The Heiress is a gripping mystery by Rachel Hawkins set in the beautiful mountains of Western North Carolina. Between the author and the setting, I was confident this one would be a success for me and it very much was. This was my fifth book from the author but my first time that wasn't an audiobook and I can say the writing was just right for an easy to consume mystery with just enough detail and depth. 

Camden and Jules have been married for ten years living in Colorado. He's a teacher and she does historical reenactments that leave her feeling exhausted and demoralized. But as it turns out, Camden has rejected a massive inheritance and a huge family estate nestled in the mountains of WNC. When he receives several manipulative emails from his relatives, Jules and Camden begin a road trip to Ashby House. 

Interspersed with letters from Ruby McTavish, the former heiress of the family who gained fame when she was lost on a picnic at three years old and then found nearly a year later. Later in life, she gain notoriety for the mysterious deaths of four husbands. 

The synopsis of this book will give you WAY TOO MUCH INFORMATION. Do NOT read it. Here are the vibes: cozy but tense, rich people behaving badly, isolated castle like home, married couple keeping secrets from each other, letters and news articles along with dual POVs, nothing gory or scary. 

This is a solid mystery and another great book from Rachel Hawkins. I hope you'll add it to your TBR! 

I have waffled about how to rate this book, which is a long and winding saga of the Wingo family of South Carolina. Pat Conroy was inarguably a gifted writer, with a talent for bringing characters and settings to life with rich and verbose detail. What Conroy does not do is write concisely. After nearly six hundred pages with these characters, I'm sure you'll see what I mean. 

In short this is the story of three siblings who grew up in an abusive and volatile home who are now experiencing difficulty in adulthood stemming from their childhoods. Savannah is a successful poet living in NYC, but when she attempts suicide her twin brother Tom rushes to the rescue. He is contacted and prevented from visiting his sister by her psychiatrist, Susan Lowenstein. Tom recounts the signficant events of his childhood to Lowenstein to help her know how to treat Savannah. The misconceptions of psychiatry aside, this is a compelling way to tell the story and the alternating chapters between the past and present do create a need to keep reading for more information. 

As this book is now 37 years old and the past chapters are set in the 1940s to 1960s in the South, it does read as dated. The n word appears often, but in the context of identified racism. The racism that stood out to me as unchallenged was towards Vietnamese and other AAPI groups. There is some mental health talk that was less than ideal, but let's be honest- that still exists frequently today. 

I guess I've been almost as long winded as Mr. Conroy to say this book was lovely in it's own ways but is a product of a progressive thinker from the South in the 1980s. It's not perfect, but I'm glad I read it. 

Full Disclosure is a YA coming of age story with a side of romance about Simone Garcia-Hampton, a teenager starting at a new school after a traumatic experience at her last school. Simone is HIV positive, but none of her new school friends know and she lives in fear of her secret coming out. 

Simone has an inspiring and realistic character arc in this story of how she starts exploring her own sexuality and the extra, overwhelming challenges of doing that with her HIV status. This story will be very informative to people who aren't up to date on PrEP, U = U, and other significant medical advancements in recent years. With the help of her two dads, Simone has a lovely support system even if they aren't always perfect. 

I absolutely loved what this story brings to readers of any age, and I think it will be enjoyed by anyone who likes YA lit. I hope it finds many, many readers to keep breaking down the stigma around HIV. 

How Lucky is an really fun read with a lot for most able bodied people to learn from, witty commentary on racism, patriarchy, and the mistreatment of many marginalized groups. Daniel, our MC, is a twenty something who has SMA (Spinal Muscular Atrophy). SMA advances in severity as people age so at this point, Daniel needs a wheelchair, breathing assistance, and only has limited movement in his left hand which he uses to operate a text to talk keyboard. 

While marketed as a thriller, I think this is a character driven novel with a side of mystery. Daniel witnesses a young woman getting into a strange car one morning and later he sees on TV that she has been reported missing. We follow as he tries to inform the police and then tries to resolve some of the mystery on his own. 

I think this book will work for so many readers if they go in expecting just a bit of mystery and a lot of witty education about what it is like to be as independent as possible while disabled. 

I picked up Button Pusher because I loved the title and cover. Then it sat on my shelf until almost its due date because I didn't know how much I'd actually enjoy the content. How wrong I was! This is a very enjoyable and poignant graphic memoir about the author's experience as a kid growing up with ADHD. 

Interspersed with infographics about neurodiversity, diagnosis, and brain chemistry, this graphic memoir offers educational as well as relatability and an opportunity for the reader to grow empathy if they don't have ADD or a chance to feel so seen if they do. 

As an educator, I wish I'd read this many years ago. I think it would have helped me to relate to my students who struggled with the traditional school setting. This is a valuable read for anyone, especially those who work with kids. 

CW: unhealthy family dynamics, aggressive parent, physical discipline/abuse 

This biography of George Washington was presented in a fun and informative way. It was short which appealed to me and a good listen. I very much appreciated the debunking of many GW myths and the honest and respectful look at his actual stance on slavery and treatment of his own slaves. 

Dark Corners is the newest Rachel Krall book from Megan Goldin. In the first Rachel Krall book, Night Swim, Rachel investigates a devastating rape trial in a small town for her true crime podcast. Dark Corners follows the same format with sporadic chapters that are the podcast transcript and it is again a very well produced audiobook. I would definitely say that Dark Corners can be read as a stand alone. 

The plot of this book follows the disappearance of a female influencer happening around the same time as a man accused of murdering six women is released from prison. Rachel goes semi-undercover to discover more about the missing woman and the strange symbol that keeps turning up everywhere she looks. 

Overall I liked this one less than Night Swim, but the audiobook production value kept me listening. I don't know if I'll read another Rachel Crall book in the future. This one disappointed me in the repetition of the same clues throughout and the lack of anything significant happening until 90%. 

I found Among Wolves by chance at the library and decided to give it a try based on the cover. It was a short and quick read, and had it been longer I might have DNFed. This book is about a woman whose husband is chronically cheating on her and his mistresses start showing up dead. She is sure he is not a murderer, so who is it? 

To get to the brass tacks, the plot was well paced and also not unique at all in the world of psychological thrillers. The writing was fine in most ways and annoying in a few. Frequent references the brand names of the MC's high heels or clothing became old very quickly. I also noticed quite a few contradictions in the MC's character development that left me feeling like she wasn't a character at all, merely a stick figure in the plot twist that I definitely saw coming. 

Can I get the time back that I spent reading this? No, but thankfully it wasn't much time.