If you love a cozy Hallmark holiday movie, this book is just right for you.  It’s a quick read to get you in the holiday spirit.  

 

Dan is Evie’s best friend’s brother.  Obviously, they can’t be a couple.  It breaks so many rules.  Right?  And then there’s also the fact that Evie’s mom and Dan’s dad have provided crappy role models as to what a relationship should look like.  

 

The book starts off with a bang… a wedding in Vegas between two people who had to let alcohol thrust them towards what they’ve always wanted.  But from there, the pace of the book slows to a crawl.  The scenes with Dan and Evie together are quite enjoyable, but there aren’t nearly enough of those.  In addition, the book has a lot of superfluous background story that didn’t hold my attention and bogged down the romance.    

 

But my biggest issue with the book is that it took FOREVER for Evie and Dan to finally come to their senses.  And then, when that moment should’ve been filled with heat and emotion, it just fell a flat.  I wanted fireworks, but I got a sparkler instead.  

 

This isn’t a bad story at all.  For me, it just missed the mark of what I look for in a holiday rom-com.  

 

Thank you Jo Lovett, Bookouture, and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review an advanced copy of this book.

Every so often a book comes along that touches your heart in the most intense and profound way. Lenni and Margot did that for me.  

 

There’s humor and friendship.  There’s love and messy life lessons.  And of course, there is complete and utter heartbreak. (Make sure to be stocked up on Kleenex before starting this one.)

 

This book is a treasure. 

 

Completely odd and utterly disturbing.  This book was an ideal segue into fall and Halloween.  

 

Don’t be taken in by the summary.  It is completely false.  But then again, it’s also true.  

 

To be clear, you will think, “What the heck am I reading?” for a good 2/3 of this book.  The storyline is convoluted and confusing.  Yet, I was fascinated and compelled to keep reading. The unnerving vibe of the characters and plot played well with this style of writing.  And just as I thought I had figured one thing out; another thing would make me question everything again.  The secrets of this book are held tight until the very end.  

 

The audiobook is exceptionally well done, adding an extra layer of suspense and mystique.  Narrated by Christopher Ragland, his rendition of the characters and nuanced approach to the text makes this book a complete experience. 

 

There is good reason for Stephen King brandishing his stamp of approval on this book. 

 

Thank you Catriona Ward, MacMillan Audio/Tor Nightfire, and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review an advanced copy of this book.

Three women, some pie, and a desire to make beer. This book is much like the Blotz light beer in the book, pale in nature with a lesser punch. It’s an easy read that managed to keep my attention even though it had many holes…in the storyline and in the execution. 

Strong characters either make or break a book. And strong female protagonists are my favorite types of characters. But as much as I tried to adore these women, I just couldn’t find much to love about them. Edith is unbecomingly passive and gets walked all over all throughout the story. She’s content with life, even as people abuse her, and even though there is potential for her to experience so much more. Helen is just plain mean spirited and cunning. She finds success but the cost is damning. Diana is the most likeable, resilient, and the hardest working. But even her storyline, which has incredible potential, fell flat to me. 

I did enjoy seeing all three of these women in the “man’s world” of beer. The best part of the book is the 50 or so pages where Edith and her friends start making quirky, unusual beer (Pie in a Bottle) while Diana recovers. I loved seeing hardworking grandmas able to reinvent themselves, work hard, and endure. 

I tend to like a beer that is full bodied, but sometimes a light beer is just right on a hot afternoon. This story is much like that. 

I’ve said it numerous times.  I’m not ready to read a book that deals with Covid.  It’s too soon.  

 

Then I started reading this advanced copy.  It’s one I’ve been super excited about.  Jodi Picoult!!!!  I went in blind.

 

And dang it.  Covid.

 

Only Picoult’s beautiful and adept writing style could draw me in and compel me to read a book (in ONE day) set in the pandemic we are still experiencing.  

 

Wish You Were Here is moving, heart wrenching, and exceptionally executed.  

 

Diana has specific goals and is on track to achieve them all.  Until unexpected, microscopic germs upend her life in exactly the way they did ours- masks, shut downs, furloughs, canceled flights, hotel and restaurant closures… 

 

But in the midst of all the pandemic chaos, Diana’s jaunt to the Galapagos Islands took Di’s breath away, alongside my own!  The vivid depiction of the island, the welcoming locals, the playful animals, the whole adventure! In a world where covid exists, Isabella Island provided a lovely escape.  

 

Picoult’s depth of research is evident in Finn’s character.  His emails to Diana were heartbreaking and intense.  We owe a debt of gratitude we’ll never fully be able to repay our frontline workers.  Picoult well honors them in this book.  

 

So much more to say.  But to reveal too much about this book or it’s plot would do a grave injustice to future readers.  In typical Picoult fashion, the twist is shocking and superbly executed. 

 

This novel demanded processing time.  It hit my emotions hard…remembering what we’ve already been through while knowing it’s not completely over.  And yet, Picoult also managed to create a sense of hope.  Her message of resilience was just what I needed, even if it was not what I had sought out.  

