Here are my goodreads reviews. If you’re on goodreads, add me as a friend so I can see your books too! I also have an instagram account where I join my love of reading with my love of art.

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The Bright Side Sanctuary for Animals (4.5 stars): I am not sure why this book didn’t get more coverage. I absolutely loved it from the very beginning. It’s the story of Ariel who goes back home to her mom Mona’s animal sanctuary when she finds out that it is about to be sold.

It’s a coming-back-home story but has the animal sanctuary twist. There are also some political commentary so fair warning.

But what I loved about this book was the characters. There are several really interesting characters and they are so much joy to be around. I could definitely feel the small town feeling and I loved spending time with everyone in this book.

I really wish more people read this one.

with gratitude to edeweiss and the publisher for an advanced copy

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In a Holidaze (4 stars): I’m just such a fan of Christina Lauren books. I know what to expect, and they never disappoint me.

Reading a book about Christmas in August was my favorite way to spend a few hours. This is the story of Maelyn who is at a Utah cabin with her family and another few families who’ve spent Christmas together for ever. The book starts off as a Groundhog’s Day trope which really worried me because I’ve read several books this year where the main character gets to re-live the same day and none of them were executed well so I got really worried.

But as it turns out she only gets to re-live a small number of times here and there’s something new and fun in each instance. So it’s not the main focus of the book, which for me, was a good thing.

This is a story about how it pays off to be yourself, to go after the things that make you happy and to take chances each and every time. Life is short and don’t compromise your joy because you’re too scared.

It’s fun, funny, inspiring and sweet. Everything I’ve come to expect from Christina Lauren and they deliver again in this wonderful holiday novel.

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

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The Silent Wife (3 stars): Ok so this was book #10 in a series where I have read none of the book. But it had high ratings and I was craving a mystery so I read it anyway. It was about a serial killer (not the most uplifting topic but mysteries rarely have that.) It was the kind of mystery I like, where you get to know the characters and there’s a lot of room for not just the plot but character development. It’s about 2x longer than the recent usual twisty mystery books and the author uses all that space for her characters. Enjoyed this one.

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The Worst Best Man (3.5 stars): Loved this super fast read. It was fun and funny. The hate to love trope isn’t usually my favorite but I just liked these characters and had fun with the story.

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Stranger in the Lake (2 stars): Meh, this story was mostly boring. About a woman who marries a man whose ex-wife drowned in their lake and then now they find another body in the same lake and she had seen her husband talk to that woman the day before. Is he the bad guy? I mean if he were, wouldn’t it just be too obvious for a plot?

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The Comeback (4 stars): “I’d like to say I didn’t understand what I was agreeing to, but I think it would be a lie– even back then I knew I was giving a part of myself away.”

This is a really well-written story about an actress who achieves early success thanks to a director who takes her under his wing. It’s the story of how he also sexually abused her and used her and took advantage of her.

It’s not as dark as it might sound and it’s really well written. What I liked the most about this book was the tone (which I don’t think I’ve ever written in a review before.) It had this perfect tone the whole way through where you felt the low level discomfort and unease the character had the whole time. Sometimes it escalated and I was on the edge of my seat and other times I could breathe more easily with her.

I was rooting for her 100% of the time. Really well-done.

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And there we go, grateful to be reading.

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Books I Read this Week 2020 is a year-long project for 2019. You can read more about my projects for 2020 here. I am also tracking my books in real time on Good Reads here. If you’re on Good Reads add me so I can follow you, too! I’ve also started an instagram account where I join my love of reading with my love of art.

Here are my goodreads reviews. If you’re on goodreads, add me as a friend so I can see your books too! I also have an instagram account where I join my love of reading with my love of art.

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Bear Necessity (4 stars): Love love loved this quirky book. I am now a bit apprehensive when a blurb says a book is quirky or is compared to Nick Hornby whom I love and adore, but this book mostly lived up to its promise. It’s sweet, touching, and undeniably quirky. I loved the characters and really loved all the layers of emotion without any of the melodrama of losing a mom/wife. It was a really enjoyable read.

with gratitude to edelweiss and the publisher for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

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She’s Faking It (3 stars): I wanted something light and fun and this book definitely fit the bill. I felt like it started strong and sort of fizzled a bit toward the end but I enjoyed it all the way through and loved the author’s voice and the fun characters.

