ashleyholstrom's Reviews (1.38k)

Yes, yes, yes. I nearly missed my exit while I listened to this gorgeous book, read by the author.

Blade Morrison is sick of living in the shadow of his rockstar dad, who has a tendency to ruin the good things in Blade's life lately. At just the right (or wrong?) time, a family secret comes out, and Blade travels across the world on a mission to find his roots.

Solo is my first novel in verse, and oh me oh my, am I sold on this form.

From The Best Books We Read in August 2017 at Book Riot.

Spanning five decades, we watch families merge when Bert Cousins and Beverly Keating get married and bond their six children—her two, his four—together over summer vacations in Virginia. The step siblings aren’t supervised often. A bad thing happens. As they grow up, they grow apart. Until Franny dates an author, tells him stories about those summers, and that one summer in particular, and her story gets published. The family secrets are out, and what remains of the family comes back together. This book is just gorgeous. When I think about it, I taste orange juice.

From the Best Books We Read in September 2017 at Book Riot.

If you’re looking for a memoir to totally devastate you, this is it. Vince’s brother Tim has schizophrenia and during an unmedicated episode of psychosis, he kills their mother in their home. Tim was sentenced to 60 years in a psychiatric facility after being found not guilty by reason of mental disease or defect. Everything Is Fine is an absolutely gutting book about grief, love, and mental illness.

⚡️From the October 2021 edition of Crooked Reads, my monthly(ish) newsletter.

It’s like a true crime podcast, but we’re solving the case along with our narrator and investigator! In Pip’s town, everyone knows about the murder of popular Andie Bell five years ago. It was her boyfriend, Sal, of course—he even killed himself, wracked with guilt, after she went missing. The case is closed and Sal’s family is ostracized. But Pip is certain Sal is innocent. As she starts digging, she falls down a labyrinth of dark secrets that can prove his innocence. The more she finds out, though, the more threatening messages she gets telling her to stop. And when she thinks she’s finally cracked the case, it just keeps going. Highly recommend this on audio—it plays with a cast of narrators and sound effects in a fun way.

⚡️From the January 2021 edition of Crooked Reads, my monthly(ish) newsletter.

Enchanted Jones’s dream is to be a famous singer. So when R&B singer Korey Fields spots her at an audition and decides to be her mentor, she’s over the moon. He invites her on tour where things turn dark quickly: he takes her phone and locks her in a room. And when he’s later found dead, all fingers are pointing at Enchanted. This book is a really hard read. But so very good.

⚡️From the October 2020 edition of Crooked Reads, my monthly(ish) newsletter.

If you need a delightful queer romance that starts as a fake relationship and then (oops!) becomes real, you must read this. I worked on it, but I swear I’m not biased. It’s really that good.

⚡️From the October 2020 edition of Crooked Reads, my monthly(ish) newsletter.

These are the guys behind one of my favorite guides on how to make your phone less inviting and addicting. They cover that, of course, and also the ways to change your mindset about time and tasks and living better. It’s a good, quick listen for a pep talk.

My favorite tidbits:
• If it won't fit on your to-do list, it won't fit in your life.
• Choose a highlight task for every day; make it your goal to accomplish at least that thing, if nothing else.
• The Distraction-Free Phone. I've read this blog post so many times. I've tried it a few times. It's scary.

⚡️From the September 2020 edition of Crooked Reads, my monthly(ish) newsletter.

“A short fever dream of a book, Springer Mountain combines historical records with personal philosophies about the evolution of meat-eating and vegetarianism in human beings.”

Reviewed for Foreword Reviews.

I also had the honor of interviewing the author about his writing and eating, for Foreword.