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emilyisoverbooked
4.5 stars
Thank you to Putnam for the copy of this book!
Any Other Family is a fantastic narrative about a family uniquely impacted and blended through the adoption of four kids from the same birth mother. While adoption is a difficult subject to write about well, Eleanor Brown has personal experience with adoption and clearly knows what she's talking about. She uses ethical and appropriate language and portrays the emotions of prospective adoptive parents so well through the heartbreaking letters between some of the chapters. Eleanor does mention the shortcomings of the story not having the perspective of the adoptees or birth parents, but she really does a fantastic job of sharing the adoptive parent side of the story: reasons for adoption, emotions, and general difficulty of parenting (even if for non-adoptive families).
I loved relating to all three of the moms in this story and feeling so validated in the fact that motherhood is HARD and there are so many unique stages of parenting... and sometimes, we just want to get through some of those stages quickly because they are ROUGH.
I will say that I wish the birth mother was portrayed a little more positively. Often, birth mothers are in difficult positions and each places children for adoption for her own reasons, which was the case here, but I'm ready for an adoption narrative that has a little more of a positive view of the birth mother instead of someone who is stuck in a cycle and never gets out. (Maybe that is the story of many, but I long to see that through placing for adoption, having an open relationship, and being able to live her life how she wants that a birth mother would be able to more easily get out of the cycle.) Regardless, this is a very good and emotional book, especially if you are a mother.
Thank you to Putnam for the copy of this book!
Any Other Family is a fantastic narrative about a family uniquely impacted and blended through the adoption of four kids from the same birth mother. While adoption is a difficult subject to write about well, Eleanor Brown has personal experience with adoption and clearly knows what she's talking about. She uses ethical and appropriate language and portrays the emotions of prospective adoptive parents so well through the heartbreaking letters between some of the chapters. Eleanor does mention the shortcomings of the story not having the perspective of the adoptees or birth parents, but she really does a fantastic job of sharing the adoptive parent side of the story: reasons for adoption, emotions, and general difficulty of parenting (even if for non-adoptive families).
I loved relating to all three of the moms in this story and feeling so validated in the fact that motherhood is HARD and there are so many unique stages of parenting... and sometimes, we just want to get through some of those stages quickly because they are ROUGH.
I will say that I wish the birth mother was portrayed a little more positively. Often, birth mothers are in difficult positions and each places children for adoption for her own reasons, which was the case here, but I'm ready for an adoption narrative that has a little more of a positive view of the birth mother instead of someone who is stuck in a cycle and never gets out. (Maybe that is the story of many, but I long to see that through placing for adoption, having an open relationship, and being able to live her life how she wants that a birth mother would be able to more easily get out of the cycle.) Regardless, this is a very good and emotional book, especially if you are a mother.
Thanks to William Morrow for the gifted copy of this ARC.
After witnessing her 17-year-old son murder someone outside their house and expriencing the worst day of her life, Jen ends up waking up the day before the murder... then the day before that... and continues to go back in time. Jen sees each occurence as an opportunity to stop the murder from happening. As we travel back with Jen, we uncover a WHOLE LOTTA SECRETS that cause a whole lot of saying "whaaaaat?!" because whew! there are a lot of little twists that occur. Wrong Place Wrong Time is a very compulsive read that's hard to put down. You'll need to know who's who, why things are happening, find out if Jen can stop the murder, and see if Jen's marriage and family would end up surviving it all. I absolutely loved where everything ended up and also the twisty, turny way we got there.
After witnessing her 17-year-old son murder someone outside their house and expriencing the worst day of her life, Jen ends up waking up the day before the murder... then the day before that... and continues to go back in time. Jen sees each occurence as an opportunity to stop the murder from happening. As we travel back with Jen, we uncover a WHOLE LOTTA SECRETS that cause a whole lot of saying "whaaaaat?!" because whew! there are a lot of little twists that occur. Wrong Place Wrong Time is a very compulsive read that's hard to put down. You'll need to know who's who, why things are happening, find out if Jen can stop the murder, and see if Jen's marriage and family would end up surviving it all. I absolutely loved where everything ended up and also the twisty, turny way we got there.
Thanks to St. Martin's Press for the ARC.
"Don't tell me you fell asleep and forgot everything again."
Liv Reese wakes up in the back of a taxi in NYC, unsure of how she got there, who she is, or why she has a bloodstained knife. The only clue she has as to what's going on is the message written on her hands: STAY AWAKE.
Wheeeeew!! Stay Awake was super creepy and I LOVED IT. I'm a huge fan of the movie Memento, and this book was very reminiscent of that movie. I loved Liv as an unreliable narrator, constantly falling asleep and then waking up without memories. This was really well written, as we start in the present and work our way back to the event that triggered it all two years ago, while also revealing the killer in present time. If you're looking for a really atmospheric, suspenseful, and fast-paced thriller, this is the one to pick up!
