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5 Why did I take so long to read this book stars
Everyone told me to read this book. Everyone told me I would LOVE this book. I didn't listen. It sat and sat and sat on my shelf. This month, for whatever reason - it called to me. It was time. I read it. And.... you were all right - I FREAKIN LOVED IT!
How do you even write a review that gives this book the justice it deserves? I can't, I won't. Just know that Evelyn Hugo's life was complicated, sad, beautiful and absolutely enthralling. She was a force to be reckoned with as she dealt with race, sexuality, societal norms, poverty, wealth & privilege, love and loss.
This book was about so many things - so much more than I ever expected it would be. Yet, aside from all of those things I was left with the ultimate lesson that this life we live is short so we shouldn’t spend it pretending to be someone we aren’t, letting happiness slip through our fingers.
Everyone told me to read this book. Everyone told me I would LOVE this book. I didn't listen. It sat and sat and sat on my shelf. This month, for whatever reason - it called to me. It was time. I read it. And.... you were all right - I FREAKIN LOVED IT!
How do you even write a review that gives this book the justice it deserves? I can't, I won't. Just know that Evelyn Hugo's life was complicated, sad, beautiful and absolutely enthralling. She was a force to be reckoned with as she dealt with race, sexuality, societal norms, poverty, wealth & privilege, love and loss.
This book was about so many things - so much more than I ever expected it would be. Yet, aside from all of those things I was left with the ultimate lesson that this life we live is short so we shouldn’t spend it pretending to be someone we aren’t, letting happiness slip through our fingers.
This book is full of secrets, twists & turns, revelations, heartbreak and guilt. It's been awhile since a thriller packed an emotional punch for me and this one really did.
Marin had the perfect life...until she didn't. She's driven to the edge by her son's disappearance and her husband's infidelity. faced with her husband's infidelity Marin begins to feel again. Fueled by rage there's no telling how far she will go to face off with her enemy.
Jennifer Hillier does it again! I'm a huge fan of Jar of Hearts and this was just as big a page turner for me. As a mom I was completely captivated by Marin and her suffering. I really liked how all these little secrets in the plot from the various characters played out together. It wasn't a 5 star read for me because I had the bad guy figured out early on but I was 100% invested in seeing how it all played out and loved how Hillier masterfully connected all the dots. I highly recommend this riveting page-turner!
Huge thank you to Minotaur books and Jennifer Hillier for sending me an advance copy of this book!
Marin had the perfect life...until she didn't. She's driven to the edge by her son's disappearance and her husband's infidelity. faced with her husband's infidelity Marin begins to feel again. Fueled by rage there's no telling how far she will go to face off with her enemy.
Jennifer Hillier does it again! I'm a huge fan of Jar of Hearts and this was just as big a page turner for me. As a mom I was completely captivated by Marin and her suffering. I really liked how all these little secrets in the plot from the various characters played out together. It wasn't a 5 star read for me because I had the bad guy figured out early on but I was 100% invested in seeing how it all played out and loved how Hillier masterfully connected all the dots. I highly recommend this riveting page-turner!
Huge thank you to Minotaur books and Jennifer Hillier for sending me an advance copy of this book!
5 Perfect Escape Read Stars!
Book friends, I LOVED this book! I devoured it in 2 days. It provided the perfect escape from our dismal reality right now. It was innovative, fun, emotional, though-provoking and very well written.
I am not a huge time travel reader but the way it was done here was so intriguing. Oona is a 19 year old on the cusp of her future. It's New Year's Eve, she's in love, had amazing friends, a huge decision to make and her whole life ahead of her. Except that at stroke of midnight she awakens to find herself in a whole different place, surrounded by different people. Oh, did I mention her 19 year old self is in her future 51 year old body. Yup! Talk about a head trip!
Oona finds herself traveling through her life every New Year's Day - out of order. Never knowing where she will end up next. I loved how emotional her jumps were. There were years where she was so despondent she didn't want to do anything. Years where she was so frustrated she said F it and did all the BAD things. There were years where she grabbed the bull by the horns and did all sorts of amazing cross it off your bucket list things. Through it all, she had to keep the leaps secret from everyone except her mother. How do you fully commit to living when you know you are only in this place and time for 365 days?
