danadoesbooks's Reviews (954)

Thank you to Tandem Collective Global, Wednesday Books, and the author for the gifted copies of Carry On and Wayward Son!  All opinions in this review are my own.

Simon Snow is a reluctant Chosen One who can't even control his own magic that well.  The start of his last school year has been rough too.  His roommate is missing and the last time he saw his girlfriend, she was holding his roommate's hand.  All Simon wants is a happy ending, but as the Chosen One, he doesn't even know if he can hope for that.

Rainbow Rowell was a new author to me so I didn't know what to expect with Carry On.  At first, it seemed to be heavily based on another boy with magical powers attending a boarding school.  Carry On does become it's own story with multiple point of views helping to increase the suspense.  I really liked the romance in this book. However, I felt like it could have been developed more.  While one person in the relationship has been secretly in love for a long time, it seemed more like instant love for the other person.  That being said I am very excited that they got together because I really like them as a couple.

Thank you to the publisher and the author for the gifted copy of Coming Home to Seashell Harbor!  All opinions in this review are my own.

When Hadley's break up with her famous boyfriend is covered in all of the gossip magazines, she decides the best thing to do is go home.  Upon her arrival, she learns that her grandma wants to close her business and sell the building.  To make matters even worse, Hadley's high school boyfriend wants to buy it and turn it into another chain restaurant.  So much for being able to relax quietly in her hometown!

I always love a good second chance romance but the setting of Seashell Harbor made me never want to put this book down.  It reminded me of my own summer vacations at the beach and had me wishing it was summer already!  I also like that Hadley and Tony had a rivalry for the building brewing for a good part of the book because it almost gave it a hint of enemies to lovers, another favorite trope of mine!

The best part of finishing this book was turning the last page to find out that there will be another book focusing on one of Hadley's friends!  I can't wait to read it!

Beartown is a small town struggling to keep its residents.  Luckily, this year's junior ice hockey team is competing in the national semifinals.  If this team can win, Beartown will be selected for the new hockey academy.  The academy would bring new families wanting to play under the prestigious Beartown name and could reinvigorate the town.  When something happens to jeopardize this opportunity, the locals of Beartown must decide if they stand with what is right or if they want to choose the easy way out.

I am absolutely amazed with this book.  Backman is able to narrate a character with so much detail only then to zoom out and comment on human psychology as a whole.  He makes Beartown feel so small and remote, but also so universal.

I love hockey so I knew I would like Beartown from the start.  It quickly became a new favorite of mine.  I've heard good things about the second one, I can't wait to start reading!

Thank you Harper Via for the gifted copy of this book.  All opinions in this review are my own.

The Color of Air centers around the Japanese American community in Hilo, Hawaii in 1935.  Daniel Abe is returning home after completing medical school in Chicago.  His family eagerly awaits his return, especially his Uncle Koji.  As one of the volcanoes on the island gets closer to an eruption, secrets that were believed to have been buried with the dead begin to resurface.

The Color of Air is an atmospheric historical fiction novel about grief and missed chances.  I like that at the end of each section there is a chapter written from a character who has already died.  This allowed their voices to be heard in the story as well and reveal details that the characters living in 1935 would not have been able to know.

Some of the jokes didn't age well and a lot of them were used on Seinfeld.

I checked out A Very Punchable Face as an audiobook on a whim from Libby.  I love when books are read by the author, especially if it is a memoir.  Colin Jost did not disappoint.  While listening to this book, I both laughed out loud and was stunned into silence.  Jost's memoir describes his childhood and high school years growing up on Staten Island through him becoming head writer for SNL.

If you are interested in reading A Very Punchable Face, I cannot recommend the audiobook enough.  Jost will try to sell you on a physical copy of the book as well, so I had to check it out of the library in order to see the pictures he was describing!

Thank you to the publisher, NetGalley, and the author for a gifted copy of this book.  All opinions in this review are my own.

I loved the concept of this book and the first half.  I would definitely spend my vacation running a bookshop!  However, the second half fell flat for me.  The reason Elliot was being so shifty was surprisingly dark and it felt like it didn't fit with the rest of the story.  Overall, I love the concept, but the execution wasn't for me.

The title of this book says it all.  When a plague begins to spread in the 1940s, doctors are trying to figure out the cause as more and more residents are falling ill.

While this plague starts out much more bubonic than what we are currently dealing with, it quickly becomes eerily similar as the residents of the town are placed in quarantine.  I can see this being a difficult read for some during this time.  Although global diseases occurred before The Plague was written, I am curious what the reaction to this novel was when it first came out.

Thank you to Grand Central, Forever, NetGalley, and Kelly Bowen for the gifted copy of this book! All opinions in this review are my own.

In The Paris Apartment, three women's lives are woven together.  In 2017, Lia is left a small painting of a house and an abandoned apartment when her grandmother passes away.  When Lia first steps inside, she finds a stack of Nazi magazines and piles of famous artwork.  Lia doesn't want to believe that her grandmother was a Nazi sympathizer, but she needs to uncover the truth behind this apartment and the artwork inside.

The other two women's stories are set in the 1940s.  Estelle and Sophie are motivated to do anything they can to fight back against the Nazis when they takeover their homes.

I loved this book!  I know there are so many historical fiction books set during World War II, but this one is phenomenal!  The Paris Apartment beautifully weaves these three women's stories together which culminates in a heart-wrenching scene at the end.  The modern day storyline added mystery to a historical fiction novel and I loved how they were able to all connect in the end.

If you are a fan of historical fiction, I highly encourage you to pick this one up!

Jade Thompson has three lives.  Her public life where she runs a lifestyle blog.  Her private life where she is engaged to Greg, her older architect fiance.  Finally, her secret life which she hasn't gotten around to telling Greg about yet.  When a violent home invasion leaves Greg with a traumatic brain injury, it is unclear who can be trusted.

I thought this was going to be a pretty straightforward thriller.  Based on the description, I thought I knew exactly who would be behind the attack.  Wow, was I wrong!  I was still guessing until the last 30 pages!  I cannot recommend Her Three Lives enough.  Be warned that you may have a creeping sensation someone is watching you while reading it!