"Don't tell me you fell asleep and forgot everything again."
Liv Reese wakes up in the back of a taxi in NYC, unsure of how she got there, who she is, or why she has a bloodstained knife. The only clue she has as to what's going on is the message written on her hands: STAY AWAKE.
Wheeeeew!! Stay Awake was super creepy and I LOVED IT. I'm a huge fan of the movie Memento, and this book was very reminiscent of that movie. I loved Liv as an unreliable narrator, constantly falling asleep and then waking up without memories. This was really well written, as we start in the present and work our way back to the event that triggered it all two years ago, while also revealing the killer in present time. If you're looking for a really atmospheric, suspenseful, and fast-paced thriller, this is the one to pick up!
Thank you to Putnam for the gifted copy of this ARC.
Aly is in the business of fixing people up - namely, men who need to kick it into gear in some aspect of their life to get to the place their girlfriends or wives need them to be. When Aly's next client is a high-paying social media influencer, she's EXCITED... until she finds out the guy she's supposed to fix up is her childhood best friend and love.
It took me awhile to get into The Fixer Upper - about 30%. Aly isn't the most likable character because, as her friends say, she is a "master manipulator" as she fixes those around her. I did really appreciate her character growth by the end, though, and her modern woman energy throughout the book. The friends (Ben!!, Eric, and Tola) were the best part for me. I love how they pushed Aly to be more authentic and vulnerable and to stand up for herself. The social media influencer, Nicki, was the WORST. Honestly, she was way more manipulative than Aly! Dylan, the love interest, grew on me by the end, but he definitely crossed some lines in the middle of the book while he was with Nicki. Overall, I really liked how this book had narratives on not letting people walk all over you, opening up and being vulnerable instead of trying to control everything, and communicating with honesty. This was a really solid debut from Lauren Forsythe and I am definitely interested in seeing what she writes next!
Aly is in the business of fixing people up - namely, men who need to kick it into gear in some aspect of their life to get to the place their girlfriends or wives need them to be. When Aly's next client is a high-paying social media influencer, she's EXCITED... until she finds out the guy she's supposed to fix up is her childhood best friend and love.
It took me awhile to get into The Fixer Upper - about 30%. Aly isn't the most likable character because, as her friends say, she is a "master manipulator" as she fixes those around her. I did really appreciate her character growth by the end, though, and her modern woman energy throughout the book. The friends (Ben!!, Eric, and Tola) were the best part for me. I love how they pushed Aly to be more authentic and vulnerable and to stand up for herself. The social media influencer, Nicki, was the WORST. Honestly, she was way more manipulative than Aly! Dylan, the love interest, grew on me by the end, but he definitely crossed some lines in the middle of the book while he was with Nicki. Overall, I really liked how this book had narratives on not letting people walk all over you, opening up and being vulnerable instead of trying to control everything, and communicating with honesty. This was a really solid debut from Lauren Forsythe and I am definitely interested in seeing what she writes next!
Thanks to St. Martin's Griffin for the copy of this ARC.
Bend Toward the Sun is a solid debut (and hopefully start of a series…!) featuring two main characters with broken pasts. Rowan and Harrison have a lot of communicating and healing to do, and they struggle to see eye to eye for most of the book while also figuring out to do about their obvious mutual attraction and love. While it’s insta-love, it’s also slow burn as they figure things out internally and with each other, navigating through hard things like neglect, gaslighting, bad relationships, and work trauma. I would’ve preferred having more of the characters’ backstories toward the beginning/middle of the book instead of all at the end. I think it could’ve helped me understand why the characters were making certain decisions in the moment instead of having it explained more later, but it did make sense in the end and I absolutely love where everything ended up. The vineyard/farm setting is perfect, and I loved that Rowan is a STEM woman helping the Brady family out with all of the horticulture in their new business venture. The friends are wonderful supporting characters, and the Brady family is really the shining star here, which really makes me hopeful for more books in the series!
Bend Toward the Sun is a solid debut (and hopefully start of a series…!) featuring two main characters with broken pasts. Rowan and Harrison have a lot of communicating and healing to do, and they struggle to see eye to eye for most of the book while also figuring out to do about their obvious mutual attraction and love. While it’s insta-love, it’s also slow burn as they figure things out internally and with each other, navigating through hard things like neglect, gaslighting, bad relationships, and work trauma. I would’ve preferred having more of the characters’ backstories toward the beginning/middle of the book instead of all at the end. I think it could’ve helped me understand why the characters were making certain decisions in the moment instead of having it explained more later, but it did make sense in the end and I absolutely love where everything ended up. The vineyard/farm setting is perfect, and I loved that Rowan is a STEM woman helping the Brady family out with all of the horticulture in their new business venture. The friends are wonderful supporting characters, and the Brady family is really the shining star here, which really makes me hopeful for more books in the series!