Oona had many emotions to deal with, so many decisions to make based on snippets of her life she was putting together like a puzzle with only a few letters from her future or past self to guide her. She made mistakes, she learned, she loved and she lived an exceptional life - albeit out of order.
If you haven't read this one yet. I highly recommend it. It's definitely going to be one of my top reads of the year!
Book friends, I LOVED this book! I devoured it in 2 days. It provided the perfect escape from our dismal reality right now. It was innovative, fun, emotional, though-provoking and very well written.
I am not a huge time travel reader but the way it was done here was so intriguing. Oona is a 19 year old on the cusp of her future. It's New Year's Eve, she's in love, had amazing friends, a huge decision to make and her whole life ahead of her. Except that at stroke of midnight she awakens to find herself in a whole different place, surrounded by different people. Oh, did I mention her 19 year old self is in her future 51 year old body. Yup! Talk about a head trip!
Oona finds herself traveling through her life every New Year's Day - out of order. Never knowing where she will end up next. I loved how emotional her jumps were. There were years where she was so despondent she didn't want to do anything. Years where she was so frustrated she said F it and did all the BAD things. There were years where she grabbed the bull by the horns and did all sorts of amazing cross it off your bucket list things. Through it all, she had to keep the leaps secret from everyone except her mother. How do you fully commit to living when you know you are only in this place and time for 365 days?
Oona had many emotions to deal with, so many decisions to make based on snippets of her life she was putting together like a puzzle with only a few letters from her future or past self to guide her. She made mistakes, she learned, she loved and she lived an exceptional life - albeit out of order.
If you haven't read this one yet. I highly recommend it. It's definitely going to be one of my top reads of the year!
4.5 Amityville Horror-ish Vibe Stars!
Sager is a King of Spook and all I can say is that he seriously comes through with this book! We have a huge, secluded spooky house with lots of eerie noises and unexplained happenings and a woman in search of the truth of what happened there that caused her family to flee the house in the middle of the night and never return.
I love a good ghost story and this was GOOD! As Maggie Holt tries to unravel the house's mystery and her past we learn that this house has and its past inhabitants had some freaky history. I LOVED the background of the house and having it's story come to life. We also get Maggie's Dad's story told via chapters of the book her wrote on the house. Those were some of my favorite parts of the book. I was soooooo hooked!!! It was awesome to see parallels of the family's experience and Maggie's in the present. She grew up believing her Dad was a liar and wrote the book to make money but could the house really be haunted? Could the story really be true? What really happened to them all those years ago? What happened to her???
This is one book you will not want to miss this summer when it releases! Just be sure to read it with the light on!
A huge thank you to Riley Sager, Penguin Publishing and Edelweiss for an advance copy of this book to read & review.
Sager is a King of Spook and all I can say is that he seriously comes through with this book! We have a huge, secluded spooky house with lots of eerie noises and unexplained happenings and a woman in search of the truth of what happened there that caused her family to flee the house in the middle of the night and never return.
I love a good ghost story and this was GOOD! As Maggie Holt tries to unravel the house's mystery and her past we learn that this house has and its past inhabitants had some freaky history. I LOVED the background of the house and having it's story come to life. We also get Maggie's Dad's story told via chapters of the book her wrote on the house. Those were some of my favorite parts of the book. I was soooooo hooked!!! It was awesome to see parallels of the family's experience and Maggie's in the present. She grew up believing her Dad was a liar and wrote the book to make money but could the house really be haunted? Could the story really be true? What really happened to them all those years ago? What happened to her???
This is one book you will not want to miss this summer when it releases! Just be sure to read it with the light on!
A huge thank you to Riley Sager, Penguin Publishing and Edelweiss for an advance copy of this book to read & review.
