The writing and perspectives were unique and interesting, but I felt really triggered by the content. 

Sanctuary was on display at a branch of my public library so I picked it up and it was a gem. It’s hard to read at times, both gruesome and sad. If you can handle that, this is a powerful story about an undocumented family in a 2032 USA that has installed microchips into the arms of all “legal residents.” 

Vali and her mother don’t have chips, but her little brother does since he was born in the United States. The story starts with a tense peace and quickly moves to a gripping plot about Vali’s family trying to escape the US and make it to California. 

Inspired by real events during 45’s administration, this book will make you feel deeply and think about how we can protect all people. With great characters and a plot that you can look away from, Sanctuary offers so much in a small package. I highly, highly recommend this one for your TBR. 

Lacey Lamar and Amber Ruffin are back and I am here for it! First, if you haven't read their other book You'll Never Believe What Happened to Lacey, I encourage you to put that at the top of your TBR right now. Once you've read that gem (also highly recommended on audio), come back for this second installment of heartfelt, appalling stories of racism in our country's "heartland." 

The way Lamar and Ruffin tell their stories with equal parts humor and intentionality is impressive. It would be easy for these stories to overwhelm the reader with sadness and anger, but the authors use their sharp wit to poke fun at the absolute absurdity of racism. This is the kind of book I wish I could hand to so many boomers who don't think they are racist. It's absolutely fun and eye opening and a great reminder to everyone who cares about dismantling racism that we've still got a long way to go and we can laugh along the way. 

This is How You Lose the Time War is a speculative fiction love story about two characters, Red and Blue. Their identities and the world they exist in is quite mysterious, and the prose is exceptionally floral. I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys the genre and also feels at home in a story that is intentionally difficult to understand and ambiguous throughout. 

For myself, I have mixed feelings about this book. I believe there is a place for all kinds of stories, and I also value books with accessible language and plots that most readers will find comprehensible. I don't think this book fits that description. I kept reading, so I think that speaks to my appreciation of the beautiful writing. I was moved to tears several times by the descriptions of what it means to love someone so fully, so truly regardless of the situation you find yourselves in. But I continued to be confused throughout, every time I thought I had a grasp on the story the authors threw in a little bump and I felt these were intentional and never resolved. This wasn't the book for me and that's okay. 

The Perfect Ruin is a revenge story with a twist that I partially saw coming but still left me with a feeling of surprise. This is a "bitch, I stole your life" kind of thriller, with a slow to moderate pace and compelling, messy characters who you can love to hate and empathize with simultaneously. 

Oh friend, this is the Riley Sager I knew and loved. If you love his backlist but maybe felt disappointed in Survive the Night and The House Across the Lake, this one hits different. The Only One Left gave me big Lock Every Door vibes with much more character development and depth. 

In short the story is about a triple murder decades ago by Lenora Hope, who was seventeen at the time she allegedly killed her mother, father, and sister. Now fifty some years later, Kit McDeere is a home health aid down on her luck who is given only one option- be the live in aid for Lenora or be out of a job. But Lenora can’t speak and can only move her left hand. How on earth will this go? 

This was so close to a five star thriller for me- great character development, slow build but fast paced, and a twist that really did get me but also didn’t feel unrealistic. My only quip is that I found about 40 pages a little slow at the 200 page mark, but then I was back to feeling immersed in the mystery and ready to fly through it. 

Read this for isolated vibes, an old mystery, a story within a story (journal entries), and compelling characters with messy pasts. 

Realized this was by a white cis author with some troubling perspectives