Elsewhere is a small, short book that delivers so much atmosphere in a quiet little community in which mothers sometimes just... disappear. 

This is where Vera has grown up, her own mother vanished years ago. Now it is her turn to grow up and become a woman and then a mother, the ultimate responsibility in her community. The women are always quietly looking for signs, who will go next? When Vera becomes a mother, what will be her destiny? 

Full of ruminations on motherhood and allegories to how one can get lost in it, this book was moving on multiple levels. It was unsettling and also beautiful in its own way. There are a lot of vivid details that are not expounded upon, which I'm listing as both praise and criticism. I wanted more, and I also enjoyed the atmosphere created by not receiving it. 

If you've liked Shirley Jackson, Margaret Atwood, or Jessamine Chan, I think this is worth picking up! 

The Other Valley has a premise that says "Shut the front door! I will read this hot and fresh story right now!" If you like speculative fiction, the idea of neighboring valleys that are exactly the same except that they are ahead or behind each other by twenty years sounds really interesting. Oh and the main character knows something is going to go down. 

But in execution? This bored me to tears. The writing was lackluster, and I hung on when I should have DNFed. I didn't find any of the characters compelling. There were also numerous references to physical abuse in a school setting that didn't matter to the plot and so I find them distasteful and unnecessary. No abuse for the heck of it, okay authors? 

The Maid's Diary is a popcorn thriller with quality writing and just a bit of something to say. If you like a thriller that goes down easy and you can't put down, that also doesn't demand too much of you as a reader, this fits the bill. 

Loreth Anne White has created quite the cast of characters and each is explored just enough to give you the character development you want, deliver the important vibes, but not so much that you can ever think you've got it all figured out. I think she did a great job balancing information and mystery for each character's point of view and White really did surprise me a few times at the end. 

I think this is best to go in blind, but do check content warnings. I felt things were written about respectfully and with care, not for the sake of shock or gimmicks, but there are some sensitive themes in this book. 

The Marble Queen is a Sapphic love story about a princess who must marry to form a political alliance and save her family's kingdom, and it's also not what you're expecting. This book is full of the political intrigue that you expect in a kingdom driven world, has some fun sword fighting, and just a light touch of magic. 

I loved how the story unfolded unexpectedly and how Princess Amelia discovers herself and gets to know her betrothed. What I didn't love was the inconsistent art quality, many pages looked just unfinished. Some pages were gorgeous and others looked like many steps had been skipped to rush this book to publication. I would love to read from this author again or even for this story to have a sequel, but I hope for consistent quality art in the future. 

The Husbands by Holly Gramazio has a catching premise, Lauren's attic keeps generating husbands. She discovers this new magical portal when she comes home one day to meet Michael, her husband who she has never met. She was single for goodness sakes! And as it turns out, if a husband goes back into the attic then a new one comes out soon after. 

Husband after husband, Lauren starts to learn more about herself and about relationships, about how her actions impact her possibilities, and about what she truly wants. When she finally meets a man who is also experiencing numerous magical spouses, this book really takes off. 

Until about 90%, this audiobook had me hooked. I was laughing at the right times and enjoying the meaningful but not too, too cheesy observations about life and love. Then this book jumped the shark and got too ridiculous for my taste. The final two chapters really diminished my enjoyment of the book and I'm not altogether sure how to rate it. If you like magical realism and women's fiction, I do think this might be worth picking up and the audiobook narration was great. Just prepare yourself for some off the rails final plot points, as we all know expectations make a big difference. 

Part of Your World has been a buzzy book on the bookish Internet for years, and I finally picked it up. Once I did, I couldn't put it down and I was done 29 hours later. It was my first read from Abby Jimenez and her writing style was funny, sweet, and so easy to devour. It was just what I needed between darker reads, and I cannot wait to read the next two books in this series. 

Pros:
-Daniel is the best. What an amazing MMC. 
-Just enough humor to balance the weightier topics. 
-Wakan, the town, is almost a character of itself and I loved it. 
-Family can be who you choose, damn straight Abby. 

Cons:
-I wanted more explicit character growth for Alexis over the course of the book versus rushed at the end. 

CW: DV, verbal abuse, toxic family dynamics 

The Deepest Lake is a mystery told from the perspectives of a mother and her missing and presumed dead daughter. Rose, the mother of Jules, has spent the last three months grieving and without answers about her daughter's disappearance in Guatemala. Jules had traveled to work for a famous author who hosts memoir writing retreats, so Rose signs up for one to investigate for herself. 

From the synopsis, this book had many things I've liked in other books: a beautiful setting, a story about books and writers, and complicated family dynamics. Unfortunately, this book fell short for me on all of those counts. The setting had such great potential and was underutilized and minimally described in my opinion. The parts of the novel that were about the women at the memoir writing retreat were a mixed bag. The famous author leading the retreats, Eva Marshall, is as unlikeable as they come and by the final parts of the book I was very weary from her actions. 

I also felt that the writing retreat just whispered at some important social issues around publishing and memoirs, and expressed toxicity around other topics. The fatphobia in this book was especially bothersome. I counted three major instances of fat phobia that were voiced by various characters so it cannot be attributed to one "unlikeable" or "woefully ignorant" character. Let me be clear- starvation and skipping meals are NOT a healthy weight loss plan, athletic is not one body shape, and you can be gorgeous at any size. I'd go into detail about how terrible the fat shaming was here, but I think it would be triggering and unnecessary. Please just believe me. 

So when you also factor in that this book was far too long and the mystery was so slow until the end wrapped up far too quickly and with just a few too many ignored loose ends, I don't recommend this one. It was compared to Andrea Bartz and I'd definitely suggest picking up one of her titles instead. 

I've read several books by Andrea Bartz and I love her style which always packs a little (or big) extra punch at the end. In less than 30 pages, she accomplishes the same here. A fun quick read! 

Wellness by Nathan Hill is a book I kept seeing all over the bookish Internet and had no plans to pick up until a few trusted friends reviewed it highly. I am so glad I set out to read this long look at marriage, family, health, and happiness. 

The writing style is cohesive throughout and also meanders back and forth through differing styles. At times Hill writes traditional prose that is much of what lit fic fans are used to, and at other times he uses a more academic style referencing scientific studies that really adds to the experience as a reader. I love how the academic citations added to the character development and my connection to the story as a nerd who loves psychological research and scientific findings. 

But if that doesn't sound up your street, let me get back to what the bulk of this book is about- happiness with your closest people and with yourself. Jack and Elizabeth meet in the early 1990s in Chicago as it is a hip art scene for young people and they hit it off quickly after a strange start. We follow them in a nonlinear timeline after meeting that reveals much of their inner worlds and their childhoods. 

I was never bored during this long read and I loved what Hill had to say about parenthood, "difficult" children, childhood trauma, and the never ending investments we have to make into ourselves and our relationships to find happiness (and how that can also backfire?). This book had the complexity I wanted around this topic without veering into trite advice and wisdom. There's so much in here that I can't touch on in a succinct review, so I'll stick with highly recommending this for readers of lit fic, family drama, and wellness culture. And that ending, damn it was good.