A twisty mystery told from multiple POVs. I will start by saying this book definitely required suspension of belief because there were a lot of implausible situations, plot holes and questions left unanswered but it was such a quick read that I just rolled with it. There was murder, amnesia, kidnapping, a suspected cult, drug abuse, small town politics and more. There was A LOT going on here and at times it felt like too much for me. I much prefer for things to be fully explained and fleshed out, versus having so much thrown at me. Not my favorite mystery but not the worst I've read either.
4 Why Did t Take Me So Long to Read This Book Stars!
I binged this book in a day, which isn't uncommon when I read CoHo. It also brought me to tears - in the prologue! Why do you do this to me CoHo? You know just how to mess with my emotions. This book was heartfelt, addictive and absolutely captivating. I was immersed in Auburn and Owen's story and invested in the outcome as if I knew them. That my friends, is why CoHo is a Queen.
Owen Gentry is an artist with his own studio. His art comes to life based on anonymous confessions left by people who visit his studio. I was so drawn to this concept and how Owen brought these confessions to life in such a personal way. The artwork included in the book was amazing. I found myself staring at it quite a bit.
Auburn is trying hard to rebuild her shattered life and it's impossible not to root for her. You can't help but be won over by how Owen feels for her. They deserve this love. I won't spoil a thing here. If you haven't read this book, I urge you to pick it up - with tissues nearby.
I binged this book in a day, which isn't uncommon when I read CoHo. It also brought me to tears - in the prologue! Why do you do this to me CoHo? You know just how to mess with my emotions. This book was heartfelt, addictive and absolutely captivating. I was immersed in Auburn and Owen's story and invested in the outcome as if I knew them. That my friends, is why CoHo is a Queen.
Owen Gentry is an artist with his own studio. His art comes to life based on anonymous confessions left by people who visit his studio. I was so drawn to this concept and how Owen brought these confessions to life in such a personal way. The artwork included in the book was amazing. I found myself staring at it quite a bit.
Auburn is trying hard to rebuild her shattered life and it's impossible not to root for her. You can't help but be won over by how Owen feels for her. They deserve this love. I won't spoil a thing here. If you haven't read this book, I urge you to pick it up - with tissues nearby.
5 Deeply Moving, Relatable, Don't Judge a Book By It's Cover, Must Read Stars
Boy did this book take me by surprise! I honestly didn't expect to love it as much as I did but January Andrews and Augustus Everett stole my heart. This story was full of snarky banter, and so much more emotion than that cover and title would lead you to believe.
This isn't your typical love/hate trope plot. It made me laugh, brought me to tears, and was a lot more emotional that I expected. It was about learning to accept yourself, opening yourself up to love after hurt and accepting that even when things are flawed, they are still worthy of love. One of the things that resonated with me the most about this book was the emotional journey both January and Gus were on. This one wasn't overly steamy and the romance was a bit of a slow build but it worked so perfectly with the story. I felt so invested in the relationship and each character's happiness.
In short, this book was funny, sentimental, heart-wrenching and fills your heart with both hope and love. I completely loved it.
Boy did this book take me by surprise! I honestly didn't expect to love it as much as I did but January Andrews and Augustus Everett stole my heart. This story was full of snarky banter, and so much more emotion than that cover and title would lead you to believe.
This isn't your typical love/hate trope plot. It made me laugh, brought me to tears, and was a lot more emotional that I expected. It was about learning to accept yourself, opening yourself up to love after hurt and accepting that even when things are flawed, they are still worthy of love. One of the things that resonated with me the most about this book was the emotional journey both January and Gus were on. This one wasn't overly steamy and the romance was a bit of a slow build but it worked so perfectly with the story. I felt so invested in the relationship and each character's happiness.
In short, this book was funny, sentimental, heart-wrenching and fills your heart with both hope and love. I completely loved it.
Dreams are a patchwork, stitched together for the things that happen to us in our waking lives.
25 years ago, two teenage boys participated in a horrendous ritualistic murder. One of the boys was apprehended, but the other, Charlie Crabtree, disappeared without a trace leaving behind a phenomenon that lived on in the dark web. Linked to the crime, Paul Adams left his hometown and never looked back. He's forced to return home because of his ailing mother and is unsettled to discover that there is a copycat on the loose and his mother seems to know more about the murders and Charlie's disappearance than she ever let on. As he starts digging into the past, he finds himself questioning everything he thought he knew - his friends, his family, even himself.
