danadoesbooks's Reviews (954)

I might come back to this but so far nothing has happened and I have too many other books to read!

I want to come back to this book at some point but it's just not holding my attention right now.

Fever Dream is the perfect title for this book. It alternates between lucidity and bizarreness leaving you with a very unsettled feeling. There are no chapters in this book so it is like a dream you can't wake up from because you just need to keep reading.

I don't normally read books like this so I'm so happy this was chosen for me through the WanderLit box! I can't quite describe the creepy feeling I got from reading this book. While reading, I knew something sinister was going on but it's also not entirely clear. I ended up reading this in two sittings because I just had to find out what was going on!

In the 1950s, America is in the throes of the Red Scare paranoia. When Lily Hu's father is threatened with deportation and his identification papers are seized, Lily doesn't know what this will mean for her family.

One day, Lily finds an ad in the newspaper for a male impersonator named Tommy Andrews performing at the Telegraph Club.  She's not quite sure what this means for her, but when Kathleen Miller offers to take her there one night, Lily readily accepts.

I learned so much about San Francisco in the 1950s.  Between the challenges that Chinese Americans and the LGBTQ+ community faced during this time, Lo researched extensively before writing this book.  She gives more background information in the author's note and also provides a bibliography so that readers can do additional research on these topics.

When Hannah inherits an apartment in Paris that has been shut up since World War II, she doesn't know what to think.  The more she uncovers in the apartment, the more she learns about her family's past.  At the end of every chapter, there is a diary entry from Hannah's great-grandmother.  Ivy's diary reveals what it was like to live in Paris during the 1920s and 1930s.

Lost in Paris is the perfect daydream, discovering an apartment that has been left to you and hasn't been touched in decades.  While I was surprised that the apartment didn't factor more into Ivy's story, Hannah's discovery of it and uncovering more of her own story made for an entertaining read.

I love And Then There Were None so I've been wanting to read more Christie.  This is the first Miss Marple book I read.  Honestly, I would recommend skipping this one.  It is problematic with its portrayal of certain characters and although the setting is gorgeous, the mystery was only okay.

Thank you to Grand Central Publishing and the author for the gifted copy of this book. All opinions in this review are my own.

My only experience with the royal family is from watching The Crown (and only the newest season) so when I saw a book focused on the relationship between Queen Elizabeth and her sister, Princess Margaret, I was immediately interested. Real life is so much more scandalous than the show could ever be!

The first part of the book focuses on their uncle abdicating the throne so that Elizabeth and Margaret's father becomes King of England. This changes the dynamic of the sisters' relationship because now Elizabeth is the heir apparent and more of a focus is put on her.

As Elizabeth settles into her life as Queen of England with her family, Margaret is still trying to find someone who can assimilate into the royal family. The second half of the book focuses on Margaret's relationships and how they affect the royal family.

I liked this book because although it's about both sisters, I learned the most about Margaret. As detailed in the beginning, Margaret was often pushed aside or had to have her wishes approved by Elizabeth. I like that she is able to take more of spotlight in this story.

This isn't just another biography about the royal family and I highly recommend if you like The Crown!

Thank you to St. Martin's Press, NetGalley, and the author for the gifted copy of this book.  All opinions in this review are my own.

Fern and Rose are as close as twin sisters can be.  They have dinner together multiple times a week and Rose always rescues Fern.  It all started that one night at the river.  Rose protected her sister then and she knows she has to keep an eye on Fern now because she's dangerous.  When Rose learns that she can't get pregnant, Fern decides that she will get pregnant instead. This will be a way to pay Rose back for all she has done.

I loved The Mother-In-Law by the same author when I read it a few years ago so I was excited to read The Good Sister.  Honestly, between the child abuse and the ableism, I was ready to DNF this book at 20%.  

I am actually really glad I didn't.  While parts of The Good Sister are incredibly difficult to read, the romance that blooms between Fern and Wally is so sweet.  While this is a thriller, I found myself reading more for the romance than finding out what was actually happening!

Wild Beauty is about the Nomeolvides women who have lived in the lush garden estate of La Pradera for nearly a century.  Unfortunately, they are also cursed.  Whenever one of them loves a man too much, they either need to send him away or he disappears.  When a boy appears in the garden, Estrella and the boy must work together to find out the family secret.

The language in this book is beautiful and descriptive, so much so that I continued reading purely for that reason.  The setting is magical and gorgeous.  However, I was a little lost while reading this book.  Not everything is explained about the family or the enchanted world they live in.  It is supposed to be mysterious so I just continued reading hoping that everything would be explained in the end!