While simple and more YA, it was creative and interesting. I liked the adventure and journey Imani and the other characters made as she tried to unravel the story of her brother being missing. I thought the concept of not being so exclusive and considering others was well conveyed, and letting go of unjust or ignorant rules and ideals when they hurt others. “Everyone hates and distrusts what is unfamiliar to them…” and “light not shared is light diminished” describes what the story’s goal was well. 

It was, however, rather annoying and naive how much Imani vacillated about Taha and forgot every observation she just catalogued. Made you want to yell at her every time she reversed course on her opinion about him.

The art, color and landscape were beautifully described. The story was also well written to be introspective and thought provoking. I enjoyed both of women’s journeys, both feeling stuck and unfulfilled in their own ways and circumstances. 

They both contrasted well - Vivana did what was necessary no matter the obstacle, and Esther who felt and responded in defeat most often. Both chose very different paths and responses to being beaten down by life, but I loved how art drew both of them out and they found solace and fulfillment in it. 

I also appreciated the look at mental illness with Esther’s mom and how taxing that is in so many ways. 

Thanks to Netgalley for the advanced copy of this book. All opinions are mine. 

Very slapstick-ish and far fetched. A lot of it felt really ridiculous but it was humorous amusing nonetheless. Good light book as long as you’re ok with things not being realistic. 

Loved this one. I liked all the characters and the growth they had as well as their stories. Really well written. 

Jameson’s and Scarlet’s story was beautiful and the emotion so well conveyed. It was easy to identify with them and the difficult choices they had to continually make. 

Georgia’s and Noah’s story was a great modern day romance that struggled against past hurts but still lived selflessly even at times when one rejected the other. 

Also, did not see the twist at the end coming. Loved that part of it that surprised me. Really well done. 

Beautiful descriptions of the food and herbs, and lots of fun in the recipes. 

I liked Tempesta as a character and the difficulty she worked thru in belonging somewhere but having to fight to be accepted. I thought it was a relatable and well thought out plot line to invest in a city, but fight for your friends and decide whether to do the same for those who continually discount or reject you, or to let them go. 

I do wish there was more description in the emotions of the characters. There were times in the dialogue, there would all the sudden be a basic descriptor on what the character felt and it sort of took me by surprise, as there was nothing else leading up to that emotion. Or it was just a quick mention and not deep where it would have given much more life. The descriptiveness in the recipes, smells, and plants were so well thought out and painted, it just seemed an odd contrast not to do the same for the people. 

Also the magic part of this was a little odd. I didn’t hate it but it didn’t feel necessary to the story and made it a little fairy tale-ish. 

Thanks to Netgalley for the advanced copy of this book. All opinions are mine. 

Incredible to look at how a city was split and their people trapped within literally overnight. 

I remember as a kid hearing over the radio of the Wall coming down, so it was even more interesting to me, being able to relate a little to some of the events then and shortly after - not just reading about a historical thing generation back. 

I loved the infusion of codebreaking, family secrets, and the history of East Berlin behind the Berlin Wall. I thought it was well done, intriguing, and was difficult to put down thru most of the book. The plot unfolded in a believable manner and the fear and paranoia of living in East Berlin was well portrayed. 

The concept of forgiveness and reconciliation were also fantastic and fused with emotion. I loved how each family member had to work thru their own issues, that it wasn’t simple, but that they ultimately chose love anyways. 

All in all really well done, believable and loved learning more of the history and what went on for those behind the Wall and for family members outside of it. And I really love anything codebreaking too, so all the wins on this one. 

Thanks to Netgalley for the advanced copy of this book. All opinions are mine. 

 It was a bit odd of a setup with a dual timeline thru less than half the book. Then the second half just dragged on. I mostly just got bored, honestly. 

The dialogue felt stilted and like it was pulling teeth for them to have a conversation half the time or it just rehashed old conversations or the other timeline again. When the mystery was unfolded it did so rather quickly compared to the rest. And both Evie and Lettie felt whiney and childish most of the time till it got annoying.

Started out good and the story itself was interesting based in a military romance and all that. The writing overall was really good. 

But I had a hard time reconciling Nate as a Special Ops soldier and his inability to do his job when Izzy was around, constantly distracted. The whole point of an elite group like that is they do their jobs above all else. He didn’t compartmentalize as well as he claimed apparently. At times the relationship between the two felt fairly toxic when he would consistently not commit to anything beyond a fling and she just let him. 

The first half of the book I thought was good, maybe even 4 stars good. It had a well written story with good character development so you understood how Jacquotte came to be, and where her story began. The adventure and action had me interested and invested in the story and I enjoyed it up to that point. 

Then the second half happened. It was completely far fetched, unbelievable and frustratingly inconsistent with the characters, time period, and setting. 

Pirates in general but maybe especially during the “Golden Age of Piracy”, were brutal, violent, commanding and fearsome. Instead, Jacquotte’s character was naive, foolish, and soft. She would not have survived as a pirate but especially a female one where she would have had to prove herself even more so. 

There was so much modern gender, racial, emotional awareness, equality, etc, that was not a part of that time period. It felt untrue and really out of place for some of the dialogue and points of view. Most of that never would have even been considered - the disparity and inequality was just commonplace. Add to that women/wives with no experience making up the majority of the crew, running the ship like a democracy….and the constant brutal injuries that didn’t seem to impede anyone at all. It just made it feel like we stepped into a fairy tale. 

Again, could have been a great story if the time period and setting had been more realistic and accurate no matter how unfair or unfortunate or brutal it was. If it was divorced from the whole Piracy thing it would have been a fantastic story. But the two concepts opposed each other in reality. 

Thanks to Netgalley for the advanced copy of this book. All opinions are mine. 

The Victory Lap by Pamela Facey is a memoir based on her life thus far, and what she’s gleaned now that she’s turned 40. 

I enjoyed learning about her experiences and the life lessons she took from them. I think it’s always so important to learn from each other and to listen to other’s lives and perspectives. It helps us expand our view of the world around us, grow in empathy, and consider other ways of thinking. I appreciated Pamela’s point of view and how she used her difficulties and her successes to decide what was important to her, and how to articulate that. 

While her point of view on some things like faith and God differ from mine, it was nonetheless interesting to hear her perspective and how she views the world from that, and what became a priority vs a peripheral for her. 

As far as the writing itself, the book did feel a bit disjointed to me, and I didn’t feel some of it flowed well in the thoughts from one paragraph or section to another. It was hard at times to track how a given perspective was gained, or what life experience led to it, ore vice versa, how a life experience influenced her. They sort of felt separate and independent from each other, almost like two different tracks in the book. But overall, it was an easy and interesting read otherwise and I enjoyed exploring it. 

Thanks to Pamela Facey for the copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. I enjoyed hearing her story.