All Fours by Miranda July
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Ok giving this book 4 stars if for nothing else, for staying in my head for so long. I started this book a long time ago but then I had to put it down because I wasn’t sure I liked it. There’s so little of this book that feels relatable to me. I don’t usually like books that make a point by being really out there and I think this one absolutely does that and it was just a turn off for me. But I thought it got better as it went on (even though also more out there) and I found myself thinking about it long after I was done.

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Welcome to the Hyunam-dong Bookshop by Hwang Bo-Reum
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

One of the reviews I read says this is known as “healing fiction” in Korea and what a wonderful name for a category of fiction. It is meant to be read slowly and deliberately. I loved every moment I spent with it. I loved the main character and I loved all the books it mentioned and I loved the coffee details too. Wonderful.

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Evenings and Weekends by Oisín McKenna
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

3.75 stars on this one for me. It’s one really hot weekend and several characters who each have to come to terms with their secrets coming to the surface and their lives changing significantly as a result. It’s well written and the characters are very real. I enjoyed reading this one.

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Like Mother, Like Mother by Susan Rieger
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I absolutely adored this book. Which is weird today because this book could have easily been called “Generations of Bad Mothers.” This book is about three generations of women: Lila, her daughter Grace, and Lila’s mother who died when she was little. Each part of the book dives deeper into each woman. My favorite part by far was Lila’s but I loved each part. I loved the characters. Even all the side characters like the amazing Joe who might be the best dad of all time. Joe’s wonderful mother. The “twins,” Grace’s best friend and the man who runs the paper with Lila. They are all wonderful and written so well that they jump out of the page.

I savored this book so much and tried to read a little each day which is incredibly rare for me.

There’s so much at the heart of this book about motherhood and family and siblings and marriage and money and choosing work over family and dysfunction and all the different ways in which we can mess each other up. I won’t forget this one for a long, long time.

with gratitude to netgalley and Random House in exchange for an honest review.

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Home Before Dark by Riley Sager
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Interesting thriller with some interesting underlying story. Don’t want to give away spoilers but i liked this one if you’re into mysteries. Not much horror even if it’s a bit eerie at times.

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Her Golden Coast by Anat Deracine
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I know Anat in real-life and I had read her previous book and loved it so when I saw this was available, I knew I wanted to read it.

And I am so glad I did.

This book takes place over the 2000s in Silicon Valley. The main characters work at a start-up. As the years unfold, so does a lot of moments that end up impacting their work and lives: the housing bust, and tech recession, the election of Obama and the conversations around marriage equality, the insanity of the VCs and tech companies buying each other and of course the toxic bro culture are all the background in which this story takes place. And it’s a strong and honest depiction of the industry and the time.

And our main characters come from two very different worlds, do two different jobs in a similar environment, showing the reader the dichotomy of roles and the respect they each have in these companies. The book doesn’t shy away from tough topics like classism, sexuality and sexism, as all of these are real everyday experiences of our characters.

But at its heart, this book is about friendship and love. It’s about two people who are trying to find their way in a world that isn’t being really kind to them. They are trying to navigate growing up, finding their place in their work and in the world. Finding their people and understanding how to be who they are in a world that really makes it hard to do so. And the kind of love that comes from sharing so much life together and being there for each other again and again.

I couldn’t help but fall in love with each of the main characters and found myself rooting for them. And, for me, the books I love are filled with characters who are real and characters who grow. This wonderful book delivered on both counts.

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

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