I wasn’t sure what this was going to be about and man it was a really tough book to read as the author shepherds her husband’s Alzheimer’s diagnosis and final journey with Dignatas. It made me even more steadfast in my belief that we need to have better laws around the right to die in the United States. It’s obviously heartbreaking, but, a beautiful story about love and loss.

Thank you to Book Publicity Services for a gifted review copy!
This novel starts with an intriguing premise about a first American born child of immigrants, diagnosed with bipolar disorder. The complications that come with the cultural differences in healthcare, approaches to mental health, and generational differences was rife with thought provoking drama. Though I don’t think the author really ran with any of the options at her disposal. I’m not sure what the rising action and culmination of the story was, and overall felt stilted. It had many of the same themes of first born American novels, but it didn’t really differentiate itself in ways that I think it could have.

what can I say? I caved to the hype, and what a fun experience to do so along with so many other readers, including my #evergreenreaders book club. It took me back to the days of getting sucked into Sarah J. Maas early on in the pandemic: pure fun and escapism.
And it is truly is a mash up of A Court of Thorns and Roses mixed with Divergent, which was an absolute blast to read back in the day, too. Also add in a heaping dose of The Golden Compass, just a sprinkling of The Hunger Games, and the pièce de résistance: DRAGONS! Everyone who raves about this book is very much into dragons. I mean, I definitely won’t turn my nose up at their inclusion. I am game for some Game of Thrones content, but the dragons weren’t the main draw. (Those sprayed edge dragons and limited edition scarcity mindset might have had a little to do with it.) Entertaining dragon dialogue, though? (Yes, they speak.) That was what sold me on Fourth Wing. 
There is also disability and queer representation, compelling political intrigue, and open door sexy times! It’s perfect fun summer fare, and I will definitely pick up the next one, Iron Flame, that comes out in in November.

I have mixed feelings about Hello Beautiful. On one hand, the story and family themes were compelling, and the characters are complex and vibrant. I totally get the hype. Plus, I think this is one of the more beautiful covers I’ve seen in a long time. On the other hand, I personally have a few hangups that prevented me from really loving this novel: I don’t prefer third person narration, I hate irrationally obstinate characters, and I value atmosphere and a sense of place - I went into this thinking it would be a Chicago book, and it is not. 
As for the omniscient narration, I usually find myself feeling as if I’m watching the story through a window, not really feeling immersed. With this book in particular, large swaths of time would be skipped over in summary descriptions like “during this time, this character did this” with a lot of generalizations. Certainly there were unique and grounding details thrown in, but I mostly felt removed from the action.
Wholly obstinate characters are just a turnoff for me. If there’s a family member who acts like a stubborn ass toward another, I will be annoyed by this total personal pet peeve. There are TWO main characters with this energy, and only one of which I could maybe attempt to empathize with, so it just harshed my mellow.
Lastly, there were so many opportunities to immerse the reader in the culture of Chicago - language and phrases, traditions, specific foods, etc. Other than the names of locations, mostly around Pilsen, and a few mentions of historic Bulls players, there’s nothing that is evocative of the city of my heart. 
Overall, it gave me Beaches meets Terms of Endearment vibes, which are both absolute classics and wonderful stories. It’s definitely worth checking out the hype, as my rating was more of a ‘it’s me, not you’ problem.

Thank you so much #ballantinebooks @penguinrandomhouse and @netgalley for the advanced digital copy of The Ferryman by @jccronin I absolutely loved this novel!
I devoured The Passage (like many readers) at least a decade ago. I never picked up the remaining books in the trilogy, sadly, but his latest sounded intriguing and I am so glad that I requested the ARC.
This novel is rife with potential spoiler pitfalls when writing reviews, but I think I can safely say that it is absolutely in my wheelhouse of literary sci-fi stories that keep you guessing, while also contemplating deep themes on the meaning of life. Given that I have read a number of similar novels (which I would love to recommend, but I don’t want to spoil the plot of this book, so DM me!) I had a pretty good idea of what was happening, but in Cronin’s hands I was transported. 
The beginning of the story is reminiscent of a more mature and lyrical version of The Giver. That said, Cronin’s writing flows very cinematically and is action packed, while still having that strong emotional center. I absolutely FLEW through it, thinking it must not be as chunky as his other novels - I finally looked at the page count when I blinked and was already at 60 percent on my kindle, seeing it’s a paltry 560 pages compared to The Passage that clocks in at 766. 😁 BOTH read like something half their length, though!
The Ferryman is available this coming Tuesday, May 2, and I would run to your local bookstore on that day to pick it up - I think this novel will be all the rage, and deservedly so.

