Many thanks to Knopf for the complimentary advance copy! I loved loved loved this book! I didn’t pick it up right away, because I felt as if I had my fill recently of twenty-somethings muddling through life and making mistakes, i.e. books that are compared to Normal People. (I have a theory that all ‘new adult’ literary fiction is compared to Sally Rooney in the way that every psychological thriller in the aughts was compared to Gone Girl. I digress…) But I am SO GLAD all the rave reviews had me downloading it to my Kindle.
I enjoy Rooney’s work, but O’Donoghue’s did not read similarly to me, as the drama felt juicy, there’s a romance element, and the tone is more exuberant than introspective. Most importantly, it is narrated by the main character from her vantage point in the future, where she is wizened and somewhat settled. I love this type of narrative device, because of the intense curiosity it engenders of how this messy character can possibly evolve. And it is such a satisfying redemption story.
I laughed, I cringed, swooned and held my breath, wondering what would happen next. It was such a wild ride of friendships and falling out, affairs and misunderstandings, breakups and makeups.

Unlike the title suggests, this was much more ‘during the wand’  fare, of which I had already learned a good deal about while watching the HBO 20th anniversary documentary (which I highly recommend). The audiobook was engaging enough, and I am happy for him that he has found his path in life.

The Nature of the Beast felt like a transitional novel (number 11!) in the Three Pines Series - it’s always great to revisit these characters, but I felt as if their interactions took a backseat in this installment. The crime didn’t grab me, either. It felt slightly messy and convoluted with too many red herrings and suspects I couldn’t keep straight.
I am curious about the very Hannibal Lecter-esque villain that was introduced, and if we will see more of him. And a little bit of happy news was dropped at the end of the book, which I hope Penny will devote time to in subsequent novels!
Books in a very long series are not usually my thing, but these are something special. I also feel connected to my mom when transporting to Three Pines.

If you are a fan of nature documentaries and want more mind blowing details (literally, as it all about how different species process information) this is for you! So much cool information that completely fell out of my head upon finishing, but will probably bubble up in conversation at odd times😆

This was a vividly told World War I historical fiction novel, unique in that it features an earnest romance between two boarding school boys who enlist and are separated at the front.
I was swept up by these characters, they were so endearing, and I get the “Heartstopper on the Western front“ description. My only quibbles were that this was pretty gritty as far war and battle scenes go, which is why I read very little WWI or WWII fiction. And I wish there was more time at Preshute boarding school with all of the characters before they go off to war, because there are SO many to familiarize with right from the jump. I wanted to visualize them as they saw each other: young, vibrant and innocent. There were a few flashbacks throughout the book, but not enough to give me an early investment in the friendships, and most importantly the romantic longing.
I was certainly invested by the end and the pacing was excellent - beautifully written and I flew through it while feeling all the feels. 
“It was a magical thing, to love someone so much; it was a feeling so strange and slippery, like a sheath of fabric cut from the sky.”

I love Curtis Sittenfeld‘s writing, and it was fun to see her take on the romance genre. This has similar vibesto Nora Goes Off Script, with the celebrity meets normie trope, but is much more grounded in reality. I say that not just because much of the story takes place during the pandemic, but because of the author’s ability to articulate our human foibles with such precision, turning the mundane into to extraordinary - a trademark of her novels. I nodded my head in recognition, got verklempt, and snort laughed from start to finish.
Though the pandemic is essential to the plot, it may be a little too much reality for some readers. I found it cathartic and appreciated how it fleshed out the characters and their priorities. My only struggle with this story was getting through the first third of the book with the minutiae of the fictional SNL world. For the most part, I thought it was more detail than necessary, but I appreciated the exploration of friendship and gender politics - again, essential to the plot.
I know a lot of romance readers are side-eyeing Sittenfeld as an interloper, and I’m sure those who don’t read romance are side-eyeing this offering from a beloved literary writer. I would argue Romantic Comedy is an excellent gateway for all types of readers and has a very broad appeal. Highly recommend!

Thank you Viking Books for the gifted review copy!
This was a lovely, albeit melancholy, debut novel that I absolutely inhaled. The comparisons to Normal People ring true: a lack of quotation marks (which I absolutely do not mind) and young people who, as time immemorial, make many mistakes and fumble through tough situations while coming of age.
It’s one of those books that’s hard to describe in great detail why I liked it, I just thought it was down to earth and engrossing. Will and Rosie are truly empathetic characters that leap off the page, the tone was hopeful, and I look forward to more of Claire Daverley’s work.

“… and his heart feels fine, for a while, as if it’s beating beneath the drawn curtain, taking time to rest.”

this graphic memoir has been on my radar for a while, and I recently felt as if I could handle the subject matter: grieving the loss of a mom. So much of this hit home, beyond joining the motherless club. There was so much I identified with as someone who’s parent died at an early age, and there was a great deal of nostalgia being a kid in the 90s and growing up in the Chicago ‘burbs. I felt as if I knew her mother and family intimately - such a loving testament. Highly recommend.

As with Emily Henry‘s other novels, I breezed through this in what felt like minutes. Her whimsical writing style and witty dialogue are unparalleled. Ironically, I would say this is the least happy of her books I’ve read.  The main characters are fraught with regret, and there’s a fog of melancholy that never really lifts - until the end, of course. It is a romance novel after all. And the ending is satisfying in many ways. Let’s just say I really appreciated the way Henry explored parental relationships.
Since there is a great deal of commentary about this very popular book out there already, I thought I’d put a little cento of sorts together with some of my favorite lines:

“Everything is glitter,

Our love is a place we can always come back to, and it will be waiting, the same as it ever was.

In my chest, an engine turns over.

A place where everything is familiar but nothing belongs to me.

And I know this place, even if I can’t name it.

When I am terrified that all my happiest moments belong to the past, when my body is humming with too much of something, or aching from too little, life stretches out ahead of me like a threat.

even when something beautiful breaks, the making of it still matters.

we write our names in the dark, impermanent but all the brighter and more blazing for it.

If every time I turned the focus back to the thing about me I knew my parents loved, I missed the chance for them to know the rest.”

Saturday Night at the Lakeside Supper Club ☹️It really pains me to say that this did not live up to my expectations for J. Ryan Stradal.
I never found my footing with these characters. There were too many, their voices didn’t feel distinct, a few didn’t seem necessary for the plot, while others felt overlooked. The way the narrative jumps in time were jarring and didn’t make sense to me. I think it the story would’ve been better served with a format similar to Kitchens of the Great Midwest: similar to a series of standalone, but interconnected, short stories. Lastly, there are several plot points that just seem unnecessarily and overly maudlin. There are plenty of trigger warnings out there, but just to reiterate: accidental death of a child, infertility, and the addition of another sudden death seemed overkill, literally. It made for a rushed and slapdash ending.
I always appreciate good atmosphere, especially of the Midwestern variety. This novel does so with aplomb: characters that say ‘geeze!’ and drink brandy old fashioneds in a very familiar supper club setting made my heart happy. There are also a few Easter eggs that refer back to his earlier beloved books. But it was not enough to recommend this rather dull story.
It is an absolute tragedy because his first two novels are fantastic and I already know people who won’t read them because this book was such a disappointment. I will consider this an aberration and continue to read everything that he publishes, for sure. I entreat everyone to read Kitchens of the Great Midwest and skip this one!