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The House of Deep Water (4 stars): I am not sure why this novel doesn’t get higher ratings. I really enjoyed this multi-generational saga that shows the complexities of being in a family, going back to your hometown and trying to grow up despite challenges. This is a novel about strong, complex women and the hardships they endure. It has themes around family, racism, abuse, teen pregnancy, poverty, and isolationism. It’s a slow, well-written book that grows on you. I loved the time I spent with it.

with gratitude to edelweiss and the publisher for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

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The End of Her (3 stars): I have been looking for a good, strong mystery novel to get lost in and I hadn’t heard of this one but it got high ratings so I wanted to try it. It was fast-paced and kept me reading but in the end I didn’t love it. I felt like the character development was weak and the twist wasn’t that twisty and I was like meh.

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And there we go, grateful to be reading.

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Books I Read this Week 2020 is a year-long project for 2019. You can read more about my projects for 2020 here. I am also tracking my books in real time on Good Reads here. If you’re on Good Reads add me so I can follow you, too! I’ve also started an instagram account where I join my love of reading with my love of art.

Here are my goodreads reviews. If you’re on goodreads, add me as a friend so I can see your books too! I also have an instagram account where I join my love of reading with my love of art.

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Pull of the Stars (3 stars): So I don’t want to rate this low as it wasn’t in any way a bad book and it has a lot of interesting bits, especially as I read it during a pandemic. However, unlike Donoghue’s other books, i did not get attached to any of the characters while reading this and just didn’t feel any connection to the book as a result.

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The End of Everything (4 stars): “At some point, in a cosmic sense, it will not have mattered that we ever lived. The universe will, more likely than not, fade into a cold, dark, empty cosmos, and all that we’ve done will be utterly forgotten.”

It took me forever to get through this book. To be fair, I am not good at physics and even though I’ve read a few Brian Greene books, I am far far away from the amount of knowledge it would help to have before reading this book.

That didn’t stop me from working hard to make my way through it. It’s written in common, easy language and tries to add both some perspective and levity but at the end of the day, this is a book about astrophysics and there’s no way that’s not going to be dense (unless you simplify it so much that it’s pointless.

Katie Mack manages to make it both readable and keeps the physics serious, real, and interesting.

If physics is your thing or you’re just fascinated like I am, this is the book for you.

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

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One to Watch (2 stars): Meh. I know everyone loved this book but I just didn’t connect with it at all. Maybe because I don’t ever watch those shows on TV. I loved the idea of the book much more than the reality of it.

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Once Again (3.5 stars): This was a fast-paced story that I couldn’t put down once I started. There are several interesting elements to the story:

Zac – the dad and scientist, who is working in an astrophysics lab and making a huge discovery which results in some sort of time shifting in the universe. His chapters were mostly about science and it was dense/hard to understand what was going on. I didn’t worry too much, just read what I could understand and didn’t stress too much about the details. I did feel like we didn’t get to know Zac as much as I wish I could have but he’s not the focal point. He’s just an instrument that makes the plot possible.

Erin – the mom whose daughter is abducted 500 days ago and she’s really the main character of the story as time shifts she gets another chance at rescuing her daughter and goes to heroic ends to make that possible. As a mom, I could relate the most to her, of course. And she’s the reason I kept reading and reading.

there are a few minor characters: a police officer (whose chapters didn’t really feel like they served a major purpose,) the abductor (did not enjoy reading these of course,) and then a few other scientists, some characters at school etc. but none of them got their own chapter.

The story is go-go-go the whole time (except during the science chapters) and it just didn’t seem possible for me to put it down. I don’t know that I will remember the book forever and I did think it has a lot of flaws. I tend to love character stories and this was decidedly a plot story but i still couldn’t put it down.

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

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Pretty Things (4 stars): I always find myself putting off reading the longer books in case they are not good and I am now stuck reading them for a while (yes I know i could put them down but i rarely do) and yet the longer books tend to be my favorites. Maybe it’s because the characters take time and grow and do unexpected things.

