5 short stories with notes from Dumbledore - yes please! I listened to the audiobook and actors who played Luna Lovegood, Ginny Weasley, and Lucious Malfoy narrated three of the stories. Jude Law narrated the parts for Dumbledore. This was a short book, but done very well.

Fourteen-year-old May is arrested for stealing bread. She receives a life sentence of becoming a Sin Eater, a person who eats ritual foods to symbolize the sins of those that are dying. May finds another Sin Eater who she learns from, but when they are called to a death in the castle, a deer heart sits on the coffin, although the deceased did not commit a murder. When the elder Sin Eater refuses to eat the heart, she is murdered. May eats the heart and vows to find out why it was placed on the coffin, who put it there, and to avenge the other Sin Eater’s death.

Let me start by saying that I had never heard of a Sin Eater before I read this book. It is such an interesting concept where one human must eat ritualistic foods that represent another person’s sins so they can go to heaven rather than hell. I liked May as a character and enjoyed her journey and growth throughout the book. She was forced to be something no one wants to be, but makes the best of it by trying to find out why people are being murdered and accused of crimes they did not commit. We have to remember that she is only 14-years-old and has to survive as an outcast while trying to learn the truth about what is going on in the castle.

There is an interesting cast of characters throughout this book, but at times, I found there were too many to keep track of. It was a bit confusing with so many characters including all of the royalty and past queens. I found myself struggling to remember who was who. The middle of the book moved slowly and although the pace picked up towards the end, I felt that the ending was rushed and things were left unanswered. I do not know if a sequel is planned, but maybe that is why not everything was figured out by the end. Overall, the story was interesting and it was definitely a cool concept, but I felt the book was a little long and confusing at times.

Thank you NetGalley and Atria Books for an advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

Eileen is surprised when she gets the call from her brother-in-law, Simon, that her sister, Claire, was found dead on the beach from an apparent suicide. The news comes after the release of Claire’s latest book, A Perfect Life. Eileen flies to California to help Simon with the funeral details. Eileen has been jealous of Claire’s fame so hadn’t read many of her latest novels, but is there something hidden in the new one that will help her understand why Claire did what she did?

I thought this book was done really well. It is told from three different perspectives – Eileen in the present day and Simon and Claire in the past. I enjoyed all three points of views and liked learning about what lead to Claire’s suicide. The author did a great job of showing Eileen and Simon’s grief without making it cheesy. It was a very thoughtfully written book, and I look forward to reading more from this author.

This book is tagged as a mystery/thriller, but it’s really not that at all so don’t go into it expecting some big mystery. There is a small mystery that is pretty easy to figure out, but it does not take away from the story at all. I would consider this more of a literary or contemporary fiction novel. This was an easy read, and I highly recommend it.

I tend to give memoirs 5 stars because the author is telling us their personal life story, but I have to give this one 4 stars. I enjoyed listening to Jessica’s story and how she got to where she is today, but I felt a lot of it read like a gossip column. I do realize that’s what a lot of her life has been, but I feel like there could have been more about her personal growth rather than a huge focus on her failed relationships.

I recommend the audiobook since Jessica narrates it. There are also some bonus songs at the end of it.

3.5 stars rounded up

East Coast Girls tells the story of four childhood friends - Hannah, Maya, Blue, and Renee. The book starts off while they are 18 and vacationing in Montauk. Twelve years later, the girls all live in different states on the east coast Abdul have very separate lives. Something happened 12 years before that caused something to happen to Hannah’s boyfriend, Henry, and to cause Renee to be estranged from the others. The four ladies reunite for a weekend in Montauk to relive their carefree childhood together and to hopefully make amends.

This book was definitely a work of literary fiction with a bit of a mystery thrown in. The story is told from three perspectives - Hannah, Maya, and Blue. The characters aren’t necessarily likable, but they are written to be real with flaws and all. I’m sure readers can relate to at least one of them. The author has the reader feeling a plethora of emotions - grief, pity, anger, annoyance, love, and acceptance.

