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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A Great Country by Shilpi Somaya Gowda
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
4.5 stars for this interesting and visceral story that was well told and sad and scary and real.
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You Are Here by David Nicholls
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
I liked this story but didn’t seem to love it like many others seem to have. It was lovely. It was sweet, it was funny. It just didn’t seem all that special to me.
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Havoc by Christopher Bollen
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
wow ok this story is crazy. I feel like i have to give it 4 stars just because it’s so crazy. I don’t want to give away the plot more than the blurb does because i think it will take away from the visceral experience you will have with it. Thanks to my friend Lauren who told me to read it.
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The Knitting Circle by Ann Hood
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Sweet story about women connecting over their love of knitting and using knitting as a way to move through grief. Sad but also redemptive.
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Brooklyn by Colm Tóibín
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
I read these out of order but it was still really enjoyable. I love Tóibín’s writing. It’s so quiet and beautiful.
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Broken Country by Clare Leslie Hall
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Oh, it’s always magical when so late in the year you read a book that turns out to be one of your favorites of the year.
This is the story of Beth who is caught between her first love, Gabriel, and her husband, Frank when Gabriel comes back to town with his son. From the first page, you know that things have gone poorly and there’s tragedy. And you are sucked into the story that will not let you go. I was up until 2am reading, not wanting to let go of these characters.
The character development is so beautiful that these characters jump off the page and you miss them long after their story is over. This beautiful story is about love, betrayal, class, brotherhood, parenthood, loss and so much more. It’s truly beautiful and I cannot recommend it enough.
with gratitude to netgalley and Simon & Schuster for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review
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Behind Closed Doors by B.A. Paris
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Creepy people doing creepy things. If you’re in the mood for creepy, this is the book for you.
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The Only One Left by Riley Sager
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Interesting and twisty. I seem to only be listening to mysteries for the most part. And this one was fun and fast and well-paced.
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The Strange Case of Jane O. by Karen Thompson Walker
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
I don’t even know how to write a review for this book. It’s strange 🙂
This is the story of Jane O. who walks into the office of her therapist, which she only met once many years before (even though he doesn’t remember) and then doesn’t come back. Until he gets a call that she woke up in the park and is now at the hospital and can’t remember the last day.
The story goes back and forth between Jane’s diary entries and the therapist. And the more we find out, the more confused we get. It becomes hard to understand what’s real and what’s not. And you have to be willing to suspend your disbelief and just go with it.
I loved Walker’s writing from the very first page. Once I started reading this book, I could not put it down and wanted to see what happened to Jane O. If you’re open to reading unusual books, you will love this one.
with gratitude NetGalley and Random House for the opportunity to preview this title in exchange for my honest opinion.
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Famous Last Words by Gillian McAllister
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
I read and loved this author’s previous two books so I was excited to read this one. And while this one is also a mystery, it’s a much slower burn than the other two. And yet I still loved it.
Cam’s husband takes three people hostage, kills two of them and disappears. Then, seven years pass. And you’re like WHAT? Seven years. Hostages are never identified. Her husband is never caught. Cam and the hostage negotiator both cannot move on and this book alternates between the two.
I loved McAllister’s writing. I loved the intrigue of the story. Can’t wait to read more of McAllister.
with gratitude NetGalley and William Morrow for the opportunity to preview this title in exchange for my honest opinion.
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When We Grow Up by Angelica Baker
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
This audiobook took a while for me to get into. The story starts with a bang when six adults who have been friends since college are on vacation in Hawaii and a terrifying news alerts indicates that their lives are about to be over.
The whole book is basically a conversation amongst these friends, revisiting their college years, talking about who they have become and how they have (or have not) changed. Resentments get aired, people behave poorly and they drink and they rant.
Even though there were bits I liked, overall I didn’t enjoy this book. The characters are all dislikable. The dialogue seems a bit too on the nose. They cover privilege, friendships – especially ones you make during the formative years, racism and more.
with gratitude NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the opportunity to preview this title in exchange for my honest opinion.
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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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