I put off reading this book for many, many weeks and when I finally read it, I enjoyed it a lot. The characters in this book grow and end up doing unexpected things. I enjoyed it.

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Vanessa Yu’s Magical Paris Tea Shop (3.5 stars): When I saw the blurb for this book, I loved it and really couldn’t wait to read it. Once I started it, I loved that it takes place right in my neighborhood and really enjoyed the familiar places it mentioned. But, alas, maybe because I had such high expectations, this book was fun but not great. I enjoyed the time I spent with it but I felt like the blurb had so much more potential.

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And there we go, grateful to be reading.

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Books I Read this Week 2020 is a year-long project for 2019. You can read more about my projects for 2020 here. I am also tracking my books in real time on Good Reads here. If you’re on Good Reads add me so I can follow you, too! I’ve also started an instagram account where I join my love of reading with my love of art.

Here are my goodreads reviews. If you’re on goodreads, add me as a friend so I can see your books too! I also have an instagram account where I join my love of reading with my love of art.

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The End of the Day (4 stars): “Whatever their differences might be, they were alike in one, now obvious way: they were both men who left her bruised. “

I love Bill Clegg’s writing. I know several people thought this was a slow-moving novel, but not for me. Maybe because I knew that, I sat down and committed to reading at least 30% of it in one go. Most stories pick up by the 30-40% mark and this was no exception. By that time, I’d met most of the characters, gotten attached to them and was curious enough about the plot (and how the characters connected) that there was no way I was putting it down.

“He is yours and so he is also mine, whether I like it or not, but let’s not pretend to have the same experience of him, she told Hap later, after they became engaged.”

The characters in this story seem to far away from each other that, at first, it’s impossible to imagine how they might be connected. And yet, the story beautifully, patiently weaves them together and you’re left seeing the whole quilt in a way that makes each square more precious.

I loved Clegg’s writing, his characters that slowly made their way into my heart with their exquisitely flawed lives and choices. None of the characters were utterly likable and yet they were each so relatable in their own ways and easy to sympathize with. The wanting, the grief and the sadness of their lives was so palpable.

I enjoyed this quiet book very much.

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

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The Trouble with Hating You (4 stars): Even though I’ve already forgotten most of it, I read this is in one sitting and enjoyed every single moment i spent with it. It’s fast moving, funny, and truly enjoyable.

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What You Wish For (4 stars): There’s something sweet and magical about Katherine Center’s books. They are like cozy blankets and a warm cup of tea on a cold night. At a time like this, her books are exactly what we all need. The delicious dialogue, the wonderful characters and sweet sweet stories. Love her.

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The Butterfly Lampshade (3.5 stars): I love Aimee Bender. Her previous book was one of my very favorites and this one was also up there for me because her use of imagery, her ability to blend the surreal with the real, and the 3-dimensional characters she has even in her smaller characters are really all i want from a book ever. This book about mental illness was not as wonderful as The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake so if you haven’t read any of her, i’d recommend that first.

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Midnight Sun (3 stars): There was almost no chance I wasn’t reading this book. I’ve been waiting for it since she originally started writing it 15 years ago. My first 30 minutes with the audiobook felt like I wouldn’t actually be able to go through with it but then I remembered the familiar characters and got lost in the lovely world again. By the end, it was definitely feeling a little too long, but I am still glad I got to revisit this with all the memories it brought back.

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The Book of Wild flowers (4 stars): If you enjoy looking through a book of absolutely beautiful flower drawings, you will love and adore this book. I loved every single drawing in the book. It’s incredible how many varieties of flowers can be found in nature and how delicate and beautiful each other. I have a soft spot for the poppies and sunflowers.

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

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And there we go, grateful to be reading.

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Books I Read this Week 2020 is a year-long project for 2019. You can read more about my projects for 2020 here. I am also tracking my books in real time on Good Reads here. If you’re on Good Reads add me so I can follow you, too! I’ve also started an instagram account where I join my love of reading with my love of art.