For the most part, this is a story of friendship, growing up, and becoming the person we’re meant to be. I did think it was a bit slow at times and could have used some more action. The mystery of the book was what happened to Henry and what caused Renee and Blue to stop being friends. The author built up to both of these, but I didn’t necessarily love that storyline.

3.5 stars rounded up.

The Paris Hours takes place in a 24-hour time period and is set in post-WWII Paris. There are four main characters who all lead very different lives until the ending where all of their lives intertwine. I loved how there were some actual famous people, Ernest Hemingway, Josephine Baker, Gertrude Stein, for example, included throughout the story.

I did find the beginning a little confusing keeping up with which character was which. The book was beautifully written though. I listened to the audiobook, but think I'd prefer reading the actual book.

Ed and Connie Gordon vacation in Cape Cod every summer with their two daughters, Ann and Poppy. When they girls are teenagers, Ed and Connie decide to adopt a son, Michael, who is Ann’s age and she found out he was homeless. Michael’s second summer in the Cape with them something happens to Ann that causes the family to be torn apart. 15 years later, Ed and Connie Gordon die in a tragic car accident which forces the kids to come back together to figure out how to deal with losing their parents and to figure out what to do with their Cape home.

This book sounded like it would be great, but I really struggled getting into it. The first half of the book just moved so slowly. There is a strange relationship that I cannot explain due to spoilers, but it made me rather uncomfortable and turned me off from the story. I did stick with it though, and the book did pick up in the second half. I really enjoyed the children reuniting as adults and dealing with the tragedy of losing their parents. I just wish the author would have gotten to that part sooner.

I do want to give the author credit for her description of Cape Cod. She really did transport the readers and make them feel they were there. I live in Massachusetts, and she did a beautiful job with these descriptions. The Cape feels like a character in the book.

There are trigger warnings you should be aware of before reading this book: rape and suicide.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for an advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

This book was highly anticipated for me, and I really wanted to love it. Sadly, it just wasn’t for me. I didn’t mind that the first half was a really slow build. I thought the author was very descriptive and transported the reader to High Place. The setting was very creepy, but sadly the story wasn’t.

The dreams that Noemi, our protagonist had did not scare me, and at times, were just really confusing. Noemi goes to High Place to help her cousin, Catalina, yet their interactions are so few it made me wonder why Noemi even stayed in that awful place.

The last half of the book does pick up the pace, and the last 50 pages moved really quickly. There is a twist revealing the secret that the occupants of High Place have been keeping, but that just fell flat for me. I found it kind of ridiculous rather than scary or shocking.

Overall, I think the author’s writing was beautiful and descriptive, but I did not love the storyline. My biggest pet peeve was that this book was listed as horror genre, but I didn’t find it scary at all. I really wanted to be scared so that was very disappointing to me.

The Wives by Tarryn Fisher tells the story of Thursday who is married to Seth. The problem is that Seth also has two other wives, Monday and Tuesday. They are named after the day of the week he spends with them. The wives have not met each other, and everything seems fine with their arrangement, until Thursday finds a scrap of paper with Monday's real name on it. Thursday becomes obsessed with meeting her, but when Thursday meets Monday (aka Hannah) and notices bruises, she realizes she's being abused by Seth. Thursday decides to figure out what is going on and to involve Tuesday (aka Regina), but what price will she pay to figure out who her husband really is?

Well this was a crazy ride! Going into a marriage knowing your husband is a polygamist is a bit unconventional, but Thursday is in love so makes it work. I liked her as a character and understand her need to know more about the other wives. She can be a frustrating character at times though and you just want to shake her and shout at her to leave Seth, but that would be a very different story.

There are a lot of twists an turns throughout this book, none of which I saw coming. That to me is what makes a good thriller. Some parts towards the end were a bit over the top though which is why I couldn't give this book 5 stars, but I really enjoyed it. It's one of those books that I didn't want to put down.

I really hate giving memoirs bad ratings, but this book just wasn't for me. I found it completely disjointed. Instead of naming the chapters after her patients, she should have named them after what hospital she was working in at that time and included a date. The story did not flow well, and honestly I found it boring at times. I respect Michele Harper's choices in life, but I struggled to get through this memoir.