Christa Comes Out of Her Shell by Abbi Waxman
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I loved this book on audio. Others said it was too cute or too romancy. I didn’t care. I love Waxman’s writing and this one was no exception. Fun, light, and sweet.
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Once I started this book, I could not stop reading it. I didn’t even care if I could guess some of the twists. The pacing, the mix of storylines, and the momentum of the novel got my attention and would not release it until I was finished. Do not pick this up if you have other things you need to get done, you are unlikely to finish any other tasks before the end of the story. with gratitude to netgalley and Knopf for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.
Lamott truly never disappoints. She’s kind, generous, true and makes you feel less alone in the world by not only existing alongside all of us but sharing her stories so we can feel a deeper sense of belonging.
This is a great book to keep by your bedside and read again and again as you need. It is a guide to connecting with yourself and being who you are. I am a big proponent of inside-out living and this book has strong guidance on how to do that. How to feel your feelings and ensure you can move through them. The author groups categories of emotions and helps guide you on how to move through them and is always gentle, encouraging and kind. I will refer to my copy again and again. with gratitude to netgalley and Collective Ink Limited for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.
What an extraordinary writer Colm Tóibín is. A few years ago, I read The Magician and that was my first novel by him. Even though I had heard of Brooklyn, I have never read it so when I saw this sequel I wasn’t sure if it would stand alone but I decided to request it anyway. I am so glad I did. This is such a quiet novel. I loved Eilis as the main character. In fact, I loved all the characters and I loved how real this book felt to me. All that repressed sorrow. All the repressed dreams. Loneliness and desire and loss. The story of a mother torn between her own principles and support of her children and going after her own happiness. The story of a mother trying to save her future. The story of widows learning to make do. The story of a family trying to find a way out of a tough situation. So much said and so much not said. I loved reading this story and now I am going to have to go back and read every single book this author has written. with gratitude to netgalley and Scribner for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.
Ok, wow. I have to give this book a 5-star read because it’s unlike anything I’ve read. I love when I discover books that have such unusual premises that even after having read thousands of books, I can still be really surprised. On the surface, Bear is the story of two siblings who live on a Pacific Northwest island, taking care of their ill mom and working at dead-end underpaying jobs to pay the medical bills. But underneath, there’s so so much more going on. Sam has been waiting for the day that she and Elena can stop having to take care of their mother, sell their house and move off the island, as Elena promised years ago. And then a bear shows up at their house. And the two sisters have wildly different reactions to the bear. We only see everything from Sam’s perspective and her alarm grows and grows, causing a greater wedge between her and her sister and she feels it’s imperative that she resolve the situation before all their dreams go up in smoke. And, of course, of course things are not as they might seem to Sam. And, of course, of course things don’t go as planned. This is a powerful novel unlike any other. I loved it. with gratitude to netgalley and Random House for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review
In the Hour of Crows is the story of Weatherly whose grieving her cousin’s death while other events unfold to make her question whether the death was a murder instead of an accident. At its core this book is about unfolding what happened to her cousin but at its heart this is a book about families, grief, love, betrayal, lies, and the unrelenting journey for truth and justice. If gothic and the magical realism are your preferred genres, you will really enjoy the setting and tone of this book. Weatherly herself can heal people who are dying, her cousin could see the future and her good friend Rook shape-shifts into a crow and accompanies the dying. I enjoyed all these elements of the supernatural and especially loved Rook as a character. with gratitude to netgalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review
when stuck i just read mysteries because i know they will be fast paced and give me something to read. this one was no exception. fast paced, interesting and something to read while I feel stuck.
It took me a while to get into this book. and I didn’t really love it until the last few chapters when the main character grew so much and the book became poignant for me. If my friend Lauren hadn’t recommended it I am not sure I would have stuck with it; I am glad I did.
This is the story of three adults going back for their college reunion weekend. They used to be best friends in college but are not as close anymore. Each of them has their own struggles that they are not sharing with the others. I thought the characters were interesting and well-drawn. They were three dimensional and their feelings around the reunion weekend were juxtaposed well with the struggles they are each experiencing in their lives at the same time. I loved the wide array of personal struggles they each had and I liked the depiction of the reunion weekend, albeit a little stereotypical. There is an emergency that ends up taking them out of the reunion and inadvertently forces each of them to face what they’re not dealing with in their own lives. I loved this part, too. I think, in the end, I didn’t give it a higher rating because I felt like I was watching these characters from afar instead of embodying their struggles and that gave the book a distance that is usually not what I prefer in stories like these. I still really enjoyed my time with this novel and it made me think. with gratitude to netgalley and Harper for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review
Didn’t really love this one but enjoyed listening to it nonetheless. i wish the mystery writers would stop writing such unlikeable characters. It would be much more interesting if all the characters were super likable and you found yourself rooting for all of them even though some still had to be the antagonist.
Eh, tbh all of these mysteries blend into each other for me once i finish but I enjoy every single one of them. If you’re a mystery-liker, you will enjoy this one. |
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