Told via alternating timelines with the sinister background of The Shadows - the town's deep, dark woods, this story unfolds through revelations, piece by piece, we work out alongside Paul. The atmosphere is dark and haunting and begs us to question - can you ever truly escape your past?
Alex North is a masterful writer. His characters are so fully fleshed out, it's easy to lose yourself in them. I really enjoyed Paul and how haunted he was by everything that took place that fateful year of his life. It was easy to feel his sense of loss and regret and see how it affected his life. My interest was very piqued by the concept of lucid dreams and how these boys were all so easily impressed upon by the sinister Charlie Crabtree. Loved the twists and definitely didn't see them all coming. I found myself looking back in shock at one splendid twist in particular! I can't wait to see what Mr. North writes next.
Thank you to Alex North and Celadon Books for sending me an early copy of this book to read an review.
25 years ago, two teenage boys participated in a horrendous ritualistic murder. One of the boys was apprehended, but the other, Charlie Crabtree, disappeared without a trace leaving behind a phenomenon that lived on in the dark web. Linked to the crime, Paul Adams left his hometown and never looked back. He's forced to return home because of his ailing mother and is unsettled to discover that there is a copycat on the loose and his mother seems to know more about the murders and Charlie's disappearance than she ever let on. As he starts digging into the past, he finds himself questioning everything he thought he knew - his friends, his family, even himself.
Told via alternating timelines with the sinister background of The Shadows - the town's deep, dark woods, this story unfolds through revelations, piece by piece, we work out alongside Paul. The atmosphere is dark and haunting and begs us to question - can you ever truly escape your past?
Alex North is a masterful writer. His characters are so fully fleshed out, it's easy to lose yourself in them. I really enjoyed Paul and how haunted he was by everything that took place that fateful year of his life. It was easy to feel his sense of loss and regret and see how it affected his life. My interest was very piqued by the concept of lucid dreams and how these boys were all so easily impressed upon by the sinister Charlie Crabtree. Loved the twists and definitely didn't see them all coming. I found myself looking back in shock at one splendid twist in particular! I can't wait to see what Mr. North writes next.
Thank you to Alex North and Celadon Books for sending me an early copy of this book to read an review.
This was an emotional ride worth taking! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Kristin Higgins knows how write the type of character driven story that pulls you in and makes you fall in love with fictional characters. You guys, I was sooo invested in this family - by the end of the book they felt like old friends that I would miss.
This story had family drama, funny moments, tearful moments, romance and so much heart!
Kristin Higgins knows how write the type of character driven story that pulls you in and makes you fall in love with fictional characters. You guys, I was sooo invested in this family - by the end of the book they felt like old friends that I would miss.
This story had family drama, funny moments, tearful moments, romance and so much heart!
4 Addictive, Sassy, Sexy Stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️!
I finally picked this up because so many of my romance loving friends rave about it. Why did I wait so long to read it? I devoured it! I found myself completely sucked in by Lucy and Josh's sexy as hell work rivalry. The "games" they play to get under each other's skin all day - got under my skin.
I love a good enemies to lovers story and this one was both funny and romantic. This book is perfect summer romcom material - witty banter, sexy scenes, steamy moments and lots of heart! Plus, there's Josh - he is definite book boyfriend material not to be missed.
If you're looking for a flirty, sexy, romance with some steam, humor and heart - this is it!
I finally picked this up because so many of my romance loving friends rave about it. Why did I wait so long to read it? I devoured it! I found myself completely sucked in by Lucy and Josh's sexy as hell work rivalry. The "games" they play to get under each other's skin all day - got under my skin.
I love a good enemies to lovers story and this one was both funny and romantic. This book is perfect summer romcom material - witty banter, sexy scenes, steamy moments and lots of heart! Plus, there's Josh - he is definite book boyfriend material not to be missed.
If you're looking for a flirty, sexy, romance with some steam, humor and heart - this is it!