The Incredible Kindness of Paper by Evelyn Skye
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I have read every book that Evelyn Skye has written and I am incredibly lucky to call her my friend. So this review might feel biased, but here’s what I am going to tell you: if you haven’t read any books by Syke or even if you have this is the one you want to read. This book is magic.

Each of Skye’s books, while varying widely across genres, has her signature writing style which is visual, painterly and has elements of magic and whimsy. They all have memorable characters. But one, this one is a gift.

You can read the blurb so I won’t repeat the plot but here’s what matters most: this book will make you feel warm and happy and hopeful for the world. You will fall in love with Chloe and her ability to hold on to herself and her optimism in a world that is always trying to change us or improve us. Chloe’s sense of self is strong, unyielding and makes it impossible not to root for her.

Yes, there’s a romance at the root of this story but it’s so much more than that. It restores your faith in humanity. It allows you to travel to a place where people are flawed and struggling and finding their way back home and hanging on to their unyielding belief that we can create good and joy in the world even as we are trying to find our way.

This book will make you feel warm and hopeful and like the wonderful hug you needed. I cannot recommend it enough.

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

View all my reviews

How the Light Gets In by Joyce Maynard
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Oh MY. I can spend another six books with these characters. Yes there was a lot of repetition but I truly don’t care. I love this family, I love this story, I love these books so so much.

View all my reviews

The Instrumentalist by Harriet Constable
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I know there are mixed reviews on this but I absolutely loved it. I appear to be on a historical fiction kick lately and am enjoying all these stories so much.

View all my reviews

Colored Television by Danzy Senna
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I would never have read this if it weren’t for my friend Lauren even though I read and liked Senna’s previous book. The reviews were too mixed. But I liked it quite a lot and enjoyed how LA it was and the tone was just about right for me. I totally didn’t see the twist coming for some reason.

View all my reviews

The Frozen River by Ariel Lawhon
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Another excellent read for 2025. If you like character-driven novels you will absolutely cherish this story of Martha Ballard who is the most kick ass midwife you will ever read about. Well written, and wonderfully narrated, this story was a complete joy to read and will stay with me for a long while.

View all my reviews

Count the Ways by Joyce Maynard
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

What an excellent, excellent start to the new year. I don’t know why I hadn’t heard of this book and I haven’t read enough of Maynard to seek all her stories but maybe I should because this multi-generational family story was one of the best books I’ve read in a while. I love character-driven stories and this one gave me characters in heaps. I loved every single moment I spent with it.

View all my reviews