Untamed Coast: A Novel by Kevin C. Morris
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

What an absolutely marvelous novel. Even though it took me forever to finish this, I loved every second I spent with this story of three people in three timelines whose stories of course weave together. There were some twists I didn’t see coming but the mystery was only part of the beauty of this book. The atmosphere, the characters, the melancholy that weaved through the whole book coupled with the beautiful and terrifying and larger than life nature of Alaska was the best part.

Mystery, history, nature and more in this stunning novel that I highly recommend.

With gratitude to netgalley and Ballantine Books for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

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Helpless by Jessica Knoll
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

3.5 stars for the crazy twist at the end that really left me more confused than i expected. It was interesting but also i feel a little too over the top towards the end.

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Meet Me in the Garden by Nina LaCour
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

What a gifted writer Nina LaCour is…I loved every minute I spent with the story of Odette who is best friends with her cousin Delphine. Both of whom have secrets they can’t tell anyone else. As they make bold moves to leave their Creole community and move to Los Angeles, their lives diverge only to converge years later again as a result of a huge moment for Delphine. Neither woman will be the same again. As we follow Odette navigate her life and her choices and the consequences they bring, I felt like both wishing she were braver and having so much empathy for her and her fears around losing everything she loved most.

LaCour’s writing is so real that the characters jump off the page and carve their place in your heart as the story navigates family, belonging, mental illness, black community, sisterhood, queerness and so much more. Angel Pean’s audio brought it to life beautifully, helping me connect to the story much more deeply.

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

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The Lion Women of Tehran by Marjan Kamali
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This was a lovely story to listen to, and interesting history with good depth but the characters weren’t as textured and developed as I would have liked. Glad I read it.

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Someone Else’s Husband by Kimberly McCreight
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This was okay. readable and moved fast but will not stay with me. Sometimes those are the perfect books for the moment.

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In Wonderland by Joyce Maynard
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Maynard is such a wonderful storyteller. This is the story of Frances, fourteen, who gets to spend the summer in a lakefront home in Maine as a mother’s helper. A world that is usually completely inaccessible to her, one full of country clubs, tennis tutors and more. This life seems magical to Frances who falls in love with so much of it and doesn’t want the days to end. Until she realizes things are maybe not exactly as they seem and that maybe all that glitters is not, in fact, gold.

The secrets start unraveling, her dreams of what this life is get shattered again and again as she gets embedded into the lives of the family she’s staying with. This story brims with so much life. Frances’ own coming of age story juxtaposed with the marriage and personal traumas of the Regina and Forrest and the lives of the two kids they have creates this layered and textured story of how complex each of our lives are and how nothing is really what it seems.

The audio version of this story was truly excellent, transporting you into the mind of Frances as she learns to navigate so much in one short summer.

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

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