Ambrosia “Amb” Wilson has no desire to go to her 10-year college reunion. She wants to put the past behind her especially what happened one night during her freshman year with her and her friend Sloane “Sully” Sullivan. When Amb receives an anonymous note that says, “We need to talk about what we did that night,” she decides to attend the reunion. During the reunion, her and Sully keep getting more threatening notes, and they realize this isn’t just a prank, but that someone is looking for revenge for what they did all those years ago.

This story is like mean girls on steroids. These girls were so not nice! They were cruel, manipulative, and horrible, and with that said, I loved every minute of this story! Not sure what that says about me, but the author, Laurie Elizabeth Flynn, did a great job of writing these characters in a way that made it hard to look away or put the book down. Sully was the master manipulator, and she made many girls’ lives a living hell. Amb only wanted to be friends with her, but she started to act more and more like Sully, which ultimately lead them to do some awful things to their dorm mates.

The book is told from Amb’s perspective and in dual timelines, freshman year of college and the reunion 10 years later. I thought this was the perfect way to tell this story. It made it more suspenseful as the author did not let on too early what exactly these girls did. It was a bit of a slow burn, but I was hooked from them beginning. This book is evil and disturbing in the best way possible! 4.5 stars rounded down.

Thank you NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for an advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

When Nari brings her traditional Korean lunch to school, her classmates don’t react well saying it smells or looks slimy. This embarrasses Nari, especially because she’s trying to make friends so she asks her mother to make her bologna sandwiches instead. When one classmate decides to try Nari’s Korean food, she realizes her friends weren’t making fun of her, but didn’t know how to react to something they weren’t used to.

Nari’s story is about diversity and inclusion which is very relevant today. This book teaches kids to look beyond cultural differences and to accept each other. I liked how it shows children to be proud of their heritage and where they are from.

This book is recommended for ages 5-8. Thank you to the author for a copy in exchange for my honest review.

Nick and Max, two brothers, are having an ordinary day, at least that’s what they thought. Suddenly, a big, dark, and scary looking cloud floats over the house. Nick and Max soon realize that they will have to battle the ferocious, mean, and scary cloud monster themselves.

Although I don’t have kids, I was happy to read and review this book for my friend who is helping promote it. The Scary Cloud Monster is a fun, illustrated children’s book with a nice story of bravery and using things you’ve learned in school to help you out of a bad situation.

I thought the illustrations were beautifully done, and they brought me right into the story. This book is also educational with a fun science project at the end. I’d highly recommend this for children.

Daisy Shoemaker seems to have it all - a beautiful home, a happy marriage, and a thriving cooking business, but she also has a rebellious daughter and recently lost her best friend to cancer. She can’t sleep and often feels lonely. When Daisy starts receiving emails for a woman named Diana Starling, she suspects Diana lives a much more glamorous life. A life she would like to live.

When the ladies decide to meet, they quickly become friends. As they get closer, Daisy begins to question who Diana really is and what brought her into Daisy’s life. Was their meeting really accidental or did Diana show up for a reason?

I really enjoyed this story about surviving our pasts, confronting our futures, and the sustaining bonds of friendship. Diana had a traumatic experience as a young girl which lead her to Daisy many years later. I enjoyed both of these characters and figuring out how their lives intertwined.

Daisy’s relationship with her daughter, Beatrice was written honestly and realistically showed the struggle between a mother and teenage daughter trying to figure out who she wants to be.

That Summer touches on some serious topics, but is also a great beach read. I listened to the audiobook narrated by Sutton Foster, who did an excellent job of bringing the story to life.

Jennifer Weiner has become one of my favorite Women’s Fiction authors. Her stories are so complex and written beautifully. She transports her readers to the setting of her books and makes them feel like they are there.

The Brennans are an Irish Catholic family who have been torn apart by things that happened in the past. After Sunday Brennan is in a drunk driving accident she is forced to return home to her family in NY. I loved all of the Brennan siblings and their interactions with each other. Sunday was my favorite character, and I loved how once she’s back in NY, she brings so much out in her family, forcing them all to face what happened before she left.

This book is told in multiple points of views. There are a lot of them, but it completely worked for this story. The author did a great job transitioning between chapters.

I wasn’t sure what to expect going into this book. It has some mixed reviews, but I absolutely loved it. Set in Westchester county, NY, where I used to live, I felt a lot of nostalgia when places I know were mentioned. I also felt the author made this story very relatable for anyone who grew up in an Irish Catholic family.

I picked this as my Book of the Month book for July, but also had an ALC through NetGalley and MacMillan Audio which I listened to in two days. I just couldn’t stop because this story had me completely immersed and intrigued the entire time. I highly recommend this for anyone who enjoys contemporary fiction.

Fool’s Gold was a fun middle grade story which is incorporates mystery, magic, and humor. The book is full of quirky characters including Lottie, our 12-year old protagonist who doesn’t quite fit in. I think that Lottie is a great role model for children since she is unique and a bit of an outsider, but uses her knowledge and some unconventional sidekicks to help save the day!

I loved Lottie’s great-grandfather, 101-year-old (or 90-11 as he’d say), Cheddar George. He brings a lot of humor to the story. I also liked Vernon, a hypnotist who just wants to find his missing dogs. I think the author did a great job of writing all of the characters giving each one their own unique traits.

I did struggle a bit with the writing. The author is from the UK, and a lot of slang that I didn’t know was used throughout. However, this is a great way to open up kids to different cultures and to teach them how people in other countries say things differently.

The story teaches us not to judge a book by its cover which is always a great message. This quote from Cheddar George stood out to me, “