A Forty Year Kiss by Nickolas Butler
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This quiet novel was a joy to read. On the surface, it’s about Charlie who moves back near his hometown to find his old love now that he’s older. He wants to reconnect and find a way to be with her again even though they got divorced forty years ago.

Even though I kept waiting for the other shoe to drop or something big to happen, this novel stayed quiet the whole time. The characters were real and interesting and they stayed with me after I finished reading. I found I could relate to them.

This is a story about grief and loneliness and poverty and being a single parent and of course above all about regret and second chances.

with gratitude to netgalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review

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In an Instant by Suzanne Redfearn
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Interesting, heartbreaking and a lot to think about how people think they would be vs how they actually are in the event of something unexpected where your life is at risk.

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More or Less Maddy by Lisa Genova
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

When it comes to the human brain and the way it impacts our humanity, no one can write stories better than Lisa Genova. Her stories are always real and layered and her characters are always true to the complexities of what it means to be human. And this one is no exception.

Maddy’s journey with discovering, living with, fighting and trying to make it through her bipolar diagnosis is heart-wrenching, scary, and not for the weak at heart. It’s real and gritty and scary and it makes you want to cry again and again.

Bipolar disorder is no joke and Genova handles it with the seriousness and grace it requires. She doesn’t shy away from the really hard parts and she manages to make us fall in love with Maddy even while we feel sorry for her and angry at her. All of the emotions are raw and real. This is exceptional book.

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

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Mothers and Sons by Adam Haslett
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Adam Haslett has been one of my favorite authors from the time I read his very first book. I wish he were more prolific but I can also understand that it takes time to craft these beautiful stories together because his stories are always quiet, deeply meaningful and beautifully crafted. And this one is no exception.

This is the story of Peter who works as a lawyer defending asylum seekers and is estranged from his mother for decades. His most recent case unlocks deeply buried trauma and memories of his own experience and pushes him to reconnect with his mother and face what he’s been running away from his whole life.

This story is about how trauma can completely change the course of our lives, how we listen for what we want to hear and how each person is broken in their own way and how hard it is for all of us to be in this world caring for each other while trying to heal.

with gratitude to netgalley and Little, Brown and Company for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review

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An Academy for Liars by Alexis Henderson
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This had such a good premise but then I think the author just didn’t know how to finish it. IT went on for too long and ended too absurd for me.

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