netgalley and Scribner for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review

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