 

Thank you Jodi Picoult, Random House, Ballantine Books, and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review an advanced copy of this book

“It’s one of the secrets to life that no one tells you.  Joy cures everything.”

If ever I need a literary uplift, I reach for a book by Katherine Center.  To me, Center consistently provides well written, endearing, and witty stories that put a big, satisfying smile on my face.  And What You Wish For is no exception.  

Center’s books aren’t uplifting because they shy away from the hard stuff.   In fact it’s the opposite.  Center puts the hardship (some BIG hardships) front and center, yet fills us with hope in their presence.

What You Wish For is a book about overcoming.  It reminds us that obstacles don’t have to define us, and it’s done with grace, humor, and a dash of swoon-worthy romance.  The quirky cast of lovable characters is an added bonus.  

“I’m not happy because it comes easily to me.  I bite and scratch and claw my way toward happiness every day.”  

A sentimental and delightful story about the power of second chances. It was just the heartwarming story I needed, and the cast of characters thoroughly charmed me.  

I just finished Project Hail Mary and am reeling.  ALL. THE. EMOTIONS.  I rarely read science fiction.  Almost never. But I learned a while back that sci-fi can be a perfect escape from the day to day when done well.  Talk about WELL DONE… Andy Weir is both overwhelmingly brilliant and equally creative.  This book is smart.  It’s funny.  It’s endearing and also a bit scary.  The writing is adept, the characterization is rich, and the storyline is compelling.  It’s everything you want in a good book.  (But let’s be clear…this isn’t a “good” book.  This is a phenomenal book.)  This is my first book by Weir, but I have already added his others to my (way too long) TBR.  The hype on this one is completely warranted.  

A gritty look at the shuffle between respectable and shady.  (Oh the gray areas!)  Whitehead’s latest work is part heist novel and part love song to old Harlem, both aspects exceptionally well done.  

                  

 

Carney’s father may have been a criminal, but he longed for the straight and narrow.  Unfortunately, temptation was hard to master.  Carney is the perfect contradiction.  On one hand, he is a respected and responsible business owner.  But the other hand dabbled in the shady.  Sometimes by his choice.  Sometimes because of bad alliances.  Whitehead’s depiction of Carney is deeply layered and richly nuanced.  I found myself empathizing with him even when his decision confounded me. 

 

But the best character in this novel is unequivocally 1960s Harlem herself.  I was transported back to the nostalgia of the place and time.  From the corner shops, to the greasy spoons and the dive bars.  The streets were full of hustle and bustle. The people were ripe for change. And social upheaval was burgeoning.  Whitehead masterfully wove together the emotion of the timeframe, vivid depictions of the neighborhood, and historical events that defined the era.  

 

Nickel Boys and The Underground Railroad prove Whitehead’s adeptness at writing, and his writing style shines in this novel as well.  However, I felt his use of superfluous detail dragged portions of this book down.  Just as I would get lost in the midst of a storyline, greedily devouring words, the scene would get bogged down in unnecessary backstory, stifling my enjoyment. To me, those offshoots derailed rather than adding to the momentum of the plot.  

 

 

Grimy and full of contradiction, this heist novel packs a punch.  It’s worth the read.  

 

Thank you Colson Whitehed, Doubleday Books, and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review an advanced copy of this book.

For fans of shows like Dateline, 48 hours, and 20/20.  This mystery is both haunting and convoluted.

 

Sherry Shriner, a rural Ohio housewife, expounds on NWO and alt-right Christian beliefs to create a thriving and dangerous orgone based for-profit cult.  

 

While nonfiction investigative journalism, this book reads like a mix between mystery fiction and science fiction with a twinge of fantasy thrown in for good measure.  At times, I had to reread sections to decipher the utter ridiculousness of this cult.  And I constantly questioned how people came to be overtaken by this nonsense.  Yet they were.  And they didn’t believe it half-heartedly.  Sherry’s followers were fully given to these beliefs and fought to defend them at any cost.   

 

The author primarily focuses his investigation on several cult members that fall out of Sherry’s good graces.  The consequences of landing on the outside of Sherry’s circle ranged between abuse and death.  Many questions go unanswered even after Russo’s investigation, and much is unknown about Sherry.

 

Honestly, I considered not finishing this book.  The world is heavy right now.  So many ongoing conspiracy theories.  So much animosity.  To me, reading this book compounded our current reality.  

 

While this book was not an enjoyable read for me, the fault isn’t the author’s.  The author’s primary goal is to reveal how wholeheartedly people can be convinced to believe the unbelievable.  His warnings and conclusions related to the Shrinerites are on point.  With that currently happening all around society, that message needs to be heard. But it is also incredibly dour.   

 

“Throughout this entire inquiry I struggled with Sherry’s power, but watching her hordes and the excommunicated do battle over her word, it occurred to me that Sherry’s power didn’t rest with her.  It rested in her followers’ commitment to self-deception.”

 

If conspiracy theories and cults fascinate you, this one is a must. 

Thank you Tony Russo and Secant Publishing for the opportunity to read and review an advanced copy of this book.