Oh Cyril!!!! You might not be a real Avery, but you absolutely are a real gem! Boyne has created a complete masterpiece. An epic novel.  Cyril’s tale is engrossing, witty, and heartbreaking. I was utterly spellbound by the life of this adopted, though not truly accepted, gay boy growing up in staunchly Catholic Ireland where judgment was harshly rendered on anything (and anyone) different. This is a story of tragedy and triumph. 

Boyne is exceptional at rich characterization. Cyril is complex and relatable. I came to know him as a friend and felt as though I was his loyal confidante, someone he could entrust his life story to. The depth with which he is portrayed made him come alive to me in a way most fictional characters never do. The supporting players are a diverse group and were equally captivating. Boyne creates a group of characters that seem as real as the city of Dublin itself. 

What I loved most about Cyril’s journey was that it took me on an exploration of every emotion. From laughter to tears, from anger to hope. 

This novel is an all around triumph with narration and dialogue so well executed that this nearly 600 page book is over well before you want it to finish.  Cyril will stay with me for a very long time.

An ambitious premise.  A Cherokee family’s evolution following the wrongful murder of one of their own partnered with Cherokee mythology steeped in the tragedy of the Trail of Tears.  

The one thing this author clearly conveys in this book: grief has the potential to shift a foundation.  The Echotas have been gravely impacted by Ray-Ray’s death.  Each member of the family is devastatingly stunted at the moment of the tragedy.  The manner in which grief is differently manifested in each person felt real and heartbreaking.  

What worked best to me was the story of Tsala and the Cherokee folklore.  I enjoyed the lessons of their history mixed with superstition and mythology.  

Regrettably, the potential for the Cherokee allegory to positively impact the story, especially through Maria and Ernest, becomes muddled in Edgar’s drug use.  There were parts of the story when the Cherokee mythology gave a magical component to their lives. But then Edgar’s addiction and drug use created a weird fantasy world where you constantly questioned if what was happening was real or if he was high.  I felt like his situation detracted from the overall potential in the folklore.  At one point as the story transitioned between Edgar’s unstable situation to Cherokee mythology, I had the feel that I had just stepped into the Twilight Zone.  While the synopsis claims to seemlessly blend real and spiritual, I found the two to be very garbled and incoherent.   

I went into this book with high hopes.  It has received much acclaim, and I truly enjoy reading ownvoices literature.  But this one missed the mark for me.  Ultimately, this book suffered from too many disjoined plot lines and a muddled mix of the real and spiritual.  

Many thanks to Brandon Hobson, Ecco, and NetGalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Part sales manual, part faux memoir, Black Buck pushes many boundaries, both literary and societal.  In Buck’s own words, “The turns in this story are half absurd, half jaw-dropping, and a whole heaping of crazy.”  And the absurdity mixed with that heaping of crazy gave the author a platform to not only entertain but, more importantly, to touch on a variety of societal issues.  This is a multilayered, relevant book that pushed me out of my comfort zone.

When we meet Darren, we see that he is a young, immensely likeable guy, with incredible potential, but he’s missing ambition. Much prodding from family and friends paired with a fateful meeting with a CEO of a prosperous, new tech startup transforms Darren from Starbucks shift leader to sales prodigy.  

Somewhere along the way, Darren ceases to exist and Buck takes his place.  Is this a good transformation? It’s hard to decide.  Buck certainly is dealt a heaping portion of racism amongst the already high pressure tension of this tech startup.  Under that additional pressure, I’d imagine any 22 year old could easily falter.  (Heck…even out from under that pressure, many 22 year olds falter!)  

At one point in the story, I came to dislike Buck.  But upon reflection, what was more heinous…Buck’s response to the high pressure environment entrenched in racism or the high powered racism itself?  The answer, of course, is obvious.

And while I, as a white person, found nothing satirical in Buck’s story- in fact it was difficult and horrifying to read at times- I understand how the author created Buck as a way for people of color to laugh amongst the tragedy of racism.  This in and of itself may be the most compelling reason for all people, especially white, to read this book in my opinion.  

Surprisingly, the manual portion of this novel gives sound, quality advice to salespersons and laymen alike.  Like many stay-at-home moms, I found myself in the world of direct sales at one point.  The sales aspects of this book took me back in time to network calls and yearly sales conferences. Like me, you may reminisce or you may actually find something valuable to implement.    

This book is Buck’s journey to learn about himself.  But in the end, learning who he IS isn’t nearly as important as learning who he is NOT.  And if that isn’t the most fitting piece of advice for all of us, no matter skin color, I don’t know what is.  

