Black Cake is a beautifully written novel about two siblings discovering their parents past after their mother’s death. The characters in this story are complex and believable, full of mistakes and love and uncertainty. 

For me, the middle of this book felt a bit circular and repetitive. However, the final third drew me back into the story and I loved the resolution of the family mysteries. 

Because of the complicated family dynamics, this book did feel heavy at times so I would consider that before reading. It was not a top read for me, but I know it will be a favorite for so many. It is exceedingly well written and a wonderful book. 

After reading Karen Dionne’s first novel, The Marsh King’s Daughter, in 2020, I was excited about her new release. The Wicked Sister is her second novel and it does not disappoint. Like her debut, this story is set in the Upper Peninsula (UP) of Michigan. The description of the UP is both gorgeous and terrifying, and it’s one of my favorite parts of Dionne’s writing. 

The Wicked Sister is told from two points of view and different timelines: Rachel, 26, who has spent 15 years in a mental hospital believing she killed her parents, and Jenny, her mother, before she was murdered. 

The crux of the novel is that Rachel has lost all of her memories around her parents dying. When a young reporter interviews her and shows her old evidence that calls into question her guilt, Rachel begins a journey to discover what actually happened to her family. 

As the title suggests there is an evil sister lurking in Rachel’s past, and Rachel will not uncover the truth without facing that danger again.

This book is a wild ride with lots of tension and vivid nature descriptions to keep you reeled in. My only criticism is that Dionne likes to write a relatively happy ending. Her endings don’t tie everything up perfectly, but she also doesn’t write haunting open endings that some people crave. If you like a bit of adventure and chase in a thriller or you love wilderness novels, pick this one up! 

Completely middle of the road YA thriller. I struggled to stay engaged with this story after enjoying the first in the series. 

Hamnet was not the book I expected it to be but I am so glad I read it. As you may know it is the story of Shakespeare’s family. In the beginning of the novel, we have alternating timelines to show us Shakespeare’s current family and how the family came to be. There is attention to Shakespeare’s childhood (cw: abuse) and then how he met and fell in love with his wife and Agnes. as the story continues, much of the attention shifts to Agnes, and we are told in beautiful detail her experiences with pregnancy and childbirth (cw: traumatic birth, infant health). 

As the cover indicates, this is a story of the plague. When the plague comes for this family, the results are devastating and unexpected. As their grief unfolds, Agnes and Shakespeare handle their emotions in very different ways and their relationship is in peril.

The end of this novel is truly beautiful and is what brought the whole thing together for me. I don’t think I could describe it and do it justice,  much less do so without ruining some of the enjoyment for you as a future reader. If you feel ready for a character focused story with sadness and loss, this is a lovely read. 

Your Heart, My Sky is a beautifully written novel in verse. I had never read a historical fiction novel in verse so I was eager to pick this up when I found it at the library. I picked it up for its lovely green cover, and I couldn’t be more glad I did. 

This story begins in the early 1990s in Cuba as the USSR falls and Soviet aid is withdrawn. Cubans are facing mandatory labor, rationing, and extreme hunger. The poems are told in three perspectives: Amado, Liana, and the singing dog. Amado and Liana are both teenagers who refuse to comply with the compulsory labor. They meet in this solitary time as they scrounge for food and connection. 

At first I was a bit leery of the dog’s perspective but those poems became my favorite as they embodied the cultural beliefs and a more omniscient and reflective perspective. 

This book is such a gorgeous story of love and humanity in terrible times. I am so glad I read it, for the experience and for the knowledge of a time in recent history that I was uneducated about. Your Heart, My Sky is a book that will linger in my heart. 

Find Me was the first book I read by Alafair Burke, and I doubt I will be reading more by this author. At first I thought this thriller had potential but as it progressed, I found it a bit boring and predictable. It had a positive message so that’s nice, but it didn’t deliver the tension and surprises that I look for in this genre. 

This book reeled me in quickly and I couldn’t put it down until I was done. Cover Story by Susan Rigetti is told in emails, text messages, Instagram posts, FBI documents, and in diary entries by Lora Ricci. 

Lora Ricci is a young college girl in a tough situation, she’s lost her scholarship at NYU for terrible grades and there’s no money to make up for it. But she has an exciting summer internship at ELLE magazine, so she thinks maybe her dreams of becoming a writer are within reach someday. She is not as naturally cool or wealthy as the other interns but she feels so lucky when one of the magazine contributors asks her to help with a special project on her days off.

Quickly, Lora is sucked into this project and the day to day life of Cat Wolff, the enigmatic and alluring ELLE employee. I won’t say anything else because the story moves so fast and I don’t want to spoil a thing. 

I highly recommend this book for anyone who is a fan of a bookish novel, an epistolary novel, or who is just looking for a not so typical thrill. It reminds me of Who is Maud Dixon? by Alexandra Andrews and The Appeal by Janice Hallett but with a New York aesthetic. I hope you’ll give Cover Story a read!  

After reading the arrangement and the amendment, I decided to try this book by the same author. I enjoyed both those books for the whirl of plot twists and deception between the main characters. This book was a big disappointment and took a weird dedication to finish. 

This book is similar to other Modglin books in that it’s about a married couple with infidelity issues. However, these two characters are so bland that as a reader I never cared about them at all. The plot twist at the end could have been really fun if the characters were well crafted enough to support it. Instead it felt like a mediocre at best story acted out by cut out paper dolls. 

Don’t waste your time. If you want a quick read thriller, there are so many others to choose from. 

The Final Revival of Opal and Nev is a fictional rock and roll story told in interviews by a woman who is a writer for a major magazine. It reads like a true story from the very first lines to the end. Opal is a young American black woman and Nev is a red headed bloke from the UK. They become an unlikely musical pair who had a short but very successful career several decades ago. One of their concerts is a source of controversy then and now and the story shifts from character building to fact finding when one interviewee sheds new light on past events. 

I listened to this audiobook and would highly recommend that medium; the full cast narration is a real treat. I thought the characters were strong, but I would have liked to hear more from Nev later in the book. As the ending neared, we heard from fewer points of view and I think that more voices could have added to the tension leading to the climax and resolution. 

If you were a fan of Daisy Jones and the Six, this is right up your alley. I had hoped to like this more than Daisy Jones, but I see these two books as about on par with each other. Opal and Nev digs into more important issues, character motivations, and contains a lot less drug use. Daisy Jones explores a wider variety of band memories and focuses heavily on the lifestyle off stage. I hope this review helps you decide to read The Final Revival of Opal and Nev.