What a weird and surprisingly vulnerable memoir of the anonymous author’s use of her character to help her navigate a difficult time. As an active Twitter user, I would see her tweets, but I never really got caught up or followed Duchess. It seemed odd in the way that her account was portrayed as high art. But the way that it’s a journey of self discovery was lovely. Not at all what I expected, and the audiobook includes Lyle Lovett reading his own dialogue. Yes, Lyle Lovett figures into this story.

Not a memoir, but I’d feel weird giving this book a star rating. I picked it up after finishing Demon Copperhead and feel as if I should have when it first came out, because the horrors of the opioid crisis that the Sackler family unleashed in myriad ways has already been well documented since Beth Macy’s singular work. It just reinforced the information I already knew, and felt a little dry, though still a gut punch. If you are saying to yourself, who are the Sacklers or Purdue Pharma, read this ASAP.

“But being alone was also a closed loop. A loop with a slipknot, say. The loop could be small or large, but it always returned to itself.
You had to untie the knot, finally. Open the loop and then everything sank in. And everyone.
Then you could see what was true--that separateness had always been the illusion. A simple trick of flesh.” 

I love these slice of life, hyper realistic, character driven novels. It’s a slim and straightforward story, but full of complexities. So much to chew on with themes exploring the environment, family, patriarchy, fidelity, belonging, love, and loss.  It reminded me so much of Jennifer Egan‘s work, like it could’ve been a chapter out of The Candy House. Which leads to my only critique, in that I wish there was MORE. The protagonist, Gil, is a man who walks from New York to Arizona (!!) after a bad break up and forms a unique attachment with the family next door. And every one of the characters in this novel had the same idiosyncratic potential for more exploration.
In similar works of fiction, I feel as if something terrible usually happens, and I had a low level of anxiety for Gil throughout the book. There were some unpleasant and surprising turns, but it concluded in a sort of hilarious and profound way. It is a really thoughtful and vivid human story.
If you enjoy Jennifer Egan’s writing, I would definitely recommend this novel, and for fans of similar short and poignant books like Claire Keegan’s work, and Zorrie by Laird Hunt. I am definitely diving into Lydia Millet’s back catalog, too!

Thank you, Partner @bibliolifestyle @williammorrowbooks for the gifted copy of Coronation Year!
This book, published on April 4, was just the right read at the right time for me. After reading a few dense and heavy books, literally and figuratively, Jennifer Robson’s novel was a charming little bonbon of a palate cleanser.
Coronation Year has a very similar tone to Jenny Colgan’s work (Little Beach Street Bakery, The Bookshop on the Corner), or the Southern fiction trope of the beleaguered earnest small business owner along with an equally earnest cast of characters that all come together to help each other in myriad ways, but in historical fiction form. A very cozy read with likable characters that weren’t too saccharine, and sumptuous descriptions of cozy settings and delicious food - from a tasty pint and meat pie at the pub, a cup of tea and scone at the hotel, a comforting soup at a welcoming friend’s home, or a feast at an Indian restaurant. I love it when a book does food well, and this one made me want to eat all the things!
If you’re looking for something to just sink into, that doesn’t require much mental energy, whilst drinking a cup of tea and ignoring the world, this would be an excellent choice.

This was such a beautifully told memoir, wherein the author teaches us absolutely fascinating stories about sea creatures that can shed light on our humanity, as well as her own self discovery as a mixed race queer person. I love a memoir read by the author on audiobook, and highly recommend this one!