Many thanks to Mateo Askaripour, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, and NetGalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

An old white lady in a mink coat walks the streets of New York on New Year’s Eve while reminiscing of by gone years. Lillian has lived a storied life, though not one absent of hardship and sorrow. She was a trailblazer, the highest paid woman in advertising, and poignantly poet. She is charismatic and witty. New York City is one of my favorite cities, and I enjoyed meandering her streets with Lillian. 

This story picks up just where Spellbreaker left off:  Unwittingly controlled by dark magic, Elsie and Ogden had perpetrated crimes they never would’ve condoned on their own accord and aided a murderer. Now, their ultimate goal is to stop any further damage to the magical community and bring that murderer to justice.  The stakes are high for this endeavor because bringing down the culprit might also incriminate themselves. 

If you’re expecting a dark, gritty chase to bring down a heinous assassin, you won’t find it here. The main storyline takes a backseat to the most powerful of magical spells- love. As the chase for the culprit unfolds, so also does the romantic back and forth between Elsie and Bachus. 

The author has created an interesting, well developed magical world that is believable, and the idea of a murderer devastating that community is compelling. Partnering that with the likeable characters should have made for a successful duology. But regrettably, that is not the case. What this author succeeded at in character development and creation of a magic world, she equally failed at in execution and of the plot. This potential of this book, ultimately, fell flat. 

For one, I found the pacing of this book to be off. Important scenes that would’ve benefited from vivid detail were quickly wrapped up while scenes that were minuscule in importance droned on. Also, I found this book quite repetitive (both of itself and of the previous installment). Why tell the reader something once when it can be repeated over and over and over? 

This duology would’ve been better served as a single, lengthy novel. Splitting it into two books made the storyline less inviting, more convoluted, and leant itself towards boring repetitions. Condensing the superfluous, repetitive material would have allowed the core plot to shine. The charm I found in the first installment was unfortunately lost in this one.

Tensions run high in this intricately woven courtroom thriller.  The story is a gripping labyrinth of the truth, deceit, and whatever lies in between. Because the characters are so well developed and multifaceted, the author is able to plot twist after twist believably. One thing is certain: one bad decision can irrevocably change a life. You won’t know who’s until the very final pages. 

It’s very likely that I could be happy listening to McConaughey read the phone book, so I went into this audiobook primarily anticipating the contentment that hours of his buttery smooth voice would provide. But McConaughey delivers far more than auditory pleasure in this unique memoir.  I found him to be witty, sincere, somewhat insane, and completely entertaining. He’s not afraid to laugh at himself or be thoroughly self deprecating. And while he often presents himself as carefree and easy going, this book shows he has a depth and intelligence that also lends to him being surprisingly prophetic. McConaughey certainly marches to the beat of his own bongos (there’s a story for that), and this book shows that he’s perfectly happy to “just keep livin” that way! 

This book provided a charming start to my new year. It has a winsome and quirky cast of characters that draw you in, make you laugh, and sometimes make you roll your eyes. To me, the characters were the high point of the book. The storyline is your classic rom-com. Minnie and Quinn are fated yet unwilling. Chance meetings and unrequited love make up 90% of the book. It’s pace is slow and completely predictable. But the characters (particularly Minnie’s odd group of friends) kept me engaged and ultimately made it enjoyable. 

Astrid has been sleepwalking through life as a wife, lover, mother, grandmother, and friend. But when a local woman, a woman Astrid knows, is struck and killed by a bus in this quaint little town, it awakens something inside her. Not only do we get to know her and her family, but we also get to take a journey of self reflection and discovery with her as she vows to make the most of life. 

Astrid’s family is fairly big, so there are a lot of people in this book to jump back and forth between. And if the amount of people isn’t enough to keep up with, this family is full of issues too.... death, bullies, the trials of teen years, a lesbian relationship, an abortion, a sperm bank, transgender identity, being a single mother.... so many issues. It all gets tied up well in the end. But the story could’ve been better served by more intimate pictures of the characters and less social commentary. 

“It wasn’t fair when people went away. They took so much of you with them without even meaning to.”

This is a gritty yet quick mystery. In a crime ridden, gang infested part of Boston, a teenager that’s known to be a care taker, smart student, and all around good girl disappears into thin air. No trace. Just gone. Frankie, on the other hand, is a battered soul. She’s got a past that’s linked to her ongoing battle with alcoholism. Her way of keeping her demons at bay is to immerse herself into other people’s problems- specifically missing people from cold cases. She’s not a cop. She’s not a PI. She’s not even trained. But she has no fear and asks the right questions. Will this be her chance to finally bring home a missing person that is alive? 

While I found this to be a standard mystery right down to the dingy atmosphere and somewhat predictable twists, I also found it an easy, fast read. I was satisfied by the solution and found myself cheering for Frankie. 

Thank you to Lisa Gardner, Penguin Group Dutton, Dutton Books, and NetGalley for this free advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.