It's hard to put into words how powerful this book was.

If you were a fan of Jeanette McCurdy's book "I'm Glad My Mom Died," add this one to your TBR.

Stephanie Foo's memoir tells her story of her childhood trauma, being diagnosed with complex PTSD, and her journey of recovery. As a therapist it was extremely meaningful to learn about what worked and what didn't for her. I think anyone seeking healing would love hearing Stephanie's insights and reflections.

I listened to the audiobook (awesome for my long work drives) and found the final portion to be phenomenal. Stephanie was able to include snippets of her counseling sessions with the therapist who finally helped her recover. It was super impactful to see her finally get what she needed.

I'm sure the paperback demonstrates this well, too, and I'll be buying a copy to keep on my shelf.

So many people told me this was their favorite book in the series and I definitely get it!

If you haven't read A Court of Thorns and Roses, beware of some slight spoilers in this review!

This book took me a while to get into, and then another while to get through. The idea of magic related to shadows is SUPER cool to me... Yet the execution somehow felt a bit dull. It ramped up maybe 60-80% of the way through, and then slowed down again

My favorite parts were the characters of Charlie and Posey. Even though Charlie was rough around the edges, I liked that about her! She was resourceful, witty, and loving towards her sister.

A few good things: I was really intrigued by parts of the magic, especially Blights. And the ending left us on a good hook!

Besides that, this book just didn't draw me in as much as I hoped it would.

This book had a super sweet premise. Goodnight June tells a fictional origin story of Goodnight Moon, a story I loved as a child. I was looking for a quick, one day read and found it in this book. But it was a little too cheesy for me.

SUMMARY: June is a workaholic in New York, working a ruthless banking job where she shuts down small businesses who cannot make ends up. When June's great-aunt dies and leaves her bookstore for June to take over, June travels back home to Seattle. While her initial plan is to sell the bookstore, coming across letters between her great-aunt and the author of Goodnight Moon helps her reconnect with her love of books and realize that the bookstore holds a beautiful, secret history.

To be honest this book was like a Lifetime movie but for some parts, I was there for it. It was pretty predictable, but I wanted to see June's heartwarming growth.

My biggest problems were that it felt like a lot of June's problems were just miraculously fixed! On one hand it was sweet to see things work out and get that sense of hope, but on the other hand I was like, there's nooo way this is realistic! The romance felt a little too insta-love for me.

Overall, if you like a book where everything is tied together nicely with a bow in the end, this is for you. Lots of sweet moments about sisters, family, and children's lit

I listened to this audiobook after finishing two fantastic memories (I'm Glad My Mom Died and What My Bones Know), so my perspective may be slightly skewed. I probably went in with expectations of what it would be like that weren't met.

Michelle's story was super meaningful and enlightened me to the lives experience of someone growing up Korean American. I enjoyed the parts in which Michelle explored her identity and grappled with finding her place between two cultures. She also had great writing.

In between those moments, I felt lost at times in her story. It focused heavily on her experiences of grief and loss, which would be powerful for a reader that connects to that topic. It was probably very meaningful for Michelle to process through writing and it did leave me with moments of reflection. But it didn't hit me as strongly as I thought it would.

Malibu Rising and Evelyn Hugo were both five star reads for me. So no surprise that Carrie Soto is Back also blew me away!

I have very little interest in tennis, yet I was sooo invested in Carrie Soto's comeback story.

When a younger tennis player matches her world record for most Slams won, Carrie Soto decides to come back into the game at 37 years old - she will attempt four Slams to try to regain her record.

Carrie was a force of nature. I loved her sharp attitude and her competitive nature - it was SO well developed and relatable as an Enneagram 3

I thoroughly enjoyed this book! A lot of it is very applicable to the work I do as a counselor, and it helped me gain more insights about how attachments impact relational functioning.

I realized that I have a tendency to lean more on the side of "You need to be independent and not rely too much on your partner," but this book helped me recognize that some level of dependency is normal! It's okay for people to know what their relational needs are and to seek out a partner who can meet those needs.

I enjoyed that it addressed how both avoidant and anxiously attached individuals can communicate their needs while also make changes to embrace more secure principles. I also found it helpful to learn more about the qualities of securely attached individuals!

This was overall such a fun and engaging read! I absolutely LOVE Moriarty's writing style. She is such an expert at making unique and memorable characters. She captures the human experience so well. I love how her characters are so flawed and real.

I was impressed by how well the author addressed the topic of postpartum depression as well. My heart went out to Grace. It felt so realistic how no one could really see what she was dealing with.

The mystery and the family drama was so entertaining! I would love to visit Scribbly Gum Island. And of course, Moriarty does an amazing job of throwing out a final twist that takes you by surprise!

I wasn't a huge fan of Circe by Madeline Miller, but I saw so many good things about this book, I had to try it!

And now I should probably accept that I'm just not a fan of retellings of Homer's works